If you read parts 1-5 before June 8, 2008, please go back and have a re-read. I explain more about how the newly infected are ranked and it might come into play later. Thanks! Oh, and have a look at the Poll I posted on my profile. It will effect part 7.

--

Part 5: Homecoming

--

Jack was sanding in Mayborne's office, ranting at the man about how cruel he was being. "...And I just hope you end up in an even hotter place one day for everything you've done." He finally took a breath.

"Our hands are tied, Jack," Mayborne said a little too cheerfully. "Daniel is the only infected person we currently have access to."

"That's bull. You have Carter, but if I can help it you won't be keeping either of them."

Mayborne kept smiling. "You wouldn't be suggesting that we purposely infect another person just to get Dr. Jackson and the Captain off the hook, would you?"

"Of course not," Jack said. "But doesn't most of your research require blood samples, not actually an on-site guinea-pig?"

Mayborne paused. "We're exploring several different facets at once. Their presence makes this easier."

"Where's Carter?"

Mayborne didn't answer.

This time Jack smiled. "I have a feeling I'm about to make your job a whole lot harder."

--

"I'm not exactly going to say that's crazy, Colonel, but I'd still like to know what you're thinking," Hammond said from the chair behind the briefing table.

Dr. Fraiser, Dr. Bill Lee, Lieutenant Colonel Reynolds, and Teal'c had all been summoned to the briefing room to hear what Jack's thoughts were on Daniel's condition. Major Paul Davis had also come to the SGC to report on the President's position. They already received the initial briefing when O'Neill returned from his trip four days ago, but now that his report had been review by the President and General Hammond, it was time for them to decide what would happen next.

"I'm thinking Daniel first, and Carter when we wear them down."

Hammond continued to stare at him.

"It's not like I'm proposing that he come with us on missions... at least not right away," Jack added. "But it's Daniel we're talking about," he added pleadingly, almost as if that statement was all that was needed to justify his proposal. "And you didn't see the conditions they had him in."

Hammond pulled a paper to the top of the stack. "'...A fully furnished replica of the apartment Daniel was renting off-base,'" he read from Jack's report. He raised his eyebrows.

"I guess when you put it that way..." Jack said with a sneer.

"With respect, General, I have to agree with Colonel O'Neill," Dr. Lee said. "Since I'm here, presumably, to tell you my opinions as a scientist, their methods are erratic, at best. If they keep this up, I'd be surprised if they could come up with any effective treatment even with years to study the parasite."

"I agree as well," Dr Fraiser said. "With all of the information Daniel was given by Breck, it stands to reason that they would probably need limited access to Daniel, himself, in order to study the behavior of the parasite. Ideally, Daniel would be present, but if his mental state really is being pushed to the brink, I don't see a reason why the Colonel's idea of confining him to this base wouldn't be a viable option."

"Computer models can be created to mimic the observed behaviors of the parasite," Dr. Lee continued.

Dr Fraiser nodded. "The key to a cure seems to be in finding a way to kill this parasite without causing toxicity of the blood or the combustion of the parasites themselves."

"It's not your job to analyze the life forms and weaponry found off-world in the long-term," Davis reminded. "We leave that to bases like Area 51. However, the President is willing to transfer Dr. Jackson to your custody if you can guarantee the safety of this planet."

"Again: Daniel," Jack stated simply.

"And again I need to remind you of the security breeches you had when he was on this base," Davis continued.

"What would happen if Jackson disagreed with the General's orders again?" Reynolds asked rhetorically. "Would he use his super powers to run off to another planet? Or would he use them to leave this base and try to survive on Earth, undoubtedly infecting people along the way?"

"Something SG-1 almost allowed just over a month ago," Hammond added with a thoughtful nod.

"From Jack's report, I'd say there isn't much of a chance of anything like that happening again unless he attempts to return to Breck's world for more answers about his condition," Dr. Fraiser answered. "He seems so desperate to get away from the NID that he'd probably follow any rules we put into place."

"And think of the money they'll save," Jack added. "They won't need a bunch of empty levels at some facility in a desert. Now they can have some small, normal setup in a lab. If they need samples of his blood, we'll air-mail it to them every couple weeks."

Hammond looked down at the papers in front of him, considering the proposal.

Jack sighed. "The bottom line, General, is that Daniel actually said he was going to let those security lights burn him to death. He'd rather die than stay there the rest of his life. He gave me a week and if we don't save him, there's a pretty good chance he won't survive."

Everyone was quiet for a moment.

"And then there's Carter to think about," Jack continued. His eyes shifted to Major Davis. "What did the President decide about that?"

Davis hesitated for a moment. "The NID aren't willing to disclose her location, so the President felt his opinion was irrelevant."

"If anything happened to Dr. Jackson, including our removing him from their custody," Dr. Lee began in a small voice, "I wouldn't put it past the NID to use the blood samples they've already taken to infect one of their own personnel just so they have someone else to observe."

Hammond thought another moment. "Given the NID's reputation, is there any chance that they already have used the samples to infect another person?"

"I was wondering that, too, but it's hard to tell if they'd take that kind of risk," Dr. Fraiser answered. "They'd obviously injected at least one Jaffa with some of Daniel's blood in order to know that they can't be infected, but since every individual develops different abilities as a result of infection, it's just as probable that they'd be curious to study a new infection."

"If I can get Daniel close enough to Mayborne, we can see what those guys have really been up to in their labs," Jack said. "And maybe where Carter is."

The room was silent for a few moments, and then Hammond nodded a little. "You have permission to escort Dr. Jackson back to this base." He looked around the table. "All we need to do is figure out how we'll keep Daniel from being sedated on the way back here and then I'll begin making the arrangements."

--

Daniel was sitting on his couch, reading one of the new books he'd been rewarded with for his exemplary behavior during the last few research sessions. He'd lost track of how many days had passed since Jack left, but he guessed Jack should be reporting back to him soon... Unless Jack wasn't coming back.

A door slammed in the distance.

Daniel looked up, tilting his head a little to find the source. Whoever was coming was wearing one of the blinking devices that muffled his ability to read minds. During his stay he'd learned to get past the devices well enough to read stray thoughts, so as far as he knew the day's tests should be done. It sounded as if several people were walking down the hall from the door to the right of his room. The only people who had ever come down that hallway were the scientists who would ask him to zap something with his hands or recite some complex equation from the mind of one of the naive lab technicians they'd just brought in for the day.

One of the security doors halfway down that hallway buzzed, clicked, and slammed shut again.

The door opened outside his room, and the motion sensors were triggered.

Diving off the couch to avoid the light, he stood and pressed himself against a bookshelf to remain in the small amount of shade.

"Come on!" Jack shouted towards one of the cameras as he and the group continued to walk. "You think he'd blow his only ticket out of here by trying to escape or hurt someone now?"

The doors outside of his fake apartment slid open automatically.

"Jack?" Daniel asked towards the doors, squinting a little as he turned as much as he could towards the light.

The UV security lights shut off.

"Thank you!" Jack said to the cameras, still as irritably as he had ordered the lights off. He turned back to the door. "Yep, it's just me... And a bunch of your favorite armed guards and people in lab coats." He laughed a little. "I was about to say doctors but with the way they run this place I doubt a single one of them ever agreed to do no harm."

Daniel stepped out of the shade to face the open door, happy to see his friend for the first time, face-to-face, in nearly two months.

There were four armed guards, two with readied automatic weapons and two with holstered hand guns, and two women in lab coats.

As soon as he was in sight, the four guards all paused and aimed their weapons.

Daniel raised his hands a little and backed away from the entering group. Jack was the only friendly face, so he knew it was best not to startle them.

"So, what have you been up to?" Jack asked casually.

"More of the same," Daniel said casually, lowering his hands to his sides but still keeping his distance. Daniel noticed a small sound coming from Jack. It was much fainter than the other noises he'd been picking up from the other people at the base. Danny? Can you hear me? Testing... You there?

Yes? Daniel's voice replied quietly inside Jack's head, much more softly than he remembered hearing it before.

Daniel heard Jack's mind race through the vague plan he and the General had come up with: fake Daniel being drugged and have him listen to everything in the minds of the people on the base in an attempt to learn how their research was actually progressing, and possibly where Sam Carter was being kept.

Those things with the blinking lights keep me from hearing very much Daniel's voice whispered but I'll do my best.

"Oh, did I mention? I have some good news," Jack said casually. "You're coming back to the SGC as long as you agree to follow Hammond's orders."

Daniel nodded a little and smiled, doing his best to let the other people think it was the first he'd heard it. "Of course." He glanced at the guards with a momentarily vicious expression. "I'll do whatever he says."

The guards readjusted the grips on their weapons. Despite their years of combat experience, the pair had guarded him several times during his sessions with the lab technicians. Knowing exactly what he was capable of, they were both jarred by his single glance.

"Anything from Breck?" Daniel asked, still hearing Jack's silent dialogue.

"Nope." He put his hands in his pockets. "We got a few unidentified calls, but all we got was static."

The blonde woman in the lab coat took a few supplies out of her pocket: a vile of clear liquid and a needle.

"They tell you anything about Sam?" Daniel continued.

"Nope," he said again. "I was hoping you might have heard something."

"Give me your arm, and then don't move," the woman ordered, the guards keeping Daniel in their sights.

Daniel relaxed, extending his arm to the nurse.

She took his arm and ungracefully jabbed in the needle.

Daniel flinched a little, concentrating on letting the liquid in the needle drip right through his arm. The best he could hope for is that none of the guards would notice a few drops of sparkling liquid as it fell to the floor... He listened hard for any signs of panic in the minds of the guards as the needle emptied, and it seemed, thankfully, that the people in the room were more fascinated by his teeth and claws than they were with the bottom of his arm.

The nurse pulled the empty needle out and returned quickly to where she had been standing when they entered the room.

I hope we made it strong enough Daniel heard from the one who'd given him the shot. Daniel realized it was time to start acting. He wobbled a little, and put his hand to his head. He sat down carefully, as if it were a chore.

"What was actually in that needle?" Jack asked, sincerely not having been told about the chemicals his friend might be exposed to.

Daniel laid down on his back, looking up at the lights above him.

The red-headed woman in the lab coat answered, "A combination of NMDA receptor antagonists and alpha2-adrenergic antagonists."

Jack raised his eyebrows, "You don't say?"

"Mostly ketamine and detomidine," the blonde clarified dully, her eyes still fixed on Daniel's reaction to the drug.

That was all Daniel needed in order for the two women to unknowingly reveal what the drug was supposed to be doing to him. His eyes fixed on the ceiling, his gaze became distant and his blinking pattern less regular.

The blonde glanced over at Jack, who seemed to be considering if he'd ever heard of any of those chemicals before. She rolled her eyes as she turned back to look at Daniel. "Strong animal sedatives," she said very slowly, almost as if she were talking to a child.

"So… he'll be fine when we get him back to the SGC?" Jack asked.

"We'll have to give him another dose in transit, but with the physiology of the parasite we're fairly certain that there won't be any lasting effects," the red-head explained.

Jack scoffed at the low regard they still seemed to have about Daniel's well-being. "I'm sure he'll appreciate that you were fairly certain."

Daniel let his jaw relax a little, his eyes still unfocused. He was finding it surprisingly taxing to impersonate someone under sedation, although he had to admit it was the most relaxed he'd been in weeks.

After another minute of silence and observation the red head finally spoke again, "Take him."

The two guards with hand guns approached Daniel, each grabbing him under the arm and pulling him to his feet.

Daniel kept his unfocused expression and allowed his head to keep bobbing as they dragged him towards the door. Still with me? Jack's voice called out.

Yes, I'm fine Daniel replied. Jack sighed as Daniel was dragged past him.

Now that they were apparently fooled it was time for him to start looking for answers.

Mayborne's not on the base Daniel reported to Jack before they even reached the doors outside his room. Jack trailed behind the guards with the two women.

Figures Jack thought. If you find out exactly where Carter is, let me know, otherwise let's maintain in-head silence. This stuff is just creeping me out.

Welcome to my life, the words ringing in Jack's ears as he realized how strange and awful Daniel's life must have been lately.

One of the armed guards lowered his weapon long enough to open the door, and the whole group trailed through.

--

The truck passed through the Cheyenne Mountain gates and stopped just outside the elevator.

Daniel had spent the last seven hours pretending to either unconscious or heavily drugged. His task had in some ways been simpler in the truck than on his way out of the compound. When they laid him on the cold metal table that was bolted to the floor of the truck, they strapped down his arms, legs, and forehead. All he had to do was stare distantly or close his eyes for a long time. He ventured a guess that it might be acceptable for him to stop trying so hard and just look like he was tied down in the truck waiting for them to arrive. Jack had ridden with him the whole way, as had the same four guards and the young blonde woman with the white coat.

Up until passing by the guards on the way into the mountain, every person he'd been within thirty feet of had been wearing one of the NID's special devices, even all the pilots and ground crew who'd transported them as far as Colorado Springs. As the SGC guards approached the back of the vehicle, Daniel realized how much effort he'd really been putting into getting past those little machines. Every one of the guards' stray thoughts was coming to him like headphones were strapped over his ears. He blinked a few times, doing all he could to shut out the sounds.

"About damned time," Jack said, standing up as the back of the truck opened. He stretched and cracked his back.

"We got here just in time. It seems to be waking up," the blonde woman reported a hint of nerves in her voice. She dug into her pocket. "I think I have a little more of the sedative in..."

"Don't bother," Jack interrupted. "Our people can take it from here. You guys can just crawl back under your rock and we'll send you a postcard... maybe... some day. And don't even start with that it crap again."

The guards laughed a little, relieved to be free of their charge so they could be assigned to more interesting duties.

"Just unstrap him and me and the airmen can get him down to Dr. Fraiser," Jack finished.

The blonde seemed to be the only one to take offense. "Fine. It'll be your funeral when it wakes up hungry, and yours is the shoulder it's leaning on," she snapped, folding her arms and leaning back.

Jack rolled his eyes, "Say it with me: Daniel." He gestured with his hands as if he were conducting the words, "Dan-iel." He furrowed his brow when none of them reacted. "He's a person."

The guards and the woman all tried to hide their chuckles.

Still fuming, Jack went back to the table. He unlatched the tight straps and pulled them off of his friend.

Daniel sat up slowly, rubbing a spot on his arm when the strap had almost been cutting off his circulation during the ride. He'd been laying on his back so long that he was actually a little stiff.

The NID guards put their hands on the weapons that were resting on their laps and the blonde made a disgusted expression, her arms still folded in defiance.

This time Jack laughed a little. "If you don't mind, I think Danny and I would like to get out of here." He gestured to the guns.

The guards let go of their weapons, really hoping that this Colonel was right about this creature.

Daniel put his feet squarely on the floor of the truck, and followed Jack out. He stumbled a little as he landed on the concrete. He hadn't actually been drugged, but he was feeling a little dizzy. He caught the truck's bumper for balance. His eyes shifted to the opening of the mountain. It had been weeks since he'd had the chance to see daylight, as it were, and his stinging eyes reminded him it may be quite a while before he sees it again.

Jack stopped and put his hand on Daniel's shoulder to help him balance. "You ok?"

Daniel nodded a little, focusing again on heading underground. He was exhausted, and very ready for a transfusion. Telepathy aside, being around so many normal, un-shielded people was putting him on edge.

Jack turned back to the open truck and pulled the blinking device from around his neck, throwing it to the nearest NID guard. He looked to one of the two SGC guards. "The two duffel bags in the back: the black one can head to Dr. Jackson's office and the green one to his quarters... then kick these creeps out."

The guard nodded with a little smile and went into the truck for the bags.

Jack led them to the elevator. "Can you believe those guys?"

The doors opened and they stepped inside.

"I got used to it," Daniel admitted.

"Well, you better get un-used-to-it from now on." Jack pressed one of the buttons. "We'll check in with Fraiser, get you a little rested up, and then you can tell us what you found out."

--

Intermarry

Daniel was laying on one of the medical beds with a needle in his arm and his eyes shut. Most of the lights were off and he was the only patient. Two armed guards stood at the entrance. He'd already had one transfusion, but he was feeling so strange that he had been allowed another. At the moment he was still trying to make sense of all the information he'd gathered during his transport.

Dr. Fraiser came to Daniel's bed to check on him. She took a breath to speak when he started talking.

"It's probably just being around people again," he said, his eyes still shut. "For 23 hours a day I was by myself. During the testing, everyone near me was wearing one of those devices. Now there are dozens of people all around me, floors and floors of people," he said almost sadly, his eyes scanning the ceiling as he heard the distant footsteps of the people above and below him.

"Well, the NID wasn't willing to share that technology with us," Dr Fraiser said simply. "Aside from being around too many people, are you feeling a little better?"

He opened his eyes. "I'm not sure if it was a good idea for me to be brought back here. Hindsight being 20-20, as they say. Maybe I should have just cooperated with them."

"Of course it was a good idea," she said off-handedly, looking at a clipboard. "Why wouldn't it be?"

Daniel smiled a little. "Because I'm not safe to be around."

"General Hammond and Colonel O'Neill both think otherwise," she looked up from the clipboard and sat it down on the table. "And so do I."

Daniel gave a snorting laugh, rubbing his eyes before putting his hands back to the bed. "Letting me be here is like opening a cage at the zoo and dangling raw meat in front of the animal."

"You're not an animal." She gave a sharp sigh of disapproval but tried to stay level-headed. "If you don't mind, I'd like to setup a regular appointment for you with a friend of mine," Dr. Fraiser said. "He's a psychologist, but..."

He started to argue.

She put her finger up. "No. I know you haven't had a lot of luck with therapists in the past, but I think you may need someone to talk to about what you went through at the NID's facility."

"What's the point of making me feel better?" Daniel said suddenly. "At this point I don't belong anywhere. That's the truth, so why should I pretend anyone can be safe if I'm here."

She sat down in the chair beside him. "You belong here, and we are safer with you around." Janet smiled to lighten the conversation, "Imagine if we had another foothold situation? Don't you think you could come in handy then?"

Daniel didn't look entirely convinced.

Dr. Fraiser continued seriously, and a little more cautiously. "I read the Colonel's report. They treated you like you weren't a person. You've had to deal with that for almost two months."

Daniel nodded a little. He hesitated before speaking, but decided he may as well tell her. "They didn't just treat me like I wasn't human. All of the guards, and even the doctors, had no doubt in their minds that I couldn't be trusted."

"And you didn't disserve that."

"But I did," Daniel said with the first true sign of passion. "After what happened with the Jaffa when Jack was there, I realized they were right."

"Daniel?" she whispered in disbelief. She wasn't sure how to argue his point. He had acted irrationally, but it had been the only case she'd heard of with him truly causing any injury to another person.

"It wouldn't have mattered who was down there with me," Daniel continued. "If it had been a human, I'd have infected them. The Jaffa was already dying, but that's no excuse." He sighed, hearing several frustrated thoughts from Janet. "You're right that they were doing it to me on purpose, trying to make me lose confidence in myself."

Janet was a little surprised. It had been a brief thought, passing as quickly as it had come.

"But that doesn't mean they are completely wrong," Daniel said. "If there wasn't a grain of truth in what they tell their prisoners, why would any of them believe the NID? They wanted me to embrace what happened to me and forget who I was."

"And what do these guards think of you?" Janet said suddenly, nodding towards the door, but still watching Daniel. "The ones who will be living and working alongside you, not just meeting with you for an hour a day when you're performing tricks at gunpoint."

"It doesn't matter," Daniel said quickly.

"Yes, it does. What do these guards think of you?"

Daniel sighed, his eyes shifting to the airmen by the door. One was a man named Hawes, whom Daniel hadn't had much contact with in the past. The other was a woman named Stevens. She had been at the base for just over a year, and backed up SG1 on a few missions when other off-world teams weren't available. They were both standing just outside of earshot, and neither had heard what he and Janet were discussing.

"Well?"

"Everyone in security has read Jack's report. Hawes was told that my behavior can be a little erratic, but that I was still a vital member of the SGC."

"Anything else...?" Janet prompted.

"Since he didn't know much about me, he dug a little deeper into my files. He believes that I'm just a good person with a medical problem."

"What about Sergeant Stevens?"

Daniel sighed. "Basically the same. She knew me before, and was in the gate room when I escaped to see Breck. She knows that I could hurt people if I wanted to, but doesn't think that I will." His eyes turned back to the ceiling.

Janet smiled a little. "The people on this base know you. Everyone who knew you before you were taken by the NID still thinks you're worth having on this base."

There were several seconds of silence before he answered, still sounding a little distant. "I know you just want to help me," he said simply. "I also know you believe what you're saying." He licked his lips, considering how to explain. "I attacked the Jaffa. I couldn't stop myself no matter how much I would have liked to. I'm concerned that there will come a time when it happens again."

Janet put her hand on his arm instinctively, but casually removed it before he could argue about her safety. "Your illness went untreated for five days. As long as you're here, I'll make sure that never happens."

Daniel nodded a little. "I know you'll do your best." He pulled the needle from his arm, and glanced over at the guards by the door before looking back to Janet. "I should probably give the briefing."

--