Main Story: Finding Home
Title: Book 1: Lost and Found
Category: Roswell 99/Stargate SG-1
Disclaimer: I do not own anything!
Pairings: None
Summary: Max Evans was moved from the location he was originally brought to at Area 51, only he was drugged when it happened so he didn't realize it. Because of the change, the Pod-Squad's rescue attempt failed, he ended up spending longer in the care of Pierce and his team. Colonel Jack O'Neill and his team are at Area 51 to reclaim stolen property from the NID and stumble across the White Room and it's resident. Of course they have to rescue him.
/thoughts/
~/flashes and memories pulled from Max's power/~
Warning: Chapter 2 has a trigger warning for thoughts of suicide. There will be another warning at the top of that page, as well as a BOLD warning before that scene happens. There is also a BOLD end trigger warning as well.
Chapter 1- Area 51The bright lights of the White Room beat down on a despondent Max Evans, who wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. He didn't know how long he'd been in this room and Pierce kept asking him things he had no knowledge of. Maybe if he had been raised by Nasado like Tess…
No. Max knew it was useless. Pierce didn't- no wouldn't believe him when he said he didn't know anything. He curled up tighter into his corner of the White Room, and tried to keep his tremors under control. The tremors were from the temperature in the room, which the scientists kept changing- dropping it colder and colder, and also from his fear.
They kept escalating the abuse in the name of science of course. He knew if the others couldn't get him out soon then he wouldn't make it much longer. He didn't know how long it'd been since he last heard from Isabel with her dream walking. However, in the back of his mind, Max knew that Pierce didn't care if he lived or died. The agent would enjoy continuing to torture him for information he didn't have, but even then his patience would run out eventually.
Max's breath hitched, he could sense movement from the room beyond his and he knew they were about to come back. He pushed down a shutter and curled up tighter just as the door opened. The agents came in and strapped him into whatever the next torture device was- a new hell was starting. Max couldn't stop his screams.
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Colonel Jack O'Neill was not happy about having to come to Area 51 because of Maybourne and his bull shit. While a bunch of the teams were off-world, Maybourne managed to somehow sneak artifacts out of the SGC that he had no right to. O'Neill knew it was him even though the thief had covered his tracks. His group was constantly trying to undermine Hammond's authority and hoodwink the President with false information.
That was more than enough to push O'Neill's button's but this time Maybourne and his team went too far. That's why SG1 was here. To officially ask for the return of the artifacts. If that didn't work, then they would be back later- unofficially.
But first, they had to get a lay of the land. Jack knew without being told Teal'c and Captain Samantha Carter were also categorizing everything around them while Daniel talked the ear off their guide and Maybourne, who was still feigning innocence about the whole thing. Carter was also asking scientific questions that were way above Jack's pay grade to help keep the Area 51 agents occupied.
Jack loved how well their team seemed to be able to read each other and do what needed to be done after only a few years working together.
Teal'c suddenly stiffened slightly and tilted his head the barest of inches, to turn an ear in the direction of a set of locked doors that said "Closed for renovations."
Before either NID agent could notice the change Teal'c was turned back forward, but he did glance at O'Neill. Jack knew there was something they would be investigating in that section of the base during their unofficial visit that night. They would discuss the new details later when they were back at their hotel. The look in Teal'c eyes said he'd heard something that disturbed him and Jack knew the other would not let whatever it was go without a fight.
Jack debated asking about the renovations with their guide, but Teal'c shook his head the barest amount. The Colonel got the hint and stayed silent but also started to revise the plan for the unofficial visit later. Now he would have to decide the best course of action and who should go where.
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"Carter," said Jack, "are you sure you and Daniel can handle the artifacts?" The team was enroute back to Area 51, dressed in all black and ready to run the unofficial operation. Ultimately it was decided that Captain Carter would go with Daniel to grab the artifacts while Teal'c and Jack investigated the "under renovations" section of the building. Teal'c had heard faint screaming- the kind that sounded very out of place in such a place. It left a dark feeling in Jack's gut- which was never a good sign.
"Yes sir," said Carter quietly. They had gone over the specs, and she was ready to hack the cameras and security system to cover their tracks. This was the third time the Colonel had asked, but Carter also knew he didn't like it when they needed to split up like this for operations.
He would never admit it outloud, but Jack O'Neill was a mother hen when it came to his team. It made the rest of them want to prove they could handle any situation, but they also knew it was out of love and care for their safety so they let him do it.
They reached the perimeter of the buildings and Carter opened her laptop to start typing. Barely three minutes later she gave the all clear and the group split to do their respective jobs. They all had tranq guns, and the hope was they wouldn't need to use them. However, they also knew they couldn't take any chances. They were all wearing comms, but also knew to keep talking to a minimum.
Sam and Daniel made it to the room with the SGC's stolen artifacts without a hitch. Daniel quickly and carefully packed the items away (along with a few others), while Carter got onto the computer to download the data the agents had recorded. She erased the presence of the artifacts from the NID's systems.
They were about half way done when Jack came over the comms with two quick clicks. Carter quickly did two clicks back to let them know it was safe to talk.
"Carter," Jack's voice was tight with anger, "where are you now?"
"The room with the artifacts sir. Daniel just finished bagging them up and I'm about done downloading the data."
There was silence for a moment before, "Can you access other systems from that computer?"
"Yes sir…?" It came out as both an affirmative and a question.
"Find anything you can on a Maxwell… Evans. Then get out of there ASAP. O'Neill out."
Carter was already typing and knew an acknowledgement wasn't needed. "Oh my God!"
She was ready to be sick with what was coming up, but she pushed it down and started downloading the data. Daniel came up behind her and cursed in four different languages, "They're… they're monsters!"
"Yeah… let me just…" Sam kept typing. The computer beeped and she extracted the disk, then finished typing, "Done. Let's get out of here."
Neither SG-1 member was surprised to see Teal'c carrying an unconscious teen in his arms, who seemed to be bleeding through the field bandages across his chest.
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Jack picked the lock for the closed section of the building, while Teal'c kept watch. There was a soft click and the pair slipped through the door silently.
Jack let Teal'c take the lead- he was the one to hear the scream earlier in the day. They quickly made their way down the hall. There were very few doors, but when they turned the corner they came to a cell door with a hand print lock. Whatever Carter had done earlier to the security system seemed to have disengaged the lock and the door was open.
The single door past the cell door was an observation room, which looked into a white room full of medical equipment and four people. The observation room had a file cabinet, which Jack eyed while Teal'c went for the door to the other room. There were four people in the white room currently- one strapped to a table, and three doctors, one of which was injecting the boy with something when his breathing got fast and he began whimpering. "He was waking up." Said the scientist, "This should keep him out for another eight hours at least."
Teal'c brought his tranq gun up and the three agents were unconscious before they hit the floor- none the wiser to SG-1's presence there. They landed in the blood that was dripping from the table, but Teal'c didn't pay them any extra mind- except maybe to "accidentally" step on their hands when he got to the table.
"O'Neill," the Jaffa said quietly. The Colonel was at his side moments later letting out a quiet growl. He started to work on the bleeding coming from the boy's chest and stomach as Teal'c removed the restraints. O'Neill also noticed the boy's left arm looked like he was a serious druggy with the amount of puncture points from needles. He fought down the urge to inject the three unconscious agents with whatever concoction they had given the boy. The knowledge that Janet would need samples was the only thing that stilled his hand.
"He's not staying here." Was all Jack said, but it was a needless statement as they both would never condone torture- especially to a child.
"I've got him, O'Neill." Teal'c said, bringing the boy into his arms when he was finally free. The Colonel nodded and grabbed the syringe, needle, and other drug looking things from the room before turning to his comms to talk to Carter.
In the observation room he had found a file on the boy, which he grabbed as he spoke to Carter.
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In the town of Roswell that same night, Isabel, Michael and the others were planning their second rescue attempt. The information she had gotten from Max the first day he was in the White Room was wrong- either they had moved him somewhere else, or the drugs had messed with his memory. When they attempted to rescue him, it was a trap. Nasado was shot, and Michael was almost grabbed. If it wasn't for Valenti's timely entrance, he would've been the next guest of the White Room. Little did they realize they were too late again. Isabel tried to dream talk with Max, but she couldn't reach him at all. Her screams carried through the town when she woke up. The teens realized he was probably dead. When the shock wore off, they switched their focus to reviving Nasado.
At the same time, the team of SG-1 and their young refugee were well on their way back to Cheyenne Mountain on their Air Force transport flight. They debated taking the boy to the air force hospital instead, but realized that he was an alien and it would be better to have him hidden in the mountain. If need be they could rush him off world when Maybourne came knocking.
Back at the Mountain, Dr. Fraiser was already setting up a bed for the teen in the infirmary while Sam spoke to her about the information from the file she was reading. The doctor didn't think he would die from the cuts, but also didn't know the drugs used to keep him asleep, which was her biggest concern right now.
They also debated whether it would be wiser to give him his own room or a bed in the main infirmary. His own room, Daniel argued, might make him think he would still be tortured when he woke up and it would be harder to gain his trust. However, they also didn't know if he had any alien powers they needed to be concerned about, or how he would react upon waking.
They settled for a separate room that barely had any white in it besides the bed sheets. Jack also suggested having a person sit with him until he woke up, and flat out refused to let him be restrained to the bed. They also didn't want to use one of the labs that had an observation room, so as to not make the teen feel like they were watching him. There would be cameras in the room, but no one staring at him through a wall like in Area 51.
Teal'c volunteered to sit with him until he woke up.
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It was mid afternoon before Max woke up from his drug induced slumber. Dr. Fraiser had more than enough time to take a few blood samples, and run their usual tests while he was still unconscious. She also stitched up the worst of the cuts and properly bandaged his chest.
Teal'c was sitting next to the bed that Max was sleeping in, in his room near the main infirmary at the SGC. The room was pretty bare except the bed, a few machines which were attached to Max to monitor his vitals, a door to the bathroom, a small end table, and the chair which Teal'c was currently occupying next to the bed. The heart monitor beeped along next to the Jaffa while he completed his kel'no'reem. Teal'c knew O'Neill and two airmen were right outside to guard the door in case Max attempted to get away, or became violent. Carter and Dr. Frasier were reviewing the information from the teen's file they had stolen from the NID, and Daniel was at the mess putting some food together for him to eat.
Non essential personnel were evacuated off the floor- per Hammond's directions, and a large squad of soldiers were on stand-by incase they had underestimated the teen and he needed to be subdued. O'Neill's gut was telling him it was overkill- that Max wouldn't or couldn't hurt a fly, but also had enough experience to not argue the extra precaution.
Teal'c came out of his meditation when he heard the boy's breath hitch suddenly. Maxwell Evans was finally awake. Teal'c opened his eyes but remained seated in the chaos that followed.
Max could feel consciousness returning, along with a lot of pain radiating from his chest area. There were things attached to his chest and a beeping coming from nearby that seemed to be in sync with his heart beat. He could also feel his shirt was still missing even though there was something on his chest, but he now apparently had socks on his feet. /What…?/
He could tell he was on something soft, like a bed and he wasn't restrained. He could also tell there was another person near him /PIERCE/ his mind screamed. Since the agent had neutralized his powers the day before, Max knew he was still helpless.
Max opened his eyes to the harsh light of the White Room and his breath hitched in fear. As fast as he could manage he rolled off the bed, dislocated the wires attached to him, and got as far away from the other person as he could. An alarm started to blare from the machine. Max stumbled his way to the closest corner he could get to and put his back to it. He covered his chest protectively, and tried to not take his eyes off Pierce, but his vision was swimming horribly from the drugs. He was also hit with overwhelming pain from his chest and stomach as his adrenaline wore off. Max fell to the floor and curled up as small as he could get to make himself a smaller target.
The alarm from the heart monitor suddenly went off which dropped the room back into silence. Max tried to focus on the other person in the room with him, /that's not Pierce… but who…?/ but his vision was still swimming. His shaking started up again this time mostly from fear.
Teal'c didn't move, except to reach out and turn off the heart monitor. The Jaffa could tell the boy was having trouble figuring out where he was and focusing his eyes. "I'm glad to see you are finally awake, young one."
Max's shaking got worse as he got his bearings and realized the other person wasn't Pierce, /that's definitely not Pierce, but who… Nasado? No, if it's not him They will "ask" more questions about him./ With Pierce he at least knew what to expect. This new person was a mystery and that was more dangerous.
/Maybe…/ Max pushed through the pain and fear to whisper, "..wh...who…?" That's as much as he could get out through his fear, not sure how the other would react. Pierce hadn't minded his questions at first either.
"My name is Teal'c of the Jaffa," said Teal'c, "you are safe here, you have my word. My team and I rescued you from Area 51 and the agents who were hurting you."
Max chose not to respond right away. He wouldn't be safe anywhere now and he couldn't believe this man with a weird gold tattoo on his forehead. Pierce was going to go after his friends and family, he knew it. Only now he was stuck in this new place where no one knew where he was. He fought back tears.
"I just want to go home," Max whispered despondently, not even realizing the other had heard him as he curled up tighter and put his head on his knees. Teal'c realized the boy was trying to protect his chest as best he could and making himself a smaller target.
Teal'c tilted his head before standing, he made sure to make some noise so as to not startle the terrified teen any more than he already was. The Jaffa went around the bed and sat in his mediation position before the boy, putting them on more equal footing. He kept his voice calm as Max turned his head to watch his approach, "I know you do not believe me now, but I promise no harm will come to you here. I cannot promise that we can send you home, that is not something I can give. But I will tell you this, I am also an alien. The people of this place took me in when I needed a safe place to go when I renounced the Goa'uld Apophis, a serpent posing as a false god. He is keeping my people prisoner."
He carefully lifted his shirt a little to show Max the abdominal pouch that held his larval Goa'uld symbiote. "A Jaffa is a warrior that houses larval Goa'uld until their maturation. In return we are granted strength, health, healing, and a longer life. "
Max let out a gasp when he saw it, his eyes widening in surprise at the sight. But he also had no idea what Teal'c was talking about- he had never heard of these Goa'uld. Was it all a trick to get him to talk? Why would it be such a strange story though? Should he say something back? Would they also think he was lying like Pierce? /They won't believe anything I say, but I can always try./
Max's shoulders slumped in resignation, "I… I don't kn… kno…" he swallowed partly in terror and partly because his throat was raw, "I don't know what a gooald is," he stuttered out quietly, butchering the forgein word. He looked away from Teal'c stomach back to his eyes, trying to gauge if the other believed him.
Teal'c raised an eyebrow at the pronunciation, but otherwise didn't react. He could see the pain in the teen's eyes, from the wounds on his front and probably other hidden pains they didn't know about. He thought an exam from Janet might help the teen, now that he was awake and could give them more information about what he went through. "Perhaps we should get you back to bed. Doctor Fraiser, a friend of mine, would like to examine you, to make sure you are not further hurt. She and my other friend Colonel O'Neill are outside waiting for permission to come in and see you."
Terror took over Max's features at the words "bed," "Doctor," and "Colonel." He started frantically shaking his head, and curling up even smaller in the corner- Teal'c didn't think it was possible for him to make himself smaller, but apparently he was wrong.
"No, no, no, please, no… I don't know… anything, please...no." Max was close to hyperventilating, he could barely get air into his lungs- which were burning along with his chest from his previous 'treatment,' from a 'doctor.' He kept repeating those words over and over again as despair started overtaking his person. He was on an active military base. There would be no escape from this new prison. He struggled to stay conscious.
Teal'c knew if Max passed out then Dr. Fraiser would barge in here to treat him, then possibly restrain him on the bed, no matter that they were trying to gain the boy's trust. He remembered a melody his wife would sing to their son when he was young, to help quiet him when he was sick with fever. The Jaffa started to hum the song, with the hope it would help the young man calm down. In his comm he could hear O'Neill, Hammond, and Fraiser arguing quietly in the hallway about next steps. However, Teal'c kept the majority of his attention on the terrified figure in front of him. He trusted O'Neill to keep everyone out unless there was a more pressing problem with Max, or unless he lost consciousness.
Max could feel his grasp of consciousness fading because he couldn't catch his breath, but he could also hear a song being sung next to him. It reminded him so much of his mom, who would sing to him and Issy when they were little and having night terrors, that he started to calm down and catch his breath. He kept an eye on Teal'c, who kept humming, while he attempted to process everything the other had said.
/This is a military base. Teal'c is also apparently an alien- a Jaffa. And he's safe here- welcome even. The doctor wants permission to enter this room. Pierce never asked- only ordered people to start the torture. Does that mean they want me to…. give them permission to start a torture session…? I need to consent to it?/ Max swallowed as best he could, /This is such a different approach than Pierce. More psychological. … If I consent... will it be less painful? Maybe they will give me drugs before they cut me open if I don't fight? ...I don't know what to do./
Teal'c could tell his song was starting to soothe the teen, but also knew he wasn't ready to allow Doctor Fraiser in to examine him. Perhaps they could get Major Carter to a preliminary exam while they started to build trust with the boy. Teal'c continued the song for another few minutes while Max's breath evened out, but he didn't fall asleep- just put his head back on his knees, keeping an eye on the Jaffa sitting across from him.
When Teal'c finished his song, he opened his eyes and turned his attention back to Max. "We mean you no harm Maxwell Evans, but it is clear you are not ready to trust us. Perhaps we could try something else- you must be starving since I do not believe the agents holding you at Area 51 fed you properly."
Max was about to deny it, but his stomach growled loudly, which caused him to flinch and negated anything he was about to say. He attempted to swallow, but there wasn't much saliva in his mouth to help his throat. He had no idea how this Teal'c would react so he watched him carefully.
Teal'c could hear the rest of his team over his comm arguing about who would bring in his food. Daniel and Carter were doing most of the talking, while O'Neill attempted to mediate. "O'Neill," said Teal'c, interrupting the argument and making Max jump a little, "perhaps Captain Carter can bring in the food tray Daniel Jackson has brought from the mess hall?"
There was a "ha!" from the hall before Fraiser started going over some questions and things to look for when Carter came into the room. O'Neill shushed her, then had the guards unlock the door for the Captain.
Max's breath hitched when he heard the door and he started shaking even harder at the thought of more people coming into the room. He whimpered, covering his head with his hands, while also trying to watch the door, convinced they were going to drag him over to the "bed" to start another torture session.
Captain Samantha Carter slowly made her way into the room carrying a tray of food. As she cleared the door, it closed behind her and the lock reengaged with a beep. She took in the room, noticing the boy- Max curled in a corner and Teal'c sitting not far away from him in his mediation position. Max was clearly terrified of her entrance, and while Teal'c was humming again it didn't seem to be helping this time. After her brief scan she slowly made her way across the floor and placed the tray down next to Teal'c, before also sitting on the floor, legs crossed. The food Daniel brought was still wrapped, a blue jello, two sandwiches, and three bottles of water.
"Hey there," said Sam gently as she made eye contact with the terrified teen across from her, "my name is Captain Sam Carter, I am on Teal'c's team and was part of the group that helped liberate Teal'c from the false god Apophis. I brought you guys some food from the mess. It's not much, but we do the best we can."
Max wasn't breathing as heavily with Teal'c humming, and Carter's introduction. He made no move for the food however- afraid to take his eyes off of Carter in case this was a trick.
Carter wasn't deterred; she just unwrapped a sandwich, took a small bite out of each triangles and put them back on the tray. She then handed Teal'c the other sandwich and one of the water bottles. "See," she said to Max, "just a normal sandwich."
"Thank you Captain Carter," said Teal'c as he unwrapped his own sandwich and took a bite.
Max dropped his eyes quickly to the tray before bringing his eyes back to watch Carter and Teal'c. He could smell the food, especially because he was so hungry, but didn't dare move towards the tray to pick up the other sandwich.
Carter picked up one of the water bottles, pulled off the lid and took a noticeable sip of that as well before she recapped it and held it out towards Max. "Go on, Sweetie, it's ok. I promise it's not been tampered with in any way, and no one is going to try to take this from you."
Max's stomach growled again, which caused another flinch. His throat was so parched and again he pushed down his fear to slowly reach out for the bottle. The teen's hand was shaking so badly he almost dropped the bottle twice before bringing it back to the safety of his lap. He ran his hands all over it, trying to find any oddities or possible needle dents. Satisfied he worked to uncap the lid, which was made more difficult with his shaking and took a small sip of his own.
The water felt so good that he was chugging the rest before he even finished the first swallow.
"Woah!" Said Carter, "slow down Sweetie, I don't want you to choke-"
Max coughed suddenly, and pulled the bottle away from his mouth, spilling some of it over his bandages, chest, and pants while he tried to catch his breath.
Carter looked like she wanted to reach out and help, but Teal'c stilled her before she could jump forward. Max appreciated the other male for that as he got himself under control and calmed down his coughing fit. The teen set the bottle down on the ground next to him and eyed up the sandwich again. His stomach was rolling the water around like it was food, but he knew it wouldn't be enough and the sandwich would also help calm his hunger.
He swallowed some of the saliva his mouth was now generating and slowly reached for a sandwich triangle. His eyes kept going between the pair across from him and the sandwich, afraid they would try to grab him when he got a hold of the food.
No attack came from the SG-1 members, and he quickly pulled the triangle back towards his chest. He wanted to swallow the sandwich whole, but knew better and forced himself to eat it slowly and in small bits- trying to make it last.
Too soon the sandwich triangle was gone and the other was in Max's hand before the pair across from him realized he had reached for it.
While he ate and drank, Carter was doing her best to examine what she could see of his chest bandages. There didn't seem to be new blood on the bandages, so he hopefully didn't rip any of his stitches in his flight from the bed to the corner.
Carter opened the Jello and took a bite of that when she was sure Max was done with his sandwich. She left the spoon next to the container for the boy to also grab. Her hope was he would uncurl some, so she could better see his bandages.
After a moment of hesitation, Max did reach for the jello and spoon. He turned so Carter could see his whole chest- the bandages didn't have blood, but a few were wet from Max's coughing fit with the water.
When Max finished the jello he set the cup on the tray and hesitated to put down the spoon as well. His powers were still being neutralized, he could tell, as he couldn't manipulate the spoon at all. After a moment he also put the spoon back on the tray and brought his hands back in close to his body. He wasn't sure what the people across from him would do if they thought he had a weapon. The water from the first bottle was gone and he didn't dare touch the unopened one still on the tray.
"So," said Carter with a gentle smile, startling Max who brought his eyes back to her, "do you prefer to be called Max or Maxwell?"
"..M..Max." said Max, suddenly aware that a new torture session was about to begin. It always started with questions and when he couldn't answer them anymore, or Pierce thought he was lying the pain came. The food felt like a brick in his stomach and he hoped he wouldn't throw it all up. Perhaps this was another excuse to stripe him and put him in the tub for a "cleaning." That's what happened the last time he was given food. Max felt like a fool for falling for this trick. Max hugged his left arm close to his body defensively.
"Max," said Carter, unaware of the dark spiral happening with Max's thoughts, "that's a nice name. We stole the file from Area 51 that they had on you. I'm so sorry that they felt like they could treat you the way they did. I want to reiterate what Teal'c's already said. We won't hurt you here. That's a promise."
Max nodded but he didn't believe her. He turned his eyes down towards his lap, but was watching the pair from under his lashes. He cautiously asked, "where am I?"
Carter didn't even glance towards Teal'c before answering, "somewhere safe. You are in a military complex in Colorado Springs."
Carter could hear Jack grumbling over the comms, but ignored it. Max was curling up tighter at the mention of the military base and his shaking seemed to be getting worse. She thought to try a different line of questioning to see how he responded and gather more information about his home world. "Were the Goa'uld threatening your planet? Is that why you came to Earth?"
Max's breath hitched in fear, "...was born here- on Earth," he whispered as his eyes jumped between Carter and Teal'c. He remembered his first conversation with Pierce in the White Room. /Well, born in the sense of emerging from the pods./
Sam nodded, "in Roswell, New Mexico- correct?"
Max couldn't tell if she believed him or not, but he nodded quickly to her clarifying question. /Is this a trap….? I don't… I don't understand./
"Well," said Carter with a sense of finality, "I guess you wouldn't know about the Goa'uld then."
Max wasn't sure if that was a question or not, but slowly shook his head no. He had no idea what they kept talking about and wasn't sure if they believed his responses.
"When…" Max hesitated before continuing when he realized he had Carter and Teal'c's full attention, "When can I go home?"
This time Carter and Teal'c did share a glance before Carter answered, "I'm not sure that's a good idea Max. The people who took you, do you know who they were? Which agency they work for?"
"They said they were FBI. A secret unit that hunted aliens." Max looked between the pair across from him gauging their reaction to his response. He didn't know why they hadn't started on the torture yet- Pierce hadn't waited long between playing games with his questions and starting the torture.
"They lied to you Max, they are really a secret organization, but they aren't based through the FBI, though they probably do have people stationed there. They are a group called the NID. As long as they still have power it wouldn't be safe for us to send you back to Roswell." Carter seemed sincere in her explanation, almost remorseful, and Max couldn't figure out if she was lying or not. He dropped his head to his knees, breathing hard with the knowledge he was still a prisoner- just in a larger cage. /I hope Isabel, Michael, and everyone else is safe.../ Max kept trying to reach Isabel, but he knew it was fruitless with both the drugs and distance between them. Dream walking had been Isabel's gift, not his. He wasn't actually sure he could do it.
Carter realized how her explanation sounded and knew she was the reason for Max's current distress. /Maybe I should try a different tactic?/ She noticed the wet bandages again and thought up a different strategy to show Max they wouldn't hurt him.
"Max," said Carter again, "can you look at me please Sweetie?" Max brought his head up some to lock eyes with the Captain across from him. She could see the fear growing in his gaze and worded her next question very carefully. "Some of your bandages got wet when you spilled the water while you were coughing earlier. We need to change them so you don't get an infection. Either Teal'c or I could do it, but it needs to be done. Who would make you feel more comfortable?"
She was not prepared for the terror that overtook Max's eyes, the pleading denials, or the way he curled up even smaller, trying to protect his chest as much as he could. "No...nonono… please. I don't… I don't know….please. I don't know anything. I can't tell you what I don't know."
"This happened before," said Teal'c over Max's pleas, "when I mentioned Janet, O'Neill, and the bed."
Max suddenly went limp, his head falling to his knees and tears leaked out of his closed eyes. Tremors still took over his body, but his pleading stopped and he was unresponsive to Carter or Teal'c concerned calls of his name. Max could hear them, but he was retreating into his mind- trying to block out the horrors he thought were coming his way.
/No drugs now either-/ was his last conscious thought before he completely tuned out the outside world and dove deep into the safety of his mind. He hoped Izabel might try to contact him again, but he wasn't sure how far her gift worked or if they even realized he was still alive.
Carter didn't know how to respond, and even Teal'c humming wasn't getting a reaction from Max.
"Clearly," said O'Neill through the comms, "this is how those NID bastards ran a torture session. Questions followed by physical abuse."
"Sir!" Said Carter, but O'Neill cut her off, "it's okay Carter. You didn't know- none of us did. But now we do, so we can do better next time. This was a good first contact. He ate the food and responded to our conversations."
There was a muffled voice of Fraiser from O'Neills comm, "No Doc. It wouldn't be a good idea for you to go in there yet. Carter can change a bandage or two, then scadoodle out of there, unless the Big Guy needs a break?"
"I do not, O'Neill," said Teal'c, "I will assist Captain Carter in replacing the bandages then we should put Max Evans back in the position he passed out in. I will wait for him to awaken and we can try a different approach to try to gain his trust.
-End Chapter 1-