Kay strode into the
Infirmary with a bouncier step than she'd had the day before. Her face
looked brighter in the mirror this morning too, a fact that Josh had
unhesitatingly pointed out to her. That also probably explained the
extra spring in his walk and the smirk of pride on his face . . . not to
mention the glint in his eye.
It was true that the
challenges of today didn't seem quite as daunting. No wonder Josh called
making love the best sort of stress relief. Not only did it relieve all
sorts of inner pressures, it took your mind off everything else, at
least for a while. She resolved that she would have to remember that
one.
The petite counselor
stopped by the office of Dr. Brightman to check on the welfare of her
two patients. A lot could happen overnight and she wanted an update
before seeing them for herself.
One look at the bags
under the CMO's eyes and the state of her rumpled clothing told Kay that
the physician hadn't had a peaceful night. That was not a good sign and
boded ill for the emotional state of her two patients. Kay firmly
believed the equation of one cranky doctor plus the evening shift
equaled one bumpy night for the patients.
With terse statements,
Dr. Brightman filled her in on the ill-timed visit from Pete, Teal'c's
solution and Carter's tearful reaction. She also let Kay know about the
unexpected appearance of General Hammond on the scene.
They both agreed to visit General O'Neill and
Colonel Carter together and then compare notes afterwards. As they
approached the door, they could tell that at least one of the patients
was awake.
***
Samantha Carter awoke
with the feeling that she was late for work. Rolling onto her left side,
she reached sleepily for her alarm clock. When her flailing hand met the
hard steel of bedrails, she opened her eyes in puzzlement. Something was
definitely wrong with this picture.
One look up at the
ceiling confirmed her hypothesis: she was in the Infirmary. It took a
minute of rummaging through recent memories to remind her of how she'd
gotten there. Twisted and jumbled glimpses of confusion revolving around
her experiences with Fifth and his toys brought her to the present
circumstances.
Sam felt good. Better
than she had in months. Her mind felt clear, and her stomach rumbled, a
reminder that it was time for breakfast. That certainly hadn't happened
in quite a while.
She laid back and
stretched her arms over her head, a smile on her face. She'd just
remembered the link from last night, and the peace and contentment that
had been gifted her from the man in the next bed.
Carter eyed the IV still
in her hand. It felt unneeded. One hand poised over it, and then with a
sigh, she stopped, it would probably piss off the Doctor if she removed
it herself. An innate feeling of wellness firmed her belief that,
whatever the cause, it was no longer a necessity.
A grimace of sorrow mixed
with anger and embarrassment showed her reaction to the midnight visit
of her fiancé, Pete Shannahan. What was she going to do about that mess?
And how dare he insinuate that she'd slept her way into the eagles on
her shoulders? That hurt, not only that he'd said it, but the fact that
he'd made those inflammatory statements in front of her CO and teammates
made it even worse.
Her eyes tracked to the
sleeping figure of Jack O'Neill. Like most career military people, she
knew he was a habitual early riser, but he was still asleep. That was
unusual. He looked pale too; not the healthy, well rested feeling that
still suffused her body and mind.
For the first time she
noticed the difference in the tempo of the beeps emanating from their
bedside heart monitors. His was much slower than hers, and didn't vary
at all.
Propped on one elbow, she
reached toward him with the free arm, as far as the IV tether would let
her. "Sir?"
There was no change, not
in his face, nor from the beeping machine. Further, he hadn't responded
to her call, which did not augur well for him. He was always so
hyper-alert, probably a holdover from his black ops training. His
vigilance was legendary among the personnel at the SGC. Something was
wrong. Why was he still out of it when she felt great?
In the hope that he would
respond, she spoke in a louder tone. "Jack!"
Still no response; she
peered more closely and was further alarmed when she could barely see
the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. This was so not a good
thing, not at all.
Where was Teal'c? Maybe
he would know something. A quick glance around the room showed him to be
absent. "Teal'c?"
Footsteps heralded the
arrival of Dr. Brightman, Kay Dow, and a nurse, behind them stood
Teal'c.
As the nurse headed for
her bedside, Sam motioned for them to hurry. "I'm fine, it's the General
you need to check out." She chewed on her lip. "I tried calling his
name, but he won't respond."
Sam craned her head,
trying to see around the bodies surrounding the man in the bed next to
her. When another nurse joined them, the first nurse began taking Sam's
vital signs. Teal'c stood next to Kay near the door, well out of the way
of the medical personnel.
Irritated and worried,
Sam tried to shrug off the unnecessary attention. "Don't worry about me,
I'm fine. Can't you see that?"
Her gaze searched out the
Jaffa by the door. "Teal'c, what's going on?"
Teal'c bowed
acknowledgement, but stayed put. "I am not certain, Colonel Carter. I
had left but for a moment when you called."
Sam jerked her wrist out
of the hands of the nurse beside her bed. Unperturbed, the nurse
retrieved the wrist and resumed her duties. "You need to lie still,
ma'am. I'll be through in a jiffy." She smiled encouragement.
Sam sighed in
frustration. "What's going on with the General? Why doesn't he answer?
He was fine earlier."
Nurse Kathy laid down her
wrist and patted it. Then she moved to make a notation in her chart. "I
don't know, ma'am. That's what we're trying to find out. So if you'd
just lie still and let us do our jobs, we'll get some answers as soon as
possible.
At the blonde-haired
nurse's nod, Kay and Teal'c walked over to stand on the far side of
Sam's bed while the slim nurse joined the other medical personnel
surrounding Jack.
Kay put her hand on Sam's
shoulder to draw her attention. "You said he was fine earlier? What did
you mean by that?"
Sam wiped at her face and
sighed. "It was after Pete left. I was pretty upset and the Doc had
given me a sedative to help me to sleep. Jack . . . I mean, General
O'Neill, could tell I was pretty upset, but I wouldn't talk to him." She
looked at her hands, twisted once more in her sheet. "I didn't want to
be around anybody or talk to them, more out of anger and embarrassment
than anything else, I suppose."
She blinked away tears as
she remembered the unfair accusations spewing out of her lover's mouth.
"He said such awful things." Her chin ducked to her chest and then
jutted out as her mouth firmed. "Even with the sedative, I was having
trouble relaxing, but then I felt him reach out to me, not in the
physical sense, mind you. We weren't even touching." She gulped. "I know
this is going to sound crazy . . . but it was like he was holding me. I
felt all warm and relaxed. And I could hear him inside my head, Kay. He
was telling me that I would still need to talk to you even though he had
taken some of the pain away."
She observed the
counselor through narrow suspicious eyes, but saw no hint of scorn or
disbelief in Kay's face or demeanor.
Kay nodded. "Go on."
Sam took a deep breath.
"So I told him that if I saw you, then he'd have to talk to you too."
She raised pleading eyes to the woman standing next to her. "That's all
I remember." Her thumb rubbed against the sheet as she looked up again.
"Oh, and he promised he would talk to you."
Then she lowered her eyes
back to the crease she was making in the sheet. "The next thing I knew,
I was waking up and I felt great, better than I had in months. And then
I noticed that something wasn't right about the General." Her eyes
tracked to the bustle hiding the still figure on the bed.
Sam's eyes hardened. "So
now what? Do I get a one-way ticket to a padded cell, complete with a
jacket with funny sleeves and lessons in basket weaving? Am I wacko,
Doctor?"
Kay grinned. "Nope, that
is unless you want one? But if you do, you'll have to get there on your
own, because I sure ain't gonna send you." She chuckled. "Oh, and I'm
not a Doctor. Call me Kay."
Sam's eyes widened. "You mean you believe me?"
Kay shrugged. "Is there
any reason why I shouldn't?" Then she leaned forward and adjusted her
glasses. "Can you feel that link now?"
Sam frowned in
concentration and then sighed. "No, I can't. It's just not there, not
like it was last night."
Dr. Brightman broke away
from the group around the bed. "I'm sorry, but we've got to move the
General out of this room now."
Sam sat up in bed. "What? Why? What's going on?"
As she watched, the bed
containing an all-too-quiet Jack was slowly wheeled out of the room. Dr.
Brightman paused at the doorway. "Believe me, I wish I knew." Then she
left to follow her current charge.
Teal'c moved to Sam's
bedside. "Tell me more of this link."
Sam shrugged. "Well, as
you know, I wasn't doing so hot last night, and then I guess seeing Pete
like that was the last straw." She wrapped her arms around her chest and
took a deep breath. "Thanks for helping me out, Teal'c. You didn't hurt
him, did you?"
"No, I did not. However,
he seemed to . . . regret his choice of words."
"Thanks, Teal'c. I owe you one."
Teal'c bowed. "It is Pete
Shannahan who owes me, Colonel Carter. He still lives only because of
the pain his untimely death would cause to you."
Sam gulped and reddened. "Yeah, I kind of figured that out."
"I have never doubted
your ability to perceive the intent of my actions. Nor do I now."
Kay interrupted as if uncomfortable with the conversation. "You
were telling me about your link?"
Sam nodded and looked
relieved. "It was kind of weird how the link felt, by that I mean that
it was different this time." Her face took on a look of intense
concentration. "It was like I didn't have any control over it, that Jack
was the one initiating it." She looked at Kay and Teal'c. "Does that
make any sense?"
Teal'c frowned. "Indeed,
it does. This may be yet another indication of O'Neill's hidden gifts
from the Ancients."
Kay tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
Teal'c clasped his hands
behind his back and lifted an eyebrow. "After the second encounter with
the library of the Ancients, O'Neill demonstrated the gift of healing on
Master Bra'tac. I myself was witness to this. Immediately after, he
collapsed in exhaustion."
Sam's eyes widened. "You
mean that's why I feel so good this morning? Because Jack healed me?"
Teal'c nodded. "Indeed."
Kay waved her arms. "Wait
a minute, give me a minute to catch up here." She turned to Sam. "You're
saying that you feel great this morning, better than you've felt in
months, right?"
Sam nodded, so Kay
continued. "And you also say that you felt some kind of connection with
General O'Neill last night?"
Sam smiled and nodded again.
The counselor turned to
the Jaffa. "And now you're telling me that the General has demonstrated
the gift of healing in the past, that he in fact got it from his last
download from the Ancients?"
Kay groped blindly for a
chair, which Teal'c supplied with a grin, whereupon, the counselor
collapsed into it with a grunt. "Thanks, Teal'c. I needed that."
Teal'c bowed with a sardonic smile.
Kay wiped her forehead
with an exaggerated sigh. "Tell me, are all your days like this?"
The Jaffa's eyebrows lifted. "Explain your request."
"Oh, I don't know. It's
just like sometimes I feel like I'm in a weirder than life Science
Fiction movie that no one in their right minds would believe was
real."
Teal'c smirked. "Ya think?"
Sam's mouth fell open.
"Teal'c. Did I just hear you say what I think you said?" She shook her
head and chuckled. "You've been hanging around the General too long.
I've got to write this down. Daniel will never believe it."
She gulped nervously. "Jack wouldn't either."
Sam brought her knees up
to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "Are you saying that
Jack, I mean General O'Neill, healed me last night?"
Teal'c nodded. "I believe that is the case."
Carter tilted her head in
thought. "Well, that would certainly explain why he wouldn't wake up
this morning. He wore himself out healing me. That is so typical of him,
and remind me to kick his ass when he gets better."
Kay leaned forward and rubbed her chin. "So, if he has this power,
why can't he just heal himself?"
"In our past dealings
with the Ancients, they have been unable to heal themselves, only
others," Teal'c explained.
Sam rested her chin against her knees. "So, what now?"
Teal'c answered with his usual cryptic manner. "We wait."
Sam's attention was
wrested from her Jaffa friend to the door with Nurse Kathy arrival,
complete with needles.
Sam winced and slid down
into the bed. "That isn't for me, is it?"
The blonde's blue-green
eyes sparkled. "'Fraid so, hon. Doctor's orders." She laid her equipment
on the bedside table and took out a syringe. "If the test results come
out okay, she may let you out of this bed for a bit."
Sam bared her arm and
looked away. "Oh, really?" she winced as the needle slid smoothly into
her vein."
Kathy smiled. "Yes,
really." She transferred tubes as the blood continued to dribble into
the glass container.
She withdrew the needle
and covered it quickly with a cotton ball and Band-Aid. "See? I didn't
feel a thing."
Sam snorted and rolled her eyes.
Kay clearer her throat,
"Where's Dr. Brightman? We have some information that might give her
some insight into what's going on with the General."
Kathy continued putting
her paraphernalia into their compartments. "The last time I saw her, she
was supervising some tests on the General. I'll let her know that you
want to see her. Will that do?"
The counselor smiled. "Of
course it will. In the meantime, I'll be here with Colonel Carter."
"Can I have something to
eat? I'm starving," wheedled Sam as her stomach gurgled in agreement.
Kathy laughed. "I'll see what we can get you and
bring it myself."
***
Jack was alone in
darkness. No matter which way he turned, it seemed to stretch on
forever, leaving him feeling as if he were swaddled in a heavy black
curtain of velvet that separated him from the rest of his world.
At times, he could feel
hands on his body, and muffled voices penetrated the curtain surrounding
him. But try as he might, he could not decipher what was being said.
He'd tried several times to lever his eyes open, but that proved an
impossible task.
If only he weren't so
tired . . . no that didn't quite describe how he felt. It went beyond
tired, more like exhausted, bone-weary, done in, pooped, dog-tired,
weary, bushed, and the fat lady got laryngitis, tore up her contract,
and eloped with Elvis.
For crying out loud,
can't a man get any sleep around here? At least that danged beeping
noise was gone, and that was a huge honkin' blessing. It had been
getting on his last dang nerve and he'd had happy thoughts of blowing it
to kingdom come with a packet or two . . . or three . . . of C-4. Never
had the stuff around lately when he needed it though. Crap.
Part of him insisted that
he should be more worried about his inability to connect with his world.
But that voice was tiny, and unable to rouse him to take action. That
would've taken energy, and he didn't have any to spare. It was taking
everything he had just to keep his heart beating, breathing was way up
there on his current list of priorities too.
Everything else would
just have to wait. He knew instinctively that Sam would be okay; he'd
made sure of that last night. And with General Hammond back at the helm,
the SGC was in capable hands, hands that were an improvement on his own
fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants methods.
Jack slipped deeper into darkness, uncaring that
all sense of time and place was absent.
***
An hour later, Dr.
Brightman had joined Kay and Teal'c in Sam's room. Kathy had kept her
promise and brought her a breakfast tray with toast, herbal tea, and red
Jell-O. Not exactly what Sam would've chosen, but it was a start. Sam
was munching on the wheat toast and had come to the conclusion that it
had never tasted so good.
They had taken turns on
bringing each other up to date. Dr. Brightman was finishing up with the
results of her latest MRI of the General. "According to my tests,
General O'Neill is unconscious, in a coma-like state. He seems to be
aware of us at times, but can't or is unable to respond. For now, he's
breathing on his own, but I've stationed a nurse in the room with him at
all times." She shook her head. "The labs show no reason why he should
be like this, so at this point, I'm willing to look at more . . .
unconventional explanations."
"After exerting her
powers, the Ancient, Ayiana, also collapsed, as did O'Neill," Teal'c
intoned. "I believe that he has done so again."
Kay furrowed her brow in
thought, her fingers steepled at her lips. "How do you tell if someone
has this gift? Is there some kind of test, or does it just show up by
accident?"
Dr. Brightman smiled.
"That's a question I can answer. Thanks to the cooperation of General
O'Neill, we've been able to isolate the Ancient gene in other humans. In
fact, we routinely test all new personnel who come to work at the SGC."
She nodded at Kay. "Yours hasn't come back yet. Since it involves
getting down to the genetic level, it takes a bit longer to get the
results back. Yours should be coming back any day now though."
The counselor tucked a
stray stand of hair behind an ear. "Just how common is this gene and
what kind of abilities does it give you?"
Sam washed down the last
piece of toast with some tea. "Let me answer that one. The gene is
fairly rare and has been passed down from some common Ancient ancestors
in our distant past. I don't have the gene, and neither does Daniel,
even though he spent a year being Ascended. A couple of people we sent
on the Atlantis project had it. The gene seems to allow you to operate
some of their equipment we've found on various worlds. Only a few people
have been able to use it to heal though, and the General couldn't do
that the first time."
Kay pursed her lips. "Oh, um, could you tell me again what the
healing thing felt like, Colonel?"
Sam shrugged and nodded.
"Sure, it felt all warm and tingly, almost like an electric current was
flowing from the General to me. He was able to talk to me too, I mean,
he could send me his thoughts. Does that make sense?"
The counselor continued. "And he didn't have to touch you?"
Sam shook her head,
puzzled. "No, but he did when he healed Bra'tac, didn't he?"
Teal'c nodded. "Yes, he
laid his hand on Master Bra'tac's mortal wound and healed it and then
collapsed into my arms."
Kay had grown pale, her eyes slitted in thought. "I wonder . . ."
Dr. Brightman turned to the seated counselor. "What?"
She waved her hands
dismissively. "Huh? Oh it's probably nothing."
"It is the fool who keeps
a treasure in his own pocket for his own admiration," Teal'c intoned.
Sam smothered a giggle. "I think he's telling you to spill it, Kay."
Kay sighed and pushed her
glasses up on her nose nervously. "It's probably nothing. It just
reminded me of something that happened a long time ago, back when I was
still in college." She curled a loose strand of her thick salt and
pepper hair behind an ear and settled into her chair. "My Grandpa had
just died and I was staying overnight with my Grandma. She was
understandably upset, they'd been together for over sixty years and
although they fought like cats and dogs, they were inseparable."
Kay wiped her hands
nervously on her pants. "So, I was sleeping next to her in bed that
night and I wanted so badly to help her rest. I could tell she wasn't
sleeping and I loved her so, it tore me up inside to see her in such
pain." She gulped and continued. "Anyway, I'd learned how to meditate
while I was in college so I got this idea that maybe I could transfer
the calming energy I felt in my body over to her." Her thin hands mimed
her thoughts. "But I didn't want to touch her for fear that I would
scare her or she'd think I was being weird."
Sam looked at Kay with rapt attention, her breakfast forgotten. "So,
what happened? Did it work?"
Kay nodded with
reluctance. "Yes, at least I think it did. That night she had a dream
where her husband appeared to her, young and full of life again. She
went to her death two years later with the belief that he'd appeared to
her. And that he wasn't suffering anymore."
The silence was broken by
Dr. Brightman. "Has this happened any other times?"
Kay nodded and bit her
lip.
The Doctor got up from her chair. "I think I've
got some test results to check. I'll be right back."
***
Kay had adjourned to the
privacy of her office, too shaken by the day's events and the possible
implications to be able to concentrate on anything around her. She knew
that she needed guidance, and the only place she could find her answers
would be from God.
Bowing her head over her
clasped hands, she sent a prayer for aid winging its way to the heavens
above her, certain that she would be heard.
'Dear God, I'm a little
out of my league here. I know that you grant us many gifts that are to
be used to serve Your will. Do I have this special gift of healing? And
if so, what does that make me? Some kind of alien carnival freak that
has a 900 number and wears a silly turban and long dangly earrings?'
She snorted at the mental
picture of her dressed as a gypsy palm reader. 'Yeah, I know, it's
silly, but I did say I needed your help, didn't I? Well, I guess that
proves it.'
She wiped her forehead
and it came away clammy. 'You do realize that this has me scared,
don't you God? Cause if I really do have this gene, then what do I do
with it? And what does that make me . . . and my kids? Am I still your
child, even if it just so happens that I've got some not so human genes
running around in my DNA? And last but certainly not least, how am I
supposed to explain this to Josh? I mean, it's not as if I just got a
new car, or anything easy like that. It's more like I just grew another
arm.'
'You know, God, I could
really use some answers right about now, because this one-sided
conversation isn't giving me what I need. So how about it? Send me a
sign, or a messenger of some sort to help me out here. Okay? And,
whatever happens, I know You will keep me safe in the palm of Your
hands. Amen.'
Kay's prayer was
interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in," she called out, as she
didn't have the energy at that point to get up out of her chair.
Dr. Brightman walked into
the room holding some paperwork in her hands. "I've been making some
phone calls. To make a long story short, I got back your test results."
She crossed to sit in the chair opposite Kay.
The counselor stiffened. "And?"
"The tests show you as being positive for having the Ancients gene."
She looked up at Kay. "Congratulations."
The counselor sagged into
her chair. "Wow, thanks . . . I think." She cradled her forehead in her
hands. "Give me a minute to take this in."
Brightman shrugged and
settled back in the chair. "Let me know when you're ready, because
you're bound to have a few questions for me."
Kay nodded, her eyes big.
"What will this mean for me? And my job, will it change that?"
The Doctor shrugged. "I
don't know. We haven't had many positives, so we tend to treat each one
on an individual basis. So the answer to your other questions about your
job is a firm, 'I don't know.' Sorry, I wish I could tell you more." She
pursed her lips. "Listen, is there anyone or anything I could get for
you? You seem kind of stunned by the news."
The counselor blew out a
breath. "Yes, could you tell Josh, my husband to haul his ass over here?
I'd like to talk to him about this."
Brightman nodded. "Sure."
She shook her head in
dismay. "You mean to tell me that I really did all those things, helped
my Grandma and my baby brother to feel better? It wasn't just my ego
talking or my imagination?"
"I can't say for sure,
but the evidence would suggest that it really did happen. And if you did
it once, you likely could do it again."
"You mean, like with
General O'Neill?" Kay asked in wonder.
"Possibly. The only way we'll know for sure is if we try it."
Kay's hands left her face
and settled on the cushions of the chair. "Well, if you're game, I am. I
mean, the worst that could happen is I could fail and look like an
idiot." She grinned at her companion. "Right? And the best that could
happen, is that I could help out the General."
The Doctor smiled in
triumph. "Regardless of how it turns out, you've still got the Ancients
gene." She paused. "So . . . you wanna try it?"
"You betcha I do." She
grinned back as she stood and offered her arm. "Shall we?"
Brightman smirked back and bowed. "After you, ma'am."
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