Chapter Seven
Daniel
"Oh, shit!" I whispered to myself when I notice my dilemma. I was the only one of my friends to have been beamed aboard Baal's ship. I was surrounded by at least a couple of dozen Jaffas & Baal.
Baal was not a happy camper. He was screaming for them to retrieve the others, while one of the Jaffas next to me began to strip me of my vest and weapons.
After Baal finish issuing orders to the Jaffa near him, he turned and walked over to face me. He had a glint in his eyes that did not bode well for me.
"Dr. Daniel Jackson...so nice of you to join us," Baal said with that smirk of his.
I just stared at him and tried not to flinch when the Jaffas, that held my arms, jerked them back.
'Don't show your fear,' I kept chanting to myself. Baal stood there staring back for a moment. You could tell his mind was churning, the gears were grinding, and something wicked this way comes.
'Dam, this did not look well for me,' I thought, but I still kept chanting my mantra in the background of my mind, 'don't show your fear.'
After years of being around Jack you tend to pick up on a few of his quirks or bad habits. 'Don't show your fear,' is one of them. Jack would just stare ahead and stoically stand there not showing any emotion what so ever. I always had gotten mad at him for that, because it never fails to piss off the enemy and him hurt. But, standing here I began to comprehend the logic behind his stubbornness. He is the type that has to have some kind of control over a situation and this is the time when there is little control and to obtain some semblance of it he can make the enemy loose theirs. He also used it to direct the enemies attention away from others when he is in his protection mode, which is all the time.
Yep, it was pissing off Baal.
"Kneel before your God, Ta'ri!" demanded Baal as his eyes flashed at me. Like Jack, I just stood there staring in front of me defying his command and chanting my mantra.
The Jaffa to my left took exception and slammed his staff into the back of my knees. Of course that resulted in pain as I instantly went to my knees.
Jack would have been proud. I kept my groan from spilling out. Not giving them the satisfaction of knowing it hurt.
It is all about control. Having control on just that little bit gives you something to cling to when everything else is out of control.
Baal just stood there watching me. After a moment he ordered them to take me to a holding cell until he was ready for me.
Jaffas are never to gentle when they take you anywhere, and for some reason, these guys were no exception. By the time we made it to the cell I had a few bruises to my back to prove it. Once the door was opened to the cell I was grabbed and literally thrown into it and smashed up against the opposite wall. My head did not fair well with that little maneuver. I lay there contemplating my options.
Did I mention that being around Jack tends to rub off.
But that did not help the fact that my options where very limited. It all boiled down to being rescued either by SG1 or possibly a couple of rebel Jaffas, the former, maybe; the latter, doubtful.
Thinking of the first reminded me about Jack and the little girl. Where did they go? What was that artifact?
Jack
It has been several weeks now and no sign from any visitors or Tilly getting ill. Which is a good thing but very nerve racking, but I was not going to sit around waiting for something to happen. My subconscious or sub-buddy is back where he belongs and just comes out every now and then.
I planned to make good use of the time I did have getting to know my daughter. Which turned out to be the best few weeks of my life, considering the circumstances.
I started out by telling her about my family and her brother. At one point, you know which, things got a little awkward, but Tilly just grabbed my face in her little hands and said, "It's all right Daddy. He is not hurting and he is watching out for you." Out of the mouths of babes.
We had gone fishing, hiking, camping, climbing, and skating. The latter was the most fun. We had gone up into the mountain and came across a frozen pond, which happened to have a convenient log near by with two sets of skates waiting to be used. They were the right sizes as well.
The mental stuff was great. Because I know it was I who conjured up the pond and skates. At the time I was telling Tilly about Minnesota winters.
The day was enjoyable and Tilly learned quickly enough how to skate. Kanan was ecstatic about it and wanted to try. Needless to say, he did not learn as quickly as Tilly and I had a sore backside to prove it.
During our time together we had discovered that we both have some unique talents. Some I even had forgotten about. Like touching my nose with my tongue. But on the serious side I found that all of us, Tilly, Kanan, and I can communicate mentally. This of course was discovered from the beginning of our little adventure. Also, that both Tilly and I have photographic memories. No wonder she is so smart. She is just a chip off the old block. It reminded me of...me.
I was the perfect geek and blew all of the bell curves. Also was picked on by the rest of the kids for it. Go figure. I think that was the first time I realized I needed to be more discrete and camouflage my geekiness. I worked hard at being a jock and eventually became good at it. But when I'm by myself I would explore and discover all I could about History, Science, Math, Astronomy, Planes, and Rockets. I went to the local liberty and sequestered myself in a corner and figuratively devoured the books. I had enjoyed those times because I could escape the real world.
I had gotten so good at hiding my true nature my teachers even believed it. I would make sure I did not get to carry away with my grades and caused a little trouble every now and then, actually, a lot.
I have a habit of moving. I could never sit still even when I sat in the liberty. They had called it nervous energy. I called it anxious to get out to see the world. Who would of guessed it would bring me here.
So, here I was sitting on the porch watching Tilly playing with our dog Charlie. Yeah Charlie, Tilly named him after my son, her brother. Charlie is just another product of my psyche. For the most part, I'm the one controlling the experiences and objects that was showing up, but Tilly had her moments.
Just the other day we had a lull in activities when I heard a familiar noise. It was clicking sounds. I traced it to the big tree near the lake. On the other side was Tilly with a laptop. Go figure. But there she was just typing away on it. I did not know she knew what a computer was, much less how to operate one. She had told me she used to play around with the one at the mine's office.
I had wondered were some of her knowledge had come from. Edora was not that far in technology, other than what we had there for the mining operation.
Tilly has great potential and that scares me. It reminded me what an Asgard once told me.
"Daddy?" Tilly asked
"Yes, sweetie," I was jolted out of my musings.
"I don't feel good," she said as she was walking up the steps.
She did not look very well, either. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes too bright. I got up and scooped her up and headed into the cabin. She was burning up.
As I laid her down in her bed my Sub-Buddy showed up. I turned to him and demanded that he tell me what is wrong.
Sub-Buddy
I was so tired of coming-up with the answers and when demanded of me I could not give one. I did not have one to give. I knew she would start feeling ill and I knew we, as in me, myself and I, should help her. I just did not know how.
"Jack, I don't know the answers. I'm sorry," I said apologetically.
"Fine! You stay here and keep her company while I go and get something to try and bring down her fever," said Jack as he headed for the door.
"Jack! You do not have to leave. Just think of what you need," I reminded him.
"Oh...ah...right. We need something for the fever, Ibuprofen for kids, bowel of cool water, and a washcloth," as he stated each item the appeared on the side table to the bed. "Oh and a glass of water, too."
Jack continued to administer to her. He even used the broad-spectrum antibiotics that we carry in our packs. Buts the fever was still high and she was having difficulty breathing. He proceeded to get an oxygen mask on her as well. She was stable but not getting better.
Jack
For two days I sat there trying to save my daughter but she was slipping. The thought of losing another child was just all consuming. The hopelessness of the situation was eating at me. I raged, I cried, and then I despaired.
I laid my head on the bed next to Tilly and cradled her. I did not know what else I could do. I cried for her, I cried for Charlie, I cried for Sara, I cried for everything that I could not save. There just had to be something I could do.
Kanan
It was hard having a second seat to the misery that was Jack O'Neill. I could take over and let him get his control back and rest, but I knew he would never allow that, especially with Tilly so close to death.
After several hours, Jack was on the verge of collapse when I made my mind up to take over.
Several things happened at once. One: Jack noticed and screamed to be back with his daughter; Two: Jack's so-called Sub-Buddy appeared next to us again; and Third: I could feel Tilly's illness. I was still prone over her fragile feverous body. I could tell that it was the same disease that Jack had when we first were blended. I had the ability to cure it, but I was in Jack's body not hers.
I had a feeling I did not need to be in her body to heal it. At least I hope not. Jack had taken control back and would not let me near her again. With the amount of time I did have a moment ago I could tell that the connection was strong.
I tried to calm down Jack so I could broach the subject, "Jack! I know what is wrong with her."
"Jack!" I yelled loader, "I know what is wrong with her."
"Oh, you just figured that out," replied Jack sarcastically.
"Jack, listen. Please! Something is different here," I beseeched him.
Jack slowly rose to sit upright in the chair, but left his hand on Tilly, afraid of loosing the connection to her," What is it?"
"I can feel Tilly," I said.
"Well, yeah. Our hand is still on her," scoffed Jack.
"No, not like that. Like...I do with you. Like I am connected with her," I said.
"How is that going to help her?" demanded Jack.
"I may be able to heal her like I did you. It is the same illness and with this connection it could work," I stated. "I could try. Let me take over."
Jack
I was hesitant at first because I was scared. Yeah, big tuff guy like me. But I did not want to let go of her. I finally let Kanan have the control and I could feel him reaching out to her. It gave me hope that it could work. For one thing this was not something that the Tok'ra were able to do. This was all new to both of us.
There was a pull from Kanan. It felt like someone drawing you in close for a hug. It was warm and comfortable. I could feel Tilly too. This was different than before. Before we just touched mentally, but this was a stronger sense of her physical being and she was not in good shape. Kanan was right it did feel like when I had gotten sick in Antarctica.
Kanan was trying to help her. I could tell he was focusing on her symptoms at the moment to stabilize her. He was weakening fast and I was starting to get frustrated again.
Sub-Buddy
I was getting frustrated also, but for a different reason. Don't get me wrong I was worried about Tilly; after all she is my daughter, too. No, it was Jack, my conscious part that was the cause of all of my frustration. He could help Kanan. He, or we, has the power to heal. I think he does not remember. It could be what will pull Tilly through.
As I stood there I realized that it I who that could make it happen. I reached out and touched my conscious head and focused on merging. A blinding white light washed everything out except for the bed and chair with Tilly and us. We had our hands on Tilly and focusing on her, feeling her illness. We were siphoning the illness into us. When we could take no more, everything went black.