Thanks for reviewing, E. Nagrom. And about the orb...Tell me about it.
And, to the people who put this on Story Alert...Thanks as well. It gives me hope. :)
Chapter 4: EUREKA!
Voices sounded around me. People were talking to each other, and I was lying in a soft bed, my eyes closed. I didn't want them to know I was awake yet. It was a game. How long could I fool them?
"It appears that there are some type of nanobots in her bloodstream," said Dr. Fraiser's voice. I kept still, hoping she wouldn't notice me.
"You mean, like the ones on the orb?" That was Hammond. I recognized the accent.
"Yes," Sam. But wait, these weren't the people who usually played the game. But then, who did? Two people, usually, standing beside my bed and telling me that they were going to work, but that Grandma was coming to look after me for awhile…
"They appear to be preserving her, sir," said Dr. Fraiser.
"Preserving her?" O'Neill, yes, that was him. "What, like meat?"
"Not really. It seems as if it's trying to keep her in the state she was in when she touched the orb. That's why she heals so quickly, and it could also explain why her heart is beating so slowly," explained Dr. Fraiser's voice.
"Did Bridget Darrow not say that she cut her feet when she touched the orb?" There was no mistaking that voice. It was Teal'c.
"I think the nanobots somehow know what state she is supposed to be, as well as what she was when they first came in contact with her," said Dr. Fraiser. "So, they healed the cut feet. Actually, it's almost as if she's in hibernation, except she's conscious."
"Was conscious," corrected Daniel's voice.
"Is conscious," I said, sitting up. I immediately regretted it, as my head was pounding.
"Whoa there!" Dr. Fraiser pushed on my shoulder, and I sank back into the pillows. "How do you feel?"
"Like someone rammed a two by four into my head," I said through gritted teeth. But even as I said it, the pain was fading. "So, nanobots, huh?"
"Yes," said Sam. "They're pre-"
"Preserving me, I know," I blinked. The pain was almost completely gone. General Hammond and the rest were standing around my bed, either looking concerned or curious. "What happened?"
"You collapsed," explained Sam.
"Ah…" I said. "For how long?"
"A few hours," said Dr. Fraser. "And I'm going to keep you under medical observation from now on."
"Fun," I said.
"At least you got a proper bed," said O'Neill. Obviously, Sam had brought my complaints about no quarters before him.
"Yeah," I leaned back and looked at the ceiling. "Great."
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Nothing happened for a few days, except that I had dreams about the corridor, but they were nothing really. Not like the last one. After a while, Dr. Fraiser had to admit that aside from the almost non-existent heartbeat, and the nanobots coursing through my system, I was in perfect health and therefore didn't need to be in the infirmary. So I moved to quarters somewhere else in the base. It seemed a given that I would be staying, though I wasn't altogether happy about it.
That was when I figured it out.
I was sitting in the commissary, alone as usual, eating my broccoli-less lunch, when Sam and Daniel arrived. For some reason, both of these two felt guilty for pulling me into a world I hated, and had decided to be friends. Which I didn't mind. I needed friends at the time.
"Hey," said Sam, sitting down in the seat next to me, as Daniel sat in the seat across.
"Yo," I greeted.
"How's, uh, how're your quarters?" asked Daniel.
"They're fine," I said, looking up from my food to smile at him. "No Five Star Hotel, but I'll live." I paused. "Hopefully."
"Just because your heart's not beating that fast doesn't mean you're going to die," said Sam.
"Everyone treats me like I'm on my deathbed," I said. "They won't look at me, talk to me, anything. Actually, I get the feeling everyone's hiding something."
Sam and Daniel looked at each other. I pointed at them with my fork.
"Case in point," I said. "Everybody does that whenever I mention it. Deep Space Telemetry my butt."
"You're imagining things," said Sam.
"Thank you," I said. "Now I'm delusional as well as undead."
"You're not undead," scoffed Daniel.
"Uh-huh," I snorted. I turned back to my sketch paper, upon which I was drawing. Daniel looked at it.
"What are you drawing?" he asked.
"I don't know," I said, my brow furrowed. "It's been in my head all day. I figure if I draw it, it'll leave." I added the finishing touch and laid down the pencil. "There."
Sam and Daniel both stared.
"What?" I asked. I looked at the drawing, my head tilted. "I think I know what it's called," I said quietly. "The Stargate."
Neither of the other two spoke, so I just continued.
"And remember those seven symbols? There here," I pointed at the drawing. It was of a big circle, with symbols around it. "See?" I looked up. "What's up with you guys, you look like you've seen a ghost."
"It's nothing," said Sam. "You know, we've got to go see Hammond…" she and Daniel started to get up, but I stopped them.
"It's a place," I said suddenly. "Those symbols, put them together and they'll take you somewhere! And that place I keep dreaming of…that's where it is! Wherever this Stargate goes, that's where it is! That's why those things are inside me; they're preserving me so I can go find those people. That orb…it's like a message in a bottle!" I considered. "A bit better than, 'help me!' but you get the drift." I looked back at my drawing. "And I'm supposed to find them."
"That's ridiculous-" started Daniel.
"That's what you've been hiding," I said suddenly. "The Stargate! You know where it is."
I glared at them, daring them to contradict me. Neither one did.
"I think…" said Sam. "You'd better come with us."
I stared at them. "Why?" I asked, the suspicious tone I had first used when I met them evident in my voice.
"Just…Come on," said Daniel. I walked with them out of the commissary, over to the elevator.
"Where are we going?" I asked, as I stepped on.
"Level 28," said Sam, swiping her ID card through the reader.
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I had never been to level 28. It contained almost everything I wasn't allowed to see: The top secret Deep Space Telemetry, General Hammond's office, and Teal'c's quarters. I sat in the Conference room, outside of Hammond's office, waiting for Sam and Daniel to finish talking to him. The huge window was covered by a blast door, which made sense, as the place was an old nuclear facility, but I wondered why they kept it down.
"Bridget Darrow?" I looked up to see Teal'c standing in front of me, his face the closest to curious I had ever seen it. But that's not what garnered my attention. I had never seen Teal'c without a hat, and I could now see why he wore it; his forehead was adorned with a gold symbol, an oval with a snake in the middle. I tried not to stare.
"Hello, Teal'c," I said.
"Have you been given permission to be on level 28?" he asked, sounding more curious than accusatory.
"Well," I said, glancing around. "I'm not sure...Sam and Daniel freaked out when I drew something. They're talking to the General about it." I leaned forward. "Hey, do you know what the Stargate is?"
Teal'c raised his eyebrows in surprise, but was saved answering by General Hammond coming out of his office, closely followed by Sam and Daniel.
"Miss Darrow," he said, holding up my drawing and looking a little angry. "Please explain how you came to know about the Stargate?"
"So there is a Stargate!" I cried, jumping up in my excitement. General Hammond looked taken aback.
"Explain how you were able to draw this," he said.
"Well, I picked up the pencil, and dragged the graphite along the paper-"
"Bridget," interrupted Daniel.
"It was in my head," I explained. "I don't know how it got there. It just was."
Hammond frowned, and turned to Sam.
"Could this have anything to do with her condition?" he asked.
"It's possible, sir," said Sam. "She had the coordinates. Maybe it's showing her how to use them?"
"Coordinates?" I asked, but once again, the answer popped into my head. "Those symbols! I was right!"
"Have you seen anything else?" questioned Hammond. "Any other symbols?"
I shook my head. "Just those, and the planet the ship's on of course."
The words just spouted out of my mouth. I had no idea where they came from, but I immediately knew it to be true. Hammond and the rest stared at me.
"Planet? Ship?" Daniel sputtered finally.
"What do you mean?" asked Sam.
"There was a ship," I said. "A long time ago. A ship built by...the Ancients. They were a race of people. But they crashed, and they sent out a probe, one that would lead someone to their location, so they could be rescued. And it found me."
Once again, I just spouted the words, and immediately knew them to be true.
"How do you know all this?" demanded Hammond.
"I just do," I said simply.
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