DISCLAIMER: All 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 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.
Connor had looked away from Daniel for a moment. By the time he looked back, the scientist was hitting the ground. Major Carter ran over quickly.
"Is he hurt?"
Connor couldn't see any visible wounds and stated as much.
The colonel spoke from behind them, "Daniel was hurt…before."
They didn't have to ask when. Connor had figured there was more wrong with Daniel than he'd let on to back in that cell.
They decided to return to the other campsite. There was no way to know if the dead creature had a family, but if it did…they didn't want to be around to meet it. Teal'c picked up Daniel with infinite care and a look of raw guilt that puzzled Connor. There was something going on there...
As they walked, the colonel explained about the wounds on Daniel's back, he didn't go into detail about their source…he didn't need to. Major Carter walked alongside Teal'c for a moment, checking their unconscious teammate for fever. One look at her face was enough to tell all of them that Daniel Jackson was very sick.
"The healing device is…" Teal'c began hopefully.
"Sewn into Daniel's cloak…" Major Carter added.
"Which is with Thor." The colonel finished with his usual pessimistic growl.
Connor caught himself doing a little double-take, sometimes these people were downright eerie.
Teal'c laid his burden down carefully on one of the thick Jaffa cloaks that Major Carter laid over some soft grass.
Daniel Jackson was very hot. With Teal'c's help Major Carter removed the young man's upper clothing to examine the wounds O'Neill had spoken of; there 'was' infection there. Major Carter wished aloud for water or a medkit or the healing device; all of which were beyond their reach…for the moment. Major Carter re-bandaged Daniel Jackson with clean strips from her slave garment and they bundled him under the remaining cloaks.
Connor had done his considerable best with O'Neill's wound, reporting it to be a lengthy gash but not too deep, and had given him a piece of the fruit they had found. O'Neill moved to Daniel Jackson's side, reaching out with his uninjured hand to touch the younger man's forehead. Something passed over O'Neill's face that Teal'c could only call rage…Teal'c guessed that it was directed at Tel'nat. Although O'Neill had refrained from explaining how Daniel Jackson had been injured, Teal'c had been a Jaffa too long not to recognize the signs of torture when he saw them. Teal'c knew there was much more to that story than they had been told.
Teal'c had felt very helpless when he'd heard O'Neill shout Daniel Jackson's name. He'd known they were so very far away...
As he'd run he had envisioned many possible scenarios of what he'd find, but he'd never expected to see Daniel Jackson standing over an alien creature leaning into a spear with all his strength as the animal itself strained toward O'Neill. When Daniel Jackson had finally fallen to his knees, Teal'c had run forward to the animal...making certain that it was, indeed, dead. Major Carter and Captain Connor had arrived only seconds later, sparing Teal'c the necessity of choosing which of his friends to help.
Teal'c was more than a little relieved that they were all finally together. It eased his mind considerably to know that, whatever may come, at least they would face it together.
Jack was worried.
Daniel hadn't been in the best of condition when this thing had started and fighting that creature had taken even more out of him.
Jack was still amazed by the vision of his gentle friend wielding the makeshift spear like a cat-toy as he tried to distract the animal from its clear intent to have Jack for a midnight snack. When he'd fallen under the powerful animal's onslaught, Jack had been as afraid as he'd ever been in his life...
But Daniel had come through.
Jack hadn't realized just how much he'd come to count on that quality in Daniel, that can not-will not-dare not give up stubbornness that had brought them all through hell, figuratively and literally, time and time again. It was a quality they all shared to some degree.
Daniel was growing restless in his sleep and Jack reached out a hand to touch his friend's shoulder. He was still so hot. But that same stubbornness that had saved Jack's life a few hours ago would keep Daniel with them. It had to.
But Jack knew now that there were things churning inside Daniel's head that were all too familiar. Daniel had lived for Sha'uri; three years of searching hadn't dimmed that ever-present hope of someday finding her. That hope had pushed Daniel to keep coming back, pushing him on when a lot of other people would have quit. But she was gone now, leaving only a vague promise of a hope for humanity in its place. Jack knew it was a poor substitute, he'd seen that cold reality in Daniel's eyes across the campfire. He could only try to help Daniel come to the realization that had taken Jack himself so long to recognize...that there were still things worth living for. None of those things would ever replace what had been lost, but they did, eventually, close the open wound that was your soul.
Jack remembered the kamikaze idiocy Daniel had exhibited when facing Apophis on Netu. At the time, Jack had chalked it up to too-fresh memories and that self-same stubbornness that wouldn't let Daniel give an inch to a Goa'uld. Now, though, Jack wondered if he shouldn't be keeping a special eye on Daniel. This new attitude was both frightening and infuriating: frightening because it ran so contrary to everything he'd come to know about what made Daniel who he was...and infuriating because Daniel just did not deserve it.
Jack had never known a better person than Daniel. He'd watched his friend grow and change over these few years into someone he respected and cared very much about. Some of those changes had been good ones, some just...sad, but necessary … but some were tragically wrong in that larger cosmic sense that Jack had always had so much trouble grasping. Life wasn't fair, Jack knew that better than most; but Daniel had been more than shortchanged when it came to receiving that very same quality of fairness that he showed to almost everyone he met.
And Jack was getting more than a little ticked off at those astral powers that be who kept piling it on....