Though most of the machines used to keep Daniel alive had finally been disconnected, a few were left to monitor his condition and to take care of bodily functions while he was unconscious. The beeps that indicated his heartbeat were steady now, much slower than they had been half an hour before when the doctors had felt the need to sedate him. The machine continued to beep in a steady monotone until a figure came to turn it off.
Obviously familiar with the workings of the machine, the person managed to silence it without setting off any alarms. Cold, hatred filled eyes looked down upon the sleeping man a moment longer before they turned back towards the machine, messing with the wiring. Simply leaving the machine off would be far too obvious sabotage, but a defective machine was just another tragic accident. The machine was disabled quickly and effectively then turned back on, but this time it remained silent. Smiling cruelly, the person turned back to the sleeping figure and pulled a syringe from their pocket. The contents were quickly emptied into the bag dripping nutrients into the patient's body. None of this took longer than five minutes. Pulling white gloves from their hands and sticking them in their pocket, the person finally left striding confidently down the hall. Back in Daniel's room, his body started showing the first signs of distress. Two minutes later, the guard Sam had requested to stand at the door returned after his sudden, desperate break for the restroom.
Sam had, in fact, wanted him to sit in the room, but the prospect of sitting and watching a comatose patient hadn't appealed to him. In fact, though he would never admit it, hospitals had always creeped him out and being forced to sit in a closed room with an unconscious patient was his idea of hell. At least in the hallway he could concentrate on the clinical conformity around him and pretend he was back in a military facility. He didn't have a chance to stand there long before Jack and Teal'c came running down the hall. Watching a large Jaffa and a reputably deadly colonel running at him, he began to rethink his strategy of standing in the hallway. Jack skidded to a halt in front of him, Teal'c coming to a more composed stop, and the guard stood at attention.
Jack didn't give him more than a glance, though it was a very calculating glance and the guard suspected that, if he needed to, he could now have easily identified him in a line up even if he never gave him another look. Though Sam had instructed to let no one come in without identification until she returned, he somehow didn't think that applied to SG1 and he let them pass without a word. As soon as the door opened, Jack turned towards him again.
"Where's Captain Carter?" he asked, his voice cold.
"An emergency came up, sir," the guard stated, still standing at attention. Jack accepted that with a frown and then Teal'c entered the room and closed the door on the guard's face. He relaxed slightly, though he didn't let up in his stance, as he resumed his watchful pose.
Inside the room, Jack stood looking down at Daniel with a soft gentleness. It was a great relief to know that he had been awake, if only for a moment, even if in the end he had to be sedated again. He wished that he could have been there, but he had to acknowledge that the only reason he was here now was because of Daniel. Teal'c too, he had to say. Who else, upon hearing the ranting of a previously comatose person, would have taken their word at face value and gone looking for him?
"Danny," Jack whispered softly, reaching out a hand to touch his face, then he frowned. Though he had noted the silence in the room when he first entered, it was only just beginning to register that something was wrong.
"Danny?" he asked, turning his head towards the machines that had been noisily beeping since Daniel began his stay. The machine now appeared to be off. Alarmed now, he reached for Daniel's throat to check his pulse.
"Is something wrong, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked, also having noted the silent machines, "Should I contact help?"
"Get someone in here now!" Jack ordered. Teal'c didn't even take the time to nod his head but moved quickly out the door. Jack found a pulse but instinctively he knew that something was wrong. The pulse was far too fast and Daniel seemed to have difficulty breathing. Not knowing what to do, he took up Daniel's hand, hoping that somehow he could lend Daniel strength. Gently stroking his cheek, he tried to fight back his growing fear.
"Come on, Danny, hang in there," he whispered, "You saved me, let me save you. You'll be all right." Then the doctors Teal'c had sent for came, followed shortly by Janet.
"Janet?" Jack asked, surprised to find here there. Janet spared him a quick smile before turning all her attention onto her patient. His breathing was growing more labored and Jack was alarmed to see his lips were turning blue. Then he gave a short, gasping sigh. No breath followed.
"Danny!" Jack cried, alarmed, as Teal'c pulled him back out of the way. There was a flurry of activity around Daniel's body, as machines seemed to materialize from the walls. The defective monitor was wheeled away, swiftly replaced by another. The doctors talked back and forth, led by Janet, trying to get air into Daniel. The activity around him seemed to triple when an alarmed voice declared they had lost his pulse. Jack began to shake, watching them prepare them prepare the paddles as another doctor started CPR. The heart monitor was finally hooked up and turned on only to play out a flat line. The doctor's banter continued over it, controlled yet urgent, but Jack couldn't seem to hear them. He heard nothing but the endless hum of the machine, lurching momentarily when Janet finally applied the paddles only to return to its flat line. Then the paddles were warmed up again and applied, and this time the lurch continued, sluggishly at first and erratic, but they had a pulse. Jack suddenly felt like he could breathe again.
Janet continued tirelessly to work on Daniel and at last the activity surrounding him seemed to calm. He was declared stable once more and soon only Janet and one nurse was left. Jack felt drained, having refused to leave for any of it. Teal'c stood at his side, a solid presence that anchored him. Daniel lay pale and silent, once again hooked up to several machines to keep him alive. Jack approached his side and reached out with a tentative hand, careful of the tubing. He looked up when he heard the door open. Sam stood there, frowning slightly when she saw them. Her eyes took in the new machines and the haggard expressions and her frown deepened.
"Sir? What happened?" she asked. He stared her, his eyes cold with fury.
"What happened?" he asked, "He almost died. Again. Where the hell were you?"