Chapter 14

After Helen came out of the med pod, she was informed that they were planning a mission to go and retrieve Sam's dad from some planet that did not have access to a stargate. She was given the choice to either return to the Sanctuary and they would contact them upon their return or accompany them. She let Colonel O'Neill know that she would discuss it with her team and get back to him.

It came as no surprise when both Will and Ashley jumped at the chance not just be aboard the ship but to actually visit not just one, but two planets, was an opportunity only 'crazy people would pass up' as Ashley put it. While Colonel O'Neill was working with Thor to bring on more people and supplies, she returned to the SCG long enough to contact Henry to let him know that they were fine and would be going on a mission at the President's request.

She was sitting in General Hammond's office using his phone as they were not allowed their cell phones. "I'm sorry Henry, I can't give you more information than that." She told him. She paused waiting for him to finish listing all the reasons that he should at least know where she was going. "No Henry, we are not in any danger and there will not be an abnormal for you to process when we get back." After a heavy sigh she continued. "Look, when we get back, I will see what I can do about including you in the situation, but as of this time, the mission is classified. Time is short and I still need to call Declan, you have the number here. Call if there is an emergency and they will get in contact with me. We should only be gone for a few days at most. Talk to you later." She hung up the phone and proceeded to make her second call.

She dialed Declan's direct office number, so she was not surprised when he answered the phone before the second ring by simply stating his name. Apparently, he had talked to Henry when she had missed her scheduled conference with him earlier.

"Hey…" She didn't get any further than that.

"Blood hell Magnus, where have you been? You missed our meeting earlier and all I could get out of Henry was that the U.S. President called you and basically ordered you to somewhere in Colorado." He paused for a breath.

"We are all fine Declan. Henry was right, the U.S. President had an issue that he needed me for. We are still in Colorado but will be heading out on a mission with a military team in a few minutes. I just wanted to call you to let you know that you are in charge until I get back."

"Helen, what is going on?" He demanded to know. "It's not like you to take orders from anyone, even a President."

"Unfortunately, it is classified, so I can't tell you where we are going, what we are doing or when we will be back. As I told Henry, it should not take more than a few days. If you need me call Henry, he has a contact number. But it is for emergencies only." She continued before he could make a comment. "I have only a few minutes, so is there anything I need to know from the last few days?" Hopefully, there was nothing that required her attention because there was no way that she was going to stay behind and miss a trip across the galaxy.

"No, all Sanctuaries report business as usual, but you know that they are not going to like that you are out of communication range with no explanation…again." She could hear him typing on the keyboard in the background. "There is one thing on your schedule that we can't change. You are giving a lecture about the genetic mutations we have been seeing in the abnormals lately. It has been in the works for months, as you know and would be incredibly difficult to reschedule." After a few more minutes of conversation regarding her schedule, he tried to press her for information about the mission she was going on. Not that he really expect anything more than she had already said, he knew from past experiences that she was not usually forthcoming with information that she wanted to keep secret. Not until she was good and ready as it were.

"Tell them that I am taking a much-needed vacation." She smiled as she said it because it really was not a lie.

"Well clearly you are not worried about where you are going, or you wouldn't sound like you were so happy about it." He could hear in her voice how excited she was. He had been working with her long enough to know when something was wrong, and this was not one of those times. "Contact me when you get back, I'm sure that we will have much to discuss. Enjoy your…vacation." He hesitated on the word because Helen Magnus just did not do vacations, not intentionally anyways.

"I will. Talk to you later." She hung up the phone and indicated to the airman that she was ready to head back to the rest of the group.

Twenty minutes later she was dressed in green fatigues like everyone else on Thor's ship. Turns out a business suit and heals were not appropriate attire, or so Colonel O'Neill informed her. Ashley and Will were given uniforms to wear as well.

She was currently discussing with Sam and Janet exactly what it meant to be Tok'Ra, Sam from a more personal point of view while Janet was discussing the medical details. She was utterly fascinated and couldn't wait to meet them to learn more. Ashley had lost interest a few minutes in and was over talking to Teal'c. She had said that since we were not going there to capture or kill them, she would wait until she met them to start asking questions.

Will was with Daniel and Colonel O'Neill listening to them talk and answering the occasional question as he was addressed, but mostly he was watching everyone on the ship almost at the same time, noticing details as only he could. He looked very fascinated by their interactions with each other. While he had been part of the FBI, he never really had many dealings with the military. Not to the extent she had anyway. But even for her, she knew that this group of men and women were vastly different from ones she had been forced to work both, with and against, in the past.

The differences became even more apparent after Thor announced that there was a ship firing on the planet that they were approaching. Colonel O'Neill started ordering people around and to her surprise they all followed his orders without question. She knew that all three teams were led by Colonels and assumed that they each would tell their respective teams what to do in an emergency. Apparently, that was not the case with this group, and they seamlessly fell into place.

Her, Ashley, and Will were corralled behind the members of SG1. She noticed that Janet retrieved one of the weapons from a supply crate with the rest of the airmen before moving to stand with SG1. She had wrongly assumed that the doctor would be pushed behind SG1 with her team for protection.

She was equally impressed with how no one in the room was panicked or looked worried. She was fairly sure that she had even heard a joking comment as they grabbed their weapons from the supply crate that this was SG1's fault, just because they were involved in the mission. She would have to remember to ask Sam about it later.

As they stood there waiting, for what exactly, she was unsure of, Ashley reached for her gun. Helen stopped her with a shake of her head.

"You have got to be joking!" She continued to pull the gun from the holster, but this time Helen physically placed her hand over her daughters to stop the movement.

"Since we obviously do not know the difference between the good guys and the bad ones yet, I will not have you standing here with a loaded gun. We do not want our first contact with these people to be you shooting one of them accidently. We have to trust that Colonel O'Neill and his team know what they are doing." She was in the same frame of mind as her daughter though. Clearly something dangerous was happening and she was itching to pull her weapon as well, wanting nothing more than to protect her daughter from whatever it was.

Jack turned to her "Not to worry, we do this all of the time. It should mostly be Tok'Ra that he will beam onboard. We are just taking precautions." Helen was surprised when Teal'c moved around Jack to stand in front of Asley in a protective stance. He looked at Helen clearly indicating that he would do what was needed to protect her from whatever was coming. She appreciated the gesture and nodded to him indicating that she understood.

A few seconds later Thor stated that they were dropping out of hyperspace and suddenly people started appearing around them. They were all wearing sand-colored outfits, that she assumed were uniforms. Most of them were covered in dirt and blood sporting various injuries. Not everyone was standing on their own or moving under their own power.

It was interesting to watch because these people were obviously fleeing, but the beam technology didn't take their movement into account. So when they arrived, they continued moving in the direction and speed that they had been originally. Thankfully, none of the SG personnel had weapons pointed or she was sure someone would have been shot by accident.

Teal'c reached out to stop one of them from running into Sam, knocking the man backwards and onto the floor before he could make contact. Sam never moved from her position or looked away from what was happening in front of her.

"Thanks Teal'c!"

"Any time Major Carter."

One of the other SG members was not so lucky and was pretty much run over, with both him and the Tok'Ra landing in a heap on the floor. Two more Tok'Ra ran into SG members, but they had enough time to brace for the impact and no one else ended up with further injuries. Two of the Tok'Ra ran into walls, one fell over the weapons crate and landed in a heap on the floor and sadly one hit a control panel at full speed. The top of the console hitting him in the solar plex and most likely breaking a few ribs at the same time. She saw Will wince in sympathy.

The next round that was beamed in was in much the same condition physically, however they were not moving as fast, or in some cases, not moving at all as they looked around bewildered. She was guessing that they had witnessed others disappearing and, in the confusion, just stopped. At least they were not tripping over each other.

She began hearing murmurs of Tau'ri, Human and SG1 as they began to recognize the people around them. Tau'ri was something else she saved for later to ask Sam about having no idea what it meant but inferred from the way it was used that they were referring to their rescuers.

The next round brought what she assumed were some bad guys as every member of every SG team raised their weapons. They were even more well trained then she realized because they didn't start to fire their weapons in reaction. Colonel O'Neill yelled his warning at the arriving Tok'Ra and most of them dropped to the floor.

"Hold your fire!" He yelled. He was clearly not talking to the members of SG1 because a second later Sam, Teal'c and Colonel O'Neill all fired some type of electricity weapon that she had never seen before and the two in metal armor carrying sticks disappeared. She looked around but no one in the room reacted surprised by this turn of events. The same could not be said for her team.

"I want one of those!" She heard Ashley say although she did not appear to be addressing anyone specific.

Colonel O'Neill looked around. The Tok'Ra who were not seriously wounded were attempting to help those that were. "Dr. Fraiser, Evans, Wynter start helping the wounded but stay out of the middle of the room." He ordered. "Thor you get everyone?"

"Almost O'Neill. There are still a few more to transport. Two of them are not showing life signs and will be transported to the med pods with several others that are close to death. I will attempt to revive them and heal the others." He moved a few of the crystals on the control panel just as the first shots from the mother ship impacted the shields, almost knocking them off their feet.

"Reynolds." Jack barked, "Take Baker, Bosco and Teal'c to the Medical Bay, make sure there are no surprises. Teal'c can show you the way." Upon hearing that Thor was transporting people into the medical pods he became concerned that anyone of them could be Jaffa and not actually Tok'Ra.

"Yes Sir. Alright, let's move out. Teal'c take point since you know the way." The afore mentioned members moved to the door as ordered, moving as the tactical unit that they were, clearing the hallway before exiting the room.

"That is everyone O'Neill." Thor said. "Entering Hyperspace now." Everyone collectively held their breath waiting to see if the Goa'uld would follow.

Helen observed Janet working on the two Tok'Ra that were in the worst shape. She moved around both Will and Ashley, indicating that they should help as they could and she went to Janet to offer her assistance.

"I'm a medical doctor. Sam explained that the host is human, I have lots of experience with that. I will work on one while you help the other is that acceptable?" Helen was comping at the bit to get started. She was not used to waiting for permission from anyone, but this group of people were obviously well trained, and they didn't know what she was capable of yet.

Janet knew that if she were to continue to spilt her time between the two that she could potentially lose them both, so she quickly agreed and got to work on the female, indicating that Helen should help the man. His condition was not as bad, but he was at risk of dying if he didn't receive help immediately.

Helen quickly and efficiently assessed her new patient. "Wynter what is in the medical supply kit?" She needed to know what she had to work with. The man in lying on the floor was unconscious from his injury, which given what she was about to do was a good thing. She began to peal his uniform out of the chest wound as gently as she could.

From what she was seeing there was an open wound on his chest that had rocks and other debris in it. He had minor lacerations on his legs and a severe cut on his right arm. Wynter started listing off the items in the bag with included IV fluids.

"Alright, get the IV started and let's get some fluids back into him." She glanced around the room looking for something specific. "Ashley, I need you over here." Ashley was bandaging what looked like a burn that could clearly wait. She had operated with her daughter's assistance before, and knew they worked well together.

"Where do you need me?"

"We need to get these cloths off him to better see what we are working with. Are there scissors in the bag? Also, his arm will need a tourniquet to stop the bleeding see if there is one in there, otherwise improvise."

Ashley handed her mom the scissors and proceeded to look for anything that could be used to stop the bleeding. She found what she was looking for and moved around both her mom and the airman that was working to insert the IV into the man's good arm.

As Helen started to cut and peel the cloth away the man groaned and started moving slightly. "Wynter is there a sedative in the bag? He is starting to wake up!"

"Yes ma'am." She pulled the bag closer to her and retrieved the syringe. She had just uncapped and reached for the IV when the man on the floor grabbed her wrist. She jumped from the contact not expecting it.

"Do not." He opened his eyes and looked at Helen. "If you render me unconscious my host and I will die." His voice was deep and echoing and quite different from what Helen was expecting.

Helen got closer to him so that he could see her with out moving. "You are gravely wounded. If I don't knock you out this will be unbelievably painful. Let us help you." He squinted at her.

"Major Carter, if I am unconscious I cannot continue to heal us." He started coughing and when he was done he continued speaking. "We will succumb to our injuries. I am making sure Benjamin is unaware of what is going on and he will not feel anything that you do to us." Helen looked hesitant. She was unsure how to proceed at this point.

"Ma'am you are talking to the symbiote." Wynter started to explain.

"I got that, thanks." She glanced up. "Sam was able to explain before we got here." She returned her attention to the man in front of her. "Can I at least give you a local anesthetic?"

"Explain." Was all he could manage, clearly in excruciating pain.

"It's a medicine that will help to minimize the pain as I remove the debris from the wound on your chest. Some of it is in there deep, so you may feel some of it, but the pain will not be as bad as not using it." She stopped to consider for a moment. "Will not being able to feel the damage prevent you from healing your host?"

"That would be acceptable." He closed his eyes and to the outside observer fell unconscious, but the pain reactions indicated that he was very much aware of that was going on.

"Is there morphine in the bag or anything I can give him?" She glanced over and noticed that Wynter had already dug it out and was handing it to her. She smiled at her and got back to work. She injected the morphine and noticed that Ashley had gotten the tourniquet in place on his arm. "Help me remove this." She indicated to her daughter. "She looked at Wynter who was waiting for further instructions. "Can you check for other injuries as we work on this?" She indicated the blood that was on his pants toward his lower left leg. There was not enough blood for her to be too considered, but she would hate to miss something that would still ultimately kill him.

As she worked, she listened to the background conversations. Thor indicated that they were headed back to Earth, which was good as she was assuming that the SGC would be well equipped for a medical emergency. She listened as Sam asked about a healing devise, filing that away for later. Apparently Garshaw and Jack were going to retrieve it.

As more of the uniform was removed and the wound exposed she stopped splitting her focus and did what she could to remove the larger pieces of rock as Ashley worked to gently remove the additional layers hindering her view of his entire upper body.

Seeing the damage before her, she was thankful that this man had a symbiote, because otherwise he would have already succumbed to his injuries. Even after talking to Janet about the healing abilities of the symbiote earlier, seeing it in action was something else entirely.

Finally able to see where some of the blood was coming from, she grabbed a suture kit and handed it to Ashley to open. Ashley handed her the needle and thread and she added a few small stitches into a small tear in his heart.

"Is there anything in there to wash some of this out with?" She asked her daughter.

"One second." Ashley pulled the bag closer to her and started to rifle through it. She found a small bottle of saline solution. "Here." She handed it over after opening it.

"Okay, I have the big pieces out, but we are going to need to roll him onto his side to clean this out properly so I can see what is going on in there. Wynter I will need you next to me, Ashley stay on that side. We will roll him towards us and when we do, I will need you both to support him so I can flush this." They all three moved into position. Helen leaned down to talk to her patient. "I'm not sure you can hear me, but we are going to roll you on your side for a minute. This will hurt but try not to fight us." She paused hoping that the symbiote understood what she was doing. A slight nod of his head was the only indication that he heard her.

"Okay, on three." She took a deep breath and began counting. When they reached three Helen and Wynter pulled while Ashley lifted from her side. When he had been moved into the position she needed him in, she told them to stop and hold him still. Grabbing the bottle she began squirting it into the wound and watched as rock dust and various chunks came out and landed on the floor. Once she had done what she could, she set the empty bottle to the side and indicated that she was ready to lay him back down. Ashley slid back no longer using her body to hold him up and they worked quickly to lay him back down.

She knew that she didn't have the equipment for a full out surgery, she was just hopeful that they were getting close to Earth and an operating room. At a loss for what to do at this point other than to stop the bleeding, she once again found herself leaning down to talk to her patient.

"I need you to talk to me for a second." She addressed him quietly. After a couple of seconds, he had still not opened his eyes or acknowledge her in any way. A Tok'Ra that had been standing by and watching approached them crouching down by his head.

"Let me check something." He placed his hands at an awkward angle with his fingertips on the back of her patient's head moving his fingers around gently. "I believe he is unconscious. Most likely the pain finally became too much. If he does not wake up soon, they will be dead before we reach Earth." He looked down sadly at his fallen friend assuming he would not make it at this point.

Helen refused to give up, she just didn't have it in her to do so. She hesitated only half a second before getting to her knees. She leaned across her patient and grabbed the med kit looking for something very specific and hoping like hell it was there.

She was almost to the point of turning the whole thing over and dumping it out when she found what she was looking for. A vial labeled Epinephrine and a syringe. She only put .01 mg into the syringe and hesitated. She had no idea what this would do, but she was going to inject it directly into the symbiote. Hopefully it would wake him up enough to make it into surgery. If not there was not much she could do here.

"Okay, we are going to roll him on his side again. I need access to the back of his neck. Wynter slide over here, Ashley get ready to roll him when she is in position." Helen moved from her spot and went to the other side of Ashley. She looked up at the Tok'Ra that had helped.

"When we roll him over, I am going to need you to tell me where to inject this so that it goes into the symbiote and not the host. Can you do that?"

"I can. What is it?"

"A medicine that will hopefully wake him up." She counted to three again that they rolled him on his side. The Tok'Ra whose name she still didn't know, felt around for a second and indicated where she should put the needle.

"You will need to go in pretty deep or you risk missing." He informed her. She nodded her head in understanding. Taking a deep breath, she inserted the needle and injected the medication. They rolled him back over just at he inhaled sharply and opened his eyes, they momentarily flashed white.

"What did you do?" He demanded.

"You passed out, and I needed you awake. I did what I had to." Just as he was about to say something to her, Sam appeared. She tapped Ashley on the shoulder indicating that she needed her to move out of the way. She had a silver disk attached to her hand.

"It's a healing device. It will keep them until get can get back to the SGC. We should be there soon." Helen watched as Sam closed her eyes and held the device above the wound. She was startled when the center of it began to glow orange and Sam appeared to be deeply concentrating. She moved it from the center of the chest up towards his face stopping as his neck.

She watched as her patient started breathing easier and noticed that he was able to relax slightly. She had no idea what it was doing, as the wound did not appear to be closing. It didn't take long before she moved it to the laceration on the arm.

Now that she was not as focused on saving her patient, she noticed that Garshaw was over with Janet doing the same thing. The room had fallen silent as they all watched the two women work, hoping it would be enough.

The next thing she knew she was kneeling on the floor of the base infirmary with a full medical staff waiting to take over.