What Dreams May Come - 12/21
Warnings and summary are here: Chapter One
The previous chapters can be found here: What Dreams May Come
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Chapter Twelve
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Jack looked down at his watch and then back up at Daniel. "They've been gone a really long time," he observed.
"Yeah," Daniel said. "I know."
Jack walked to the supply cabinet and opened it. He pretended to be inspecting the contents of the shelves as he picked each item up-a roll of tape, a box of gauze, a bottle of rubbing alcohol, a pair of scissors …
"I think it's time to start assuming the worst."
"I know," Daniel repeated softly. "I already am."
The quiet desperation in Daniel's voice prompted Jack to turn around. He was not really surprised to see that Daniel had left his previous position at the door, but he was worried by where Daniel had moved to.
Daniel was standing at the foot of his own bed, staring down at his own dead body. The expression on his face was one of fear, regret, resignation and loneliness.
"Daniel?" Jack asked. "What are you doing?"
Daniel glanced up, flashed a quick smile, and looked back down at himself again. "Nothing, really," he said. "Just thinking."
"About what?" Jack started across the room as nonchalantly as he could manage, tossing a roll of gauze back and forth between his hands.
Daniel shrugged half-heartedly. "Just stuff," he said. "What it's like to be dead, completely and totally and permanently. All the stuff out there that I'm never going to see. All the discoveries that I'll never make. Sha're … This was my last chance to stop this from ever happening again, and I blew it. I thought I could, but I … I was supposed to save myself, but all I did was make absolutely certain that I'm going to die."
Jack stopped directly beside him. He'd been about to ask Daniel what he meant by his last chance, but he decided instead to focus on the last few words he'd said. Daniel was sinking further and further into despair, and Jack wouldn't let him give up so easily. "Hey," he said, pointing his index finger directly at Daniel's chest. "I don't want to hear that."
Daniel shrugged again. "Sorry."
"No, Daniel," Jack said. He dropped his hands to his side. "Look at me."
Daniel did not turn, and Jack tried again.
"Daniel, look at me."
Once again, Daniel did not respond.
"Please, Daniel?"
Daniel sighed and turned to face Jack. There we so many emotions contained in that single sound. Jack heard desperation, fear, resignation, and failure, and those were without even trying.
"What?" Daniel asked half-heartedly.
"Don't give up yet," Jack said softly, with a small smile. "We'll beat this, okay?"
Dr. MacKenzie entered the room, followed by two airmen. Daniel acknowledged Jack's words of comfort and alerted him to the psychiatrist's presence by nodding his head in the direction of the door.
Jack forced a large smile onto his face and turned around. "Dr. MacKenzie," he greeted cheerfully. "Back so soon? All done trying to sort out those jumbled up brainwaves? When can Daniel and I blow this joint?" Jack motioned toward the airmen, who had taken up positions on either side of the door. "Our escort?"
MacKenzie didn't approach the colonel. He stood in the door and smiled-the false smile of a man who was pretending to be gracious to a defeated opponent.
"Both you and Dr. Jackson will be leaving this room very soon," he said.
Jack was surprised by the statement. He glanced at Daniel and saw that he had not been expecting that answer either.
"We're leaving?" Jack asked. "Going back to the planet? Putting Daniel's brain back in his own body?"
"Not exactly," MacKenzie replied. "You will be leaving, however. Dr. Jackson's body will be moved to the morgue shortly, and you will be transferred to Mental Health within the hour."
"The hell we will," Jack replied evenly. "I haven't granted consent to turn those machines off, and I won't."
"Colonel O'Neill, I outrank you on medical matters. I am giving you one last opportunity to grant consent to disconnect Dr. Jackson from the life support machines."
"Absolutely not."
"In that case, Colonel, the decision is no longer yours to make."
"What?" Jack demanded.
"No …" Daniel whispered.
For the first time, Jack noticed that MacKenzie held a single piece of paper in his hand. His heart sank when he realized what the document most likely contained.
"What's that?" he asked.
MacKenzie smiled again. "This, Colonel, is an order signed by General Hammond. It removes you as Dr. Jackson's guardian, and remands custody of his body to me."
Daniel closed his eyes and turned away. "Can I give up now?"
"No!" Jack answered. He turned to MacKenzie defiantly. "No way in hell," he said. "Hammond knows what's at stake here. He wouldn't do that."
"And yet, he has," MacKenzie said.
Jack seethed. If Hammond had really appointed MacKenzie to be Daniel's guardian, then Daniel was as good as dead. Jack had to convince MacKenzie of the truth, and he had to do it immediately.
"You can't do it," Jack said. "If you turn those machines off, you'll kill him. He's already weaker than he was when we got here yesterday. If he doesn't get back in his body soon, it'll be too late."
MacKenzie's smile returned. "And if I told you that I wanted to talk to Dr. Jackson, would you let me? Would you let him take control of your body again? Can I see his eyes, Colonel?"
"No!" Jack said. "It damn near killed him the first time. If he does it again, he will die."
"Then there's nothing more I can do." MacKenzie stepped forward and began walking directly toward Daniel's bed.
Jack moved until he was standing in front of MacKenzie and blocked his path. "Damn it, MacKenzie, listen to me! You can't do this to him!"
"Colonel, if you don't calm yourself, I will have you restrained and sedated."
"He's going to kill me, isn't he?"
Jack raised his hand toward Daniel, hoping to reassure him. "MacKenzie, stop and listen to me. He's still alive, but he doesn't have much longer. We can save him, but we have got to get him back to that damned planet, and we've got to do it now!"
"Colonel, you know as well as I do that what you're saying isn't possible."
"He's going to kill me," Daniel whispered. He turned away from Jack.
"Don't you dare, Daniel!" O'Neill ordered. "Don't you dare give up. This is not going to happen."
"Colonel, he's not giving up. This is not his fault. You have to let him go. Don't try to make him stay here just to make yourself feel better."
"I'm not doing anything to him! You're the one that's going to kill him!"
"Colonel …" MacKenzie shook his head.
"I see his body. Yes, it's lying on that bed and it's dead. But I see something you don't. I see him - Daniel - standing right beside me, absolutely terrified, because you're about to kill him and there's nothing he can do to stop you!"
"I can't kill him, Colonel. He's already dead."
"No, I'm not!" Daniel cried in despair.
"No, he's not!" Jack echoed. He reached out instinctively to grasp Daniel's shoulders.
Hammond and Sam walked through the infirmary doors just in time to see Jack apparently trying to grab thin air.
Jack stared at his hands as he reached for Daniel once more. He closed his eyes when his fingers passed through Daniel's arms again. He opened his eyes slowly and looked back up. "I can't touch you, can I? I can't touch you when I'm awake," Jack whispered.
Daniel shrugged silently and turned away again, trying to hide his tears.
"No! Daniel, look at me. Damn it, you're not alone! I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere. Don't you dare shut me out now."
"Sir?" Sam's eyes darted between the stoic psychiatrist and the frantic colonel. "Sir, what's going on?"
"What's going on, Carter? What's going on?" Jack's voice was edgy; his eyes were locked on something beside him that only he could see. "MacKenzie just walked in here and ordered me to pull the plug on Daniel. I said no. Now he says that he's already convinced Hammond to write me off as crazy so he can do it himself. Daniel is standing right here, so he knows that MacKenzie is trying to kill him. And I'm just trying to keep him alive, and no one is listening to me, and I can't even touch him!"
"Colonel O'Neill, that is enough!"
Jack turned toward the sound of his commanding officer's voice. "General, did you do it? Did you give Daniel to MacKenzie?"
Hammond nodded slowly. "Yes, Jack, I did."
"Oh, my God," Daniel breathed. "This is happening. There's nothing you can do, Jack."
"Why would you do that, sir? Why would you order me to stand aside and watch Daniel die?"
"Because I thought there was no other way for this to end," Hammond explained. He locked eyes with Jack from across the room. "But I might have been wrong about that."
"General?" MacKenzie stepped forward. "You were not wrong. Colonel O'Neill is clearly insane …"
"Dr. Fraiser thinks that she might have proof that he's not," Hammond said. "If he's not crazy, then he's right. If he's right, then Dr. Jackson is still alive and I will be rescinding that order."
"What proof?" MacKenzie asked. "Has Dr. Fraiser begun seeing and hearing a dead man, too?"
"No," Janet answered as she walked through the door. "But I am beginning to doubt that Daniel is dead."
"Why?"
"Because of these." Janet held up her hand and showed everyone in the room what she was holding. "These are the initial MRIs that were run on SG-1 immediately after they returned from the planet." Janet turned to Hammond and smiled broadly. "I was right, sir. Teal'c and Captain Carter do each have three anomalies of their own, in the same general location as the colonel's, and their anomalies are identical to each other's."
MacKenzie huffed an exaggerated sigh. "Dr. Fraiser, what bearing do the MRI results of other people have on whether or not the colonel is mentally stable?"
Hammond rolled his eyes and nodded at Janet. "Is there anything else?"
"Yes, sir." Janet could not hide her excitement as she walked to the lightboard. "I missed something last night."
She pressed one of the films in her hand against the board, stepped back, and flipped the switch. The image on the film was a flat line.
Daniel closed his eyes and groaned.
"That's Daniel's," Jack said.
"Yes, Colonel. This is Daniel's EEG. It looks completely flat, which is why I initially missed seeing this. When I studied it more closely just now, I realized that there is some movement." Janet placed another film on the board next to the EEG. "This is Daniel's MRI from last night." She turned around and faced General Hammond. "General, there are three anomalies-two small ones and one larger. And his are identical to Colonel O'Neill's."
Jack turned to Daniel. "Do you understand what she's talking about?"
"Yeah," Daniel answered with a smile. "She just said that I'm real."
"Okay, great," Jack said. He turned to face Hammond again. "Now, about that order, sir … ?"
"General." MacKenzie stepped toward the lightboard. "I have been reviewing Dr. Jackson's scans since last night. I don't know where these ‘anomalies' came from, but they are not on any of the six other scans that I have seen."
"Are you accusing Dr. Fraiser of manufacturing these results?" Hammond asked.
"These are the first scans I took," Janet said. "I have already checked them against the others and you're right, they're not on those. The only explanation I can think of is that they must have faded over time, as Dr. Jackson's brain went without activity."
"And that, Dr. Fraiser, is absolutely ridiculous," MacKenzie declared. "Brain death is not a condition that happens 'over time.' All of Dr. Jackson's brain functions stopped at the same time, including any anomalies that may or may not have been present in his brain before his death."
"Oh, no," Daniel groaned. "Here we go again."
"General, I can understand your unwillingness to face the inevitable conclusion of the events of the past two days, but I cannot and will not allow any more delays in this matter. This is a medical decision, sir, and I do not require your permission to make it."
Hammond bristled at the dismissal. "The hell you don't, Doctor. I am rescinding the order that removes Colonel O'Neill as Dr. Jackson's guardian. Any and all decisions regarding his care are Colonel O'Neill's to make."
"As the colonel's psychiatrist, General, I cannot in good conscience allow him to retain custody of Dr. Jackson. I can declare him incompetent with or without your order, sir."
"You can't do that!" Sam protested.
"Actually, Captain, I can."
"Over my dead body." Jack stepped forward until he once again stood between MacKenzie and Daniel's bed. "No one is touching these machines."
"Colonel, I have already warned you. One more outburst like that, and I will have you restrained."
"I am not going to stand here and let you kill Daniel!"
MacKenzie nodded his head toward Jack, and the two airmen stepped forward, reaching out to grab his arms. Dr. MacKenzie reached into the pocket of his white lab coat and pulled out a syringe.
"No!" Daniel and Jack cried out in unison.
Sam blinked as a hauntingly familiar feeling swept over her.
"Daniel?"
Everyone in the room froze and stared at her.
"Did she hear me?" Daniel asked, leaning toward Jack. Jack's only answer was a shrug.
"Sam?" The question came from Janet, as she reached a hand out and laid it on the other woman's arm.
"Captain Carter, Daniel is dead." MacKenzie said with an exasperated sigh. "This is getting ridiculous."
Sam shook her head, still unable to explain exactly what it was she had felt. "No … no, he's not. He's scared. Terrified." When she looked up at Jack, her eyes were full of tears. "God, he's so scared."
Jack only nodded.
"I … I heard him." A small smile crept across Sam's lips, despite the tears in her eyes. "I can hear him."
"Captain Carter," MacKenzie said, an irritatingly even tone to his voice. "Are you saying that you see Dr. Jackson too?"
"No, sir," Sam admitted reluctantly. "I don't see him. I just … heard him, and felt him."
"Do you hear or feel him now?" Janet asked.
Sam was quiet for a moment, listening for something, and then she shook her head sadly. "No. Not any more."
"It's my emotions!" Daniel announced suddenly. "My connection with her isn't as strong as it is with you. She can only feel powerful emotions. That's why she knew I was here!"
"Well, that's great, Daniel," Jack answered. "Just get yourself powerfully emotional again, and we're outta here. But this time, let's try for abject terror, so maybe some of these other people can feel you too."
MacKenzie sighed loudly. "Colonel O'Neill, it is becoming increasingly apparent that you are no longer in complete control of your faculties."
"My faculties are just fine, MacKenzie. You're just too damned narrow minded to listen!"
"Colonel, your belligerence …"
"Is fully justified at the moment! Listen to me-all of you! Now, I can see him. Carter can hear him. I can see how scared he is, and we both feel it. You're about to kill him, and he's just going to stand here and watch and there's not a damn thing he can do to stop you. Think for just one second about what that's going to do to him. How scared would you be?"
"You continue to suffer from auditory and visual hallucinations …"
"I'm not hallucinating!"
"He's not hallucinating!" Sam and Daniel declared.
"Dr. MacKenzie, I don't think he's hallucinating," Janet said.
"Dr. Fraiser, this man is clearly insane. I am declaring him mentally incompetent. He can no longer be entrusted with decisions regarding his own medical care, let alone that of Dr. Jackson."
"No!" The cry that ripped itself from Daniel's lips shredded Jack's heart.
"Daniel …"
"No, Daniel," Sam whispered through tears, feeling Daniel's despair as sharply as if it were her own. "Oh God, Doc, can't you stop this?"
"Dr. Fraiser," MacKenzie began, "you are a trained medical professional. Certainly you of all
people know that what they're saying isn't possible."
"Doctor? Do you hear or feel anything?" It was Hammond's turn to ask the question.
Janet shook her head slowly. "No, sir, I don't." She raised her head and looked the general in the eyes. Her expression made it clear that her mind was made up. "But it's obvious that Colonel O'Neill and Captain Carter do. Between their certainty, Teal'c's claims of having seen him, Captain Carter's theory about the energy clouds, and the MRIs, sir … I think he's here."
MacKenzie motioned to the airmen who held O'Neill's arms. "Restrain the colonel! Be prepared to restrain the others. This madness seems to be spreading."
"Dr. Jackson," Hammond said, hoping against hope that his faith in O'Neill and Carter's perceptions was justified. "You reached Colonel O'Neill; there has to be a way. Just let someone else see you, son."
"Teal'c!" Jack, Daniel and Sam shouted in unison.
"He's in his quarters, meditating," Sam added quickly, watching helplessly as the airmen strapped Jack to the bed.
"Jack, I can't leave you! If he sedates you …"
"You can't stop him, Daniel. You've got to go get Teal'c. He's your only chance."
MacKenzie raised the syringe and tapped it with his fingernail. "I am not devoid of compassion, Colonel O'Neill. I will give the sedative five minutes to take effect before allowing nature to take its course with Dr. Jackson. I will not make you watch."
Jack struggled on the bed, trying to pull his hands free of the restraints. "Get the hell out of here, Daniel. Now!"
Daniel looked back at Jack with wide eyes. He forced a tight smile and nodded before he started backing away.
"Daniel," Janet whispered, and Daniel turned toward the door.
"Go, son," Hammond encouraged as Daniel stepped from the room.
"Hurry, Daniel!" Sam begged; Daniel sprinted toward the elevator.
Jack's voice echoed down the hallway behind him, the effects of the sedative already apparent, and Daniel's feet moved faster than he had ever known they could.
"Run, Danny! For God's sake, run!"
- = - = -
Daniel burst through the unopened door of Teal'c's quarters a little over two minutes later, neither noticing nor caring that he hadn't opened it first. His eyes focused on Teal'c's still form, and he spoke quickly and breathlessly.
"Teal'c! God, I hope you can hear me. I don't have time to explain, but please, I need your help. In about three minutes, Dr. MacKenzie is going to kill me, and I would really appreciate it if you would stop him."
The previous chapters can be found here: What Dreams May Come
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Chapter Twelve
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Jack looked down at his watch and then back up at Daniel. "They've been gone a really long time," he observed.
"Yeah," Daniel said. "I know."
Jack walked to the supply cabinet and opened it. He pretended to be inspecting the contents of the shelves as he picked each item up-a roll of tape, a box of gauze, a bottle of rubbing alcohol, a pair of scissors …
"I think it's time to start assuming the worst."
"I know," Daniel repeated softly. "I already am."
The quiet desperation in Daniel's voice prompted Jack to turn around. He was not really surprised to see that Daniel had left his previous position at the door, but he was worried by where Daniel had moved to.
Daniel was standing at the foot of his own bed, staring down at his own dead body. The expression on his face was one of fear, regret, resignation and loneliness.
"Daniel?" Jack asked. "What are you doing?"
Daniel glanced up, flashed a quick smile, and looked back down at himself again. "Nothing, really," he said. "Just thinking."
"About what?" Jack started across the room as nonchalantly as he could manage, tossing a roll of gauze back and forth between his hands.
Daniel shrugged half-heartedly. "Just stuff," he said. "What it's like to be dead, completely and totally and permanently. All the stuff out there that I'm never going to see. All the discoveries that I'll never make. Sha're … This was my last chance to stop this from ever happening again, and I blew it. I thought I could, but I … I was supposed to save myself, but all I did was make absolutely certain that I'm going to die."
Jack stopped directly beside him. He'd been about to ask Daniel what he meant by his last chance, but he decided instead to focus on the last few words he'd said. Daniel was sinking further and further into despair, and Jack wouldn't let him give up so easily. "Hey," he said, pointing his index finger directly at Daniel's chest. "I don't want to hear that."
Daniel shrugged again. "Sorry."
"No, Daniel," Jack said. He dropped his hands to his side. "Look at me."
Daniel did not turn, and Jack tried again.
"Daniel, look at me."
Once again, Daniel did not respond.
"Please, Daniel?"
Daniel sighed and turned to face Jack. There we so many emotions contained in that single sound. Jack heard desperation, fear, resignation, and failure, and those were without even trying.
"What?" Daniel asked half-heartedly.
"Don't give up yet," Jack said softly, with a small smile. "We'll beat this, okay?"
Dr. MacKenzie entered the room, followed by two airmen. Daniel acknowledged Jack's words of comfort and alerted him to the psychiatrist's presence by nodding his head in the direction of the door.
Jack forced a large smile onto his face and turned around. "Dr. MacKenzie," he greeted cheerfully. "Back so soon? All done trying to sort out those jumbled up brainwaves? When can Daniel and I blow this joint?" Jack motioned toward the airmen, who had taken up positions on either side of the door. "Our escort?"
MacKenzie didn't approach the colonel. He stood in the door and smiled-the false smile of a man who was pretending to be gracious to a defeated opponent.
"Both you and Dr. Jackson will be leaving this room very soon," he said.
Jack was surprised by the statement. He glanced at Daniel and saw that he had not been expecting that answer either.
"We're leaving?" Jack asked. "Going back to the planet? Putting Daniel's brain back in his own body?"
"Not exactly," MacKenzie replied. "You will be leaving, however. Dr. Jackson's body will be moved to the morgue shortly, and you will be transferred to Mental Health within the hour."
"The hell we will," Jack replied evenly. "I haven't granted consent to turn those machines off, and I won't."
"Colonel O'Neill, I outrank you on medical matters. I am giving you one last opportunity to grant consent to disconnect Dr. Jackson from the life support machines."
"Absolutely not."
"In that case, Colonel, the decision is no longer yours to make."
"What?" Jack demanded.
"No …" Daniel whispered.
For the first time, Jack noticed that MacKenzie held a single piece of paper in his hand. His heart sank when he realized what the document most likely contained.
"What's that?" he asked.
MacKenzie smiled again. "This, Colonel, is an order signed by General Hammond. It removes you as Dr. Jackson's guardian, and remands custody of his body to me."
Daniel closed his eyes and turned away. "Can I give up now?"
"No!" Jack answered. He turned to MacKenzie defiantly. "No way in hell," he said. "Hammond knows what's at stake here. He wouldn't do that."
"And yet, he has," MacKenzie said.
Jack seethed. If Hammond had really appointed MacKenzie to be Daniel's guardian, then Daniel was as good as dead. Jack had to convince MacKenzie of the truth, and he had to do it immediately.
"You can't do it," Jack said. "If you turn those machines off, you'll kill him. He's already weaker than he was when we got here yesterday. If he doesn't get back in his body soon, it'll be too late."
MacKenzie's smile returned. "And if I told you that I wanted to talk to Dr. Jackson, would you let me? Would you let him take control of your body again? Can I see his eyes, Colonel?"
"No!" Jack said. "It damn near killed him the first time. If he does it again, he will die."
"Then there's nothing more I can do." MacKenzie stepped forward and began walking directly toward Daniel's bed.
Jack moved until he was standing in front of MacKenzie and blocked his path. "Damn it, MacKenzie, listen to me! You can't do this to him!"
"Colonel, if you don't calm yourself, I will have you restrained and sedated."
"He's going to kill me, isn't he?"
Jack raised his hand toward Daniel, hoping to reassure him. "MacKenzie, stop and listen to me. He's still alive, but he doesn't have much longer. We can save him, but we have got to get him back to that damned planet, and we've got to do it now!"
"Colonel, you know as well as I do that what you're saying isn't possible."
"He's going to kill me," Daniel whispered. He turned away from Jack.
"Don't you dare, Daniel!" O'Neill ordered. "Don't you dare give up. This is not going to happen."
"Colonel, he's not giving up. This is not his fault. You have to let him go. Don't try to make him stay here just to make yourself feel better."
"I'm not doing anything to him! You're the one that's going to kill him!"
"Colonel …" MacKenzie shook his head.
"I see his body. Yes, it's lying on that bed and it's dead. But I see something you don't. I see him - Daniel - standing right beside me, absolutely terrified, because you're about to kill him and there's nothing he can do to stop you!"
"I can't kill him, Colonel. He's already dead."
"No, I'm not!" Daniel cried in despair.
"No, he's not!" Jack echoed. He reached out instinctively to grasp Daniel's shoulders.
Hammond and Sam walked through the infirmary doors just in time to see Jack apparently trying to grab thin air.
Jack stared at his hands as he reached for Daniel once more. He closed his eyes when his fingers passed through Daniel's arms again. He opened his eyes slowly and looked back up. "I can't touch you, can I? I can't touch you when I'm awake," Jack whispered.
Daniel shrugged silently and turned away again, trying to hide his tears.
"No! Daniel, look at me. Damn it, you're not alone! I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere. Don't you dare shut me out now."
"Sir?" Sam's eyes darted between the stoic psychiatrist and the frantic colonel. "Sir, what's going on?"
"What's going on, Carter? What's going on?" Jack's voice was edgy; his eyes were locked on something beside him that only he could see. "MacKenzie just walked in here and ordered me to pull the plug on Daniel. I said no. Now he says that he's already convinced Hammond to write me off as crazy so he can do it himself. Daniel is standing right here, so he knows that MacKenzie is trying to kill him. And I'm just trying to keep him alive, and no one is listening to me, and I can't even touch him!"
"Colonel O'Neill, that is enough!"
Jack turned toward the sound of his commanding officer's voice. "General, did you do it? Did you give Daniel to MacKenzie?"
Hammond nodded slowly. "Yes, Jack, I did."
"Oh, my God," Daniel breathed. "This is happening. There's nothing you can do, Jack."
"Why would you do that, sir? Why would you order me to stand aside and watch Daniel die?"
"Because I thought there was no other way for this to end," Hammond explained. He locked eyes with Jack from across the room. "But I might have been wrong about that."
"General?" MacKenzie stepped forward. "You were not wrong. Colonel O'Neill is clearly insane …"
"Dr. Fraiser thinks that she might have proof that he's not," Hammond said. "If he's not crazy, then he's right. If he's right, then Dr. Jackson is still alive and I will be rescinding that order."
"What proof?" MacKenzie asked. "Has Dr. Fraiser begun seeing and hearing a dead man, too?"
"No," Janet answered as she walked through the door. "But I am beginning to doubt that Daniel is dead."
"Why?"
"Because of these." Janet held up her hand and showed everyone in the room what she was holding. "These are the initial MRIs that were run on SG-1 immediately after they returned from the planet." Janet turned to Hammond and smiled broadly. "I was right, sir. Teal'c and Captain Carter do each have three anomalies of their own, in the same general location as the colonel's, and their anomalies are identical to each other's."
MacKenzie huffed an exaggerated sigh. "Dr. Fraiser, what bearing do the MRI results of other people have on whether or not the colonel is mentally stable?"
Hammond rolled his eyes and nodded at Janet. "Is there anything else?"
"Yes, sir." Janet could not hide her excitement as she walked to the lightboard. "I missed something last night."
She pressed one of the films in her hand against the board, stepped back, and flipped the switch. The image on the film was a flat line.
Daniel closed his eyes and groaned.
"That's Daniel's," Jack said.
"Yes, Colonel. This is Daniel's EEG. It looks completely flat, which is why I initially missed seeing this. When I studied it more closely just now, I realized that there is some movement." Janet placed another film on the board next to the EEG. "This is Daniel's MRI from last night." She turned around and faced General Hammond. "General, there are three anomalies-two small ones and one larger. And his are identical to Colonel O'Neill's."
Jack turned to Daniel. "Do you understand what she's talking about?"
"Yeah," Daniel answered with a smile. "She just said that I'm real."
"Okay, great," Jack said. He turned to face Hammond again. "Now, about that order, sir … ?"
"General." MacKenzie stepped toward the lightboard. "I have been reviewing Dr. Jackson's scans since last night. I don't know where these ‘anomalies' came from, but they are not on any of the six other scans that I have seen."
"Are you accusing Dr. Fraiser of manufacturing these results?" Hammond asked.
"These are the first scans I took," Janet said. "I have already checked them against the others and you're right, they're not on those. The only explanation I can think of is that they must have faded over time, as Dr. Jackson's brain went without activity."
"And that, Dr. Fraiser, is absolutely ridiculous," MacKenzie declared. "Brain death is not a condition that happens 'over time.' All of Dr. Jackson's brain functions stopped at the same time, including any anomalies that may or may not have been present in his brain before his death."
"Oh, no," Daniel groaned. "Here we go again."
"General, I can understand your unwillingness to face the inevitable conclusion of the events of the past two days, but I cannot and will not allow any more delays in this matter. This is a medical decision, sir, and I do not require your permission to make it."
Hammond bristled at the dismissal. "The hell you don't, Doctor. I am rescinding the order that removes Colonel O'Neill as Dr. Jackson's guardian. Any and all decisions regarding his care are Colonel O'Neill's to make."
"As the colonel's psychiatrist, General, I cannot in good conscience allow him to retain custody of Dr. Jackson. I can declare him incompetent with or without your order, sir."
"You can't do that!" Sam protested.
"Actually, Captain, I can."
"Over my dead body." Jack stepped forward until he once again stood between MacKenzie and Daniel's bed. "No one is touching these machines."
"Colonel, I have already warned you. One more outburst like that, and I will have you restrained."
"I am not going to stand here and let you kill Daniel!"
MacKenzie nodded his head toward Jack, and the two airmen stepped forward, reaching out to grab his arms. Dr. MacKenzie reached into the pocket of his white lab coat and pulled out a syringe.
"No!" Daniel and Jack cried out in unison.
Sam blinked as a hauntingly familiar feeling swept over her.
"Daniel?"
Everyone in the room froze and stared at her.
"Did she hear me?" Daniel asked, leaning toward Jack. Jack's only answer was a shrug.
"Sam?" The question came from Janet, as she reached a hand out and laid it on the other woman's arm.
"Captain Carter, Daniel is dead." MacKenzie said with an exasperated sigh. "This is getting ridiculous."
Sam shook her head, still unable to explain exactly what it was she had felt. "No … no, he's not. He's scared. Terrified." When she looked up at Jack, her eyes were full of tears. "God, he's so scared."
Jack only nodded.
"I … I heard him." A small smile crept across Sam's lips, despite the tears in her eyes. "I can hear him."
"Captain Carter," MacKenzie said, an irritatingly even tone to his voice. "Are you saying that you see Dr. Jackson too?"
"No, sir," Sam admitted reluctantly. "I don't see him. I just … heard him, and felt him."
"Do you hear or feel him now?" Janet asked.
Sam was quiet for a moment, listening for something, and then she shook her head sadly. "No. Not any more."
"It's my emotions!" Daniel announced suddenly. "My connection with her isn't as strong as it is with you. She can only feel powerful emotions. That's why she knew I was here!"
"Well, that's great, Daniel," Jack answered. "Just get yourself powerfully emotional again, and we're outta here. But this time, let's try for abject terror, so maybe some of these other people can feel you too."
MacKenzie sighed loudly. "Colonel O'Neill, it is becoming increasingly apparent that you are no longer in complete control of your faculties."
"My faculties are just fine, MacKenzie. You're just too damned narrow minded to listen!"
"Colonel, your belligerence …"
"Is fully justified at the moment! Listen to me-all of you! Now, I can see him. Carter can hear him. I can see how scared he is, and we both feel it. You're about to kill him, and he's just going to stand here and watch and there's not a damn thing he can do to stop you. Think for just one second about what that's going to do to him. How scared would you be?"
"You continue to suffer from auditory and visual hallucinations …"
"I'm not hallucinating!"
"He's not hallucinating!" Sam and Daniel declared.
"Dr. MacKenzie, I don't think he's hallucinating," Janet said.
"Dr. Fraiser, this man is clearly insane. I am declaring him mentally incompetent. He can no longer be entrusted with decisions regarding his own medical care, let alone that of Dr. Jackson."
"No!" The cry that ripped itself from Daniel's lips shredded Jack's heart.
"Daniel …"
"No, Daniel," Sam whispered through tears, feeling Daniel's despair as sharply as if it were her own. "Oh God, Doc, can't you stop this?"
"Dr. Fraiser," MacKenzie began, "you are a trained medical professional. Certainly you of all
people know that what they're saying isn't possible."
"Doctor? Do you hear or feel anything?" It was Hammond's turn to ask the question.
Janet shook her head slowly. "No, sir, I don't." She raised her head and looked the general in the eyes. Her expression made it clear that her mind was made up. "But it's obvious that Colonel O'Neill and Captain Carter do. Between their certainty, Teal'c's claims of having seen him, Captain Carter's theory about the energy clouds, and the MRIs, sir … I think he's here."
MacKenzie motioned to the airmen who held O'Neill's arms. "Restrain the colonel! Be prepared to restrain the others. This madness seems to be spreading."
"Dr. Jackson," Hammond said, hoping against hope that his faith in O'Neill and Carter's perceptions was justified. "You reached Colonel O'Neill; there has to be a way. Just let someone else see you, son."
"Teal'c!" Jack, Daniel and Sam shouted in unison.
"He's in his quarters, meditating," Sam added quickly, watching helplessly as the airmen strapped Jack to the bed.
"Jack, I can't leave you! If he sedates you …"
"You can't stop him, Daniel. You've got to go get Teal'c. He's your only chance."
MacKenzie raised the syringe and tapped it with his fingernail. "I am not devoid of compassion, Colonel O'Neill. I will give the sedative five minutes to take effect before allowing nature to take its course with Dr. Jackson. I will not make you watch."
Jack struggled on the bed, trying to pull his hands free of the restraints. "Get the hell out of here, Daniel. Now!"
Daniel looked back at Jack with wide eyes. He forced a tight smile and nodded before he started backing away.
"Daniel," Janet whispered, and Daniel turned toward the door.
"Go, son," Hammond encouraged as Daniel stepped from the room.
"Hurry, Daniel!" Sam begged; Daniel sprinted toward the elevator.
Jack's voice echoed down the hallway behind him, the effects of the sedative already apparent, and Daniel's feet moved faster than he had ever known they could.
"Run, Danny! For God's sake, run!"
- = - = -
Daniel burst through the unopened door of Teal'c's quarters a little over two minutes later, neither noticing nor caring that he hadn't opened it first. His eyes focused on Teal'c's still form, and he spoke quickly and breathlessly.
"Teal'c! God, I hope you can hear me. I don't have time to explain, but please, I need your help. In about three minutes, Dr. MacKenzie is going to kill me, and I would really appreciate it if you would stop him."