RATING: G
SUMMARY: Daniel has to deal with the consequences of his actions in Affinity.
SPOILERS: Affinity, Lockdown, Window of Opportunity Tag for Affinity
con·se·quence - something produced by a cause or necessarily following from a set of conditions
Standing outside the door to Jack's office, Daniel took a moment to try and catch his breath. Ever since he'd woken up in the warehouse, he hadn't felt 'right.' He was used to the effects of the zat gun – the headache and the dry mouth for hours afterward. But this was something new. All he really wanted to do was go find an empty bunk in a dark room somewhere and lie absolutely still for a couple of hours.
In fact, it had been his plan to avoid Jack as long as possible, until the matter was forgotten or some new emergency took its place. Not a good plan, but it was the best he had.
It had been derailed the minute he signed in.
The airman in charge informed him, "The general wants to see you immediately." He had even sent someone to escort him, so Daniel didn't 'get lost' on the.
So now he stood at the door to Jack's office, working up the nerve to knock. He took a deep breath, trying to calm the butterflies in his stomach. The only way to get through it was to go in.
Squaring his shoulders, he knocked. Without waiting for an answer, he poked his head through the half-open door, not quite committing himself to fully being in the office.
"You wanted to see me?" Daniel asked. When he saw that the general was on the phone, he hesitated, "I can come back later, if this is a bad time."
Jack glanced up to see him standing there. He put a hand over the phone and waved Daniel in, "No, no," Jack answered firmly. "I'm on hold with the President," his tone was smug.
Cautiously Daniel settled in the chair across the desk from his friend, "Of the United States?"
"That would be the one."
"This sounds important. Really, Jack, I can come…" Daniel had a feeling he knew what their conversation was going to be about, he wasn't particularly looking forward to it. He started to rise.
"Daniel. Chair. Sit." Jack pointed at the chair, the steely look on his brown eyes said that he would brook no disobedience.
Daniel sat. Should he tell Jack that he really didn't feel good, that he needed to lie down and hope that the world would stop it's slow looping? He decided against it. He would only end up in the infirmary with Dr. Warner wanting to run tests. The man was worse than Janet and her…
The mere thought of Janet caused a shooting pain in his chest. He shoved the painful memories aside and concentrated instead on listening to Jack's side of the conversation with the President of the United States.
"Mr. President?" Jack made a face and pointed to the phone. For just the briefest of seconds Daniel thought he was wrong, this wasn't about him at all. Then, "Oh, yes, Mr. President, I'm sitting here with him now." There was a pause as Jack listened and then he laughed, "He's good, Mr. President, just a little zatted."
Daniel felt like he was sitting in the principal's office, waiting for punishment for something he'd done wrong. But dammit, he didn't feel like he HAD done anything wrong.
"No, Mr. President, I don't intend to just let this slide."
So much for plan number one.
"Yes, Mr. President you can be sure I intend to tell him it was a reckless and stupid stunt that he pulled. That he endangered the whole program by going off on his own like that." Jack's eyes held Daniel's as he talked to the president.
"Jack," Daniel attempted to defend his actions.
The general raised a hand and pointed at the phone. He mouthed, 'president.'
No longer able to meet Jack's eyes, Daniel looked away. He really hadn't foreseen the consequences of his actions when he'd gone out to meet the bad guys alone, he'd just been trying to help his friend. He really had thought he could handle the situation on his own.
He'd been so wrong.
He'd almost cost Krista her life and God alone knew what information he'd given to the Trust. He felt sure it was going to come back and bite them in the ass someday.
Jack's voice intruded on his thoughts, "Yes, Mr. President, I'll tell him.
Thank you." Jack hung up the phone. "That was the President." He paused for Daniel's reaction. When none was forthcoming he added, "as in President of the United States."
"Yeah, I got that. He called to say hi?" God, could they just get this over with? He was afraid he was going to be sick in Jack's shiny new office.
"No."
"Good job?"
"Not so much."
"He coming to visit?"
"Not anytime soon, lucky for you. He wants me to put your ass in a sling." Jack steepled his fingers, his face looked like it was carved from granite, "Daniel, about what happened…"
"Jack, I know it was stupid to go off on my own like that…"
"Damn right it was," Jack agreed calmly.
"But I didn't…" Suddenly the room spun and pain shot through Daniel's chest.
"Jack…," he gasped as the room grayed out around him, then was gone altogether, lost in blackness.
Jack sat frozen a minute unable to believe what he was seeing. One minute Daniel was fine, the next he convulsed in the chair, crying out in pain, before his eyes rolled back in his head and he lost consciousness completely.
If it were anyone else, he might wait for the inevitable "Gotcha," but not from Daniel, Daniel didn't play jokes like that. Especially not in the middle of a impassioned plea.
Finally, breaking through his paralysis, the general picked up his phone, shouting, "medical emergency, my... uhm..., General O'Neill's office," into it, before he rushed to his friend's side.
"Daniel!" he called urgently. He checked for a pulse and his own heart almost stopped when there was none to be found. Frantically his fingers searched the wrist, and then checked for the pulse at his throat. Nothing.
What had happened? Daniel had been fine just seconds before. Now he was still and lifeless, a vision from one of Jack's nightmares.
Jack heard the alarm that signaled a medical emergency, but no one was appearing. Where were they? If it had been Janet's team… he squashed that thought ruthlessly and gently moved Daniel's non-breathing body to the floor. He tilted his head back and made sure his airway was clear before beginning the rescue breathing and CPR.
He was so totally focused on keeping Daniel alive, that he didn't know the medical team had arrived until they physically moved him away from Daniel's body. He struggled against them until he realized they were there to take care of Daniel. Jack watched numbly as the team took over. They efficiently kept the CPR going as they moved him to a gurney, whisking him away to the infirmary.
"General O'Neill," Dr. Warner had to call his name twice before Jack heard him.
He blinked at the doctor trying to collect his thoughts. "Yes?"
"What happened here, General?" Dr. Warner asked urgently.
Jack shook his head, "I don't know. One minute he was fine, the next, he… wasn't."
"That's not much help to me, General. Has anything unusual happened to Dr. Jackson today?"
Jack wanted to scream at him, to order him to get to the infirmary and care for his patient. But that's just what he was doing, Jack knew that. He was doing his job, finding out all the facts so he could treat his patient.
He reined in his anger with an effort and took a deep breath, "You mean besides going off alone on a half-baked scheme to save Teal'c from murder charges? Besides being blackmailed to translate some ancient text in order to save someone's life? Besides being zatted yet again? No I wouldn't say anything unusual happened today."
So much for reining in his anger: He scrubbed a hand through his hair, trying to get a grip on himself and events around him. He was the general; he was supposed to have a grip.
"Zatted?" The doctor asked urgently. "Dr. Jackson was zatted?"
Jack shrugged, "That's what Carter said. When they found Daniel and the hostage, they were both unconscious from zat blasts…," he found he was talking to an empty room as the doctor turned, running down the hall.
Anxious to find out what the hell had just happened to his friend, Jack followed in the doctor's footsteps. He arrived in the infirmary to find the medical team standing around the bed containing Daniel's body. There was no activity of any kind; they had stopped their efforts to keep Daniel alive. The quiet in the room was oppressive, with not a single beep or hum to break the stillness.
A chill crept up Jack's back and he quickly moved to Daniel's side. He had seen Daniel dead so many times, he didn't know if he could deal with this one more time.
The team parted to allow him access and he was astonished at what he found.
"Daniel, you're alive!"
The patient was sitting up in the bed blinking at the people gathered around him, startled.
"Jack? What happened? Did you shoot me again?" He rubbed his chest, pain flitting across his face.
Being a general required that Jack maintain his dignity and for a moment he quelled the urge to hug Daniel. But then he flung his dignity to the air pulling Daniel into a brief hug and ruffling his hair while he was at it.
"I'll have you know, I didn't shoot you last time, that was Anubis I shot."
"Since you didn't know it was Anubis at the time, it was me you shot. I knew you were pissed at me today, but really…"
"I didn't shoot you." Seeing Dr. Warner standing on Daniel's other side, Jack appealed to him, "Doc, would you tell Daniel I didn't shoot him?"
The doctor nodded to his staff, and they began to drift away now that it looked like the emergency was over.
"Well, actually in the case of Anubis, General, you did in fact shoot Dr. Jackson."
Jack favored the doctor with his best, you're-going-to-be-taking-blood-samples-in-the-Antarctic look, but Dr. Warner had worked with Jack O'Neill long enough that he wasn't particularly phased by it.
"Can we just move on?" he asked. "Can you tell me what happened to Daniel this time?"
"Well, I'm going to need to run some tests to know for sure, but I've been afraid this was going to happen sooner or later."
"You were afraid Daniel's heart was going to stop and you didn't say anything?"
"My heart stopped?" Daniel asked, his eyebrows rising.
"It wasn't Daniel's heart specifically I was worried about, but yes, I was worried about this effect of the zatnikatel weapon surfacing sooner or later."
"Hello?" Daniel spoke again; his brow furrowed in concern. "My heart stopped?" His gaze swung from the doctor to the general, neither of whom were paying him any attention at the moment.
"What are you saying, Doctor?" Jack was totally focused on the doctor now. Nearly everyone who'd been through the gate had been hit with a zat blast at one time or another. If he had teams at risk, he needed to know about it.
"The zat is basically an electrical charge that disrupts the body's systems. It causes great pain in its victims and unconsciousness. The second shot stops the heart and shuts down all of the body's systems."
"We know how the zat works," Jack told him.
"Yes, well I've begun to wonder if the effects of the zat might not be cumulative."
"Cumulative?" Jack and Daniel asked at the same time.
"Explain, Doc, in words of two or less syllables." Jack slung a hip on the edge of Daniel's bed, making himself comfortable.
"Well, you're body doesn't just run automatically, it's a huge network of electrical impulses. Your brain sends millions of impulses along pathways through your body using neurons to deliver its commands– breathe, see, move, heartbeat, things you don't even think about doing. You still with me, General?"
Jack nodded, "I'm impulsive. I've got it."
"Alright, well, an electrical charge can disrupt the body's systems, causing anything from muscle cramps to difficulty breathing, to full cardiac arrest."
"Like Daniel's heart?"
"It's not going to stop again?" Daniel asked anxiously.
"Just stay out of the way of the zat, you'll be fine in the future," the doctor quickly assured him.
"So, this is going to happen to him every time he's hit by a zat blast from now on?" Jack was working hard to keep the alarm from showing. He could see it in Daniel's eyes, too. SG teams were pretty much used as target practice by the Jaffa.
"No, not necessarily, I think it's a random effect. It won't happen every time, but the more often you're hit by the zat, will increase your chances of cardiac arrest."
"Now isn't that just peachy," Daniel said to no one in particular, lying back on his pillow.
"So, is Daniel going to be okay?"
"He'll be fine, General," the doctor assured them both.
"Finally, thank you. When I can leave?" Daniel looked from the doctor to the general hopefully.
"You did just suffer a major cardiac episode, Dr. Jackson," Warner pointed out reasonably.
"That means you were dead, Daniel," Jack translated for him.
"This one was less painful than last time, and I feel fine." Daniel peered up hopefully at the doctor.
Dr. Warner wouldn't budge, "Doctor Jackson, you're still suffering from the side affects from the zat device. You need to rest and I'd like to run some more tests, make sure there's no other damage that we don't see."
"Really, I feel fine, Doc," Daniel offered. He hated tests; throwing the covers back, he struggled to sit up.
With a firm hand, Jack pushed him back down, "Daniel, you will keep your butt in that bed, and let the doctor run any tests he wants."
"Jack…," Daniel began to protest.
Jack tucked the covers in around Daniel, pulling them up around his chin, "Isn't it ironic, Daniel? If you hadn't gone off on your own, you wouldn't have been in a position to be zatted."
Daniel objected, "it's not like I was never going to get zatted again. It would have happened sooner or later."
"I'll just go and set things up for those tests," Dr. Warner said, making a hasty retreat, leaving the two men alone.
"You shouldn't have been in the position to be zatted this time, Daniel. It was stupid."
"God, Jack, I can't believe you don't trust me enough to know that I didn't feel like I didn't have any other choice."
"And I can't believe that you didn't trust me enough to come to me and let me back you up in this," Jack fired back.
Daniel twisted the blanket in his fingers, trying to find the words to explain, "Jack, trust had nothing to do with it. These guys contacted me inside the mountain, they had access to my computer, they had my inside phone extension. I just didn't know how far their control inside the mountain extended. I couldn't take the chance that they'd know I went to you. I wanted to Jack, I really did," Daniel's eyes pleaded with him to understand.
Jack didn't interrupt; he listened as Daniel told his side of the story. He'd meant for this to happen in his office, but the infirmary would have to do. The medical staff left them alone, giving them their privacy.
"They said they had information that would clear Teal'c. I thought it was worth the risk."
"Dammit, Daniel," Jack sighed in exasperation.
"I thought I could handle it, I was wrong. I'm sorry, Jack."
Daniel cast his eyes down, unable to meet Jack's eyes any longer. "I nearly cost Krista her life, I gave up the translation, and the Trust still got away." He pounded the blankets in frustration.
"Daniel, you did what you had to do to keep yourself and that girl safe. Now I'm still pretty pissed at you for going off on your own, but you handled yourself really well."
"And I know that you're going…" Daniel paused as Jack's word made their way through his brain, "I handled myself well? Really?"
"Daniel, you got yourself and the hostage out alive. By anyone's definition that's a success."
"What about the translation?"
"If you hadn't done it for them, someone would have. At least with you having done the translation, you know what it was they wanted."
Daniel shook his head, "I don't have a clue, Jack. It was completely out of context. Remember that whole time loop thing?"
"I try not to," Jack answered wryly.
"Yes, well, trust me, I don't know what they want or where they went."
"Well, I think we can be sure that we haven't seen the last of the Trust." Jack put a hand on Daniel's shoulder, feeling the living warm flesh underneath, "You okay?"
"I'm fine, Jack: at least until after Dr. Warner's tests. Are we okay?" His eyes met Jack's again.
"We're fine, Daniel, just don't ever do it again. That's an order."
Daniel snorted, "And you know how well I follow orders."
"I can tell Warner to run a few extra tests," Jack's look dared Daniel to call his bluff.
Daniel capitulated, at least this once, "I won't ever do it again." Under the covers he had his fingers crossed.
"Glad to hear it." Jack couldn't imagine having to command the base without Daniel there to argue with his every order and offer an opposing viewpoint to every decision Jack made. It made him crazy sometimes, but it helped keep him honest, too.
"Don't go anywhere, okay?" Jack stood, patting his shoulder again. There was more to the question than just the words.
Daniel smiled, "I'll just be hanging out here if you need me." They shared a smile, "By the way, what does the president have on his hold line?"
Jack quirked a smile at his friend, "Would you believe 'I Shot the Sheriff'?"
Whistling jauntily, Jack left a speechless Daniel to the tender mercies of Dr. Warner. Served him right for getting himself zatted yet one more time.
He was still alive and that was the only consequence that mattered.
Author's Note: Thanks to Sue, my lovely beta. Also, much thanks to Carrie and Fai, who's feedback helped to make this better ;-) Any mistakes still remaining are wholly my own.
DISCLAIMER: November 2004 They're not mine, but that's alright as long as I can take them out and play with them whenever I want ;-) The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-I, the Goa'uld and all other characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and back story are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. Partnership. 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.