Chapter 10: Welcome Back
Six weeks later, Colonel Jack O'Neill sat in the infirmary being examined for return to duty. He was hoping that Janet cleared him because he was beginning to get antsy to get back to work. Plus he had promised Daniel that he would go back with him to PS3-97K so they could look for the artifact that Daniel had to leave behind after the incident there.
"Okay, Colonel. Your leg has healed fine and I don't see anything wrong with you so I'm clearing you for active duty. There is no further problem with your going off world." Janet confirmed.
"Sweet! Thanks, Doc. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go find Daniel so he and I can have a talk with Hammond to get permission for a personal mission."
"All right. Just don't go getting into anymore trouble. I don't want to have to haul your ass back in here after I just released you. Got it?"
"Yes ma'am." Jack saluted playfully, pivoting on his heel and heading out the door to Daniel's office.
Jack found Daniel in his office, as he expected, bent over his keyboard, sorting through his e-mails. Jack crept quietly over and leaned in the doorway of the office.
"Daniel. Got a minute?" Jack said, causing Daniel to jump and almost fall out of his chair.
"Oh, hey Jack. What's up? You startled me." Daniel said, smiling as he looked up and noticed his friend standing in the doorway.
"Guess who just got cleared for active duty."
"That's great! I know you're more ready than the rest of us to get back to work. So, uh, Jack, are we going to talk to Hammond about going back to PS3-97K to search for that artifact that I found?"
"That's why I'm here. Come on, let's go get clearance for this side mission." Jack grinned, draping an arm around Daniel's shoulders and leading him through the winding corridor.
A few minutes later, Jack and Daniel were standing outside General Hammond's office, preparing to request permission to head off world. Jack took a deep breath, shot a glance at Daniel, and knocked on the door.
"Come in." General Hammond acknowledged, glancing up from his paperwork. "Colonel O'Neill, Dr. Jackson. Come and sit down."
"Good morning, General." Jack smiled.
"I just received word that Janet cleared you for active duty. I suppose that's why you and Dr. Jackson came to talk to me, isn't it."
"Yes, sir."
"Actually, General, this is my idea. I just want Jack to accompany me. When we were on PS3-97K for the rendezvous mission, I noticed some kind of artifact that I believe may be beneficial to the program that we have going here. I need to examine this more but if I'm right, then my discovery may increase the range of our Stargate, allowing us to reach other gates that we never could before. Requesting permission to return to the planet to recover this artifact with Jack as my backup." Daniel broke in.
"Permission granted. Gear up and be ready to go from the gate room at 1500 hours. Dismissed."
"Yes, sir." Daniel acknowledged as he and Jack left to prepare for their recovery mission.
Three hours later, Jack O'Neill and Daniel Jackson stood in front of the ramp to the Stargate, geared up and ready to go. All that was left was the gate address to lock in.
"Chevron 7 locked. Establishing wormhole." The airman said.
"Okay. SG-1 you have a go. Good luck, Dr. Jackson." General Hammond said into the speaker as Daniel and Jack stepped through the gate.
Once the two emerged through the gate onto PS3-97K, Jack noticed Daniel was looking nervous and this concerned him.
"Hey, you okay, Daniel?"
"Uh, yeah. Let's get started. I think the item we're searching for should be over in that direction." Daniel pointed out, heading west as Jack simply shook his head and followed.
A few minutes later, Daniel located what he was looking for and rushed over to it excitedly. He felt exhilarated at having found a terrific discovery.
"Here it is, Jack. I found it. This is the artifact I found the other day."
As Daniel picked up the artifact, however, the memories of that day came flooding back to him. He began shaking uncontrollably as he was assaulted by those memories. Finally, it became to much as Daniel's eyes rolled back in his head and he fainted, barely feeling Jack reach out and grab him as he collapsed.
"Daniel! Shit! Daniel, wake up. Come on, Daniel." Jack shouted, gently slapping his friend's face in attempt to wake him. "All right, we've got to get you back through the gate. Come on."
Jack then lifted Daniel's unconscious form from the ground and carried him to the Stargate, where he laid him back down gently so he could dial the gate and submit their iris code.
"Incoming wormhole."
"Who is it coming through, Sergeant?" Hammond asked.
"It's SG-1's code, sir."
"Open the iris."
The iris of the Stargate swirled open slowly and Jack stepped through carrying Daniel, who was unconscious. Hammond hurried out of the control room to assist.
"Get a medical team down there, now!"
"Medical team to Stargate! Medical team to Stargate!"
"What the hell happened, Colonel?"
"I'm not sure, sir. We went after the artifact and once we found it, Daniel suddenly turned pale and started shaking, then he just passed out cold." Jack explained as the medical team burst through the door and rushed Daniel off to the infirmary.
"Jack, what happened?" Sam asked as she noticed Daniel being rushed down the hall to the infirmary with Jack and General Hammond following close behind.
"I don't have time to explain now, Carter. Just come with me."
Once Daniel was in the infirmary under Janet's care, Jack tried to explain to everyone exactly what had happened. He was confused and very worried about what was going on.
"Okay. This is what happened. We had stepped through the gate on PS3- 97K and Daniel and I were searching for this artifact that he was hoping to find. He was really excited when he finally found it but when he picked the thing up, something happened to him. He turned white as a sheet and he was trembling uncontrollably, then his legs gave and he passed out. I was able to reach out and grab him and then I picked him up and hauled tail back to the gate."
"His heart rate is 140. That's way too fast." Janet began hurriedly as she shined her pen light into Daniel's eyes. "He's unresponsive. I need to get him stabilized."
"How can this happen again."
"Come on. Don't do this, Daniel. Give me a sign here. You've got people here that need you. You have to stay with me." Janet said as the beeping on the heart monitor leveled out. "Heart rate's stable. He's coming back."
A short time later, Daniel opened his eyes as he regained consciousness to find Jack and Sam sitting at his bedside.
"What happened?" Daniel asked groggily.
"You fainted when we were off world. I had to haul you back through the gate. Sure scared us to death. You have any idea what caused that?"
"No, not really. Did you get what we went for?"
"Yeah. I put it in your office."
"But that can wait for now, Daniel. Right now you need to try and rest." Sam said.
"I'm fine. I need to get to work on my discovery." Daniel insisted as he tried to get to his feet and nearly collapsed again.
"Enough is enough, Daniel. You're not strong enough to be up now. You had a scary moment." Jack growled at him.
"What happened here?" Janet asked as she came to see what the commotion was about.
"Our friend here had the bright idea to try and get out of bed and go back to work, which resulted in his almost collapsing again."
"Okay. That's enough. Daniel, you need to rest. I'm going to give you a sedative now to make sure you do get some rest."
"Janet, is that really necessary?" Sam asked protectively, watching as Janet gave Daniel an injection, feeling Jack's hand on her shoulder.
"Yes, it is. If he tries to get up again, he could injure himself. You and Jack should come with me now so Daniel can get some sleep as soon as that sedative kicks in." Janet said as Sam and Jack followed her to the door that is until Daniel grabbed Jack's arm.
"Jack,"
"Yeah. What's up?"
"Will you make sure Sam's okay? She seems upset." Daniel asked, beginning to feel drowsy and lightheaded.
"Sure. That's a promise. Now you just get some sleep."
As soon as Jack left the room, with the knowledge that he would keep an eye on Sam, Daniel gave in to the sedative and closed his eyes, drifting easily into the darkness of slumber.
Six weeks later, Colonel Jack O'Neill sat in the infirmary being examined for return to duty. He was hoping that Janet cleared him because he was beginning to get antsy to get back to work. Plus he had promised Daniel that he would go back with him to PS3-97K so they could look for the artifact that Daniel had to leave behind after the incident there.
"Okay, Colonel. Your leg has healed fine and I don't see anything wrong with you so I'm clearing you for active duty. There is no further problem with your going off world." Janet confirmed.
"Sweet! Thanks, Doc. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go find Daniel so he and I can have a talk with Hammond to get permission for a personal mission."
"All right. Just don't go getting into anymore trouble. I don't want to have to haul your ass back in here after I just released you. Got it?"
"Yes ma'am." Jack saluted playfully, pivoting on his heel and heading out the door to Daniel's office.
Jack found Daniel in his office, as he expected, bent over his keyboard, sorting through his e-mails. Jack crept quietly over and leaned in the doorway of the office.
"Daniel. Got a minute?" Jack said, causing Daniel to jump and almost fall out of his chair.
"Oh, hey Jack. What's up? You startled me." Daniel said, smiling as he looked up and noticed his friend standing in the doorway.
"Guess who just got cleared for active duty."
"That's great! I know you're more ready than the rest of us to get back to work. So, uh, Jack, are we going to talk to Hammond about going back to PS3-97K to search for that artifact that I found?"
"That's why I'm here. Come on, let's go get clearance for this side mission." Jack grinned, draping an arm around Daniel's shoulders and leading him through the winding corridor.
A few minutes later, Jack and Daniel were standing outside General Hammond's office, preparing to request permission to head off world. Jack took a deep breath, shot a glance at Daniel, and knocked on the door.
"Come in." General Hammond acknowledged, glancing up from his paperwork. "Colonel O'Neill, Dr. Jackson. Come and sit down."
"Good morning, General." Jack smiled.
"I just received word that Janet cleared you for active duty. I suppose that's why you and Dr. Jackson came to talk to me, isn't it."
"Yes, sir."
"Actually, General, this is my idea. I just want Jack to accompany me. When we were on PS3-97K for the rendezvous mission, I noticed some kind of artifact that I believe may be beneficial to the program that we have going here. I need to examine this more but if I'm right, then my discovery may increase the range of our Stargate, allowing us to reach other gates that we never could before. Requesting permission to return to the planet to recover this artifact with Jack as my backup." Daniel broke in.
"Permission granted. Gear up and be ready to go from the gate room at 1500 hours. Dismissed."
"Yes, sir." Daniel acknowledged as he and Jack left to prepare for their recovery mission.
Three hours later, Jack O'Neill and Daniel Jackson stood in front of the ramp to the Stargate, geared up and ready to go. All that was left was the gate address to lock in.
"Chevron 7 locked. Establishing wormhole." The airman said.
"Okay. SG-1 you have a go. Good luck, Dr. Jackson." General Hammond said into the speaker as Daniel and Jack stepped through the gate.
Once the two emerged through the gate onto PS3-97K, Jack noticed Daniel was looking nervous and this concerned him.
"Hey, you okay, Daniel?"
"Uh, yeah. Let's get started. I think the item we're searching for should be over in that direction." Daniel pointed out, heading west as Jack simply shook his head and followed.
A few minutes later, Daniel located what he was looking for and rushed over to it excitedly. He felt exhilarated at having found a terrific discovery.
"Here it is, Jack. I found it. This is the artifact I found the other day."
As Daniel picked up the artifact, however, the memories of that day came flooding back to him. He began shaking uncontrollably as he was assaulted by those memories. Finally, it became to much as Daniel's eyes rolled back in his head and he fainted, barely feeling Jack reach out and grab him as he collapsed.
"Daniel! Shit! Daniel, wake up. Come on, Daniel." Jack shouted, gently slapping his friend's face in attempt to wake him. "All right, we've got to get you back through the gate. Come on."
Jack then lifted Daniel's unconscious form from the ground and carried him to the Stargate, where he laid him back down gently so he could dial the gate and submit their iris code.
"Incoming wormhole."
"Who is it coming through, Sergeant?" Hammond asked.
"It's SG-1's code, sir."
"Open the iris."
The iris of the Stargate swirled open slowly and Jack stepped through carrying Daniel, who was unconscious. Hammond hurried out of the control room to assist.
"Get a medical team down there, now!"
"Medical team to Stargate! Medical team to Stargate!"
"What the hell happened, Colonel?"
"I'm not sure, sir. We went after the artifact and once we found it, Daniel suddenly turned pale and started shaking, then he just passed out cold." Jack explained as the medical team burst through the door and rushed Daniel off to the infirmary.
"Jack, what happened?" Sam asked as she noticed Daniel being rushed down the hall to the infirmary with Jack and General Hammond following close behind.
"I don't have time to explain now, Carter. Just come with me."
Once Daniel was in the infirmary under Janet's care, Jack tried to explain to everyone exactly what had happened. He was confused and very worried about what was going on.
"Okay. This is what happened. We had stepped through the gate on PS3- 97K and Daniel and I were searching for this artifact that he was hoping to find. He was really excited when he finally found it but when he picked the thing up, something happened to him. He turned white as a sheet and he was trembling uncontrollably, then his legs gave and he passed out. I was able to reach out and grab him and then I picked him up and hauled tail back to the gate."
"His heart rate is 140. That's way too fast." Janet began hurriedly as she shined her pen light into Daniel's eyes. "He's unresponsive. I need to get him stabilized."
"How can this happen again."
"Come on. Don't do this, Daniel. Give me a sign here. You've got people here that need you. You have to stay with me." Janet said as the beeping on the heart monitor leveled out. "Heart rate's stable. He's coming back."
A short time later, Daniel opened his eyes as he regained consciousness to find Jack and Sam sitting at his bedside.
"What happened?" Daniel asked groggily.
"You fainted when we were off world. I had to haul you back through the gate. Sure scared us to death. You have any idea what caused that?"
"No, not really. Did you get what we went for?"
"Yeah. I put it in your office."
"But that can wait for now, Daniel. Right now you need to try and rest." Sam said.
"I'm fine. I need to get to work on my discovery." Daniel insisted as he tried to get to his feet and nearly collapsed again.
"Enough is enough, Daniel. You're not strong enough to be up now. You had a scary moment." Jack growled at him.
"What happened here?" Janet asked as she came to see what the commotion was about.
"Our friend here had the bright idea to try and get out of bed and go back to work, which resulted in his almost collapsing again."
"Okay. That's enough. Daniel, you need to rest. I'm going to give you a sedative now to make sure you do get some rest."
"Janet, is that really necessary?" Sam asked protectively, watching as Janet gave Daniel an injection, feeling Jack's hand on her shoulder.
"Yes, it is. If he tries to get up again, he could injure himself. You and Jack should come with me now so Daniel can get some sleep as soon as that sedative kicks in." Janet said as Sam and Jack followed her to the door that is until Daniel grabbed Jack's arm.
"Jack,"
"Yeah. What's up?"
"Will you make sure Sam's okay? She seems upset." Daniel asked, beginning to feel drowsy and lightheaded.
"Sure. That's a promise. Now you just get some sleep."
As soon as Jack left the room, with the knowledge that he would keep an eye on Sam, Daniel gave in to the sedative and closed his eyes, drifting easily into the darkness of slumber.