Fading Memories
By Terri D. Thomas
Part 1
The blue light of the Stargate burst into the embarkation room, causing the on-lookers to squint at the sudden brightness.
"Who is it?" General Hammond asked of the Sergeant who was keying in information.
"SG-1, Sir," the young man replied without looking away from his computer screen.
"They aren't due until fourteen hundred hours," the balding man commented, concern tainting his words. He looked at the clock overhead. It was only 9:30 in the morning."
The large maw of the Stargate spit out the travelers two at a time. Daniel and Sam stumbled down the ramp first. Jack and Teal'c followed close behind, exhibiting the same lack of grace as the previous pair.
The iris slammed closed behind the team, returning the room to its normal dull cement-gray color. Hammond frowned at the disheveled appearance of his unit and quickly grabbed the microphone in his hand. "SG-1, what's your status."
Colonel Jack O'Neill looked up at the glass observation port and started to reply, however his words were cut off by Daniel Jackson. "General, we're going to need medical assistance. . .," the man answered, and then whispered to himself more than to anyone else, ". . .again."
For once, Daniel was not the injured party. A warped part of him took pride in that. He was tired of always being the team's accident-waiting-to-happen. Then, with sudden nausea-laced realization, it dawned on him that he would much rather be the one in pain than to have it be any of his friends.
He glanced at the woman he was supporting at his side. "You okay?" He pushed her blond hair away from the bloody laceration on her temple. It had been bleeding profusely, resulting in a dark red trail of blood running down the side of the woman's face.
Sam gave her partner a smile. "Oh, I'm fine. Just feeling really stupid."
"Hey, it happens to the best of us," he grinned. He then turned to Jack. "How about you? Are you okay?"
"Oh, just peachy," O'Neill snapped. His anger and frustration told Jackson that the ankle injury wasn't too severe, although it could keep him off-duty for the next few days.
"I believe O'Neill is more frustrated about the fact that he will not be able to play ice hockey tonight than the pain of his injury," Teal'c observed from his position at the Colonel's side.
Jack shot the large Jaffa a piercing look. "Thank you, Teal'c."
Sam glanced back at her commander. "I really am sorry, Sir."
Jack shook his head and closed his eyes as he took a hop forward with Teal'c's assistance. "Don't worry about it, Captain. It was an accident."
General Hammond entered the infirmary. He immediately spotted SG-1 gathered at the far side of the room. Janet Frasier was taking notes at the foot of a bed containing Sam. Jack was on the next bed over from the Captain. Teal'c and Daniel were in chairs next to them.
"So how's my team, Doctor?"
The dark haired woman smiled at Hammond. "Well, Sir, I'd say they are going to live. Col. O'Neill has a sprained ankle. Captain Carter had a head wound that needed a couple of stitches. Nothing serious, but I want to keep her here for observation for a few hours."
"What happened, Colonel?"
Jack gave Daniel his best look of intimidation. "Well, our dear Dr. Jackson decided that we should climb up the side of a mountain to take a look at a temple at the top."
"It wasn't a mountain, Jack," Daniel defended himself.
Jack pointed a finger at Jackson. "You. . .shush," he ordered.
"But. . ."
"Ah!" Jack's voice and index finger stopped any further protest.
"It was a mountain, Sir. Anyway. . .did you know that Jackson is part mountain goat? He may say he doesn’t like heights. . .but when he's motivated it's a different story. So, we followed him up. Well, needless to say. . ."
"I slipped, Sir, and knocked a rock. . ." Sam finally admitted.
"Boulder, Carter. . .boulder," Jack corrected.
Sam gave the man a guilty look. "Right. . .'boulder' down on the Colonel. He wasn't able to get out of the way in time and it clipped him. He tried to catch himself and. . .did that." She pointed to the bandaged ankle.
"Teal'c and Daniel had to get us down and help us back to the Gate, General."
Hammond shook his head and then looked at Dr. Jackson. "Was this 'temple' worth it?"
Daniel suddenly found a spot on the floor very interesting. "I. . .I'm not sure, Sir. I never was able to get close enough to inspect it." Then an idea occurred to him. "But, Sir, if you would let me, I'll go back with one of the other teams. . .," he offered.
Hammond cut him off. "No, Doctor. I think SG-1 has had enough fun for the day. You're on leave for the next 36 hours."
Jack started to push himself from the small hospital bed. Frasier's hand stopped him. "Nope, Colonel. I want you to stay here and keep that foot elevated. The swelling should ease up a little."
Jack started to protest, but knew with one look at the doctor and General standing next to her, that it would be an exercise in futility. The evil look he gave to his healthy companions led them to the immediate conclusion that leaving the infirmary would be in their best interest. Teal'c and Daniel retreated to the safety of the hallway.
Jackson glanced at Teal'c. "Well, it looks like we've got some spare time on our hands."
"Yes, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c answered, hands clasped behind him as the two men walked down the hallway.
"I guess I can do a little research on that tablet that SG-3 found," Daniel mused. Then he turned to Teal'c. "What are you going to do?"
"I. . .do not know. I have no responsibilities outside of SG-1," Teal'c admitted.
Daniel thought about Teal'c's words. A surge of guilt ran through the young man. All of them had lives to go to when not on duty at the SGC, except for the man standing next to him. He had left the only life he knew behind him. He had nothing else. . .no one else outside of the team.
Daniel turned to his friend and smiled. "You know, it's been ages since we've had time off. I think, since we've been given this opportunity, that we should go get some fresh air. There's a world out there, Teal'c and I think it's high time that we see what's going on in it."
Daniel could swear he saw a hint of appreciation in the large Jaffa's eyes as Teal'c nodded to the doctor and silently followed him to the locker room.
End Part 1
To Part 2