CATEGORY: Drama.
SPOILERS: Message in a Bottle
SEASON / SEQUEL: tag to Message in a Bottle
RATING: PG.
CONTENT WARNINGS: None.
SUMMARY: While SG1 tries to figure out what's wrong with their CO, Col. Maybourne tries to get his hands him for further research after the incident with the alien orb.
DISCLAIMER: This story is written entirely for entertainment and is not intended as an infringement against the copy written material that belongs solely to Showtime, MGM/UA, Gekko Films, et al. I'm only playing with their characters and will return them as soon as the story is finished. The following story is the property of the author and is not to be copied, or published without the express, written consent of the author.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This story was written end of 2000. It was first submitted to a zine that in the end got cancelled, then it ended up in
Gateways 5. Has been posted before, on Heliopolis, Jackfic and my own site. Now here on Fanfic. Enjoy.
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From the control room, I watched how the colonel walked up the ramp, completely in robot-mode, carrying the alien orb in both hands. At least he was still alive. Just a few moments ago, his heart had stopped, but then the alien took over and somehow he was still amongst us. Well, that's what I hoped. I hoped desperately he was still in there somehow.
The wormhole to P4G881 established, and the colonel slowly, very slowly, held the orb in front of the blue trembling liquid. Completely unaware of the seconds ticking away, that the security system would blow up the base any minute now, he let go of the orb. I saw him fall backward, hitting the ramp hard, and I turned, rushing downstairs, my heart pounding nervously. What would I find in the Gateroom? Had he had any chance at all?
Relief overwhelmed me when I entered. General Hammond and Captain Carter apparently had managed to shut down the self-destruct counter, initiated by Operation Wildfire. But what really let me sigh out heavily was the sight of Colonel O'Neill, struggling to sit up, aided by Daniel and Teal'c. He'd beaten the odds. He was still with us.
Now it was my job to keep it that way.
Sam ran towards her friends too, just as Daniel and Teal'c grabbed the colonel's arms for support, helping him up. I needed to check him over, to run some tests, but I had no idea of where to begin. I've never dealt with anything like this before. The team didn't yell for my assistance, so there obviously was no bleeding wound on his shoulder. Not that I'd expected it; there had been no signs of any wound when he was pinned to that wall.
I waited for them to get off the ramp, took in the trembling of the colonel's legs, knowing he could only walk because the others held him up straight. His shirt was unbuttoned, but I couldn't see his shoulder, and I still needed to know for sure. He staggered, and I motioned for Teal'c and Daniel to set him down.
"I'm fine…" he rasped.
"Okay. Just want to look at your shoulder…" I moved towards him.
He staggered back, eyes wide with shock. "Don't touch it, don't touch it!"
Damn. This wasn't going to be easy at all. I raised my hands in the air, like a good victim held at gunpoint. "I won't, okay? I promise. Just let me see it. Can you show me?" I kept my voice low, soothing and gentle, but all my alarm bells were ringing in my head.
O'Neill pushed Teal'c away, as he tried to support him on his damaged side. His eyes still looked frightened, his breathing rapid and shallow. He carefully folded his shirt away for me. "See… Nothing wrong."
He didn't fool me.
Okay, there was absolutely no scar, no entry wound, nothing at all. No visual proof, but he WAS pinned to the wall for over thirty-six hours. Maybe this alien technology didn't leave any scars, but it damn well could have done some harm. I'd seen too many weird things in my time at the SGC to let my eyes fool me. I slowly nodded to him, satisfied for now he wouldn't flat-line on the spot. I lowered my hands and moved to check his pulse.
He staggered again. He gasped for breath. "Please, don't touch it…" he pleaded.
I shook my head. "I'm not touching your shoulder, Colonel. That can wait. I just want to take your pulse. Is that all right with you?"
He was panicking. He was in shock. Okay. He'd gone through hell and came back from it. That entitles you to be a little upset, doesn't it?
I held out my hand, locking my eyes on his, questioningly. He held out his right arm for me, and I placed my fingers on his wrist. His pulse was racing. Damn, damn, damn. I frowned. "Does it still hurt?" I asked softly.
"No."
He answered too fast and too short. He didn't look at me. I knew.
He hurt.
"Colonel?" I asked again.
He just shook his head. So typically O'Neill. He's not the complaining kinda guy.
I tried a different approach. "On a scale from one to ten, Sir…" He knew the drill. He just had to give me a number. He could do that. It had worked before.
This time, he glanced at me. "Nine?"
Shit… Shit!
A nine? From O'Neill? Who never went higher than a seven? I needed him in my infirmary right now!
"Shall I get a stretcher, Janet?" Sam asked with barely audible voice.
"I can walk," he snapped.
Sam looked at me, worry in her eyes, asking me the same question without speaking out loud.
My mind was racing. Which was the right thing to do? Knowing his reputation; this same man who'd crawled through the desert by himself, badly injured, who'd moved on more than one occasion when nobody thought he could. This man needed control over his life. He'd been forced to stay motionless for more than thirty-six hours. His muscles needed the exercise, and he needed the reassurance of being in control right now.
Slowly, I nodded. "I think the colonel can walk, Captain. But let Teal'c help you, Sir." I motioned Teal'c to assist him.
He did, gently laying O'Neill's right arm over his shoulder, his own arm around the colonel's waist, helping him to his feet.
Daniel and Sam led the way. Teal'c and a swaying O'Neill followed. I closed the line, thinking about possible approaches and treatments.
Reaching the elevator, he was almost out of breath. He was inhaling too fast, gasping, choking. Teal'c lowered him to the floor, and I raced forward.
Daniel was faster. He dropped on his knees in front of his friend. "Easy, Jack. Easy," he soothed. "You're hyperventilating. Watch me and breathe with me, Jack…"
He waved one finger in front of the colonel's face, to grab his attention. "Okay, in… and out. In… and out. Slowly. That's better, Jack. Look at me and in… and out. That's it."
I watched in silence. Daniel, who'd had lots of experience with hyperventilating caused by his allergies, did a great job. I couldn't have done this any better. Besides, it was good for Daniel to be able to help out. He'd been feeling all too useless the last couple of days.
Sam softly asked me if she needed to get an oxygen mask, but I shook my head. Daniel had it under control. I noticed my patient was relaxing, and his breathing was slowing. He was unaware of our presence; he just concentrated on Daniel. I waited patiently.
Daniel kept breathing with O'Neill until he was sure his friend could manage on his own. Taking a kleenex out of his pocket, he slowly wiped the sweat from the colonel's pale face.
"Good job, Jack. Let's get into the elevator." Daniel got up, grabbing the man's arm, softly apologizing as the colonel winced from the movement.
We all stepped into the waiting elevator, and I pushed the button for the infirmary level. Patients in that kind of shock needed to be treated like expensive China porcelain. I was watching him like a hawk, ready to react to anything. We were doing all right, for the moment. Together, we managed to get him safely in a private room and I had him lay down on the bed. I gently ordered the others out of the room, so I could examine my patient.
Not willing to scare him off again, I started with some easy routine tests, deliberately avoiding his shoulder. His pulse was better than back in the Gateroom but still a little too fast. He had regained control over his breathing. He was still running a slight temperature, just above 102, and his blood pressure was a little low. I relaxed a little.
So far, so good.
How to continue? The colonel just lay there while I worked on him. Silently, his eyes covered with his right arm, his fist clenched. As long as I didn't come close to his left shoulder, he was all right. Well, hurting like hell, probably, but keeping quiet. Anytime I came even close to his shoulder he frantically looked at me, trying to flinch away. So I didn't.
"I need to know what damage is done to your shoulder, Sir. Can we do an X-ray first? That way I won't have to touch it," I reasoned, inwardly adding 'yet' to my statement. "I also want a blood sample. We'll take it from the right arm, okay?"
He nodded, probably knowing there was no other way. I'd offered him the best of bad possibilities. I took a blood sample and send it off to the lab. I knew Sam would be there, working on it with the members of the lab staff, determined to figure out what was wrong with her CO. I could trust her on that.
Instead of taking the patient to the X-ray machine, I left to get a portable machine and brought it back with me. Without touching him, I managed to take two X-rays. Now I just had to wait for them to be developed and returned to me. "How are you doing?" I asked meanwhile.
"Fine…" he hissed through gritted teeth.
Of course. This was O'Neill, remember? I sighed. "The shoulder, still a nine?"
The movement was barely visible, but he nodded.
Shit. I was hoping it would have hurt less by now, hoping it was more like a mental pain, connected to the memory of what had happened to him.
I was wrong.
I also couldn't risk giving him something for the pain. Not until I had the results of the blood tests and had looked at the X-rays.
He knew. "-s okay, Doc…" he assured me.
It was NOT okay.
I'd felt so damn useless when he was pinned to the wall, and the feeling still hadn't vanished. He shouldn't have had to hurt that much and yet, there was nothing I could do. Shit, shit, shit. I patted his right arm, noticing his eyes drifting away. He was exhausted. Being impaled through your shoulder for almost two days, fighting off the pain and a terrible infection will do that to you, you know.
"We'll figure this out. I promise. Try to rest, Sir." God, I wished I could tell him something better than that, but I couldn't. I left the room, let Daniel and Teal'c in to keep him company and went to see if the X-rays were developed yet.
I found nothing on them. No signs of the impaling, no signs of healing bones, muscles or tissue. Nothing had remained of the alien organism. How on earth was this possible? Sighing heavily, I went to find Sam. Maybe she'd found something.
I entered the lab, and there she was, behind a microscope.
She looked up at me. "Hi. How's the colonel?"
I shrugged. "Resting, but he's hurting a lot, Sam. I found nothing on the X-rays, however." I pointed at the microscope. "What did you find?"
She threw her hands exaggerated in the air. "Nothing either, Janet. I can't believe this. I found no signs of the virus, no signs of the alpha, beta and gamma radiation. What technology can do such a thing? How?"
I wish I knew. I wish I only knew it was safe to administer some pain medication. I just couldn't leave him hanging on like that. I discussed it with Sam.
She looked helplessly at me. "God, Janet. If the colonel says it hurts, it must be killing him… You know him…"
Did I ever. "Let's brief the general," I suggested.
She agreed, and we headed to General Hammond's office. I knocked on the door.
"Come in," he called.
We stepped inside, saluting briefly.
"At ease, Captains. How's Colonel O'Neill?"
"He has a slight fever and his blood pressure is a bit low, Sir. But that's not what's worrying me. His shoulder is still hurting him terribly, but X-rays showed absolutely no damage. Captain Carter did some tests on his blood samples and came up empty too." I reported. "I have absolutely no idea what's causing this, let alone how to go about treating it."
He frowned, thinking about the situation. He addressed Sam. "Ideas, Captain?"
She shook her head. "No, Sir. Unfortunately, I have no idea what to do. If only we were able to figure out a way to communicate with the alien orb again, then we could ask it."
"But… " the general started.
"But, the only way we can communicate with it, is to let it take over somebody's body. That's not an option." She finished his sentence.
"There's got to be another way to talk to it…" I commented, hoping Sam would think of something. "Meanwhile, the colonel is in a lot of pain, Sir. I want to risk administering a mild pain medication and monitor him closely. He won't get any rest otherwise, and I think that's nearly as dangerous after what he's been through already. He has been hyperventilating and his condition will get worse if he doesn't get any sleep, Sir."
"So there's nothing physically wrong with his shoulder?" Hammond wanted to know.
I hated that implication. Blame it on a mental thing, and everything is all right. Hello. Haven't we all SEEN what's happened? I tried not to sound too irritated, but to tell the truth, I was. Probably because I'd thought the same thing earlier that day. "Nothing WE can see with our technology, Sir. That doesn't mean there's nothing wrong. There can be a hell of a lot wrong without us noticing I'm afraid…"
There. Got it? I felt Sam glare at me, but I didn't care.
The general looked me straight in the eye and spoke firmly. "I am aware of that, Doctor Fraiser. I'm not implying there's nothing wrong here."
"No, Sir. Of course not, Sir," I stumbled. So I'd overreacted a little bit. Well, I had a patient to consider, hadn't slept in at least thirty hours either and was overly worried… Sue me.
Hammond sighed. "I'm afraid I can't say the same for the NID, however. They will be on our backs any time now…"
"For what, Sir?" Sam asked sharply.
"They wanted to get their hands on the orb, Major. You know that. I suggest you and Doctor Jackson concentrate on communication with this orb. Maybe Doctor Jackson can find some translation key on those pages you've discovered. We need to figure out what's happening to Colonel O'Neill, and we need to do it fast."
Sam nodded affirmatively. "Yes, Sir."
The general turned back to me. "Try a mild painkiller, Doctor. We'll see how he reacts and can decide whether to raise the dose later."
"Yes, Sir." I turned, and we headed to the door.
"Doctor!"
"General?" Stopping in the doorway, I looked over my shoulder.
"No one dictates the colonel's treatment but you, and you are taking orders only from me. Understood?"
I frowned but agreed. "Yes, Sir." Leaving his office, I wondered why he'd said that to me. Wasn't it always that way? I forgot all about it as soon as we entered the infirmary. Sam took Daniel with her to the lab, I knew they would be working on ideas without resting until they found a solution.
I checked my patient over. He wasn't really sleeping, only dozing slightly. His temperature hadn't changed, and neither had his blood pressure. He looked pale and worn out.
Giving me a weak smile, he tried for a sense of normalcy, "Hi, Doc."
I smiled back at him, gathering the equipment I needed. "How do you feel?"
"Tired…" he admitted.
"You've been awake for more than forty-eight hours… Go figure…"
That brought another brief smile to his face.
I rubbed his arm, syringe ready. "I'm going to give you a mild painkiller. Hopefully, it'll help you sleep for a while…" Gently, I injected the medication in his arm.
He didn't protest. He was probably too exhausted. I sat down next to him and waited for the drug to kick in. It didn't take long; he slowly drifted away and thankfully fell asleep.
I looked back at Teal'c who still sat motionless at the end of the bed.
"You look exhausted, Doctor Fraiser. You should rest," he told me.
I shook my head. "Can't sleep just yet. I have no idea how he's going to respond to that drug. I'll have to monitor him…" Tiredly, I ran a hand through my hair.
"I will remain. I will wake you if there is a need to," he promised.
I know he would. I also know Daniel and Sam were doing everything they could, and there was nothing I could contribute to that. I had to admit my thinking was slowing down and my vision was blurring, all due to lack of sleep. My patient would need me when he woke up, so all in all, Teal'c's offer was not a bad one. I nodded and nestled myself on the spare bed in the room.
---oo---oo---
Feeling like I'd hardly slept at all, Teal'c was shaking me gently awake. I got up, worriedly glancing at the other bed. "Something wrong?"
"O'Neill is still sleeping. I believe Colonel Maybourne is about to try to take O'Neill with him."
A bucket of cold water in my face couldn't have dragged me out of my sleep any faster than this. "The hell he is…" I said firmly, swinging my legs off the bed. I jumped up, glanced at the sleeping colonel to see for myself he was all right, and then headed to the door.
There he was, in the corridor, a huge, mean smile on his ugly face. So I don't like the guy. Sorry for that.
"I have orders to escort Colonel O'Neill to Area 51, Doctor…" he started.
"Orders from whom, Colonel?" I interrupted him. The general's words suddenly echoed in the back of my mind. So ol'George had foreseen this. Thank you, Hammond.
"Oh, higher than you can even imagine, dear Doctor. You must agree it's in the best interest of all that any effects of this alien orb are thoroughly investigated."
"Who says we haven't done just that?" I snapped.
"Come on… you've sent it back to its planet. What good did that do? You've wasted an opportunity to study an alien technology, just like that. I'm here to minimize the damage."
"Ah. I see. And how are you planning to do that, if you don't mind my asking?" I somehow didn't think I would like his answer.
I didn't.
"I've heard Colonel O'Neill is still suffering from the effects of this alien organism. We need to run some tests on him, to determine the possibilities of these technologies… They might be useful to this planet one day."
"Sorry, but Colonel O'Neill is staying right here." I said it firmly, with my hands placed solidly on my hips. I mean, he's a colonel, I'm a captain. He's a little bit taller than I am, and he definitely weighs more, so emphasizing my statement with some strong body language wouldn't hurt.
He was not impressed.
"He's coming with me, Doctor. Right now."
I shook my head. I can be stubborn too, you know. "On whose authorization?" I demanded, straightening my shoulders a bit.
He had nothing of course. No signed papers from somebody, somewhere. "That doesn't concern you, Captain."
Oh-oh. He was starting pulling rank.
"Yes, it does. I have my orders too. He stays."
"Captain, I'm ordering you right now to step aside. I'm escorting Colonel O'Neill to Area 51, and you will NOT stop me." He raised his voice, highly irritated.
Good. I was a little irritated too. This was still MY infirmary, and I was the CMO of the facility. Not to mention he was talking about MY patient, most likely planning to do a research not in the best interest of that patient at all. I had no doubts about that.
But most of all: he was talking about MY friend. And nobody touches my friends without getting in trouble with me. There. I'm smaller, yes. I'm only a captain, sure. But back off!
I blocked his way, determined to stay there. "I am the chief of this infirmary and therefore I am in charge here. You are NOT taking anyone with you, Sir. Not until I see a paper, signed by the President himself. You are bothering my patients so I want you OUT of MY infirmary, NOW, Colonel." Were my eyes spitting fire?
He gave me a dirty look, thought for a second and turned. He left, yelling over his shoulder "I'll be back, Doctor. Count on it."
I let out a deep breath. My legs were shaking, and my hands trembled. I was scared… but I was off the hook, for now. When I regained control over my shaking limbs, I opened the door and stepped back into the room.
Colonel O'Neill was awake, his face still deathly pale, lines of pain etched in it, but with an amused smile shining through.
"Did I just hear you yell at a superior officer? Don't you know that's against regulations?" he asked.
I sighed. "Since when do you care about regulations, Sir?"
"Ah… this is not about me, Doc. What was that all about?"
"NID wants to know everything about that alien orb, Sir. Colonel Maybourne wants to run some tests on you. He was here to escort you to Area 51."
The colonel pulled a face. "Now I doubt that would have been fun…"
Right. That's what I thought. I sighed, brushed my hair from my face and glanced at my watch. O'Neill and I had been sleeping for almost five hours. Which was not bad; not bad at all. For the colonel, however, it was not enough. He still looked like he could crash any minute. I stepped closer to the bed and did a quick routine vitals check. His temperature was almost a 103, his pulse too fast for my liking and his blood pressure was still too low. "How's the pain?" I asked.
He didn't look at me. He didn't say a thing. His teeth were clenched with drops of sweat dotting his forehead. Oh, oh. The pain medication I gave him had worn off by now; I knew it but somehow I suspected that was not all.
"Colonel?"
"It's … spreading…" he said.
"Spreading? What do you mean?" I found his gaze and looked at him, pleading, demanding a straight answer.
"Through my arm, my chest and neck."
Damn. That was not good at all. I had no idea whether the pain medication caused this or not. My mind was racing. He needed another shot of drugs, but how safe was that?
He read my mind. "It was spreading before you gave me the first shot, Doc…" his voice was soft, and his eyes closed tightly.
He just forgot to tell me. Well, why does that not surprise me? One last look at him, and I knew for sure I had to give him another dose. I took another syringe and administered it. Hopefully it was enough for him to get some rest. Letting Teal'c stay with him, I left to brief General Hammond and find Sam.
The general was not surprised when I told him about Colonel Maybourne's visit.
He nodded approvingly when I told him I'd sent him away. "Next time, call me, Doctor. He's not going to take one of MY people without my consent."
"Yes, Sir."
"So, no change in Colonel O'Neill's condition?" he asked.
"Actually, yes. Whatever is causing the pain is spreading. We have to figure this out, Sir. Quickly."
He sighed. "You'd better go see if Doctor Jackson or Captain Carter came up with something. I've got calls to make."
I left and went to check what was happening in the lab. Hopefully Sam and Daniel knew more by now. The look on their faces when I stepped inside told me all I needed to know. They didn't.
Daniel, obviously running on a high dose of caffeine, was studying the pages of alien language retrieved from the outside of the orb. Although he knew a little of it, he hadn't found a way to communicate with the organism.
Sam looked no better than Daniel did. When was the last time either had decent sleep? She was still running tests on the colonel's blood samples and looked tiredly up at me. "Any change?" she asked.
I nodded. "Whatever is affecting him, it's spreading through his upper-body. I don't know for sure the painkiller caused this, but somehow I don't think so."
She cursed. Daniel sighed heavily, throwing his hands exaggerated in the air. "Damn-it. If I just could figure this out…"
Sam turned to me. "If it's spreading, that means SOMETHING is causing this, right? In his blood, in his bones, muscles… we have to find this, Janet."
I nodded. She was right. We were overlooking something but what?
Daniel looked up at us. "Just a thought. Tell me if I'm not thinking clearly anymore… We took the alien orb to P4G881 right? Will the parasite still be INSIDE the orb? Or is it spreading across that planet? Would it be possible for Teal'c to go there and see if he could talk to it? Maybe his Goa'uld provides him protection…"
I looked at Sam. She was thinking hard, I could tell.
"Well, the alien's probably growing, like it did here. In bounding chains, consuming everything. Whoever steps through that gate, will probably be overrun by it. The question is, will that someone be able to get back? Beyond that, what if the organism has consumed the DHD?"
"We can send a probe, to find out…" Daniel suggested.
I shook my head. I knew Teal'c would volunteer to go, but I figured the general wouldn't authorize such a mission. I also had the idea O'Neill wouldn't let his team take a risk like that. "I don't think Hammond would let Teal'c go."
"I don't think so either," Sam agreed with me. "We'll have to think of another way. I want to try something…"
Her face lightening up, she looked like she had an idea. That's great. When Sam is onto something, she's usually getting somewhere. She extracted information from the computer and set up another test.
"Um, Janet… take a look at this…."
I looked through the first microscope. Some tiny green elements crawled between the white and red blood plasma. I'd never seen anything like it. "What's that?" I asked, surprise in my voice.
She shrugged. "I don't know." She studied another sample under a second microscope. "I exposed the colonel's blood to the same mix of radiation as the organism was radiating. Whatever this is, we can't see it without the radiation. I have some blood from Daniel under the same radiation exposure, and it shows nothing of this stuff. It's in the colonel's blood, Janet. Now I'll have to figure out what the hell it is…"
I nodded, relief overwhelming me for the first time in a long while. Although we hadn't found a solution yet, this was at least something to work on. "Good job, Sam."
She hardly heard me. I knew her mind was racing. I was unpleasantly surprised when my pager beeped. Damn. "Something's wrong in the infirmary. I have to go… "
I ran as fast as my short legs could carry me, hurrying to the infirmary. Damn, damn, damn! We weren't too late, were we? Please, God let him be all right, I prayed.
He was waiting for me outside Colonel O'Neill's room. A single white paper in his left hand and he triumphantly waved it in front of my nose.
Colonel Maybourne was back.
Shit.
"I'll be back in a minute. I've a patient to tend to," I snapped, stepping inside, closing the door behind me.
Teal'c sat motionless beside the bed, unwilling to leave his friend's side. "Anything happened?" I asked, quickly checking my patient's vitals.
"He has been sleeping restlessly, Doctor Fraiser." Teal'c answered.
He was. Sleeping or profoundly unconscious, I couldn't really tell. I didn't care at that moment. It beat being awake, fighting off the pain. His pulse was weak, his temperature was a little higher, and his blood pressure was a little lower. That worried me. "I'll be outside, talking to Colonel Maybourne. Call me if there's any change."
Teal'c nodded slightly and stayed on guard, just as I expected him to.
I grabbed the paper out of Colonel Maybourne's hand and unfolded it, all while walking to my office. I expected him to follow me, which he did. I read the order; he had the authority to transfer Colonel O'Neill to Area 51 for further examination concerning the after effects of the alien organism. I had no reason to question this.
Damn! If looks could kill, he would be dead by now.
I couldn't stand the way he smiled at me and I let him know it. Shit. I grabbed the phone and dialed General Hammond's office.
He was in my office within five minutes, reading the order. "I need to check this, Colonel," he said to Maybourne and took the paper with him.
Hopefully to call the President or something. We waited, saying nothing. Maybourne was just so sure of himself it made me nervous. They couldn't do this, right?
Ten minutes later, Hammond returned, and I knew. They COULD do this. Slowly, he looked up at me. "This is a legal authorization, Doctor. There is nothing I can do about it."
Damn, damn, damn. Sam, if you're about to figure this out, now it would be a good time. How could I turn my patient over to somebody like Colonel Maybourne? I had absolutely no guarantees that whatever they planned to do was in the best interest of Colonel O'Neill. Hell, I could count on it to be NOT in his best interest. Damn.
Colonel Maybourne stood straight and was about to say something when the alarm went off, and we heard "Code blue in 102, code blue in 102!"
I was outside my office in no time, rushing into the colonel's room. One of my nurses was pumping on his chest, another giving him oxygen. More nurses were running behind me. Yelling instructions at my staff, we worked like a team. Hooked him up to the monitors, put a tube down his throat…
"Paddles ready? Give me 80 Joules. Everybody stand back!" I yelled and pushed them down on his chest. "Clear!"
His body jerked. The monitor beeped, and then lost the rhythm again. We repeated the procedure. This time the monitor stayed steady. I sighed in relief; we got him back.
We worked until he was off the hook, apparently stable. Then, I had him transported to the ICU, wiped the sweat from my face with the sleeve of my coat and addressed the general. "Transportation to Area 51 will have to wait until he is out of danger, Sir," I said.
He nodded, visually relieved but still shocked over what had happened.
At that moment, Captain Carter stepped into the room, Daniel following behind her. "I think I've got it!"
She looked stunned, the bed was missing and beside me, General Hammond and Colonel Maybourne were in the room. "Where is Colonel O'Neill? What happened?" She looked at me, eyes filled with fear.
"The colonel went into cardiac arrest. He's all right now; he's in the ICU," I said reassuringly.
"What?" She sounded stunned. Then her face turned speculative. "That could have done the trick…"
I frowned. What did she mean?
"Captain Carter, could you explain what you've found?" General Hammond demanded.
"Yes, Sir. We found a substance in the colonel's blood, which could only be detected under a certain level of alpha, beta and gamma radiation. That's why we couldn't find it earlier. I still have no idea what it is, but I ran some tests. Remember how the alien organism needed energy to grow? I did some tests with electricity on the blood, Sir. It worked. I don't know why, but with exposure to a strong enough jolt of electricity the substance just absorbs. It's as if these remnants are unplanned remainders of the organism."
I tried to think about what she just said. "So you're saying another blast of energy would be able to remove this substance from his blood?"
She nodded. "Yes! I thought we needed to try! But since you're already given him a jolt to get him back, we might not need to. We simply can take another blood sample and see if it worked!"
I looked at the general, who nodded.
"Do it, Doctor." He addressed Colonel Maybourne. "Colonel, you will have to wait. If this has worked, there's no need for you to escort Colonel O'Neill to Area 51. We'll be happy to give you a detailed report on everything we've found, though. Captain Carter, make sure the colonel gets copies of all your files."
"Yes, Sir." She left, to return to the lab.
I ran towards the ICU. My staff informed me that O'Neill's condition was stable, although he was still unconscious. He was breathing on his own; my staff had removed the respirator already. It didn't take me long to get another blood sample and run back to the lab.
Daniel and Teal'c gathered behind Sam as she worked. Looking through the microscope, she cursed. "Damn! The jolts must have been not strong enough. Although less than before, there is still quite a lot of the substance left in his blood." Sighing heavily, she invited me to take a look.
I looked, and of course, she was right. I estimated the substance to be split in half. Damn, damn, damn. Now what? I looked up at her, wondering, not wanting to think about the implications.
"We have to expose him to another jolt of electricity. We don't have a choice…" she didn't like the idea either, I could tell.
Daniel gasped in shock. "What? You deliberately want to electrocute Jack? How can you say that? Hasn't he been through enough already?"
Sam shrugged helplessly. "I don't WANT to, Daniel. But we can't leave him like this either. We have no idea what this substance is doing to him besides giving him a lot of pain. He could be dying from it as far as we know…"
She was right again, no matter how much I hated to agree. He HAD gone into cardiac arrest and it could happen again if we didn't act. "I better go check on him," I sighed. "Get the general, and meet me in the ICU." Sam nodded, and I left.
I'd run a vitals check over my patient before they gathered around me. General Hammond apparently didn't like this anymore than the rest of us.
He looked at me, demanding a status report.
"He is still unconscious, Sir. His condition has improved, but he's still running a temperature, and his blood pressure is already dropping." I didn't say anything more. I just couldn't. We had to do something, and I didn't like it a bit.
Sam addressed the general. "Sir, I'm sorry, but I don't think we have a choice. He could die from this substance."
"He can die from the shock, too, Captain," Hammond stated firmly. He turned to me. "What are the chances he'll survive another jolt, Doctor?"
"He's tough, Sir. He'll live. I do suggest we do it fast though, before he gets any weaker, and the substance is able to grow." Better get it over with. The substance had been spreading through his body before; I didn't want to waste any more time. "Let's beat this thing before he arrests again…"
My staff was standing by, the equipment ready. At the general's nod, I took the paddles in my sweaty fingers. God, Jack, forgive me…
I firmly pressed them on his chest. He jerked, the monitors went crazy for a while and then he was stable again. I listened to his heart, his lungs, checked his pulse. I glanced at Sam, and she gave me a barely visible nod.
Without thinking, I yelled, "Clear!" and hit him again.
I was vaguely aware of one of my nurses yelling, "He's not breathing!" Frantically, we worked, gave him oxygen, and injected medication to strengthen his heart. I held my breath and let it go when he finally breathed on his own, and his heart adjusted to a regular rhythm. I shook my head; I didn't dare repeat the procedure for a third time. This just had to be enough.
Please, I begged silently, let it be enough.
I took in the stoic face of Teal'c, the way Daniel had one hand pressed on his mouth, the shocked expression still visible and the signs of relief overwhelming Sam's sweaty face. This had been as hard on them as it had been on me. I suddenly realized what Teal'c must have felt when he had to hit the orb with his staff weapon, knowing how it would harm his friend. Regaining control over my trembling hands, I gathered another blood sample and handed it over to Sam. She left. We stayed with O'Neill this time.
It didn't take her long. She came back running, with a huge smile all over her face. She carried the microscope in her hand and triumphantly placed it on the table. "Yes! It's gone! Take a look for yourself."
She stepped aside and let me have a peek. Not that I really needed to; if Sam said it was gone, it was. Have I mentioned before she's usually right? I can't believe this substance could vanish like that. But then again, wasn't this whole situation unbelievable?
Relief started to overwhelm me. Everything would be all right. I needed to run some more tests on the colonel, I needed him to wake up and tell me the pain was gone, but it was looking damn good at last.
I checked him over and over during the next couple of hours and was finally convinced; his temperature was showing a steady fall, and his blood pressure was slowly getting back to a normal reading.
We all gathered around the bed when he stirred. He cracked his eyes open, took in his surroundings, confusion all over his face. Then he looked at his team and at me, questioningly.
"Hi," I said, patting his arm. "How are you feeling?" I was glad to see at least some color was returning to his cheeks.
He thought it over for a second. "Not too bad…" he cracked, his throat probably rough from the removed respirator.
Daniel held a cup of water in front of him and helped him sip.
"How's the shoulder?" I had to know.
He frowned. "Don't feel a thing. What did you do?"
"Long story. There was a substance in your blood causing the pain, but it's gone now. I'm sure Sam will explain it all to you. But not right now. I want you to sleep for at least twenty-four hours. You're still exhausted."
He didn't protest. He was probably too tired to understand Sam's upcoming scientific rambling. To tell you the truth, he has a hard time listening to her when he's fully awake anyway… I could almost see his eyes drift away. He managed whispering, "Thanks," before he dozed off.
We all smiled and watched him sleep peacefully at last.
It had been a rough couple of days for everyone. But it was all over now…
THE END.