Daniel & Adrienne #72 - Awakening

“Dr. Rush? Can you hear me?” Eli asked as he shook the scientist gently from the floor of the hibernation room.  After debating for over an hour, Eli had decided, for reasons that he couldn’t articulate, to wake up Dr. Rush before Colonel Young. 

He was just hoping that decision wasn’t a mistake. 

Or that Rush was dead.  

At this point, he just couldn’t deal with any more bodies.  

When Eli Wallace had awoken himself a few days before, he thought that he had died and this was hell, forever trapped in the hibernation chambers on the Destiny.  The dingy glass encasing his body had blurred his ability to see much past the instruments in his own pod, things he had set up shortly after ending his final transmission to Earth.  At that point, he hadn’t even been sure that his own container would be secure; there were serious questions of its integrity as the ship had moved closer to a red giant star in the near distance.  But it had, his final modifications had worked, and when he realized that this wasn’t a dream, that he had survived, he almost cried like a baby.  Now, however, there was no time for that.  

He needed to assess their situation.  

Greer was the first he had found dead. Eli had stood there for a moment, trembling and unable to think straight.  Greer was so strong, so fit, and if it he hadn’t managed to survive, what if the hibernation hadn’t worked for the others? Then again, he survived, and other than some weight loss due only to the lack of food, he was fine. Eli was as far as an SG staff member could be from being considered in shape.  It was random though, very random, as TJ., Chloe and Camille had all survived, along with Scott, Volker, Rush and Young. 

 Adam Brody, Lisa Park, Vanessa James and a few others hadn’t been so lucky.  

Eli decided to leave their pods sealed until he talked to Colonel Young.  

And now Dr. Nicholas Rush lay here, in the floor of the pod bay, somewhere between the land of the living and the grips of death.  Heart racing, Eli shook him again.  

“Dr. Rush? Wake-up. We made it; we made it to the next galaxy. We’re at full power,” Eli explained, hoping that would wake the frail scientist, that it had work; their last ditch attempt to save themselves had worked.

Eyelids fluttered and the man looked up at him, weakly, but alive.

“Eli?” he inquired, the young man letting out a breath of relief and nodding.  

“Yeah, it’s me.  We made it,” he answered, deciding to leave out the causality list for now.  First thing was first, they needed to make contact with Earth, and with Rush occupied talking to Earth, Eli could move on to waking Colonel Young and letting him assess the situation with the survivors and deal with the dead.  

Still not completely awake, Rush squinted and rubbed his eyes, starting to sit up.  Eli had to suppress laughter as he did so, reminded of his favorite movie as a child, his brain reciting the speech about “hibernation sickness” but he refrained from comment.  Closing his eyes strongly once more, Rush made the final adjustment to consciousness, glancing back at Eli.  

“The others?” he asked. Panic coursed through Eli’s veins. 

“I decided to get you up first, let you contact Earth and then worry about the others,” Eli lied, hoping Rush would not have anticipated that checking the vital signs of his friends would be the first thing on his list, that checking the vital signs of Chloe would be the first thing that he would do. The scientist didn’t argue, didn’t question, just nodded, stretching and gazing around the room.

It worked.  

“Nice job Eli,” Rush congratulated, starting to stand, but stumbling, so Eli assisted, placing his right arm around his shoulders. 

“Take it easy Dr. Rush, we haven’t moved in quite literally three years,” the young man assured him, but held on, aiding him in taking a few cautious steps forward. Eli himself had crawled for a good two hours after he had awoken, much longer than the others making him vow to take up some form of exercise as soon as possible. 

About ten steps in, the scientist was shooing his young helper away, determined to walk on his own. His first independent step was wobbly, but he stayed upright and worked his steps carefully, only taking a few more before looking back at Eli.  

“Go wake Colonel Young. I’m going to use the stones,” Rush declared as if they had never slept at all, as if the past three years were just the dream that for them they were, exiting the hibernation quarters.  

Relieved to see him go, Eli headed for Colonel’s Young’s pod, happy to be awakening their leader yet dreading the news he had to give.  

*****

Rush moved carefully toward the common room where they had stored the communication stones, part of him still shocked there was this much intact. It must have taken longer in the star’s field than they had originally calculated because were this insane plan to work, Rush was certain that someone would have ransacked the ship by now, but no, everything seemed to still be here.

Powering ahead, he navigated still somewhat clumsily, the corridors of the ship, turning the corner and heading into the room where he saw the table still shoved into the corner.

There, in a box covered with three years’ worth of dust, was what he was looking for, or so he hoped.  Still lumbering, Rush walked slowly over to the table and reached for the locks on the side, holding his breath and as he opened the lid. The glimmer of precious blue stones, just as he remembered them, small blue scarabs glowing in a treasured tomb, was right now the best sight he could have ever wished for.

He paused for a moment, wondering about the world he would be communicating with, the world with which they had had limited contact with since the Lucian attack on Cheyenne, a world that unless every calculation that they had made was incorrect, was three years older.

He knew that General O’Neill was talking about moving operations to the Pentagon, but the Destiny had gone into hibernation mode before Rush could be informed of anything.  Regardless of the world he was walking into, however, it needed to be done, they needed to know it had worked; the crew of the most precious ancient device they had ever encountered had survived.

Dr. Rush walked around the table to the attached seat, situating himself in front of the box, not bothering with the dust on the bench.  Taking a breath, he reached out for the stone.  

*****

The scientist opened his eyes to a small white walled office, the bright florescent lights blinding him for a moment. 

His eyes adjusting, fingers rubbing harshly to hurry the process, he looked around to see that he was at a wooden desk home only to a small lamp, a pen, a legal pad of paper and a phone.  There were no other pieces of furniture in the room, no other people, and no windows, just a closed wooden door behind him. This was a slightly different set-up than before, but it was something, which meant at least in three years someone with dignity had taken the program under their wing. 

Hoping that his fortune would continue, he peeked down at the phone and lifted the receiver, slowly bringing it to his ear.

“Hello?” a confused voice asked on the other line, no dialing needed; they were ready, or so it seemed. The voice, though, sounded so young, like a teen, and curious, Dr. Rush scanned himself to see he was in the body of a fit African - American young man. Refocusing on his mission, he cleared his throat and spoke.  

“This is Dr. Nicholas Rush. The Destiny has survived. I would like to speak to General Landry,” he requested, hoping that Landry was still the head of the SGC, since he was vaguely familiar with the man and Telford had spoken highly of him.  

The voice on the other line paused before speaking.

“Sir, I need you to hold while we get someone to your location.  We need to follow the procedure,” the young man said.  

“The Procedure?,” he questioned, knowing that yes this might be a surprise but at the mention of his name alone he expected personnel to come rushing in to discover the fate of the lost ship, “Get me Landry, or if he is not available Colonel Telford!” 

Rush started to get frustrated. 

The voice on the line hesitated again and it sounded as if he was covering up the mouth piece of the phone, the scientist straining to hear the communication with whomever the young man was talking to, catching bits of O’Neill, Landry, meeting, and a few other military bullshit terms when Rush yelled into the phone unable to wait any longer.  

“Do you know who I am? Do you know what is happening? Fine, all of the military types are in some meeting, I don’t care! Get me Dr. Jackson! He’s still here, right?” Rush demanded.  

“Hold please sir,” the man replied, ignoring his request; how dare he be ignored.

“Look, I don’t know who you are or what procedure is in place but someone better get Dr. Jackson down here to talk to me right now because I know he’s not stuck under some pile of military mayhem!!” 

Forget frustrated, now he was just pissed off. There was more murmuring on the other line, the sound of the receiver being passed over, someone clearing their throat before finally responding.

“Sir, we’ll send Dr. Jackson right down,” the new voice said, disconnecting the call.  

Nothing else to do but wait, Rush sat back in the chair, looking at the phone.  

“It’s about damn time,” he said out loud.  

*******

“There’s no way he could possibly know that Atlantis is at full power!” 

Of course Rodney McKay was arguing because why on Earth would a man, escaped from Anubis, beaten within an inch of his life and risking his family just be making this all up. He’d gotten so much better for a while, behaving like what Daniel believed was the closest thing to a person he could be, but now that he was working side by side with John Sheppard to get the Atlantis base fully operational. Back on Atlantis, it was back to Rodney McKay, know-it-all extraordinaire.

“He does not know that you have restored full power to Atlantis base Dr. McKay,” Homer corrected, patiently, commendable because Daniel had had enough. Yes, it was exciting to get back into the ancient lab, yes he was enjoying working in Atlantis but he hated leaving Adrienne and Nicky at home, especially now that Nicky was reading. 

“Rodney, what he’s saying is that Anubis has been tracking our movements, well enough to know that we are planning to use the base to defend ourselves,” Jonas tried, to no avail Daniel was certain, as Rodney stepped up again, looking down at the notes from Homer. 

“Fine,” he somewhat conceded to Daniel’s surprise, “let’s go with the assumption that he knows we have it at full power, so you’re saying that he’s planning on attacking the base.” 

“Yes, he was using spies to track your beaming patterns as well as other internal information,” Homer added, Daniel pulling up the chart that Adrienne had sent him only a few short hours before. 

“Are there visible patterns in our beaming?” Robert Woolsey finally interjected, having remained eerily quiet during the exchange. He’d been eerily quiet in general since Bennett had died, since Sam had been reinstated and since Adrienne had slapped him across the face. 

Daniel still wasn’t over that just yet; there was something about Adrienne standing up for him that just made him feel fantastic. 

He loved her so much. 

Realizing that he was talking to him, Daniel gazed back down at the iPad, the charts his wife had prepared for him showing him clear patterns in the transports from Earth to starship and back to Earth again, San Francisco sticking out like a sore thumb. 

“Unfortunately, there are,” Daniel began, pushing the diagram in front of Woolsey, “they clearly show that we have some sort of vested interest in this area.” The bureaucrat scanned the screen, seeing what Daniel had been looking at the archaeologist was sure, what might as well had been a gigantic bulls-eye pointing right at their most powerful base and weapon. Moving it had been the only thing Daniel could think of after Adrienne had shown him these read-outs, a suggestion he had only given to his wife and his wife only as she sat on the sink listening out for Nicky to inform them that he was awake while Daniel took his shower. 

“Given this information I think we need to seriously consider mo-” Woolsey started when the screen behind Rodney’s head lit up, Sam’s expression gazing down upon them, a great and powerful presence. 

She could have at least said hi. 

“Daniel, I need for you to go down to the main office, I need a secure line with you,” she requested, much to his bewilderment. He had a phone, but she must not be trusting that either, so he stood as she ended the transmission, excusing himself to both she and Woolsey’s former command station. 

“What in the hell now,” he couldn’t help but mutter as he heard Rodney begin to drill poor Homer yet again. 

*****

Rush sat in the silent room for what had to have been two hours.  When he tried to phone again, the line was dead, and he had the feeling it had now been disconnected because of him.  He stood, examining the room, looking for a two way mirror or a camera to see if they were spying on him, but he was unable to find anything.  He had just completed what he counted as his twentieth pass of the room hunting for any evidence that he was being watched when he heard the door open behind him, spinning on his heels to greet his visitor.  

“Right this way Dr. Jackson,” he heard a voice in the hallway direct, Rush smiling as he stepped forward toward the door to explain to Daniel the miracle of their survival. 

“Dr. Jackson, I’m glad you’re still here. Eli is in the process of waking the rest of the crew,” Rush began when a woman turned the corner. She was average height for a female, with shoulder length brown hair, curvy but not heavy, more like athletic in build and deep brown eyes.  In her arms she held a baby boy, perhaps four or five months in age, the child having the same pale skin and dark eyes.  Adjusting the baby on her hip, she extended her hand, a smile across her face.

“Dr. Rush, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” she said. Confused, Rush took her hand out of courtesy, shaking it quickly and letting go.  

“I’m sorry, but I was under the impression that Dr. Jackson was going to be meeting me,” he explained, not wanting to be rude but the woman just smiled and shook her head.  

“Well, Dr. Jackson is meeting you, just not the Dr. Jackson you thought you were getting.  I’m Adrienne Jackson, Daniel’s, well, not available, but I’m happy to escort you to our lab,” she answered politely. 

 Dr. Rush shook his head confused and Adrienne figured she ought to explain.  

“The new boys manning the line just called down to the lab looking for Dr. Jackson, they didn’t specify.  Happens a lot lately.  I’ll take you down to the lab while we wait,” she said, cryptically he could tell, leading the way with her hand.  

“So two Dr. Jacksons in one lab?” Rush asked, the woman again laughing.  

“See, that was my argument all along when he went on and on about the name change mess,” she said as she started out into the hallway.  Dr. Rush followed, at least he wasn’t going to be trapped in this room, catching on to what she was implying. 

“Name change?” he clarified, but was certain that he knew the answer.  

The woman looked over her shoulder as she walked briskly, shaking her head lightly with that kind smile on her face.

“Yes, Daniel’s my husband. And this little booger here is our son,” she replied and much to his surprise, the baby looked back at him and smiled, not that typical baby grin but a genuine expression of greeting.

“Dr. Nicolas Rush,” the boy said, “we share the same name.”  

The scientist stopped in his tracks.  

The child had spoken, this child that looked barely five months old, had spoken, his voice still childlike but for the most part clear. 

Adrienne laughed yet again and stopped herself, adjusting the baby and looking him straight in the face.  

“Yes honey, this is Dr. Rush. He studies the hard sciences,” she explained to the baby, she was explaining this to the baby, the scientist in question still flabbergasted.

“Not history?” the child asked, Adrienne shrugging as she paused to answer. 

“Not history, but he does understand Ancient like your dad and I do, but no, Dr. Rush is more of a scientist like Sam and Rodney,” she clarified, the baby frowning.

“Ugh, Rodney,” he replied. Adrienne again laughed and looked over at Rush, who was standing there dumbfounded.  

“It’s a child of the descended thing, you get used to it.  Come on, let’s get you down to the lab because everyone is going to want to know what has happened,” the woman, the other Dr. Jackson, redirected, pointing ahead to some elevators. 

This wasn’t Cheyenne mountain, this had to be the Pentagon, he noted as he followed, taking in the sights of the new command center. 

*****

Daniel sat back in the chair of the main command office, running the pen listlessly around the legal pad. 

The Destiny had survived. 

He’d harbored the guilt for so long over his own involvement in the program that the call from Sam should have been a relief but instead it just sent him into a whirlwind of worry. 

How far were they from Earth?

Had everyone survived?

Were the Lucians still after them?

Were they bringing the drones right to them? 

It made his head hurt, pinching the bridge of his nose, his only solace that Adrienne was handling the initial interview of Rush, thankfully, because she would not only handle it with class and tact, but she had been given access to all of his files and the procedure should this miracle actually happen.

“Hey, everything ok?” Jonas was asking from the doorway, Daniel breaking his trance of worry to glance up. 

“Yeah,” he replied, a half-truth, pausing to consider who was asking. It was Jonas and even though he had nothing to do with the mission he was someone Daniel could trust, “the Destiny survived.”

“Oh wow...” 

Daniel couldn’t have said it better himself, letting his head fall into his hands. 

“That’s a good thing though, right? Gives us the resources and knowledge of the ship?” Jonas asked a perfectly legitimate question, one that Adrienne herself had asked when she was first briefed about the ship years ago. 

“Yes and no. Of course it is that they survived, but the Destiny itself brings a whole slew of problems. The Lucians, ones that we are still unsure have joined with Anubis or not, have been actively pursing the ship since its discovery, not to mention the drones or whatever Colonel Young was calling them, both are after the ship. We could be trading one evil for another, provided we can actually defeat Anubis,” Daniel explained as he lifted his head. 

“So are you headed back?” the next logical question, Jonas not wanting any more enemies to deal with any more than Daniel did. Back to scribbling, Daniel drew a few loops on the page, his eyes no longer on his Langaran friend, his mind back on the conversation. 

“No, Sam says that she wants Adrienne to conduct the initial interview, they’re not gonna give too much away as to what is going on here or with Anubis. That and she wants me to keep an eye on Rodney,” Daniel sighed out, Jonas rolling his eyes as his expression turned to a grimace. 

“Speaking of, that’s why I came to find you. He threw a bit of a tantrum when Homer was going over those battle plan files, something about whether or not that bastardized Jaffa fleet can bring down our fighters. There’s something down in his lab apparently, some tool to measure laser beams, honestly Daniel I just tuned him out and he stormed off...” Jonas trailed his words again, Daniel letting his head fall back onto the desk. 

“Sorry,” he added but Daniel just waved his hand over his head, forgiving him with the motion. 

“Just once I’d love not to babysit adults, once,” the archaeologist said with a sigh, standing, pushing the chair back under the desk. 

*****

“You’ll have to excuse Dr.McKay,” Woolsey apologized the moment Jonas Quinn had stormed out after the temperamental scientist, “he’s brilliant but prone to such behaviors.” 

“It is quite alright,” Homer accepted easily, “Jonas warned me about him.”  

Jonas had warned his former colleague as well about the bureaucrat; however the man seemed to be nice, a little gun shy even. 

It made Homer feel bad enough about what he had to do. 

“Well, let’s go back over this one more time so that I understand and can inform my superiors,” he went right back to requesting what Homer had already explained, his careful repetition Anubis’ plan, his actual plan, minus a few important details. 

“Right, so, based on the beaming patterns, it seems that Anubis has determined that this base is somewhere in the California area, as I said before, it is only a matter of time until they determine the exact location. He will use the Jaffa to attack this base in an attempt to neutralize it, giving his clones the opportunity to invade the SGC,” Homer explained for a second time, this version uninterrupted by the now absent raving scientist. 

“And you are certain that Dr. Jackson is not his target?” Woolsey clarified, Homer shaking his head. 

Not exactly, Homer answered silently, Anubis cautionary words floating through his thoughts. 

Do it now...

It was the perfect time. Homer had been here, on Earth, for nearly two months, long enough where he hadn’t heard a single peep out of Anubis. Had he no ties to Langara, no reason to remain loyal to the cold woman that had sent him on this mission he would have forgotten but it had been, ironically, Dr. Jackson’s son that kept his mission in focus. 

Because his own small child was back on Langara, awaiting his success. 

He needed to work quickly; the drug wouldn’t knock him out for very long, so he needed to make sure that everything went exactly as planned. 

“Yes, he had made it clear that he just wants to eliminate the threat that is Earth in general,” Homer answered, reaching into his pocket, taking a step forward, an awkward step, one he knew would send him into the floor. One never thinks the impact of any fall, much less one that was planned, but the uf that escaped his mouth was not an act, nor was the wincing as his knee slammed into the cold hard floor. 

“Dr. Khalen, are you alright?” Robert asked, kneeling himself to help Homer to his feet, barely flinching as the needle entered his throat.

*****

Jackson’s wife was very cordial in the elevator and explained to Rush that repairs to the main base at Cheyenne were still underway, but General O’‘Neill, who Rush was relieved was still in charge, had ordered operations to Washington, in a part of the Pentagon not used since the Vietnam war.  It had taken some adjustments, but the base was functioning very well, almost as well as things had at Cheyenne.  

Rush noticed the elevator was taking them to the basement floor and he looked over at the woman and her baby, who were conversing now in French.  

That was a creepy little kid. 

The doors opened and she stepped out, indicating with her head the direction in which he should follow. 

“Daniel and I work down here, closer to the gate room,” she explained, resuming her pace from before.  This woman must run, Rush thought to himself as he raced behind, because she’s not that far off from doing that now. 

At the door of the lab she reached for a keypad and entered in some numbers quicker than he could make out, a click at the door telling him that she must have gained entry. Turning the knob, his host pushed the door open, once again signaling him to follow. 

The lab inside was almost an identical copy of where Dr. Jackson had brought him so many years before despite the fact that it was located hundreds of miles away.  

It was eerie, like stepping back in time.  

He was scanning the room when he felt a light tap at his shoulder, Dr. Jackson, the Mrs. Dr. Jackson, standing there, baby gone from her arms and in a play area in the corner. She was pointing to a chair at the center table. Nodding, Rush took a seat as did the woman, putting a thin electronic device in her lap.  

“So, you work with Dr. Jackson?” Rush asked, trying to figure out who this woman really was and why she was acting like she had some kind of power here, power enough to go through ‘the procedure’ whatever the hell that was. She didn’t answer at first, smiling as she activated the screen.

“Yes, I’m his assistant,” she replied, her cheeks flushing, clearly embarrassed. Dr. Rush wondered if she was his assistant before or after they started seeing one another being that romances like this were not allowed in this type of government agency. Before he could say anything else, she was speaking again, as if she had anticipated his thoughts.  

“Don’t worry, we get that all of the time.  Yes, Daniel married his assistant.  Yes, it looks bad.  No, General O’Neill does not care,” she answered, not looking up from the screen.  

“Has Jack taken a more active role in gate operations then?” Rush asked, wondering if that was why Landry had been unable to meet him, Adrienne finally looking up, smiling.  

“I meant Sam, but yeah, Jack’s been pretty active down here lately. I think he gets bored trapped in meetings day in and day out,” she replied, holding something back he could tell. 

What wasn’t she telling him?  

Deciding to try to work his way around it the best he could, Rush made a face at her, hoping to prod her further. 

“Samantha Carter?” he asked in clarification, Adrienne chuckling once more. 

“Samantha Carter O’Neill.  I keep forgetting you’ve been out of the loop for about three years. Everyone got married in your absence doctor, well, except for Vala and Cam and Vala’s working Ronon Dex pretty hard on that one,” Adrienne joked. Rush nodded his head, not agreeing with her joke, but assessing the situation.  

Things certainly had changed.

“So Atlantis base is still stranded here?” he continued, Adrienne nodding in affirmation.  

“Yes, unfortunately. Well,” she corrected herself, “We would miss the crew if they left, except for Rodney, but they are still stranded.”  Upon hearing her comment about Rodney, the scientist laughed, hoping to relax her, knowing that there was something else she was hiding now too, but wanting to make her feel comfortable enough to continue talking.  

“I’ll let Daniel bring you up to speed when he gets back,” she added, “but there is a procedure in place in case we were to ever hear from you again.”

Again with the procedure, he thought, but decided to go along with the inquiry. 

“When did you awaken?” she asked. Rush looked at the clock on the wall, trying to judge how long he had been here, his initial and mental response being a while ago, but you made me sit in a room.

“Not long ago; once Eli got me standing I contacted Earth immediately,” he responded, professionally, as Adrienne made some notes.  

“So, Eli was the first to awaken?” she asked. 

“Yes, and he was going to awaken Colonel Young next,” Rush answered, starting to be annoyed that this woman, this girl, essentially was questioning him.  He looked at her closer noting that other than a few expression lines on her forehead, she looked like a damn college student. 

How old was this woman? 

“Great, and the casualties,” Adrienne spoke, taking a breath, her face furrowing, much like Daniel he noticed.

“Sorry, sorry.  The longer I’m here the more I feel like I lose part of my humanity, I apologize for sounding so crass.  Did we, did you all lose anyone?” Adrienne clarified.  

“I’m not sure.  I’m honestly unsure as to how long Eli has been awake or if he even checked on the others,” Rush replied honestly because as absurd as these questions were, he told them he reported here immediately, she was being pleasant and he couldn’t fault her for that.  Adrienne made a note, and a face, and remained silent, a silence Nicholas Rush didn’t like.  

“You all have run simulations, haven’t you? How many are you expecting to not have made it?” he asked and Adrienne looked up sadly, her head nodding slowly. 

“Every scenario we ran showed a loss of at least one third of the crew,” she answered quietly, looking over to the direction where the baby was lying on his belly seeming to read a book. Intelligent or not, she seemed to want to shield her child from these details for now. Rush took a breath, his patience at an end, allowing his eyes to meet her own dark orbs. 

“I need to speak with whoever is in charge. Now,” he requested without raising his voice, Dr. Jackson standing in silence to walk over to Daniel’s phone.

*****

“Mr. Woolsey, are you certain that you are alright?” Homer rested his hand on the man’s back as Rodney stared down, annoyed by this interruption. 

“I’m fine. I just haven’t eaten much in the past few days and I think it got to me,” he assured, holding his hands in front of him as Daniel re-entered the room, his face drawn in confusion. 

“Everything alright?” he asked, Homer glancing up at both Daniel and the trailing Jonas, shrugging. 

“I was reaching down for something when Mr. Woolsey collapsed. He claims that he had not eaten much and that he is weak,” the Langaran explained, Daniel approaching the bureaucrat to examine him. 

“How’s your vision?” he asked, kneeling at the chair, but again Woolsey was shaking his head, refusing any and all help. 

“It’s fine, I’m fine, really. There was a Powerbar in your pack Daniel, Homer found it, and now that it’s settling it’s much better. Now about uncloaking the base,” he said as he stood, Daniel backing away at first before freezing, glancing back at Woolsey quizzically.

“Wait, uncloaking?” he asked, his gaze darting to Jonas and Rodney, both of whom seemed equally confused. 

“Yes, what we were discussing before. Anubis knows where the base is located already and we are wasting valuable energy in the ZPM’s powering the cloaking device,” Robert explained, walking over to the read-out panel indicating the fluctuations. 

“Homer said he might know where he is and you know as well as I do that the power to hide the base is minimal,” Daniel argued, Rodney, for once, stepping in to agree. 

“If anything, powering the damn cafeteria wastes more power than the cloak.”

Robert shook his head, stumbling for a moment and grasping the counter to retain his balance. 

“No, Homer said that he had used our beaming history to pinpoint our location and that uncloaking the base would be a show on strength and allow us to divert power to the shields,” Woolsey retorted. 

“It was merely a suggestion, but the Jaffa force is small, as I was explaining earlier. One concentrated blast might be enough to scare them off and end the assault,” Homer was now standing by Woolsey, pulling up some diagrams on the panels. The three SG members stood, eyes darting back and forth between them. 

“Homer, I’m sorry, did you and Robert discuss something when I stepped out?” Daniel questioned, Robert shaking his head. 

“No, don’t you remember? He went over this earlier today and to be honest, looking at this data I think we need to revisit it,” and with that he was at the control panel, peering over where Homer was now working. 

Rubbing his temples, Daniel paused for a moment, trying to remember what exactly had been said this morning. It had been so early when he left, explaining to an awake Nicky that he needed to let his mother sleep in, giving him a book to read in his absence. After that, he had beamed here, listened to Rodney rant about how the north wing of the base still wouldn’t activate, how slow Zalenka was working in his lab, how the engineers hadn’t fixed the elevator only to then be ushered into the this spare lab, Homer going over Anubis plan yet again. 

It was a distinct possibly he had minced his thoughts and by the look on Jonas’ and Rodney’s faces, they were thinking the same thing.

“Alright, Homer, can we go through the proposed Jaffa attack one more time.”

*******

Rush honestly couldn’t believe that he was even having this conversation. 

“But my emotions were not yet mature enough to comprehend what was going on with my intellectual development, so all I could do was cry,” Nicky explained, Rush nodding in understanding. Between the child’s explanation and Adrienne’s more medical reasons, as odd as it was, it made sense. 

“What made you stop?” the scientist now asked, wondering if Dr. Jackson himself enjoyed having such a child.

“It was a variety of factors. First and foremost, we had a visit at our home of a former Ancient, and somehow contact with her allowed me to understand that the frustration was mutual and my parents had no more of an idea as to what was going on with me than I did. Then, once I was able to speak, it was just far easier to tell Mom what I wanted rather than cry,” he answered, again with big words and that high pitched squeaky voice. 

“And how does your father take this?” 

“Well, they both have. Dad has even taught me how to read, which has been quite useful,” he answered, affirming what Rush had already assumed, that the book on the high chair was indeed being read.

“Just don’t tell Dad about this,” the baby tapped the volume, some booked called Twilight, “but I really like fiction, fun silly fiction. He prefers I read history books.” 

“Nicky!” another small voice interrupting Rush’s train of thought, yet another child at his feet before he could get in another word. 

“Your mom said we can play!”  an elementary aged child announced from the doorway, Rush catching Dr. Jackson looking up from her computer as well. A dark-skinned woman trailed behind, a woman he thought he recognized from the Atlantis crew. Adrienne must have called her because as she stood from her desk she looked relieved, nodding her hand thankfully.

“Teyla, thanks,” the Cajun woman said gratefully, walking over to where Rush had been talking with her son. She had stayed in there the entire time while he chatted with the boy, speaking very cryptically into the phone after his earlier abrupt request. 

“Stop reading about wimpy vampires,” she scolded the child, tossing the book to the floor before pulling him from the high chair.

“I can’t wait until I can walk,” the baby lamented, Adrienne shaking her head as she passed him over, “and hide my choices in literature.” 

“We’ll get some lunch and head down to our quarters. The boys can play there,” Teyla explained with a smile, Dr. Jackson nodding in thanks. 

“Behave,” she warned the child as he peeped over Teyla’s shoulder. 

“Yes ma’am,” he answered, the trio disappearing around the corner. 

“Dr. Rush, I apologize for delay. General O’Neill is waiting,” Jackson’s wife went right back into her professional mode, leading the way with her hand. 

Now was not a time for further comment, even as the scientist was wondering what was happening back on the Destiny. 

*****

Eli didn’t know the young man that was currently inhabiting Rush’s body even though he seemed to know a lot about him. Apparently, being discovered due to one’s ability to master video games had made him somewhat of a superstar among the cadets. They had chatted for a while, Eli finding him seated at the dusty table waiting, explaining the SGC protocol required that he remain in the communication area close to the stones until given instructions by his superiors otherwise. 

Eli didn’t mind, he would rather sit here and chat about Earth than listen to any more of the conversation in the infirmary. 

As soon as TJ felt well enough to move around, she dove right in, separating the less recovered crew members from the ones who seemed alright and the dead. In case there was some reason the hibernation hadn’t worked other than their bodies just not taking the procedure, she urged Colonel Young to leave the bodies in their capsules, an order he had no problem executing. 

“Do you know how long he will be?” Eli asked the young man who shrugged in Dr. Rush’s narrow shoulders, shaking his head. 

“Don’t know. I know that the protocol states if the Destiny were to awaken that whomever made contact was to be questioned, briefed and General O’Neill will decide what course of action to take based on the information provided,” the man replied, Eli shaking his head. 

Then what is taking so long, he thought, I didn’t tell him anything.

*****

“I think our next plan of action is send a team over there, well, two of you, over to the Destiny. I need a comprehensive list of the crew, the causalities if any, basic health reports of survivors, and a mental picture. We need to make sure that there is no chance of anything else happening. I also need a better idea of the state of the ship itself, were the drones able to infiltrate the vessel, is there any indication that there are Lucians still pursuing it,” Sam said from the end of the table, tapping her pen on the pad. Jack nodded from the opposite end, his eyes scanning the members of SG-1 present, Cam, Vala, Teal’c and Addy, all of which looked just as concerned. 

“Telford’s on the way,” Jack added, leaning forward, his eyes darting over to Rush, waiting patiently on the other side of the glass. 

“I think our best option right now is to send over Addy and Vala and bring back TJ and Camille. Let Carolyn get a better idea of what TJ is dealing with and Addy can get us a list of who we’ve lost. Vala, I’d like you to nose around and feel out exactly what is going on on the ship. You too Adrienne, pay close attention to the way the crew is interacting, if anyone is close to losing it, if there are still any issues between Rush and Young,” Sam instructed the women, Adrienne nodding. 

“Camille Wray? She’s IOA isn’t she?” the Cajun clarified, Sam nodding. 

“Yes, but let’s say that unlike Robert, experience has changed her viewpoint when it comes to certain issues,” the general replied, Jack equally as quiet. 

So many things, Adrienne thought, so very many things that happened here before I came that I just don’t think I will ever understand. 

“I’ll speak with Rush. He’s not going to be happy with your choice Sam, so prepare for a fit of blowback,” Jack warned as he stood, Sam shrugging her shoulders. 

“How did Robert used to put it? Welcome to the New World Order? I don’t have to explain anything anymore, they need to get used to us running the show without interference. Cam, Teal’c, I need you two on standby for any teams that come in with any more information about Anubis. Is that clear everyone? You have your assignments,” Sam declared, Adrienne and Vala unable to help but smile. 

It was  great to finally see Sam in charge, fully in charge, no worries of bureaucrats, at least for a while. 

Taking their orders, the team stood, leaving only the couple to speak with Rush and set up the switch. 

*****

Daniel didn’t like it in the least, but there wasn’t a choice. 

“Sha, I know how to use the stones, we do it all of the time,” Adrienne argued, Daniel knowing that he didn’t need to mention that a husband and wife switching bodies was not only strange in and of itself, but was two people that knew each other intimately well doing it on the same planet. 

“Adrienne, we have no idea what state the Destiny is in, anything could happen,” he argued, peeking back over his shoulder as Woolsey continued to drill Homer. It worried him, he seemed to really be rolling once they had gotten his sugar back up and he didn’t like where the conversation was headed. 

“Daniel it’s not my body over there, it’ll be TJ’s and I’ll keep the stone on me as Sam is requiring so I can jump back in a hot minute if something goes wrong.” 

She knew he worried, and she appreciated it, loved it even. She’d had people care about her in her life, her aunt, her father, but she never let anyone take care of her like she let Daniel. She wanted him to care for her, love her, be with her...

“Ok, what about Nicky?” he tried a new angle.

“He’s with Teyla.” 

Silence on the other end of the line. 

Daniel never knew what to say to that. They were very fortunate to be allowed to bring Nicholas to work and Adrienne most certainly didn’t want him in any type of care situation, especially now, but Daniel worried too that when they did need care and they asked Teyla that they were using her.

“Alright Ad, I’m sorry, I just worry,” he apologized instead, not really meaning it; more sorry he wasn’t there to hold her. Granted, it was strange with Nicky being, well, Nicky, but now that they knew why he was the way he was, why he had cried, now that Adrienne was so much better and back to herself, he just wanted to be with her. 

“I miss you too love,” she read his mind, like always.

Another pause.

“How’s it going?” she now asked, Daniel sighing out. He should have taken the call in one of the offices; he could really use the chance to really talk to her right now. 

“Alright, I guess. There was...” he started and trailed, unsure as to how he could tell her with listening ears in the room, ears that would know if he slipped into French and was hiding something. 

“Do you need anything?” she whispered softly. 

“You,” he answered honestly though not for the reasons an outsider would think. 

I want to talk this through with you Ad. There’s something not right here and until I can figure out if I’m just imagining things I’d prefer you stay right on base and not be taking a jaunt across the universe. 

“I know,” was her reply. 

“Stay safe.” 

“You too.” 

“I love you,” he added not caring who heard. 

“I love you too Indy,” she answered, a click on the other end letting him know that she was gone. 

“Dr. Jackson?” the voice behind letting him know that he was indeed being listening in on, his instinct to speak cryptically with Adrienne correct. 

“Coming,” he answered, pocketing his phone to return to the console.

*****

“Samantha,” it was odd to see Vala approaching her with open arms and not a foul joke to accompany the greeting. Sam reciprocated the gesture, hugging her guest and offering her a seat nearby with a wave of her hand. 

“Camille, it’s great to speak with you again,” she answered honestly as the normally shorter woman adjusted to taking a seat in the much taller body. 

“I have to admit I was quite pleased to discover that you were now in charge of the SGC. How did that happen?” the IOA official asked, Sam nodding her head. 

“Landry, he was injured in the attack. He took a well-deserved early retirement,” the general answered honestly, Camille/Vala’s lips pursing. 

“How many did we lose?” 

“Enough,” Sam offered the only information on the subject that she was willing to offer, again her guest nodding in understanding. 

“Our count so far is five dead, including Greer. Chloe isn’t doing very well, and it seems that Scott’s vision was affected. Young has resumed full command, but the morale, is, well, it’s not high,” Camille set right in with her explanation, judging by the look on Samantha’s face that she wasn’t in the mood for small talk. 

“Adrienne will take care of the losses the best she can. She is good with things like that,” Sam said immediately, her private conversation with Adrienne coming to the forefront of her mind. She’d warned the Cajun to be cautious, to listen and pay close attention to the people there, but also console them in their time of grief. 

If there was anyone who could handle loss of the people closest to them, it would be Adrienne. 

Or Daniel, but he was away. 

“I hope so. And Mal Doran? That was surprising,” Camille now dared, questioning, Sam again expecting that as well. 

“We have her heading up our intelligence division. We need to know if the Lucians or Nakai had any contact with the ship during your hibernation,” Sam explained, thinking only to herself how she also wanted Vala to see if Rush had any plans on continuing his mutinous ways. Of all of the scientists Daniel had to recruit, he had to pick that man, that lying, manipulating man. 

She should have hired Adrienne sooner because she knew that hire had been attitude as much as talent. 

“Of course. Eli and Colonel Young did an initial sweep and have found nothing, but maybe there is something else she can offer,” the woman agreed, Sam adjusting herself in her seat. 

“Camille, we need to talk about what to do next and who is in charge. There have been some changes here...” 

Sitting back in her seat, awkwardly crossing the unfamiliar long legs, Camille Wray prepared to hear about this new SGC, stuffed into the confines of the Pentagon. 

*****

Adrienne took a breath at the familiar sensation, but what wasn’t familiar was the petite body she was zapped into. TJ was as tall as she was, but much slimmer, and to be honest Adrienne had gotten used to really only jumping into Daniel’s body. 

Damn that was so weird. 

“You ok Addy?” an unfamiliar voice asked, but the Cajun was certain the origin of the voice although it was to coming from its temporary host. 

“Yeah, guess it’s the distance but whoosh,” Adrienne replied, leaning on her forearms to stand, tucking the device into her palm.

“That and you seem to always have a dick when you do this, so that’s gotta be weird,” Vala joked, Adrienne rolling her eyes. 

“Dr. Jackson, Ms. Mal Doran?” a young man greeted as he peeked around the table, Eli Adrienne could tell from photos. 

“Addy and Vala, we’re not really formal,” she corrected quickly, Vala smirking. 

“Speak for yourself,” she countered, standing and adjusting herself to a much shorter body, “Where’s Young?” 

“He and Lt. Scott are on the bridge, I can sho-” Eli started, Vala waving a hand in front of her face. 

“I’d make a pretty shitty spy if I couldn’t find the bridge,” she replied, Camille’s normally conservative movements replaced with an arrogant shimmy. 

“Ok...” Eli said, blushing, most likely not having intended to let the word escape. 

“You didn’t get to meet Vala before? Oh shug, did you miss a treat,” Adrienne joked, adjusting her clothes and taking a breath. 

“First switch?” her host asked, Adrienne shaking her head. 

“No, just first switch in a while,” she replied, taking a cautious step forward, her eyes scanning the room. It was dusty, dank, in such poor condition that it made their covert pirate ships look clean and that was saying something. 

“Ok, better,” she said, stretching, “now you’re Eli right?” 

“Yes and you’re...” he clarified, Adrienne realized that in these bodies she hadn’t made clear who was who and she really didn’t want to have, yet again, to explain she and Daniel. 

She’d forgotten just how annoying that was.

“Dr. Adrienne Jackson and General O’Neill wants me to start with causalities and get an overall feel of the crew’s morale,” she answered deftly, wanting more than anything to get down to business and get back. Sam required the switch back to occur in two hours, but if possible Adrienne wanted to activate the stones sooner. 

“Right, sure, um, follow me,” he stammered, leading the way through the dark hallways. 

*****

“Dr. Jackson,” Woolsey asked as he followed Daniel back down to the main offices where Sam was now requesting all communications occur. To be honest, it made Daniel feel a little strange setting up shop in the Atlantis commander's office, a post that Daniel was certain would be awarded to John Sheppard once they dealt with Anubis and sent the spaceship back to the Pegasus. He felt like an invader, but Sam seemed to think it was the most secure place to have their conversations. 

She had checked in about ninety minutes ago, informing him that Adrienne and Vala had indeed made their way to the Destiny. Sam herself had spoken with Camille Wray, discovering, among other things, that the Destiny at full power traveled significantly faster than it had before, although Dr. Rush was still insisting that they were at least four billion light years from Earth.

“Daniel,” Robert repeated, the archaeologist shaking his head and coming to a halt at the main door, turning the knob to let himself in. 

“Sorry, I was running some numbers through my head,” he told a half-truth, noting as he stepped through the threshold that he had ‘spread‘ across the desk in the office as Adrienne teased him about doing at home. 

“That is hard to believe, so many lost,” the bureaucrats tried to guess exactly which numbers Daniel was running through his head, his companion nodding in false agreement. 

“It’s sad. I’m hoping Ad will come up with a good estimate as to how bad everyone else is,” Daniel responded, his mind more on how far away the Destiny was and if it was headed this way. 

With much of the ship itself still an anomaly, the last thing they needed was to hand Anubis what could be another powerful weapon. 

“So, I am assuming that Vala is working recon?” 

Daniel paused, a sinking feeling in his gut. Woolsey had been so much better lately, observing, staying out of their way, but now with this latest development he seemed to be slipping back into his weaselly ways. 

“Yeah, but Sam was more concerned with the loss of life,” Daniel answered, strategically, his follower again nodding. 

“Of course, and getting them all the support that they need during this tough time,” he replied, taking a seat at the main desk. Daniel glared at him funny as he sat, Woolsey leaping up quickly at the glance. 

“Sorry, just, well, habit,” Robert apologized, standing and moving across the room. 

“Not my chair,” Daniel corrected quickly, not wanting to just admit that he didn’t care who took the spot as long as it was never again held by Robert Woolsey. 

“Daniel, Homer brought up an interesting point down in the lab. You gave Anubis the dialing sequence to the Destiny hoping he wouldn’t notice that they included an extra chevron. How do we know for certain that he didn’t try to dial the Destiny?” 

Daniel stopped making notes on the legal pad, glancing up at Woolsey. 

Why was he mentioning that? Hadn’t they already determined that there had been no indication of the power loss great enough to dial the ninth chevron.

“Now that the ship has awoken, shouldn’t we warn them that he might dial. Maybe he will dial and take the ship for himself. I would be more than happy to use the stones to go aboard and discuss our current situation with Camille,” Woolsey continued, that uneasy feeling back inside of Daniel, that feeling that made him wish Adrienne was here, the one person that could read him so well, the person that with a glance he could ask if she thought this was strange too. 

Why did Woolsey want to go to the Destiny?

“Even if he doesn’t want the ship, which I think he might, given his interest in Atlantis, I think we should use the extra power provided by the ZPM’s to try to dial the ship ourselves,” Robert now suggested, Daniel certain that his jaw was hitting the floor. 

“We need to get on that ship; I need to get on that ship.” 

This wasn’t just interest; the look on the bureaucrat's face was not one Daniel had ever seen before.

Something was wrong. 

Daniel needed to get him out of here and call Sam.

Now.

*****

“So where’s Rush?” Adrienne asked as she left Chloe’s bedside, noting that his absence was the only one not explained. Sighing, Eli glanced over his shoulder to make sure that other than the still feverish and semi-conscious Chloe they were alone. 

“He’s looking around,” Eli whispered, his eyes darting around again. 

“For what?” Adrienne asked puzzled, “Vala’s orders are to do a preliminary inspection of the ship with the Colonel.” 

“Rush doesn’t take orders anymore.” 

This time Adrienne paused. She’d been told as much, but she thought at the very least waking up as he had, in a situation such as this, he would be taking any help and recommendations that he could get from Homeworld Command, not picking up where he left off. 

“How much did Daniel tell you?” 

Everything, Adrienne thought her answer, but held her tongue, doing as Sam asked, feeling out the situation rather than adding to it. 

“Sorry,” he took her hesitation as insult, “I assumed that you and he were...” and Adrienne couldn’t help but laugh at the misunderstanding. 

“No, we are. I was actually just running what he had said through my head,” she explained, Eli taking yet another paranoid look around. 

“Right before we made the decision, to go into hibernation, even then I expected Rush to do something drastic to take charge and for a while I think he intended to have me help him,” Eli was really talking now, Adrienne stopping her own scan of the room to give her full attention. 

“Addy,” he continued, using her name as requested and not calling her Dr. Jackson, “based on my calculations, we are heading back toward the Milky Way, I made sure that when I got into that pod I at least pointed us in the right direction. We should make it to the next galaxy with enough food, especially now with, well, so many gone. It worked, in theory this is exactly what we needed to happen, other than the people we lost, this should be a good thing.” 

“But it isn’t, is it?” 

Eli shook his head slowly. 

“I would never say that I would want anyone to die but it would have been better if only one of them was able to take charge at least.”

This time it was Adrienne that glanced around, even looking at Chloe as she slept, Eli’s  hands reaching up to rub his face. 

“Just hang in there. I know Sam and Rodney will want to come over and, well, I’m no scientist, at least not this kind but Sam, we, command, never gave up on you guys and I don’t think we are gonna start now,” the Cajun assured him, reaching her hand out to his shoulder. There were footsteps and Eli walked away, back to not talking so much, to thinking and to worrying.

“Addy!” Vala shouted, of course it was Vala, Adrienne turning around to see what she wanted, “that little asshole that thinks he’s in charge says I can’t go down the airlock because the system reads it’s broken but trust me, I’m not you or Daniel but I can read a damn airlock panel!!” 

Letting out a sigh, Adrienne stood, looking for Eli to follow but he didn’t, lingering back at Chloe’s bedside, where she hadn’t noticed he had gone. She paused for a moment, knowing her mission, that without any way to take notes like she was used to doing she had to memorize a plethora of information, something her eidetic memory would have no problem doing, but this...

“Just let him throw a fit Vala,” Adrienne replied calmly, “Sam’s gonna send a follow-up team here and we can check air-locks then. Is the ship secure?” 

“For a million year old rusted heap, sure, I think we’re ok and no baddies on board that we could find,” Vala shrugged, finding it harder than normal to read her friend’s expressions in a different body. 

“Good, I think we only have a few more minutes, so we should head down and be ready for the switch back,” the archaeologist added, cocking her head toward the infirmary door, Vala finally reading her suggestion, to leave, to give her one more moment with the upset young man. 

Safely alone again, if only for a few moments, Adrienne certain that Rush would come down here to follow Vala to see why she was ranting, to see if she was stirring up more trouble, she took a step toward her tour guide, resting a hand on his shoulder. 

“We will send more people shortly. It’s not supplies, but it’s knowledge. We never forgot and we’re not giving up on you guys.” 

He nodded slowly, drawing his gaze to her borrowed eyes. 

“I just hope we don’t kill each other while we wait.” 

*****

“Are you alone?” 

Glancing around the room at people Daniel knew were absent, he stood one final time from the desk, locking the door to the main office. 

“For now, but Woolsey’s been slowly inching his way back into his old self,” Daniel answered, Sam sighing in understanding. 

“I’ll make it brief. Addy and Vala just got back. Five dead. Eight crew members remain Daniel, eight. Chloe Armstrong is very ill, flu-like symptoms according to Addy and Lieutenant Scott has gone blind in one eye. TJ doesn’t seem to know why or how right now,” she began to report, sharing the information with Daniel before anyone else. Jack she knew would be compelled to tell the IOA, limited involvement now or not he still had to report something as long as they wanted to use tax dollars. 

Daniel, however, could be trusted to not tell a soul and maybe talking to him would give her some ideas. 

“Dear god...” was all he could say, Sam sighing for a second time, rubbing her face in her hands. 

“Rush seems to be picking up right where he left off, Eli pulled Addy aside. Eli thinks that while they are all bonding together now, as survivors, that this is gonna be bad. He thinks Rush may try to take the ship,” she continued, Daniel frowning. Rush had been his selection and while the man was brilliant, there was a side to him that Daniel had been blind to so many years ago. 

“Stop, I know what you’re doing,” Sam scolded instinctively. Daniel couldn’t help but laugh, she knew him too well, pinching his nose under his glasses. 

“What now?” 

“I’m thinking of sending Carolyn over there, maybe a longer switch, check on Scott and Chloe. There isn’t too much on base that Cassie can’t handle and we can pull Carson or Jenn back if we have to. I also want Cameron to check on the ship, but he might need you to translate; I don’t trust Rush,” it sounded like a good plan coming out as it had in her head, Daniel agreeing immediately. 

“We should be done here. I don’t think that Homer’s correct; I think he’s paranoid. There is no way that Anubis knows the location of this base and I have to agree with Rodney. If the rebel Jaffa were to attack, we have the charger, we can keep shield and weapons running indefinitely,” Daniel reported with a shrug, hoping that he could at least have one dinner with his family before being shipping back off again. 

“Good. I was hoping so and Teal’c and Ry’ac are giving me the same information as Homer in terms of the fleet. Former first prime or not, Yat’Yir only has the resources that he has and nothing we’re not used to dealing with. Ishta is meeting with their president now, urging her to call the able bodied warriors to arms, just in case.” 

“Have you contacted the Tok’ra?” Daniel hated to ask, their involvement had been more lately then they had all become used to, but they didn’t seem to want to do more than offer intelligence. 

“Yes. Delek and Anise are assembling battalions as well, for when the attack occurs. So, yes, we have their support,” she was able to answer with a smile. It was a relief to Daniel since other than the Jaffa and Tok’ra, none of their other allies were in any shape to fight. He himself had spoken with the governor of the Aeltans, and while they had weapons they were willing to part with, they themselves had no one trained for war. The same was true for the Kaetanam, but they had agreed to help ‘borrow’ anything they could to cause chaos during the battle should the time come. 

Weak or not, Earth was still outgunned, were it not for Atlantis. 

Running the day through his head, trying to remember if there was anything else he had to report, Daniel looked up to see Woolsey on the platform, powering his way to the main office. 

“Speaking of support, here’s our own friend of the IOA coming now. I wonder what else Rodney has managed to do,” Daniel sighed out, Sam chuckling on the screen. 

“Just let me know if I need to roll some heads,” she replied, reaching to end the communication when Daniel glanced back up at the screen, screwing up his face in confusion. 

“Sam?” 

“Yeah?” 

Dare I ask, he thought, the question having bothered him all morning. 

“I really wasn’t needed here today, was there something in particular that you needed me to look for? Something I needed to accomplish?” he asked, figuring he probably just had missed something but Sam didn’t answer at first, just smiled softly. 

“I have my reasons. Now go see what Robert wants. I’ll tell Addy you said hi.” 

And then she was gone. 

Grumbling, Daniel closed the lid to the laptop, just in time to see Robert Woolsey make it to the office door...

.... and crumble to the ground. 

Tapping the communicator at his ear, Daniel was shouting before he made it himself to the door.

“Carson! Emergency at the main office!” 

****

Dr. Carson Beckett stood at the scanner, reading the output for what had to be the fifth time, Jennifer Keller watching as he did. The remainder of the D.C. contingent was waiting in another examination room, all but Daniel, who Sam had seemed to put in charge of this mission, who was observing from the corner. 

“He’s gone Carson,” Jennifer said quietly, her colleague nodding slowly. 

“I know. It just doesn’t make any sense, but aneurisms never really do. One of those horror stories from med school you never want to see become a reality,” he agreed with a sigh, Daniel shaking his head. 

“I can’t believe it. He was fine this morning, he had a small spell, said he hadn’t eaten, but he was fine...” Daniel muttered as he approached the table, looking down at the still being who had been the source of so much turmoil in his life and so many others. 

He had never wished Woolsey dead; as much as he drove him insane he never wished him any harm.

“I’ll call Sam,” Jenn spoke up, most likely an excuse to leave the room, both Carson and Daniel knew, but it was Daniel again that intervened, taking a step back from the scanner. 

“No, I’ll do it. I, well, I need to do it.” 

Neither doctor argued as Daniel left the infirmary in silence. 

*****

Homer sat in his quarters staring at his arm. 

He’d killed a man. 

It was just now sinking in. 

A glance at the clock showed it was nearly five in the morning, too early to get breakfast unless he wanted to be surrounded by the military types and too late for even Jonas to be awake. They’d arrived back at the SGC hours ago, General O’Neill declaring that with Carson ruling Woolsey’s death by natural causes, there was no need for quarantine.

Dr. Jackson was to stay the night and help with arrangements, moving the body, but he and Jonas were sent quickly back to base. 

It was done. 

And here he was sitting here, alone in the dark, his first task complete. 

Then why didn’t he want to continue. 

The man was awful, had no family so to speak and had almost destroyed the entire program, endangering the lives of so many. 

Why did it matter? 

It was the woman that had met them in the beaming area that reminded him. Holding that small dark-eyed child, asking where her husband was, why he hadn’t returned, it all reminded him of why he hadn’t just taken his own life the first time Anubis looked him in the eye. 

He stood from the bed, walking ever so quietly to the bathroom, opening the door and locking it behind him. He slid open the top drawer, digging through the medicines and things Jonas had given him to the thin razor slipped in the back. Tucking it between his fingers he turned, leaning against the counter taking a breath before he sliced into his forearm. 

It did just as she said it would, sliding away like butter, very little blood, the black panel now fused to his bone blinking to life. His stomach was sick but he had come this far, his mind racing, that child asking for his dad making him wonder if his own was doing the same. 

He reached his finger forward typing. 

It’s done. He did not survive the procedure. 

And Homer waited. 

That was expected but we have what we need. 

Now it is time for you to complete your mission. 

He wished he’d grabbed a tissue in his digging from before, not for his arm, but the wipe the tear escaping from his eye.