Part Two
The afternoon progressed uneventfully for Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c at the temple, and that evening they met Jack and Janet back at the little cabin they'd been given to share.
"So what's the story on the king?" Sam asked as she dug the M.R.E.'s out of her pack. The townspeople's hospitality had not extended to offering them dinner, but SG-1 and Janet were just as happy to avoid socializing with their hosts.
Janet sighed. "Without any equipment, it's hard to tell for sure. He has some kind of massive infection in his lower abdomen. I've got him on heavy antibiotics on the chance that it's just a bacterial infection gone out of control, but I'm not holding my breath. Once I got enough painkillers in his system to do something like a thorough exam, I could feel some kind of mass in his abdomen. Frankly, I'm suspecting cancer—probably colon or liver, or metastasized in both, from the amount of pain he's in."
"So there's nothing you can do?"
"Unless I'm wrong and these antibiotics start to have some effect, there's nothing I can do. Even if I had him back at the SGC, I suspect the cancer is just too far advanced. I'm sorry, guys, but I don't know if I can get you your deal." She slumped against the wall of the cabin, and Daniel was immediately at her side.
"Hey, don't worry about it, Jan. Sam and I were able to get a lot of work done today. And who knows, maybe they would still be open to negotiations. It doesn't hurt to try." Janet looked as though she didn't believe him, but she squeezed his hand reassuringly anyway.
At that moment, the door to the cabin burst in, and Ruman, accompanied by half a dozen armed men, thundered into the room.
"Where is the healer?" he demanded. SG-1 all sprang for their weapons, but they realized it was a futile effort as they found weapons already trained on them. Ruman quickly spotted Janet and motioned for one of the men to take her into custody. "Why have you left the king?"
"He is resting," answered Janet defiantly. "I will return to him after I eat my dinner."
"You will return now," growled Ruman. The armed man reached for Janet's arm and jerked her forward.
"Hey!" yelled Daniel, lunging forward, "Let go of her!" His valiance was rewarded by a gun butt in the gut, and all movement was checked when Janet's captor jammed his weapon up against her throat.
Ruman laughed hollowly as two of his guards forced Janet out the door. "You realize, don't you, that by offering your healer, you have forfeited her. You may have her back when she heals his majesty. Otherwise, we keep her, though I can't imagine what use she could possibly be." He motioned to the rest of his men and turned to go. At the doorway, he turned. "Your healer will be under heavy guard, and if you so much as attempt to come near her, my men have orders to shoot her." He smirked as he left the room.
"Son of a bitch!" Daniel yelled as he grabbed a P-90 and ran for the door. "Goddamn you!"
"Whoa, Daniel!" cried Jack, springing forward to curtail his friend before he shot Ruman full of bullets. "We'll get her out, but that's not the way to do it, okay?" Daniel continued to clutch the weapon and strain toward the door. "Put the gun down, Daniel," Jack repeated, more calmly this time. "If you shoot him, they'll shoot Janet. We'll get her out; we've just got to be smart about it." With shaking hands, Daniel lowered the gun and sank to the floor.
Sam had started pacing and was almost as visibly upset as Daniel. "This is all my fault! If I hadn't insisted on this stupid element we would have left this planet and Janet never would have come. I can't believe I was so blind to all of the signs these people were giving off. How could we have trusted them even for half a minute." The pitch of her voice elevated as she continued her tirade.
"Carter," warned O'Neill.
"Sir, if we had listened to you. This is all my fault."
"Stop it, Major!" Jack's voice was sharp and authoritative when she didn't heed his warning. Sam immediately stopped pacing and stared at him, frustration nevertheless seething under the surface of her strained expression. Jack kept one hand on Daniel's shoulder to keep him from bolting out the door as his body seemed to want to do.
"Okay, so we've been pretty stupid here—all of us," began Jack once he had his team's full attention. "But now we need to think rationally and figure out how to grab the doc and get our asses off this planet. They seem pretty invested in getting their king healed, so as long as he hangs in there, Janet's probably in the clear. So we've got some time to do this right."
Sam nodded reluctantly, and even Daniel relented, standing up and giving up his gun to Teal'c.
"Okay," said Jack, "T, do we have guards outside?" The Jaffa crept to the door and a moment later answered in the negative. "Okay, Teal'c, you keep an eye on the doc. Don't let them on to you, or they might make trouble for her, but make sure nothing happens to her. The rest of us will try to reason with the prime minister."
Slowly and methodically, Janet checked her patient's vital signs and measured doses of pain medication and antibiotics. She knew if she concentrated on her task, she would be able to keep from panicking. She was also determined not to show weakness to the two surly guards posted at the entrance to the sick-room.
The king had scarcely been conscious since she had arrived. He was very young—perhaps twenty at the most—and she understood that part of the people's eagerness for him to be healed stemmed from the fact that he was the last of his family line. As she gripped his wrist, counting off his pulse, he stirred.
"What? Who are you?" asked the weak voice from the bed. He looked alarmed and confused, so Janet gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile.
"My name is Dr. Fraiser. Your prime minister asked if I could see what I can do to help you feel better." She decided to leave her explanation as neutral as possible until she learned more about this young man; if she was lucky, though, perhaps she could persuade him to order the prime minister and Ruman to let her go.
"You're a healer?" the king asked skeptically.
"Yes."
"But you're a woman."
"On my planet, women are just as likely as men to be healers."
"Your planet?"
Janet nodded and tried briefly to explain about Earth and the Stargate. As she described travel through the Stargate, a look of wonder and recognition came over the king's face.
"I had a vision that my god Osiris came to me through the great ring. He came to save me. Do you come from Osiris? Are you his emissary?"
Janet tried to check the look of fear and apprehension that she felt spread over her features. Daniel had said there was no sign of Osiris having been here in thousands of years, she reminded herself; the king must simply hold to some of the old myths. "Ah, no," answered Janet after a moment. "Definitely not from Osiris."
"That is unfortunate," answered the king, who was clearly disappointed.
"Actually, no it's not so unfortunate. I hate to break it to you, but Osiris isn't a god."
"You blaspheme!" declared the king with as much passion as he could muster despite his pain. Janet heard the guards take a step forward. "What can you, a woman, know about the great Osiris? He will come and avenge this blasphemy!"
"She," replied Janet before she could check herself. She knew she was walking a thin line, but she didn't want this young man to die still deceived by the Goa'uld. "Osiris is a she," she explained, responding to the king's confused expression.
"Impossible!" he breathed.
"I'm afraid so. I've met her—not an experience I want to repeat. She's not a god. She's a Goa'uld—a little power-hungry parasite who enslaves humans in an effort to take over the galaxy." The king stared at her, horrified, for a moment.
"Guard!" he called. Janet's heart sank. This is the end, she thought, and I never actually told Daniel that I love him. "Guard, go to the priest. Tell him to summon Osiris!" The guard looked doubtful for a moment, but then moved to obey his king. The king turned back to Janet. "We will let Osiris take vengeance on you himself."
SG-1 had demanded an audience with the prime minister, but they were put off until the following morning. Jack had the final watch of the night, and while there were still a couple of hours of night remaining, he noticed Daniel tossing and turning in his bedroll. A few minutes later, Daniel got up and started pacing.
"Go back to sleep, Daniel. You need your rest."
"I can't sleep. I think I'm going to go crazy with worry."
"She'll be okay, Danny," Jack answered, hoping he sounded more assured on the subject than he actually felt. "We'll talk to the prime minister in the morning, get this whole thing cleared up. We're not going to stand by and let anything happen to the doc."
"Why do I feel like that's exactly what we're doing?" Daniel plopped down next to Jack with frustration. He sighed heavily, pulled off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "I'm so scared, Jack. If they hurt her…" Daniel's voice trailed off shakily. Jack placed a comforting hand on his best friend's shoulder. "I love her, Jack," confessed Daniel in a faint whisper.
"I know," Jack answered simply. "We'll get her out and get home safely, Daniel. I promise."
Daniel looked up at him, tears threatening to fall, and nodded.
First thing in the morning, Jack, Sam, and Daniel found themselves awaiting an audience with the prime minister. The guards had protested heavily against Sam's entering the conference room, but Jack wouldn't take no for an answer, grabbing Sam's hand himself and pulling her along beside him.
"Colonel O'Neill," sneered the prime minister, "to what do I owe this pleasure so early in the morning."
"Tell your men to let Dr. Fraiser go. We'll go and not return to bother you anymore."
"You all are free to go whenever you like. Your healer, however, has contracted to stay until her job is finished."
"She has done nothing of the kind," answered Daniel indignantly. "Dr. Fraiser's offer to help was an act of generosity. She is under no obligation to stay."
"That is not the way it works here," replied the prime minister. "If there is nothing further, you may go. I have a busy day ahead of me."
"No!" answered Jack. "We're not leaving until you we can do so with all of our people. You order your men to let Dr. Fraiser go!"
The prime minister did not have time to respond before a young man ran panic-stricken into the room. "Your excellency," cried the youth, "there's been an accident at the temple! The priest was offering sacrifice to Osiris under order of the king, and—"
"And what?" prompted the prime minister, clearly annoyed.
The voice that answered came from the hallway just outside the door, and it reverberated with the harsh tones of the Goa'uld. "And your priest was not prepared for what he was so quick to summon." Jack, Sam, and Daniel simultaneously reached for their weapons as Osiris strode into the room, followed by six or seven Jaffa.
SG-1 aimed their weapons, but Osiris's Jaffa responded in kind. "I would not fire if I were you, Tau'ri," warned Osiris haughtily. "I have my personal shields up, of course, and my Jaffa would quickly kill you all." Two of the Jaffa came forward and disarmed and bound SG-1. Osiris waited for them to finish before addressing the team. "Doctor Jackson, what a pleasant surprise. And Major Carter, how nice to see you again. And the great Colonel O'Neill. You are not nearly as formidable-looking as we have been led to believe."
"Wh-what is all this?" sputtered the prime minister.
"Silence, fool!" ordered Osiris, slamming the man against the wall with her hand device. "Kneel before your god!"
"Who let this woman in here?" demanded Ruman, who had just entered. Osiris turned the hand device on him.
"We may enter where we please, Tau'ri! We are your god, Osiris."
"Osiris—not—a—woman," gasped Ruman. Osiris laughed scornfully as she applied her hand device to him.
A moment later, she turned back to her Jaffa. "Let us go find the one who has summoned us: the one who calls himself king." She appeared interested and slightly amused at the pale, panicked expression that Daniel's face suddenly acquired. "Bring the prisoners; we have yet to decide how best to deal with them." She spun around and walked haughtily out of the room, and Daniel, Sam, and Jack each found themselves prodded forward by the dangerous end of a staff weapon.
Teal'c had been hiding near the cabin to which the guards had taken Dr. Fraiser. There were four armed men posted outside and two more inside; if they could manage to disable the outside guards noiselessly, he reasoned, the two inside would be fairly vulnerable. Just as he was beginning to wonder about trying to rendezvous with O'Neill and the others, Teal'c heard the unmistakable sound of a Goa'uld ship overhead. Taking cover even more carefully, he watched rings beam down into the temple a half mile away.
"O'Neill," he whispered into his radio. O'Neill did not answer. Teal'c hoped his friends realized what was happening before it was too late. Dr. Fraiser's guards appeared not to notice anything amiss, so Teal'c moved stealthily to a position where he could see better. Across the field from the temple marched Osiris, accompanied by several Jaffa. Not many, though, Teal'c observed: clearly she does not expect us to be on this planet.
He realized that remaining hidden was his greatest advantage for the time being, so he moved more slowly than he would have liked to avoid detection. Before he could assume a position more to his advantage, Osiris emerged from the prime minister's apartments, holding his friends prisoner and leading them toward the cabin where the king lay ill. Teal'c instantly decided that speed was more important than absolute stealth, and he crept quickly up the ridge he was hiding under and made his way to the back of the hospital cabin. He quickly zatted the lone guard there and positioned himself where he could make a speedy entrance through a window if necessary.
There was a great commotion outside the front of the cabin, presumably a skirmish between the Jaffa and the guards. One of the guards called for backup, and the two posted in the room forgot about Dr. Fraiser for the time being and ran out the door.
"DoctorFraiser!" Teal'c whispered insistently at the window. She heard him instantly and ran to the sound of his voice.
"Teal'c! What's going on?"
"Osiris has landed with a small force of Jaffa. She has taken O'Neill, MajorCarter, and DanielJackson prisoner, and she attacks the native guards. She is outside. Take this," he finished, thrusting his zat into her hands, "but do not reveal that you are armed. Do not fire unless I signal, and do not reveal my position. Quickly, as you were!"
Janet had just enough time to tuck the weapon into her jacket and to return to the table where she had been working when Osiris burst into the door, the Jaffa—one fewer after the skirmish with the guards—pushing Jack, Sam, and Daniel in after her. She stood up quickly, her wide eyes locking instantly with Daniel's.
Osiris seemed not to notice her at first but instead looked at the ailing king, who had slipped back into unconsciousness. "This is the so-called king who has summoned us? Impossible! He is not worth our notice."
Suddenly, she turned to Janet. "But you," she said slowly, a smile creeping onto her face, "you might be quite amusing." Janet felt the color drain from her face, and her hands groped for something stable to hold onto, grasping instead only her stethescope and a hypodermic she had been about to administer to the king. Osiris moved a step closer. "We remember you, we believe. You are of the Tau'ri, but you are not a member of SG-1." Janet made no response. "How would your friends like to watch you die?"
"NO!!!" screamed Daniel, lunging forward. One of the Jaffa discharged his staff weapon, but Jack managed to jump in the way, causing the Jaffa to miss Daniel but catching part of the blast in his own leg. Teal'c appeared at the window and picked off two Jaffa with his staff weapon before they realized he was there. Janet grabbed her zat and fired once at Osiris, but the Goa'uld's personal shield left her unscathed. Before Janet could think clearly, Osiris raised her hand, and Janet was doubled over with the most excruciating pain she had ever experienced.
Teal'c had jumped into the window and fought off two more Jaffa while managing to untie Carter and hand her his 9 mm. He killed the remaining Jaffa as Carter ran to check on O'Neill. Meanwhile, Daniel, his hands still tied behind him, had flung himself at Osiris.
"No, no, please, let her go. Please stop!" he begged, throwing himself against the Goa'uld's shield. She merely laughed and briefly directed the hand device at Daniel, sending him flying against the wall. "It is unbecoming to grovel, Dr. Jackson. We must say we enjoy watching you reduced to this. You obviously care about this woman. How pathetic. Perhaps we should not kill her right now, much as it would please us to do so. We think instead that she would make an excellent host."
Daniel cried out in protest and tried futilely to get up. Osiris turned her hand device on Sam and Teal'c, who were charging her, and they too joined Daniel against the wall of the cabin. Osiris glanced back at Daniel before turning once more to Janet.
"Dr. Jackson, it does seem that you and the Goa'uld have rather similar taste in women."
When the sharp pain of the hand device had ceased, Janet knew she had to stay alert, much as her body wanted merely to curl up and try to recover. She forced her mind to concentrate, vaguely aware of what Osiris was saying to Daniel. She had dropped her zat, but it hadn't done much good anyway. Suddenly, she realized she still clutched the hypodermic needle full of heavy sedative that she was going to administer to the king before he fell unconscious. Something Sam had said about needles and force shields stuck in her mind. Her fuzzy brain registered Sam and Teal'c flying across the room and O'Neill struggling to get up from where he lay. Osiris turned back to her, and Janet mustered all her strength to pull herself to her knees and lunge forward at the Goa'uld. Her hand was repelled by the force shield, but the needle plunged into Osiris's thigh. The pain of the hand device returned almost instantly, but it soon wavered, and Janet managed to look up to see the shield flicker and the Goa'uld slump over in a stupor.
Janet tried to focus on the sounds around her. O'Neill's voice was strained with pain as he shouted orders. "Carter, untie Daniel and check on the Doc. T, tie up Osiris. Then we'd better hope we don't run into trouble trying to get to the gate."
Suddenly, Janet felt tender hands stroking her hair and face, and Daniel lifted her into his lap. "Janet? Janet, honey, are you okay? Can you hear me?" Janet forced her eyes open and found Daniel's face hovering over hers, his blue eyes concerned and threatening tears. She squeezed the hand that clutched hers.
"Yeah, I'm okay," she said weakly. "Bad headache."
"Those hand devices will do that," he answered, embracing her and planting a gentle but impassioned kiss on her forehead. "Oh, Janet, I was so scared I was going to lose you," he whispered, his voice breaking slightly. "Please don't ever leave me. I can't lose you!"
"I'm here," she reassured him. She was content to rest in his arms for a few minutes until she felt stronger. She sat up and surveyed the scene: Teal'c stood guard over Osiris, and Sam was fussing over Jack's leg. "I need to check the Colonel's injury," Janet told Daniel as he helped her stand.
Janet was dressing the burn on Jack's leg, glad that it was nothing that some sterile cleaning, antibiotics, and a night in the infirmary wouldn't take care of, when she heard the groans of her other patient.
"What is this?" demanded the king, despite the evident pain in his voice. "Who is this woman tied up here? Who are these other people? Where are my guards?"
Osiris chose that moment to begin to wake up from the sedative. "We are Osiris," she declared, not quite as haughtily as usual, as she struggled against her bindings.
"Doc, you'd better knock her out again," warned O'Neill. "Nice job earlier, by the way."
Janet moved gingerly toward her supplies, wondering what she was going to do about the king. He was a royal pain in the ass, but she couldn't just leave a patient here.
Suddenly, events began to happen all at once again. Teal'c had neglected to remove Osiris's hand device, and despite her bindings, she was able to trigger it. She tried to aim at Janet but missed, the blast hitting the king, who was knocked out of his bed by its force. At that moment, the last of the native guards entered the room to see what was going on, saw his sovereign attacked, and immediately opened fire on the attacker.
"No, oh, son of a—" cried O'Neill in protest as the Goa'uld convulsed and then was still.
"Sarah!" Daniel breathed in shock.
Sam quickly zatted the guard. "Sir, we need to get out of here now before we have more company." She then ran to check for a pulse in both the king and Sarah/Osiris. She looked to her friends, shaking her head slowly. Daniel stood stunned and open-mouthed, and Janet looked like she was going to be sick.
Meanwhile, Jack had gone into full command mode. "Carter, what's the situation outside?"
She grabbed her weapon and surveyed out the door. "It's all clear, sir. It looks like we should be able to skirt around the town and get back to the gate without encountering resistance."
"Good. T, I'm not so sure I can walk, so you've got to help me. Daniel, snap out of it and help Janet. Carter, cover our sixes."
The trip back to the gate seemed excruciatingly long to Janet. She had an arm wrapped around Daniel's waist and was leaning heavily on him, pausing every hundred yards or so to throw up. Her headache shamed the worst migraine she had ever had, and her whole body felt like it was barely holding together. She vaguely registered Daniel saying things like "Good job, baby," and "Almost there, Jan. Just a little further," as he pulled her along. Then she saw Sam dialing the gate, and she was home, practically tumbling onto the ramp with Daniel, and finally allowing herself to pass out as two of her medics lifted her onto a gurney.
Daniel sat by the infirmary bed, holding Janet's small hand in both of his and watching her sleep. As soon as she blinked her eyes open, he leaned over her, smiling and stroking a piece of hair out of her face.
"Hi," he said softly. "How are you feeling?"
Janet paused to assess. "Better," she answered. "Still a little headache and generally kind of weak and achy, but definitely better."
"Good," he said with a grin as he leaned over to kiss her tenderly.
"Mmm, that helps," she teased as he pulled away.
"Oh, well in that case, I'll just have to do it again!"
A few minutes later, Daniel sat on the edge of the bed, his arms around Janet as she leaned against him. "You were great back there, you know," he murmured against her ear. "To think of the hypodermic needle—at enough velocity, it goes through the shield because it's so sharp. And while she was scrambling your head at the same time. You really saved us all."
"I couldn't save my patient." She paused. "Or Sarah."
"Hey, look at me." He shifted her so that he could look her in the face. "It wasn't your fault that they died. You were trying to save Sarah. We almost did, and I'm grieved that we couldn't. But it wasn't your fault, and it wasn't my fault. It was just a tragic accident. And the most important thing to me is that you're okay."
Janet's expression, as comprehension dawned, was strangely surprised. "You really mean that?" she asked.
"Of course!" Daniel replied without hesitation. "I love you, Janet!"
"You do?" A wonder-filled smile crept across her features.
In response, Daniel captured her lips in a fierce kiss, lacing his fingers in her hair and plundering her mouth with his tongue. "Yes, I do," he answered breathlessly as the kiss ended minutes later.
Janet wrapped her arms around him and held on tightly, breathing in the scent of him and basking in the feel of his arms holding her, his face buried in the crook of her neck. "I love you, too, Daniel."
The End