DISCLAIMER: The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-1, the goa'uld and all other characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of the people who made them up. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author.
A Snake In The Hand Is Worth Two In The Bush
Part eighteen
Daniel was waiting impatiently for the MALP telemetry to come through. When they had tried the day before they had seen signs that the people who had attacked them were still in the vicinity of the 'gate. They had tried the Colonel's radio but had been greeted with silence.
Sam was still in the infirmary, Janet had pumped Sam full of antibiotics and anti-venom and she was now doing well, although still weak. Jacob had returned to the To'kra to report once he was satisfied that Sam was recovering.
Daniel had spent time trying to convince General Hammond that they should go in and get Colonel O'Neill out, but Hammond had steadfastly refused, not wanting to risk antagonising the native people.
At last the pictures were displayed on the monitors in the control room and Daniel turned expectantly to General Hammond.
'Hold - your - fire.' The intruder was calling, then he went down. Through her befuddled mind, Clare thought there was something familiar about the voice but she didn't seem able to think clearly or rationally.
Then a more familiar voice spoke up.
'My name is Daniel Jackson, we're peaceful explorers from the planet earth. We don't mean you any harm but we're looking for a couple of friends who got lost around here.'
'Daniel?' Clare's voice was barely a whisper, she couldn't believe it was really him.
With weapons at the ready but no longer aimed, the cave was filled with people. Daniel was there, moving quickly to Jack to check on his condition, looking over at Clare questioningly.
'He took a couple of darts, one to his shoulder, one to his leg,' Clare informed him in a dull, emotionless voice. 'I got them out but they seemed to have some kind of poison on them. I've given him antibiotics and painkillers but he was delirious and I had to tie him up to stop him from hurting…himself.' Clare's voice paused, as she didn't really want to tell these people, his friends, that he'd nearly killed her.
'You did a good job.' Daniel smiled at her as he was pushed aside by one of the field medics from SG6 who proceeded to stabilise him before they moved him. Another was bent over Teal'c, helping him to his feet.
Daniel moved to Clare's side, gently taking the zat gun from her now numb fingers.
'How are you doing?' He asked, crouching beside her, noticing immediately the signs of shock.
'I...I'm fine. I thought - I thought no one would come. Jack's getting worse, I thought you'd get here too late to help him. How's Sam?' Even in her exhaustion she had noticed Sam wasn't with them.
'She's going to be fine, a little tired but improving.' Daniel smiled at her. 'Sorry we took so long getting here but we had to wait for the area around the 'gate to clear.'
'Can we go home now?'
'Sure. We'll just wait for them to take Jack, then we'll follow.'
Daniel helped her to her feet, steadying her as she swayed a little.
'Sorry, I've not had much sleep.'
'Yeah, right.' Daniels' tone indicated he did not believe her fragile state was caused solely by lack of sleep. 'You're injured. Over here.' He called one of the field medics over to clean up her arm and to check her over for any other injuries, only finding the bruises to her side and throat that did not require treatment, the cut on her head not visible through her dark hair.
Ten minutes later Jack had been transferred to a stretcher and was being manoeuvred out of the cave by two of SG6 and hurried to the 'gate with all possible speed, Clare's hopes that everything would be alright rapidly fading as she realised he might not make it in spite of all her efforts.
Teal'c, walking beside Clare while Daniel walked beside O'Neill, put out an arm to steady her as she stumbled, preventing her from falling. Ensuring she was well enough to continue walking, he inclined his head in her direction in acknowledgment of her thanks and continued walking in silence for a while.
'Teal'c,' she said, hesitatingly, 'I'm sorry, you know, back there, for…'
'There is no need to apologise. As you can see I am unharmed. You did not know who it was and you acted wisely to protect yourself and Colonel O'Neill. You have nothing to be sorry for,' Teal'c reassured her. She smiled shyly at him and they once more lapsed into silence, Teal'c maintaining his unobtrusive watch over her, ready to offer further support should she need it.
They reached the gate without incident, the event horizon waiting for them to go through. Colonel O'Neill was carried through first, followed by Daniel, Teal'c and Clare, the remaining two members of SG6 going through last.
'Welcome back, it's good to see you,' General Hammond greeted her, smiling in his relief to have both of them back. 'Report to the infirmary, we'll debrief later.'
Teal'c waved aside the medics who had moved forward to take charge of Clare, instead he escorted her to the infirmary himself, with Daniel at her other side. They both wanted to check on Jack's progress as well as making sure their adopted SG1 member received the treatment she needed.
Clare, walking alongside the two men, felt herself growing more distant as though her body were in one place, her mind in another. Now there was no longer any need to fight to get Colonel O'Neill and herself home she was starting to feel the shock she had kept under tight control until now.
Arriving at the infirmary they found Jack had been whisked off to a side room for treatment. Daniel and Teal'c were given their post-mission checks and then dismissed, told they could return in a few hours when more would be known.
Dr Fraiser, arriving to check up on Clare after ensuring Colonel O'Neill was settled, caught the distant expression on Clare's face. She checked the dressing on Clare's arm before flashing the penlight in her eyes, noting the pupils sluggish response.
'How are you doing? I understand we've got you to thank for getting Colonel O'Neill safely back.' Janet talked as she worked.
'I'm ok, just a bit tired and shaken really. I didn't get much sleep the last few nights.'
'Uh huh.' Janet was checking her pulse and blood pressure - yet again. 'Your pulse seems rather fast and your blood pressure is a little higher than I'd like to see. Are there any other injuries I need to know about?' Clare's symptoms indicated some kind of head injury.
'How's Jack?' Clare avoided the question, jerking her head away when Janet began examining for an unseen injury.
'He's going to be fine. If we hadn't got him back when we did and been able to administer the anti-venom…But, he's going to make a full recovery. Can you tell me what did you do when you pulled the darts out?' Janet kept the conversation going, distracting Clare from her examination. She was also curious, judging by Sam's reaction he should have turned violent and delirious and then fallen into a coma in a short space of time. Jack, by all accounts, had only just reached the coma stage three days after receiving two doses of the poison. He should be dead by now, of course there was his own sheer stubbornness that would keep him fighting all the way, but still…
'I pulled the darts out when I realised there was a risk of infection, and then I saw they didn't look normal - they were purple and puffy and the purple area was starting to spread. It couldn't have been infection, it was too early for that, so I let the wounds bleed for a while then I poured clean water onto them and let the bleeding stop on its own. I know it meant he may have lost more blood than he should but I thought it would help.'
'You most probably saved his life, Clare. You did a good job - by letting some of the poison drain away like that you stopped it from spreading so fast. Ah, there it is.' Dr Fraiser had found the cut on Clare's head but before she could do anything about it Clare tried to push away from her.
'I don't feel too good, think I'm gonna be…' Dr Fraiser thrust a bowl into Clare's hands just in time for her to be violently sick. After a few minutes Clare's shoulders slumped forward a little telling Janet that she was done.
Handing the bowl to a waiting nurse to dispose of, Janet put her hand on Clare's shoulder to calm her down and reassure her, seeing the tears on her face.
'I'm sorry, I guess I'm not feeling so good…' Janet, half expecting the sequel eased Clare back onto the pillow, a nurse lifting her legs on to the bed as she passed out.
'Ok, now let's get this sorted out.' Janet collected the tools of her trade and set about cleaning up the head wound, satisfied when she found it to be nothing too serious.
Clare woke to a bright light in her eyes, startled, she nearly knocked the penlight out of Doctor Fraiser's hand.
'How are you feeling now?' Janet asked her, receiving a shrug in response. 'Ok, well, we need to run a couple of scans just to be on the safe side, then you can get some rest.'