Daniel lay amidst green linen and a myriad of tubes and wires. His skin looked yellow and waxen, and even from his position, so far away, Jack could see Daniel struggle with each new breath. Janet buzzed around him, checking vitals, changing IV solutions, ect.. All of it busy work. All of it useless. She had been at it now for two days with nothing to show for it. Daniel remained unconscious and they remained in the dark as to how to help him.
All Jack could think was 'he should be in there'. He wanted nothing more than to pull up a chair and sit beside his friend. To offer the comfort of the vigil for Daniel and for himself. The door opened behind him and Carter's blackened reflection took residence beside his own. He didn't acknowledge her, he didn't need to. He merely continued to watch Daniel as though he were the fragile tether holding him here.
A shiver ran through him. The cool stone he lay on settling a frozen ache within his bones. Rolling over, Daniel pushed himself up on shaky legs and blinked into the surrounding darkness. The cold biting at his unprotected feet propelling him forward, deeper into the dark.
Janet stood and worked her lip between her teeth. She needed an answer. She needed to know how to save him. She needed a miracle.
With none forth coming, she checked Daniel's vitals again, fluffed his pillows and turned to exit the tomb Dr. Jackson lay imprisoned in. She needed the brief reprieve that updating General Hammond allowed her. She felt weak and useless each time she fled from his side, but she could only take the emptiness of that room so long.
In her years as a doctor, she had spent many an hour beside a sick patient, busying herself until the revelation hit and a life-saving idea struck. This was different. Daniel was her friend and he wasn't in that room. His body lay forgotten atop the hospital green but he wasn't there. She could feel his absence with each breath that rasped out of his tired lungs.
It hurt her heart, but she knew nothing she did mattered. In this case, and so many cases that occurred on this base, she was useless. All of her medical training went out the window when they came through that pool of light wounded. Everyday was a learning experience and some days, she managed to figure it out. To make sense of it all and pull a miracle from her hat, but this wasn't one of those times.
She felt the hot gaze of Colonel O'Neill and nearly stumbled. She hadn't made eye contact since he took up residence in the observation room two days ago. She couldn't. She was too afraid he'd see the resignation in her eyes. Too afraid of the rage and sorrow it would bring to a man who had lost so much already.
Janet neared the door and reached to remove the mask covering her mouth. A sound from behind had her faltering. Slowly turning, Janet held her breath and approached the droning monitor that signaled the lack of Daniel's heartbeat. Her eyes tracked from the monitor to his still face. Denial screaming through her even as Colonel O'Neill's fists slammed against the window.
There was light. So sudden, so bright he let out a cry at the brilliant pain shooting through his unprepared eyes. The cold melted away to gentle warmth and he opened his watery eyes to find himself surrounded in a cocoon of honey-soft light.
Janet jumped back from Daniel's bed as the monitor continued to announce his death. The scene before her more devastating then the sound piercing her fear. Janet watched as Daniel's skin shimmered and thickened with a glossy wax coating. His IV slowly retracting from his thickening skin until it dangled loosely from the side of the bed.
Shutting off the droning monitor, Janet leaned down over Daniel and tried to find proof of life from within his new prison. No breath, only the slightest rise and fall of his chest proved he still lived. Janet stood up and looked at Colonel O'Neill for the first time. He stood at the entrance of the room, with two SF's restraining him from entering fully. She saw him sag with relief before wiping a hand down his face. He took a moment before jerking loose and fleeing the scene.
He stood, absorbing the heat through his chilled skin. His flesh prickled with the change in temperature and a shiver rushed through him. Blinking into the brightness, Daniel tried to look around but darkness licked at the edges of his illuminated bubble. There was nothing to look at but himself. Taking stock, he noticed his glasses were missing as were his shoes and socks. He stood in blue jeans and a black tee shirt. He looked down and saw that the floor glowed brightly through his flesh, detailing his veins and bones. It was disturbing. He looked away.
Jack stood in the corridor and tried to calm his heart. It beat erratically within his chest, causing his breaths to come out in shallow puffs making him light-headed. Rubbing his temples, he stepped back until he felt the support of the wall behind him and allowed himself to slide down to a squat.
It wasn't happening.
There was no way what just happened could actually have happened. Yeah, sure. He's seen some odd things since the opening of the gate but never had anyone's skin pushed needles out or, or. . . God! He didn't have words to describe it. It was all too horrifying to think about. But think about it he did. Over and over it was replaying in his mind.
The sudden clenching of his stomach as that sound invaded his ears. The quiet cry from Carter as the first shimmer became visible on Daniel's skin. The panic that propelled him from the room with only the single-minded thought of getting to Daniel. He didn't know what he'd do when he got there, only that he had to be there. Had to touch him before- that's as far as he got. Before. He couldn't allow himself to finish that sentence. Couldn't think those final words.
He wouldn't allow himself to think that Daniel was. . .
. . .dead.
At least, that was his current theory. Daniel paced the confines of his sphere of light and rethought the situation. He recalled the events that led up to now, and he cringed at the memory of attacking Jack. He couldn't remember why he was so angry, only that he was. He had vibrated with rage and unleashed it all on Jack. Now, it didn't seem like he'd get the chance to apologize. What, with him being dead and all.
"You are not dead."
Daniel's head whipped around at the unexpected voice. Squinting through the light, into the darkness beyond, he tried to discover the source but found nothing.
"What are you searching for?"
Again, Daniel's head whipped around. This time he found a woman standing before him. She wore khaki's and a loose, white tee shirt. Her skin glowed a deep gold and her sandy hair hung in a heavy ponytail. She appeared young, yet her eyes seemed older. Sadder.
"Who-"
"Who I am is unimportant. I am merely a guide." Her voice held the cultured softness he remembered from his academic days. It vibrated with knowledge and held a resonance of mystique. He felt his recently suppressed curiosity pique and stared at the newcomer with all the avid interest he had once felt in his job.
"Where are we going?"
"Not we. You. The universe is a fragile existence, Daniel. Life and death are separated by choices, thoughts, words. A soul can live or die by their actions and of the actions of those around them. Though a soul may choose their path an accounting must be kept. For existence to continue balance is needed. Sometimes the balance is disrupted and a course changed and the veils fade, and lines are crossed. This is why you are here. The balance must be restored."
Daniel stared at the women and allowed a thousand fractured thoughts to race through his head until he felt the correct question fill his mind and tumble passed his lips.
"Huh?"
"I don't know."
They stood inside the observation room and tried to understand what was happening to Daniel. Janet's answer had them all stunned into silence. It didn't take long though for Hammond to breach it with his commanding voice.
"Well, what do you know doctor?"
Janet inhaled a deep breath and turned to block out the scene inside the quarantine bay. She needed to step back and hide behind her professional mask. She needed to detach herself from the case. It's what she did in these instances. These times when she became too close. Too attached. Just one problem. . . it wasn't working. Janet expelled the air from her lungs in a huff and met Hammond's gaze with the truth displayed in the shimmer of her eyes.
"Not a whole lot, Sir." Janet coughed to clear her burning throat and then began her speech. "It appears that a wax coating, approximately one and a half inches thick has grown over Daniel's skin, blocking all attempts to treat him. We're no longer able to monitor his vitals or provide intravenous hydration. As to how and why, I can only speculate. From Daniel's recounting of events, it's very likely the cause of contamination was the airborne spores he inhaled after the fungal growth exploded. Comparing reports of the hostile creatures SG-1 encountered and Daniel's owned increased aggressiveness I believe these spores somehow excelerated the production of adrenaline and testosterone. I was able to scrape enough of Daniel's blood from the first vial we drew to confirm this. The abnormalities didn't appear when I first tested it. It seems as if the mutation continued after the blood was drawn. The only thing that's certain, is that the substance Daniel touched was solid prior to its eruption." Janet held her breath and waited for her words to settle and hit there mark. It didn't take long.
Sam paled and tried hard to remain standing as her head floated somewhere above her neck. The room seemed to tilt and spots of color danced before her eyes. She knew what Janet hadn't said. She knew what Janet had dangled out there for her to catch and confirm for her. She just didn't want to know. But this is what she did. She absorbed data and expelled it in clear, horrifying terms for all to understand. She just wished she didn't feel like a four year old about to discover there was no Santa clause. Her hesitant voice and shaking hands betrayed her years in the military as she dealt the final blow. "J-Janet, are you saying you think Daniel's going to burst?"
Janet met four sets of eyes and took the cowards way again. Giving in to the need, Janet turned away from the fearful faces and looked to the man they all worried over. She'd have to dim the lights when she went back, she thought. The overheads cast a harsh hue over his already sallow skin tone.
tbc. . .
A/N: I know this has been a long time coming but I promise you the story is finished. I am just tweaking a few lines and adding a word or two here and there for clarity. The final chapter will be up in a day or two. Thanks so much for sticking with it. Rae