Jack and Sam left for their mission soon afterwards. Sam was slightly puzzled by Daniel's and Teal'c's absence but decided not to question it. She was worried she had been told, but had forgotten
I don't remember anything
Daniel, Teal'c and Janet left for P69-522X ten minutes later.
The gate led directly into the main hall. It was huge, hollowed out of grey stone. Passages led off from all directions, and there were small rooms all around the hall, with glass windows, or forcefields that looked like glass, set into the walls. Tapestries and paper posters, most brightly coloured, mostly in tatters, hung over the walls, and the wooden frames of all the windows and doorways had been picked out in bright paint, faded and peeling now. The whole hall was lit by a diffuse light.
"Where does the light come from?" Janet asked as Teal'c wandered off to check the corridors.
"Look up." Daniel told her. She did. Above her the ceiling was made of a milky, almost opaque quartz, letting the light bleed through. Above, she could see the blurred outlines of the huge storm clouds that dominated the planet, swirling and battling overhead. She saw a massive flash of lightning, bright blue against the white grey of the clouds.
"Wow." She breathed
"I know." Daniel said, smiling. "I knew you'd like it."
"It's amazing."
"And that's why you should come off world with us more often."
"I will definitely try to." She said, as Teal'c came back.
"There is no evidence of Jaffa here now, although they have done considerable damage." He reported.
Janet got them working, telling Teal'c to gather air and water samples, and following Daniel into the tiny room in which Sam had hidden from Anubis.
"Why weren't we affected, like Sam, by this drug?" Daniel asked.
"If there is a drug." She reminded him. "I'm not sure. If it is airborne, it might not have affected her until Anubis arrived."
"Fear." Daniel said. "Making the heart race, increasing breathing, blood flow."
"Exactly. And there's very little fresh air in this room. Anything she breathed here would be highly concentrated."
"She talked about the paint, in her sleep, when we brought her back." Daniel said, standing by the window. He remembered finding Sam, still only semi-conscious, slumped on the floor, her blonde hair sticky and stiff with blood, staring in horror at Dr Marlin's body. He'd had to carry her out of there, and she had felt light in his arms, as if she was barely there.
"Last thing she saw before she was knocked unconscious. It sticks in the mind." Janet told him, then seeing his pale face, she added "It'll be ok. We can help her. Trust me."
"I always do." He told her softly. "And you always save us."
"Not you." She said, concentrating on scraping the paint off into a little pot.
"When I died," Daniel said, hesitantly, "as I ascended, I welcomed it. I was ready to just go, and leave you all behind. I knew you'd all be alright without me. Sam and Jack and Jacob and Teal'c all had each other. They wouldn't be alone. They could even understand what happened to me, and let me go. But then I looked back, and you were there all alone, and despite what the others said, you didn't want to let me go, and it was killing you, watching me die, and at that moment, I regretted leaving. Part of me didn't want to die, and leave you so lost and broken. So I ended up leaving a part of myself in that room, and I kept coming back. You never knew it, but I watched over you, and then the others, until eventually, I was sent back. And that was because of you. You saved me."
Daniel took a deep breath. It had been months before he'd realised what had happened, had remembered Janet's determined, tear-streaked face. And it had been even longer before he'd finally managed to say something to her. Whatever she said now, at least he'd told her. He'd begun something.
Janet didn't turn to look at him. She'd stayed still, her back to him.
"Of course you had to come back to me." she said softly. "I had your glasses." She laughed, uncertainly, and after a moment, he did too. That was good enough for now. There was plenty of time to build on that.
"I've got everything I need." She told him. "Lets get back. I want to sort this out before Sam and Jack get back."
I don't remember anything
Daniel, Teal'c and Janet left for P69-522X ten minutes later.
The gate led directly into the main hall. It was huge, hollowed out of grey stone. Passages led off from all directions, and there were small rooms all around the hall, with glass windows, or forcefields that looked like glass, set into the walls. Tapestries and paper posters, most brightly coloured, mostly in tatters, hung over the walls, and the wooden frames of all the windows and doorways had been picked out in bright paint, faded and peeling now. The whole hall was lit by a diffuse light.
"Where does the light come from?" Janet asked as Teal'c wandered off to check the corridors.
"Look up." Daniel told her. She did. Above her the ceiling was made of a milky, almost opaque quartz, letting the light bleed through. Above, she could see the blurred outlines of the huge storm clouds that dominated the planet, swirling and battling overhead. She saw a massive flash of lightning, bright blue against the white grey of the clouds.
"Wow." She breathed
"I know." Daniel said, smiling. "I knew you'd like it."
"It's amazing."
"And that's why you should come off world with us more often."
"I will definitely try to." She said, as Teal'c came back.
"There is no evidence of Jaffa here now, although they have done considerable damage." He reported.
Janet got them working, telling Teal'c to gather air and water samples, and following Daniel into the tiny room in which Sam had hidden from Anubis.
"Why weren't we affected, like Sam, by this drug?" Daniel asked.
"If there is a drug." She reminded him. "I'm not sure. If it is airborne, it might not have affected her until Anubis arrived."
"Fear." Daniel said. "Making the heart race, increasing breathing, blood flow."
"Exactly. And there's very little fresh air in this room. Anything she breathed here would be highly concentrated."
"She talked about the paint, in her sleep, when we brought her back." Daniel said, standing by the window. He remembered finding Sam, still only semi-conscious, slumped on the floor, her blonde hair sticky and stiff with blood, staring in horror at Dr Marlin's body. He'd had to carry her out of there, and she had felt light in his arms, as if she was barely there.
"Last thing she saw before she was knocked unconscious. It sticks in the mind." Janet told him, then seeing his pale face, she added "It'll be ok. We can help her. Trust me."
"I always do." He told her softly. "And you always save us."
"Not you." She said, concentrating on scraping the paint off into a little pot.
"When I died," Daniel said, hesitantly, "as I ascended, I welcomed it. I was ready to just go, and leave you all behind. I knew you'd all be alright without me. Sam and Jack and Jacob and Teal'c all had each other. They wouldn't be alone. They could even understand what happened to me, and let me go. But then I looked back, and you were there all alone, and despite what the others said, you didn't want to let me go, and it was killing you, watching me die, and at that moment, I regretted leaving. Part of me didn't want to die, and leave you so lost and broken. So I ended up leaving a part of myself in that room, and I kept coming back. You never knew it, but I watched over you, and then the others, until eventually, I was sent back. And that was because of you. You saved me."
Daniel took a deep breath. It had been months before he'd realised what had happened, had remembered Janet's determined, tear-streaked face. And it had been even longer before he'd finally managed to say something to her. Whatever she said now, at least he'd told her. He'd begun something.
Janet didn't turn to look at him. She'd stayed still, her back to him.
"Of course you had to come back to me." she said softly. "I had your glasses." She laughed, uncertainly, and after a moment, he did too. That was good enough for now. There was plenty of time to build on that.
"I've got everything I need." She told him. "Lets get back. I want to sort this out before Sam and Jack get back."