Enduring the Storm

Chapter 3

Teal'c had relieved him around two in the morning. Daniel had remained asleep, so Jack went to his quarters and flopped down on the bed and slept—for all of three hours. He'd taken a shower and passed the commissary where he picked up coffee and a danish to go. Then he headed for the infirmary.

Carter was on duty at Daniel's bedside. She was reading a book, occasionally glancing at her still sleeping teammate. She looked up when Jack entered.

"Morning, sir."

"Morning yourself. Has he been awake at all?"

"Not since I got here an hour ago. Teal'c said he didn't wake up during the night, either."

She was staring at his Danish. "Why don't you go get some breakfast?" he suggested.

"I can wait."

"Go. You look hungry."

"If you're sure—"

"Want me to make it an order?"

She smiled. "No, I'm going. Let me know if he wakes up."

"Don't worry, I will."

Carter left and he took her seat, digging into the Danish. Daniel slept on. "Mmm, fresh coffee." He waved the cup around Daniel's nose, but there was no response. "C'mon, Daniel, get it while it's hot."

Daniel's nose twitched and his eyelids fluttered open. Wow, it actually worked.

"Look what I've got." He waved the cup again and Daniel's eyes tracked it. Grabbing the straw from the water cup, Jack tested the temp of the coffee and decided it was safe for Daniel to drink. He offered the straw and Daniel took it, sipping the dark brew. After several long sips, Jack pulled it away. "Probably enough for your first coffee in six weeks." Daniel's eyebrows pinched together; apparently he disagreed with Jack on the matter.

"Enough of what?" Fraiser's voice preceded her to Daniel's bedside.

"Uh, enough to drink?" Jack set the cup aside.

"Coffee?" Frasier did not look pleased.

"Only a taste. At least it got him to wake up."

The doctor shook her head and turned to Daniel. "Can you tell me how you're feeling, Daniel?"

Daniel's pinched look turned into a grimace, then he threw his head back and began shaking.

"He's seizing!" Fraiser flew into action, and immediately several nurses joined her. Jack moved to the foot of the bed, craning his neck to get a glimpse of Daniel as the medical personnel worked on him. Finally Daniel calmed and a couple of the nurses moved away. Fraiser adjusted the leads around his still, sweat-soaked body while a nurse cleaned him up.

"That wasn't because I gave him—"

"No, Colonel, it had nothing to do with the sips of coffee you gave him. I was just reading his test results when this happened. There's something else going on."

Ominous—that was the only word that Jack could think of to describe her tone. The doctor finished and motioned him to her office.

"Have a seat, Colonel."

Jack sat down and braced himself for bad news.

"I don't know where to start."

Oh, this was not good.

"We expected infection, even broken bones, but I didn't expect to see such… unusual brain activity on his PET scan."

"Unusual? As in..."

"As in, his brain is working at a higher than normal capacity—much higher. "

"Which means?"

She laced her fingers together and rested her arms on the desk, looking him directly in the eye. "I've only seen this once before, when you had the Ancient repository downloaded into your brain."

What? Jack stared back, trying to sort out how this was possible. "How?"

"I have no idea, but if I were to guess…" She hesitated and looked away, as though not sure she should say it.

And then he got it, like a kick to the head. He knew Daniel had been able to occasionally remember events from when he was ascended. Hell, they'd been able to save Bra'tac and Ry'ac because Daniel remembered where they were. It meant somewhere in that jam-packed brain, Daniel retained some knowledge of the Ancients. And it was leaking out. Jack had no idea what had triggered it, but something had, and now it was overwhelming Daniel's brain. Something else to thank Oma for.

"You think the Ancient knowledge tucked away in his brain has gotten loose."

"I'm afraid that's exactly what's happened," she said meeting his gaze. "In which case, there's nothing I can do to stop it."

Jack had no response, no argument. He knew all too well that the only way to stop it was with the Asgard's help. "Then we need to contact Thor and get them to reverse it."

"I haven't had a chance to present this to General Hammond yet, but I think that's exactly what we need to do. And as soon as possible. His vital organs will eventually start shutting down, and with his already weakened state…"

There was no time to waste. "Call Hammond. I'll round up Carter and Teal'c and meet you in the briefing room."

She nodded and reached for the phone.

~oOo~

Twenty-four hours later, there was still no word from the Asgard.

Jack sat at Daniel's bedside again, feeling completely helpless. Daniel had had another seizure, and Fraiser had detected the first hints that his body was starting to shut down. Jack had wanted to kick something, but before his foot contacted the wall in a moment of anger he'd painfully regret later, Fraiser had shooed him out, insisting he not come back until he could control himself. An hour later he was begging to get back in. The doc had mercy on him and allowed him to resume his vigil, which told him just how concerned she was about Daniel's chances.

Where was Thor? Hammond had authorized contacting the Asgard as soon as he learned of Daniel's condition. Jack knew they were recovering from their battle with the replicators, but they'd always responded in the past. He was hoping—praying—the mechanical bugs hadn't escaped their containment field again, or, heaven forbid, some new threat had popped up.

Daniel's hand twitched and Jack hesitated before he leaned forward and grasped it between his own two hands; to hell with what anyone thought. He'd always been pretty hands-off when it came to comfort; his usual MO was to use humor, but Daniel had always managed to get around his defenses—and since his return from the 'higher planes', Jack was keenly aware that sometimes the situation required more than snappy one-liners "Shhh, it's okay, Daniel. Thor's gonna fix you up, but you gotta hang in there till he gets here." He started gently rubbing the back of Daniel's hand, hoping it was soothing enough to help stave off another seizure. Fraiser would probably tell him there was no connection between the two, but he wanted to think that Daniel would respond to it. Even if it didn't make Daniel feel better, it made him feel like he was doing something to help.

The twitching stopped and Jack relaxed. Still, he continued to rub Daniel's hand. "Atta boy." Jack closed his eyes and dropped his head, never releasing Daniel's hand. He thought back to the last time he'd been at Daniel's bedside, waiting for him to die of radiation poisoning. All the things he'd wanted to say and didn't—what was he thinking? All he could come up with was that he admired Daniel a little? He'd had a lot of time to consider those words, and now here he was again. If Thor didn't come through, Daniel would… No, he refused to believe they'd lose him again. Even so, he didn't want to choose the wrong words this time.

"Hang in there, Daniel. For Carter, for Teal'c, for me. We all care about you; you're part of our family. Don't leave us again, because, I gotta tell you, we won't survive it a second time. You have to know how much you mean to us. You're the glue that holds our little family together. Fight this—you're the strongest person I know; if anyone can do it, you can. Please."

Fingers gently squeezed his hand and he looked up to see slivers of blue peaking out from half-closed eyelids.

"Daniel?"

"J…a…c…k."

Jack grinned and leaned closer. "Hey, welcome back."

Daniel smiled weakly.

"Did you hear… ya know… what I said?"

Fingers squeezed his hand again, sending a flood of warmth through him. "Good, 'cause I'm not gonna repeat it."

Another squeeze. "Eet…ium."

Jack chuckled, glad Daniel understood, but did he comprehend everything? "I don't know if you understand what's going on, but apparently all that Ancient stuff you've got crammed in your head is trying to get out." Daniel continued to watch him, but made no sound. "We've called Thor; I'm sure the Asgard can stop it, just like they did with me. Just hang on a little longer, okay?"

The corners of Daniel's mouth turned up slightly, but then his eyes rolled back and his body spasmed as another seizure took hold.

"Doc!"

Daniel's hand was like a vise around Jack's. He rubbed his other hand up and down his friend's arm, hoping to loosen the muscles and the tight hold on his hand. Fraiser and two nurses rushed to Daniel's bedside and began working on him. Fraiser held up a syringe, which she inserted into the IV bag. It didn't take long for Daniel's body to calm, his hand releasing its death grip on Jack.

"Are you all right?" she asked him.

"Fine—hand might be bruised, but it's not bad."

She took a quick look at it. "You might put some ice on it."

"I will."

They both stood silently, gazes resting on Daniel as the nurses took care of him.

"He's getting worse, Colonel." Her words were spoken quietly and Jack picked up the hint of fear underneath them.

"The Asgard'll come through. They like Daniel; they'll fix him."

"Sir," she turned to face him, eyes shining as she held back tears. "I think you'd better be prepared in case they don't."

TBC