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CHAPTER FOUR
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Jack almostquivered with his eagerness as he geared up; they were heading back to Domorakai for Daniel. Bless the little power monger's heart; Fraiser had done it. She was certain the anti-toxin would work---if administered in time. That had been good enough for Jack. He'd immediately requested permission to return to P6R-552 with every available SG team Hammond could spare.
The colonel glanced at Teal'c who was quickly slipping on his black combat vest. "You ready there, big guy?"
"I am, O'Neill."
"You sure you can track Daniel with the night-vision goggles?" Jack asked as he bent to tighten his boot laces.
Teal'c nodded. "I am."
"Even after the rainstorm Carter told us about."
"Knowing Daniel Jackson as I do, I am certain he left many other ways by which I may track his passing."
As they headed to the locker room door, Jack looked at his big friend askance. "You okay? You've got the edgy eyebrow thing going."
"I am merely concerned for our friend, O'Neill. There is a chance we will not arrive in time."
"So you're going the glass half empty route, eh? Me? My glass is half full," explained the colonel. He hustled out into the corridor adjusting his cap as he walked. "We'll get there, give Daniel the anti-toxin, knock Janar on her high and mighty ass then bring our archeologist home for some much earned R&R."
"Of what glass do you speak?"
The sound of the blaring klaxon stopped Jack dead in his tracks, his skin immediately prickling with fear.
"Medical emergency on level 28! Medical emergency on level 28!"
"Damn it," muttered the colonel as he took off at a run for the 'gate room. He rounded a corner then pulled up to an abrupt halt.
Captain Griff stood pale-faced against the wall just outside the closed elevator. "I'm sorry, sir. He collapsed and I went to help him. He---he grabbed my knife, said we'd never see Dr. Jackson again."
Jack knelt by Ne'el, the Domorakai lying in a growing pool of his own blood, the crimson liquid coursing from the open gash in his neck.
"What happened?" asked Fraiser. The petite doctor, clothed in BDUs for the rescue mission, didn't wait for an answer as she quickly joined Jack at the wounded man's side. "He's alive, but we're losing him. We've got to get him to the infirmary stat."
"No, we need to get him to the 'gate room."
Fraiser looked up at Jack with wide eyes. "Colonel, this man is dying---," she began.
"And so is Daniel," interrupted the colonel. "He's the 'only' one who can open the Domorakai shield, Doc, the only one. If he dies before he can activate the tok, then we have no way of getting Daniel back."
Fraiser looked from the colonel down to Ne'el, her internal struggle evident. "You're right," she finally conceded. "Let's get him into the 'gate room. Hurry up people!"
Two medics stepped off the elevator with a gurney and picked up Ne'el. Fraiser climbed up on the gurney and straddled the man, working hard to stem the flow of blood, giving them what the colonel hoped was enough precious time.
"Move it, move it!" ordered Jack. He led the entourage around the corner nearly bowling over Hammond.
"Colonel? What the---," began the general then his eyes fell on Ne'el's supine body.
"Oh my God," murmured Carter who hobbled on crutches at Hammond's side.
"We're in a hurry, sir," blurted Jack as he ran past. Behind him, he heard the generalrun up the stairs into the control room, bellowing for the technician to dial it up.
The 'gate room was full, SGs two, six, and eleven moving aside silently to make room for the gurney as it was pushed to the base of the ramp.
"The tok!" barked the colonel.
"Here, sir," replied Major Barnes. The stocky man stepped forward, his hand extended to proffer the little device.
"Doc?"
"He's fading, Colonel---you've got to do it now!"
"Just a little longer, Doc---hold on just a few more seconds," urged Jack. He grabbed the tok then looked up at the Stargate willing it to move quicker. His heart was pounding so hard he wondered that it didn't rip from his chest;Daniel.
The vortex exploded outward then settled into the placid event horizon. Jack moved to Ne'el's side and pressed the dying man's finger against the button on the side of the little box. He looked up at the control room window to see Hammond watching the monitor before him fixedly.
"Come on, come on," muttered the colonel tensely.
Hammond nodded then leaned forward to talk into the mic. "We're getting images from the MALP," he announced. "You've got multiple unfriendlies---you'll need to move fast, Colonel."
"Teal'c, you're with me! Barnes, wait for General Hammond to give you the all clear then come on through!"
The major nodded obediently. "Yes, sir---good luck, sir."
Jack headed up the ramp praying they could make it through before the sentries managed to engage the shield again, praying that he'd find himself on the other side and closer to finding his friend.
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"What's the matter, Dr. Jackson?"
Daniel collapsed onto his belly, fighting to bring air into his flagging lungs. He'd been dragging himself for what seemed like hours, slowly but surely losing the strength in his arms. He lay gasping, his cheek resting in the cold mud, his arms lying useless at his sides.
"Oh, poor boy," taunted Janar from the darkness of the woods. "You're dying and where are your friends?"
The archeologist couldn't reply, couldn't utter a word. His sole focus was on drawing in and expelling each precious breath.
"It'll be over soon, dear child."
Daniel's vision blurred with welling tears; she was right. He was dying. He'd never see Jack again or Sam or Teal'c---or his beloved Sha're. He'd never look into his wife's beautiful face or hold her or make love to her again. There would be no children, no grandchildren.
Movement in the dark drew Daniel's eyes and he saw Janar step out from the cover of the forest to walk toward him, the early morning light making her appear almost angelic as she moved. She knelt at his side and ran her strong fingers back through his tousled muddy hair. He couldn't even flinch away from her loathed touch.
"Thank you, Doctor, for a fine hunt. Many would have given up long ago, but not you. I will remember this when I gaze upon you," cooed the premier, her tone caressing. "You've damaged yourface---what a shame, but I suppose it couldn't be helped. Perhaps Ne'el can do something about that."
Daniel couldn't feel the hands on his body as he was rolled onto his back. He stared up at the pre-dawn sky unable to even close his eyes when Janar's face hovered over his. Her harsh features appeared oddly soft as she ran her well-manicured fingers across Daniel's brow and down his abraded cheek, appraising him, relishing in her conquest.
He could no longer hear her words as she gently wiped away the tears that escaped from his eyes to roll down his temples and into the muck which cradled his head. His blood rushed through his ears, the beating of his heart echoing loudly.
Struggling for each breath, Daniel looked beyond the woman who was killing him and stared at the fading stars still twinkling above the tree tops; Jack.
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Teal'c held up a halting hand. "O'Neill," he beckoned, his voice pitched low.
The colonel appeared at the Jaffa's elbow and nodded then signaled Major Barnes and the others to divide and move out to surround their quarry.
Through the soft light of dawn, Teal'c could see Premier Janar standing, her eyes downcast, surrounded by four of her sentries. His respiration increased as he speculated at whom she was staring so intently and so smugly.
They'd come through the Stargate only two hours prior, immediately coming under fire from the sentries who had been guarding the 'gate. O'Neill and Teal'c had felled those easily, but several others had quickly joined the fray just as Major Barnes and the other SG teams had appeared.
The battle had lasted longer than Teal'c had hoped, but ultimately his brothers-in-arms had proved the better and when the last weapon had been fired, only frightened Domorakai denizens remained. The team had met with no resistance as they'd made their way to the tree line behind the government building and had entered the rain-dampened forest using night-vision goggles to backtrack on Major Carter's trail.
"Doc, you stay back," murmured O'Neill with urgency.
"Yes, sir" replied Dr. Fraiser from where she stood behind the colonel.
Teal'c followed his warrior friend forward and into the clearing in which Premier Janar stood then both men froze, Teal'c's fear realized as he took in the supine form of Daniel Jackson lying at the premier's feet. Even from the few yards that separated them, the Jaffa could tell something was horribly wrong with his friend's breathing.
Premier Janar looked up in surprise. "What are you doing here?" she asked then her eyes quickly turned cold. "Kill them!"
The forest surrounding the premier and her sentries erupted with SG soldiers, their weapons all trained on the Domorakai.
"It's over Janar," spat Jack. "Barnes, bind their wrists and take them back to the tree line. Wait for us there."
"Yes, sir," replied the major.
"You're too late, Colonel," sneered Janar.
Dr. Fraiser appeared suddenly at Teal'c's elbow. "Get the hell away from him," she snapped, her angry eyes fixed on Janar. She pushed past Teal'c to kneel at the archeologist's side.
O'Neill knelt beside the doctor. "Doc?" he questioned anxiously.
Teal'c swallowed convulsively; Daniel Jackson's eyes were opened though he stared at nothing. His young face was almost grey, his lips tinged in blue. The only sign his friend still lived was his harsh and rapid panting.
"He's not getting enough oxygen," muttered Dr. Fraiser.
Then the panting suddenly stopped.
"Daniel?" Dr. Fraiser immediately moved into position at the archeologist's head. She pulled off Daniel Jackson's glasses, tossed them aside then began resuscitation, breathing into the young man's mouth.
O'Neill turned and looked back in the direction from which they'd just arrived. "I should have killed that bitch," he hissed to no one in particular.
The doctor paused in her efforts, her finger resting against Daniel Jackson's carotid artery. "He's got no pulse. Colonel, do you remember your CPR training?" she asked urgently.
Without answering, O'Neill ripped off his P-90, pulled up the archeologist's tunic to expose his bare chest then positioned the heels of his hands over the young man's sternum. Dr. Fraiser took up breathing again and Teal'c watched as the two fought to bring their friend back to them.
The doctor paused and turned to look up at Teal'c. "Can you take over here?"
Teal'c nodded then laid down his staff weapon and took the doctor's place at Daniel Jackson's head, pinching his friend's nose closed and sealing his mouth over his, breathing into him what he hoped was life-sustaining air. He could hear Dr. Fraiser rummaging in her medical bag then in his peripheral vision, saw her inject the green contents of a syringe into the archeologist's lax arm.
An eerie silence fell, the only sounds the colonel's soft grunts followed by Teal'c's exhalations as they struggled to give their young friend life.
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"I'm sorry, Colonel."
Jack continued the compressions against Daniel's chest. "No, Doc. This is unacceptable," he barked.
"Sir, we were too late."
"Damn it, I said no!"
"He's gone, sir---I'm sorry."
Jack shrugged off Fraiser's hand from his arm, distantly aware that she was choking back a sob. He looked to Daniel's face to see his clear blue eyes staring blindly at the sky, the same blue eyes that could tell Jack whatever his friend was feeling; the windows to Daniel's soul.
He sat back on his heels, an iron fist suddenly gripping his heart. "Damn it, Daniel," he muttered.
Teal'c turned his head to look at Jack, his dark eyes pooling with moisture. "O'Neill?"
"It's over, big guy. We've lost him."
The Jaffa's brows puckered and he looked back down at his friend's lifeless face, into those lifeless blue eyes.
Memories crashed over Jack, memories of a boy's life lost oh so many years ago to a single bullet. He didn't think he was strong enough to handle a loved one's death again, knew with certainty that he couldn't. He looked again at Daniel's eyes; he'd miss their teasing glow, their fiery passion, but most of all he'd miss the heart that shone through them, the depth of soul that they allowed only a chosen few to glimpse.
Gently, Jack reached a trembling hand up and closed them.
Fraiser sat on her knees at Jack's side, her expression masking the turmoil he knew very well was going on inside; Daniel wasn't just any patient to her, he was her friend. The colonel wrapped his arm around her shouldersto offer her comfort, but to take comfort from her as well.
Teal'c gently lifted Daniel's hands and placed them one over the other in the middle ofthe young man'schest then the Jaffa placed his own over them. Jack looked at Daniel's hands, hands that had never been so still before. The fingers were long; why hadn't he ever noticed that before? A wave of grief staggered the colonel and he blinked back the sudden tears that welled in his eyes. He would let them fall later in the privacy of his own home---just like he'd done all those years ago.
The gentle warrior looked at Jack, nodded once then stood and saluted his fallen brother with one arm crossed diagonally over his chest. He then bent and carefully lifted the archeologist into his powerful arms. Without a word, he turned away and began his trek back to the Stargate; he was taking his friend home.
Jack helped Fraiser to her feet then bent to grab his rifle. He noticed Daniel's glasses and picked them up. He stared at them for a long moment then folded them closed carefully and tucked them into his vest pocket.
"He's gone, Colonel," murmured Fraiser, her soft voice full of disbelief. "I'm sorry---I tried---."
"I know," replied Jack. "Come on, let's go home." He put a steadying hand under his friend's elbow then the two of them followed in Teal'c's wake.
Fraiser pulled away just before they cleared the trees and wiped her pale face. She gave Jack a watery smile then moved ahead to walk at Teal'c's side, hugging her medical bag to her chest. Jack joined her on the other side of his big team mate and together, they stepped out of the dark forest.
They met the other SG teams not far below the tree line, their weapons trained on several more sentries.
"Sir, we ran into a little---oh no---Dr. Jackson," bleated Barnes as his eyes fell on Daniel.
No one uttered a word. The soldiers simply fell into step, each one silently grieving for their fallen comrade, their brother-in-arms, their friend. Jack knew Daniel would never have expected such a reaction and that saddened him. His closest friend had never truly realized how important he'd become to the SGC, to Jack, and not as an archeologist, anthropologist, or a linguist, but just as Daniel Jackson, the man.
"Dr. Fraiser," said Teal'c suddenly.
Jack snapped out of his reverie and looked up at his friend. "What is it?"
"I believe Daniel Jackson just moved." The big Jaffa stopped, his eyes looking down at the man he held cradled against his chest.
"You're just feeling muscle spasms, Teal'c. They happen for a short time after death," explained the doctor gently.
"I do not believe that to be the case."
"What?" Jack blurted. He lifted his finger to Daniel's neck. "I'm getting a pulse here, Doc."
"Put him down," directed Fraiser urgently.
Teal'c lowered the archeologist gently to the ground and Fraiser dropped to her knees and pressed her ear to the young man's chest. "Well sonofabitch," she exclaimed as she straightened. "Uh---sir."
Daniel's chest suddenly expanded as his lungs drew in a great gulp of air and Jack let out an unbridled whoop. He dropped down next to his friend and watched as Daniel's chest rose and fell in rapid succession then settled into a normal rhythm.
"Way to go, Danny!"
Fraiser placed her palm against the archeologist's still-pale cheek. "Daniel? Can you hear me?"
"Wha---what?"
Jack grinned and clenched his fists in victory. "Yes," he hooted. He watched as Daniel's eyes fluttered then opened, the young man's confusion clear as he blinked slowly.
"Hey," greeted Fraiser softly. "Welcome back."
"Back? Was I gone?"
Jack chuckled and shook his head. "You could say that, buddy," he replied.
"Take it easy, Dr. Jackson," urged the doctor. "Can you tell me how you feel?"
Daniel frowned. "Feel?" he repeated, his brows puckering.
Fraiser patted the archeologist's shoulder kindly. "It's okay," she soothed then she looked up at Jack. "We should get him back as quickly as possible, Colonel."
Jack nodded. "You ready to blow this Popsicle stand, Daniel?"
Daniel's expression suddenly changed to one of panic. "Jack? I can't move---I can't---."
Fraiser leaned closer to her patient, her hand returning to his cheek. "The poison, Daniel, do you remember?"
"Oh, God, Janet."
"No, it's okay now. You've been given the anti-toxin. You just need to give it time to work, okay?"
Jack saw in the young man's eyes just how scared he truly was, but Daniel just nodded, placing his trust in Fraiser's words. Then the colonel looked away and smiled; only moments ago there'd been nothing in those eyes at all.
"Sam?"
"Major Carter is well, Daniel Jackson," replied Teal'c. "She is awaiting your return at the SGC."
"She made it then."
"Indeed she did. Please allow me to assist you." The Jaffa bent and gently began lifting his friend up again.
"No," opposed the archeologist. "Not like that, Teal'c. It's---it's---."
"Humiliating?" offered Jack with a lop-sided smile.
Daniel glowered up at the colonel. "Embarrassing," he countered.
"You are unable to walk, Daniel Jackson."
The young man's pale cheeks colored. "Can't we just wait a few minutes?"
"Oh, for crying out loud---Teal'c, pick him up and let's go," snapped the colonel without rancor. He wasn't so sure he missed those eyes anymore as they skewered him. "Here, you'll probably find it easier to glare at me with these on." He reached into his pocket and pulled out Daniel's glasses. Giving the archeologist a sheepish smile and a half shrug, he opened them then hooked them over the younger man's ears and settled them on his nose.
"Yes, Jack, it's 'much' easier now."
The colonel pursed his lips then stood and stepped back so Teal'c could scoop up their cranky younger team mate. As they began walking down the slope again, a wave of cheers rolled over them from the other SG teams and Jack could see Daniel's ashen face color even more.
They neared the bottom where Janar stood closely guarded, a small group of Domorakai on-lookers from the building gathered, staring wide-eyed at their leader.
"Colonel, what should we do with her?" asked Captain Griff as he came up alongside Jack, his voice low. "We can't exactly take her with us, but after what she did, we can't just leave her unpunished either."
"I know that, Captain."
Janar turned to look at Jack, her chin lifted in defiance. "You will release me, Colonel O'Neill. I have committed no crime."
"Excuse me? No crime, did you say? What about poisoning my archeologist? That certainly qualifies as 'crime' in my book."
"As it does in mine, O'Neill," rejoined Teal'c.
"You have no authority on Domorakai, Colonel. I demand that you let me go---now."
Jack narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth; geez, he hated losing. "Let her go," he ordered.
"Sir---."
"Doc, she's right. We have no authority here. All we can do is let her go and hope like hell that her own people figure out what she is before she hurts someone else."
Janar smiled haughtily as the soldier behind her cut the bindings from her wrists. She brought them up and rubbed first one and then the other, her gray eyes holding Jack's.
"You lost," hissed Daniel suddenly, his soft voice like venom. "Even though you're free, Janar---you lost. You know it, I know it and Sam knows it. And now your people know it, too. You lost."
Jack couldn't help the grin that curved his lips at the premier's discomfiture. Then he turned to his archeologist just as the murmurs from the crowd rose to screams and shouts.
"I didn't lose, dear Dr. Jackson."
The colonel didn't even see the sentry who fired the zat, just felt the all too familiar pain as it swept through him.
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Janet simply froze and raised her hands in surrender as dozens of Domorakai sentries funneled out of the government building in front of her and streamed down the slope from the tree line behind. They were surrounded. She cast a quick glance at O'Neill who lay in a heap at her feet, not unconscious but definitely dazed by the zat blast.
Teal'c stood at the doctor's side, his body sheltering Daniel as well as he could. The rest of the SG teams looked shocked; they'd dropped their defenses only for a moment and Janar's sentries had taken full advantage.
"Please put your weapons down," requested the premier, her chin tipped up, a smug smile gracing her thin lips. "None of you will be harmed---you have my word."
"Your word means nothing," rumbled Teal'c.
Janar turned her cold gaze to the Jaffa then simply nodded her head once. A sentry stepped forward and touched the tip of what Janet recognized as a Goa'uld pain stick to the warrior's side. Teal'c yelped and fell to his knees, an odd light shining from every orifice; ears, nose, and mouth. The big man dropped Daniel to the ground, but clutched the archeologist to him as he gasped through the pain.
"Take Dr. Jackson to Ne'el," ordered the premier.
"No, you can't---," began Janet then a jolt of agony the likes of which she'd never experienced took her to her hands and knees; the pain stick.
"Knock it off, Janar," croaked O'Neill. He struggled over to Janet and placed a steadying hand on her back. "Easy, Doc."
"Take the boy," demanded the premier again.
"The woman major took Ne'el through the Stargate, Premier."
Janet turned her head, her body still trembling, to see a short thin woman in white step from the crowd of Domorakai.
"I know Ne'el well enough to know he'd never help Major Carter. Who allowed her to raise our shield?"
"The girl---Mora."
"Where is she? She will be executed for defying me," spat Janar. Her eyes scanned the crowd. "Do not protect her or you will all die as well."
"She left through the Stargate just after the off-worlder, Premier," replied a sentry. "I was unable to stop her."
Janar approached the squat man and stared at him, her body vibrating with her anger. "It was your responsibility to guard Ne'el. You allowed Major Carter to take him?" she hissed. "And you allowed the woman Mora to leave?"
The sentry bowed his head. "Forgive me, Premier. I failed you."
"Yes---you did."
Janet started in shock as Janar reached for the sentry's staff weapon then turned it on the man and fired at point blank range. The Domorakai dropped, a small trail of smoke rising from the gaping hole in his chest.
"Treya, you've worked closely with Ne'el, have you not?"
The woman in white visibly shuddered in fear. "Yes---yes, ma'am," she stuttered.
"Then you will begin the preservation process on Dr. Jackson."
O'Neill pushed himself to his feet drawing Janet up with him. "Janar---," he began angrily.
The premier jerked her chin toward her minions and several stepped forward to take O'Neill's arms. Janet felt a strong hand clamp around her own arm and she struggled futilely against it.
Janar moved to stand before Teal'c who still remained on his knees, a wide-eyed Daniel still clutched protectively to him. The woman raised her hand and tenderly brushed back the fringe of dirty hair from the archeologist's forehead.
"Do not touch him again," warned the big Jaffa.
The premier smiled. "Take the boy," she commanded.
Teal'c drew Daniel closer. "You will not," he whispered venomously.
Janet's eyes widened as a sentry behind Teal'c fired a zat at the big man. The Jaffa fell sideways, his arms losing their hold on the archeologist.
"Janar!" shouted O'Neill as he pulled fiercely against the sentries who held him.
"Jack?"
"Daniel! Damn it, you bitch, leave him alone!"
Janet watched in horror as two Domorakai grabbed her young friend's arms and dragged him away. "Daniel---no," she murmured. The sentries pulled the archeologist through a rear entrance to the building, Daniel's face conveying his fear, his body unable to fight back. The woman Treya nodded once at Janar then followed the others inside.
"I'll kill you, Janar!" hissed O'Neill.
"Now who's lost, Colonel?" taunted the premier. She moved to stand before O'Neill, her chin tipped up, her eyes icy cold. "Too bad you didn't just let the boy die. His death will be excruciating now."
O'Neill's jaw clenched, the muscles visibly twitching with his hatred.
"Take them all back to the Stargate," commanded Janar then she waved a dismissive hand. "Send them anywhere, just get them out of my sight."
"Let Dr. Jackson leave with us," implored Janet suddenly. "Please."
"And who are you?"
"I'm his friend."
Janar's eyebrows arched. "Oh, his friend. Well then of course I'll let Dr. Jackson go with you." She laughed bitterly and turned her back on Janet. "Get them out of here."
The splatter of hot liquid hit Janet square in the face at the same moment a single gun shot splintered the air and she flinched, immediately squeezing her eyes shut. Screams of horror reached her ears as she was knocked hard to the ground, the breath knocked from her body.
"Stay down."
The doctor recognized O'Neill's voice warm against her ear. "Wha---what?" she began then she opened her eyes and gasped; the lifeless eyes of Janar stared back at her. A single bullet hole in the middle of the other woman's forehead stood out stark against the pale skin and Janet realized what had sprayed all over her. She'd been a doctor for years, but she still felt bile rise up her throat at the thought of the blood and gore she felt still warm against her face.
Janet pulled her gaze from the dead eyes before her, surprised to find a battle raging around her. Some of the Domorakai sentries were firing at a yet unseen foe, others were running away. The crowd of innocents were screaming and huddling against the outer wall of the government building.
"Teal'c," beckoned the colonel. "Stay with Fraiser---I'm going after Daniel."
"No, sir," replied Janet. "I'm going with you. You may need me." She could feel O'Neill's hesitation then he grunted his approval.
"I will go as well, O'Neill."
Janet felt the colonel roll off her then she scrambled to her feet, staying low. O'Neill and Teal'c both retrieved their weapons then the doctor ran between the two to the entrance of the building, her medical bag clutched tightly to her side. They were joined by Griff and other SG soldiers, but O'Neill waved off the stocky captain. Griff nodded his acknowledgement then he and his men turned back to join the battle.
"Stay close, Doc," whispered O'Neill.
The three entered the building and ran quickly down the corridor into the cavernous atrium. Janet looked around; the building appeared abandoned except for a few denizens scrambling in from the outside.
A distinctly male scream echoed suddenly through the atrium and Janet's stomach flip-flopped; Daniel---they were too late.
"This way, O'Neill," indicated the Jaffa urgently and he led the way into a long corridor and down it toward a door at the end. He hit the entry panel with a staff blast as he ran then barreled through as the door slid aside.
Janet could see Daniel struggling feebly against a sentry, the Domorakai's hands clamped tightly around the archeologist's throat, dragging the young man toward a large silver vat against the far wall.
O'Neill raised the P-90 he'd scooped up outside and fired sending the sentry to the floor in a heap. The momentum knocked Daniel into the wall, the young man managing to stand for only seconds before his knees buckled and he slid down.
"Daniel!" yelped the colonel. He rushed forward and knelt at his friend's side angrily pushing the body of the Domorakai away from him. "Hey, easy, easy."
Janet followed O'Neill and knelt on Daniel's other side. "Dr. Jackson?" she prompted.
The archeologist's eyes were wide and wild, his breathing harsh. "J---Jack?"
"Yeah, you're okay now, buddy, its over," soothed the older man.
"There is a body in this vat," rumbled Teal'c.
Janet turned her head to see the warrior standing next to the silver tub, his normally stoic features conveying an odd mixture of disgust and satisfaction at what he saw within it.
"I---I got some feeling back," croaked Daniel. "I pushed him---he, um---he fell in."
"And her?" asked O'Neill, his dark eyes settling on the unconscious form of the scientist Treya.
Janet had to smile as Daniel ducked his head, his pale abraded cheeks flushing with color.
"I---um---I sort of hit her," the archeologist admitted sheepishly. "With my head."
The colonel chuckled and reached a finger up to touch his friend's forehead. "Is that how you got this goose egg?"
Daniel nodded then his brows furrowed. "How do you guys do that? It hurts like hell," he commented frankly.
O'Neill grinned and pulled his young friend against him, one arm snaking around to ruffle Daniel's hair. "You did good, Daniel," he murmured warmly. "You did real good."
Footfalls drew Janet's attention to the door and Teal'c immediately raised his staff weapon and moved in front of his three team mates. O'Neill raised his own weapon while keeping Daniel tucked safely against him.
"Colonel?"
Janet's shoulders relaxed at the sight of Major Barnes.
"Everyone okay in here, sir?" continued the soldier.
"We're fine, Major---what's going on outside?"
"The sentries are either dead or prisoners, sir. There's a kid who's asking to see you and Teal'c."
"Oh?"
Barnes nodded. "His name is Caal."
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CONTINUED
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