Gestalt-ing
Clarity Scifiroots
Pairing: Pre-slash (the very faint first stirrings)
Jack/Daniel
March 14-24, 2004
Series: Forks in the Road Stuff 2/?
Season/Spoilers: Up through season 6 and vague ones
for Fallen and Homecoming (beginning of season 7); in particular spoilers:
Synopsis: An unexpected ‘Gate traveler bears the news of
Daniel’s descent, which leads to the newest question: what does Daniel’s return
to mortality mean for the future?
Disclaimers
apply.
- - - - - - - - - -
She watched her children with a gentle eye. She was one of the originals, a true Ancient, as her recent protégé had discovered. It had been a very, very long time since she had been what would be considered human. A millennia could not erase her humanity, however, and she could still feel—unlike some of her brethren. She could feel pain and disappointment just as she could feel joy and pride. However, time had not left her unchanged and there was always a missing element between her and her children.
It was she who brought them to the ascended plane and opened a new world, full of more rules and regulations than they had expected. She was their protector as much as she was their watchman. There were rules, deeply rooted rules, that could not be broken without dire consequences. She could not stop the Others even if she attempted to step in. Long ago a silent and tense balance had been settled regarding what she and the Ancients who followed her did. They could help others to ascend. Further from that, they could do nothing else.
She had first met Daniel Jackson, he had come seeking the child his wife had hidden away for safe-keeping. Kheb had long been a place where Oma visited. If she could not be present herself, another watched in her stead. Kheb was to be a sanctuary for those ready to move on in their journeys. She remembered watching the Jaffa Bray’tac enter with Daniel. His journey was far from over. When Daniel first stood before her and reached to cradle the Harseisis child, she had seen that his path would one day join with hers. However, she had not expected it to be so soon.
Daniel Jackson’s exhaustion had rippled from him in the months leading up to the accident that would kill him. Shifu had kept a fascinated watch over him, and in turn, Oma watched as well. Shifu, after all, was a very special case. He had been an unusual human to begin with, and then she had taken him into her care. Once he could understand what Ascension truly entailed, he had sought out Daniel. She had watched over him as Shifu made his choice to fully ascend and had seen the begins of Daniel’s strain when they had parted.
She came to him as he lay dying of exposure to radiation and offered a new path for him to power. Daniel had been amazingly torn in his decision. He was not a humble man, he was a man who honestly believed that he was a simple part of a larger machine. She remembered the voices of his friends calling to him in that void between life and death, one path and the next. She knew that once this man had been self-assured, perhaps even cocky. With maturity, his cockiness had gone, but he had not been one to indulge in self-pity. When she came to him, all of his resources were drained. He had simply lost the energy to rebuild.
In all the time that she had observed him, he had never failed to amaze her to some degree. She had seen millions of men and women, young and old alike, and of species far beyond an Earthian’s imagination; it took a whole hell of a lot to impress her.
And that was why in the final stages of his punishment that she had bestowed a gift locked away within his mind. His memories would return with time and his new gift would grow and finally bloom. She had not given such a gift for countless ages; this time, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was not a mistake.
---*---
Exactly twenty-three days and eleven hours after the
disaster on
Big surprise that failed, he thought bitterly.
In addition to research, teams had been set to work on negotiations with allies concerning Anubis’s very real threat. Destinations for SG teams now had to meet even stricter requirements to be at the top of the “to visit” list.
“Chevron 5, locked,” Sergeant Davis’s familiar voice announced. SG-1 was preparing to ‘gate to a planet that Jonas believed to hold the lost city talked about on that damn tablet Daniel had found. “Chevron—incoming traveler! Unscheduled activation!”
The SFs in the ‘Gate room came to life, positioning themselves at the base of the ramp with weapons raised towards the Iris-clad Stargate. SG-1 stood behind them in tense apprehension, waiting to hear from the control room if their traveler was a friend.
“We’re not getting a code transmission,”
Jack’s hand rested on his P-90 strapped to his chest; he had a strange feeling about this. To everyone’s shock, the Iris seemed to warp. Sam gasped off to his left, but he wasn’t sure why until a person walked right though the distorted part of the Iris. The distinct sound of a closing wormhole signaled to Jack that no, this really wasn’t a dream.
“Narim!” Sam jogged past wary SFs who relaxed their positions. Jack nodded to Teal’c before starting forward.
“Say, old buddy, old pal, where have you been? Didn’t call, didn’t write—”
“We believed you to be dead,” Teal’c cut in.
The Tollan smiled very slightly at the
“What happened, Narim?”
“SG-1?”
“Yessir, sir.” Jack glanced back at the Tollan. “Guess we’re playing catch-up.”
Narim didn’t say anything as they walked up the stairs to the briefing room where General Hammond awaited them. Sam couldn’t seem to take her eyes off him, relief and amazement obvious in her wide gaze. Jonas studied the newcomer with curiosity but had apparently recognized his name, which was enough to keep his questions at bay for the time being. On the other hand, Narim seemed obviously disturbed with the arrangement of SG-1. He continually cast sidelong glances at Jonas with a frown marring his forehead, mirroring the one on his lips.
“Welcome back to earth, Narim.” The Tollan accepted
“Thank you.”
“So what happened?” Jack returned to the question on everyone’s mind as he discarded his pack, P-90, and hat to the side of his usual seat at the briefing table; the rest of SG-1 followed his lead. “Last time we saw you, you were playing dodge ball with snakes.”
Narim sat across from Jack, on
“Your questions are justified, and I promise to address them in due time. But first, there is something I must ask you.”
Jack looked skeptical. “Listen, no offense Narim, but the last time the Tollan wanted our help it was to make big ass bombs for the Gao’uld.”
The other man bowed his head in acknowledgement. “The Councilor and the Curia believed the course of action their only option. We are all grateful that you sabotaged the ill-made agreement.” His eyes shone with a determined light and his lips were sealed tightly as he met Jack’s stare.
Finally Jack nodded very slightly, approving the sincerity of the words. He sat back in his chair and prompted, “So, what’s up?”
Narim glanced at Jonas, sitting next to Jack. “I believe we have not met.”
Jonas offered a friendly smile as he leaned across the table to offer his hand. “Jonas Quinn.”
At his side, Sam quietly explained, “Jonas has been working with us for a year. Daniel…” the still too recent events made her voice waver. Narim watched her with concern. After a moment, she continued, “He died a little over a year ago.”
Jack’s bitterness made him add, “Sorta.”
Narim appeared to consider this while the others watched Jack with thinly veiled shock at his tone. “You are unsure of his death?” Narim asked hesitantly.
Teal’c inclined his head to indicate he would respond. “Daniel Jackson ascended with the help of the Ancient, Oma Desala.”
Apparently, that statement cleared up the stress that had kept Narim’s expression closed and tight. His eyes widened momentarily as his lips parted in a soft, “Oh.” Jack narrowed his eyes slightly as he stared at the man across from him, wondering what exactly this had to do with anything.
Narim stood up suddenly. “You will wish to accompany me through the Stargate.”
Everyone looked a little stunned. “Why?” Sam asked.
He stared down at her, obviously fighting with the decision whether to explain or not. In the end, he answered cryptically, “We have something you will wish to see.”
Hammond and Jack exchanged looks. With Jack’s nod of
acceptance,
---*---
They stepped through the Stargate and into a closed chamber. Narim stood still, apparently waiting, while SG-1 looked around for a door out of the medium-sized room. A light surrounded them in a gentle glow for a few moments before a hidden door slid back to allow them an exit. Narim led the way, casting over his shoulder, “Your weapons have been disabled.”
“Yeah, nice,” Jack muttered.
They walked down a long corridor with an occasional door to break up the monotony of the walls. Sam questioned, “Where are we?”
“The disaster experienced on Tollana has forced us to make adjustments. The Stargate is built within a contained room to scan anyone who comes through. If there is a threat, we are able to apprehend them.” He was obviously displeased at the requirement to do such a thing.
Narim accessed a wide elevator for the journey up five levels to ground level. When they stepped out, more familiar settings welcomed them. Jack let out a sigh he hadn’t known he was holding and glanced at his companions; they seemed to have relaxed as well.
They exited the building and had their first sight of the surviving Tollans and the new home they had been forced to build. Beyond the city boundaries lay densely packed forests of trees reaching far into the sky. The city itself was by far smaller than on Tollana, and many of the buildings here were several stories high, which brought the city in closer together. There was something amazingly rough, somehow, in the construction of the city that seemed so foreign from what SG-1 knew about the Tollans.
“Narim, how did you escape?” Sam asked quietly as they stood looking over the city in a solemn silence.
“Certain members of the Curia sent a signal to the Asgard once the Gao’uld gave his terms.” Narim’s voice was pitched low, his eyes serious. “It took some time before they could respond to our call. Not long after the Stargate was destroyed and I sent you my transmission, two Asgard vessels arrived. The Gao’uld ship left soon after. The Asgard helped us to transport what we could from Tollana and destroy the rest to keep the technology from anyone else’s hands.” He paused and glanced at SG-1.
“Since that time, we have been rebuilding. Now that we have managed to stabilize, we are working on developing further defense technology against the Gao’uld. We are also collaborating with the Asgard in attempt to find a way to stop the Replicators. We did not contact you after our escape due to the tensions that have always… been apparent in our relations.”
“So, what changed that?” Jonas asked.
Narim signaled for the group to follow him towards a two-story oblong-shaped building surrounded by gazing pools and small gardens. Groups of Tollans passed them. Occasionally they received a small smile or a nod, other times they were barely spared a glance.
“A few nights ago a beam of light descended from the sky. Our sensors read nothing unusual, detected no ships. A security group was dispatched to discover if the light had caused any damage or left anything behind.”
“I take it they found something?” Sam asked as they approached a set of double doors with two Tollan security members standing guard. They were allowed to pass. “So what was it?”
They entered what appeared to be a sitting room, similar to the rooms where they had waited during Skaara and Klorel’s triad. About a dozen or so people were in the room, talking quietly, meditating, reading, or writing. A woman rose from her seated position in one corner and watched them as they approached. Jack had to bite back a sarcastic remark.
“Councilor Travell,” Teal’c intoned.
She gave them a slight bow with a stiffness that spoke of pain and injury. “We wished not to involve you with our affairs, but the circumstances demand otherwise. Please follow my aide.” A young woman rose to her feet.
“I am Brenna. I will take you to your friend.”
“Friend?” Jack echoed suspiciously. Travell merely bowed her head in acknowledgement.
This time, their trip was much shorter. A hall connected the sitting room to a wide corridor of decorative doors that lead into pleasantly furnished suites. Brenna stepped to the side of one of the doors and met Narim’s gaze. At his nod, she touched the pad beside the door to allow them access. Narim motioned them in, following a few paces behind.
SG-1, lead by Jack and Sam walking almost side-by-side, parted the translucent curtains hanging from the ceiling, concealing the inner room. At the window they could see the obvious silhouette of a man. Sam glanced back at Narim questioningly, but he didn’t meet her gaze. Jack frowned, annoyed that he couldn’t see any details of the man across the room.
“So…who exactly is this ‘friend’ of ours that you found, Narim?”
The silhouette turned, apparently caught off guard. A quiet voice asked, “Narim?”
“This is SG-1.”
In the silence that followed, Jack had the feeling that the man was looking them over carefully. Abruptly, the silhouette turned towards the window again. “They are not familiar.” His voice was louder this time, and the earlier vague sense of familiarity now burst into recognition.
“Oh my god…”
“Daniel?”
Jack strode across the room and whirled the man around. His fingers dug tightly into Daniel’s gray-clad shoulder as he stared into familiar blue eyes that met his with clear irritation. Jack knew he was doing a pretty good imitation of a fish at the moment. Daniel shifted in his grasp, his eyes narrowing warningly as he encircled Jack’s wrist with his fingers.
“Let go of me,” he said coolly.
In shock, Jack let him go and stepped back; the others stood beside him. As a group they stared at the man they had last seen in the Abydonian pyramid.
“But how?” Sam murmured, her eyes raking over Daniel head to foot.
Daniel wore a plain, blue-gray Tollan shirt and pants. His bare feet seemed so out of place in their current setting. His body language was defensive with his arms crossed over his chest and his weight evenly balanced between both legs, his knees slightly bent.
“Daniel Jackson, do you not recognize us?”
The squinted stare directed up at Teal’c suitably answered that question.
“Do you know what happened?” Jonas asked, turning to Narim with surprise-widened eyes.
“Uh, no. No, we ran an immediate medical scan but could find nothing wrong. When Dr. Jackson was recognized, we discovered that he had no knowledge of earth or of you.” Narim glanced at the current object of discussion. Daniel watched him with a closed expression. “We were hesitant about contacting you.”
“But when you realized Daniel wasn’t at the SGC…” Jonas trailed off as Narim nodded.
“Wait.” Sam had on her ‘I’m going to figure this out, just give me a sec’ look. She nibbled her bottom lip as she paced slowly. “Sir, I know we have had a few cursory conversations on the topic, but you got to talk to, um, talk the most to Daniel when he was ascended. He mentioned something about a line and crossing it… There’s some things Orlin said to me that are bugging me.”
She turned to her waiting audience. “The Others had a set of strict rules and punished anyone who disobeyed those rules—that was why Orlin was trapped on that planet and probably why Oma was always alone.” She looked to Daniel. He met her gaze, but it was without familiarity. “What if the Others, I don’t know, sent Daniel… down?”
“Carter, didn’t Orlin ‘descend’ by his own choice?”
“Yes, but—”
Jack whirled around to Daniel. “Then it’s likely you decided to come down. Why the hell you’d decide to ignore your past is beyond me—”
“Could that be the punishment?” Jonas asked.
“O’Neill.”
“What?”
Teal’c stood calmly as all eyes turned to him. He met his teammates’ gazes in turn, returning to hold Jack’s gaze as he said, “Is not the important fact that Daniel Jackson is once again with us?”
Sam gasped in embarrassment and looked at Daniel apologetically. She approached carefully, watching for his response. “God, here I am rambling about the details and—oh, Daniel. We missed you so much!” She reached out to touch his arm gently. His arms slowly uncrossed and she was allowed to lean in to hug him tightly. She sniffled against his shoulder and felt a wash of relief flow through her when she felt the warmth of his hands on her hips in a light touch.
“It’s good to have you back, Dr. Jackson,” Jonas said once Sam had released her hold. The two men shook hands.
“Uh, you’ll forgive me if I need new introductions…”
“Jonas,” his smile remained bright despite the drop in mood that the reminder caused. “Oh, and, uh, that’s Major Samantha Carter.”
“Can’t believe you wouldn’t remember T-man.” Jack jerked his
finger at the
Daniel merely nodded, taking in the names without recognition. Jack’s jaw tightened with a mixture of emotions he couldn’t quite label. Sam ended up hugging onto Daniel again. During the re-introductions, Narim had slipped out to give them privacy.
“Are you okay with sitting down and talking for a bit? M-maybe we’ll jog your memories.” Sam’s eager hope was obvious in her voice and in her smile; Daniel was captured and nodded in agreement, letting himself be led to the cushioned couches and chairs.
An uncomfortable silence reigned for long minutes as each person struggled with something to say. With a cough to clear his throat, Jonas tried, “Are there things you remember? I mean, it’s obvious you don’t really recognize us…”
Daniel had seated himself on a chair that allowed for a significant distance between himself and anyone else. Despite his apparent willingness to speak with them, his fingers dug into the arms of the chair.
“I have seen glimpses of places in my meditations,” he confided. “I often see deserts, or maybe the same one. It makes me feel—” his breath hissed as he closed his eyes, tilting his head back as if trying to recapture the image. “There are people, sometimes, but they are faceless, although comforting. But more often the desert is empty and I—pain. I don’t believe this place exists anymore.”
When he opened his eyes, Daniel found that everyone had
averted their eyes, except Teal’c. The
Daniel closed in on himself, his expression clearing to erase all traces of emotion. He sat up straighter and his eyes were cold when he again swept his gaze over the people sitting before him. “There is a forest, peaceful and welcoming, that surrounds me when I am in deep meditation. The trees are unlike those that grow here, so I do not know where this forest is. There are people that I—I need to find them.” He frowned, suddenly turning his gaze inward and pondering the sense of desperation and determination that settled in his gut.
“I am unsure of this place you speak of, Daniel Jackson,” Teal’c said, bringing Daniel back to the present.
Raising an eyebrow in question, Daniel asked, “And the desert?”
Sam said quietly, “
There was a vague familiarity that tingled through Daniel’s body at the name of the destroyer.
Jack slapped his hands on his knees and stood abruptly. “We
should head back and inform
The other members of SG-1 looked up at him, startled. Daniel didn’t even blink as the knot of coldness settled deeper in his gut. If Jack hated him so much, what was he still doing here?
“Uh, sir,” Sam started, struggling to control her shock, “I don’t think we should just leave Daniel—”
“For crying out loud! Carter, I’m talking about sending a
message to
Daniel coughed quietly and stood. He crossed his arms over his chest and bowed his head as he interrupted. “Really, sounds like such a nice invite,” he let sarcasm drip into his voice, “but before you start making plans, would you care to even ask what I want first?” He lifted his eyes and squinted at Jack’s tight expression. He thought he saw a flash of guilt cross the soldier’s face.
“Dr.
“Daniel, we’ve missed you so much!”
Daniel cocked his head to one side. “You see,” he said calmly, “that’s something I do not quite understand. ‘Where’ exactly was I for—however long?”
Silence and tight expressions met his question. Teal’c explained quietly, “You ascended to a higher plain of existence.”
With a snort, Daniel asked, “And I’m supposed to know what that means?”
“It means you died!” Jack snapped.
That had amazingly not been featured in any of Daniel’s wildest imaginings. He met the gaze Jack pinned on him and for the first time could see that his outward hostility and anger were miniscule compared to the emotions felt within. Daniel knew that his surprise must be showing on his face, although amazingly it was mostly from acknowledging the raw emotions in the brown eyes watching him than from the announcement of his death.
Sam made a gentler attempt to explain. “Oma Desala, an
ascended Ancient, offered to help you ascend when you were dying of exposure to
radiation. You chose to go with her…” Daniel’s gaze finally rested on her face
and she swallowed nervously. “On
Quietly Daniel affirmed, “So I was tossed out of this higher existence with no clear memory because I wanted to help these people I knew?”
“Ridiculous, I know.” When Daniel looked to Jack, he was amazed to find that all of the anger had drained away. Jack offered him a small smile that made Daniel’s breath catch in pleasant surprise. The cold knot in his gut was beginning to unravel. “Hey, if you want, we can head back now. We kept a lot of your stuff. Y’know, you being only ‘sort of’ dead and all.”
Daniel felt a small smile of his own tugging at his lips. He looked at the others, drinking in the emotions he could read in their eyes. The cold knot was gone now and replaced with a warm, tingling feeling. He returned his gaze to Jack and nodded. “It appears that you are who I am meant to be with.”
And he honestly didn’t know quite how he meant that statement.
---*---
The arrival of all members of SG-1 members in the ‘Gate room at the SGC caused an amazing turnout of personnel. Those first few moments on earth had threatened to overwhelm Daniel as what seemed like hundreds of voices chorused greetings and cheers. Everyone’s faces were blurred and unrecognizable, which wasn’t too much of a surprise, but it was still disconcerting. At one point he must have stumbled, or perhaps fainted, because soon there were two familiar bodies pressed to his sides to help him stay standing and guide him to a small woman in a white lab coat waiting in a clear spot in the crowd.
Daniel was submitted to a new round of tests even though the Tollans had scanned him for everything. He didn’t argue, though, feeling unsure of his position in a place where everyone seemed to know him and every face was covered in a shade of surprise upon seeing him.
Doctor Janet Fraiser, Daniel decided, was a sweetheart once you could get past her strict medical toughness. She had not been pleased to hear about his minimal eating habits and how he considered rest and sleep to be one and the same with meditation. He explained to her in a patient tone that he simply couldn’t sleep and thus going into a deep, trace-like state of meditation was the best option. Unfortunately, that got him stuck sleeping under a monitored watch for a week as she worked on figuring out how to change his “unnatural” habit.
Within that first week, he was taken on whirlwind tours of the base, talked to so many people that he could hardly remember their names a few hours later, and was introduced to a massive amount of paperwork that detailed the missions he had taken part in during his… ‘former’ life.
Once Janet was satisfied with a plan to work on getting Daniel’s sleep back to normal, he was set up in a nice VIP suite. When he had first entered, he felt incredibly heartened to see details of someone’s—his—personal life covering practically every square inch of the room. Janet stood behind him with a big grin on her face, explaining that his teammates had prepared the surprise for him before they were forced to continue on their off-world mission his arrival had interrupted.
While SG-1 was off-world for the following week and a half, Daniel sought out Janet and his former lab assistant, Nyan. He found it amazingly easy to bond with them, although he had the sense that he hadn’t truly been this close to them before his death—ascension, whatever. Most days they met for lunch in the commissary, Janet’s way of assuring that he was eating enough to satisfy her professional concerns.
He was amazed at how quickly he regained his knowledge of dozens of languages both earth-based and alien. He longed to travel through the Stargate and meet with some of the people he read about in his own reports. The mission reports were easy to commit to memory, but very few things ever stirred any sense of recognition.
However, in the drawer of his bedside table he kept the reports that continued to haunt his memories. Every time he went to open the drawer, he was faced with a beautifully framed picture of a woman he now remembered to be his late wife. She was beautiful, and he could remember her comforting embrace . He couldn’t help feeling that she was taunting him—it was the shape of her mouth as she smiled at him from the frame. It seemed as if she held a secret before him, but he was blind to see what it was.
The evening that SG-1 returned with no luck of uncovering
the
He pulled open the drawer and withdrew the stack of papers within. He moved on automatic, letting instincts take over as he simply dropped many of the papers onto the floor while setting some aside. After he had gone through the entire stack, his feet were buried in a pile of papers and at his side were a total of ten pages of reports.
Daniel picked through the haphazard pile next to him, skimming through the typed words to figure out what he had set aside. Kheb… Oma Desala… the Harseisis… Shifu… His thoughts came to a sudden stop when a completely unrelated report showed up in the mix; he was familiar by now of the Nox mission and truly regretted that they were not welcomed to come back. He prepared to drop the report to the floor with the other papers, obviously he had messed up somehow and set it aside by mistake. By chance, his gaze fell on the picture of Sha’uri just as his fingers parted to let the Nox report fall.
Shai.
The
voice was a shout that rang through his head, loud enough to make him clap his
hands over his ears in automatic reaction. Of course, that didn’t really work
when the voice was calling from within. From somewhere in the maw of confusion
that passed for his memory he found the information to label the voice as
belonging to Sha’uri. The word faded from his mind only to be replaced by
rapidly spoken Abydonian. On top of Sha’uri’s voice, he could hear himself
speaking reverently about Shifu and—yet another voice layered over the
commotion in his head. Soon the voices were so jumbled that he couldn’t even
count how many different people were talking.
“Stop!
God… shut up!” Unbeknownst to Daniel, he lay writhing on the floor with his
hands attempting desperately to press hard enough over his ears to shut out the
overwhelming tide of voices.
---*---
“Doctor,
please report!” General Hammond came to stand beside Sam and Jonas; Jack and
Teal’c held down Daniel’s flailing limbs while a nurse assisted Janet in
strapping the recently returned linguist to the infirmary bed.
“He’s
not responding to the regular dose of sedative, sir!” Janet nodded at Teal’c to
keep his hands firmly on Daniel’s arm while she pulled out a prepared syringe.
“I have no suggestions as of yet to what caused this.” She ran a hand over her
mussed hair and watched with a deep frown as Daniel continued to struggle on
the bed. “Damn it,” she hissed to herself.
“Doc?”
Jack prompted.
“The
airman that found him heard Daniel shouting. He was on the floor of his room
surrounded by a pile of the reports he’s been reading. I don’t know what’s
going on.”
Daniel’s
sharp gasp drew all eyes towards him. He shuddered as a cry broke from his
lips, “Why didn’t you tell me?” The infirmary lights dimmed at his shout, then
returned to normal as Daniel lay moaning. His thrashing lessened, but he still
couldn’t seem to lie still.
“Sha’uri…
Sha’uri! I’m sorry…” Daniel breathed heavily, gasping every now and then as he
fists clenched and he tugged harshly at straps binding his wrists. His
eyelashes fluttered wildly against his cheeks.
Jack
took a concerned step forward and placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder.
“Daniel…Daniel!”
For
a moment it seemed as if Daniel was back with them, his narrowly opened eyes
focused on Jack; his words, however, ruined that conclusion. “…Don’t ask me
that… No… I won’t do it!” The words were hauntingly familiar to Jack but
caused confusion in the others. “…I promise to stay—‘til it’s over.” Jack
removed his hand quickly, as if burned.
“Colonel?”
Jack
quickly shut the doors to the memories that threatened to overwhelm him. “It’s
what he said…back when…” He sighed, simplifying the summary into a name:
“Ba’al.”
“Could
something have triggered a sudden rush of memories?” Sam wondered aloud. “What
if it’s too much at once?”
Janet
looked grim. “If that’s the case, I don’t know where to even begin. Daniel,
c’mon Daniel…”
Daniel’s
voice had dropped to a quiet murmur full of pain and guilt. “…Shouldn’t have
been him to interfere… I couldn’t stop them…! They cast him down. So sorry…
Sha’uri…” He let out a long, shuddering breath. “…He saved her…they’re okay…”
“Who,
Daniel?” Janet urged as she placed a comforting hand on his cheek. His body was
finally starting to settle.
“Shifu
saved her…”
Janet
waited a beat before asking, “Who is she?”
Daniel
frowned, stretching his neck far in the other direction to turn his face away
from her. “Cia—no… Shai. Shai… Shifu saved her…”
Suddenly
Daniel began to struggle again with a renewed determination. “You won’t touch
“Oma’s
watching me… I made a promise—nothing will happen to them…” he began to murmur
under his breath, too quiet to hear as he shifted uncomfortably on the bed.
“No!”
the word tore itself from Daniel’s throat, practically a scream. “Oma! Don’t do
this…! I promised! No!”
Daniel’s
body slumped unexpectedly. Janet hurried to find his pulse slowly returning to
normal. His eyelids still fluttered open time to time, but he had yet to truly
focus on anyone. Janet stepped away to prepare some equipment to monitor her
patient while he slept.
“Did
anyone else just interpret that as dear ol’ mother nature was the cause of
Danny’s failure on
“There
must have been a reason, sir,” Sam said quietly as she stared at Daniel’s still
form.
“I
don’t give a damn about reasons.
“The
blame you seek to place rests solely on Anubis, O’Neill,” Teal’c intoned
calmly.
“Dr.
Jackson?”
Daniel
stirred. His fingers twitched as he realized that his movement was restricted.
He blinked in confusion at the straps around his wrists, ankles, and waist.
“Hey,
you back with us?” Sam asked gently as she came around the side of the bed and
sat on the edge.
Daniel
studied her through a squinted stare and then took in the others. “W-what did I
do?”
Sam
rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand. “It’s okay. We were just worried about
you hurting yourself. Uh… Daniel, do you remember anything…?”
He
laid his head back against the pillow and took a few deep breaths. “I was
looking at the picture of Sha’uri… and some reports. The ones on Kheb and Shi—”
His eyes opened quickly. He looked desperately at Sam and gripped her hand
tightly. “The Nox, dial the Nox! I have to get them!”
“Calm
down, son,”
“Daniel,
we were told that we wouldn’t be able to access their ‘Gate again.”
“No,
it’s open!” He struggled to sit up. “Jesus, let me up! You don’t understand,
they’re still alive!”
“Who,
Danny? Give us something to work with!”
Jack’s
voice seemed to anchor Daniel to his surroundings. His blue eyes were wide,
full of pain and hope, pleading with Jack to listen to him and let him go.
“When Anubis attacked, Shifu brought them there. Please, I have to see him!”
“Daniel,
I don’t understand,” Sam said, concern coloring her eyes. “Why would he still
be there?”
His
eyes were haunted when his gaze locked with hers. “They struck him down and
took everything from him,” his whisper weighed heavily with emotion.
“Shai gave him back his name, but it’s all he has. Please, I have to
go!”
Sam
turned towards the group at her back and took in their reactions. She
recognized Jack’s determination and was glad to see that Teal’c and Jonas would
be backing him up.
“After
a full briefing tomorrow at 0800, we will determine if this mission is doable.
In the meantime, I suggest a lot of rest.”
“Thank
you,” Daniel breathed, his expression one of exhausted relief.
Janet
rolled over a wheelchair and gave him a pointed stare. “Don’t argue or I’ll
make you stay here.”
“Allow
me, Doctor Fraiser.” Janet smiled at Teal’c as he took over the wheelchair and
started towards Daniel’s room.
“Do
you think he remembers the other stuff?”
Janet
lifted her hands slightly in an ‘I don’t know’ motion. “I want you to keep a
close eye on him during the mission. He’s been doing fine the past few weeks so
I’m not sure why this came out of the blue.”
“Don’t
worry, Doc. We’re not gonna lose him again,” Jack murmured. He nodded a
good-night to his teammates and left.
*- - - - - - -*
*- - - - - - - - - -*
End [for now]
*- - - - - - - - - -*
*- - - - - - -*
Notes: I know. Uh,
the opening scene from Oma’s view hints at something I’ve been considering for
a while… it’ll be expanded upon soon. The title for this chapter was inspired
by a Columbo episode aired on March 23. The word caught my attention and
I really wanted to use it in a ‘fic. According to the explanation on the show,
to gestalt means to think about/search for the details connecting to some
complex, central “thing.” (In Columbo, it was a matter of the detective
trying to piece together the clues to figure out the murder.)