"We think it's a laboratory, Sir."
Colonel O'Neill blinked at her wearily. "The Ancients had laboratories?"
"Well... yes, I would imagine so," Sam replied, her excitement turning into confusion at his reaction. "But we don't think this was actually an Ancients' laboratory, per se..."
"I thought you said the Ancients built the place?"
Sam closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and tried not to let her concentration shatter. Nothing muddled up her thoughts faster than Colonel O'Neill's interjections when she was trying to explain something. "Yes, Sir, they did. They built the structure millennia ago, but more recently it was used by the ancestors of the people on this planet."
"Whatever," he said somewhat impatiently. "You did say you're close to finding a cure, right?"
"Closer than we were, yes, Sir. Once the writings we found can be translated, I'm sure much more light will be shed on how to find a cure."
"So, you did find something?" Dr. James asked hopefully.
Sam nodded. "Yes, we did. The reason we believe it to have been some kind of laboratory is because we found all kinds of equipment inside similar to what we use for scientific study. One of the devices held some sort of solution that, when we examined it, turned out to be teeming with the organisms that cause the mind fever."
Colonel O'Neill had been slouched in his chair with his elbows on his knees until then, but at this announcement he sat straight up and demanded, "Please tell me you didn't touch the stuff, Carter."
Sam looked at him for a moment, puzzled by his outburst. "No, Sir, of course not," she assured him. "We brought back a sample for study, but we were in full MOP gear the entire time."
"So, what you're saying is, whenever there has been an outbreak of this illness, it's because someone wandered into this laboratory and touched this device?" Dr. James asked.
"Not necessarily," Sam said. "The organisms we found were lying dormant. We think the solution they were in was holding them in some form of stasis. Also, there was no way a child could have opened or activated the device to get at what was inside."
"Then how?"
Sam and Meese exchanged grave looks before Sam answered. "Whoever created these organisms - and I do believe they were created artificially - they wanted them for a reason."
"What reason?" the colonel asked.
"We can't say for sure until the writings on and inside the structure have all been translated, but from what we can gather from the notes left behind by these people's ancestors, we believe that they were using the results of the Ancients' research to try to create a poison that could wipe out their enemy."
"Their enemy being..."
"The Goa'uld, Sir."
Colonel O'Neill sighed and buried his face in his hands. "Why does that not surprise me?"
"We're fairly certain these people somehow made themselves immune to it, and set up booby traps around the complex in case the Goa'uld somehow got in and tried to destroy their research. We found various places around the structure where such traps were almost certainly hidden. The unsuspecting person would go to turn a handle or press a button and would be exposed to the organisms that would then worm their way into their systems through their skin."
"Wait, you said they made themselves immune?" Dr. James broke in, unable to contain his excitement long enough to listen to another word.
Sam forced a tiny smile. "I'm getting to that part, Taylor," she said. "Again, this is only conjecture, but I believe this whole thing began with research into the plague that was killing the Ancients thousands of years ago. They were trying to find a cure. Obviously they failed, but many years later, someone stumbled across their 'lab notes', so to speak, and incorporated them into their own experiments."
O'Neill looked up at her again. "So this half-assed cure somehow turned into a poison that somehow turned into this mind fever thing?" he said doubtfully. "Seems pretty far-fetched, don't you think?"
"Not really, Sir. You'd be surprised at how often the search for a cure will actually result in furthering the disease. Like causing a mutant strain... a hybrid. The Ancients' plague crossed with something like Machello's Goa'uld killers... it seems possible that it could turn into something like this, doesn't it?"
Colonel O'Neill rolled his eyes and opened his hands in a 'you win' gesture.
"Anyway," she went on, "it seems they somehow had a sample of DNA from one of the Ancients to work with, and they found that the Ancients would be immune to the final product. They synthesized whatever it was that caused this immunity and injected it into the entire population. Which would probably explain why some of the people today are immune - it was passed down throughout the generations, but is starting to get weaker and more hit-and-miss as time goes by."
"That wouldn't explain Dr. Fraiser's immunity," Dr. James said.
Sam did a double take, his words not quite sinking in for a moment. "What?"
"Fraiser's immune, Carter," Colonel O'Neill said quietly. "She's got a bunch of the little buggers in her system, but they're all dead."
Sam stared at the colonel in surprise for a moment before she found her voice to reply. "Okay, so there goes that theory," she said. "Maybe some humans are simply born with whatever causes the immunity. Some sort of rare gene or something."
"Fascinating, Carter," O'Neill snapped. "But it seems to me that what you're saying here is that you might possibly have found a way to prevent this thing, but not a way to cure it once a person is infected."
Sam looked down at her shoes, trying to find the right words to say. She didn't want to make it seem hopeless - not when Daniel was lying in the other room on his deathbed. Still, she also didn't want to get his hopes up now just to be dashed in the end when they couldn't save him. "For now... yes, Sir," she said gently. "I'm afraid that's exactly what I'm saying."
Colonel O'Neill gave her a dark look then stood up and began pacing the room restlessly.
Meese finally decided to break his silence at that moment. As the colonel passed by him, he laid a hand on his arm and said, "As long as he is alive, there is still a chance."
Sam looked over at Meese in surprise. She would never have expected him to come out with something like that, yet he looked like he believed it with his whole heart. Tears filled her eyes as Colonel O'Neill silently nodded his thanks and continued his slow pacing.
"What about the writing?" the colonel asked a moment later. "I know Daniel would have it translated in no time, but he's not exactly able to..."
"I sent Dr. Holmes to contact the SGC and ask for help in that regard, Sir," Sam hurriedly broke in. "There are a handful of linguists on base who can translate the language of the Ancients almost as well as Daniel can. I'm sure it won't be long before..."
"Good," he cut her off. "Keep me posted." With that, he left the room.
Sam looked around at the other scientists, the air hanging silent and heavy around them. They all knew that the colonel's brusqueness was due to his concern for his friend, and that time was running out to save him.
"Let's get to work, people," she said. They had a job to do.
"Janet, have you seen my keys?"
She rolled her eyes and smiled. Daniel would lose his own head somewhere if it weren't attached to his shoulders. "They're here on the counter where you left them, Daniel."
He padded barefoot into the kitchen and flashed her a sheepish smile as he pocketed the keys. "What would I do without you?" he teased.
"I don't know... what did you do before me?"
Daniel laughed and took her chin between his thumb and forefinger. "I had to get a new set of keys every few months, that's what."
She laughed as he bent down to kiss the tip of her nose. "Think that's good enough, Dr. Jackson?" she asked with a shake of her head. Before he had the chance to get away, she wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him back down for a passionate kiss.
Even though he returned the kiss warmly, he soon broke away and tried to step back. Not one to give up that easily, Janet's lips sought his once again, until she felt his fingertips pressed against them. She found herself looking deep into his eyes, and she was disturbed at the intense pain she saw there.
"Help me, Janet," he said.
Janet shook her head in confusion. "Help you with what?"
His expression grew more and more pained and distressed. "Help me!" he whispered. "Help me!"
"Help me!"
Janet's eyes flew open as someone rushed past her bed.
"It's okay, Daniel, we're just trying to give you something for the pain."
"No!!"
Janet turned onto her side to face Daniel's bed at the sound of his frightened cry. Dr. Carmichael and Nurse Penner were hovering over him, trying to untangle him from his IV line while his arms waved about wildly in an effort to push them away.
"As much as I hate to say this," Carmichael said over the racket, "I think we may have to restrain him again. We can deal with the damage to his wrists and ankles later. For now we need to calm him down before his heart completely gives out on him."
"No!" Janet cried, sitting bolt upright and struggling to get out from under the blankets.
Before she could leap out of the bed, she felt a firm hand on her arm. "Dr. Fraiser, please calm yourself."
She glanced over her shoulder to see Teal'c sitting beside her. "Teal'c?" She looked down at her hands and saw that they were bare. "Teal'c, please get me my gloves and mask. I need to help Daniel."
"They are no longer necessary, Dr. Fraiser," he said. "You have already been exposed to the disease and have been proven immune."
"What?!" She tried again to get down from the bed, but Teal'c again held her back.
"I do not believe it would be wise for you to interfere in their work," he cautioned.
"Help me!!" Daniel screamed.
"The hell it isn't!" Janet wrenched herself away from Teal'c and hopped down from the bed. She gritted her teeth against the wave of dizziness that greeted her, and staggered over to Daniel's bedside.
"Janet, you should be lying down," Andrew said between attempts at grabbing Daniel's arm.
"Not when I might be of help over here."
"You're not..."
"He responded to me before when he could see my face," she cut in. "At least let me try."
Carmichael reluctantly nodded, so Janet wasted no time. She grabbed Daniel's chin in her hand and turned his head so he was looking straight at her. "Daniel, look at me," she demanded.
His whimpers for help continued, though he obeyed and focused his eyes myopically on her face.
"Listen to me, Daniel. We're trying to help you, but you have to stop fighting us. Okay?" She paused, hoping for a response, no matter how subtle. When he didn't react, she asked, "Do you understand what I'm saying, Daniel? Nod your head if you understand me."
Daniel merely bit his lip to hold back a sob.
"It's no use, Janet," Carmichael said, his voice soft and quiet. "He doesn't understand. He's still hallucinating. We're going to have to restrain him."
Janet shot him a cold glare. "He's still right now. Do what you have to do."
Carmichael sighed and nodded. As soon as he tried to lift Daniel's arm to free it of the IV line, however, Daniel's frantic squirming and cries for help began again in earnest.
"Stop it, Daniel!" Janet shouted. She took hold of his shoulders and leaned down heavily on him to hold him in place while Andrew worked. Daniel's cries of pain ripped her heart to shreds, but she didn't loosen her grip. "Shhh, it'll all be over soon," she soothed, her face just a few inches away from his.
Suddenly, Daniel went completely limp and squinted up at Janet as though he was seeing her for the first time. His eyes were still pained, but gazed right into hers with intense concentration.
Janet smiled at him. "That's it. Just relax and let Dr. Carmichael work, okay?"
He didn't respond, just kept on studying her face closely, seeming to find her the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen.
"I'm finished," Dr. Carmichael said a moment later. "You can let him go now."
Janet slowly released the pressure on Daniel's shoulders and tried to straighten up again, but Daniel's hand shot out and grasped her arm. She resisted the urge to cry out at the pain his iron grip caused and forced herself to keep on smiling. "What is it, Daniel?"
"Please don't go," he whispered.
Janet looked up at Carmichael in surprise and saw that he was just as baffled by this request as she was. She turned her attention back to Daniel then, and gently pried his fingers off her arm. "Okay," she said, sitting down on the edge of his bed. "I'll stay with you. Will that make you feel better?"
His eyes were wide as he watched her every move, but he nodded and allowed her to release herself from his grasp.
She held his hand in both of her own and leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on his forehead. "Go to sleep now, Daniel," she said. "You're safe."
His face relaxed and his eyelids drooped as she continued to murmur reassurances to him and
stroke his hand. Within moments, he was fast asleep.
To be continued...