Author's Note: Hi, again! I know you've all been dying for this chapter. So, here it is. Thanks to all who reviewed. Enjoy and please R/R.

Summary: As Jesse's condition grows worse, can the rest of SG-1 save him?

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Chapter Eight:

Failed Attempts

**Horus's Ship, Prison Cell**

Jesse, for the most part, had remained unconscious. But, while awake, he was delusional. He would continue to mumble about whatever, completely in a fret, until Sam could once again calm him down into a quiet slumber. Once asleep, his dreams were obviously troubled and confused for he would moan and fight off Sam as she tried to help.

He also had a dangerously high temperature and was sweating badly from it. Sam was worried for something was going on in his body. It seemed likely that he was rejecting the symbiote and that was his body's way of doing so.

What Sam couldn't understand, though, was how. She was beginning to understand he had gotten his protein marker when his body had fought off his last Gou'ald symbiote. She also assumed that his gift of having a defense against the Gou'ald was why his father wanted him to never encounter them: it would be and was dangerous.

Sam sighed and leaned back against the wall. She couldn't help him, not even to make him more comfortable. At that moment she was a prisoner of a Gou'ald. The other three members of her team didn't even know where she was, as far as she knew. And her son was dying.

"How is he?" Sam's father's voice startled her. Neither of them had spoken in some time and she had almost forgotten he was there.

"Not good. His fever's high. He's needs medical attention or he… he might die," Sam said, looking at her hands.

Jacob slid closer to his daughter. It was obvious to him that she had formed a close bond to the child she could biologically call her son. She was hurting by the fact that he was in pain, perhaps dying.

"Kids are resilient little things. They bounce back all the time. He'll fight. If he's anything like his parents, he'll fight," Jacob stating, the only words he could think of that would mean anything to her.

Sam looked at her father and gathered that he had caught onto who his parents were in his reality and the fact that the two had taken on the same role in theirs. Then she smiled, weakly, at the fact that it didn't seem to bother him. And, by the look he was giving Jesse, she knew that he was starting to accept his role in Jesse's new life.

**Horus's Ship, Corridor**

Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c all moved quietly down the still deserted halls. No one seemed to be around. But, to them, that was a good thing. It meant that they could sneak around without getting caught or risk exposing themselves.

The three men may have been on dozens of Gou'ald mother ships before but the one they were on at that moment took the cake. Its halls and corridors twisted and turned for no known reason while all of them were covered in gold and colorful tapestries. Jack would never understand the Gou'ald.

After some time of snooping around, they finally found what they were looking for. A number of cells were hidden behind walls and tapestries that only added to the confusion. If it wasn't for Daniel checking one out, they never would have found them.

They went to each individual cell, looking for their teammates. But only one cell was occupied. The last one where they found Sam huddled over Jesse, who was yelling about something, while Jacob stood back and watched.

Immediately, Jack slammed a fist on the control pad and waited impatiently until it opened far enough for him to duck under. In an instant he was at Sam's side, helping to calm the frantic boy.

"Sam, what's wrong?" Jack asked, his attention focused on Jesse.

Sam, ignoring the fact that she was rescued, told him, "He was implanted with a Gou'ald symbiote. But his body seems to be rejecting it."

At that moment, Jack looked at her in disbelief. "Is that even possible?"

Sam looked at him as well. Her eyes burned holes into his as she tried to find an answer to his question. "I don't know. But I do know that he needs medical attention. We have to get him back to the base."

Without hesitation, Jack took Jesse's arm and wrapped it around his shoulder. Then he slid his own arm underneath Jesse's back and lifted the young man off the ground. Once Jack was on his feet, Jesse's hung about an inch or so off the ground.

"Teal'c, a little help here," Jack said to the stoic Jaffa standing guard at the door. Teal'c turned and raised an eyebrow at seeing the fragile boy hanging now limp in his CO's grasp. "Teal'c."

Handing his staff weapon to Jacob, Teal'c put one arm under Jesse's knees and then another on his back. In one swift motion, Jesse was no longer in Jack's hold but in Teal'c's arms being held like a baby.

"Well, that'll work," Jack stated as he turned away from Teal'c. "Come on."

Once again the halls were completely bare of life. No one was anywhere to be found. Which was good for the six attempting to escape. After ringing to the planet, they easily made it through the trees and to the Stargate. It seemed as if it taunted them. Teasing them with a secret.

"Daniel, dial us home," Jack ordered, looking at the Stargate. He had the strangest feeling that something was wrong. Something was very wrong. Jack just wasn't sure what it was.

He gazed at the Stargate as its inner ring turned to form the combination that would take them home. But his eyes did not see that. The merely starred while his ears listened. Listened for anything that he knew they didn't want. But the Stargate was too loud and he could hear anything.

The exact reason none of the group heard the twenty Jaffa approach them. Why no one knew until it was too late that they had charged staff weapons. And why no one heard anything but them snickering at how easy it had been to caught them.

In Jesse's condition, it would have been too risky to try and escape. Instead, they dropped their weapons and surrendered to the obviously stronger forces. Giving in, the four lowered their weapons and raised their hands. Teal'c, on the other hand, had no weapon and could not raise his arms for he was still carrying the ill child.

With twenty staff weapons pointed at their heads, SG-1 and Jacob stripped themselves of their vests and other so-called threats. Setting them all in a large pile, the group backed away once the lead Jaffa gestured the bunch with his staff weapon.

Out of the twenty Jaffa, only fifteen accompanied them to the rings and only five stayed with them as they rung up. Even though, Daniel knew he heard the rings activate right after they stepped off the platform.

The group was lead to the same room Jesse was first taken. Horus was there, waiting for their arrival with a pleased smile. He seemed quite pleased with himself for being able to lose three prisoners and get them back with three more.

His eyes roamed over the team, seeing them as his enemies and no one else. Prizes, perhaps, but nothing that couldn't be expended if it came to that. His smile widened when his eyes reached Jesse's limp form, still in Teal'c's arms after he refused to get him away. It was like he was happy that the child was dying. That he was suffering for a betrayal that never happened.

"You almost made it, Colonel. What a shame that there were so many Jaffa there," Jones's mouth said, his voice altered by the Gou'ald.

"Always a cliché keeping me from getting home," Jack replied just before his Jaffa captor hit him in the back of the leg, causing him to fall to his knees. With a grunt, Jack looked up at the Jaffa, a sharp retort on the tip of his tongue.

But his never got the chance to say it for Horus beat him to speaking. "The boy does not look well."

"If he doesn't get help soon, he will die," Sam spoke immediately, looking up at the Gou'ald whose host she remembered from just days ago. He had accompanied her on a mission with SG-3 along with catching Jesse as he ran away from the Infirmary.

Horus's smile faded as he looked down at the Air Force Major. "Do you think that concerns me?" Sam looked into the once caring and humored eyes of Lieutenant Jones. They no longer held his kindness. They were full of anger and revenge.

But Sam never answered. It seemed to frustrate the Gou'ald. With an audible growl, Horus's eyes flashed a dangerous gold and he turned his attention back to his Jaffa. "Take them to their cell," he commanded and his soldiers complied. Five or so went to their side and ushered them out of the room.

**Horus's Ship, Prison Cell**

"How's he doing?" Jack asked Sam as he came up behind her. Once their captors had left them, Teal'c had finally released his charge and allowed Sam to return to her duties as his temporary doctor.

Sam looked up at her CO from her kneeling position next to the unconscious form of her son. Giving him a sad smile, she replied, "I think the fever's gone down a bit."

"That's good, right?" Jack inquired, his voice distant.

"Yea, that's good."

Jack sighed and nodded. Crouching down next to her, Jack said, "You should get some rest, you look like crap, Carter."

Sam smiled at his bluntness. "Thanks, sir, but I should keep an eye on him."

"It's alright, I'll do it. If there are any changes, I'll wake you," Jack whispered in her ear. It wasn't like they were trying to keep from being heard by the others. On the contrary, they were trying not to wake everyone else.

Sam looked over her shoulder at the sleeping form of her father. Next to him, leaning against the wall, Daniel was also fast asleep. Teal'c had been sitting in the corner, kel'no'reming. Looking back at Jack, she could see the fatigue in his eyes.

"It's ok, sir. You sleep, I'll be fine."

Jack looked her over and made up his mind. With a simple shake of the head, he smiled and said, "That was an order, Major." Sam smiled at the glint in his eyes he always got when telling her a joke like that.

"Yes, sir." Since their backs were against the far wall, Sam was already in a good enough position to sleep. Leaning her head against his shoulder, she closed her eyes. Jack just smiled at his second in command, not minding the company while he watched his son.

**Horus's Ship, Prison Cell**

It felt as if the world was pressing down on his chest. His breathing remained shallow for it hurt to take too deep a breath. A blanket of heat seemed to envelop his as beads of sweat rolled off his brow and his hair was damp- an annoying feeling he had to admit.

With great effort, Jesse forced his eyelids to crack open. Immediately he recognized the place as his prison cell he had earlier occupied. The light burned his eyes, causing him to shut them almost instantly as his headache grew worse.

With an audible groan, he turned his head to the left and saw his parents cuddled together as they slept. But, no, they weren't his parents. For a minute, his mind tried to once again wrap itself around the multiple reality thing but, in the end, his mind decided it was too tired to even attempt it.

Turning his head to the right, Jesse spotted a figure he hadn't expected nor ever thought he would see again. There was his grandfather; alive, awake, and giving him a warm and comforting smile.

Jesse forced his eyes to look as far as possible. Doing so, he knew another sleeping form was there, he merely could not identify the person. Off in the opposite corner, Jesse could see the large man, he now knew was Jaffa, asleep or… doing something else.

Looking back at his grandfather, he gave a weak smile in return. His body was still too sick to think. To try and understand things. Just as his mind was too tired to contemplate and theorize.

Moving his head back to face the ceiling, he sighed and understood their predicament was bad. They were all captured. All in the hands of the Gou'ald who had possessed Jones. And they may never make it out.

Hearing the ruffle of clothing, his eyes looked to see who was awaking. But, instead, he found that his grandfather was moving toward him. Crawling up to him, he asked, quietly, "How are you feeling, kid?"

Jesse's throat was dry. Dry from breathing through his mouth. Dry from no water. And, he just realized, his stomach was painfully empty. The last meal he had had was lunch at school. Whether it was the same day or the next, he was unsure. But he knew he hadn't eaten for some time.

"Better," Jesse responded in a cracked voice after swallowing a few times.

"Good," the elder man said as he placed the back of his hand on Jesse's forehead and then cheeks. "You should get some rest. Conserve your strength," Jacob said with an amiable smile and a soft pat on the shoulder.

His close proximity allowed Jesse to feel the same horrible feeling that he got around Sam, Jones, Teal'c, and all the other Jaffa. For just a moment, it scared him beyond reason. But, then, he calmed as he remembered Jacob was a Tok'ra. Sort of like a Gou'ald, but not one.

When he heard Jacob turn to move away, he closed his eyes and worked hard to act asleep. He was grateful for Jacob's obvious concern, but, what he didn't know, was that every time Jesse closed his eyes the image of the horrible creature on his chest taunted him. And the pain and feeling of the thing as it entered his body and tried to take control wouldn't stop replaying.

He couldn't sleep. Or, at least, he didn't want to. But his body was so fatigued- so exhausted- that the moment his eyes closed, his brain decided to shut down and he was lulled into unconsciousness.

A small five-yea-old lay on a hospital bed made for men much older than he. The room was dark: dimly lit for the late hours of the day. Throughout the large infirmary, many other, older people lined the area as they waited for treatment. Some in need of serious attention while others did not.

The atmosphere in the room was tense, following the day's events. But, slowly, it seemed to be dissipating. But, for the young boy, those events would linger. His small, fragile body was hooked up to IV's, monitors, and the like in hopes of helping him. Help him to survive and forget.

Jesse slowly cracked opened his eyes to find that he was still in the cell. Sudden recollection told him that his chest no longer hurt as much and he was able to breathe again. The heat that had once surrounded his body was almost gone and his head no longer throbbed in his ears and eyes.

"Hey, kid. Nice to see you back in the land of the living," he heard his father say and he looked toward the area the voice had come from. His father was now awake and standing against the wall.

Looking around himself, he found that the entire room had awakened. His mother and Daniel were sitting up against the wall, talking about something, while Jacob and Teal'c were near the door.

"How long was I asleep?"

Jack smiled at the kid before raising his arm to show him that he had no watch on. "Couldn't tell you. They always take the watches. I've always imagined that they have a huge pile filled with all the watches they've stole from us somewhere… out there," Jack told him with a shrug.

Jesse merely smiled. Using his arms as leverage, he slowly lifted his sore and tired body off the hard floor. With a grunt of effort, he managed to get into a sitting position, much to the dismay of the other occupants of the room. After moving, he had inadvertently caught the attention of the entire room.

Though his head had begun to spin the moment he got up, he felt fine. Putting a hand out at the sudden on-slaught of people around him, he slid himself backwards until he hit the solid wall. For a moment, he just sat still with his eyes closed as he waited for the dizziness to subside. When he reopened his eyes, he found everyone either looking at or crowding him.

"I'm okay. Just…sat up too fast," he assured the five others. "Really, I'm fine," he said when he noticed his mother's 'look'.

Finally tolerating his excuse, Sam looked away and back at Daniel. He gave a knowing look, understanding- in some terms- the situation she had found herself in.

"How are you holding up?" He asked, his voice quiet for his question was meant only for her ears.

With a shrug, she answered, "Fine, I guess." Seeing his look, she knew that he didn't believe her. Daniel had always been like a brother to her, but Mark had never been that perceptive about anything, really. Why did he have to be? "I'm stuck, in a prison, on a Gou'ald mother ship. My entire team- along with my father and son- are being held prisoner. I think I'm aloud a little slack."

It took a lot of effort and talent for Daniel not to raise his eyebrow at Sam's reference to Jesse as "my son". But, rather than voicing his observations, he merely nodded his head at her statement.

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Hmm, I wonder how they'll get out of this one? Let me think about it and I'll get back to you. R/R and tell me what you think might happen, about this chapter or previous ones, or just to say whatever. Remember, creative criticism is always appreciated.