Disclaimer: I don't own them, the men in grey suits do ..
A/N: Erm ship ahoy ! Thanks to stargate-fan for beta assistance, I couldn't, do , without her . Review if you like it, if not weeeelll if you can't say somethin nice ...
Spoilers: Can't think of any right now
Chapter 8
A strange and acrid smell was the first thing she noticed as the fog in her mind began to clear. The girl felt completely disorientated, unsure of where she was and unable to pinpoint any of the thoughts that held the key to her current situation.
High-pitched beeps permeating her consciousness signalled the return of one more of her reluctant senses. Gradually she remembered her capture and the man who had taken her through the gate as his prisoner. She began to wonder if she would ever see her master's house again, whether they would search for her, after all she had been gone long enough to be missed by now. Punishment would await her.
Pain wafted in slow waves across her body as the effects of the sedative wore off. She breathed deeply and steadily to control her rising panic and opened her eyes slightly, glancing around to ascertain her position.
The girl found herself alone in a soft bed, at the end of a cold grey room. A pale blue curtain pulled halfway around her bed obscured her view of the remainder of the room but she could see lights blinking on machines around her. Shifting slightly against the sheets, she felt soft fabric brush against her leg. Glancing down, she realised angrily that they had stolen her robe and replaced it with a pair of pants and a matching pink top.
She could hear sounds of people nearby, but realised that if slipped out now no one would miss her. Gingerly she raised her head, and then paused to regain her equilibrium. The child glanced at her arm; puzzled by the sight of a tube emerging from the skin. Seeing it was attached to a bag of 'water' she began to panic, her mind conjuring up all sorts of terrifying thoughts. Some minutes later, having reassured herself that it wasn't slowly killing her with poison she started to calm whilst still aware that it would have to come out, in order to effect her escape.
Gritting her teeth she pulled, the long needle emerging in a gush of blood. Cursing softly, she wrapped the sheet tightly around her arm, biting her lip to suppress a whimper of pain. The girl took several deep breaths to steady her nerves, and then carefully sliding down from the bed she padded silently on her bare feet, towards the doorway. A sudden rise in the noise level startled her and she ducked behind a bed; holding her breath whilst looking around with as much as she could without moving she spotted a trolley with metallic objects upon it.
When the echo of feet had died away she selected an implement with a sharp blade and snuck on towards the exit. The dimmed lights in the rest of the infirmary concealed only empty beds and a lone orderly in the small nurses office writing reports, by the light of an angle poise lamp.
Pausing in the shadows by the doorway, she listened closely for sounds of movement, hearing none she slid around the doorway and scuttled down the corridor. Rounding the corner she sensed rather than heard the approach of a group of people, panicking she hurriedly tried the handles of the doors. On the fourth try she got lucky, diving inside and closing the door a split second before the enemy made her position. The child slid wearily down the wall, suddenly overcome by dizziness and nausea. The sheet encasing her arm gently turned crimson as her blood seeped through.
'SG-1 TO THE INFIRMARY. REPEAT SG-1 TO THE INFIRMARY. STAT'
"What the Hell happened here, Doctor Frasier? I thought you said she would be out for hours." The General's irritation was nearly palpable.
"I don't know what to say, Sir. She was given enough to sedate an adult man. There were staff here whilst I was in the commissary. I assure you, Sir I will be investigating why she was left unattended."
Janet, accompanied by Sam had been on her way back to the infirmary when they had run into General Hammond on his way down to see her. Needing a progress report on their young charge, he had decided to come in person and take the opportunity to look at the child closely while she slept. Instead they had discovered the ward in uproar and the child missing. The general had swung into action paging the remaining members of his flagship team, and ordered all the SF contingentto begin a sweep of the base.
Colonel O'Neill loomed in the doorway, fury etched into his features, his expression murderous.
"Where is she?" The tall officer advanced, glaring between the petite doctor and his 2IC.
"Jack, she can't have got far," the general began soothingly, laying a warning hand on the younger man's arm. "This is a military base son, we will find her."
"Why was no one with her? Are you telling me that when she woke up, she was alone?"
"Colonel!" Hammond interrupted his tirade.
Whilst Janet had paled significantly at the anger in the colonel's voice, Sam was completely ashen. No one ever woke up alone; his presence ensured that. He glared at her pointedly, and Sam looked away, blushingguiltily. The remaining two members of SG-1 entered the infirmary, Jonas halting to appraise Colonel O'Neill on the SF's progress whilst Teal'c strode over to investigate the now empty hospital bed.
"O'Neill," Teal'c called as he examined the bed in which the missing child had rested, "There is blood here."
"Blood?" The colonel growled renewing his glare at the doctor.
"She must have pulled out the IV." Janet muttered, "We need to find her quickly!"
"There is more here by the door," Teal'c stated pointing out a minute spot.
"Lets go," the colonel exited the room following the jaffa.
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"What are you doing in here?"
The child jolted back to reality and peered into the darkness, brandishing her scalpel.
"Rhe'u!" (Stay back) She whispered.
"Ya'ol'wa?"(What's the matter?) The figure emerged from the darkness and frowning crouched down next to the cowering girl.
"Daniel?"
"Ti'u"(yes.)
She expelled a breath and smiled slightly, at last someone familiar.
"Will you help me?" She asked in a strangled whisper, peering intently at him, her huge eyes solemn and pleading. "Please, I want to go home now."
Daniel sighed, rocking back on his heels and steeled himself to disappoint her.
"No, Little one, this is your home, now."
"Noc,"(No) The sound barely audible, tears of betrayal filling her eyes.
"Ti'u, (yes) they are your family." Confusion clouded her features as she rolled his words around in her mind.
"Family?" She asked raising her face to look into his.
"They are to whom you belong now, Hannah." He patiently explained.
"I belong to the master, I must know no one but him." Her voice began to rise, as panic set in.
"Noc (No), you are free and your family are searching for you." Daniel looked towards the door as sounds of the search halted there.
"Ki'banja'swei!"(We must hide!) She scrambled to her feet and turned back to face him but he had gone.
Glancing around wildly she saw with horror the handle of the door was turning.
The child retreated swiftly, back towards the rear of the storage room, but in her haste she fell over a pile of supplies, which clattered, to the floor, the noise echoing in the darkness.
Two SF's were silhouetted in the now open doorway, "Who's in here?"
The senior of the two fumbled for the light with his left hand whilst carefully scanning the room with the flashlight in his right. The younger of the two radioed back for assistance.
"Team seven niner, we have located a bogie in level one niner, section three seven, storage room four niner, please advise."
The colonel's voice echoed down the corridor behind him, "What ya got lieutenant?"
"Sir! Not sure Sir. Heard a noise and were about to proceed with utmost caution, as ordered, Sir." The young officer stood to attention, until the two men strode up, awaiting further instructions.
"Stand down, airman we'll take this from.."
"YEEEOOOWWWW! Sonofabitch! " The captain, who had crossed to the racking to investigate a sudden movement his keen eyes had detected, emerged gripping his knee, blood dripped through his fingers. Spotting the colonel he attempted to straighten up and salute.
"What happened?" Jack enquired, urgently closing the distance between them and the door.
"Freakin kid stabbed me!"
They entered the storage room, and immediately spotted the girl, swaying slightly, clutching a bloodstained scalpel, a bulky sheet wrapped around her arm. She hissed, as though in pain when she spotted Teal'c and he prudently retreated to the hall, just out of sight.
"Give that to me and lets go back and see the doctor, sweetie." Jack spoke reassuringly and the child seemed to relax perceptibly, as she focussed on his face. When he took a small step towards her, she brandished the blade; first at him, then with a visible flash of insight, pointed it towards her own chest. He halted and addressed her again.
"You don't really want to do that! Give it to me. Please ?"He extended his hand to receive the blade but there was not even a flicker of recognition now only a cold hard expression set on her face.
Jack stood there for a minute as she resolutely held his gaze and then stepped back towards the door. There was only one way out and while he had it covered, she wasn't going anywhere.
He looked out the door, straight into the eyes of Major Carter, her face still taut and white. He smiled, looked over his shoulder and said, "Guess who I found." He could just see the evidence of the child's first assault disappearing down the corridor with two of Janet's medical personnel.
Sam tentatively returned his smile, reassured by his confidence. Her posture relaxed in response to the colonel's relief at what lay within the room. Sam felt her guilt begin to drain away and for the first time since their return from the planet she saw 'her colonel' begin to make an appearance. "What's going on in there?" she asked after a second. The general and Doctor Frasier were also anxiously awaiting his report regarding the situation in the storage room. He addressed himself to the group.
"She has a scalpel and is going to dissect herself if we don't let her out! Definitely a scientists kid." He smirked and looked at Teal'c and Jonas who both raised their eyebrows in a show of subconscious mimicry.
"Teal'c, you go in and tell her to put it down, she can't understand me," the colonel gestured towards the doorway.
"I do not believe that would be wise O'Neill, the child becomes greatly agitated in the presence of my symbiote." Teal'c reasoned.
"Jonas, you can…"
"I can only read it, not speak it, colonel," Jonas interrupted, holding up his hands in mock surrender.
Sam exhaled a breath irritably, "Could you tell him what to say Teal'c?"
"Indeed," the warrior nodded imperceptibly and looked to General Hammond who nodded his agreement.
"Ok, what do I say?" Jack stated business like again.
He strode back through the doorway and saw that the child had remained completely immobile.
"Aray Kree!"(Stay where you are!) The child blinked, her eyes widening in astonishment at his words.
"I'Jaji'biai?"(Can I have that?) Hearing this she moved her hand, as if trapped in between two thoughts, and Jack knew he was almost home and dry and slid a step nearer.
"Yas!"(Now!) The last command, he snapped out, jolting her from her reverie.
The blade dropped from her grasp and she dropped to her knees, her eyes cast downward, hands stretched out palms upwards in an obvious posture of submission.
"Punish me, Dis'tra,"(Master) she whispered.
Confusion clouding his face, Jack was completely thrown by her behaviour. He turned towards his jaffa comrade who was now filling the doorway, for his assistance in translation.
"The child addressed you as 'master' and requested that you punish her, O'Neill."
Jack's expression was inscrutable as he turned slowly back towards the kneeling figure.
"No!" He stated and moving to the door, he motioned to the Doctor and her team to retrieve the child and render her medical assistance.
Peeking out through her lowered lashes, she stifled a gasp when the man strode away and left her kneeling on the ground. A silver tear dropped onto the forearm of her outstretched hand and she shivered. Then, in the shocked silence that followed his unexpected departure, she felt strong arms sweep her from the floor and she surrendered to oblivion with a final damning thought. 'I am unwanted.'
Jack watched them, carry the unconscious child away to the infirmary and then waited for the general's order of 'Dismissed' and purposefully steered Sam away in the direction of her lab.
One hour later, the child lay in isolation room three, restraints firm around her tiny limbs and a new IV bandaged securely to the other arm. Peering through the one-way glass above the room, General Hammond watched as the medics moved like hive workers below him. All the while the child lay motionless, more relaxed in the restraints than at any time since they had met her and all the while her slender fingers drummed on the plastic covered mattress. She wasan incongruous combination of movement and stillness. Her eyes stared glassily at the ceiling and she showed no reaction to the Doctors ministrations, nor to any of their questions.
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Major Carter sat down heavily on the stool within her lab, her dread at the onset of 'the conversation', as she had dubbed it, had grown with every step she had taken towards her domain. Normally her lab was a place she retreated to, a small kingdom of safety and security where she was the ruler and everyone else entered only by permission. Today, a coup had occurred and she was left feeling uncannily like a prisoner of war. The colonel's presence filled the room, and as he sat down on the opposite side of the bench she was suddenly uncomfortably aware of his proximity.
"Sam," He spoke gently, her name like a caress in the silence. The major jumped, visibly startled by the warmth in his tone and she forced herself to look deep into his eyes.
"We have to talk, Sam."
There, the dye was cast, the words were said; 'we have to talk.' She looked down at her hands, her heart sinking to lie heavily in her stomach, 'no escape now' she thought.
"Houston, we have a problem! Ring any bells?" He attempted to inject some levity, to alleviate the awkwardness of the situation, and partially succeeded as she smiled slightly and nodded but was still unable to dredge out any words.
He sighed heavily, his shoulders slumped, "We have to decide how we are going to proceed, major."
"Proceed?" Sam asked tentatively, "Proceed with what?"
"Well, we have to consider what we're gonna to do about the munchkin."
Sam drew in a deep breath and caught her bottom lip between her teeth, "I hadn't got quite as far as that as of yet, Sir."
"Me neither, but the general has a duty to inform the president about her arrival, and he would rather have an idea as to what our wishes are before he begins the process." The colonel raked his hand nervously through his greying hair and silently sent up a prayer to any gods currently tuned in.
"Do you mean you're considering keeping her?" Sam asked carefully.
"Carter, I'm not sure what I mean, but I know I don't want to sentence her to a life of foster homes and government care, Hell, Daniel would never forgive me." He paused surprised by the sudden depth of his own feelings.
"You're right, He wouldn't forgive either of us. But she is going to have issues Sir. We don't know if she'll ever be able to lead a normal life, much less if Baal's genetic engineering is viablein the long term."
Colonel O'Neill nodded miserably," I can't consider that, right now." He sighed again.
"I want you to know, Sir I won't stand in your way if, you know, if you want to adopt her." She looked away pained.
"Carter, I didn't…" He started at the quiet determination in her words that almost but not quite completely masked her sorrow.
"Listen, I know you love kids and she likes you I can tell. I mean, she can't even be in a room with me, because of the naquadah." She tailed off as the colonel quietly placed his hand on hers. He silently laced his fingers between hers and gently raised it to her face.
"You know what the Doc said about that, Carter, you'll figure it out. And as for adoption, I don't want to do it on my own. She needs a family, and right now we're it. So watcha think? Mom?"
He searched her features hopefully and she smiled a watery smile in return.
"Ok, Jack. What's the plan?"
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