Title: Alone Author: Kazza Email: kazzak999@hotmail.com Story Status: Complete Sequel/Series Info: Tag to Abyss Season: Six Spoilers: Abyss Categories: Angst Pairing: None Rating: PG Content Warning: Very mild swearing Summary: Jack wants to ask the Tok’ra a question. Archive Permissions: Jackfic, Incoming Wormhole Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, Gekko Productions; all the powers that be, not me; This story is for entertainment purposes only
Alone by Kazza
“It’s the Tok’ra, sir.” Sgt Harriman looked up at the General as he entered the control room. “Do you want me to open the iris, sir?” Hammond gave a nod and then looked out of the viewing room to watch as the iris slid open, revealing the newly formed event horizon. He quelled the urge to sigh deeply knowing that this wasn’t the best time for the Tok’ra to come calling. Feelings on the base were still running high regarding Colonel O’Neill’s treatment at the hands of the Tok’ra and he could already feel the tension in the control room. Turning abruptly, he left the control room and made his way down into the gate room. * Jacob stepped out of the wormhole and strode down the metal ramp, just as Hammond entered the room. “George.” He smiled and held his hand out. “It’s good to see you.” Hammond shook hands with him but didn’t return the smile. “Jacob, this had better be good. I thought that I’d made myself clear that the Tok’ra weren’t welcome here at the moment.” “I think I missed that warning.” The Tok’ra looked taken back. “George, what’s going on?” * “Colonel?” Janet pulled a chair up and sat down at Jack’s bedside. “The nurse tells me that you wanted to see me?” Jack wearily pulled himself up into a sitting position and gave Janet a small smile. “With the risk of sounding like a spoilt kid, I want to go home.” He gestured to his surroundings. “It’s been ten days, I’m not on any meds so there’s no reason for me to be in here.” Janet leaned forward in her chair. “Sir, you are still chronically fatigued which is why I haven’t send you home yet. I want you to have at least another two days of bed rest and then we can consider sending you home.” She gave him a small apologetic smile. * “Implanted with a Tok’ra?” Jacob stared in disbelief at General Hammond. “When did this happened?” Hammond poured himself a glass of water and seated himself at the head of the briefing table. “Almost three weeks ago. Colonel O’Neill contracted a virus that was killing him and the Tok’ra came forward to help. A symbiote called Kanan was in need of a host, apparently he was holding vital information, and an agreement was made that Kanan would be temporarily implanted in Jack to heal him, Jack would, in turn, communicate the desperately needed information and then a suitable new host would be found for Kanan.” Jacob leaned against the briefing room window. “What went wrong?” “I had to recall SG-1 for a mission and I made the mistake of leaving Jack with the Tok’ra. He was still recovering from the effects of the virus and it was advised that he should remain at the Tok’ra base.” Hammond took a sip of water. “The Tok’ra were contacted daily and they assured us that the search for a host was ongoing. Then Jack walked out of the base.” Jacob shook his head and moved to one of the briefing room chairs. “Kanan took control.” It wasn’t a question. “Damn.” Hammond nodded in agreement. “To put it mildly. Naturally the Tok’ra had already decided to write Kanan off as a casualty of war but as you know we weren’t as willing to do that with Jack. Eventually SG-1, on reading Kanan’s missions reports, came to the conclusion that he was in all probability on a planet where the goa’uld Ba’al had a secret base.” “I’ve seen the plans. How the hell did you get him out of there?” Jacob was curious. “We didn’t. We gave the plans to Yu.” Hammond looked straight at him. “We just wanted to give Jack the chance to escape.” “Well, it worked.” Jacob rested his hands on the table. “And I can imagine that we were pissed that you handed the plans to Yu. What about Jack? How is he?” Hammond rose from his chair and strode across to the window. “He came through the Stargate.” He stared down at the metal ring vividly recalling the scene. “Thirty six hours after we gave the plans to Yu, Jack came home minus Kanan.” He felt his stomach flip as he remembered Jack staggering through the wormhole and then promptly collapsing on the metal ramp and he took a deep breath before turning round to look at Jacob. “He doesn’t remember what happened but Dr Fraiser is certain that he was subjected to a sarcophagus a few times.” He noted Jacob’s questioning look. “A few years ago, Dr Jackson become addicted to the sarcophagus following a mission. Jack, upon his return, began to display the same symptoms that Dr Jackson suffered.” There was silence as the implications of what Hammond was saying finally sank in with Jacob. Clearing his throat, Jacob stood up and walked over to join Hammond at the window. “Let me talk to Jack.” Hammond snorted. “Believe you me, Jacob, the last person that Jack would probably want to see at the moment is a member of the Tok’ra. No offence.” “None taken, George.” He sighed. “But can you at least ask him?” * The infirmary was quiet and the only patient, tucked away in the corner, was apparently sleeping. Janet, on orders from General Hammond, had cleared the area of staff but had told him in no uncertain terms that she was staying. She had also made it very clear that she didn’t agree with letting Jacob in to see the Colonel, even if the Colonel himself had said it was okay. She knew that they were waiting outside but she wasn’t going to let them in until she had double checked that Jack knew what he was doing. Walking across to him, she saw him shift in the bed and open his eyes. “Sir?” He sat up and scrubbed his hand through his hair. “Is Jacob here yet?” She nodded. “He’s outside. I just wanted to make sure that you still wanted to do this.” “Send him in.” His face was expressionless and Janet was beginning to think that this was going to be a big mistake. “Sir, are you sure?” “Send him in, Doctor, please.” * She stepped outside the infirmary and looked at Jacob and the General. “He’s awake and he’s asking to talk to you, Jacob.” Jacob straightened and nodded. “Thank you.” He made to move past her but she put her hand on his chest. “I am not happy with this. The Colonel is still easily tired and it’s obvious that he has been through something that no one should ever have to go through. I am trusting you to make sure that no further harm comes to him. Do you understand?” Jacob nodded, admiring the fiery protectiveness the doctor had for Colonel O’Neill. “Understood.” She removed her hand and stepped aside, giving him access to the infirmary. * He closed the door behind him, looked across the room to where Jack was currently pulling a robe on and to a few seconds to examine the Colonel. His actions were slow and deliberate, as if it was taking all his effort, and it was obvious that his already lean frame was now far too lean. As he crossed the gap between them he could now also see the haunted eyes and the lines of exhaustion. “Jack.” Jack sat down heavily on the edge of the bed and after what seemed like a lifetime, lifted his head up to look at the Tok’ra standing in front of him. “I only want to speak to Jacob. I don’t want to hear Sel’mac.” Jacob was surprised by the request but nodded, taking a seat on the next bed. “You have my word.” He shrugged. “So, how are you feeling?” “I remember it all.” It was not what Jacob had expected to hear and the shock was evident on his face. “But…” Jack cut him off. “I remember every damn moment. From the moment they put Kanan in my head to when I stepped out of the Stargate back here. I remember it all.” Jacob shook his head. “Why haven’t you told them the truth.” He gestured to the closed door. “They want to help.” Jack screwed his hands up into fists and pressed them down onto the bed. “No. I’ve been through it before and I can deal with it. But there is one question I can’t answer that as a Tok’ra, you can.” Jacob remained silent, not knowing what to say. This was not how he’d expected this conversation to go. “I want to know why he left me.” Jack’s eyes bored into him. “I want to know why Kanan, when he knew that I would die without him, left me.” Jacob looked bewildered. “Jack, I can’t answer that without knowing the situation.” He watched as Jack closed his eyes briefly, as if holding an internal debate and then they opened again. “I was running for the Stargate with a pack of Jaffa chasing. I reached the DHD and was dialing it up when I got blasted in the back with a staff weapon. I fell to the ground and that’s when Kanan decided it was time to go.” He shook his head bitterly. “He escaped and I got captured.” Jacob was stunned by what he heard. Kanan had been one of the highest ranked Tok’ra, just like Sel’mac, and what he was now hearing went against everything that the Tok’ra believed in. First using the Colonel’s body without permission, forcing him into a dangerous situation and now learning that Kanan had abandoned him when he’d been mortally injured. He sat for a while gathering his thoughts, ignoring Sel’mac who wanted to speak. Finally he looked at the Colonel. “Jack, Kanan probably thought that by leaving you he was protecting you. There was no escape from the Jaffa, Ba’al was going to capture you. Leaving you meant certain death for him, no symbiote can live very long without a host, and also meant that you wouldn’t retain his memories. You wouldn’t be able to betray the Tok’ra cause to…………” He trailed off as he realised what he said. “The Tok’ra cause…..damn it, Jack. I’m sorry.” Jack was now on his feet and had began pacing. “I would never had betrayed the Tok’ra to the Goa’uld, no matter how hard it would have been to resist.” “But Kanan wasn’t to have known that.” Jacob tried to be diplomatic and was totally unprepared for the anger unleashed.
Jack stopped pacing, his body rigid. “The first thing that damned Tok’ra did was dig up every single memory I had. He knew everything about me.” He moved closer to Jacob. “He knew that I would never have betrayed anything to an enemy.” “But he also knew that Ba’al would tried methods of persuasion that…….” Jack’s fist slammed down on the bedside cabinet, the sound echoing through the empty room. “He knew about Iraq!” Jacob visibly flinched and held his breath as Jack’s face moved to just an inch in front of his own. “He knew that I spent four months in a stinking hellhole being regularly questioned, tortured, abused………he knew that I never gave up anything to those bastards.” His voice was deadly calm now. “Kanan also knew what Ba’al would do when I was captured and that’s why he left him. He was in a no win situation and he decided to take the easy way out. He left me to be killed over and over again by that Goa’uld.” He shook his head in disgust. “He left me alone.” Pulling away, he collapsed onto his bed. Jacob let go of the breath he was holding. “Jack, I’m…..” Jack held his hand up. “Don’t say it, Jacob, because I don’t want to hear it.” He looked tired. “You answered my question, thank you, but now I want you to go.” He moved his arm to cover his face as he lay back down. Jacob nodded and left. * Both Hammond and Janet were still waiting outside the infirmary as the door opened and both noticed how shaken Jacob was. As Hammond began questioning him, Janet pushed past him and hurried into the infirmary. * “Colonel?” She reached the bed where he was lying curled up on top of the blankets. “Colonel?” Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she could see from his body language how stressed he was. “Do you need anything?” He rolled over onto his back but avoided her gaze. “No, I’m fine. Just tired.” She nodded, knowing it wasn’t the time to push him. “Okay.” She stood up. “I’ll be in my office if you need anything.” She gave his arm a quick rub and then left him to his thoughts. * Hammond was not, as Colonel O’Neill would have normally said, a happy camper. Jacob’s refusal to discuss what had happened in the infirmary had angered him and words had been spoken between the two old friends before Jacob had departed. Janet had reported that Jack was sleeping and it was then that Hammond realised that what had happened in the infirmary would remain between the two men. * Two days later and Jack was discharged from the infirmary with everyone still none the wiser as to what had happened to Jack whilst Kanan had been inside him. Sam, Teal’c and Jonas had all but formed a protective ring around their CO as he’d made his way through the halls of the SGC, heading for the surface. They hadn’t been on base when Jacob and Jack had spoken but all had come to the conclusion that Jack remembered more than he was telling. But they also come to the conclusion that unless he wanted to talk about it, they would never know what happened. Instead, as his team, they would take him home, forcefeed him healthy food (on Janet’s instructions), make sure he took gentle exercise to build his strength up and generally make a nuisance of themselves until he yelled at them. Then they would ignore him and continue to babysit him until he was back on active duty. It was expected of them and they would do it, because it was the only way they could help him come to terms with what ever had happened on that planet.
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