It's All Elementary

The day so far on P35-437 had greeted them with mild temperatures, blue skies, and a gentle breeze.  Despite the extra numbers from the science and medical teams joining them, SG-1 made excellent time up the hillside to the large temple-like building that housed the device that had been the cause for several memorable months, at least on Jack’s part.  The rest of SG-1 had yet to recall any more than fragments and dreams of the months they had spent after being turned back into children.

As glad as he was to have everything back to normal, Jack couldn’t help but admit to himself, and only himself, that those few months had been some of the happiest of his life.  He counted himself lucky to have experienced them.

All the same, he approached the temple with a certain amount of trepidation.  “Are you sure that thing is off?” he asked warily, before he and Teal’c stepped foot inside the building for a quick sweep.

Carter, so much more at ease than Dr. Lee with going off world, had a scanner powered up before Lee even managed to pull his eyes away from the scenery.  “It’s dormant, sir, energy levels are minimal,” she announced.

“Minimal?  So it’s not off?” he asked, still waiting to give Teal’c the all clear to go ahead and enter the building.

“I don’t think it ever fully powers down, sir.  My guess is it enters some sort of stand-by mode,” she looked up, and must of noted his concern because she hastily added, “It’s perfectly safe, sir.  From our experiences, and Dr. Lee’s report, the device only becomes active when the right command is entered.”

Jack frowned, suddenly reminded of just how the device had become active last time.  Preoccupied with his introspection, Jack almost missed something else the woman had said.  “Carter,” he said, a hint of exasperation creeping into his tone, “Tell me you didn’t spend all night up with that report?”

Her guilty start told him all he needed to know.  Further, her quick glance at Daniel and Dr. Lee told him she’d likely not been alone.  He should have known better than to have left base last night.  He sighed, and motioned for Teal’c to go in first.  Teal’c soon signaled that the room was clear.  Jack gave the room his own quick once over, barely suppressing a shudder of what the place recalled, then gave the all clear for the scientists to come in.

The room soon bustled as Dr. Lee’s team set up the equipment they’d brought, and technical discussions flew across the room and over the radio to the people setting up outside near what had been dubbed the “control room.”  Carter was in her element, her eyes bright, and posture alert.  She flitted from computer to monitor with an ease that was almost frightening.  Across the room, Teal’c stood watch, able to keep one eye on the scientists and the other out the nearby window, alert to any possible threat that might approach from a distance.  Jack was starting to feel a little useless, and kept getting in someone’s way not matter where he stood.  Spotting a possible ally, Jack gravitated around the outskirts of the room, careful not to trip on any wires or knock anything over that looked expensive.

“Daniel,” he greeted, having reached the man.  The archeologist stood in the corner, out of the way, his hands in his pockets.  His jacket and vest hung open while he studied the scientists bustling around the room.

Turning to peer at his friend, Daniel narrowed his eyes slightly, then turned back to watch the activity.  “Jack,” he returned, and then added after a short pause, “Feeling redundant, aren’t you?”

Jack sighed.  He’d hoped he wasn’t being that obvious, but of course the younger man would have seen right through him.  “Might be better if I stay out of the way, you know me and anything fragile,” he said, waving in the direction of something mounted on a tripod with cables running to a laptop.  It looked both complicated and costly.

Daniel snorted, one corner of his mouth twitching, but didn’t say anything.

The two men watched side by side silently for several minutes.  Finally, Jack had to voice the thing that if he were honest with himself, had brought him over here.  “You think they…” he paused, wetting his lips, then tried again.  “You think Dr. Lee knows what he’s doing?”  Well, it wasn’t exactly what he’d meant to say, but then again, if it had been Carter’s report he’d have no doubt that the machine would do exactly what she said it would.  Dr. Lee though…  He looked down, fiddling with the strap holding his P-90 to his vest.  When he looked up, he found Daniel studying him, his blue eyes seeming to look deep into his soul.

“He’s a good man Jack,” Daniel told him.  “Besides, Sam is here, isn’t she?” he pointed out. 

It didn’t quite silence all his demons, but Jack knew the other man was right.  Carter at least trusted Dr. Lee enough to accept the mission.  Of course, Jack knew there were also greater things at stake, no doubt influencing her decision, but still…

“I know,” he answered.

Daniel nodded, extracting one hand to point across them room.  “I’m gonna go check on Teal’c.  Meet you outside?  They’ll be starting soon I think,” he noted, taking in the decreased activity in the room.

Jack nodded, and waved a hand as if to indicate dismissal.  Daniel walked away, but Jack was busy watching a certain blond astrophysicist.  The woman in question currently had her head together with Dr. Lee, and looked as if she was just there to observe something fascinating, not about to have twenty-five years, give or take, taken off her appearance.  He shook his head, wondering not for the first time how he’d let them all get talked into this thing, but even as he thought it, his mind supplied the answer. 

Because they were SG-1.

Daniel’s observation soon proved out, and before long, SG-1 were the only ones left inside.  Jack watched as Teal’c and Daniel approached Carter.  Teal’c said something that caused her to smile and duck her head, and Daniel added a comment that made her laugh outright and punch him lightly on the arm.  The young man held up his arms in front of him as if warding off a blow, only stopping when a smile bloomed across Carter’s face.  Jack gave them a few more moments, and then wandered over to join them, his thoughts still heavy with the weight of responsibility.

“We ready?” he asked, not being able to say what he really wanted to say.

“Yes, sir,” Carter told him, instantly all professional, but then a sidelong glance at Daniel made her snort, which she unbelievably turned into a cough.

Jack chose to ignore it; glad at least that the rest of the team was able to act so freely, but that was the choice he’d made, the burden he’d chosen to bear alone.  “We shall wait for you outside, O’Neill,” Teal’c said as if sensing Jack’s mood, turning to go.  Daniel followed after giving Sam an encouraging look.

“You ok to do this, Carter?” he asked softly when they were alone, watching her for some sign, any sign, that she wanted to scrub the mission, that she wasn’t one hundred percent on board.

“I’m ready, sir,” she told him confidently, her posture straightening somewhat under his searching look.  Her jaw was set, hands holding her weapon with a sure grip, and Jack was struck for a moment at how far this woman had come in the years he’d known her.  Hew determined she was, how confident. 

How brave.

He hesitated, torn between his confidence in the Major, and his lack of it for the mission in general.  The whole idea of making her look like a kid to get her close to some Goa’uld with an unknown objective still seemed a little half-cocked in his mind.  Even so, on some deeper level, he agreed with General Hammond’s assessment of the situation.   He still didn’t have to like it.

Nodding in acknowledgement he jerked a thumb in the direction of the door, wavering slightly and needing to say something.  “I’ll, uh, be outside,” he told her finally, oddly at a loss for his usual words of wit and convoluted wisdom.  “You should probably get comfortable,” He patted his own automatic, and saw her nod in return.

“Yes, sir, thank you,” she told him, understanding of the things he’d left unsaid clear on her face.  Some of the weight left his shoulders.  He nodded and headed toward the exit, stopping in the doorway when something behind him made him halt and turn back around.

She had settled on the floor, cross-legged, trying to follow his advice while she waited.   Her weapon sat next to her, within easy reach, ever the good soldier.  With one hand, she rubbed at the back of her neck, trying to ease some tightness she felt there.

 “You ok?” he asked in concern.

Sam blinked, looking up at him in mild surprise, but then shrugged slightly and smiled ruefully.  “Fine sir, just a little stiff, didn’t sleep well last night,” she admitted a little sheepishly. 

“Too busy studying those reports?” he asked lightly, unable to resist.

She stopped rubbing and shook her head, smiling unrepentantly.  Then she sighed and ran her hand through her hair.  She folded her hands in her lap and stared down at them, obviously not wanting to show how nervous she really was.  Her posture was no less determined, and Jack knew it was a measure of her trust in his leadership that she allowed him to see even this slight weakness.

The Colonel remained where he stood, studying her thoughtfully, thinking of what to say that might help ease the pressure they were both feeling in their own ways.  Finally, his inner demons seemed to come to some sort of agreement, or perhaps the Major’s confidence was rubbing off on him with the reminder that she was still human, like him.  He grinned, and bounced slightly, the realization filling him with a new lightness.  “Don’t worry Carter, when you wake up, you’ll feel like a kid again.”

His joke, however bad, had the desired effect.  With a soft laugh, Sam smiled up at her CO.  “Thank you, sir,” she told him honestly, some of the tension lines around her eyes and mouth softening.  As she relaxed, so did he.

He shrugged, feeling justly satisfied.  “Don’t mention it.”  He sobered slightly again.  “I’ll be right outside.  We all will.”

“I know,” she replied softly, meeting his gaze.  Jack nodded, and stepped out of the room, reluctantly leaving the woman alone.

Outside, he quickly joined the rest of his team, who were standing with Janet Fraiser.  Dr. Lee approached them.

“Colonel O’Neill,” he said, looking just a little too excited considering what was about to happen, “With your permission, we’re ready to begin.”

Jack exchanged looks with Teal’c, Daniel, and Janet.  All three offered nods.  The heavy weight of responsibility settled back on his shoulders.  Yes, the General had chosen Major Carter.  Yes, she had agreed to the mission in all its details, and he was sure now that she had no second thoughts.  Yes, they had their orders.  But when it all boiled down to it, he was the man on site.  The final decision rested solely with him.  Whatever happened, whatever the outcome, the results would happen because of his orders.  But suddenly, Jack realized he wouldn’t have it any other way.

SG-1 was his.

They were his life, his purpose.  He belonged to SG-1 in a way he’d never belonged to anything before, and because of that, SG-1 belonged to him.  Perhaps, one day, maybe soon, SG-1 and the heavy weight of responsibility he carried for them would belong to someone else, but for now, they were his.

Accepting the duty was like wrapping himself in an old familiar blanket.  He was used to his function on this team, acknowledged it always, hated it sometimes, and most of all, never failed to treasure it.  He straightened, self-assurance for the moment banishing everything else.  “Do it,” he told the man, with a jerk of his head towards the controls.

Dr. Lee bobbed his head a few times, and looked like he wanted to say something, then wisely chose not to.  He scurried off to take his position with his science team.

“On my count,” Jack heard the man say as he turned around to face the building, tuning out the almost palpable feelings of excitement around him.  He felt Daniel and Teal’c join him to one side, both men equally intent on the structure where their teammate waited. 

“Three…two…one…mark.”

Barely discernable at first, then building in intensity, Jack felt a faint vibration from the ground through his boots.  In front of them, the windows and doorways of the temple seemed to glow.

“Wow,” breathed Daniel in wonder.  Jack nodded in agreement and then the moment was abruptly shattered by a shrill scream, made even more poignant by the fact that the woman doing the screaming was trying unsuccessfully to suppress the sound.

Almost as soon as it started though, the scream was abruptly cut off.  It took all of Jack’s willpower to not to go charging up the hill.  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Teal’c lay a restraining hand on Daniel’s arm.  The younger man was pale, jaw clenched.  Even Teal’c stood stiffly, every muscle tense and alert.

It seemed like forever before Dr. Lee gave them the all clear.  The three men wasted no time in speeding towards the temple.  As they got closer, all three men could smell something burning.  Unexpected tendrils of smoke drifted out of the doorway.  Jack was the first one through the door, just barely.  He could hardly make out anything because the room was already clogged with thick black smoke.  To the right, something electrical gave off a sharp fizzle and several pops.  Jack reflexively shielded his face with his arms.

“We need to get Carter out of here!” he cried, waving a hand in front of his face in a vain effort to clear the air in front of him.  With the other, he pulled his shirt up over his face, bending low.  Teal’c was already moving toward the center of the room, also crouched low.  Jack grabbed Daniel’s arm.  “Daniel,” he ordered, coughing, “Keep everyone else out of here, we’ll be right behind you.”  If Daniel nodded, Jack couldn’t see it in the gloom, instead trusting the other man would follow his command.  He turned on the light from his P-90 to give Teal’c something to catch his bearings, the light giving off a thin beam highlighting the smoke swirling in front of him.  It was becoming increasingly difficult to draw breath, and he considered going in after the warrior, but decided he should wait in the doorway in case the thickening smoke caused Teal’c to get turned around.  Fortunately, the large man didn’t seem to be having any trouble navigating though, and Jack was able to make out his bulky shape heading back across the room after only a few moments of waiting.

“Teal’c” he cried, feeling relief wash over him as he saw the man was carrying something, something small and unmoving.  “This way!” he directed, grabbing the man’s arm.

Outside, the sun shined down on them with blinding intensity.  “Over here,” Dr. Fraiser directed, the petite redhead already having laid down a folding stretcher.  Despite having traded her usual neat uniform and pristine lab coat for BDUs, Janet Fraiser was no less commanding than normal.  Teal’c obeyed, kneeling swiftly to gently lay down his burden.  Jack dropped to his own knees not far from Teal’c, as Janet quickly made an assessment, bending over her patient.  “She’s breathing!” she announced, and started to remove some of the Major’s outer clothing.

Jack felt relief wash over him, and he gave into the coughing fit he’d been holding in.  Finally spent, Jack drank from his canteen, letting some of the water trickle onto his hands so he could scrub at his face, when a gasp from Daniel brought him looking up sharply.  He froze in dismay, the heaviness of responsibility slamming back into him with all the force of an unpulled gut punch.

As the layers of too large clothing were removed, their occupant was revealed.  The body cocooned in the now huge garments was small.  Too small.

“Oh.  My.  God,” Daniel whispered.  Teal’c was standing, looking down in appalled fascination at his suddenly reduced teammate.

“She doesn’t look twelve, does she?” Jack asked unnecessarily, his voice more gruff than usual from hoarseness.

Daniel shook his head, eyes fixed on Carter.  “No,” he said.

“She does not,” agreed Teal’c.