Head Trip – Chapter 20 "Heartfelt"

Daniel knew he was in trouble. The itching was increasing, and, more ominously, he could feel the swelling in his hands and feet which told him that he was succumbing to another allergic reaction which required more medication. He did not want to hold up the pace of their last few hours so he deliberately kept plodding ahead, hoping that no one would notice a bit of awkwardness to his step.

Jack was moving fairly rapidly, encouraged by the fact that they had not encountered any further disruptions along the highway. The road and the surrounding countryside seemed deserted. It appeared that the Replicators had, once again, invaded and taken over a non-hostile civilization. From what he had seen in the "circle of wisdom", this was a highly civilized and peace-loving planet. Had all the Allerians succumbed to Fifth and his menacing bugs? O'Neill hoped to soon find out. His immediate concern, however, was finding Sam and extracting her from the citadel. There were no other buildings at the crest of the hill which they were fast approaching, and it seemed that this would be the most likely spot to hold a prisoner. Perhaps the city, itself, lay beyond the hill; that is, what was left of the city and its inhabitants. If only they had been able to stop this, once and for all, on their original mission to Halla! Those damn bugs just kept getting bigger and smarter!

Teal'c continued to survey the rear as they made their way to their final destination. He kept the wave disrupter tethered to his side, ever mindful that it could not be used without signaling Fifth and his brethren of a breach in security.

By 10:00 hours, the team had positioned themselves approximately one klick away from the luminous stronghold. Its reflection of the bright mid-morning sun was almost blinding. Jack could not identify any points of entry because of the glare. The men, by now, had left the side of the roadway and had returned to the refuge of the tall grass. O'Neill motioned for them to unfasten their gear and quietly crouch in front of him. As Daniel bent down, he winced from the pain of the hives which had now broken out over most of his body.

"Daniel, you appear to be in some type of distress," noted Teal'c with a penetrating gaze.

"I seem to have another problem with my allergies," the young archaeologist apologetically offered. He held out his hands, revealing fingers swollen to twice their size. He then rolled up his pants to find massive welts running across his lower legs.

Jack's first reaction was anger. "For cryin' out loud, why the hell didn't you say something on the trail?"

"Because reaching Sam is more important than stopping to medicate myself," came the humane reply.

By now, Daniel was struggling with the flaps of his backpack, trying to get to the needed pills and creams for treatment. His swollen fingers, however, were not making it easy. Teal'c reached forward and, once again, helped his needy comrade.

This time, a more powerful regimen was called for. As Teal'c opened the bottles of antihistamines and analgesics (to relieve the pain of the swelling), Daniel, in his agony, quickly reached for both. Unfortunately, his clumsy fingers ended in spilling the contents to the ground. The many white pills intermingled and slid beneath the blades of the deep grass. By now, Daniel was shaking from the pain and the exhaustion of the past few hours' trek. He slid to his knees, frantically searching for the answer to his distress. As he thrashed at the grass, he hindered himself even more by losing his eyeglasses. He could feel the swelling reaching inside his throat and knew that he now had to take immediate action. Finding a handful of pills, he thrust them into his mouth and swallowed hard, before his throat would close. Teal'c grabbed his agitated friend and quickly sat him down, trying to calm him and assist with a canteen of water. After a few anxious minutes, the danger seemed to pass, and the stricken scientist began to breathe more freely.

"Daniel, are you gonna be okay?" O'Neill, for all his previous bluster and impatience, was truly alarmed at the condition of his teammate. He gently retrieved Daniel's eyeglasses from the grass and, in a rare moment of tenderness and concern, found himself cleaning and wiping the lenses before he returned them to their shaken owner.

"Here, put these on, space monkey. Have the pills helped? How are you doing?"

Daniel, all color drained from his face, took a few more sips of water and adjusted his glasses before replying.

"Look, guys, I'm so sorry to give you such a scare. I can't explain it myself. There's something on this planet that is wreaking havoc with my system. The sneezing fit was something that I'm used to, but this attack of hives was something I haven't experienced in years."

"Let us hope that your epidermis once again becomes dormant for a lengthy duration," consoled Teal'c as he collected whatever remaining pills he could find.

As the team stayed hidden, a sudden hum made them all look upward. No threat hovered above, so Jack grabbed his binoculars and peered through the grass at what seemed to be a large Replicator ship rising from the confines of the citadel. It was very similar to the ship in which Fifth had escaped on Orilla.

Jack's heart fell as he realized that Sam might be on that ship. But, as quickly as that disturbing thought entered his mind, it was replaced by another, more hopeful, awareness. It was as if Sam were here by his side, reassuring him of her presence. He saw her in his mind, safe and within reach. He thought he heard her saying "I will survive."

O'Neill followed the flight of the ship until it disappeared in the distant clouds. His friends looked at him, mirroring his original concern.

"Omigod, Jack, what if Sam were on that ship?" murmured Daniel.

"She is in the citadel," came the confident and firm response.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Trust me, I just know."

"Le coeur a ses raisons, que la raison ne connait point." – Blaise Pascal