Chapter Seven

Nana Mitchell placed the last dish on the table and called everyone together. It was the first thanksgiving the group was spending together as a complete unit and they had decided to spend it in Carolina with his grandmother before she moved out to Colorado to live closer to her grandson.

She sat down at the end of the table with her grandson at the other end. Beside him to the right sat Carolyn, his fiancée. Vala Maldoran and her boyfriend sat in the next two seats between her and Carolyn and on the opposite side sat the O'Neills and their friend Murry. She liked Murry. He played checkers. After a prayer was said, everyone began to serve themselves and conversations began.

"So, Carolyn, have you chosen a day yet?" Carolyn looked up with a slight blush. Cameron and her hadn't thought of the wedding much, having been busy lately with the whole Scarkin misadventure. She looked over at him and got a reassuring smile before she began.

"To be honest I haven't had much time to give it much thought. I was thinking about late April. I know both Cameron and my father have leave around that time so they can both make it to the wedding." She didn't mention the fact that if there was an emergency, they'd all not make it to the wedding.

"April sounds nice. Spring time flowers will be starting to bloom." Sam added with a smile.

"You'll have to have it indoors, because it tends to be rainy, but I agree that it will be a nice month. Plus it will give us enough time to plan it. Also gives an option for color schemes. And Vala, dear, please do not wear black," she teased. Vala looked up with an innocent look on her face. She did tend to wear a lot of black, but she also had been wearing a lot of color lately. Today however had been black.

"We decided to have the wedding here in Raleigh, Nan." Cameron commented. That was the one thing Carolyn and him had discussed. Since Nana was moving to live near them in Colorado, they wanted to have the wedding in North Carolina before the whole family was gone from the area. Nana beamed. She had wanted that, he knew. All Mitchells had been married in the same church for the last three generations, with only one exception. That exception was Uncle Berry and Aunt Constance who had married while he was on duty in Europe. They had gotten married in Denmark.

"That's great. We'll have to reserve the church soon if you want it in April. Vala, dear, are you feeling ok? You've hardly eaten anything on your plate," Nana asked in concern.

"I'm fine. I haven't had much of an appetite lately." Vala smiled at her, giving her one of those smiles that said I'm fine but most of the group really didn't buy it. However, Nana seemed to. He was pretty sure Carolyn knew what was up with Vala but he knew better then to ask her wither in private or not. Vala would tell them when she wanted to and not a minute sooner.

"Alright." Nana still looked concerned but took the conversation back to the wedding.

After reading a few pages of her own writing, Vala had placed the book amongst the journals of her brother to take home and read. They researched for a little bit more before returning to the house to check up on Cameron. Lorain met them halfway with ingredients for the soup she had been asked to make.

They found Cameron lying on top of his bed sheets looking like he had been put through a sauna. Lorian took his temperature and fount it to be 102. Worried they called on Laria, who was a local practicener. Daniel was not sure if he agreed but Lorian was adamant the Laria was capable of the profession and while no longer in practice she was the only one who would come and take care of him on such short notice. Otherwise they would have to move Cameron and take him to one of the local medical centers.

Laria came very quickly upon hearing his symptoms. Cameron wasn't responding to them so they couldn't ask him if he felt anything but the fever. She requested that the air conditioner be turned off to dry the air some. She had Daniel and Vala help bring up her kit of medical supplies, both those largely accepted and a few home remedies she had found effective.

"Let's see if this will work," she said, putting a cool gel on his forehead. Vala almost wished she had a camera to take a picture of it to show Cameron later. He looked funny, but she didn't laugh, too worried to really notice except as a side note. "Keep talking to him, he should respond. That should relieve the fever a bit."

"Cameron, can you hear me." Cameron opened his eyes slightly at the repeated sound to see Vala's worried face above him before closing them again. Daniel stood slightly behind her, also looking worried. Cameron personally felt like crap and keeping his eyes open was not making him feel any better so he just mumbled an affirmative and closed his eyes again. His mouth felt dry and his eyeballs felt like scratch paper. And it was hot like Hades in that room. Had someone turned up the heat?

"I believe he is having a bad reaction to what he drank last night," came another familiar voice. One that was clearly not happy.

"But we all had the same thing." Daniel was detail orientated. He would have noticed. "It looks like it could be the flu."

"I had the bartender add some powder into his drink. It was supposed to give him a possible future. A dream really. It was not supposed to last this long or this strongly. He appears to be fighting it off but it is not going. You were all checked for illness when you arrived correct?"

"Yes, but..."

"Believe me; we would have picked up something this severe. We have a similar disease on our planet and have the monitors to track it. It caused an epidemic several decades ago that almost wiped out a whole village about fifteen miles from here. The Colonel was not carrying anything similar to that disease when he arrived." You could have fooled him, because that was exactly what it felt like. Granted, it wasn't even flu season on Earth so perhaps she was right. He wished Carolyn was there.

"What did you put in his drink?"

"Just a powder that causes dreams involving the inner thoughts of the person who ingests it. Usually good dreams. It should not have affected him this way. It has never done this before."

"Does he know that you put something in his drink?" No! Cameron yelled within his own head, almost regretting it when pain sounded off the sides of his brain. Drat. Couldn't even escape into his own head, it still hurt like hell. He was getting really tired of people trying to mess with his brain. What was it with people anyway? First that memory chair thingy a year ago and now the sleeping powder of doom. Always altering his mind to have false memories. At least this time the intent wasn't to harm him but he still didn't like it.

"He did not believe me so the powder would have been less effective if he had known. I meant him no harm, please believe me. I shall try to purify his body of the toxin. The powder is harmless, but apparently there is a slight difference in your biology that makes it toxic rather then helpful. Lorain can watch me if you do not trust me, which is your choice. I suppose in your position I would have the same reaction." The women seemed only slightly apologetic and also a little insulted by their lack of trust.

"What do you mean by purify?" Yeah? What do you mean?"

"I'll introduce water into his body to flush it out as well as some other homeopathic methods. No drugs or herbal supplements. Just water and some tricks of the trade when it comes to fevers. Do you have a bathroom close by?"

"Yes, just down the hall." Vala's voice again. She sounded skeptical, which is what Cameron would have sounded like had their positions been reversed.

"Good. I need an ice bath made so I can attempt to cool his temperature. Will you assist me in removing his clothing and putting him into the bath.

"I'm not sure he will want that…"

"He needs to be put into fresh clothes. The clothes he has on contain the sweet the fever has caused and therefore some of the toxin. I am way too old to be undressing men just for a show, young lady!"

"I didn't mean…."

"Never mind, child. We need to do this fast. His temperature is very high." He could feel himself be lifted out of the bed (awkwardly mind you) and carried off to a cooler surface. He assumed it was the bathroom floor. He really hated this. Being able to hear them but really unable to move without pain or dizziness. However the cool tiles felt good.

"Sorry, Cam, but we need to do this." Lorian's voice, filled with what sounded like a mix of maternal sympathy and embarrassment for having to put him through this. He wished he could open his eyes, but for now he was forced to use the other senses to keep track of what was going on around him.

From the feel of the hands, it was Vala and Lorian who got the job of undressing him. This would be interesting if only he wasn't half comatose at the moment. He could hear Laria talking in the background to Daniel but not what was being said. The sound of the water being run was too loud and blocking the sound. Vala lifted his head to pull his shirt off while Laria started on his pants. They left his boxers on though and soon he felt himself being picked up and placed in the cold water. It felt good though, and he could feel himself cool down a little. Not a lot though and he still couldn't move without the dizziness. He didn't even jump when some ice was placed into the bath with him, drawing the temperature even lower.

"Are you sure this is a good idea…he won't go into shock will he?" For once Cameron was very glad he had cautious friends like Daniel. Or at least someone who was just as confused as he was as far as medicine went.

"No, the water is not that cold. The ice will dramatically cool down the water but since the water is in a room that is hotter the water will not be getting too cold. It will adjust so the water ends up the same temperature as the room. But for now it serves us well and is cooling him off. Put the towel on his head." He felt someone put a piece of cloth on his forehead although it felt quite different then any towel he had ever had. It was smoother, kind of like silk.

"If he starts to shiver, take him out and dry him and then redress him. I am going to make some of Lorain's famous soup. He will need it." He could hear her walk away mumbling about stupid bartenders and idiots who drank too much. He felt Vala's hand going through his hair, which felt oddly comforting and familiar.

"I think we can take him out now," he could hear Daniel say. "He looks like he has made it to the chills part." Vala's hand left his hair and another pair joined hers in picking him out the water and onto the silk-like towels. He felt them carry him out and put him on the bed. He didn't feel so hot but still slight movements of his head caused dizziness. He could feel himself loose consciousness again, and couldn't remember if they ever redressed him.

"You are not wearing that!" Madie looked angrily at her father. At sixteen she had finally reached her rebellious years. This fight was normal. She was the image of her mother, only with his hair and eyes.

"Everyone wears it!"

"I don't see Katie wearing it? And since when do you do what everyone else does?"

"Because Katie's a geek and is more concerned about what happens next in whatever textbook she's reading to pay attention to what she wears and I have been doing what everyone else does since I wanted to fit in!" He sighed. Katie and Madie's friendship had been growing cooler since Katie had chosen to stop playing softball. Katie was turning out to be so much like her father it was scary sometimes. She had already skipped a grade or two and was looking for colleges now. However there were moments when Katie would say something that was all Vala. Madie on the other hand was more like him then she really needed to be and a lot like Hank for some reason. Despite her looks, she rarely acted like Carolyn.

"Well, I'm not going to allow my daughter to go out wearing something that looks like it was made for someone with twice as many arms and half the height!" Carolyn was absent from this particular spat, choosing to let him handle their daughter while she took their son Brian to his martial arts class.

"Dad you have no sense of fashion."

"And you have no sense of what is appropriate for a sixteen year old. Now change into something with fewer holes in it please, before you're late for your pickup." There was no way in hell he was going to give her a car. Permit or not, his daughter was not ready to drive.

Vala watched Cameron as he slept, the medication Laria had brewed (because she had literally brewed it) helping him sleep and reducing the fever. He had a normal temperature now and seemed to have stopped having his muscles tense like they were before. Laria was of the opinion that Cameron should recover shortly, but she wasn't so sure.

She crawled onto the bed and started to run her hand through his hair, smoothing it back. His hair had gotten longer during the month they had been there, and he needed to get it cut before he got back to the SGC. She was surprised he had let it go for so long. It was starting to curl at the ends and she thought it looked cute though she would never admit that to him. He had a bad enough time handling her calling him Cammie, let alone calling him 'cute'.

"How's he doing?" She looked up and saw Daniel and Lorian standing in the doorway. They had left earlier to take Laria home and gather some of the supplies for Cameron's medication.

"Better. His temperature is down and he seems to have relaxed a bit." She paused. "Although, a little bit ago he seemed agitated. It seemed to be connected to whatever dream he was having at the time."

"Maybe that's a good sign. Perhaps he's simply sleeping right now and no longer in the semi-coma he's been in for the last two days," Laria commented. The trio continued to discuss Cameron's condition for awhile before Laria left to return to her own home. Charon would be arriving back and would want to know how his friend was feeling.

He was nervous. There was no way about that. He had asked to see General Landry outside the SGC to ask him for permission to marry Carolyn. While Carolyn didn't see the necessity of asking her father first, he felt better in doing it. He was always taught that was the way to go, and even though it wasn't necessary (he would ask Carolyn regardless) he still liked the tradition.

He stood up as Landry entered the room but the older man waved him down. Cameron was still not used to acting differently towards the man when they were off duty.

"So, Colonel Mitchell, you wanted to talk to me."

He opened his eyes, this time without the dizziness and pain. Looking around he found it to be night time once again and on either side of him was Vala and Daniel, sound asleep. Vala was actually on the bed while Daniel had taken residence on a chair with his feet propped up by the bed. Beside Vala on the nightstand sat a bowl of soup, in some kind of warming device because steam was still coming off the top. He sat up with a groan, noticing he was once again clothed and stepped around the sleeping and got his soup. He sat on the windowsill and watched them while he ate, without them ever waking. Caring for him must have worn them out. He was surprised he felt so good after feeling so bad. Usually he worked his way back. Whatever Laria did obviously worked.

Daniel woke up just as Cameron was finishing the soup, one eye opening first as he stretched to get the kinks out of his muscles.

"How are you feeling? You were pretty bad for awhile."

"Lots better. I can move without hurting. I can actually think without hurting. I heard everything you guys were doing but I couldn't respond because it would give me a massive headache if I tried."

"I bet, given the area that powder you were given effected. I'm not sure I understand it all, but Laria wrote an explanation down to give to Carolyn when we get back home. It was supposed to give you an idea of what your future might be like."

"I had some pretty weird dreams. Not sure if they were the ones she planned but I did have some and for the most part they weren't bad." And Cameron told Daniel the dreams, enjoying Daniel's surprised expression at some parts and both men laughed at others. Somehow, Vala slept through it all.

Carolyn was feeding Cameron's cat, as she usually did while he was off-world, when she heard the doorbell ring. Surprised she walked to the front door and looked out the side window to see an older women standing there. She opened the door and stepped out, closing the door almost completely behind her.

"Can I help you?"

"You must be Carolyn. I can't see my Cam allowing someone else to housesit." Carolyn blinked at the women's recognition of her. Nothing was coming to her as to the identity of the women before her.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, forgive me! Where are my manners today? I'm Augusta Mitchell, Cameron's grandmother." So this is the women he wanted me to meet. Carolyn opened the door wider and ushered the women inside and into the living room. The house was a good size and Cameron had a done a good job of decorating it and making sure it was comfortable despite the lack of time he spent actually living there.

"Cameron's not in town at the moment. I have only stopped by to feed his cat." As if she heard her named called, Cameron's tabby Arletta strolled into the room and started rubbing up against Augusta. The older women smiled and patted the animal before bringing her up and placing her in her lap for easier petting access. Arletta didn't mind at all, enjoying the loving attention. Arletta was a very friendly cat.

"Arletta. Never had a chance to meet her. Cameron is right; she's as cute as a button. She's so big. I thought she would be a kitten."

"Well, she is over three years old now," Carolyn said with a smile. She remembered when Cameron had first got the cat, about three weeks after they met. They had run into each other at the mall in town and he had managed to talk her into helping him find a housemate. It had been love at first sight, and it was quite amusing to remember the look on Cameron's face when he left the store with Arletta. He looked just like he was a little kid with his first pet. Any women in his life from then on would have to make room for Arletta.

"Ah, yes. Now I remember. He got it when he first got here. It was the first sign I had that he planed on staying here for quite some time. He was so distant for awhile after his accident I feared he was going to become introverted. He has seemed to improve greatly though since then.

"I didn't know him till he got here and started work."

"Yes, I know. Cameron may try to keep things from his Nana, but I do know some things. Such as his attachment to his pretty doctor." She smiled as Carolyn blushed. "Don't worry, I don't know what my boy does for a living now but I do know of his less-classified life." Her smile dropped and a worried look replaced it. "Is he all right? He was going to call me when it got back and it's been well past his due date."

"He's fine," Carolyn responded. However there was a part of her that wondered if that was true. "His trip is just taking longer then we expected it to. I'm sorry, but I can't really say much more then that."

"Explain to me again why I got research duty today?" Cameron asked as he took another file from the pile sitting between him and Vala. Daniel was at the gate helping the others try and figure out the problem at that end with Charon and Cyrnus. He'd rather be doing that then sitting here going through the filing cabinets of some gou'ald system lord.

"You were sick and are still not in any condition to stand in the sun all day working on that DHD," Lorain answered from her spot down the table. She was going through the microfilm library for any references to the DHD and Gou'ald interaction with it. One of the possible theories was that the gou'ald used this gate as part of some experiment. Cameron had the suspicion that Lorain simply wanted to keep an eye on him. It was almost as bad as it was on Earth, only this time the over-protective watcher was not a doctor who could list all the possible ways things could go wrong if asked.

"I'm not sure how much help I'll be," he commented. "I don't read Gou'ald and it looks to be like that is what this is written in." He picked up the file and held it up for her to see.

"You should learn, you know." Vala said as she pushed something towards him. "Try this. It works as an enlarger and as a translator. Daniel picked it up while we were on that planet with the purple bananas. Only translates Goa'uld though so this is about its only use." Vala rarely if ever learned the computer designated titles for the planets, instead referring to them by some oddity she found or by the title the local people gave it. Daniel always seemed to pick up on what she was talking about but Cameron always needed a second or two to remember what planet she was referring to. His only consolation was that Teal'c and Sam seemed to be a step behind with him. He picked it up and looked at it. It appeared to him to be a pair of extra large clownish looking glasses. He half wondered if it was Daniel trying to play a joke on Vala. After all, Vala had been known to mess with his stuff. It would be rightful revenge if he had a worthless prop and told Vala it was some kind of amazing device worth something just to get back at her. Plus, he couldn't see Daniel using some device to translate…the man got too much satisfaction in doing it himself.

He picked them up and placed them on his face. The words got larger and much to his surprise, turned into understandable English. Granted, after seeing what his particular file was about he wished he hadn't put on the translator-glasses. It was records, very detailed records, of medical information relating to Qetesh's host…Vala. And there were some things he really did not want to know about his friends. He pushed the folder her way and went onto the next one.

He paused in his search briefly when Vala began to hum a tone which sounded suspiciously like Santa Claus is Coming to Town. He had no idea where she had heard it since for some reason or other she had never actually been on earth during the Christmas season. The first year she had been in the Ori Galaxy and then last time she had been stuck with Sam and Teal'c on some planet that decided Cameron wasn't worth keeping. He had been sent home unconscious and it took them over a month to get the others back.

The song was annoying after hearing it half a dozen times within a day and he still hadn't gotten himself in the mood for Christmas songs quite yet…that wouldn't happen till at least the end of October. Besides it was just wrong that someone was singing a Christmas song in the middle of September.

"Could you please stop humming that?" Vala just smiled and switched to another song. Cameron groaned and put his head on the table. There was no way to win with her. Now she was humming that annoying child song that never ended and made you want to kill the person singing it in the back seat of the car during a four hour drive. He could still remember driving down to Florida for a Nascar race with his cousins and their kids singing that song all the way down. It was the only time he ever contemplated throwing them out the window.

He decided to ignore her, instead flipping through his file. Then he stopped as something catched his eye.

"Um, guys…" He looked over at Vala. "I think I've found something."

Author Notes: Updates are going to be slower from now on as this was the last chapter where I had most of it done. Its looking to be about somewhere between 10-12 chapters depending on how things go. Hopefully everyone enjoys this chapter. Next chapter will have more Sam & the SGC with a special quest appearance of Jonas! Plus what Cameron found.

Thank you to all who are reviewing.