Here we go: Chapter 5!

thanks everyone who reviewed, it honestly makes all the difference about whether or not i want to get writing :)

hopefully all the information on the plague in here is scientifically accurate, but if you are a specialised medical practicioner that notices something wrong with my information, feel free to let me know :)

as always, sg-1 belongs to MGM and not to me, and unless the guy who owns it decides he/she wants to adopt me, i think its gonna stay that way

Janet had been sitting in her office, filling out one of the many forms that she was now required to submit because of the Plague outbreak. But, as she was just about to sign the bottom of at least the twentieth sheet, the door slowly creaked open revealing the smiling face of Daniel. A grin caressed Janet's face as she rose to her feet to greet her new partner, lightly kissing him as he closed the door. Flicking on the coffee machine as she went, Janet moved a pile of medical reports off a chair to free up some space for Daniel to sit. They both sat down side by side, subtly holding hands as they waited for the coffee machine to heat up.

'So…what'cha doing?' Janet looked at Daniel with a raised eyebrow at the question, a small smile on her face.

'What?' Daniel looked so innocently confused that Janet had to laugh.

'I think you've been hanging around Colonel O'Neill a bit too much.' Daniel chuckled when he realised he had used one of Jack's favourite phrases, but before he could respond in any other way, running footsteps in the infirmary caused both Daniel and Janet to look up. Getting to her feet to investigate, Janet moved towards the door, but before she got there, it was flung open by none other than Jack O'Neill.

The question on Janet's lips never had an opportunity to be spoken, because the moment Jack saw the doctor before him, he unceremoniously grasped her wrist and pulled her into the main body of the infirmary. After the frenzied look Janet shot over her shoulder, Daniel jumped to his feet and followed the pair, who were hastily crossing the infirmary.

'Colonel, what on Earth..?' Jack didn't stop, nor did he answer Janet's question. He dragged her over to the bed closest to the door, revealing a pale Major Carter sitting on the neatly made sheets, wearing a singlet top and oversized BDU pants that had the appearance of being hastily thrown on. Daniel caught up moments later, a befuddled look across his face at the sight of his team mate sitting on the bed.

Noticing the slightly distressed and subtly tearstained face of her friend, Janet immediately became concerned.

'Sam, what is going..?' Before Janet could complete her question, Sam wordlessly raised her right arm, revealing the painful bubo that blossomed there. Janet gave out a small gasp, sadness and compassion flashing in her eyes, and Daniel visibly blanched, leaning heavily against one of the seats next to the bed. A moment later, Janet had herself back under control, having pushed her emotions away to embrace the logical doctor part of her brain.

'Nurse!' Janet called at the top of her lungs, attracting the attention of three of the women milling around the infirmary.

'You!' Janet called, pointing to the woman closest to her, 'I need this room put under medical lockdown, stat! You,' she called to the next woman along 'Make contact with Doctor Donald Mallard at NCIS, tell him that we need that isolation chamber. If you can't get in touch him, make a direct call to Bethesda Hospital. You,' she pointed at the last woman, 'Call up to General Hammond's office and tell him that we have a medical situation, and that I'll make personal contact with him as soon as I have things under control. Then contact the workers in the medical shipment office on Level 6; tell them to put in an emergency order for a shipment of streptomycin, as well as a back-up shipment of gentamycin.' The woman nodded and walked swiftly towards the phone. Janet turned back to her patient and her companions, ushering them all further into the infirmary. She directed Sam to a bed at the back of the infirmary, and quickly passed her a hospital gown.

'Put this on, and get into bed.' Janet drew the medical curtains out from beside the bed, manoeuvring them so they hid the Major from view as she changed. Jack looked as though he was going to object, but visibly restrained himself. After a few moments of awkward silence, both Daniel and Jack were beginning to feel very out of place in the middle of the now bustling infirmary. They slowly migrated to the edge of Sam's curtain, waiting anxiously until she finally threw them open once again. After helping Sam to slide the curtains back into place against the wall, Jack and Daniel took a seat on either side of Sam's bed.

As soon as he had sat down, Jack grabbed the phone next to Sam's bed and dialled the number for Teal'c's quarters. Before it had even rung twice, Teal'c's deep voice responded at the other end of the line.

'Hello?'

'T, buddy, we need you down in the infirmary, now.'

'What has transpired, O'Neill?'

'Carter's got the Plague.'

There was silence for a second at the other end of the line before it suddenly died, the quiet replaced by the steady bleeping of the dial tone. Jack set the phone back down, satisfied that Teal'c was on his way.

The silence that the team fell into was border-line awkward, but before it had an opportunity to develop into something substantially more uncomfortable Janet came bustling back, a thick folder in one arm, and an extra blanket flung over the other. Setting the woollen rug down at the end of Sam's bed, she sat in the last vacant seat directly in the area, which happened to be next to Daniel. Without even noticing who she was sitting next to, Janet opened the folder, read for a moment, before looking up to Sam.

'This is all the information we had stored here in the mountain about the Plague, but we're going to have more comprehensive data sent to us, along with the specific drugs required to prevent the disease from developing. The information is detailed enough, though, for me to give you a bit of an idea what you're in for.' Janet looked down to re-read the symptoms printed on the page before her, and as she did Teal'c silently entered the room. Seeing the assembled group at the back of the infirmary, he purposefully strode to the bed, silently acknowledging the variety of greetings he received with a single nod of his head.

Janet, without bothering to look up from the sheet, began reading the information printed there aloud.

'The Plague, medically known as the bacteria Yersinia Pestis or Y-Pestis, is carried by lice, ticks and, most commonly, fleas. These insects are carried on animals such as mice, domestic animals or rats, and can transmit the disease to hosts if they are bitten by a carrier. Humans can also be infected if they come in contact with plague-infected tissue or fluids, or specifically with the Pneumonic Plague via inhalation of bacteria…but I think what we need to worry about is the Bubonic Plague, for the moment…' Janet ruffled her papers, shuffling through them, trying to find relevant information.

'Here we are…Okay; the Bubonic Plague is, luckily, the least fatal and easiest to treat. But, having said that, things are still probably going to get pretty nasty. The earliest symptoms are often the buboes, such as the one you have shown, or a fever. And…' Janet trailed off as she placed a cool hand against Sam's forehead, 'It seems that you're developing one of those as well. You'll start to develop a general feeling of weakness and illness, with side effects such as a sore throat, body aches and pains, headache and nausea. You might begin to experience delirium, and possibly a staggering gait…There are further symptoms, but hopefully the antibiotics we're having sent here will have begun to work before they kick in…'

'What if they don't work?' Sam's voice was quiet and dull, a mumbled monotone that could barely be heard, even by those closest to her.

'Pardon?'

'What if these drugs don't work? What if I've contracted a different strain of the disease, one that's mutated on the planet? What if we can't find a cure?'

'Most of the variations of the Plague can be treated with the same drug…'

'But not all of them. And whatever I've got is even more likely to be untreatable, and if they haven't even cured all the Earth-versions of this disease, how are they supposed to help me, who has a version we may not have even seen before?'

'I think you're jumping the gun a little, Carter.'

'Colonel O'Neill's right, Sam. The blood tests need at least 48 hours to be completely accurate, and until then we can't jump to any conclusions. I'll start you on a set of antibiotics, and even though they aren't the proper medicine that is most effective, it should slow the progression of the disease, and it may prevent the occurrence of some symptoms…but then again, I can't make any promises.'

'Whatever you say, Janet.'

'Sam, you need to keep positive, here. How's it going to help anyone if you're depressed? You're more likely to be able to fight this off if you actively want to, and letting yourself fall into a depression is not going to help you.' Janet's voice softened and she placed a consoling hand on top of Sam's.

'Honey, it's probably not going to be all that bad. We've got a drug that is very effective at fighting this disease, and even if it's a new strain of this infection, we'll probably find a cure for that too. Remember, we have the best of the best at our disposal here, and we've cured other diseases that we've never had any experience with before within days. Sam, you'll be fine.' A small smile flickered across Sam's face and, now satisfied that her patient wasn't on the verge of a mental breakdown, Janet returned to her information.

'Now, we'll need to get you hooked up to an IV and started on this course of antibiotics as soon as we can. Gentlemen, I don't think your presence is necessary right now, nothing's really going to progress any time soon, and it'll take some time for us to set up Sam with her drip…'

'In other words, we'll just get in the way if we stick around much longer?'

'I mightn't have put it quite like that, colonel, but yes.'

'In that case, doc, I think the boys and I will take a trip to the commissary. I hear the pie is particularly delicious today. Teal'c, Daniel, shall we?' Reluctantly Daniel got to his feet, and Teal'c slowly turned away from his bed-ridden friend. Jack gave Sam one last smile before leading his team out the door. What Sam did not realise, though, was the subtle look that Jack had thrown to Janet; a single glance that she had immediately understood to mean 'meet me outside'.

The three men had barely been in the hallway for thirty seconds when the familiar clicking of Janet's shoes followed them out into the hall.

'So what's the real verdict, Doc?' Janet threw a wary glance over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't overheard, and turned back to the men with a sombre face.

'I really don't know. The preliminary blood tests definitely indicate the Plague, but small anomalies are making me think that Sam might be right about it being a mutation of the original disease. If that's the case, then we're going to have a huge task on our hands to find a cure in time. I think Sam must've been doing her research about this, because basically everything she said in there is true and, quite frankly, likely to happen.'

'How likely is it that she'll pull through this?'

'It depends on a few things. If it's a version of the disease we've seen before, the chances are quite good, but if it's a new version of the Plague then things become a little more complicated. The main thing, though, is that we get our hands on the specific drug that is needed to treat the disease. I really should have her on it now, but it needs to be shipped from a specialised supplier in New York. Once we have that, things should become a lot easier.'

'If that's the case, I think the boys and I will go and ensure that it gets here in as little time as possible. Thanks for the information, Doc.

'Yeah, thanks, Janet.'

'We are most appreciative of your assistance, Doctor Fraiser.'

'You're all welcome. I really should get back inside…' and with one final wave, she disappeared back into the infirmary.

I hope you liked it :)

i know there was a lot of medical stuff in there, but it does develop into some plot points in the future...if nothing else, take note of the symptoms, especially the delirium, staggering gait etc. (its brought up again later)

please please please review, it makes me happy :)

honestly, im hoping review karma comes around sometime soon, i review like 95% of the stories i read, so im hoping that its gonna come back to me sometime soon :)

xedwardismyromeox