He stepped forward, standing behind her, reaching out to touch her hair that shimmered in the sunlight, his hand just falling short. She must have sensed movement, because she turned around, her eyes widening, relief clearly shining through.
"Daniel...."
He swallowed hard, sitting down and just drawing him into his arms, hugging her tightly. She easily returned the embrace. "Everything's so confusing....I can't remember...." she wispered into his shirt..
Daniel gently stroked her hair and back. "I know...I know it's a lot...." he wispered back, pulling back to look at her face, brushing hair away from his eyes. "I'm going to take you home, you're going to be alright, I promise."
She nodded. Daniel had always looked out for her, always made sure it was alright.
They sat there for a good half hour, just holding onto each other for dear life, talking softly. Finally he stood and helped her stand, keeping an arm around her as he headed back to the others.
"Hey, everyone...this is Sarah." He finally introduced her before looking to Jacob. "Its getting a little late, I'm going to take her back to her room."
It wasn't late, they all knew it. But that wasn't the point. Sarah looked exhausted, but happy. SG:1 shuffled aside, letting the two head back into the Tokra facility. Sarah guided him back to the airy room that she had been taken to, only taking a few wrong turns. She never once let go of Daniel's hand. He promised he'd tuck her in, then he'd tell her all about the Stargate and the last 5 years and what had happened to her. She WAS tired, but she didn't think she'd be able to sleep. Looking to the bed, she glanced at him.
"Daniel...can you....?" she didn't even need to finish the sentence. Daniel just squeezed her hand before dropping it and shrugged out of the coat that went along with the uniform. He pulled off the big combat boots before arranging the pillows and laid down, Sarah immediately stretching out beside him, her head pillowed on his chest. He held her for a minute, his hand stroking her arm reassuringly before he began to talk. She heard him, and on some level even understood what he was talking about, but was happy just to feel the slight rumble of his chest against her cheek, his heart pumping rhythmically beneath her ear comforting her.
Then next thing she realized was that she was cold. She opened her eyes to find it had gotten dark, and Daniel was gone. Sitting up she rubbed her eyes. The Stargate. Gou'ald's. Tokra. It all rang in her ears, painfully true. And Dr. Jordan. Killed by her. But not her.
Standing, she shrugged on a robe someone left for her and padded out towards a light at the end of the hall where she heard voices.
"How dangerous is the procedure...?" She heard Daniel's familiar voice. Jacob answered.
"It's more painful than it is dangerous. It's incredibly invasive to remove a symbiote, and if they Gou'ald doesn't want to be removed, it can make things difficult."
"What's going to happen to it after...?" Came another male voice. She peeked around the corner to see Daniel and 4 others sitting around the table.
"The symbiote will be destroyed. We're hoping Sarah will be able to access Osirus' memories, it would be invaluable." said Jacob again, the grey hair man nodding.
"What about secur..." he older man was interupted as the only woman in the group gave him a nudge and nodded to her.
"I uh....couldn't sleep....." she offered lamely, feeling like a child who was caught out of bed after her bedtime. Daniel immediately stood up, motioning her to come and sit. She did, realxing when she felt his hands resting on her shoulders, rubbing them in a comforting manor.
"We were talking about how to remove the symbiote." Daniel told her softly, gently pressing his thumbs against the base of her skull. She tried to hold back a shudder, almost able to feel the slimey snake squirming around inside her stomach. She closed her eyes and....a memory. Pain. The explosion...she was laying on the floor hurting...then another pain, something digging into her, burrowing...she screamed...
Opening her eyes, she swallowed, trying to banish the memory. The others were looking at her in concern. "It's nothing. I'm alright." she reassured them.
"Maybe we should get you back into bed...." Daniel offered quietly and she nodded, suddenly exhausted and standing, shooting Daniel a thankful smile as he slipped his arm around her, heading back towards her room with her. "Dr. Janet Fraiser is coming tomorrow...she's the Chief Medical Officer at Cheyanne Mountain, you'll like her. She wants to observe the extraction of the symbiote if it's alright with you...so maybe we can help other people do it some day. Then she's going to have to take some blood tests, make sure you're not sick or that there's any side effects. We're hoping to have you home inside a week."
"And then what....?"
Daniel hesitated, "There are some security issues. Obviously the public doesn't know about the Stargate..."
"You think I'd tell anyone?"
"I know you wouldn't. But the others don't know you like I do, it's not something they'd take my word on. Plus....the world thinks you're dead...it's been a year since Dr. Jordan died...."
Sarah looked down. "So....do I actually have any options...?"
Daniel looked at his shoes. "You could stay in Colorado...help me. We work great together, you know that...and the thing's you'll see, civilizations and peoples that died out millenia ago alive and thriving..." Sarah smiled a little, he was trying so hard not to sound like it mattered to him. "Or I guess you could stay with the Tokra, your knowledge of the Gouald's going to make you pretty important wherever you go." he finished softly.
Sarah watched him for a long moment before tilting his chin up, gently stroking his cheek with a soft finger. "Do you want me to come back...?" She knew the answer, but she wanted to hear it, needed to hear it.
"I...want you to be safe. And Happy. I don't want what happened to happen again." he wispered hoarsly.
Slowly, she leaned forward and touched her lips to his. She felt him tremble, or maybe it was her. There were problems, issues with trust. They were different people now, but the old foundation was there. Slipping her arms around him, she kissed him more fully, trying to reassure him that she's alright, that she wont choose some strange alien species over him, that she's ready for whatever he's willing to give her.
Daniel could barely hold back a groan as he wrapped his arms around her, crushing him against him. This is what he remembered, the easy friendship and the burning passion all wrapped into one big ball and topped off with a bow. Of course he'd had other woman, Sha're, there had been others in college when he and Sarah had just been friends, and in a way, he loved them all. But none had connected with him on an intellectual level. She was able to go head to head with him, arguing to the end but never with the malice usually found between intellectual equals. They had respected each other, helped each other on every level imaginable.
Gently taking her face in his hands, he kissed her forehead. "You should get some sleep."
"You don't want to come?"
"You can feel exactly how much I want to join you....but I think we should wait."
"....Are you..I don't know...disgusted? With what happened? With me?"
"No! Sarah, you didn't ask for what happened to happen, it wasn't your fault. But you have a big day tomorrow, the procedure, the tests....and I know if I go in with you, I won't be able to leave."
She nodded, not sure she believed him but willing to accept his answer.
"I'm going to be right down the hall. If you wake up, have nightmares, if you need a glass of water, come find me...alright?" She nodded again with a small smile, reassured. Kissing him lightly once more she slipped back into her room, aware of him watching her for a few long moments before turning and heading back to speak with the others.
Daniel moved back into the courtyard to look at the three moons in the sky. Sitting on the bench he found Sarah on, he sighed, remembering having to say goodbye to her.
It was May, 1996. They were getting ready to spend the summer in Egypt. Three months away from the college before the Fall semester started. He'd been writing his papers, this theories causing an uproar. Stephen openly condemned him for a hack while Dr. Jordan and Sarah, while listening to his ideas with an open mind, could not be persuaded. He'd told Dr. Jordan that he was leaving, going to go and find evidence if it killed him. He had yet to tell Sarah. She was busy packing up their apartment just off campus, getting it ready for the three months of emptyness. He came in late, almost midnight and she knew something was wrong the second he walked into the door.
"Don't say it. You don't have to." was all she said, not looking up from packing. He realized that it wasn't her things being packed up for Egypt but his being packed up to move out. "I'm not going to pretend I understand why you're choosing a theory over everything you have here...over us. But if you've made up your mind, I know nothing I can say will change it."
"I'm right Sarah....I know I am...."
"So what if you are?! Is it worth losing your family over?"
He never answered her question. Even today, he didn't know how to answer it. Had it been worth it? He and Sarah had been talking about having a family, children, getting married. Would that have changed things? He would have never met Sha're. He had loved her too, in the end. At the begining, he'd just been so lonely and Sha're had been so kind and gentle, she loved him so much. Over the next year he began to love her, and it had almost killed him when she had been taken. He knew Sarah didn't understand when he told her he'd been married, let alone just weeks after he'd left her. Maybe someday she would. Maybe it just didnt matter.
"Hey stranger..." a soft voice came from behind him. He smiled a little. Sam. Good old dependable Sam. Like the sister he never had.
"Hey." he said softly, turning to greet her with a small smile.
"How are you holding up...?" she said as she dropped onto the bench beside him.
"Could be worse...could be a lot worse." he said, Sam nodding in silent agreement. "I just keep waiting for the other shoe to fall...you know?"
"So...you two were close...? Really close?" she asked, not wanting to dwell on the negative possibilities.
"Yeah...we were close. We went through school together, got our doctorates together, worked with Dr. Jordan...we lived together for years....I wanted to ask her to marry me."
Sam grinned, "Why didn't you?"
"I never thought she'd say yes."
"But she was with you for more than 10 years, why wouldn't she say yes?"
Daniel had to chuckle at the absurdity of his logic. Foresight was 20/20 as they say. "Sarah comes from old money back in England. Very proper and all that, I think her father was some kind of nobility, she never liked to talk about it."
"She obviously didn't care about it if she didn't talk about it." Sam pointed out the obvious.
"Yeah well...things were so good just as they were."
"Didn't want to take the chance..?"
"Yeah...."
"And now..?" Sam asked quietly.
"Things have changed, she's different, I'm different."
"That doesn't exclude you being able to love her again Daniel."
"I know," he said with a sigh. "I don't want to rush her, she's been through so much."
"Daniel, you arn't a horrible, selfish person for wanting to be with her. You know, it's okay for you to want things too some times, you don't always have to sacrifice your wants and needs for everyone else."
"I know that Sam."
"Do you? Sometimes I wonder if you do...I want you to do something for me..okay?"
"Alright...?"
"Stop worrying about the rest of us. Don't worry about what we think or what we need from you. Concentrate on Sarah. AND on yourself for a little while...okay?"
Daniel smiled. "Thanks Sam." he said softly drawing her into a hug.
"Any time Daniel, any time."
The next morning dawned beautifully, the sky having a orangish tint to it. Janet Fraiser came in the late morning, or what would be late morning on Earth. She and Sarah greeted each other politely and then Janet excused herself to go see about preparing for the procedure, leaving Daniel, Sarah, and Sam to wait nervously. Both Jack and Teal'c were off with Jacob talking about the possible implications of having a human on earth with such complete knowledge of the Gou'ald.
There'd be some issues with the NIS, but saving the world a few times tends to get you the gratitude of some pretty important people. Jack was more than willing to call in a favor to keep Sarah from being a lab rat. He didn't know her, but Daniel cared about her and that was enough for him. Besides, she looked like the kind of lady that could hold her own, and he respected that. He'd also been a prisoner of war in the Middle East, he knew what it was like to come home to a world that was different from when he'd left it. He still had nightmares and he'd just been in the prison for 4 years. She had thousands of years worth of memories to deal with and Osirus didn't seem like that nice of a guy. He was pretty sure some of those memories would be fairly nasty.
General Hammond was coming to the base to watch the process himself. He felt it was only right that he be there to support Daniel and SG:1. He also needed to meet his Dr. Gardner before he was willing to sign off on her becoming apart of the SGC. He didn't anticipate any problems, her credentials were impeccable and she had the best character reference he would ever trust, their own Dr. Jackson. But he still needed to meet her, even if it was just a formality. Plus it gave him a chance to travel off world, there were so few. He was a man of action and at times it was tiring to do nothing more than read about what people did instead of doing it himself.
Time dragged by. Hammond came and left again, unable to stay away from the SGC for more than an hour or so. He was reassured that Sarah would make a good addition to the team. While she wasn't a linguist like their own Dr. Jackson, she did have an emphasis on botany with a fair amount of knowledge dealing with Paleontology. They had yet to come across dinosaurs, but one never knew.
Finally the time came for the procedure. Daniel and Sarah headed into the room hand in hand, Daniel giving her a comforting squeeze. Sarah had always abhorred any kind of medical office, he had to beg and plead her just to have a yearly physical to make sure she was healthy. If she didn't need one to get in and out of the country, it wouldn't have happened.
"Dr. Gardner, if you'll come over here...?" Janet said, motioning to what looked like a dentists chair. She headed over uncertainly and sat, jerking in surprise when her feet and arms were secured and the chair leaned back. "Don't worry, I told you we wouldn't be able to put you under, you have to be conscious for the procedure, but I've got something that will help you relax." Janet said, swabbing a spot on her arm and grabbing a needle.
Sarah squeezed her eyes tightly shut and looked away, Daniel grabbing her hand and letting her squeeze it as she was given the sedative. Very quickly she felt woozy. Voices around her blended together, she couldn't understand anything. She felt a cool breeze waft through the room and realized that they were preparing her for the incision. She looked up at the lights, unable to find the source of the brightness as she was flooded with another memory.
This time she was on a ship. A space ship. She didn't know how she knew that, she just did. Before her was a throne and a man. He was very beautiful. Anubis. The name echoed in her head. He said something, she couldn't understand it. She felt like she should have been able to but she just...couldn't. Suddenly two guards grabbed both her arms and dragged her off. She struggled, feeling pressure...not on her arms...but at her stomach...and she started screaming as the pressure turned into pain. Intolerable pain. She screamed and she screamed, begging for it to stop. She was being ripped apart. She could hear Daniel's voice, why wasn't he stopping them? She couldn't breath, she knew she was going to die.
In the medical room, the Tokra healers and Dr. Fraiser were trying to work as fast as they could. The symbiote was struggling violently, trying to burrow further into the young archeologist's body, her screams drowning out all other sounds in the room. Both Jacob and Jack were trying to hold Daniel back who was demanding they stop the procedure. There was just so much blood. They'd decided it would be easier to make and incision below the diaphragm, much like a cesarian section. They didn't have much time left and if the symbiote wasn't removed there would be to much internal tearing, they'd never be able to save her. Seconds ticked by as they worked furiously, Sarah's screams dying down. The silence was far more terrifying than the noise. Finally they were able to remove the symbiote. It was immediately given over to one of the Tokra to be taken and destroyed and the two healers went to work trying to save the young doctor.
"Daniel...."
He swallowed hard, sitting down and just drawing him into his arms, hugging her tightly. She easily returned the embrace. "Everything's so confusing....I can't remember...." she wispered into his shirt..
Daniel gently stroked her hair and back. "I know...I know it's a lot...." he wispered back, pulling back to look at her face, brushing hair away from his eyes. "I'm going to take you home, you're going to be alright, I promise."
She nodded. Daniel had always looked out for her, always made sure it was alright.
They sat there for a good half hour, just holding onto each other for dear life, talking softly. Finally he stood and helped her stand, keeping an arm around her as he headed back to the others.
"Hey, everyone...this is Sarah." He finally introduced her before looking to Jacob. "Its getting a little late, I'm going to take her back to her room."
It wasn't late, they all knew it. But that wasn't the point. Sarah looked exhausted, but happy. SG:1 shuffled aside, letting the two head back into the Tokra facility. Sarah guided him back to the airy room that she had been taken to, only taking a few wrong turns. She never once let go of Daniel's hand. He promised he'd tuck her in, then he'd tell her all about the Stargate and the last 5 years and what had happened to her. She WAS tired, but she didn't think she'd be able to sleep. Looking to the bed, she glanced at him.
"Daniel...can you....?" she didn't even need to finish the sentence. Daniel just squeezed her hand before dropping it and shrugged out of the coat that went along with the uniform. He pulled off the big combat boots before arranging the pillows and laid down, Sarah immediately stretching out beside him, her head pillowed on his chest. He held her for a minute, his hand stroking her arm reassuringly before he began to talk. She heard him, and on some level even understood what he was talking about, but was happy just to feel the slight rumble of his chest against her cheek, his heart pumping rhythmically beneath her ear comforting her.
Then next thing she realized was that she was cold. She opened her eyes to find it had gotten dark, and Daniel was gone. Sitting up she rubbed her eyes. The Stargate. Gou'ald's. Tokra. It all rang in her ears, painfully true. And Dr. Jordan. Killed by her. But not her.
Standing, she shrugged on a robe someone left for her and padded out towards a light at the end of the hall where she heard voices.
"How dangerous is the procedure...?" She heard Daniel's familiar voice. Jacob answered.
"It's more painful than it is dangerous. It's incredibly invasive to remove a symbiote, and if they Gou'ald doesn't want to be removed, it can make things difficult."
"What's going to happen to it after...?" Came another male voice. She peeked around the corner to see Daniel and 4 others sitting around the table.
"The symbiote will be destroyed. We're hoping Sarah will be able to access Osirus' memories, it would be invaluable." said Jacob again, the grey hair man nodding.
"What about secur..." he older man was interupted as the only woman in the group gave him a nudge and nodded to her.
"I uh....couldn't sleep....." she offered lamely, feeling like a child who was caught out of bed after her bedtime. Daniel immediately stood up, motioning her to come and sit. She did, realxing when she felt his hands resting on her shoulders, rubbing them in a comforting manor.
"We were talking about how to remove the symbiote." Daniel told her softly, gently pressing his thumbs against the base of her skull. She tried to hold back a shudder, almost able to feel the slimey snake squirming around inside her stomach. She closed her eyes and....a memory. Pain. The explosion...she was laying on the floor hurting...then another pain, something digging into her, burrowing...she screamed...
Opening her eyes, she swallowed, trying to banish the memory. The others were looking at her in concern. "It's nothing. I'm alright." she reassured them.
"Maybe we should get you back into bed...." Daniel offered quietly and she nodded, suddenly exhausted and standing, shooting Daniel a thankful smile as he slipped his arm around her, heading back towards her room with her. "Dr. Janet Fraiser is coming tomorrow...she's the Chief Medical Officer at Cheyanne Mountain, you'll like her. She wants to observe the extraction of the symbiote if it's alright with you...so maybe we can help other people do it some day. Then she's going to have to take some blood tests, make sure you're not sick or that there's any side effects. We're hoping to have you home inside a week."
"And then what....?"
Daniel hesitated, "There are some security issues. Obviously the public doesn't know about the Stargate..."
"You think I'd tell anyone?"
"I know you wouldn't. But the others don't know you like I do, it's not something they'd take my word on. Plus....the world thinks you're dead...it's been a year since Dr. Jordan died...."
Sarah looked down. "So....do I actually have any options...?"
Daniel looked at his shoes. "You could stay in Colorado...help me. We work great together, you know that...and the thing's you'll see, civilizations and peoples that died out millenia ago alive and thriving..." Sarah smiled a little, he was trying so hard not to sound like it mattered to him. "Or I guess you could stay with the Tokra, your knowledge of the Gouald's going to make you pretty important wherever you go." he finished softly.
Sarah watched him for a long moment before tilting his chin up, gently stroking his cheek with a soft finger. "Do you want me to come back...?" She knew the answer, but she wanted to hear it, needed to hear it.
"I...want you to be safe. And Happy. I don't want what happened to happen again." he wispered hoarsly.
Slowly, she leaned forward and touched her lips to his. She felt him tremble, or maybe it was her. There were problems, issues with trust. They were different people now, but the old foundation was there. Slipping her arms around him, she kissed him more fully, trying to reassure him that she's alright, that she wont choose some strange alien species over him, that she's ready for whatever he's willing to give her.
Daniel could barely hold back a groan as he wrapped his arms around her, crushing him against him. This is what he remembered, the easy friendship and the burning passion all wrapped into one big ball and topped off with a bow. Of course he'd had other woman, Sha're, there had been others in college when he and Sarah had just been friends, and in a way, he loved them all. But none had connected with him on an intellectual level. She was able to go head to head with him, arguing to the end but never with the malice usually found between intellectual equals. They had respected each other, helped each other on every level imaginable.
Gently taking her face in his hands, he kissed her forehead. "You should get some sleep."
"You don't want to come?"
"You can feel exactly how much I want to join you....but I think we should wait."
"....Are you..I don't know...disgusted? With what happened? With me?"
"No! Sarah, you didn't ask for what happened to happen, it wasn't your fault. But you have a big day tomorrow, the procedure, the tests....and I know if I go in with you, I won't be able to leave."
She nodded, not sure she believed him but willing to accept his answer.
"I'm going to be right down the hall. If you wake up, have nightmares, if you need a glass of water, come find me...alright?" She nodded again with a small smile, reassured. Kissing him lightly once more she slipped back into her room, aware of him watching her for a few long moments before turning and heading back to speak with the others.
Daniel moved back into the courtyard to look at the three moons in the sky. Sitting on the bench he found Sarah on, he sighed, remembering having to say goodbye to her.
It was May, 1996. They were getting ready to spend the summer in Egypt. Three months away from the college before the Fall semester started. He'd been writing his papers, this theories causing an uproar. Stephen openly condemned him for a hack while Dr. Jordan and Sarah, while listening to his ideas with an open mind, could not be persuaded. He'd told Dr. Jordan that he was leaving, going to go and find evidence if it killed him. He had yet to tell Sarah. She was busy packing up their apartment just off campus, getting it ready for the three months of emptyness. He came in late, almost midnight and she knew something was wrong the second he walked into the door.
"Don't say it. You don't have to." was all she said, not looking up from packing. He realized that it wasn't her things being packed up for Egypt but his being packed up to move out. "I'm not going to pretend I understand why you're choosing a theory over everything you have here...over us. But if you've made up your mind, I know nothing I can say will change it."
"I'm right Sarah....I know I am...."
"So what if you are?! Is it worth losing your family over?"
He never answered her question. Even today, he didn't know how to answer it. Had it been worth it? He and Sarah had been talking about having a family, children, getting married. Would that have changed things? He would have never met Sha're. He had loved her too, in the end. At the begining, he'd just been so lonely and Sha're had been so kind and gentle, she loved him so much. Over the next year he began to love her, and it had almost killed him when she had been taken. He knew Sarah didn't understand when he told her he'd been married, let alone just weeks after he'd left her. Maybe someday she would. Maybe it just didnt matter.
"Hey stranger..." a soft voice came from behind him. He smiled a little. Sam. Good old dependable Sam. Like the sister he never had.
"Hey." he said softly, turning to greet her with a small smile.
"How are you holding up...?" she said as she dropped onto the bench beside him.
"Could be worse...could be a lot worse." he said, Sam nodding in silent agreement. "I just keep waiting for the other shoe to fall...you know?"
"So...you two were close...? Really close?" she asked, not wanting to dwell on the negative possibilities.
"Yeah...we were close. We went through school together, got our doctorates together, worked with Dr. Jordan...we lived together for years....I wanted to ask her to marry me."
Sam grinned, "Why didn't you?"
"I never thought she'd say yes."
"But she was with you for more than 10 years, why wouldn't she say yes?"
Daniel had to chuckle at the absurdity of his logic. Foresight was 20/20 as they say. "Sarah comes from old money back in England. Very proper and all that, I think her father was some kind of nobility, she never liked to talk about it."
"She obviously didn't care about it if she didn't talk about it." Sam pointed out the obvious.
"Yeah well...things were so good just as they were."
"Didn't want to take the chance..?"
"Yeah...."
"And now..?" Sam asked quietly.
"Things have changed, she's different, I'm different."
"That doesn't exclude you being able to love her again Daniel."
"I know," he said with a sigh. "I don't want to rush her, she's been through so much."
"Daniel, you arn't a horrible, selfish person for wanting to be with her. You know, it's okay for you to want things too some times, you don't always have to sacrifice your wants and needs for everyone else."
"I know that Sam."
"Do you? Sometimes I wonder if you do...I want you to do something for me..okay?"
"Alright...?"
"Stop worrying about the rest of us. Don't worry about what we think or what we need from you. Concentrate on Sarah. AND on yourself for a little while...okay?"
Daniel smiled. "Thanks Sam." he said softly drawing her into a hug.
"Any time Daniel, any time."
The next morning dawned beautifully, the sky having a orangish tint to it. Janet Fraiser came in the late morning, or what would be late morning on Earth. She and Sarah greeted each other politely and then Janet excused herself to go see about preparing for the procedure, leaving Daniel, Sarah, and Sam to wait nervously. Both Jack and Teal'c were off with Jacob talking about the possible implications of having a human on earth with such complete knowledge of the Gou'ald.
There'd be some issues with the NIS, but saving the world a few times tends to get you the gratitude of some pretty important people. Jack was more than willing to call in a favor to keep Sarah from being a lab rat. He didn't know her, but Daniel cared about her and that was enough for him. Besides, she looked like the kind of lady that could hold her own, and he respected that. He'd also been a prisoner of war in the Middle East, he knew what it was like to come home to a world that was different from when he'd left it. He still had nightmares and he'd just been in the prison for 4 years. She had thousands of years worth of memories to deal with and Osirus didn't seem like that nice of a guy. He was pretty sure some of those memories would be fairly nasty.
General Hammond was coming to the base to watch the process himself. He felt it was only right that he be there to support Daniel and SG:1. He also needed to meet his Dr. Gardner before he was willing to sign off on her becoming apart of the SGC. He didn't anticipate any problems, her credentials were impeccable and she had the best character reference he would ever trust, their own Dr. Jackson. But he still needed to meet her, even if it was just a formality. Plus it gave him a chance to travel off world, there were so few. He was a man of action and at times it was tiring to do nothing more than read about what people did instead of doing it himself.
Time dragged by. Hammond came and left again, unable to stay away from the SGC for more than an hour or so. He was reassured that Sarah would make a good addition to the team. While she wasn't a linguist like their own Dr. Jackson, she did have an emphasis on botany with a fair amount of knowledge dealing with Paleontology. They had yet to come across dinosaurs, but one never knew.
Finally the time came for the procedure. Daniel and Sarah headed into the room hand in hand, Daniel giving her a comforting squeeze. Sarah had always abhorred any kind of medical office, he had to beg and plead her just to have a yearly physical to make sure she was healthy. If she didn't need one to get in and out of the country, it wouldn't have happened.
"Dr. Gardner, if you'll come over here...?" Janet said, motioning to what looked like a dentists chair. She headed over uncertainly and sat, jerking in surprise when her feet and arms were secured and the chair leaned back. "Don't worry, I told you we wouldn't be able to put you under, you have to be conscious for the procedure, but I've got something that will help you relax." Janet said, swabbing a spot on her arm and grabbing a needle.
Sarah squeezed her eyes tightly shut and looked away, Daniel grabbing her hand and letting her squeeze it as she was given the sedative. Very quickly she felt woozy. Voices around her blended together, she couldn't understand anything. She felt a cool breeze waft through the room and realized that they were preparing her for the incision. She looked up at the lights, unable to find the source of the brightness as she was flooded with another memory.
This time she was on a ship. A space ship. She didn't know how she knew that, she just did. Before her was a throne and a man. He was very beautiful. Anubis. The name echoed in her head. He said something, she couldn't understand it. She felt like she should have been able to but she just...couldn't. Suddenly two guards grabbed both her arms and dragged her off. She struggled, feeling pressure...not on her arms...but at her stomach...and she started screaming as the pressure turned into pain. Intolerable pain. She screamed and she screamed, begging for it to stop. She was being ripped apart. She could hear Daniel's voice, why wasn't he stopping them? She couldn't breath, she knew she was going to die.
In the medical room, the Tokra healers and Dr. Fraiser were trying to work as fast as they could. The symbiote was struggling violently, trying to burrow further into the young archeologist's body, her screams drowning out all other sounds in the room. Both Jacob and Jack were trying to hold Daniel back who was demanding they stop the procedure. There was just so much blood. They'd decided it would be easier to make and incision below the diaphragm, much like a cesarian section. They didn't have much time left and if the symbiote wasn't removed there would be to much internal tearing, they'd never be able to save her. Seconds ticked by as they worked furiously, Sarah's screams dying down. The silence was far more terrifying than the noise. Finally they were able to remove the symbiote. It was immediately given over to one of the Tokra to be taken and destroyed and the two healers went to work trying to save the young doctor.