Scratch Please?
Summary- Teal'c has an itch.
Rating -PG
Season 6- No spoilers, but Jonas is in it.
Disclaimer- Yup! You guessed it! Stargate not mine!
Author's Note: This idea came to me one day when I was at work just sitting for a little break, and I got this overwhelming, uncontrollable, unreachable itch. I couldn't scratch, and I just wondered what ...say... Teal'c would do in that situation. Also, there is a reference in this story to the costs of wheelchairs. To understand what that means, check out one of my other stories called Routine Mission Blues. Hope you enjoy!
Teal'c was sitting on the floor of his quarters in a fairly moderate state of Kelnoreem. The candles were burning brightly, his eyes were closed, and his legs were tightly crossed. As his meditation was nearing its end, Teal'c noticed an irritating sensation on his back, right between his shoulder blades. He tried to relax and let his symbiote take the sensation away, but junior was unsuccessful. Teal'c opened his eyes. That spot between his shoulder blades was infuriatingly gnawing at his skin. The big Jaffa rose to his feet. He put his left hand up to try and reach, so he could get a good scratch at the spot. His big arm wasn't long enough, so he tried the right arm. Teal'c reached up over his right shoulder, no good. He twisted his arm under and around behind his back. Stretching his fingers with all of his might, Teal'c grimaced as his right hand too, fell short of his pesky itch. Teal'c didn't quite know what to do. He got up and left his quarters.
Out in the corridor, the itch stung him again. Teal'c looked desperately around for anything he could use to scratch with. The corridor was jammed with personnel, all whom were headed in the direction of the elevators. Teal'c's curiosity got the better of him, but he was also grateful for the distraction. He recognized Major Pierce, and stopped him to ask where everyone was going.
"Major Pierce, what is the destination of all of these people? Why are they in such a hurry?" Teal'c fell into stride next to Pierce. He desperately wanted to ask Pierce to assist in scratching his back, but Pierce quickly answered and continued walking.
"Sg-5 brought back a lot of people that were injured after a surprise attack by native enemies of the planet that they were visiting. Hammond's called all available hands to the gate room to assist with the refugees."
"Thank you Major Pierce." Teal'c raised his hand in sort of a 'wait a minute' gesture towards Pierce. "Major, I am in need of your assistance. Could you...?"
Too late... Pierce had already put too much distance between himself and the Jaffa, as he was eager to get to the gate room to help with the aliens.
Suddenly, Teal'c jumped as his itch came back. He tried to scratch with his right hand, and then his left, and again with his right. He turned in circles. He bent over forwards. He stood up and arched his back. Nothing seemed to help. Some of the SGC staff that were going by didn't stop, but only stared in passing curiosity at Teal'c as he wiggled around. The stoic Jaffa was not well known for his spectacular dance moves, so he got a lot of questioning looks; all to which, he was completely unaware. He just wanted his itch to go away. Not at all relieved, Teal'c decided to head downstairs to see what he could do to help the others.
The elevator stopped at Jonas's level, and the young Kelownan stepped in.
"Hi Teal'c. How's it going? Did you hear about our visitors? Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill are down in the gate room already. I'm going down to see what I can do to help. Are you headed down there too?"
Teal'c started to answer Jonas. "Indeed I am on route to the gate room.. however..." Uh oh. His itch was back, with a vengeance. Right in the middle of his shoulder blades; the sensation was so intense, Teal'c could not finish his sentence. His first reaction was to reach over his shoulder again, and try to scratch. As he did, the elevator doors opened to level 28. Before getting off the elevator, Jonas at least had the decency to question the interruption in Teal'c's response.
"You okay Teal'c?" But the young man was already backing out of the doors.
Teal'c started to answer. "Jonas Quinn, I am in need of your assistance. Could you...?" But even Jonas was in too much of a hurry to hang around long.
"It's not urgent is it Teal'c? C'mon, we've gotta get to the gate room!" With that said, Jonas left Teal'c standing in the elevator with his arm over his shoulder, and a grimaced, aggravated expression on his face.
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Gate room.... 15 minutes later.
Most of the refugees were being tended to by SGC personnel. There were about fifty or so total, but only a few of them were actually injured. The medical staff had already transported the injured aliens to the infirmary, and the rest waited for instructions about what to do next. Teal'c spotted Sam with a small group of women in the corner, and walked in her direction.
"Teal'c!" Sam smiled at her friend.
Teal'c nodded back in respect. "Major Carter, what is the status of these refugees? What planet are they from?" Teal'c had temporarily forgotten his dilemma.
Sam answered back,"P2Y-683. We think the planet is called Chantas, but we don't know much about these folks." Carter gestured towards the women as she spoke. "We have been having a lot of communication issues. Basically, we can't communicate without some sort of knowledge of what their language is. Sg-5's linguist didn't find evidence of writing or language. Then again, he didn't have time to look before they were attacked. And you know something? The aliens that attacked were far more advanced than this race, but they WERE NOT Goa'uld, they were native to that planet. General Hammond is trying to figure out whether diplomatic relations can possibly be arranged to trade for technology, while at the same time keeping these people safe. It should be interesting around here for the next couple of hours. Everything okay with you Teal'c?" Sam blinked innocently up at him, waiting for his response.
Without warning, Teal'c's itch bit him again. He made a sour face, and attempted a request for help. "Major Carter, I am in need of your assistance. Could you...?" Before Teal'c could finish, the overhead intercom sounded.
"MAJOR CARTER TO THE CONTROL ROOM FOR DIAGNOSTICS CHECK, PLEASE!" The anonymous voice sounded harried. Sam looked up to the control room from where she was standing.
"Must be one of the new guys. They've been having trouble with their security access. I KNOW the gate is fine. I'd better go see what they are up to. I'll be back in a little bit Teal'c." And with that, Carter bounced away merrily to the control room.
The itch came again, only this time, it was madly exasperating. Teal'c arched his back, and squinched his eyes shut. The alien women watched Teal'c with timid amusement. He reached and stretched, and scratched at all the wrong places, but he never got to his itch. He turned a couple of waltz moves and dosey dos before he realized the women were staring at him. With a disgruntled sigh, Teal'c stopped turning in circles, and left the alien women gawking at him as he went to go find O'Neill.
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As it turned out, O'Neill went to the infirmary with the injured refugees, so that's where Teal'c headed. Janet Frasier greeted Teal'c at the entrance to the infirmary with her beautiful little smile, and she was walking right towards him.
"Hello Teal'c, is there something I can help you with?'' The small doctor was trying to get past Teal'c and out the door. She didn't notice Teal'c doing little tiny two-steps because of his itch.
"Yes, Indeed Dr. Frasier. Could you...?" But Janet jumped in quickly.
"No thank you Teal'c. I can't really use any help in here right now, but Colonel O'Neill and General Hammond are up there in the observation room, maybe they could use some help. I have to get to the supply room." Petite or not, she could certainly get anywhere in a hurry. The good Dr. Frasier was out the door and down the hall in a flash.
Teal'c literally ran up the few steps to the observation room. He had to do something about his itch!
The General was in the middle of discussing the aliens' plight with Jack.
"Sir, I don't recommend trade with these people. Their technology was not superior to ours, although it was superior to the villagers', and I can't see wasting valuable resources if the bad guys are just going to attack every time we show up. Sg-5 said that the village where they were at was peaceful until after their arrival. I say we just fix the ones that are broke, and send them all back home." The Colonel glanced to where Teal'c was standing. "Hey Teal'c!"
The General looked towards Teal'c and continued the conversation. "I agree with you Jack, but I would like you and SG-1 to help with getting these folks back home safe and sound. A few supplies couldn't hurt either. Get your team together Colonel. By the looks of things down there, the injuries aren't too serious. You'll leave in one hour. Oh, and Colonel? Be careful this time. Don't go falling into any more abandoned Goa'uld mines or anything. The wheelchair costs alone could send us bankrupt. Are we understood?" The General didn't wait for an answer, he simply strode away, leaving just Teal'c and O'Neill.
"Teal'c, buddy! Glad you made it!" Jack was genuinely pleased to see his large friend, and grateful for someone that he could finally talk to like normal. Well, for what was normal with a Jaffa anyway. "Have you been down to the gate room yet? It's really a mess down there huh?"
Teal'c only nodded his head. Not out of the ordinary, as he always let O'Neill speak first, in reverence. The Colonel and Teal'c walked side by side to go find Carter and Jonas. Apparently, someone must have already warned Jonas that O'Neill was looking for him. The pair met him around the corner as they were exiting the hallway to get to the elevators.
"Well that was certainly great timing. I wish you would be on time for the rest of our missions like that!" O'Neill teased his Kelownan comrade. "Someone told you I was coming to get you eh? Ha! I knew we had the best and brightest here at the SGC! Gotta love it! Say Jonas, do you know where Carter got off to? She'd better not be hiding in her lab with everything that's going on. Well, actually that would make it easier to find her, I guess. Do you know where she is?"
"Nope, Colonel, I have been a little preoccupied trying to communicate with some of the aliens. But their language is totally foreign to your planet. I can't even find a basic representation to show to them, to help me translate what they are trying to say." Jonas let out a little huff at the end of his exclamation.
"You could have just said 'No', that would have been fine." Jack spat back. I'll get on the MC and have her paged. You guys meet me in the locker room to gear up." The Colonel left to try and locate his 2IC.
Teal'c and Jonas walked down to the gear up room. It didn't take long for Jack to find Sam; he tried her lab first.
"Carter, doesn't your butt ever resent you for not leaving that chair?" Without waiting for her response, and enjoying seeing her roll her eyes, the Colonel continued. "We have to help get the refugees back to PY- whatever, and help them with supplies. The bus pulls out in T-minus forty ...TWO minutes. Let's get down to the locker room and gear up. Hammond's waiting."
Realizing, that order or not, she didn't have a choice, Sam closed up her thinga-ma-jig, and she and her CO went to get their equipment and supplies.
After getting ready, Sam and Jonas left for the gate room, which was still was filled with aliens waiting to go home. Teal'c and Colonel O'Neill were the last to exit the gear up room. Uh oh! Teal'c felt his itch start up again, and he stopped in his tracks. This time he had on his vest and jacket already, so he just knew that scratching would be out of the question. Teal'c scrunched his neck tight, like a turtle pulling its head into its shell. He dared not move, as that position seemed to alleviate some of the discomfort. The Colonel was up ahead, almost to the gate room, talking to one of the airman that was helping with the supplies for the refugees to take back home.
It took a little bit of time before O'Neill realized that Teal'c had stopped. "You okay Teal'c? C'mon, we need to hurry this up, so we can get back home quicker!" Jack waited at the entrance to the gate room for Teal'c. The Stargate had already been activated, and Carter and Jonas were waiting with SG-5 and the aliens on the base of the ramp. Teal'c jogged to catch up to his commander.
Teal'c started yet again to ask for help with his itch. "O'Neill, I am in need of your assistance. Could you...?"
"Sir, with respect, come on! The sooner the better, you know?" Major Carter interrupted Teal'c's pitiful plea.
"You read my mind, Carter!" Said O'Neill as he pointed at his 2IC, and pulled on Teal'c's elbow to get him to come along. The aliens were accompanied back to their home world by Sg-1 and Sg-5.
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Locker room, three hours later.
Jack and Teal'c were again the last to be dressed. Teal'c had sincerely hoped that a nice hot shower would help his itch to go away, but the water made the itchy spot worse. Teal'c was sitting on a bench, trying to distract himself mentally from the annoying itch. Colonel O'Neill was already in his civilian clothes ready to leave, when he sat down on the bench next to Teal'c, who was still in his towel.
"What's the matter Teal'c? It seems like there has been something bothering you all day today. Even Carter and Jonas said that you had been quieter than usual today. What's up?"
Teal'c hesitated. He was certain that when he asked again for assistance, another disruption would occur. After a few moments of contemplating silence, Teal'c finally spoke up.
"Yes, O'Neill, there has been one thing that has been a nuisance to me from the time I finished my Kelnoreem earlier this morning. I thought my symbiote would take care of it, unfortunately it was not successful. I have tried to handle it myself O'Neill, but to no avail. I am in need of your assistance.
"Sure buddy, anything you need. What can I do?" Jack asked his large, half-naked teammate.
Teal'c accepted the humility, he just couldn't stand his itch anymore.
"O'Neill, I have a very worrisome itch in the center of my back, which I have found impossible to reach. Could you ...Scratch please?"
Delighted that Teal'c had actually asked his help for something, he began to scratch Teal'c's back for him, in a manly, don't really want to touch you when you're half- naked kind of way. When Teal'c was finally relieved, Jack arose from the bench to go home for the day. Before leaving, O'Neill turned back to his friend.
"Hey Teal'c, if that has been bothering you all day, why didn't you just say something?''
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