Stargate SG1: Cocidian (3/11)
All disclaimers, notes, warnings and summary are in the Master post: Cocidian
Chapter Three
Sam scrambled to her feet, pushing herself forward and falling back to her knees at Daniel's side in one motion. "Daniel?" She pressed the back of her hand against his forehead and then against his cheek. She felt his skin burning against hers and shook her head-she couldn't tell how high his temperature was. She slipped her left hand under his shirt and pressed her palm against his chest. Still unable to determine just how high the fever had gotten, she leaned down and pressed her lips against his forehead.
"Sam?" she heard Daniel whisper.
"Yeah... yeah, it's me." She bent down closer to him, resting her own cheek against his. The heat that flooded through her skin from the contact terrified her.
"Um, Carter... what exactly are you doing?"
Sam glanced up at Jack, confused by his question. Jack raised his eyebrows and tipped his head in the direction of her left hand, which had moved lower and now rested against Daniel's stomach. Her eyes grew wide in shock and she blushed as she pulled her hand out of Daniel's shirt and straightened.
"He's got a fever," she declared.
"I knew that," Jack answered, a slightly bemused grin on his face. "I didn't even have to feel him up to figure it out."
Sam tried to ignore the baiting, but felt the warmth of blood rushing to her cheeks. "A hundred and three," she announced, looking from Jack to Teal'c and back again. "If not higher."
Jack jerked his head toward the corner of the room and stood. Carter answered the silent command by pushing herself to her feet and following him to a point that was far enough away from Daniel that he would not hear the conversation they were about to have.
Finding himself alone, and fearing that Jack was making plans to stay on the planet, Daniel reached out with his hand and struggled to push himself up.
"Jack! No... don't... I'm okay ..."
Jack spun toward the quivering voice. His feet had already started carrying him back toward the searching hand, but he stopped when he saw Teal'c kneeling at Daniel's side in Jack's place.
Teal'c grasped Daniel's outstretched fingers between his own, his large right hand enveloping them completely. Teal'c's left hand came to rest on Daniel's chest, comforting him and preventing him from rising at the same time.
"I am here, Daniel Jackson. You are not alone."
Daniel shook his head and bit his bottom lip in response to the lessening pain that had flared back up with the movement. He forced his eyes open and found himself looking up at Teal'c's concerned features through barely-opened eyelids. "No... Teal'c, tell Jack... I'm fine ..."
"You are not," Teal'c replied gently.
"I am," Daniel insisted weakly, again trying to lift his head from the floor. "I can... I can walk ..."
"You cannot."
"I have to!" Daniel gave up on getting himself up, and his head collapsed back into Teal'c's jacket. "Tell Jack... please... I can do it... We can all... go home ..."
Teal'c moved his left hand from Daniel's chest to the top of his head, sliding his fingers through the damp hair and forcing Daniel to look at him.
"O'Neill will not leave you, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c looked down into hopeful blue eyes and his face softened. "I will not leave you."
Daniel smiled back at his unlikely friend and protector. No matter what happened, he would not be alone. He let his eyes fall closed again and his head sank more deeply into the jacket that pillowed it.
Across the room, Jack pulled his eyes away from the scene on the floor and focused them on Sam Carter.
"Okay, what's wrong with him?"
"Colonel, I'm an astrophysicist ..." Sam began.
"Okay, let's just cut through all the crap right now. You're not that kinda doctor. Got it." He leaned closer to her and fixed her with his determined gaze. "But you're the closest thing we've got to a medic right now. I know you know what's going on, and I don't. I don't like not knowing what's going on, Carter."
"But, sir, there's no way for me to know for sure ..."
"Carter." Jack's tone invited no more stalling.
Sam sighed deeply. "Okay. His symptoms were sudden, right?"
"I'd say so. Yesterday he thought he'd pulled a muscle in his back."
"So, sudden symptoms. Back and neck pain, severe headache, fever, confusion, seizures, sensitivity to light ..."
"Why do I get the feeling I'm not gonna like this?" Jack asked quietly.
"He's got almost all of the symptoms, Colonel. It looks to me like it's a textbook case."
"Of what?"
Sam took another deep breath and forced herself to look Jack in the eye. "Meningitis, sir."
Jack winced. "I knew I wasn't gonna like this. Meningitis? You're sure?"
"As certain as I can be. I only know what I've read, sir, but it certainly does sound like it."
Jack tilted his head to the side as he considered the weight of Sam's words. "People die from that."
Sam nodded slowly. "Some do, yes."
"Okay, well that's not gonna happen." Jack made his declaration with certainty, and turned back to Sam. "But there's a chance you're wrong, right? I mean, you said 'almost all the symptoms.' So there's some he's missing, right?"
"Nausea and vomiting ..."
"O'Neill!"
Jack and Sam turned toward Teal'c's sudden cry. Sam closed her eyes and turned away again quickly; Jack fought the urge to do the same. Teal'c still knelt on the floor at Daniel's side, but instead of holding their friend's hand, he was holding the retching form of Daniel Jackson tightly in his arms.
"Oh, crap." Jack allowed his eyes to close momentarily, and drew a ragged breath before opening them again. "Come on, Carter." Jack grabbed Sam's arm and pulled her behind him as he walked back to Daniel and Teal'c.
Teal'c was just settling Daniel back to the floor when the pair reached them. Jack knelt down at Daniel's left side, carefully avoiding the evidence of the latest symptom. He reached out with his right hand and brushed the long, sweaty hair out of Daniel's eyes again.
"Hey, Daniel?"
"Jack?" Daniel turned his head slowly, opening his eyes and trying to focus on the man at his side. "Hey."
"We're gonna go home now, Daniel, okay? We're gonna take you home."
"Jack ..." Daniel raised his arm and tugged weakly at Jack's sleeve. Jack covered the warm hand with his own without hesitation. "What... what's wrong with me?"
Jack forced himself to smile again. "You're just a little sick, Daniel. That's all. You've just got a real bad case of the flu." He looked up at Sam, daring her to contradict him, but knew at once that she wasn't even considering it. "Doc Fraiser'll get you fixed right up."
"I'm just... I'm so tired."
Jack nodded and patted the hand on his arm twice before removing it from his jacket and placing it across Daniel's chest. "I know. Why don't you go on to sleep now? When you wake up, we'll be home and you'll feel better."
"Okay," Daniel answered softly. His eyes fluttered a few times before falling closed. Seconds later, under the watchful eyes of his friends, Daniel's body relaxed and his breathing evened out as he fell into a deep sleep.
"Colonel, do you think that letting him sleep is a good idea?"
Jack ran his fingers through his short hair as he stood. "I don't know," he answered with a shrug. "But whatever we do to get him out of here, it's probably going to hurt. Staying here is not an option. We can't count on the SGC sending anyone to help; we're not even due back for another day and a half. And if we run into those... people... again, we'll end up either running or fighting. And even if we don't have any trouble getting back to the gate... any way you look at it, it's gonna hurt him. And right now, I just don't want him to be in pain anymore."
"Of course, sir," Sam answered softly.
Jack paced the small cave frantically as they talked, his eyes searching every corner. That Daniel wouldn't be walking out under his own power was absolutely certain. Jack would willingly have carried him back to the gate, but between Daniel's back pain, headache, and nausea and Jack's own aching back, he knew that it would have been a bad idea to even attempt it. The last thing Daniel needed right then was to go crashing to the ground on his head because Jack's back decided to give out.
"We have got to go," Jack mumbled, spinning in a slow circle in the center of the room. "That means we've got to find a way to get Daniel out of here. Does anyone have any ideas?"
"I have, O'Neill," Teal'c replied.
Jack opened his mouth to inquire further, but closed it again when he realized he was already looking at Teal'c's answer. He had risen to his feet and was turning to face Jack and Sam. Teal'c had apparently reached the conclusion that using a fireman's carry was a bad idea as well, because Daniel Jackson slept soundly in his arms.
Jack shook his head and snorted softly. "Yeah, that'll work. You're sure you can make it to the gate?"
"I can. We can." Teal'c locked eyes with Jack before continuing. "We will."
Jack smiled. "Damn straight. Okay, Carter, you grab that pack. Let's go home."
Chapter Three
Sam scrambled to her feet, pushing herself forward and falling back to her knees at Daniel's side in one motion. "Daniel?" She pressed the back of her hand against his forehead and then against his cheek. She felt his skin burning against hers and shook her head-she couldn't tell how high his temperature was. She slipped her left hand under his shirt and pressed her palm against his chest. Still unable to determine just how high the fever had gotten, she leaned down and pressed her lips against his forehead.
"Sam?" she heard Daniel whisper.
"Yeah... yeah, it's me." She bent down closer to him, resting her own cheek against his. The heat that flooded through her skin from the contact terrified her.
"Um, Carter... what exactly are you doing?"
Sam glanced up at Jack, confused by his question. Jack raised his eyebrows and tipped his head in the direction of her left hand, which had moved lower and now rested against Daniel's stomach. Her eyes grew wide in shock and she blushed as she pulled her hand out of Daniel's shirt and straightened.
"He's got a fever," she declared.
"I knew that," Jack answered, a slightly bemused grin on his face. "I didn't even have to feel him up to figure it out."
Sam tried to ignore the baiting, but felt the warmth of blood rushing to her cheeks. "A hundred and three," she announced, looking from Jack to Teal'c and back again. "If not higher."
Jack jerked his head toward the corner of the room and stood. Carter answered the silent command by pushing herself to her feet and following him to a point that was far enough away from Daniel that he would not hear the conversation they were about to have.
Finding himself alone, and fearing that Jack was making plans to stay on the planet, Daniel reached out with his hand and struggled to push himself up.
"Jack! No... don't... I'm okay ..."
Jack spun toward the quivering voice. His feet had already started carrying him back toward the searching hand, but he stopped when he saw Teal'c kneeling at Daniel's side in Jack's place.
Teal'c grasped Daniel's outstretched fingers between his own, his large right hand enveloping them completely. Teal'c's left hand came to rest on Daniel's chest, comforting him and preventing him from rising at the same time.
"I am here, Daniel Jackson. You are not alone."
Daniel shook his head and bit his bottom lip in response to the lessening pain that had flared back up with the movement. He forced his eyes open and found himself looking up at Teal'c's concerned features through barely-opened eyelids. "No... Teal'c, tell Jack... I'm fine ..."
"You are not," Teal'c replied gently.
"I am," Daniel insisted weakly, again trying to lift his head from the floor. "I can... I can walk ..."
"You cannot."
"I have to!" Daniel gave up on getting himself up, and his head collapsed back into Teal'c's jacket. "Tell Jack... please... I can do it... We can all... go home ..."
Teal'c moved his left hand from Daniel's chest to the top of his head, sliding his fingers through the damp hair and forcing Daniel to look at him.
"O'Neill will not leave you, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c looked down into hopeful blue eyes and his face softened. "I will not leave you."
Daniel smiled back at his unlikely friend and protector. No matter what happened, he would not be alone. He let his eyes fall closed again and his head sank more deeply into the jacket that pillowed it.
Across the room, Jack pulled his eyes away from the scene on the floor and focused them on Sam Carter.
"Okay, what's wrong with him?"
"Colonel, I'm an astrophysicist ..." Sam began.
"Okay, let's just cut through all the crap right now. You're not that kinda doctor. Got it." He leaned closer to her and fixed her with his determined gaze. "But you're the closest thing we've got to a medic right now. I know you know what's going on, and I don't. I don't like not knowing what's going on, Carter."
"But, sir, there's no way for me to know for sure ..."
"Carter." Jack's tone invited no more stalling.
Sam sighed deeply. "Okay. His symptoms were sudden, right?"
"I'd say so. Yesterday he thought he'd pulled a muscle in his back."
"So, sudden symptoms. Back and neck pain, severe headache, fever, confusion, seizures, sensitivity to light ..."
"Why do I get the feeling I'm not gonna like this?" Jack asked quietly.
"He's got almost all of the symptoms, Colonel. It looks to me like it's a textbook case."
"Of what?"
Sam took another deep breath and forced herself to look Jack in the eye. "Meningitis, sir."
Jack winced. "I knew I wasn't gonna like this. Meningitis? You're sure?"
"As certain as I can be. I only know what I've read, sir, but it certainly does sound like it."
Jack tilted his head to the side as he considered the weight of Sam's words. "People die from that."
Sam nodded slowly. "Some do, yes."
"Okay, well that's not gonna happen." Jack made his declaration with certainty, and turned back to Sam. "But there's a chance you're wrong, right? I mean, you said 'almost all the symptoms.' So there's some he's missing, right?"
"Nausea and vomiting ..."
"O'Neill!"
Jack and Sam turned toward Teal'c's sudden cry. Sam closed her eyes and turned away again quickly; Jack fought the urge to do the same. Teal'c still knelt on the floor at Daniel's side, but instead of holding their friend's hand, he was holding the retching form of Daniel Jackson tightly in his arms.
"Oh, crap." Jack allowed his eyes to close momentarily, and drew a ragged breath before opening them again. "Come on, Carter." Jack grabbed Sam's arm and pulled her behind him as he walked back to Daniel and Teal'c.
Teal'c was just settling Daniel back to the floor when the pair reached them. Jack knelt down at Daniel's left side, carefully avoiding the evidence of the latest symptom. He reached out with his right hand and brushed the long, sweaty hair out of Daniel's eyes again.
"Hey, Daniel?"
"Jack?" Daniel turned his head slowly, opening his eyes and trying to focus on the man at his side. "Hey."
"We're gonna go home now, Daniel, okay? We're gonna take you home."
"Jack ..." Daniel raised his arm and tugged weakly at Jack's sleeve. Jack covered the warm hand with his own without hesitation. "What... what's wrong with me?"
Jack forced himself to smile again. "You're just a little sick, Daniel. That's all. You've just got a real bad case of the flu." He looked up at Sam, daring her to contradict him, but knew at once that she wasn't even considering it. "Doc Fraiser'll get you fixed right up."
"I'm just... I'm so tired."
Jack nodded and patted the hand on his arm twice before removing it from his jacket and placing it across Daniel's chest. "I know. Why don't you go on to sleep now? When you wake up, we'll be home and you'll feel better."
"Okay," Daniel answered softly. His eyes fluttered a few times before falling closed. Seconds later, under the watchful eyes of his friends, Daniel's body relaxed and his breathing evened out as he fell into a deep sleep.
"Colonel, do you think that letting him sleep is a good idea?"
Jack ran his fingers through his short hair as he stood. "I don't know," he answered with a shrug. "But whatever we do to get him out of here, it's probably going to hurt. Staying here is not an option. We can't count on the SGC sending anyone to help; we're not even due back for another day and a half. And if we run into those... people... again, we'll end up either running or fighting. And even if we don't have any trouble getting back to the gate... any way you look at it, it's gonna hurt him. And right now, I just don't want him to be in pain anymore."
"Of course, sir," Sam answered softly.
Jack paced the small cave frantically as they talked, his eyes searching every corner. That Daniel wouldn't be walking out under his own power was absolutely certain. Jack would willingly have carried him back to the gate, but between Daniel's back pain, headache, and nausea and Jack's own aching back, he knew that it would have been a bad idea to even attempt it. The last thing Daniel needed right then was to go crashing to the ground on his head because Jack's back decided to give out.
"We have got to go," Jack mumbled, spinning in a slow circle in the center of the room. "That means we've got to find a way to get Daniel out of here. Does anyone have any ideas?"
"I have, O'Neill," Teal'c replied.
Jack opened his mouth to inquire further, but closed it again when he realized he was already looking at Teal'c's answer. He had risen to his feet and was turning to face Jack and Sam. Teal'c had apparently reached the conclusion that using a fireman's carry was a bad idea as well, because Daniel Jackson slept soundly in his arms.
Jack shook his head and snorted softly. "Yeah, that'll work. You're sure you can make it to the gate?"
"I can. We can." Teal'c locked eyes with Jack before continuing. "We will."
Jack smiled. "Damn straight. Okay, Carter, you grab that pack. Let's go home."