Oh my gosh! I am SO sorry it's taken me so long to update! Thank you all so much for being so patient with me. You are all such dears. Looking back at the reviews I just wanna give you all a big hug. I love you all! Thank you!
:oD
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Child of the Gods: Hey Lori! Cool new name! :op Woohoo for the B on your art assignment (although by now I'm sure it's ancient history, LOL!) Congratulations! LOL. Yes, the NID are evil suckers, aren't they? Whaddya say we all get together and go beat 'em up! :oP
Pike: Oooh! Oooh! I hope I get that hug! If it was meant for me then I return it just as big! :oD
Ooooh- your 'holibobs' sound like they were most relaxing! Lucky you. Well, I shouldn't complain seeing as I'm on winter break right now and have time to write! :oP I can't wait to hear from you again, sweetie! Love ya! :oD
Drakcir: My good friend! We meet again! :oP
I hope your workload wasn't too terrible! :os And thanks for understanding about my late updates. Confounded education! Anyway, I look forward to reading what you have to say about this chapter! ;o)
BluJay: LOL! I hope you didn't fall off your seat, sweetie! Thanks SO much for the review! :oD Here, you can have some of my hair since you pulled out yours. Don't worry, I have plenty of it. ;o)
So you wanna kill Malone and the doctor, huh? I started re-reading chapter nine and I was thinking the same thing… "what kind of sick and twisted author would put Jonas in the hands of those guys?!" Then I screwed up my face remembering that it was me! LOL. You are such a doll, thank you so much for always being their for me! :oD
Let's get Lori and go beat up the NID now! :oP
Minty: It's so great to hear from you, sweetie! :oD Yes! Good must triumph over bureaucracy! Let's hope you like this chapter, then! I'd love to hear your opinion of it! :oD!
Mystical 3: Thanks a million for the review, sweetheart! I loved it! :oD I know, I'm evil to leave Jonas with those bastrads, huh? Wanna join Lori and BluJay and I in beating them up? *evil snicker* Can't wait to hear what you think of this chapter! :oD!
Tibby: So sorry for the long wait! Yes, poor Jonas indeed! Let's all go and give him a hug, shall we? :oD Hope to hear from you soon! :oD
The M: How the heck are ya?! LOL! We do enjoy bashing now and then, don't we? I think it proves our heroes' strength of spirit, which I think is sometimes more powerful than physical strength, don't ya think? I just LOVE hearing from you again and I hope you're well! Love ya babe and don't forget to review this chapter! I love your thoughts! :op
Exploded Pen: LOL! I'm sorry- just you name cracks me up! :oD! Yes! Let us hope that the mission that 'General Hammond is not aware of' goes according to plan! We shall see! ;op Can't wait to hear from you again, sweetie! Love ya!
Angel: Oooh thanks for joining us and for the compliment! It really means a lot to me! I'm so glad that you're enjoying! And no, I certainly haven't given up on it! :oD! Thanks so much! Love ya!
Szhismine: Yay! As hard as your name is to type (LOL!) I still adore hearing from you! :oD! Would I let Jonas die? Hmmm… I certainly hope not! I hope you enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think! Love ya babe! :oD!
CJSpooks: Great to hear from ya, sweetie! I'm sorry for making you wait so long for this chapter! :o( I'm a bad, bad author, I suppose. :o( But I hope you're still enjoying! Thanks for the review! Love ya babe!
LiRA: *Glances fearfully over shoulder* So YOU'RE the one who was hiding in the bushes last night! LOL! Just kidding of course! Oh my, I'm so glad that you've decided against maiming me, but I do certainly agree with your logic that if you killed me, well, then I'd be of even less use than I am now! LOL. Thank you so much for your review and I am SO sorry for the wait! I hope this chapter was worth it, though! Be sure to tell me either way! :oD!
BizzyLizzy: Oh wow- thanks so much! I'm so touched by your remarks, I don't know what to say! Thank you so much for taking the time to review. It means so much to me, and especially to hear encouragement like that! I hope you enjoy this chapter, sweetie! *Big hug!*
And to all "lurkers" out there, come on! Join the party! :oD! I'd love to hear from ya! :oD!
Well, here's where I'd usually try to be eloquent about a 'Black Hawk soaring above her little family' and all, but frankly, if I really was a hawk I think you all would have shot me by now! LOL! *Stops laughing when LiRA arches an eyebrow* Ahem. Anyway, yes, LOL. There is sunlight ahead! …I'll race ya to it! :oP!
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Snow X
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The steady beeping of the machinery in the infirmary room brought little comfort to those gathered around the bed. Janet and Sam both stared at the pale, still figure before them, neither coherent enough to break the momentary silence, both lost in their own worlds of memory. An approaching nurse handed Janet a machine print out which the doctor read eagerly. Sam watched silently as her friend's mouth straightened into a thin line in anger. The Air Force major unknowingly squeezed the unconscious Jonas' hand tighter.
Janet's brown eyes flickered up to her with a fire behind them before she tuned back to the nurse and nearly barked out an order. Sam could tell that her friend was panicked and a part of her didn't want to know why. But at the same time she knew that there was every reason to be panicked. It was only twenty minutes since their arrival time at the SGC infirmary. She and the rest of the remaining members of SG-1 had managed to pull off a haphazard rescue mission. She and Daniel waited in the canvas-backed truck while Teal'c and Colonel O'Neill snuck into the facility. The figure they brought back with them made Sam want to turn away in fear, for as they had approached the truck they had carried in their arms a completely limp form- stripped down to his white, sleeveless undershirt and military trousers; there were needle bruises all over his arms. But what had frightened her the most upon first glance at her comrade was the way his head hung in Teal'c's arms, as if there was no life left in him to fight against the darkness that consumed him.
She had almost been right. They had laid Jonas in the back of the canvas-covered truck and Jack had taken over driving to leave Sam and Teal'c to help their unconscious friend as much as possible. Sam had looked at the remaining IV in Jonas' arm and was disconcerted to find that it was just saline and no clue as to why he was so pale and weak. It looked as though he had lost massive amounts of blood yet she could see no serious external injury aside from bruising. She sneered in disgust when she spotted bruises that distinctly matched the fingers of a human hand on his right bicep. What the hell had happened?
As they had neared the SGC, however, she had little time to ponder that question as Jonas' pulse had suddenly stopped. She had frantically performed CPR until they reached the SGC where a forewarned Janet had been waiting, gurney and defibrillators at hand. It was awful to see her friend shocked by that machine and even Colonel O'Neill looked upset, but when after the second try his pulse came back she knew it had all been worth it. Now she was here, in the infirmary and staring at her friend who was struggling just to breathe as Janet desperately attempted to figure out what was wrong with him.
Remembering the anger she had seen in the other woman's eyes only moments before, Sam realized that Janet knew very well what was hurting their friend. "Janet, what is it?"
Janet spared her only the briefest of glances as she put her stethoscope to her ears and began listening to his chest. "They have him so pumped full of sedatives that it's suppressing his cardiovascular system- he's barely able to breathe and won't be able to for much longer.
Sam was about to ask what they could do about it when a nurse came forward with a needle and handed it to Janet. "Hopefully this will counter its affects. It should wake him up." She looked down at the crook of his elbow where she was to give the injection; it was already so needle-bruised that she hated to add another but she had little to no choice. After slowly injecting the contents of the syringe, Janet listened intently to the sounds in Jonas' chest. After an agonizingly long few minutes she finally looked up. "They're improving-"
"Seems our boy still has some fight left in him," a voice belonging to Colonel O'Neill announced as he entered the infirmary. Sam gave him an appreciative smile yet upon returning her gaze to Janet frowned.
"What is it?"
"He should be waking by now. I gave him enough to jumpstart a cow."
Jack looked impassive. "Maybe he will in a minute."
Janet continued to frown as she listened to her patient's chest once more. Sighing, the doctor removed the stethoscope and looked slightly mournfully at Sam and the Colonel.
Jack knew that look and by God he hated it! "What is it, Doc?"
Janet looked at the two once more before speaking. "There is always the possibility that he never will wake up. We saved his life through resuscitation but I honestly have little to no idea what those people did to him. He could have serious brain damage from having his vitals repressed for so long."
Sam fought hard to keep the lump in her throat from surfacing yet her voice cracked anyway. "What can we do?"
Janet almost shrugged. "We can try another injection… but after that all we can do is wait."
"So go for it," Jack remarked from his place slightly behind the other two.
Janet nodded and whispered something to another nurse who brought forth the needed syringe. "Let's hope this works," she muttered under her breath as she cleaned the area with an alcohol wipe before injecting the syringe. She paused afterwards and smiled down at the still figure, placing a caring hand on his cold cheek. "Come on Jonas…"
Sam didn't even notice the tears welling up in her eyes as all of her attention was focused on the cold, limp hand in her own and her teammates' closed eyes.
"Come on buddy," Jack inaudibly breathed as the moment seemed to last an eternity.
Sam was beginning to despair when a slight moan caught her attention. She looked up hopefully to Janet who was still focusing all of her attention upon Jonas. Within a few moments his eyes began to slowly blink open, although it was obvious that he seemed like a toddler just awaking from a nap and not really conscious of his surroundings. "Oh how I did miss those big green eyes," Janet breathed as she grinned from ear-to-ear.
Tears fell down Sam's cheeks as she held his hand all the tighter.
Jack smirked and came forward to lay his hand on the other man's shoulder. "Welcome to the land of the living."
Jonas took a deep breath before his eyes slid shut once more and he drifted off into a deep sleep, yet Janet wasn't worried. In the short time that he'd had his eyes open she'd managed to point a penlight at them and found his pupils to be reactive. As far as she could tell, if he could make it past the blood loss and fatigue he should be able to survive. But she had been a doctor long enough to know that things weren't always as they seemed. So much was true for Earth medicine let alone alien life.
"Ya know, why do you always have to do that?" Jack was frowning at Janet who looked slightly miffed at his remark.
"Do what, Colonel?"
"You know, that… thing you do with the flashlight. It gets really annoying sometimes."
Janet tried to hide her smile. "Don't worry Colonel; I don't think he'll even remember anything from today."
Jack cringed inwardly. Poor kid. I'd hope not.
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Sam was greeted by a much more cheerful Janet when she returned to the infirmary the next day. "It seems that Jonas' physical oddities have saved him once again."
Sam furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"
Janet set down the files that she was carrying as she approached the patient in question's bed. "Well, if he were human I don't think he would have made it. However his increased oxygen holding abilities seem to have saved him."
Sam raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"The way his blood carries oxygen is different than the way a normal human does- more like a whale or dolphin does than a human- but certainly not that extreme. I assume it's what's given him these wonderful diving abilities… that and his large lungs. But it seems to have been what saved him when he could barely breathe from the sedatives."
"Go Jonas," the words were out of her mouth before she even realized how much she sounded like Colonel O'Neill and instead of burning with embarrassment she decided to ignore the amused look Janet gave her. She walked over to her friend's bed.
"I don't know why they took so much blood from him. They must have stone age doctors working for them because they overdrew long ago."
Sam frowned. "What do you think they wanted from him?"
Janet stepped forward as well, her pensive stare upon their young friend. "I don't know… the way these people are it could have been anything."
An eerie silence filled the room for nearly a full minute before Janet stepped closer to the bed. She smiled. "You wanna' see something cool?"
Sam didn't know how to respond to that. The only time she'd seen Janet act even slightly giddy was when the doctor had discovered some unique medical find.
Seeing her friend's hesitation she grinned and continued. "You know that touch is essential to human life. Studies have even showed that petting a dog or cat greatly decreases blood pressure and stress."
Sam shrugged. "And?"
Janet arched an eyebrow. "And, it seems to have been taken to the extreme with our Kelownan friend here."
Sam pulled her head back slightly and furrowed her brow.
Janet smirked. "Go ahead, see what happens."
Sam shot Janet a weird look before making a mental note that her friend had drunk too much coffee and was now bordering on insanity as she reached out a gentle hand and began to comfortingly stroke her friend's hair.
Janet came forward. "Now, watch the vitals," she indicated the monitor screen. Sam did as she was told.
Within a minute she was shocked to see Jonas' heart rate suddenly begin to slow and his breathing to become more deep and even. She gave Janet a surprised look to which the doctor merely smiled. "Guess it helps him sleep," she raised her eyebrows playfully at Sam before leaving the two members of SG-1 alone.
Sam grinned down at her deeply sleeping comrade. Her voice was playful. "You really are weird."
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Jonas felt warm in his bed and comforted by the gentle touch of his mother as he attempted to fall back asleep. Why had it been so long since she'd tucked him in? Why had it been so long since she'd sung to him, since she'd stroked his hair?
Suddenly realization his him as memories flooded back to him. He'd thought he'd lost her that cold winter day, but she was still here!
Opening his eyes he was surprised to discover just how much effort that small task took. Why was he so weak? Was he sick? The room was bright and he wanted to close his eyes again from the pain caused by the brightness of the world, but he couldn't, he wanted to his mother again. It had been so long since he had seen her and not a day went by that he didn't feel the ache in his heart to hug her again, to hear her sweet voice that had been companion to him since before he was born. To smell the scent of her hair as she hugged him goodnight… he tilted his head as much as he could, trying to see his mother, but was surprised to see not the chestnut-haired and weatherworn face of his mother but rather a daydreaming blond woman with hair cropped short.
That's right, I'm not a little kid anymore…
The woman above him looked familiar and his brain raced to place her face. Suddenly his memories of the SGC raced back to him, along with those of his time spent with the NID. Where was he now? Sam was her name, she was here, so was he there or was she just here? He was starting to confuse even himself.
He must have made a sound or stirred for she suddenly looked down at him with a look of surprise which quickly melted into joy. "Jonas," she grinned. "You're awake."
He could already feel the exhaustion of his body pulling at him to sleep once more yet he fought it. "Sam?"
The older woman furrowed her brow at his expression. He looked confused… yet she would admittedly be confused if their situations were reversed, she mused. But there was something more… something deeply troubling in his eyes. Some sort of pain… "Jonas, what's wrong?"
He could fight the sleep no longer and sighed as he felt it come creeping back into his mind, lulling him into its sweet singsong embrace. "I just… thought you were my mother…" he managed to whisper before he left the waking world once more.
Sam sat still, her mouth slightly agape. Oh the poor thing…it was almost the first time she had ever even heard Jonas speak of his family, aside from when he began reciting a song in an ancient language. What was that pain hidden behind his eyes? She suddenly felt very awkward and tried to comfort herself with the idea that he most likely wasn't even fully awake and that people breaking out of unconsciousness, and even sleep often said strange things. She could remember a time when she had said 'good morning' to Daniel as he was waking up on a mission somewhere, to which he had responded "I got no ocean in my jelly brow." She bit her lip to keep from laughing at the memory and felt her heart lift when it had served its purpose. She no longer felt concerned.
Yet little did she or the others know that the drug Malone had been so enthusiastic about was beginning to take its toll on their alien friend. Twenty-four hours had already gone by, and as the minutes passed their friend succumbed deeper and deeper into the gaping hole left by its absence.
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Whoa, yay me, I finally got this chapter written! I think now that you've read it you can hopefully see why I put it off so long! :os It was almost painful to write! (Drakcir, I know you're probably about to kill me after this chapter! LOL!) SO! I couldn't help but break up the drama with humor here and there… such as Daniel's 'good morning remarks,' LOL. Was that okay or should I have left it heavy? Your input is greatly needed and appreciated! :oD
As always, please review! Sorry for the cliff-hanger! Feel free to burn me as an effigy… or more humanely, in a review! :oP! LOL!
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