Part Six
That night Colonel O'Neill died.
The struggle to bring him back was hard fought, and won only after it was thought hopeless.
Only the General and the medical staff knew how close they had come to losing him, the rest of the SGC, if not blissfully asleep, at least in their quarters. His team arrived in the Mess Hall for breakfast to be met with whispers and glances from a group of nurses in the corner. They had no need to confer, leaving their trays untouched and making it to the infirmary within minutes.
Janet wouldn't let them anywhere near him.
In the middle of their argument, she was called back into the ICU, and through the window SG-1 watched their CO struggle for life. A high pitched shriek sounded loud even on the other side of the closed door, and the activity became even more furious. A glance, the recognition of the faces at the window, and the curtain was pulled, blocking their view. They could still hear though. Hear the controlled panic, the firm commands, and electrical thumps. They didn't look at each other. Daniel and Sam both had their eyes closed, identical expressions on their faces. Teal'c watched intently, as if trying to see through the curtain.
After what seemed like hours, Janet came out, wiping her hands on a towel. She threw it into a nearby laundry basket before turning to face the waiting group.
"It's pointless saying you shouldn't be here, and I won't even ask how you knew. You can't go in. There just isn't room. Every one of those machines is essential, they're all that is keeping him alive."
"How long?"
"Probably anytime in the next two hours, Daniel. I'm sorry, but there isn't anything more we can do for him." She pulled her hair back, rubbing the back of her neck, and twisting her shoulders. "I have to get back in there. Sam, could you please ask the General to come up? Did you have any breakfast?" After they shook their heads, she continued. "I'll get someone to bring coffee and sandwiches."
Daniel waited until Sam and Janet had both gone in opposite direction before commenting. "I doubt I'd be able to eat anything at the moment."
"I do believe that Doctor Fraiser if endeavouring to keep us occupied by providing us with food." Teal'c stared towards the ICU. "Although I too do not feel like eating, I shall attempt to do so, if only to keep her from worrying."
The food had arrived, and Daniel was into his second cup of coffee by the time Sam returned, the General hard on her heels. A nurse fetched Janet and she was soon conferring with Hammond in quiet tones.
Sam hurried over to her teammates.
"We just received a message from the Tok'ra. My father isn't available, but they are sending someone else with a healing device. They should be here in about fifteen minutes."
"Why did they not come immediately, Major Carter?"
"I don't know, Teal'c. I wondered that myself, but at least they are coming." She smiled weakly. "I just hope they are in time."
As one, they turned their eyes towards the ICU, seeing Janet going back in, her back a little straighter. Hammond waited until the door was completely closed, watching the activity inside, before walking towards them, his face lined with worry.
"I have to get back to the control room." He glanced once more at the ICU. "As soon as the Tok'ra arrive I'll bring them up."
"Would you like me to come with you, sir?" Sam asked, but her reluctance to leave the vicinity of the infirmary was plain and Hammond shook his head.
"No, Major. That won't be necessary."
Sam and Daniel perched themselves on the bed nearest the ICU, Teal'c standing next to them, and stared at the closed door.
Long minutes passed. Once Janet poked her head out, looking at them enquiringly, but disappeared back in almost immediately in response to a worried voice.
When it was broken the silence was shattered with a vengeance. The call for a medical team to report to the gateroom was totally unexpected and had Sam and Teal'c running for the elevators just ahead of the medics. Janet didn't leave the Colonel's room, her failure to do so a measure of the battle waging inside.
Daniel couldn't help tapping his feet, his frustration growing by the second, until it finally broke over him, and he strode to the door, pushing it open.
He stopped, dumbfounded by the sight of Jack, his top half uncovered, an IV needle threaded straight into his chest, surrounded by medical staff. Even as Janet turned an angry face towards him, the machines set up their awful caterwauling yet again
He staggered back, letting the door slam shut, only to almost collide with a gurney being pushed into the middle of the room. The figure on it was totally unexpected. Anise was barely conscious, her eyes fluttering, a large gash across her head. For once she didn't look perfect, her clothes torn and covered in dust. As he watched, she reached into the folds of her dress and pulled out a healing device.
"I brought it." Her voice was barely audible in the confusion. "I fear I can be of little help to the Colonel, concentration is needed and I..." She grimaced, her face crumpling in pain, "I will try..." She made to get up, but immediately slumped back with a low moan. "You will have to do it." She was looking past Daniel and he spun to find Sam standing behind him, shaking her head.
"No. I can't. The last time I tried to use a healing device it just made things worse." She glanced towards Daniel as she spoke, her tone showing her distress.
"Damn! Doctor!" Daniel turned back at the cry, seeing Anise's eyes close as she succumbed to the effects of her injury. He watched as she was placed on a bed, the healing device left on the gurney. Janet hurried out to examine her in response to the calls of her staff, and the curtains were pulled around the bed for privacy.
"What's going on? How was Anise hurt?" Daniel turned back to his teammate, and saw her walk reluctantly to the gurney, hesitating before picking up the alien device.
"We don't know. Anise came through the wormhole alone and already injured. She hasn't managed to tell us anything, except for us to shut the iris behind her. Teal'c is readying a team to go through if they can re- establish contact." Sam looked down at the device with trepidation. "I don't know if I can do any good with this."
"That didn't look like too bad an injury, Sam. Anise should be able to heal herself, and then she can help Jack." Daniel looked hopefully at the curtained off bed. With a nod, Sam settled into a chair and tiredly shut her eyes.
Silence surrounded them for a while. At one point Janet crossed the room and entered the ICU, but soon returned, going back to the Tok'ra. Sam opened her eyes at the movement and exchanged worried looks with Daniel.
The quiet tick of the clock on the wall, and the low hum of voices soon had both exhausted members of SG-1 dropping into a restless sleep.
The loud cry of a machine brought them both into stunned alertness within seconds. Janet reappeared, running to push open the door of the Colonel's room, already barking instructions to her staff. The door stayed open slightly, the voices clear and seemingly echoing some old episode of 'ER'. The long mournful cry of the machine was broken several times, but returned within a few seconds, and as the minutes past, the listeners outside could tell that the Colonel had lost the fight.
"Daniel!" Sam's voice broke through the sound. "Come on." She leapt up and strode with rapid steps towards the ICU, the hand device clutched to her chest.
Daniel hurried after her, ignoring the attempts of the nursing staff to stop him.
They burst into the room, the opening of the door hardly noticed in the chaos, and then Sam stopped, looking down at the object in her hands.
"What if it doesn't work? What if I can't do it?" Then she shook her head, answering her own questions. She had to try.
Teal'c's strong voice answered her from the open doorway. "You are correct, Major Carter. You have no choice. If you do not try, O'Neill will die. If you are unsuccessful nothing with have changed and no more harm can be done."
With a nod of determination, Sam approached the Colonel's bed, the nurses moving back to give her room. She inserted her right hand into the device and held it out a little above the Colonel's chest. Taking a deep breath, she visibly calmed, and when a warm glow began to flow downwards the people around her exchanged relieved glances and small smiles.
The readings on the monitors began to even out, lines settling into recognisable patterns, beeps steadying and becoming constant. Janet stayed silent, her eyes flickering between the readings and her patient, everyone afraid of breaking the Major's concentration.
It was five long minutes before Sam slumped sideways, Teal'c barely managing to catch her before she hit the floor. She stayed awake long enough to register the encouraging smiles of her two teammates and return them, before the Jaffa took her out and placed her gently on a bed in the outer room, sound asleep, one of Janet's nurses hovering over her.
"Janet?" Daniel couldn't take his eyes from Jack. His pallor was gone, replaced by a healthy tinge of pink, the only physical sign of improvement. He watched as Janet read the various screens scattered about the room.
"Give me a chance to run some tests, Daniel, but at the moment he seems to be holding his own, which is more than I would have said ten minutes ago. Why don't you wait with Teal'c and I'll be out as soon as I can?" She had already turned back to her patient, her attention clearly focused on him alone.
Sam was covered with a blanket, her shoes removed, Teal'c watching over her.
"I thought you were going to the Tok'ra base?"
"We have been unable to establish a wormhole to those coordinates, Daniel Jackson. General Hammond gave me permission to return to the infirmary when it was clear we would not be taking a team through immediately."
"Do we have any idea what happened?"
"The only explanation seems that the base was already under attack when the Tok'ra sent us the message. Other than that it would be purely speculation."
Daniel turned to the cold coffee on the nearby table, pouring himself a cup and drinking it down, a look of distaste evident. With a shudder he poured a second cup and drank that too, ignoring his friend's incredulous stare.
Long minutes became an hour. Sam still slept. Anise lay still, her eyes flickering beneath their lids, and Daniel and Teal'c waited.
Finally a nurse approached with permission from the Doctor for them to visit the Colonel. They found her standing at the head of Jack's bed, looking more tired than even Daniel. She wavered on her feet for a moment, giving Teal'c a grateful smile when his large hand reached out and steadied her. She nodded towards the door, clearly indicating a wish to speak to the remaining members of SG-1 privately and they followed her into her office.
As soon as she was in the privacy of the small room, her face soften into anguish and she made a grab for the tissue box on the desk, dropping into her chair.
"We had lost him that time, you know. If Sam hadn't healed him he would be dead now." She paused as if steeling herself, then looked at them both, her tone firm and uncompromising. "I'm going to be brutally honest here. The tests show that although Colonel O'Neill has stabilised, he really hasn't improved. I don't think the device did enough. I'll have to wait for more results to confirm it, but it looks as if, although the burns are completely healed, there are still signs of infection and it is already beginning to spread again. The toxin is still present as well."
"What are you trying to say, Janet?" Daniel asked in dismay.
She glared at him impatiently, knowing that he had clearly understood her words, but was refusing to believe them.
"I'm not trying to say anything, Daniel. I'm telling you. All Sam did was buy us some time. Colonel O'Neill is still dying."
"But the healing device..."
"Wasn't enough. I don't know why..."
The Doctor's voice was interrupted by the echoing tones of a Tok'ra.
"I can give you the answer you seek, Doctor Jackson." Anise stood in the doorway, her figure backlit by the infirmary lights. "Major Carter was unable to use the device to its full potential. Being human, she lacks the concentration of will required to control it."
"She controlled it well enough to save O'Neill's life." The censure was clear and Anise bowed her head slightly towards the Jaffa.
"I did not mean to minimise Major Carter's achievement, just to explain why Colonel O'Neill is not fully healed. Now I am sufficiently recovered I will complete the process."
Janet came to her feet, moving around the desk, a pen light already in her hand. "I'll be the judge of that. You had a severe blow to the head."
The Tok'ra woman backed away. "No Doctor. If what you say if true, the quicker I attend to the Colonel the better. I am fully healed. In fact my host is anxious to complete the healing of Colonel O'Neill. Her concern for him is extremely distressing to me." She spun on her heels, her next order tossed back over her shoulder. "Come."
This time the healing beam shone brightly enough to make the observers' eyes water, it's light steady and unwavering. The Tok'ra woman moved it up and across Jack's chest, and down each of his limbs, concentrating on the areas where the burns had once been. The now unbandaged skin was pink and new looking, still tender, but it was restored and that was all they asked, the terrible gaps and rips freshly grown over and repaired. The fingers, once curled and blackened, lay still on the white sheets as if just waiting for the chance to dance their familiar rhythms of impatience. With awe the humans watched the once broken body restored, the signs of its healing clearly reflected by the monitors.
At last Anise stepped back, resting her hand momentarily on Jack's bed before taking the only chair that remained in the room.
It was the sight of her that Jack's eyes focused on as they flickered open.
TBC
That night Colonel O'Neill died.
The struggle to bring him back was hard fought, and won only after it was thought hopeless.
Only the General and the medical staff knew how close they had come to losing him, the rest of the SGC, if not blissfully asleep, at least in their quarters. His team arrived in the Mess Hall for breakfast to be met with whispers and glances from a group of nurses in the corner. They had no need to confer, leaving their trays untouched and making it to the infirmary within minutes.
Janet wouldn't let them anywhere near him.
In the middle of their argument, she was called back into the ICU, and through the window SG-1 watched their CO struggle for life. A high pitched shriek sounded loud even on the other side of the closed door, and the activity became even more furious. A glance, the recognition of the faces at the window, and the curtain was pulled, blocking their view. They could still hear though. Hear the controlled panic, the firm commands, and electrical thumps. They didn't look at each other. Daniel and Sam both had their eyes closed, identical expressions on their faces. Teal'c watched intently, as if trying to see through the curtain.
After what seemed like hours, Janet came out, wiping her hands on a towel. She threw it into a nearby laundry basket before turning to face the waiting group.
"It's pointless saying you shouldn't be here, and I won't even ask how you knew. You can't go in. There just isn't room. Every one of those machines is essential, they're all that is keeping him alive."
"How long?"
"Probably anytime in the next two hours, Daniel. I'm sorry, but there isn't anything more we can do for him." She pulled her hair back, rubbing the back of her neck, and twisting her shoulders. "I have to get back in there. Sam, could you please ask the General to come up? Did you have any breakfast?" After they shook their heads, she continued. "I'll get someone to bring coffee and sandwiches."
Daniel waited until Sam and Janet had both gone in opposite direction before commenting. "I doubt I'd be able to eat anything at the moment."
"I do believe that Doctor Fraiser if endeavouring to keep us occupied by providing us with food." Teal'c stared towards the ICU. "Although I too do not feel like eating, I shall attempt to do so, if only to keep her from worrying."
The food had arrived, and Daniel was into his second cup of coffee by the time Sam returned, the General hard on her heels. A nurse fetched Janet and she was soon conferring with Hammond in quiet tones.
Sam hurried over to her teammates.
"We just received a message from the Tok'ra. My father isn't available, but they are sending someone else with a healing device. They should be here in about fifteen minutes."
"Why did they not come immediately, Major Carter?"
"I don't know, Teal'c. I wondered that myself, but at least they are coming." She smiled weakly. "I just hope they are in time."
As one, they turned their eyes towards the ICU, seeing Janet going back in, her back a little straighter. Hammond waited until the door was completely closed, watching the activity inside, before walking towards them, his face lined with worry.
"I have to get back to the control room." He glanced once more at the ICU. "As soon as the Tok'ra arrive I'll bring them up."
"Would you like me to come with you, sir?" Sam asked, but her reluctance to leave the vicinity of the infirmary was plain and Hammond shook his head.
"No, Major. That won't be necessary."
Sam and Daniel perched themselves on the bed nearest the ICU, Teal'c standing next to them, and stared at the closed door.
Long minutes passed. Once Janet poked her head out, looking at them enquiringly, but disappeared back in almost immediately in response to a worried voice.
When it was broken the silence was shattered with a vengeance. The call for a medical team to report to the gateroom was totally unexpected and had Sam and Teal'c running for the elevators just ahead of the medics. Janet didn't leave the Colonel's room, her failure to do so a measure of the battle waging inside.
Daniel couldn't help tapping his feet, his frustration growing by the second, until it finally broke over him, and he strode to the door, pushing it open.
He stopped, dumbfounded by the sight of Jack, his top half uncovered, an IV needle threaded straight into his chest, surrounded by medical staff. Even as Janet turned an angry face towards him, the machines set up their awful caterwauling yet again
He staggered back, letting the door slam shut, only to almost collide with a gurney being pushed into the middle of the room. The figure on it was totally unexpected. Anise was barely conscious, her eyes fluttering, a large gash across her head. For once she didn't look perfect, her clothes torn and covered in dust. As he watched, she reached into the folds of her dress and pulled out a healing device.
"I brought it." Her voice was barely audible in the confusion. "I fear I can be of little help to the Colonel, concentration is needed and I..." She grimaced, her face crumpling in pain, "I will try..." She made to get up, but immediately slumped back with a low moan. "You will have to do it." She was looking past Daniel and he spun to find Sam standing behind him, shaking her head.
"No. I can't. The last time I tried to use a healing device it just made things worse." She glanced towards Daniel as she spoke, her tone showing her distress.
"Damn! Doctor!" Daniel turned back at the cry, seeing Anise's eyes close as she succumbed to the effects of her injury. He watched as she was placed on a bed, the healing device left on the gurney. Janet hurried out to examine her in response to the calls of her staff, and the curtains were pulled around the bed for privacy.
"What's going on? How was Anise hurt?" Daniel turned back to his teammate, and saw her walk reluctantly to the gurney, hesitating before picking up the alien device.
"We don't know. Anise came through the wormhole alone and already injured. She hasn't managed to tell us anything, except for us to shut the iris behind her. Teal'c is readying a team to go through if they can re- establish contact." Sam looked down at the device with trepidation. "I don't know if I can do any good with this."
"That didn't look like too bad an injury, Sam. Anise should be able to heal herself, and then she can help Jack." Daniel looked hopefully at the curtained off bed. With a nod, Sam settled into a chair and tiredly shut her eyes.
Silence surrounded them for a while. At one point Janet crossed the room and entered the ICU, but soon returned, going back to the Tok'ra. Sam opened her eyes at the movement and exchanged worried looks with Daniel.
The quiet tick of the clock on the wall, and the low hum of voices soon had both exhausted members of SG-1 dropping into a restless sleep.
The loud cry of a machine brought them both into stunned alertness within seconds. Janet reappeared, running to push open the door of the Colonel's room, already barking instructions to her staff. The door stayed open slightly, the voices clear and seemingly echoing some old episode of 'ER'. The long mournful cry of the machine was broken several times, but returned within a few seconds, and as the minutes past, the listeners outside could tell that the Colonel had lost the fight.
"Daniel!" Sam's voice broke through the sound. "Come on." She leapt up and strode with rapid steps towards the ICU, the hand device clutched to her chest.
Daniel hurried after her, ignoring the attempts of the nursing staff to stop him.
They burst into the room, the opening of the door hardly noticed in the chaos, and then Sam stopped, looking down at the object in her hands.
"What if it doesn't work? What if I can't do it?" Then she shook her head, answering her own questions. She had to try.
Teal'c's strong voice answered her from the open doorway. "You are correct, Major Carter. You have no choice. If you do not try, O'Neill will die. If you are unsuccessful nothing with have changed and no more harm can be done."
With a nod of determination, Sam approached the Colonel's bed, the nurses moving back to give her room. She inserted her right hand into the device and held it out a little above the Colonel's chest. Taking a deep breath, she visibly calmed, and when a warm glow began to flow downwards the people around her exchanged relieved glances and small smiles.
The readings on the monitors began to even out, lines settling into recognisable patterns, beeps steadying and becoming constant. Janet stayed silent, her eyes flickering between the readings and her patient, everyone afraid of breaking the Major's concentration.
It was five long minutes before Sam slumped sideways, Teal'c barely managing to catch her before she hit the floor. She stayed awake long enough to register the encouraging smiles of her two teammates and return them, before the Jaffa took her out and placed her gently on a bed in the outer room, sound asleep, one of Janet's nurses hovering over her.
"Janet?" Daniel couldn't take his eyes from Jack. His pallor was gone, replaced by a healthy tinge of pink, the only physical sign of improvement. He watched as Janet read the various screens scattered about the room.
"Give me a chance to run some tests, Daniel, but at the moment he seems to be holding his own, which is more than I would have said ten minutes ago. Why don't you wait with Teal'c and I'll be out as soon as I can?" She had already turned back to her patient, her attention clearly focused on him alone.
Sam was covered with a blanket, her shoes removed, Teal'c watching over her.
"I thought you were going to the Tok'ra base?"
"We have been unable to establish a wormhole to those coordinates, Daniel Jackson. General Hammond gave me permission to return to the infirmary when it was clear we would not be taking a team through immediately."
"Do we have any idea what happened?"
"The only explanation seems that the base was already under attack when the Tok'ra sent us the message. Other than that it would be purely speculation."
Daniel turned to the cold coffee on the nearby table, pouring himself a cup and drinking it down, a look of distaste evident. With a shudder he poured a second cup and drank that too, ignoring his friend's incredulous stare.
Long minutes became an hour. Sam still slept. Anise lay still, her eyes flickering beneath their lids, and Daniel and Teal'c waited.
Finally a nurse approached with permission from the Doctor for them to visit the Colonel. They found her standing at the head of Jack's bed, looking more tired than even Daniel. She wavered on her feet for a moment, giving Teal'c a grateful smile when his large hand reached out and steadied her. She nodded towards the door, clearly indicating a wish to speak to the remaining members of SG-1 privately and they followed her into her office.
As soon as she was in the privacy of the small room, her face soften into anguish and she made a grab for the tissue box on the desk, dropping into her chair.
"We had lost him that time, you know. If Sam hadn't healed him he would be dead now." She paused as if steeling herself, then looked at them both, her tone firm and uncompromising. "I'm going to be brutally honest here. The tests show that although Colonel O'Neill has stabilised, he really hasn't improved. I don't think the device did enough. I'll have to wait for more results to confirm it, but it looks as if, although the burns are completely healed, there are still signs of infection and it is already beginning to spread again. The toxin is still present as well."
"What are you trying to say, Janet?" Daniel asked in dismay.
She glared at him impatiently, knowing that he had clearly understood her words, but was refusing to believe them.
"I'm not trying to say anything, Daniel. I'm telling you. All Sam did was buy us some time. Colonel O'Neill is still dying."
"But the healing device..."
"Wasn't enough. I don't know why..."
The Doctor's voice was interrupted by the echoing tones of a Tok'ra.
"I can give you the answer you seek, Doctor Jackson." Anise stood in the doorway, her figure backlit by the infirmary lights. "Major Carter was unable to use the device to its full potential. Being human, she lacks the concentration of will required to control it."
"She controlled it well enough to save O'Neill's life." The censure was clear and Anise bowed her head slightly towards the Jaffa.
"I did not mean to minimise Major Carter's achievement, just to explain why Colonel O'Neill is not fully healed. Now I am sufficiently recovered I will complete the process."
Janet came to her feet, moving around the desk, a pen light already in her hand. "I'll be the judge of that. You had a severe blow to the head."
The Tok'ra woman backed away. "No Doctor. If what you say if true, the quicker I attend to the Colonel the better. I am fully healed. In fact my host is anxious to complete the healing of Colonel O'Neill. Her concern for him is extremely distressing to me." She spun on her heels, her next order tossed back over her shoulder. "Come."
This time the healing beam shone brightly enough to make the observers' eyes water, it's light steady and unwavering. The Tok'ra woman moved it up and across Jack's chest, and down each of his limbs, concentrating on the areas where the burns had once been. The now unbandaged skin was pink and new looking, still tender, but it was restored and that was all they asked, the terrible gaps and rips freshly grown over and repaired. The fingers, once curled and blackened, lay still on the white sheets as if just waiting for the chance to dance their familiar rhythms of impatience. With awe the humans watched the once broken body restored, the signs of its healing clearly reflected by the monitors.
At last Anise stepped back, resting her hand momentarily on Jack's bed before taking the only chair that remained in the room.
It was the sight of her that Jack's eyes focused on as they flickered open.
TBC