.
Jack pulled Daniel's SUV into the driveway and looked over at Sarah; she was out like a light. If he hadn't been driving he probably would have fallen asleep too. Spending a whole day with two very exuberant three year olds would wear even a younger person out, but when he looked in the rear view mirror and saw that his other passengers were passed out as well, he knew it had all been worth it. The excursion to the zoo had been the perfect distraction for them, especially Jon, who seemed especially worried about his father; not only that he was sick but that he was missing his dissertation as well.
At the zoo, Jack was checking in with Cam or Landry every half hour for updates until Sarah finally took his phone away from.
'They will call if there is anything new to report. Right now we have to act as normal as possible for Jon and Laura's sake.'
The desire to call the mountain had been great, but for the rest of the day Jack did his best to keep the children's mind and his as well on other things beside Daniel.
"Sarah." Jack reached over and gave his wife a little poke. "We're back."
She groggily lifted her head from the window where it had been resting. "Oh … sorry. I must have dozed off."
"It's hard keeping up to those two, after all 'you're' not as young as you use to be." Jack quipped as he undid his seat belt.
"Speak for yourself ... old man," she retorted and before she could move to undo her own belt Jack quickly moved closer to her and kissed her soundly on the lips.
"Why don't I show you how much energy this old man has … later," Jack growled into her ear.
"You're incorrigible!" she swatted him away and moved out of the vehicle. "Let's get these little ones to bed and I'm sure your anxious to call the SGC again."
They had barely gotten the vehicle's back doors open, when Sam came running out of the house. Jack and Sarah looked at her in surprise. They were not expecting her to be home. The only explanation Jack could think of was that she wanted to be here when they brought the twins home.
"Sam ... you're here ... how's Daniel?"
Sam did not answer the question. "I'll get him." She pushed past Jack and gently lifted Jon out of his seat and pulled him protectively against her chest. The little boy didn't wake but instinctively nuzzled closer into his mother. Sarah lifted Laura out of her seat and told Jack to get the backpacks and bags out of the trunk. Jack complied but he continued to watch Sam with interest. Not unexpectedly she looked like she had been through the ringer. Her hair was pulled haphazardly in a loose pony tail; loose strands sticking out all over the place. She was very pale and it was evident from her eyes that she had been crying.
"Did they behave for you?" Sam asked, pushing a strand of hair off Jon's face, before kissing his brow.
"They were perfect angels," Sarah smiled cradling Laura who had Mr. Bunny plus two other new stuffed animals nestled in her arms.
"Sam … are you going to answer my question, how's Daniel?" Jack asked as he followed her and his wife into the house.
"He's ... he's sick," she managed to croak out.
"Oh for crying out loud!" he called up the stairs after her, "You know what I mean!"
"Jack, not so loud." Sarah hissed quietly at him over her shoulder, as she followed Sam up the stairs. "You'll wake the little ones up."
He dropped the twin's backpacks and a mountain of shopping bags on the floor and limped slowly up the stairs. Before he made it to the top, Charlotte bounded by him, giving him a hasty greeting as she sped by. By the time he got to the top, Sarah, Sam and the nurse were already in the twin's room. Charlotte was helping Sarah untangle the stuffed toys from a quietly whimpering Laura's grasp.
"Come on sweetie," Sarah gently cooed in her ear, "we need to get your jammies on."
Jack moved over to Jon's bed, where Sam was maneuvering her son's arms so she could get his hoody off.
"Sam … what's going on?" he asked as he helped her pull Jon's clothes off his limp body. "We told you we would take care of these two characters … you should be with Daniel."
"Carolyn discharged him .. three hours ago."
"What? ... Why the hell didn't Mitchell call me?"
"I told Cam not to call you."
"For god's sake Sam .. why not!"
"Jack! … Shhh!" Sarah glared over at him, putting her finger over her mouth.
Jack closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself, "Well, he must be better then ... for Carolyn to discharge him? ... right?"
"N..no ...not ... not really ..." Sam's voice wavered as she pulled on Jon's pajama bottoms.
"Then why in the world is he not in the infirmary? …. Sam?" Jack reached out to touch her, when he saw large tears beginning to well up in her eyes, but was firmly pushed aside by Charlotte.
"General, why don't you go and see Daniel ... he's in his office." Charlotte suggested as Sam cried into her shoulder.
"Umm … OK." Totally bewildered, Jack moved slowly towards the door.
"And general," Charlotte continued, rubbing Sam's back and arms, "maybe you can convince him to go to bed."
Before he left, Jack exchanged a look with Sarah and could see that she was just as confused as he was.
Jack left the room and crossed the hall to Daniel's office. He raised his hand to knock, but decided against it and just opened the door. The room was dark except for the street light that dimly shone through the open window.
"Daniel … you in here?" Jack squinted into the darkness and barely made out Daniel's still form in the farthest corner of the room. "Ahh … there you are … say, why don't I put on a light, my eyes aren't what they use to be."
Jack fumbled around, before he found a lamp on the desk. He turned back to Daniel and saw that his head was leaning back against the large over-stuffed chair he was sitting in. His eyes were closed; glasses nowhere to be seen. When Daniel continued to remain silent, Jack hesitantly moved towards him.
"You sleeping?" he asked quietly giving him a little nudge on the shoulder. There was a silent pause before Jack reached to touch him again. He jumped slightly, when Daniel's eyes popped open.
"G..go away ... J..jack." Daniel hoarsely croaked.
"Not going to happen," Jack replied. He gently pushed Daniel's feet off the footstool they were resting on. He sank his aching form down and gave Daniel the once over. Jack wasn't sure why the hell Carolyn had sprung him out of the infirmary, but he was determined to find out. God ... the man looked like death had warmed over him. His skin was ghostly white and deep dark circles were etched under his red rimmed eyes.
" P..please … go!"
"Listen Daniel, I have chased your offspring all over the damned zoo all day and then endured the fine dining experience of Chuck E. Cheese. There is no way you are going to make me move. So you might as well spill and tell me what the hell is going on, because I have to be blunt … you look like shit!"
"I'm," Daniel sighed like the weight of the world was on him, "j.. just a little … t..tired."
"Bull shit! Twenty four hours ago you were raced to the SGC after having one of your seizures and now I find you here looking like this. You had more colour in your face when you were playing a damned Prior. Why the hell did Carolyn let you go?"
Daniel grimaced, slowly pulling his hands up to his face. He scrubbed his face with them and then dropped them wearily back onto his lap. "I … I ... d..didn't … want to … to b..be … there any … any m..more."
"I see … and she just let you go," Jack lifted his hands and waved the around, "just like that."
A faint smile formed momentarily on Daniel's lips. "She's a b..bit … p..pissed."
"Duh … ya think?" Jack just shook his head in frustration. "I have half a mind to take you back there, but I don't like the place any more than you do. So, I tell you what, why don't we get you to bed before you pass out." Jack lifted himself off the footstool and reached to help Daniel stand up. Daniel pushed his hand away and pulled his own arms tightly around his waist.
"L..lya came."
"What?" Jack sat back hard onto the stool and looked at Daniel incredulously.
"She … she knew." Daniel paused for a second and Jack could tell that he was having quite a bit of trouble not only finding his words but saying them.
"What did she know?"
"T..the … s..seizure … she knew."
"How the hell would she know you had a .." Jack stopped and gave his head a little shake, "no, never mind … I suppose we're too young to know that."
"B..bond … she … last t..time … d..did s..something … have … a … a bond."
Jack scowled. "You mean like what you and Vala had when she put those bracelets on you."
"N..no," Daniel shook his head in frustration, "s..she … she s..senses … when … when ..."
"She can sense when you are sick?" Jack interjected, trying to help Daniel form his thoughts.
"Y..yes."
"Well if you ask me, from the way you look, she didn't do such a bang up job of helping you."
"S..she ... d..didn't c..come to … to h..help … can't ... it's b..beyond … her."
"What do you mean its 'beyond her' … you mean she came all that way here just to tell you that she couldn't help you." Jack sprang up from the stool and began to pace around the room as he continued to rant. "For crying out loud, the Nox literally brought us back from the dead and what … she can't heal a few seizures … or your legs for that matter?"
"I'm in..infected with ... with s..some k..kind … of … of ..." Daniel took a deep gulp of air and looked at Jack with very sad eyes before he said the last word. "..cancer..."
Jack felt all the blood rush from his head. He tried to say something, but no words came out. Daniel did not just say that word. That ugly ugly word.
"It's been in … in me ... un..undetected. L..lya s..says … that even … the N..nox … c..can't heal it. It's … its … k..killing m..me Jack..."
Jack's eyes went wide and dark as he pounded his fists on the nearby desk. "It's those damned fucking lights right … right?"
Daniel just closed his eyes and nodded.
"Son's of bitches!" Expletives then began to pour out of Jack's mouth. He cursed the Furlings, the Nox and even Thor for not being around anymore to help.
" Jack ... please..." Daniel reached out his hand towards his old friend who continued to stomp around the room in a frenzy. "P..please … this … w..won't help."
Jack let out a huge puff of air and ran his fingers through his hair until it stood on end. "We need to get those damned Nox back here … all of them Lya and Nafrayu … the other ones …. what the hell were their names?"
"An..anteaus and O..pher ..."
"Yeah … them. We need to get them all here so they can do that chant thing around you..."
"They … they can't …" Daniel shook his head in frustration. He just couldn't get the words out to explain it.
"How the hell do they know if they don't fucking try!" Jack screamed out the words.
"The Nox can't help him Jack … he has to go to Atlantis."
Jack swung his head around and saw Sam standing in the doorway with Sarah by her side.
"Atlantis," Jack stared at her dumfounded, "why the hell for? ...we need to get the damned Nox back here.."
"Calm down Jack," Sarah crossed over and rubbed on Jack's arm, "let her finish."
Sam moved over to Daniel and gently sat down on his lap. He pulled her tight to him as tears trickled down both of their eyes. "The answer is there … just like it was in his dreams ... the cure is in Atlantis."
"The computer? Are you talking about the Furling computer?"
Sam and Daniel both nodded.
"But Daniel … you couldn't make heads or tails of any of it?" Jack looked perplexed but then something clicked in his mind, "Jon?"
"Yes," Sam replied, snuggling closer into Daniel, "we need to take him to Atlantis Jack .. Lya says he's the only one who can save Daniel."