Stargate Horizons

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

On the long flight back home, Jack told Daniel what happened when they attempted to catch one of Anubis' drones and what they learned later.

"So, it was Anubis," Daniel said.  "I sure hope that device gives us a weapon against those soldiers."

"Me too, especially considering what you guys went through to get it."

Daniel thought of something.  "Jack, are we keeping it or are we giving it to the Tok'ra?"

"I'd guess it'll go to the Tok'ra.  They have a better chance of making a weapon from it than we do."

"Good."

Jack studied Daniel's face.  "That thing really scares you, doesn't it."

"I saw what it did to Rafael and the others, Jack, and I've personally felt what a sarcophagus can do.  It's dangerous, more dangerous than any other technology we've dealt with.  It'll be safer in the hands of the Tok'ra.  They understand the danger and will be careful."

Daniel lapsed into a short silence.  "Does Danny know about the kidnapping?"

"Yes.  We didn't think it would be right not to tell him."

"Jack, I don't want Danny to know what happened to me.  Obviously, he's going to know about the gunshot wound, but he doesn't have to be told about the rest."  When Jack didn't reply, Daniel stared at him more closely.  "Jack?"

"He already knows, Daniel.  Not the details, but he knows they were hurting you."

"What?  How?"  Then it hit him.  "He felt it."

"Yeah.  They don't think he actually felt the pain itself, but he knew they were hurting you.  Um . . . the doc had to sedate him."

Daniel closed his eyes, feeling sick.  Why did this have to happen?  Danny was doing so well in his therapy, and, now, this.  What was this going to do to him?  Daniel cursed the link they shared, wishing it didn't exist.  But then, if it wasn't for that link, it may have been many hours before Danny and the Hardwicks were found after the car crash.  Captain Hardwick would, no doubt, be dead, and Tommy might be as well.

The archeologist felt a hand being placed on his shoulder.  He looked up into Jack's eyes.

"Danny is a tough kid, Daniel.  It's in his genes.  He'll be all right, especially after he sees you alive and more or less whole."

The moment they arrived at the SGC, Daniel and Bill were taken to the infirmary.

"Where is he?" the archeologist asked the second his wheelchair was wheeled into the main ward.

"He's over there."  Janet pointed to a bed.  "He's still under.  I decided to keep him sedated until you were back.  It shouldn't be long before he begins waking up."

Daniel wheeled over to the bed.  He took Danny's hand, placing his other hand on the child's head.  His throat tightened with emotion.

"I'm so sorry, Danny," he whispered.

"It wasn't your fault, Daniel," Janet said, coming up beside him.

"I should have been more careful, more observant.  The rebels who grabbed us must have been following us.  I really don't think they stumbled upon us accidentally.  If Jack, Teal'c or Sam had been with us, they'd probably have known we were being followed."

"You don't know that for sure, Daniel.  It could have happened anyway.  The important thing is that you and Doctor Lee survived.  Come on.  I need to take a look at you."

Reluctantly, Daniel left the boy's side.

Janet had been briefed by Hammond on what to expect, but she was still distressed by the sight of the burns and bruises that covered Daniel's torso from just below his nipples down to his belly button.  She was puzzled, though, by the fact that many of the bruises and all of the burns appeared to be far more healed than they should be.

Seeing the expression on her face, Daniel said, "The Telchak device."

Janet looked at him sharply.  "You were exposed to it?"

"Yeah, for a few minutes, not long enough to affect me psychologically, but long enough to begin healing my injuries."

"And Doctor Lee?"

Daniel shook his head.  "No, except for a few seconds when we shut it off.  I think the shack we were being kept in was out of the danger zone."  He noticed the frown on her face.  "You're worried about withdrawal," he guessed.

"Yes, a little.  We have no idea how much exposure to that thing will result in withdrawal symptoms.  We're going to need to watch you closely over the next few days."

Daniel was put in the bed beside Danny's so that he'd be right there when the boy woke up.  Jack came in a few minutes later.  His eyes went to the bed holding the child, then to his teammate.

"I see the doc's got you hooked back up."

Daniel glanced at the IV in his arm.  "Yeah, I'm still a little dehydrated.  Has there been any word from Sam and Teal'c?"

"No, not yet."  Seeing the look on Daniel's face, Jack added, "They'll be fine, Daniel.  They'll probably be back tomorrow."  Jack sat on the chair beside the bed.  "Daniel, what happened to you—"

"I'm fine," Daniel interrupted, knowing where this was going.

"Are you?  Sure, you may want to think that, but, Daniel, you were tortured."

Daniel stared at the covers.  "It's not the first time."

"No, it's not, but that doesn't mean you can brush it off like it never happened.  Take that from someone who knows."

The archeologist lifted his head to meet the older man's gaze.  Yes, Jack knew all too well.  "I'll be all right, Jack.  I got through the stuff with the Bedrosians fine."

"Yes, you did, but that wasn't quite the same.  What Rigar did to you was nasty, but it wasn't brutal, not like this.  Daniel, I'm just saying that, if you need someone to talk to . . . I'm here."

Daniel gave him a small smile.  "Thanks."

A sound from the other bed alerted the two men to the fact that Danny was waking up.

"Jack," Daniel said.

Understanding the unspoken request, Jack stood and stepped up to the boy's bed.  He leaned over the child.  "Hey, kiddo.  Wakey, wakey.  There's someone here to see you."

Slowly, two groggy blue eyes opened and looked at him, the lids blinking heavily.

"Hello, there," Jack said, smiling.

"Uncle Jack?" Danny mumbled.

"That's me."

All at once, memory filled the boy's eyes.  "Daniel!  They were hurting Daniel."

Jack laid a hand on the boy's shoulder.  "Shh.  It's okay, Danny.  Take a look over there."  He pointed at the other bed.

"I'm okay, Danny," Daniel said as soon as the boy saw him.  "See?  I'm right here."

The boy began scrambling out of the bed, obviously intent on joining Daniel in his.

"Hold it, hold it, Danny," Jack said, stopping him.  "Daniel has some injuries, so you gotta be careful."

The boy's eyes filled with tears.  "Are you hurt really bad?" he asked the archeologist in a small voice.

"No, I'll be fine, Danny.  I got shot in the leg, and they beat me up some, but I'll heal."

Danny's voice wavered.  "C-can I hug you?"

Daniel smiled slightly, feeling his throat tighten with emotion.  "Yes, you can hug me.  I'd like that very much."

Jack lifted the boy out of his bed and carefully set him on Daniel's.  Danny lay down and wrapped his arms around Daniel's neck, laying his head on the man's shoulder.

Daniel held him close as Danny cried, soothing him with his voice.  Jack left, giving them a little privacy.

"They hurt you," Danny whispered.  "They hurt you a lot.  I heard you screaming."

Screaming?  When he was being shocked, he couldn't scream, it being impossible with all that electricity coursing through his body.  But he was screaming in his mind, over and over again.  That must have been what Danny "heard."

"It's okay, Danny.  It's over.  They're all dead and will never hurt anyone else."

Danny held him tighter.  "I'm glad they're dead."

Daniel sighed sadly.  "Danny, I know that you're mad at them for what they did to me, but you should never be happy that a fellow human being is dead.  They thought they had good reasons for the things they did.  It doesn't make it any less wrong.  Just because they were fighting for something they believed in, that didn't give them the right to hurt me and Bill, but . . . well, it doesn't matter now.  It's over."

"Is Doctor Lee okay?  They hurt him, too?"

"Yes, but he's all right.  You hear that snoring?"

"Uh huh."

"That's Bill.  He's in one of the other beds."

Danny didn't speak for a moment.  "I was really scared.  You were hurting so much, and I thought you were going to die."

Daniel closed his eyes, stroking the boy's head.  "I know, Danny.  I'll tell you a secret.  I was scared, too."

"You were?"

"Yeah."

"I think I felt that, too."

Daniel recalled feeling Danny's fear during the car accident.  He looked down into the boy's eyes.  "Danny, you didn't actually feel my pain, did you?"

"No."

The answer relieved Daniel tremendously.

There was another short silence.  "Where did they hurt you?" Danny asked.  "You got shot in the leg?"

"Yes.  I'm going to be using crutches for a while, but it'll heal."

"They hurt you other places, too?"

Daniel paused before answering.  "Yeah.  They hit me a bit, sometimes on the face, but mostly in the stomach.  You'll have to be careful about hugging me around the waist for a while.  I'm pretty sore."

"Did they do something else?" Danny asked hesitantly.

Daniel looked down at him.  "Why do you ask?"

The boy shrugged slightly.  "I don't know."

Daniel frowned, wondering if Danny was sensing something now or if, while Daniel was being shocked, the boy sensed a bit of what was going on.  Either way, Daniel wasn't going to tell him about the battery.

"Um . . . they didn't give us any food or water, except a tiny bit of water on the first day," he said.  "By the time Jack found us, Bill and I were both really thirsty and pretty hungry, too.  Let's talk about something nicer, okay?"

"Okay.  Are Sam and Teal'c gone?  Sam said they might go on a mission."

"Yes, they left this morning.  Bra'tac and Jacob went, too.  They should be back tomorrow.  Janet said I could leave the infirmary in the morning, but I need to stay on base for the next few days.  So, you and I will be sleeping in our quarters here again.  Who did you stay with while I was gone?"

"Sometimes Sam and sometimes Jack.  We slept here on the base."

"Did you sleep okay?"

Danny shook his head slightly, pressing his face into Daniel's shirt.  "I was afraid you were going to die.  I had nightmares."

Daniel gave a sad sigh.  "I'm so sorry, Danny.  I wish this didn't happen."

"Me too."

"But you want to know something that makes it better, that makes it all worthwhile?"

Danny looked up at him.  "What?"

"You know that thing we went to find?  We found it.  It's something that might help us defeat Anubis.  It could save thousands and thousands of lives.  If it does, it will be worth getting hurt for it."

"I hope it does."

"So do I, Danny."  Daniel yawned deeply.

"Are you tired?"

"Yeah, actually, I am.  I haven't slept much."

"You should take a nap."

Daniel smiled.  "Yes, perhaps I should."

"Can I stay here with you?"

Daniel held him a little tighter.  "You bet."

As the boy snuggled into his side, Daniel closed his eyes with a sigh.  Seconds later, he was asleep.


They received a message from the Tok'ra early the next morning that Sam and Teal'c's mission was completed, and everyone was all right, though there were some minor injuries.  A couple of hours later, the gate dialed in.  It was Sam.

"Sir, did they get Daniel out?  Is he all right?" were the first words out of her mouth.

"Yes, Major.  Doctor Jackson is back home.  He's been through quite an ordeal, but all his injuries will heal.  He's still in the infirmary.  Otherwise, I'd have him come down here to speak with you."

"That's okay, sir.  I just had to know.  What with Danny sensing he'd been hurt . . . I was really worried."

"I understand, Major.  I will go ahead and tell you that they were successful.  We have the Telchak device."

"That's great news, General.  I'll let everyone know.  We're going to be here at the Tok'ra base for a while.  Dad's filling the others in on everything we've learned.  It's, um . . . pretty serious, sir, worse than we'd anticipated."

"When do you expect to return?"

"I'm not sure yet, sir, perhaps around noon."

"Very well.  We'll debrief after you return."


Once Daniel and Bill had been released from the infirmary, they had their debriefing with the general.  Jack was there as well.  His debriefing had taken place yesterday, but he wanted to be there for this one as well, as hard as he knew it would be to hear Daniel talk about the torture he'd suffered.

"Doctor Jackson, Doctor Lee, first let me say that I am very relieved that you are both back home with us," Hammond said.  "I was quite concerned about you.  I also want to thank you for successfully finding and retrieving the Telchak device.  Good work."

"Thank you, sir," Daniel said.

"Shall we begin, then?"

Daniel's recount of the events started with meeting Rogelio at Cantina LaLupita.

"Now that I think about it, it's very possible that Rafael saw us there and overheard our conversation," he said.  "We had a bit of an argument with Rogelio.  He insisted that we should go north, that there were no temples to the south.  My insistence that we go south may have attracted Rafael's attention.  If that's true, he probably went to get some of his men and tracked us down."

"Even if that is true, Daniel, you couldn't have known that there was a murderous rebel at that cantina," Jack said.

Daniel continued recounting the events, explaining how they found the temple right where it was supposed to be.

Jack turned to Bill with amusement.  "You fell into it?"  He turned back to Daniel.  "Do archeologists often tumble head over heels into the temples they're looking for?"

"Not usually.  I figure that the temple was built underground for the purpose of hiding it.  It's possible that we wouldn't have seen it if Bill hadn't . . . stumbled upon it."

Daniel told them about how they found the device and the booby trap that was set off.

"Rogelio had barely pulled us out when we saw Rafael and his men coming up behind him.  They searched us.  Fortunately, they didn't recognize what the GPS locators were, so they just tossed them aside instead of smashing them.  They bound our hands with plastic ties and blindfolded us, probably so that we couldn't tell anyone later where the rebel camp was.  On the march to the camp, I think Bill tripped."

"Yes, I did," Bill confirmed.  "I couldn't see anything with that blindfold on."

"Apparently, Rogelio took the opportunity to make a break for it.  One of the men shot him.  I thought for sure he was dead."

"He's going to be fine, Daniel," Jack said.  "I checked up on him, and he was happily flirting with the nurses and chewing on the gum Burke gave him."

Daniel continued with the narrative, skimming over the beatings he and Bill received.

"He aimed most of the questions toward you?" Hammond asked.

"Yeah, even when he was, um . . . hitting Bill.  I'm pretty sure he'd figured out that I was the leader.  I kept insisting that we were just archeologists, but he wouldn't believe me.  I guess he finally ran out of patience."  Daniel's gaze fell to the table.

"Take your time, Daniel," the general said gently.

"He showed me the battery Thursday afternoon.  At least I think it was Thursday.  I'm a little confused on the days.  He wanted me to . . . think about it during the night, what he'd do to us in the morning, if we didn't talk."

Jack let out a curse under his breath.  Rafael had definitely died too quickly.

"The next morning, he, uh . . . used it."

"Doctor Fraiser said that she counted eleven separate burns on your body," General Hammond stated quietly.

Bill's head jerked up.  "Eleven?"  There was a note of horror in his voice, but something else as well.  He'd caved in after only three shocks, yet Daniel had still held firm after nearly a dozen.  It made Bill feel ashamed.

Daniel knew what Bill was thinking, but this was not the time or place to talk to him about it.

"Things are a little hazy," he said.  "I think I passed out a couple times.  They woke me up by slapping my face.  It would have been nice if they'd used water instead, although I guess getting me wet wouldn't have been a good idea."

Jack's hands were clenched with the murderous rage he was feeling.  He really, really wanted to hit something right now.  He'd definitely be spending some time in front of a punching bag after this.

"They finally gave up on me and decided to try Bill instead."

"Then you didn't tell them anything?" Hammond asked, impressed with the strength Daniel had shown.  He's already known that the archeologist was a strong man, but even the strongest of men could be broken under torture.

"No, not then."

The general turned to Bill Lee, whose gaze was on the table.  "Doctor Lee?  Do you feel up to telling us what happened with you?"

"I told them.  I'm sorry."  He looked at Daniel with sad eyes filled with shame.  "I'm so sorry, Daniel.  I couldn't take it.  When they used that battery, I just couldn't take it."

"Bill, it's all right," Daniel said.  "You're not used to stuff like this.  If this had happened to me nine years ago, I probably wouldn't have held out either.  I've . . . gotten a lot tougher since then."

Though Jack had no intention of saying so, particularly not in front of Bill, he was pretty sure that, even nine years ago, before Daniel ever saw the Stargate, he'd still have withstood the torture.  The strength that was within him now was there in that fight against Ra.  But it wasn't Bill's fault that he wasn't made of the same stuff as Daniel.  Few men were.

"Please tell us what you revealed about the device, Doctor Lee," Hammond requested, making no comment on the fact that the scientist had broken under torture.  He was in no position to judge the man, not having gone through it himself.

Clearly still ashamed, Bill recounted what he told Rafael.

"Then you didn't tell them about Anubis or the Ancients?  Nothing about the alien origin of the device?"

"No, I only told him about the Fountain of Youth stuff and that it belonged to someone named Telchak.  He asked what the symbols were, and I told him they were an ancient language.  He ordered me to translate it, but I don't know Ancient, so I couldn't."

"They brought Bill back to the shack," Daniel said.  "A while later, I was taken again and asked more questions.  I couldn't answer without revealing too much, so they hit me a few more times.  I should have seen the warning signs right off.  Rafael was acting very agitated and restless.  I finally told him a little, just to try to appease him.  He asked who Telchak was, and I said he was a Mayan god that may have lived there thousands of years ago.  He wanted to know what the purpose of the device was.  I told him that the research I used to find it gave a warning the device was dangerous.  That's when he revealed that he'd already turned it on.  I begged him to turn it off, but he wouldn't listen to me.  It was clear that he was already addicted to the thing.  He could feel how it was changing him, making him stronger, and he liked the feeling.  One of his men, Chalo, was scared, and begged him to turn it off."  Daniel paused.  "Rafael shot him.  After that, he had his other men take me back to the shack.  I knew that we had to get out of there as soon as possible."

Daniel narrated how he got them out of the shack, Chalo's resurrection, and the escape into the jungle.

"Daniel saved my life," Bill interjected.  "I couldn't run any more, so he hid me behind a tree and drew the rebels away from me."

"Well, if Jack and Burke hadn't shown up, I doubt you'd have stayed alive for long," Daniel responded.  "Once Rafael was through with me, he'd have gone searching for you.  He was pretty crazed by then.  He, um . . . intended to skin me alive."

The revelation made Bill look a little sick.  He was probably thinking that he'd have been next.

Daniel resumed his narration, ending at the moment Jack arrived and killed Rafael and the other two rebels.

"Jack probably already told you what happened after that."

Hammond nodded.  "Yes, he did."  He gazed at the two scientists soberly.  "Doctor Jackson, Doctor Lee, I am terribly sorry about the ordeal you suffered.  I feel a certain amount of responsibility since it was my decision to send you to Honduras alone."

"If it hadn't been for Rafael, everything would have been fine, sir," Daniel responded.  "It was just a case of bad luck, or maybe bad timing.  An hour later, and we'd probably have gotten in and out without any problems . . . well, except for the flooding temple."

Hammond gazed at him with sympathy and regret.  "That will be all for now.  Please have your reports to me by 1700 hours."

Daniel got to his feet with the aid of his crutches.  A momentary feeling of dizziness assailed him, and he held onto the table for balance.

"Daniel, you okay?" Jack asked him.

"Yeah, I was just a little light-headed there for a bit.  Janet's got me on quite a hefty dose of painkillers.  Frankly, I'm surprised that I'm able to function this well."

"You should go lay back down for a while."

"I need to get my report written.  Besides, I don't want to be asleep when Sam and Teal'c get back."

Daniel hobbled to his office, looking forward to when he'd no longer need the crutches.  Danny was in the office, on his computer.  He smiled when he saw Daniel, got up and hugged him, careful not to squeeze too tightly.  The boy hadn't had a nightmare last night, which was apparently the first time his sleep was undisturbed since Daniel's kidnapping.

The archeologist knew that he needed to contact Meredith and see about resuming the therapy sessions.  He was so afraid that this incident would set Danny back, cause some of his problems to resurface.  He hoped that Meredith would be able to nip that in the bud.

Daniel got down to the business of writing his report.  He knew that, in this written version, he would have to go into a lot more detail, including about the torture, which wasn't going to be easy.  He'd have to detach himself from it, make it less personal.  It was not the first time he'd had to do that.

It was getting close to noon when Daniel decided to take a break.  Hopefully, Sam and Teal'c would be arriving soon.

As he lifted his hands from the keyboard, he noticed that they were trembling slightly.  That's when he realized that he was feeling more than a little worn out.  Janet would kill him if he overdid it.  Perhaps he would take a little nap after lunch, if Sam and Teal'c didn't get back before then.

Just then, there was the announcement of an unscheduled off-world activation.  Daniel smiled.

"Maybe that's Sam and Teal'c," he said to Danny.  "I'm going to go see."

"Can I come?"

"Sure."

Hammond and Jack were already in the gate room when Daniel and Danny arrived.  A few seconds later, Sam, Teal'c, Jacob and Bra'tac stepped through the gate.  Sam's arm was in a sling, and Teal'c's side was bandaged.

"Daniel," Sam said with a big smile.  She came down and hugged him with her good arm.  Then she drew back and studied him closely.  "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Sam.  Well, a bit worse for wear and a souvenir bullet wound in my leg, but everything will heal.  But what about you?  What happened to your arm?"

"I sort of tangled with a supersoldier.  It's not broken."  She looked down at Danny.  "Hey, how are you doing?"

"Okay, now that Daniel's all right."

"So, you miss me, Carter?" Jack asked.

Sam gave him a smile.  "Of course, sir."

"Well, it couldn't have been that bad.  You're all still alive."

"So, you got the Telchak device," Jacob said.  "That's good news.  Hopefully, we can engineer a weapon from it."

"You must," Bra'tac stated, "or we will be left helpless to combat these new warriors."

Sam turned to Hammond.  "Like I told you, sir, things are not looking good.  Anubis has an entire army of these supersoldiers.  There are thousands of them.  The best we were able to do was delay his ability to manufacture more."

Hammond nodded grimly.  "We'll debrief fully in one hour.  Welcome home."

Everyone headed for the exit.  Jack looked over at Sam.

"Hey."

She stopped and looked at him.  Daniel and Danny stopped as well.

"Go on, Daniel," Jack said.  "Get off your feet.  Fraiser said to stay off that leg as much as possible.  Better yet, go get some lunch.  You've got a lot of catching up to do.  I just want to chat with Carter for a bit."  He turned back to Sam as the two Daniels left.  "So, nice command."

"We did manage to make it out alive, sir."

Jack smiled slightly.  "There's that.  We'll have to talk about it sometime.  So, how about some lunch?"

"Sounds good, sir."

They resumed walking, leaving the gate room and heading for the elevator.

"Sir, is Daniel really all right?" Sam asked.  "He looks tired."  The silence that followed her question worried her.  "Sir?"

Jack sighed silently.  "I guess there's no point in not telling you.  You're gonna find out sooner or later."

Sam came to a complete halt, staring at Jack worriedly.  "What is it?"

"They tortured him, Sam.  Lee, too, but Daniel got the brunt of it.  The rebels started out by not giving them food or water and indulging in a little psychological torture, making Daniel watch while the rebel leader ate pineapple and probably drank water.  They beat them, of course.  That was to be expected."

When Jack's voice halted, Sam braced herself for something much worse.

"They used a car battery," he finally said.

Nausea gripped Sam's stomach.  "Oh, no."

"Daniel got shocked close to a dozen times because he wouldn't give in and tell them what they wanted to know."

Sam's throat tightened painfully.

"The bastards are dead, Carter, all of them," Jack told her with satisfaction.

"Has he talked to you about it?"

"No, not really.  You know Daniel.  He'd rather just forget about it, pretend like it didn't happen."

"I don't see how he can, not after something like that."

"Maybe you can get him to talk.  I sure couldn't."

"I can try, sir."

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