Chapter Six

Falling prey to one of his many reoccurring nightmares Daniel jerked violently in his sleep. No matter how many nights it happened it never occurred to him that it was merely a dream. Sometimes even upon waking it took a few minutes to figure out why his scenery had suddenly shifted to his own home.

Locked in a seemingly endless and useless battle Daniel struggled in vain against Tefnut's First Prime. On the verge of death once again he had been drug to the sarcophagus. His rational mind knew that there was no point in fighting. If he didn't accept it peacefully the First Prime would simply kill him first. There was no reason for the Jaffa to only thrash him within an inch of his life when his life could be instantly restored.

Death was not an escape, but the terror of losing his mind and possible his soul to the healing device was enough to keep Daniel fighting to the end. Daniel used the last of his strength to put his hands on the edge of the open sarcophagus to prevent being placed inside. The First Prime was taken by surprise, having thought that his victim was only a few shallow breaths away from death.

Despite hours of being pushed up against the limits of his endurance Daniel managed to twist away from the large Jaffa. Knowing that there was no where to run he went for the Prime's throat. Yelping in surprise the Jaffa clawed at Daniel's chest when he found himself not strong enough to push him away.

"Stop! Please!"

The cry for mercy only angered Daniel further. He took his hands off his victims throat and struck him hard enough to knock him back to floor. Daniel was on him in seconds and quickly had his wrist captive. There was a uncharacteristic cry of terror that sliced through the air.

"Daniel!!"

This time Daniel recognized Tanya's strained voice. He looked down at the shivering creature pinned to the bed beneath him in a tangle of sheets. He was so shocked to see her that he didn't even realize that he was still hurting her. It wasn't until he saw the thick tears mixing with the blood seeping from her temple that he snapped out of his daze.

"Tanya…I…"

"Please let me go." Tanya whimpered.

Daniel released her instantly and scrambled to get off her. He was drenched in sweat with blood slowly oozing from four shallow gashes in his chest where she had scratched at him. Tanya struggled with the sheets to sit up. Still in shock she began weeping in earnest.

Unsure what to do Daniel reached out and gently touched her shoulder. He was a little surprised when instead of pulling away she threw her arms around him for comfort and cried against his chest. He held her in a light embrace and stroked her raven hair.

"Tanya, I am so sorry. I…I didn't even know you were here."

"It's my fault." Tanya whispered between her tears. "I shouldn't have stayed after you fell asleep."

"This is in no way your fault."

"At least now I know why you never accepted any of my invitations to spend the night at my place." Tanya forced a chuckle.

"I should have told you. I should have warned you."

"How could you possibly know how you act in your sleep?"

"I've destroyed several perfectly innocent pillows."

This time Tanya managed a more genuine laugh. She pulled away and brushed away her tears. Her throat had turned an angry red where he had tried to choke her and blood still ran down her face. Daniel carefully wiped the blood away from the injury to get a better look at it.

"Come on, let's go."

"Go?" Tanya repeated. "Wh…where?"

"The emergency room."

"What? No…I…I'm fine."

"You need stitches, and we need to make sure nothing is broken."

"No, I'm okay, really. Just a little shaken."

"We're going, doctor's orders."

"You're not a medical doctor." Tanya pointed out.

"Don't make me call Jack and have him make it an Official Order."

"You call the General at this hour and I have a feeling you'll be in hotter water than me."

"I'll risk it."

Daniel left no more room for argument. He got up and went into the bathroom for a wash cloth that he ran under some cold water. Already dressed Tanya winced in pain as she stood up. The broken skin over her eye suddenly started bleeding heavier. Daniel returned and pressed the cold cloth against the wound. He stared at her for a moment lost in thought.

"Daniel?"

"I'm sorry." Daniel apologized again. "I can't believe that I would hurt you after everything you've done for me."

"It was an accident, Daniel."

Although he was not feeling any less guilty about what had happened Daniel nodded. Once in the car he began to drive them towards the Base, even though it was late there would still be a medical staff there. However Tanya asked if they could just go to the local hospital. She said still wasn't convinced that the cut needed medical attention and didn't want to bother the already over worked Base staff.

Daniel agreed without questioning her motives even though he didn't really buy her explanation. He knew that if he took her to the Base that rumors would spread through the SGC faster than an alien virus. Personally he was used to the negative attention and whispers there, but he could understand why Tanya would be hesitant.

When they pulled into the hospital parking lot a light misting rain had begun to fall. Tanya offered to go inside alone, but he assured her that he could handle the quick walk. The receptionist seemed unphased by the blood soaked cloth that Tanya was still holding against her temple. She still had Tanya fill out several pages of paperwork. It was just after three in the morning and the place was dead.

However the officer on duty in the waiting room had snapped to attention when they walked in. Unnoticed by the pair he muttered something into his radio. Daniel started to follow Tanya and the receptionist into the back room when the officer reached out and grabbed his shoulder from behind. Daniel jerked away in surprise and turned around. Tanya went to stop as well but the receptionist hustled her through the double doors.

"Sir, unless you require medical attention you'll have to wait out here."

"Okay."

Daniel walked over to one of the rows of chairs that had been set up next to a large fish tank. Watching the brightly coloured fish swim back and forth he waited patiently. After about half an hour a police officer of notable rank stepped through the front doors and into the ER waiting area. Daniel only glanced at him briefly before returned this attention to the fish.

The two officers had a hushed conversation that Daniel was only vaguely aware of. It wasn't until he heard the second officer approaching that he looked up. The man's hair and eyes seemed to be the exact same shade of ebony black. The officer was soaking wet from the increasingly heavy storm, but he didn't seem to care. He glared at Daniel silently.

"Hello." Daniel greeted.

"Can I see some ID, Sir?"

"Um…okay." Daniel reached for his wallet and realized that he didn't have it. "I'm sorry, I don't have any on me, we left the house in a bit of a rush."

"Of course. Name?"

"Dr. Daniel Jackson."

"Doctor?"

"Of archeology."

"I see." The officer replied, clearly unimpressed. "What happened to your hand?"

"What? Oh…" Daniel looked down at the dried blood and brusing on his knuckles from eariler that day. "It's fine, I just slipped and hit it against the shower wall."

"Can I see it?"

Without thinking twice Daniel lifted up his hand for the cop's inspection. With the speed of a striking cobra the officer latched a cold metal handcuff around Daniel's wrist. Before Daniel could even realize what had happened the cop used the cuff to haul him to his feet and twist him around. Confused by the sudden turn of events Daniel wasn't even sure how the officer managed to get his other wrist and cuff it to the other behind his back.

"What's going on?"

"Shut up!"

Daniel cried out as officer struck him hard between the shoulder blades with his elbow. Knocked momentarily breathless Daniel couldn't find his voice to protest. He tried to pull away but the officer had a strong grip on the chain between the painfully tight cuffs.

"You got him, David?" The officer on duty asked casually.

"Yeah, thanks for the call Jamal."

"Anytime. I thought you'd want to deal with it personally."

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute," Daniel managed to gasp "there's been a mistake."

"One more sound out of you, 'Doc', and I'll beat you senseless."

"Wha…what? Why?"

The officer jerked up hard on the handcuffs lancing a sharp pain up Daniel's wrists and into his shoulders. Using his grip as leverage the officer marched Daniel towards the front doors. When the automatic doors slid open Daniel instinctively dug his heels into the carpet when he saw the driving rain. The thought of being pushed out in to the rain with his hands pinned behind his back was enough to bring Daniel to the edge of panic.

"Wait, I'm here with someone," Daniel tried to stall "at least tell her you're taking me!"

"You just don't know when to quit, do you?" David snarled.

"I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Move it!"

"No, please…"

"It's no fun being the helpless one, is it?" The officer growled in Daniel's ear.

"You think I'm abusing her…" Daniel gasped in realization. "No, wait, I know this doesn't look good, and I'm sure you hear this all the time…but it was an accident."

"You're right, I hear that all the time."

With a strength gained from years on the force David shoved Daniel out into the storm. Suddenly wanting nothing more than to get to the officer's car so that he could get out of the rain Daniel tried to walk calmly. The officer was so angry that when Daniel stumbled he twisted the chain between the cuffs in frustrated retaliation.

The flash of pain as the metal cut into his skin pushed a surge of unwanted adrenaline into his blood. Dizzy with panic Daniel fell to his knees. Losing touch with reality he cried out for help, infuriating the officer further. In the back of his mind Daniel could hear the cop yelling at him, but he couldn't make sense of the words.

When David reached down and tried to force his prisoner to his feet Daniel reacted violently. He reared up and threw himself back, knocking the officer to the hard asphalt ground. Daniel didn't attempt to run, he was back on his knees retching in fear. The cop was back on his feet in seconds, a thousand times angrier than before.

"Get up!" He barked. "Now!"

Hearing the fury in the officer's voice Daniel attempted to comply. With his hands behind his back his balance was compromised. When he couldn't find his footing fast enough the officer gave him another harsh warning. With his mind clouded Daniel simply couldn't get up fast enough. When he tried again his jerking motion looked like another clumsy attack.

Snarling in anger David pressed the metal tips of a taser against Daniel's shoulder. The jolt was more than just painful. The current raced directly to the metal switch in his chest and short circuited its wiring. Instantly paralyzed Daniel collapsed to the wet pavement. He briefly considered just losing consciousness, but he realized that he was in real danger of drowning if he did so.

"No!" Tanya's voice suddenly rang out. "Stop!"

"Go back inside!"

"David?!" Tanya cried in shock. "David, what are you doing?!"

"My job!"

"What?! No! Let him go!" Tanya pleaded. "He hasn't done anything!"

"I can't believe you're defending him. My God, look at you, what the hell did he do, throw you into a wall?!"

"It's not what it looks like, pleas…"

"Even if you're not pressing charges against this creep, I am!" David spat. "He's already done plenty to resist arrest."

"David, no, you don't understand. Please let's all just go back inside out of the rain…I…I can explain everything. Please!"

"Go home, Tanya, we'll talk about this later." David reached down and grabbed the chain between Daniel's wrists. "Get up! On your feet!"

"I…I can't." Daniel panted.

"Now!"

With his hands behind his back Daniel had no way of even pretending to get back to his feet. He felt a gentle touch on his shoulder as Tanya knelt down next to him. He turned to look at her and could understand the officer's anger, even if he didn't know how the two knew each other. The marks around her throat had turned a deep purple. She had several stitches in her temple which was also a violent colour.

"Tanya…"

"I'm here, Daniel, it's going to be alright."

"Tanya!" David roared. "Get away from him!"

"Goddamn it, David! What did you do to him?!"

"It's just a taser burn he's fine."

"Tanya," Daniel panted "the Crystal isn't working."

"What the hell is he talking about?" David demanded.

"Shut up and help me get him inside!"

The commotion in the parking lot had finally gathered the attention of the other officer inside and several paramedics. Daniel was struck once again with a nauseating dizziness. He could sense that someone was trying to lift him up, but he couldn't do anything to help. Despite the cold rain he could suddenly feel sweat beading on his skin as well.

"Take these cuff off him." Tanya demanded. "Please, help us, we need to get him inside."

Daniel shook his head to try and clear it as the handcuffs were taken off. His heart was pounding so hard he could feel it in his ears. He was hoisted up on gurney and taken in out of the rain. Daniel expected to feel better, but he didn't, something else was wrong.

"Daniel?" Tanya asked in concern. "Daniel, look at me…are you alright."

Daniel nodded, but it wasn't very convincing. His face started to burn with an intense flush. When his head started to pound with a terrifying headache the skin that he could still feel became ice cold.

"Sir?" One of the doctors was trying to get his attention. "Sir, are you alright?"

"No…" Daniel panted. "Auto…autonomic dysreflexia…"

"What?"

"I need my doctor." Daniel said as he started to lose focus. "Call Dr. Brightman, I need my doctor."

"Daniel, what's happening?"

Before Daniel could answer his upper back arched violently. The doctors and paramedics surrounding him leapt into action.

"He's having a seizure!" The ER doctor cried. "Get him back into ER!"

"Wait, what did he say, autonomic something?" Tanya said.

"Autonomic dysreflexia only happens in para and teraplegics."

"He is paraplegic!"

"Bullshit," David snapped "he was walking five minutes ago."

"Shut up, David!"

The doctors were no longer paying attention to the squabbling pair. They had a new patient on their hands. Tanya pushed David away and chased after the doctors and Daniel as they headed back into ER. His seizure subsided as they were hooking him up to their monitoring devices.

"I need my doctor…" Daniel muttered nearly incoherently "Tanya…Tanya…"

"Daniel!"

"Call Jack…I need Jack! These people are going to kill me."

"Calm down, Sir." The head doctor said. "We're going to help you. Are you epileptic?"

Daniel shook his head.

"Have you taken any drugs tonight?"

"No. No, you can't help me!"

"Doctor," one of the nurses said urgently "his blood pressure is skyrocketing."

"Remolds," the doctor barked "get CT ready."

"No!" Daniel cried. "I need my doctor! Jack!"

"Sedate him."

"No! Tanya! Don't let them take me!"

"Please," Tanya begged "listen he has a very rare condition…"

"Ma'am, please, stay back, we can handle this."

Tanya was pulled away from Daniel's bed side by a strong male nurse. They had pushed something into Daniel's blood to calm him. He was fighting against it, but losing the battle. Tanya begged the ER team to stop, but they weren't listening. Daniel turned his increasingly unfocused eyes on Tanya.

"555-6128…555-6128…555-61…"

Exhausted Daniel passed out. The nurse made mention of a drop in his blood pressure, but they were still bent on taking him in for a CT scan. When they had taken him away the nurse finally let go of Tanya. She pulled away from him and rushed over to the nearest phone. David finally made his way to her and kept her from picking up the phone.

"I swear to God, David, if you don't get out of my way I will kill you!"

"Ta…"

"I mean it!"

"Alright, fine…I'll be in the waiting room. You'd better have one hell of an explanation."

Tanya glared at him murderously as he left. She turned back to the phone and picked up the receiver. She slammed in the phone number Daniel had muttered, unsure who was going to answer. The phone seemed to ring forever.

"H…hello?"

"General O'Neill?!"

"Yes…who is this?"

"Sergeant Emeris."

"What's wrong?" Jack asked, suddenly wide awake.

"I'm at Region's Hospital, Daniel's in trouble…"

"I'm on my way."

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