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 twenty-nine

Clare surfaced through the blackness that had engulfed her, sensing immediately that Teal'c was no longer close by. She became aware of straps across her, pinning her in place. Confused memories of running through woodland, lightning striking her and waking up in the infirmary at the SGC floated through her mind, then she was awake, trying to push against the restraints.

Glancing to one side she saw Karenin, recognising in that instant as he turned towards her, the light shining full on his face, that it was Sar'akan and she knew she was in big trouble. The part of her that held Qu'ilar's memories knew how ruthless he was and that their original plan was to have another host available should anything go wrong during the procedure. They had a suitable host, Dr Fraiser was with them, unfortunately now that Qu'ilar himself was dead Sar'akan was working alone and what happened to her was no longer of any importance.

Suppressing a shudder, she watched as Sar'akan approached her, the pads to be connected to her head in his hands, the parts connecting to the crystal for the download already in place. Sar'akan stopped for a moment as he realised her eyes were open, surprised as the medication he had given her should have knocked her out for hours yet and she had already appeared to be in a comatose state before it had been administered.

'This won't hurt a bit,' he said, the malicious intent clear in his voice. 'You may even wake up later if you're lucky and those horrid, painful memories will all be gone. Won't that be nice?'

'You're gonna kill me,' Clare whispered, fear making her voice come out hoarse and barely audible.

'Well, now,' Sar'akan rubbed his hands together, reminding her of the mad professor from The Magician's Nephew, 'that isn't my main aim, but it's quite likely that you won't survive the process. But that's just a small price to pay for the good I can achieve in the universe. I'll get rid of all the goa'uld, and in their place there will be a kind, caring Overlord, with only the welfare of my subjects as my concern.'

With a glance of horror at the glint in his eyes she understood. He was insane and really believed what he was saying. All hope of convincing him to let her go died within her and in her despair she almost gave up hope.

A white hot blinding pain in her head, within her brain, caused her to scream in agony as it felt like she was about to explode into tiny atoms. The initial pain subsided slightly but she could hear a voice whimpering in pain, begging for the agony to be stopped. Crying for help. Then she realised it was her own voice, but beyond it she could hear another. A voice that seemed so familiar, one that had been helping her. She focussed on that voice, somehow knowing that focussing could be her only hope of surviving this torture.

Remember the voice was saying focus on the sound of my voice. Focus on your breathing. Breathe in and out. In and out. Feel the life flowing through your body. Remember, focus only on my voice.

She concentrated on slowing her breathing. Focussing on breathing in deeply, then slowly expelling that breath. She thought about the blood moving through her veins, that life giving fluid. She thought about her heart beating slowly and steadily, pumping life through her body. She focussed on these basics of life and the pain receded, diminished.

She was vaguely aware of another, unfriendly, presence trying to break in on her concentration. Words harshly spoken, repeating the same phrases over and over until he spoke angrily.

'This cannot be happening,' the voice screamed, but she was now barely aware of the pain, hearing this voice as if it were coming from a great distance. 'Why is it taking so long? It shouldn't take this long.' She felt another brief stab of pain but was able to quickly regain her state of oneness with herself and shut it out.

'Dr Fraiser, are you alright?' Janet felt herself being propped into a sitting position by large, strong hands. 'Dr Fraiser.'

She opened her eyes, taking in at a glance that Teal'c and herself were in a small room, a door barring their exit.

'I'm fine, Teal'c. What happened?'

'I received a message to say that you required my assistance. You were unconscious when I found you and then I too was attacked and lost consciousness for a short time.'

'I take it we can't get out then?'

'That is correct. The door is locked and there appears to be no opening mechanism on this side of the door.'

'So we were right to be wary of Karenin. Teal'c, we have to get out of here. I don't know what Karenin has planned for Clare but I'm pretty sure saving her life is not on his list of priorities.'

'I am aware of that Dr Fraiser, however…'

'What was that?' They were startled by an inhuman scream, a scream that jarred every nerve in Janet's body and appeared to have a similar affect on Teal'c.

'We must act. We cannot open the door from this side, therefore we must get someone to open if from the other.'

Janet, her mind working overtime and surprising herself that she had lost none of the edge she gained from her combat training so many years before, spoke briskly to Teal'c. A brief discussion ensued, then they sprang into action.

'Help, help, is someone there? He's dying, we've got to get some help. Help! Help!' Repeated banging on the door and yelling for help brought the sound of footsteps to the door. They stopped outside, and voices could be heard before the door slid silently open.

Teal'c was lying on the floor, his body convulsing. Dr Fraiser, standing to one side of the door, allowed the first man to enter, then launched herself at the second man waiting in the doorway. As the first man approached Teal'c, the prone Jaffa leapt up in one easy movement, one hand slicing into the exposed windpipe crushing the air from him and knocking him to the floor. Ensuring this one was properly taken care of, he moved to assist Dr Fraiser whose small frame was struggling to overpower the second man.

When both were securely tied up and locked in the room they had just left, Teal'c and Dr Fraiser moved silently to the main area of the ship where Clare had been left, carrying the zat guns removed from the two guards.

Standing either side of the entrance to the main compartment they saw Clare now secured to the bed where they had left her, Karenin stood to one side studying the device they had given him, the device which was now hooked up to Clare. He was muttering to himself, constantly checking that the connections were still in place and monitoring the speed of the download. Clare appeared to be asleep, but there was a deep crease of pain in the centre of her forehead, dark shadows under her eyes and a complete lack of colour in her face.

Glancing at Teal'c, Dr Fraiser waited for him to give the signal, then she walked into the room as if there was nothing unusual about that fact.

'So, how's it all going then? Will Clare be back with us soon?'

'What…?' Karenin whirled around and faced the newcomer, unprepared to deal with this surprise. Before he could call out, Teal'c stepped into the room and shot the scientist, watching him crumple as the force of the zat fire arced through his body.

Teal'c secured him at the other side of the compartment, leaving Janet to check Clare's condition.

'She's barely breathing and her pulse is very faint, but she is alive, now I need to figure out what to do about this device.'

'I know you are concerned about Clare Dawson, as am I, however there are still two remaining crew members to neutralise before we can do anything further. Come.'

Leaving Clare on her own, they moved silently once more through the ship. Checking each room as they went, they finally made their way to the control area, pausing outside where they could hear voices.

As one they stepped into the entrance, each selecting a target and took aim. Soon the remaining crew were accounted for and secured.

'I need to check on Clare,' Dr Fraiser informed Teal'c. 'I just don't know if I can help her, she seems to be fading fast.'

'She is stronger than she looks, Dr Fraiser,' Teal'c reassured her. 'She is practising an ancient Kel'noreem technique which preserves the body in extreme circumstances and this will afford her some protection until we can get the help she needs. I will take the ship back to the Tok'ra base.'

Dr Fraiser felt the ship change direction as she headed back to Clare. She checked her again, realising there had been no change in the time since she had last checked. She examined the wires leading from Clare's head to the crystal, the centre of the crystal glowing a faint green colour. Picking up different wires she considered her best options - should she wait for the Tok'ra to provide the expert help she needed, or would that be too late?

Clare gave a gasp of pain, her eyes flickering open, but not seeing anything around her. Almost as abruptly her body relaxed again and the pulse which had become rapid slowed down until it was barely there. That decided her, she had to do something, to do nothing would mean certain death. She hadn't realised she had said the words aloud until a voice behind her spoke up.

'To disconnect the device before it has finished means certain death. If the process is completed there is a possibility she may survive. Take your pick.' Karenin laughed at her expression, then continued to laugh hysterically until Dr Fraiser could stand it no longer. Stalking up to him she gave vent to her frustration and anger and hit him as hard as she could on his jaw, hearing a satisfying crunch as something gave way. Looking around sheepishly, she was glad no-one was around to see her childish fit of temper and that gave way to embarrassment as she realised she had broken one of the most sacred of her vows as a doctor. Shrugging those feelings off, she returned to Clare, frustrated that there was nothing she could do.

As she stood watching Clare's life ebbing away she was alarmed to hear the electronic tones indicating that a ring transporter was being activated. Not knowing what to expect she stood protectively in front of Clare and aimed her zat gun in the direction of the rings, the trigger only requiring a light touch to enable her to protect herself and her patient.

'Whoa there, doctor!' Colonel O'Neill's voice reached her before the rings had cleared, leaving SG1 and Anise standing there. Janet lowered her weapon, initially relieved that help had arrived and then suspicion creeping in as she realised that help had come in the form of Anise.

'This is the help you brought?' Janet asked in disbelief.

'Nice to see you too, doc, how are you doing?' Jack retorted.

'Sorry, Colonel.' Janet apologised. 'I guess I was a little startled at your choice of help.'

'Yeah, well, beggars can't be choosers,' Jack replied as he stood aside to allow the medics and Sam access to the patient.

'How is she?' Anise asked.

'Not good. Teal'c tells me she's using some kind of deep meditation technique which has helped keep her alive, but I'm afraid that even with that she's going downhill fast. Karenin told me that if I disconnected the device while it was still working it would kill her, but that she could die anyway.' Frustration was evident in Janet's voice and Sam gave her friend a reassuring hug.

'That is correct. This procedure must continue uninterrupted. However, for a very brief time there will be little harm done. I must disconnect this device and exchange it for the one I have with me. That will increase your friend's chance of survival.' Anise instructed Dr Fraiser on how to disconnect the device, at the same time as Anise was connecting the new machine to her to ensure there was as little interruption as possible. 'Now we wait,' Anise announced once they were done.