Search Party
Genre: General
Season: Seven and up. Assuming that Jonas Quinn remains on Earth in Season Seven onwards.
Spoiler: The Light
Summary: A simple case of a team member gone missing. Second guessing is dangerous to your health: it may lead to overreactions, worse case scenarios, frayed nerves and a lot of headaches.
Content Warning: Some swear words. All generously supplied by Colonel Jack O'Neill.
Disclaimer: I only lay claim on the character of 1st.Lt. Aidan Edrald. I do not own Stargate SG-1 and its characters and neither do I get one cent from writing this.
A/N: A little bee in my bonnet urged me to submit this. This is a very, very short scene from one of my currently-working-on-stories but heavily revised it so that it can stand on its own. It's originally a Season Six plot but I've decided on adding Daniel, too, wanting all them in it for some fun. Yes, Daniel is here. That's the reason why I had to do some major revisions. I know I should finish Gathering first but couldn't resist doing this in spite of myself.
Oh, if you wonder how Lt. Edrald ever got into the picture, he's the lead character in Gathering, which I have not finished yet. :P
Listening to Korn's "Make Me Bad" and "Thoughtless" while writing this.
"Where the hell is that kid?"
Col. Jack O'Neill's voice boomed into the hallways of Level 28. The man himself tearing through the hallways with Dr. Fraiser in his wake, trying to keep up with the tall Air Force man's angry strides as fast as she could. Her white robe billowing behind her.
"I'm sure Teal'c and the others have found him by now, Colonel." Soothed Janet. She did not have to look-see to know that her friend was bristling mad.
Jack never broke stride as he made his way past sentries and people in the hallways. He did not have to. At the sound of his voice and the look on his face, the others thought it a good idea to get out of his way as fast as possible. Having an irate Colonel, one whose name was Jack O'Neill for that matter, breathing down your neck was like wanting a death wish and they all took pity on whomever it was that his anger was bestowed upon.
"Good," he snarled, "because I'm going to have the big guy haul the kid's ass off into the infirmary pronto. That is if I do not get my hands on him first!"
"Colonel, I don't think that would be necessary."
Jack whirled around so suddenly that Janet nearly collided against him, close enough to see a tic appearing in his jaw. "Ya think?"
"He must've forgotten the time, sir." Her quick answer certainly sounded lame, even to her own ears.
Maybe she's beginning to worry about the welfare of her missing patient after Jack deals with the little rebel. Heck, he'll be doing her a huge favor by ensuring that there'd be at least one bed in the infirmary that would not be vacant for the next few days.
"Forgotten?" Jack snorted, his eyes rolling heavenwards. "We're talking about Jonas Quinn here, doc. That kid never forgets anything. Anything. You said it yourself from the very start."
The Colonel knew it was not right to vent his anger on Janet but cannot control himself. Jonas was also her friend and she's merely trying to help. He turned around, continued down the hallway and directly into the path of four scientists heading towards them. The poor men hastily scrambled aside as Jack barreled his way past them, hearing the petite doctor make a hurried apology behind him.
He bit back a curse. He's certainly way past caring as to what these people think of him. And he wanted to ignore the headache that was fast making itself evident. He had only one thing in mind and that is to tightly wrap both hands on someone's throat. More so if that throat belonged to the youngest member of his team.
How dare he disobey a direct order? Well, Jonas always does that to Jack. So did Daniel. And they're both civvies so they mostly get away with it. But the SGC Commander's orders were not to be taken lightly by anyone. Even him.
God, why was he saddled with two crazy scientists? Can't he only have one?
But Jack knew even before he thought of it that he wouldn't have it any other way. The young kid from Kelowna was fast becoming one of the important persons in his life just as Sam, Daniel and Teal'c were and others at SGC that became his family. But Jack would never admit that to anyone. Nope. Never.
Until hell freezes over as Sam would colorfully put it.
Maybe that's one of the reasons why he's so angry at Jonas right now. And worried. Worried that the kid might do something rash like jump over an elevator shaft or something. Like…
Janet's voice cuts through his thoughts. "I'm off to the infirmary in case Jonas decides to show up there."
Jack nodded distractedly and watched the doctor go. He paused for a moment to take a deep breath and raked his short-crop hair in frustration before going on his way.
The kid better put both feet firmly on the ground or else…
So much for thinking that today's going to end up the way it had begun just hours before.
- - - o O o - - -
Col. Jack O'Neill's day had actually started just right. No, actually, more than right. SG-1 was just back from a week's leave where Jack did nothing but fish the entire seven days. He dreaded Mondays in general but this particular Monday he liked. There was actually a spring in his step as he checked himself in and even smiled at the bewildered faces of the SFs at the front gate.
The Colonel had every right to be this cheery. For the first time in years, a single blue folder was all the pending report on his in-tray today. And he had every intention of throwing it into the out-tray by lunchtime. After that, he's free to do as he pleased. Maybe make a nuisance of himself to Daniel who was probably buried himself in tons of translations and decipherments. Cataloguing the various thingamabobs other SG teams had brought back from their missions.
Ah, yes. That will be a worthwhile endeavor, he thought with a smile.
But before he could even type a single word, the Gate klaxon wailed around the base followed by a male mechanical voice warning them of an incoming traveler.
Great. Just as he was having an epiphany of sorts, this happens.
Jack looked down at the report. Oh well, he could get back to it later after he takes a peek at what the ruckus was all about at the Gate room. With that in mind, he stood up and walked out of the office.
The travelers turned out to be SG-2 with Jonas Quinn returning from their 3-day recon mission to P-blah, blah, yadda, yadda.
The rest of SG-1 were already there at the Gate room, ready to welcome back Maj. Ferretti's team, most especially Jonas. But Sam's happiness was replaced with concern when they beheld Jonas' appearance as soon as he exited the 'gate supported by one of Lou's kids. Jack couldn't help to worrying himself as he and Gen. Hammond strode into the room below. Sgt. Harriman's voice boomed into the PA system, calling for a med team to the Gate room.
What had he gotten himself into now?
Ferretti was the last person to exit the wormhole. He snaked his way past the slowly progressing pair to reach the waiting group at the base of the ramp, carrying Jonas' pack and P-90 along with his own. No one noticed the wormhole ceasing to existence.
Jonas Quinn had always been noted around SGC for his child-like behavior – on a positive note, that one. Highly enthusiastic, ever the optimist, a bouncing ball of highly charged kinetic energy whose day was incomplete without flashing that trademark megawatt smile of his on everyone he crossed paths with. Ever the precocious, inquisitive, innocent one that Daniel used to be before the universe reared its ugly head at him.
But the young man slowly moving towards them was not the Jonas Jack knew. Their Jonas always had reason to smile under any circumstances – exaggerate on any – to the point where everyone thought that the kid finally lost a few of his alien marbles. This Jonas wasn't smiling or saying anything chirpy today. This person was somewhat different and certainly looked worse for wear. Very exhausted and rather irritated.
Jonas irritated? Well, that's a first.
At closer inspection, Jonas looked like he had a rough tumble over a hill or something. His uniform was torn in different places, a gaping hole on his jacket remained where the radio should be. Sandy brown dust clung at him, his short dark hair in shambles and his face smudged with dirt of some kind.
And that wasn't the fun part. Jonas was sporting a makeshift sling on one arm and he was limping.
"Fell down the rabbit hole, Alice?" Jack called out to his team mate, snickering.
"How am I supposed to study it if I'm not allowed to touch anything?" was Jonas' defense as he threw an accusing look at the Colonel.
The Jaffa moved in to help. Lt. Edrald relinquished his hold on Jonas over to Teal'c as the Kelownan gingerly stepped down the ramp ladder. "I think he might've sprained his ankle, sir." He told Teal'c.
The Jaffa bowed. "Thank you for assisting Jonas Quinn, Lieutenant Edrald."
Edrald nodded but did not move away from Jonas, concern for his friend etched on his face, as Daniel engaged him in a conversation.
Probably wanting Edrald's input on the incident that happened. The two friends rarely see each other nowadays, maybe that's one of the reasons why Jonas immediately took the opportunity to join SG-2 in an off world mission.
"You are allowed to do as you please, Jonas." Jack smirked. "After you get permission from anyone on your team, that is."
Just then, Janet & Co. arrived, affectively halting whatever Jonas was about to retort back to his CO. She hastily ordered the others to load the kid into the gurney and wheeled him away with Edrald and Daniel following closely behind.
But before the archaeologist left, he threw Jack a glance akin to disapproval. Jack was still smirking, not only because he found it funny but mostly because of relief in seeing the kid back again, when he felt someone staring at him. He turned around to see his second-in-command looking at him with a harsh look on her face.
He knew what had gotten Sam so worked up about. Actually, he knew it the moment he entered the commissary that morning. She, Daniel and Teal'c all ganged up on him when they heard that Jack had let SGs -15 and -2 "borrow" Jonas while he was supposed to be on leave like the rest of them.
Jack tried to pull rank to get his way out of it but Sam was relentless. Daniel pointed out why people call it "work leave." And Teal'c, with his wise words, decided to remain silent and just give his friend "the look", much to Jack's annoyance.
Like he had anything to do with it. Well… on second thought, he did. Kinda.
Aside from the twisted wrist, sprained ankle and scratches here and there, Dr. Fraiser also noted Jonas' dark mood. Dr. Warner confirmed her suspicion that the Kelownan was indeed suffering from both physical and mental fatigue, enough grounds for her to strongly recommend to both the Base Commander and the Colonel that the young man be taken out of active duty for at least a few days. One week if possible. Two if she could push it.
Even though Janet suspected it as plain old fatigue, Jack thought otherwise. Something was telling him that not everything's what they seem and did not hesitate to inform the General. If he's right, then what they're seeing might be a prelude to something more not to anyone's liking.
Jonas had shown other signs of weirdness after that little Gate room scene: short-tempered, irritable and edgy. Not to mention he'd developed a very sharp tongue coupled with a bluntness that was so unJonas-like in the course of just seven days that would definitely make Joan Rivers look like a mere novice compared to him.
To Jack's horror, Hammond had given him the task of watching over Jonas Quinn after the kid had ranted himself hoarse in the General's office after being given the stand down order. After that, it was Jack's turn at having a shouting match with his youngest team mate out in the hallway when he tried to find out what was bugging him.
When things heat up, Jack was there to cool it down. Something the airman was never really good at and had even amazed himself at it. He pulled rank, being the base's Second-in-Command, to keep his ward from egging others on and start a fight. Jack would've found the entire situation funny if not for the fact that he's caught right in the middle of it.
To cut it short, Jonas had complained, shouted, and argued with almost half of the base personnel in the span of just three hours. Every word that was coming out of his mouth was dripping thick with sarcasm.
And they call him, Jack O'Neill, tactless.
Oi.
What a weird day this was turning out to be.
The thing that got him so disturbed was how similar Jonas' outburst in the General's office and his over all behavior had been all morning with Daniel's three years back. It was sorta déjà vu all over again. Daniel and SG-5 were exhibiting symptoms of severe drug-like induced withdrawals after returning from P4X-347 where a Goa'uld device altered their brain chemistry causing depression, hallucination and suicidal tendencies.
After that, coma and eventual death.
Jack wanted Fraiser to confine the kid, more for his safety, to the infirmary until they were all sure that Jonas wasn't addicted or anything. They nearly lost Daniel then. He didn't want to take any chances on this one.
But Janet would have none of it. "Jonas is not sick," she said. "He's only tired and what he needs is a lot of rest and nourishment to be able to get back on his feet."
Yeah, right. Jack thought grumpily, annoyed at the petite doctor for not seeing the obvious. Who you kiddin'?
He wanted to say that if anything happens to Jonas, it'll be on her head and not his. SG-1 had been at this since the very beginning and had seen things no one could ever imagine, not even in their wildest dreams. Suffice it to say, Jack O'Neill was not taking anything for granted. Not when it endangered any one of his kids.
The Air Force Colonel had taken time off from babysitting Jonas to attend to the report that had been placed aside due to circumstances he had no control over. But he was hell bent on finishing this one report just to show the others that he could be serious when the situation called for him to be.
And so he did not go down to the commissary at lunchtime. Instead he buried himself on the report that should have been finished hours before if not for all the weirdness that had been happening all morning. He looked at the time and was surprised to see that a full hour had passed and still he had just been able to type in one paragraph.
Rubbing his face in a frustrated sort of way, Jack leaned back into his chair, sighing. He stared at the monitor, contemplating. At least, Hammond had seen it his way and immediately acted upon it. He recalled SG-2 back to base for another physical. Ferretti's team was once again off world with other available SG teams after an urgent radio transmission from SG-23 came in an hour ago. 23's CO was requesting for assistance in relocating a multitude of villagers to a safe location after a strong earthquake flattened entire communities in the affected areas.
But SG-2 was nowhere near the Stargate. They were one of the teams scouting for a suitable site to temporary set up a refugee camp big enough to house all of the dislocated families in. It would take another 2 hours for SG-2 to be able to return back to base.
So it was now a waiting game.
Jack felt helpless and he did not like that feeling one bit. He's a man of action, all this waiting was a pain in the nik'ta and his head hurts with all this thinking. At least, your knee doesn't hurt, a voice in his head said. Yeah, one bright spot, that one.
Meanwhile, along with his babysitting duties was to make sure that Jonas reports to the infirmary that afternoon for Janet to monitor his vitals. Maybe it could even help him think straight before once again tackling the damn report.
But Jonas was nowhere in his office. Jack's next destination was the infirmary.
The staff on duty did not see anymore of Jonas after his post-mission check that morning so the Colonel headed straight to Janet's office, thinking the kid might be there instead. The doctor was there but no Jonas.
"I was about to ring the infirmary to ask if Jonas had come in yet."
"He's not there," Jack answered, a frown creasing his forehead. He bent over the table to grab the phone and began dialing Jonas' office.
No answer.
He exchanged a glance with Janet before shaking his head. That elicited a troubled frown from her. He dialed a few more before finally putting the phone down. He had only managed to contact two of his four team members.
"I can't get hold of Daniel," Jack said, answering Janet's unspoken question. "I told Carter and T to meet me by Daniel's office. You wanna… go…?"
Janet was out of her chair without further prompting and out the door before Jack could even finish his sentence.
The archaeologist's office was as empty as Jonas' when they met the others there. They entered the office to convene on what to do next.
"Obviously, our two geeks are off together somewhere." Jack began, looking around the stuffed room of the absent archaeologist. He had a mind set that when one geek's missing, he's usually with the other geek. And when you find that geek, you find your first missing geek. As to where, well, that's another story altogether.
"I don't think so, sir," Sam said thoughtfully. "Not with the way Jonas had been acting anti-social all day. I doubt he would want to do some "geek" stuffs." In a tone that said "what makes you think so?" hidden underneath it.
"Perhaps the base's Public Address System would be of assistance in locating Jonas Quinn, O'Neill?" Teal'c suggested.
Jack shook his head. "No. Not yet, at least." He had thought about it on his way up and instantly knew that it was a bad idea. Using the PA system was like broadcasting to the entire mountain that they had lost one of their own, and a hotheaded one at that.
Sam was looking curiously at Janet, standing beside their CO. "What's going on, Colonel?"
Just then, a figure appeared by the threshold and stopped as soon as he saw the small group huddled inside.
"Hel-lo…"
Jack whirled around to find Dr. Daniel Jackson standing there, brows raised questioningly, looking at them from above the rim of his glasses. His arms wrapped around a brown paper bag. They were all looking at him as Daniel searched their faces for answers.
When none were forthcoming, the archeologist continued. "What are you guys doing here?"
But instead of answering, Jack spat out a question of his own. "Where were you?" He was now starting to worry but he tried not to show it. If the kid's not with Daniel, then where is he?
Daniel blinked, pulling his head back. He looked like he was trying to recall if he'd done anything to warrant Jack's ire. "I bought coffee." He answered slowly.
"Coffee?" Jack echoed, disbelief evident in his voice.
"I've run low on supply both here and my apartment so I went down to Colorado Springs for a—is there something wrong?"
"We are unable to locate Jonas Quinn, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c answered.
Daniel blinked again. "He's missing?" and turned a critical eye at Jack.
"No, he's not." Jack countered. "He's off somewhere where we can't find him."
The others looked exasperated but he seemed not to notice.
"Well, I haven't seen Jonas since the debriefing with SG-2," Daniel said, placing the brown paper bag on a spot near the edge of his office table. He pushed the bridge of his glasses up his nose before turning an accusing eye at Jack. "You were supposed to look after him."
"Hey, you think that's easy?" Jack exclaimed. "The kid's been spewing foul language everywhere, and not only in English! Don't ask me how I know. I just. We were shouting our heads off in the hallway after Hammond gave him the stand down order. I've been trying to keep him from any brawls, in case you haven't noticed, and had even tried to get him to go sparring with me just to help him get it out of his system. Go on, you try it."
"Jonas Quinn does seem to be agitated over something." Teal'c observed.
"No kiddin'?" Jack said, his voice dripping with sarcasm of his own.
Teal'c raised his brow at this. Sam repeated her earlier question. It was Janet who answered. "Jonas was scheduled to report to the infirmary as ordered by the General. He never showed up."
Sam's eyes went wide as she looked at Jack for confirmation. "Ordered?"
Oh boy, here it goes, Jack thought visibly wincing, might as well have it over and done with. "Let's just say the kid blew his top off. In front of the General. Hence, the report to the infirmary order."
"Wait, wait, wait," Daniel butted in, clearly confused. "That doesn't make sense. People tend to blow their tops off," quoting Jack, "even in front of the General. Its human nature. But to report to the infirmary just because they wanted to say what is on their mind? I mean, that's something rather odd…" his voice started to trail off, as Jack looked meaningfully at him. "Unless…"
Jack and Daniel seem to be communicating on another level as the two continued looking at each other. The others merely waited for them to say something.
"He's not himself." Daniel concluded, a troubled expression clouding his face. "Just as I was."
A memory from the past floated to the surface unbidden. Jack finding a hallucinating Daniel precariously hanging at the edge of the balcony of his apartment eight floors up, with only his hands on the railings to keep him from falling down to his death. That gave Jack's heart quite a scare.
"P4X-347," Daniel said, almost in a whisper. "Jack, you don't think that SG-2 and Jonas found another of those on P2A-497 and not know of it?" he added loudly, in an urgent manner. His boyish features turning from troubled to one of shock.
Their CO shrugged, massaging the back of his neck, a little frustrated about it all. "I don't know, Daniel. You tell me."
The others finally got their drift.
"You mean that Goa'uld version of the opium den?" Sam asked, a bit alarmed.
"Are you suggesting, Daniel Jackson, that Jonas Quinn's brain chemistry has been altered?"
"P4X-347?" Sam looked incredulous as she turned to look at Daniel. "What brought you to this assumption?"
"Aw, come on, Carter!" Jack said, annoyed. "The irritability, the restlessness, the double-edged sword that is his tongue. The shout out he made with me and the General… can't see the pattern yet?"
Sam shook her head in a helpless sort of way. "Well, I was just thinking that we may be simply overreacting to something that isn't really there, sir."
Jack gave up. She could be stubborn when she wants to be. He turned instead to Janet. "What did their test results say, doc?"
"We've been having some concerns regarding Jonas' current behavior," Janet carefully said, "but I shouldn't put my finger on that theory just yet. I say we wait for the results on their blood cultures – "
Jack waved both arms. "See?"
" – but their PET scans shows neurological activity is within the norm. There has been no indication of any radical shift in their brain functions to suggest otherwise."
"That's why Hammond recalled Lou and his kids back for re-examination," Jack said, "to make sure if they're exhibiting the same behavior as Jonas had."
"SG-2 looked fine to me, sir," Sam said in agreement with the doctor, not quite ready to accept what he and Daniel had said at face value.
"The first test was enough to conclude that they had never been addicted or anywhere near an opium den." Janet said. "We already know the symptoms and what to look for."
Jack wasn't convinced. He crossed his arms as he bit his inner cheek, looking askance at the small woman.
Napoleonic power-monger…
"It may really just be stress, Colonel."
"Hey, I'm a guy easy enough to convince if it wasn't Jonas we're talking about here." Jack stated, looking at both women.
"Perhaps a change of scenery is required." Teal'c suggested.
"Somewhere out these walls." Sam said, looking around the room, to encompass the entire base.
"Considering that he and SG-2 haven't found another one of these opium dens." Daniel ventured. "No matter how different, little it maybe, Jonas' physiology is from ours, he would still be affected. He may be showing a whole new set of symptoms that we may not know about."
There were still a lot of things they didn't know about Jonas and his physiological make-up falls into that category which tends to leave them groping in the dark at times like this.
Jack dramatically waved his hands towards Daniel, a fellow comrade after his own heart. "Thank you!"
Ignoring his friend's outburst Daniel continued. "Because if Jack is right, the urgency of finding Jonas soon had just doubled. Since the intensity of a person mood swings is proportional to the time he spent on such places, the narcotic-like symptoms will eventually progress. And it will become worse by the minute."
Jack once again waved his hands at Daniel with a triumphant look that says, "Beat that!"
Still, the doctor remained stoic. "I wouldn't be surprised if it is indeed fatigue. Jonas had been hard at work the entire week, between the translations and mediating. He never did find time to spend his leave in indulgence." Janet thought aloud, not noticing the looks Jack had been receiving from his team mates.
"Hey, this entire business wasn't my idea, alright?" Jack blurted out, totally annoyed at them. "I was just as surprised as you were."
"But still you knew." Sam said accusingly.
"Like I had a choice. Hammond called me up 2 days later to tell me that Pierce had asked for Jonas to mediate between SG-15 and those damn nerdies they were babysitting off world. They keep on getting out of the established parameters set up for their own protection." Jack exclaimed, his anger now unleashed.
It did not end there, however. After helping Pierce out, another problem had risen. SG-2's resident archaeologist came down with the flu and there was no one at the base available at the time. Jonas had just returned after being off world for three days with SG-15.
Jack knew the General was hesitant on putting Jonas into another mission. The kid was supposed to be on leave and yet he had already spent most of it working. Jack could not do anything about it, him being states away. So Jack left it in his CO's capable hands to decide whether he would let Jonas take the assignment or not with the request to inform him in any case. The kid seemed eager to help anyway he could. That was Jonas' way. And it was annoying at times.
"Hey, I wanted to tell you but none of you were available."
That effectively sobered the Major up. Jack knew he was right. She had spent her leave with her brother Mark and his family on a hiking trip. Daniel was on an out of town convention and Teal'c was off world visiting his son, Ry'ac. Meanwhile, the Colonel was up in his cabin fishing but the General had managed to contact him.
Janet thought it best to butt in and cleared her throat. "Why don't we all concentrate on finding Jonas first?"
"Doctor Fraiser is right," Teal'c agreed. "And to be able to determine anything, we must proceed with the search for Jonas Quinn."
That effectively broke the tension in the room as they remembered what they were all here for. Jack wanted to say more but the doctor and Teal'c were right. Besides, he wasn't blaming anyone he just wanted them to look at it in his perspective.
"Or maybe," Daniel paused, causing Jack to look at him. Something about Daniel's stance told him that the younger man's got something up his sleeve. "This one's different. I mean, it might be a different kind of "drug" – like opium from marijuana or cocaine. Janet?"
"They'd still have the same dopamine-like effect on the body."
Daniel nodded. "Yes, but supposing that this "other drug" affects another organ in the body and its symptoms are quite different altogether?" he began excitedly. "Don't you think it might be at least possible? We know little of Goa'uld physiology to begin with much less their likes and dislikes."
He looked around at the others wearing curious expressions on their faces. He puckered his lips and narrowed his eyes. "Let me rephrase that," he corrected. "We know little of their likes and dislikes besides wanting to torture and kill us."
"Daniel," Janet sighed, "I cannot answer that not until I have their test results on my hands."
Daniel certainly looked like he cannot wait any longer. Jack felt the same way, too. "We have to do something." His blue eyes stared directly at Jack as the implications to this reasoning hit him. "Jack – "
He knew where this conversation was leading to and held up his forefinger. "Oh, no!" Jack cuts him off, shaking his head adamantly. "No. We are not going anywhere near that place, Daniel. Remember the last time? You flatlined. And I had to drag your ass back to the planet just to get your heart to start beating again."
Daniel winced at that. "But, Jack – "
"Ack!" Jack silenced him with a wave of a hand. He wasn't going to let Daniel do that puppy-eyed look he makes to able to get what he wants. The matter was not open for discussion.
"Maybe Daniel's right, sir." Sam interjected. "Going to P2A-497 may be the only way to find out if something is making Jonas, and probably SG-2, behave this way."
"Careful!" Jack warned his 2IC. "Be careful!" The last thing he needed was for Sam to side with Daniel on this.
Janet had had enough of all this second guessing. "Let's not jump into any conclusions here, people. It's not getting us anywhere." That shut them all up. "Now, does anyone have a plan?"
- - - o O o - - -
Thirty minutes into the search and still no sign, not even a clue, of Jonas Quinn. Jack's patience was starting to get thin.
SG-1 decided to spread out, cover as much ground as possible. Dr. Fraiser couldn't hide the worry she felt. Maybe the idea that Jack being right was starting to sink in. That gave Jack an unwelcomed satisfaction that his suspicions might be correct all along.
"Look for any sign of trouble. Our boy might be right smack in the middle of it." Jack imparted to the others before leaving to their assigned places.
For Jack's part, he had double checked everywhere he could think of from level 21 down, not even a single head overlooked just to be sure. Going with his own suggestion, the Colonel was on the look out for any sign of disturbance.
They did not bother bringing a radio, since they all agreed on using a prearranged code through the PA system once one of them finds the missing alien. And if they still couldn't find him, they were to reconvene at Daniel's office after thirty minutes.
Damage control. That's what Jack was doing. He wanted to hold off informing the General of their present dilemma as long as possible. If they find Jonas without raising the alarm then there's no need to bother the Base Commander about something that they could handle themselves, right? Besides, the Colonel was surely going to get an earful from his CO when he hears about this.
It took Jack a few moments to recognize the Gate klaxon ringing throughout the base for the nth time that day. Incoming wormhole. Who else was scheduled to return today? Oh, yeah, SG-2.
That's good, he thought. Lou and his kids might be able to help them find their missing team mate. He looked at the time and frowned. The others might be back at Daniel's office by now. He turned to the nearest elevator.
Jonas was somewhere in the mountain of that he was certain. The longer they dally the more worried Jack got. As the hour progresses, Jonas' mood swings would eventually get worse. The kid might manifest suicidal tendencies and that was what Jack was afraid of.
So much for finishing that damn report lying open on his desk.
His priority was to find Jonas Quinn before he self-destructs.
They had to find him.
Fast.
- - - o O o - - -
Jack was still mentally berating himself upon entering Daniel's office and was just in time to see the archaeologist put the phone down. The trio looked up in unison.
"Janet's on her way up." Daniel said flatly. He then leaned forward, placed both elbows on the table and propped his face on both hands.
"She found Jonas?" was Sam's immediate question.
The young man shrugged. "She didn't say. But said they were on their way up."
The Major sat a little straighter as she exchanged glances with her CO. "They?"
Daniel shrugged again, a rather resigned one noticed Jack. He didn't have to say anything. His demeanor was enough to understand it as it is: slumped shoulders and downcast eyes. His young friend pushed his glasses up his nose before hugging himself like he always does whenever feelings of anxiety assailed him. Teal'c raised a brow and Sam looked apprehensive. Jack felt his heart drop in his gut and an unpleasant tingling sensation running up and down his spine.
They?
Jack crossed the room in a daze and pulled up a chair beside Daniel, sitting unceremoniously on it. He then buried his face between his crossed arms propped on the table totally alienating the others from his view. He needed the time to be by himself before doomsday arrived at Daniel's door.
Great. They'd been found out. Gen. Hammond's on his way there with Janet. Never mind on the how. Jack was in big trouble. Oh, yeah. A big, honking one that's for sure. His head made one nasty throb and his gut made a one-eighty back flip at the bashing he was gonna get. He winced – how was he ever going to get out of this one unscathed?
Ah, see, General, we kinda don't know where Jonas is at the moment. He slipped just when I was doing that report you wanted me to finish ASAP. Would you be so kind as to lend us a hand? Oh, yeah, the General's gonna love that. He might even be put up as a candidate worthy of demotion before this day's through.
"We had a disagreement before lunch."
Jack's head shot up to look at his 2IC, his morbid thoughts flitting away at her statement. Sam was perched on one of the smaller tables backed against the wall. Daniel and Teal'c looked up at her curiously.
"Carter?"
"It's nothing, sir." She said in an offhand manner. "Minor disagreement."
Jack was unconvinced. "Carter?"
Sam eventually gave in. "I was going to ask him to join us for lunch when Jonas said he wanted to have a word with Gen. Hammond about '497. I didn't know if he went through with it."
The Colonel nodded at that. "He did. I was there. That was one of the reasons the kid blew his top off. He wanted to return to P2A-497 ASAP but instead got the stand down order."
Sam looked aghast. "Really, sir? What did the General say?"
"Carter!" Jack spat. His second-in-command can be exasperating at times.
"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir." Sam said. "When I tried to talk him out of it, Jonas just got mad. We both said some things to each other that I'd rather not tell. Needless to say, we were not in the best of terms when we parted."
"Our boy's getting crankier by the minute," Jack chuckled in spite of himself.
"It would seem that you have exerted a great deal of influence over Jonas Quinn, O'Neill," Teal'c said, flatly.
"Hey!" Jack snapped. But one look at Teal'c's stoic face, the Colonel detected a ghost of a smile on the Jaffa's lips.
Then they heard it. Two distinct pairs of footsteps echoed in the hallway, approaching their direction at a hurried pace. One was the unmistakable click of heels on concrete and one the dull thud of heavy male shoes. All eyes turned to look at the open door, ready for the inevitable.
Dr. Fraiser appeared first.
Followed by a young man who was definitely not the General.
Everyone released the breaths they had no recollection of holding when no Base Commander appeared. None of it escaped Janet's notice.
"What is it?" she asked, looking at them.
It was Daniel who found his voice first. "We thought you were with Gen. Hammond."
"The General?" That made the doctor more confused.
"Lt. Edrald," Sam greets the newcomer standing beside Janet in a friendly manner, "good to see you back."
"Thank you, Major." 1st.Lt. Aidan Edrald replied, nodding in her direction. The Air Force lieutenant glanced at the small woman beside him before continuing on. "Doctor Fraiser discreetly informed SG-2 of the current situation regarding Jonas Quinn and Maj. Ferretti would like to assist SG-1 in locating him, sir. Without Gen. Hammond learning any of it, of course." he added quickly.
"Well, thank Lou for me," Jack said, feeling some of the weight lift from his shoulders. Their little search party wasn't so little anymore with Lou and SG-2 joining. "God knows we'll need all the covert help we can get."
Janet ushered the young man in with her. "The Lieutenant was the first one off the infirmary." Janet explained.
"How'd the examination go?" Jack asked.
Janet managed a tight smile. "The good news is no one in SG-2 showed the same behavior that Jonas did. Although, I cannot wholly say anything until – "
"The test results are on your hands." Daniel finished for her.
Janet nodded grimly. "Still nothing?"
All four members of SG-1 shook their heads at the same time.
"No one had seen Jonas Quinn either at the gym or the commissary." Teal'c informed her.
"I checked out Hammond's office, thinking the kid might want to have another word with him." Jack sighed. "But no go."
Sam buried both hands deep in the pockets of her BDU pants. "According to the SFs on his office block, they hadn't seen Jonas either since he left it around noon."
Around the time Sam had an argument with Jonas and Jonas having a rant at Hammond's office, Jack thought.
"Library?" Jonas loves going there in the hopes of finding new books to read, although Jack had already warned him that hoping the base will replenish their shelves will be next to nothing.
"Never there, sir."
"Crap," was all Jack could say at the moment. He placed thumb and middle fingers on his temples. The headache was now throbbing a bit painful than ever. Oh, boy. Who was the shithead who said he liked this Monday? Wait a minute… oh, yeah. Him.
"I checked the labs and the research department," Daniel reported. "He never went anywhere near them."
"Nor was he anywhere in the infirmary." Janet stood beside Sam, her face grim.
Double crap.
"Well, at least Jonas hadn't attempted getting out of the mountain," the archaeologist said lightly.
The Colonel turned his head to look at Daniel straight in the eye. "Yeah, well, maybe he should have. At least, we'll know where to find him."
Total silence. Nothing else was as disconcerting as the silence that permeated the air. Sighing heavily, Jack shifted his attention next to the dark-haired lieutenant who was quietly standing beside the door, seeming a bit conscious around them. Worry visibly etched on his face.
The two men had been friends for more than a year now. Edrald was one of the first persons to befriend the Kelownan and had done it at the time when the general emotion was one of anger towards Jonas.
Jack clearly remembers seeing the airman for the first time in the commissary with Jonas. It was one of those cases where the Kelownan was left behind while the rest of the team was off world.
"He was already like that on the second day of our stay on the planet." Edrald told them, his brows knit together. "We never really took much notice of it."
The Colonel heard dejection in his words. "Wasn't your fault, Lieutenant."
Edrald nodded at him, silently thanking for letting him off that easily. The young man's mood seemed to lighten after that as he leaned sideways on the bookshelf beside him, thoughtful. "Have you checked his quarters?" he quietly suggested, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
His suggestion made all eyes turn toward him making the young airman blush profusely, not used to such attention.
"You know, where he sleeps?" he said after clearing his throat. "That'd be the first place I'd look."
Jack stifled the compulsion to laugh out loud at the dumbfounded look on his friends' faces, thinking that he was also sporting that same facial expression as well. This kid had only known Jonas for a short time and it would seem that he's onto something they had overlooked from the very start.
Could it be that simple?
Daniel was thinking along the same lines. "Couldn't be that simple…"
Jack needed no further urging and was up and out the door towards the nearest elevator before the others followed, not far behind. They let a couple of personnel out before they all hopped into it. Daniel swiped his keycard and pushed the necessary button for the VIP level and waited.
All filed out upon reaching the appropriate floor except for Edrald. Jack skidded to a halt and the others did the same.
"Colonel?" Sam called out, frowning.
"Aren't you coming, Lieutenant?" Jack asked.
Edrald who was standing beside the elevator controls shook his head. "I just snuck out of the infirmary, sir. I must be getting back. The debriefing with Gen. Hammond will be in five minutes. Looks like you won't be needing SG-2's help after all, Colonel."
Jack nodded his understanding. As the airman swiped in his keycard, Jack remembered something.
"Hey, Edrald,"
The young man quickly looks up. "Sir?"
"Thanks."
The airman gave the Colonel a relaxed, friendly smile as the elevator doors closed. Jack stared at the shut doors for a moment. He'll remember to tell Ferretti to keep an eye out after the kid. Taking risk at befriending an unwanted alien. The kid's got gut. People like that were hard to come by nowadays. Heck, it's not hard to like the young man at all.
As the Colonel marched across the VIP corridor, he began thinking of ways to frighten his missing team mate for everything he'd done to them: insubordination, scaring the living daylights out of him, the headache… oh, yeah, he's not going to let the kid off easily on this one. He was so definitely gonna it, whatever's coming at him.
Bludgeoning the kid was a tempting enough idea. Fatigued or otherwise.
They were almost at the corridor where Jonas' private quarters was located. Daniel came up beside him, warning his commanding officer and friend not to do anything rash. When he didn't answer, Daniel shut up but edged a little closer to Jack.
Jack grabbed the door handle before anyone had a mind to stop him. He wanted to be as menacing to the little rebel as possible, screwing his face in a ferocious scowl as he barges into the room and…
Whatever he wanted to rant about instantly died in his lips as the others peeked in behind him. He heard the women's relative "ohs!" as they took in the scene before them.
They finally found their missing alien rebel.
"It appears that Jonas Quinn is asleep, O'Neill."
Count on Teal'c to enlighten them. Jack nodded absentmindedly as he continued looking at Jonas.
Jonas Quinn was fast asleep in the middle of the bed, lying on his side facing them. He was still in his BDUs and did not even bothered to pull up the sheets over him. No one said anything as they studied the sleeping figure curled up in a tight fetal position, his good arm placed protectively over his injured one. Both feet bare, one wrapped in a bandage.
The young man's face was void of the weariness and anger that he had been sporting all day. What remained behind was a vulnerable, fragile little kid.
Sam slipped past her CO, gently pulled the sheets near the Kelownan's feet and began tucking Jonas in, careful not to disturb him.
"Well," Daniel said in a low voice as he pushed his glasses up his nose, trying to hide the smile blossoming on his lips, "so much for bludgeoning someone today."
Jack snapped his head around to look at Daniel's smiling face. "Well, you looked like you were going to."
He felt someone's hand on his arm.
"I say we let him sleep, Colonel. It might be the reason why Jonas acts the way he does. He's spent. I can perform the tests tomorrow." Janet said softly, not taking her eyes off the room's sleeping occupant.
Jack nodded once more as he watched Sam fuss around the kid before bending over Jonas to brush a wayward lock of hair from his forehead. She smiled a secret smile as she studied his relaxed boyish face before straightening up and quietly walked toward the others after closing both bedside lamps. The Major shooed everyone out of the now darkened room before Jack quietly closed the door behind him.
Daniel had one question. "So… whose gonna tell the General?"
No one answered.
The archaeologist sighed beside Jack. His shoulders drooped as he knew who it was going to be. "Okay, I will." He said dejectedly.
"Okay," Jack answered quickly, smiling at Daniel. There were advantages to having civvies in a military team and he's going to use it to his full advantage.
"No," Sam interrupted, "we all will."
Janet smiled in agreement.
"Indeed." Teal'c seconded.
Jack's face fell. The prospect of explaining all this to his Commanding Officer was daunting enough that his headache's starting to come back with a vengeance.
And he said he liked this Monday?
Oi.
The End
So… tell me what you think of it. I know it's quite a merry-go-round thing but you have to admit it does happen even to the best of us, the bad side of second guessing. Greatly appreciate any reviews and/or comments you may want to throw my way.