Jacek got to his feet slowly, every muscle in his body quivering. The Marine he jumped had put up a good fight, until Jacek's well placed jab to his throat had injected the drug cocktail directly into his bloodstream and rendered him unable to move.
Scooping up the guard's radio, Jacek pressed a button on the side.
"I know you can hear me, Doctor Jackson. I want her back. Give me Vala, and I'll give the crystals to you so you can go home again. You don't want to watch her die, do you?" He asked.
"Jacek, it's Daniel. Yes, I can hear you. I can't give you Vala. If I did, you'd never give the crystals back. You'd say it was my fault she died, or something."
Daniel's disembodied voice replied over the radio.
The ugly truth hit like a sack of bricks, and Jacek felt the air whoosh out of him.
"What do you mean?" He asked roughly.
"I mean, both Vala and the baby died. Vala died giving birth to your grandchild. The baby died a few minutes ago." Daniel replied.
Horror crashed into him, then, leaving Jacek gasping for breath.
Vala was dead.
The very light of his life, gone.
Unable to process the information, he released the radio, watched it bounce off the ground and into the underbrush where it disappeared from sight.
With trembling hands, he gently fingered the crystals hidden in his clothing. Without Vala as leverage, he'd never get the technology he so desperately needed. Better he just get as far away from his pursuers and bad contacts as possible. With that thought, he began the trek back to the gate.
"Colonel?" A lieutenant beckoned from the hallway and Mitchell sighed heavily.
"Be back in a flash you two." He murmured to his friends before stepping out into the hall and closing the curtain behind him.
"Is this about Jacek?" He asked. When the lieutenant nodded, Mitchell pulled him farther away, outside the medical area.
"What's the bad news?" He asked quietly. "And for God's sake, keep your voice down. The two of them have ears like bats."
"Sir, I was told to report that Jacek has gone back through the gate. He replaced the crystals and just left. Seemed kinda' upset. I'm waiting for a report on whether or not he's made his way back." The lieutenant began. "Not to mention, our resident bomb expert is checking the DHD itself and the crystals quite thoroughly for booby traps, explosives, the works."
"He left? Just like that? Are you sure?" Mitchell asked, raking a hand through his dark hair.
"Yes sir, we've had eyes on the gate since we were trapped here. He replaced the crystals and tapped out an address. He's gone." The lieutenant continued.
"Okay, tell your men, quietly, to get their gear together. As soon as you get the all clear, you take your men and head for the Beta site. Since this one's been compromised, we'll need to get all we can to safety, including the package in medical." Mitchell sighed heavily then shot a look back at the privacy curtain as a loud cry emanated from behind it.
"Jackson?" he called worriedly.
"Get Carolyn! Now!" Daniel was past frantic, trying to hold his beloved Vala down on the medical bed as she growled in agony, arching upward against him. Mitchell went running in the direction he had seen the woman go a few minutes before, finding her in the lab on her way to the medical area.
"Vala?" She asked without waiting for him to speak. Cam nodded, suddenly unable to find the words to explain. She was off and running then, leaving him behind.
"…the hell is Carolyn?" Daniel screamed as she pushed open the door and hurried in. Stepping past the privacy curtain, Carolyn tried to keep as professional as possible. "Dr. Jackson, put this on." She ordered, handing him a scrubs gown and gloves. Vala let loose with a half grunt-half scream of pure animal pain as she strained to give birth. "This just happened? She wasn't fighting like this a few minutes ago?" She went on, preparing Vala to give birth.
"She was fine until about two minutes ago, then this." Daniel replied.
Carolyn nodded, already aware that the baby was in the right position to be birthed. The fates were smiling, so far.
But would Vala and the baby live through the process of bringing the child into the world?
Time alone would tell.