DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters and property of Stargate SG-1 belong to MGM/UA, World Gekko Corp. and Double Secret Productions.  This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment purposes and no money was made from it.  Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended.  Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.  Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author.  Not to be archived without permission of the author(s).

Chapter 22: Jack

"O'Neill!"

We hear Teal'c coming out of the trees behind the house and run to him. He's carrying Daniel who is so still...

" He is alive." Teal'c reassures us, carrying him into the house.

He puts him down in the bed and we strip off his wet, dirty clothes. Once again I feel myself getting angry at Daniel's physical state; the weight loss is all too visible, his hands and feet are a bloody mess from his little midnight excursion and his body is shaking so hard that Teal'c has to hold him while I put a clean shirt on him. We wrap him up in blankets and Carter bandages his newest wounds while Teal'c fills us in on what happened on the cliff.

That's twice in one day Daniel's come close to killing himself over that...thing. I almost wish she were still alive so I can kill her again...almost.

And what did Daniel mean, she said she would kill him?

Carter finishes up and I settle beside Daniel on the bed. I'm not leaving him this time. That female demon is not going to drag my friend down...not while I'm around.

Carter brings me a cup of coffee then she and Teal'c go out into the living room. They know me well enough to know that it's vigil time again and Jack O'Neill is in it for the duration.

I sit there sipping my cofee rubbing the tight, trembling muscles of Daniel's shoulder and wonder if Carter's theory is entirely right... The first time with Hathor, Daniel was her 'chosen'...She wanted to make him her new 'pharoah', for crying out loud; she wouldn't have been threatening to kill him. This time, on her planet, we were all together when she spoke to us, weren't we?

"J-jack?" Daniel is stirring under my hand, his voice raw and breathless.

"Yeah, Danny, I'm here." Where else would..could..I be.

"Make..make it stop, Jack..." His voice trails off into a gasp of pain that nearly folds him over as he grabs at my arm.

I shift around and gather him up against me, holding him tightly until the pain passes. "I..I can see it, Jack...everything..."

See what? What Hathor made him do?

He takes a few deep breathes and tries to continue, his voice trembling almost as much as his body.

"Aft-after..we were taken...s-she drugged you...sent Teal'c back..."

What the... He's remembering when we were captured by Hathor this time. None of us remembered that.

"She said...She said..." He has to stop again to catch his breath and I can see the effort this is costing him.

"Daniel, we can do this later. Rest now."

"No...no..," he moans, "have to now...may not have...later..."

May not have later? What the hell?

I tighten my grip on him as he rides out another wave of pain. I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this...The bedroom door is open and if I know Carter, she's already read my mind and called Doc.

"Jack...she wanted me to go with her again..." He's rushing the words now, like he's trying to get it all out before the pain hits again. "She said she'd let you go if..." His voice fades off again and I can feel his silent tears soaking through my shirt. "She...she made me remember it, Jack...All of it..."

His body stiffens in pain once again and his hands wrap weakly around my bicep as he tries not to cry out.

God..damn...that snake of a ...Bad enough to have to live through it the first time...

Daniel slumps a little in my arms and I start to get worried, but he starts talking again. "I guess ...I knew...what must've happened...but...." He takes a deep shuddering breath and I can feel the physical revulsion run through his body and I have to say something...

"It wasn't your fault, Danny...She used that 'stuff' on all of us."

He nods weakly. "Know that..in my head, but..." He shivers again, but continues. "She said...if I'd go...she wouldn't kill...you, but...I knew....lying..." His energy seems to be ebbing away by the moment, but now that he's remembering he won't give up. That's our Daniel...

I start rubbing his back, as if thats going to help. Well it helps me...

"Told her...go to hell..." I'd've loved to have seen that. "Knocked me out...one punch..." He almost laughs at that, but another wave of pain cuts it off and he grabs onto my arm again.

"God, Danny..." I can't stand feeling this helpless...

Carter sticks her head around the door and whispers that Doc's on her way. Her eyes widen at the sight of Daniel clinging to me in agony and I can see the tears well up in her eyes. She ducks her head hoping I won't see it and backs out of the room. Probably gonna go punch out some trees....

Daniel relaxes once again and I try to shift him around to make him a little more comfortable, but he clings to me like I'm the only thing in the world that he's got left to hold on to. Maybe right now I am.

I try to reassure him, "I'm not going anywhere, Danny..."

He nods his head and goes on weakly. "When...woke up...she had...cut my hair... Was tied...table...She tried to...to...to..." He trails off again and from his voice and the tightening of his body, I can tell very well what she tried. I squeeze his shoulder and nod my head to let him know I understand. Giving him an out. But Daniel, being Daniel, won't take the easy way.

"Tried to...make me...respond to her..." He shivers again, repulsed by the memory. Then he does laugh, a harsh dry breath. "Bit her...."

I laugh with him at that thought. We'd better make sure he's had his shots.

His body stiffens again, not in pain but at the memory. "That's when...she decided to go with the...other plan..."

"The fake SGC?" I ask to spare him having top tell it. He nods his head against my chest, a barely perceptable movement. His energy is fading so fast...

"She said...if I wouldn't...I'd pay...God!" The pain strikes again, the worst one yet and he nearly falls out of my arms. I hold him tighter still wishing that somehow I could take this suffering away from him.

When it finally eases, he is so still that I think he's lost consciousness, but he stirs a little and whispers. "That's... when...pain came..." He closes his eyes, exhausted but determined to press on. "She said...make me...forget...would hurt...to remember....kill...me...to..."

He goes completely limp in my arms now and I yell for Carter. His pulse is there, but weak and erratic, his breath coming in shuddering gasps. Carter checks him, looks at me and shakes her head.

I do not...will not...accept that."

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