Chapter Twenty-five
Sam stood under the harsh spray of the locker-room shower, thoroughly enjoying the guilty pleasure of the hot water. The combination of sweat and dried blood that had been caked to her skin had started to offend more than just her sense of smell.
As much as she hated leaving Daniel alone in the dark, she knew that ten minutes in the shower was going to go a long way to help prevent a nervous breakdown later. She leaned forward against the cool tile and let the near scalding water slip down her back.
She tried to mentally will the straining muscles of her neck and shoulders to relax. However they remained stretched tight as steel cables. Sam growled at herself in frustration. It was Daniel's decision to do what he felt was best where Gabriel was concerned, after all it was his body and life that were at stake.
She couldn't blame him for mistrusting Gabriel, but at the same time she couldn't believe he was going to let the Gou'ald fall to the very same fate that he feared so much. Sam rubbed her hand across her stomach where the bullet had torn through. The skin was smooth and intact, however it still hurt, just for a different reason.
The guilt that was twisting her stomach was a struggle of heart over mind, something she'd never been good at dealing with. Her heart wanted to believe that Gabriel was different than his children and that if he still had possession of his own body that he'd let Daniel go.
At the same time her mind was telling her that all of it could be a show and although she suspected Gabriel was a good person she knew for a fact that Daniel was. It seemed like such a grievous betrayal of her friend to be on the side of the Gou'ald on the mere 'feeling' that he was innocent and didn't deserve to be imprisoned.
From the time she got General O'Neill safely back to the Base until this moment Sam had been going over in her head a way to approach Daniel and ask him to let Gabriel go, to at least try and live with him. However she now realized that such a request was asking far more of Daniel than she had any right to ask.
"I'm sorry, Gabriel," Sam sighed "I can't help you."
Reluctantly Sam reached out and turned off the running water. It hadn't helped nearly as much as she'd hoped. Drying off quickly she slipped into a clean uniform. Sam took a deep breath and reoriented her mind to the problem at hand.
"Entire worlds are dying and you're wasting your energy on the fate of a single Gou'ald."
With a new mind set Sam made her way purposefully to the Gateroom. Along the way Teal'c suddenly stood in her path. She stopped and only barely managed to keep herself from taking a step back, reminding herself that he was still her friend. He stood motionless for a moment and then gave her a shallow bow.
"Colonel Carter, you are returning to the planet?"
"Yeah."
"May I ask a favour of you?"
"Of course."
"Please ask Daniel Jackson to forgive me. I have not treated him as I should have."
"He understands, I know he does." Sam said with a smile. "Besides you can ask him yourself soon."
Teal'c remained silent, but it spoke volumes.
"Teal'c he's going to come back." Sam said confidently.
"If he was going to return he would have come with you and General O'Neill."
"He didn't want to come to the Base while Gabriel was still somewhere in his mind. Once he feels comfortable with his new situation he'll come back."
"Gabriel will never leave, and therefore Daniel Jackson will never return."
Sam started to protest, however, Teal'c signaled that their conversation was over by turning around and walking away. She hated it when the Jaffa was right. Suppressed or not Daniel was never going to trust himself as long as Gabriel was with him.
"One problem at a time." Sam growled.
Finishing the trek to the Gateroom she instructed the technicians to open the Gate. She checked over the equipment she had asked them to bring down while the Gate dialed. Satisfied that everything was there she started up the ramp.
"Leaving without saying good bye?" Jack asked as he stepped into the Gateroom.
"Why does everyone keep acting like Daniel and I aren't coming back?" Sam snapped as she turned around.
"Easy, Carter." Jack said with his hands held up in surrender. "I just wanted a chance to wish you luck."
"Thank you, Sir." Sam replied with a flush of embarrassment.
"And I have every confidence that you and Daniel will be back." Jack said seriously. "After all you know what they say?"
Sam gave Jack a quizzical look.
"If you truly love something set it free..."
"...and if it doesn't come back, hunt it down and shoot it." Sam finished with a chuckle.
"And I intend to."
"Let's hope it doesn't come down to that."
Jack smiled and nodded. As though she was about to miss her train in a 1930's film Sam picked up the two metal cases that held her equipment and hurried through the Gate. Back in Idlewyld Sam found Daniel basically where and how she left him.
Getting up off the floor Daniel walked somewhat confidently towards her. Coming to the stairs he paused and then cautiously stepped up on to the Gate dais. Sam watched in fascination as he came up and stopped a few feet in front of her. His eyes still looked as though he was looking right through her.
"I was beginning to think that you were going to leave us here." Daniel chastised lightly.
"Daniel...can you see?"
"No, but Gabriel can."
"Gabriel?"
"I'd love to be able to say that I was a gentleman and let him go, but the truth is I simply lost my hold on him. I have to admit he's being more gracious about it than I would have been."
"I don't understand."
"He's giving me directions. Here, let me help you with those cases."
"No, that's okay, they aren't heavy." Sam replied and then furrowed her brow. "So...um, you two have come to some sort of truce?"
"I wouldn't call it a truce, more of an understanding."
"And that would be?"
"That there are bigger problems than he and I to deal with here."
"Then let's get started." Sam said with a genuine smile.
"Sounds good...no pun intended."
Sam chuckled, relived to have the good natured Daniel back. Even though she knew that they would start fighting again as soon as this was over it helped tremendously that they were both willing to put their differences aside for now.
Sam took the cases over to the DHD and Daniel followed her, pausing only to navigate his way down the stairs. She pulled the panel off the DHD once again and looked in at the Crystals. They sat their glowing innocently. It took about an hour to get the various sensors and computers set up to the multi coloured Crystals.
"Hmmm..." Sam mused.
"Hmmm?" Daniel repeated.
"Well, it's definitely the main power Crystal. It's giving off an odd vibration that seems to be getting slowly stronger."
"Which is why the disease seems to 'spread out' from the Gate."
"Right."
"Can you stop it?"
"Um...maybe."
"Maybe?"
"Did I say 'maybe' out loud?" Sam asked vacantly.
"Yup."
"Ah, I meant to say 'no'."
"I see."
"I know you hate it when I ask this," Sam started "but I don't suppose Gabriel has any ideas?"
"He says 'You're the Gate expert here'." Daniel smiled.
"Great."
"He wants to know if you've found the program that Leena wrote."
"No." Sam sighed. "There is so much information in this thing that it's hard to find a program without at least some knowledge of what it is."
"No." Daniel said suddenly.
"What?" Sam asked confused.
"Forget it, there has to be a better way." Daniel growled.
"Daniel, what is Gabriel saying?"
"He says..." Daniel hesitated. "He thinks that you do know the program."
"I watched Leena write it." Sam recalled.
Daniel nodded.
"But I'll need help to remember it." Sam continued. "Ask Gabriel if there are any of those Niacine memory disks around here."
"It will take more than that." Daniel said nervously. "To find something so specific it will take someone else using a hand device as well."
"You can do it." Sam replied instantly.
"I don't know how."
"Gabriel does."
"That doesn't help." Daniel sighed. "We can no longer exchange control."
"What?"
"I had decided that he would be more useful to you in figuring this out than I would be so I tried to relinquish my hold on him completely. But we couldn't get it to work. I don't know how to undo what I've done."
"Can't Gabriel tell you how?"
"He's been trying, but it's like trying to teach someone how to fall asleep. We seem to be stuck like this."
"There's something you're not telling me, Daniel." Sam accused.
Daniel looked around the room sightlessly. Facing Sam once more he sighed and dragged his hands through his hair. Sam risked reaching out and putting her hand on his shoulder. He jerked slightly, but then forced a tight smile.
"Gabriel thinks that the hand device is a far easier trick than changing control and that it is something he could teach me. He thinks together we might be able to pull it off, then he'd be able to see the program as well and he might be able to reverse it."
"Okay then, let's do it."
"I...I really don't think I can."
"Sure you can."
"I don't think you fully comprehend what's at stake here."
"Of course I do."
"Sam, if Gabriel and I don't get this right...we could kill you."
"I know," Sam smiled "but that won't happen."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because I trust you to get it right."
"Both of us?"
"Both of you."