Chapter 8
Chapter 8
Daniel was certain that he was in the hands of a very eccentric—and vigilant—alien race. As far as he could tell, he'd been in the cave system with 'Claire' and 'Melburn' for about three days (perhaps longer) and he was no closer to finding a way out. It was not for a lack of trying! Whenever he could elude his two 'parents' he would explore the caves, trying to find some way of getting to the outside world and the Stargate. Unfortunately, he was never able to explore for long, and usually, when it seemed he was about to find a way out, they would come out of nowhere and shepherd him back "in bounds."
"In bounds" was how he thought of "their" living quarters. They consisted of the kitchen, his bedroom, their bedroom, and a common living area. Outside of those areas were tunnels, which he explored frequently, but they never led to any other rooms he could see or to the outside. It was frustrating, and that frustration was beginning to show. He began to snap at Claire and Melburn sometimes, and it was clear that they were concerned with the change in his behavior. When asked what was wrong, he decided to let them know.
"I'm frustrated because you two are keeping me here against my will," he began. "I know you're pretending that you're not, but you are. You're pretending to be my parents, you've brought me here, and I have no idea why. I know you're alien beings, and I know that you know I know that, so why are you still pretending? I mean, come on! How long could you possibly expect to keep me fooled, assuming you even managed it in the first place? You have to answer that!"
"There was a time when you were beginning to think it was possible, " Melburn reminded him.
"And the DNA reports say we're your parents, Danny," Claire pointed out.
"My name is Daniel, and as for thinking it was possible, look at where I work! Weird, unexplainable things happen all the time. How could I be certain at first that you weren't? And as for the DNA reports, all we saw was a printout, and computers can be fooled."
"Does it really matter?" Melburn asked suddenly.
"YES!" Daniel snapped, ready to scream. "It does matter! I want to know who you really are!"
Both of them were silent, and that very silence told Daniel a lot.
"You don't want to tell me the truth, but you don't know what else to tell me," he said, looking from one to the other. "Is that right?"
"That's our little scholar," Claire said, sounding sad.
Daniel sighed. These two were so perfect at being his parents, and that was part of what made this entire situation so hard. They knew all the nicknames his parents had used, all their little habits and quirks, and they were as affectionate as his parents had been. He kept telling himself not to trust them, but every instinct he had told him that they were his parents and they could be trusted. Unless, of course, they were mucking about in his mind, telling him that. He'd come across telepathic and empathic beings before, and he'd had his mind and emotions manipulated. It wasn't easy to realize that was happening to you since it was own perceptions that were being messed with, but after a while, you learned to question not only the world around you, but yourself. That was really scary, since if you couldn't trust your own mind, what could you trust?
"Why won't you tell me the truth?" Daniel persisted. "At least tell me that!"
Melburn looked thoughtful. "What will you do if we do tell you?"
"I'd thought it was understood that I didn't want to stay here," Daniel almost snarled. "You're afraid I'll leave if you tell me, is that it?"
"We're afraid you'll leave, period," Claire countered. "We don't want you to go, Danny."
"Daniel," Daniel told her. "And as for leaving--I'm going! I won't be kidnapped and held off-world somewhere! I have work to do, and I can't do it here."
"Well, we can't stay on Tau'ri with you, Danny," Melburn said quickly. "No one believed that we were your parents, and we made one too many mistakes there. So, we had to bring you where we could be safe but where we could still be with you."
"See, that's what I don't get!" Daniel complained. "You want to be with me--why? I do understand that you're pretending to be my parents so you can be with me, but since I know you're not..." He trailed off, confused. Something...wasn't right. What was it he was missing?
Melburn sat beside him on the couch, looking sad. "We're no longer pretending, Danny. As you said yourself, you know that we're not really your parents, but how else would we relate to you? How else would you feel comfortable with us? Your parents were the people you trusted most, aside from SG-1. Since SG-1 was already in your life, it would not have been appropriate to appear as them, but your parents...Well, it was the only other option we had. We're sorry that our choice upset you so much, but we feel it was the only one we had. Besides, you wanted to have your parents back, didn't you? You have enjoyed our company, haven't you?"
"You're avoiding the issue," Daniel said as coldly as he could. "I want to know who you really are."
"I thought you wanted to know why we wanted to be with you," Claire said.
Daniel groaned. "This whole situation is confusing. You two are lucky I'm still sane!"
They were quiet, and he had a sudden, sneaking suspicion that they were hoping he'd go crazy and would be unable to escape. If that were the case...
"How could you think that, Danny?" Claire cried, sounding genuinely upset. "We would never hurt you!"
"But you're keeping me prisoner!" Daniel almost shouted, furious that they were still reading his mind. "And stay out of my head!"
He glared at them, wondering if he would manage to make it out of there before he lost what little sanity he had left.
--
With Thor towing the ship, they were at the planet within and hour, and Jack put in the order to have Daniel located and transported as soon as possible. He looked forward to having him back within soon so they could get out of there, but his happy view of the future was clouded when a bespectacled member of his crew gave him a startling announcement.
"What do you mean, you have a lock but can't transport Daniel up?" Jack demanded.
"Something's blocking it, sir," Walter replied. "We can find him and it's a very clear signal, but we can't bring him up to the ship."
Mutttering something about pounding two parents into the dirt, Jack put in a call to Thor. "Thor, buddy. We have a lock on Daniel, but we're not able to transport him up to the ship. You know our transporters inside out. Any thoughts?"
Thor's image appeared on the screen, looking pensive. "It is possible to block transportation even with a lock, O'Neill. From what you have told me of this race, they are advanced. Our transporters are powerful enough to reach even into the core of a planet, so if they are in caves as you suppose, there is little we can do to get Daniel Jackson out. Even a boost of power will make little difference."
Jack paced, thinking. "Do you think we could be transported down to where Daniel is?"
"What purpose would that serve, O'Neill?" Thor asked, surprised.
"It would mean that he'd no longer be alone down there with those two yahoos," Jack answered.
"I'd agree with you, sir, but what if they intercepted us and sent us somewhere else, or even sent us back here?" Carter asked.
"Major Carter's question is valid," Teal'c added.
"I'm willing to take the chance," Jack said. "You know, I could go down alone first, and if I make it, you guys can come after me."
"I would prefer to go together, O'Neill," Teal'c said, looking determined.
"That goes for me, too," Sam said, ready to cause mayhem if she didn't get her way.
"All right, so we all go," Jack said, turning back to the viewscreen. "What do you think, Thor? Is it possible?"
"It is," Thor admitted. "However, I would bear Major Carter's suggestion in mind, and think about it carefully. What if they did intercept you?"
"Then we cool our heels for a while until we figure a way out," Sam said, surprising even herself. It was strange how Colonel O'Neill's mannerisms rubbed off on you after a time.
"If you are certain..." Thor began.
"We are," Teal'c assured him.
"Then good luck to all of you," Thor said. "I will remain nearby, in case you or your vessel should require aid."
"Thanks, buddy, see you soon," Jack said, waving a little.
Thor nodded, and the screen went blank. Jack turned to his teammates, hoping that they weren't about to do something hopelessly stupid.
"Well, let's get ready. Supplies, that whole thing. We might be down there a while."
It took them only an hour to get supplies, weapons, ammunition, and first aid kits. It was possible that they'd need them. Once they were ready, Jack gave the order for the three of them to be transported.
"Good luck, sir," Walter said, as he pushed the button.
--
After his little conversation with his "parents," Daniel felt his resistance go down. When they suggested that they have a meal, he went along with them with very little protest. They'd either drugged him, or he was just plain tired of fighting. They were just settling down to stew, hot bread, and juice when light filled the room, and there were suddenly three people standing in the room with them. It was Sam, Jack, and Teal'c, all of whom were looking down at their empty hands. Jack looked upset and muttered something about getting his weapon back, but in the next moment they spotted Daniel and his 'parents.'
"Daniel!" Jack said happily. "There you are!"
Daniel practically flew from his chair to the arms of his teammates. "What took you guys so long?"
"Well, you know me, I never stop for directions," Jack said, grinning.
"We came on the Prometheus," Sam explained while Teal'c greeted Daniel. "We couldn't transport you up, so we came down."
"It was a waste of time," Melburn said, rising from his chair. "We knew what you were trying to do, so we blocked all transportations away."
Daniel turned to look at his 'father.' "All transportations away? You mean they can come, but they can't go?"
Claire nodded.
Now Daniel began to get angry again. "So you're going to keep them prisoner just like me, huh?"
"They came for you," Melburn said. "We will let them go any time they wish, but only as long as you are not with them."
"WHY?!" Daniel shouted, his patience at an end. "WHY are you DOING THIS?"
In the next instant, they were both at his side, their arms around him in a group hug that supported and was intended to comfort. "We don't want to lose you, Danny. You're precious to us."
The rest of SG-1 stood nearby, wondering just what the heck was going on.
"Anyone else feel as if they've wandered into the Twilight Zone?" Jack wanted to know.