Healing and Helping Hands

A/N: Disclaimer's in the first chapter.

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June 22, Cheyenne Mountain

It was a good thing that Hammond had so much practice blowing smokescreens to buy SG-1 more time, or to camouflage some of their actions, or to protect Teal'c from less-than-benevolent types. It made coming up with a believable story regarding what SG-1 had been up to all the day before much, much easier.

Not that he was entirely sure everyone concerned bought the story, but then, they almost never did. The President had long ago learned to pretend that Hammond's reports were complete, factual, and hid nothing … for the sake of his own sanity, if nothing else. Worrying about what didn't get reported was a quick way to the loony bin. The NID, of course, was an entirely different matter, as was the much-despised Senator Kinnsey. There were days when Hammond wished that particular thorn would get clipped. Still, it would take them time to dig up the truth and then figure out what they wanted to do about it, and that was time that everyone wouldn't otherwise have.

Fortunately, he didn't have much time to worry about who would be trying to figure out what he hadn't reported, as Janet was prepping to go meet Xander and fix the poor kid up so he wouldn't have to spend the next two months in splints and unable to lift more than five pounds thanks to his abdomen being torn to heck and gone, and he had to prepare yet another smokescreen to explain her absence from the base. At least this time he had prior notice and could prepare the smokescreen ahead of time, rather than having to come up with something on the fly after the fact.

Even better, Thor had responded to Hammond's SOS. While Hammond had a hard time reading expressions on Thor's face, he got the distinct impression Thor was both worried and very angry … worried about Jon, and angry at Loki. Hammond didn't envy Loki later on, if it ended up that Jon's difficulties were Loki's fault.

Arranging a secure place off-base for Janet, Samantha, Jack and Thor to meet up with Xander and company was easy enough … there were, after all, other bases in the area, and Hammond was able to commandeer a building at Peterson AFB for the day, and get it cleared of all other personnel. This way, at least, no one would see or hear something they really didn't need to. Thor could easily beam himself in and out of the building, so no one would see him coming or going, either. Samantha, as the only person on-base other than Teal'c who could use the Goa'uld healing device (and Hammond tried to keep Teal'c away from other military bases as much as was possible) would be going with Janet, since the healing device was the quickest, and most transportable, way to fix Xander's injuries, once Janet had reassured herself that the injuries the LA hospital had found and repaired were the only injuries Xander had. Unless, of course, Thor pre-empted them, but Hammond wasn't going to count on that eventuality. It was enough that they were imposing on Thor over the Jon problem.

Of course, that necessitated yet another smokescreen. Hammond gave a mental sigh. There were times when he wondered if SG-1 went out of their way to see just how many times in a week they could give him heartburn (since he couldn't exactly earn gray hairs anymore). Hammond gave a small smile as he contemplated the next year or so. His official retirement was only a matter of time. He'd been grooming Jack, on the sly, to take his place, both because Jack was the most capable for the job and because Jack was pretty much the only person Hammond could trust to take his place when the time came. Oh, other military commanders could do the job … on paper, at any rate. But dealing with the SGC necessitated a far more … flexible … frame of mind than most people possessed. Not only would they have to deal with aliens pretty much every day in some capacity, they'd be faced with situations that the rulebook writers never dreamed of in their wildest nightmares, where the tried-and-true rules of the military just were not going to work, and forcing those rules on the situation would only lead to complete disaster.

The SGC also needed someone at the helm that was willing to fight for it against the sometimes heavy opposition in both the US government and abroad. While Jack would hate the paperwork, he was ideal in every other particular … he was unorthodox enough to take pretty much everything in stride, willing to bend, mutilate, break, or just outright ignore the rules when the situation demanded, and the good alone knew he'd fight to the death to protect the people under his command. If there was one thing Earth's enemies had learned over the last seven years, it was the fact that hurting or kidnapping any of SG-1 earned them the wrath of one Jack O'Neill (and the rest of the team, besides). Most folks didn't make the same mistake twice, as learning that lesson was inevitably rather painful.

Besides, Hammond considered it just repayment for the headaches Jack had given him over the last seven years to put Jack in a position where he'd be the one getting the headaches. That Jack seemed completely unaware that he was being groomed for Hammond's job was one of Hammond's few amusements. He'd long since made due mental note to have someone with a camera present when he finally retired and Jack was promoted to Hammond's position. Jack's reaction ought to be rather amusing.

June 22, Peterson AFB

Xander and Jon had spent much of the morning working on controlling Jon's sensory dials, as well as indulging in general 'getting to know you' chatter. Not that either of them had touched, yet, on the uglier issues and incidents in their pasts yet, of course, but they both quickly discovered that they had a surprising amount in common when it came to personality and temperament.

Blair, since he never traveled anywhere with Jim without bringing certain items (to help deal with sensory issues) had given Jon some lotion that Jim had to use whenever coming in contact with clothing or bedding that hadn't been washed by himself or Blair was unavoidable. The lotion helped heal and soothe the inevitable resulting rashes, and helped to at least delay the onset of the rashes, if he thought to apply it before contact.

Jon was, as a result, a good deal more comfortable, now that the rash that peppered more than half his skin was, if not healed, then definitely soothed. Xander had made due mental note to invest in a supply of the stuff himself. The practice with control had also, much to Jon's relief, seemed to strengthen his ability to keep the 'dials' where they belonged. At least for now, he didn't feel like the damn things were half a second from slipping out of his control if his attention wandered in the slightest.

The thing Jon found weird (and that was saying something, considering!), was that throughout the morning, he'd found himself paying a level of attention to Xander that made him squirm mentally. Unless he was actively trying to concentrate on something else, every sense seemed to automatically fixate on Xander. Worse, he found himself wanting to … crowd the kid. Sit really close, all that jazz. It was just as well that he was used to weird shit, or he'd be freaking out right about now.

Now, though, they were headed for Peterson AFB, and the appointment with Janet, Sam, and, apparently, Thor. Jon was looking forward to seeing Thor. He liked the little guy, and the feeling was mutual. Xander had piled into the SUV next to him, and was muttering under his breath, a constant stream of sound that Jon found himself concentrating to hear. It took him a good five minutes to realize that as a result, he was more or less ignoring the mass quantities of sensory information coming at him during the drive.

Sneaky kid. Jon approved wholeheartedly. He didn't really understand, despite Blair's explanations, why he was, apparently instinctively prioritizing any and all sensory information that came from Xander, but whatever the reasons behind it, it was working to keep him from getting overwhelmed, so he was cool with it. Since Jim didn't seem to be doing the same thing, Jon supposed it was because he'd only just met Xander, and with the whole Guide thing (which Jon did understand, at least on some level), he needed to 'learn' Xander's sensory baseline. It made more sense than any other explanation Jon could come up with, anyway.

Hammond met them at the gate, and they were waved through. Shortly after that, they arrived at the building, a small airplane hangar, that Hammond had commandeered for Xander's checkup and fix-up, and they drove the SUV right inside.

Janet had set herself up a miniature, mobile infirmary against one wall, complete with two beds and more diagnostic equipment than Jon could believe was truly mobile. Jack was leaning against the wall nearby, but staying out of the way, and Sam was helping Janet arrange the last few things Janet had brought that she'd thought she needed. The moment Xander and Jon were clear of the SUV, Janet pointed at the beds.

"Up, now, both of you." She commanded.

Jon automatically obeyed. Jack had learned, long ago, to not ever defy Janet, unless he wanted to spend an inordinate amount of time getting poked with very big needles in revenge. Xander needed Jim's assistance to get up on the bed, as he was incapable of hoisting himself up onto it, thanks to his still-splinted arms.

Janet had just started examining Xander when there was a flash of bright white light. Despite being abruptly essentially blind, Jon found himself off the bed he'd been on and between Xander and the source of the flash. Janet's outraged objection half a second after he roughly shoved someone he couldn't precisely see at the time away from Xander in an instinctive effort to protect him told him who he'd shoved away, and then Xander's hand was on his shoulder, and Jon was able to, after a minute or two, get his vision back online. He swiftly discovered that he wasn't the only one who'd put himself between a Guide and perceived danger. Jim had Blair tucked behind him, despite Blair's continuing attempts to evade that, and was staring down Thor like he wanted to kill him.

Thor, of course, seemed to be completely unconcerned, either because he didn't realize that Jim was contemplating his murder or because he knew his technology would stop Jim long before Jim succeeded, Jon wasn't sure which.

It was Xander that broke the stalemate. Now that Jon was more or less ok, Xander actually had time to look to see what the source of the trouble was. He got one good look at Thor and started laughing his ass off, literally falling back onto the bed and pretty much howling with amusement. Jack and Jon both started to snicker a little, well aware of the source of Xander's hilarity. Hell, Jack had found the fact that the Asguard were dead ringers for the 'Roswell aliens' freaking hysterically funny, once his mind had been his own again, after that first encounter. Even Sam started to grin a little. Jim was still in full-on protective mode, so he wasn't grinning or anything. Blair, on the other hand, looked like he was about to explode with questions, eyes wide as he stared at Thor.

It took Xander a minute or two to get himself under control. Eventually, the laughter trailed off to scattered giggles, and Xander managed to sit back up.

"Sorry, sorry!" He said, waving one hand a little. "Just … wasn't expecting this."

Hammond's mouth twitched with amusement. "Understandable, son." He told Xander. "This is Thor." Hammond didn't include Thor's titles. The less Xander and company knew, the better. It was just plain safer that way. "He's the one that helped Jon a few months back. Hopefully he'll be able to tell us if what's going on is what you think it is, or something else. And why it's happening." Then he turned to Thor. "Thor, this is Jim Ellison, Blair Sandburg, and Alexander Harris."

Thor nodded to them. "I am pleased to meet you." He told them, then turned to Jon. "If you would hold still for a moment, please." And then he ran some sort of doohickey (Jon had no idea what it was or what it did) up and down Jon's body a couple times, then blinked at the results. "Most intriguing. This is entirely unexpected."

Janet, who'd gone back to checking Xander over, turned her head to look at Thor. "Is that good news, or bad?" She wanted to know.

Thor didn't answer immediately, perhaps not quite understanding what Janet meant. After a few moments, however, he finally spoke again. "It would seem that a dormant factor in O'Neill's genetic structure was activated by natural conditions." He finally said. "The Asguard have files that record this genetic anomaly in a small number of your race in the past, but we were never able to map it in its entirety due to the rarity of the condition. We were able to find individuals who already had the condition, but discovering individuals who had the genetic anomaly that allowed the condition but had not yet begun to exhibit the condition proved to be impossible. We were able to discover, however, that the condition could only be brought on by certain conditions, namely a period of time with a marked lack of sensory input."

By this point, Blair was bouncing a good foot off the ground in his effort to not start interrogating Thor. It ended up being a losing battle.

"So you studied Sentinels? How much did you find out? You said it was genetic? Did you ever examine any Guides?" The questions spilled out of him in a rapid-fire assault that had Jim shaking his head in tolerant amusement.

Thor took the questions in stride. "Sentinels? This is the name that has been given to the condition? Then yes, we were able to examine a number of individuals, many of your years in the past. Yes, it is genetic, but we were unable to discover how or why the anomaly occurred, and were eventually forced to presume it was a natural mutation of your species' genetic structure." He paused for a moment, then, regarding Blair. "I do not know what you refer to when you speak of Guides, however."

That resulted in Blair explaining the whole Guide phenomenon. Thor was, to be blunt, utterly fascinated. "Intriguing." He finally said. "And no, we were, and are, completely unaware of this phenomenon. It would explain why the subjects we examined became completely unstable so quickly. And I believe I can answer the question as to why these 'Sentinels' have become so rare. Before Ra was driven from this planet, he became aware of the existence of 'Sentinels', thanks to these individuals being able to detect, and arrange for the death, of a number of very junior Goa'uld under his command, as well as a number of Jaffa. They apparently arranged a number of ambushes in the early stages of the revolt against Ra. Ra commanded that every subject suspected of the condition be killed."

Blair winced. "Which would have wiped out quite a lot of them, and ensured they couldn't pass on the genes that made them Sentinels in the first place." He said. "Though obviously, it didn't stop it entirely."

Thor nodded in agreement. "Shortly after that, Ra was driven from the planet by the general populace, so 'Sentinels' were not wiped out completely."

"And the fact that there needs to be a period of sensory deprivation at least partially explains why I never became one of these Sentinels." Jack said. "Especially if the deprivation has to happen prior to a certain point in the person's growth to adulthood." He had never faced a period of sensory deprivation that would have the potential to bring on the senses until his capture in Iraq when he was in his early twenties.

By that point, Janet had finally finished examining Xander to her standards, and finally turned to Sam. "Arms and torso." She told Sam. "Fortunately, nothing is really severe, and it has all started healing already, so it shouldn't take much to finish the job." She turned back to Xander. "Go ahead and lie back. It'll make it easier."

Xander willingly complied, and Sam, wearing the healing device, and an expression of ferocious concentration, as while she had enough naquadah in her blood to operate the thing, it wasn't exactly something that came naturally or easily, started running the thing slowly over Xander's upper body. Everyone else fell quiet while she worked, not willing to disturb her concentration and run the risk of fouling up Xander's healing. About five minutes later, Sam finally relaxed and stepped back.

"That ought to do it." She told Janet, who immediately began to run more diagnostics to check. A few minutes later, she smiled at Xander. "Well, according to all of this, you're now completely healed. I think we can remove those splints now." She said, and immediately began to remove them. "You are, however, still very weak, and are going to need some physical therapy to rebuild muscle tone and strength."

Xander, who was pleased beyond measure just by the fact that he no longer hurt (even the pain pills hadn't been entirely able to blot out the ouchies), never mind that he was apparently all better now, gave Janet and Sam both a shit-eating grin. "Physical therapy I can handle." He said. "Thanks for doing this. I was so not looking forward to another couple months of essentially being helpless." He eyed the healing device. "Any chance you can teach me how to work that thing, and let us borrow it for a while? That thing would come in very handy." Sure, Buffy seemed to heal fast from any cuts and bruises she got, but he, Willow and Giles for darn sure didn't.

Sam grinned at him. "Sorry, but only certain people can use this. And even if anyone could use it, we can't exactly let civilians have it. Way too much risk."

Xander'd figured as much, but it hadn't hurt to ask. "Damn. Figures. Oh well. Had to at least ask!" He slid down off the bed, not quite able to resist the temptation to test his range of movement, and grinned when he was able to twist and turn (even if he did it very carefully) without so much as a twinge of pain. "Much, much better." He sighed in relief. "Thank you."

After that, now that both Jon and Xander had been examined and given clean bills of health, everyone headed off, Thor first in another flash of light. At least this time, Jon was able to anticipate Thor's exit, and managed to both close his eyes and turn away before Thor flashed out. Jim, Blair, Xander and Jon left next, leaving Janet, Jack, Sam and Hammond behind as they needed to pack up Janet's equipment and supplies and let the base know they could have their hangar back.

Xander and company got back to Jon's apartment and Jon packed up his clothes. They'd be leaving for Cascade in the morning.