Sole Survivor
by
Denise
Day 1
She barely recognized him when they rushed him into her infirmary. Taking one look at his mangled burned flesh she'd automatically reached for her stethoscope, mentally cataloguing the injuries for the 'cause of death' part of the death certificate. His chest was covered with serious burns. Staff weapon blasts she noted, almost as an afterthought. His fatigues were torn and the olive green material dark and stiff with blood. His hands were torn and bloody. It looked like he'd dragged himself for miles over rocky soil. A diagnosis that was confirmed as she listened for his heartbeat and saw the tiny rocks ground into his flesh.
"What happened?" she snapped, surprised to hear the unsteady beat. How the hell was he still alive?
"We don't know. We were sent in because they were overdue. We found him by the gate" Colonel Makepeace said, making an effort to stand back, clearly uneasy with the sight before him.
"Where are the rest?" Janet Fraiser demanded. If Teal'c was hurt this badly...
"We only found him. That and signs of a hell of a fight," the man reported as General Hammond strode into the room.
Janet took one look at his broad face and felt her heart sink. He would only be here if no one else was coming home. He never left the control room until the last man, or woman was on the ramp. Oh God, was Teal'c the sole survivor? The last one left alive? And alive was a relative term here. In this case it meant still breathing...and he was barely doing that.
"Doctor?"
"Sir. What's going on? Where's the rest of SG-1?"
"We think a Goa'uld got them. Your patient is the only person who might be able to tell us what happened." Janet looked at the battered body lying before her. A body she had to keep alive. She didn't just hold one life in her hands but four.
She ignored the interlopers into her domain and concentrated on her patient, barking orders in a tone that made the hardened Marine colonel blanch a bit and retreat from the room. She didn't notice his absence. Everything faded away as Teal'c became the focus of her existence.
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Janet sighed and pulled out Teal'c's chart. Compared to the rest of SG-1 his was relatively thin. It was going to get a lot thicker now. She picked up her pen and started the list. A veritable grocery list of what was wrong and how she would fix it.
Her eyes burned and she closed them for a second. In her mind's eye she could see every stone, every grain of sand she'd painstakingly picked out of his chest. My God, how had he stood the pain? How far had he dragged himself trying to get help? "Doctor?" she heard. She lifted her bleary gaze to see an equally drawn general standing in front of her desk.
"Sir," she said, struggling to her feet.
"Please," General Hammond replied, motioning for her to remain seated. She didn't argue. It was now 0112 and she'd been on duty since 0800 the previous day. "How is he doctor?"
"He's still alive sir but..."
"But?"
"General. I don't know HOW he's still alive. I would estimate he suffered at least two, possibly three staff weapon blasts. Now they weren't at close range or he wouldn't HAVE a chest, but they were close enough. He's got third degree burns over 25 of his body. Several hours passed between when he was injured and when he was found. He's dangerously dehydrated. I've got two IVs in and I can barely keep up with the fluid loss. His burns were horribly contaminated with debris so an infection is a sure bet."
"Surely his symbiote..."
Janet shook her head. "Not this time. The symbiote has also been injured. I'm thinking someone wanted to make sure the 'sholva' died. It looks like someone...well if I had to guess I'd say someone pulled Junior out and stomped on it. I found dirt in the pouch. I..." Janet paused and scrubbed her hands over her face, overwhelmed by the cruelty.
"Will he live?"
"I...I honestly don't know sir. Normally the symbiote is protected and can heal the Jaffa but this time...Teal'c once told me the symbiote will heal itself first, then the Jaffa."
"That doesn't seem to make sense. If the Jaffa dies, the Goa'uld he carries dies also."
"But as far as the Goa'uld are concerned, Jaffa are expendable. I mean all you have to do is have a device like Hathor used on Colonel O'Neill and you can MAKE a Jaffa from anyone. If a Jaffa is too severely injured you just grab a slave, give him a pouch and move the symbiote into a new home," she said, more than a little disgusted by how little the Goa'uld valued life.
Hammond nodded. "So. Will he live?" he asked again.
"I...I think if I can keep him alive until Junior heals himself he stands a chance. It's a slim chance..."
"But it's all we have," Hammond finished. "I hope you're right doctor," he said, getting to his feet. "We're searching the planet but still haven't found anything conclusive. If he can't tell us what happened to SG-1, all we can hope for is if they can escape from wherever they are and find a friendly planet. Assuming they're still alive," he finished. He left the room, a tiredness in his step that she knew had less to do with the hour and more to do with the missing personnel.
They both knew the stakes. The SGC and especially SG-1 had made plenty of enemies over the past two years. And she just had to glance at Jack's medical records from the nineties to get an idea of what they could be going through right now. Only this would be worse. Thanks to the sarcophagus the Goa'uld could torture them to death over and over and over again.
That's what she should do. See if they could find a sarcophagus. That would keep him alive. She laid her head on her desk and closed her eyes, exhaustion drawing her into a dreamland of magical golden boxes.
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Day 5
Janet carefully laid the sterile dressing over the gaping wound and checked the IV. He was still losing too much fluid. She was pumping him so full of blood transfusions and plasma she feared she was doing more harm than good. A human, or Jaffa's, circulatory system was such a delicate balance of blood, electrolytes and so much more, maintaining it was like building a house of cards in a tornado.
With no skin covering them, the large burns were vulnerable. Bodily fluids seeped out and evaporated, causing the wound to dry and crack, exposing more area to the air. With no skin as a barrier, the tiniest speck of dust could turn into a raging infection in mere hours. An infection he had virtually no immune system to fight with.
He was already running a fever, which threatened his fluid balance even more. She was giving him mega doses of anti-biotics, which stressed his liver as the fluid stressed his kidneys.
If she gave him too much fluid, his lungs would fill up and pneumonia would cause him to drown in his own body. If she gave him too little fluid, the naturally occurring poisonous waste products in his blood would build up, pushing him into coma and death.
She took another reading. Good, not too much different from the last one. He was still critical, still teetering between this world and the next, but he was still here, still alive. And that's what mattered.
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Day 8
"Hi Teal'c. How are you today? I know. Not feeling so hot huh? I just talked to the general; he's going to get a dialysis machine sent over from the academy hospital. Normally we'd send you there but...well you're special. You know that. Now don't worry. Your kidneys aren't failing...yet. But they are showing signs of stress so we're going to do some dialysis and try to give them a bit of a break. It won't hurt...much anyway. It's sorta like having an IV in.
Did I tell you Cassie is staying with General Hammond's daughter? She loves playing with Kayla and Tessa. It gives her a chance to be a big sister. Of course it also makes her ask about getting her a little brother or sister of her own. Then again, she is 13. I guess I was overdue for the old 'birds and the bees' talk. Did you miss that? Telling Ry'ac about the mysteries of reproduction. Is he old enough for that? Do you guys just tell him or is there some Jaffa coming of age ceremony? Inquiring minds want to know after all.
So you've got to hang in there. I think Junior's healing itself so you just need to hang on, keep breathing until he can help you. That's what I want you to do. Keep breathing until your little buddy can get back on the job. You hear me Teal'c? You keep breathing because if you die on me I'll never speak to you again!"
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Day 9
"I don't want to wake her. This is the first sleep she's had in days."
"You know her orders. We wake her if there's any change. Dr. Fraiser?"
Janet felt a hand shake her shoulder. Wha…no let me sleep. "Doctor?" Nurse Clarke…do you want to be on bedpan patrol for the next month? Go away. "Doctor…Janet…It's Teal'c."
Those words popped her bloodshot brown eyes open. "What is it?" she mumbled, pushing herself up and swinging her feet over the edge of the infirmary bed she'd been sleeping on.
"Ma'am, he's spiked a fever…103 and rising," Nurse Clarke reported.
"Damn it." Janet hopped to her feet and crossed the few feet between her bed and Teal'c's. With an impatient sigh she jerked the thermometer from the nurse and checked his temperature herself. Unfortunately the reading didn't change. She laid a hand on his forehead and felt her heart sink. It was so hot. Too hot. His skin was dry to the touch. Damn it she'd kept the infection at bay for over a week…why now? "I need alcohol. We'll cool him down."
"Ma'am, we tried that…It didn't work."
"What? How long has he been like this?" Janet snapped.
"Just under an hour."
"I told you to wake me at once!"
"With all due respect ma'am, we woke you as soon as we knew the alcohol wasn't working. His temperature has been yo-yoing for the last five days."
Janet sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry. Ummm…OK. The alcohol isn't working. We need to immerse him."
"But doctor, his burns. It'll just exacerbate the infection."
"Not if we use sterile water. I need every bag of IV solution we have. Get on the horn to the Academy hospital, see if they have some sterile ice," Janet ordered.
Day 10
Janet wrung out the cloth and bathed Teal'c's face. She shivered as they icy coldness of the water chilled her hands. She was freezing and only her hands were wet. How could he still be so hot?
At least he wasn't convulsing now like he had been yesterday during the heights of the fever. They had succeeded in bringing down his temperature a bit but it was still dangerously high. So high she was now worried he might have brain damage. If a patient was too hot for too long, the brain literally cooked in the skull. And there was that ominous rattle in his chest that had begun during the night. He was developing pneumonia. Yet another infection for the antibiotics to work on. Or more accurately, not to work on. In the past couple of days she'd started dosing him on as many different kinds as she could think of, trying to find something that would work. But she was stymied by having to work with his unique blood chemistry. It was as if his body was fighting to die.
"Damn you Teal'c. It was hard enough telling Cassie that Sam and the rest are missing, don't you DARE make me tell her you're dead. You're their last hope. We've searched every square inch of that planet. Even the Tok'ra have no idea where they are. Hell, the general's even contemplated trying to get a hold of the Asgard, as if they'd give a damn. It's been over a week. We need to find them, and to do that we need you. I need you to fight. Do you hear me? FIGHT! You keep fighting of I'll knock you into next week!"
Day 11
Dr. Warner glanced up from his chart and mentally shook his head as he saw Janet slip into the ICU. Losing a patient…any patient was hard. But this one, she was making this one personal. He knew she was tenacious, that's why he'd requested her for this post, but she was crossing the line into obsession.
"Hi Teal'c," she said, expertly checking the readings on the machines. They'd had to put a new IV in overnight. She saw he'd received another round of dialysis. What had started as a preventative measure was now necessary. Necessary too was the respirator that kept him breathing.
His fever had finally broke, but not before driving him into another round of seizures. Seizures that caused a full cardiac and respiratory arrest.
They'd brought him back, but he was alive only because the pacemaker and respirator kept him alive. They'd run an EEG, but the results of the brain scan were inconclusive and they didn't even know if it was Teal'c lying in that bed, or the fragile shell of a once great warrior.
"Looks like you sorta had a bad day yesterday huh?" she said as she gently picked up his slack hand. His skin was a bit cooler. "Well, you know what that means…you can only get better. They're counting on you. We're all counting on you. It's been almost two weeks Teal'c. General Hammond's officially listed them MIA and called off the search. The last team just got back. So you know what that means? It means you're it. You're their only chance now. That's why you have to hang on. You have to get better and wake up. You hear me? Wake up."
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Day 14
"Dr. Fraiser?" Janet looked up to see General Hammond walk into the infirmary.
"Sir?"
"How is he?"
"He's…much the same sir," she admitted, looking across the room at the still figure in the bed, barely visible through the myriad of machines, tubes and wires.
"Dr. Warner says he's in a coma," Hammond said, a bit of accusation in his voice. Coma was a term she'd avoided using.
"Yes sir. But I think it's more of a healing state."
"There are those that would call that diagnosis a bit optimistic. They say he'll never come off the respirator. That there might be nothing of Teal'c left in that body."
Janet sighed. "Yes sir. I know it's a possibility. But it's far too soon to just give up on him."
"I'm not suggesting that doctor, however…You know Teal'c. Would he wish us to keep his body alive if there is no spirit within it?"
"Sir…"
"Just think about it doctor. I don't want him to die either but we owe it to him to insure he is treated with dignity and respect."
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Day 16
"Doctor!" Janet looked up from the ham sandwich she was trying to eat to see Nurse Clarke come running into the infirmary.
What was going on? She hadn't heard the klaxons go off. No one was returning so…where did the emergency come from?
"Nancy what?"
"You need to come now!" she exclaimed, fairly pulling Janet from her chair.
"What the hell is going on? Weren't you the one who just forced me to come here and eat and now you're dragging me back?"
"Doctor. Somehow Colonel Maybourne found out about Teal'c. He's at the front gate right now. And you know what he wants. He's going to take Teal'c back to Area 51 and you know what'll happen to him there."
"Oh crap. We need to get the general," Janet agreed, abandoning her lunch and hurrying from the commissary.
"He's behind the 'delay' with the colonel's clearance at the surface. You've got about ten minutes to find a very good reason why Teal'c can't be moved," Nancy said as they dashed up the stairs to the infirmary.
"I'm sure it was an oversight general. After all the last time an injury report was delayed was when Captain Carter was infested with a Goa'uld." Janet heard Colonel Harry Maybourne say slyly as the two men entered the ICU.
"Colonel, I shuffle about a ream of paper across my desk every day…in triplicate. And once those reports leave this facility, they're out of my hands. Perhaps you should check out your system at Nellis. I hear you've been 'losing' things out there since '47," Hammond shot back, not an ounce of apology in his voice. Then again he was a general. He didn't have to apologize to a mere colonel. Especially this one.
"Yes sir. I'll look into that. But first we need to take care of Teal'c," Harry said as they walked around the curtain and stopped at Teal'c's bedside.
"And how exactly are you going to do that colonel?" Janet asked, shoving the last bit of tape that had been securing the endotrachial tube under the pillow and pulling Nancy's stethoscope from around the woman's neck. She just remembered she'd left hers on the commissary table.
"I'm here to transfer Teal'c to Area 51."
"You can't transfer him."
"Dr. Fraiser, this is an infirmary not a hospital. You're not equipped to care for a chronic patient. I have all the best equipment and the most experienced personnel waiting back in Nevada. There is an ambulance at the surface and a plane idling on the tarmac."
"I'm afraid you can't do that sir."
"Why not? The Jaffa is in a coma with multiple organ failure pending. He's beyond your care."
"Teal'c is NOT beyond our care. He's coming out of the coma. He started breathing on his own this morning and his kidney function is rebounding. I estimate that he's well on his way to recovery and will be awake and alert and complaining about the food in a few days," she said, hoping he didn't notice the crossed fingers she was hiding below the bed. "I'm sure you don't want to risk exacerbating his condition, after all he IS our best source of intelligence on the Goa'uld," she finished, uncrossing her fingers and crossing her arms over her chest. Those unfortunate enough to spend time in her infirmary knew that look. Even the Marines knew that when she crossed her arms like that it would take a howitzer to get her to move.
"That's quite a miraculous recovery Doctor. All my information has Teal'c in critical condition," Harry countered, not willing to just give up. Then again, neither was she.
"Colonel, when you've dealt with as many symbiotes as I have, you see a lot of miracles," she retorted, a condescending note in her voice.
"Well, as you can see, Dr. Fraiser has things well in hand," General Hammond said, finally glad to say something.
"Yes sir. Thank you for your offer, but we are doing just fine. I'm sorry you went to so much trouble," Janet said, her voice honey sweet.
"Yes, perhaps if you'd called ahead we could have saved you the trip Colonel," the general said, emphasizing the rank and making it clear Harry's welcome was swiftly running out.
"Of course General," Maybourne agreed, clearly knowing when he was beat. He turned to Janet. "Until next time doctor." The woman acknowledged him, barely reigning in her frustration as General Hammond led the predatory NID officer out of the ICU.
"OK," She said the second she was sure they were out of ear shot. "Let's see what damage has been done."
General Hammond fought to keep a civil look on his face. It wasn't easy when what he really wanted to do was wrap his hands around Maybourne's throat and wring his weasley neck. The next thing he wanted was to root out whoever his snitch was. Damn it! If they couldn't trust one of their own…who could they trust?
He watched a rather dejected Maybourne get into his unnecessary ambulance and waited until the vehicle cleared the perimeter. He commended the guards who had recognized the threat and bought them enough time to sidetrack Maybourne.
He quickly made his way down to the infirmary, half afraid of what he'd find.
"Doctor?"
"Sir," Janet replied.
"How is he?" He didn't like the look on her face.
"Sir he's…" Janet sighed and rubbed her forehead. "It's all up to him now general. He's breathing on his own. I've just got him on a bit of oxygen for peace of mind. I've removed everything but basic life support. I…There's nothing else I can do. If I put him back on the respirator there's a chance he may never come off it. And...Sir I'll let him die before I let Maybourne get his hands on him," she swore with all the fierceness of a mother protecting her child.
"I agree doctor but..."
"Sir. What if our guesses were right? What if Junior's not healing Teal'c because he's holding out for a new Jaffa? Let's call its bluff. Let's make it so Junior either has to get back on the job or it'll die too."
"Do you honestly think that will work?"
"General, if things keep going as they are, he's going to die regardless. What have we got to lose?"
George sighed and looked from the woman in front of him to the man lying motionless on the bed. "Very well Doctor. I hope you're right."
Janet watched him leave the room. she leaned over her patient, her face just inches from his stomach. "You hear me in there Junior? There's no second chance. There's no new Jaffa waiting out here for you. You can either get off you your snaky little ass and heal this man or you're both going to die. Do you hear me? I'll call Maybourne back here personally and turn you over. Or maybe I'll yank you out of there and call the Tok'ra. Feel like spending a few centuries being tortured by them? You parasitic little SOB. Get off your ass and heal this man or I'll make you regret the day you were spawned."
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Day 17
"Why didn't you use a ladder?" Janet asked Sgt. Siler as she wrapped his sprained thumb.
"I was changing one 50 watt light bulb not rewiring the gate. The step ladder was on another level and it would have taken me longer to go get it then to just jump up on the chair and get the job done," he explained, grimacing a bit as the abused tendons let him know exactly how much they didn't like what he'd done to them.
Janet smiled at the faint flush that crept up the man's face. She knew more than his thumb had been injured in his little mishap. Something very important to the male of the species. His pride. "Keep it wrapped and use alternating heat and cold until the swelling goes down. In the long run you're going to wish you'd simply broken it. I sprained my thumb back in med. school and it still hurts sometimes," she instructed, handing the man a small packet of painkillers. "Next time, I'd go for the ladder if I..."
"Dr. Fraiser to ICU STAT!" she heard over the PA. Oh God. There was only one patient in the ICU right now. She hurried from the room, Sgt. Siler and his thumb forgotten.
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Janet dashed into the ICU, cursing the heels that forced her to take mincing steps. She really needed to talk to the General. High heels and emergencies just didn't go well together.
Her heart stopped as she saw Nurse Clarke and Nurse Morrison leaning over Teal'c. No. Not now. He'd held on so long. He couldn't be slipping away from her now. They weren't working on him. They weren't supposed to. She'd signed the 'do not resuscitate' order herself. Both she and the general had agreed, if he started to slip away they were going to let him go. But he wasn't supposed to. Damn it! He was supposed to wake up.
She paused a second to compose herself. "Doctor," Nurse Morrison said, seeing her. "You have got to see this," she exclaimed. It didn't sound like anything was wrong.
"What?"
"Look," Betty said, gently lifting the large bandages covering the burns. Was it...was it just her imagination or were they a bit smaller, a bit less severe, a bit...healed? Janet met her companion's gazes, seeking confirmation.
"They're..."
"They're healing doctor. His pulse is stronger, as is his respiration. I think...I think he's going to be all right," Nurse Clarke proclaimed, a broad smile splitting her face.
Janet looked back down at her now recovering patient and felt a laugh bubbling up. She smiled for the first time in weeks. "Teal'c, you stubborn son of a bitch."
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Day 21
"Doctor?" Janet looked up to see General Hammond walk into the ICU. Right on time. Ever since she'd reported Teal'c's recovery he'd made it a point to come down and visit him every few hours. It was as if he didn't want to miss it when the Jaffa finally woke up.
"Sir," she said as she left Teal'c's side to speak with the man.
"How is he?"
"Physically sir, he's almost fully recovered. There's bound to be some muscle weakness from the prolonged inactivity but nothing a few good meals and some light physical therapy won't cure," she reported.
"He's still unconscious," he said, stating the obvious.
"Yes sir," she hedged.
"Doctor, I'm glad he's healing but I need to know...will he wake up?"
"Yes sir. He WILL wake up. I just don't know when."
"Doctor, I can't keep the NID away forever. It's just a matter of time before they find out his recovery wasn't quite as miraculous as we led them to believe."
"General. A week ago you were ready to call the undertaker...and so was I. But now...sir, we just need to give him some time. Had he been human he'd be facing a recovery time of months, perhaps years."
"If he were human I wouldn't have Maybourne frothing at the mouth to get a hold of him," Hammond countered.
"Sir I..." Janet paused as her eyes caught a small movement. "Teal'c?" she said, stepping towards her patient.
His eyes popped open, startling her. "It's OK. It's OK. You're in the SGC Teal'c," she reassured him.
"Good to have you back Teal'c," Hammond said, his eyes meeting Janet's in a moment of dreaded celebration. Against all the odds, he was alive and awake. Now all they had to do was tell him his three best friends were missing and possibly in the hands of a Goa'uld.
"General Hammond," Teal'c said weakly, surprising the watchful pair as he abruptly sat up.
"Easy. Easy," Janet reassured.
"Where are the rest of SG-1?"
"Good question. We were hoping you could tell us."
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Janet and General Hammond watched Teal'c struggle into his clothes. Both of them had tried to get the Jaffa to rest and re-build his strength, but both knew they would have an easier time running from a black hole than stopping the warrior.
"When you didn't return we sent SG teams three and seven after you. We found you right next to the stargate. There was no trace of Colonel O'Neill, Captain Carter or Dr. Jackson. We assume they were captured," Hammond said gently knowing the warrior would prefer the unvarnished truth.
"You have no memory of this Teal'c?" Janet asked.
"I do. It was a mixture of Horus and Serpent guards. A very unusual combination," Teal'c recalled quietly, lost in his memories, still trying to grasp what he'd been told.
"Serving what Goa'uld?"
"That I do not know. General Hammond, I will return to the planet immediately to search for the answers."
"Can't let you do that Teal'c."
"General Hammond. I will not remain idle while my friends may be in danger on this planet."
"Teal'c. You've been unconscious for three weeks."
"That is not possible. My symbiote would have awakened me long before the period of three weeks."
"You were barely alive Teal'c. You had substantial internal injury," Janet said, trying to calm him.
"Dr. Fraiser spent most of the three weeks at your side. I'm convinced it was her refusal to give up that kept you alive," Hammond said, his voice full of admiration. At least they had one of them back. Not the outcome they'd wished for, but where there was one of SG-1, there was hope for the rest.
"I am in your debt Dr. Fraiser. General Hammond, permit me to return to the planet to search out my friends. If their bodies were not found by my side, then they are prisoners," he stated. She wished she had his faith in their being alive.
"If they're prisoners, then they're long gone from that planet. We sent out UAVs, balloons, our best rescue teams. Found nothing but scorched earth. There was no trace of them. They could have been moved to any Goa'uld stronghold. You'd be searching for a needle in a very large haystack."
"Perhaps, but I must try."
"Teal'c, I understand your desire to do something, anything for SG-1. I feel the same way but I can not expend any more resources on this. I'm sorry. Request denied," he stated in a pain filled voice. Janet could see the look on the aged general's face. Giving up on them was like giving up on a member of his family.
"If the people of the Tau'ri have given up hope on SG-1, then it is with great regret that I must leave this world and return to my people," Teal'c stated, his voice calm, his jaw set firmly, but his eyes full of pain.
"You mean you want to leave the SGC?"
"That is correct."
"I can't let you do that Teal'c. I won't let you do it."
"General Hammond. I hearby respectfully inform you that I must take my leave of the SGC. Therefore I am no longer under your command," he declared, pulling off the jacket he'd just put on and letting it drop to the floor, discarded as he felt the Tau'ri had discarded SG-1.
"I can't allow you to do that. You represent too great a security risk," Hammond protested weakly.
"General Hammond. I would die before divulging information that would endanger this world," Teal'c stated quietly, seeing the grudging acceptance in the man's eyes. "I believe you know that."
"Yes I do," Hammond agreed.
"I will depart in one hour," Teal'c' declared, leaving the room. Janet looked at Hammond, both acknowledging what they'd just lost.
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"Doctor Fraiser." Janet looked up from he chart she was pretending to focus on to see its owner standing in the doorway. She felt her heart sink as she took in the robes he was wearing. It was really happening. He was leaving. Normally the best part about being a doctor was seeing her patients leave under their own power, healed and whole.
But not this time. This time it was bittersweet.
"Teal'c. You're leaving," she stated the obvious.
"I cannot abandon my friends. If General Hammond cannot continue the search, I will."
"Where will you go?"
"I shall begin on Chulak. There are Jaffa there who feel as I do. Tek'mate Bra'tac may also have information about SG-1. I am on my way to the embarkation room. However I wished to again covey my gratitude for saving my life. I am in your debt," he stated.
"Teal'c I..."
"Among Jaffa it is traditional for the debtor to gift the savior. I regret that my possessions are few." Teal'c withdrew a large golden candle and a tiny bundle of wild flowers she guessed he'd ventured to the surface and picked. She recognized the candle as one he used during Kel no reem. "I wish you to have this. It is an insignificant token but know that if there is ever a time when you require my assistance, I will do what ever I am capable of," he vowed.
Janet carefully accepted the candle and the flowers. "They're beautiful Teal'c. I can't remember the last time someone gave me flowers. Tell you what. You find our friends and bring them home...and we'll be even," she countered, fighting to keep her voice even.
"I give you my word Doctor Fraiser. I will return to Earth in the company of SG-1 or not at all," he promised.
Janet stepped forward and impulsively gave the large man a hug. "Good luck," she whispered. He released her, nodded and left the room.
She sat back down, carefully arranging the flowers in a glass of water left over from her lunch. Oddly, her heart felt lighter than it had in weeks. It would be all right. If anyone could find SG-1 in the incomprehensible vastness of the universe, it was Teal'c.
She dashed a couple of tears from her eyes and sniffed a bit. Darn allergies, she lied to herself as she picked up her pen and went back to work.
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Day 23
"Doctor Fraiser." Janet looked up to see Teal'c standing in the doorway to her office. Deja Vu all over again. But this time he was dressed in his fatigues. Personally she thought they looked far better on him than those robes.
He was back. They all were back. Despite the odds, SG-1 had managed to pull it out of the fire yet again. The price had been high. The celebration of their survival tempered by the return of all the fallen soldiers. The joy and relief in the general's eyes warring with the sorrow and grief at the sight of the dead. But this was war. And in war you mourned the dead but celebrated the living.
"Teal'c. I would have thought you'd be with your team. You guys do have a couple of weeks off you know," she teased.
"I am going to Colonel O'Neill's house presently. However I wished to give this to you first," he said, pulling out an item from the pocket of his SG-1 jacket. Janet accepted the small object wrapped in a bit of heavily embroidered cloth. She carefully unfolded the cloth to reveal a small alabaster vase covered with delicate, intricate carvings. How had he gotten this away from Daniel? She looked up to the Jaffa, a puzzled look on her face. "I discovered this item when we were securing the planet. From the opulence of the chamber I believe it may have belonged to Hathor. It has been declared clear of any contamination and I thought you would wish to possess it. I do believe you too had reason to dislike her," he said, referring not only to recent events but the gun shot wound she'd suffered when Hathor had tried to take over the SGC.
"I...it's beautiful Teal'c...and it would look sorta nice on my desk," she said, smiling broadly, enjoying the fact that the evil witch was dead. And about time too.
Teal'c nodded and left the room, leaving a bemused doctor in his wake.
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Day 28
The infirmary was dim, just a few nightlights over the beds creating pools of illumination in the subterranean darkness of the SGC. The duty nurse had just stepped out in search of a fresh cup of coffee to sustain her through the last few hours of the night and none of the dozing patients noticed the dark figure stealthily making his way across the room. He paused, his hand on the door knob to Janet Fraiser's office as Sgt. Keller shifted in her bed. Seeing the woman settle back into sleep, he opened the door and stepped inside.
A couple of minutes later he left the infirmary, rounding the corner in the hallway as the nurse walked back in, cradling the steaming mug, having no idea that she'd just missed an intruder.
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Janet walked into her office and sat at her desk. She dropped her purse into the desk drawer and carefully removed the lid from her coffee. As she took a sip, her eyes settled on a small nose gay of wild flowers in the alabaster vase. She sat her coffee aside and picked up the vase, a drop of dew falling from the petals and landing on her hand. She smelled the blossoms and smiled in pleasure as the sweet aroma filled her nostrils.
"Dr. Fraiser," Nancy said, popping her head around the corner and noting the smile on the brunette's face as she buried her nose in the flowers. Fourth time this week. Looked like the doc had a secret admirer. "Ma'am, SG-8 is coming back. They think Capt. Harrison got a hold of a bad MRE."
With a small sigh Janet put the vase down and quaffed a quick sip of her coffee. Looked like she was going to need it today. She stood up, slipping on her lab coat and hanging her stethoscope around her neck. "Well, let's get to work," she told her nurse as she went to greet the incoming personnel.
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