Gateroom, SGC, 1830 hours
Faith stood on the ramp staring in shock staring at the Stargate recalling how Willow had telekinetically pushed her out of the way before running into the event horizon. She was prepared to make a dash and run in after her, but the wormhole almost immediately disengaged before she could do anything.
"Faith!" said Daniel who walked up to her
Faith, still in shock could hear someone calling her name but nothing registered. She couldn't register the voice of who it was coming from. Everything was going in slow motion as she continued to just see the ghost of Willow running and jumping into the event horizon. Just then, she felt a hand rest on her shoulder and she immediately snapped of her daze, pushed the hand away and stepped back before moving into an attacking stance.
"Easy Faith" said Daniel as he immediately stepped back with his hands in the air, "Easy, it's just me"
"Oh" said Faith as she relaxed
She looked at the archaeologist in front of her and saw that he was pretty banged up, as was General O'Neill and Teal'c. Faith then looked at Colonel Carter who was still lying still on the floor, looking much worse than the three of them put together.
She saw General O'Neill get on the microphone on the side wall, "Where the hell is that medical unit? Colonel Carter's down"
"Sir" said Dr. Warner as he ran into the Gateroom with two other nurses and some equipment, "Sorry but we were trying to make space in the other isolation rooms for the injured"
"How many so far Doc?" asked the General as he got out of the doctor's way, "so far we have had a total of twenty injuries including Colonel Carter and yourselves"
"So far, Dr. Brightman is the only one who is critically injured" said the doctor
"How about Carter doc?" asked the General
"Colonel?" said the Doctor, "can you speak?"
Faith walked slowly towards the Colonel as she heard her say "Yes" softly
"Where does it hurt?" asked the doctor as the nurses set up the gurney and a hard board to slide under her.
"Everywhere" said the Colonel
"Sir" said the Colonel as she looked at the General, "Willow?"
"She ran through the Stargate" said Faith as she crouched down next to her
"Sorry Sir" said the Colonel, "need to unlock the dialling protocols, had to make… addition to dialling program… changed so that if dialled…. It would go to only one location"
"Ok Carter" said General O'Neill, "let's get you fixed up so that we could look for our girl huh?"
"You don't understand Sir" said the Colonel as she struggled to talk, "only place the gate… go….. P97-68R…. no DHD… trapped"
"We'll get her back Carter" said the General as he placed his hand on her head
"Sir" said Dr. Warner, "I need to run some scans on her, and we need to go now"
"Go Doc" said the General as Faith, Daniel and Teal'c helped to slowly move the Colonel to her side as she screamed in pain so that the nurses could slip the hard board beneath her and then carry her to the gurney.
Once the doctor had taken Colonel Carter away, the General and the others stood up and looked at each other, still in shock.
"Jack" said Daniel, "We need to get her back"
"I know Danny" said the General as he looked at Faith
"Faith" he said as he looked at the cuts and bruises on her body, "You need to get to the infirmary"
"I'll heal" said Faith softly, "It was her, Willow made the choice to jump through the Gate… Why?"
"To protect us all Faith Lehane" said Teal'c
"Danny and Teal'c" said the General, "Help the doctor at the infirmary would you?"
"Very well O'Neill" said Teal'c as he and Daniel
"Faith" said the General as he turned to the Slayer, "You and I will check the briefing room, Carter told me that Siler and Walter went up there to slow down Anubis. We need to check if they're alright"
"And Red?" asked Faith
The General only looked at Faith sadly before he stood up and started walking
Briefing Room, SGC
The General and Faith walked up the stairs to the briefing room. As they reached the top of the stairs, they saw Walter and Siler struggling to get up.
"Sorry Sir" said Walter, "We tried to stop her"
"It's all right Walter" said the General, "I know you're in pain but we need to access the dialing computer"
"Yes Sir" said Walter as he was rubbing his lower back
"Hey there" said Faith as she held up Siler, "easy, easy"
"I'll help him Sir" said Siler as he put him arm around Faith's shoulder
The General nodded his agreement as he looked at Faith, "Please help Siler go down the stairs, I need to make a call"
"Alright" said Faith as she helped Siler down the stairs
At the control room, Faith helped Siler sit on the seat next to Walter as he pressed some buttons on the keyboard and got back control of the dialing program.
"Have you found anything?" asked Faith
"Walter?" asked the General as he came back down the stairs
"Sir" said Walter, "the Colonel did program the Gate to dial only P97-68R"
"Alright" said the General, "send a MALP there and we'll force Anubis to make a choice"
"What choice?" said Faith
"Either he leaves Willow, or he dies with her" said the General sadly as Faith, Walter and Siler looked at him in surprise
"What?" said Faith angrily, "you're willing to kill her?"
"Do you think I want to?" said the General as he stared at Faith, "you saw what Anubis did in her body. Do you want him back here again where he could possibly destroy the entire SGC singlehandedly?"
"But.." said Faith as she was interrupted by the General
"She's an Air Force officer" said the General, "she knows the risks of working in this command, why do you think Willow ran?"
"To protect us" said Faith softly
"Exactly" said the General
"Ummmm….. General?" said Walter
"What?" replied General O'Neill as he turned from Faith to the gate technician
"I'm going through the Gate logs Sir" said Walter, "but the Gate never dialled P97-68R"
"What?" asked General O'Neill as he moved closer to the computer screen, "then where did she go to?"
"Sir" said Walter as he stared at the General, "I don't know"
"What?" said Faith and the General together
"Sir" said Walter, "once an address is input into the computer it logs the address. The same thing happens when we get an incoming wormhole. But this time, it looks as if the computer wasn't used"
"Then how….?" Said Faith as she stared at the General
"I don't know" said General O'Neill worriedly before he turned to Walter
"Get a MALP ready anyway, maybe there was a mistake and she actually did go to P97-68R, I need to be sure" said the General
"Yes sir" said Walter as he reached for the microphone, "Get a MALP probe to the Gateroom, Repeat, we need a MALP probe at the Gateroom"
Sunnydale High School
"Why is it so warm?" thought Willow to herself, "is this what it's like to die?"
Willow slowly opened her eyes and found herself in the last place she expected, the Sunnydale High Library.
"Willow, why are you sleeping on the table again" said a voice that Willow never thought she'd hear again.
"Miss Calender?" said a very surprised Willow as she hugged the deceased Jenny Calender, "You're alive?"
"Of course I'm alive" said Miss Calender confused, "why wouldn't I be?"
"I'm telling you Wills, you're studying too hard" said another familiar voice behind her
"Buffy" said Willow as she hugged her friend tightly, "is it you?"
"Uh…..Yea" said Buffy as she turned to face Giles who was at his usual place behind the library counter
"Giles?" said Willow
"Willow?" said Giles as he fixed his glasses, "how long have you been asleep?"
"Umm… I don't know" said Willow, "is this a dream?"
"No" said another familiar voice behind Willow.
She turned around to see Janet Frasier browsing some books in the literature section of the library
"Janet" smiled Willow
"Hi Willow" said Janet as she took out a book and showed the cover to her, "did you know I used to read this book of Shakespeare's plays to Cassie?"
"Really?" said Willow as she saw Janet coming down the stairs and heading to the counter
"Hi Rupert" said Janet, "I'd like to check out this book please"
"Of course Janet" said Giles, "so how are you liking your first day at Sunnydale High?"
"Oh" said Janet as she looked at Willow, "I like it, I even got to meet an old friend"
"Oh that's always good" said Giles as he handed the book back to Janet after scanning in on the computer.
"Do you mind if I borrowed Willow here for a while?" asked Janet
"Please" said Giles, "she needs a break, she stayed up the entire night to do research"
"Oh really?" said Janet as she smiled at Willow before looking back at Giles, "anyway thanks Rupert, come on Willow"
"Yeah, sure" said Willow as she turned back to Giles and Buffy, "see you guys later"
"See ya Wills" said Buffy
"So… Janet…?" said Willow as she walked in the hallway. She looked through the glass windows of the doors through into the classrooms and although she recognized some of the people, the other students including most of the teachers weren't familiar to her.
"I bet you're thinking about whats going on?" asked Janet
"How'd you guess?" said Willow smiling
"Well" said Janet, "the setting and some of the people, including your friends back there, were taken from your memories. Don't worry; they're just a part of your memory. However, the majority of the people here are the Others"
"The Others?" said Willow confused
"Yes" said Janet, "The Others"
"Where am I, Janet?" asked Willow as they continued to walk down the hallway until they reached the cafeteria
"You're in high school" said Janet as they sat down on a table next to Cordelia Chase who was seated opposite an old man reading a newspaper. Willow looked closely at the newspapers name and then looked back at Janet with her mouth open.
"The Ascended Times?" said Willow, "I'm Ascended?"
"No" said Janet as she looked at Willow, "well kind of, this is more like a waystation, a midpoint if you will"
"OK" said Willow as she leaned back on the chair, "I'm still confused. So the midpoint is Sunnydale High?"
"For you it is" said Janet, "It could be anything depending on the person. I think there's a diner somewhere, a medieval castle and even a perfect replica of Oz"
"Oh" said Willow as she looked all around her
"You're basically at a place between mortality and Ascension" said Janet, "its your choice now"
"I already made a choice Janet" said Willow
"Yes" replied Janet, "You made the choice to die so that Anubis couldn't use your body and your powers to subjugate the entire galaxy"
"So this is my reward?" asked Willow
"It's up to you" said Janet, "you can exit the school which means that you would most likely die on the planet or you could choose to release your burdens and ascend"
"But if I choose ascension then I can't help the others" said Willow, "I can't interfere"
"That's right" said Janet
"Then how can I choose ascension Janet?" asked Willow
"That's why it's your choice Willow" said Janet, "if you choose to return to mortal form, then you would most likely die from the cold and neither Oma or I will be allowed to offer ascension again"
"You said I would most likely die" said Willow, "which means that I still have a chance"
"Maybe, I don't like the odds though" said Janet with a smile as she looked behind Willow, "Oh look, tea. I'll be right back"
Willow stayed at the table as Janet went to get a cup of tea just as a whistling man walked by her.
"Hey" said the man as he stopped and walked backwards to where Willow was sitting, "don't I know you from somewhere?"
Willow looked at the heavy set man who dressed as if he belonged more in an accounting office than in a high school.
"Sorry" said Willow, "but I don't think we've met before, it's my first time here. I mean not my first time in high school but my first time here…. You know what I mean?"
"First time in ascended city?" said the man
"Yea" said Willow
"Wait" said the man excitedly as he looked at a copy of the Ascended Times before handing it to WIllow, "I know you, your pictures on the paper. You're Willow Rosenberg aren't you?"
Taking the paper in her hands, Willow saw the head line which read, 'Rosenberg still to make decision: Human icicle or Ascended being?' There was a picture on the page of her from above which showed her with her eyes closed, her skin almost turning blue, her thin T-Shirt wet and almost frozen, and her hair covered in a thin layer of ice.
"Well, the picture really doesn't flatter me much does it?" asked Willow
"No it doesn't" said the man, "by the way, I'm Jim"
"Hi Jim" said Willow as she shook his hand, "I guess you know me so there's no need to introduce myself"
"Not bad" said Jim as he sat down across from Willow, "You actually sacrificed yourself to beat Anubis, too bad he escaped the planet"
"What?" said Willow
"You should turn the page" said Jim
On the next page there was a picture of Anubis taking over a man on the ice planet. She read the report about a man who was conducting some sort of research on the planet. Unfortunately, he was at the wrong place at the wrong time when Anubis flew into him and possessed him. According to the report Anubis knew that Willow would die very soon, and without a sarcophagus to revive her, Anubis went back into the ship and took off.
"So that bastard is still alive" said Willow
"He's energy" said Jim, "You're smart; you must be to have beaten Anubis, but you should remember that you can't destroy energy. You could say that he's immortal"
"Hey!" shouted Janet as she stood next to Willow after getting her drink, "get out of here"
"Ok, ok" said Jim as he slowly stood up, "you don't have to make a big fuss about it you know. I just wanted to talk to the hero here"
"Get….. away" said Janet as she stepped forward
"Sheeesh, you're just like Oma you know?" said Jim as he left, all the while whistling a tune
"You alright?" asked Janet as she sat back down and handed Willow a cup of coffee
"The report in the paper was correct?" asked Willow, "Anubis escaped?"
"Yes" acknowledged Janet as she sighed, "its true"
"I see" said Willow as she looked around the cafeteria. It looked like all of her friends had disappeared. Everyone now in the cafeteria was people she had never seen before.
"So are all the people here are the Ancient's?" asked Willow
"Some of them are" replied Janet as she looked around
"Who is Athena, Janet?" asked Willow
"That's something I can't tell you" said Janet as she looked at Willow, "you have to discover it on your own"
"Alright" said Willow as she slowly stood up, "Thanks for the opportunity to ascend Janet, but I need to get back. There are people I need to see"
"You mean Faith?" asked Janet smiling as she too got up and accompanied Willow to the exit
"Yes" said Willow
"Do you love her?" asked Janet as they walked towards the exit to the school
"Yes" said Willow as she smiled at Janet, "I do"
"I wish you the best then" said Janet as she hugged Willow, "are you absolutely certain about what you want to do?"
"Yes" said Willow
"In that case, can you do something for me?" asked Janet
"Sure" said Willow
"If you survive" said Janet, "Please tell Cassie that I love and miss her very much. Tell her that I'll be watching over her. Also promise me that you will look after Sam, Jack, Teal'c and Daniel?"
"Of course" said Willow, "but I think that they're the ones who look after me"
"Last chance Willow" said Janet as she reached for the door knob, "even if you survive, you may still die"
"Maybe" said Willow, "but I'll still fight to survive"
"Goodbye, Willow" said Janet as she opened the door for Willow
"Thank you Janet" said Willow as she hugged Janet again and whispered into her ear, "Thank you for being my guardian angel" before she stepped through the doors and disappeared
"Survive Willow" said Janet after Willow was gone, "they will need you for what's coming"
Planet Designated KS7-535
Willow snapped her eyes open on the planet as she immediately started to feel the ice on her face and hair, as well as the freezing cold wind hitting her body. As she struggled to move, she realized that the entire left side of her body was numb and that she had almost lost all her sensation on the other side.
"There has to be a way out of here" thought Willow to herself, "I'm still alive, but I can feel myself slipping away. I'm so sleepy, need to close my eyes just for a bit. Sleep just for a little bit"
Willow knew that if she went to sleep, that it would be for the final time. There was no choice; she had to stay awake and make it to the Stargate somehow.
"Where is it?" she thought to herself as she opened her eyes again, "how did I get here? Which way is the Gate?"
She slowly turned her head to the left but all she could see was snow and ice as far as her eyes, with the eye lashes frozen over, could see. With a lot of difficulty, she turned her head back to the right and hoped against hope that there was something there.
"There you are" said Willow as she cracked her dried lips while trying to smile. She could see the outline of the Stargate through the snowstorm. Now it was just a matter of getting her body to the gate.
She tried to move her fingers and toes but she couldn't feel anything.
"Please move" thought Willow to herself as she willed her body to move but nothing happened.
"Come on" said Willow to herself, "Home is so close, move damn you.. move!"
Still unable to move, Willow started to feel even colder at her arms and legs but slowly she started to feel warm at her torso. By then, she had already started to get worried and started to hyperventilate.
"I need to calm down" said Willow quietly to herself as she closed her eyes and tried to think of her options
"That's it" thought Willow to herself as she slowly opened her eyes and smiled to herself.
"OUCH!" said Willow as she felt another area of her lips crack open.
"My telekinesis" said Willow as she slowly used her telekinesis to control the movements of the numb muscles in her arms and legs. Willow knew that she couldn't walk to the Gate, but at least she'd be able to crawl there slowly. Using her telekinesis she was able to have some rudimentary control of her arms which she used to struggle and twist her body so that she was lying on her stomach.
"This is going to be a nightmare" thought Willow to herself as it took her all of thirty minutes just to end up on her stomach. Now she had the difficult job of crawling towards the Gate which stood imposingly on the snow covered landscape.
"One arm forward, pull… one arm forward, pull…." Said Willow to herself as a mantra for her to slowly pull herself to the gate. She knew that she was rapidly getting tired even though her entire body was now completely numb. She was only relying on her eyesight and her telekinesis to move her arms and make sure that her body was actually moving forward.
"Willow"
"Janet?" said Willow as she stopped moving and turned her head but couldn't see anyone
Willow then looked up and saw that the Stargate was much closer than before. Mentally smiling, she then used her telekinesis to move her arms again, "One arm forward, pull…. One arm forward, pull….." she kept on saying to herself. It took her another hour just to slowly crawl to the Stargate. As she looked down onto her hands, she noticed that some of her fingers were becoming darker in colour.
"Oh great" she said to herself as she was just lying on her arms which were folded under her chest. She was very close to the Stargate now, so she took a look at the inner ring and saw the symbol that was different than the Earth gate.
"Found it" said Willow to herself as she suppressed a cough and a sneeze, "the point of origin"
She then tried to use her telekinesis to spin the inner ring of the Stargate so that she could dial the Alpha Site as was protocol but she found that she couldn't, no matter how hard she tried.
"The capacitors must be empty" said Willow as she recalled Colonel Carter telling her that a Gate could be manually dialled as long as there was still a charge left in the capacitors.
"No! No! No!" screamed Willow as another section if her lips cracked open, "not when I'm so close"
Willow then remembered the Colonel also telling her that Naquada, the element that made up the Stargates was a superconductor. She told her about the time when the team was stuck in Heliopolis and couldn't dial out since the DHD fell into the ocean. They figured out that the electrical charge from a lighting strike would be able to charge the capacitors and allow them to dial out manually.
Willow knew that even if she could do that, without a DHD to account for stellar drift from the originating gate, the exit through any Stargate would be really bumpy and may cause her even more injuries when she goes though.
"No choice" said Willow as she recalled what Anubis did in her body when he destroyed the counter measure device that nullified her powers.
Willow used her telekinesis to raise her left hand towards the gate and gathered enough of an electrical charge in the palm of her hand to slowly burn her skin. As soon as Willow could smell the burning flesh, she released the energy towards the gate. She looked on as the energy crackled around the entire Stargate and saw the chevrons slowly light up but they pulsed for a bit before turning off again.
"Again" said Willow to herself as she lifted the same burnt hand and gathered an even stronger electrical charge before releasing it at the Gate. The same thing occurred except the chevrons lit up for a few more seconds before turning off.
Willow did the same thing a couple more times and at the final try, the electrical charge she released crackled on the Gate as the Chevrons glowed brighter and brighter and held steady.
"Yay" said Willow as she put her burnt hand in the snow before passing out from exhaustion, "we have lift off"
It was another two hours later that Willow woke up with a start as she immediately looked at the Stargate and its still glowing Chevrons.
"Thank you" said Willow as she smiled mentally to herself, "the capacitors are still charged"
She first looked at her left hand which was completely useless. It was burnt and much of her arm arm scarred from the electrical charges she gathered to charge the Stargates capacitors.
"This arm is going to be useless now" thought Willow to herself. She knew that she could only pull herself forward with only one arm now, which would make her even more exhausted then before. But there really wasn't much of a choice.
"I'm almost home" thought Willow to herself
Willow then used her telekinesis again to try and spin the inner track which, after a lot of mental effort, started to slowly spin.
"Yes!" Willow said to herself as she finally, after fifty minutes of torturously slowly dialling the Alpha Site, managed to lock the final chevron. She put her head down as the Stargate activated with the unstable vortex almost missing her head and settled back onto the event horizon which, to Willow, looked like a beacon for home.
Using her telekinesis, she used all her strength one her uninjured but nearly frostbitten right hand to crawl towards the event horizon. She knew that without a GDO, she had no other choice but to dial the Alpha Site instead of Earth as she would be risking her life since it was very likely that the Iris and the shield on the Earth gate would be activated. Then she slowly crawled towards the Stargate for her short journey home.
Gateroom, Alpha Site
"Unscheduled off-world activation" said the Airman who was sitting at the desk adjacent to the Stargate in the Alpha Site.
"IDC?" asked Colonel Ben Pierce, the current commander of the Alpha Site
"Nothing sir" said the Airman
"Are we supposed to receive any transmissions from the SGC?" asked the Colonel
"No sir"
"Get the defence teams here" said the Colonel
"Defence teams to Gateroom, Defence teams to the Gateroom" said the Airman
Almost immediately a group of eight Marines ran to the Gateroom and took their positions in front of the Colonel and the Airman, all while aiming their weapons at the open Stargate.
"What's going on?" said the Colonel as he looked at the Airman, "How come nothing's coming through?"
"I don't know sir" he replied, "There's no IDC or communications traffic"
Just as the Airman had finished talking, a body was flung out of the Stargate as it hit the concrete at the base of the Stargate hard and rolled down the stairs before the Stargate shut down.
The Marines trained their weapons at the body that just came through the gate and didn't put down their weapons until ordered to by Colonel Peirce.
The colonel crouched down and turned the body over and was shocked to see a very badly injured and blue faced Willow.
"Get a medical team here now!" shouted the Colonel before he reached for a pulse
Willow opened her eyes only to find Colonel Pierce looking back at her, "Captain Rosenberg, can you hear me?"
"Am…. Home….?" whispered Willow as she looked at the Colonel
"You're at the Gateroom at the Alpha Site" said the Colonel as he nodded his head
"Doc…" said Willow as she moved her eyes to a space behind the Colonel, "told you…. Coming…. Home"
Colonel Pierce looked behind him, only to find no one there. He then turned back to Willow when he noticed that she had closed her eyes again and her hand went limp
"Where the hell is that medical team?" shouted the Colonel
Briefing Room, SGC
"Unscheduled Off-World activation" said Captain Graham Simmons who had taken over for Walter since the latter was in the infirmary for his injuries.
"What's going on Captain?" said General O'Neill as Faith, Teal'c, Daniel, General Hammond and Richard Woolsey from the IOA ran down the stairs.
"Sir" said the Captain, "It's Colonel Pierce from the Alpha Site"
"Colonel" said General O'Neill, "your scheduled report isn't due until tomorrow"
"General O'Neill sir" said the Colonel, "About thirty minutes ago we had the body of Captain Willow Rosenberg come through the Stargate at the Alpha Site"
"What?" said the General as he looked at all the people around him, "Can you confirm?"
"Yes sir" said the Colonel, "it's definitely her but she's badly injured, request permission to send her to Earth"
"General O'Neill" said Woolsey, "Need I remind you that Captain Rosenberg has been compromised, there's no way to predict if Anubis is still in her body"
"Are you kidding me?" said Faith as he stared at the bald man
"I'm sorry Miss Lehane, but your report stated that Captain Rosenberg was possessed by Anubis. Can you prove now that Anubis is out of her body?" said Mr. Woolsey as he looked back at a despondent Faith
"Colonel" said General Hammond, "We will be coming to the Alpha Site to question Captain Rosenberg"
"Sir" said the Colonel, "You don't understand; her injuries are major. There's internal bleeding in some areas, pneumonia, her left hand has been severely burnt and she's suffering from frostbite. We're not equipped to handle all these injuries. She needs the facilities at the SGC"
"Big G?" said Faith as she looked at the General
"General O'Neill" said Mr. Woolsey
"Jack" said General Hammond as he stared at Mr. Woolsey, "get her back here, that's an order"
"Colonel" said General O'Neill, "send her through"
"Thank you sir" said Colonel Pierce, "She'll be there in ten minutes"
"Thank you" said Faith as she looked at General's Hammond and O'Neill
"What if she's still possessed by Anubis?" asked Mr. Woolsey
"I'll beat him again" said Faith as she looked sadly at the Stargate
"Are you sure?" said Mr. Woolsey
"Look baldy" said Faith as she turned and walked angrily towards Mr. Woolsey and stopped just inches from his face, "I just badly beat up a good friend of mine because she was possessed by an alien super snake that you guys said was killed out in space. So if I have to do it again…. I will.. Because that's what she would have wanted me to do" continued Faith just as she was pulled back by Teal'c and Daniel.
"Easy, Faith" said Daniel as she turned and walked down the stairs to the Gateroom to wait for Willow to come through
"You saw the video of her pummelling Anubis" said General O'Neill as he stared at Mr. Woolsey, "do you really doubt her?"
"I'm just worried that she won't be able to do it again" said Mr. Woolsey as he glanced at the Slayer
"I need medical teams to prepare Isolation room two and I need a twenty four hour guard posted outside the door at all times" said General O'Neill on the microphone, "I need Dr. Warner to the Gateroom to received injured, Dr. Warner to the Gateroom to received injured"
It was almost fifteen minutes later when the Stargate reactivated that four medical personnel from the Alpha Site had carried Willow through in a stretcher to the awaiting gurney at the bottom of the ramp.
Faith and Daniel were shocked upon seeing the state that Willow was in. Although she was covered by blankets and heating pads they could still see a tinge of blue on her shoulders and on her cheeks. The Generals who were looking from the control room saw that her left hand was heavily bandaged.
"OK" said Dr. Warner as he looked worried at the injuries under the blanket, "get her to OR 1, now!"
"Doc?" said Faith as she walked back as the nurses and Alpha Site personnel pushed the gurney towards the Operating Rooms
"I'm sorry" said the doctor as he looked at Faith, "I need to take her to the OR now, it can't wait"
"What can't wait Doctor?" asked General Hammond
"From what I could tell, her internal bleeding is intensive. If I don't go in and find the cause now, we may just lose her" said the Doctor
"Go" said General O'Neill
"Yes sir" said Dr. Warner as he ran as fast as he could down the hallway
Mr. Woolsey had heard everything that Dr. Warner had said before glancing at Faith who looked as if she would collapse at any moment.
"General O'Neill, maybe it would be best if Miss Lehane went home until Captain Rosenberg has come out of surgery?" said Mr. Woolsey
"Faith?" asked General O'Neill as he looked at the Slayer
"I'll go to the observation booth" said Faith as she kept on glancing at her hands
"I will accompany you Faith Lehane" said Teal'c as he walked up to Faith
"Thank you" said Faith before she looked up at the Generals, "what do I tell Dawn? She'll wonder why I haven't come home yet"
"Captain Hailey just got back from a mission a few hours ago" said General O'Neill, "I'll ask her to stay over at your apartment. We'll use the usual cover story of a lab accident and that Red has to be kept in isolation"
Faith nodded as she and Teal'c ran to the observation deck overlooking Operating Room One.
"Willow and Cassie were pretty close" said Daniel, "I'll let her know what happened"
"Alright" said General O'Neill, "I try to reach Thor. Hopefully he can get his little grey ass over here"
"Do it" said General Hammond before he turned to face Mr. Woolsey
"Looks like you'll have to wait awhile Richard" said the General
"I don't take pleasure in this General" said Mr. Woolsey, "but the IOA needs confirmation that Anubis is gone for good, at the least they need to know that Anubis is out of Captain Rosenberg's body"
Observation Deck overlooking Operating Room One
It has been almost an hour since Willow had gone in for surgery to find and close the area's where the internal bleeding was occurring. After everything was done, Dr. Warner looked up at Faith and Teal'c as he gave them the thumbs up.
"Oh thank God" said Faith as she sat back down on the chair next to Teal'c and let out a sigh of relief
Teal'c looked over at the young girl as he kept on noticing that she continued to look at her hands
"Are your hands not well?" asked Teal'c
"Huh?" asked Faith
"I have noticed you keep on looking at your hands" he replied
"You've read my file right?" asked Faith
"Indeed" said Teal'c
"Then you know I accidentally killed a man" said Faith
"I do" said Teal'c
"I know that situation was different, he was a complete stranger but this time…." said Faith as she wrapped her hands around herself, "I used my bare hands to beat someone I care about and now she's… well, she's that" she continued as she pointed at Willow lying on the operating table.
"As you said, it is not the same Faith Lehane" said Teal'c as he turned towards Faith, "what occurred today was between you and Anubis, not between you and Willow Rosenberg. If you had given Anubis even one quarter, I believe he would have used all of Willow Rosenberg's abilities to destroy this entire base. You fought enough for Willow Rosenberg to take control, even if only for awhile, and run through the Stargate"
"You talk as if I'm some kind of a hero" said Faith as she looked down at Willow
"Indeed" said Teal'c, "You are"
"I'm not" said Faith as she looked at Teal'c
"You are very much mistaken" said Teal'c, "even if you do not see yourself as someone who helped to save the SGC, there are others who do. Including Willow Rosenberg"
"She won't see me like that" said Faith
"You are indeed mistaken" said Teal'c, "Willow Rosenberg did her duty, which was to protect this planet from its enemies. As did you, as did Colonel Carter and the others who were injured this day"
Faith stared at Teal'c silently before she looked out the observation window as Dr. Warner was closing up Willow's wounds and taking her to Isolation Room Two.
"Faith Lehane, do you have feelings for Willow Rosenberg?" asked Teal'c as he stood up straight beside her
"Huh? What?" said Faith feigning confusion as she turned towards Teal'c
Teal'c simply smiled at her before turning back to look at WIllow
"Must be strange huh?" asked Faith
"It is not" said Teal'c, "I have indeed heard rumours among the women warriors of the Hak'tyll of such relationships existing. I shall have to ask Ishta when I see her again"
"Oh?" said Faith as she smiled at Teal'c, "Lady friend?"
"Indeed" said Teal'c with a smile
"Told her how you feel?" asked Faith as Teal'c looked at her
"Have you told Willow Rosenberg about your feeling towards her?" asked Teal'c with a smile
"No" said Faith as she turned back towards Willow
"Neither have I" said Teal'c as he looked out the glass at Willow
Observation Room Two, two days later
Willow felt warmth all around her, her body felt warm and even her hair felt warm.
"Am I dead again?" she thought to herself as she slowly opened her eyes and saw a multitude of machines that were hooked up to her that were measuring everything from her heart rate to her brain processes.
"I'm home" she thought to herself as she turned her face slightly and saw Cassie sleeping on a chair beside her bed.
"Hey Cass" said Willow softly as Cassie jerked awake before looking at Willow's green eyes
"Hey yourself" said Cassie smiling as she stood up next to Willow's head
"How are you?" asked Willow
"I'm alright" said Cassie, "I got a call from Daniel saying something happened to you, that you were badly injured so I came as soon as I could"
"You didn't have to you know" said Willow quietly
"Nah" said Cassie smiling, "It's the weekend anyway, and I'd rather spend it with my favourite red head than stay in D.C"
"You don't mean that" said Willow smiling
"That she does" said Mr. Woolsey as he walked in with General O'Neill and General Hammond, "Trust me, D.C is boring this time of year"
"Mr. Woolsey" said Willow softly
"Generals', sirs" said Willow smiling, "sorry but I don't think I can get up"
"It's alright Captain" said General Hammond
"Captain Rosenberg" said Mr. Woolsey, "Are you up to answering some questions?"
"Umm… I guess I'll come back later?" said Cassie
"Cass" said General O'Neill, "can you call Faith and ask her to come in now that Red's finally awake?"
"Sure Uncle Jack" said Cassie as she left the Isolation Room.
"Alright Captain, the faster we get this done, the faster I can go back to Washington and file a report with the IOA and the President" said Mr. Woolsey, "and the faster you can get back on your feet"
"Alright" said Willow, "how are Colonel Carter and Doctor Brightman?"
"Carter's alright" said General O'Neill, "but in severe pain. She's getting pain management therapy next door"
"Doctor Brightman's still in a coma" said General Hammond, "we don't know when or if she'll recover"
"It's my fault" said Willow
"Captain Rosenberg" said Mr. Woolsey, "the IOA understands that your body was taken over by an alien entity, it is my job to ensure that Anubis left your body permanently"
"I need to see Colonel Carter and Doctor Brightman after I answer your questions" said Willow, "please Generals, its urgent"
"Why?" asked General O'Neill
"To heal them" said Willow
"How?" said Mr. Woolsey
"Please there's not much time" said Willow, "I'll answer your questions but then I need to see them"
"Very well" said Mr. Woolsey as he and the others sat down to listen to what Willow had to say.
Colonel Carter's Therapy session, 3 hours later
Colonel Carter was lying on a bed just as Faith had rolled in Willow on a wheelchair along with General O'Neill.
"Hiya Carter" said the General, "guess who we found at the Alpha Site?"
"Willow!" said Colonel Carter with a smile
"Sorry about what I did ma'am" said Willow as she slowly stood up and grimaced in pain when she walked
"It wasn't you Willow" said the Colonel before she noticed the pain reflected on Willow's face, "what happened?"
Faith and the General told the Colonel what had happened to Willow on the ice planet and how she activated the Stargate.
"I'm proud of you" said the Colonel smiling, "surviving that kind of an environment took a lot of guts"
"Thank you ma'am" said Willow as she held herself up by holding tightly to the railings on the Colonel's bed.
Willow then placed her hand on the Colonel's shoulder and closed her eyes while concentrating.
"Willow?" said the Colonel as she stared confusingly at Willow, "What're you doing?"
It was then that the Colonel noticed her pain starting to fade away slowly, and could even feel that her body healing itself. She then turned to look at Willow and her eyes widened at the pain that was present in the red head's face.
"Willow" said the Colonel, "You need to stop"
"Red?" said Faith
"General" said Colonel Carter as she looked worryingly at General O'Neill, "make her stop, she's hurting herself"
"Just… few… seconds….." said Willow as she struggled not to scream
"Red!" said the General as Willow let go and started to fall backwards, but was caught just in time by Faith
"What did you do?" asked the General
"Everything's ok" said the Colonel as she twisted her body to release the railing on the bed
"Carter?" asked the General
"I'm ok Sir" said Colonel Carter as she stood up and jumped unaided and most importantly, without any pain.
"I need to get to Doctor Brightman" said Willow as she leaned on to Faith, "please"
"Get on the chair" said the General before turning to the Colonel
"Carter" said the General, "run over to Dr. Warner and get yourself checked out. Is that clear? Tell him to do every test possible, I need to know if you're one hundred percent"
"Yes Sir" said the Colonel as she ran to Dr. Warner's office
It took about ten minutes to get to Dr. Brightman's room. While on the way, she met many of the base personnel who she remembered hurting as Anubis, welcoming her back. But she could tell from their emotions that they were being very cautious around her.
"I guess it would take time to rebuild that trust" thought Willow to herself
Once in the room, Willow saw Dr. Brightman lying under a blanket with her right hand heavily bandaged, just her own left one. Willow then recalled what she had done to her as Anubis, and flinched as she remembered how powerless she was to stop him from inflicting all that pain on the doctor.
Willow asked the General to stop the wheelchair next to her bed so that she could grab the railing and stand up. Faith noticed that she was struggling more than before when she healed Colonel Carter and got worried.
"Are you sure about this?" whispered Faith
"Yes" replied Willow as she looked at Faith's worried face, "I'm alright"
Then Willow put her hand on Dr. Brightman's chest, closed her eyes and concentrated. Faith and General O'Neill looked on as Dr. Brightman started to slowly move her toes followed by her fingers. The General walked next to her bed as he noticed the doctor trying to move the hand that was supposedly smashed by Anubis, but couldn't because of the shear amount of bandages that covered it. Slowly, Doctor Brightman opened her eyes and focused on the General who was smiling at the former coma patient.
"Hiya Doc" said the General as he held the Doctor's hand
"Hey Red, you did….." said the General as he looked up and immediately stopped when he saw the pain that was present in Willow's face before she gave a loud scream and collapsed onto the floor.
"Red?" said the General as he ran over to Willow who was lying on her side
"Faith" said the General, "call Dr. Warner now"
"Medical emergency" said Faith on the alarm on the wall, "Medical emergency, Dr. Warner to Dr. Brightman's room"
"Sir?" said Dr. Brightman as she started to push down the railing on her bed and sit up
"Doc?" said the General as she took off the bandages that were covering her smashed hand and looked at it in amazement as she wiggled her fingers
"How?" asked a very confused Dr. Brightman, "I remember Anubis smashed it"
"Captain Rosenberg healed you Doc" said the General as he tried to wake Willow up.
"Oh God" said Dr. Brightman as she got off the bed, "Help me get her up here Sir!"
The both of them got Willow onto the bed and pushed the gurney out of the isolation room where on the way, they met a very surprised Dr. Warner.
"Dr. Brightman?" he asked surprised
"Listen Doctors" said the General, "let's get her examined first before we go into the discussion we all know is coming. Is that clear?"
"Yes sir" said bother doctors.
"Sir" said Dr. Brightman as she pulled the bed in her patient gown, "we need to get her to a scanner, what happened to her?"
"Long story Doc" said the General as they arrived at the examination room that had a large scanner inside.
Isolation Room Two, three hours later
Faith was back at the observation desk looking on as Willow lay on the bed unconscious. She kept on looking at the monitor that was measuring her brain processes which were hovering at ninety five percent.
"I don't think that's good at all" said Cassie as she came into the room
"Huh?" asked Faith as she turned to face Cassie
"The brain process percentage I mean" said Cassie, "My mom used to say that a normal human uses maybe five to ten percent of the brain's processing power at any one time"
"So for Red to use so much power is bad?" said Faith
"I'd have to guess so" said Cassie, "too much could overtax her body"
"She was just alright" said Faith as she sat down
"Uncle Jack told me what happened" said Cassie, "I guess she's like my mom, always getting into dangerous situations"
"Your mom works at the SGC too?" asked Faith
"She used to" said Cassie, "she died while on a mission"
"I'm sorry" said Faith
"Don't be" said Cassie as she sat next to Faith, "she died while doing her job, she saved another Airman's life"
"I see" said Faith as she suddenly realized something "was Red on that mission as well?"
"Yes" said Cassie, "her name was Janet Frasier"
"Wait a second" said Faith, "did you just say Janet?"
"Yes" said Cassie as she turned to look at Faith, "why?"
"It's just that she told me that she spoke to someone name Janet about having two choices, or something like that" said Faith, "but it could have been someone else"
"It could have" said Cassie just as General O'Neill and the rest of SG1 walked in.
"Uncle Jack" said Cassie as she noticed the look on the General's face was reflected on all of theirs as well, "what's going on?"
"The two of you need to sit down" said General O'Neill as he sighed
Faith noticed that Colonel Carter sat next to her while Daniel and Teal'c sat next to Cassie, with General Hammond standing at the glass window looking down at Willow who was asleep with an oxygen mask on her face.
"What's going on?" asked Faith
"Dr. Brightman and Dr. Warner just talked to us about Captain Rosenberg's condition" said the General slowly, "they found that somehow, all her organs are slowly failing"
"What?" said Faith and Cassie together
"Her kidneys have already failed" said the Colonel, "They'll be hooking her up to a dialysis machine in a few minutes. She's been put on the transplant list but, it's unknown when she'll be able to get a match"
"The doctors said that her lungs have fluid in them which they'll be trying to get out" said Daniel, "but somehow even her liver has shown signs of heavy damage, there's some brain damage as well and there seems to be some heart damage"
"You're joking right?" said Faith as she stood up and went to the glass as stared at Willow as Dr. Warner and two nurses were hooking Willow up to a dialysis machine.
Sensing that he was being watched, he looked up sadly at Faith and the others before he left the room.
"All this advanced technology from alien races and there's still nothing we can do?" asked Faith
"We've got someone on the way to help us soon" said the General, "and I've been trying to reach another ally but we've been unable to contact him"
"Still nothing from Thor Sir?" asked Colonel Carter as the General shook his head
"Thor?" asked Faith
"One of our off world Allies" said Daniel, "it usually takes a while to reach him"
"Colonel Carter to the control room" said Walter's voice over the P.A system, "Colonel Carter to the control room"
"That should be my dad" said the Colonel to General O'Neill
"Go" said the General
Colonel Carter quickly ran out as Cassie joined Faith at the glass window.
"I know she'll be alright" said Cassie, "the people here will move heaven and Earth to help one of their own"
Faith nodded as the door to the Isolation Room opened and in walked Colonel Carter and Dr. Warner, with a bald man wearing a brownish uniform in tow.
"Who?" asked Faith as she looked at the people around her
"Grandpa Jacob's here" said Cassie
"That is General Jacob Carter" said Teal'c, "he is the host to the Tok'ra Selmak"
"Tok'ra?" asked Faith
"They're the snakes who're against the other snakes" said General O'Neill
"They are allies in the fight against the Goa'uld" said Teal'c
"So they carry those snake things too?" asked Faith
"Indeed they do" said Teal'c
"Maybe that's why I'm getting a strange feeling from him" thought Faith to herself
Faith and the others looked on as General Carter slipped a reddish device onto his hand and held it over Willow's chest.
"That is a Goa'uld healing device" said Teal'c, "it is what helped Willow Rosenberg regain the use of her voice"
"Then that will definitely work right?" asked Faith, "I mean she can talk properly now"
"We shall see Faith Lehane" said Teal'c
"Just hope Faith" said Daniel and he and General O'Neill looked on as General Carter started the healing process.
"It's done Sammie, Doc" said General Carter after thirty minutes as the device deactivated and Willow started to open her eyes
"You're right General" said Dr. Warner, "her vitals are improving"
"General Carter? Colonel Carter?" whispered Willow as she opened her eyes slowly
"Hey kiddo" said General Carter as he leaned in to Willow, "How do you feel?"
"Pain" said Willow as she pointed to her chest before she slipped into unconsciousness again.
"This can't be right" said the doctor, "her vitals are falling again"
"How?" asked Colonel Carter
"I've never seen this before" said the Doctor as he looked at Colonel Carter and her father
"I can try again" said the General as he prepared to reactivate the device
"Sir" said Dr. Warner, "I wouldn't recommend that"
"Why?" asked both father and daughter
The doctor turned on the speaker for the observation room so that they could hear his explanation as well.
"I'm sorry" said the Doctor, "I'm afraid for her heart. It's already damaged and I'm afraid that continuous regenerations and then degradation after the device is turned off will further damage not only the heart, but also the surrounding tissues"
"What are you saying Doctor?" asked General O'Neill
"I'm sorry Sir" said the Doctor, "other than putting Captain Rosenberg on the transplant list for multiple organs, I don't dare try anything in case we damage other organs without knowing"
"Alright doc" said General O'Neill as his voice started to break and he turned off the speaker system
A few minutes later, General Carter and the Colonel came up to the observation room.
"Jack, George" said the General as he addressed both General's, "the Tok'ra can provide her with a symbiote"
"Dad" said the Colonel, "I helped her to write her will, it clearly stated that she did not want to have a symbiote implanted into her"
"But…." said General Carter just before he was interrupted by Walter who ran into the room panting
"Walter?" said the General as he looked at the technician curiously
"Sir" said Walter as he tried to catch his breath, "we just got a message from Thor, he said he's in orbit and ready to…."
Walter stopped talking as General O'Neill, Colonel Carter and Willow vanished from the Observation Room and the Isolation Room respectively in beams of bright white light.
Faith looked shell shocked at what just occurred right before her eyes, "Ok, what the hell was that?"
TBC