PART TWO

As the drowsiness from the anaesthesia slowly went away, nausea quickly increased and soon Daniel was sweating with the effort of not throwing up and aggravating the pain in his belly further. Breathing Daniel sighed gratefully when the nausea receded back to a bearable level. When he thought his stomach had settled for the now, he looked around a little. Everything felt foggy and he couldn't think clearly. Had he dreamt? He talked to Rodney earlier, hadn't he? Had his brain been fried beyond repair when he was hit by that power surge? Looking around his bed to see if someone was around to answer his questions Daniel found the room dismayingly empty. Not even a nurse was in sight, but there was a table by the far wall with a computer and Daniel knew there were screens around him by the sound of their beeping and the feel of leads and tubes on and in his body.

But why was there no chair by his bed? Shouldn't someone be sitting with him? Where was his team? Were they on a mission he didn't know about? Had something happened hat demanded them being elsewhere? Or had they been banned from his bedside? SG-1 always visited for a while even when one of them was in the infirmary. He'd have to ask about that. If there was anything Daniel knew, it was that no one got left behind, not even when on Earth. It was the first rule of any SG unit. You never left anyone behind, no matter the situation. But just now Daniel felt abandoned.

There were no telltale signs of anyone having been by to keep watch. There were no books on the bedside table no files or reports or deck of cards. No chess board or empty coffee cups and plates indicating someone had eaten by his bedside while watching over him. His glasses lay neatly folded on the table to his left, and a small pitcher and plastic cup sat beside it. Seeing the water, Daniel realised he was thirsty. He felt weak and lethargic and suddenly longed for someone to anticipate his needs and hand him the cup before he even could voice the need for something to drink. Giving himself a mental shake Daniel was surprised by his own thoughts. Had he become so used to his team being there for him when he needed them that he couldn't get the water himself? Disgusted with his relying on his friends he determinedly tried to sit up to reach for the desperately needed water himself. Feeling the pull of his incision Daniel couldn't help but moan in pain as the movement pulled on his stitches. He couldn't quite reach the table from his position and his hand fell back on the sheets with a thump, draining him of energy. It all came back to him then, and he realised; he wasn't at the SGC, he was at Atlantis, and the whole disastrous attempt at deciphering Janus' codes and resulting kidnapping came back in a rush and he struggled to catch his breath.

That's why he was alone. He wasn't here with his team; he'd gone on this mission all by himself, getting the green light from Landry three weeks ago and working day and night to prepare before coming here, what…yesterday? He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but two days sounded about right. They'd spent maybe half a day or even more in the cell on the rogue Asgard world, hadn't they? And it'd been very early morning when they were snatched. Okay, three days then, Daniel decided. He thought he'd been some time in the infirmary as well.

Recovering from his attempt at getting to the water, Daniel groped around for the call button. They had those here as well, didn't they? Most things here were alike the things he was used to seeing at the SGC's infirmary, but there were some machines and equipment that looked definitely Ancient. Like that scanner they'd put him under when he first came to the infirmary. It was nothing like either an X-ray machine or an MRI. The probe just scanned over his body from above and there was no feeling of claustrophobia which he normally felt when inside the scanners at the SGC. He'd just lain in his bed and watched the thing move over him a couple of times.

Finally finding the call button he pressed the knob and waited for a nurse to come by. He knew his feelings would be closer to the surface when he was pumped up on meds like he was now, but that didn't make him feel any better for thinking those thoughts. He really shouldn't be affected by being on his own like this. After all he'd spent so many years weathering troubles alone, that recovering from surgery shouldn't be a problem. Unlike the people affected by the Attero device he had a home just a trip through the stargate away, and the people here were also his people. They all were part of the SGC. Some of the people working in this infirmary had experience from the infirmary at the SGC Daniel knew, and many of the military people had been trained at the SGC. Maybe Rodney or someone from his team would come to check on him later? There was much to do at Atlantis. Rodney would come when he had the time, Daniel decided. He knew it was mean, but he couldn't help thinking Rodney would come if only to gloat about how he'd saved Daniel and how he'd got things up and running again here. Daniel had overheard the nurses talking and it confirmed what Dr. Keller had told him earlier: The stargate here had imploded. The scientists were now working on fixing the one the Daedalus had brought in. If Rodney was up and well, he'd be busy working on that, not wanting to check on Daniel. Disgusted by feeling sorry for himself, Daniel itched to help out. There must be something he could do.

A nurse came by and interrupted his thought process, asking about how he was feeling.

"Can I have some water?" Daniel asked.

"Yes, of course, here you go." The nurse poured a small amount into the cup and handed it to him, watching as he drank, taking it away when he'd taken a few sips.

After drinking much too little to satisfy his thirst, but apparently more than enough for his queasy belly, Daniel fell asleep, feeling alone and defeated.

*****

When Daniel woke again he had no idea what time of day it was or how much time had passed since his little emotional breakdown in the recovery room. Thankfully he'd not cried, because the very thought had his face burning with embarrassment and he quickly turned his face into his pillow to hide it from any potential onlookers.

Feeling in control of his emotions once again, Daniel pulled his face away and looked around. He'd been moved. There were several beds surrounding his now, and he could see someone lying in the bed in the corner. He tried to see if he recognised the person, but without his glasses there was no chance he'd see that far clearly. It appeared to be a woman though, Daniel thought, as he took in the long blond hair on the pillow. Rodney was nowhere in sight.

Closing his eyes to relieve the strain, he listened for any activity, but it was quiet. Not completely noiseless, but there were no running feet or cacophony of beeping monitors. The leads connecting him to the monitors beside him were beeping soothingly, everything sounding normal, at least as far as he could surmise. But then, Daniel was no doctor. Of medicine that is, he giddily thought to himself. Oh yes, he was pretty doped up if he thought that was funny. There was no pain or extreme sensitivity at the moment, just fatigue and a slight pull in his stomach if he moved. Smiling to himself he looked around the room again. Shouldn't someone have recognised that he was awake by now? After waiting for a couple of minutes, he thought about pressing the call button again, but decided against it. He didn't need the impartial attention of a nurse or some doctor poking or prodding him. He needed his team, his friends. He needed to know that things weren't as bad in the Pegasus galaxy as he feared. He needed to speak to someone about the extent of damage, but he guessed no one knew that yet. They'd have to take the jumpers out and take a closer look at some of the planets. In the very least they had to dial up their allies and check if they were all right.

As if reading his thoughts a nurse stopped by his bed, looking at him curiously. "Are you awake?"

Daniel nodded.

"Do you need something?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Good. I'll just check things here and I'll let you rest." The nurse checked the screens around him, adjusted a couple of the leads and wrote something in the chart. "Everything looks fine so far," he said. "Dr. Keller will be by to see you soon."

"Okay." Daniel felt uncharacteristically bereft as he watched the nurse left. There were people here to care for him, but they didn't care about him. Not the way his friends would anyway.

Stupid meds, Daniel thought, annoyed with his emotional upheaval. With a pang of loss Daniel missed Teal'c's warm gaze seeking his and pleased rumble of his name each time he saw Daniel wake up in the infirmary. He missed Vala's exuberance and bouncing, even if it mostly annoyed him and jarred him out of his rest. She had learned a lot though, and improved immensely. He missed Sam's sisterly touches, her kissing his cheek and stroking his hair or arm. He missed Mitchell never being able to sit still and his efforts of containing his energy, the restlessness revealing itself in a twitching leg or a tapping of his fingers. Just like Jack, Daniel thought with a smile. Maybe thinking of his friends wasn't so bad after all. At least he had friends. Not everyone did. It was just that his weren't here when he needed them. He wasn't abandoned.

Feeling emotional but not quite so miserable as earlier when thinking of his friends back at the SGC, Daniel couldn't help but missing Jack and Janet as well. It was several years since Janet died, but Daniel had been on the receiving end of her care over so many years that he never could forget her touch. He'd carried her dead body in his own arms over the battle field and through the 'gate, shocked and overcome by grief by her loss. Her slight weight no burden. It was the least he could do after all the times she'd saved him.

Feeling tears he'd no intention of shedding starting to wet the corners of his eyes, Daniel hastily wiped them away and turned his head into the pillow, cursing his emotional state. Movement was a bit easier, but it still took a lot of effort and he panted from the exertion when he finally managed to turn over onto his side, dragging his blankets with him, pulling them over his head. Hiding beneath them as best as he could, Daniel drifted, not immediately falling asleep.

*****

"SG-1 to the control room!" Walter's voice rang out over the loudspeakers of the SGC. Sam startled and hoped it wasn't anything serious. Maybe it's Daniel. He'd been at Atlantis for a couple of days now and should be getting back soon. Or at least give one of his fast-talking, wildly gesturing, excited reports and ask for more time. Sam smiled and hurried through the halls. Turning a corner she almost bumped into Vala in her hurry to get there.

"Do you know what's going on?" Vala asked.

"No. Daniel should report in by now," Sam said.

"Let's hope it's him, then," Vala said, speeding up and hurrying to the control room.

*****

"General?" Mitchell asked. He and Teal'c were already looking at the monitors when Sam and Vala came rushing up the stairs.

"It's Atlantis," General Landry explained.

"Daniel?" Sam asked with a mixture of anxiety and expectation.

"Not exactly," said the voice coming through the monitors.

"Colonel Sheppard?" Landry said in a somewhat surprised greeting. "We were expecting Dr. Jackson."

"Yes, we know. And about that," Sheppard said, shifting his gaze around the room. No Daniel could be seen. "He's in the infirmary."

"Infirmary?" Sam asked, stepping up to the screen as if that could bring her closer to her friend. "What happened? Is he all right?"

"What's he done now?" Vala shot in, interrupting.

"He managed to get himself zapped," Rodney put in, waving at the SGC personnel. "Hi, Sam."

"Rodney," Sam acknowledged. "What's going on?"

"I saved his life," Rodney said, glowing. "I was going to leave him behind when things got rough, but he insisted on not letting me go in and turn the device off by myself."

"McKay!" Sheppard said exasperated. "You're only confusing them. Start from the beginning."

"Explain." Teal'c demanded at the same time.

"All right, all right, all right. You all know about Janus' secret that lab Daniel was looking for?"

"Yes?" came the impatient answer from SG-1 and Landry. "Get on with it," Landry demanded.

"Well, we found the lab. But just after we got started on cracking the codes to even start finding out what the lab was about, we got stunned by some sort of ray gun and whisked away by a bunch of evil Asgard. They brought a device with them out from Janus' lab and when we arrived at their planet, I figured it was a key to another device, called the Attero device and they demanded us to turn that device on."

"Asgard?" Mitchell asked. "There's Asgard in the Pegasus galaxy?"

"Yes." Woolsey said, trying to soothe the rising tension. "Dr. McKay, please continue."

"Right, right. Well, we found out what the device from Janus' lab at Atlantis was supposed to do. It releases a subspace static that disrupts the specific frequency the Wraith ships use when starting their hyperdrive to enter subspace. The static from this device destroys the hyperdrive and the Wraith ships explode. That was the intention, anyway. And it worked—but…."

"But," Sheppard interrupted, "there was a little flaw in the plan, a so-called unforeseen side-effect."

"It blows up stargates," Rodney said, defeated. "That's why Janus stopped the experiments after only a few days testing. But the Asgard didn't care. They just wanted to leave their toxic little planet and go someplace nice where they wouldn't need heavily armoured suits to stay alive. And they don't use the stargates, so it was of no concern to them if the gates all over the galaxy blew up."

"How?" Sam asked. "What made the stargates explode?"

"Well," Rodney began. "When the wormhole is connected it attracts energy from subspace, as you all probably know. The Attero device causes an energy spike in the active stargate that prevents the wormhole from shutting down; the energy builds, and the 'gate explodes, or implodes if encased in an energy field like ours is. We're able to contact you now because we picked up one of the gates left over from the gate-bridge. Other worlds are not so fortunate, and now we've blown up their stargate." Rodney had started his explanation at break-neck speed like he used to, but by the end of it sounded more like mumbling. Daniel must be devastated, Sam mused. If Rodney was this affected by blowing up other people's gates, Daniel must be completely crushed.

"But how is he?" Vala interrupted the rest of Rodney's explanation, apparently thinking along the same lines as Sam had.

"He's in pain, grumpy, but he'll be fine." Sheppard explained. "He's had abdominal surgery. There was some internal bleeding."

"How… how bad is it?" Sam asked breathlessly almost afraid to hear the answer. "Why did he need surgery?"

"He got zapped pretty badly by some power surge when he and Rodney turned off the Attero device. Instead of being released into hyperspace, the power bounced around in the room, and one of the surges hit Dr. Jackson. Dr. Keller says he's going to be bedridden for a while, maybe even need more surgery," Sheppard answered.

"But he'll recover fully according to Dr. Keller." Mr. Woolsey quickly shot in.

"Several of the surges," Rodney said in a small voice.

"What?" Landry demanded. "He was hit more than once?"

"No. Well, yes. When one of the surges hit him it was the accumulation of several surges homing in on Daniel as if he was an antenna. We were wearing these protective suits, but if he'd only been hit by one little blast it'd be like he touched an electric fence or something, but this was more like he got struck by lightning."

"As soon as it is safe for him to travel, I want him back here," Landry said urgently. "I know the medical facilities at Atlantis are good, but I'm sure his team wants him here, and Dr. Lam would want to check him out for herself. We'll schedule a check in tomorrow morning. Give him our best, and let him know we're thinking about him and that there's a bed with his name on it waiting for him in the infirmary here."

"We will," Sheppard answered, looking to Dr. Keller who now was standing by his side. "We'll send you a full report when we send Dr. Jackson back."

"Dr. Keller?" Dr. Lam had joined the delegation on the SGC's side of the wormhole.

"As soon as he's fit to travel, you'll have him right back." Dr. Keller said after explaining in more detail how Daniel was doing.

"Excellent. Keep us informed." Landry said, ending the communication and turning to face his CMO and first contact team.

"At least he's alive," Sam said, trying to sound optimistic. The injuries Dr. Keller described and the pain Daniel evidently was in sounded pretty bad to her.

"Yeah," Mitchell patted her on the arm. "But he's the comeback-kid. I'm sure he'll pull through and confuse us with one of his Ancient myths again soon. I've read all the mission reports, remember? No one bounces back like Jackson does."

To that Sam couldn't help but laugh and agree. It'd be all right. Once Daniel was back on earth things would be just fine.

*****

When Daniel woke this time, there was a chair by his bed, but no one was occupying it. There were signs of someone having been there though. A tablet was lying on his bedside table and a notebook lay on the chair next to his bed. Someone had pulled his blankets back down to his shoulders and the call button was lying just by his hand and he inched his fingers towards it, thirsty and exhausted from his emotional turmoil and the moving around earlier.

"Water?" He croaked when a nurse came over to him, his mouth pasty and dry.

"Of course." The nurse helped him drink a little before taking the cup away. "How are you feeling?" She studied the monitors and took his pulse before putting a thermometer in his ear. "You've got a slight fever, but that's to be expected. You've had extensive surgery."

Daniel nodded. He felt hot and his muscles and joints ached with the fever in addition to the residual effects of the lightning strikes. "I'm okay. A bit queasy still. Tired."

"That figures. You had a pretty bad reaction to the anaesthesia earlier. Dr. Keller was afraid she had to take you in again to repair any damage you might have done to your stitches when you threw up. Do you remember any of that?"

Daniel shook his head. "No."

"That's probably for the best. It was right after we put you in recovery, so you were been pretty much out of it anyway."

Daniel blushed. "What'd I do?"

The nurse smiled a little. "Well, aside from the mumbling in all kinds of languages, Wraith included, or maybe that was Ancient--I'm not too good with languages, I can't hear the difference between them--you tried to get out of bed but no one understood what you wanted. You managed to lift yourself up but couldn't get out of bed of course. Not with the IV and leads connected. Then, in the middle of talking you threw up over the sheets, yourself, the floor and, um… me."

"Oh, God." Embarrassed, Daniel hid his face in his hands. "I am so sorry." He'd been drowsy and feeling drugged to his gills when he woke up but couldn't remember anything of what the nurse described.

The nurse laughed. "No worries. It happens sometimes."

Daniel nodded, trying to come to terms with his actions. "Janet, um, Dr. Frasier--she was CMO at the SGC for seven years--always said that me and anaesthesia was a bad combination. I guess I should have warned you, but Janet never said anything about me being allergic to anaesthesia." He shook his head slightly, but the movement only increased his queasiness and he felt dizzy. Panting for a moment to keep it in check, he added "I'm sorry."

The nurse squeezed his knee. "Don't worry. You didn't have to go back in."

"That's good." Daniel did not like the thought of having to go through yet more surgery. He was feeling bad enough as it was, thankyouverymuch. One surgery per day was enough for him.

Seeing his discomfort, the nurse asked "Do you want something for the nausea? You're not due for more pain meds just yet."

Daniel thought for a moment. He was already tired, and he knew from experience that what he'd get here would just make him more tired. "Um… I don't know."

Sensing his hesitation, the nurse decided for him. "I'll get you some Compazine."

"Okay." Daniel nodded his consent and watched as the medicine was injected into his IV.

Looking pointedly at the chair by the bed, Daniel asked "Who's been here?"

"Dr. McKay was here for a while, but he had to go attend a briefing. They've collected a new gate so it should be up and running soon."

"Good. So he's all right then? He wasn't affected by the power surges? No radiation sickness?"

"He's just fine. He was released earlier with no lasting effects. Dr. Keller kept him overnight as a precaution."

"Um…" Daniel thought for a moment. If Rodney had stayed in the infirmary overnight, he'd been there longer. "What's today?" Daniel asked, trying to piece together the time he'd missed while being in surgery or recovering.

"It's Monday, the sun just went down. You had surgery very early this morning. You were in the OR for three hours and were released from recovery a few hours ago."

"Okay. Thanks." Daniel's sense of time hadn't been far off then. He'd arrived on Saturday morning. Then he and Rodney had worked all through Saturday before they were taken from the lab sometime Sunday morning. Feeling tired now that the antiemetic eased his nausea, Daniel fell asleep just as he realised he should have checked in by now. His team was going to be worried.

*****

"Hey."

Daniel opened his eyes slowly, acknowledging the person standing by his bed when she came into focus. "Dr. Keller."

"Yes. And call me Jennifer. I don't think we've had time for a proper introduction." She stuck out her hand at him.

"I know. Please, call me Daniel," Daniel said shaking it.

"Very well, Daniel. I've got a message for you."

"Oh yeah? From whom?" Daniel asked, curiosity waking him up fully.

"I'll tell you in a minute, but first I need to see how you are doing." Dr. Keller said, busying herself with checking him out.

"Come on, who is it?" Daniel asked, impatiently. When she didn't answer he resigned himself to his fate and lay still while she examined him. When Dr. Keller adjusted it to a semi-upright position, Daniel moved with it.

"So?" Daniel asked.

"It's from the SGC." Dr. Keller said, looking at his monitors. "The stargate is up and running again and we've just spoken to them."

"Yeah? Is everything all right? Who did you talk to? Can I go home?"

Dr. Keller held up her hands and laughed. "Enough with the questions. No, you can't go home just yet. Your team was there, as was Dr. Lam and General Landry. Everything is fine as far as I know. We informed them about the situation and what happened to you and Rodney. The technicians are running some diagnostics to see that everything is working as it should. It's late so we'll see about getting you home in the morning." She fussed with his blankets for a moment. "Now, how do you feel about something to eat?"

"I'm not hungry," Daniel wasn't. He was however glad to have heard from his team. The rush of adrenaline that had woken him when he heard of the conversation with Earth was starting to wear away and he felt nauseous. Food was the last thing on his mind at the moment.

"Still feeling sick?"

"Yeah, a bit."

"Okay, but try eating anyway. You should try the fruit cup; it's good and should go down easily. It's remarkable what delicious foods we have access to here that is so different from what we get on Earth, and yet just as good."

"No Jell-O?" Daniel teased, smiling slightly at the prospect of real food instead of the squishy substance he usually was given when laid up in the infirmary.

"Nope, I don't know if we've got any left," Dr. Keller smiled.

*****