Over the days and weeks that followed, Daniel's corner of the infirmary changed markedly. It was transformed from a grey and sterile place into a warm, inviting shelter. Teal'c brought his candles and practiced his Kel-No-Reen there. Jack went to Daniel's place and brought back some of his favorite music and books.
Carter refused to sit in the hard plastic chairs any longer. Instead she brought in a rocking chair with a soft cushion for them to use. There was never a moment of the day or night that one member or another of the team wasn't with him, usually all three were there, just sitting quietly. While Janet insisted that they each leave the infirmary for six straight hours a day, she had three beds moved in beside Daniel's.
It amused her that each member of the team had very distinct ways in which they kept watch at Daniel's bedside. Janet didn't know if Daniel really knew they were there. He would wake from time to time and seemed to take comfort from finding them there, but knowing they were there helped raise Janet's spirits. Sometimes she would stand just beyond the curtained area that was Daniel's private domain, where no one could see her, and just listen.
Teal'c favored telling Daniel stories of his childhood on Chulak and of his training with Master Bra'tac. Occasionally Sam would read to him from volumes of poetry, more often she brought some project or other she was working on. She would work out loud, as if she were trying to bounce her ideas off Daniel. Sometimes she would take both sides of the conversation and imagine what he might say to her.
Jack read the sports page to him every day. Janet smiled to think that it was probably more than Daniel had every known about sports in his life. He read the biographies of sports heroes to him and explained the rules of hockey.
Sometimes Jack would pull out one of Daniel's old journals and read to him the young man's own words from happier days spent on Abydos. Some hours he would just sit and hold Daniel's hand as if it were the anchor to his friend's soul.
It was on a day when Jack was again reading the sports page to him, that Daniel woke at last with some semblance of comprehension in his blue eyes. "Jack?"
Instantly dropping the paper, Jack leaned into his friend. "Hey, Daniel." He picked up the cup of water from its place on the table and held the straw for his friend to drink. It took a minute, but there was more awareness in Daniel's eyes than any of them had seen thus far. Jack smiled down at him. "How are you feeling."
"...Sports scores?"
"Hey, I can't let you get behind on the important stuff just because you're out of it for a while."
The eyes brightened with amusement, "...new form of torture? I give up. I'll tell you anything you want to know."
"It's not that bad, have you been listening to some of those science manuals Carter's been reading from? Jeez, it gives me a headache just looking at the covers. And you know, none of those things have any pictures."
Jack imagined that he saw a ghost of a smile form, but it was replaced by a frown, "What happened?"
"You don't remember?"
There was a small shake of his head.
"You don't remember deciding to take a walk in a minefield?" Jack asked incredulously.
"Minefield? No. Was anyone else hurt?"
"Just you. You found them before the rest of us could. Actually it was the perimeter of the gate that was mined. Some people seriously did not want visitors. Seems to me they could have just posted a 'no trespassing' sign. We would have left nicely."
"God. How long?"
Jack shrugged. He wanted to downplay the situation, make it not as bad as it was, but how did you do that exactly? "A couple of weeks."
"Have you? I mean, well..."
Jack could read the question in the blue eyes, "We've been here the whole time."
"Thanks," Daniel's eyes misted at that.
"Hey, we couldn't let you have all the fun alone."
"Fun? Jack you are twisted." Yes, there was a definite smile as his eyes closed and he slipped back into sleep.
Jack paused at the door to the infirmary looking through the window. He remembered the day over a month ago when he had stood there, wondering if his friend was going to live or die. The damage done by the alien mine was on its way to being repaired, Daniel had underwent more surgery and was slowly healing.
It had been exactly a month since he had woken the first time and they knew he was going to make it. So, now, Jack O'Neill, Daniel's closest friend, was going to destroy him again.
Taking a deep breath, Jack pushed open the door and entered the room. He was greeted with the ever-present quiet hum of the infirmary, the reassuring sound of machines doing their job, keeping a body alive that by all rights should have been dead. Daniel looked like some bizarre half-man, half-machine creature with tubes and IV's and lines attached to his body in a multitude of places. But he was alive.
Daniel stirred when he heard footsteps and smiled enthusiastically, "Hey Jack, Janet told me they may fix up one of the VIP rooms soon and let me move down there. Something about getting my whiny self out of her infirmary. I don't whine, do I?"
Jack smiled. Daniel's voice was getting stronger every day. And if Janet was thinking of moving him out from under her watchful eye in the infirmary, then the young man must be getting better. "Hey, not that I've ever noticed, but I wouldn't argue with her. You know what she does to people who argue with her."
"Oh, yeah, needles..." Daniel shifted uncomfortably as if he had unpleasant memories of what Janet did with those needles. "Anyway, she said I could probably start doing some work once they move me. You know, light stuff, translating and digging through some of the artifacts teams have brought back since my accident. I guess things are piling up."
"I've seen the stuff, Daniel; it's just piles of dusty rocks. There's nothing that can't wait. Besides they're bringing in some kid with credentials up to here," He held his hand up to his neck, "to help us out while you're laid up."
"I don't need anyone to come in and help. I can get caught up..." his agitated tone and raised heart rate caused one of the monitors to begin beeping louder.
From inside the office they heard a feminine voice call out, "Colonel O'Neill, if you're upsetting my patient, I will personally boot you out of my infirmary. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, ma'am," he answered quickly. You did not upset Dr. Fraiser in her own territory. She was like a mother bear protecting her own when it came to taking care of her patients, and Daniel was one of her favorite cubs.
"Calm down, Daniel, Jeez you're going to get me in trouble. It's only for a few months, until you've recovered." Jack spoke in his most soothing tones and the young man did seem to grow calmer, if only a little. Then it occurred to Jack that the calm might be medically induced. He thought he remembered Fraiser telling them that one of those tubes delivered a sedative automatically when Daniel's heart rate was elevated. Well, okay, he would take the calm any way he could get it. "As a matter fact, the General wants SG-1 back in the field."
"Well, sure. I didn't think you guys would wait around for me until I was able to join you again. That may be a while yet." His voice was getting weaker and his eyes were starting to close. Yes, most definitely Janet's medicine was working its magic.
"So, the General wants us to take the new kid with us, kind of get him up to speed, let him see exactly what it is we do here." The heart monitor went crazy on that one; he could see that Daniel was struggling against the effects of the sedative. The look he gave Jack was one of pure reproach.
"Are you replacing me, Jack? Is there something that Janet isn't telling me? Am I going to be stuck in this bed forever?" Speaking of the Doc, Jack heard her brisk footsteps behind him.
"What did I tell you about upsetting him, Colonel? I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave." She gave him a withering look that would have frozen a lesser man, but he wasn't done yet. He couldn't leave it like this.
"No, don't make him leave," Daniel struggled to get the words out as he grasped for Jack's hand.
"It's okay, Daniel," Jack took his hand. "The new guy is NOT replacing you. Hey, what can I say? You're irreplaceable. Officially, he's been assigned to SG-3, but he's some new whiz kid and the General wants SG-1 to break him in. You know-show him the ropes, get him used to the routine, and make sure he doesn't hurt himself the first time out."
Daniel looked into his eyes, trying to read the truth behind them. Finally he smiled, relaxing a little. "Well, at least I've given you some experience in knowing what to look out for."
"That's what I'm saying. We're the best-qualified team for that sort of work. Now, we're going to go on this babysitting run with the baby genius. You should see him, Daniel, he looks even younger than you did that first time we went out."
Daniel's eyes were beginning to close again, but he opened them gamely, "Maybe you should put him on a leash," he suggested with a yawn.
"Nah, at least he's military. He'll know better than to go wandering in a minefield." There was a slight hiss from the Doctor and Jack realized what he'd just said. He could have kicked himself, but Daniel only smiled wider as his eyes drooped lower.
"Bet you're not going to have any fun without me..." was all he could get out before he gave up the struggle against the sedatives.
"No bet at all, Danny," he reached out and brushed Daniel's hair back, his breathing smoothed into the regular rhythms of sleep. Jack stood a moment just watching him breathe. Finally he looked up at the doctor with his own small smile, "That went well, don't you think?"
She didn't even bother with a reply. She pointed at the door as she began one more check of Daniel's vitals. She made sure Jack was all the way out of the door before she allowed herself a small smile.
Jack caught up with his team in the gateroom. Everything was ready to go, their packs waiting in a pile next to the ramp. Sam squatted next to him as he checked the contents of his field pack. "How did he take it, sir?"
"Better than I thought he would, but I think that was more because of the doc's happy drugs than anything else. Still, I feel better that I told him. I wouldn't want him to find out from some gossiping nurse that SG-1 had gone out with a new linguist in tow." He glanced around the room, "Have we seen the wunderkind yet?"
"Oh, yes," she rolled her eyes. "He's been in and done all of his pre-mission checks. I get the feeling we're holding him back."
"Ease up there, Captain. The kid's eager, there's nothing wrong with that," he advised her in his best 'command' tone. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "Okay, I have to work really hard not resent him myself for not being Daniel," he confessed with a little shrug, "but we need to be fair. It's not his fault that Daniel was injured. Just keep telling yourself that it's only temporary. Daniel's getting stronger every day."
"I know, sir, still..." she trailed off and rolled her eyes, "he's just so efficient. It's grating sometimes."
"Yeah, well, Daniel'll be back before we know it. Then we'll hand the kid off to SG-3. They'll shake some of that efficiency out of him." He smiled and offered the bombshell he'd been waiting to deliver, "Daniel says they're going to move him to one of the VIP rooms soon!"
Carter's delighted cry echoed round the room. The techs stopped what they were doing to look over at the pair.
It was that moment that Lt. Jonathon Michaels bounded in with all the enthusiasm of youth. He was so ready to go. He'd been talked at and debriefed for days now. He just wanted to walk through the gate and stand on a whole new world. When were they going to go already?
Across the room he could see the Colonel and Captain Carter standing in a corner talking, checking their equipment. The Jaffa Teal'c hadn't arrived yet, but the Lieutenant knew he, at least, was ready. He shifted nervously, should he join his teammates? Then the name 'Daniel' floated over to him and he turned his back.
As much as he had heard about the Stargate program over the last couple of weeks, he'd heard nearly as much about Dr. Daniel Jackson and he was sick of it. You would think that the man was some sort of water walker the way people talked about him. Hell, he wasn't even military.
Michaels had read a lot of the mission briefs to get the history and mission of the SGC and his opinion of the Doctor wasn't particularly high. He second-guessed his commanding officer and he didn't follow orders. Hell, just look at the reason he was injured. If the man had had any discipline, it never would have happened.
Privately, Lt. Jonathon Michaels knew he was the better choice for SG-1. He was determined to take the opportunity offered as a temporary member of SG-1 to prove it to them and the General. If he had things his way, Daniel Jackson would never step through the Stargate as a part of the premiere team again.
Finally the alien Teal'c arrived and everything was ready. The General gave the go for dialing to start and Lt. Jonathon Michaels, lately of the United States Air Force Academy, watched the Stargate spin for the first time. It was one of the defining moments of his life to watch it spin and lock, spin and lock, seven times before the gate engaged and the pool of silvery blue liquid sprang into life before him.
He stood in awe that such a thing existed, that people had walked on new worlds, exploring; and no one in the outside world even knew about it. Now he stood in their number.
He looked over at the three members of his new team and swallowed. He so badly wanted to be accepted. He wanted to succeed. He wanted to show them that he could follow orders, that he could make them the team he knew they could be. He wanted to make them forget that Doctor Daniel Jackson had ever existed.
He wanted these people whom he respected with all his soul, to speak of him as they spoke of the geeky archaeologist, with quiet respect and love. He wanted it more than he had ever wanted anything, and he was determined to prove his worth, no matter what it took. He lifted his pack and followed the other three up the ramp.
He had read all the material about the wormhole, but he didn't really understand how it worked. He just knew that if these people told him that it was safe then he would believe them. He would have followed them to hell if they had asked him to, just for a chance to be a part of their team; the best team – SG-1. Soon it would be his team.
He followed as they stepped through the silvery surface of the gate, and went on the most amazing trip of his life. He thought he would just step through the gate and would be someplace else. He hadn't expected the cold or the feeling of being pulled apart. There was a sense of sliding, sliding, sliding, and then he was pulled back together and born into a new place. He stepped through the other side of the gate and found himself standing on another planet.
He thought he knew what to expect. He'd seen the MALP's information, flat pictures on a screen that was supposed to prepare him to stand on another world. He knew there would be two suns and he was ready with his protective sunglasses. He was unprepared for the rush of wonder that overwhelmed him. He was standing on a new world!
It was a world that humans had never known before. He and the rest of SG-1 were the first from Earth to ever step there. He was surprised at how green it was, at how much it looked like his own Earth. Okay, except there were two suns and it was really bright. He slipped the glasses over his eyes as he saw his teammates doing. He tried to look as nonchalant and easy as they did. He stood there attempting not to gape at the new world around him and looked to the Colonel to follow his lead.
O'Neill glanced back opening his mouth to tell Daniel to not move a step. He stopped himself in time when he realized that it wasn't Daniel standing there. He did his best to quell the swell of resentment he felt toward the kid who was actually standing there. He almost succeeded.
Shading his eyes with his hand, O'Neill surveyed the planet. Even with the sunglasses it was still really bright. Yeah, two suns did that. Hope I packed the heavy-duty sunscreen.
Green grass stretched as far as they could see. In front of them a road ran toward a building silhouetted against the horizon,
"Hey, Carter," he called, pulling her to the side. "What would you say that was?"
Following his gaze to the far-distant ruin, she answered in a lowered tone, "Maybe you should ask Michaels, sir. Isn't that what he's here for? Let him get his feet wet?"
"A temple, wouldn't you say?" He asked in the same low tones she had used. After listening to Daniel's lectures, he figured he should know a temple when he saw one.
"Looks like, sir," she nodded.
"Good, that's what I thought." He beckoned the younger man to join him as he moved off the pedestal, trusting Carter and Teal'c to move in behind them and cover their six.
Michaels hurried to catch up with his commanding officer. "Yes, sir?"
"So, you studied archaeology before you went to the Academy?" The road they walked on was obviously old, but it was still smooth and flat. Curiously enough it wasn't cracked and overgrown with vegetation as he might have expected to find.
"Yes, sir. I had a foster brother once who…" Some emotion O'Neill couldn't identify flickered over his face and then it was gone as he abruptly shut it down. After a moment he continued, "I wanted to be an archaeologist. My dad wanted me to be in the Air Force." He shrugged, "I guess dad won." There was a tone to his voice the Colonel couldn't quite place.
"You never know. You might get to use those digging skills yet. Daniel even gets to use those little bitty brushes he carries around every now and then. You should see him; he gets so excited when he pulls them out. He has this ritual..."
"Yes, sir." Michaels cut him off brusquely, then temporized with, "If I may ask, what are we looking for here?"
The kid didn't waste time with small talk. Okay... "Well, basically we're just on a fact-finding mission here. We're scoping the place out, see if there are any native folk, find out if they've seen anybody walking around with strange glowing eyes..."
"Reconnaissance, sir?"
"Well, yes if you want to put it simply." The kid really didn't waste words. That was a good thing right? "SG-1 is kind of like first contact. It's our job to assess a planet and see if it's worth further study."
Michaels seemed to consider his words, before asking, "It's pretty dangerous, isn't it, sir?"
"Well, I guess that's why we're paid the big bucks."
"Do you mind if I ask you a question?"
"Go ahead, Michaels, that's the only way you're going to learn things."
"Well, how is it that a front line team like SG-1 had a civilian in it?"
Had? Jack looked at the kid askance, "Well, Daniel isn't just any civilian, you know. He's the one who figured out the secrets to making the Stargate work. We wouldn't have gotten anywhere without him."
"And I'm sure he's very valuable back on the base translating and researching, but should he be in the first team that ever sets foot on a new world? Isn't that dangerous? I've read the reports and he sounds…, I don't know..., like a geek?"
Okay, the kid had just overstepped his bounds, it didn't matter who his daddy was. The Colonel had his suspicions as to how high that went, but he was not going to let him call Daniel names... Nobody got to call Daniel a geek but Jack O'Neill and he hadn't done that for a long time. Okay, hold on to your temper, change the subject.
"So, Michaels, what would you say that is, there on the horizon?" Jack pointed vaguely in the direction of the building, "Looks kinda like a Piggly Wiggly to me, but what do I know? I'm just a military type."
He paused to consider. "Well, sir, there's just any number of things it could be. I'd hate to make any premature guesses just to be proved wrong later."
"Look, Lieutenant, SG-1 has to work fast. We have to get in quick, find out everything we can and get out. You never know if the locals are going to be friendly or if they're going to want to invite you for dinner and I mean you are the dinner. Or maybe you've accidentally stumbled onto a Goa'uld stronghold; so you've got to use all the tools at hand and think fast, make quick judgments.
"Now let me tell you," he couldn't resist taking a jab at the young man for his 'geek' comment, "Daniel's mind works at the speed of light. Sometimes he comes up with things out of thin air, just by breathing the air of a new planet. So, tell me, what do you think that structure is?"
Michaels took a deep breath before he answered. He knew he was being tested, but it just wasn't fair. Here was his chance to prove himself and the specter of Daniel was there, standing right there next to the Colonel, where he wanted to be. Okay, what was the damned building? "Well, some sort of public place, where people gathered, maybe a meeting hall or a government building. If you look, you'll see, even from here, that there are several roads that converge on it. Everything's kind of overgrown, like no one's been here in a while. It's obviously long abandoned."
The thought of having the chance to study it, even for a few days, set his heart beating faster. Who knew what he would find there? It was the mystery that made him love archaeology. His breath caught in his throat when he realized that he could be the one to find the weapon that would make Earth safe from the threat of the Goa'uld. That would show his father and Daniel Jackson who was second best.
He imagined himself returning to the SGC triumphantly. He could see the rest of SG-1 gathered around him proudly. The people would be applauding, his dad would be there, and Daniel …
The Colonel's voice brought him abruptly back to the present situation, "The MALP's data didn't indicate that there were signs of civilization here about. So, I think we're alone right now. This road is going in that direction, why don't we take a look and see what it is exactly?" The Colonel turned his impenetrable gaze on him for a moment. It was impossible for the young man to tell what he was thinking, but he had the feeling that he was being judged on the scale of Daniel and had been found wanting. As if that had never happened before…
O'Neill slowed his pace to walk with Carter. He exchanged a look with Teal'c, and gave a small jerk of his head. The big Jaffa moved up to walk with the newest member of their team; newest temporary member of their team.
" Carter." They walked in silence. The ruin they headed toward just seemed to keep getting further away as the Stargate receded behind them until they couldn't see it anymore. Finally he spoke, "Daniel's going to recover, isn't he? I mean fully."
"I think so, yes, sir. I kind of snuck a look at his chart, and it was bad. Bad." She shuddered, "but he's doing really well, and he's got the best care. I think he's going to be back with us. It might not be for a while yet, but... he'll be back."
"Good. I was afraid we really were training this kid to take his place. Is there something 'hinky' about this kid, Carter?" He asked finally.
"You mean besides the fact that he's not Daniel?" She grinned at him.
Jack shook his head, "He irritates me just by standing there," he admitted reluctantly.
"He just wants to please you, sir. I think there's a huge amount of hero worship there. Whenever I've talked to him, it's been 'the Colonel said this,' and 'the Colonel said that.' 'I read in a report that SG-1 did this,' 'don't you think he's brave, smart, a brilliant tactician.' I don't think I've heard him go more than a whole sentence without saying your name."
"Well, you do have to admire his good sense, there."
"Really, sir, I think he's okay. He just wants to prove himself to you. It seems very important to him."
"So, what do you think? Is there anything worth studying here?" He gestured at the world around them.
She shook her head. "The MALP didn't indicate any signs of any advanced civilization here - no radio waves, no energy signatures of any kind. I think that the only thing of interest to us is that temple. I'll get some soil samples. There might be something of mineral value, but I don't think we're going to find any advanced allies against the Goa'uld here."
"I agree. So, let's put the kid through his paces and see if he knows what he's doing. Do you know he thinks our ruin is a government building?"
"No way!"
"Way!"
They continued walking in companionable silence, letting Teal'c and Michaels set the pace.
to be continued...
