Consequences
PT4
"I swear Janet, he opened his eyes! He looked at me and he recognized me. I'm sure of it."
"Sam, I don't think you should get your hopes up. Even if the symbiote is working on him, he's not just going to sit up and say 'hi' then go back into the coma. If, when he wakes up it will be slowly, a little bit at a time. I'll tell you what. let's put him on the EEG and see. Since the symbiote is alive there should be two distinct brain wave patterns. It will give us a good idea of how well Colonel O'Neill is doing."
Carter waited with growing anticipation for the Doctor to set up the device and attach the electrodes to O'Neill's head. As soon as she finished she flipped a switch and the screen lit up with a jumble of brightly colored squiggles. In a moment Frasier had the images separated and on two different screens. "Here, this one must be O'Neill." She pointed to the lesser tracing. "You see how the height of the waves never goes above this point? That's a clear indication of coma. Actually he does have a fair amount of activity, if this continues I'd say he's got a pretty good chance of coming out of it."
Carters face lit up. For a moment she completely forgot about the second brain wave pattern and what it's presence meant.
O'Neill was incensed. 'I thought you said it would be a while before I could open my eyes?'
'That is correct.'
When O'Neill responded with only a flash of raw anger Khalil continued. 'Your mind is currently unable to connect with your physical body, however, it is not beyond my capabilities.'
'You mean get up and walk around?'
'I could, but I would not do that. It would be-' He searched for the right word. 'Disrespectful.'
'Thank God for small favors. Promise you'll never go running off with me when I'm not looking. Now, why did I just see Carter?'
'She has been here a great deal; shed tears right here on your bed. I thought you should know.'
'Oh.' The idea of Carter crying on his bed was unsettling. 'She's been here a lot?'
'She comes and goes. Several times she has stayed all night.'
O'Neill thought of Tony only for a split second then decided a change of subject was in order. 'So what do I do to wake up?'
Khalil smiled. 'Just rest. It will be soon.' O'Neill felt as though something warm enveloped him; in a moment he was asleep.
Two days later the eyelids fluttered again, this time at the behest of their original owner. Slowly O'Neill opened his eyes and squinted at he bright light above him. Why the hell did they always have to do that?
Immediately the light dimmed and he saw the cheerful face of Doctor Frasier smiling back at him. "Colonel? There you are! Decided to join us did you?"
He could barely nod but the slight effort was enough to make her grin broaden. "It's Okay. You don't have to talk. Want to try some water?"
He nodded again and she brought a cup to his lips. She knew a straw would be too much for him right now and so she tilted the half-full cup into his mouth with one hand and slightly lifted his head with the other. The feel of the cool liquid going down his throat was wonderful after so long with only his own meager saliva for lubrication. She let him drain the cup before settling his head back on the pillow. "Thanks."
"I did say something about not talking."
"Said I didn't *have* to." He mumbled.
"I stand corrected. Your throat probably feels a little scratchy. It's not just the dryness; I've resorted to feeding you through a tube. That's what you feel in the back of your throat."
"Hmm." Strange sensation. Don't remember ever having that done before. Get a new T-shirt.
Inside, Khalil gave a slight indication that he had a question. O'Neill's comprehension and response was immediate. He explained using a flash of images. Going on vacation. Racks of brightly colored T-shirts, most with outrageous graphics designs in some way depicting an aspect of the location or an event. Wearing the T-shirt later and being pleasantly reminded of the 'vacation'.
Khalil nodded with only minimal understanding before he was shown Ferretti jesting about a nearly failed mission. "Been there, done that, got the T-shirt."
He nodded again. This brand of humor was interesting to say the least. He understood sarcasm but never realized how easily it could be used to convey humor or even pain and make a point at the same time. This human was obviously a master at it.
"Colonel?" Frasier was leaning in closer to him, looking concerned. "Are you all right? How are you feeling?"
"Peachy."
She cocked an eyebrow and squinted one eye at him. For a moment there he looked like he was a million miles away. Frasier wasn't naïve where the symbiote was concerned, she was fully aware of its presence; she just wasn't quite ready to address that issue yet. "We've got a few housekeeping things to do and I'd like you to stay awake for as long as you can. I'll call General Hammond and tell him you're awake and Teal'c should be around any minute now."
He reached out and touched her arm before she turned away. "Carter?"
Frasier looked down momentarily. "She'll be here later, I'm sure."
She immediately rang the General's office and gave him the news. O'Neill could hear her side of the conversation.
"Yes, Sir. As far as I can tell they're both doing well though I haven't spoken to-"
"All right. You'll get no arguments from me there, I'd just as soon not deal with that on my own anyway."
"Yes, they're here. He's had constant monitoring since I first contacted you." O'Neill's eyes slid from one side of the room to the other. SF's, two big ones, had to be Marines. What did they think he was going to do, attack Frasier and take over the base?
The thoughts were actually a combination of his own and Khalil's, but then O'Neill added his own footnote. 'It's a normal, prudent precaution. I'd order it myself if they weren't here.'
'You don't trust me.'
'Not yet. We're used to a lot of security and protocols down here; it's up to you to prove it's not necessary.'
An hour later Frasier had removed all the tubes except a single IV and both Teal'c and Daniel were fussing over him; both were a bit restrained considering the amount of time that passed and all that had occurred, but they were still able to recall in great detail seeing Khalil enter his body. He seemed so normal to them, yet they new better.
After several minutes Daniel couldn't hold back his curiosity. "How's your, um, passenger?"
"Fine. Really better than me right now."
"You are not under duress?" Teal'c got right to the point.
"From him? Nah. Apparently we were both in pretty bad shape he's still busy working on repairs." He raised his voice slightly, "Frasier *could* however get this cast off me, it's not necessary anymore."
She raised her head up from her desk and glared at him. "I'll be the judge of that. We'll do another x-ray later this afternoon. Soon enough, Colonel?"
He shrugged at the barb and turned back to Daniel just as General Hammond entered the room.
"Colonel, good to see you up. You cut this one a little close."
"Irish luck can't hold out forever, I guess I was due."
"How are you feeling?"
"Fine." This was getting monotonous.
Hammond took a breath and frowned. "How is, the uh-"
O'Neill glowered at him. He couldn't believe Jacob hadn't told anyone the symbiotes name. It was like he had a disease, not a living breathing, well kinda, other being inside him. "Snake? His name is Khalil, and he's *fine* too."
The General's eyes softened a little, allowing his non-military persona to come through. "Of course. Khalil is it? I don't know if you are aware of it but when you were returned to us we were told the symbiote was dead. You were knocking at death's door yourself; so as you can see we're quite surprised this is happening."
"No more than I am, believe me."
"Yes, Jacob told me the original plan. Can't say I would have approved it, but here we are." He paused and lowered his eyes for a moment then looked back at the Colonel. "Jack, I need to talk to Khalil."
It suddenly dawned on O'Neill this would be a first. Even with his previous 'possessions' he'd never relinquished control while conscious. His eyes fell and he answered with a less than confident, "Sure."
At once he felt Khalil's presence strengthen but the symbiote did not attempt to override O'Neill's control. Instead there was simply a feeling of warmth and relaxation.
'Are we gonna do that weird head nod thing?' O'Neill asked.
He felt the symbiote's amusement, 'It does not have to be so. Just close you eyes and relax. Then expect to feel your eyes open without doing it yourself. It is the first step to a smooth transition. Remember what I showed you with Tamar.'
Internally O'Neill accepted Khalil's challenge. Their relationship was very different from the one Khalil had with his previous host but having access to those memories helped. He glanced at his team then back at Hammond and slowly closed his eyes.
A moment later those eyes opened unbidden by O'Neill. It was so odd to see through them but not control where he looked. Like suddenly his whole body was on autopilot, every movement being done without thought. At least *his* thought. The experience reminded him of someone sleepwalking.
"General Hammond, it is an honor."
Hammond knit his brow and let his mouth drop open slightly. He glanced at Daniel then Teal'c and back to his 2IC. He didn't know what to think; there was no head bow, no unusual depth to the voice and most certainly no flash in the eyes. The man had simply blinked. The only possible giveaway was a slight change in the facial expression.
"Am I speaking to Khalil?"
"You are."
"Jack, is this some kind of joke?" Daniel interrupted.
"I am not attempting to engage in humor at this time."
Daniel shook his head and blew out a breath from his cheeks, "That's not Jack."
"Excuse me," Hammond said, "we're used to having a little more outward sign; are you sure?"
Irritation rose like a flood in Khalil. He internally muttered a quick 'forgive me' to his host then squared his shoulders and glared at the General. As his anger swelled his eyes flashed momentarily. He answered with the full strength of his combined voice, "I am sure."
Immediately he calmed himself and let his wrath go. He returned to his previous state and used the softer voice of O'Neill when he spoke again. "I dislike intimidation. I would prefer you not ask me to do that again."
Sufficiently chastised Hammond nodded his head. He took a moment to recover from the shock of seeing the instantaneous transformation. "As you wish. I've taken the liberty of contacting the Tok'ra regarding your resurrection as it were. They're sending someone out as soon as they can. They are quite anxious to have you back."
"The intelligence I was able to obtain was less than we'd hoped, and as all these weeks have passed much of its relevance may be negated by now. I can only hope I can still be of service to my people."
"I'm sure it's not just the Intel they're interested in. Jacob told me how important you are to them."
"Perhaps, but the mission, a mission under my command, was a failure. It is something I do not take lightly."
Hammond nodded his understanding. "Until the Tok'ra representative gets here I'd like you to stay in the infirmary. I'm sure the good Doctor isn't through with you anyway and it would be best for all concerned."
"I assure you I pose no security risk."
Hammond had already turned to leave, suddenly uncomfortable in the presence of his 2IC. He stopped a moment and spoke over his shoulder. "Sir, right now you are unknown and therefore your very presence here is a risk. Until you are debriefed to my satisfaction that is how it has to be. I don't suppose I can order you to cooperate, but unless more has changed than I know, I can still order your host if need be."
Khalil sat back and watched the General leave. "I suppose you would like to speak with O'Neill now."
Daniel shook his head, "Not necessarily, I mean if Jack's okay with it, you could stay a while. Anything you'd like to talk about?"
"Yes. Where is Major Carter?"
"She's, um, she's off the base right now, why?"
Khalil lied. "I understand she is working with Naquadria, I'd like to discuss the instability problem with her."
Hours later the Tok'ra representative showed up. Hammond was pleased to see Jacob return. "This is getting to be a habit, Jacob." He drawled out as he grasped his friend's hand.
"Don't I know it? Happier circumstances this time, huh? Let's go see our boy."
While they were waiting for Jacob's arrival Frasier had removed the cast and allowed the Colonel to change clothes. He was escorted to the briefing room and walked in looking like the same Jack O'Neill who had entered that room a hundred times before.
The briefing went quickly and Jacob had to agree with Khalil, the information was less than they'd hoped. Still they'd find a way to make good use of it. The next order of business was what to do about the blending.
"Of course we are prepared to separate host and symbiote. We do not currently have an available host so it will require a period of stasis."
Khalil was not pleased at all, in fact the mere thought of stasis made him cringe. "I understand. I will defer to the wishes of O'Neill as our initial bargain has become complicated. I have already asked too much of him." With that he closed his eyes firmly and relinquished control to O'Neill.
The Colonel resumed his place blinking several times as if startled. "Whoa, he's not happy. Jake you're not really gonna put him in a tank are you?"
"There isn't much choice, you're not going to keep him." Suddenly Jacob noted that same look in O'Neill's eye he saw back on Paka'as planet. "Or are you?"
Hammond was taken aback. "Jacob?"
Jacob ignored the other General and said to O'Neill. "It may only be a matter of days, but it will likely be much longer. Also you should know the longer a symbiote is blended with a particular host, the stronger the connection becomes."
"You mean we could both die if we separate?" O'Neill lowered his eyes and pressed his lips together. "Isn't that always a possibility? I don't want to see him put in stasis. He has some pretty bad memories of it and I can relate since I've been 'frozen' myself."
Hammond was surprised to say the least, "Colonel, am I hearing you right? Are you considering this even though it would likely be permanent?"
"Let's just say it's on the table."
"It would take you away from here, from SG-1."
"Why? The Tok'ra have their human ambassador in Jacob. Why shouldn't we have a Tok'ra ambassador here?"
Both Generals stared back at him without an answer. Hammond spoke first. "You've been giving this some thought haven't you? I'll have to get with the president before any decision like that could be even considered. You do have a point though, but I don't know how it would work out."
"Me neither. And I'm not saying that's what I want to do, not yet."
"Maybe a trial period?" Jacob suggested. "We'll keep looking for a replacement host and as long as it doesn't take too long the option will remain open. What does Khalil think?"
O'Neill smiled lopsidedly, "Oh, he likes the idea; anything's better than being put on ice I guess. He's happy as a clam in here." On hearing the word 'ambassador' Khalil had literally wiggled with excitement.
With a little hesitation on the part of the Joint Chiefs the plan was approved. O'Neill could serve in his usual place as commander of SG-1 pending permanent placement of Khalil. The deciding factor was that the blending was complete and as such all O'Neill's knowledge was already compromised. Besides that, one Air Force officer was currently in the service of aliens via Jacob Carter; no one wanted to make it two. The only stipulation was no first contact or front line missions. O'Neill didn't like the idea of being on 'cake' runs for two weeks but he accepted their conditions. All he needed was an 'Okay' from Frasier to return to work.
Sam Carter stalked through the halls of the SGC fuming at herself. She couldn't believe it. She *missed it* again. Not only was the Colonel awake, he was up walking around, talking and apparently being reinstated to active duty and command of SG-1 as soon as he was cleared medically. How could this happen in less than eight hours? All she really did was go home and relax a little while, take a bath and go out to dinner for crying out loud!
Her pace increased as she neared his office where she was told he'd be. She blew through the door and stopped short. No Colonel. She was about to leave when she noticed a piece of paper stuck to his computer screen. 'Daniel, if you're reading this I'm not here. Went to find Carter. Catch you later.'
She humphed to herself, where would he go? Only one place; her lab was in dire jeopardy.
She was there in three minutes but forced herself to stop a moment just outside the door to calm herself; no point in blowing into her own space like some damn tornado. She walked in with an air of much more dignity than she was feeling and was greeted by a huge grin from her CO.
"Carter! Where've you been?"
"Sir! It's good to have you back." She hesitated when she noticed he was holding one of her projects. The device had been in pieces on her lab bench for almost six months; she'd all but given up hope of ever reassembling it. Only now here it was- whole, and if the blinking lights were any indication, functioning!
Her hand moved toward it involuntarily. "How did you do that?"
As their eyes met she felt it, the presence of a symbiote. Before he could answer he noticed the color begin to drain from her face and he knew what she was feeling. He reached out a hand in her direction, not to touch her but only reassure. "It's Okay, I'm still me. That's one thing you were right about all this time, the Tok'ra really are different, I'm totally without his influence." He smiled and held up the device, "Well, mostly, I actually understand your toys now. Okay, *he* put it together but I helped."
She moved to her chair and sat in it quickly before her knees gave out. "So you and-"
"Khalil."
Her face fell. "I'm sorry. I should have been there, on the mission, there might have been something I could have done."
"Don't bet on it. It was close for all of us." He returned the device to the tabletop.
"But what you had to do. I know how you feel about the Tok'ra."
"Felt." He corrected her. "And I didn't 'have' to do it. It was my decision to render assistance to Khalil as an ally in distress. The fact that I'm not dead now is just a sort of side effect."
"A side effect." She echoed his words with a tone of disbelief.
"Yeah." He shrugged. "But I plan to make the most of it. With any luck Frasier will clear me in a day or so and voila, I'm back."
"What about Khalil? You aren't seriously thinking of keeping him?"
"Why does everyone keep asking that? He's not a dog, you know. To be truthful, I don't know. For right now he's nowhere else to go and now that I have my life back I'm not going to sit around and wait until the Tok'ra sign up a new host. Khalil can learn stuff from me and I can from him while he's here and in the meantime SG-1 is back on the mission rotation." He paused and noticed her expression was clouded.
"Sorry, Carter." He slid off the stool and stepped toward her. "I didn't mean to rant. I came here to talk to you about a couple things. First, I'm sorry for getting so creeped out over the Jolinar thing. I've had to take a hard look at that, as you might have guessed. Thing is, the Tok'ra are just trying to survive like we are. They've been on the run for so long they've gotten paranoid, but they're making it." He absently ran his index finger along the edge of the table. "I still think they're arrogant sons of bitches, but I realized I've been making too many generalizations. If they were an enemy that could have been a fatal mistake."
"You don't trust them."
"No, but then who ever completely trusts their allies?" There was a short silence between them then he shrugged and added "I like them better than the Russians."
Her frown wavered then cracked into a smile. She lowered her head and fought to keep it from becoming a full-fledged grin. "I'm sure you do, Sir." She shook her head slightly thinking how much she'd missed his humor. "The second thing?"
He looked down at the floor suddenly interested in something there. "Just thanks." He winced and raised his head to face her. "For being there. I was out of it pretty much the whole time, Khalil wasn't." He sensed her stiffen slightly and quickly decided this wasn't the time for mush. "I mean all of you, the team. Hammond told me you've been on stand down since I got here. One of you was with me all the time. You know he wanted to ship me off to Peterson just to get you guys back to work?"
She shook her head. "I'm glad he didn't do that." She was silent for a moment then added, "I'm sorry I wasn't there when you woke up."
He straightened his shoulders and took a breath before answering. "You were there…enough."
Her head rose and when she found her eyes locked with his, she jerked herself away. She could feel the heat rising in her face. He knew. How much of the time had Khalil been aware of her presence there? How many times did he see her sneak in late and grieve in the realization that with all her technical expertise there was nothing she could do to help him. The one time she wasn't there her CO had gotten himself into a situation that was a clear dead end. Dead being the operative word. As the days wore on she'd stayed with him less and less as the guilt ate at her. The only time she was free of it was when she was away from the mountain, which in itself created more guilt of a different kind.
He spoke again, breaking her train of thought. "So, you up for a mission soon?"
She smiled and nodded, grateful for the change of subject. "Any idea what it will be?"
"Cake run. Follow up a first contact SG-4 made a couple weeks ago. P9K 885. Agrarian culture, the usual trees and other flora; we'll meet with some guy named Melisma and do a little trading of medical supplies for samples of their crops. Frasier thought the first samples brought back had potential."
Carter was amazed. She'd recently read over a report on this very planet and for once her CO had all the facts straight. He even pronounced the contact persons name right. Unbelievable. She answered purely out of habit. "Yes, Sir."
He slapped his palm on the table. "Good. Assuming I'll be out on good behavior we'll do a pre-mission briefing day after tomorrow. Be ready."
With that he turned on his heel and strode out of the lab leaving a stunned 2IC in his wake. He was so normal, but then again not really; she didn't know what to make of it. One thing for sure, she missed him, she didn't realize how much until now.
Two days and a confounded Dr. Mackenzie later O'Neill was given medical clearance to return to active duty. It wasn't that O'Neill had been uncooperative, for once, but that Mackenzie balked at certifying as fit someone with two distinct personalities in one body. Symbiote notwithstanding, in his book it was still schizophrenia, maybe an unusual cause but still there had to be issues to resolve. After the second session even Khalil insisted it was Mackenzie himself who was in need of counseling and not either he or O'Neill; as far as he was concerned the time spent was a total waste.
Mackenzie couldn't deal with how easily he was thrown every time O'Neill and Khalil switched control. He finally settled for creating an entire separate file for Khalil, and treating them as two different patients, even to the point of talking to them at separately scheduled meetings. He required only one of them to maintain control during their sessions. Mackenzie's office staff pitied his wife for the mood he'd still be in when he got home.
The mission to P9K 885 was completed by late afternoon not even requiring an overnight stay by SG-1. Before the day was over O'Neill submitted his report to Hammond along with recommendations for their next few missions.
The second mission went as well as the first, as did the next. In no time the two week trial period was up and things were going so well there was no mention made of changing O'Neill's status or pressing the Tok'ra for a resolution.
Their most recent mission was a success as far as meeting the objectives anyway. The weather didn't cooperate and they'd walked right into a storm rivaling a category 4 hurricane. They were supposed to meet with a delegation from the capital city and discuss emergency preparedness issues. So much for discussion. What they got was an up front hands on look at how the people handled a disaster.
For the most part it was very similar to the procedures followed on earth with two main differences. Their early warning system was enough to impress even Carter using air pressure gradients and computer modeling to determine where the most damaging winds would occur. Secondly they didn't evacuate even the high strike zones. A series of portable sonic devices were moved in place to hold back or at least break up the worst of the storm surge, and the buildings were all constructed to withstand the high winds and water.
Khalil pressed to see those in action and O'Neill ended up cold, soaked and dog tired after assisting the locals to set up three sonic generators. Watching the last one work was well worth the effort. When the surge hit the water seemed to impact a force field. At one point there was a twenty-foot high wall of water being held at bay by nothing but inaudible sound.
On the way back to the Stargate O'Neill found himself barely staving off a sudden wave of dizziness and nausea. He chalked it up to getting his ears full of water and during his post-mission physical with Frasier didn't even mention it.
Later in his quarters it hit again with a vengeance. Luckily he hadn't eaten much so his stomach was emptied quickly.
'K, what's up with this? Did I catch their equivalent of the flu? How about a fix.'
'You do not have the 'flu' and I am not sure just 'fixing' it would solve the problem.'
'What are you talking about?'
'Sometimes suffering through repercussions is a good thing. Like when someone is intent on pushing themselves too hard and will not listen.'
'You're angry.'
'Ya think?'
O'Neill winced at his own sarcasm used against him. 'You're the one who wanted to go see the sonic thingys work.'
'I did *not* ask to be drowned in the process or expect you to push your physical endurance to the limit. Must I remind you, your injuries were extreme, especially to your spinal column where I reside?'
'They needed help.'
'The situation was under control.'
Realizing he was *not* going to win O'Neill conceded. 'Why didn't you just stop me if I was making you so upset?'
Khalil sighed. 'And then how much closer would we be to trusting each other?'
It occurred to O'Neill he wasn't yet taking Khalil's presence seriously. Even if this contract between them was to be short term, he hadn't accepted any responsibilities on his end. His embarrassment did not go unnoticed by Khalil who suddenly came to a realization of his own. For all O'Neill had endured in his life, he was still very young by Khalil's standards.
He recalled something from O'Neill's memory that seemed to fit their current situation; someone very wise saying 'the young do not always do as they are told.' O'Neill deserved a chance to grow and make mistakes.
Khalil spoke softly to his host, almost as a father. 'It is an unusual situation, put upon you under far less than desirable circumstances. Rest now. I will make repairs while you sleep.
The needed repairs took only a short time but Khalil did not relinquish control. He let O'Neill sleep and began to work on the mission report they needed to submit. As he went over the events of the past few days he found himself frequently smiling. This was an amazing group of people who claimed O'Neill as their undisputed leader.
The Jaffa he perhaps understood the most, he was trained to recognize strength and the ability to command. It would be expected for him to follow a natural born leader like O'Neill once he recognized the Goa'uld he followed was no god. As for the archaeologist, apparently he and O'Neill had become friends some time ago. The beginning was rocky but the foundation was solid as forged steel. O'Neill was the leader and Daniel the follower but it was surprising how many times the line between those roles blurred.
The woman was an enigma to him. It was beyond obvious there was a strong attraction and even affection between she and O'Neill yet both of them fought it continuously. Khalil didn't for a second buy the 'regulations' argument O'Neill presented to him. He was certain this world was the same as all others. Laws and regulations were never absolutes. Like taking a life. Killing was acceptable under certain circumstances, in war, yes, your next-door neighbor, probably not. These military regulations had to be similar in their application. To Khalil they seemed to be less than a law but more than a guideline, either way they were not insurmountable.
The 'duty' and 'honor' point of view he did understand; it was why he took on that last mission despite his concerns about the maturity of his host. As it turned out he was right; the youthful body was strong but not hardened and Khalil was forced to put all his energy into healing the numerous injuries. Unfortunately the Jaffa managed to stay ahead of him, inflicting more damage before he could complete repairs on the previous injuries.
The result was that Tamar had to assume outward control of the body for extended periods including when he was dragged away to be tortured. The young man wasn't completely naïve but his youth betrayed him as the Jaffa wore him down. Khalil was proud the young man never did break and give away precious secrets but Tamar's psyche eventually paid the price. He withdrew into himself and became catatonic; even Khalil could not reach him.
He ignored the tears threatening to fall from his eyes and thought again about O'Neill and his team. The Colonel had told him that he'd like to get them all together at his home soon for what he called a 'team' night. A sort of bonding ritual Khalil understood. O'Neill told him it would help them all get back to normal after what had happened.
Khalil checked on O'Neill and finding him still asleep decided to do the invitations himself.
PT4
"I swear Janet, he opened his eyes! He looked at me and he recognized me. I'm sure of it."
"Sam, I don't think you should get your hopes up. Even if the symbiote is working on him, he's not just going to sit up and say 'hi' then go back into the coma. If, when he wakes up it will be slowly, a little bit at a time. I'll tell you what. let's put him on the EEG and see. Since the symbiote is alive there should be two distinct brain wave patterns. It will give us a good idea of how well Colonel O'Neill is doing."
Carter waited with growing anticipation for the Doctor to set up the device and attach the electrodes to O'Neill's head. As soon as she finished she flipped a switch and the screen lit up with a jumble of brightly colored squiggles. In a moment Frasier had the images separated and on two different screens. "Here, this one must be O'Neill." She pointed to the lesser tracing. "You see how the height of the waves never goes above this point? That's a clear indication of coma. Actually he does have a fair amount of activity, if this continues I'd say he's got a pretty good chance of coming out of it."
Carters face lit up. For a moment she completely forgot about the second brain wave pattern and what it's presence meant.
O'Neill was incensed. 'I thought you said it would be a while before I could open my eyes?'
'That is correct.'
When O'Neill responded with only a flash of raw anger Khalil continued. 'Your mind is currently unable to connect with your physical body, however, it is not beyond my capabilities.'
'You mean get up and walk around?'
'I could, but I would not do that. It would be-' He searched for the right word. 'Disrespectful.'
'Thank God for small favors. Promise you'll never go running off with me when I'm not looking. Now, why did I just see Carter?'
'She has been here a great deal; shed tears right here on your bed. I thought you should know.'
'Oh.' The idea of Carter crying on his bed was unsettling. 'She's been here a lot?'
'She comes and goes. Several times she has stayed all night.'
O'Neill thought of Tony only for a split second then decided a change of subject was in order. 'So what do I do to wake up?'
Khalil smiled. 'Just rest. It will be soon.' O'Neill felt as though something warm enveloped him; in a moment he was asleep.
Two days later the eyelids fluttered again, this time at the behest of their original owner. Slowly O'Neill opened his eyes and squinted at he bright light above him. Why the hell did they always have to do that?
Immediately the light dimmed and he saw the cheerful face of Doctor Frasier smiling back at him. "Colonel? There you are! Decided to join us did you?"
He could barely nod but the slight effort was enough to make her grin broaden. "It's Okay. You don't have to talk. Want to try some water?"
He nodded again and she brought a cup to his lips. She knew a straw would be too much for him right now and so she tilted the half-full cup into his mouth with one hand and slightly lifted his head with the other. The feel of the cool liquid going down his throat was wonderful after so long with only his own meager saliva for lubrication. She let him drain the cup before settling his head back on the pillow. "Thanks."
"I did say something about not talking."
"Said I didn't *have* to." He mumbled.
"I stand corrected. Your throat probably feels a little scratchy. It's not just the dryness; I've resorted to feeding you through a tube. That's what you feel in the back of your throat."
"Hmm." Strange sensation. Don't remember ever having that done before. Get a new T-shirt.
Inside, Khalil gave a slight indication that he had a question. O'Neill's comprehension and response was immediate. He explained using a flash of images. Going on vacation. Racks of brightly colored T-shirts, most with outrageous graphics designs in some way depicting an aspect of the location or an event. Wearing the T-shirt later and being pleasantly reminded of the 'vacation'.
Khalil nodded with only minimal understanding before he was shown Ferretti jesting about a nearly failed mission. "Been there, done that, got the T-shirt."
He nodded again. This brand of humor was interesting to say the least. He understood sarcasm but never realized how easily it could be used to convey humor or even pain and make a point at the same time. This human was obviously a master at it.
"Colonel?" Frasier was leaning in closer to him, looking concerned. "Are you all right? How are you feeling?"
"Peachy."
She cocked an eyebrow and squinted one eye at him. For a moment there he looked like he was a million miles away. Frasier wasn't naïve where the symbiote was concerned, she was fully aware of its presence; she just wasn't quite ready to address that issue yet. "We've got a few housekeeping things to do and I'd like you to stay awake for as long as you can. I'll call General Hammond and tell him you're awake and Teal'c should be around any minute now."
He reached out and touched her arm before she turned away. "Carter?"
Frasier looked down momentarily. "She'll be here later, I'm sure."
She immediately rang the General's office and gave him the news. O'Neill could hear her side of the conversation.
"Yes, Sir. As far as I can tell they're both doing well though I haven't spoken to-"
"All right. You'll get no arguments from me there, I'd just as soon not deal with that on my own anyway."
"Yes, they're here. He's had constant monitoring since I first contacted you." O'Neill's eyes slid from one side of the room to the other. SF's, two big ones, had to be Marines. What did they think he was going to do, attack Frasier and take over the base?
The thoughts were actually a combination of his own and Khalil's, but then O'Neill added his own footnote. 'It's a normal, prudent precaution. I'd order it myself if they weren't here.'
'You don't trust me.'
'Not yet. We're used to a lot of security and protocols down here; it's up to you to prove it's not necessary.'
An hour later Frasier had removed all the tubes except a single IV and both Teal'c and Daniel were fussing over him; both were a bit restrained considering the amount of time that passed and all that had occurred, but they were still able to recall in great detail seeing Khalil enter his body. He seemed so normal to them, yet they new better.
After several minutes Daniel couldn't hold back his curiosity. "How's your, um, passenger?"
"Fine. Really better than me right now."
"You are not under duress?" Teal'c got right to the point.
"From him? Nah. Apparently we were both in pretty bad shape he's still busy working on repairs." He raised his voice slightly, "Frasier *could* however get this cast off me, it's not necessary anymore."
She raised her head up from her desk and glared at him. "I'll be the judge of that. We'll do another x-ray later this afternoon. Soon enough, Colonel?"
He shrugged at the barb and turned back to Daniel just as General Hammond entered the room.
"Colonel, good to see you up. You cut this one a little close."
"Irish luck can't hold out forever, I guess I was due."
"How are you feeling?"
"Fine." This was getting monotonous.
Hammond took a breath and frowned. "How is, the uh-"
O'Neill glowered at him. He couldn't believe Jacob hadn't told anyone the symbiotes name. It was like he had a disease, not a living breathing, well kinda, other being inside him. "Snake? His name is Khalil, and he's *fine* too."
The General's eyes softened a little, allowing his non-military persona to come through. "Of course. Khalil is it? I don't know if you are aware of it but when you were returned to us we were told the symbiote was dead. You were knocking at death's door yourself; so as you can see we're quite surprised this is happening."
"No more than I am, believe me."
"Yes, Jacob told me the original plan. Can't say I would have approved it, but here we are." He paused and lowered his eyes for a moment then looked back at the Colonel. "Jack, I need to talk to Khalil."
It suddenly dawned on O'Neill this would be a first. Even with his previous 'possessions' he'd never relinquished control while conscious. His eyes fell and he answered with a less than confident, "Sure."
At once he felt Khalil's presence strengthen but the symbiote did not attempt to override O'Neill's control. Instead there was simply a feeling of warmth and relaxation.
'Are we gonna do that weird head nod thing?' O'Neill asked.
He felt the symbiote's amusement, 'It does not have to be so. Just close you eyes and relax. Then expect to feel your eyes open without doing it yourself. It is the first step to a smooth transition. Remember what I showed you with Tamar.'
Internally O'Neill accepted Khalil's challenge. Their relationship was very different from the one Khalil had with his previous host but having access to those memories helped. He glanced at his team then back at Hammond and slowly closed his eyes.
A moment later those eyes opened unbidden by O'Neill. It was so odd to see through them but not control where he looked. Like suddenly his whole body was on autopilot, every movement being done without thought. At least *his* thought. The experience reminded him of someone sleepwalking.
"General Hammond, it is an honor."
Hammond knit his brow and let his mouth drop open slightly. He glanced at Daniel then Teal'c and back to his 2IC. He didn't know what to think; there was no head bow, no unusual depth to the voice and most certainly no flash in the eyes. The man had simply blinked. The only possible giveaway was a slight change in the facial expression.
"Am I speaking to Khalil?"
"You are."
"Jack, is this some kind of joke?" Daniel interrupted.
"I am not attempting to engage in humor at this time."
Daniel shook his head and blew out a breath from his cheeks, "That's not Jack."
"Excuse me," Hammond said, "we're used to having a little more outward sign; are you sure?"
Irritation rose like a flood in Khalil. He internally muttered a quick 'forgive me' to his host then squared his shoulders and glared at the General. As his anger swelled his eyes flashed momentarily. He answered with the full strength of his combined voice, "I am sure."
Immediately he calmed himself and let his wrath go. He returned to his previous state and used the softer voice of O'Neill when he spoke again. "I dislike intimidation. I would prefer you not ask me to do that again."
Sufficiently chastised Hammond nodded his head. He took a moment to recover from the shock of seeing the instantaneous transformation. "As you wish. I've taken the liberty of contacting the Tok'ra regarding your resurrection as it were. They're sending someone out as soon as they can. They are quite anxious to have you back."
"The intelligence I was able to obtain was less than we'd hoped, and as all these weeks have passed much of its relevance may be negated by now. I can only hope I can still be of service to my people."
"I'm sure it's not just the Intel they're interested in. Jacob told me how important you are to them."
"Perhaps, but the mission, a mission under my command, was a failure. It is something I do not take lightly."
Hammond nodded his understanding. "Until the Tok'ra representative gets here I'd like you to stay in the infirmary. I'm sure the good Doctor isn't through with you anyway and it would be best for all concerned."
"I assure you I pose no security risk."
Hammond had already turned to leave, suddenly uncomfortable in the presence of his 2IC. He stopped a moment and spoke over his shoulder. "Sir, right now you are unknown and therefore your very presence here is a risk. Until you are debriefed to my satisfaction that is how it has to be. I don't suppose I can order you to cooperate, but unless more has changed than I know, I can still order your host if need be."
Khalil sat back and watched the General leave. "I suppose you would like to speak with O'Neill now."
Daniel shook his head, "Not necessarily, I mean if Jack's okay with it, you could stay a while. Anything you'd like to talk about?"
"Yes. Where is Major Carter?"
"She's, um, she's off the base right now, why?"
Khalil lied. "I understand she is working with Naquadria, I'd like to discuss the instability problem with her."
Hours later the Tok'ra representative showed up. Hammond was pleased to see Jacob return. "This is getting to be a habit, Jacob." He drawled out as he grasped his friend's hand.
"Don't I know it? Happier circumstances this time, huh? Let's go see our boy."
While they were waiting for Jacob's arrival Frasier had removed the cast and allowed the Colonel to change clothes. He was escorted to the briefing room and walked in looking like the same Jack O'Neill who had entered that room a hundred times before.
The briefing went quickly and Jacob had to agree with Khalil, the information was less than they'd hoped. Still they'd find a way to make good use of it. The next order of business was what to do about the blending.
"Of course we are prepared to separate host and symbiote. We do not currently have an available host so it will require a period of stasis."
Khalil was not pleased at all, in fact the mere thought of stasis made him cringe. "I understand. I will defer to the wishes of O'Neill as our initial bargain has become complicated. I have already asked too much of him." With that he closed his eyes firmly and relinquished control to O'Neill.
The Colonel resumed his place blinking several times as if startled. "Whoa, he's not happy. Jake you're not really gonna put him in a tank are you?"
"There isn't much choice, you're not going to keep him." Suddenly Jacob noted that same look in O'Neill's eye he saw back on Paka'as planet. "Or are you?"
Hammond was taken aback. "Jacob?"
Jacob ignored the other General and said to O'Neill. "It may only be a matter of days, but it will likely be much longer. Also you should know the longer a symbiote is blended with a particular host, the stronger the connection becomes."
"You mean we could both die if we separate?" O'Neill lowered his eyes and pressed his lips together. "Isn't that always a possibility? I don't want to see him put in stasis. He has some pretty bad memories of it and I can relate since I've been 'frozen' myself."
Hammond was surprised to say the least, "Colonel, am I hearing you right? Are you considering this even though it would likely be permanent?"
"Let's just say it's on the table."
"It would take you away from here, from SG-1."
"Why? The Tok'ra have their human ambassador in Jacob. Why shouldn't we have a Tok'ra ambassador here?"
Both Generals stared back at him without an answer. Hammond spoke first. "You've been giving this some thought haven't you? I'll have to get with the president before any decision like that could be even considered. You do have a point though, but I don't know how it would work out."
"Me neither. And I'm not saying that's what I want to do, not yet."
"Maybe a trial period?" Jacob suggested. "We'll keep looking for a replacement host and as long as it doesn't take too long the option will remain open. What does Khalil think?"
O'Neill smiled lopsidedly, "Oh, he likes the idea; anything's better than being put on ice I guess. He's happy as a clam in here." On hearing the word 'ambassador' Khalil had literally wiggled with excitement.
With a little hesitation on the part of the Joint Chiefs the plan was approved. O'Neill could serve in his usual place as commander of SG-1 pending permanent placement of Khalil. The deciding factor was that the blending was complete and as such all O'Neill's knowledge was already compromised. Besides that, one Air Force officer was currently in the service of aliens via Jacob Carter; no one wanted to make it two. The only stipulation was no first contact or front line missions. O'Neill didn't like the idea of being on 'cake' runs for two weeks but he accepted their conditions. All he needed was an 'Okay' from Frasier to return to work.
Sam Carter stalked through the halls of the SGC fuming at herself. She couldn't believe it. She *missed it* again. Not only was the Colonel awake, he was up walking around, talking and apparently being reinstated to active duty and command of SG-1 as soon as he was cleared medically. How could this happen in less than eight hours? All she really did was go home and relax a little while, take a bath and go out to dinner for crying out loud!
Her pace increased as she neared his office where she was told he'd be. She blew through the door and stopped short. No Colonel. She was about to leave when she noticed a piece of paper stuck to his computer screen. 'Daniel, if you're reading this I'm not here. Went to find Carter. Catch you later.'
She humphed to herself, where would he go? Only one place; her lab was in dire jeopardy.
She was there in three minutes but forced herself to stop a moment just outside the door to calm herself; no point in blowing into her own space like some damn tornado. She walked in with an air of much more dignity than she was feeling and was greeted by a huge grin from her CO.
"Carter! Where've you been?"
"Sir! It's good to have you back." She hesitated when she noticed he was holding one of her projects. The device had been in pieces on her lab bench for almost six months; she'd all but given up hope of ever reassembling it. Only now here it was- whole, and if the blinking lights were any indication, functioning!
Her hand moved toward it involuntarily. "How did you do that?"
As their eyes met she felt it, the presence of a symbiote. Before he could answer he noticed the color begin to drain from her face and he knew what she was feeling. He reached out a hand in her direction, not to touch her but only reassure. "It's Okay, I'm still me. That's one thing you were right about all this time, the Tok'ra really are different, I'm totally without his influence." He smiled and held up the device, "Well, mostly, I actually understand your toys now. Okay, *he* put it together but I helped."
She moved to her chair and sat in it quickly before her knees gave out. "So you and-"
"Khalil."
Her face fell. "I'm sorry. I should have been there, on the mission, there might have been something I could have done."
"Don't bet on it. It was close for all of us." He returned the device to the tabletop.
"But what you had to do. I know how you feel about the Tok'ra."
"Felt." He corrected her. "And I didn't 'have' to do it. It was my decision to render assistance to Khalil as an ally in distress. The fact that I'm not dead now is just a sort of side effect."
"A side effect." She echoed his words with a tone of disbelief.
"Yeah." He shrugged. "But I plan to make the most of it. With any luck Frasier will clear me in a day or so and voila, I'm back."
"What about Khalil? You aren't seriously thinking of keeping him?"
"Why does everyone keep asking that? He's not a dog, you know. To be truthful, I don't know. For right now he's nowhere else to go and now that I have my life back I'm not going to sit around and wait until the Tok'ra sign up a new host. Khalil can learn stuff from me and I can from him while he's here and in the meantime SG-1 is back on the mission rotation." He paused and noticed her expression was clouded.
"Sorry, Carter." He slid off the stool and stepped toward her. "I didn't mean to rant. I came here to talk to you about a couple things. First, I'm sorry for getting so creeped out over the Jolinar thing. I've had to take a hard look at that, as you might have guessed. Thing is, the Tok'ra are just trying to survive like we are. They've been on the run for so long they've gotten paranoid, but they're making it." He absently ran his index finger along the edge of the table. "I still think they're arrogant sons of bitches, but I realized I've been making too many generalizations. If they were an enemy that could have been a fatal mistake."
"You don't trust them."
"No, but then who ever completely trusts their allies?" There was a short silence between them then he shrugged and added "I like them better than the Russians."
Her frown wavered then cracked into a smile. She lowered her head and fought to keep it from becoming a full-fledged grin. "I'm sure you do, Sir." She shook her head slightly thinking how much she'd missed his humor. "The second thing?"
He looked down at the floor suddenly interested in something there. "Just thanks." He winced and raised his head to face her. "For being there. I was out of it pretty much the whole time, Khalil wasn't." He sensed her stiffen slightly and quickly decided this wasn't the time for mush. "I mean all of you, the team. Hammond told me you've been on stand down since I got here. One of you was with me all the time. You know he wanted to ship me off to Peterson just to get you guys back to work?"
She shook her head. "I'm glad he didn't do that." She was silent for a moment then added, "I'm sorry I wasn't there when you woke up."
He straightened his shoulders and took a breath before answering. "You were there…enough."
Her head rose and when she found her eyes locked with his, she jerked herself away. She could feel the heat rising in her face. He knew. How much of the time had Khalil been aware of her presence there? How many times did he see her sneak in late and grieve in the realization that with all her technical expertise there was nothing she could do to help him. The one time she wasn't there her CO had gotten himself into a situation that was a clear dead end. Dead being the operative word. As the days wore on she'd stayed with him less and less as the guilt ate at her. The only time she was free of it was when she was away from the mountain, which in itself created more guilt of a different kind.
He spoke again, breaking her train of thought. "So, you up for a mission soon?"
She smiled and nodded, grateful for the change of subject. "Any idea what it will be?"
"Cake run. Follow up a first contact SG-4 made a couple weeks ago. P9K 885. Agrarian culture, the usual trees and other flora; we'll meet with some guy named Melisma and do a little trading of medical supplies for samples of their crops. Frasier thought the first samples brought back had potential."
Carter was amazed. She'd recently read over a report on this very planet and for once her CO had all the facts straight. He even pronounced the contact persons name right. Unbelievable. She answered purely out of habit. "Yes, Sir."
He slapped his palm on the table. "Good. Assuming I'll be out on good behavior we'll do a pre-mission briefing day after tomorrow. Be ready."
With that he turned on his heel and strode out of the lab leaving a stunned 2IC in his wake. He was so normal, but then again not really; she didn't know what to make of it. One thing for sure, she missed him, she didn't realize how much until now.
Two days and a confounded Dr. Mackenzie later O'Neill was given medical clearance to return to active duty. It wasn't that O'Neill had been uncooperative, for once, but that Mackenzie balked at certifying as fit someone with two distinct personalities in one body. Symbiote notwithstanding, in his book it was still schizophrenia, maybe an unusual cause but still there had to be issues to resolve. After the second session even Khalil insisted it was Mackenzie himself who was in need of counseling and not either he or O'Neill; as far as he was concerned the time spent was a total waste.
Mackenzie couldn't deal with how easily he was thrown every time O'Neill and Khalil switched control. He finally settled for creating an entire separate file for Khalil, and treating them as two different patients, even to the point of talking to them at separately scheduled meetings. He required only one of them to maintain control during their sessions. Mackenzie's office staff pitied his wife for the mood he'd still be in when he got home.
The mission to P9K 885 was completed by late afternoon not even requiring an overnight stay by SG-1. Before the day was over O'Neill submitted his report to Hammond along with recommendations for their next few missions.
The second mission went as well as the first, as did the next. In no time the two week trial period was up and things were going so well there was no mention made of changing O'Neill's status or pressing the Tok'ra for a resolution.
Their most recent mission was a success as far as meeting the objectives anyway. The weather didn't cooperate and they'd walked right into a storm rivaling a category 4 hurricane. They were supposed to meet with a delegation from the capital city and discuss emergency preparedness issues. So much for discussion. What they got was an up front hands on look at how the people handled a disaster.
For the most part it was very similar to the procedures followed on earth with two main differences. Their early warning system was enough to impress even Carter using air pressure gradients and computer modeling to determine where the most damaging winds would occur. Secondly they didn't evacuate even the high strike zones. A series of portable sonic devices were moved in place to hold back or at least break up the worst of the storm surge, and the buildings were all constructed to withstand the high winds and water.
Khalil pressed to see those in action and O'Neill ended up cold, soaked and dog tired after assisting the locals to set up three sonic generators. Watching the last one work was well worth the effort. When the surge hit the water seemed to impact a force field. At one point there was a twenty-foot high wall of water being held at bay by nothing but inaudible sound.
On the way back to the Stargate O'Neill found himself barely staving off a sudden wave of dizziness and nausea. He chalked it up to getting his ears full of water and during his post-mission physical with Frasier didn't even mention it.
Later in his quarters it hit again with a vengeance. Luckily he hadn't eaten much so his stomach was emptied quickly.
'K, what's up with this? Did I catch their equivalent of the flu? How about a fix.'
'You do not have the 'flu' and I am not sure just 'fixing' it would solve the problem.'
'What are you talking about?'
'Sometimes suffering through repercussions is a good thing. Like when someone is intent on pushing themselves too hard and will not listen.'
'You're angry.'
'Ya think?'
O'Neill winced at his own sarcasm used against him. 'You're the one who wanted to go see the sonic thingys work.'
'I did *not* ask to be drowned in the process or expect you to push your physical endurance to the limit. Must I remind you, your injuries were extreme, especially to your spinal column where I reside?'
'They needed help.'
'The situation was under control.'
Realizing he was *not* going to win O'Neill conceded. 'Why didn't you just stop me if I was making you so upset?'
Khalil sighed. 'And then how much closer would we be to trusting each other?'
It occurred to O'Neill he wasn't yet taking Khalil's presence seriously. Even if this contract between them was to be short term, he hadn't accepted any responsibilities on his end. His embarrassment did not go unnoticed by Khalil who suddenly came to a realization of his own. For all O'Neill had endured in his life, he was still very young by Khalil's standards.
He recalled something from O'Neill's memory that seemed to fit their current situation; someone very wise saying 'the young do not always do as they are told.' O'Neill deserved a chance to grow and make mistakes.
Khalil spoke softly to his host, almost as a father. 'It is an unusual situation, put upon you under far less than desirable circumstances. Rest now. I will make repairs while you sleep.
The needed repairs took only a short time but Khalil did not relinquish control. He let O'Neill sleep and began to work on the mission report they needed to submit. As he went over the events of the past few days he found himself frequently smiling. This was an amazing group of people who claimed O'Neill as their undisputed leader.
The Jaffa he perhaps understood the most, he was trained to recognize strength and the ability to command. It would be expected for him to follow a natural born leader like O'Neill once he recognized the Goa'uld he followed was no god. As for the archaeologist, apparently he and O'Neill had become friends some time ago. The beginning was rocky but the foundation was solid as forged steel. O'Neill was the leader and Daniel the follower but it was surprising how many times the line between those roles blurred.
The woman was an enigma to him. It was beyond obvious there was a strong attraction and even affection between she and O'Neill yet both of them fought it continuously. Khalil didn't for a second buy the 'regulations' argument O'Neill presented to him. He was certain this world was the same as all others. Laws and regulations were never absolutes. Like taking a life. Killing was acceptable under certain circumstances, in war, yes, your next-door neighbor, probably not. These military regulations had to be similar in their application. To Khalil they seemed to be less than a law but more than a guideline, either way they were not insurmountable.
The 'duty' and 'honor' point of view he did understand; it was why he took on that last mission despite his concerns about the maturity of his host. As it turned out he was right; the youthful body was strong but not hardened and Khalil was forced to put all his energy into healing the numerous injuries. Unfortunately the Jaffa managed to stay ahead of him, inflicting more damage before he could complete repairs on the previous injuries.
The result was that Tamar had to assume outward control of the body for extended periods including when he was dragged away to be tortured. The young man wasn't completely naïve but his youth betrayed him as the Jaffa wore him down. Khalil was proud the young man never did break and give away precious secrets but Tamar's psyche eventually paid the price. He withdrew into himself and became catatonic; even Khalil could not reach him.
He ignored the tears threatening to fall from his eyes and thought again about O'Neill and his team. The Colonel had told him that he'd like to get them all together at his home soon for what he called a 'team' night. A sort of bonding ritual Khalil understood. O'Neill told him it would help them all get back to normal after what had happened.
Khalil checked on O'Neill and finding him still asleep decided to do the invitations himself.
