You can't save them all - can you? pt 9
You can't save them all - can you? pt 9
by Whisper99
Summary: A slow day at the SGC has brought the team a mystery. Chapter: Without A Paddle
Category: Mystery
Episode Related: 704 Orpheus
Season: any Season
Pairing: none
Rating: 13+
Warnings: language
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author(s).
Archived on: 2004-11-28
Stargate & SG-1 belong to lots of other people and entities. Jess was my idea. Thank goodness for late night visits from the Muse.
*****Infirmary - Early morning****
The infirmary is quiet and Daniel finds himself dosing in his chair. The feeling of being watched makes him stir and he opens his eyes, finding Jess awake and looking at him.
Sitting up, he says as he stifles a yawn, "Hey. It's good to see you awake." He moves his chair a bit closer to her bed, reaching out a hand and gently brushing the hair from her face. He smiles softly, asking, "How are you feeling?"
She reaches out and touches his cheek, letting her fingertips linger for a moment before pulling her hand back. Blinking back tears, she says, her voice sounding hoarse, "I look at you...and it won't stop hurting. I...I need it to stop hurting Daniel. You've been dead and buried in my heart for so long...but now here you are." Whispering, she says, "I think I'm losing my mind."
Quickly he reaches up his hand to take hers in his, giving it a tight squeeze and saying reassuringly, "No Jess, please don't feel that way. I...I'm sorry that my being here is causing you so much pain, but you need to know, you aren't losing your mind."
Crying now, she says, "I'm not so sure Daniel. I couldn't get the gate to lock - I felt so helpless. Nothing I did worked. I...I fell asleep and I dreamed something I hadn't dreamed since the day you died. I was lost and I was so scared. And all I could think of was that I wanted to go home so badly." Swallowing a sob, she continues, "And I just knew. I knew that if I found you everything would be ok. You would make everything ok. When I stepped through the gate, that's all I could think of. Not my dad. Not getting home. Just finding you was all that mattered. I chose you over everything else."
Pulling away from his touch, she says "And look...it worked. I found you...again." Covering her face with her hands, "I've lost everything. It's my fault. I did this."
Gently, Daniel moves to sit next to her on the bed, offering what comfort he can, "No...no Jess. It wasn't you... it wasn't your fault." Turmoil showing on his face, though Jess can't see it, Daniel fights with a decision. Finally making a choice, he says softly, "There's something you need to know."
***At the same time - Hammonds briefing room***
O'Neill sits in the briefing room, with Hammond, Major Tate and a General Rogers all discussing the events from the day before. O'Neill is arguing with Tate, accusing him of negligence with Tate vehemently defending himself. Rogers sits stony faced listening to the arguing, insisting that Jess is to be returned to Peterson Airforce base as soon as she is able to be moved. Hammond sits back, trying not to lose patience as he awaits the rest of the people joining them at the meeting.
Quickly enough, the door opens and Kinsey enters the room accompanied by Major Davis. O'Neill looks up, face set hard as he says, "Ah, Senator Kinsey...I should have known." Nodding a greeting, he says, "Major Davis."
Kinsey says by way of greeting, "Gentlemen." He takes a seat, continuing, "I'm here to make sure that Ms. O'Neill is returned to the NID immediately. She is quite possibly the most valuable thing to come through the gate since the inception of the Stargate program."
O'Neill frowns, growling, "She is not a thing. She is a kid who was kidnapped from her own reality and dumped at our footstep. She has rights."
Kinsey nods, saying in all sincerity, "Yes she does. This is why the NID has legal custody of her, to make sure her rights are protected."
O'Neill scoffs, "You call having her kept from visitors and sitting idly by while she overdosed on pain killers protecting her rights?!" Shooting an accusatory look at Tate, he adds, "Not to mention the fact that she was about to be kidnapped, thanks to your piss poor security!"
"We are only trying to protect her, Colonel O'Neill." Kinsey repeats, "We don't know yet who we can trust to visit her, and to your point, rightly so." He shrugs slightly, adding, "As for the apparent drug overdose, we've got an investigation open as to why the pills weren't removed from her possession when she was turned over to us. I believe they were prescribed by your own Dr. Fraiser? But that is beside the point, Colonel O'Neill. There really isn't anything to discuss here. We are all very grateful that you and your team happened to be in the right place to prevent Ms. O'Neill's kidnapping. But be that as it may, you don't have any say in anything concerning the girl."
Kinsey glances at Major Davis. Nodding, Davis looks over at O'Neill and begins to speak, "As a matter of fact sir, I wanted to review this report you turned in about the incident..."
Jack's eyes go a bit wild at Kinsey's words and he speaks over Davis, "To hell I don't!" He pulls out a piece of paper from his pant pocket and tosses it so it lands in front of Kinsey. Pointing at it, he says, "That's all _I_ need to get her away from you and your NID goons."
Looking none too pleased, Kinsey unfolds the paper and asks, "What's this?"
"DNA test results."
Reading through the paper, Kinsey laughs, "And what is this supposed to prove?"
"That I'm that girls biological father."
Kinsey laughs again, "You can't be serious?!"
Voice flat, Jack says, "It'll hold up in any court of law Kinsey. And believe me; I will bring the law into this if I have to."
In disbelief, Kinsey says, "For Gods sakes, she's from an alternate reality! It's not as if she's really your daughter. You'd risk exposing the SGC program all for this girl?"
"I won't have too. The results speak for itself. There's no test to determine if someone is from an alternate reality. We wouldn't even have to go there...if we didn't have to." he leaves this as an open ended threat.
Hammond asks, "Colonel, are you sure you want to pursue this course of action?"
Answering, he says, "Yes Sir. She's been through enough."
Kinsey hands the paper to Major Davis, giving him a meaningful look. Glancing quickly at the paper, Davis says, "This is unprecedented. I'll have to discuss this with my superiors at the pentagon."
Taking a deep breath, Jack moves to stand and addresses General Hammond, "I think I've said all I need to say at this meeting. If I may be excused, Sir?"
Looking displeased, Hammond nods, "We will talk again later, Colonel."
Scowling, Kinsey says, "This isn't over by a long shot, O'Neill."
Ignoring the comment, O'Neill steps out of the room. Once outside of view, he takes a moment to lean against the doorway, running both hands through his silvering hair. Shaking his head, he straightens, and then heads down to the infirmary.
***Infirmary***
As O'Neill approaches the infirmary, he hears a commotion and he groans, already knowing what to expect. He finds Daniel standing outside the door leading to the infirmary, with his glasses in one hand and the other pinching the bridge of his nose.
O'Neill pauses, watching him for a moment before asking, "Uh...what's going on?"
Daniel puts his glasses back on, looking up at Jack with a serious look on his face, "Well...Jess is a bit upset at the moment."
Starting to hear curse words, at least he assumes they're curse words because they're not in English, O'Neill raises a brow, "A bit...?" Clearing his throat he asks, "What brought this on...uh...is that...?"
Shuffling his feet a bit, Daniel nods, "She's cursing in Goa'uld." Giving Jack a sidelong glance, he half-smiles, "She's pretty good at it."
Trying to peer into the room, O'Neill asks, "Really? Hm...Teal'c would be impressed. Soooo...?"
Licking his lips, and avoiding eye contact, Daniel pushes his glasses higher up the bridge of his nose as he says, "Um...well...I told her about Shifu."
Giving him a direct stare, O'Neill asks, "You didn't."
Daniel nods again, ducking his head as he folds his arms across his chest, `I did."
Jack sighs, shaking his head, "Not the smartest decision you've ever made Daniel."
Eyes red and swollen, Daniel looks for all the world like he's about to cry. But he still manages to straighten his chin, and give Jack a defiant glare. He defends his decision by saying, "She has the right to know why she's here." Emphasizing his words now with his hands, he says, "It wasn't just an accident and it's not her fault. She really needed to know that."
"You told her everything?"
"Yes"
"Even the part about her having an invisible stalker for the last bunch of years?"
Nodding slowly, Daniel says, "Uh...I don't think of it that way...but yes, I did."
Staring at Daniel for a long moment, Jack suddenly makes a fist and fights back the urge to do some damage to the archeologist and he mock hits the wall instead, "God, Daniel! Argh!"
Jack takes a deep breath, makes as if to say more to Daniel, but then takes in his haggard appearance, noting how the cuts over his left brow starting to take on a purplish tinge and instead says, "Daniel...just go home. Go get some sleep." He gestures Daniel off with a wave of his hand as he walks into the infirmary.
Jess is sitting up in her bed, her face a thundercloud as she spouts off more curses to the unseen around her. He spies Fraiser standing arms akimbo looking at Jess, and he walks to stand next to her.
"How's the patient?"
Shaking her head slightly, Fraiser says, "Angry. What did Daniel tell her?"
Stuffing both hands in his pockets, he says noncommittally, "Oh...some stuff."
Shooting them both a glare, she shouts at them, "Don't talk like I'm not here! I'm not the invisible one, remember!??" and she spews some more choice words.
"So..uh...you aren't going to sedate her?"
Janet offers him a half-smile, as if saying, `I wish I could.' Instead she says, "I can't, not with the amount of drugs she's already had in her system over the last 12 hours. She'll be ok as long as she calms down in another..." looking at her watch, "2 minutes."
Raising a brow at Fraiser, she explains, "I told her she could be as mad as she wanted to be for 5 minutes as long as she didn't try to get out of bed. After that...we'll see..."
Jack shakes his head, wondering at Janet's patience with her patient. He says in his very best authoritative voice, "That's enough!"
Jess shoots O'Neill a murderous look, but quickly closes her mouth. She sucks in deep breaths through clenched teeth, alternately balling her good hand into a fist and straightening her fingers.
He gestures at Fraiser, motioning to her he's got it under control. She nods and slips away, giving them some privacy. Moving to stand closer to the bed, he stares down at Jess and asks, "Better now?"
Voice cracking, she tells him, "How could that thing do that to me? He used me...my pain..." she sucks in a deep breath, unable to finish the thought, instead saying, "My life is a joke."
Calmly, he responds, "No its not. You're alive because of what that Shifu kid did."
Lower lip trembling as she tries to control her emotions, she says, "He should've let me die. "
Shaking his head, he explains, "No...he shouldn't have. He did the right thing. Let me tell you something...if I was given the choice of letting my kid die, or having him alive someplace where he'd be safe, even if I never saw him again, I'd choose that."
Jess stares up at him listening to those words, tears falling from her eyes, "My dad didn't get that choice, Jack." She sobs and O'Neill sits next to her, gathering her up in his arms and lets her cry into his shoulder.
Jack holds her tightly, shushing her softly, "It's all right Jess." Remembering Teal'c's words to him, he says, "I've made the choice for him. You're going to stay here." He hesitates a moment before saying, "I don't want you to go back someplace where you're going to die. None of us do."
***Late morning***
After watching Jack walk into the infirmary, Daniel heads to his office with his head lowered and shoulders slightly slumped, wondering if he did the right thing after all. He hadn't expected her anger and wasn't quite sure he hadn't made things worse for the girl. Fighting the urge to blame himself for causing her so much pain, he changes his clothes, and makes his way to the surface, heading home as ordered.
He drives home mechanically, distracted by the turmoil in his mind; he doesn't notice a vehicle pull in behind him as he approaches the last stop nearing his home. The impact of his Jeep getting rear-ended brings him to reality and he mutters a curse, "Great. What now?" and he stops the car, getting out to see the damage.
*To be continued - Feedback will be appreciated!!*
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