TITLE: Until
death do us part
AUTHOR: Demon
Faith
EMAIL: rosabeth@hotmail.com
CATEGORY:
Romance, Action/Adventure, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Series: trilogy
PAIRINGS:
Sam/Daniel
SPOILERS: For the
others in the ‘Vows Beyond Definition’ series: ‘Love, Honour and Obey’ and
‘From this day forward’. Major for: Past and Present; Minor for: Holiday,
Shades of Grey and The Curse.
SEASON/SEQUEL:
Directly after ‘From this day forward’; set after Season 4
RATING: PG-13
CONTENT
WARNINGS: Character death, injury, angst, threats.
SUMMARY: ‘Until
death do us part’ – Daniel’s dying. Can SG-1 save him in time?
DISCLAIMER: I
do not own Stargate-SG1. I own Lieutenant Catherine Tyler, Aphrodite and Ares
(kinda). No copyright infringement is intended.
AUTHOR’S NOTES:
Hey, I wrote! Does there have to be a reason? Still trying to work out how to
write well – hope this is okay! For SDR, ‘specially the Angels – rebels
forever! Designed to cheer up Mel and Cass – it had better work fast!
<waves>
You might
notice Teal’c has been…explored a little, I wonder why…;)
Death
n. a) The act of dying or state of being dead; termination of
life b) The cause or manner of dying c) Termination; extinction.
[From Old
English]
Part
v. a) To divide or break into separate parts b) To break up (a relationship) by separating
the elements involved c) To put or keep apart d) To go apart from
one another; separate e) To go away; depart f) To give up or let go of; relinquish
[From Latin]
They stood in
shocked silence. Jack leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes. Why did
it have to be this way? Teal’c held his head high, eyes unusually watery. Yet
Sam just sat there, hand clasping Daniel’s, shaking almost imperceptibly.
He was dying.
Powerless,
crumbling inside, Sam swept the cloth across Daniel’s forehead, refusing to
meet Janet’s concerned gaze. Her trembling fingers brushed his skin, face
expressionless, her friend’s voices fading away from her.
Someone had done
this.
Yet again, Sam
couldn’t believe this simple truth – murder was a tool. Daniel’s death meant
nothing, not in the scheme of things – he did not matter. A snakehead had
infected him with this evil, then sent him to them – so they would watch him
suffer.
Then, it hit
her.
Why? Why bother
sending him back? There was no point, no reason – why give him a chance to
live? Unless, they were trying to infect earth, send a plague…
“Janet…”
“It’s not
contagious, Sam. I can’t think of a single reason why he’s here.”
Sam turned to
the doctor, who smiled tightly. Jack’s eyes had that haunted look again, the
one flicker of emotion that spoke volumes. Teal’c had left – to seek his own
reasons, perhaps. Sam turned back to Daniel, as Jack voiced what they were all
thinking.
“But there must
be a reason! It makes no sense at all. We might save him – what would the point
be?”
Sam’s mind
automatically leapt to the problem, but her concentration remained firmly on
Daniel, finger trailing over the film of sweat already forming on his forehead.
She raised the cloth again, letting the water trickle in little rivulets over
the smooth contours of his face. She wiped away the water, wondering if she
helping. She should talk to him – experiments said that coma patients…her mind
froze. Experiments…that was it!
“It’s a trial!
They’re testing their invention!”
Sam turned to
them all, receiving a blank look from Jack and an excited look of realisation
from Janet.
“Of course,
Sam! They want to see if we can combat it, natural resistance…”
Janet fell
silent, as it began to settle in. Sam’s mind also caught up – and she bit her
lip.
“If it’s an
experiment,” Jack said slowly, “they won’t have a cure.”
~
Teal’c thought
the corridor was strangely dark. He made his way to the Control Centre, and the
technician turned to him, slightly scared.
“Yes, Mr
Teal’c?”
“The lighting
is not functioning properly.”
The technician
stared at him for a few seconds, then answered.
“Um…yes, Mr
Teal’c. We had to divert power from the lightening to repair the iris system.”
The charred
console was now cornered off by red tape, and a few workmen were already
assembling parts for a new one.
“I see. Was
anything else damaged?”
The technician
called up a few files, labelled by numerical designations that Major Carter
would probably understand, but still eluded Teal’c.
“Yes, a few
files that were being accessed at the time. I don’t think any of SG-1’s files
were corrupted – no one was accessing them – but if you want to check…”
“Thank you.
Where would be convenient?”
One of the
pretty female technicians, who Teal’c had noticed regarding him earlier,
vacated her seat and offered it to him. He bowed his head, and took the chair.
The files before him all looked very distant and unfamiliar.
“Need any help,
sir?”
The young
technician, a lieutenant Tyler, Teal’c noted, leaned over his shoulder. She
wore a very strong perfume, the Jaffa observed, not indifferent to such things
as he seemed.
“Yes,
Lieutenant. Have you seen these files?”
She nodded, clicking
a few file icons, while Teal’c looked admiringly at her. Jack, needing to
escape the oppressive infirmary, grinned at the Jaffa and the leaning
lieutenant.
“There. Three
that might interest you, Mr Teal’c.”
“It is just
Teal’c.”
She smiled at
him, leaning back to a stand.
“You can call
me Catherine.”
The Jaffa
nodded, as the young woman walked away, smiling. Jack caught her sleeve as she
passed.
“Don’t give up
on him, Lieutenant.”
She raised an
eyebrow, and replied in a slow voice.
“I don’t intend
to.”
Jack’s eyes
widened, as the young woman walked off, all blonde hair and hip swing. Jack
smiled appreciatively, before moving towards the Jaffa.
“Hey, Teal’c…”
“No, O’Neill,
you may not ask Lieutenant Tyler on a date.”
Jack sighed.
Life was full of surprises.
“Found
anything?”
Teal’c called
up one of the files. It was Area 51’s last survey report. Teal’c scrolled down
the page, then stopped.
“Yes, O’Neill.”
The words leapt
out at Jack, drawing a little hope from his troubled heart: -
Item 507:
Extracted from Ma’chello’s laboratory. One small capsule, found to contain a
liquid of undeterminable nature. Area 51 requests that the item be returned to
the SGC, due to possible contamination. The liquid is believed to have healing
properties, but nothing has been confirmed.
“Beware of
false hope, O’Neill.”
“Typical NID –
sent the contamination to the SGC. We must find this capsule…”
“O’Neill, did
you hear…”
Jack marched
out, and Teal’c was silent for a moment. He studied the words again, and then
picked up the phone.
~
Harry Maybourne
lounged around his office, studying the latest SGC report. Doctor Jackson was
critical, some new virus…Harry smiled. Would he finally dismantle SG-1? In
every way, Daniel was the centre of their lives – he couldn’t have designed it
better himself. He sat back, relaxing a little more.
The phone on
his desk rang, and he casually answered.
“Harry
Maybourne, NID.”
“You will send
me all information on Item 503 and tests run on it.”
Harry sat up.
The voice was cutting, mysterious, but that rich accent could only belong to
one Jaffa…
“Teal’c, you
really should…”
“Strangle you
and throw your worthless body on a sacrificial alter.”
Harry swallowed
involuntarily. He was beginning to get scared. He took a piece of paper, and
with a slightly shaking hand, penned a memo to the labs, listening to the deep
rumbling voice of an angry Jaffa.
“Men disappear,
Colonel Maybourne. Vanish from this place, exiled for all eternity. Slaves to
an alien world – there are worse things than death.”
The words sent
unexpected shivers down his spine. This man was dangerous – very dangerous.
He signed the
order and placed it in dispatch.
“It’s done,” he
said, finally.
“The
information will reach us by 1600 hours.”
The line went
dead. Henry replaced the receiver and glanced at the clock. His face paled. 1530.
~
“Sam, you
should get some rest.”
Sam glanced up
at Janet, and back at Daniel.
“I can’t leave
him,” she whispered.
Janet bit her
lip, and laid her hand on her shoulder.
“He wouldn’t
want you to burn yourself out, Sam.”
No, she thought, he’d want me to do
something.
“Ok, Janet.”
Sam got up
slowly, and leaned over him, kissing him lightly on the forehead.
“I’ll be back
soon, Daniel.”
She left
reluctantly, and made for General Hammond’s office. The General looked as tired
as she felt – but she had to help, anyway she possibly could.
“Sir, I have a
request to make.”
George looked
up, studying the tired eyes that met his.
“Yes, Major?”
“I need to
visit Vias.”
The General’s
eyes widened. Vias? Why would Sam want to go to Vias?
Sam answered
his unspoken question almost automatically.
“I think that
Kira’s medical knowledge could help Daniel.”
“In what way?”
“Sir, you saw
what she was like when she was here! She’s amazing – her knowledge is
incredible; we need someone like her.”
George couldn’t
quite believe Sam was suggesting this – the Destroyer of Worlds, here AGAIN!
Could he take the risk to save one of his key people, his friend? When Daniel
was concerned, all the rules seemed to get broken. It was time to take the risk
– Daniel was worth it.
“Permission
granted, Major. Take Teal’c with you.”
Sam nodded, and
moved out of the office, finally feeling some comfort. She was helping.
She met Teal’c
in the corridor.
“Teal’c, we’re
going to Vias.”
The Jaffa
raised an eyebrow.
“Indeed? NID’s
dispatch will arrive soon – we shall take that with us. Accompany me.”
Sam smiled, and
followed Teal’c to the SGC ‘front door’. A nervous young airman waited there,
clutching a folder tightly to his chest. When he saw Teal’c, his training
failed him, and he just held out the packet.
“Thank you,
Airman. Are you the courier for NID?”
He nodded
slowly, still eying the large man before him. Sam watched, amused, knowing the
Jaffa secretly enjoyed the effect he had on junior airmen.
“Did you bring
Item 503 to this facility?”
The airman had
finally regained some of his composure, and he answered crisply.
“Yes, sir. Last
week.”
Teal’c nodded
again, obviously running out of questions. Sam jumped in.
“Who took your
delivery? Was it on the SG-1 registry list?”
He seemed
relieved to see Sam, and answered immediately.
“I’m not sure,
Ma’am. But it was definitely on the SG-1 register.”
Sam smiled at
the young man, and he melted.
“Thank you, Airman.
That’ll be all.”
The man started
to walk away, when he stopped suddenly.
“Who shall I
say took the delivery? The Colonel was interested.”
Sam was about
to answer him, when Teal’c cut in.
“Tell the
Colonel,” he rumbled, “that he should not ask questions.”
The airman’s
eyes widened and he high-tailed it back to his van, driving off quickly. Teal’c
smiled.
“Now, we must
visit the store.”
~
Jack wandered
into the infirmary, uncomfortable with the low lighting and smell of
disinfectant. He had been here far too many times, for his own injuries – and
his team’s. He’d witnessed many horrors in his time, but these were the worst –
an unstoppable death. Where he was helpless, unable to do anything but watch.
He moved closer to his friend’s bedside, torn between staying and running as
far as possible. He couldn’t watch Daniel waste away, but he couldn’t leave him
alone.
Jack didn’t
know what to do. Should he help in some way? Should he just hide away until it
was all over? Should he pray that someone, somewhere would come and make it all
right? Torn between choices, Jack continued to stand still, just staring at the
pale figure, slipping away from him.
“It’s okay,
Jack.”
He didn’t even turn, as Janet gently took his arm and led him to a chair. He
sat heavily, still watching Daniel, his cheeks strangely wet.
“Here, take
this.”
Janet handed
him a cup of coffee, and Jack clasped his hands around it, holding it tightly.
He watched and watched, tension building in his shoulders…
Breaking china
sounded through the infirmary, and the boiling liquid ran over his fingers. He
didn’t even flinch.
“Jack!”
Janet ran over,
forcing his bleeding hands open. She took out the shattered mug, calling for a
nurse. She quickly smothered his hands in a cold towel, as he continued to
watch. Janet knew she had to snap him out of this, before he hurt himself
further.
“JACK O’NEILL!
STOP FEELING SORRY FOR YOURSELF – AND GET IT TOGETHER!”
He blinked
rapidly, and winced.
“God, that
stings!”
Janet shook her
head, glancing over to Daniel. He slept on, unaware of the distress around him,
too busy dying.
“Jack, I’m
going to need to dress your hands. Hold still.”
“Janet, I’m
sorry.”
She looked up
at him, meeting his frightened eyes.
“So am I,
Jack.”
~
Sam picked up
yet another package. The SG-1 register was concerned with transfers of anything
from SG-1’s missions; unfortunately, no one felt like doing admin on it. Store
Room 84 was the dump for everything on the SG-1 register, and the floor was
strewn with packages.
“Found it,
Teal’c?”
The Jaffa was
muttering to himself, kneeling on the ground.
“I will kill
the animal who did this!”
Sam smiled, and
picked up a heavily strapped box, that was unusually light.
“Hey, I found
it!”
Teal’c stood,
and went over to the box.
“Indeed, Major
Carter, you have. Let us proceed to the Gate room.”
“I need to stop
somewhere first.”
~
Jack sat beside
Daniel, hands heavily bandaged. He knew his place now – here, with his friend.
Janet had brought him a glass of water this time, probably safer.
“Hello Jack.
What happened to you?”
Sam walked in,
as Teal’c stood in the doorway, with a wooden crate. Jack got up, and moved
towards him.
“Is that Item
503?”
“Yes, O’Neill.
We are taking it to Vias.”
Sam ignored
them, slowly approaching Daniel. She leaned over, and kissed him, pressing her
forehead to his.
“I love you,
Daniel Jackson. And I’ll bring you back.”
She rose
slowly, reaching out to Janet.
“Take care of
him, Janet.”
Janet smiled
gently, before Teal’c and Sam left, and Jack returned to his seat, leaning
towards Daniel.
“You can’t
leave us, Daniel. Sam needs you – and so do I.”
~
The Gate seemed
to dial extra slowly today. Sam stepped through the event horizon, followed
closely by Teal’c.
The Gate on
Vias was now in the centre of town, and several officials came to greet them,
including Nodalle and Layalle.
“Welcome,
friends. I sense you are not here just for a visit?”
“Unfortunately,
Nodalle, we’re here for a series matter. Our friend, Daniel, is very ill. We
were wondering if Kira could help us.”
Layalle’s
expression turned stony, and she spoke with a shaking voice.
“Kira is no
more. She found a vial of Dargol antidote. We were forced to apprehend her.”
Sam’s face
fell. Her hopes were crashed against the pavement – she had wasted precious
time, away from Daniel – she crumbled inside.
Nodalle noticed
the change, and quickly jumped in.
“However, she
left vast amounts of knowledge in our database, and we have many talented
physicians here. Perhaps we can still help.”
Sam nodded
slowly, and they were led to Vias’ central library.
~
Janet frowned
at the test results, aghast. The organism was reproducing at an incredible
rate, her original estimate was hours out. If it kept going at this rate,
Daniel only had 5 more hours!
She closed her
eyes, and clutched the paper to her chest.
“Please, not
again…”
~
Sam sat at one
of the terminals, quickly accessing all of Kira’s files, as Teal’c began to
unwrap Item 503.
“The contents
of this package were said to possess healing properties – could you test it?”
The technicians
glanced among each other, and nodded.
“Yes, we can.”
One took the
small capsule, and began to extract a very small portion of the liquid. Teal’c
watched in silence, before going to see what Sam was finding.
“Okay, we’ve
got one entry on viruses. It only talks about replicating microbes – nothing
about cure…”
“Sam!”
Sam moved
towards the young technician who had called. She pointed to the vial in shock.
“It’s alive!”
“What? That’s
not possible!”
Sam stared at
the readings, not quite believing what she was seeing. The liquid was teeming
with microbes – it was a counter-virus, probably against some Goa’uld
infection…
Sam stopped.
This was perfect! With Kira’s replication techniques, and these microbes – they
could cure him!
“Teal’c, pull
open those files! Find out what they tested the liquid on!”
Sam was excited
now, as she studied the virus moving inside the test area.
Teal’c was
studying the reports, eyebrow raised.
“Major Carter,
it appears the discovery was…an accident.”
“How so?”
Sam moved over
to the Jaffa, and he lowered the sheet.
“You see; an
airman spilt the test liquid on his finger. The finger had a paper cut, which
vanished within seconds once the liquid had been spilled. They went into further
testing, and it was found to heal wounds and combat viruses. They wanted to
test it on AIDs, but fearing contamination, they sent it to us.”
“Yes, I see.
Right, that means all we require is replication…”
A man burst
into the room, looking a little scared.
“A man has come
to see you – he says he knows you.”
Sam looked
towards the door and gasped.
#Sam Carter – I
think you should stop that#
It was Teal’c
who answered, voice more menacing than ever.
“Ares, you will
leave this place!”
#But I think
not#
Aphrodite came
up behind him, followed by several Jaffa, surrounding the lab technicians.
#You will not
cure our test subject – it is impossible! There is no use trying#
“Then, why are
you here? For decoration?” Sam sneered.
Aphrodite
stepped forward and struck her, sending her to the floor.
#We have come
for the corpse#
Peachy, thought Sam. She got steadily to her
feet, ignoring the blood trickling down her chin.
“Unfortunately,
you’re a bit out of touch. Not used to playing God again.”
Sam walked
towards them, and Teal’c knew this was a distraction ploy. Now, he had to find
a way to fight.
He moved slowly
towards the table, picking up a vial marked ‘reactor1’ and looking for the
other he knew was there. He soon spotted the other vial, but it was on the
other side of the table. He glanced up, and saw the hypodermic in Sam’s hand.
Interesting…
“The game is
played one of two ways: against us or with us. Any System Lord who opposes us,
falls. Surely, it all adds up – we are the true power in this galaxy.”
Ares and
Aphrodite watched her carefully, not quite sure what she was doing. Teal’c
moved along the table, noting that these Jaffa were not at all observant. He
picked up the second vial, and whispered to the person next to him.
“On my signal,
run to the cover block.”
The man nudged
his friend, and the message was passed along the line of people, as Sam
continued.
“I can offer
you the Tau’ri’s support, but we do look after our own. We would keep Daniel’s
corpse.”
Sam swallowed
those words, hoping it wouldn’t come to that. She flicked the top off the
needle, hoping it was powerful enough to knock on of them out. She knew which
one she would dive for…
“To the cover
house – we must prepare for the union!”
The technicians
moved quickly to the cover house, and Sam smiled sweetly at them both.
“Have a gift of
friendship…”
Sam quickly
jabbed the needle in Aphrodite’s arm, before backing quickly into the cover
house, followed by Teal’c, who threw the vials to the ground.
The explosion
shook the building to its foundations, but the cover house stood firm,
fulfilling its duty admirably.
The technicians
emerged, glancing in horror at the ruined lab. Sam was on her knees, looking
for the vial, hoping it had survived…
“Major Carter?”
“Not now, Teal’c.”
A hand held out
the capsule before her and she sighed, before standing slowly.
“Good thinking,
Teal’c.”
He nodded
solemnly, and Sam glanced at the console, which had remarkably survived. The
same couldn’t be said about the rest of the library laboratory. It was a
little…charred.
Sam called up
the replication technique and they began work. Sam glanced at her watch – It
had been two hours since they’d left the SGC. Sam wondered how Daniel was doing
– hoping he was still okay, hoping they would be in time.
~
Janet eyed the
clock nervously. 2 hours – and the virus appeared to be speeding up again.
Jack was still
sitting beside Daniel, also eyeing the clock. Time was the most precious thing
there was – he had wasted so much of it. He hoped he wouldn’t have to pay the
price – not this way.
“Off-world
activation! Off-world activation!”
Jack stood up,
and ran out of the infirmary, arriving in the Control Room about a minute
later.
“Who’s
off-world?”
“Special
expedition to Vias, sir.”
Jack nodded, as
the General came to stand beside him, staring at his hands.
“What happened,
Jack?”
“Long story,
sir.”
“SG-1 iris
code!”
“Open it!”
Jack ran down
the stairs, leaving the shouts behind. He slipped on the last step, and landed
in a heap, cursing the pain in his fingers.
The Gate shut
down. He heard footsteps, and struggled to get up.
“Let me help
you, O’Neill.”
Teal’c helped
the Colonel to his feet, as Sam hurried down the corridor. She moved swiftly
into the infirmary, and Janet glanced up at her.
“You have it,”
she whispered.
Sam nodded, and
passed over a large canister of liquid.
“This should do
it.”
Janet nodded,
and began to fill an IV with the liquid. She hooked it to Daniel’s hand, and it
began to drain away. Sam pressed her fingers to his cheek, closing her eyes,
hoping.
His rattling
breath eased, smoother, gentler. Sam felt the fever ease, as she sat beside
him, and his eyes moved rapidly under their lids, dreams filling Daniel’s soul.
Sam looked to
Janet, and the doctor smiled. They had done it.
Daniel sighed
deeply, as the rest of the liquid drained away. Janet was amazed – already it
was gone?!? Was that even possible?
“Sam,” he
murmured.
Sam gasped,
tears pricking at her eyes, emotions cascading over her. Beneath her fingers,
he stirred, and she withdrew her hand. His eyes opened, and he looked up at her
in surprise.
“Sam! You’re
here!”
He sat up
slowly, and she flung her arms around him, unable to contain herself. Her lips
met his, and he held her tight, never wanting to let go.
Janet, Jack and
Teal’c watched silently, as they embraced. They pulled away, staring at each
other, still holding on.
“Don’t ever do
that again, Daniel!”
“Do what?”
He looked
blank, and Sam smiled.
“Long story.
Tell you later.”
Daniel looked
across at Jack, and smiled.
“Come here!”
The Colonel
came over, looking uncomfortable again. Daniel took his hand, strongly, holding
tightly.
“Can’t get rid
of me that easily.”
Jack smiled,
aware that his eyes were watery again. Daniel nodded, strong again, whole.
Jack released
his hand, and stepped back. Teal’c nodded to Daniel.
“I am glad you
are well, Daniel. You are most…resilient.”
Daniel nodded
again, a faint smile appearing. Janet walked off, on the pretence of looking
after someone.
“We should…yeah…leave…Teal’c…”
They both left the infirmary, leaving Sam and
Daniel alone.
“I never want
to lose you, Daniel. Time is so precious…”
“We can’t waste
a moment, Sam.”
They were
silent again; aware that what had gone unsaid was the agreement between them.
All it took was words, to be sure, to know…
“Sam, will you
marry me?”
Sam gently
pressed him back onto the bed, stretching herself across him.
“Yes, Daniel.
Because time is precious…”
*FINIS*