Vision Quest

Summary: Daniel has accomplished his task, but what will the repercussions be?

Author's Note: It's late, I'm tired, please write a review. (And thanks to all those wonderful writers on this site that make me feel wholly inadequate, but I really enjoy reading your stories. Thanks!)

Chapter 5

Daniel stared at the wall. Where had he gone wrong? He had only done what was necessary to complete the translation. He hadn't even known that the tea contained the herbs … originally.

Carter's voice carried across the room. She was discussing tomorrow's trials with Jack and Ferretti. Rothman was trying to explain the hierarchical facets of the society to Erickson, who didn't sound too interested. Teal'c …he hazarded a quick glance inward …of course, Teal'c was just watching him. Quickly he turned back to the wall. Did they really think he was addicted to this stuff? Was he? Self-doubt began to swirl through his mind. He felt fine now, and he hadn't had any herbs since …well, late this afternoon. Damn.

Falling into a fitful sleep, Daniel was awakened by brutal stomach cramps. Reflexively, he pulled his knees up to his chest. As his foggy brain continued to awaken, he knew his headache was also back. Straighten out your legs, part of his brain instructed him, don't let them see your distress. Fearfully, he opened his eyes and found that the black void was not there. He still had his vision. Maybe the herbs had permanently healed his eyes. Despite the pain, Daniel gave a silent sigh of relief. Now, what should he do?

He turned his head slowly to where Teal'c had been and was relieved to see that he was no longer there. The stomach pain was increasing, however, and he was beginning to feel shaky and desperate. This was not good. He immediately thought of the herbs, but dismissed it. He didn't need the herbs. The translation was complete, his eyesight was back, and he could get through these pains on his own. But even as he told himself that, part of his mind was searching for a way to retrieve the tiny bag.

No! He laid back down, drew his knees to his chest and tried to concentrate. Breathing faster than usual, Daniel couldn't help the desperation he was feeling. Maybe he should tell Jack. Aaagh … another wave of pain went through his insides. No, that would take too much time, and that was something he realized that he didn't have. After all, he still needed to present his translation at the trials tomorrow. He couldn't do that if he was incapacitated like this, could he. Yes, he did need to be coherent for tomorrow. If the herbs could accomplish that, he would take them now, return home and deal with these problems there. Ummmh. His agitation increased and Daniel realized that he better do something before he lost what slim control he had left. Riding through another spasm, Daniel twisted to his right to grab his jacket.

"Are you not well, Daniel Jackson?'

Oh, right, what made him think that Teal'c would have left. From the direction of his voice, he must be sitting directly behind him. Daniel forced himself into a sitting position. "I just have to use the…ahh…facilities."

"I will accompany you."

"Teal'c…is this really necessary?"

"I am only concerned for your welfare Daniel Jackson."

'Right.' With more restraint than he thought possible, Daniel stood up and walked to the far corner of their room where the merest accommodations had been made for their hygiene. He could hear his shadow following and realized that privacy was not going to be an option here. This was humiliating, and Daniel finished up quickly and returned to his sleeping roll. He grabbed his jacket as he went by. "I'm cold, Teal'c."

"I am not. It is comfortable in here, perhaps you are not well. I will notify Major Carter."

"No Teal'c, I'm just fine. I just need some extra layers." And with that, the herbs were well within his reach.

Sliding one hand down into the lining was easy if you knew where to find it. He pinched a small leaf and held the precious herb in his hand while his body went through another painful spasm. Easy. Patience. Forcing a sneeze, he brought his hand up to his mouth and slipped the fine leaf inside. Immediately, his agitation began to ease. He ground it up between his back teeth, and his stomach calmed. Yes, he'd done the right thing, he'd just wait to deal with this when he got home.

Passing the trials was easier than Daniel had ever expected. Sam did a great job of defining and describing the hand-held power supply and its possible applications. She was even able to hazard a guess at the raw materials on earth that could be used to recreate the item. It was an impressive accomplishment. None of the monks were overly enthusiastic, but they agreed that she had accomplished her task.

Daniel was the last up. As soon as the elders heard Daniel prove that he could read the ancient text, they were much more receptive. They even seemed pleased to speak with him. They made quite a show of bringing out a large cup of their tea for the newly-acknowledged holy man, but under Jack's watchful eye, Daniel declined. He was determined never to touch the herb again. Less than an hour ago, as he swallowed the spicy leaf, he'd decided that he'd had his final taste. The euphoria from the last 'dose' assured him that he would be able to give it up now.

The monks apologized for their incarceration and insistence on the completion of the tasks, but assured them that it was all quite necessary to insure that only the pious were allowed to share in their advanced technologies. A musician came out and played a somber piece, which was followed by several minutes of silent reflection. Then, with great ceremony, Tylom presented Daniel with an agreement to set up a dialog with the SGC in which additional culture and technologies could be shared.

"Great, so when can we leave?" Jack was nothing if not blunt.

"Now we shall feast in celebration."

Jack had been torn. He desperately wanted to leave immediately, but realized that the teams could benefit from a good meal and a decent night's rest. They were directed to a room where all their supplies had been moved, and Jack noticed that their accommodations had significantly improved. Each team had its own warm room with four beds. They'd even added a divider for Sam's privacy. Apparently now that they were considered to be more than animals, modesty counted. Still, Jack was pleased that he could keep an eye on his whole team with SG-2 right next door.

The feast had been amazing. Once they were accepted, they were treated royally. The food was delicious and plentiful. Jack was glad, however, that it was over. It was time to prepare to return home.

As they walked in the door, Teal'c dropped back to speak with him. "I believe Daniel Jackson is unwell as he appears to be in distress."

Jack glanced in to where Sam was gathering her supplies, but Daniel had dropped heavily onto his bed and was bending forward as if in some pain.

"Daniel…," Jack walked over and sat down next to him. "How're you doing?"

Daniel just winced. His stomach was cramping terribly, and the room was no longer standing still. He put his elbow on his knee and his head in his hand and closed his eyes. Rubbing his forehead didn't help. He already knew that there was only one thing that could help, and Daniel also knew he had no more excuses left. "Jack, …" he began. Then waited as he struggled with the other part of his mind that didn't want to admit this. "You were right to search me…"

Jack looked over to Teal'c and then back to the face of his teammate "I…I did …I mean …I do…have some more of the …herb …with me. I needed it to get through the trials today, and then I planned to throw it away. I …I felt I was strong enough … not to use the herbs anymore, … but now…I really want them again. Here,…" he reached deep into his jacket to pull out crumpled dried leaves in the bag, "…take them away. Teal'c …I'm sorry…" but Daniel was forced to stop again as another pain stole his breath away.

Jack sat down next to him. "Okay. Take it easy." He eased Daniel back onto the bed. Jack's voice was soft, but Daniel could read the anger in his eyes.

Daniel tried to get comfortable, but his body and mind were both in turmoil. "Jack, … I had to do it. I had to read their book to get us all out of here." Daniel twisted on the bed and then searched out Jack's eyes. "I couldn't let everyone be killed. And ..at least my eyesight's back now."

"Yeah, there's that." Jack stood up to look out the window, then turned to look at his friend on the bed. "We could have found another way, Daniel. You should have discussed it with us as soon as you knew what it was doing to you."

"I know … but by then I wasn't thinking straight anyway." He turned over again, "I'm sorry, I just didn't see any other way. You would have stopped me from taking it, and I wouldn't have been able to translate, and people could have died."

Jack looked at Carter who nodded very slightly in assent. "Alright, we'll discuss this later. Right now, how bad do you think this will get. Will you be able to travel tomorrow?"

After another few seconds, Daniel was able to reply. "Yes" Then he grabbed his stomach and took in a sharp breath. After a few seconds he let it out and closed his eyes before adding more quietly than before, "I don't know."

A late-night knock at the door was answered by Teal'c. Kahamu stood quietly outside with a cup of liquid in his hand. "For Daniel …"

Jack could barely restrain himself. Sam intervened and merely ordered the young man to leave and not return. By then, Daniel didn't even know he was there and Sam knew it was better that way.

The rest of the night turned out to be far from restful…for any of them. Daniel was in agony between his stomach and chest cramps, nausea, and combined with a splitting headache, he was rarely lucid. It was hard for the team to sleep knowing what he was going through. They had decided not to restrain him, but each had pulled a combined nurse/guard duty throughout the night.

By morning, little had changed. They had taken turns holding and comforting their incoherent friend. They had changed his sweat soaked shirt, and used cool cloths on his forehead. Jack had to give him credit though, during the times he was lucid, he never asked for the drug. He knew what he had to face the withdrawal, and was handling it with as much restraint as possible.

O'Neill motioned Carter over to a corner of the room away from the patient. "What's your assessment of his condition?"

"Well, as you know, sir, he's weak, dehydrated, has a fever and chills, and little strength. I'm not sure we've even seen the worst of this yet. He could begin having hallucinations and …"

"OK, OK …I've got the picture, Carter."

"Do not attempt to sit up again or I shall restrain you." Teal'c's voice carried across the room.

"Jack."

"Daniel? … Are you joining us for awhile?"

"We need …to get home."

"Uh, yeah. Feel like getting up to join us?"

Daniel could hear the sarcasm in Jack's voice. "Leave me for a few days. You could come back and get me."

"Oh,…now why didn't I think of that. We'll just leave you here with the same people that gave you the drug in the first place."

Daniel grimaced. He wasn't thinking clearly and he knew it. "Well, get …me up…and …I'll go …with you." He struggled to sit whereupon Teal'c simply placed him back down in the bed. Daniel covered his eyes with his hand as the room began to spin. Twisting quickly he wretched into the bag Sam had kindly left for him. Oh, God, it hurt. If only he could just have one more…NO. Don't even think that way. Suffer through it and get it over with. "You know …it's not as bad …as…you know." They did. "I'm not paranoid or delusional."

"Yet." Jack responded quietly. "We'll have to tell SG-2 to go ahead and notify the General that we'll be following as soon as the situation allows."

Daniel pushed his head back on the pillow. "I'm sorry, guys. I …"

"Daniel, this wasn't your fault. You've been through a hell of a week and I shouldn't have blamed you for something that was already out of your control. Kahamu took advantage of your condition …"

"He was just …trying to help me."

"Whatever happened, we have to deal with it and get you through this now."

Daniel turned back to the bag, then in misery closed his eyes and fell into a fitful sleep thrashing around on the bed under the watchful eyes of his team.

SG-2 and Teal'c returned to the gate with a message for General Hammond and Dr. Frasier. Teal'c returned with a med kit from Janet containing various medicines, equipment, and specific instructions for the care and monitoring of Dr. Jackson. As expected, General Hammond had not allowed Dr. Frasier or any additional SG personnel to travel to the planet until his remaining team was home and formal negotiations could begin.

The monks had agreed to allow them to stay until Daniel felt better. They offered to provide their own medical aide, but Jack wasn't about to let them near Daniel with more of their drugs, and Daniel had insisted that they not reveal the nature of his 'illness' to them. Kahamu would have suffered had they found out that he had given Daniel the tea before he was found to be pious. Jack didn't seem to mind, but Sam pointed out that the monks may invalidate the results of his task if they felt Daniel had had inappropriate help. Jack reluctantly agreed.

They told the monks that Daniel merely had the flu and he preferred to recover on his own. The monks sent many messengers with cups of tea…each of which was disposed of after Sam got the necessary samples. Kahamu had given up trying to visit Daniel some time yesterday when he realized that Jack wasn't going to let him anywhere near his friend. Food and drink were left at the door and otherwise they were left alone.

Sam and Jack took turns monitoring the patient. Janet had instructed them not to give him any more pain medicine until the test results showed that all but residual traces of herbs were out of his system. Gradually, the other drugs relieved some of the cramping and nausea. His headache, however, seemed to be beyond treatment.

Nevertheless, after four pain-filled days, Daniel appeared to have turned the corner. He'd never mentioned the dire consequences Kahamu had predicted, but Daniel had only taken the drug for a few days. A dark part of his brain still knew that if he took the drug, his headache and remaining cramps would disappear, … and that thought was enticing. But he refused to give into it again. He had fought too hard over the last few days to rid it from his system. He had to keep reminding himself of that, and that each day it would get easier.

He did have one thing to thank the plant for and he appreciated his sight all the more for having temporarily lost it. If he had to do it all again, and had been aware at the start that he would have to suffer this withdrawal but he would regain his sight, he wasn't altogether sure he wouldn't have taken it anyway. Dr. Daniel Jackson couldn't imagine his life without his vision, without being a part of SG-1, without reading, without so many wonderful things. He laid back against the pillow and fell into a deep sleep.

"Daniel, …Daniel." Who was calling his name? Through a throbbing head he could hear someone calling him. "Come on Daniel, it's time we get going." Daniel groaned and rolled to his left. Sam was sitting on the edge of his bed with a glass of water and two minor painkillers. They'd avoided giving him any painkillers because they didn't know how it would react with the drug already in his system. Daniel understood, but was grateful that Sam had determined that the herb had passed significantly enough out of his body, and that it was safe to take something now to help with the remaining pain.

'Time to get going?' Yes, that was what they had told him last night. His fever had diminished, and he was drinking fluids easily now. It was time to head back to the gate. Squinting his eyes, he could see Teal'c placing the last of their supplies on the other bed and checking out the window – always on guard. Jack …

"Ready for a field trip?" Daniel's eyes scanned to the bottom of the bed where Jack waited with his gear.

"Yeah, I've been waiting for you guys."

"Right. Come on then, up and at 'em."

Daniel struggled up. He walked determinedly to the sink and splashed cool water on his face. He could feel the spasms in his stomach, but they could now be pushed aside. Finally the pains in his chest and legs had been relieved, but his head still throbbed. Again, he could deal with that. Like the rest of his team, he was glad to be heading home.

Putting on a confident face, Daniel buttoned up his shirt, slipped his feet into his boots, took a deep breath, and tied them. Walking over to the bed he reached out to grab his pack.

"I will carry that Daniel Jackson. You need to conserve your strength."

Any other day, Daniel would have argued, but today he was just glad that Teal'c had offered to help. He honestly wasn't sure that he could make it to the gate on his own if he also needed to carry a loaded pack. With a tight smile, he nodded to Teal'c, glanced over to make sure the others were ready, then taking another deep breath, he turned for the door.