Adult-FanFiction.org : Television / Streaming

The Amadeus Effect	By : NeenaVarscona Category: Stargate: SG-1 > General Views: 6242 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate: SG1, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 3
- 4
- 5
~~~~~
Carter was in the middle of an enthusiastic report on the contents of the storage chamber�so enthusiastic, in fact, that it would have made Daniel proud�when Dr. Fraiser arrived.

�Dr. Fraiser?� asked Hammond by way of address.

�Sir�sorry to interrupt��

�It�s Daniel, isn�t it?� asked Jack before she could finish.

�I�m afraid so,� she admitted, and the expression on her face left no doubt as to the nature of the news. �He�s suffering from the same symptoms he complained of in the temple�and so far none of the medications I�ve given him have helped. Sir�whatever this is, it�s clearly no longer confined to the temple off-world. I�ve moved Daniel to an isolation room, and I�d like to keep close tabs on the rest of SG-1 until I can rule out a virus as the potential cause.�

�How bad is he?� asked Carter, remembering his last attack vividly.

�According to Daniel, the pain has gone from a five to a seven in the last half an hour�with ten being a Goa�uld ribbon device.�

Jack winced. If anyone knew how to gauge pain, it was Daniel; and if it was up to a seven on Daniel�s scale, it had to be damn-near unbearable for the average human being. �Can we see him?� he asked.

�Until I�ve finished running my tests he�s under strict quarantine,� said Fraiser. �But you can see him through the observation window,� she suggested.

Jack would have preferred to be at his friend�s side than behind a protective barrier, but he would take what he could get. He turned to Hammond. �Sir, with your permission?�

Hammond nodded. �Permission granted. Keep me posted.�

The team rose as one and followed Dr. Fraiser out of the Briefing Room. It was a silent procession, with all of them worrying about Daniel and the possible contagion they may have unwittingly unleashed upon the SGC.

Jack, Teal�c and Carter filed into the cramped observation room and looked down through the window at their team-mate. Daniel was balled up on his side, rocking back and forth to help him deal with the pain.

�Can�t you give him anything stronger?� asked Jack, finding it hard to watch his friend�s suffering without being able to do something about it.

Fraiser shook her head. �I�ve already given him the maximum dose�any more right now could be dangerous.�

�I do believe Daniel Jackson�s condition is improving,� said Teal�c, and four sets of eyes swivelled to face Daniel, who was slowly unfurling from his foetal position.

Janet quickly switched on the microphone. Daniel, how are you feeling?� she asked.

Daniel�s red-rimmed eyes searched her out. He looked pale and shaky, but he seemed to be relaxing. �A bit better, actually,� he said, seemingly surprised by the fact. �Whatever you gave me must have finally kicked in.�

�I guess so,� said Janet, although she looked doubtful. �Give me a minute, Daniel, and I�ll be in to check you over.�

�Great�more needles,� Daniel complained.

Jack and Sam shared a smile�the snarkiness was a good sign he was feeling better.

~~~~~

The night was wearing on and Jack had ordered Carter and Teal�c to get some rest. They�d taken turns keeping watch over Daniel as the young man�s condition fluctuated. Jack had been absent during the bad spells, but he�d been informed by Carter that at times the Daniel-Pain-O-Meter rose to an eight. On some superstitious level, Jack was convinced that Daniel got worse on purpose just to make him go running back to the observation room to keep him company.

It was coming on 04:00 hours, and the base was stripped down to its skeleton crew. Jack knew he should follow the advice he�d given Carter and Teal�c and head to his on-base quarters to get some sleep, but he knew he wouldn�t be able to relax until he knew what was wrong with Daniel.

�I thought I�d find you here,� came the sound of a feminine voice from behind him.

Jack swivelled in his chair to see Janet Fraiser standing in the doorway. �Please tell me you�ve got good news,� said Jack, rolling his shoulders to loosen some of the tension that had been building up there.

�Partly,� she replied and pulled up a chair to sit facing the colonel. �The good news is that I�ve ruled out a virus as the cause of Daniel�s illness, and he seems to have stabilised.�

�And the bad news?� Jack asked, raising his eyebrows at her.

Janet sighed and rubbed the knotted muscles in her neck. �The bad news it that he�s still hovering around a level four on the pain scale and the alien organisms I found in his blood are unlike anything I�ve ever seen before.�

Jack sank back in his chair with a groan. �Can I at least sit with him now?� he asked.

The colonel looked so worn out that Fraiser was tempted to say no and order him to get some sleep. But she knew O�Neill well enough by now to know that it wouldn�t do any good. �I don�t see why not,� she said. �Just promise me you�ll let him rest.�

�Promise,� Jack agreed, giving her the Scout�s Honour sign and a look of cherubic innocence.

Janet softly laughed, �Go on, then,� she said, and headed back to her lab.

~~~~~

Jack sauntered into the Isolation Room with his hands shoved deep into his pockets, going for �casual�. He didn�t want Daniel to know how much he had him worried�the guy had enough troubles of his own without having to deal with other people worrying over him. As he approached Daniel�s bed he saw that the other man�s eyes were squeezed shut, so the casual sauntering had been wasted. But although Daniel�s eyes were closed, he was too tensed up to be sleeping.

�Hey,� said Jack quietly.

Daniel�s eyes cracked open, squinting back at him blearily. �Hey, Jack,� he answered. He squirmed under the sheets, trying to sit up, but Jack gently pushed him back down.

�Nuh-uh. Janet gave me strict orders to see to it that you rest.�

Daniel took in a long, deep breath and let it out in a relaxed sigh. He could feel the pain ebbing away, and it was such a relief that it actually brought tears to his eyes.

�You okay?� Jack asked, ready to call the nurse if needed.

Daniel tried to smile reassuringly at him, but he was too tired to pull it off convincingly. �Feeling much better now, thanks,� he answered, and his face split open in an enormous yawn.

�Maybe it�s me,� Jack said with a lopsided grin. �I have that effect on people�it�s well documented.�

That got a full-sized smile out of Daniel�only Jack�s ego could stretch that far, he thought. �Sit with me for a while?� he asked. He was fighting a losing battle to keep his eyes open, and he wouldn�t be very good company, but Daniel liked knowing he wasn�t alone�just in case the pain came back.

�Sure, why not? But don�t get me in trouble with Fraiser�she�ll kill me if she thinks I kept you awake all night,� said Jack. He needn�t have worried; less than a minute later Daniel�s eyelids gave up the fight and slid shut. He was out for the count.

~~~~~

Jack awoke with somebody shaking him by the shoulder. Jack groaned�he�d fallen asleep in the chair next to Daniel, and his neck was paying the price for it.

�Sleep well, Colonel?� asked Janet in a whisper.

With special care, Jack sat up and stretched the kink out of his neck. Daniel was still sleeping. �How is he?�

Janet looked down at her sleeping patient with a slight frown. �To be honest, he should be much worse than he appears to be.�

Jack�s eyebrows rose in question.

�The blood samples I took from him last night showed a large number of�well, to tell the truth, I�m not really sure what they are just yet. But these organisms are highly active, and based on the tests I�ve run, they seem to attack nerve cells. As far as I can tell, they attach themselves to the nerve cells and trigger them to send impulses to the pain receptors of the brain. Now I can�t be sure without performing some rather invasive tests, but it�s my guess that there are more of these organisms in his brain, blocking the effects of our medications.�

�Bottom line?� asked Jack, his head throbbing from the barrage of jargon on his tired brain.

�Bottom line? These things have commandeered Daniel�s nervous system�they have complete control over how much or how little pain he feels, and nothing I have tried so far seems to make a damn bit of difference.�

�But he seems to be okay now,� Jack pointed out.

Janet�s frown deepened as she looked back down at Daniel. �He does, doesn�t he?� she agreed. �But for the life of me, I don�t know why.� With a little shake of her head she went to the instrument cart and pulled out a syringe. She gave Jack a nod, and he placed his hand on Daniel�s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

A hint of blue peeked through the dark smudge of eyelashes. �Hey,� Daniel mumbled, his whole body unfurling in a luxurious stretch.

�Hey,� Jack answered with a flash of a smile.

�What time is it?� asked Daniel.

�Time to feed the vampire,� Jack replied, delighted at the scrunched look of confusion on his friend�s face. �Janet wants more blood,� he explained.

Janet stepped forward, syringe in one hand, alcohol swab in the other. �Sorry, Daniel, but I need to run a few more tests. You can go back to sleep as soon as I�m done. In fact, I insist on it,� she said with a �no arguments� look on her face.

There were none of the usual grumbled complaints as Daniel proffered an arm to be jabbed. �I�m starving,� he said as Janet got him to press down on the cotton pad covering the fresh needle mark.

Jack raised a brow at Janet in silent question and her eyes answered him back�yes, it was definitely a good sign.

�I�ll have something brought up from the commissary,� she said, looking decidedly pleased with her patient�s progress.

As Janet left with her new blood sample, Jack nudged Daniel over and sat on the edge of his bed. �Feeling better, huh?� he asked.

�Better than �better�,� Daniel replied, pushing the blankets down so he could sit up. �I feel great. Seriously,� he said, seeing Jack�s look of disbelief. �In fact, I feel like doing something.�

�Oh? Like what?�

�Basketball. Wanna sneak off to the Gym and throw a few hoops?�

�Janet would have my balls it I let you outta here,� said Jack. �And I like my balls right where they are, thank-you very much.�

�Well, I�ve got to do something,� Daniel said, fidgeting with his hospital gown. �I feel too good to just sit here.� He shoved the blankets off entirely and swung his legs out of the bed so he was sitting beside Jack.

�Whoa, Danny! Hold up there�it�s my balls on the line, remember?�

�At least let me get out of bed, Jack. I can�t waste this. What if it comes back again? What if�?�

�What if�� Jack prompted.

�What if the pain comes back and doesn�t go away? What if this is the last time I feel this good?� he asked quietly, his eyes losing some of their light.

Jack bumped shoulders with him, and in his most authoritarian voice, said, �Not gonna happen. Janet will figure out what this is and have a cure before you know it.�

Daniel smiled weakly at Jack, appreciating the sentiment, even if he had a hard time believing him. They shared a heavy silence, weighed down by fears and doubts, but neither of them wanted to say anything that might jinx Jack�s prediction.

When a young airman arrived with a breakfast tray for Daniel, Jack took the opportunity to make his exit. �Look, Danny�I�ve got to shower and grab a bite before my briefing. You gonna be okay?�

Daniel gave him a thumb�s up, his mouth too full of scrambled egg to answer properly. He was starving, and even crappy commissary food tasted great at the moment. Daniel was too busy buttering a piece of toast to wave back at his CO when he left.

~~~~~

The hot shower slowly melted away the hours of tension and worry, and by the time he entered the Briefing Room Jack felt awake and refreshed. Of course, it didn�t hurt that Daniel�s condition had improved�that was a big weight off his shoulders.

�Colonel, please have a seat,� said Hammond formally. Teal�c and Carter were already seated, looking better for having got some rest, as ordered. �Dr. Fraiser informs me that Dr. Jackson has taken a turn for the worse.�

�He had a pretty rough night, Sir,� Jack agreed. �But he�s doing much better now. The last I saw him he was putting away a king-size breakfast.�

Hammond�s sympathetic glance told Jack everything before he even opened his mouth to speak. �I just received word from Dr. Fraiser; it seems his recovery was short-lived.�

�Damn!� Jack exclaimed, drawing everyone�s eyes to him and eliciting a disapproving glare from his CO. �Sorry, Sir, but I was just there! Jeez�can�t leave the guy alone for a minute! Sir, permission to go back to the planet? The answer has to be there somewhere.�

�He�s right, Sir,� Carter chipped in. �No one else has shown any symptoms. Whatever made Daniel sick must be something that only he came into direct contact with. If we can find out what it was, maybe we can figure out how to help him.�

�I concur�I, too, believe returning to the temple is the only way to shed light on Daniel Jackson�s ailment,� Teal�c added.

Hammond held up a hand. �Alright, people, no need to go on�I�ve already decided to send you back to PIK 260. SG-2 will back you up�full hazmat for all of you until Captain Carter completes a thorough contamination sweep of the temple. Understood?�

�Yes, Sir,� Jack and Sam answered in unison, Teal�c giving his customary nod.

�You�ve got a go,� said Hammond. �Let�s get to the bottom of this, folks. Dismissed.�

~~~~~

Daniel wanted to die. He�d been through a lot in his life�hell, he�d even died a couple of times�and nothing came close to the sheer agony he was going through now. He�d screamed until his voice gave out, not giving a damn what anyone thought of him. He was vaguely aware that most of the nurses were anxious�of him, or for him, he couldn�t be sure�and they did their best to stay out of his way.

Janet had given him endless injections. Painkillers of every variety had been tried, along with muscle relaxants, anti-depressants and tranquillisers, but nothing had any effect on him. He�d lied when he�d told Janet the pain was a nine on a scale of one to ten�the pain had shot past ten hours ago, and just when Daniel thought it couldn�t get any worse, it did.

It felt like someone had doused him in gasoline and set him on fire, like his entire body, inside and out, was slowly being consumed, his flesh burning and renewing itself in a never-ending cycle. It just wouldn�t stop! Daniel was slipping. There was nothing he could do to lessen the pain; no position he could find that was more comfortable, no pressure points to push or movements to make that would alleviate the pain even for a moment. There was nowhere to hide from it, and Daniel was slipping.

He�d actually begged Janet to give him an overdose of morphine and put an end to it, but of course she wouldn�t. All he�d managed to do was alert her to his state of mind, and to prevent him from taking matters into his own hands, she�d had him restrained.

And he was slipping. Daniel knew that if the pain didn�t end soon, his friends would find there was nothing left of him to save.

~~~~~

Twenty-six hours after embarking through the �gate to PIX 260, SG-1 and SG-2 arrived back home, bringing with them an entire FRED-full of artefacts from the storage chamber where Daniel had shown his first symptoms. Both teams were exhausted, doing in one day what would normally have taken three, spurred on by continued updates on Daniel�s condition as relayed through the MALP.

A weary-looking General Hammond met them in the Gate Room. �Welcome back, SG-1, SG-2.�

�How is he?� asked Jack, getting straight to the point.

�I�ll let Dr. Fraiser brief you on his condition,� said Hammond. �But first, shower, change and get something to eat. Debrief in one hour.�

Jack and the others dragged themselves down the corridors towards the locker rooms, letting the scientists deal with the pile of artefacts they�d brought back. But as they arrived at the locker room door, Jack stopped instead of following Carter in.

�Sir?� she asked.

�I�ll be back in a minute,� he said distractedly, and took off back down the hallway again. Sam shrugged and headed for her locker, knowing Jack was going to check on Daniel and that he�d return to fill them in on the situation.

~~~~~

There were guards posted outside Daniel�s isolation room, and Jack was told that Janet had given them strict orders to let no one but medical staff in without her permission. Jack had, of course, pulled rank on them, but Janet was scarier than he was, and the guards refused to budge.

Jack fumed all the way to Janet�s laboratory, ready to tear a strip off her the second he got within shouting distance. However, when he saw her bent over her desk, and the dark smudges under her eyes, he softened somewhat. She�d obviously been working just as hard, if not harder, than the rest of them to figure this one out.

�Hey, Doc,� he said, coming up to stand next to her.

Janet�s head shot up from her work and she acknowledged his greeting with a half-hearted smile.

�Having any luck?� he asked, peering into the microscope she had set up next to the computer.

Janet shook her head sadly. �You can see for yourself,� she said, gesturing towards the microscope. �I�ve tried everything in my arsenal, but the alien organisms in Daniel�s blood sample are still buzzing around like crazy in there.�

�Uh�Janet? Are those organism things the little squid-like doohickeys?� asked Jack, once again squinting through the eye piece of the microscope.

�Yes,� Janet answered. �Why?�

�I think they�re dead,� he said. �Or at least sleeping.�

�Let me see,� said Janet, butting Jack out the way like a pushy kid in a playground to see for herself. Jack was right�the organisms appeared to be dormant. Janet�s eyes brightened and a real smile lit up her face. �Come with me, Colonel. I have a theory I�d like to test.�

Jack blinked at Janet�s retreating back, still processing their conversation by the time she�d already made it out of the lab. Even with his longer stride he had to walk at a fast clip to keep up with her. She clearly had a bee in her bonnet, and when they arrived at Daniel�s room, the guards backed out of the way of the diminutive doctor.

Janet stopped Jack before letting him into the room. �I should warn you that Daniel is in pretty rough shape. Noise and light make the pain worse, so try to be quiet,� she said and opened the door just enough for them to enter the dimly-lit room.

Even with her warning, Jack wasn�t prepared for what he saw. Daniel, strapped down on the bed, was drenched in sweat from his struggles. His glazed eyes had a mad glint to them as they fixed on Jack, and he felt a sick, twisting feeling in his gut at the desperation he saw in the other man�s face. Without thinking to ask Janet�s permission, Jack hurried over to Daniel�s side, clasping his friend�s hand between his own.

The effect was drastic and immediate. Daniel�s struggling ceased and he went limp on the bed, a look of utter relief on his face. A single tear slipped out from behind closed eyelids to streak a trail down to the pillow.

Stunned, Jack turned to Janet for an explanation.

�I was right,� she said, sounding almost as surprised as Jack felt.

�Right about what?� Jack whispered.

�Somehow�I�m not sure how, precisely�your presence neutralises the alien organisms,� Janet answered.

His mouth still gaping, Jack turned his attention back to Daniel, who�d passed out and was now sound asleep, pain-free for the first time in more than twenty-eight hours.

�Looks like the two of you will be roomies for a while,� Janet said, giving Jack a friendly pat on the shoulder.

�Great,� Jack muttered, pulling up a chair in preparation for another long, uncomfortable night�s vigil.
- 3
- 4
- 5
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

The Amadeus Effect