The gate started dialing, and alarms started blaring all over the base.
"Unscheduled off-world activation! Repeat! Unscheduled off-world activation! Security teams to the embarkation room! General Hammond to the Command room!"
"What the...?" Hammond looked up from the papers he'd been shuffling, and was standing before he even realized it. Dropping the pen he'd been signing his name with, he was out the door of his office and heading for the stairs immediately.
"What's going on Sergeant?" He asked, looking over the young man's shoulder at the computer he was sitting in front of.
"We're getting an off-world activation, Sir. Code is coming through..." He looked at his screen, intently. "...now." There was a sigh of relief. "It's SG-1, Sir."
"But they can't be done already..." Hammond suddenly was concerned that Major Carter and Doctor Jackson had come under fire – although he knew the planet was deserted or he'd never have sent the pair of them off on their own. "Open the iris."
The metal slid open effortlessly, and Hammond headed for the stairs. He entered the embarkation room just as Daniel and Sam came staggering through the gate. Daniel was carrying the packs he'd been carrying before, but he was also carrying Sam's pack as well, and her weapon. Sam had her hands full. She was carrying Jaffer, who was completely silent and still, his eyes closed and his head hanging limply.
"Stand down!"
Hammond rushed up the ramp, and tried to take Jaffer from Sam, but she wouldn't give him up.
"What happened, Major?" He asked, looking with very real concern at the black lab. It was scary to see the energetic dog so still.
"He ate something, Sir." She said. "I don't know what. I wasn't watching him closely enough..." Carter was distraught, and Hammond understood immediately why. He ran his hands along the silky black hide, and could feel the dog's heart beating, so at least he was alive. But he was so still...
"We'll get Fraiser-"
"We've got to get his vet," Sam said, clutching Jaffer even tighter against her. "This is all my fault! Oh, God... Jack is going to..." Tears were streaming down her cheeks, but she didn't have a hand free to brush them away.
"Major, we can't bring his vet..."
"Then get another one! He's got to have a vet!" She tried to stagger down the ramp but was over-balanced by the dead weight of the black lab in her arms and would have fallen forward if one of the Marines hadn't jumped forward and supported her.
Hammond made an instant decision, and turned to Jackson.
"Doctor Jackson, call Jaffer's vet and have her ready to come here. Then go pick her up and bring her here, personally. I'll make sure the people at the gate don't slow you down. Tell her he ate something – but for God's sake, don't tell her where he was when he did it. Bring her directly to the infirmary, and don't stop anywhere else." Hammond turned to one of the security men, "Call Doctor Fraiser. Get her and a medical team in here immediately."
It was unnecessary. Janet ran through the door only a moment after he said that, summoned by the alarms. She almost ran into Daniel, who was already dropping his packs and rushing towards the elevator. He'd call Monica on the way on his cell and save time.
"What happened?" She asked, coming over to Sam. Her first glance was at Carter, but she didn't see any bleeding or bruises, and if the Major was strong enough to carry Jaffer, she wasn't seriously hurt. Then she looked at the black lab.
"He... he ate something..." Sam said, brushing her cheek against Jaffer's silky shoulder and wiping her tears off on the glossy black hide. More were falling, though, and the others were having trouble understanding what she was trying to tell them. "I wasn't watching him... I was... looking the other way... Then he just... just keeled over. Not even a sound..."
"Give him here, Sam," Janet said, gently, reaching out for the still form.
"No!" Carter clutched Jaffer tightly, brushing her lips against his fur. God, what if she'd killed him? It was all her fault. She was responsible for-
"Sam. Give him to me. Let me see him." Janet took the black lab from her, carefully, and staggered under the weight of him. He was even heavier than he looked. With the help of the Marine who'd been supporting Carter, the doctor got the still black form on the gurney her team had brought in with them, and they whisked him off to the infirmary, with Sam rushing behind them, and Hammond right beside her.
..................
"You mentioned flying back home tonight?" Jacob asked, as the two men sat down at the booth in the Commissary. It was almost identical to the one at the SGC, Jacob noticed.
Jack nodded, smiling when a waitress came over to see what he and the General wanted. This was a difference; they didn't get serve at the commissary back home, it was a help yourself kind of place.
"I'll have a burger, fries, and coffee," Jack said, "And pie. Whatever kind you have that doesn't have coconut."
"Yes, Sir." She wrote that down and turned to Jacob, who shrugged.
"I'll have the same thing."
When she was gone, Jack nodded again. "I'm pretty much done here. I have some stuff they want me to look at – stuff that we brought back form various places here and there, that they just want to confirm came from us."
"Wouldn't Sam or Daniel be a better choice for doing that?" Jacob asked, carefully. Trying not to offend Jack. He didn't need to worry.
"They would, but neither of them are here, and I am."
The Tok'ra nodded.
"You're going back as soon as you're done eating?" Jack asked.
"Yes."
"Hoping to get back before Sam finds out where you've been?" There was a definite gleam in O'Neill's eyes, but Jacob didn't read Jack well enough to know what it was.
"I'm pretty sure she's going to find out where I've been," Jacob said, feeling very stupid for thinking that he could come down and yell at Jack and then make it back before Sam got done with her busy work. It hadn't been a very good plan, after all. Selmac reminded him that he hadn't been thinking all that clearly, so he had a little bit of an excuse.
"Not from me," Jack said, shrugging.
"What?"
"I'm not going to tell her, Jacob."
Jack looked up when the waitress returned with his coffee, and took a sip as she handed Jacob his.
"Your lunch should only be a few more minutes," She promised.
"Thanks."
The Tok'ra turned his attention back to Jack the moment she was gone again.
"You're not going to tell her?"
"What's there to tell her?" O'Neill asked, taking another sip of his coffee. It was good. "'Hey, Carter... Your dad cares so much for you that he came rushing down to tell me I'm not good enough for you?'"
Jacob smiled, slightly. "Of course, you're leaving out the fact that you threatened me..."
"I did not."
"Yes, you did. It was definitely a threat, Jack."
He shrugged, "Well, we can leave that out, too. We wouldn't want her to be upset, now would we?"
"Unscheduled off-world activation! Repeat! Unscheduled off-world activation! Security teams to the embarkation room! General Hammond to the Command room!"
"What the...?" Hammond looked up from the papers he'd been shuffling, and was standing before he even realized it. Dropping the pen he'd been signing his name with, he was out the door of his office and heading for the stairs immediately.
"What's going on Sergeant?" He asked, looking over the young man's shoulder at the computer he was sitting in front of.
"We're getting an off-world activation, Sir. Code is coming through..." He looked at his screen, intently. "...now." There was a sigh of relief. "It's SG-1, Sir."
"But they can't be done already..." Hammond suddenly was concerned that Major Carter and Doctor Jackson had come under fire – although he knew the planet was deserted or he'd never have sent the pair of them off on their own. "Open the iris."
The metal slid open effortlessly, and Hammond headed for the stairs. He entered the embarkation room just as Daniel and Sam came staggering through the gate. Daniel was carrying the packs he'd been carrying before, but he was also carrying Sam's pack as well, and her weapon. Sam had her hands full. She was carrying Jaffer, who was completely silent and still, his eyes closed and his head hanging limply.
"Stand down!"
Hammond rushed up the ramp, and tried to take Jaffer from Sam, but she wouldn't give him up.
"What happened, Major?" He asked, looking with very real concern at the black lab. It was scary to see the energetic dog so still.
"He ate something, Sir." She said. "I don't know what. I wasn't watching him closely enough..." Carter was distraught, and Hammond understood immediately why. He ran his hands along the silky black hide, and could feel the dog's heart beating, so at least he was alive. But he was so still...
"We'll get Fraiser-"
"We've got to get his vet," Sam said, clutching Jaffer even tighter against her. "This is all my fault! Oh, God... Jack is going to..." Tears were streaming down her cheeks, but she didn't have a hand free to brush them away.
"Major, we can't bring his vet..."
"Then get another one! He's got to have a vet!" She tried to stagger down the ramp but was over-balanced by the dead weight of the black lab in her arms and would have fallen forward if one of the Marines hadn't jumped forward and supported her.
Hammond made an instant decision, and turned to Jackson.
"Doctor Jackson, call Jaffer's vet and have her ready to come here. Then go pick her up and bring her here, personally. I'll make sure the people at the gate don't slow you down. Tell her he ate something – but for God's sake, don't tell her where he was when he did it. Bring her directly to the infirmary, and don't stop anywhere else." Hammond turned to one of the security men, "Call Doctor Fraiser. Get her and a medical team in here immediately."
It was unnecessary. Janet ran through the door only a moment after he said that, summoned by the alarms. She almost ran into Daniel, who was already dropping his packs and rushing towards the elevator. He'd call Monica on the way on his cell and save time.
"What happened?" She asked, coming over to Sam. Her first glance was at Carter, but she didn't see any bleeding or bruises, and if the Major was strong enough to carry Jaffer, she wasn't seriously hurt. Then she looked at the black lab.
"He... he ate something..." Sam said, brushing her cheek against Jaffer's silky shoulder and wiping her tears off on the glossy black hide. More were falling, though, and the others were having trouble understanding what she was trying to tell them. "I wasn't watching him... I was... looking the other way... Then he just... just keeled over. Not even a sound..."
"Give him here, Sam," Janet said, gently, reaching out for the still form.
"No!" Carter clutched Jaffer tightly, brushing her lips against his fur. God, what if she'd killed him? It was all her fault. She was responsible for-
"Sam. Give him to me. Let me see him." Janet took the black lab from her, carefully, and staggered under the weight of him. He was even heavier than he looked. With the help of the Marine who'd been supporting Carter, the doctor got the still black form on the gurney her team had brought in with them, and they whisked him off to the infirmary, with Sam rushing behind them, and Hammond right beside her.
..................
"You mentioned flying back home tonight?" Jacob asked, as the two men sat down at the booth in the Commissary. It was almost identical to the one at the SGC, Jacob noticed.
Jack nodded, smiling when a waitress came over to see what he and the General wanted. This was a difference; they didn't get serve at the commissary back home, it was a help yourself kind of place.
"I'll have a burger, fries, and coffee," Jack said, "And pie. Whatever kind you have that doesn't have coconut."
"Yes, Sir." She wrote that down and turned to Jacob, who shrugged.
"I'll have the same thing."
When she was gone, Jack nodded again. "I'm pretty much done here. I have some stuff they want me to look at – stuff that we brought back form various places here and there, that they just want to confirm came from us."
"Wouldn't Sam or Daniel be a better choice for doing that?" Jacob asked, carefully. Trying not to offend Jack. He didn't need to worry.
"They would, but neither of them are here, and I am."
The Tok'ra nodded.
"You're going back as soon as you're done eating?" Jack asked.
"Yes."
"Hoping to get back before Sam finds out where you've been?" There was a definite gleam in O'Neill's eyes, but Jacob didn't read Jack well enough to know what it was.
"I'm pretty sure she's going to find out where I've been," Jacob said, feeling very stupid for thinking that he could come down and yell at Jack and then make it back before Sam got done with her busy work. It hadn't been a very good plan, after all. Selmac reminded him that he hadn't been thinking all that clearly, so he had a little bit of an excuse.
"Not from me," Jack said, shrugging.
"What?"
"I'm not going to tell her, Jacob."
Jack looked up when the waitress returned with his coffee, and took a sip as she handed Jacob his.
"Your lunch should only be a few more minutes," She promised.
"Thanks."
The Tok'ra turned his attention back to Jack the moment she was gone again.
"You're not going to tell her?"
"What's there to tell her?" O'Neill asked, taking another sip of his coffee. It was good. "'Hey, Carter... Your dad cares so much for you that he came rushing down to tell me I'm not good enough for you?'"
Jacob smiled, slightly. "Of course, you're leaving out the fact that you threatened me..."
"I did not."
"Yes, you did. It was definitely a threat, Jack."
He shrugged, "Well, we can leave that out, too. We wouldn't want her to be upset, now would we?"