"Doctor Fraiser to the embarkation room!"
Janet looked up from her latest blood test results and over to her medical staff. All of them looked beat, and definitely ready for a break – although none had complained, and Janet knew they wouldn't.
"It must be Teal'c," she said. It was the only reason she'd be called to the gate room. There weren't any teams out, after all. "Let's go see if he's found anything."
The others nodded, and everyone who was at a good stopping point set their work down and headed for the door.
Daniel and Sam looked at each other when they heard the page. Jack was once again in the ice bath and Sam wasn't going to leave him, but she wanted to know if Teal'c had found something.
"I'll go see," Daniel said.
Sam nodded, and looked back down at Jack as Daniel left the room. His eyes were closed, and he didn't seem to have noticed that Daniel had gone. Ordinarily, Sam would have known better – Jack always knew what was going on around him, after all – but it was different this Saturday. She wasn't even sure if he knew where he was just then.
"Jack?"
He didn't respond, and she wasn't really surprised.
"Teal'c's back... just hold on, okay?"
He didn't open his eyes, but he did nod, and Sam squeezed his hand as tightly as she dared.
"We're ready to take him out, Major," the medics told her. Sam nodded, gently let go of O'Neill's hand, and moved out of the way. She was good at staying out of their way by now. She reached for the slightly damp blanket they were going to bundle him up in when they had him dried off and waited for them to ask for it. Her eyes went to the door, though, and she watched as many members of the medical staff left the infirmary as well.
&&
"What did you find?"
Teal'c handed Daniel his staff weapon, then reached into his pack and pulled out the vial of blood he'd taken from the small creature.
"I observed a small creature eating one of the plants from the brush that the slivers are on, Doctor Fraiser. It was not eating the slivers, but it was holding them, and did not appear to be adversely affected by them."
That was exactly what Janet had been hoping for. She took the vial from him, holding it carefully. She looked at it, and then handed it over to one of her assistants.
"I want a full spectrum of tests done on this – make sure you keep a sample set aside to use a control – and get me the results immediately." She turned to Teal'c even as the medic left for the lab. "Tell me everything you can think of about the plant, and the creature that was eating it..."
Teal'c nodded, and began telling her and those around her about his trip through the gate as the group headed at a much slower pace towards the infirmary. Daniel wanted to listen in, but since he was already carrying Teal'c's staff weapon, he decided he might as well pick up the discarded pack and take care of the Jaffa's gear for him so he wouldn't have to do it later. He'd be able to ask Teal'c all about the trip – and the creature – later. Right now it was more important that Janet hear what he had to say.
&&
"So it was actually holding the stems that had the splinters?"
"Yes. It's paws – or claws, or whatever they would be referred to as – were undoubtedly pierced by the slivers as it held the stems."
"And it didn't seem to mind?"
"It appeared to be quite comfortable."
"That's promising."
Teal'c nodded. He didn't know how promising it was, but he was willing to go along with Fraiser, since she definitely did.
"I did not bring the creature back to the base, because I-"
"It's the blood that we need, Teal'c," Janet assured him. "This way we don't have to worry about quarantining the creature itself, or worrying about any diseases the creature might be carrying."
That had been Teal'c's own thoughts, but he didn't say anything.
"If we can isolate the antigen in the creature that protects it from the bacterium, then we can test it on Colonel O'Neill's blood," one of the medical technicians who'd been walking with Janet and the rest of the group said. Janet didn't tell him he was stating what everyone already knew; she understood that he was as excited as the rest of them. This could possibly be the breakthrough they needed. If it'd come in time.
"Well done, Teal'c," Janet said. She hesitated at the door of the infirmary, anxious to get to work, but wanting Teal'c to understand how much she appreciated what he'd done.
"Thank you, Doctor Fraiser." The Jaffa said in his deep gravelly voice. "I am going to check in on O'Neill and then go get cleaned up." Sitting in the dirt for twelve hours can get you pretty dirty, even if you're not actually moving around much.
Janet smiled, knowing Teal'c was giving her an excuse to leave him.
"Tell Major Carter we're working on it," she told him, and left him to head back for the lab.
Teal'c waited for her to vanish, and then he walked over to the small room that O'Neill was isolated in. If Major Carter was as worried as Daniel Jackson had looked in the gate room, then Teal'c was certain she could use a little good news.