Not Real
Jack stared in disbelief at the sight of his friend sitting before him. How could this be? Daniel was dead. Daniel had died right in front of him. Jack still had nightmares about him screaming as he burned. How could he be here now, alive? Just sitting at the base of the stargate, and alive? Was this another double from a quantum mirror? Suddenly aware that he'd been standing there staring for a number of minutes, he tore his eyes away from the spectre, turned to Sam, who was also staring, her face white.
"Carter?"
"I, I don't know, Sir, he looks like Daniel. But I don't see how... " Carter's whispered reply broke off.
The man in front of them was sitting completely still, seemingly staring into space, and doing a damned good impression of a statue. His hair was longer, Jack noticed. Longer hair, thinner face, and no glasses. But still very much the spitting image of a man who had died three years earlier.
"Have we gone through one of those mirror things?" Jack looked at his 2IC, hoping she would have an answer.
"No, Sir. I am sure we would have noticed it. It is possible that this is a Daniel from an alternate universe, but..."
"O'Neill, would it not be prudent to ask this man if he is indeed Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c looked between Jack and Carter, before returning his gaze to the still figure before them. Jack sighed, took off his cap and ran his hand through his hair.
"You're right, T, Carter, let's go and... let's go."
They closed the remaining few feet quickly, and were soon standing right in front of the man who may or may not be Daniel Jackson. Their presence was not noted, and he continued to stare off into space. Jack was starting to think maybe it was just a statue - though it certainly hadn't been there when they came through the gate a few hours earlier. But no, the man was breathing, chest moving up and down, and Jack looked to his two teammates again for strength before crouching down before him.
"Hello?" No response. He tried again, "Daniel?". Still nothing. He reached out a hand and touched the man's shoulder. Suddenly he found himself sprawled in the sand on his backside, the man now staring at the air behind him, and rocking gently back and forth, his arms hugging his chest, in an oh-so-familiar way. "Daniel?" Sam knelt down next to him, "Daniel? Do you know who I am?" She tentatively reached out to touch his arm, and as she did his focus switched from the colonel to her hand, to her face. She looked into his blue eyes, and realised he was whispering something, but she couldn't make out what it was. She looked back toward Jack. "Colonel, we should take him back to base. He needs to be checked out by Janet." Jack nodded in agreement, hauled himself to his feet, and indicated toward the DHD - "I'll go dial her up, you get him to stand up, otherwise Teal'c, you think you can carry him?"
Teal'c raised an eyebrow, signalling that it would be no problem, and leant forward to help Major Carter in her attempts to get Daniel to stand on his own. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that this was a Daniel Jackson, whether or not he was their Daniel Jackson, was a question to be answered later, possibly along with a large number of others.
As Jack pressed the final symbol, and the wormhole splashed into being, he looked over to where Teal'c was holding Daniel. Evidently they had been unable to get him to move under his own steam. Carter was hovering protectively, and he could understand that. Jack could see him shaking from where he was. He moved toward the wormhole, and took up a flanking position the other side of Teal'c, as Carter nodded confirmation that the iris code had been received. "All right folks, let's go home" and they stepped through the wormhole.
On the other side, they were met with a stunned silence, as everyone in the gate room took in the extra figure cradled in Teal'c's arms. General Hammond's voice boomed over the loudspeaker, asking the Colonel to report. "We went, we came back, we picked up a Daniel on the way" Jack grinned up at the base leader, "Permission to take him to the infirmary Sir?" "Granted" Hammond replied, as he set off to join them.
Janet was just preparing the beds for the returning SG-1's post-mission check-up as the team walked into the infirmary. She turned to them, and stopped suddenly as she caught sight of just what it was Teal'c was holding. "Hi Doc," Jack's voice broke through the shock. "We found him on the planet - can we keep him?"
"Daniel?" She looked up at the Colonel in disbelief. "But he's, you said, you saw him die?" Suddenly remembering herself, she indicated to Teal'c to place his precious bundle on the nearest bed.
"Well, we're not sure that it is our Daniel" Sam said, looking around between her team, Janet and the General. "He could be from an alternate reality, or" she broke off, and looked over at Daniel.
"Or, Carter?" Jack prompted
"Or, I don't know Sir. But if he is our Daniel, then where has he been all these years? And how can he be alive, when we all saw him die?" Sam took a deep breath. "If he didn't die there, Sir, then we left him behind".
"God, Daniel!" Jack looked stricken. "Ok, well, we can't figure any of this out until we can get some sense out of him. Doc? He didn't react too well to being touched, and he hasn't said a word since we found him."
"Actually, Sir, Janet, he was saying something, but I couldn't make it out. Knowing Daniel it probably wasn't even in English."
"Well, if you all wait over there, Nurse Clark will come and do your post-mission checks. I'll have a look at Daniel here." Janet ushered the team out of her way, and turned to Hammond. "General, I'll keep you posted." Hammond knew when he was being dismissed, and nodded to his CMO, before heading back to his office to ponder the latest strange development in the lives of SG-1.
Janet pulled the curtain around herself, and the man lying still on the bed. He was awake, his eyes were open, and darting around, but the rest of him was completely still. This was so unlike Daniel - he had always been very active, and especially fidgety when in the infirmary. Still, in the short time she had come to know him, he'd quickly become her favourite patient, and she had been more upset than she should have when the rest of SG-1 came back with news of his horrific death.
"Daniel?" There was no response. "Daniel? It's me, Janet. Do you remember me? I'm just going to look you over, see that you're ok, ok?" Still no response. She went to take his pulse, but he recoiled at her touch, scrambling up the bed until his back was against the wall. He stared at her, breathing hard, his face pale. She took a deep breath, surprised how upset she felt at his reaction. "Daniel? I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to take your pulse, ok?" She moved more slowly this time, trying not to scare him, and he watched her warily as she moved her hand toward his wrist, but didn't shy away. She smiled reassuringly at him as she found his pulse. It was a little fast, but nothing to worry about. "That's just fine, Daniel" she smiled at him again, "is it ok if I take some blood?" He looked at her blankly, and she decided to risk it. She moved away to get the equipment, and bit her lip as she did so. It was so strange to see Daniel so quiet, so scared. She got the syringe out, and turned back to find him hugging his knees and rocking back and forth slightly. His lips were moving, and she leant in closer to try to make out what he was saying. He was cycling through languages by the sound of it, repeating the words over and over in one language, then switching to another. That was more like Daniel, but when he finally got to a language she recognised, her heart sank.
The rest of SG-1 was already in the briefing room when she got there, and took her seat. She tried to avoid their glances as they waited for General Hammond to come in. She only wanted to say this the once. She wasn't sure she'd manage it more than that.
"Ok people, "the General walked in from his office, and sat at the head of the table. "Tell me what happened. Colonel?"
Colonel O'Neill nodded at the General and began his report from the beginning, describing their trip to P**, the lack of anything interesting on the planet, how Carter had taken some samples, and he and Teal'c had stood guard, even though there was nothing there to guard from. He then described how they had headed back to the Stargate and found a surprise waiting for them.
"So he was just sitting on the steps of the Stargate? How did he get there?"
"We don't know Sir, he didn't say anything, he just sat there until I tried to touch him, then he lashed out and knocked me over."
"He seemed quite frightened sir, when Teal'c picked him up he was trembling." Sam added. "He was saying something before that, but I couldn't make it out."
"Then we hightailed it back here, Sir."
"Thank you Colonel, Major, Teal'c." Hammond sat for a moment in thought as it all sank in. "Doctor Frasier, you've examined him. Is it Doctor Jackson?"
Janet looked up from her file, and glanced at each member of SG-1 before turning her attention to the General. "Yes sir, I believe it is Doctor Jackson. And I'm pretty certain that it is our Doctor Jackson." She heard a sharp intake of breath from the Colonel at this news. When I examined him initially, he was clearly quite agitated. He shied away when I tried to take his pulse, but then let me when I approached slowly. When I went to take his blood, he started rocking back and forth, and was whispering something, the same thing in a number of different languages. I didn't understand any of them at first, but then I realised he was saying 'not real', over and over again. He got to English eventually, but the number of other languages he went through, including one which I believe was Abydonian, led me to believe it was indeed our Daniel. "She paused for breath and looked around at the others in the briefing room, gauging their reactions. "He got very upset when I tried to take blood, and we ended up giving him a sedative so we could give him a proper check-up. He is suffering from malnutrition, dehydration and a number of problems associated with vitamin deficiency, so I've attached an iv, to try to get some nutrients into his system. He has all of the same scars that Daniel had before he..., before, plus a lot of new ones, and there is evidence of multiple bone fractures that weren't treated, in his legs and left arm. We may have to do some physio, I'm waiting for him to come round before I try to speak to him again."
"But you believe he is the Doctor Jackson from this reality?" General Hammond was finding it difficult to take all of this in.
"Yes, General, I do. As well as the physical evidence from his scars, and dental records, he was wearing BDUs under his robe." She brought out the scrap of material. "As you can see, they were pretty much in tatters, but the badge is still in one piece" she passed it over to the General, who looked down at it briefly before nodding his understanding and passing it over to Colonel O'Neill.
Jack stared at the piece of cloth, the damning evidence. He had left someone behind. Worse, he had left Daniel behind. A teammate, a civilian, a friend. Left him behind for three years, suffering god only knew what. Suddenly realising someone had been saying his name, he looked up. "Sorry Sir," He hoped that George would understand. "Colonel, if this is indeed our Daniel Jackson, then we need to find out what happened, where he has been, and why you three all thought he was dead." Jack blinked up at the General. They had all thought he was dead. They had seen it happen. He glanced over at Teal'c and Carter - wondering if they had had the nightmares too, seeing Daniel engulfed in flames, screaming for help. From him, from Jack. He could see it all so clearly still, how could it not have been real?
"Sir, I can remember seeing Daniel die. He was standing there, and then there were flames, and he screamed for me to help him. But it was too hot, there was this wall of heat, he screamed, and then he was gone, and there was only the fire. We jumped into the water to escape, and when we came out, there was nothing left, and we came home. That's all that I remember, and I don't see how he could have survived." Jack took a deep breath as he finished his monologue.
"He's right, General. There is no way that Daniel could have survived that fire." Sam glanced over at her CO, sympathising with everything he was going through.
"The Daniel we have in the infirmary shows no evidence of being burnt." Janet interrupted her friends, eager to reassure them that they hadn't left a badly injured teammate behind. "From what you described, he would have suffered severe burns over most of his body. Is it possible that he wasn't engulfed in flames? That he was trapped behind them maybe?"
"No, Doc, there's no way. He was on fire, he was screaming in pain, we weren't wrong." Jack stared at the diminutive doctor, willing her to come up with some way that this would all be ok, knowing she couldn't.
"Sir, General, I think the best way to find out what really happened, would be to place one or more of SG-1 under hypnosis." Holding her hands up against Jack's expected protest, she explained "It would really be the best way, and we do need to know what happened. Hypnosis can be very useful in dealing with memory recall, and with medical hypnosis you won't end up barking like a dog, I promise you."
"I'll do it, Sir" Sam piped up. Janet flashed her a grateful look, and Jack did too - he really didn't want to be hypnotised, didn't like people messing with his head. And he didn't know if Teal'c could be hypnotised. He nodded his agreement at the situation, and sighed, knowing that whatever happened, the answer was not likely to be good, and nor was the one to his next question. "Can we see Daniel?"
"He's still sedated at the moment, Sir. You can see him if you are quiet. I thought it best to keep him under sedation until we discovered the truth. I've got some samples going through the lab now, which should tell us whether he is this world's Daniel Jackson, or not." Jack looked over at the General and caught his eye.
"Alright people, since we can't do very much until we know who it is we have in our infirmary. Doctor Frasier, how long until you can arrange for Major Carter to be hypnotised?"
"Dr Warner is a qualified hypnotist, so anytime she's ready, Sir" Janet smiled reassuringly at Sam.
"Then I shall leave it to you to arrange. We will continue this meeting when you have something to report. Dismissed."
Jack leapt out of his seat, and gathered up his things, eager to get down to the infirmary and Daniel, even if it was only to look and not touch.
Sam sat in the chair, feeling a little nervous. Janet, Teal'c and the Colonel were stood by the wall, watching her, and Dr Warner was sat opposite her. She really didn't want to do this, but knew she had no choice - someone had to, they needed to know what had happened on that planet, once and for all. Though the idea of having to relive Daniel's death filled her with horror. She forced herself to relax, and listen to Dr Warner's explanation of what was going to happen, trying to take it all in. She nodded her readiness to begin and focussed in on his voice, as he lulled her into a trance. "You're now completely relaxed. I want you to go back to the day you last saw Daniel, he's with you now."
She was back on P***, standing next to the Colonel, Daniel was moving ahead of them, when suddenly there was a popping noise, like gas escaping. As she stood there, flames shot up around Daniel, and he screamed out 'Help me! Jack! Help me!'. The colonel went to move toward him, but the heat was incredible, and she heard Daniel scream again before seeming to disappear, The colonel grabbed her and they jumped into the water to escape the fire. When they came back up, the fire was gone, and so was Daniel.
She was back on P8X-362, standing next to the Colonel. Daniel was moving ahead of them, filming everything. Suddenly there was a popping noise,like gas escaping. As she stood there, flames shot up around Daniel, and he screamed out 'Help me! Jack! Help me!'. The colonel went to move toward him, but the heat was incredible, and she heard Daniel scream again before seeming to disappear, The colonel grabbed her and they jumped into the water to escape the fire. While they were underwater she caught a glimpse of something moving, and a large dark object further below them. When they came back up, the fire was gone, and so was Daniel.
She was back on P8X-362, standing next to the Colonel. Daniel was moving ahead of them, filming everything. The water beside them was swirling, and they turned around as some kind of creature came up out of the waves, heading for them. It went toward Daniel, then the creature disappeared, and there was a popping noise,like gas escaping. As she stood there, flames shot up around Daniel, and he screamed out 'Help me! Jack! Help me!'. The colonel went to move toward him, but the heat was incredible, and she heard Daniel scream again before seeming to disappear, The colonel grabbed her and they jumped into the water to escape the fire. While they were underwater she caught a glimpse of the creature moving, and a large dark object further below them. When they came back up, the fire was gone, and so was Daniel.
She was back on P8X-362, standing next to the Colonel. Daniel was moving ahead of them, filming everything. The water beside them was swirling, and they turned around as some kind of creature came up out of the waves, heading for them. It went up to Teal'c and placed it's hand on his belly, where Junior was. Then it moved over toward Daniel. It bent down and wrote something in the sand at their feet. Daniel looked at it, then at Jack, before turning to the creature. 'It looks like Cuneiform. I think he wants to know if we are from the world that built Babylon." He bent down, and wrote a reply. The creature read what he had written, then stood up and lifted his arm. A bright light shot out of its hand and engulfed them all, and she lost consciousness.
As she came out of the trance, Sam looked completely drained by her experiences. She felt confused, she could remember Daniel dying, but she could also now remember being in a lab, with the strange creature, she remembered being under the water, and swimming up away from a building, but she also remembered that she had jumped into the water to escape the fire that had killed Daniel. She looked up at the others, noting their pale and drawn expressions. "We left him behind, Sir" she whispered.
"I know, Carter, I know" Jack's response came in the same hushed tones. "But he's back now." She felt his hand on her shoulder, and looked up at him.
Standing in the quiet of the infirmary, Jack watched his former teammate do nothing. It was so strange to see Daniel, after all this time. Strange to see him at all, strange to see him so still, strange to see him so quiet. Janet was standing nearby, she'd taken him off the sedatives, and he should be coming round any time now. He was their Daniel. They had figured that much out - they had left him behind on a distant planet, in some strange underwater lab with a sea creature. Now he was back, and all they needed to know was what had happened to him in the intervening three years. How he had come to be on P***** for them to find. And why he had reacted the way he had to them.
Never good at waiting for news about his team, Jack started pacing back and forth, glancing over at Daniel's bed every few seconds. He could have sworn he'd only been doing it for a few minutes when Janet hissed at him, "Colonel O'Neill, if you don't sit down and relax, I'll have you sedated as well." He looked at her, realised that she might well do just that, and sat down in the nearest chair. "Sorry, Doc, I'm just a bit restless." "I'd noticed" she replied. "But pacing won't make him wake up any faster. We just have to wait for the sedative to work its way out of his system. It shouldn't be too much longer."
But it seemed an age before the figure in the bed started to show signs he was coming round. A twitch of the fingers, then the head moved. Jack was at his side in a second, joined by Janet, as they both leant over their patient. "Daniel?" Jack was impatient. "Daniel? How are you feeling?" He was rewarded by a sight of two blue eyes, blinking at him. "Daniel?" he repeated. "Daniel?" The eyes regarded him for a few seconds, then slid closed again. Jack turned to Janet "Doc? Is he ok?" "He should be fine, Sir, he's probably just a bit woozy from the sedative. He may come in and out of consciousness for a little while. It's nothing to worry about." Janet's words soothed his anxiety a little, but he was still worried about his friend. He sat down in the hard plastic chair beside the bed, and waited again. He knew Carter and Teal'c were just outside, waiting for news. They had decided not to overwhelm Daniel straight away, but the minute that Daniel was up to visitors he knew that undomesticated equines couldn't keep the rest of the team away.
"Colonel" the Doc murmered, and Jack switched his attention back to Daniel, whose eyes were once again open.
"Hey Daniel" he spoke softly, hoping not to scare his friend back into sleep. "How are you feeling?"
Daniel stared at him for a moment or two, then "Jack?" It was the best sound Jack had heard in a long long time. "Yes Daniel, it's me."
"Jack?" Daniel seemed to be having a hard time believing it was him, which considering how long it had been seemed just about fair enough, though not quite the greeting Jack had been hoping for. He was further disappointed when Daniel shook his head "No, not real!" and hid his face behind his hands. Jack ever so gently pried his hands away, only to find Daniel had his eyes screwed tightly shut. "No, you can't see me. You're not here. You can't see me." He was beginning to get quite agitated, and Jack had to send Janet a stern glance to stop her from trying to interfere. "Daniel, I am here. I can see you. You're home. You're home" Jack wasn't sure what Daniel was talking about, but knew he had to try to reassure him somehow, that he was ok, that he was safe, that he was home.
"No, you can't see me! It's not real. If you can see me then it's true. It was real. If you see what - you weren't there. And if you're here, then it did happen. It's not real, it's not real, it's not real!" Daniel started rocking back and forth again, tears flowing freely now.
"Daniel. Daniel, I'm so sorry we left you behind. I wish it wasn't true, but it was. But I'm here now. You're home now. And you're safe here. We won't let you go again. We won't lose you again." We won't! Jack was now starting to really worry about what had happened to Daniel over the past three years. But he knew he had to make him understand that it was true, whatever it was, just so he could start dealing with it, get through it, and come back to them, properly. "Daniel, I promise you, I won't let you go."