FOUR

As a dream had brought Colonel Jack O'Neill into a state of being half asleep, he was woken fully by a throbbing in his head. With a groan, he threw a hand up to his forehead and slowly sat up, gritting his teeth and remaining still as he waited for the bout of dizziness to pass. Bleary, deep brown eyes scanned his surroundings, finding the sleeping form of his 2IC, Major Samantha Carter, sprawled across the bed nearest his own. Jack rose an eyebrow, then winced, dropping his focus to the IV needle in his arm. With a faint grimace, he pulled it out carefully, then slid toward the edge of the bed and let his feet hang over the side while ignoring the bit of blood now running down his arm.

All Jack could think of as he unsteadily slid off the bed and out from under the blankets, was how thankful he was that Janet had given him scrubs to wear instead of those airy hospital gowns. He found himself grinning faintly, turning his head hazily to glance at the sleeping Major. With a soft sigh, Jack fought to steady himself, gripping the edge of the bed while his feet shuffled automatically along the cool floor. The dizziness passed mostly, and his legs got a little steadier while he continued to move. His limbs felt heavy and weak, and he hated that. Jack felt as though he'd been stuck in bed with the flu for a week, but knew it wasn't the case. Aching all over seemed to be a common symptom, one that he was especially not too fond of, though it wasn't as bad as puking all over the place. Ugh. He grimaced at the thought.

While shuffling away from the bed, Jack started to feel a little dizzy again, quickly reaching out for something to steady himself. The closest thing happened to be a wheeling cart, which he clung to desperately until the feeling passed. Suddenly closing his eyes, Jack realized that he'd completely forgotten the reason he got out of bed in the first place. His brows furrowed, but the act made his head hurt again, and he grimaced, trying to breathe carefully and wait for the pain to pass.

Fumbling to turn and get back to his bed before another wave of dizziness could hit, Jack felt his weak legs aching, knees buckling beneath his weight. The ache in his head caused a blurring in Jack's vision which worsened his stumbling. "Aw, for cryin' out loud," he groaned with a grimace, falling forward as his legs finally gave out and he slumped to the floor, flat on his chest with a rush of air leaving his lungs. The next coherent thing Jack heard, moments later, was a rush of footsteps and the frantic voice of Dr. Fraiser.

"Colonel!" She cried out, rushing to his aid. Janet knelt down and carefully rolled Jack onto his back. "Are you alright?"

Blinking hazily, Jack lifted his head slightly, then squinted. "I think so," he responded quietly with some effort.

The doctor helped him to sit up slowly, then kept her hand firmly against his back as he took some time to remain upright on his own accord. "What on Earth are you doing out of bed?" Janet questioned sternly, concern still mixed in with her practiced doctor's voice. Her expression softened at the look of serious confusion on her patient's face.

"I...uh, I dunno." Jack rose a hand and weakly rubbed his forehead while the doctor gripped his other arm, preparing to haul him to his feet when he was ready.

"Think you can stand?"

"Yeh," Jack adjusted himself numbly, struggling to get his feet under him properly, but trying his hardest to do so.

Sam had sat up in her bed, getting herself focused and fully awake before trusting herself to speak. "Janet, what happened?" She questioned, eyes locked on the doctor and the Colonel.

"He must have gotten out of bed and fell," Janet told the Major what she knew solemnly. This dashed her hopes of the Colonel's illness being a simple twenty-four-hour bug of some sort.

Jack winced when he noticed the apprehensive look Sam was giving him. He hated to make her worry on his account.

Sam quickly got up and rushed over to help Janet get the Colonel back into bed. Once he was sitting and had his legs up, she noticed the line of drying blood that ran down his arm and nudged the doctor.

"Colonel," Janet admonished, taking hold of his wrist. "You removed your IV," It was a statement more than a question, really.

He smirked in that usual way of his, but it lost the desired effect since he looked so damn lousy. "Whoops," Jack murmured innocently, not at all apologetic.

Rolling her eyes with a sigh, Janet turned on her heel, momentarily placing a hand on Sam's shoulder. "Keep an eye on him for a minute will you Sam? I'll go get the equipment to set him up with a new IV." She started to walk away at the Major's nod, then turned back with a brief glare of warning toward Jack as if to say, 'don't even think about getting out of bed again'.

Sam took a seat on the chair beside the bed instead of sitting on the nearby bed where she'd been once laying. She just sat there, not knowing quite what to say, if anything. When she noticed Jack was giving her an odd look, Sam's brows furrowed and she finally asked, "Something wrong Sir?"

"Love what you've done with the hair Carter," he deadpanned. Seconds later as Sam's eyes widened bashfully and she realized her hair was completely smushed to one side because of the way she'd slept, Jack smirked. He watched with amusement as she failed to fix up her messy do.

Locking her eyes with his after giving up on her hair, Sam showed a smirk of her own and gestured toward Jack. His own hair was standing on end just a bit messier than usual. "I'm quite fond of that 'just-rolled-out-of-bed' look myself, Sir," She giggled, covering her mouth with a hand.

Jack narrowed his eyes teasingly, then grinned with a smug raise of his shoulders and said, "I try,"

Janet came back with IV kit and quickly set about sticking Jack with another needle, much to his chagrin. She smiled gently as he grimaced, then heaved a sigh. Once checking the bags of fluid and making sure everything was in order and properly situated, she hooked the Colonel back up to some monitors and checked his vitals.

Sam noticed Jack seemed to be getting a bit drowsy again. Hiding a concerned frown, she gently touched the back of his hand that rested at his side when she saw him clench his eyes shut. "Sir?" Her bright blue eyes locked on him as her face twisted into a look of puzzlement.

Jack gulped, gritting his teeth, eyes still closed tightly. "Someone...wanna..make the room stop spinnin'?" He grumbled, not willing to open his eyes again quite yet.

Staying next to Jack, Janet put a hand on his shoulder as if to offer him a steady hand. She had her eyes on him carefully. Her brows were furrowed in thought as she looked him over, just about at her wits end trying to figure out why he was so sick. "Colonel, is there anything you may have eaten, or touched, back on P2J-795, that none of the other members of SG1 came into contact with?"

Letting his eyes open marginally, Jack thought back, recalling the events that happened after they emerged from the gate on O'runak. After a few long moments he blinked, deep brown eyes widening as his brows knit together. "Actually, yeh.." He trailed off for a second and his focus shifted to the side while he rose his right hand slightly. "I was walking along the edge of trees leading into the woods an' dropped my shades. When I bent to pick 'em up something pricked my hand, and I hadta pull out a thorn."

Sam's eyes flashed over to Dr. Fraiser with a sense of realization dawning. "Janet? Do you think-" She let the question hang in the air.

The seasoned doctor nodded, her eyes still fixed on the Colonel. "Absolutely." Janet gently rubbed Jack's shoulder briefly. "I'm going to have to run more tests Sir. Nothing unusual showed up on the readings before, but now that we've got somewhat of an idea what to look for..." She drifted off. "Let me see your hand. Show me where you pulled the thorn out Colonel,"

Jack cleared his throat, then tiredly rose his hand, tilting it so he could examine the outside of his palm past his little finger. The skin was slightly reddened, but other than that there was no mark left over from where the thorn had pricked him. "There," he whispered, pointing with his other hand.

Janet examined the apendage carefully, also taking notice of the redness. She gave a brief nod before alerting the nursing staff as to what tests needed to be performed. At Jack's exasperated groan, she smiled sympathetically down at him. "Sorry Colonel, but we've got to find out what this sickness is doing to you."

"I know, I know," He muttered, powerful brown eyes drifting to Sam momentarily.

The Major smiled reassuringly at him. "I'll tell Daniel, see if he learned anything about the planet's history from Arcana. In any case, we'll probably have to return to O'runak for a research expedition; collect plant samples, speak with the villagers. I'm sure the General will allow it knowing that one of his officers is sick because of something on that planet. Though he may want us to take further precaution,"

Jack was trying his best to listen, but being sick as he was didn't help much. He just nodded slightly, trying to keep his eyes open and alert while she spoke. His mind was fading out on him, hearing getting muffled and distant, but Jack managed to catch the tail-end of what his 2IC was telling him.

"...contagious, otherwise Daniel and I probably would have been showing symptoms by now. You developed symptoms pretty soon after touching that plant."

"Uh-huh," Jack murmured in listless agreement, eyelids drooping while his head began to loll to one side.

With a faint sigh and a comforting smile, Sam touched Jack's shoulder in a reassuring gesture before wishing him well and leaving the infirmary before Janet had the chance to kick her out. She longed to stay by his side in case things got even worse for him, but she also knew that telling Daniel what was going on and possibly coming up with a way to cure his ailments was the most important thing at the moment.

-

Daniel was on his way to the briefing to be held at 2100 hours, and he was running fifteen minutes late. As he bustled into the room, the expectant gazes of General Hammond, Sam, and Teal'c were all on him, and the doctor of archaeology had a bashful, apologetic smile on his face. "Uh, sorry I'm so late."

The General gave a stoic nod. "That's alright Dr. Jackson." He gestured toward Sam. "Major Carter has informed me of the situation, and has explained the request to go back to P2J-795."

A look of surprise washed across Daniel's face. His mouthed an 'Oh', before taking a seat. He cocked his head to the side expectantly. "And?"

Nodding with a faint smile of encouragement, General Hammond said, "You have a go." He paused. "But this is just a mission for information, do nothing else, understand?"

"Yes General, thank you." Daniel managed a grateful smile. His gaze shifted to Sam, who had a look of apprehension on her face.

"Sir," she spoke up, head slightly bowed. Sam continued as General Hammond glanced over at her. "I'd like to stay behind on this mission, if that's alright with you."

The General's expression was slightly confused and contemplative, but he didn't question her request. "Alright Major," His focus shifted. "Dr. Jackson and Teal'c, you will head out to P2J-795 in ten minutes for a fact-seeking expedition, understood?" As both Daniel and Teal'c nodded, he stood, then said, "Dismissed."

-

After leaving the briefing room, Sam went directly to the infirmary to find that Janet wasn't surprised to see her back so soon. The Doctor just smiled gently and said, "Is the rest of SG1 returning to that planet?"

Sam nodded, closing in on the bed where the sleeping Colonel lay. "Well, Daniel and Teal'c are."

Janet briefly furrowed her brows, giving the Major a look of mild confusion. "You're not going with them? I thought you needed to retrieve plant samples?"

"The General doesn't want us doing that just yet. Daniel's going to have a talk with the locals to see if they know anything about poisonous plants, so it might even be unnecessary if they already have a cure of some kind." Sam could feel her cheeks warming slightly. "I wanted to stay behind to uh...record the Colonel's condition. You know, keep track of any progress or deterioration in his illness."

Simply nodding, Janet patted Sam's shoulder and did a quick check of Jack's vitals, looking over the medications he was currently on. She knew that no matter what excuse the Major used to keep watch over the Colonel, there were deeper, more emotional reasons. But she wasn't about to call Sam on it.

-

Upon their return to O'runak, Daniel and Teal'c were greeted by Arcana as she came skipping down the trail that led to the village with a cheerful cry of, "You've returned!", and a bright, welcoming smile.

However grim and solemn he felt, Daniel managed a partial smile at her warm greeting. He hung his head slightly and walked down the steps from the gate, followed by an ever-stoic Teal'c. "I'm sorry that we couldn't be returning with better news though," he told the smiling young woman sadly.

"You are not here to visit and gain further knowledge of O'runak?" Arcana's expression sobered, her head tilting to the side as she eyed Daniel with confusion. "What has happened?"

Daniel sighed, but Teal'c spoke up for him. "Colonel O'Neill has become increasingly ill after touching a species of plant from this planet."

"Oh no!" Arcana exclaimed suddenly, a hand flying over her mouth. Her bright green eyes were alight with worry. "The Das'huda," Her tone quieted, a look of intense regret crossing her once carefree face.

"Well, I see you immediately know of which plant I'm speaking of then. So I assume there is just one poisonous plant here?" Daniel questioned, intent to find more about this Das'huda.

Arcana nodded quickly. "All other plantlife on O'runak is either edible or completely harmless." She appeared worried and frightened, as if remembering a bad memory. "The Das'huda was left here by the Goa'uld to try and get rid of the Trao'chi for warning us of their presense and protecting our people. It didn't work though. The Trao'chi are very intelligent creatures and they knew better than to go near it. It would kill them instantly."

Daniel's face paled. Jack hadn't died instantly, but he was obviously sick. What did that mean? Clearing his throat, he found his voice again. "What does the Das'huda do to people, or uh..your people?" He figured that since their species seemed very similar, that it would effect them in the same way, but he couldn't be sure unless one of the O'runakans were taken back to the SGC and examined.

The girl chewed her bottom lip anxiously. "When someone is pricked by the thorn of the Das'huda they will get very ill, and as the physical sickness starts to pass, the sickness of the mind begins." Arcana looked between Daniel and Teal'c worriedly. "You must get to the mountains," She rose an arm and pointed off to the East, where a cluster of moutains could be seen in the distance. "There, you will find a bright orange plant called the Das'ira. Crush all the colored petals of one flower into paste and feed it to your sick friend. It should cure him, but you must take him on the journey with you."

"What?" Daniel's face blanked. "Why can't we just bring the plant back home to Jack. He's really sick, I don't know if he could make the trip."

"He must," Arcana insisted. "The Das'ira cannot be removed from the mountains or it will die and no longer be able to help your Colonel Jack." She frowned slightly. "And if you wait too long the mind sickness will be permanent." A solemn look overcame the young woman as she recalled the memory of a close friend who suffered from the effects of the Das'huda and was not given the antidote in time.

Teal'c nodded to Daniel. "I shall dial us home then Daniel Jackson." He headed toward the DHD without waiting for a response.

-

After returning to the SGC, Daniel and Teal'c attended the debriefing with General Hammond, Sam, and Dr. Fraiser all present. Daniel explained everything that Arcana had told them before awaiting some kind of response from the General or anyone.

The General gave a slight sigh before his gaze turned to the doctor. "Dr. Fraiser? I'd like your opinion on this."

Her eyes wandered thoughtfully for a moment before settling on General Hammond. "Sir, the Colonel is pretty stable at the moment, but if this woman on P2J-795 is correct, we've got to get him that cure before he starts to become mentally ill." Janet sighed softly, lowering her head. "There's no other choice Sir."

General Hammond nodded. "Alright, SG1, you have permission to go back to O'runak. But first," he eyed them all steadily. "I want you to get a good nights rest. You'll leave first thing tomorrow morning."

Teal'c and Daniel both gave a simple nod, then Sam stood slowly. "Yes Sir," She shared a glance with Janet, then reluctantly headed to the on-base quarters because she knew that if she returned to the infirmary, the Doc would most certainly kick her out.

-

The remaining hours of night passed by uncomfortably for the members of SG1, having a slow-going, restless sleep to endure. Samantha Carter was no exception. She was exhausted, and had fallen asleep surprisingly easily enough, but something had nagged her into waking, something that made her leave her on-base quarters and head down to the infirmary to check up on Jack. When she got there, he hadn't been sleeping too easily either.

After sneaking into the darkened room, Sam curled up on the vacant bed beside the Colonel's and watched him. Beads of sweat dotted across his brow, his stone-etched features scrunched up and reflecting the turbulance of his dreams. She frowned slightly, then began whispering soothing things to him as they came to her, not really caring what was said, as long as it served to ease his troubled sleep.

Jack surprisingly looked more relaxed as a few minutes went by. He began snoring softly instead of breathing raggedly and grunting as though trapped in some horrid battle that he couldn't escape. His forehead was still damp with sweat, but he didn't appear to be getting any worse at the moment, making Sam confident she wouldn't need to call for Dr. Fraiser.

Burying her head comfortably against the pillow, Sam let her eyes drift closed as the comforting sound of Jack's snoring lulled her to sleep. She knew she'd get an earful from Janet about not getting a full nights rest in the morning, but at that moment Sam couldn't possibly care less.

-