Words of Comfort

by

Jackjunkie

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Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the authors. This story may not be posted anywhere without the consent of the authors.

Words of Comfort

Death by dog slobber – sure would’ve made for a one-of-a-kind death certificate. I never would’ve lived that one down. In a manner of speaking. Not exactly a heroic way to go, especially after all those times coming this close to going out in a blaze of glory. I’d have probably died of embarrassment if I hadn’t already been dead. Just as well it didn’t kill me. Came too damn close for comfort, though.

P2X-468 didn’t look dangerous. A deserted planet, the usual abundance of trees, some nice ruins for Daniel to play around in – all very boring and routine. We’d even gone so far as to send Carter and Teal’c home toting some soil and plant samples for testing. The two of us stayed behind so Daniel could finish translating the squiggles on crumbled rocks which had him practically dancing in excitement, while I hung around on guard duty with nothing but peace and quiet to guard against. Seemed like a nice, restful way to spend a mission.

Now I like dogs. They’re my favorite people. So when a frisky, little ball of fur trotted up wagging its tail, I didn’t hesitate to say hello. Thing looked about as deadly as a puppy, no sign of anything suspicious like rabies or a snake in him. After holding out my hand so he could have a good sniff, I reached behind his ears to scratch. He responded with a sociable lap of his tongue. The immediate burning sensation was the first indication I had of anything wrong.

Between licking and drooling he’d covered a lot of territory on my arms and legs by the time Daniel showed up. It felt like miniature fires had erupted all over my body. Above the ruckus of my yelling and the animal howling, I heard shouts and saw Daniel running and throwing sticks, stones, whatever he could snatch up to scare the creature away. The pup bolted into the woods while I rolled around on the ground frantically tearing at my clothes where the caustic saliva was soaking through to my skin.

Twisting open his canteen, Daniel splashed water over me. I shuddered and gasped for breath as the cool liquid soothed the sharp pain into a dull, stinging ache.

Digging a first aid kit out of his pack, Daniel explained he’d read about the animals in the stuff he’d been translating. "They’re extremely poisonous, and the venom is tenacious, clinging to the victim’s skin and spreading to others on contact."

"Nice of them to put up a Beware of Dog sign. They didn’t happen to mention anything about treatment I suppose?"

Daniel’s expression was grim. "Not that I saw. The writing described much worse, fatal damage from the full-grown animals. Good thing this one was only a youngster."

"Oh yeah, why take the fast way out when you can go the long drawn, excruciating agony route?" I ground out, but I knew he was right. If Daniel hadn’t read that warning inscription and chased the little beast away, I’d have been puppy chow.

As he puzzled over the medical supplies, I shook my head.

"No drugs. We don’t know how a toxic, alien venom might interact with our medication."

"Good point, but we ought to at least cover the uh, affected areas to try and prevent infection."

At his stammering speech and worried glance, I took stock of myself. I’d been concentrating on how miserable I felt, but unsurprisingly I wasn’t a pretty sight either. Large patches of me visible were red and inflamed, like I had some weird case of giant measles. Still I wasn’t so out of it that I didn’t remember Daniel’s words of explanation. "I’ll do it myself. You said it spread on contact so you’d better not touch me. We don’t need both of us down."

"If I’m careful I can give you a hand…"

"Don’t. That’s an order, Daniel. We can’t risk it. One of us has to stay in good enough condition to get us back home." I didn’t add that if he laid a finger on me right now I’d probably explode from the pain.

He had that mulish set to his mouth. Daniel Jackson is the most stubborn man I have ever met, not to mention following orders is not exactly his strong suit. However, after thinking it over he nodded. "Can you…?"

"I can manage." And I did. I stripped down to my boots and shorts – luckily the venom hadn’t hit any tender spots there so I was feeling genuinely thankful for small favors – well, ahem, not so small – and proceeded to dress the burns as best I could. By the time I was done, the water’s relieving effects had worn off and we didn’t have more to spare. I didn’t dare apply anything else. We needed to book it back to the Stargate to get good ole Doc Fraiser on the case.

Of course this couldn’t be one of those convenient planets where the ruins are located right next to the Stargate. It was a long hike back. Not that I hadn’t slogged through deserted terrain while badly injured and feeling pretty high up the torment scale before. Iraq sprang to mind, but that was one experience I’d been kinda hoping not to repeat. At least this time I wasn’t alone.

If I’d gone by the body language, I wouldn’t have found him to be the most inspirational companion I could’ve had in the situation. Arms wrapped around himself, tripping over the odd bush, concerned frown wrinkling his brow and clouding the sky blue eyes, he wasn’t exactly the picture of assurance. I could imagine Teal’c striding confidently ahead, radiating serene faith in a positive outcome. And Carter’s Air Force, and that military experience and never-say-die attitude would get us through by the book. But what Daniel lacked in the image department, he more than made up for with his words.

Endless streams of words that ordinarily I’d tend to tune out, but now were a lifeline, keeping me from passing out, distracting me from the pain, prodding me to keep moving forward one more step.

"This walk’s a piece of cake, Jack. Did you know the ancient Hamal tribes of P5R-733 walked for miles along a dry riverbed lined with stones while chanting their sacred scriptures? It was a purification ritual. They believed anyone who reached the river’s mouth without stopping to rest was granted salvation. Then there were the Songa who hiked barefoot up volcanoes over steaming beds of dried lava…"

You’d think even Daniel would run out of things to say eventually, but I swear he barely stopped to draw breath. Every time I faltered, every time I stumbled, every time I wanted to lie down in the dirt and give up once and for all, his words pulled me back up and kept me going.

"Rest break’s over, Jack. Those dog things travel in packs, so the parents can’t be too far away. Let’s not wait around for them to catch up before we reach the gate."

"Decisions, decisions – stay here and be melted by dog drool or keep walking and drop dead of exhaustion?"

"Technically you wouldn’t be melted. According to what I read, once you were incapacitated, they’d eat what was left right down to gnawing the marrow out of your bones."

I opted for the walking till dropping choice. Never debate with a linguist. You’re on his turf and bound to lose.

There came a point I hit that exhaustion wall, though. I just couldn’t move any farther. "Leave me alone, Daniel. I can’t do it. I can’t take another step." God, I didn’t know how I’d managed to go as far as I had. Pain was tap dancing along my nerves like Fred Astaire setting off those firecrackers in an old movie I’d seen. "You’ll have to go on without me. You can send back help."

"It might get here too late, Jack. Nobody gets left behind, remember? Not on this team."

Trust him to use my own words as a weapon against me. "Me and my big mouth." I panted with the effort to focus on breathing and talking instead of feeling. "Did it ever occur to you I could be wrong?"

A half-smile tilted Daniel’s lips. "Lots of times, but not about this. You can’t expect me to face Sam and Teal’c and General Hammond and tell them I abandoned you. Besides, what’s your rush? You can always die after we get back if you still insist on it."

I couldn’t tell whether the sound I produced was a sob or a laugh. "Gettin’ a real smart mouth there, Dr. Jackson."

"Must be picking it up from the company I keep."

"Oughta hang out with a better crowd."

"I already hang with the best."

Shit. He wasn’t fighting fair. How could I not get up and go on after that?

I don’t really know how we reached the Stargate. My memory’s a bit hazy, and frankly I’m not especially anxious to relive the rest of that trip. I remember watching Daniel dial home. Waiting for the kawoosh and the signal to be sent stretched interminably as I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to remain on my feet. I wasn’t about to crawl down that ramp.

Then we were in the gateroom, and Daniel was calling for medics and the Hazmat team and reporting to the general. I felt the last shreds of control slip away as I finally gave myself over to the blackness which had been wavering on the edge of consciousness.

After isolating me, Fraiser worked her wonders and saved my butt yet again. So I lay in the infirmary, bandaged and doped and finally able to breathe without thinking about the actions needed to draw air in and push it back out, when I saw Daniel hovering around the doorway. "Hey."

"Hey." He ventured forward a few steps and stood by the bed regarding me cautiously, as if trying to make sure I was all in one piece.

Funny, after all that talking, he now seemed at a loss for words. That was okay, I had one for him. "Thanks."

He blinked as if surprised. "I didn’t do much. I wish I could’ve been some real help."

Guess I’m not the only one around here who’s dense at times. "Real? Just because you couldn’t give me physical assistance doesn’t make what you did any less real, Daniel. You stayed with me. You talked to me."

"I know you don’t like it when I talk your ear off, but I couldn’t think what else to do."

"It worked. I knew I didn’t have it as rough as those guys with the stony riverbeds and the hot lava."

"You were listening?"

"Sure I was. Hamlet and the singers, right?"

"Hamal and the Songa actually, but close enough." His astonishment was replaced with a grin, and I could see the tension begin to drain out of him. He was starting to relax.

"Whatever. The thing is, your words are what got me back home. Take my word for it."

"Does that mean you want to read my report on the ruins when I finish writing it?"

"Let’s not get carried away. I never said I was taking up archaeology as a hobby."

The grin progressed to a chuckle. "Okay, Jack. Get some sleep. I’ll look in on you tomorrow."

"See ya then. Thanks again for not giving up on me."

Smiling, he ducked out of the room as he tossed a final remark over his shoulder. "That’ll happen along about the time I give up talking."

I take great comfort in Daniel’s words.

The End

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