They had gone straight to the Stargate, Carter leading the way followed by Gallagher being half carried, half dragged between Daniel and Teal'c. Froden and Raedon had come with them and Gallagher heard Froden pleading with Carter to not hold this against them. "Our people need you," he begged.
"We have to get Gallagher to a doctor, but we will discuss all this with my superiors," she said. "We'll be back with a decision as soon as we get it. In the meantime, I suggest you use the medicines we brought as soon as possible." They had reached the Stargate and Carter began the dialing sequence.
"What about Treya?" Gallagher was fading fast, but he had to help her. "Treya?"
"The woman and her family will be among the first to be treated?" Carter asked Froden.
"Of course, Colonel, you have my word," Froden rushed on to say. "They will be among the first."
Gallagher wanted to shout at Carter not to trust him, but he couldn't get the words out and he knew he was about to pass out. He tried to fight it and looked up to see another man handing Carter something. "The antidote to the dart's toxin," the man said.
"Treya," Gallagher muttered just before the darkness came over him.
Gallagher came to in the gate room, surrounded by medics, and wished they would just turn off the light and the noise. He opened his eyes and was completely confused to see his own face looking back at him as the medics worked on him. He continued to stare at the man with his face as he felt himself being lifted up on a stretcher and closed his eyes when the face disappeared from view.
He woke up to silence and darkness. The silence seemed to be broken only by the beeping and hissing of the machines he was hooked up to. He knew he was in the infirmary and he turned his head to make sure he was right. They were all there, sitting in chairs and on the bed next to his and he felt the warmth of their friendship seeping into him.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey there," O'Neill said with a look of concern on his face. "How are you doing?"
"Just peachy," Gallagher replied trying to grin.
"Glad you're back with us," Carter said. "You had us all worried there for awhile."
"Glad to be back, ma'am," Gallagher said. "Didn't think you were going to get rid of me that easily, did you?"
He tried to sit up and was pushed back on the bed by both Daniel and O'Neill. "Rest Cadet," O'Neill said. "That's an order."
Gallagher laid back and closed his eyes for a moment. A thought came to him and his eyes snapped open and he turned to Carter, "Treya?" he asked.
"She and her family were given the medications, as promised," Carter said, laying her hand on his arm. "They are going to make it. You are too," she added with a small smile.
"Yeah?" Gallagher asked, "Ow," he cried when he tried to move his legs to make sure they worked.
"Careful there, Jack," Daniel said. "You are going to mess up the Doc's fancy handiwork and I am here to tell you that you don't want to mess up Doc's handiwork." He shuttered for emphasis and Gallagher had to smile.
"That bad, huh?" he groused. He probably looked like Frankenstein with all the stitches.
"Come on people," O'Neill said. "Let's let Frankenstein get some sleep, shall we?"
Gallagher just grinned. Yep, it was good to be home.
Gallagher was up and around a week later, despite the doctor's dire warnings. He couldn't stay still and he knew the nurses were probably glad he was anywhere but in the infirmary anyway. He could be such a pain in the ass when he wanted to be, he thought with a grin.
He had asked the doctor why he was able to feel the knife carving into his leg even though his legs were paralyzed and she didn't have an answer for him. Well, she tried to hypothesize, but her medical terminology had his and the General's eyes glazing over before she could finish, something about the alien compound working on some nerves and not others. Gallagher was sure that Janet Frasier would have laid it all down in a language even he could understand. Janet, he thought as he walked down the hall. He was still trying to come to terms with her death. It had been quite a shock when Carter told him of it after he had asked why she wasn't there bossing him around.
He walked a lot lately, relying on his cane to keep him going as long as he could. He needed to strengthen his leg muscles, to get back into action as soon as possible. He knew he only had a few more months before he had to return to the Academy and he was determined to get as much out of this assignment as he could before then.
The stitches had been removed, but he still had a limp and he walked as much as possible, despite the pain. Because of this, he haunted the corridors of the SGC, staying on his feet as long as he could to get that leg back to working order again. His cane had become his constant companion.
It was on one of these trips where he was actually headed for Daniel's office that he ran into Lieutenant Carrows. She smiled when she saw him, "I see you are feeling better Cadet," she said warmly. "I was just going to Colonel Carter's lab. Care to join me?"
"Glad to see you made it through the training Lieutenant," he said. "They put you through a mock trauma?"
"Yes," she said blushing. Gallagher was going to have to remember to ask O'Neill what had happened to embarrass the Lieutenant. "Will you accompany me to the lab?" she asked.
"Uh, sure, I mean yes ma'am," Gallagher corrected. "I was just thinking about going to see the Colonel."
He turned to walk with the Lieutenant and he could see she was trying to say something, but having a hard time doing it. "Ma'am?" Gallagher prompted.
"I just wanted to tell you that I am sorry for the way the others… I mean we treated you. It was uncalled for and I apologize," she said in a rush. "It was just so surprising that you…," she trailed off. "What I mean is…"
"Don't worry about it Lieutenant. I understand," Gallagher said in an effort to put her at ease. "It's forgotten already," he said smiling at her.
"I heard all about your mission to Terrean and I'm glad it all turned out for the best," she said, apparently deciding to start treading in neutral waters. "Imagine a skinny kid like you ferreting out a tyrannical maniac."
Gallagher saw her teasing grin and accepted it for what it was and grinned back at her. "Yes ma'am," he said, "If only I could have avoided all this to ferret him out," he said waving airily at his leg.
Her smile wavered, than brightened as she forged on, "You looked so confident walking through the Stargate. Lieutenant Michaels looked like he was being dragged by some unknown force to go through it his first time," she said with a laugh. "Oh I shouldn't talk. I haven't had a chance to go through yet, and I must admit it worries me. I know what happens to a person when they go through it. Molecules flying all over the place, rearranging themselves at the other end…."
"You make it sound so horrible," Gallagher grimaced. "Trust me, its better if you don't know that stuff. Just step through and step out. Piece of cake."
"Speaking of cake," Carrows said. "I'm in no hurry to see the Colonel, why don't we stop by the commissary to get something to eat. I'm buying," she added with a twinkle in her eye.
"Uh, well…" Gallagher began. "Sure, I could use something to eat."
"Let's go then," she said, grabbing his arm and leading him the other way. "Just a quick snack…"
Gallagher didn't know what to make of this, but he limped along side of her wondering if he and her…. Nah. Not likely. Back off Gallagher, he thought with a grin.
They entered the commissary and Gallagher was surprised to see the room was crowded and he knew the moment he saw O'Neill, Carter and practically all of SGC there that he had been set up. He grinned as the General came up to him and shook his hand. "It's about time you got here," O'Neill said.
"I'm here," Gallagher said. "What is this all about?"
"A party to celebrate the success of the treaty we made with the Terreans. Everyone from the President on down is happy with the results," O'Neill said. "Since you were the one who helped us the most on this treaty, well we thought you should be the guest of honor." O'Neill looked pretty pleased with himself, Gallagher thought. "If you hadn't gotten caught and hurt like you did," O'Neill continued, "we would probably have to give up a lot more than we did."
"I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time," Gallagher said trying to quell the unease he felt when the General made his announcement. That chapter of his life had no closure.
"Typical," said the General, "Isn't that the way it always is?"
"Yes sir," Gallagher replied. "Always."
"Hey get over here and sit down," the General ordered when Gallagher shifted his weight to ease the pain. "C'mon, sit down. There are some people who want to see you."
Gallagher let himself be lead over to the chair and found himself sitting next to Carter. O'Neill sat down on his other side and pulled a plate filled with fruit over to Gallagher. "Eat up. There's a cake floating around here somewhere." He said. "And for dessert, we have some meatloaf that the cook insisted on making."
"Cut that out," Carter said to Gallagher as he made a face that mirrored the General's. She was smiling at O'Neill and Gallagher gave O'Neill a knowing grin.
"Jack," someone called and both Gallagher and O'Neill turned to see who was calling him. Gallagher's face broke into a wide smile as Trant ran up and threw his arms around him. He gave the child a fierce hug, then held him back to get a better look at a face he thought he would never see again.
"Hey Trant. Whatcha doing here?" he asked, then looked expectantly at O'Neill who just shrugged his shoulders. He was grinning at Gallagher and Gallagher couldn't help but grin back.
Gallagher looked back at Trant and his smile faded as he realized that she must be here. He looked up to scan the crowd and saw her standing there with a little girl on each hand. She was staring at him with a look that told him of her apprehension and he wanted to see her smile.
Trant jumped up and ran over to his mother to drag her over to Gallagher's chair and Gallagher stood up, reaching a hand out to her. The brilliant smile he gave her eased her mind and she sent him her most beautiful smile and came up to him.
"I was worried you would not want to see me," Treya said.
"Well I have been worried about you, although the Colonel," he nodded at Carter, "here has assured me you and your family were doing well," he said. He couldn't believe how happy he was to see her. "I'm glad to see that she was right."
"The Terrean delegates are here to finalize the treaty," O'Neill cut in, "and they brought along Treya and her children to prove they've kept their end of the bargain. I'm sorta glad they did," he continued smiling at Treya and taking her hand.
"Back off O'Neill," Gallagher said taking Treya's hand from O'Neill's.
"Back off, Cadet?" O'Neill said grinning like a fool.
"Back off sir!" Gallagher said grinning back at him. He turned and pulled Treya into a hug that almost took her breath away.
She pulled away and touched her hand to the healing cut on his cheek. "I'm sorry you had to suffer so much for me," she said. "Thank you for saving my children, I owe you my life."
"I didn't do anything," he said.
"My children are well because of you?" she asked him point blank and Gallagher felt himself being drawn into her eyes. She had such beautiful eyes.
He just pulled her back into an embrace and hugged her again, then motioned her to sit down in the General's chair.
O'Neill sat down on Treya's other side and offered her some fruit. She smiled at him and Gallagher felt a surge of anger as O'Neill returned her smile while he stared into her eyes. "The General has your eyes," she said turning to Gallagher. "Are you related?"
He had her attention again and he wasn't about to share that with O'Neill. "You could say that," Gallagher said glaring at O'Neill before turning back to Treya with a smile. "Are these beautiful little girls your daughters?" he said gesturing to the children.
"Yes," she said with a smile. "You finally get to meet them. Martea, Jayla, come meet Mr. Gallagher."
The party ended late and Gallagher was glad when it was over. He'd had to endure congratulations from practically everyone there, even though he hadn't done anything, promised the doctor that he was fine and would not overdo it, assured Lieutenants Bartlett and Michaels that no offense had been taken and resisted the urge to strangle Froden and his friends when they came up to him acting like nothing had happened. They had their treaty, despite Gallagher's injuries at the hands of one of their own, and they didn't need to kiss up to anyone anymore. Actually what had really ticked Gallagher off was the fact that he'd overheard one of them saying he wished Toran could be here to see all this.
Gallagher took that particular anger out on Captain 'Big Guy' Thompson when he called Gallagher a kid in an ingratiating way, at least it seemed ingratiating to Gallagher. All it took was a well placed cane in the path of a passing Big Guy and an innocent look that Big Guy didn't believe for a minute. as he was picking himself up off the floor and Gallagher found some release from the anger.
He headed back to his quarters to finally get some sleep regretting that Treya would not be joining him and lay down on his bunk. He heard snoring from the other bunk and grinned thinking that this guy was worst than his roommate back at the Academy.
Gallagher sighed when he thought about going back to the Academy in a few months time. He knew it was inevitable, but he didn't want to go back. This was his home, his domain, he belonged here. O'Neill had made it clear that Gallagher had no choice, they were bending the rules far too much as it was. Gallagher accepted it; he just didn't have to like it, which, of course, was fine with O'Neill. As long as Gallagher accepted and followed through with it, he was happy.
Gallagher decided to not worry about that until the day came for him to leave and turned over to turn off the light. He noticed an envelope on the table by the bed and he reached over to pick it up. There was no writing on the outside of it, but he knew who it came from when he saw the picture of Charlie smiling at him. He stared at the picture for a long time, several emotions running through him until sleep overcame him. His last thought before falling asleep was that he was going to have to hunt down O'Neill first thing in the morning to thank him for this treasure, this piece of home.