"It's some kind of pheromone," Janet declared impressively.
Jack stared. "Come again?"
"It doesn't matter what it is, Colonel," cut in Sam hastily. "All that matters is Janet wants all the men on base checked out."
"It may have some adverse after effects," explained the doctor.
Jack looked indignant. "It may have 'adverse after effects?'" he said. "What, besides making everyone with a Y chromosome…"
"Loopy?" supplied Sam before he could finish.
Jack glared at his second in command. "I was going to say 'incapacitated,' Captain," he said witheringly.
Knowing how much her friend secretly enjoyed antagonising her commanding officer, Janet stopped the conversation before it went any further. "Colonel, could you ensure that all male personnel apart from Teal'C report to me by eighteen hundred hours please?"
Grumbling, Jack consented. He left the infirmary, still muttering under his breath.
When he had gone, Janet turned to Sam, all amusement gone from her face. "Sam," she said abruptly, "I'm worried."
1.1 Some time later
"Colonel O'Neill!" Janet called after him down the hallway.
Jack turned. He dearly hoped that this wasn't anyone else asking him to arrange something. When he saw who it was, he breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't ask him to arrange anything else, because he'd already done what she had asked him in the morning. Or had he? The SGC doctor looked a little irritated, and Jack always thought it best not to irritate the person on the other side of the needle.
"I'm here, doc."
Janet glanced at him. "Good. Everyone has reported to me…"
"That's good."
She glared at him. "I was about to say, everyone except Daniel."
"Daniel?" Jack repeated. "That's odd."
It was odd. Daniel was the only one of them who didn't have an ingrained aversion to the doctor and all her works. It was something to do with the fact he'd spent so much of his life on digs, far away from doctors or medical aid of any kind. Jack guessed it was an 'if you don't know what you've got' kind of thing.
"So I want you to find him, make sure he comes here." And before Jack could say anything, she added, "You're his commanding officer. Find him!"
Daniel drew his legs up under his body, wrapping his arms around himself. In the quiet of the room, he rocked back and forth, back and forth, silently, keeping his eyes down, trying helplessly to block out the voices in his head.
"Daniel!"
The archaeologist turned. He saw Jack standing in the doorway, but didn't say a word. Jack stared back, obviously surprised.
"Daniel?"
Still Daniel didn't reply, didn't even look at SG-1's team leader. Even more surprised, Jack moved forwards and tapped his friend on the shoulder. He wasn't remotely prepared for what happened next.
"Don't… touch… me!" Daniel hissed, turning on Jack like a frightened wild animal, his blue eyes burning with a feverish light.
"Jesus, Danny…" Jack drew back in alarm, staring at Daniel in frank bewilderment. "What's got into you?"
"Nothing! Leave me alone!"
Jack didn't reply to that. He stood up and walked to the door, taking another look at Daniel as he went. The archaeologist had resumed rocking back and forth, his eyes and body language screaming don't touch, don't touch.
Jack paused for an instant, and then left. He had a sudden, sickening feeling that he wasn't cut out for this. Walking as fast as he could without running, he returned to the infirmary. "Doc!"
"What is it, Colonel?" Janet asked. From behind her, Sam appeared, and she looked at her commanding officer, surprised at his sudden entrance.
"What's up with Daniel?"
Janet looked thoughtful. She had never, in all the time she'd known him, seen Jack O'Neill hesitate before.
"I think you know that already, Colonel," she said calmly.
"I thought…" Jack stopped. She was right; he hadn't wanted to admit to himself what he already knew. "Why didn't you tell me before?" he said in frustration. "And for crying out loud, why didn't you do something about it?"
"We tried," said Sam wearily. "He's shutting us out. And with all due respect, sir, you had enough problems of your own."
"Oh, this is just peachy!" Jack exploded. "Daniel… and Hathor…"
Jack's voice faded away. He turned on his heel and left the infirmary, giving Janet and Sam no difficulty in guessing where he was going.
Daniel shivered slightly. He was cold. More than that, he was numb. His fingernails were digging into his palms, but he couldn't feel them. He couldn't feel anything. Detachedly, he watched as his nails drew blood. He was surprised to see there was still enough life left to make the blood flow in his veins. But he didn't care, just as he didn't feel anything.
Except one thing. He could still feel her soft touch on his skin, could still feel how she had run her fingers through his long soft hair, could still feel her breath on his face. He could still hear her voice. Her soft, seductive voice, laced with honey and shot through with evil.
"Come to us, our beloved…"
Daniel's memories were vague, frustratingly vague, but enough of them remained to haunt his dreams, to torture him, to frighten him and to repulse him.
"Daniel."
It was Jack again, standing there, watching him. Daniel dug his nails in harder, and willed Jack to just go away, leave him here, leave him alone…
He was still there. And it looked like he wouldn't go away.
Jack was coming over now, seating himself beside Daniel. He was just sitting there, almost as if he were waiting for him to say something.
Well, what do you want me to say? Daniel thought angrily. What could I possibly say after… after this?
"Daniel," Jack said again. He wondered if his friend were even listening. By the looks of it, Daniel had withdrawn as far as he could go, and he wasn't coming back any time soon.
"Talk to me here, Danny!" Jack exclaimed. "Come on, say something!"
Daniel gazed at him mutely. Go away, go away, go away…
"Look here, Daniel," said Jack seriously after a pause. "I know what happened to you."
Something inside Daniel's tortured mind seemed to snap, and he lifted his head sharply. "No, you don't! You don't have any idea what happened!"
"Look, I realise…"
"What do you realise, Jack? That your civilian cracked? That because of me, Earth could have been swarming with baby Goa'ulds?"
"Daniel, this was not your fault," Jack insisted, moving to touch Daniel, but drawing back as he saw the archaeologist flinch. "This was not your fault!"
"She would have used my DNA, Jack! She would have used it to infest Earth with Goa'ulds!"
Jack's eyes suddenly hardened. He didn't mean to say the harsh words, but they sprang unbidden to his lips. "That's exactly it! She used you, Daniel. She drugged you, seduced you, raped you and left you!"
He felt a stab of remorse as he saw his friend draw back, hurt and fearful. "Rape…" Daniel whispered.
"That's what this was," Jack said, softly now. "It wasn't your fault. You were drugged and then you were raped."
Daniel glanced up at Jack in mute appeal. "I can still feel her, Jack," he whispered. "I can feel her… in my skin… in my mouth…"
"Hush, Danny… don't think about it," Jack said softly.
But it seemed now he had begun thinking about it, Daniel couldn't stop himself. "She did what she wanted with me, Jack… I couldn't resist her…"
"None of us could!" Jack said, trying to stop Daniel from going on with this train of thought. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear whatever was coming next.
The archaeologist was silent. After a pause, he said, "She treated me like a… possession. Like a toy… to play with… to use."
"Daniel," Jack began, "She's a Goa'uld… they always take what they want no matter what they have to do to get it! It's what makes them Goa'uld!"
Daniel looked up at his friend, and Jack continued, "She wanted you, so she took you."
Daniel was silent so long Jack wondered if his young friend was falling asleep; he dearly hoped so. He doubted Daniel had slept at all since Hathor's departure. But Daniel was still awake, painfully so. "Jack," he said suddenly.
"Yeah, Danny?"
"Who knows about this?"
"Only you, me, Sam and the doc. But Daniel…"
"Yeah?"
"The general has to know. He's got a right to know if one of his personnel is…"
Say it, Daniel thought. Say it… I was duped… raped… The voices inside Daniel's head were making him flinch and recoil, but Jack finished his statement gently. "Hurt," he said softly.
Daniel shuddered, dropping his head so his hair fell in his eyes, making him look younger than he really was. Jack tried to hold himself back as he listened to Daniel cry softly, and then he couldn't bear it any longer. He reached out and drew Daniel into his arms. He felt Daniel tense and flinch at the touch, and swore silently to himself. Hathor, wherever the bitch was now, was going to pay.
Daniel withdrew from Jack's hold on him, reverting to his previous attitude, rocking back and forth, and keeping everything and everyone away. Body and mind violated, he couldn't take the touch, too far gone to take basic human contact any more.
As Jack left the room, he looked back at his bright, talkative, passionate friend, rocking numbly back and forth, still reeling with shock. Hathor was going to pay. Wherever she was now, she was going to suffer for this.
Daniel hardly noticed Jack leaving. The mesmerising voice was still lingering in his head, still haunting him, still ringing through his dreams.
"Come to us, our beloved…"
The technicians and cleaners of the SGC were used to cleaning up all kinds of mess. They could cope with alien blood and guts, with chemical spills, with the mud of a thousand different worlds. In part one of the cleanup operation, the specialists moved in to safely remove the mess that was the burnt and mangled remains of the sarcophagus. It was left to the more lowly among them to clean up the mere domestic waste.
They dealt quickly with the VIP room. It didn't even require fumigation. All it needed was the removal and replacement of some rather dishevelled, bloodstained bedding.
*fin*
Jack stared. "Come again?"
"It doesn't matter what it is, Colonel," cut in Sam hastily. "All that matters is Janet wants all the men on base checked out."
"It may have some adverse after effects," explained the doctor.
Jack looked indignant. "It may have 'adverse after effects?'" he said. "What, besides making everyone with a Y chromosome…"
"Loopy?" supplied Sam before he could finish.
Jack glared at his second in command. "I was going to say 'incapacitated,' Captain," he said witheringly.
Knowing how much her friend secretly enjoyed antagonising her commanding officer, Janet stopped the conversation before it went any further. "Colonel, could you ensure that all male personnel apart from Teal'C report to me by eighteen hundred hours please?"
Grumbling, Jack consented. He left the infirmary, still muttering under his breath.
When he had gone, Janet turned to Sam, all amusement gone from her face. "Sam," she said abruptly, "I'm worried."
1.1 Some time later
"Colonel O'Neill!" Janet called after him down the hallway.
Jack turned. He dearly hoped that this wasn't anyone else asking him to arrange something. When he saw who it was, he breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't ask him to arrange anything else, because he'd already done what she had asked him in the morning. Or had he? The SGC doctor looked a little irritated, and Jack always thought it best not to irritate the person on the other side of the needle.
"I'm here, doc."
Janet glanced at him. "Good. Everyone has reported to me…"
"That's good."
She glared at him. "I was about to say, everyone except Daniel."
"Daniel?" Jack repeated. "That's odd."
It was odd. Daniel was the only one of them who didn't have an ingrained aversion to the doctor and all her works. It was something to do with the fact he'd spent so much of his life on digs, far away from doctors or medical aid of any kind. Jack guessed it was an 'if you don't know what you've got' kind of thing.
"So I want you to find him, make sure he comes here." And before Jack could say anything, she added, "You're his commanding officer. Find him!"
Daniel drew his legs up under his body, wrapping his arms around himself. In the quiet of the room, he rocked back and forth, back and forth, silently, keeping his eyes down, trying helplessly to block out the voices in his head.
"Daniel!"
The archaeologist turned. He saw Jack standing in the doorway, but didn't say a word. Jack stared back, obviously surprised.
"Daniel?"
Still Daniel didn't reply, didn't even look at SG-1's team leader. Even more surprised, Jack moved forwards and tapped his friend on the shoulder. He wasn't remotely prepared for what happened next.
"Don't… touch… me!" Daniel hissed, turning on Jack like a frightened wild animal, his blue eyes burning with a feverish light.
"Jesus, Danny…" Jack drew back in alarm, staring at Daniel in frank bewilderment. "What's got into you?"
"Nothing! Leave me alone!"
Jack didn't reply to that. He stood up and walked to the door, taking another look at Daniel as he went. The archaeologist had resumed rocking back and forth, his eyes and body language screaming don't touch, don't touch.
Jack paused for an instant, and then left. He had a sudden, sickening feeling that he wasn't cut out for this. Walking as fast as he could without running, he returned to the infirmary. "Doc!"
"What is it, Colonel?" Janet asked. From behind her, Sam appeared, and she looked at her commanding officer, surprised at his sudden entrance.
"What's up with Daniel?"
Janet looked thoughtful. She had never, in all the time she'd known him, seen Jack O'Neill hesitate before.
"I think you know that already, Colonel," she said calmly.
"I thought…" Jack stopped. She was right; he hadn't wanted to admit to himself what he already knew. "Why didn't you tell me before?" he said in frustration. "And for crying out loud, why didn't you do something about it?"
"We tried," said Sam wearily. "He's shutting us out. And with all due respect, sir, you had enough problems of your own."
"Oh, this is just peachy!" Jack exploded. "Daniel… and Hathor…"
Jack's voice faded away. He turned on his heel and left the infirmary, giving Janet and Sam no difficulty in guessing where he was going.
Daniel shivered slightly. He was cold. More than that, he was numb. His fingernails were digging into his palms, but he couldn't feel them. He couldn't feel anything. Detachedly, he watched as his nails drew blood. He was surprised to see there was still enough life left to make the blood flow in his veins. But he didn't care, just as he didn't feel anything.
Except one thing. He could still feel her soft touch on his skin, could still feel how she had run her fingers through his long soft hair, could still feel her breath on his face. He could still hear her voice. Her soft, seductive voice, laced with honey and shot through with evil.
"Come to us, our beloved…"
Daniel's memories were vague, frustratingly vague, but enough of them remained to haunt his dreams, to torture him, to frighten him and to repulse him.
"Daniel."
It was Jack again, standing there, watching him. Daniel dug his nails in harder, and willed Jack to just go away, leave him here, leave him alone…
He was still there. And it looked like he wouldn't go away.
Jack was coming over now, seating himself beside Daniel. He was just sitting there, almost as if he were waiting for him to say something.
Well, what do you want me to say? Daniel thought angrily. What could I possibly say after… after this?
"Daniel," Jack said again. He wondered if his friend were even listening. By the looks of it, Daniel had withdrawn as far as he could go, and he wasn't coming back any time soon.
"Talk to me here, Danny!" Jack exclaimed. "Come on, say something!"
Daniel gazed at him mutely. Go away, go away, go away…
"Look here, Daniel," said Jack seriously after a pause. "I know what happened to you."
Something inside Daniel's tortured mind seemed to snap, and he lifted his head sharply. "No, you don't! You don't have any idea what happened!"
"Look, I realise…"
"What do you realise, Jack? That your civilian cracked? That because of me, Earth could have been swarming with baby Goa'ulds?"
"Daniel, this was not your fault," Jack insisted, moving to touch Daniel, but drawing back as he saw the archaeologist flinch. "This was not your fault!"
"She would have used my DNA, Jack! She would have used it to infest Earth with Goa'ulds!"
Jack's eyes suddenly hardened. He didn't mean to say the harsh words, but they sprang unbidden to his lips. "That's exactly it! She used you, Daniel. She drugged you, seduced you, raped you and left you!"
He felt a stab of remorse as he saw his friend draw back, hurt and fearful. "Rape…" Daniel whispered.
"That's what this was," Jack said, softly now. "It wasn't your fault. You were drugged and then you were raped."
Daniel glanced up at Jack in mute appeal. "I can still feel her, Jack," he whispered. "I can feel her… in my skin… in my mouth…"
"Hush, Danny… don't think about it," Jack said softly.
But it seemed now he had begun thinking about it, Daniel couldn't stop himself. "She did what she wanted with me, Jack… I couldn't resist her…"
"None of us could!" Jack said, trying to stop Daniel from going on with this train of thought. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear whatever was coming next.
The archaeologist was silent. After a pause, he said, "She treated me like a… possession. Like a toy… to play with… to use."
"Daniel," Jack began, "She's a Goa'uld… they always take what they want no matter what they have to do to get it! It's what makes them Goa'uld!"
Daniel looked up at his friend, and Jack continued, "She wanted you, so she took you."
Daniel was silent so long Jack wondered if his young friend was falling asleep; he dearly hoped so. He doubted Daniel had slept at all since Hathor's departure. But Daniel was still awake, painfully so. "Jack," he said suddenly.
"Yeah, Danny?"
"Who knows about this?"
"Only you, me, Sam and the doc. But Daniel…"
"Yeah?"
"The general has to know. He's got a right to know if one of his personnel is…"
Say it, Daniel thought. Say it… I was duped… raped… The voices inside Daniel's head were making him flinch and recoil, but Jack finished his statement gently. "Hurt," he said softly.
Daniel shuddered, dropping his head so his hair fell in his eyes, making him look younger than he really was. Jack tried to hold himself back as he listened to Daniel cry softly, and then he couldn't bear it any longer. He reached out and drew Daniel into his arms. He felt Daniel tense and flinch at the touch, and swore silently to himself. Hathor, wherever the bitch was now, was going to pay.
Daniel withdrew from Jack's hold on him, reverting to his previous attitude, rocking back and forth, and keeping everything and everyone away. Body and mind violated, he couldn't take the touch, too far gone to take basic human contact any more.
As Jack left the room, he looked back at his bright, talkative, passionate friend, rocking numbly back and forth, still reeling with shock. Hathor was going to pay. Wherever she was now, she was going to suffer for this.
Daniel hardly noticed Jack leaving. The mesmerising voice was still lingering in his head, still haunting him, still ringing through his dreams.
"Come to us, our beloved…"
The technicians and cleaners of the SGC were used to cleaning up all kinds of mess. They could cope with alien blood and guts, with chemical spills, with the mud of a thousand different worlds. In part one of the cleanup operation, the specialists moved in to safely remove the mess that was the burnt and mangled remains of the sarcophagus. It was left to the more lowly among them to clean up the mere domestic waste.
They dealt quickly with the VIP room. It didn't even require fumigation. All it needed was the removal and replacement of some rather dishevelled, bloodstained bedding.
*fin*