Chapter 10

"How's he doing?" Cameron asked Dr Felgate too many hours later. He'd spent his time assisting with repairs wherever he was needed but his thoughts kept returning to the infirmary, resisting the temptation to call in for an update.

"He's stable," Dr Felgate spoke quietly, his whole manner shouting out the seriousness of Daniel's situation, the ventilator and other medical devices he was hooked up to confirming this. "Physically there's not much wrong with him but he's not able to breathe on his own and his brain activity is...unusual."

"What exactly do you mean by unusual?" Colonel Caldwell asked.

"There are spikes of brain waves followed by long periods of minimal activity," Dr Felgate tried to explain. "During the spikes, he appears to be experiencing REM sleep but then he returns to a comatose state."

"Will he be alright?"

"To be honest, I have no idea," Dr Felgate admitted. "We don't have the equipment here to make a proper diagnosis or to determine the treatment he needs. We're keeping him comfortable and providing him with what he needs to keep him alive until we can get him to a better equipped facility."

"We'll be under way within the hour," Caldwell assured him. "The hyperdrive will be functional by then and we can complete the other repairs while we're under way. What about the girl?"

Cameron had almost forgotten Pendrea with everything else that had been going on.

"She's sedated," Felgate told them, wishing he could provide some good news. "She was feverish and that triggered several seizures. We managed to bring her temperature down, but she was having problems controlling her abilities and we sedated her as a precautionary measure."

"Good work, doctor," Caldwell nodded at him.

"Is it alright if I stay with Jackson?" Cameron asked, half expecting Caldwell to detail him to another repair crew, relieved when he got a nod and grabbed a chair before anyone could change their mind. "So, have I ever told you about the time I went camping with my grand-daddy? No? Well..."

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Over the next few hours, Cameron related numerous tales of his childhood to the unconscious Daniel. Teal'c stopped by several times, bringing coffee and sandwiches with him and to see if there was any change in his condition. A couple of times Cameron got up to stretch his legs and to use the bathroom. On the second occasion he returned to sick-bay to find a flurry of activity around Daniel and Teal'c standing to one side, a grim expression on his face.

"What happened?"

"Daniel Jackson has had another seizure," Teal'c told him. "His heart stopped for a short time but the doctors were able to get it started again. I am not sure that he will recover."

"Don't say that," Cameron said from between gritted teeth. "He's been through much worse than this and pulled through hasn't he?"

"Indeed," Teal'c acknowledged with a tilt of his head before falling silent as they waited for the doctors to finish.

"We've got him back," Dr Felgate told them after what seemed like hours. "But he may not survive another seizure. We just aren't equipped to deal with something like this." The doctor ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, a frown on his face that only deepened when a small figure appeared silently beside Daniel's bed, taking one of his lifeless hands in her own.

"I thought you said..." Cameron started.

"I did," Felgate looked more than a little puzzled. "She should have been out for hours. Colonel?" He looked even more puzzled as Reynolds also appeared, his face streaked with dirt from helping with the repairs.

"What's going on?" Reynolds looked equally confused as he took in the scene before him.

"We might ask you the same question," Cameron said. "I thought you were..."

"I was," Reynolds finished for him.

"You know, it would be nice if I got to finish my own sentence once in a while," Cameron said snippily.

"I'm not sure why I'm here," Reynolds continued, giving Cameron a sympathetic smile, "but I'm guessing Pendrea has something to do with it. Didn't you...?"

"Yes, yes, we've already been there," Cameron stopped the conversation going round in more circles. "What do you think..."

"I have to help him," Pendrea stopped all further talk and the room fell silent. "Morgause told me what to do but..."

"What is it? What else did she say?" Reynolds knelt in front of the frightened girl, a hand on her shoulder.

"She told me I would lose what she has given me, that it is too soon for me to use it."

"We can't tell you what to do," Reynolds began, but a large hand on his shoulder made him fall silent.

"Is it not possible that what you have already done may have damaged your powers?" Teal'c asked, going straight to the heart of the matter.

"Yes, but I know how important this could be."

"Pendrea," Reynolds nodded his thanks at Teal'c for helping make the situation clearer. "You know what you should do. We'll be there for you whatever happens, you can count on that."

"Thank you." Her face sombre, she threw her arms around Reynolds' neck, hugging him tightly for a few moments before returning her attention to Daniel. Clasping one of Daniel's hands in both of her own, Pendrea closed her eyes and wrinkled her forehead as she focussed on Daniel.

For long minutes nothing happened, then Reynolds hastily reached for Pendrea when her legs sagged, supporting her and helping her remain upright as she continued whatever it was she was doing.

"He's stabilising," Dr Felgate spoke quietly, not wanting to disturb Pendrea, as he continued checking and rechecking the machines attached to Daniel. A few minutes later, Pendrea opened her eyes, let go of Daniel's hand and tried to move away, only for her legs to give way completely.

At the same moment, Daniel's eyes flickered opened and he began to gag as he attempted to breathe on his own, disoriented by the tube in his throat.

"You're in sickbay, Dr Jackson," Dr Felgate assured him. "Try to relax and we'll have the tube out in just a moment." The medical staff worked quickly and Daniel was soon breathing with just the assistance of the nasal canula. He tried to speak, but his throat was dry and scratchy and he gratefully accepted the ice chips Cameron handed to him.

"Pendrea?" Daniel rasped, still having trouble with his voice. His eyes were already on the little girl who was now lying on the next bed, to all appearances lifeless.

"Pulse is weak and thready, BP is 70 over 40. We're losing her," the attending doctor reported to Dr Felgate who had hurried over as soon as he realised what was going on.

"Jackson, what are you doing?" Cameron asked as he tried to stop Daniel from climbing out of bed. "You nearly died – you shouldn't be up and about."

"I have to go to her," Daniel forced the words out. "She saved my life, now I have to help her. Help me, please – she doesn't have much time."

Cameron hesitated for a moment, but Teal'c was there before him, offering a strong arm for him to lean on, half-carrying him to the other bed.

Placing the palm of his hand on Pendrea's forehead, Daniel looked Dr Felgate directly in the eye and shook his head. Dr Felgate opened his mouth to protest, but Daniel's gaze remained steady and the doctor took a step back, waving off the crash team who were ready to spring into action.

"What's going on?" Reynolds looked to Daniel for an answer, unable to help the little girl who had relied on him to keep her safe.

"She knows what's happening," Daniel told him, his face beaded with drops of moisture. "She knows we're both here, just keep holding her hand until it's over."

Daniel exchanged a long look with the Colonel, who glanced at Pendrea then back at Daniel as he realised what the other man was referring to. His attention was drawn back to Pendrea who was looking between him and Daniel with barely open eyes before they slid closed once more, her breathing slowed and then, almost imperceptibly, stopped completely.

"She's gone," Dr Felgate announced sombrely, finding himself pushed out of the way by Teal'c as a glowing light emerged from the pile of now empty clothes on the bed.

The light briefly hovered above their heads before shooting through the bulkheads and disappearing from sight. Startled cries could be heard as other crew members encountered the strange light, but all knew what it was and stood clear to allow the life form free passage.

"Attention all personnel, this is the bridge," Major Marks' voice announced. "The ascended being has left the ship. Repeat, the ascended being has left the ship."

"I never expected that," Cameron said, rather needlessly.

"There was no other way it could happen," Daniel told him, his voice weak with exhaustion, back in bed where Teal'c had frog-marched him as soon as Pendrea was gone. "She was too drained to continue even before she healed me. She knew that and Morgause explained what would happen."

"But she was just a kid," Cameron protested.

"Maybe, but she's got a whole other existence in front of her now," Daniel's voice was barely a whisper. "Think I'll..." his eyes slid closed and his body relaxed as he passed out.

"He'll be fine," a still shaken Dr Felgate told the others. "He's sleeping."

"There was nothing else you could have done," Reynolds assured the doctor, who was still blaming himself for what happened. "Dr Jackson knows better than anyone what had to happen."

"Yes, but now we've got to find another way to save the galaxy," Cameron said what everyone else was already thinking. "And there's no time like the present..."

THE END

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