Author's Note: And it looks like this fanfic is coming to an end. One more chapter to go! The reviews have been so encouraging. I couldn't have done it without your feedback, and (of course) my beta, Mara Jade Jedi.
Chapter Nine: "There is no virtue like necessity"
"I demand to see General Hammond," Daniel was snarling at a nurse when his teammates, Dr. Fraiser, and the man in question entered the infirmary.
"I don't like it when my people are threatened," Hammond replied, anger thickening his Texan accent.
"You will not stop us with these primitive devices." Daniel strained against the straps that held down his arms and legs.
Jack had decided in recent years that 'primitive' wasn't an insult: "Oh, I beg to differ."
"You have no choice. Give us access to the Stargate and we will spare the rest of you."
Jack glanced at his commander, asking for permission to lay on the "whammy". With General Hammond's nod, he attacked, "I think you're the one with the choice to make. You can leave Daniel and go home or we will kill you." It was a tone of voice that caused goose-bumps.
"You are bluffing. You have no way of killing us without killing your friend." But the organisms didn't seem so sure now. They were nervous.
"Are you willing to find out?" Jack threatened.
Janet expanded on the threat saying, "We have discovered a protein, Law-18, in the Jaffa immune system capable of identifying mutated cells for degeneration. You're similar to Daniel's cells, but you're not identical. Up until now you've been hiding from Daniel's immune system. We've figured out how to identify you." Janet's hypothesis rang true with the organisms controlling Daniel. They were scared.
"You wouldn't be able to kill all of us. We would adapt."
"Not before millions were killed," Sam pushed, "Leave Daniel and we'll allow you to return to your planet. Daniel knows we're telling the truth."
"Daniel is too valuable. We need him. His genetic code must be incorporated with our own. His genetic variation is worth the sacrifice of billions." Well, that they hadn't been counting on.
Jack didn't like what he was hearing and decided to take matters into his own hands. "You listen to me. Daniel is more important to us than you could ever imagine," he spat out the threat, rage colouring his words. "We're not going to let you just take him…"
But the Colonel was interrupted mid-rant with Janet's outburst of, "Genomic libraries!" She had an idea –an offer that they hopefully couldn't refuse.
"We have libraries… copies of entire genomes. We will give you a copy of these libraries if you leave Daniel."
The Colonel wasn't sure if he liked having the wind taken out of his sails like that, but it looked like the alien was considering the deal. He backed off, took a necessary breath, and listened to Janet's compromise.
Janet continued, "You said that you'd never seen such genetic diversity. We can give you the DNA of several species. You leave us in peace, and I don't get out my needles filled with Law-18."
The organisms spent a tension-filled minute considering the proposal (years in terms of a cell's life).
"Agreed," was their answer.
"We have come to an arrangement with your people, Daniel," Virgil announced.
His sudden appearance after days (or was it hours? minutes?) of sitting in the white jail was startling to say the least.
Sometimes, when Daniel didn't focus, he'd relive painful memories. He'd agonized over Sha're, Janet, Sarah, his parents, and getting caught cheating on a Grade Eleven Calculus Test –enough for a lifetime. He had remembered when Jack had been tortured by Ba'al and begged for him to kill him. It was an ascended memory that he'd lost –he'd never realized that his amnesia was really a blessing. Eventually he'd concentrate (with the mantra "This isn't real") and end up in the white abyss all over again.
"An agreement?" Daniel asked skeptically. He was hopeful, but at the same time still very much aware of how he'd been played by Virgil and his kind.
"Yes, we will be leaving you soon." Virgil seemed to hesitate with his next words, "We… I regret treating you in this manner. As one of your great playwrights said, 'Teach thy necessity to reason thus; there is no virtue like necessity.'"
"Shakespeare, Richard the Second," Daniel recognized (he'd hated that play).
However the quotation made Daniel consider that he could be wrong. Maybe the Ancestors did have a sort of individuality. Perhaps they had not sacrificed their humanity.
"Good-bye Daniel Jackson," was whispered in his ear.
Daniel opened his eyes to find himself on PX3 489, leaning over the puddle of goo that had started this mess. His teammates were in a semi-circle surrounding him.
"Daniel? You alright?" That was Sam's voice.
"Hi," he groaned, "Why am I here?" Teal'c was kind enough to help him up on his feet.
The dazed and confused expression was Daniel Jackson in a nutshell. "Good to have you back, Daniel." Jack gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder and Daniel almost fell over.
"Are you ready to return to the infirmary, Daniel Jackson?" asked Teal'c.
"You've got to be kidding me…"
As they headed back to the gate, Jack commented, "I do believe that there is a moral to the story here, campers." This was met with two unamused glares and Teal'c typical nonchalant expression. But Teal'c really wanted to know –Jack could feel it in his gut.
"The moral of the story…" Did someone just let out a groan? "…is that we never, ever touch green pools of Jello. Got that Danny my boy?"
Daniel was getting really good at that withering look of his. Jack wondered if he was going to turn into one of those "silent revenge" type people. He also wondered if he should be worried.
After a few moments of silence, Daniel remarked, "I'm more important than a million billion alien organisms? I never knew how much you cared, Jack."
"Shut up, Daniel."
Minutes passed and then the Stargate was in sight. Teal'c dialed up the gate and Sam activated the GDO and together SG-1 entered the event horizon.
Daniel wasn't sure if getting a needle in the rear was a necessity or Janet Fraiser's vengeance.
"I'm injecting you with Law-18, just incase some of the organisms decided to hang around regardless," she explained, jabbing a second needle into the before mentioned spot.
However, as good a reason that sounded, Daniel was still positive about the vengeance theory. He didn't blame her. Hell, he deserved it. His memory was still muddled from the time when the organisms were controlling his body, but what he could remember was unsettling. He'd held her hostage and threatened to kill her. Daniel had the feeling he'd be doing a lot of brooding in the next few weeks.
"We're done, but I want you to stay on base tonight and report for a follow-up tomorrow," Janet concluded. Then she left in a hurry before Daniel had pulled on his pants.
Fully dressed, Daniel peeked outside the curtains to find a busy infirmary, but no Janet Fraiser. His good conscious couldn't put off talking to her. He had to apologize at least if he wanted to sleep tonight.
Sam, Teal'c and Jack had other ideas. His teammates bombarded him with questions as he began his beeline to Janet's office.
"Is Janet done with you, Daniel?"
"Has Dr. Fraiser finished her examination, Daniel Jackson?"
"Feel like some Jello, Daniel?"
Daniel replied, "Yes, yes and no."
"Great. Let's go to my house. I'll break out some cold ones and call Pizza Pizza," Jack suggested to his teammates.
Daniel feigned disappointment, "Janet's making me stay on base tonight, Jack, but don't cancel the party on my account."
"We'll have another one tomorrow," Jack decided.
Daniel smiled and shifted gears. "Oh, and by the way…" he began, and finished his sentence by hitting Jack on the head. Jack yelped in pain, or perhaps surprise, due to the light impact.
"What the hell, Daniel! I said we'd eat pizza tomorrow too!" moaned the Colonel, rubbing his head. Under her breath, Sam commented about Colonel O'Neill's 'healthy' eating habits to Teal'c.
"That's for shooting me. Again," Daniel explained, with a self-righteous smirk.
"You were threatening the base. Again! I had to do something!" Jack protested. While Jack continued rambling on about Daniel's world domination tendencies, Daniel ran Jack's earlier words through his head. He had threatened the base, but he had threatened Janet in particular. He had to go and see her.
"I'm going to go…" Daniel announced, cutting off Jack in the process. His eyes wandered to his target, Janet's office. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."
His teammates said their goodbyes and turned to leave the infirmary. Just before Jack went through the door, he called over his shoulder, "Remember, Daniel, no Jello-touching!"
He just had to rub it in, didn't he?
"So guys," Jack said while walking down the hall with Sam and Teal'c, "it's Friday night. What are we doing?" Daniel might be MIA for the evening, but that didn't mean that they still couldn't do something. They just had to make sure they saved some beer for when Daniel could make an appearance.
Wordlessly, Sam handed Teal'c forty dollars (the twenty he'd earlier paid to her plus the twenty for the bet she'd lost). Jack idly wondered if she was trying to light the money on fire by glaring at it.
Teal'c answered with a satisfied smirk, "We are watching Star Wars, O'Neill."
Having reached the end of the concrete hallway, they waited for the elevator to arrive. Jack raised an eyebrow, impersonating the Jaffa's famous facial expression. "And it only gets better on the fourteenth viewing…" he drawled.
Sam looked like she didn't quite believe him.
"That's what Harriman claims," Jack explained, citing his source.
"Harriman?" Sam asked; her forehead creased with confusion.
"Walter Harriman," Jack clarified. Still seeing blank looks, the Colonel continued, "Sergeant who operates the dialing computer. Always counts down the chevrons…"
With this description, Sam realized who he was talking about, "That's weird. I always thought his last name was Davis."
Teal'c nodded his head in agreement, "His uniform bears the name Davis. Perhaps following the vows matrimony, he changed his last name as is your custom?"
Sam snickered lightly, and the Colonel looked at his alien friend in disbelief. It had been a long time since Teal'c had made such a cultural faux pas that sometimes he forgot the good ol' times.
"Teal'c, only the woman changes…" Jack caught himself before he finished his sentence. Teal'c had that tiny Jaffa-esqe smirk on his face. Damn, those Jaffa jokes were getting high end.
The Colonel complemented Teal'c on his delivery and soon afterwards the elevator doors slid open. The threesome entered, looking forward to an evening with Luke Skywalker and Han Solo.
TBC
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