I apologize in advance – this chapter has whump – lot's of really icky, yucky whump. If you don't like it please, don't read (it truly is yucky!).
When the cab pulled up to the house Jack breathed a sigh of relief. He was home. He actually surprised himself by that thought. When had he begun to think of this little house as home? He smiled. It was when he realized how important both Molly and Chris had become to him. They provided the love and warmth he had missed since he'd lost his friends.
He hobbled up to the house, wondering if he should just begin walking on the cast. No, better not, he decided. Molly would whup him good!
He opened the door and hadn't gone more than a couple of steps when he heard a shout and a small body hurled itself towards him. He braced himself for the expected collision but Chris was able to stop in time.
"JACK! Jack's home everybody!" He carefully but enthusiastically threw his arms around Jack, unable to reach more than his waist. "I'm so glad you're back", the little boy sniffed, overcome by happiness.
"I'm glad to be back." He hugged the boy in return and had a bit of a problem of his own in keeping the emotions in. He was becoming much to prone to tears lately – totally not conduct befitting a General!
"GRANDMA! Jack's back!" he yelled, in case his grandmother was totally deaf and hadn't heard the first shout.
"I see Christopher – and I certainly hear you." Molly walked out from the living room and smiled at the tall man. "So, did they let you out or did you sneak away without permission?"
Jack gave a saucy grin. "Me Molly? Would I ever do such a thing?"
"Hah, you would and we both know it. I always said you're a sneaky, obstinate devil so nothing would surprise me!"
"Oh Molly. I'm cut to the quick! Of course they let me out. I did not sneak off – I knew that if I did you would take after me with that wooden spoon of yours."
"You have that right, General O'Neill!"
Oops – cat was out of the bag. Looking slightly shamefaced he spoke. "I'm sorry about that. I didn't want to trick you – I just needed to get away from things for awhile and unfortunately, because of my former position, it's impossible to do under my real name. I'm sorry for not telling you the truth."
The old lady looked at him seriously for a minute, seeing much deeper into his soul than he was comfortable with. "Well, be that as it may, you'd better not be hiding anything else from me."
He knew he should just smile and promise but he didn't want to abuse her trust, not after all she'd done for him.
"Molly, I'll never lie to you but there are some things I can't tell you – some highly classified things. Don't think it's that I don't trust you – I just can't – it's a matter of security."
"Like the fact that you fight aliens?" Chris piped in.
"Ah, yeah, like that." Jack answered, knowing the little boy was simply using his imagination and had no real idea of what Jack had spent the last eight or nine years doing.
"See, I told you Grandma. He does fight aliens. Big mean ones, right?"
"I think that's enough of that young man. Jack, you'd better sit down before you fall down. What did they say at the hospital?" She looked at him with a worried frown.
"Oh, nothing much. The doctor says its something like migraines." Well, that was sort of the truth, he wasn't lying. He didn't want to say anything about the doc's recommendations, at least not yet.
"Well, that sounds not too bad. I hope he gave you something for the pain?"
He had but Jack really didn't want to take anything. It made him feel too groggy.
He turned to head into the living room, not feeling like he was ready to go back to bed, when a small sound stopped him. He turned and looked at Molly who had a very guilty expression on her face.
"What is it Molly?" he asked.
"Nothing." She didn't say anything more so he turned back into the living room. He came to a sudden stop.
"What are you doing here?" God, he didn't need this. Why in hell were they in Molly's living room?
"I invited them over Jack. They said they were your friends." He glared at Daniel. How dare he lie to get into Molly's good books?
"Were. Were my friends", he said softly.
"What's that Jack? You'll have to speak louder if you want an old woman to hear you. Now you just sit down and I'll bring you some tea and cookies."
He turned angrily, intending to go to his room, but Molly was standing there – all four foot something of her. He would have had to knock her over to get past so instead he glared.
"No use giving me the evil eye. I haven't reached the age of 81 without knowing when someone is acting silly. You just go and sit right down. You need to rest." She reached out and took a hold of his crutches. For a moment he refused to relinquish them, staring at her coldly. When she didn't blink he released his hold and let her take them. That forced him to turn and hop the couple of steps to the big armchair. He sat down and leaned back, closing his eyes to block out the site of his 'former' friends.
"Did you know that Daniel believes in aliens too Jack?" A little body pressed up against his leg. He was forced to open his eyes and look at Chris who was smiling cheerfully. "I like Daniel, but not as much as I like you." Jack reached out and touched the boy on the arm, giving him a small smile.
Chris leaned in close and whispered, "I really like Sam. She's pretty and she's nice." He stood back and looked expectantly at Jack, waiting for him to comment.
"Uh, yeah", was all he said. Chris looked disappointed so tried again. "Don't you like Sam, Jack? Don't you think she's awfully pretty?"
"Yeah, yeah she's pretty." He hoped the boy wouldn't catch on to the fact that he'd only answered the last question. From the soft sound from the couch he knew Sam had caught it.
"Why don't you marry her?" The silence that followed this was so thick it could have stopped a train.
"Chris. I think Jack's tired." Sam's soft voice broke the silence. "Why don't you let him rest now?" Chris looked mulish, not understanding why the adults were behaving so strangely. He loved Jack and wanted only good things for him and, in his young mind, Sam was the best.
"Jack", Chris tugged on his leg, ignoring Sam. "Don't you like Sam? You think she's pretty so you should marry her."
He knew he should just let it go but for some reason this was the last straw! "Enough!" Jack practically shouted at the boy. "Stop it Chris. It's none of your business. Just leave me alone!" Jack put his head in his hands, overwhelmed with the presence of his teammates and then pushed beyond endurance by the innocent words of a young boy.
Chris stared for a moment and then his face crumpled. With a sob he turned and ran from the room. A few seconds later they heard a 'slam'.
"You didn't need to do that Jack. He doesn't understand." Daniel spoke quietly but directly.
"God, I know. I know. What are you doing here? Why did you come?" For the first time he looked up at the two who had been sitting so quietly on the couch.
"Molly invited us. We didn't know you'd be back from the hospital so soon."
"So, you thought you'd sneak around behind my back?"
"Come on, you know us better than that. We just didn't want to upset you anymore than we have."
Jack went to answer when suddenly there was a loud crash followed by a scream.
"Oh God!" Jack stood up, realizing that it was Chris who had screamed. He couldn't find his crutches. Where were they? Finally he simply turned and ran, as fast as he could, out of the room, followed closely by Daniel and Sam.
They saw Molly heading downstairs, as fast as her legs could carry her.
"Christopher!" she screamed. "What have you done?" She rushed over and grabbed the little boy who was lying on the floor, blood all over him.
"NOOOOOO!" a sob tore from Jack's throat. "No, please God, no!" The sight was familiar – a young boy, covered in blood. Why? He rushed over, not noticing the broken pieces of the space project lying on the floor. Kneeling beside Molly, who was clutching the boy and rocking madly, he tried to see what was wrong. All he could see was blood. He felt himself grown dizzy and then weak, but was able to reach out to the boy.
"Molly." He gasped. "Molly, let … me." He reached out and gently took the boy from her arms. She tried to resist at first but then something stopped her. She watched as Jack held him, tears streaming down his face. He kept repeating, "not again, not again".
Daniel and Sam looked on in horror, not understanding what had happened. "I'll go call 911, Daniel said and ran up the stairs. Sam tried to move closer but could see nothing as Jack held fiercely on to the young boy.
"Sir, let me look." He shook his head, still muttering. "No, he's gone, he's gone."
"Please General, let me take a look. Maybe I can help." She tried to see what was wrong and then noticed a sharp piece of wood sticking out of the young boy's chest. Looking around she realized that somehow the table had broken. He must have slipped and fallen and impaled himself on the piece of wood. It looked bad – she hoped that the ambulance got here soon.
As Jack sat, holding the boy, a strange light began to appear. Sam noticed it first but wondered if it was simply her imagination, but then she saw that Molly, who sat beside Jack, also noticed it. She turned frantically to Sam, wondering what was happening. All she could do was shrug and hold up her hands, not understanding what was happening.
Soon, the light had enveloped both the child and the man. It grew so bright that the two women in the room could barely look. Sam felt her heart begin to beat quickly. She knew what they were seeing was not of this world.
Suddenly, without warning, the light stopped and Jack fell to the ground, Chris still held tightly to him. Shaking, Sam walked closer and knelt down. Placing her hand against Chris' neck she was relieved to feel a strong, steady pulse. She then carefully pulled his shirt over to check the wound. She was not surprised to see that it was gone, the wooden piece lying on the floor beside the two.
Sure that Chris was okay she turned her attention to Jack. He was alive, thank God, but his pulse was not so strong or so steady. He looked pale and deeply unconscious.
"Is he okay?" Molly's very shaky voiced asked.
"Chris is fine. I'm worried about Jack. Here," she pulled the little boy gently from Jack's arms and handed him to Molly. As far as she could tell the boy was just sleeping. She then put her arms under Jack and lifted his torso so he was leaning against her. She held him closely, praying that he'd be okay but unsure of what to do.
"He saved me too." Molly was looking at Jack but speaking to Sam.
"What?" Sam looked at her curiously.
"Last night. I was dying and Jack saved me. Who is he?"
"He's Jack O'Neill – a Major General in the Air Force – we didn't lie about that. How this happened", she gestured towards Chris, "I don't know. I don't understand it." She turned back to Jack and was relieved to see the color start to come back into his face.
"Be okay Jack", she whispered, her mouth resting gently against his soft, grey hair.
"Grandma?" Chris' eyes were open and he was staring up at his grandmother. "What happened?"
"I don't know. You tell me?" Molly was still feeling very shaky – reeling from almost losing her only grandchild.
"I was mad. I came down and started to break the spaceship but the table broke. I don't know what happened then."
"Well, everything is okay now. Next time, sweetheart, just talk to us if you're angry, okay?"
"Okay." The boy turned and saw Jack in Sam's arms.
"What happened?" he asked worriedly. "What's wrong with Jack?" He pulled out of his grandmother's arms and scooted over to Jack. He tentatively put his hand out but then pulled it back, remembering that Jack was angry at him. He looked at Sam and started to cry.
"I'm sorry Sam. I didn't mean anything by it. I didn't mean to make Jack angry."
"Oh baby, he's not angry. Sometimes adults do silly things – he was just tired and I bet he still had a headache. He loves you so much, he could never stay mad."
"But what's wrong with him?"
"I think he's just tired. We were worried about you."
"Why?"
"We thought you'd hurt yourself." At these words Chris frowned, as if trying to remember something. He looked down at his shirt and noticed all the blood. It made him begin to cry again, frightened that something was wrong.
"T'sokay, Chris", a weak voice assured the boy. Jack had woken up.
"JACK!" The boy threw himself into Jack's arms, crying uncontrollably. Jack held on to him tightly, relieved beyond words. He was also aware that he was leaning up against Sam. He kept his attention focused on Chris, enjoying the closeness of this woman who had meant so much to him. He knew it wouldn't last, but for now he allowed himself to take pleasure in the security of her arms.
"Hey buddy. Don't go do something like that again, okay?" he said to the boy as he began to calm down. "You scared me. Next time I'm crabby just leave me alone for a bit and then I'll feel better. You've gotta know that I love you and would never stay mad for long. I'm sorry I shouted at you okay?"
"Okay Jack. I'm sorry I broke our spaceship." Jack glanced over at the mess on the floor. "Well, we'll just have to make a new one. The next one will be even better!"
"Yeah! And maybe we can make more aliens?" As he spoke Chris leaned back to look at Jack who grinned down at him. In that moment the four of them disappeared, in a flash of light, from the basement room.
"What the hell!" Jack struggled to sit up. Without thinking he reached down and helped Carter to her feet. Instantly in General mode he looked around. They were in some kind of small, windowless room. The walls looked as if they were made of metal. It looked familiar.
"Where are we?" Jack looked around, ignoring for a moment the shocked and panicked looks on the faces of two of his companions.
"It looks kind of like Thor's ship. Maybe he's transported us up?"
"Maybe, although he usually knows better than to do it when civilians are present."
"Jack?" A small worried voice interrupted him. Closing his eyes in frustration he turned to face Molly and Chris.
"What is this?" For the first time since he'd known her Molly appeared frightened and unsure. Not surprising really. Nothing like suddenly appearing somewhere totally different and not knowing how you got there.
"It's the alien ship Grandma!" Chris had gotten over his initial fear and now looked excited. As Jack looked at him he wished he could get rid of the bloody shirts both of them sported. He was still feeling incredibly shaky over what had just happened. It had brought back horrific memories, which he couldn't erase from his mind.
Well, he'd just have to put them aside! Right now he had to figure out what was going on. He was just thankful that Carter was with him!
"Don't be silly Christopher. You have to stop thinking so much about aliens. I'm sure there's a logical explanation for this?" She faced Jack and Sam as if to say 'well come on, what's the logical explanation?'
The two officers looked at each other, wondering how to explain this. Before they'd come up with an answer a panel opened on one side of the room and a small grey alien walked in. Molly squeaked, her eyes huge in her face.
Jack felt a small body move up and press against his legs. He glanced down and saw that Chris looked terrified. He realized, at that moment, that to Chris these were the evil 'people eating aliens'. God, he should have known better. He held on to the boy and gave him a smile, mouthing 'it'll be alright – they don't really eat people'.
"So, to what do we owe this pleasure?" O'Neill directed his question to the alien. He didn't think he'd seen this Asgard before. He just hoped he/she was a friend of Thor's.
"Welcome O'Neill. I cannot tell you how glad I am to see you."
"Uh, pleasure's all yours. And who are you?"
"I am Angrboda."
"Angry Body? Ooh, I would have changed my name but hey, that's just me. I'm sure your parents thought it was nice."
"Cease", the Asgard spoke softly. "I do not have time for this. You will come with me."
"Who? Me?"
"Yes, you are here to help the Asgard."
"I am? I don't remember getting asked anytime recently."
"You are not being asked O'Neill. You have no choice. You will come with me."
"Mmmmm. Nope, don't think so." The panel opened again and another Asgard entered. "Holler, kill the boy."
"Hey! What are you doing? Don't touch him." He grabbed Chris and pulled him behind him.
"Fine then kill the old woman."
"Stop that! What the hell are you doing? What is this about?"
"I think I know Sir."
"What?"
"There is a faction of Asgard that believe that those with the Ancient gene are the solution to their degeneration problem. The plot – the thing you were involved in – was just a decoy. The intent was to get you alone and kidnap you. It was the other reason we came to see you - we wanted to warn you. Thor has been helping us try and find you."
Angrboda laughed. "Poor Thor. He was really not smart enough. Unfortunately he can't help you. He's my guest." She turned to O'Neill. "There is nothing you can do. If you don't cooperate I will simply kill your companions, one by one. You do not want that surely?"
"And what if I cooperate, what then?"
"Then I will let them go. Not right away, but as soon as we have what we need. They will not be harmed, I promise." She looked at him waiting for what she knew was coming.
"Okay, as long as you don't hurt them."
"I will not – but you have to cooperate fully. If you resist I will kill one of them."
"Okay, okay, I get your point. Let's get on with it then."
"Sir! Jack, don't. You can't go with her – they want to experiment on you."
"Hey, nothing that myriads of doctors haven't done over the years. I'll be okay. You just look after Molly and Chris, okay Carter? I'm relying on you, you know." He smiled at her, the first smile she'd received from him in a long while. She could feel tears form and lifted her hand to grasp her pendant. He followed her hand with his eyes and appeared startled to see that she was wearing it. He remembered that she had told him about it in the hospital, but seeing it made it real. He lifted his eyes to her and gave her another smile, this one filled with regret and longing.
"Jack, don't go." The little boy cried and tried to grab Jack's legs. He reached down and pulled the little boy off of him. Squatting down he spoke to him. "I want you to look after Sam and your Grandma for me. Can you do that Chris?" The little boy nodded but his face crumpled. "You be strong and everything will be fine."
He looked over at Molly. "Just let Carter here look after you. She knows what she's doing and she'll keep you safe."
"Oh Jack, what's all this about?" Molly was reeling from all that had happened. This was too much for her 81-year-old heart.
"Sam'll explain Molly. It's a long, involved story."
"So you really were fighting aliens?", she sniffed.
"Yeah, we really were fighting aliens."
"Enough O'Neill. It is time for you to come with me. Holler, take the prisoners and put them in with Thor. I'm sure he'll enjoy their company - he prefers humans to his own kind!"
Jack walked out the room followed, at a safe distance, by Angrboda. She knew his reputation well enough to know she had to be careful.
"If you attempt to hurt me or resist Holler will know instantly and has been instructed to kill one of your friends."
"Okay, already. I've already said I'll cooperate." As he finished speaking they arrived in what was obviously a lab or an operating theatre. Whatever it was it gave Jack the creeps.
Angrboda stepped behind a consol fitted with many controls. Over to the side Jack could see a table filled with what looked like surgical instruments. He began to feel sick.
"You will remove your clothes." Studying the panel in front of her she spoke without looking at Jack. She reached over and put some kind of bracelet around her arm.
"Uh, is that necessary? It's a little chilly in here."
"You will cooperate." The words were said softly but with menace. Jack could feel a chill run up his spine and it wasn't from the cold in the room. Trying not to let his fear show he slowly began to unbutton his shirt. At least he'd get rid of it, covered in Chris' blood as it was.
He'd stripped down to his boxers, hoping that Angry would leave him the dignity of keeping them on.
"Remove everything."
Okay, so that wasn't going to happen. He really shouldn't let it bother him. He figured the Asgard really didn't care – heck they walked around naked all the time. Yeah, but they didn't have anything to hide, a small voice in the back of Jack's head answered.
"You will get on the table." Jack looked over at the metal table. It looked very cold and very creepy, especially with the equipment surrounding it. He slowly walked over and sat down, the cold of the metal very uncomfortable on his naked skin.
"Lie down." Angrboda seemed to be finished with whatever she had been doing. She walked over towards Jack. "I said lie down." Boy, she certainly wasn't chatty, he thought as he leaned back. Now his whole body was in touch with the table. Definitely not comfortable.
The Asgard pulled down a machine, which looked like some kind of metal helmet on a long, moveable arm. She brought it down until it covered his head, although it left his face free. Next, she touched a control on her 'bracelet' and metal arms came out and circled his ankles, wrist and waist. He was completely and effectively immobilized.
She walked to the head of the table and spoke to him. "Unfortunately, this will hurt. There is no help for it as I need you to stay awake and conscious. Please know that I do not wish to do this but it is necessary." For some reason her clinical detachment and the words she spoke frightened him much more than if she had shown anger or hatred.
Suddenly, Jack could feel the helmet begin to tighten on his head. At first, it was just uncomfortable. Then something began cutting into his scalp. Finally he realized that the machine was sending things right into his brain. The pain spiked and he started to scream but Angrboda turned a dial on her wrist and the scream shut off suddenly. Try as he might no sound now came from his throat.
"I am now in control of your body's functions. Do not fight it – there is nothing you can do." For the next few minutes she adjusted her wrist controls and he found his body responding in different ways. He was completely unable to prevent or stop what was happening. It reminded him of when Kanan had taken over his body.
One touch and he started to blink rapidly, without stopping. Next, he was yawning widely. His fingers and then his toes started to move, at first randomly and then in patterns. Another adjustment on the controls and he stopped breathing. He began to panic but after 30 or 40 seconds she touched her wrist and he was able to breath again.
The last, and most humiliating response was when he felt wetness on his legs. She had made him urinate on himself. He could feel the anger and fear build inside him. What the hell kind of person – or Asgard – would do this in the name of science?
"There, I think that is all of that for now. You see O'Neill, I am able to map your brain with this", she pointed at the helmet and the controller. "It is very interesting and will help us understand more about how the Ancient gene is affecting you." She sounded like one of his professors back in university. If it wasn't for the fact that he was being tortured he could have assumed this was a simple science lesson.
She continued to speak. "You must have realized something was happening to you? We were finally able to locate your exact position when you used your Ancient powers again. It is a good thing we found you when we did or you would have died."
As she was talking she began to gather some of the instruments by the table, picking one up and then laying it down. It was as if she were trying to find the best one for her next task.
"You see, when you helped us out with our little 'problem' a few months ago we made sure that we kept you for a while and reactivated the gene. There was also quite a bit of the residual download from a few years ago. You did not know it was there?" This she said as if Jack had been able to ask questions. "Yes, we knew. Thor was able to mask it so it wouldn't hurt you but there was much still present. Not only do we hope to use your DNA, we also hope that the knowledge you possess will aid us."
"As I said, we activated the gene but we thought we'd retrieve you very soon afterward. We did not expect you to disappear. You see, we have to adjust things so you do not suffer and 'overload' and die. Once we have done that you will be fine for awhile and will be able to access both the knowledge and the power of the Ancients. You have already used the healing power – at least that is what it looked like from the blood on your shirt."
"It is unfortunate that we will not be able to see your full potential. It is too dangerous however. We do not know what power you will develop. No, I'm afraid you will not live that long. We will have your DNA and your brain which we will use to download the information without worrying about you striking back at us."
As he lay there listening to this Asgard he thought that this is what it must have been like for prisoners in Nazi Germany. He was going to be dissected for the good of the Asgard race. He was nothing but a lab rat. Although his body no longer responded to his commands he could feel the terror build. This was more frightening than anything he'd gone through in his life. He was absolutely helpless with no chance of rescue.
"So, shall we continue? We will do more of this later." She reached over and touched him with her long thin fingers. "You have such interesting bodies. One day the Asgard will again be like you with strong bodies – but our minds will be stronger." As she continued to touch and stroke him he could feel the nausea grow at the actions of this sick and perverted alien.
Angrboda stepped back from the table and picked up a long thin instrument. It looked like a simple metal rod, about the size of a car antenna. It looked quite innocuous really. Jack expected it wasn't.
She drew it down the center of his chest – it was cold and almost tickled. Okay, not too bad, he thought. Just then she lifted her arm and pressed something on the end of the rod. It began to glow. This time she put it back on his chest. At first it felt warm. Then, as she drew it down his chest it began to burn. A couple of seconds later the feeling became one of incredible agony. He tried to arch his back or to scream but his body was still not in his control. He wanted nothing more that to writhe in agony but even that was denied him. The only thing he could do was move his eyes – he looked everywhere but down at his body.
She lowered the rod again and he desperately tried to move, to pull away, but still to no avail. This time she drew it across his chest, directly below his nipples. The agony increased but there was nothing he could do but lay there, wishing he would lose consciousness. She lowered the rod one last time, this final time drawing it across his lower abdomen, just above his groin.
The pain was so all consuming that he felt he was going to go mad. He could tell she was speaking but he was unable to comprehend what she was saying. She adjusted something on her wrist and the pain lessened, just enough so that he could hear her and understand.
"Do not hope for release. The controls will keep you from losing consciousness. I need to see how your brain responds to pain. I also need to take samples." He didn't know what she meant but she turned and took some kind of long needle and turned back towards him. Although frightened and not wanting to look he couldn't help himself. He looked down, with his eyes. What he saw made him want to die. The rod had been like a knife and had cut him open. He could now see his organs, the skin and muscle pulled back. Jack knew he was in hell.
Sam, Molly and Chris had been taken to another room and had been instructed to enter. The panel door closed quickly behind them.
"Colonel Carter!"
"Thor! It's good to see you – although I'd prefer it to be somewhere else."
"I too. I regret that I allowed myself to be captured by Angrboda."
"Me too Thor. Uh, I'd like to introduce you to two friends. This is Molly and this is Chris."
"Greetings. I am Supreme Commander Thor of the Asgard. It is a pleasure to meet you."
Molly stared at the little alien, unsure of how to respond. This was totally out of her experience.
"Do you eat people?" A small voice floated out from behind Molly. Thor glanced down, surprised that there was actually a human shorter than he was. He quickly realized this was a human child.
"No, I do not eat flesh of any kind."
"Good. Jack said you don't but I had to make sure."
"Are you speaking of Jack O'Neill?" Thor asked.
"Yes, he's my special friend." Chris spoke belligerently, as if this alien was a threat to his Jack.
"I am glad. I too am a friend of O'Neill."
"Really? Are you going to save him then? He was taken by the nasty alien." Thor turned quickly and looked at Carter.
"Does Angrboda have O'Neill?"
"Yes, she took all of us. She's got him to cooperate with something by threatening us."
"Oh no." Thor looked distressed. He started to pace in the small cell.
"What is it Thor?" Sam was extremely worried. She had a very bad feeling about this.
"She plans to experiment on O'Neill."
"That's what she said. What's she going to do?"
"She is going to kill him, Colonel Carter. She is going to kill him."