TITLE: The Lost Ones
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com
RATING: PG-13 for weird evil happenings and general suffering/pain on the parts of all concerned. Also language, as always. And "thematic issues," whatever the hell they are.
CATEGORY: supernatural, drama
SUMMARY: Daniel is having terrible nightmares. And the worst thing is, they're not only in his head . . .
SPOILERS: I'm too lazy to keep track, so let's say anything up through "Fallout."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: According to the Microsoft Word default dictionary, Daniel means "somebody who is wise and honorable." Go figure. Also, I just realized this is the first time Janet has ever appeared in one of my fics, which is kind of weird.
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"I'll take that under advisement." Hammond stood up. "In the meantime, I want you three to communicate with the Tok'ra and see what you can figure out about these things. I'm going to the infirmary to talk to Doctor Jackson; he may very well be able to tell us something important. Dismissed."
-----
"Well," Janet told him as soon as he arrived in the infirmary a few minutes later, "as far as I can tell, Daniel's pretty much fine. There's just one thing-he seems totally exhausted, which makes no sense considering he's been getting plenty of sleep lately as far as I know."
"Could this be dangerous for him?" Hammond asked.
She shook her head. "I doubt it. His blood work shows none of the chemical imbalances normally associated with insomnia. I can't explain it, sir."
"All right." He strode across the otherwise unoccupied room and stopped next to Daniel, who was seated on the edge of a bed, staring jadedly into space. "How do you feel, Doctor Jackson?"
"I feel fine," Daniel said loudly, frustration only too clear in his voice. "Why does everyone have to fuss over me like this? You've decided there's nothing wrong, now can I get the hell out of here?"
Hammond sat down on the nearest chair. "Colonel O'Neill tells me you've been having nightmares recently. That doesn't sound 'fine' to me."
Daniel threw up his hands in exasperation. "Wonderful. Just can't keep a secret in this place, can I? All right, so I have nightmares. So do plenty of other people. What does it have to do with anything?"
"We think," the General continued, "that your nightmares might have something to do with the mysterious lights that the Tok'ra reported seeing on P3A-476."
"What?" Daniel stared at him in shock, caught completely off guard by the information. "What makes you think that?"
"The lights have been observed on two separate occasions," Hammond explained. "Apparently, the periods of time during which they were seen coincide quite closely with those during which Colonel O'Neill-and later, Major Carter as well-described you as being very agitated in your sleep."
"I see." So they had been there with him the second time as well. Daniel didn't know whether to be grateful for his friends' concern or angry at what he saw as their violation of his privacy. He still wasn't sure he wanted to tell anyone else what was happening to him, and they weren't making the decision any easier. "And I'm guessing Jack's suggestion was to blow the things out of the sky, right?"
Hammond nodded. "Do you have anything to add to that, son?"
"Well, for starters, I really don't think it's a good idea."
"Why not?"
Daniel took a deep breath, hurriedly figuring out exactly how much he wanted to reveal. "When I have those-nightmares," he said finally, "I think my awareness is in those lights. The first time, I was in the middle of the woods, and last night I was somewhere in the sky above the Tok'ra base." There-that was the closest to the truth he'd give, at least for now.
"So if there's some kind of direct connection between your mind and these lights, anything done to harm them might also be dangerous to you," concluded Janet, who had been listening to the entire conversation.
Jackson nodded mutely.
"All right," Hammond agreed. "I'll explain that to Colonel O'Neill. I thought it was a rather rash idea myself."
"Why do these things always happen to my patients?" Janet asked rhetorically, and heaved a sigh. "You're lucky this time, Daniel; I see no point to keeping you here. However-" Janet raised a cautionary finger as he began to stand up-"I want you to go home and rest, and I 'm going to prescribe you a mild sedative, which is often good for getting rid of nightmares. I realize these aren't ordinary bad dreams, but it's the best I can do for you."
"Next thing I know, you'll be giving me a teddy bear," Daniel growled, his annoyance growing again. He knew it was from lack of sleep, but he didn't care. He was thoroughly sick of being coddled. "Or why don't you just get Jack to come over to my house and read me a bedtime story?"
Janet ignored him and disappeared into her office.
"No way," Jack called cheerfully from the doorway, catching the last few words. He walked over and plopped down on the bed next to Daniel's. "I don't think any story you'd want to hear would be in a language I could read. How're you feeling, by the way?"
Daniel clenched his jaw in irritation. "If one more person asks me that . . ."
"Okay, okay." Jack held his hands up in mock surrender. "Excuse me for caring."
"Colonel," Hammond informed him, "Doctor Jackson has effectively vetoed your idea of attacking the lights directly."
"And Doctor Jackson has decided this how?" Jack cocked his head inquiringly.
Daniel repeated his explanation.
"So much for that, then." Jack closed his eyes briefly in annoyance. "Anyone else got any ideas? 'Cause I'm fresh out for the moment. And I'd rather this situation didn't go on indefinitely."
"You'd rather?" Daniel asked angrily. "Jack, you're not the one who's getting a full night's sleep and waking up more tired than when he went to bed."
"No, I'm not," Jack admitted. "However, I am the one who had to listen to you screaming in the middle of the night. And I don't want to repeat that experience, thank you very much."
Janet returned from her office with a small bottle, saving the two from further argument, and handed it to Daniel. "Here you go. See if it helps. And no," she added mischievously, "you don't need a teddy bear, although it might be therapeutic to have one handy. You never know."
Although Hammond and O'Neill both smiled slightly at this, Daniel was not amused. "Thanks, Janet. Can I leave now?"
Fraiser nodded. "Yes, Daniel, you can go. And you'd better go soon, because if you stay any longer I may have to give you something for emotional problems as well."
Daniel got up quickly and left without another word.
"You know," Jack said quietly to the other two once Daniel was safely out of hearing range, "I'm thinking I should check up on him on my way home tonight, but I'm afraid he'll hurt me if I do."
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com
RATING: PG-13 for weird evil happenings and general suffering/pain on the parts of all concerned. Also language, as always. And "thematic issues," whatever the hell they are.
CATEGORY: supernatural, drama
SUMMARY: Daniel is having terrible nightmares. And the worst thing is, they're not only in his head . . .
SPOILERS: I'm too lazy to keep track, so let's say anything up through "Fallout."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: According to the Microsoft Word default dictionary, Daniel means "somebody who is wise and honorable." Go figure. Also, I just realized this is the first time Janet has ever appeared in one of my fics, which is kind of weird.
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"I'll take that under advisement." Hammond stood up. "In the meantime, I want you three to communicate with the Tok'ra and see what you can figure out about these things. I'm going to the infirmary to talk to Doctor Jackson; he may very well be able to tell us something important. Dismissed."
-----
"Well," Janet told him as soon as he arrived in the infirmary a few minutes later, "as far as I can tell, Daniel's pretty much fine. There's just one thing-he seems totally exhausted, which makes no sense considering he's been getting plenty of sleep lately as far as I know."
"Could this be dangerous for him?" Hammond asked.
She shook her head. "I doubt it. His blood work shows none of the chemical imbalances normally associated with insomnia. I can't explain it, sir."
"All right." He strode across the otherwise unoccupied room and stopped next to Daniel, who was seated on the edge of a bed, staring jadedly into space. "How do you feel, Doctor Jackson?"
"I feel fine," Daniel said loudly, frustration only too clear in his voice. "Why does everyone have to fuss over me like this? You've decided there's nothing wrong, now can I get the hell out of here?"
Hammond sat down on the nearest chair. "Colonel O'Neill tells me you've been having nightmares recently. That doesn't sound 'fine' to me."
Daniel threw up his hands in exasperation. "Wonderful. Just can't keep a secret in this place, can I? All right, so I have nightmares. So do plenty of other people. What does it have to do with anything?"
"We think," the General continued, "that your nightmares might have something to do with the mysterious lights that the Tok'ra reported seeing on P3A-476."
"What?" Daniel stared at him in shock, caught completely off guard by the information. "What makes you think that?"
"The lights have been observed on two separate occasions," Hammond explained. "Apparently, the periods of time during which they were seen coincide quite closely with those during which Colonel O'Neill-and later, Major Carter as well-described you as being very agitated in your sleep."
"I see." So they had been there with him the second time as well. Daniel didn't know whether to be grateful for his friends' concern or angry at what he saw as their violation of his privacy. He still wasn't sure he wanted to tell anyone else what was happening to him, and they weren't making the decision any easier. "And I'm guessing Jack's suggestion was to blow the things out of the sky, right?"
Hammond nodded. "Do you have anything to add to that, son?"
"Well, for starters, I really don't think it's a good idea."
"Why not?"
Daniel took a deep breath, hurriedly figuring out exactly how much he wanted to reveal. "When I have those-nightmares," he said finally, "I think my awareness is in those lights. The first time, I was in the middle of the woods, and last night I was somewhere in the sky above the Tok'ra base." There-that was the closest to the truth he'd give, at least for now.
"So if there's some kind of direct connection between your mind and these lights, anything done to harm them might also be dangerous to you," concluded Janet, who had been listening to the entire conversation.
Jackson nodded mutely.
"All right," Hammond agreed. "I'll explain that to Colonel O'Neill. I thought it was a rather rash idea myself."
"Why do these things always happen to my patients?" Janet asked rhetorically, and heaved a sigh. "You're lucky this time, Daniel; I see no point to keeping you here. However-" Janet raised a cautionary finger as he began to stand up-"I want you to go home and rest, and I 'm going to prescribe you a mild sedative, which is often good for getting rid of nightmares. I realize these aren't ordinary bad dreams, but it's the best I can do for you."
"Next thing I know, you'll be giving me a teddy bear," Daniel growled, his annoyance growing again. He knew it was from lack of sleep, but he didn't care. He was thoroughly sick of being coddled. "Or why don't you just get Jack to come over to my house and read me a bedtime story?"
Janet ignored him and disappeared into her office.
"No way," Jack called cheerfully from the doorway, catching the last few words. He walked over and plopped down on the bed next to Daniel's. "I don't think any story you'd want to hear would be in a language I could read. How're you feeling, by the way?"
Daniel clenched his jaw in irritation. "If one more person asks me that . . ."
"Okay, okay." Jack held his hands up in mock surrender. "Excuse me for caring."
"Colonel," Hammond informed him, "Doctor Jackson has effectively vetoed your idea of attacking the lights directly."
"And Doctor Jackson has decided this how?" Jack cocked his head inquiringly.
Daniel repeated his explanation.
"So much for that, then." Jack closed his eyes briefly in annoyance. "Anyone else got any ideas? 'Cause I'm fresh out for the moment. And I'd rather this situation didn't go on indefinitely."
"You'd rather?" Daniel asked angrily. "Jack, you're not the one who's getting a full night's sleep and waking up more tired than when he went to bed."
"No, I'm not," Jack admitted. "However, I am the one who had to listen to you screaming in the middle of the night. And I don't want to repeat that experience, thank you very much."
Janet returned from her office with a small bottle, saving the two from further argument, and handed it to Daniel. "Here you go. See if it helps. And no," she added mischievously, "you don't need a teddy bear, although it might be therapeutic to have one handy. You never know."
Although Hammond and O'Neill both smiled slightly at this, Daniel was not amused. "Thanks, Janet. Can I leave now?"
Fraiser nodded. "Yes, Daniel, you can go. And you'd better go soon, because if you stay any longer I may have to give you something for emotional problems as well."
Daniel got up quickly and left without another word.
"You know," Jack said quietly to the other two once Daniel was safely out of hearing range, "I'm thinking I should check up on him on my way home tonight, but I'm afraid he'll hurt me if I do."
