Once safely ensconced in his office, Hammond resumed the conversation.

"Forgive me. I didn’t make myself clear when I referred to the dealings we had with your people. I didn’t mean that you personally arranged this with us, High Chancellor, I meant one of your representatives."

"Which representative might that be, General?"

Hammond steepled his hands on his desk, studying the woman across from him as he spoke. "One of your council members came to us with a proposition. The request bears your personal seal."

Travell looked more concerned than Hammond had ever seen her before. "Might I ask, General, what was the request, and might I see it?"

"I would show you if I could, but the actual written proposal is in the hands of the President. I can tell you what was asked of us, though."

"That being…….?"

"It was asked that Colonel O’Neill help to locate, isolate and if possible….apprehend a rogue member of the Tollans. In exchange we would be presented with an ion cannon."

"I see. Given all the times that we have refused your requests for our technology, you still believed that we might capitulate? I am surprised at you, General."

"To be honest with you, I had a hard time believing the offer, as did Colonel O’Neill, but I had no choice but to forward the request to my superiors. It was by their order that we agreed and that the Colonel submitted to the subterfuge."

Travell studied the General carefully as though sizing him up. After a moment she nodded. "I understand your dilemma, General. Now, tell me, how was the Colonel supposed to be delivered to us this time?"

"I was given a vial containing a virus. It was designed to make him sick. Once we failed in our attempts to make him better, we were to call on our allies to lend their assistance. You were to take him to Tollana, heal him, then allow him to catch your mole."

"I see. I am sorry, General, but I did not knowingly sign any petition asking for your help, nor would I deliberately risk the lives of any of your people. Not only would it be unethical, but I am rather fond of Colonel O’Neill and would not wish to see any harm come to him."

George sat, his jaw clenching as he listened. Not only had the whole request been a set-up, but he had sat in this very room, in this chair, ordering O’Neill to submit himself to the administration of a potentially lethal substance on the orders of a man who didn’t have a clue what was going on in Cheyenne Mountain. Now it turned out that the whole thing was an elaborate hoax, but designed for what? And why?

Travell watched him, understanding his anger, frustration and sorrow. Given that the situation arose out of a misguided willingness to provide aid, she felt it behooved her to lend her assistance. "General, can you describe the substance the Colonel was given? It may help in treating him."

George now faced his own dilemma. Dr. Fraiser still retained possession of the virus, but at this point he wasn’t prepared to turn it back over to the Tollans. Not only did it go against his own orders, but his instincts told him that it might prove invaluable to his own people. Quickly weighing out the pros and cons, he elected to keep the physical evidence to himself. "We were given a vial containing an injectable pseudo virus. It was only supposed to make the Colonel sick. Unfortunately, the situation became life threatening and we were forced to give him the accompanying antidote. We felt that the situation warranted it. We knew you would understand if we put his interests ahead of your dilemma."

Travell had the uncomfortable feeling that she already knew where this was heading. "May I ask if he recovered after this antidote?"

Hammond looked at her, surprised at the question given the nature of their summons. "Yes, he seemed better. In fact, he was doing so well that Doctor Fraiser released him from her care." Hammond studied her carefully, his own instincts kicking in.

Travell experienced a rather disquieting, sinking sensation in her stomach. "What form did this virus take?"

"It was a clear liquid administered intravenously, as was the antidote. I should tell you that the Colonel was less than impressed by that. He suggested that you might want to consider converting it to a pill form next time."

Travell managed a slight smile at the O’Neill-like comment, but remained solemn. "General, I am saddened to be the one to tell you this, but your Colonel O’Neill is in grave danger."

An uncharacteristic anger swept over the General. He didn’t need to hear that Travell’s news wasn’t good. He knew it. He’d known it all along, but been unable to do anything about it. Hammond stood abruptly, his chair flying backwards as his fist thumped on his desk. "Dammit!" Taking note of the Chancellor’s face, he made an effort to calm down. "My apologies." He made a conscious effort to relax, but inwardly he cursed the beaurocracy that once again kept his hands tied.

"None are necessary, General. I can understand how you must feel in this matter."

Hammond doubted that she could but decided not to make an issue of that. Instead, he focused on her previous statement. "You said the Colonel is in danger. Would you care to elaborate on that?"

Travell motioned for the General to sit. As he complied, she started. "The substance you described is a fast acting poison. It was discovered aeons ago on another world. It is a banned substance on Tollana due to its fatality rate. As of yet, no antidote has been found." She looked Hammond straight in the eye. "It is not a pleasant way to die, General. I am sorry."

Hammond was thunderstruck. "I don’t understand. We tested both the virus and the antidote. They were safe." Hammond’s suspicions kicked in quickly as he realised how easily she seemed to recognise the nature of the poison. "And how can you know for sure what he was given without me giving you a sample?"

"I recognise the pattern, General. This poison has a distinctive pattern to its progression that is easy to identify if you have been witness to it before, as I have. That is why this is so devious, General. The virus is relatively harmless," as she took note of the General’s expression, she quickly clarified the statement, "in most cases. If the recipient has naquadah in their system then the effects become magnified. I am sure this must be what happened in the Colonel O’Neill’s case. Whoever gave you this must have known that the Colonel’s blood contained the substance. In fact, I would expect that they counted on that. When he reacted poorly, you would have been forced to give the antidote." Travell leaned forward in her seat. "General, it is with sorrow that I must tell you this. The virus is only one stage of the poison. Without the second part, the Colonel might have recovered on his own."

Hammond felt sick. Despite knowing the answer, he still had to ask the question. "Let me guess. The antidote is the second part?"

Travell’s nod told him all he needed to know. He didn’t need to find out if the naquadah made the antidote more toxic. He didn’t need to hear that he’d ordered him own man poisoned. What he needed to know was how to fix this. Unfortunately, the look on the High Councillor’s face told him he couldn’t. Hammond’s heart sank. Under his breath, he breathed a silent, "dear God, what have I done."

Travell continued. "I do not know who gave this to you or why, but I will tell you that it is unlikely that O’Neill will survive. I give you my word, though, as the High Chancellor of Tollana, and as a friend of Earth, I will do whatever is in my power to find the identity of the man who has done this and to ascertain his purpose."

"What can I do to assist you?"

"Can you describe the man who approached you? Perhaps it is someone known to me."

Hammond gave a small smile, albeit a grim one. "I can do better than that. I can show you his picture." He reached over for the phone. Once he’d been connected to the appropriate technician, he made the request for the tapes of the Tollan delegate’s visit to be set up in the briefing room. After that, he made a second call.

Lowering the receiver back into it’s cradle, he stood. "Would you please come with me, High Chancellor?"

At her nod, Hammond offered her his arm in helping her to rise, then escorted her from his office.

*******************

The two were met by the three members of SG1 along with a rather harried looking Doctor Fraiser. She was the first to speak. "With respect, General, I have a patient who is not doing well and I’d like to get back to him."

Hammond indicated for her to sit along with the others. "I’m sorry, Doctor. I won’t keep you for long but there is something you need to hear." He took in all the watching faces and clarified his comment. "There’s something that all of you need to hear. Please, take your seats. I’ll make this as brief as possible."

Hammond’s call after Jack took ill for the second time was made on his red phone; his line to the President. He’d petitioned for, and received permission to disclose the mission to the team. The President has agreed that an informed, co-operative team would be far more helpful at this juncture than the alternative. He took his place at the head of the table and sat heavily. Taking a deep breath, he started in. "As you all know, the Colonel is sick. What you may not know is why."

As the comments and exclamations threatened to explode from around the table he held up a hand to still them. "I’ll do my best to answer all of your questions, but for now, please just hear me out." He waited until the noise died down and he was sure he had the undivided attention of all gathered.

"A short while ago I was approached by a representative of the Tollan High Council. They had a proposal for us."

Daniel’s eyes widened. "Why do I not like this already?"

Hammond treated him to a look but said nothing. Daniel caught the look and mouthed a sheepish ‘sorry’.

George continued on. "Apparently, the Tollans were unsuccessful in their efforts to stop a rogue agent who was supplying information to various factions intent on undermining the Tollan’s technological superiority."

This time it was Sam who cut in. "So, they thought the Colonel could do it for them since he pulled off the last sting so well?"

Hammond decided to ignore the interruption, especially given that the Major was right in her hypothesis. "That’s correct. They wanted the Colonel to investigate. They hoped that since he was unknown by the general populous for the most part, he would have better luck in getting close the traitor."

"And so they made him sick? That doesn’t make sense." Daniel didn’t care if he was interrupting or not. He couldn’t believe Jack would be asked to do this, nor could he accept that Jack had agreed without telling the team, again.

Sam looked thoughtful. "It does make sense if they want to get the Colonel off-world. So, they gave him something we couldn’t cure, knowing we would ask for help." She looked at the General speculatively. "Is that right?"

"That’s it in a nutshell, Major."

"I do not understand what would make O’Neill agree to such a subterfuge, General." Teal’c knew that something had been used to gain the Colonel’s co-operation. What he didn’t know was what that something might be.

Hammond understood the implied question. "They promised us an ion cannon in exchange for our help."

Daniel stood abruptly, anger radiating off him in waves. "So Jack smells the opportunity to get his hands on a weapon and all his promises go out the window! Who cares about the team when we can shoot at bad guys!"

"Doctor Jackson! Sit down!" Hammond thundered the words, as angry as the young man had ever seen him. "You don’t know what you’re talking about and until you do, I suggest you sit, listen and learn!"

Daniel wasn’t the only one to go wide eyed, even as he did as instructed. The General seldom allowed himself to show anger, and thus far, it had never been directed at the archaeologist in such a manner.

"For your information, the Colonel was completely opposed to the whole thing. He was, however, overruled, as was I. Apparently the President saw fit to disagree with our advice. Jack was ordered by the Joint Chiefs to co-operate. The alternative was a long term visit to Leavenworth for disobeying a Presidential order."

"Oh."

"Yes, oh. Now, since the arrival of the High Chancellor here," he nodded in Travell’s direction, "certain things have come to light." Again he took a deep breath, shoving down his own feelings on the situation. "This mission was apparently not sanctioned by the Tollan High Council. Despite her seal of authorisation being on the proposal, the High Chancellor was unaware of any such request. She has also identified the substance the Colonel was asked to take." He waited, the pause pregnant. "It appears that it was not a virus as we were led to believe, but a two part poison, with no apparent cure."

Sharp inhalations of breath were heard from around the table as the gravity of the situation set in. Janet’s gasp was by far the loudest. "What do you mean, two part, General?" She didn’t want to know. She really didn’t, except that she did. She already guessed his answer. She needed him to tell her the second part was the water the Colonel had drunk, or the cotton in his uniform reacting with the virus….anything but the antidote she had placed in his veins with great medical precision.

Hammond looked her in the eye. He knew the two of them would need to have a long talk at some point. He didn’t want his CMO taking the blame upon herself, despite knowing that she would. Once she learned that she had hand delivered the poison, irregardless of her good intentions, she would be devastated. "The second part came in the form of the antidote."

"Was that the stuff we saw you give him?" Daniel recalled the scene from the infirmary with frightening clarity.

Janet turned to him and nodded. For some reason, she was having a hard time vocalising.

Daniel was quick to put together the implications of that tidbit. "So, you knew about this?" The accusatory tone in his voice was unmistakable.

Again Janet merely nodded, unable to meet the look in Daniel’s blue eyes.

Sam ignored the exchange to voice another question. "If the High Chancellor didn’t know about this, then how did this all come about, and why?" Given the limited information she’d heard, Sam had already formed a theory on the perpetrator. What she wanted now was to hear anything that might corroborate her idea.

Hammond looked at her. "That’s what we need to find out. The High Chancellor has graciously agreed to offer her assistance in the matter."

Sam turned to Travell. "If you could show us your research into this poison, it might help us in figuring out a cure."

The High Chancellor looked at her sadly. "I would if I thought it would help you, but unfortunately your physiology is somewhat different than ours. What applies to us would not necessarily apply to you, and may in fact cause more harm than good."

Sam was disappointed by the answer, but understood that logically the Chancellor had a point. She would just have to do the best she could and hope it was enough.

Daniel couldn’t believe what was happening around him. He and the rest of the team had been left out of the loop again, his best friend was deliberately poisoned and all of the reasons for this happening were false. His head was spinning and he fought to keep his thoughts straight. "So, there never was a rogue Tollan? That was all made up?"

"To our knowledge that information was false, although these events tell me that perhaps we were wrong in that assumption. That is yet another thing I shall endeavour to ascertain." Travell was watching the proceedings with great interest. She found the close relationship of SG1 most intriguing. They way they drew together in a crisis was one of the reasons she felt they were so effective as a unit.

Daniel wasn’t done yet. He had a lot of questions, and so far, few answers. "So why weren’t we told this time?

Once again Hammond had to draw attention back to the matter at hand. This was not the time to start assigning blame. "That’s not important right now, Dr. Jackson. What is important is that we try and fix this. We can deal with the explanations later when the Colonel is well." He turned his attention from Daniel to Janet. "Doctor Fraiser. What is the Colonel’s condition now?"

Janet took a minute to focus after trying to process the bombshell that had just been dropped on them. "His condition remains serious, Sir. He’s simply not getting enough oxygen. If his blood oxygen levels decrease any more, I’ll have to intubate. After that…..I don’t know."

Sam chimed in. "That ties in with what I’ve found so far, General. My initial tests on the Colonel’s blood indicate an anomaly with his cells. The red blood cells appear to have been targeted by the poison. They seem to have developed some sort of coating around them. Over fifty percent of the cells appear to be fully encapsulated by a foreign substance. I haven’t identified it yet, but I’m running tests to try and isolate it and break it down without damaging the cells within.

Hammond nodded at her approvingly. "Good work, Major. Do what you can and let me know how you are progressing."

Sam nodded. "Yes, Sir." Sam turned to Fraiser. Like the General, she understood that recriminations were far from productive. She also suspected that Janet had as little choice in the charade as the Colonel. "What about transfusing him with healthy cells? Ones that aren’t affected by the poison?"

Fraiser looked at Hammond. "It’s worth a shot, Sir. If nothing else it might buy us some time."

Hammond nodded. "Do it."

Fraiser rose and exited the room quickly as Hammond turned to Carter. "Major, I want you to use whatever resources you need in reversing the effects of the poison."

"Yes, General." Sam rose and made to leave the room, stopping as the General called her.

"Oh, and Major?" The General reached into his breast pocket for the vials he’d reclaimed from Fraiser. "These might help." He didn’t acknowledge the look Travell flashed at him.

Sam reached for it. "What are they, Sir?"

George scowled as he looked at the objects now resting in the Major’s hand. "It’s what’s left of the poison."

Sam looked at the containers as though she were handling some particularly loathsome spiders. "I’ll get these to the lab right away, Sir." With that, she too left the room.

Daniel looked at the General, his anger now spent. "What can Teal’c and I do?"

Hammond indicated the tapes still awaiting viewing. "You can help the Chancellor and me in figuring out the identity of the perpetrator. We need to know who he is and why the Colonel seems to be his target." With that, he indicated that the lights be dimmed and the footage started.

***************

Janet stood at the foot of the Colonel’s bed and bit her lip in frustration as she looked over his latest test results. So far she’d exchanged three units of blood with minimal success. To avoid increasing his volume, she had to first perform phlebotomies. She had to take away some of the contaminated blood, then replace it with healthy quantities. To top it off, she’d reluctantly taken a bone marrow sample and a bone biopsy at Sam’s request. She didn’t take the request lightly given the Colonel’s present state of health, but had acquiesced in the hopes of finding the cure.

"Something wrong there, Doc?" Jack lay there, his hand holding the oxygen mask off to one side.

Janet jumped, unaware that the Colonel had awakened. "Colonel O’Neill? How are you feeling?"

"Which version do you want? The ‘I’m okay, you’re okay’ one, or the truth?" Jack’s voice was weak and somewhat breathy, but welcomed nonetheless.

Janet couldn’t help but laugh as shades of the Colonel she knew shone through. The laugh died quickly as she saw how he struggled to rearrange himself in the bed, too weak to manage the task.

"Here. Let me help you." She moved to his side and raised the head of the bed, moving him into a semi-reclined position. Once he seemed comfortable she checked the IV and transfusion lines, making sure none were crimped while shuffling him about. Realising he had yet to answer her, she re-asked her question. "So, how are you?" Before he could turn that back on her again, she cut him off. "The truth, Colonel."

Jack looked past her, his eyes unfocussed for a long minute before he blinked them clear again. Turning back to her, he gave a weak grin. "Um, does the word ‘crap’ mean anything to you?"

Again, Janet couldn’t help but grin. "That good, huh?"

Jack merely shrugged before looking around, finally taking in his surroundings. "What’s all this?" He indicated the multitude of IV bags hanging above him and the now discarded mask that hung around his neck.

Janet frowned a little. "You’re very sick, Colonel." She wondered how Jack would respond to that.

Not knowing who might be nearby listening, Jack kept up the charade. "Is that so? What is it this time? I didn’t get my rabies shots?" Despite his haggard appearance, Jack strived for a look of innocent nonchalance. He failed completely.

Janet leaned in closer, her demeanour taking on a conspiratory air. "It’s okay, Jack. Everyone knows about the Tollans. The team knows why you did this," she leaned back again, "but that doesn’t mean they won’t all be lining up to kick your butt when you’re better…..Sir." She laid the sarcasm on rather heavily on that last word. She didn’t feel it necessary to add that she’d be joining him in the line of fire.

Jack’s face was a picture of confusion. "What? Why? I mean…..how do they know?"

Janet hesitated, wondering how much she should say. One look at the Colonel’s face told her to start talking. Even sick, when Jack wanted something, he still got it. "Colonel, the General had to tell them. It seems that we’ve been duped." Seeing how tiring the effort of merely talking was proving to the Colonel, she rushed on. "Whoever brought that request for assistance did so without the approval of the Tollan Council. They knew nothing about it."

"And the virus?" Jack was pretty sure he wouldn’t like the answer to that one.

Janet understood from the look in his eyes that not only did he know the truth, but that he wanted honesty and would accept nothing else. "I’m sorry, Colonel. It wasn’t a virus but a poison. It seems as though you were deliberately targeted." She neglected to inform him of the nature of the poison. That was something she wanted to discuss when he was stronger. While she wanted to think it was to protect him, she knew the truth of the matter was simply that she couldn’t face him knowing that she was at fault. At least….not yet.

Jack was having a hard time concentrating. The words seemed muffled and distant and his head was feeling incredibly heavy. "Why?" That single word seemed to sap his energy and his head lolled on the pillow.

Janet noticed his growing weakness. "I don’t know, Colonel. For now we need to concentrate on damage control, and for that, you need to get some sleep."

Her words fell on deaf ears as the Colonel was already doing just that.

Janet tried to ignore the slight shaking of her hand as she placed the oxygen mask back on her friend.

***************

Carter cursed as yet another experiment failed. "Dammit!" She sat back in her chair, running her fingers through her hair in a frustrated gesture. She looked about the room, noting the activity of the technicians around her as they ran test results and scenarios through computers.

Sam hated this. She hated that her CO was sick; she hated the intrigue surrounding the situation; she hated feeling responsible for coming up with solution to a question with no apparent answer. Biology was not her field; nor was chemistry for that matter. She was an astrophysicist, yet here she was, trying to find a way to counteract a lethal poison from another world.

She rotated her shoulders, trying to ease some of the accumulated attention that was knotting her muscles. Finally feeling a bit of relief, she heaved a heavy sigh before resuming her position at the microscope.

"Might I be of some assistance, Major Carter?" The low smooth tones came from behind, causing a startled Sam to swivel in her seat.

"Teal’c? I though you were busy with Daniel and the General?"

"My help proved unnecessary as Dr. Jackson and High Chancellor Travell have already identified the subject in question." Teal’c moved up to stand alongside the Major at the workstation.

"Really? Wow. That was fast. Who is it?"

"His name is Orman. He is known to the High Council. He works as a special aid at their meetings. Apparently, his position enabled him to present the false documents to the Chancellor where she might give them her seal of approval. Chancellor Travell has already returned to the planet to retrieve him."

"Did Daniel go?"

"He did not. The High Chancellor felt that bringing along someone from the SGC might alert Orman to the discovery of his actions. She wishes to confront him at the next convening of the Council."

Sam looked at Teal’c, worry apparent on her features. "But when will that be? I mean, the Colonel doesn’t have much time." ‘Not’, she added to herself, ‘that finding him now will change the outcome’.

"She was prepared to convene an immediate meeting, ostensibly to discuss the Tau’ri’s request for contact with the Nox. She will put forward that we wish to contact them in an effort to gain aid for O’Neill."

Sam smiled broadly. "That’s a great idea. The Nox can come and heal the Colonel."

Teal’c shook his head minutely. "We have already discussed this with the Chancellor. She does not feel that the Nox have the power to cure the Colonel of this illness."

Sam sputtered. "But, they brought us back from the dead. How can they not cure this?"

"The Chancellor explained that the poison would remain within the Colonel, even with their help. If he were to die and they to revive him, the poison would remain. The only way to cure him is to discover the antidote. That is why I have come to offer my assistance. Now, what might I do to aid you?"

Sam sighed heavily, her immediate hopes dashed. Still, she had a job to do and self pity wasn’t going to help. "I’m not sure at this point, Teal’c. This poison is the strangest thing."

"How so?"

Sam cocked her head, chewing her lip pensively as she tried to figure out how to explain her findings. "It only seems to attack the blood cells once they are in the circulatory system, as opposed to being in the bone marrow itself."

"I do not understand. Does this present a more difficult challenge?"

"Not really, I guess. What’s strange about it, is that it seems to leave the bone marrow alone. It’s almost as though something within the bone structure prevents it from bonding with the cells. What I don’t know is what that something is….yet."

"Then we should proceed with all haste to discover the source."

"Right." Sam ran a hand through her hair, took a deep breath and prepared to start again. "Hand me that slide would you, Teal’c?’

*******************

Daniel stood at Jack’s bedside, arms crossed as he took in his friend’s appearance. Monitors provided him with company as they beeped and sighed, while bag after bag of fluid dripped into Jack’s veins. The Colonel’s eyes were closed in apparent sleep but dark patches remained underneath. His face was pale and appeared thinner to Daniel’s eye, although he knew that wasn’t the case. Still, it was hard to reconcile the image of the vibrant man who strode into his office only yesterday, to the unconscious figure in front of him.

As he studied his friend, he slowly became aware that Jack seemed to be waking up. Leaning over the bed he watched as Jack’s eyes opened and shut, blinking against the bright infirmary lights. "Hey there."

"Daniel?" The word was muffled by the mask, but understandable nonetheless.

"Yeah." Both men spoke in hushed tones; Jack out of necessity, Daniel out of worry.

Jack looked at his friend, noting the tension in his posture and the darkening of his normally bright eyes. "You okay?" He frowned as he noticed the mask on his face, pulling it off so he could speak unimpeded.

"I’m the one who should be asking you that. What were you thinking, Jack?"

Jack didn’t even bother to pretend that he misunderstood. "Orders, Daniel. No choice." He was having a hard time catching his breath and was forced to speak in clipped sentences.

"What kind of person orders another man to take a poison, Jack? Tell me, ‘cause I don’t get it."

Jack took a moment to answer. He needed time to gather his thoughts that seemed intent on eluding him at the moment; like wisps of smoke, he’d reach for them, only to have them float away. "Don’t need…to get it. Better that way."

Daniel sighed heavily, trying to calm himself. He didn’t need to get into an argument right now. Jack didn’t need it and he didn’t want it. What he did want was to understand, although that didn’t seem possible at the moment. He’d never completely wrapped his brain around the military mindset and wasn’t sure he ever really wanted to.

Jack watched him carefully, reading the expressions that flit across his face. Wanting Daniel to understand, he started to speak, softly, slowly. "Conditioning. You learn. You might question….but that….. gets you into trouble. CO says ‘jump…. you ask how high."

"I can’t see you asking how high, Jack."

The Colonel managed a faint smile. "I also…..got into a lot of trouble." The words came out in a rush as he expelled the last of his oxygen.

Daniel laughed, and he had to admit, it felt good.

For his part, Jack was rubbing his forehead with a shaky hand. His headache seemed to be growing. He also noticed a strange taste in his mouth. It was making him feel slightly nauseous. To top it off, the tingling he’d felt before when this whole ordeal had just begun was back. It started in his neck but was rapidly progressing up the back of his head, assaulting his senses. His vision flickered in and out and the taste in his mouth grew worse.

Daniel was quick to notice that Jack had fallen silent and wondered at the cause. He looked over and noticed that Jack’s eyes seemed fixed; staring at something unseen.

"Jack? You okay?" Daniel knew something was wrong. Jack didn’t react at all. His gaze never wavered and his pupils seemed dilated. Grabbing the call button, Daniel began pushing it frantically, yelling for help at the same time.

Janet heard him and was on her way before the nurses could even react to the page. She rushed over, moving alongside Daniel and pulling out her penlight. She flashed Jack’s eyes, noting how the pupils failed to react. As she put the oxygen mask back on, she asked Daniel what happened.

"I don’t know. One minute he was talking, the next he wasn’t." Daniel crossed his arms over his chest; a sure sign of nervousness.

Janet barely heard his answer as she continued to assess Jack. She noted the pulse/ox reading, swearing under her breath as the numbers continued to drop in front of her. Looking back into his face, she addressed her patient. "Colonel O’Neill? Can you hear me?"

Jack wasn’t aware of her arrival, nor her questions. All he knew was that the tingling sensation in his head had grown to mammoth proportions, drowning out his perceptions. The taste in his mouth had grown, making him want to gag. As he continued to stare at nothing, the world slid by sickeningly and his head tipped correspondingly.

Janet noticed the beginning tremors before Daniel. She pushed him safely out of the way, allowing her better access to the patient.

Daniel watched, horrified as Jack began to seize on the bed. He reached over to grab Jack’s legs only to be stopped by Janet.

"Don’t touch him." The two watched helplessly while Jack’s body spasmed, his back arching and his limbs flailing aimlessly, occasionally crashed into the siderails on the bed. Both doctor and friend winced in sympathy knowing Jack would be sporting some serious bruising as a result.

The seizure lasted several minutes. Just as it seemed to be ending, Daniel was forced out of the room by arriving medical personnel. He stood in the hall, shaken and wondering.

Long moments passed as he stood there. Finally he lowered himself to the ground, resting his back against the wall, preparing to stay for as long as it took. He failed to notice the cold of the floor as it permeated his clothing; nor the strange looks of passer-byes going about their business. Instead he sat staring at the doors that led to his friend’s room, trying to figure out how all this related to their plans to go to a movie.

It seemed like hours later when a nurse finally opened the door and directed her attention at him. "The doctor says you can go in now." She held the door for him as he shakily climbed to his feet. She gave a sympathetic nod as she noted his hesitation before entering the room. She knew how hard this was for him; for all of them.

Daniel stepped inside Jack’s room just in time to see another nurse removing a used intubation tray from the Colonel’s bedside.

On seeing his face, Janet took him to one side to explain. "The Colonel’s oxygen saturation levels have dropped even further despite the mask and the blood transfusions. The resulting hypoxia caused a full tonic-clonic seizure but luckily no harm came of it. We put him on the respirator, but at the rate things are progressing, even that isn’t going to help for long.

Daniel’s head was whirling with all the terms. "Hypoxia? Tonic-clonic?"

"Sorry. You’re here so much I sometimes forget you don’t know all this stuff. Hypoxia means the Colonel’s brain isn’t getting enough oxygen and that led to the seizure. Hopefully the respirator will help with that." Janet could see his confusion and fear but for now she couldn’t afford the time to try and help him figure it out. Jack needed her more and she was going to be there for him this time.

As Daniel stood, he fought against a wave of emotions. He was angry at Jack being forced into such a hair-brained scheme; he was hurt that once again the rest of the team had been left in the dark, and he was grieving for the man he called his best friend.

***************

Hammond strode into the embarkation room after being alerted to an offworld activation. Standard protocol was being initiated after the signal came through, the point of origin being Tollana. He stood at the bottom of the ramp surrounded by the usual complement of armed marines.

The iris was opened and the Stargate sprang into life. Only seconds after the cerulean surface settled, it rippled once again. Four figures emerged. Leading the way was Travell. Included in her entourage was a man Hammond immediately identified as being the one to bring the proposal; Orman. Flanking him were two guards, judging by their attire.

"Welcome back, High Chancellor. I take it that you were successful in apprehending the traitor?"

"We were, General. Might we talk in your briefing room?"

"Of course." Hammond extended his arm graciously to Travell, guiding her out of the ‘gate room. They were followed closely by Orman and his guards; the prisoner being treated to a host of hostile looks from the watching marines. For the purposes of moral, Hammond also assigned two of his own people to keep watch.

***************

"Teal’c, I think I’ve got something here!" Sam couldn’t keep the excitement from her voice. This was the first promising result she’d had since starting these tests and her intuition told her she was on the right track. "Come take a look at this."

Teal’c peered into the microscope she’d vacated for him. He didn’t understand what it was he was looking at.

Understanding his pensive look, Sam tried to clarify. "I think I’ve isolated the factors that resist the poison."

"What do we do with this information now?"

Sam lost some of her enthusiasm. "Well, now I think we need to bring Janet in on this. I’m kind of out of my field here."

"I shall notify her that her assistance is required." Teal’c moved over to the wall mounted phone and paged the Doctor.

Sam turned back to the microscope, her brain ticking off possible ways to apply this new found information.

******************

Janet hung up the phone and approached Daniel, who now sat holding vigil at Jack’s side. "That was the lab. Teal’c says Sam might be on to something. I have to go check it out." At Daniel’s failure to respond, she continued on. "Daniel? Do you want to come? Daniel?" She touched him gently on the shoulder.

"Oh, huh?"

Janet realised he hadn’t heard her. "I said I have to go to the lab. Do you want to come?"

"Um, no thanks, Janet. I think I’ll stay here if that’s all right?"

"Of course." She looked over at the unconscious man on the bed. "For what it’s worth, I think he knows you’re here."

Daniel looked up at her briefly, treating her to a smile. "Thanks, Janet."

"You’re welcome. Now, make sure you take a break. We don’t need you in here as a customer." When Daniel failed to respond she knew she’d lost him again. Heaving a weary sigh she headed off to the lab.

********************

Hammond took his seat with Travell opposite to him. Orman and the guards remained standing. Hammond looked at the prisoner, anger and confusion on his face. "So, care to explain yourself?"

Orman threw a look of utter contempt at him yet remained silent.

Travell spoke for him. "It seems that the high esteem we hold your Colonel O’Neill in has turned some of our people against him."

Hammond did a double take. "Come again?"

Travell cast her gaze over at Orman. "Apparently," she heaved a worn sigh, as though the whole affair was weighing heavily on her, "some of my people were operating under the misguided misconception that we were so besotted by O’Neill that we were on the verge of capitulating and allowing you access to our weapons blueprints." She hastened on, "Not that we were entertaining any such notion."

"Of course not," Hammond commented dryly.

Travell ignored him and continued on. "Orman was elected by an unknown group of individuals to eliminate O’Neill under the belief that by removing him, they removed the threat of a military alliance. We feel that it will not take long to identify and deal with these persons."

Hammond grunted in disbelief. "That’s the most idiotic, ill conceived plan I’ve ever heard." He swung his gaze on Orman. "And you call yourselves superior to us? Superior my ass." The General continued to stare at the prisoner as his fingers tapped idly on the table. Finally he turned his attention back to Travell. "I don’t understand why he would tell you all of this? What’s in it for him?" He knew he should be asking Orman directly, but frankly just looking at the prisoner made him feel sick.

Travell looked over Orman, undisguised disgust on her face. "He was actually very vocal, General. He seems to feel that his incarceration will elevate him some sort of martyr status, thus gaining his movement popularity."

"To what end?" Hammond was confused. Maybe the fact that he’d considered the Tollans above such dealings was throwing him off.

"Not all Tollans believe as I and the council do. We feel that our technology should remain with us. Others do not. They are few in numbers, but gaining in strength. Orman and his people wish to try and sever relationships with any allies who show the potential to attract the attention of this faction."

"So he tried to set it up so that we would hate you because the Colonel died?" Hammond was having a hard time understanding the skewed logic behind all this. "Why would we hate you? You told us you had nothing to do with this and we believe you."

"You forget, General." Travell’s voice was soft and she leaned in to stress her point. "You Tau’ri possess a sense of trust and honour that is not as commonplace as you might think. Orman expected you to act as he would."

Hammond just shook his head. Too much information was coming at him too quickly and he needed time to think. Instead of doing just that, he had one overriding question that he needed to ask. Turning to Orman, he put on his best command expression. "Tell me how I reverse this poison."

Orman laughed. "Didn’t she tell you? You can’t reverse it. There is no cure. You saw to that when you gave him the antidote." Orman’s face took on a sinister cast. "So," he tilted his head conspiratorially. "How does it feel to know that you killed your own man?"

Travell stood abruptly. "That’s enough!" She fixed him with a meaningful glare.

Orman had served her for enough years that his response was to obey and he fell silent, although a manic gleam remained in his eye.

Hammond didn’t bother to respond to the taunt. He knew full well that his decision would haunt him. He didn’t need this man pointing that out to him. In the meantime, he needed to deal with the here and now. "Well, now that we have you, what do we do with you?"

Again Orman held his silence.

Travell spoke softly, her hands clasped in front of her. "We shall take him back to Tollana to stand trial for his crimes. Rest assured, General, he and the other dissidents shall be suitably punished."

Hammond debated about arguing with her but decided it wasn’t worth the battle. He knew Travell was right. He’d want his people back to stand trial on their homeworld, despite any offences they may have committed elsewhere. In fact, he’d fought for that very right when SG1 was held in the prison Hudante. Instead he turned his energies to a better task, that of gathering information. Addressing Orman, he put forth the question, "Why did you think you could pull this off?"

Despite Travell’s presence, the prisoner spoke freely, his voice choked with cynical laughter. "Please, General. Your desire for our technology is well known. It was the perfect bait to dangle in front of you, and like good children you jumped at the chance to get some. It was rather pathetic to see how easily you were taken in." He snorted in derision. "And you call yourselves our allies? How we could associate with a race as primitive and foolish as yours is beyond my comprehension."

Travell smacked her hand on the table, the sound reverberating about the room. "Enough!" She turned an angry glare on Orman. "Do not disgrace the Tollan race further with these insulting comments." She looked back at Hammond, her expression sorrowful. "My apologies, General. I am sorry that your trust in us was used against you. It was never my intention to see your people suffer at our hand."

"I understand, High Chancellor. You did not hold our transgressions against us….we will not hold yours against you."

Travell nodded graciously. "We shall leave you in peace, General. Next time we desire a meeting, I shall see to it that I am present for the initial contact."

"I would appreciate that. In the meantime, allow me to escort you out." Hammond rose and once again led the way to the ‘gate room, Orman closely watched by both sides.

As the wormhole to Tollana once again established itself, the two leaders exchanged farewells. Travell mounted the ramp to the Stargate, stopping at the cusp of the portal. She turned and imparted her final words. "Once again, General, I am sorry about O’Neill." With that she left, along with her party.

"So am I, Chancellor, so am I." With those soft words, Hammond turned and exited the room.

******************

"So, what have you found?" Janet made short time getting to the lab. At this point, every minute counted.

"I’m not sure," Sam reluctantly admitted. "We seem to have found the poison’s weakness but I don’t know what to do with that."

"Well, what is it?" Janet couldn’t help but feel excited.

"It seems that the poison can’t penetrate bone. I ran some tests on the bone biopsy you gave me and I got some interesting results." Sam placed a slide under the microscope. Knowing that Teal’c was watching, she tried to explain her findings in laymans terms as she went along. "Now, bone is a piezo electric substance, which means that living bone produces an electrical current which stimulates growth. Coupled with that is the fact that phosphorus and calcium turnover daily and the poison seems to react negatively to their presence. Also, the Colonel’s bones are very dense, probably from a lifetime of physical activity and good diet. These factors all seem to combine to form an impenetrable barrier for the poison."

Sam looked over at Janet as a thought suddenly came to her. "What if we could run the Colonel’s blood through some sort of filter? Perhaps augment a dialysis machine and refit it with calcium and phosphorus filters?"

Janet looked at her sceptically. "I’m not sure if that would work, Sam. The human body is extremely sensitive to the presence of both chemicals. Too much of either could cause more harm than good. On top of that, you mentioned the electrical component. We can’t exactly zap the Colonel."

Sam wasn’t about to be dissuaded so easily. "I think we could run a very low charge through the machine. It wouldn’t take much. It wouldn’t be enough to hurt the Colonel or the machine. We could run it between the chemical filters. His blood would have to go through all three and hopefully the poison would be neutralised by the time it finished."

Janet still wasn’t sure. So many things could go wrong. The Colonel ran the risk of developing hypercalcemia, hyperphosphatemia, an irregular heartbeat or renal failure. Still, she realised that at this point that they couldn’t make things much worse. Making her decision she met Sam’s questioning gaze. "I’ll work on the hemodialyzer. I’ll need to replace the regular filters with the new ones. When I’ve got it ready, perhaps you can fit it with the electrical current?"

Sam looked at her, feeling as though she’d just won a small victory. "Thanks, Janet."

"Don’t thank me. It hasn’t worked yet." With that, Janet left the room with Teal’c in tow.

Sam wasn’t far behind when she realised that the General needed to be informed of their plan.

****************

It took several hours to refit the hemodialyzer with the new parts and to get the electrical current to work without disrupting the normal operations of the machine.

The team all gathered around Jack’s bed, watching as Janet connected the machine to the two ports of the subclavian catheter she’d inserted. More than one set of fingers could be seen crossing, while prayers to various deities were uttered.

It didn’t take long before impatience set in. "How long until we know something?" Daniel hated the petulant tone he heard in his voice, but he was tired, worried and hoping for a miracle cure. He hadn’t expected to stand around watching for so long and not seeing any results.

"It could be a while before we know anything. My suggestion would be that all of you go and get some rest. I’ll call you if anything changes." Janet could see the reluctance to leave shine clearly through the exhausted eyes watching the Colonel. Knowing they wouldn’t leave without dire threats, she appealed to the General who had joined them at the onset of the treatment. "General? I would rather not have to sedate the team, so if you wouldn’t mind……"

Hammond took in the weary faces around him and knew the Doctor was right. These people needed sleep, and lots of it. He’d lost track of how long it had been since the crisis had started but it seemed like a lifetime ago. "Dr. Fraiser is right. I want all of you to get some rest. I don’t want any of you back here within the next eight hours unless you are called." When he noticed the halfhearted shuffling of reluctant feet, he knew it was time to pull out the big guns. "That is an order, people. Don’t make me confine you to quarters for failure to carry out it out."

Several weary ‘yes, Sir’s’ followed as the three team-mates stumbled from the room. Hammond turned to Fraiser, a smile of satisfaction crossing his face until he heard her next words.

"You too, General. You aren’t doing the Colonel any good by exhausting yourself."

Hammond knew by the look on the diminutive doctor’s face that she was prepared to cite any and all regulations that gave her the authority to enforce her order if he fought her.

"Very well, Doctor. Just please call me if anything changes."

"I will, Sir."

Hammond was heading for the door, but paused as he reached it. "I do mean anything," he called over his shoulder.

"I know, Sir. I promise."

With the infirmary finally quiet, Janet pulled up a chair. It was hard to find a place to put it with all the machines gathered around the Colonel’s bed, but she squeezed it in. She took Jack’s wrist gently in her hand, feeling for the pulse despite the beeping monitor beside her giving that same information.

She was neither alarmed, nor comforted by the information her fingertips were relaying. There appeared to be no change in the Colonel’s condition, despite running through two of the four hours she’d allotted for this dialysis session.

Her plan was to give him daily sessions until he showed improvement, at which point she would taper that back. Unlike the others, Janet knew that if this were to work, it wouldn’t be a quick fix. No snap the fingers and he’s better. This would be a time consuming process, but worth it in the long run.

Still worried about possible complications, Janet drew blood for the lab. She waved over a nurse and sent the samples with her.

****************

True to their word, the team managed to stay away for a full eight hours to the minute. At that point Janet found the infirmary door filled with SG1.

"How is he?" came from three different voices simultaneously.

Despite her fatigue Janet couldn’t help but smile. It was almost comical that three completely different people could look and sound the same under certain circumstances.

Janet led them over to Jack, updating them as she went along. "Well, he’s still critical. His blood pressure is still too high, as is his temperature. The last serum levels were a little off but that’s been corrected. His oxygen levels are still low but they haven’t fallen further which I consider good news. All in all, he’s holding his own."

As Sam looked down on her CO, she was taken aback by how ill he really looked. She had become used to his somewhat brash personality over the last few years. He was oft-times rude, abrasive and funny, and always in control. The man in front of her was none of those things. The too still figure surrounded by machines and looking like a science project gone wrong with all the tubes stuck in him bore little resemblance to the man she worked beside and to whom she trusted her life.

Despite knowing that their attempts might prove futile, she couldn’t help but feel disappointed by the lack of progress the Colonel had made; although she recognised that the situation could be far worse.

A voice broke through her musings as Janet continued to explain her plans for treatment.

"We’ll run the next round of dialysis in a couple of hours. Our hope is that his blood will begin to react this time."

"And if it does not, Dr. Fraiser?" Teal’c timbrous voice seemed out of place in the relative quiet of the infirmary.

"Then I guess we keep trying it until we see some results one way or another. That’s all we can do, Teal’c." The Jaffa nodded gracefully at the words, recognising that they had exhausted all known medical avenues.

****************

It was Daniel’s turn to sit with Jack. With all the machinery there was little room for multiple visitors so the team had elected to take shifts. While one visited, the others attempted to continue the research on the poison. Jack was more than halfway through his second round of dialysis yet remained unaware of that fact.

As Daniel sat, he thought back over the times he and Jack had shared; both the good and the bad. No matter the extreme, though, their friendship had remained a dominant force despite outward appearances.

Daniel knew that Jack was thought to be the strong one of the group while Daniel was considered the sensitive member of SG1. It made him wonder how many people were aware of Jack’s real nature; the part of him that he kept separate from work and those around him. Daniel reflected on the number of times Jack had stopped at a park, only to know half the kids there who would undoubtedly rope him into some sort of game. He had seen Jack go and mend an elderly neighbour’s fence and not say a word. He had seen him marvel at a sunset and witnessed the sorrow in his eyes as the colour faded away.

He closed his eyes, thinking back to an incident that would forever stand out in his mind. Jack had picked him up one day, unannounced of course. Daniel remembered feeling rather annoyed. He’d finally managed to pick up a book he’d coveted for a long time. He had promised himself that he’d take the weekend and simply read. Then Jack had come along and his plans flew out the window.

//"Come on, Daniel. We have to go." Jack stood in front of his friend, his hands stuffed in his jeans’ pockets as he rocked back and forth on his heels. His leather jacket hung open showing the black t-shirt underneath. He looked supremely comfortable and definitely casual, making Daniel wonder what he had planned.

"Why. Why do we have to go anywhere, Jack? Who says I can’t just stay home for a change, doing something I want to do? If you have something planned, go for it, but leave me out."

"But, Daniel….?"

"But nothing, Jack. It’s not often we get a weekend off and I’m planning on spending it……"

Jack cut him off. "With your nose stuck in a book when you can be out doing stuff."

Daniel was beginning to gesture a lot, a sure sigh that he was getting frustrated. "This is doing something. It’s interesting, educational…."

Again Jack cut him off, "and boring."

"Maybe to you, Jack, but not to me."

"I could order you to come." Jack tried not to grin.

"You could, but I don’t have to listen. We’re not on base right now, remember. As of oh-whatever hundred yesterday, we reverted back to civilians……," Daniel started to mumble, "…..not that I wasn’t already a civilian," his voice grew louder as he got back on track, "but that’s not really the point here."

It was Jack’s turn to get frustrated. "And your point was….?"

Daniel took a good look at his friend, finally seeing the hopeful expression on his face. Feeling his resolve melt, he answered. "The point was…..where are we going, Jack?"

Jack grinned, clearly pleased. "That’s my boy." He walked over and grabbed Daniel’s jacket from the hook near the door, throwing it back at his friend. "I’ll tell you when we get there."

Daniel heaved a long suffering sigh, but couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face when he noted the extra bounce in Jack’s step.

It had proven to be a wonderful, gratifying afternoon. Jack showed a side of himself that Daniel never knew existed.

Jack was involved with a program that combined two of his first loves; children and dogs.

They spent the afternoon taking specially trained dogs to the local children’s hospital. The dogs were gentle and more patient than Daniel would have thought possible as they allowed little hands to pat and handle them; they even ignored the odd, inadvertent pull on their fur, knowing it was unintentional.

For their part the children were delighted. They adored the dogs, and even more so, the Colonel. Judging by their familiarity with his friend, Daniel realised this wasn’t the first time Jack had been here. He knew many of the kids by name and was incredibly patient with them. He introduced Daniel, who tried to hang back, and the archaeologist had to admit to feeling slightly overwhelmed when the children welcomed him eagerly.

Jack had been rather quiet as he drove Daniel home and Daniel understood that the afternoon had been a bittersweet one for his friend. Some of those children wouldn’t make it and Jack was already sympathising with the families. On the other hand, he’d brought some joy into their lives and knew that was something to be proud of.

The evening had ended up with Daniel inviting Jack in for coffee, which soon turned to the beer that Daniel kept in the apartment, just in case.

Daniel looked over, seeing Jack staring contemplatively at the label on his beer. "Jack?"

"Yeah, Daniel?" His eyes never left the colourful picture on the bottle.

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For today. You were right. That was better than any old book." He looked over at his friend who finally looked back. "That was a nice thing you did for those kids."

Jack turned back to the bottle, uncomfortable with the praise. "It was nothing." He looked over at the fish tank, glad to have something more to focus on than Daniel’s too perceptive eyes. "It’s just that kids and dogs go together, you know?"

"Yeah, I know." Daniel thought back to the joy on Cassie’s face when Jack presented her with her first dog. The memory brought a smile to his face. "I know."

Jack leaned back into the cushions, drinking deeply from his bottle, understanding that Daniel did indeed know.//

Dragging himself back to the present, Daniel looked at his friend. It was all these things and more that Jack kept to himself, and it was for all these reasons, along with countless others, that Daniel called him friend.

"Some friend I make." Daniel said the words aloud as though voicing them made them true. "Where am I when you’re asked to take a poison, just because someone behind a desk with a flag on it wants a new toy? I’m thinking about a movie. Way to go, Jackson."

"You can’t blame yourself, Son. I’m the one that gave the order. I’m the one that sat there and watched him get injected with something so toxic that even the Nox can’t help." Hammond had hoped to have a bit of time alone with the Colonel. He was just about to turn around and leave when he overheard Jackson’s self recriminations. He couldn’t walk away at that point. There was blame to be had, but it was not for the young man to shoulder. He alone bore that burden.

"General, I….."

"Listen, Doctor. I’ve been at this military thing for a long time, and just like the Colonel here," he looked down at the still unconscious man, "I’ve done some pretty distasteful things in the service of my country." Hammond heaved a heavy sigh before continuing. "But I can tell you that without a doubt, asking Colonel O’Neill to partake of this farce of a mission was one of the worst things I’ve ever done."

Daniel looked at the General, noting for the first time that Hammond looked old and worn. His shoulders seemed bowed by the mantle of leadership and his demeanour exuded sadness. Daniel instantly regretted his moment of self-pity, knowing that the General must be putting himself through far worse. "You know he wouldn’t blame you, don’t you?"

"That doesn’t change the fact that I blame myself."

"General, I can’t pretend to know how you feel here, but I can tell you what Jack would say. He’d be telling you to put the blame where it belongs; with the Tollan traitor and the political pencil-pushers who haven’t seen the real world since Hell froze over."

Hammond had to smile at that, knowing that’s precisely what the Colonel would say, along with a few other words that Daniel elected not to use. "You’re right about that one. Unfortunately he’d tell the President the same thing given the chance."

Daniel snickered. "Yeah, he might get that court martial yet." Both men looked at each other as it occurred to them that they were talking in the future tense. For the first time since the Colonel fell ill, a sense of optimism filled them both. Neither man had time to comment on that as Janet Fraiser came back in the room.

She immediately went to check on Jack’s vitals, her expression stony as she noted them down.

"Well?" The hopeful note in Daniel’s voice was obvious.

"I’m sorry, but there’s no change." Janet’s voice was slightly slurred from fatigue.

Daniel refused to be brought down. "But he’s no worse, right?"

"No, his condition hasn’t changed in the last twenty-eight hours."

Hammond cut in. "Doctor Fraiser, how long has it been since you’ve slept? No, forget that. I think I can guess. I want you to get Dr. Warner in here to take over for a while you get some sleep." Knowing she was about to argue, the General cut her off. "The Colonel is all yours again after you’ve rested, but as of now you’re off duty."

Janet nodded. She knew she needed the rest, but she had also wanted to stick around in case anything changed. She had been so scared of losing the Colonel that she was hesitant to leave his side. Since his condition had sort of plateaued, at least for the time being, she felt that it was safe enough to leave for a bit. Still, she planned on sleeping on a nearby cot, just in case….

******************

Teal’c felt, rather than saw, the movement. Pulling himself out of his meditative trance, he tried to figure out what had caught his attention. He looked around the infirmary, seeing nothing different than he had for the past five days.

He turned his attention to the Colonel. He looked down at the still sleeping man, noting that for the first time in days he actually looked peaceful. The lines that had formed deep furrows across his brow seemed to be smoothing out and he was losing that slightly pinched look that gave the impression of a man in pain.

O’Neill had continued to undergo daily dialysis treatments. To everyone’s disappointment he hadn’t seemed to turn the corner yet on the road to health. While he had maintained the status quo, he failed to gain any ground. Doctor Fraiser had expressed her worries about the Colonel’s long term health prospects should he manage to fight off the poison. Without being able to talk with him, to assess his cognitive skills, she had no way of knowing what kind of permanent damage might have been done. It was a dour group that had listened to her.

Teal’c looked at the time, realising that he was due to meet the rest of SG1 at the lab. The team, the whole base in fact, hadn’t given up hope yet that they might help the Colonel somehow.

Teal’c rose to leave when he again became aware of movement. This time he was able to figure out the source. The Colonel was moving his hand. It was a slight motion but there nonetheless. To Teal’c it seemed like a promise. He left the Colonel’s bedside in search of Dr. Fraiser.

When he returned only moments later, he not only had the petite physician with him but the rest of SG1 as well. They had come in search of him, arriving in time to catch Teal’c’s news.

This time, there were several witnesses as Jack moved his hand again. The movement appeared deliberate and followed soon after by a fluttering of his eyelids. For long moments it seemed as though nothing else would happen, when it suddenly did…. Jack opened his eyes.

Janet was immediately at his side, taking in his responses with a clinical eye. "Colonel? Can you hear me?" She was so pleased when Jack looked over at her, his movements sluggish, but deliberate. "Can you follow my finger?" She moved her finger back and forth in front of his face, smiling as he tracked the digit with his eyes. She put her hand down, smiling warmly at him as she reached for his hand, holding it in her own. "Well done, Colonel." She squeezed his hand gently and was rewarded with an answering grip.

For their part, Daniel and Sam traded hopeful glances, and for the first time in days some of the tension left Teal’c’s jaw.

Janet noted the tired droop of Jack’s gaze. He was already exhausted by his efforts and she didn’t want to tire him any more. "Get some sleep, Colonel. We’ll be here when you wake up."

He nodded at her, his movements slight but there. His brown eyes held hers for a moment longer before sliding closed. If she didn’t know better, Janet could have sworn she saw an unvoiced word of thanks in those dark depths.

Janet turned her attention to the monitors around the bed. For the first time since this ordeal had started his blood pressure had dropped. It wasn’t by much, and it was still too high, but it was tangible proof that his body was rallying.

As she turned to the others and took in their expressions she couldn’t help but smile. Despite Jack’s apparent progress, she knew she walked a fine line between optimism and realism. The fact was, Jack wasn’t out of the woods yet, but he was close.

"Janet, does this mean he’s going to be okay?" Daniel was torn between fear and jubilation. He was afraid of getting his hopes up, yet this was the first really positive sign they’d had and he wanted to grab onto that and not let it go.

"I can’t say for sure. I’ll have to run some tests to see. His blood pressure is down a bit so that’s a start." Janet caught the attention of a passing nurse and gave her orders to do another blood series on the Colonel.

****************

The team spent the rest of the day at Jack’s side. They couldn’t help but be disappointed when he failed to wake again. Even the General took a turn watching.

He sat with Jack throughout the entire course of dialysis, cringing inwardly at the site of his Second’s blood coursing through plastic tubing. He found that even more disturbing that the respirator that was helping the Colonel to breathe. To him it was a visible sign of the damage that had been done; damage that might still prove irreparable.

****************

Sam came running in to the infirmary from the lab, papers flapping haphazardly in her hand. "Janet!"

Fraiser came over right away, caught by the excitement she heard in the Major’s voice.

"It’s working!"

Unwilling to jump to conclusions, Janet exercised extreme patience. "What’s working?"

"The simulations." Sam paused for a moment, trying to regain her breath. "I’ve been running tests on the Colonel’s blood. It’s happening slowly but his cells are reacting to the stimulus I’m exposing them to. The substance is beginning to break down." Sam looked over in the Colonel’s direction, then back at the doctor. "This will work, Janet. We have to believe that."

*****************

Jack was dreaming, as he had for the better part of the last few week. The anoxia from the suffocation along with the pain of the poison had combined to attack Jack’s subconscious, sending him nightmares that he would long after he recovered. At first they weren’t even nightmares. They were scenes ripped from his memories, although many of them would have qualified for the nightmare category. He was treated to scene after scene from his past; incidents long buried for the sake of his sanity. Then the dreams mutated to the point that they altered his other memories; the happier times in his life. This one was a particularly good memory, or had been, in another lifetime.

//Jack was at the hospital, visiting the sick kids. He’d become a regular visitor there and the children all welcomed him like an old friend. He’d come straight from work so he still wore his fatigues, his sidearm strapped at his side.

He was sitting on the floor with a young girl, Jody; stacking blocks as per her instructions. They were making a castle. She was to be the princess, her cancer was the evil villain and her doctor was the night in shining armour.

"So, what am I, then?" Jack looked at her as he went into a patented Arnie pose, his arms sticking out at odd angles, his fists clenched.

Jody burst into giggles, pointing at him. "You look funny. You can be the joker." The children near enough to hear the comment started laughing as well.

Jack stood up in mock indignation and tramped over to the nearby toy box, rummaging around until he found what he was looking for. He marched back triumphantly, coming to a halt alongside the castle. "All right, my lady, a joker it is. For my first trick, I’m going to make these balls dance." Jack threw one ball up in the air, followed by another, than another. Soon, he was juggling them easily, much to the delight of the watching children.

"What’s this?" A young boy interrupted the show as he reached out and pulled Jack’s sidearm from its holster.

Jack looked over, taking in the scene. Time ground to a near halt and moved in painful slow motion. "Don’t touch that!" The balls all fell to the earth as Jack lunged for the weapon. "Noooooo!" He was too late and the sound exploded in his ears. Crimson coloured the scene as the young boy was thrown backwards by the force of the bullet hitting his small body.

Jack knelt down and gathered the child in his arms, holding him tight.

Behind him, the forgotten balls bounced several times before coming to rest near the now forsaken castle.//

**********************

Daniel was falling asleep in his chair. His muscles were cramped and sore from spending too much time in the unforgiving piece of furniture and he longed for his bed. For the first time in days, he envied Jack his extended sleep.

In the past 24 hours, Jack’s condition had begun to show marked improvement. So much so, that Janet had extubated him and removed the heart monitor at his side. It was a good thing, too, or this nightmare that had his heart racing would have set the machine off.. She had him back on a mask; a far improvement from having a tube shoved down his trachea. Still, he had yet to wake up again.

As such, Daniel just about leapt from his skin when he heard the gravely voice come from alongside him. "Don’t you ever sleep?" The words were soft, barely more than a whisper, but Daniel had never heard a sweeter sound.

"Jack! You’re awake?!" Daniel was beside himself. He didn’t know whether to run for the others or simply indulge in the sight of his best friend looking at him with clear, albeit tired eyes, the oxygen mask once again shoved off to one side.

Jack had in fact been awake for a while. He’d needed time to take in his surroundings, to convince himself this was different time; a different hospital; that there was no little boy in his arms and no blood on his hands. He had held his silence, not wanting Daniel to see his distress; instead he’d waited until he thought he could speak without screaming out his pain. Judging by the haggard features of his friend, he came to the conclusion that Daniel didn’t need to be further burdened and right now he didn’t really want to share.

"Never could get much past you, Daniel." Jack coughed quietly, trying to hold in the reflex so as not to disturb his friend.

"How are you feeling?"

"Tired. Sore. Alive…..not necessarily in that order." Jack was tired. His body hurt in ways it never had before and his mind seemed somewhat foggy. He’d been plagued with nightmarish images that tore apart his reason and he wasn’t yet sure that this was in fact the reality.

Still trying to shake off the dream and needing tangible proof that he was awake, he reached out a tentative hand, shocked at the effort required to perform that small task. Moving the weakened, shaky limb towards his friend, he was grateful when Daniel took the hand. That simple touch helped to confirm that he was in fact awake and more importantly, still alive. It also went a long way to chasing away the remnants of his nightmare. It was an image that he never wanted to see again.

Daniel held Jack’s hand firmly, reassured by the warmth of the skin; the tactile sensation corroborating what his other senses were telling him. Jack was here and he was awake; something Daniel had wondered if he would ever see again. "You gave us a real scare there, Jack." Daniel had half a mind to yell at his friend; to vent all the fear and anger he’d harboured through this last week, but knew he wouldn’t. Not only would it not be fair, but he knew Jack didn’t deserve it.

He’d had plenty of time to think things over during this latest crisis. He put himself into Jack’s position and realised that the man really didn’t have a choice. What he’d done was very brave and Daniel could only marvel at the courage it must have taken to make that decision.

He knew that Jack made leadership look easy. He’d learned that time and time again throughout their last few years of partnership. What he didn’t know, but was coming to realise, was that Jack made it look easy to protect his team from some of the harsher realities of life. Daniel didn’t know whether to thank him for that, or smack him. Again, he knew that for now at least he’d do neither. He was just so grateful to have those eyes looking at him again.

"Sorry. Didn’t mean to. For what it’s worth, I kind of scared myself. That whole dying thing isn’t really appealing…..ya know?" Jack was still winded, but found talking easier than the last time he’d seen his friend.

Daniel smiled. "Yeah, I know. Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt."

As he looked carefully at his friend, he saw something else going on. Jack’s eyes held the same look they’d had when he first mentioned Charlie’s death. It was when they were first on Abydos. To Daniel, it seemed like a lifetime ago. "What happened?"

Jack looked at him, understanding the question but not wanting to answer it. "Nothing."

"Jack, tell me. Too much has happened here already. Just…..tell me, okay?"

Looking intently into Daniel’s face, Jack could see he needed to know. Still, it wasn’t in his nature to just spill things. He had his own way of coping. For Daniel, though, he’d try. "I had a bad dream, okay?’

"Want to talk about it?" Daniel tightened his grip on Jack’s hand.

"Not really."

Daniel nodded. It was enough for now.

Jack was grateful that Daniel didn’t press him further. Just being there was enough and he gave Daniel’s hand a reassuring squeeze back. Sometimes words just weren’t necessary.

Seeing how tired Jack looked, Daniel placed his friend’s hand back on the bed, reached up and squeezed Jack’s shoulder. "It’s good to have you back again, Jack."

"It’s good to be back, Daniel." Jack sighed once then fell back into a healing, dreamless sleep.

**************

By the next day Jack was able to sit for short periods of time, although he was still very weak. His fever was down but not yet gone. He was back on the canula which he felt was a great improvement. He hated talking through a mask and Janet hated when he took it off. This worked for both of them. He was currently hooked up to the dialysis machine, much to his chagrin. While the poison was dissipating, it wasn’t yet gone. He quickly discovered he didn’t care for the whole procedure. By and large he was not big on medical procedures, and he was especially not fond of medical experimentation, although in this case he was prepared to overlook that fact and simply be grateful for the results.

Since Janet had been able to eliminate some of the machinery that surrounded his bed, more room had been opened up for visitors; spaces that were currently filled up by his team. They were filling him in on recent events. Carter was chatting away, spouting some techno babble about his bones and electricity. Jack was having a hard time concentrating, not feeling entirely comfortable with the discussion.

Teal’c sat, silently watching his friend, unable to shake his feelings of worry. "O’Neill? Do you wish us to leave?"

Sam stopped talking, realising that something was going on. "Sir?"

"I’m fine, Carter…Teal’c. I’m just a bit tired, that’s all."

Daniel could see that Jack was looking pretty worn, but he couldn’t help thinking something else was going on. "Jack?" He reached over and placed his hand on Jack’s arm, the gesture reassuring.

Jack sighed. He wasn’t sure what to say, but knew he needed to say something. Finally his thoughts came spilling out. "Remember that saying you told us? That Latin one or whatever it was?" He realised he wasn’t being clear enough and elaborated, "When we found the skull?"

"Oh, right. What about it?"

"How did it go again? The enemy of mine isn’t my friend?"

Daniel smiled indulgently. "Close. It’s ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend.’"

"Right. That’s the one." Jack closed his eyes for a moment, feeling really tired. Without opening them, he resumed. "How do you tell anymore?"

Daniel sent a quizzical look at the others. Sam shrugged her shoulders, not understanding any more than Daniel did. Teal’c merely raised an eyebrow. Daniel looked back at the man on the bed. "Tell what, Jack?"

"Which is the enemy and which is the friend?" Without waiting for an answer, Jack fell asleep, not seeing the look exchanged between his team.

********************

Jack rounded the corner, whistling to himself. For the first time in what felt like far too long, he was away from the prying eyes of medical personnel and dressed in the familiar comfort of fatigues and not a hospital gown. He’d just been discharged after a further ten days in the infirmary. He’d slept a lot during that time and he hoped never to be that exhausted again. Nor did he want to undergo dialysis again. He really didn’t enjoy that. He also made a mental note to never, never, ever again get dragged into helping out allies. For some reason that always seemed to go sour on him.

It had been a gruelling recovery, both physically and emotionally. Jack had lost a lot of strength and stamina. With his team beside him, he’d been working hard at recovering both. He’d made tremendous improvements in the last week but was still far from being totally recovered. Thankfully Fraiser had finally agreed to allow him back on light duty, although Jack was inclined to think that was more for her nurses’ sake, than his. For some reason they seemed to think he was a somewhat less than agreeable patient.

There was also the considerable emotional impact to deal with. Jack was still angry at the deception of the Tollan dissidents, but also with the actions of his own government. On top of that, his team had issues to work through as well. The trust between them had taken yet another hit. While they understood he had no choice in the whole ordeal, it remained a hard fact to reconcile. Still, they had stayed at his side the entire time, healing along with him.

He’d also spent long hours in discussion with both Fraiser and Hammond. Each had come to him to apologise and each was told the same thing; they had nothing to apologise for. If there was one thing Jack understood, it was following orders. It took some time, but he felt as though he’d finally got through to them. He hoped so anyhow.

As he approached the opened doorway of Daniel’s office, he heard the chatter of happy voices coming from within and he couldn’t help but smile. It was a wonderful sound and he’d missed it. He remained outside the door for just a few minutes, basking in the feelings that flooded over him. If he wanted to be completely honest, he also found he needed to catch his breath. The simple walk down the hall had tired him somewhat but his team didn’t need to know that. Finally gaining control, he went to greet his friends. "Good morning, campers," his voice rang out loudly as he entered the room.

"Jack!"

Colonel!"

"O’Neill. It is good to see you looking well again."

Jack experienced an eerie sense of deja vu that reminded him of the last time he was here. He shook it off quickly and turned his attention to his friends. "Thanks, Teal’c. It’s really good to be well again." Despite having seen his team that morning in the infirmary before Fraiser finally cleared him, he was still touched by their reactions. He was even more surprised to see the tiny doctor standing alongside his team, smiling just as proudly at his appearance. Jack’s smile faded slightly as he grew serious, knowing he needed to say something to this group who’d once again done the impossible for him. "Thanks to all of you. I know I said it before, but I really appreciate what you did for me, and I can understand if you’re still angry about that whole….," he waved his hand absently as he tried to come up with the right words, "…..mission, thing."

Daniel spoke for the group. "Forget it, Jack. We’re just glad to get you back." Daniel decided he couldn’t let Jack off the hook that easily. "Otherwise, the General might have given us a CO our allies didn’t like. Imagine the possibilities then?"

"Funny, Daniel." Jack looked over at Fraiser, his head cocked as he remembered something. "Maybe it was my imagination, but I seem to recall you mentioning some serious butt kicking?"

"I think we’ll save that for another time, Colonel."

Daniel decided to play along. "Yeah, Jack. I can’t see you taking too much time before giving us a reason."

"Very funny, Daniel." Secretly Jack was pleased. This simple banter was a sure sign of the return to normalcy for he and his team.

"We have in fact established a ‘pool’, O’Neill. I have donated some of my candles to the ‘pot’." Teal’c looked to the others to make sure he had his terminology correct.

"A pool? For what?"

"To see how long before you get into another mess, Sir. You do have a tendency to do that you know?"

Jack laughed aloud and the team grinned in response. It felt good to get back to normal. Looking over, Jack noticed that there was once again a newspaper spread out on Daniel’s desk. "For crying out loud! Didn’t you ever go to the movie?"

Teal’c looked at him, his expression solemn. "We were otherwise occupied, O’Neill."

"Er, right. Sorry ‘bout that."

"Actually, Jack. We finally agreed on one. Want to come?"

"Sure. What are we watching?"

Daniel looked at him, his eyes conveying so much more than his words. "Men of Honour, Jack."

The hard-assed Colonel couldn’t speak over the lump that mysteriously formed in his throat. He found himself saved by the bell….literally. The alarms and klaxons that signalled a ‘gate activation began to ring, followed by a voice coming over the PA system. "Unauthorised incoming traveller."

Jack led to way to the Control room followed closely by the rest of SG1 and Fraiser.

Hammond was already there, watching the activities below. He looked over at the new arrivals. "Colonel O’Neill. Welcome back." Anything else he might have said was cut off by the visual distortion appearing on the iris that protected the ‘gate.

Jack swore. "Dammit. Now what?" He looked at the General. "Sir, permission to meet our guests?"

"Granted, Colonel." He too understood what that distortion represented.

By the time Jack, followed closely by his team-mates, entered the embarkation room, the High Chancellor was already standing at the top of the ramp. She quickly masked her surprise and smiled as she saw who approached. "Colonel O’Neill? I am so pleased to see you alive and well."

"No thanks to your people." Jack looked at her closely, wondering what was up. "What brings you by?"

Travell understood the question wasn’t an invitation to a chat and her expression darkened. "I have something I need to discuss with you. It concerns the safety of the SGC, and SG1 in particular."

As Jack pivoted to take in the watching General’s expression, he muttered under his breath, "Oh oh. Here we go again."

The End