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Chapter 21: Teal'c

Once again Daniel Jackson was trusted into my care and I have lost him. If what Captain Carter says is correct, I failed him more than I could ever have suspected when Hathor 'chose' him...

O'Neill says that it is more important that we find Daniel Jackson than to waste time with self-recrimination. Later I will meditate on this...

We deploy in separate directions to increase our chances of success. Following what O'Neill would call a 'hunch," I begin my search behind the house, beneath Daniel Jackson's bedroom window. On the dew-covered ground, I can see places where the grass has been disturbed and follow this.

As I move into the forest, the trail fades beneath the trees so I must rely on my other senses to direct me. To my right, I hear the sound of small rocks rattling as if dislodged by someone climbing. I follow that sound.

The forest gives way to a stone out-cropping and there in the beam of my flashlight I see the impression of a wet, unshod foot on a flat stone. The out-cropping climbs ever steeper and again I stop to listen.

I hear a rustling sound and a low moan not far above me. I hasten my climb.

Within a few minutes, I see him. Daniel Jackson is pacing at the edge of a very steep cliff like a trapped animal and is sobbing quietly.

I am unsure of what to do. O'Neill would know; his compassion and understanding for our young friend seems boundless. My training as a Jaffa did not prepare me to deal with one who is as emotionally driven as Daniel Jackson.

"Daniel Jackson?" I try to keep my voice low in order not to startle him, but he whirls around quickly on his injured leg, almost losing his balance.

"Teal'c?" His voice is so distraught that I find myself reminded of my own son.

He looks at me in such visible pain that I start toward him without thinking.''

"No! Don't..." He is looking out over the cliff and I begin to fear what he might do in this state.

"May I assist you back to the house, Daniel Jackson?"

He drops to his knees and moans as if in great physical pain. " I can't..can't...Don't you see that, Teal'c...Couldn't stop it then...Can't stop it now...S-she said...she said she'd kill me....She said it..."

I cannot fathom the meaning of his words, so I respond more to the desolate tone.

"Let us help you, Daniel Jackson."

He shakes his head and sinks lower, wrapping his arms around his legs, still staring out over the cliff. "Can't help...no one can...She said if I wouldn't...I couldn't...."

He is becoming more and more visibly agitated, his voice coming in short gasps of pain. He rises slowly, moving until his feet are at the very rim of the precipice. " I can't stop her, Teal'c...I have to make it stop...."

I can see his muscles tense and for the first time in many long years, I am afraid of what seems about to happen.

"Daniel!"

He turns at my voice, startled, and loses balance. I reach him before he can fall and gather him up into my arms. He fights me for a moment, but lacks the strength to give much resistance.

He looks at me entreatingly and whispers,"Please, Teal'c, make it stop..." He moans again and loses consciousness.

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