Here's the next chapter for you. Sorry to keep you hanging, by the way. Today was like a mad house here! LOL!
Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time. I'm waaay ahead of you Janissima - I wrote this last month.
Junior
By Lingren
Previously:-
Jack turned his attention back to his son, trying not to worry about what was going on in the gate-room which was no longer his concern, and trying to ignore his racing heart.
Chapter 17
When Sam reached the control room, General Landry was already standing in position behind Walter's chair, he turned back to see Sam enter the room, and acknowledged her with a nod then waited for her to join him. Daniel was already there along with Teal'c.
"What's happening sir?" she asked as there wasn't much activity going on anywhere below in the gate-room.
"I was hoping you might tell me Colonel," Landry stated, perplexed. "The gate's opened but so far nothing's happening. No Iris codes, nothing."
Sam could see the blue shimmering light of the open wormhole reflecting off the walls behind the closed Trinium shield. She took her place at the console and began to run through some figures.
"Sir, I'm reading an energy..."
Sam was interrupted but a ghostly figure that had suddenly appeared on the ramp despite the closed defence shield.
Everyone was slightly taken aback at the suddenness of it's appearance. Sam spoke to the General, filling him in on a name.
"It's Ba'al sir. He's projecting a holographic image."
"So he's not really here?"
"No sir."
"Good," breathed Landry in a sigh of relief.
He turned to the shimmering figure who stood with his arms crossed glaring up at them.
Hank Landry had heard all about the System Lord and wasn't about to start paying any heed to this Goa'uld's oversized egotism. He stayed put, not deigning to meet him in the same room.
Getting straight to the point, he asked the first question in a bored voice.
"So what the hell do you want Ball?"
Ba'al ignored the question, and the sleight on his name by swallowing down a retort but it had registered in his mind that here was another leader of the Tau'ri that was cast from the same mould as Jack O'Neill, and therefore would be no push over.
Ba'al instead asked one of his own.
"I don't think I have had the pleasure of being introduced to you Tau'ri. You must be the new head of Stargate Command. General O'Neill's passing must have been a bitter blow."
"And just how would you know that?" Landry asked with growing anticipation. Here was a chance to know the truth straight from the horses mouth. They'd all had their suspicions that he was behind the attack on Jack.
"I have my sources," he replied smugly.
Sam exchanged a pointed look at her new CO.
"You have my condolences on the loss of General O'Neill. He was gifted with extraordinary good luck but was an over-rated and rather annoying warrior. I am surprised that he survived so long."
'No thanks to you,' Sam sighed under her breath.
"What makes you think he has died?" Landry asked again, smiling inwardly when Ba'al reacted with surprise to the bald question before he hid it quickly.
"Forgive me," he said, quickly covering his lack of information, "I was given to understand that he was killed a week ago. Was I sadly misinformed?"
"And what would it matter to you if he was? He is no longer here at the SGC."
It wasn't the answer Ba'al was looking for, but then, he already knew how frustrating the Tau'ri were.
"Did you want something else? Or did you just show up here to gloat over our sudden loss?" Landry goaded.
The Goa'uld calmly observed the people in the room above him. They looked relaxed, not at all like people who had suffered a great loss such as O'Neill. His death would leave a gaping wound visible for all to see. He saw nothing on their faces except contempt for his kind. He took that to mean that his arch enemy was still alive.
"I have all the information I require at this time!" he stated with a slight dip of his head moments before his image winked out and the Stargate shut down.
"What do you suppose he meant by that?" Daniel asked when silence fell in the room.
"I believe he will attempt a second assassination of O'Neill," Teal'c stated, making them all turn to look at him with shock.
"You really think he will?" Sam asked, suddenly afraid.
"Indeed!" he replied. "It appears he will not be content until O'Neill is dead."
The telephone rang, breaking the rising tension in the room, making them all startle with the sudden ringing.
Walter picked the phone up then handed it to Sam.
"It's for you Ma'am! The infirmary."
Sam's heart dropped into her boots with trepidation. Hearing that Jack's life may still be in danger from what Dr. Brightman had termed SCD or Sudden Cardiac Death because of the Arrhythmia had frightened her almost rigid, so now she was worried as to why the medical staff had called her.
After a few moments, she dropped the phone and begged to be excused. Landry noted that she had visibly turned pale and without hesitation had nodded his assent; she took off in a tearing hurry. Daniel looked towards Teal'c and a silent communication passed between them. Something that Landry had heard about but was only now witnessing. SG-1 didn't need words, they knew each others thoughts with mere glances. He understood the closeness of the team especially the loyalty they had towards Jack. Without a word being said, he gave in to their need.
"Go!" he said, knowing that they were desperate to follow Colonel Carter.
Almost as soon as the pair of them disappeared the klaxons sounded again and this time an IDC was received.
OoOoOoOoO
Sam burst through the doors of the infirmary to the sound of Jon's crying. He was being held by one of the nurses who was having a hard time holding onto him. She breathed a sigh of relief when Jon Junior reached out towards the Colonel, wanting to be held by her only.
"What happened?" she asked taking Jon into her arms and hugging him closely, rubbing small circles on his back to clam him.
"The General Ma'am..." she began to explain but Sam couldn't hear the rest of her statement. She was sure her own heart had stopped with the nurse's first words, her mind had gone numb from the shock. "...Dr. Brightman is working on him right now," the nurse finished and Sam had to shake herself free of the terrible thoughts of Jack suffering from an SCD (sudden cardiac death). She felt her tears well up again so she hugged the boy to her like grim death as they both cried.
Daniel and Teal'c arrived too and helped to keep Jon calm, despite their own worries about what was happening.
It seemed like an hour had gone by when her thoughts were dragged away from Jack when someone familiar walked into the room to join them, but it was in fact only fifteen minutes later.
"Sam?"
She turned round and the sight of the man walking towards her made the tears fall faster. Daniel had already taken the boy from her when he'd first arrived because Sam had been hugging the child too tight and Jon was beginning to get uncomfortable though she was oblivious to this fact. He'd gently prised her arms from him and Teal'c had then stepped in to take her into his strong embrace.
"Oh Dad," she cried, burying her face in his shoulder.
His arms went round her, offering her comfort.
Jacob held her for a minute before he could explain that he had been summoned to the SGC by General Hammond a few days ago, but had only just been able to come.
"Sam. It's okay honey. Look, I have to go for a minute, but I'll be back real soon."
Teal'c received a silent plea from the Tok'ra to keep Sam from following him, which he did. He draped his arms round her shoulders, allowing her to weep into his muscular chest.
Jacob hurried from the room and entered the private room where Dr. Brightman was attempting to stabilize Jack once more with an IV of Lidocaine.
Jacob's symbiote, Selmak, took over his thoughts and begged the Doctor to stand aside.
At first she was reluctant to leave her patient, but when she saw the healing device she did so without a murmur, knowing it would help.
Jacob fitted the device to his palm and held it over Jack whose heart was now beating again, albeit erratically. He concentrated all his thoughts into repairing the damage, making the crystal in his hand glow brightly.
It took a little while, and a lot of energy for Selmak to heal the Tau'ri General who had now slipped into a calming sleep. Selmak finally dropped her hand, exhausted, but satisfied. The Tok'ra clung to the side of the bed, trying not to collapse, but found enough reserves of energy to turn to the Doctor.
"I have done everything I can. His heart should be working properly again now. He will sleep for some time. Do not allow him to be disturbed. He must rest until he feels able to rise." Selmak found a chair behind her and slumped down onto it in relief, allowing Jacob to return now, so that she could recuperate.
Dr. Brightman could see from the reaction on the monitors that the General was in much better health now. The heart monitor had slowed until it let out a steady, normal sinus rhythm without medical intervention for the first time since the original attack on him.
She desperately wanted to go and check him over properly and run some tests to make sure the damage had been healed but she knew she should trust the Tok'ra Selmak or General Carter so she reluctantly left him to sit with the patient while she spread the good news to Jon and Colonel Carter and the others waiting outside.
TBC