GATE CRASHER'S – CHAPTER 7
Unfortunately for the SG-1 team, demonic hordes are not the most organized groups in the galaxy, so Dawn taking out what leadership there was, didn't change things a whole lot. However the enhanced vision and speed that she'd given them did. Combine that with the girl's position above, so she could see the entire field, and they were in pretty good shape, for now.
The presence of the big gun also changed the dynamics a bit. It broke up large concentrations of the creatures, forcing them to operate individually. This made them easier for the SG-1 team to pick off. And they were doing that, the slaughter was already fearful, however there were an awful lot of demons to deal with.
Dawn noted almost absently that the forward positions would soon be over-run. They had been placed far out solely for the purpose of breaking up any momentum that the demons might have had. They were too far apart for mutual support, so they needed to fall back to the second line.
"Sam, fall back now" Dawn said over her com "then when I give the word Teal'c, you fall back to line two as well, and then Daniel will be tail end Charlie; I'll keep you all covered." Dawn watched as the blond woman moved back towards the second line of foxholes. Sam never turned; she always kept her face and weapon towards the demons. Seeing an enemy flee, or so they thought, naturally made all the demons move towards that position, meaning that they crowded together. Dawn used this lapse in judgment to immolate as many demons as possible with the ship's gun. The howls and shrieks of the injured and dying combined with the stench of roasting meat sickened Sam, to the point where she nearly puked but she completed falling back and settled into her new hole. When she arrived, she found a present for her in the shape of a grenade launcher. Rising up she proceeded to continue Dawn's work while the girl turned the gun to support Teal'C.
Soon both Teal'C and Daniel were in their new holes, and both had found presents similar to the one that Sam had. The heavy weapons and mutually supporting positions allowed the visitors to continue their structured form of murder. The field in front of them was a charnel ruin of bodies, and parts of bodies, and yet the demons still came on, seemingly as numerous as before; and Dawn knew that despite how well they were doing, it would soon be time to fall back again, coming that much closer to the point of no return.
Dawn took a second to glance over to where Ian and Jack would be coming from, trying to will them into appearance. Unfortunately it did no good, so with a sigh she returned to keeping her new friends alive as best she could.
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"So we've done the hide and pray thing, now what kid" Jack asked.
"We're gonna have to rig this thing so that you can drag it without using your hands. We both make a break for it, and if needed, I do the rear guard thing while you high-tail it out of here. Once you're out, you rig the detonator; then I pop out and we seal them in. Then we bust it for the ship and hope that we can get there, and it's ready to fly."
"You could have just said 'we run like hell', it would have meant the same thing."
"True, but what I said sounded more thought out."
"There is that" Jack said with a shrug "so what do we use on these handles?"
Ian took off his web gear and stripped his shirt off "this ought to do on my end, and you can use my belt for your end".
"OK" O'Neill said and the two of them quickly rigged the Ark so it could be dragged by one person.
"Let's do this" Ian said and the two of them crept out of their cul-de-sac and headed for the exit. It was a couple of minutes before they were seen, but when they were it got bad really fast.
"Go" Ian yelled, and turned to buy Jack the time he needed. For his part Jack was thinking jus how heavy the darn thing was, but he dug in and started moving again, gaining speed as he went. Jack was so focused on pulling the Ark that he almost missed the two guards that were at the entrance, almost but not quite. Still dragging the Ark with his left hand, he unlimbered his M-4 with his right and started hosing the demons down. Gore and entrails coated the walls as he kept firing even though his targets had stopped moving, he wasn't taking any chances. As he neared the entrance he glanced back over his shoulder. His young partner was holding the line, but barely so. Jack had never seen anyone move as fast as Ian was, yet the young man still had several wounds on his body already. Jack wasn't sure how much longer the kid could hold out, so he put on a burst of speed and dragging the Ark, made it out into the sunlight.
He kept going till he felt that he was out of the blast zone. He let go of the Ark and ran back to the entrance and yelled "clear" to his young partner. Ian didn't turn to face him, but he answered 'I'm out' in Jack's head.
Jack picked up the detonator and sprinted back to the Ark. Just as he got there, Ian materialized and just sagged to the ground. Jack didn't hesitate and hit the go button on the detonator. The explosives ripped through the entrance to the storage area, and sealed the demons inside, at least for a bit. The two men just looked at each other for a second, the each one grabbing and end they headed off towards the ship.
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Dawn was getting ready to redeploy again, when she heard the roar of the explosives. She glanced quickly in that direction and saw two people coming towards her with a box slung in between them. Realizing that they were on their way, she altered her plans somewhat. "Sam, fall back now. Teal'C, when I tell you, fall back two holes so you're right by the ship. Daniel, can you hold out there for another five minutes?"
"I should be able to" Daniel replied.
"Then do that, but be careful. Jack and Ian are on their way so watch where you're aiming. Once they pass you, fall back and cover them. Same thing with you Sam, once the party is past you, fall back providing cover fire. Does everyone understand?"
After getting three affirmatives, she said "OK Teal'C, Sam is in place time for you to move." As the Jaffa was hurrying back to his next position, Dawn glanced again at the two people hurrying in their direction. She tried to will them more speed as she turned back to killing demons and making sure they all got out alive.
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For Jack and Ian, the trip seemed to take forever. They were carrying the Ark one handed while they out cleared the few demons in their way with their guns. Jack didn't know how the kid was holding up; he just knew that he was about at the end of his rope. He was still moving when he noticed that they now had an escort. Daniel was behind them keeping the demons away. Realizing they were close to home, the two men put on more speed. As Sam joined them, Ian called Daniel over and handed him the makeshift handle they were using to transport the Ark, and the younger man went off to get Dawn. Sam and finally Teal'C were providing fire as the two SG-1 members hauled their prize into the ship, and soon they were joined by one of the Vatican agents, but Dawn didn't look very happy. She took over Teal'C's position as the Jaffa went to the controls to get them off the ground.
"Where's Ian" Sam yelled over.
"He's manning the gun until we're off, then he's gonna pop in." Dawn answered, even though the girl looked happy Sam could tell that Dawn wasn't pleased with this turn of events. Sam was reminded of the times that Jack had done something similar. Shrugging to herself she went back to her job of keeping the bad guys at bay.
Sam could feel the engines firing up through the vibrations in the ship's hull. Very soon after that Jack and Daniel had joined the two women in keeping the demons clear of the ship. Finally they were ready to lift off and Teal'C yelled back for them to close the hatch. As it was closing everyone felt the ship lift off from the ground. They had been in the air a few seconds, when all the sudden, Ian was among them, looking very tired. He looked like he was about to say something when a hand shot out and slapped him in the back of the head.
"What were you trying to prove you moron" Dawn yelled at him "how even Angel's could die."
Ian turned towards her with a hang-dog expression, but also a twinkle of mirth in his eyes. "I was doing what was needed, you know that."
"Oh" Dawn exclaimed "and how are you so positive that I knew that."
"Because if you disagreed you would have never left me alone there" he replied.
Dawn just stood there for a moment, her mouth moving but no sound coming out. Finally she dropped down to the deck and held her husband, sobbing the entire time "I was so worried" she repeated over and over.
"I know you were Bella Alba, but its part of the job, you know that. And you better believe I was worried the entire time we were gone." Dawn just nodded and started running her hands over Ian's body, healing the wounds that were there.
"So how did the retrieval go" she asked.
"Despite Jack slowing us down" Ian began.
"Me slowing us down" Jack immediately shot back "who didn't know 'Pax'?"
"OK" Ian said with a grin "despite Jack getting lucky once". The young man was silenced again by another yell of outrage.
"I require assistance" Teal'C called from the front, and with those words, all the light-heartedness went out of the room.
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They all moved to the front and looked out the viewing ports; no-one could believe what they were seeing. There were Jaffa everywhere, in the woods and even in the clearing around the Stargate; in the sky they could see gliders headed their way.
"What do you suggest O'Neill" Teal'C asked.
Jack looked at Ian "it's your party what do you think?"
Ian studied the ground around the Stargate for a moment. Finally he knelt down beside Teal'C and pointed "bring us in that way, strafing as we come in. I want the nose as close to that cliff as you can get, that way we only have to deal with a treat from one direction."
"And what are we gonna do when we land, ask everyone else to leave" Jack asked.
"No" Ian said "the four of you will cover Dawn and myself, we'll drag our passenger out and then I'll show em what's inside."
Sam and Daniel both blanched at Ian's words, they had studied the Ark and had read about its capabilities. Dawn answered with an emphatic "no, there has to be another way."
Ian turned to her and said "I wish there were Bella Alba, but it's the only way."
"But why you" the woman persisted.
"Because I'm the only one that has a chance of surviving it" Ian answered with perfect logic.
"I don't like it" Dawn said, her eyes tearing up.
"Neither do I beautiful" Ian cooed, stroking her cheek "but sometimes you've got to play the hand you're dealt."
Jack looked at the two silently for a moment, then turned to Teal'C and said "do what the kid said."
Everyone braced themselves as Teal'C brought the glider around, and tried to bring it in on the proper course. Jack was manning the weapons and was clearing their way in, hoping that the young man knew what he was doing. Eventually they were too close to the ground for the guns to be useful anymore, so he braced himself like everyone else. The glider hit with a jolt and bounced a time or two, eventually skidding to a stop almost exactly where Ian had hoped. It was a short way to the Stargate, now all they had to do was get through an army of Jaffa.
The SG-1 team was busy getting their weapons ready and Dawn and Ian were freeing the Ark from it's protective bindings when Ian addressed them all "when I yell 'now' I want all of you to drop to the ground and close your eyes, no matter what you hear or feel, keep them closed."
"Why" Jack asked.
"So you'll live through it" Ian replied.
"And all of the Jaffa out there that don't know to close their eyes" Jack asked.
"Won't be a problem anymore" Ian told him with grim finality.
"And what about you?"
"I might survive, which is better odds than anyone else here, the rest of you definitely wouldn't survive."
"OK" Jack said, and hit the switch that opened the cargo hatch. As soon as the hatch opened, fire erupted from the tree-line across from them. Moving with the assurance that comes from fighting together over years and trusting each other, the SG-1 team laid down a suppressive fire and moved out of the ship; forming a supporting perimeter.
Ian and Dawn came out with the Ark supported between them. They were each using one hand to support the Ark and a pistol in their other hand. They added their fire to the SG-1 team's and kept firing until they were empty. Then Ian turned to the Ark and morphed into his angelic self. He reached for the lid, but Dawn stopped him for the moment. There were tears in her eyes as she poured holy water over his hands, providing an additional protection.
"Thank you" he said.
"Keep yourself alive" she replied and kissed his cheek.
He just nodded and then yelled "Now".
Dawn and the SG-1 team all hit the ground and closed their eyes. Jack heard a sound, like the arc of a tazer; and a scream from Ian. Both of these things didn't quite mask the scrape of wood on wood and suddenly Jack's senses were overloaded. When he tried to describe it later, the only thing he could say was that it was like an explosion, but with no sound. Daniel felt as though an intense X-Ray had passed over his body, leaving his skin itchy. Sam felt as though her entire body was being washed over by warm water, like a gentle wave was breaking over her. Dawn felt nothing but worry.
After what seemed like an interminable time, but was only about five seconds, the sound of wood on wood was heard again, followed by the sound of a body hitting the ground. Dawn was instantly there cradling her husband's body in her arms, tears cascading down her face. Sam was there an instant later, making sure that the Vatican agent was still alive. He was, but he was burned on his face and arms, it reminded Sam of radiation burns. What really surprised her was that Ian's wings were still deployed; she had thought that they would have receded after he lost consciousness.
Jack was watching the tree-line and the sky. The gliders that he saw appeared to be totally out of control, like the pilots had been killed or incapacitated; but more importantly there was no fire coming from the trees, or anywhere else for that matter.
He turned and looked at Dawn. "What did that thing do?"
"They were destroyed because they couldn't handle exposure to God's light" Daniel answered for her "the contents of the Ark are relics of the Creator's direct contact on this plane of existence; our minds are not capable of surviving exposure to that."
"So it drove everyone mad" Jack asked.
"No, it blasted their souls, it burned out their minds" Daniel told him.
Jack felt an icy finger travel up his spine. He shook it off and got back to business. "OK, we seem to have a clear path to the gate, Daniel you help me with the Ark, Teal'C carry our wounded team-mate, and Sam, you make sure Dawn makes it."
The team moved quietly and efficiently. They made their way over to the DHD and dialed up Earth. The wormhole was quickly established and SG-1 started up the ramp. 'The mission was a success' Jack thought but as he looked at the figure in Teal'C's arms and the distraught woman that Sam was practically carrying and he had to wonder if success was worth the price.
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AN UNKNOWN TIME, AN UNKNOWN PLACE
Ian's eyes slowly fluttered open, not exactly sure where he would find himself. At first the light hurt and he winced, but as he became accustomed to it, he examined his surroundings and became confused. He had expected to see either Dawn or Heaven (although in his opinion they were the same thing), but instead he found himself in something that resembled a conference room. His eyes swept the room, looking for some clue that would tell him where he was, but there was nothing, the room was completely nondescript.
"A little confusion is to be expected" said a voice behind him.
Ian whipped around, and was blinded for a moment, whoever or whatever had just spoken seemed to be made of light. In a second or two the light faded and Ian could see that he was in the room with a person of uncertain gender, and this person was carrying a sword.
"Michael" he said finally.
"Yes little brother" he/she said "how are you?"
"Still confused" Ian replied "I expected Earth or Heaven, not somewhere else."
"Well, you're not quite dead yet" the Archangel responded "you soul has left your body, but your body has yet to die."
"So I'm in Limbo" Ian said "isn't that just peachy".
"It could be worse" Michael replied.
"I suppose" Ian said, but then he got a gleam in his eyes "you said my body wasn't dead yet, didn't you?"
"That is true."
"Could you send me back, just to say goodbye" Ian begged.
"I have the power to do so" Michael said "that isn't the problem."
"Then what is?"
"I'm just not sure how popular the move would be with the boss."
"Come on Michael, I've got to see her just one more time, you both owe me that."
Michael sat for a minute and finally looked up "very well" she/he said "and tell her thank you from us as well, please." With that he gestured with his right hand and Ian felt as though he had been punched in the chest. Then it all went black.
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Doctor Frasier was worried. Dawn just sat there, never leaving her husband's side. She had talked to the girl on a couple of occasions and told her that the odds of him coming out of it, even for a moment were microscopic. She shuddered at the memory of the look the young woman had given her, and the flat implacable expression in her voice when she said "if there's a way, he'll find it. And I will be here when he does." That was the end of it. Some people from the Vatican had come and taken away whatever SG-1 had brought back with it. Janet had seen Dawn talk to the men for a moment. They had just nodded and left. So there Dawn sat, barely moving, barely eating, barely sleeping; a tired sentinel on an improbable watch.
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For Dawn, there was no realization of how long she had been there. She remembered the Vatican people coming to speak to her. She had thanked them for their concern and asked them to ask the Cardinal to say a mass of healing for her husband. They had agreed and left her to herself. The doctor had been by a couple of times, but Dawn believed that she had finally managed to scare the doc off. She just sat and remembered her time with the man in front of her; the happy and the scary, the great and the awful, the last seven years, the years that they had been together. She had tried to figure out if she had any regrets, anything that she would have done differently given the chance. She couldn't think of one, and that was amazing to her. Seven years and no regrets, well except for the regret that it had to end. She could better understand how he had felt all those years ago, the first time she had been shot. She had been furious with the way he had reacted, but now she was feeling many of the same things that he had, the sorrow and the helplessness.
Apparently she had drifted off, because there was something tickling her face. Idly she shooed it away, only to have it come back on the other side, she heard a bit of a rustle and opened her eyes. There was a wing in her face, the end stroking her cheeks. She looked around it, into the open eyes of the man she loved. "You're as beautiful as I remember Bella Alba" he said, his voice hoarse from disuse.
Tears pouring down her cheeks, she flung herself forward and took his face in her hands, nearly smothering him with kisses. "They said you'd never wake up" she finally managed.
"And you didn't believe them" he said with conviction "that's my girl, stubborn to the end.
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As soon as Ian opened his eyes, two others were aware of what was going on. A message was sent and a decision made. 'Time to get to work' they both thought.
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Buffy was in her office at Slayer Central in Mondoneido, another class was moving through. It had gotten a bit harder over the years. Now it wasn't just newbies coming through, now older slayers were coming through for refresher training and to learn new things, like group tactics. So the way they were trained had to change, and it was a full time job for Buffy, keeping up with all that. She was reviewing the girl's progress reports when she realized that she wasn't alone anymore. She looked up to see a face that she knew, but who wasn't really welcome; it was William, the newest Seraph. Buffy felt a momentary stab of pain through her heart; William had been called after Daniel had been killed.
His death had hurt Buffy more than she was willing to admit. Buffy had met the man when he had been there recovering from being tortured at the hands of Ethan Rayne. She had been attracted to him, not only because of his looks, but because of the serenity that seemed to hang on him like an invisible coat. Serenity was something that she needed in her life, and he had helped her with that. After Xander's wedding, they had spent more and more time together. She had even gone on missions with him, much like her sister, protecting him when he was in danger. They had become closer than ever after one night in the cold, hiding from an angry demon horde. Buffy had thought she had finally found someone to share her life with. That had all come to an end one day when Janice had shown up with tears in her eyes. Buffy had known instantly why she was there. It had been random, just some stray bullet in the middle of some minor skirmish in a country that she couldn't even find on a map if she had to. Janice had asked Buffy to train William, so the boy could defend himself. Buffy had agreed, and had trained the boy, but every moment around him had hurt. Work had gotten her through the worst of the hurt, but William would always be a reminder of what had been lost.
All of this shot through her head in a fraction of a second "what can I do for you William" she asked.
The boy flinched at the woman's tone, well aware of its source, but he put that aside "Ian is in dire need of your help" he said.
"What's the matter; is Dawn alright?"
"Dawn is as well as can be expected" William answered "Ian is on the brink of death. He can be saved, but I will need the help of both you and Willow. And it must be willing help for this to work. So if either of you don't feel right about helping him, tell me now."
Buffy sat back, she had been mad about what had occurred in Berlin, but after a long conversation with Giles, and an even longer one with Faith, Buffy had realized why Ian had done what he had done. She might not like it, but she had done similar things herself; besides she owed him a hundred times over for the favors he had done for her in the past. "I have no problem with helping, let's go ask Willow."
With that, the two of them made their way to Willow's room. The red headed witch looked up from the Chinese scroll she was reading, and listened to what the young man asked. "What do you need from us" she asked.
"Power" William said simply "Janice and I don't have enough to do this by ourselves".
Willow thought for a moment more and then just nodded "then let's get moving" she said walking over to the other two. They all joined hands and disappeared.
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Faith was standing in a corridor of Meridia Huron Hospital, maternity ward. Amanda had gone into labor in the middle of the night, and after only six hours of labor had given birth to a son, Michael Ian Finn. Faith grinned at how proud Ian would be to find that Riley had named his son after him. She suddenly felt the atmosphere of the corridor change, and looked around. She broke into a grin of her own, at first, when she saw Janice; but the look on the girls face removed Faith's grin instantly. "What's up little sis" the dark haired slayer asked.
"Faith, it's Ian, he's nearly dead and we need your help."
Faith was rocked for a second, she had known Ian to be hurt from time to time, hell it happened in their line of work, but she had never seen Janice this desperate, whatever it was, it was bad. She thought about the two of them, and how they had helped each other over the years. How he had encouraged and believed in her, even when she didn't believe in herself. How she had helped him fight the darkness that he carried in his soul. She couldn't imagine how she would feel if he died and she hadn't done anything. "Just a second" she told Janice.
Faith walked over to Sohalia, one of the slayers that was helping her guard Riley and his family "something just came up kid, call Jenn and tell her to get her butt down here now; I'll be back when I can."
The Middle Eastern girl just nodded her head and pulled out her cell phone. Seeing this, Faith turned back to Janice and said "let's get moving."
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"Dawn" Ian said "could you lock and bar the door. I've got about five minutes here and I don't want to spend it fighting off Doc Frasier, when she wants to know why her instruments suddenly went off the chart."
Understanding, despite what he had said about five minutes; Dawn got up, closed and locked the door; then placing her hand over the lock she muttered a few words and came back to her husband's side, While she had turned away, his wings had disappeared, and he looked much more like his old self.
"I don't want you to go" she said, tears pouring out of her sky blue eyes.
"Believe me" Ian replied "this isn't what I want either, but I knew the risks."
"Why did you have to do it, why did you have to open the Ark?"
"Because it was the only way we would get to the Stargate alive. There were five hundred troops in the woods, not to mention the aircraft. Honestly I'm surprised we even survived long enough for me to open the thing."
Dawn thought for a moment, she had known it was bad, but she hadn't realized just how bad their situation had been. "I know" she said "and before you quote Star Trek at me about the needs of the many, I understand why you did what you did, I just wish there had been some other way, or that the consequences were different."
"So do I Bella Alba" Ian said, pulling his wife onto the bed and hugging her fiercely. "I'm not afraid of what comes after, but I just wish I had more time with you. To me you are everything in the world that's good, and having any existence without you in it is a step down."
"I'm scared" Dawn said suddenly "how will I live without you."
"You'll do fine" Ian said "Buffy and the others will always be there for you, no matter what."
"But how will I live without my heart" the girl asked forlornly.
"You'll have your heart, and mine as well" Ian replied "you'll never be alone."
They were holding each other when power flared in the room and five people appeared. Dawn looked up "Buffy, what are you doing here?"
"We're here to help" Janice answered the girl as she moved over to where Ian was.
"Isn't that breaking the rules" Ian asked with a bit of a smirk.
"Well if we had asked and been told no, then I guess it would be" Janice replied.
"But since you didn't ask" Ian said "all bets are off."
"Exactly" William replied.
"But why" Ian asked.
Janice looked at him "do you remember what you said to me when Dawn was shot? You said that 'even if I have to ignore or break the rules, I'll never let you down', so why would you expect any less of us?"
"I guess I shouldn't" Ian said with a grin.
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Janet Frasier was frantic, or as frantic as she ever got. Something was happening, something that made no sense to her. She had been monitoring her patient's condition, he was in a deteriorating coma; when suddenly something like a power surge had occurred, and when it cleared up her equipment was showing that the patient was in perfect health. She had rushed down to see what was going on, only to find that for some reason the door to the treatment room wouldn't open, despite everything that she tried. She had looked in the window once to see that the man's wife was holding him. She had looked again a few seconds later to see that the room was now full of people. How the heck had they gotten there when she couldn't, and what were they doing with her patient.
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"So what are you gonna do to me" Ian asked.
"It's a power sharing thing, like what you and Daniel did to bring me back. We just needed more power than what William and I possess, so we rounded up some volunteers."
"OK Ian, you lay back, and Dawn, you put one hand on his forehead and another on his heart. Dawn took her position and Janice spoke again "now we make a circle with Dawn, everyone joining hands." And they made a circle; Janice at Dawn's left shoulder then Faith, Buffy, Willow and finally William at Dawn's right shoulder. "Now this is gonna hurt" Janice said, and triggered the sharing.
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Janet had been looking in the window to see what was happening. To her it looked like some old-fashioned 'laying on of hands' that a televangelist would do; but then the light had started coming from the people and she looked away. The light got brighter and brighter, then suddenly it was gone. She looked back in the room, and there was just the patient and his wife. She was just sitting there holding him, but he looked worlds better. She tried the door, and to her surprise found that it opened easily. She burst in shouting "where did everyone else go"?
"Who are you talking about" the girl asked.
"The other people that I saw in here" doctor Frasier insisted.
"Doc, it's just us" the man (Ian if she remembered correctly) said.
Janet looked around wildly "but you, them, they were all standing around" the doctors eyes tore wildly around the room, confirming that the three of them were in fact alone.
"Are you alright, Doctor" the girl asked.
Janet Frasier just looked at her hands for a moment and sighed "you know, I'm not really sure" she said, and left the room.
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"So what is your professional opinion, doctor" General Hammond asked.
"Short answer is that it's a miracle sir. Barring further examination I'm going to have to go with that."
"You're saying that there is no way he should be alive right now."
"Yes sir, that's exactly what I'm saying."
Hammond sighed and looked at his desk for a second "thank you doctor; that will be all."
Janet saluted and left, almost as confused as when she came in.
After the doctor had left Hammond turned to Jack O'Neill "so what is your opinion Colonel?"
"Honestly sir, I think the doctor is entirely correct."
"You think he was miraculously cured?"
"Remember who we're dealing with sir, a miracle is certainly within their jurisdiction."
"Agreed Colonel, I'm just not sure how to write that up in a report."
"And people wonder why I don't want your job" Jack said with a smirk, saluted and left.
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After a day of being poked and prodded, Ian was released from Janet's care and into Dawn's. Less than half an hour later Ian was standing in Hammond's office with his wife.
"I take it that you're leaving us?"
"Yes General, we've got things that need our attention."
"Well, I wanted to thank you both for the help that you gave us."
"Your welcome sir, but from our perspective you were the ones that helped us. If you ever need our assistance, don't hesitate to ask."
"Thank you both, I'll remember that."
Hammond saluted, and the two youngsters returned it and left.
Hammond sat back down behind his desk, he fervently hoped that he never needed their particular help again, but it was comforting to know that it was there if any of his teams needed it.
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They found the SG-1 Team together in the common rooms, they had known when Ian was getting out and had been waiting for the pair.
"Listen" Jack said "I'm not much good at saying stuff, but here goes. You two are welcome any time you want a spot on this team." And with that he handed them both an SG-1 team patch. "It's not much" Sam added "but it's from the heart."
"Thank you" Ian said "we're both very honored; and since we're giving out gifts" he gestured to Dawn. She reached into her bag and withdrew four silver fighting knives. She handed them to the SG-1 team and said "just in case you run into something that we're used to dealing with"
Team SG-1 thanked the two for the knives and hugs and handshakes were exchanged, then the two groups went their separate ways; both to fight the good fight.