Child of the Mind

By Ldynwaitin

Chapter Two

Forgetful innocence

Waiting for Daniel to wake up, Sam made sure he was comfortable. As she took care of him, Teal'c and Cameron watched for any sign of more hunters. It was hours later when the rain finally stopped falling. The sun was beginning to set, and Daniel was still unconscious. In that time, they saw several groups of men running through the jungle.

Cameron squatted next to Daniel. He touched his forehead. "No fever, that could be a good sign."

"Could be," Sam said. She gently pushed away wet hair on Daniel's face. "But we're all soaking wet. Maybe it's keeping a fever down." She beamed when she saw Daniel's eyes slowly open. She helped him sit up.

"Hey, sunshine," Cameron said. "You gave us a fright."

"Daniel," Sam said. "Are you all right?"

He blinked his eyes, a gentle smile curved his lips. "Hello," he said. His brows furrowed in pain as he held his head. "My head hurts."

Sam was relieved to hear him talking. "You hit your head on a tree."

Daniel stared at her. "Hello, I'm Daniel." He gave her a questioning look.

Sam began to become worried. "Yes, you are. Don't you know me?"

A beautiful smile blossomed. "I'm sorry, should I?" He touched his bandage. "My head hurts, can you help me?" His eyes looked so pleading.

"Daniel, don't you remember me? I'm Samantha Carter, you call me Sam for short."

Daniel shook his head. He looked confused. "I'm sorry, I don't know you, Sam."

"Jackson," Cameron said. "I'm Cameron Mitchell, do you know me?"

"Jackson?" Daniel said. He laughed, "Do I have two names too? Am I Jackson Daniel or Daniel Jackson?"

Daniel looked at Cameron. "Cameron Mitchell," he softly said. "Do you have a short name too?"

Sam was starting to get frightened. "Daniel, do you recognize these?" She showed Daniel his glasses. He looked at the glasses, then at Sam. "What do I do with them?"

"Here," she said. She opened them and put them on him. She saw his eyes light up with joy.

"I can see much better now, thank you." Cameron looked deep into his eyes, he saw a naiveté and innocence in them. Sam saw it too.

Teal'c turned. "Daniel Jackson, I am Teal'c. Do you not know me?"

Daniel reached up and touched Teal'c's brand. "Ow, did that hurt you?" He took in a deep breath. Finding a flower in his vest, he pulled it out. "Pretty," he sighed. He breathed in deep. "It smells beautiful too." He showed it to Teal'c. "Isn't it beautiful?"

Teal'c quietly said, "Yes, Daniel Jackson. It is beautiful."

Happy, he leaned back, and looked at the flower.

"Sam," Cameron said. He motioned her to come with him.

Sam stood up, Daniel was holding her hand. "Where are you going?"

She patted his hand. "I'm just going to talk to Cameron, Daniel. Don't worry, I'll be back."

"Okay," he said. He held his head, his eyes squinted with pain, "It still hurts."

She pursed her lips, it killed her to see him this way. "I'm sorry," she sung.

He brightly smiled at her. "It's all right, I hope it gets better."

"Me too." Sam and Cameron walked to the edge of their hide.

"Carter," Cameron whispered, "What do you think is wrong with him?"

"I don't know, Cam. He hit his head hard. It's not really amnesia. He doesn't know who we are, but he knows his name. It's Daniel, but it's not. I see such an innocence in his eyes. It's like he's regressed."

"If that knock on his head did change him, will he be better in time?"

Sam shook her head. "I have no idea. The brain is a strange thing. I had a friend whose Aunt had a stroke. She could only say two words, 'not really'. She never said anything but those two words until the day she died. Cameron, he could be normal in the next hour, day, year, or maybe never."

Cameron looked back, he saw Daniel staring at him. He smiled and waved at him. Cameron saw a look from Daniel that he never saw before. There was no intelligence there, just a simplicity. The Daniel they knew was not there.

"We got to get him back home," Cameron said. He looked down the hill, the jungle was alive with the sounds of creatures below. "We can't leave now, we'll have to go in the morning. Hopefully the hunters are late risers."

He walked into the enclosure. "We're staying here for the night. We'll head back to the stargate in the morning."

"Star gate?" Daniel said. "Is that a gate to the stars?" He pointed up. He looked so hopeful.

"In a way, Daniel," Cameron softly said. "It will take us home."

Daniel looked around. "This isn't home?"

"No, Daniel," Sam, said. "You're hurt. We're resting here until morning."

Daniel touched his head. "Did I tell you my head hurts?"

"Yes, tomorrow we'll make it better."

Happily grinning, Daniel nodded his thanks. "I can't wait." He turned and peeked out of the long leaves that hid them. "It's pretty out there, so green."

They all stared at him. It was heartbreaking to see Daniel like this.

"I will take first watch," Teal'c said. He turned and stared ahead. In truth, he couldn't stand to see Daniel this way.

Sam sat next to Daniel. He looked at her, she saw his eyelids starting to droop.

He widely yawned. "I'm sleepy."

"Lay down, Daniel. You'll feel better if you get some sleep."

He lay down and put his head on Sam's lap. She gently stroked his head.

"Go to sleep, Daniel. We're safe here."

"Okay," he sung.

She looked at Teal'c. She saw the fear she felt for Daniel in his eyes. Something was terribly wrong with him. They needed to get him back to the base. She went to sleep with her hand protectively on Daniel's side.

Cameron lay down at the opening of the fallen trees. "Wake me in four hours, Teal'c." He quickly went to sleep.

Teal'c watched for any danger. Hours later he saw that someone was awake.

"So pretty," Daniel said. He was sitting up next to a sleeping Sam. He peeked through the leaves. "The sky, I like the way the moon shines on the clouds. Do you think they're pretty?" He looked at Teal'c. "I'm sorry, I forgot your name."

"It is Teal'c," he told him.

"Are we friends?" Daniel searched into his eyes. He saw a sadness in them. "Did I make you sad?"

Teal'c shook his head. "No, Daniel Jackson, I am not sad. And yes, I am your friend. A very close friend."

"I'm happy, because then that means I am your friend."

Daniel smiled at him. It was the one thing that didn't change, his smile. "Yes, Daniel Jackson, you are my friend."

Nodding his head, a small grin grew. He turned and continued to stare at the jungle.

When it was time to wake up Cameron, Teal'c let him sleep. He felt he could stay up the entire night. He watched Daniel looking out into the jungle and listened to the noises of the night. Insects chirped around them. It was a soothing sound. As they continued to chirp Teal'c felt his eyelids grow heavy. Staring ahead, he kept an eye out for any trouble. Hours later he faintly heard Daniel say, "I think I see the sun, it's so pretty."

Teal'c woke up with a start. Cameron was yelling at him. "Teal'c! Where is he?"

Teal'c blinked his eyes. "Where is who, Cameron Mitchell?"

"Daniel!"

Teal'c looked at where Daniel was sitting. He was gone, he didn't know when it happened, but he was gone.

"Sam, wake up," Cameron said.

Sam rubbed her eyes. "What's wrong, Cam?"

"It's Daniel, he's gone."

Sam stood up, Daniel was no longer there. "Where is he?"

"No idea, Teal'c didn't wake me up. I found Daniel gone and Teal'c asleep." Cameron was furious that Teal'c didn't wake him up.

Teal'c was angry with himself. It was because of him that Daniel was missing. A Daniel that was in a very fragile condition.

"I am sorry, Cameron Mitchell. I take full responsibility. It is my fault that he is gone. But he could not have gone far. I heard him say how pretty the sun was as it was rising."

Cameron grabbed Daniel's backpack. "Let's hope we can find him before anything bad happens."

Cameron knew that Teal'c would die to protect Daniel. It was a mistake. Right now, he was more frightened than angry. Frightened for Daniel.

Leaving the hide, Teal'c searched the area. He found crushed leaves on the ground. "He went this way."

Teal'c was livid. He was supposed to protect his team, and he fell asleep. Fell asleep at a time that one of his closest friends needed him the most. If anything happened to Daniel, he would never forgive himself.

Daniel slowly walked through the thick growth of the jungle. He passed by a small tree with giant leaves. He happily stared at the leaves as they lazily waved in the wind. Once the sun was up, he had to go down and explore. He didn't know why, but he knew that he loved exploring. Everyone was asleep. He didn't want to wake them up, so he silently left the hide.

He pushed his way past the giant leaves into an open area. Tall grass and bushes stood in front of him. He could make out a small lake ahead. Giant trees grew on the opposite side or the lake. The grass was as high as his shoulders. He worked his way through the bushes and grass to the lake.

Reaching the lake, he squatted down and stuck his hand in the water. He giggled with joy as he splashed his hand around in the cool water.

Hearing a noise behind him he turned his head. He saw several men dressed in green moving out of the tall grass. Standing, he waved at them.

"Hello," he said. He patted his chest. "I'm, Daniel."

He became frightened when two men ran up to him holding sticks in front of them. One of them poked him with the stick. Daniel jerked when he felt a shocking pain. Falling to his knees, he began to cry. "Why did you hurt me?" he sobbed. Tears ran down his cheeks. "I wasn't going to hurt you." He continued crying as he rocked back and forth.

One of the men was about to hit him again when another stopped him. This man was the only one dressed in white. He wore a white headband.

"No, Jing," the man in white said. He looked at Daniel. "Can you not see? Look at him. He is not going to hurt us. He is injured." He pointed to the bandage on Daniel's head.

Daniel took his glasses off and used his sleeve to wipe the tears from his face. He stared at the men that surrounded him. There were ten of them. Some of them carried large objects wrapped in green cloth. He became frightened when he saw blood bleeding through the cloth. Daniel was terrified, he breathed in a halting sigh.

The man that stopped Jing squatted in front of Daniel. He softly touched Daniel on his shoulder. He said in a gentle voice, "Do not cry, we did not mean to hurt you. I am, Yong."

At first Daniel didn't understand what he said. Then the words suddenly came to him. Grinning, he said. "Hello, Yong."

Yong was surprised to hear the stranger perfectly speak their language. "Who are you?"

Daniel patted his chest. "I am, Daniel."

"Daniel." Yong repeated the word. He never heard a name like that before. "What are you doing here, Daniel?"

Daniel looked around. He looked so sad. "I'm lost, Yong. I was looking for the sky gate to go home. Or was it, sun gate?" Grinning he shook his head. "I don't remember." He put his glasses on and touched his head. "I don't know why, but my head hurts bad, can you help me?"

Yong did not see anything in this man's face that told him he was dangerous. In fact, it was the opposite. Taking Daniels arm, he helped him stand. He immediately noticed how tall Daniel was, his head just reached Daniel's shoulders. "You cannot stay here alone, Daniel. The shiz-ong are hunting today."

"Shiz-ong," Daniel said. Stooping down he whispered, "Are they dangerous?"

Yong was taken by the innocence in his large eyes. He was almost childlike. He whispered to Daniel, "Yes, very dangerous. They have long claws and sharp teeth. Their bite will make you very sick. If there are many, they will eat you up in a second."

Daniel looked worried. "I don't want that to happen to me."

"Yong!" Jing said. "We need to bring the meat from the hunt home. I know what you are thinking. You are not taking that giant back to the village. The elder will not like it."

"Look at him," Yong said. "He has no weapon to protect himself. He will be an easy kill for the shiz-ong. He may be a giant, but he is like a child. Jing, do you truly believe he could hurt us?"

Jing had to admit, when he started crying, he felt sorry he hurt him. "Then you take care of him. I do not want to get eaten because of him."

"Do not worry, I will watch him," Yong said. He looked into Daniel's eyes. "Daniel, I want you to come with me. I will take you to our village. It is safe there. I promise I will not let anything happen to you."

"Do you have something I can eat?" Daniel asked. "I am really hungry."

"Yes, I will bring you to my home. Zi is my wife. She is a good cook. We have many things you can eat. Come, it is not far. She is a healer, she can help you with your head."

"Good," Daniel said. "Because it is hurting bad."

Yong smiled when Daniel took his hand and tightly gripped it.

"Let us go, Daniel." He led him down a path in the jungle. Yong saw Jing shaking his head. "I see that Jing. I am not crazy. I have a feeling this is right."

"You and your feelings," Jing said. "It is always getting us into trouble."

"Not always, sometimes good things happen," Yong said. Looking up at Daniel he saw a smile as bright as the sunshine. "No, I feel this is right."