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).
"Well, that was fun. Got any other surprises for us, Carter?" Jack winced inwardly at his own sarcasm.
"No, sir, you've seen it-"
The intercom blared an interruption, "DR. FRAISER - CODE BLUE, REPEAT CODE BLUE."
Janet Fraiser's small size belied her speed. Leaping from her chair, she hit the intercom button on the wall before SG-1 or General Hammond could move. "Fraiser. Report."
"Ma'am, Dr. Jackson is conscious and extremely agitated. Lts. Nelson and McFrady are trying to control him, but..."
"On my way." She turned as she spoke. "General?"
"Go Doctor."
"General, I'd like-"
"SG-1 dismissed. None of you are..." His voice faded as they left the room. "any good to me right now anyway." Picking up the remote control, he stared at the silent video screen for a moment, frowned, then hit rewind on the VCR.
"NO! I don't want to! Go 'way. Momma! Daddy!" Janet could hear the frantic cries coming from the infirmary as she shoved open the door. Running toward her distraught patient, she braced herself for a confrontation.
The aide appeared at her side, hypodermic in hand. "Doctor?"
Fraiser shook her head. "He's got enough in his system now to keep a water buffalo down. We'll have to calm him some other way."
O'Neill burst through the infirmary doors followed closely by Carter and Teal'c. Moving quickly to his friend's side, he motioned Janet and the nurses away. "Let go of him."
"Colonel-"
"Doctor, I can handle him. Release him and get everybody out of here."
"Sir, Teal'c and I would like to stay."
"Not this time, Carter. Out."
Nodding slowly, she motioned to a reluctant Teal'c to leave with her.
Janet glared at the Colonel briefly, then ordered her nurses to release Dr. Jackson. The exhausted women moved gratefully away from the struggling patient. O'Neill slipped quickly onto the bed, pinioning Daniel's arms to his sides. "Doctor, leave. Now."
Fraiser motioned her nurses out of the room, then followed, giving one last sympathetic glance to the man on the bed.
Ignoring the lingering gaze of the worried doctor, Jack tightened his hold on Daniel and shook him gently. "DANIEL! It's all right. It's only a dream!"
"Go 'way! Don't like this game! I want Momma!" Daniel's eyes were wild with terror.
Jack shook him again, harder this time. "DANIEL. Wake up. It's only a dream!"
The blue eyes blinked rapidly for a moment. "Ja'k?" Daniel's voice was laced with confusion as he tried to focus on his surroundings. "W..What?"
"It's okay, buddy, you were having a nightmare."
The panic in Daniel's face eased as he concentrated on Jack's face. "Not my room."
"No, Danny-boy, you're in the infirmary. Your reserved bed."
"Oh. W..what happened?"
Jack hesitated, unsure how to answer a loaded question. "You were having a nightmare. Scared the nurses half to death."
The younger man's brow furrowed in confusion. "Nightmare? I..I don't remember a nightmare."
Jack fought back a frown at Daniel's words. "What do you remember?"
Now that the adrenaline rush brought on by the nightmare was starting to fade, the sedatives in Daniel's system were beginning to reassert themselves. "In room." His eyes shut in concentration, then shot open. "Was I working? On what?"
"It's not important, Daniel. Go back to sleep." Jack relaxed his hold and began to gently rub Daniel's shoulder. He smiled as a yawn subdued another question.
"'kay, Ja'k." The blue eyes slowly disappeared as Daniel's body relaxed into a drugged slumber.
A grim SG-1 sans one reappeared in the briefing room. General George Hammond was pacing the length of the phone cord, speaking loudly into the mouthpiece. "You heard me correctly. Melbourne and Claire Jackson. Died in an accident in the New York Museum of Art in 1970. ... No, they were NOT military. ... I don't care if you have to steal it from the archives, it's to be on my desk by eight am tomorrow morning. That's right, Lieutenant, EIGHT." Slamming the headset into the cradle, he fumed briefly before acknowledging the presence of his premier team. "How is Dr. Jackson?"
"Sleeping again, sir." O'Neill nodded at the videotape clinched tightly in Hammond's hand. "What's the word on that?"
"NID is tracing the original package. Fortunately Dr. Jackson left the mailing package on his desk, otherwise security would be searching the trash bins. Major Carter-"
"Sir?"
"I'm entrusting this tape to your capable hands. I need a copy of the tape for NID; then I want a complete analysis of the contents, concentrating on the symbols on the pillar. Teal'c, please assist Major Carter with the analysis of the symbols."
"YES, SIR!" Sam eagerly took the tape from Hammond.
The Jaffa tilted his head in silent acknowledgment of the General's orders.
Jack watched in silence as the pair left the room. "What now, General?"
"Colonel, we have the hardest job of all. We wait."
"Sir?" A tentative knock on the solid oak door followed the question.
"Come."
Taking a deep breath, and straightening his clothing, the young man opened the door. "I'm sorry, sir. The tape got through. Our sources indicate Dr. Jackson has seen it."
Cold fury flashed in the steel gray eyes. "Indeed."
"Y..Yes, sir. They also say he reacted very badly to the contents, sir." Getting no response, he felt brave enough to continue. "I'm told he's been sedated and is confined to the infirmary."
A huge fist slammed the desk, sending paperwork flying in all directions. "Have the damage control procedures begun?"
"Yes, sir. All paper trails surrounding the investigation of the museum mishap are being 'lost' even as we speak."
"Don't fail me in this, Rogers."
"No sir. I guarantee it's being handled."
The older man templed his fingers in thought. "I have an additional assignment for you."
"Sir?" An electronic security card dropped on the desk in front of him, closely followed by a key.
"The card will get you into the Pentagon's storage facility one. The key is for one of the lower level vaults. You'll need to go as an Army Major. I assume you have a uniform?"
"Yes, sir."
"You'll need a truck and some assistance, expendable assistance."
"That should not be a problem, sir."
"Good."
"Sir, it would help if I knew what I was looking for."
The salt and pepper head raised to stare for a moment at the young man. "Let's just say that mistakes were made a long time ago. Made and buried, but apparently not deep enough. It was after all, the Vietnam War era, practically dedicated to mistakes both large and small. Unfortunately certain items like the tape," the older man answered the unspoken question in the younger one's eyes, "have now begun to surface. While that particular leak has been plugged, I ... we, cannot afford to allow anything else to be 'found'. Am I clear?"
"Uh, you're not going to tell me what I'm looking for?"
"Very good, Rogers. Empty the vault. Collect the contents for me. You'll be told where to deliver them later."
"Yes, sir."
"Dismissed."
"Thank you, sir." Rogers fled the office, oblivious to the figure entering the office through a side door.
Cold blue eyes watched the rapid departure. "He's very young. Can he be trusted?"
"Yes."
"For your sake I hope so."
"I said he could be trusted."
"It wouldn't be the first time you were mistaken. You made a horrendous mistake with the Jacksons."
"A fact you have pointed out to me for nearly thirty years."
"We can afford no such errors in judgment this time. It is imperative that the items in that vault remain hidden, until such time as they are needed."
"And just who decides that?"
"There's an old cliché that goes 'I could tell you but then I would be forced to shoot you.'"
"So?"
"In this case, it's true."
Janet Fraiser was tired, mentally and physically. She'd been officially off duty for five hours, but somehow couldn't bring herself to leave the infirmary. The thin figure in the bed was sleeping peacefully ... now. The whole scenario was insane. Daniel Jackson just did not go off the deep end. Well, ... there was that time with the sarcophagus, but that was an addiction. And Machello's little present - again not a normal occurrence ... But then to not even remember he'd had a nightmare? Not knowing what it was about she could understand. She'd had her share of those herself. But she'd never heard of not knowing you'd had a bad dream, even if it was nothing more than an uneasy sensation when you awakened. Perhaps it would be best if Daniel saw one of the SGC psychiatrists ... Oh. Wouldn't that suggestion go over well.
The night terror that had plagued Daniel's sleep just a few short hours ago appeared to have been defeated by the drugs she was forcing into his veins. God, she hated that, but between the earlier head injury and his extreme reaction to that damn tape, the boy needed his rest. Boy? Where did that come from? Daniel Jackson may have been the youngest member of SG1, but he was still almost the same age she was. What was it about the scientist that brought out the motherly instincts of almost every woman he met?
"Doctor Fraiser? Is anything wrong?"
"What? Oh, no, Andrea. Just making a last check of Dr. Jackson's vitals."
The pretty nurse smiled knowingly. "Colonel O'Neill's not here, so you're gonna take his place?"
"No, I..." Janet stopped and grinned. "You're right. For once I was able to get the Colonel to forego sleeping in a chair, and look what I do."
"Yes, Ma'am. Go home, Doctor. Get some rest. We'll watch him."
Janet barely managed to stifle a yawn. "You win, Andrea. But do remember that Dr. Jackson can get into trouble even in his sleep."