11

What should he do? Sam was in a coma and she was the one he counted on to save the day! What should he do? The doctor had just told him his children were at risk from brain damage or cerebral palsy unless their bodies started to cleanse their systems of Billy Rubin (Jack was sure that was a character from silence of the lambs!) A full blood transfusion! What should he do? The thought of his children being drained of blood, for whatever reason made him cold… He remembered the blood all over Charlie's room and as it drained from him on the way to the hospital… his hands had been covered in it, and for weeks he could still feel it on him, no matter how hard he washed. Teal'c hand on his shoulder brought him out of the blue funk he was working himself towards, and the sympathetic gaze of the large man helped him ground himself again.

He had contacted Thor who asked for certain tests to be re run and samples had been taken from Sam and the kids again, but the Asgard did not seem to be any wiser than their own doctors, Jack was quickly sinking into despair and he could feel Daniel watching him, more than anyone the younger man knew the depths Jack could sink to, after all it was only at the last minute that Daniel had persuaded him not to commit suicide.

The muted tones of Walters voice came down the corridor and the red light in the hallway could be seen to be flashing through the slightly open door. The phone flashed, Dave Dixon got up and answered it and Jack saw him stiffen slightly before agreeing to something.

He turned and approached. "Sir, Anise has just arrived via the alpha site" Jack jumped to his feet and Dixon held out his hands "Sir, she may be able to use the hand device Colonel Carter had locked in her lab to help her!"

Jack thought about it for a moment and then slapped him on the shoulder "Good thinking Dixon, sorry, I just reacted after what she asked yesterday" He turned to Bosworth and said "Go to Carters old lab, find out if the healing thing is still locked up there and if it isn't find out where it is!"

The man jumped out of his chair and was about to run off when he realised he still had Grace in his arms, Jack held his out and took his daughter from him, freeing him to leave.

Anise arrived first but, on his orders, she was held in the main infirmary next to Sams bed eventually Bosworth arrived with Jay Felger hovering around him. Jack glared at the scientist but he was, as usual, totally oblivious. Jack told him he was dismissed, then ordered him bluntly to leave, and then shouted at him! The thick-skinned clever-moron got the idea at last and left, just as Teal'c strode into the room to see what Jack was shouting about. Anise looked from Sam to Jack to the doctor to Teal'c

"I have come to study the child" she said, damn but the snake was arrogant.

"What part of 'NO' did you fail to understand?" Jack asked, after all, though they may be able to use her, she had been told that she should not come.

"I believe that Selmak and Jacob Carter would wish for his grandchild to be of help to both our people" GOD! she was playing the Jacob card now he was no longer there to tell her to go to hell. Jack almost laughed aloud.

"I think it is more likely that he would ask you to help his daughter first" Jack pointed out,

Anise looked at her as if she was a specimen in a jar "I know all I need to about Colonel Carter, she has already been studied"

"You cold hearted bitch! I am not talking about you STUDYING HER! I'm talking about you HEALING her so she can be there for her children!"

"There is more than one child?" How Jack was keeping his hands from her throat he did not know, she dipped her head and Freya came to the fore

"I apologise General O'Neill, it is partly my fault that Anise is acting in this way." Like Jack cared? "She knows that I am attracted to you and that I am envious of your relationship with Colonel Carter. As you know we Tok'ra cannot bear children, the risk of Harsesis is too high, even one with the genetic memory of a Tok'ra must be overwhelmed by the knowledge before they can develop their own, stable, personality. It was tried back in the past, but we have not tried in 1500 years." She lowered her head, but instead of her eyes flashing when she raised them, they were full of tears "It is the only regret I have, in gaining the love and companionship of Anise, I have lost the chance of children. Colonel Carter has what I cannot attain, you, and your children"

Jack looked around embarrassed by Freyas confession, apart from the fact that thought of kissing her made him shudder, he had to wonder why she brought up her attraction to him again after all these years, he had not reciprocated back then, he was definitely not going to NOW!

She held her hand out to Bosworth and he passed over the large red and gold circle.

Freya gave way to Anise, after seemingly telling her internally to help them, and for a good 20 minutes the glow travelled up and down Sams body. By the end Anise was so tired she almost fell down, but she looked up an shook her head "I am sorry," she said "I don't believe it is doing any good, as soon as I move from one portion of her body to the next, whatever it is that is causing the problem floods into the area I have cleansed" she lowered herself into a chair "I thought I could keep ahead of it, dilute it, but it is as strong and as present as ever, I am sorry" her eyes started to close and she slumped in the chair.

Teal'c lifted her and put her on the next bed Jack looked at Carolyn and said "Let her rest, don't poke and prod her, her snake will heal her, she's just tired" the doctor nodded and Jack sat next to Sam and grabbed her hand "come on love, wake up, the kids need to see their mother" she just kept on breathing in and out, not a single other movement.

He guarded Sam and kept an eye on the Tok'ra until the alien woman awoke. She sat up and ate some of the sandwiches that had been put to the side of her and she drank some water, refusing the fruit juice on the tray. As soon as she had had her fill she got off the bed and asked to see the children, Jack called for Richard and Danielle to be brought in, if she could help them then he would show her Jonathan and the rest. Daniel and the paediatrician walked in each holding a child. Anise looked the babies over and commented on their colour, the doctor was startled by the depth and echoing nature of her voice, but he told her about jaundice and with further prompting he started to explain it to her as he had to Jack. She stopped him as soon as she recognised what he was talking about and picked up the hand device from the locker beside Sam and held it over Danielle, after a couple of minutes she stopped it.

"There is something wrong" Anise stated "This should be easy to cure, it is not all that uncommon amongst human babies, though I did not recognise the symptoms or name before, but again, as with Colonel Carter, as soon as I clear one build-up and move along the body the system floods in to fill the gap, but it does not seem to dilute the strength as it should if I have removed it."

"Why was nothing done earlier for the children? It may have been easier to cure it before it got this bad. You should have tried last week to contact us"

"The children were not born last week" Jack said "They are only five days old"

"Impossible!" the Tok'ra snapped "I know I am ignorant when it comes to bearing children, but anyone can see these babies are over a month old. They are holding their heads up"

Jack pondered how much to tell the woman, but truth was he was desperate, if Thor couldn't help, maybe she could, if given all the facts. He explained as much as he could, without mentioning the other six siblings, and the fact that the Asgard seemed to be at a loss as well, Anise demanded to see the charts that had been made by the doctors and the paediatrician, who had trouble keeping his eyes off the hosts cleavage and legs, rushed off to get her the notes.

Jack sat back down beside Sam and told Daniel to take the babies back to their cribs, and told him to tell 'Dave' to be alert, inclining his head towards the woman in leather.

Daniel took the kids away and Jack sat holding Sams hand and listening to Carolyn the paediatrician and the snake talk about tests, cures and other things.

He started to nod off and leaned back slightly in the chair, getting as comfortable as possible…