Chapter 33
Kate opened her eyes and stared at the dull grey ceiling trying to figure out where she was. The last thing she remembered was something weird happening when Major Carter was in convulsions, but she didn't know what happened after that.
Wanting to know what was going on around her, she figure she had to be in the infirmary, especially since she didn't have an apartment and the bed she was in was way more comfortable than the cots in the on-base sleeping quarters, she attempted to sit up.
"Dr Frasier, Dr. O'Neill is awake!" Nurse Fordman called before moving over to Kate's bed, "Just stay still, everything is all right, Dr. O'Neill," she said calmly, well aware that doctors are the worst patients and this one would probably be even worse, since she was also a blood relative of the Colonel.
Janet hurried out of her office and was quickly at Kate's bedside, "Hey, how are you feeling?" she asked, pulling out her penlight and flashing it in Kate's eyes.
"I feel fine, and nothing is wrong with my eyes," Kate groused.
"Acts like her father, so nothing's wrong with her sense of humor," Janet smiled at her, "What do you remember?"
"I remember….something…weird happening when Major Carter was convulsing. I felt like my arm and hand were on fire, but I couldn't move either at all. It was like I was glued to her or something. And then….nothing….I must have blacked out, but I don't remember it at all. What happened Janet?" Kate kept her voice even, she was scared out of her mind, but she was too much her father's daughter to let any of that fear show.
"Well, we're not positive on what happened, but we do have a theory," Janet began.
"A theory? What am I, a new medical mystery paper?" Kate asked skeptically.
"Hardly, but remember a lot of what happens here is literally out of this world. We have no way to prove what we think happened without a few of our allies, and they rarely show up when its convenient.
"Great so what's the theory?" Kate asked as she attempted to sit up, her muscles felt extremely weak and very sore from lying still for what she figured was a very long time.
"Well, it's like this," Janet began.
SGCSGCSGCSGCSGCSGCSGCSGCSGCSGCSGCSGCSGCSGCSGCSGCSGCSGCSGCSGC
They had managed to get out of the building and back to a stand of trees before they heard alarms go off in the invisible building of the Ancients.
"At least we have some cover," Jack commented, adjusting the P-30 he had taken from Daniel.
"We still have another kilometer to before we reach the Gate," Sam said, covertly checking out Jack, mentally telling herself that this time it was okay, since she had to know if he was in any condition to hike a kilometer in the hour and a half they had until sunset.
"Great. Is this the only way to the Gate? We don't need Ba'al and his minions getting there first. They might do something mean like blow it up or something else equally Goa'uldish."
"Goa'uldish?" Daniel asked.
"What? It's a word," Jack said, putting an innocent/clueless look on his face.
"I believe this is the only route to the Stargate O'Neill. We must hurry before Ba'al's Jaffa warriors catch up to us," Teal'c started walking away towards the Gate.
The four moved quickly through the trees, all listening for any sounds behind them. The last thing they wanted was Ba'al's Jaffa to surprise them, especially with Jack's physical condition unknown. Neither Teal'c, Daniel, nor Sam could visually see anything wrong, and figured that Ba'al had been liberally using the sarcophagus again, since Jack's knee didn't seem stiff at all. But they had no way of knowing how long it had been since he was last in the sarcophagus, and so it was Teal'c who brought up the rear. If any of the withdrawal symptoms set in they would still be able to bring Jack home safely.
Even though he was capable of moving quickly, the group did not move quite as fast as was possible. Although under normal conditions they could cover the same distance quicker, they wanted to reach the Gate safely. And as the sun was beginning to set, they reached the Gate.
"Time to go home sir," Sam smiled at Jack, trying to convey as much emotion as she dared admit to him in that simple action.
"Home is good Carter. Let's go shall we?" he said, definitely planning to talk to Hammond when the Doc released him. He'd probably waited too long already, but he knew Katie would have his hide id he never said anything.
"There's no place like home," he muttered under his breath as he stepped though the Gate with his team.
Once on the other side of the Gate he smiled ruefully as Hammond stood at the foot of the Gate with Katie next to him sitting in a wheelchair, he made a mental note to find out what that was about while Doc was poking and prodding him. Every member of all the SG teams stood behind the General and the doctor, waiting at attention.
"Welcome home SG-1," only extreme control and years of practice kept Hammond's voice even, "Welcome home."
