Chapter 28- Back to Normal

They arrived on the planet and it didn't take long to find Daniel. "Guess the antihistamine wore off," Laura commented at the sight of Daniel looking like all the other Touched. Apparently Tuplo's daughter Melosha had turned into a Touched as well and she and Daniel were eating large sides of meat. Jack indicated with his hand and everyone opened fire on the Touched that were between Daniel and Melosha. Daniel and Melosha made moves to get up when the team came into the light of the campfire and everyone raised their guns.

"Daniel, you dog. Keep this up, you'll have a girl on every planet," Jack snarked as they primed their tranquilizer guns.

"Just let me give him an injection," Carter said as she pulled out a needle full of the cure. Daniel and Melosha moved forward threateningly and Jack and Laura opened fire, knocking both of them out.

They left the dark side of the planet and made their way to Tuplo's temple. "What are you doing?" Tuplo asked tightly, his face contorted in barely concealed anger.

"You must not bring the Touched among us. Leave, now," Tuplo's wife said, just as angry as her husband.

"Just hear us out. Please," Jack said.

"We found a cure. And we can bring back Melosha," Carter said.

"And your father," Teal'C said. Tuplo and his wife looked at each other.

"Put him in the isolation circle. We will hear you," Tuplo said. "Let him and the girl pass," Tuplo said to the guards when Teal'C took Daniel to the place where they had put Melosha and laid him down among the pillows. Laura took out a thermal blanket and pulled it up to Daniel's chin and smoothed his forehead gently with her hand before going to her seat next to Jack.

"If you are not gods, then how did you destroy the curse?" Tuplo asked as they all took their seats and Laura tried to explain.

"As we've been saying, Tuplo, it's not a curse, it's a disease," Jack said.

"A sickness," Carter chimed in.

"Jack," they heard Daniel moan. They looked over to the isolation circle.

"There's our boy," Jack said as he, Carter, and Laura got to their feet and went to him.

"Where are we?" Daniel asked as he sat up.

"The light side of P3X-797," Teal'C said from his place beside Daniel where he was watching over him. Teal'C handed him his broken glasses.

"I thought we were gonna give it a better name," Daniel said. Jack, Laura, and Carter smiled.

"He's back. He's normal," Jack said.

"Explain," Tuplo's wife said with a shocked look on her face.

"We know how to... lift the curse," Laura said, hesitating slightly on the word as saying it was just an illness was beyond their primitive mindsets.

"How, if you are not gods?" Tuplo asked.

"Come out there with us. We'll show you," Jack said and they all went to the edge of the dark side of the planet in time to see people leaving the forest and not looking like cavemen and women anymore.

"Father," Tuplo's wife exclaimed as she ran to an old man with a beard who was shielding his eyes from the sun. He gathered her in his arms as she cried with joy. Tuplo went to Melosha and hugged her as well. Laura wrapped her arms around Jack's waist as Tuplo looked at them and came back to them, his arm around Melosha.

"You have done it, my lady. Thank you," Tuplo said to Laura.

"We'll teach you how to take care of the rest," Laura said.

"One question escapes me, my lady. How did you not get Touched?" Tuplo asked quizzically.

"Well, me and Teal'C have an immunity. He carries a parasite in his stomach and my blood is full of the same parasite and it prevented both of us from being Touched," Laura said.

"I see. Well, we owe you our gratitude then," Tuplo inclined his head to her as he and Melosha walked off.

"Uh, Sir?" Carter asked as they walked through the crowd.

"Yeah?" Jack asked.

"About my earlier behavior...I wasn't myself," Carter said, stuttering slightly.

"Oh, Carter, I don't even remember your earlier behavior," Jack said.

"You don't?" Carter asked.

"No. I was infected too, remember?" Jack asked.

Carter laughed uncomfortably. "Right! Good, I'm glad," Carter said, relief obvious in her voice.

"By the way, how's the wound?" Jack asked, changing the subject.

"Wound?" Carter asked.

"I understand you got stabbed in the stomach," Jack asked.

"Oh. Yeah. It's nothing. With any luck, there won't even be a scar," Carter said.

"Oh, good. I was concerned," Jack said.

"You were?" Laura and Carter both asked.

"Sure. If it doesn't heal properly, you'll never wear that sweet little tank-top number again," Jack said dryly as he walked off. Laura and Carter looked at each other before both started to laugh.

"Dad, is such a liar! He remembers you making a pass at him," Laura said, shaking with laughter as they walked back to the temple.


A/N: "The Broca Divide" part of this story is done. The next few chapters shall be from "The First Commandment."