CHAPTER SIX

General Hammond, Jacob, Delek and M'zel were once again gathered in the briefing room.

"First of all, we'd like to congratulate you on the recovery of Doctor Jackson and Major Carter," Delek said.  "We're glad to know that they are both safe."

"Thank you," Hammond responded.

"I have spoken to the High Council with regard to the situation at the Beta Site.  The Council believes the best solution is for the Tok'ra to leave."

"Is that really necessary?"

Everyone turned in surprise at the new voice.  Daniel was standing in the doorway between general Hammond's office and the briefing room, apparently having come in the back way.  His arm was in a sling, and it was clear to see that he was in no condition to be on his feet.

"Doctor Jackson, what are you doing here?" the general asked.  "You should be in the infirmary."

"Actually, right now, I think I need to be here."

Hammond was tempted to order the man back to the infirmary, but he had to admit that he could use Daniel's help in this.  "Very well.  Please take a seat."

Daniel gingerly lowered himself into one of the chairs, trying hard not to show how sore and utterly exhausted he was.  It had taken a lot to get Janet to allow him to come to this meeting.  He'd just about had to promise her his firstborn son.  She settled for him staying in the infirmary for as long as she believed necessary with no complaints or pleas about being released.  She had also insisted that he not walk here.  There was a nurse with a wheelchair waiting out in the hallway to take him back to the infirmary.

"Okay, I've sort of been filled in on what's been going on here," Daniel began, "and I have to say that I'm surprised that you're considering ending the alliance, especially now that we have a weapon capable of stopping Anubis' soldiers."

"If this partnership were to continue, you would insist on full disclosure of all our covert operations, would you not?" Delek asked.

"I'm afraid that's nonnegotiable," Hammond confirmed.

"In that case, we must refuse.  Secrecy is our only weapon.  It's all we've ever known."

"I can understand your need for secrecy, Delek," Daniel said.  "Because of a lack of secrecy, I'm now in a position where I might become the most hunted man in the galaxy.  But I can also understand why we need to know where your operatives are placed.  Have you even considered what would happen if an SG team was to run across one of your spies and kill them because we thought they were a Goa'uld?"

Delek paused.  "I admit that we did not."

"Knowing where your spies are placed among the System Lords lets us know where our allies are, which affects how we plan missions.  We'd use more caution if we knew that a Tok'ra might get caught in the crossfire.  And there's also the fact that it puts us in a position to offer aid to them if they need it."

"Yet the truth remains that, in these years that we have been associated with you, far more Tok'ra have died than would have if we had never met you."

"That may be so, and I'm sorry if that is the case.  It certainty isn't what we wanted or planned for.  But, with this new weapon, we're finally in a position where we can really make a difference.  Do you really want to walk away from that?"

"I am sorry, Doctor Jackson, but, regardless of the issue of secrecy, the High Council has decided that remaining in this alliance is far too costly for us."

"The Jaffa, too, have considered leaving," M'zel announced.

"Why?"  Hammond asked.  "Because of the Tok'ra?  But if they leave—"

"We would not be leaving because of the Tok'ra," M'zel interrupted.  "On your base, you dictate the terms.  We must consult you before we take any action.  There are those among us who feel we simply traded one master for another."

"We're not trying to tell you what to do," Hammond insisted.  "We simply think it's important to coordinate our efforts."

"Unlike the Tau'ri or the Tok'ra, the Jaffa are still learning what it means to be free.  In order to do this, we must have our own bases, train our own leaders, build our own communities.  We must do this for ourselves or it would have no meaning."

"M'zel. . . ." Daniel began but was halted by the Jaffa's upraised hand.

"All of these things are strong reasons for us to leave," M'zel continued.  His eyes rested squarely on Daniel.  "But we have found an even stronger reason to stay."

"What?" Daniel asked.

"You, Daniel Jackson."

The archeologist's eyebrows lifted sharply.  "Me?"

"Before returning here, I passed on the word of your survival and your defeat of Anubis' drones to my fellow Jaffa at the Beta Site.  Every one of them rejoiced at the news.  We all know what you did at the Alpha Site during the attack.  We witnessed the power you wielded to stop Anubis' ships and soldiers.  We saw how you refused to leave when you had the chance, choosing to fight instead.  We know that you put the lives of the Jaffa ahead of your own when you told them to escape when they wanted to stay and fight at your side.  You are a friend and brother to all rebel Jaffa, Daniel Jackson, and a mighty weapon against the Goa'uld.  How could we walk away from that?  We wish to stay and fight with you, for, united, we are strong enough to defeat the Goa'uld."

Daniel was left speechless, having no idea what to say.

Delek rose from the table.  "I will be leaving in a short while.  However, Jacob and Selmak have requested to stay until Jacob's daughter has awakened.  We ask that we be given a copy of the completed weapon design so that we may reproduce it for our own use."

General Hammond nodded.  "Of course."  He got to his feet.  "I know that nothing I say is going to change your mind, but I hope that, in time, you will see things differently.  We will welcome resuming our alliance with you if that time comes."

As Delek departed, M'zel also stood.  "I must go as well.  There is much to be done at the Beta Site."  He inclined his head at Daniel, then left.

"All right, Doctor Jackson.  It's time that you went back to the infirmary," Hammond said firmly.

"Yeah.  That's, um . . . that's a good idea," Daniel responded, suddenly not feeling very well at all.  As he got to his feet, the room did this alarming loop, and his legs instantly turned to rubber.  'Oh, not good,' was the thought that went through his mind as his vision greyed-out.

Jacob watched as Daniel's face went absolutely white and jumped forward to catch him as he fell.  The Tok'ra lowered him gently to the ground while Hammond called for a medical team.

"I'm not feeling so well," Daniel whispered.  Then his eyes rolled back into his head, and he fainted dead away.

---

Sam roused slowly to consciousness.  She opened her eyes to see her father sitting at her bedside.

"Hiya, kid," he said softly.  "You were asleep for a long time.  You gave me quite a scare."

Sam's eyes widened.  "Daniel!" she cried, half sitting up.  Jacob gently pushed her back down.

"Shh.  He's all right, Sam.  He's right over there.  See?"

Sam looked in the direction he was pointing to see Daniel.  He was in the very next bed, dead to the world.  "How is he?"

"In even worse shape than you, which is saying a lot.  How he kept going on that planet is beyond me.  That boy gives a whole new meaning to the word 'stubborn'.  But he's going to be all right.  Doctor Fraiser did all her scans and tests and said that his brain is still in working order, though I guess there was some very minor bleeding.  His shoulder will take a while to heal, and he'll need some physical therapy, but there won't be any permanent impairment."

Sam relaxed in relief.  "He went through so much, Dad.  You should have seen what he did.  He saved my life more than once.  If he hadn't been with me, I really don't think I would have made it."

"Oh, I'm not so sure of that, Sam, but, even so, I do owe him a big debt of gratitude."  Jacob sighed.  "I hate to have to tell you this now, but I may not be able to come around very much for the next little while."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"Things kind of got screwed up while you and Daniel were out there.  The alliance is in trouble."

"I don't understand."

"You don't need to know the details right now.  Let's just say we're going our separate ways for a while.  If I stay with the Tok'ra, I can at least try to mend some fences."

Sam was starting to get upset.  Her dad was leaving?  "Are you sure?" she asked, wishing he'd choose to stay.

"I'm not ready to give up on this just yet."

"You're leaving now?" Sam asked trying not to cry.

"No, I'll be here for a while yet.  I got permission from the High Council to stay until tomorrow afternoon.  There are some things I need to discuss with Daniel.  We're still going to be listening to any talk about Dan'yar, and if we hear something important, we will let you know.  That's one thing I absolutely insisted on.  After all, even if the alliance is on hold right now, it's still in everyone's best interested to keep Daniel safe from the Goa'uld."

Seeing his daughter's eyelids getting heavy, he smiled down at her.  "Get some more sleep, Sammie.  We'll talk again later."  He pressed a kiss to her forehead and watched her as she fell asleep.  Then he stood and left the infirmary.

---

Was it possible for every muscle and joint in your entire body to hurt all at the same time?  That's the question that came to Daniel's mind as he awakened.  Unfortunately, the answer was yes, or at least that's what it felt like to him.

Daniel's eyes cracked open to see Jack sitting beside him.

"Ah.  Awake at last, I see," the grey-haired man said.

"Unfortunately," was Daniel's reply.

"A little sore, eh?"

"Just a bit."

"I guess that's not surprising considering what you went through.  You know, I think the Energizer Bunny could take lessons from you.  You just keep going, and going, and going, regardless of how beat up you are."

"Well, I think this Energizer Bunny's batteries finally ran out of juice, because I don't plan on going anywhere for a while."

"Which will please the doc to no end," Jack said.  "Being unconscious, you've missed most of her ranting about your self-abuse."

"Oh, I heard plenty of it when I was first brought in and run through all of her tests, which I swear get more numerous every time I'm here."  Daniel looked over at Sam.  "How's she doing?"

"Good.  She woke up for a while a few hours ago.  Jacob told her about the situation with the alliance.  Speaking of the alliance, I heard about you going against medical advice to the meeting and scaring the pants off Jacob and the general when you fell flat on your face in a dead faint after it was over."

"I didn't fall on my face.  And, yes, it was against medical advice, but I had to be there, Jack."

"I know, Daniel.  I also know that you made some valid points in your argument, though it ended up not doing any good with the Tok'ra.  And I know that the only reason the Jaffa aren't dropping out of the alliance, too, is because of you.  The truth is that, in some ways, I think we're better off without the Tok'ra.  They've always taken more than they've given in this alliance."

"We couldn't have developed that weapon without them, Jack."

"That may be so, but it's one of the few times that they helped us rather than the other way around.  And every time they did ask for help, it turned into a disaster.  Seth, Netu, those superman armbands, the space mines, the Goa'uld summit.  Any of those things ring a bell?"

"The Reetou, you and Teal'c floating helplessly in space in the X-301, all of us floating helplessly in space after stopping that meteor . . . coming to my bedside to heal me when I was dying.  Any of those things ring a bell?" Daniel countered.  "There have been plenty of times when they've come to help us."

"And who was it coming to help most of those times, Daniel?  Jacob, whom I consider to still be one of us, even if he does have a snake in his head."

"The point is, Jack, that the alliance helped both of us, and we each gained valuable information from the other about the Goa'uld.  We're not going to have that source of information now."

"We'll do all right.  I'd rather have the rebel Jaffa working side-by-side with us than the Tok'ra, and, thanks to you, we'll still have that."

Daniel didn't respond.  He understood why Jack felt as he did.  The rebel Jaffa were warriors who quickly leapt into battle, whereas the Tok'ra preferred to hide in the shadows and wage their war through subterfuge and espionage.  Jack was never big on subterfuge, and he had always taken a dim view of the Tok'ra and their attitude.

"There's one thing I think you're forgetting, Jack," he said.  "Now that we're no longer in an alliance with the Tok'ra, Sam will be virtually cut off from her father.  How long is it going to be before she sees him again?"

"I didn't forget, Daniel.  I talked with Jacob, and, even though he'll be staying with the Tok'ra for now, he'll try to keep a line of communication open between us.  They're not going to completely cut off all contact with us.  He's still here, actually.  He wants to talk with you about this Dan'yar business.  He convinced the High Council that they need to keep us informed on anything regarding you."

"Well, at least that's something."

Jack glanced over his shoulder.  "Ah, here comes the pint-size power monger now."

The "pint-size power monger," also known as Janet Fraiser, came up to the bed.  "Hello, Daniel.  I'm glad to see that you've rejoined the realm of the conscious.  Now you can hear me say I told you so."

A smirk on his face, Jack stood up.  "I'll see you later, Daniel, after the doc here chews you a new one."

"Hey, whatever happened to all for one and one for all?" Daniel called after him, ticked off that Jack wasn't staying to back him up.

"Ask the three musketeers!" Jack called back, disappearing through the doorway.

With a sigh, Daniel turned back to Janet, preparing to face her wrath.  The woman crossed her arms over her chest.

"So, I'm assuming that you already know you're in trouble?" she asked.

"Yes, I already figured that out."

"And I'm assuming that you also know that, regardless of all your powers, you're not Superman and can't ignore the danger signals your body is sending you and keep pushing yourself into a complete physical collapse."

"Yes, I know that, too."

"Good."  Janet picked up his chart and started looking through it, making notations.

After a moment of waiting for her to continue her lecture, Daniel finally broke the silence.  "That's it?  That's all you're going to say?"

Janet looked at him.  "Why should I waste my breath with anything more?  No matter what I tell you, the next time you're in this kind of situation, you're just going to do the same thing."

"Janet, what choice did I have?  Sam and I were running for our lives from that thing.  What was I supposed to do?  Ask for a timeout?  I did what I had to do to keep me and Sam alive."

Janet laid down the chart.  "I know, Daniel.  I know what you went through out there, though not the full story.  You and Sam are lucky to be alive.  I also know that this didn't happen through any fault of your own.  And I am very well aware of how many lives you saved yesterday."

"Then what are we talking about here?  The fact that I went to that meeting?  Okay, I know that I wasn't physically well enough to go, but I felt that I had to be there, that I couldn't just lay here in bed and not say anything while the alliance crumbled."  Daniel sighed.  "As it turned out, my presence did absolutely no good anyway, so I might as well have stayed in bed."

"That isn't what I heard.  From what I understand, you gave the Tok'ra some food for thought.  You never know what that might result in."

Daniel didn't respond.  He didn't want to get his hopes up about the Tok'ra coming back into the alliance.

Janet left a short while later, after ordering an increase in Daniel's pain medication upon seeing that he was in considerable discomfort.

It was about an hour later that Jacob showed up.  Seeing that Sam was still asleep, he went straight to Daniel's bed.

"Hey, there.  How are you feeling?" he asked.

"All right.  Janet's got me on enough painkillers to dope up a horse."

The Tok'ra chuckled.  "Well, I got a brief look at your collection of 'war wounds', Daniel, and it's quite impressive, and that's only what's on your upper body.  I won't ask what cuts and bruises you have on the rest of you."

"Please don't.  I prefer not to think about it."

Jacob's suddenly serious gaze met Daniel's.  "I want to thank you for my daughter's life, Daniel . . . again.  That debt I owe you is getting bigger by the week."

"Like I said before, Jacob, you don't owe me a thing."

"Nevertheless, I pay my debts.  need to get going soon, although I hope that Sam will wake up before I do.  Before I go, I wanted to let you know that we're still going to be keeping our ears open for anything about you.  If something comes up, we'll be sure to let you know."

"Thanks, Jacob.  Jack already told me."

The Tok'ra stood.  "I don't know how long it's going to be, but I'll be seeing you again."

Jacob bid him goodbye, then left the infirmary, stopping by Sam's bed to place a kiss on her forehead.

For several minutes, Daniel watched Sam sleep.  For her sake, he hoped that the Tok'ra would return to the alliance soon.

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