Sight
by Erica
EMAIL: rhesmith@cosmos.net.au
RATING: PG
WARNING: Big spoiler for New Ground
CATEGORY: D/J, HC
DISCLAIMER: Stargate Sg-1 and its characters are the property of
Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret
Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story is for entertainment
purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement
is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the
property of the author. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author.
NOTES: Thanks to Tweety Bird and Becca for being my beta readers, all
feedback really welcome, it's my first fic so be nice.
The iris slid open barely in time for four people, thrown out in quick
succession. The General hit the com as soon as he recognised them. 'Dr
Frasier to the Gateroom. Immediately!' The tech manning the computer
gave a quick glance to the General, who nodded, and the iris was
closed on the wormhole, which seemed to be flickering on and off
badly. A group of medical personnel ran into the room, and following
Dr Frasier's lead, each ran to one of the team members.
'Daniel? Can you hear me?' the doctor asked, taking his pulse. When he
gave no response, she looked quickly up to her nurses, who responded
similarly.
'They're alive, but unconscious. Get them to the infirmary stat!' she
called to the nurses who had just arrived, armed with stretchers, and
without so much as a glance at the General she and the members of SG-1
were gone.
* * *
There was a loud buzzing sound coming from somewhere, and his head was
pounding. That didn't worry Daniel so much though, his head often
seemed to be pounding, it was that buzzing that was concerning. It
sounded like something… He couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Something…a zat gun!? Daniel stiffened and tried to sit up, but as he
did so he ran into something, a hand.
'It's okay, you're safe,' came a voice. It was familiar, or at least,
he thought it was. He tried to open his eyes, but nothing seemed to
happen. He tried to concentrate on the buzzing sound again, and as he
did so it resolved itself into the gentle hum of medical equipment.
Realisation dawned, he was in the infirmary, and the voice he heard
had been Janet.
'Janet?' he asked.
'Glad to see you still remember me,' she replied, 'You had a nasty
concussion. Can you tell me your name?'
'Daniel Jackson' he replied.
'And where are you?' she prompted
'The infirmary?'
'Do you remember anything that happened?' Daniel paused at that
question, but quickly came to a conclusion.
'No, not a thing.'
'Oh well,' she concluded, and Daniel heard the sound of her moving
around, adjusting things, all noises he was familiar with. Except for
one thing.
'Janet,' Daniel began, 'Why can't I open my eyes?' The sounds of
movement stopped, and the doctor took a deep breath.
'Your eyes are open Daniel.'
'But…' he trailed off
'Whatever they shot you with, it burnt out you optic nerves,' she
hesitated. She was a doctor, used to giving out bad news. Why was it
that she had so much trouble all of a sudden? Daniel seemed to
consider this, growing increasingly agitated.
'What are you saying? I'm blind?' Daniel asked, fear making its way
into his voice. Janet didn't respond. 'Janet?' there was real fear
this time. Janet moved quietly over to the chair next to his bed, the
one Jack would have been in, had he been conscious. She covered his
hand with hers, and replied:
'I'm sorry.'
* * *
The three remaining members of SG-1 regained consciousness shortly
after Daniel had, and after their initial disorientation, quickly
recovered. From what they had managed to piece together from their
memories, they had been ambushed by a group of soldiers with advanced
weaponry about an hour after arriving. Daniel had been walking in
front when they attacked, and was shot by what Jack described as 'some
kind of electric zat-gun kinda thing'. Jack had gone down a few
seconds later, and Sam and Teal'c had brought them most of the way
back to the gate while fighting their attackers off. The best Sam
could guess, the natives must have shot them as they were entering the
gate, or had somehow damaged the wormhole on their way through,
rendering them all unconscious. Their recovery had been a quick one,
however the damage to one member seemed, to all intents and purposes,
permanent.
Jack had taken his customary chair next to his friend, but this time
it seemed different somehow. Daniel wasn't really sick, this wasn't
something he would recover from in a few days. This was permanent, and
both men were intelligent enough to know what that meant.
'Have you got a replacement yet Jack?' Daniel asked. His indifferent
tone denied his underlying frustration.
'Don't be silly Daniel, we're not going to replace you. We'll figure
something out.' Daniel laughed at that, but there was no humour
involved.
'Right,' he said, his voice displaying the sarcasm that was usually
Jack's trademark, 'I'll just go through the gate with my white cane
and guide dog then. Maybe the natives'll be kind enough to translate
their ancient texts into Braille for me. God Jack, if you thought I
got into trouble before, can you imagine what I'd be like now? I'm an
archaeologist for God's sake! I look at things, that's my job. If I
can't see…' Daniel paused to take a deep breath, subconsciously moving
his hand up to his face. 'If I can't see…you're smart enough to know
that it can't work.'
Jack didn't respond. Several times he went to say something, do
something to reassure his friend, but every time he stopped himself
just short. Well aware of the fact that his gesture was futile, and
would only serve to add tension to the already difficult situation.
When Teal'c entered the room a few minutes later, the Colonel welcomed
the diversion.
'Teal'c!'
'Colonel O'Neill, General Hammond has requested our attendance in the
Briefing room.' Teal'c stated in his normal, matter-of-fact tone.
'Right,' Jack replied, then turned to Daniel, 'You be alright?' Daniel
made no sound, but flicked his wrist to indicate that Jack should go.
Hesitantly, Jack followed Teal'c, leaving Daniel alone again.
* * *
'We're not getting a replacement General.' Jack announced the moment
he walked through the door of the briefing room. The General looked up
to see an angry and frustrated Colonel.
'Be that as it may, Colonel,' Hammond responded, not letting Jack's
attitude distract him, 'We do need to find a solution to the situation
regarding Dr Jackson.'
'I agree with the Colonel,' Carter said, 'We can't get a replacement.'
'I understand your feelings towards this matter,' continued Hammond,
'I don't want to try and replace him any more than you do. However,
the fact remains that we need to do something. SG-1 has been on
downtime for over a week.'
'I believe I may be able to offer a possible alternative,' interjected
Teal'c. All eyes turned to him expectantly. Taking this as permission
to continue, he did so. 'During the time when SG-1 was captured on
P4X-947, I suffered an injury similar to that which Dr Jackson is
currently afflicted. My recovery was reliant on a piece of technology
from that planet, which I believe may also assist Dr Jackson.' Teal'c
waited as his audience thought through his solution.
'P4X-497? Wasn't that Bedrosia?' Jack asked. Sam nodded, then
continued.
'They were in the middle of a world war. They could have completely
destroyed themselves by now.'
'Not to mention the fact that they weren't too happy to see you last
time, as I recall' the General added.
'Sir, request permission,' Jack began, but he was cut off by Hammond.
'Send the MALP through.'
* * *
Dr Frasier had seen what had gone on between Jack and Daniel, and she
wasn't happy about it. She was all to aware of both their feelings of
helplessness, and particularly her patient's frustration and anger
over what was going on. What he really needed, she knew, was to feel
in control again, but she couldn't think of any way she could provide
it.
She went over to her friend's bed and checked the various bits and
pieces sitting nearby. They didn't really need to be checked, but she
felt that for some reason she needed an excuse to come over.
'Daniel? How're you feeling?' She asked, in what she hoped sounded
casual.
'Just peachy.' He replied, sounding frighteningly like Jack.
'I heard what went on between you and the Colonel before… Is there
anything I can do to help?'
'Not unless you found the cure for blindness in the fifteen minutes
since you last came over here.' He replied. Janet left the piece of
equipment she had been fiddling with and sat on the chair next to him.
'I know you're feeling angry at the moment, and…'
'Really?' replied Daniel, more as a statement than as a question,
'what a ground breaking diagnosis doctor. I sure didn't see that one
coming. Of course I'm angry. I'm angry and frustrated and confused
and… and…'
'Seriously pissed off?' supplied the doctor.
'Damn right.' Her patient started to smile at the very unexpected
comment by his doctor, but the smile quickly faded. 'What the hell am
I supposed to do Janet? If I can't see then I definitely can't stay on
SG-1. Jack already worries my clumsiness. My work on base is almost
entirely reliant on my ability to identify objects by sight. I'd have
no hope outside the SGC; there's not much call for blind
archaeologists who think that aliens built the pyramids. God Janet,
I'm completely incapable like this! I can't even find my way to the
bathroom unless someone guides me!' Daniel paused for breath, 'What
the hell am I supposed to do?' Janet gently took Daniel's hand, which
had been making frustrated movements the whole time he had been
speaking, and held it between her own.
'You'll be alright, Daniel, I promise. You'll be able to move around
in no time, I have a feeling you're going to be a fast learner,'
Daniel leaned back into his pillows as she spoke, 'and you'll find
something to do. Before you found the SGC, you thought you were
useless, and look how wrong you were there. Trust me Daniel, even if
you don't want to hear it right now, I know you'll cope. Just remember
you're not alone. You've got Jack and Sam and Teal'c, and me. You'll
be fine. Daniel?'
'No Janet, I don't think I will,' he replied, then he rolled onto his
side, signifying the end of the conversation.
'Just call if you need anything,' Janet said, hoping that her friend's
reaction had been a result of his confusion and not a personal
reaction to her efforts. When he gave no response, she stood up and
left him to rest.
* * *
'Receiving telemetry…' stated the lieutenant at the computer, and a
second later the screen came into life, showing a devastated
landscape. Ruins of buildings were scattered around the landscape,
most of them black. Remains of trees, no doubt planted by the former
occupants of the buildings, looked long dead, more like burnt twigs
than plants. The camera panned right, to see what bore a slight
resemblance to a tank, lying on its side, covered with dust.
'Radiation levels are present but low. We should be fine so long as we
don't stay too long.' Carter said. She and her commanding officer both
looked to the General.
'Permission to…' began the Colonel.
'Granted.' Replied the General. 'Good luck'.
* * *
Janet approached Daniel, making sure she made enough noise for him to
hear her, so he would not be startled. She had told Cassandra about
what had happened, and the girl had given her mother an idea. She had
mentioned a boy at her school, a few years older than her, who was
blind, and she had spoken with fascination of the way he was able to
read Braille or, as she had called it, 'bumpy paper'. Janet had since
contacted the school and arranged to borrow some books written in
Braille. They were all fairly simple non-fiction works, but she didn't
want anything complicated just yet.
'Daniel?' she asked, unsure if he was asleep or simple ignoring her.
Daniel turned his head to her direction. He had been ignoring her. She
felt slightly sad at this, but went to sit next to him. The movements
of his head roughly followed her to her seat, before facing forward
again.
'Daniel,' she began again, 'I've got something for you.' She paused,
waiting for his reaction. When none was forthcoming, she continued.
'Cassie thought that, now that you've got some spare time, you might
like to learn another language.' Daniel remained silent, so Janet
opened the book and placed it on his lap, gently moving his right hand
to sit over the dots.
'What is it?' Daniel asked. Janet was relieved, at least he was
talking to her.
'It's a book, in Braille. A boy at Cassie's school…' she trailed off.
'I can't read Braille.' Daniel replied.
'What better time to learn?' countered the Doctor, who preceded to
move Daniel's hand to the first collection of bumps. 'Now, according
to my piece of paper here, this letter is "A".'
* * *
SG-1 had permission to go. Jack couldn't describe how relieved he was
that he might be able to, no, that he would be able to help his
friend. He wouldn't have to try and find a replacement. Still, he had
to tell Daniel that they were going off world, and given the mood his
friend had been in last time they had spoken he wasn't really looking
forward to it.
* * *
'Most… penguins… live… Janet where did you say you got this book?'
Daniel asked, laughing. Janet soon joined in.
'It's from Cassie's school library. I think it's called the
"Encyclopaedia of the Animal World", but I'm not sure, the heading's
in Braille. To tell the truth, I haven't got a clue what any of these
books are about!' This caused another bout of laughter. 'I wasn't
expecting you to get the hang of reading it so quickly. Now I know why
you can speak so many languages!'
Jack entered to the highly unexpected sound of laughter, and was even
further amazed to hear what sounded like Daniel's voice apparently
reading.
'There has been a considerable amount of… discussion… as to the
relationships of penguins with other…'
'Penguins?' Jack asked rather loudly as he entered the room. Daniel
lifted his head mid-sentence, grinning.
'Actually, I was going to say with other…' Daniel paused again as his
fingers slid over the dots on the page, 'flightless birds.' Jack gave
a questioning look at Janet, but she simply grinned back at him and
shrugged.
'I just came to tell you that we're going back to Bedrosia. Teal'c
thinks there might be something there that could help you.' Daniel's
grin faded.
'But Bedrosia's a war zone…'
'I know, don't worry. We'll be careful.' Daniel was silent at this,
then nodded.
'Thank you. Good luck.' He replied. Jack nodded, forgetting that his
friend could not see it, then left. A few seconds later he turned
again to Janet. 'I don't suppose you have anything that isn't about
penguins?' he asked. Janet looked at the pile of books she had.
'I think this one's about frogs,' she laughed.
'I think I'll pass. I'm pretty exhausted anyway.' He replied.
'Sure,' Janet collected the books that had fallen on the floor while
she was trying to find something more interesting. When she had them
all back, she leaned over Daniel to get the penguin book. Just as she
went to pick it up, Daniel placed his hand on hers.
'Thank you Janet,' he said.
'You're welcome,' she replied. She turned her head, and suddenly
realised how close she was to him. She leaned over and kissed him on
the cheek. She pulled back suddenly, worried that she had just done
something she shouldn't have.
'Janet?' asked Daniel.
'Yes?' she replied, nervously.
'Did you just kiss me?'
'Uh… yes.'
'Oh.' Daniel seemed to ponder this for a second. 'That's nice.'
* * *
Three people stepped through the shimmering blue into a scene of total
destruction. Sam's theory about this area being a bomb site certainly
seemed to stand up. In the distance, several tents had been pitched.
'Let's go check it out people,' called the Colonel to the other two.
He led the way, closely followed by Carter and Teal'c. As they
approached the tents, several people ran out to meet them. The one in
front seemed to recognise them. She ran up.
'It's you! The aliens! How is Nyan? Why did you come back? Are you
here to help us?' She asked.
'Um…' the Colonel looked confused. 'Hi. And you would be?'
'Oh, sorry. My name's Malon, the one who was with Nyan when you first
contacted us. Are you here to help us?'
'Not really. What's going on?' replied O'Neill.
'Oh.' Malon looked downcast. 'When you left, the Optricans had already
heard about the gateway. They bombed all the surrounding areas, then
took it. We tried to fight back, but we had to surrender in the end.
Our own people were doubting our beliefs. We realised we had it all
wrong, that this really was the gateway.' She gestured vaguely towards
the gate. 'We're trying to rebuild, but it's hard, especially with all
the radiation. The Optricans never realised their weapons would leave
such a long lasting effect.' The woman stopped to consider the
visitors. 'What did you come here for?'
'One of our friends has been hurt, Daniel, the one who spoke to you.
According to Teal'c there is an instrument on this planet that can
cure blindness. We were hoping…' Carter explained.
'Of course, of course. There should be one inside.' She replied,
'come, follow me.'
* * *
'Oh my God!' Dr Frasier muttered, mentally kicking herself. What had
she been thinking? She hadn't been thinking, that was it. She hadn't
been thinking, she'd been caught up in the atmosphere, she'd…she'd
kissed him. And it was wrong to kiss a patient! How many times had she
heard her teachers say how dangerous it could be to get emotionally
involved like this. She shouldn't even be treating him any more, he
was a friend. Why hadn't she thought? The doctor tried to focus on the
paperwork that had been building up on her desk, but she couldn't
concentrate. In a sudden bout of frustration she threw the clipboard
on the floor, knocking over a lukewarm cup of coffee that had been on
her desk. Cursing, she grabbed a cloth and started to wipe it up.
A nurse poked her head around the door, 'Doctor? Are you alright, I
thought I heard something.'
'No, I'm fine, I just knocked over my cup,' she replied, putting on
her calm and in control look, the one all doctors learnt in their
first year with patients.
'Oh, alright then!' replied the nurse cheerfully, not quite closing
the door behind her. Through the gap, Janet could see her friend,
probably asleep, on the bed. He looked so vulnerable. Why on Earth was
she even thinking about how he looked? She knew she'd stuffed up big
time, she just hoped she wouldn't lose one of her closest friends over
it. She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. Now she just had
to work out what to do about it.
* * *
Malon led the team to the largest tent, and led them inside. She
opened a large box and removed a small cylindrical machine. 'This is
probably the thing you mean,' she said, showing Teal'c. He nodded.
'It does appear to be the same device.' He confirmed. Malon passed it
do a very interested Carter.
'Take it with you. Nyan will know how it works.' She fished around in
her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. 'Can you give this to him
too. It's an apology. He was right, I should have trusted him. Tell
him I'm sorry.' Carter took the tool and the note.
'We might be able to send aid, help your people get back on their feet
again,' Sam said hesitantly, 'Food, medical supplies, maybe some
sturdier building materials,' she gestured at the canvas-type cloth
that seemed to provide the only shelter.
'We'd appreciate that,' she replied, 'Thank you'.
* * *
Daniel sat reading to himself. Janet hadn't been around for several
hours, and she seemed to have been worried about something. But then
again, he felt confused himself. She had kissed him! What on Earth did
that mean? They were friends, weren't they? She came to help him
because she was his friend. And his doctor! She was helping him
because it was her job to help people. Then why did she kiss him?
Granted, it hadn't been a serious kiss. More like a concerned friend
kiss. That must have been it. She helped him because she was a doctor
and kissed him because she was his friend. They didn't need to feel
awkward about it, did they? Daniel chided himself. He was reading too
much into this.
'Janet?' he asked as he heard someone walking backwards and forwards
nearby. The pacing stopped.
'Daniel? Are you alright? Is there anything wrong?' Came the concerned
voice he recognised instantly.
'I was planning on asking you the same question.'
'I'm fine,' replied the Doctor, 'It's just…'
'What?' he prompted.
'I kissed you…'
'Yeah, I noticed that too.' both parties paused.
'I know I shouldn't have done it, I'm sorry… I've made everything so
awkward.'
'Oh.' replied Daniel. Again there was silence, and after a minute
Janet turned to leave. Daniel heard her movement and said urgently
'I'm not.' Once again Janet turned to Daniel, and he continued. 'I
guess I did feel kind of weird about it. I mean, you're my Doctor, and
you're my friend, but sometimes the best relationships happen when
you're already friends, like we are already, and now I'm babbling and
Jack's not here to shut me up but maybe… Maybe we don't need to feel
awkward, maybe we should just… Go slow?' Despite the fact that he
couldn't see it, a smile crept onto Janet's face.
'Slow is good.'
* * *
'Gate activation sir, it's SG-1' called the tech to General Hammond.
'Open the iris' he said, and a few seconds later three of the members
of the premier team returned through the gate.
'Mission successful General!' O'Neill called up to the control room.
'Head over to the infirmary, debriefing in…' said Hammond over the
speaker, but the team was gone before he could finish.
* * *
Janet was leaning her head on Daniel's shoulder, listening to some
book about Greek legends Daniel had managed to find in the pile while
she had been away. Her eyes were just drifting closed when the other
three members of SG-1 ran into the room.
'We got…' Carter began, then stopped as she took in the scene in front
of her. O'Neill raised his eyebrows but remained silent.
'Great!' the Doctor jumped up and took the device from Sam.
'Does this mean?' asked Daniel, anxiously.
'I'll have to run some tests first, but if what Teal'c told us is
true,' Frasier said, 'Then I think the answer is a definite maybe'
* * *V
'Okay, I want you to walk a straight line from where you are to me.'
Doctor Frasier said.
'I thought you were supposed to test how well I can see, not whether
I'm sober!' laughed Jackson, but followed her instructions.
'Can you read those letters on the wall over there?'
'Yup. "M, D, J, E, G, I, C"…' he read from the chart.
'That's fine,' Janet said and, looking at clipboard, continued,
'That's it. You're a free man again.'
'The team is going out tonight to celebrate,' Daniel began feeling
awkward and nervous. 'And I was wondering if you would, maybe, like to
come along. If you don't have anything planned of course.'
'I'd love to!' she replied.
'Maybe we could dance?' He asked. Janet smiled.
'Maybe!'
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