The shrieking resounded through the halls of the SGC, sounding like nothing Daniel or Teal'c had ever heard before in their lives. There was little doubt from where it was coming, so they followed the sound until coming to a stop outside a room Dr. Fraiser had commandeered for the expanded quarantine unit. She approached from the other end of the hallway.
"Tell me that isn't just Jack in there," Daniel entreated, nodding to the room where the shrieking continued.
"I'm afraid so, Dr. Jackson. He's been at it so long that I've had to increase the rotation on the orderlies and guards. It's just too stressful."
"Dr. Fraiser," Teal'c spoke, his voice level and respectful, as if you'd see a mountain full of military personnel going insane every day. "Do you not have medication you can give him to calm him?"
"A sedative?" He nodded. "I've tried everything I know of. This disease or whatever it is, seems to build up their resistance to drugs. I give him a shot, he's quiet for fifteen or twenty minutes, and then it starts all over again. I'm afraid I'll overdosing him."
"No, we wouldn't want that," Jackson said distractedly.
"The number of affected individuals is approaching fifty percent of Cheyenne's personnel, including NORAD. We're in lockdown on my orders. The Guards will refuse exit to anybody trying to leave, just in case this is communicable."
"Do you think it is?" Daniel asked, his head snapping up suddenly.
"It definitely appears so. It's already spread beyond just those who visited the planet, and some of those weren't in or near the gate room when the team returned. The only possibility is that it can pass from person to person."
"Well, that certainly was the fact with Jack and Sam. How is she, by the way?"
"We've got the women isolated in a different section of the base," Janet informed him, leading them from Jack's room. They walked silently for a while, turning a corner, and then another, until the grunts and growls they heard were higher in pitch. "She's in about the same condition as the rest of the victims."
Peering into the window, it was hard to imagine that this wild-eyed creature was Dr. Samantha Carter, Air Force Captain and theoretical astrophysicist. Her brow was more pronounced, her gait as she paced the interior of her cell hunched, nearly Neanderthal-like. Her eyes, searching for an escape, caught them, and she rushed the door, pressing her face against the window bars with a series of grunts.
The three of them stood, their glances moving from the door to their feet, none of them willing to look at each other. Dr. Fraiser forced herself to observe the distorted face of the Captain. But all heads shot up when the wall speaker nearby came to life.
"Dr. Fraiser to Colonel O'Neill's room, stat!" The voice rang from the hall speakers, spurring them to instant action.
"Now what?" Janet muttered as they dashed through the halls to Jack's cell. They could hear the pounding from a hundred yards out, and the impact didn't sound particularly inhuman, like a bed or a chair. In fact, it sounded very, very human.
Opening the tiny window in the cell door, the first thing that struck them was the blood. On the bars of the window, its edges, and, once they peered in, many of the surfaces inside the cell.
"He's going to do permanent damage to himself," Janet said, aggravated. She turned to a nearby member of her medical team. "Do you have any sedative with you?"
"Yes, but doctor, it's too soon," the woman said, more a question of concern than any kind of questioning of Fraiser's medical abilities.
"It can't be helped. He'll kill himself." She turned to O'Neill's teammates. "You two seem to be immune. Are you up to helping me restrain him?" she asked. Teal'c and Daniel both nodded with determination. The woman handed over the injection, to be replaced by another man, rushing up to her, panting.
"Doctor, it's Captain Carter."
"What is it, Lieutenant?"
"It's like she's gone nuts. She was out of control before, but nothing compared to now. She's banging around in there like she's out to kill herself, and her screaming is disturbing the entire series of cells."
"Are any of the other patients acting out to this extreme?" She addressed the entire hallway.
"Negative, Doctor. It's just the Colonel and the Captain."
"Perhaps the others will begin to show the same symptoms at a later date. Let's get these two sedated, then we can observe for awhile."
The orderly returned, handing Janet a filled hypodermic. "You ready?" she asked Daniel and Teal'c.
"Yes, Dr. Fraiser," Teal'c responded seriously.
"Why don't you stay out here until we have him under control?" Daniel suggested. "That way, nothing will happen to you or the needle. I'd hate to see it broken, or stuck into the wrong person," Daniel smiled uneasily.
"Thanks for your concern," Dr. Fraiser answered with a wry smile.
"I didn't mean . . ."
"I know, I know. Just get in there, okay? I need to get to Captain Carter."
They slipped between the door and the frame, keeping it open a minimum. Teal'c went first, and if the view they'd gotten through the tiny window had been anything, it was a minor preview of what was going on inside. How could this wild creature possibly be their team commander?
With the aid of Teal'c enhanced strength, they were able to subdue the colonel long enough for Janet to jab the needle into his shoulder, closer to his neck than was ideal, but she'd take what she could get. Jackson and Teal'c laid O'Neill's unconscious body on the bunk.
"Let's get to Sam," Daniel suggested as they left, none of them noticing the twitch in the patient's face when they'd mention the captain's name.
The trio marched through the halls to Sam's chamber, like soldiers going to war. In a way, they were just that, since they were fighting for their coworkers' lives. Drawing up sharply in front of the door, Dr. Fraiser demanded the medic's attention.
"What's the problem?" she asked, noting that the inside of the room was quiet.
"I can't explain it, Doctor. When I called you, she was shrieking and banging around in there like she didn't care if she lived or died. A few minutes ago, no more than five, she shouted something incoherent, grabbed her shoulder, and she's been quiet ever since. What could it mean?" He asked.
"I don't know, but Captain Carter is due for a sedative anyway. We should probably give it to her while she's still quiet. This can't last."
No sooner were they through the door than the blonde woman launched herself at the trio, screaming and scratching at them. Formerly well-manicured, reasonably short nails, now ragged and torn, could do damage on flesh, leaving Daniel with a scratch down his forearm and Teal'c with one on his bicep before they finally restrained her.
"Hold her!" Janet said again, coming to the men's rescue with the ever-present sedative. It would be a miracle if they got through this crisis before running out of the precious substance.
As they laid Carter on the bunk as they had Jack, Daniel tried not to notice her over-grown brow. It was frightening seeing his friend looking like the savage she'd become. In trying to distract himself from her forehead, he took in her widely-dilated blue eyes and redder-than-normal lips. He wasn't a scientist for nothing; he recognized the signs, remembering papers he'd read associating the origins of eye makeup and lipstick in ancient egypt. The pieces clicked into place.
"Doctor, we need to talk - out of here," he specified.
They made their way out of the hallway, and Janet drew up beside him in the hall. "Why do I get the feeling you have an idea, Dr. Jackson?" she asked.
"Because I do," he admitted. "But we can't talk about it here. Your office?"
"Okay." They began to walk away, when Daniel noticed an absence by his side.
"Aren't you coming, Teal'c?" he asked the figure still standing guard on Samantha Carter's door.
"I was not sure that my presence was required or welcome, Daniel Jackson," he stated in his typical succinct manner.
"Of course you're welcome. This involves Jack and Sam - they're your friends, too."
"Thank you," he said in his deep baritone, the look communicating that he was trying to make certain he'd used the right Tau'ri euphemism.
"That's the right one, don't worry," Janet said, correctly interpreting the look. Teal'c fell into step beside them. They tried to ignore the noises coming from the chambers as they walked by. Despite everything, they didn't seem as loud as either Sam or Jack had been.
Finally, they closed the door to Janet's office behind them. "What's this about, Dr. Jackson," she asked. "I have patients to see."
"I think I've got this figured out!" Daniel said excitedly.
"Do you believe you know of a way to cure this disease, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked with all the confidence of somebody who really didn't know what they were dealing with.
"If you do," Dr. Fraiser said, " don't hesitate to speak out. I'm certainly out of ideas."
"No, no, no, no, no," Jackson said, trying to clear up the misunderstanding. "I don't have any idea how to cure this. But I think I have an idea why Jack and Sam seem affected so much worse than the others."
"Well, Dr. Jackson," Fraiser said, her teeth gritting. "Don't keep us in suspense?"
"I'm sorry," he said. "I got the idea when we were helping Sam just now. We've seen more and more of the SGC fall to this disease, and all of them have become exceedingly violent as a result of this . . . infection. Jack and Sam were different, though. Before the violence, there was . . ."
"There was what?"
"Her attempt to seduce him."
"Oh, my God," Janet said, stunned, realizing at least partly where he was going with this. "I should have noticed. . . ."
"Yeah, I'm thinking the same thing. She was showing obvious signs of arousal just now - reddened lips and dilated eyes. And did you notice how she calmed when Jack was sedated?" He waited for both Janet and Teal'c to nod. "Somehow, there's some kind of connection. They feel each other over the distance. And I think they're acting as badly as they are because . . ."
"Because what?"
"Because they're separated. They want to be with each other. They'll do anything, no matter how harmful to themselves, just to get to . . . to their mate. It's an animal instinct among species who are known to mate for life."
"And you feel Captain Carter and Colonel O'Neill are mated, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked
"I think it's pretty likely. And they're not exactly appreciative of being kept apart."
"That doesn't help us too much," Dr. Fraiser said exasperatedly. "They're going to kill themselves banging around in their cells, but the alternative is putting them together."
"Why would that be a bad thing, Dr. Fraiser?" Teal'c asked.
"Are you nuts, Teal'c?" Daniel exclaimed, looking at his friend and teammate incredulously. "If we were to put them together . . ."
"They would mate, would they not? Instead of hurting themselves."
"Yes, but . . ."
"Daniel Jackson, you have already observed that they are 'mated' in their minds. So why can they not be mated in their bodies as well."
Said just so simply, their position was hard to define, and never had Teal'c seemed quite so alien. Daniel stammered, looking to Dr. Fraiser for help and meeting a gaze that said that this particular explanation was all his.
"Look, we all want to be happy in our lives. And if Sam and Jack were to end up spending their lives together, nobody would be happier than I would. But right now, they're not in their right minds - not in full control of their faculties. They wouldn't be acting out of a freedom of choice, and this is something that, once done, can't be taken back. We can't let them make this decision with anything but clear heads. Do you understand?"
Finally, softly, Janet stepped in. "He's right, Teal'c," she added. "What they're feeling now isn't love. It's just animal attraction."
"How can you know that, Dr. Fraiser?"
"Well, they . . . I mean you . . . they can't . . . their minds are not capable of higher reasoning at the moment. They'd need to be in their right minds to make a conscious decision to break regulations."
Teal'c nodded, but they still weren't sure he fully understood.
"Which brings us right back to where we were. What do we do?" Daniel questioned
"Maybe we don't have to put them in the cell together," Fraiser suggested. "Maybe just being in proximity would work. To calm them."
"It can't hurt to try. How do we do it?"
Janet seemed to think for a bit, her face finally lighting up. "I've got it! Level six in NORAD has several old-fashioned bar-type prison cells. I considered them for the quarantine problems, but they weren't able to be used because one cell is not isolated for the next. If we put them in adjoining ones, it might do it."
"Do you really want to take them so close to the surface? If they were to get free . . ."
"Then we just have to make sure that they don't."
"Will the sedative you just gave them last long enough to move them, Dr Fraiser?" Teal'c asked. "I have confidence that we can move them more safely in that state."
"So far, it's been impossible to predict how long each shot lasts. It's varied significantly since the onset of the disease. I don't want this move to endanger them, and would suggest waiting until the next cycle to be absolutely sure they're out when we move them."
"That makes sense. And it gives us some time to check out their new home." Daniel seemed thoughtful for a moment. "Think we should run all this past the General?"
"I'd very much like to, but he came down with the last group of victims. I'm not even sure who the ranking officer is who's still sane."
"I guess that makes it up to us, Doctor."
"Yes, I guess it does."
**
An hour later, Jack required another shot of sedative - if this kept up, she was going to have to put him on an IV, Janet thought to herself. Sam was violent and uncontrollable thirty minutes after that. It seemed that her shots were becoming almost as frequent as Colonel O'Neill's, but Fraiser was grateful. She thumbed the switch on the radio they had commandeered from the supply room, knowing that two of its mates were in Daniel and Teal'c hands.
"Dr. Jackson, Mr. Teal'c, this is Dr. Fraiser. We are a go. Please report to isolation room 19."
Only a few minutes had passed when the two men arrived together. "The cells are ready," Daniel reported. "We've padded everything we could and taken out anything that wasn't permanently fastened down."
"That's probably for the best. I felt we should start with the Colonel and then take Sam when he's in place. She was more recently sedated, as well as not being quite as strong or violent."
"Sounds like we're ready."
"Yes, I believe we can now proceed," Teal'c echoed in his own unique way.
This was easier than they expected, Daniel thought as he tried to get a better grip on the man suspended between Teal'c and himself. He was grateful for whatever reason had kept Dr. Fraiser from putting Jack in a straightjacket; it may have been for the better safety-wise, but it would just break his heart.
As if reading his thoughts, Janet remarked, "all the restraining jackets were in use, so be careful."
The halls of the SGC were virtually deserted, no more than half a dozen staff looked at them oddly as they made their way from the isolation room to the elevator that would take them to the upper levels.
Teal'c swiped his card and the doors opened obediently. Janet punched the button and the doors closed again, shutting them off from the havoc this disease was wreaking on their friends and coworkers. Once she managed to keep these two from permanently damaging themselves, she was going to beat this disease and cure them all, she swore to herself.
A soft pallet, little more than a cot mattress, had been laid inside the barren cell, its bars displaying the occupants to any passer by or those in adjoining cell. Little more than a mockup of a prison, her heart cringed as she heard the door clang shut behind her. She knew why these cells were no longer in use - they were simply too easy for an intelligent being to breach. This was hardly a concern at the current time, with those they planned to put in there; she doubted O'Neill or Carter was capable of an intelligent thought between them anymore.
They returned to Sam's isolation room, counting themselves fortunate when not only was she still sedated, but her new roommate was as well. Dr. Fraiser checked both occupants thoroughly before allowing Daniel and Teal'c to enter. They did so warily.
"Is it such a good idea having them in there together?" Daniel asked, taking in the appearance of the young female Lieutenant sleeping nearby.
"There's no choice, Dr. Jackson. We're out of isolation rooms, and have used up any room that locks from the outside. I have nowhere else to put them."
"How many members of the SGC have been affected, Captain Carter?" Teal'c asked pragmatically.
"It's getting worse all the time. There are less than twenty people in the entire mountain unaffected at this point, and more are afflicted all the time. The two of you and myself seem to be the only ones who have managed to be exposed but not come down with the virus. After we've taken care of Captain Carter and the Colonel, I'll need help in finding a common denominator among all those who seem to be immune. There's got to be an answer. But Carter first."
Unlike the manner in which they'd transported Jack, Teal'c simply scooped the unconscious Captain into his arms as a woman would her infant child. Her head lolled on his shoulder, the arm not pressed between her body and the Jaffa's swinging powerlessly.
"I wish she could see you carrying her like that," Daniel said sarcastically. "She'd just adore it."
"Captain Carter does seem to rely on her self sufficiency, Daniel Jackson. I do not agree that she would find this position amusing."
"He was just kidding, Mr. Teal'c. Dr. Jackson, would you be so kind as to re-lock the door before we go."
It was a statement, not a question. An order, definitely, so Daniel completed the task before rushing to catch up to the others at the elevator. So far, she thought, this was going too easily.
The elevator moved too slowly, the cramped confines reduced even further by the manner in which Teal'c carried Sam. Daniel stood closest to the doors, and was unprepared when they opened on Level 6 to a snarling, enraged man. The spittle flew from the corners of his mouth as he shook his head, the motion not concealing the pronounced brow ridges. It was a moment before they recognized the young Lieutenant.
"Graham!" Daniel yelled as they exited the elevator, not prepared for when the figure slipped quickly around him and attacked Teal'c while he was still holding Sam. It was unexpected, and he was taken off guard, dropping her to the floor as he fell.
The moment Graham moved toward the sprawled figure of Captain Carter, there was a screech of insane rage. The sound grew in volume as he grew close, and faded when he backed away from Teal'c's protective stance.
"What a time for Jack to wake up," Daniel said, shaking his head as Teal'c strong arms captured and restrained the hostile Lieutenant. Normally so docile, it was odd seeing him rabidly out of control. Holding him as he spit and swore, Teal'c watched while Daniel and Dr. Fraiser together lifted Sam and moved quickly to the cell beside Jack's, laying her on a cushion similar to his on the far side from where they connected. Jack took immediate notice and quieted, watching cautiously.
"Dr. Fraiser, I'd recommend you sedate the Lieutenant before I'm required to hurt him," Teal'c said calmly, not belying the effort it took to restrain the struggling man. As she administered the shot, he observed, "It appears that Colonel O'Neill is not the only infected male to desire the companionship of Captain Carter."
"Let's hope he doesn't become as violent as Jack when he doesn't get her," Daniel stated succinctly as he slammed Sam's door shut.
"Now what?" he asked after Graham had been rendered unconscious.
"Now we wait, and observe," Janet said. "Mr. Teal'c, would you please take him down stairs? Put him anywhere you can find that can be secured from the outside, if there's one available. You'll probably have to double up with another patient, though." Teal'c nodded and left obediently.
Janet and Daniel stood staring into the pair of cells with little emotion in their eyes as their friends slept. For Janet, it had become second nature - a medical practice required detachment, despite the fact that her mask slipped from time to time.
"They must be in so much pain," she said sadly.
"I'd think so. But from the disease or from the injuries they've inflicted on themselves? I still can't believe that these are the same two people I knew yesterday."
"It seems unreal, I know. I never expected anything like this when I accepted this posting. I'm definitely going to have to rethink the entire medical process for returning teams if we solve this."
The slip wasn't wasted on Daniel. "You mean WHEN we solve this."
"Of course. Oh, look. . ."
They watched as Jack moved to the edge of his cell, moving as near to Sam as he could given the iron bars. She was clearly out of reach, but, regardless of this fact, he stretched an arm into her cell, reaching for her. Surprisingly, he was totally silent, without being medicated, for the first time since this mess began.
His hand remained extended for a minute or two while Janet and Daniel looked on.
"Nothing's happening," Daniel remarked, disappointed.
"Well, he's stopped hurting himself and he's quiet. That's a step in the right direction," Janet responded. "Let's hope she's the same when she wakes."
Her instincts proved to be right on the mark. As if he'd reached her somehow, Sam Carter awakened, turning her head so she was facing O'Neill before she even opened her eyes. When the lids finally rose and the blue eyes fell on Jack, there was a grunt from her, then an answering one from him.
Carter dragged herself across the cell until O'Neill's hand was able to touch her hair; her hand reached into his cell to complete a corresponding touch. A touch, that quickly turned into a caress. Once in physical contact, it was obvious what each patient had been needing all along. Their actions fascinated Daniel.
"This is incredible. It's like every theoretical hypothesis I've ever seen about Neanderthal man. A male was known to reproduce with any female willing and available, but he had only one mate. One companion to whom he was committed for the rest of his life."
"So what you're saying is that, if it had been just another female that had wanted to mate with the Colonel, he wouldn't have reacted the way he did?"
"Well, we'll never know, but that's my theory. It wasn't just the sexual presence they were missing - it was the presence of their lifemate." He walked to face her, and her eyes followed him. For the moment, what he was saying overtook her observation of her patients.
"Think they'll remember this once we cure them?"
"No offense to your medical abilities, Doctor, but the question is more, what are we going to do if we can't cure them? Do we let them be together as they are? Or lock them away separately forever?" He looked forlorn, and her expression matched his own.
"I haven't really allowed myself to think about what happens if there's no cure." She glanced over Daniel's shoulder to the two people behind the bars. "Oh, damn!"
Inside, Jack had pressed his full body to the cell bars. On the other side, Sam was bent in submission, her rear pressed against the bars as Jack tore at her pants.
"Shit! We can't let them . . ."
"No kidding!" Janet exclaimed. "Call Teal'c. We're going to have to separate them again, and we'll need his strength to do it."
Daniel ran to a wall intercom, fingering a button. "Teal'c to level 6." He knew their teammate would realize where exactly he was needed since nothing else was happening on this level. He then turned to the doctor. "Do you think they can . . .?" Daniel asked.
"Yes, I think they can, but I never dreamed they would, right through the bars." O'Neill had manage to bare Carter from the waist down, and he was now yanking at his own fatigues. "It's taking too long. We need to distract them."
"That may be easier said than done. Any ideas?"
Janet thought a few moments while Daniel banged on the bars and called out to his friends, hoping to keep them from accomplishing the task utmost in their minds and actions.
Finally, Janet exclaimed. "I've got it!" She dug into the pockets of her lab coat, coming up with a pair of chocolate bars. "Let's try food!" She handed one to Daniel, and they each ripped the wrapper from the confection.
"Sam! Sam, look! Do you want food?" Daniel echoed similar words to Jack, trying to keep his eyes from straying to either of his friends' undressed states. They didn't seem to hear them, but at about the same time, both of their noses began to twitch. Food was in the area, and they were hungry.
Carter and O'Neill rushed for the bars, causing Daniel and Janet to jump back as the candy was ripped from their hands. Chocolate was freed of it's wrapper and shoved into gaping mouths with little etiquette or consideration. They were swallowing the last when Teal'c finally arrived.
"What is happening, Dr. Fraiser?" Jackson was amazed that, even though the man had been running, he didn't seem out of breath in the least.
"This isn't working. Being in close proximity has calmed them, but the bars allow too much access."
"So I see," Teal'c said, drawing their attention back to Sam and Jack, who had resumed their positions near the bars.
There was no time for gentleness. "We need to get them sedated and out of there before he enters her! Mr. Teal'c, can you restrain him?"
I believe I can, Doctor. We must hurry."
Daniel took the key, serving a purpose as door holder while Teal'c and Janet prepared to enter Jack's cell. "Ready?"
"Ready," Janet responded, and Teal'c echoed the word. He yanked the door open and the two rushed in. Teal'c wrapped muscular arms around the Colonel and dragged him from Carter, every part of his body continuing to strain towards his mate as he growled and fought.
Janet waited until O'Neill was held still, then drove the hypodermic home into the Colonel's bared gluteus. Knowing it was just a matter of time before sleep claimed the Colonel, Teal'c released his friend, who crawled back to Sam's side. He slid from consciousness slowly, but there was no ignoring the gentleness as she caressed his hair and body as he fell asleep. She didn't seem too hostile, making it easy for Teal'c and the doctor to administer her sedative as well. They all sighed once they were both sedated.
"We're going to have to move them back. I'm afraid this experiment was a failure."
"Damn. Think they'll go back to the way they were?" The ever-considerate Daniel was restoring Jack's modesty as he spoke.
"Perhaps not, now that they've seen each other," Teal'c suggested, an eyebrow raised.
"Maybe. I have another idea, though. Smell was always very important to Neanderthal man, and maybe this disease mimics that. Teal'c, after we get them back downstairs, go to Jack and Sam's quarters or the locker room and get something with their scent on it. Dirty laundry, pillows, whatever you can find. We'll put something of Sam's in with Jack and Jack's in with Sam."
"You think that having each other's scent nearby will calm them."
"I'm hopeful, yes."
"A very wise hypothesis, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said as he hoisted Jack O'Neill's body over his shoulder.
"I'll leave that up to you, guys," Janet said. "I absolutely must get back to finding a cure for this." She and Daniel lifted Sam after first refastening her pants. The experiment had failed, but with luck, the officers wouldn't have to remain in this state permanently.
The End.
Story Notes: Acknowledgements: Thanks to Kelly (SierraGolfOne) for the very speedy beta.
Author's Notes: This is my very first Stargate SG1 story, coming as I have from a background in X-Files. Feedback would be greatly appreciated - I'd love to know if I'm on the right track!
Author's Notes: This is my very first Stargate SG1 story, coming as I have from a background in X-Files. Feedback would be greatly appreciated - I'd love to know if I'm on the right track!
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc, are the property of their respective owners. Any original characters and plots are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended. ... [ read more ]