Author's Notes: Well, I have teased you Danny Whumpers long enough. Here it is.
DISCLAIMER: All characters and property of Stargate SG-1 belong to MGM/UA, World Gekko Corp. and Double Secret Productions. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author.
The middle of the protected room was dominated by a free standing, thick metallic pedestal that supported a domed oval metallic basin, slightly concave in shape, that was lined with a spongy material in a metal honeycombed matrix. It resembled an otherworldly font or some sort of unnatural crèche. The dome had been lifted up, the hollowed out nest beneath it now empty. At one time, however, it was plain that something had long been confined within the small area prescribed by the transparent semi-spheroid.
Looking at what was wrapped around Daniel's chest, Jack felt he could take a fairly educated guess at just what that something had been.
Daniel had obviously been the one who had opened this particular Pandora's box. He was standing a few feet back from the pedestal, looking down at the pulsing mass of purplish tissue that was adhering to his chest. Whatever it was, it seemed to be burning right through his clothing, doing God only knew what to the skin it was coming into contact with underneath. Right before their eyes the thing started sprouting some kind of tendril network that began to wind its way around Daniel's back, shoulders, arms and neck, also instantly burning away any clothing it came into contact with. By the time Jack reached him the clothing on Daniel's torso hung in ruined shreds about his assaulted form; the tendril network had hit bare skin and was starting to burrow into Daniel's chest.
Daniel's hands were on the mass that was hugging his chest, in a strangely incongruent fashion. Rather than clawing at it, trying to rip it away Daniel looked almost of it he was attempting to cradle or protect it.
His bowed head flew up; mad eyes that stared without seeing looked at him through the shaggy fringe of his wildly disordered hair.
"Jack!" He screamed. "Take me home. I have to go home."
"Colonel O'Neill!" Teal'c's sharp, warning tones cut through the shock that was enveloping his thoughts. "I do not know if it is wise to touch DanielJackson. We do not know if this creature will confine itself to his body or if it will try to attach itself to anyone else it can reach."
Daniel was still looking at him, less wild-eyed, with a little more awareness that Jack was indeed there. Jack froze, his head hearing the wisdom of what Teal'c had just said, but every fiber of his being wanting to reach out to touch his friend no matter the personal risk. He wavered in indecision, his eyes locked to the pain-filled, confused ones of Daniel, as the afflicted man began to falter before him.
Jack knew it was crazy. He knew he shouldn't do it. But no matter what was wrapped around him, this was still Daniel, and there was no way he could let him go down into the dark alone.
His friend's blue eyes went clear into the depths of his soul, banishing all fear.
"Help me, Jack," he said softly as his legs began to buckle.
That was more than enough for him. Jack took the single step necessary to bridge the tiny but formerly unbroachable gap between them, catching Daniel in his arms as he fell. Daniel's head snapped back in an alarming fashion, his body slumped boneless and heavy with the unwieldiness of utter unconsciousness.
Shoving aside the revulsion that ripped through him at touching whatever the hell it was that was wrapped around Daniel, Jack gently lowered his friend to the floor. Daniel was really out of it. So out of it that he looked dead. Just took a moment to verify that that was not so, and while he was doing that Teal'c and Carter swarmed to his side, looking both at him and at Daniel with equally worried glances.
"No, it's all right," Jack reassured them. "Whatever it is, it's leaving me alone. Only seems to be interested in Daniel - "
"For the moment," Teal'c finished. "Even though that is the case at the present time, we cannot assume that as a permanent condition."
"Teal'c is right, sir," Carter continued. We don't know what this thing is, what it wants with Daniel and what it is doing it him."
"No way we are going to find out any of those things here." Jack started running his options, cursing the impulse that had made him take his team to this place in the first place.
"Damn, I picked a fine day to go on a cross country jaunt. It's only about a hundred miles or so back to the damned gate. Well, it can't be helped." He turned to Sam and grabbed her by the arm to underscore the urgency of what he was about to tell her.
"We need to get Daniel some help pronto. Captain, I want you to take off and high-tail it back to the gate as fast as you can. Get back to base, tell them what has happened and have a medical team and a Haz-Mat team meet us. Teal'c and I are going to take turns carrying Daniel back. I also want a team on site here soonest to do a complete evaluation in situ and an extraction of all the equipment and information that we can from what is left here. I want you to supervise that team Captain, and I want it up and running ASAP. Get me some answers, Sam. I mean it! Now! Off you go, quick like a bunny."
"Yes Sir," she said quickly, her blue eyes wide with concern and worry for Daniel. "Look after him, Sir," She said to the Colonel, she knew completely unnecessarily.
"You know it, Sam," he returned grimly." Scoot!"
She nodded, scrambled to her feet and was gone.
Bands of cold fear constricting his heart, he gathered up Daniel's unresponsive body into a fiercely protective embrace. He looked down at the ashen face of the man who hung limply in his arms, a visage that was growing whiter by the second, if such a thing was possible. Daniel was barely even breathing, but the colour of the thing that was stuck to him had gotten deeper and stronger. It was now a deep, vibrant indigo colour and it was emitting a strange pulsing sensation.
Jack had the sudden bizarre feeling that the thing was - purring..
He hadn't realized that he was looking down at Daniel and staring for as long as he had. It was Teal'c's hand on his shoulder that brought him back to himself.
The Jaffa was kneeling across from him, attempting to gather Daniel up into his arms.
"Colonel O'Neill," he said firmly, while shaking him a little to rouse him. "We should bring DanielJackson back now. I will carry him for awhile."
Jack could only nod as he allowed Teal'c to take Daniel from him. Feeling numb and helpless, Jack could not take his eyes from Daniel's pale, slack features as he got slowly to his own feet. Daniel was normally so vital, so alive, so energetic, his face characteristically a constantly animated entity that aspired to a life of its own that the contrast was infinitely terrifying.
He'd sell his soul to see that pale face transformed by one of Daniel's goofy, self-conscious grins.
Wasn't gonna happen, was it?
He spared one moment to brush the hair out of Daniel's closed eyes and then turned and sprinted from the room before Teal'c could see that he was beginning to have some problems with his own.
They hadn't traveled but twenty minutes back down the winding trail when Teal'c suddenly stopped and turned to him, alarm clearly registering on his usually unreadable features.
"Colonel O'Neill, we must do something. I believe DanielJackson is choking."
Jack flew to Teal'c side to examine the man in his arms.
God, it was the goddam ropy things wrapped all around his neck. The nasty little mess on his chest was pulsing and throbbing, tightening; pulling everything it had extruded all around the various parts of Daniel taut as if it was - anchoring itself a good one. Unfortunately in so doing, whether it mean to or not it was also tightening the part of it that was wound firmly around Daniel's throat making of itself an effective noose that was rapidly cutting off his air supply. Daniel's body was shuddering weakly as it tried in vain to get the air it needed, his lips growing rapidly blue and cyanotic.
Motioning for Teal'c to set Daniel on the ground, Jack completely threw caution to the wind and tried to insinuate his hands in between the purple fibrous noose that was choking the life out of his friend and Daniel's throat. The murderous mass of swollen, squirming tissue would not yield in the slightest to his attempts to wrest it away from its death grip. Teal'c saw what he was trying to do and added his efforts to those of the distressed Colonel, but even the Jaffa's impressive and considerable physical strength could not prevail against the force that was killing Daniel right before their eyes.
Not if he could help it! If he couldn't pull it off he damned well could hack it off!
Jack reached back and in one practiced motion released his knife from its sheath on the back of his web belt and pulled it free. He placed the wide blade upon one of the tendrils and was about to start ruthlessly cutting.
Daniel's eyes flew open. They were wide with alarm and fear.
"No - hurt - Jack." The words were barely audible, so constricted was Daniel's throat.
"Don't you worry, Danny," Jack grimly promised his friend. "I won't let it hurt you anymore."
Daniel's eyes clouded, his brow knit with confusion.
"No - no hurt-"
His eyes closed, his head rolled violently to the side, his breath rattled horribly in his chest, and then ceased.
Cursing, Jack pushed the blade deep into the purple mass, seeking to slice it away from Daniel as quickly as possible. He was completely unprepared for what happened next.
Like a receding tide the entire mass pulsed, rippling and flowing away from Daniel's neck and at the same time into him, leaving his neck and shoulders down to the clavicle completely naked and free from any contamination or further danger of harm. The portion of the abomination that had been in contact with the knife and had been sundered by it was the first bit to disappear. It vanished, seemingly without consequence to the thing he had been attempting to hurt. Jack blinked in confusion. He had cut it - but he hadn't harmed it? Trying to cut it did not hurt it?
But something had indeed suffered as a result of what he had done. There was a substantial consequence to his action. His knife had caused harm. Better he should have cut off his own hand.
Daniel screamed as a terrible wound spontaneously erupted in the flesh of his shoulder springing open to the bone, rending him deep and wide a full three inches. Blood gushed from the gaping hole, an appalling amount of blood. Oh my god, so much blood what had he done?
The offending knife was long gone: flung as far from him as he could pitch it in his terror. In a panicked and completely ineffectual attempt to staunch the fatal red flow Jack placed his hands over the wound, trying to pull the ruined, ragged sides of Daniel's flesh together with his fingers while Daniel's very life continued to weep copiously between them. He pressed as hard as he could: it seemed despite his most frantic efforts he was wrist deep in Daniel's blood and still he could not stop it from spewing forth.
Teal'c was tearing his hands away, attempting to hand him something to press against the wound. His hands were so red; he could feel his head swimming with shock and denial.
Suddenly help came from an unexpected source. Where he had done harm and could do nothing to make better what he had done, the thing he had been seeking to hurt roused itself and did what he could not.
The purple tide flowed upward, into and over the wound, sealing it instantly beneath a fibrous bandage that halted the flow of the precious fluid. Daniel sighed softly with relief the moment this was accomplished, almost as if the ministrations of the strange being had brought to him not only the cessation of blood loss but also of the pain which had resulted from the offense to his body.
Daniel took a deep breath, expelling it in a deep sigh, then turned and opened his eyes. He sought the eyes of the man who wavered over him; still unable to look at his own hands and what covered them lest in so doing he be reminded of what he had just done.
Jack did not understand what he saw in Daniel's eyes. No fear, no horror, but only a strange, calm understanding. Of what, Jack didn't have the faintest idea. Daniel's' questing glance finally found him, and held him fast.
"Mistake," he said weakly. "No harm. Understand.Understand, Jack."
He was gone again, blue eyes fluttering closed, oblivion-claiming, countenance an ashen mask speckled crimson and dreadful. Jack sat numbly on his haunches beside him, his vision of Daniel's pale, red-streaked face suddenly beginning to swim.
Oh my god - he was going to be so, so sick.
Jack barely had time to push himself to his feet and stumble a few paces away from Daniel's side when he collapsed on his hands and knees and began to vomit violently. He thought he was going to crack every rib he possessed with the force of his gagging and heaving. The smell of blood on his sticky, grisly hands made him sicker, the horror of what he had just seen and done pushed his reeling senses past the point that he wanted to stick around and deal with it anymore.
He was losin' it. Things were getting fuzzy, fading to black. Somewhere he could hear Teal'c calling his name, but there was nothing he could do but just fall..