Title: PLAGUE (this is only a working title, it may change as the story develops).
Author: Deepdale
Rating: PG-13 (just to be on the safe side)
Spoilers: Only for those who don't know what happened to Daniel in Meridian and haven't heard what's going to happen in season 7 with him (not that this tale in any way follows the TV spoilers I've read except for the obvious one, but better safe than sorry). Apart from that it's all of my own making.
Summary: Ok this is a bit different. Basically I'm going to try to weave two stories in together. First there's the story of an alien girl SG1 rescue and bring back to earth. Second there's the tale of Daniel, a tiny glimpse of life as an ascended being and his subsequent fall from grace. I know this all sounds a bit convoluted but bear with me, both threads will eventually come together and understanding will ensue. I hope.
Disclaimer: Stargate SG1 and all its characters do not belong to me, I just borrow them from time to time.
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My thanks to *aligater* for agreeing to beta, and help me when my ideas die with some useful prompts and honest opinions.
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1. SG1
Well this is certainly exciting," observed O'Neill. "Trees, trees and oh wait for it more trees. How much further to the ruins Carter?"
"Not far Colonel, they should be just up ahead."
"Did you hear that?" asked Jonas, looking round for the source of the noise.
"I heard nothing Jonas Quinn," said Teal'c.
"There's definitely something. Wait," he ground to a halt in the middle of the narrow path and O'Neill had to step off to avoid cannoning into him. In doing so he heard movement in the heavy undergrowth.
"What the? Hey, you, come on out of there." Nothing. "Don't make me come in after you."
The bushes parted and a young girl stepped out, cowering at the edge of the path.
"It's a woman," said Carter.
"Kinda stating the obvious there Carter," replied O'Neill.
That she was female was pretty obvious given the costume she was wearing. The top was no wider than a bandage, covering the essentials only and what might have once been a full-length skirt was torn and ripped beyond repair. What was also clear was that she was terrified, emerald green eyes flicking between the four members of SG1 and then searching the surroundings, never still for a moment.
"I see her," a voice rang through the trees followed by the baying of hounds.
With a look of abject terror she threw herself on the unsuspecting O'Neill, winding her arms tight around him and burying her face against his body.
"Steady on there," O'Neill tried to pry her off. "Please, we haven't even been properly introduced." The more he tried to remove her the tighter she clung. "A little help here people."
"She is afraid O'Neill, I do not believe we can help without making her more afraid," Teal'c pointed out.
Colonel O'Neill touched the top of her head lightly, "You're safe now. We won't let whoever you're running from get you. You can let me go a little, I promise you'll be safe with all of us." Absolutely no change. "For cryin' out loud," he sighed.
Ahead of them on the path appeared three men, several vicious wolf type dogs straining at their leashes and some pretty nasty whips being brandished.
"Hello there," Jonas took the lead. "My name is Jonas Quinn, this is Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter and Teal'c. We mean you no harm, we are peaceful explorers."
"You have taken what is rightfully ours," said the closest native. "She belongs to my master, you cannot have her."
"Explain 'belongs'," said Carter, voice scarily calm.
"She is my master's slave," another spoke. "She tried to escape, she ran away and in doing so her life has been forfeit."
"Oh I don't think so," said O'Neill. "See that's just not nice, you don't kill a person just because she ran away from slavery, very wrong gentlemen."
"If you harbour an escaped slave that too is punishable by death," the first native said.
"I really don't think so," O'Neill looked at the young woman clinging to him as if her life depended on him, which as it turned out it did. "Don't worry kiddo, no-one's dying here today. Right, well we'll be leaving now and it looks like your runaway doesn't want to go back with you so I guess she'll be leaving too."
"You will not take her!" a native released the two dogs he was holding and advanced, swinging his whip (which they could now see had vicious barbs on the end of each length of leather) threateningly.
"Teal'c," said O'Neill. "If you'd be so good."
Obligingly Teal'c removed his zat and dealt quickly with both dogs and their master. His fellow hunters fell back afraid.
"He's not dead," O'Neill told them. "But he will have a rotten headache when he wakes up. We are leaving now and she is coming with us. If you try anything stupid like attacking us again I can't guarantee you won't end up dead. Your choice. Shall we?" he motioned to the rest of his team and with a protective arm around the young woman they moved out.
"Where to now Colonel?" Jonas asked.
"We still make for the ruins. There isn't time to get back to the gate before nightfall and I don't trust those guys not to try something. We make camp for the night in the ruins where at least we might have a defendable perimeter."
To the ruins it was. To O'Neill they looked like… well ruins. To Jonas they were a source of fascinating information, so much like Daniel but not Daniel at all. Carter and Teal'c scouted for the safest place to keep watch while O'Neill tried to figure how, if ever, he was going to get free of his new friend.
"I could really do with sitting down about now," he told her patiently. "I'm not as young as I once was, it's been a long day and the knees ache you know. You're going to have to let me go at some time, how about giving it a try?" O'Neill spotted a convenient lump of fallen masonry and lowered himself on to it. Not exactly an ideal substitute for his favourite armchair back home but it would have to do. She sank to the ground at his side, transferring her vice like grip to one of his legs and rubbing her face against the rough material of his fatigues. "Better," he announced. "A slave eh, bet that was a bundle of laughs. Do you have a name?" Nothing. "Can you speak?" Nothing. "Okay, well you have to be called something… I know Jane. Jane, I'm Jack." She was still shaking with fear; he could feel the tremors passing through his leg. "Poor kid," O'Neill stroked her long auburn hair, trying to avoid all the bits of twig and foliage caught in it, offering comfort, not something that came easily to him. Gradually, with repeated stroking, the tremors subsided. There was, however, another problem headed his way.
"Hey Jonas," O'Neill called across to the younger man.
"Yes Colonel?"
"A little help here. I need to pee."
"Oh, I see. How can I help?"
O'Neill shot him one of his famous 'well duh' looks. "Look after Jane for me."
"Jane?"
"Jonas, I so don't need a discussion right now," Jack growled. "And I want to check on Carter and Teal'c, look around, get a lie of the land."
"Right. Jane," Jonas squatted beside her. "My name is Jonas. I know you'd rather hang on to the Colonel, to Jack, but he needs for you to let go. Just for a little while," he hastily added, as her eyes grew huge with fear. "I promise he'll be right back, but there's some things he needs to do. He is responsible for all of us, not just you and the Colonel takes his responsibilities very seriously." Jonas held out a hand. "I could do with some help finding wood for a fire. Will you help me?" Tentatively 'Jane' took the outstretched hand, her eyes never leaving Jack.
"I'll be back," he promised. "Jonas will take good care of you and then you can get right back to clutching my leg if that's what you need."
Jack returned bringing Carter and Teal'c with him, time for something to eat and drink before dividing out the hours of watch amongst the troops. The sun had set; night fell quickly on the planet. Jonas had a fire burning merrily, blazing and crackling in the still of the night. He was using a stick to sketch something in the dirt, something that made Jane smile shyly. Jonas grinned back, pleased with his progress. At the sound of their footsteps Jane looked up, smile gone, fear back until Jack raised a hand in greeting.
"I'm home," he braced himself as Jane launched herself at him, moving the P-90 out of the way just in time. "Missed me? At least Jonas got you to smile, that's more than I've managed."
"Actually I managed more than that," Jonas told them. "I asked Jane about her family, where she lived before she became a slave. She wasn't born into slavery."
"Jane?" Carter queried.
"The Colonel has named her Jane," Jonas explained.
"Oh, as in Jane Doe?" asked Carter.
"Not exactly," O'Neill sounded embarrassed. "More me Tarzan you Jane."
"Oh," Carter fought to keep her face straight.
"So she can speak," O'Neill chose to ignore Carter's mirth.
"I expect she can yes, but not yet," replied Jonas. "We were using actions, drawings, sign language I guess."
"Enlighten us with the fruits of your sign language," said O'Neill returning to his former rock seat, Jane settling by his side as before.
"I believe she was born on another continent or at least a place over the sea. Her village was raided by men from the boats and those left alive were taken as prisoners eventually becoming slaves in this country."
"Nice," observed O'Neill. "Poor kid. No way we can take her home to her people then."
"She was very young when they took her away, I don't think there's any way, even with help, she'd be able to find her home village, if it exists at all today."
"Great. Okay so we worry about that tomorrow. Let's eat and sleep. We take three-hour watches, I'm up first, then Jonas, Carter and then you Teal'c. First light we head for the gate and get the hell outta here."
"And the girl?" Carter asked.
"I guess comes with. Hammond's going to love this."
Swapping watch duties with Jonas, O'Neill encountered the next problem. Sleeping arrangements. Standing looking down at his makeshift bed he wondered exactly he was expected to deal with this particular scenario.
"Come on kid, time to get some sleep," O'Neill stripped off his gun and equipment, lying back on the army issue blanket. Jane lay down near by, not touching the blanket or the Colonel, her strange green eyes gazing adoringly, her expression calm, relaxed, almost content. When he looked closer he could see her shivering. Of course, those clothes didn't offer much protection against the cool night air, even with the addition of his jacket which he'd wrapped her in earlier in the evening. "You'd better come over here if you don't want to catch cold." O'Neill reached across and snagged a spare blanket from the pile of camping gear, Jane moved cautiously closer and he covered them both, tucking it tight around her. "Now sleep young lady. I better warn you, I snore."
In the dark O'Neill could have sworn he saw a brief grin before she buried her face in his chest and was asleep in moments. It took O'Neill longer, he hadn't shared his sleeping space in a long time and it felt weird. Eventually he drifted off, arm draped round his little sleeping partner.
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"You want to bring a native back with you?" O'Neill could tell from General Hammond's voice this was not going to be an easy sell.
"I realise it's against regulations sir," O'Neill tried to sound reasonable. "But she has no place to go. I feel responsible. If we hadn't found her when we did she'd most likely be dead right now, poor kid."
"Colonel…"
"Come on General, it's not as if she's the only alien we've ever brought back."
"I am aware of that thank you. There is nowhere on her own world you can leave her?"
"Nowhere. I'll take full responsibility for her sir, I don't seem to have much choice on that anyway. And I'm sure the Tok'Ra'll be able to find her some nice safe place to live if we can't."
"I'm not happy Colonel."
"Me either General."
"Very well, bring her on home."
"Thank you General." O'Neill turned to the rest of his team. "Let's go home people." Carter, Teal'c and Jonas stepped through the event horizon and vanished. Jane was rooted to the spot. First this ring of water, then a voice from inside the machine beside her, it was terrifying.
"It's okay kid, I've done this hundreds of times, it's a rush, you'll love it. Trust me." Jack fixed her hand in his, pulled her up the shallow steps to the stargate and through the event horizon, launching them on their journey toward earth.
"And we're home," he turned to Jane. "See, told you it was a piece of cake. Welcome to my world."
General Hammond waited at the bottom of the ramp. "This is the refugee?" he asked.
"Sure is. General Hammond meet Jane. I think she's adopted me."
"Welcome to Earth young lady." Hammond waited for her reply which, needless to say, was not forthcoming.
"Jane hasn't said a word in all the time we've known her sir. Which is just great far as I'm concerned. No smart questions, no sassy comments, no arguments."
"I get the picture Colonel. Take our guest to the infirmary and we'll debrief in one hour."
If the journey to and the gate room of the SGC had been terrifying, the hustle and bustle of the infirmary, the row of beds, monitors, bottles and instruments went beyond horror for Jane. She wound herself so tight round O'Neill he could hardly breathe.
"Listen," he said patiently. "I know Doc Frasier can be a little scary and I love having a needle stuck in my butt as much as the next man, but there really is nothing to be worried about. Here," he unwound her arms and lifted her onto the gurney, hopping up alongside and swinging his feet idly back and forth. With her protector alongside, within grabbing distance Jane once more began slowly, slowly to relax.
"Colonel O'Neill," the Doc approached. "And this must be our visitor… uh Jane." Her lips twitched as she said it and O'Neill knew Carter had shared the logic behind the naming with her. He made a mental note to get her back somewhere down the line, it might take forever but he'd find a way.
"I'm going to have a little look at you, okay? I'm not going to hurt you. The Colonel'll tell you I have to do this to everyone who comes through the gate."
"She does," he concurred. "It's one of the down sides to my job and one of the perks of hers."
"Thank you Colonel," Doctor Frasier frowned at him. Hm, well…" she poked and prodded Jane while one of the nurses dealt with O'Neill. "There, all done," she said with a smile. "That wasn't so bad was it? What you need now is a shower, fresh clothes and plenty of food. Sam."
"Janet?" Carter looked round the curtain.
"Could you take Jane to freshen up?"
"Sure," Carter smiled warmly. "Come on then Jane, let me introduce you to the ladies locker room and see if I can't find something to fit. I'm going to have to raid your locker Janet, you're more her size."
"Whatever you need."
Jane looked to Jack for guidance. "You need to go with Carter kid, it's a women only area. I'll see you in the commissary and we'll see how much we can eat without being sick. How does that sound?" O'Neill was rewarded with one of her rare smiles. "Go, shower, do girl things, have fun."
"Do our best sir. Come on Jane," Carter took the young woman's arm and led her away.
"She okay?" O'Neill asked Doctor Frasier the moment they were alone.
"She will be. Undernourished, neglected, signs of several recent beatings as well as old scars which indicate protracted abuse. She's not quite as young as she looks either, I think that has a lot to do with her physical treatment. At first glance I would have put her barely in her teens but I'd revise that up to 16 to 18. I'll have to wait for the blood works before I can give her the all clear."
"Understood. Can she talk?"
"Physically yes, there's nothing wrong with her vocal chords. Her silence is more psychological. Give her time, lots of patience, understanding and affection and I think she'll talk again."
"Thanks doc. Right, shower and then briefing. My favourite."
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"So," the General summed up, "The situation on P5X-423 was such that there was no alternative but to bring the native, um Jane, back with you."
"That's correct sir," replied Carter. "She was a runaway and if we'd left her she would undoubtedly have been executed. The Colonel had no choice sir."
"Thank you Major. The question now is, what are we going to do with her. I'm open to suggestions."
"Doc Frasier could take her home as a sister for Cassie," suggested O'Neill.
"I heard that Colonel," said Janet, joining the briefing. "And the simple answer is no. I have my hands more than full with one teenage girl, two and I may be forced to move out myself. For the time being I would prefer Jane to remain on base for observation. I'd feel happier if she would talk to us before we make any hard and fast decisions regarding her future. And there's still something…"
"Something?" Jonas queried.
"Let's just say I want to keep a close eye on Jane. One or two anomalies came to light in my examination of her. It'll take a few days for all the results to come through, but I'm sure there's something."
"Something as in Cassie and the bomb something?" asked Jack with alarm.
"No Colonel, there's no trace of naquada in her body."
"I'm curious," said Jonas. "I know that Cassandra, Jane, Teal'c and myself are not the only aliens who have chosen to make their homes on Earth. What happened to the others?"
Sam was the first to reply. "Well there was Charlie, the genetically engineered boy from the Reetou, he became a Tok'Ra. Then there was Nyan, he was Daniel's research assistant for a time before requesting the opportunity to study for a degree in archaeology and I believe at the moment he's on a dig in Egypt as part of his studies."
"And let's not forget Marty," added Jack.
"Martin Lloyd," said Teal'c. "He is still working on that television programme is he not?"
"He is," General Hammond told them. "We keep him monitored but he seems to be fairly stable."
"And Loran," continued Sam. "He was adopted by Sergeant Casey on the base staff here. He and his wife had two boys already and were more than happy for one more."
"So if Jane chooses to remain there is a good chance for her integration into the world," said Jonas. "That has to be good, right?"
"We'll see," hedged Sam. "That's a long way off just yet. We don't just let our visitors roam about unchecked."
"Well yes, I am aware of that," he replied.
"Sorry," she grinned briefly.
"Right," General Hammond wound up the discussion. "Unless there is any strong feeling to the contrary Jane will remain on the base until such time Doctor Frasier is completely happy with her health. Then we can look at long term plans for her. Agreed?"
All the heads round the table nodded their assent.
Jane could stay.
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"Colonel O'Neill, you got a minute?" one of the guards on night duty stuck his head round the office door.
O'Neill, grateful for any diversion from the ever present mountain of paperwork that was his desk, followed down the corridor to the guard station. There he found a second soldier monitoring the bank of pictures being transmitted from the base security cameras. "What's up guys?" he asked.
"It's that kid, Jane. Look."
O'Neill looked. On the screen he could see a clear picture of Jane huddled in a corner of her room, knees drawn up under her chin, rocking back and forth. She ought to be asleep.
"For cryin' out loud," O'Neill sighed. "Okay, I'll take it from here."
The soldier on duty outside Jane's door let O'Neill in without a word and he crossed the space to the huddled creature. "What's wrong kid?" Jane looked up at him, then buried her face in her hands. "Hey, don't cry crazy girl. You should be asleep, doctors orders remember, lots of food, lots of sleep." Jack reluctantly slid down the wall next to her, ignoring the strain on his knees. "There's s soft, warm bed just waiting for you, so why are you hiding in this corner? Here," he handed her an almost clean Kleenex from the depths of his fatigues pocket. "Now how about you go lie down and try to get some sleep. Tomorrow we'll do something fun. How does that sound?" Jane glanced up again, face puffy from crying. "Come on kid, bed." Jack hauled himself up and pulled her with. He turned back the covers and hustled her in. "Now get some sleep miss, or no fun stuff tomorrow." Jane wound her arms round his waist and held on. "Hey. Oh no," he said as she closed her eyes, snuggling against the warmth of his body. "Listen, there are guys watching us at this very moment and I have my reputation to think of." Jack brushed her hair back, noting it felt way nicer clean and twig free. "Okay here's the deal, I'll stay til you're asleep but that is it. Then you're on your own. And this is a one time only offer or my hard man credibility will be shot to hell." Jack made himself comfortable and Jane snuggled, much the same way she had on the planet.
Once he was sure his bed buddy was sound asleep Jack eased himself free and crept from the room. Passing the guard station he stopped long enough to check the monitor in her room and was relieved to see she hadn't moved.
"Nicely done sir," said the cockier of the two soldiers, managing to keep any hint of amusement from his voice.
"Thank you soldier. I have many hidden talents, some of which I would prefer stayed hidden. Wake me if she becomes distressed again."
"Will do Colonel."