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 thirty-three

The following morning, Sam made her way to the infirmary to check on Clare's progress. When she had first been brought in, all Janet was able to tell them was that Clare had a very high temperature and that no further tests could be carried out until the temperature came down and chased everyone away. Janet was just leaving Clare as Sam walked into the infirmary.

'How's she doing?' Sam asked anxiously.

'Her temperature has come down, it's not back to normal yet but I can run the tests I need to understand what I'm dealing with.' Janet frowned as she finished her update.

'There's something else isn't there?' Sam prompted her friend.

'I think something else happened while she was with Karenin but I can't get her to talk about it. Nothing like that,' she hastened to reassure Sam who's expression clearly showed she had misunderstood Janet. 'I carried out a complete physical examination and there were no signs of assault. No, I think she's shutting out the mental torture she must have been put through, and to be honest, if she doesn't start talking soon I'm going to have to call in Dr McKenzie.'

Sam pulled a face. 'Can I go see her?'

'Sure, but only for five minutes.'

'Hey, how you doing?' Sam smiled at Clare who was lying flat on her back, staring into space.

'Better thanks,' Clare spoke quietly, every word a struggle to get out. 'I didn't get chance to thank you and Jack for helping me yesterday.'

'No problem - that's what friends do for each other.' Sam was surprised when Clare looked away from her, an uncomfortable look in her eyes.

'What's wrong?' Sam asked gently.

'I…when…' Clare hesitated, then decided she might as well come clean, at least she'd know where she stood. 'When I saw you yesterday I thought I was dreaming, that you weren't really there. I thought I was back there and all I could think of were his words in my head. He…he told me that once I couldn't help you any more, you wouldn't bother to come after me, you'd only come because of Dr Fraiser and Teal'c and that I'd be left behind on my own. I knew he was lying, that he just wanted me to co-operate, but he kept repeating the same thing over and over until…' As she spoke, Clare had stared at her hands, not wanting to see her fears confirmed in Sam's face. As she finished, she looked at Sam and saw something unexpected in her eyes. She saw sympathy and friendship, and sorrow for what she had been put through, but she didn't see rejection or any sign that she didn't matter any more.

Sam spoke firmly and clearly to ensure Clare got the message loud and clear. 'Clare, it doesn't matter what you can or can't do to help us. You're important regardless of what that jerk said, and we do care about what happens to you and will help you in any way we can.' Sam smiled at her and gave her a hug, reassuring her that she didn't have to go through this on her own.

'Well, I better go or Dr Fraiser will have me forcibly removed but I will stop by later.'

Clare was tired now but relieved that she had got that off her chest and Dr Fraiser, realising that she had started to talk again felt one burden lifted from her shoulders.

'That…that…low down, inferior mongrel of a goa'uld - if I could just get my hands on him…' Sam was muttering to herself as she stormed into the briefing room where she had been summoned on leaving the infirmary. The others were already there, waiting for the arrival of General Hammond and Jacob, who had turned up a short time ago.

'Major?' Jack kept his voice even.

'Sorry, sir,' Sam apologised, but still seething. 'Do you know why Clare has been finding things so difficult since she got back?'

'No, but I'm sure I'm about to find out.'

'That sadistic torturer…'

'I take it you mean Karenin - the guy who tried to fry Clare's brain?'

'Yes sir, that one.' Jack was surprised to hear the hardness in the Major's voice, he had never seen her quite like this before. 'He almost brainwashed her into thinking that once he'd got that information out of her head she wouldn't be of any further use to us and that the only reason we would go after her would be to get Dr Fraiser and Teal'c back. Not only did he nearly kill her in cold blood, he tried to destroy any chance she might have of rebuilding her life.'

'I take it you put things straight with Clare?'

'Oh, yes and she's feeling a lot better now about it all. If only I could get my hands on that…'

'Major.' The one word was spoken calmly, but relayed a whole host of meaning. That she should calm down but he understood the way she was feeling and sympathised with it.

'Sorry, sir.'

'No need to apologise.'

Any further discussion was halted as General Hammond arrived with Jacob following close behind. Jacob greeted Sam affectionately and nodded a greeting to the others present.

'So - tell me you're here to let us know you've found the answer to this little problem we have with the goa'uld,' Jack threw in.

'I'm afraid not, Jack,' Jacob smiled dryly at this familiar form of attack from his daughter's CO. 'What we do have, however, is information from one of our Tok'ra agents. They've got word to us that a group of genetically enhanced children are being experimented on. You know what Nirrti did to Cassandra's people?' Everyone nodded. 'Well, this looks like a continuation and development of those experiments. Their parents have been taken as slaves and hosts and they are guarded by only a handful of Jaffa as their location is not widely known.'

'Why exactly are you telling us this?' Jack demanded, recognising the Tok'ra influence over Jacob, taking a round about route to getting the Tau'ri to do their dirty work for them.

'We don't have anyone available to deal with this - we're stretched to the limit at present.'

'Ok, but why can't it wait?'

'Karenin was the one doing the experimenting - Nirrti knew nothing about his own little sideline and that she was in effect playing right into his hands by leaving him in charge of this operation. Providing Nirrti gets regular reports, she's always been happy to leave him to his own devices, she knows that this kind of development could take years. It's been over a week since she last received a report and she's going to start getting a little testy if she doesn't hear something soon.'

'General, we have to get those children out of there,' Sam spoke rather heatedly, the memories of what Clare had told her regarding Karenin's actions lending urgency to her words. 'We can't leave them in Nirrti's hands, and if we do this we'll be able to slow down her progress, at least a little.' This last was tacked on almost as an afterthought, to add weight to her argument.

'I have to agree with Major Carter,' Jack said, knowing what fuelled Sam's arguments but also seeing they didn't have much choice. 'Much as I dislike running around doing somebody else's work for them, if we can stop Nirrti in her tracks then we need to give it a shot.'

'Jacob, what exactly did you have in mind?' Hammond queried.

'Well, you'll need to get the children out, bearing in mind that the only people they will have known are the Jaffa who are guarding them, and they need to be brought to safety. I believe the best place for them to go is Tollana. They're not ordinary children and they need the help of people who will understand them. Discussions with the Tollans are under way as we speak.'

'Why do I sense there's a 'but' coming?' Jack asked sceptically.

'Because the Tollans have not yet agreed and we need to get the children out without further delay. I'm asking you to bring them here until the Tollans have agreed.'

'What makes you think they'll agree?' Jack queried.

'I don't know for sure, but these children have much in common with the Tollans and I believe they will eventually agree.'

Throughout this exchange, Daniel had been looking thoughtful, and spoke up as Jacob finished.

'The children are in danger.' The others looked at him, wondering if he had gone insane. 'That's what Clare's been saying. She must have retained some of Qui'lar's memories after all. She knew.'

'I remember - that's what she was saying when we found her yesterday. Perhaps she can shed some more light on this?' Sam added.

'Let's reconvene at 1400 people, Dr Fraiser was carrying out tests on Clare this morning and should have the results by then. Dismissed.' Hammond stood up and left the rest to their own devices.

At the time stated they were all gathered again in the briefing room, with the addition of Dr Fraiser.

'What can you tell us?' Hammond asked.

'The tests I carried out show that there are additional parts of Clare's brain being used again, almost identical to the scan I took when she first came here. I don't know why but when I carried out the same tests before there was no indication of any of this. I can't explain it.'

'Didn't you say Teal'c had been helping her with kel'noreem?' Jacob asked.

'That is correct,' Teal'c responded.

'Then it is possible that she was able to conceal parts of herself from the machine until help arrived.' Jacob looked thoughtful. 'It may also explain why we have had so much trouble translating the information - the protective reflex must have scrambled the order in which the information was downloaded.'

'Well, I don't think we'll ever know, but from what I've seen, Clare still retains Qui'lar's memories without the damaging addition of the information from that globe.' Janet paused. 'My guess is that the shock and emotional trauma triggered the fever and allowed the buried memories to resurface. She is going to be fine, in time, and I'll be able to release her in a day or two.'

'Can we see her?' Hammond asked.

'That depends.'

'Dr Fraiser, we think Clare may have some valuable information about a group of children being used to conduct genetic experiments for Nirrti. If Clare knows anything which could help…'

Janet's forehead creased as she considered this. Clare was still recovering and probably needed her rest, however thoughts of her adopted daughter and what had been done to her people influenced her decision.

'Very well, but I can only allow ten minutes, she is improving but she is still far from well.'

Dr Fraiser shook Clare gently by the shoulder to wake her, receiving a mumbled 'I'm sleeping, go 'way,' in response.

General Hammond stepped in at that point, laying a hand on Dr Fraiser's arm to stop her from trying again. 'Clare, I'm sorry to disturb you and I know you're tired, but we believe you may be able to help us.'

Clare sat up abruptly. 'General Hammond - I'm sorry, I…I didn't realise…' She looked around in confusion at the group standing nearby, not noticing as Dr Fraiser raised the headrest to allow her to sit more comfortably.

'What's wrong?' Clare jumped straight to the point, panicking at the presence of so many people.

'You've been talking in your sleep, and what you've been saying seems to fit in with some information the Tok'ra have brought us,' Daniel explained briefly before allowing Jacob to continue.

'Karenin was experimenting on a group of children, but now he's been taken into custody Nirrti will not be getting any progress reports and will send someone to check up on the situation. We want to get the children out before they can be harmed.' Jacob had been told that asking direct questions would not work.

'Qu'ilar knew about it, and encouraged Karenin to find out what he could. He never knew the location of the base but had copies of the reports that were passed to Nirrti. The children were able to learn very quickly but were slower to develop emotionally which limited progress. They were nervous and didn't respond well to large groups of people so they only ever had a small contingent of Jaffa guarding them. They were starting to show unusual mental abilities as well, but that's about as far as he got.'

'Is there anything else at all that you can remember?'

'Nirrti knew it would be years before they had any results, the children wouldn't reach anywhere near their full potential until they reached adulthood and probably beyond that. There is a possibility that they may have a longer life span as well.'

'I'm sorry but that's going to have to do for now,' Dr Fraiser intervened at that point, noting that Clare was looking a lot paler than when they had arrived. 'Clare needs to rest now, if she remembers anything else I'll make sure you're informed immediately.'

'What do you think, George?' Jacob was asking Hammond as they took their seats in the briefing room.

Jack grimaced slightly as he realised what the answer was going to be. He knew it had to be done, his only qualm was the fact that the Tok'ra were asking them to do something for them - again.

'I'm assigning SG1 and SG12 to this. You leave at 0630 tomorrow.'