A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while. RL has gotten in the way. Go figure.

Chapter 4

Daniel watched helplessly from the doorway of the infirmary as the medics surrounded the girl and checked her vital signs. Once Janet was satisfied that she was stable, the rest of the medical staff dispersed.

Hammond came up behind Daniel and stood next to him. "What happened to her out there, Doctor?"

"We don't know exactly, General. All I know is that she is very lucky," Daniel said.

"She was the only survivor, correct?"

Daniel sighed with regret. "Yes."

"Daniel," Janet said from beside the girl's bed, "Can you tell me anything about these cuts on her arm? They almost seem like they form a symbol of some sort."

"They do," Daniel answered as he and Hammond walked up to the bed and stood on the side opposite Janet. "What's wrong with her?" he asked.

"Uh, well," Janet said as she tried to figure out why Daniel seemed to be avoiding her question, "she's unconscious right now, but she's stable. I don't think she's in any pain. As far as I can tell, she just passed out from being so overwhelmed – probably a panic attack. . . . You were saying the cuts do form a symbol?"

"Not in any pain . . ." he muttered softly. "Yes, they form a symbol," he said flatly. "She marked herself for dead."

Hammond and Janet looked at each other in concern.

"Well, the cuts will heal in time. They are a bit infected at the moment, but that should clear up soon," Janet explained.

Daniel rolled his eye a bit. "Heal in time . . ." he muttered, running his hand through his hair.

"Dr. Jackson," Hammond said, "are you alright?"

"Sure," he replied. "Why shouldn't I be?"

Hammond looked at Janet, obviously not convinced by Daniel's answer.

"There will be a debriefing of the mission in 45 minutes," he reported to Daniel. "Keep me updated on her condition," he said to Janet as he left.

"Yes, sir," she answered.

Daniel moved to the spot next to the bed where Hammond had been standing and stared down at the girl.

"Daniel? Are you sure you're OK?" Janet said with concern.

"Yes, I'm fine." His eyes didn't move from the girl.

The truth was that Daniel wasn't 'fine.' He was caught up in how lonely the girl must have felt. And he knew a thing or two about feeling lonely.

Janet watched him for a moment. "All right." She still wasn't convinced.

Janet started walking away. Just then the girl opened her eyes and sat up quickly in the bed.

"Whoa," Janet said to her, quickly coming back to the bed, "Take it easy."

Daniel put his hand on the girl's shoulder. She began to get very dizzy, so she lied back down.

"It's all right," Daniel consoled her. "You're safe."

The girl looked at him straight in the eyes, just as she had done before. She seemed to be almost pleading with him. She grabbed onto the sheets that were covering the trunk of her body. Her knuckles turned white from how tightly she was holding her fists. Her eyes began to tear up.

Daniel looked up at Janet. "Can we have a minute?"

"Sure," Janet said. "But then we need to do the standard medical tests on her."

"OK," he said as she walked away.

He looked back down at the girl and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. "I know," he said with understanding.

After a moment, the girl, still having a tight grip on the sheets, began to rock violently back and forth, causing the bed to shake.

He tried to calm her down, but it didn't work. "Uh . . ." Daniel said, wondering if he should call Janet back.

The girl began to thrash around, as if out of control.

"Janet!" Daniel called out. "Someone! Help!"

Janet and a couple of nurses rushed over to the bed.

"What happened?" Janet asked Daniel as she tried to settle the girl down.

"I - I don't know. She just started . . . I don't know."

The girl was still thrashing around in the bed, now moaning and groaning.

"OK, get a sedative," Janet ordered one of the nurses.

Once they gave her the medicine and it began to calm her down, Janet faced Daniel. "Did she act like this at all at any other time you were with her?"

"No. Quite the opposite actually. She was very quiet. Although, she did start rocking back and forth with her hands covering her ears when the Jaffa were walking by while we were taking cover. Other than that she was completely calm. Scared, but calm."

"OK. Did you actually see her make those cuts in her arm?"

"No."

"But you're sure they're self-inflicted?"

"Yes. Why?" he asked warily.

Janet sighed. "Let's just say we need to keep a very close watch on her."

Daniel thought he could see where this was going and it upset him. He sighed. "All right."

ooOoo

SG-1's debriefing was fairly short and simple since they really didn't know exactly what had happened on the planet. However, at the end of the meeting, General Hammond brought up what Daniel knew eventually had to be discussed, but had hoped could be avoided for a while.

"Dr. Jackson, do you think you can find out more about what happened to this girl's village before you arrived there?"

"Uh, I can try, sir. But I'm not sure if Dr. Fraiser would approve under the circumstances. This girl is under a lot of emotional stress."

"I'll speak with Dr. Fraiser regarding this matter. I'll get you permission to question her as soon as possible."

'Question her?' he thought. 'Well, isn't that a nice way of putting it. Yes, that's just what this traumatized little girl needs to be a part of: an interrogation.'

"General, with all do respect -" Daniel began to say.

"Doctor, I know that she has been through a lot. But we don't even know exactly what 'a lot' entails. Yes, we know there was an ambush, but we don't know why or by which goa'uld. We need to know for security reasons what was happening on that planet. And frankly, I'd rather you be the one asking the questions rather than Dr. MacKenzie, if you catch my drift."

After hearing this, Daniel decided that he really didn't have much of a choice. "All right, sir. I'll do my best. It'll take time though. This isn't something to be rushed into."

"I understand. Thank you, Doctor."

ooOoo

After the debriefing, Daniel went back to the infirmary. Janet was coming out to meet him a few feet outside the door.

"How is she?" he asked.

"She's sleeping. She shouldn't be disturbed now. Let her rest," Janet said, obviously not wanting Daniel to go into the infirmary.

"I don't want to disturb her, Janet. I just want to see her. I won't make a peep." He began to pass her, but she moved back in front of him.

"Daniel, let her sleep," she insisted.

"Janet? What's going on? What aren't you telling me?"

"She's fine. All the tests came back normal. Just let her sleep."

Jack came up to them. He had overheard the conversation from down the hall.

"Oh for cryin' out loud! Let the man look in on her. What's the harm?" Jack took Daniel's arm and they both pushed their way past Janet.

"Colonel!" Janet yelled after him, but it did no good.

When Jack and Daniel got into the infirmary, they didn't see the girl. Janet walked up next to them.

"Janet?" Daniel stared at her. His emotions were a mix between frustration and worry.

"Where is she?" Jack asked looking around the room.

Janet sighed and then blinked hard. She turned to face Daniel. "She's in medical isolation room one."

"Why?" he asked with a twinge of anger. This is what Daniel had feared would happen.

"Easy big fella," Jack said to Daniel as he patted him on the shoulder. "Janet, would you like to explain what's going on here, please?"

"I knew that you wouldn't be happy about this, Daniel. I just wanted to give the girl some time to rest before dealing with this situation. I'm sorry," Janet replied.

"Well, you're right. I'm not happy." Daniel began to storm out of the infirmary and down the hall. Janet had crossed the line in his mind. She put a lonely, scared, little girl in a room all by herself because she thought that she needed to be observed in case she went 'crazy' again. "Did you strap her to the bed too?" he yelled over his shoulder. He continued to walk purposefully to the observation deck of the medical isolation room without waiting for an answer.

Jack looked at Janet with a questioning face.

"Colonel, this girl is disturbed. She's seen something horrific and it's taking its toll on her. She needs to be watched very carefully."

"All right, Janet," Jack replied.

Jack and Janet went after Daniel.