Page 30

Jack hung back a moment to look closer at Janet and found Martouf doing the same.
A small fear caught in Jack's throat.
He remembered how confused Sam had been around Martouf.
He desperately hoped it wasn't going to happen with Janet now.
Martouf looked at Jack and, smiling gently, he moved past him to join the others.
Jack looked down at Janet, hating how withdrawn her face was.
Nothing of her inner fire and spit showed.
None of her determination and gentleness, just pain…even in sleep…was all Jack could see.
Even sedated, she wasn't relaxed, just still and quiet.
Jack sighed and walked to the small morgue where Corvores was already pulling back the sheet a bit on the refrigerated body.
No one was smiling now as her headless neck appeared.
Visions assaulted him.
The way she died and everything that had happened since.
He forcefully shoved it all to the back of his head, willing it to stay there so he could think.
Daniel was literally ghost-white, but he just looked at Corvores.
"Her head?"
Corvores brought out a small glass jar.
Daniel's eyes widened in dismay.
The jar held mostly ashes with only a few pieces of crumbly bone visible.
All that remained of her head was in the jar, though, and that was what counted.
No one noticed Teal'c enter.
No one had noticed him leave earlier, either.
"You will need these."
Daniel looked at him; his blue-grey eyes bright with unshed tears.
"Thanks, Teal'c."
"You are welcome, DanielJackson."
Accepting the book from Teal'c, he stepped aside as Teal'c set the large box Daniel had hurriedly filled when he'd first found the ritual on the table beside Sam's corpse.
Everyone moved towards the doorway to give Daniel and Teal'c plenty of space as they worked.
Jack kept an ear cocked for Janet in case she started screaming again, but watched Daniel with a kind of detached fascination.
He didn't know anything about what Daniel was doing.
He just desperately hoped it would work.
Daniel set up the candles while Teal'c swiftly laid the various items from the box side by side on the table.
Carefully, Teal'c lifted out a few of Sam's personal items.
Jack's eyes narrowed until all he saw was part of Sam's sheet-covered body, Daniel's arm, a couple candles, Sam's hairbrush, part of Sam's ribbon device, Sam's lipstick, and her dogtags.
Teal'c pulled out a few other things, but Jack closed his eyes and leaned against the back wall.
He just wanted it over with.
Daniel watched Teal'c out of the corner of his eyes.
He knew the dark warrior didn't believe it would work and that made the fact that he was helping him anyway even more important.
Daniel motioned to Teal'c to start lighting the candles on the other side and then he turned to Jack.
"You okay enough to help?"
Jack's eyes were dark with emotion, but he straightened and walked over to Daniel.
"Whatcha need me to do?"
Daniel handed him a glue bottle with a very fine tip.
The look on Jack's face was priceless.
"You want me to glue her?"
Daniel's eyes widened a bit.
"No. You're a better artist than I am. I need you to copy this design on her body. It needs to be white and it doesn't matter where on her as long as it's…Jack?"
Jack was swaying a bit.
He wasn't sure if drawing on his Captain's corpse was any better than trying to glue it together again, but he'd do it if it helped Daniel.
Nodding sharply at the concern in Daniel's voice and eyes, he fought down his nausea and looked carefully at the design Daniel wanted him to draw.
It was intricate, but not difficult.
Corvores, for once showing some compassion, took scissors and cut the sheet covering Sam's body so that her midsection was seen, but not much else.
"Is that enough room?"
Jack looked at her and impulsively smiled a bit.
Corvores shocked him by smiling a bit back, but then it was gone and he wondered if maybe he was seeing things.
"Yeah. Thanks."
Jack didn't want to see any more of Sam's body than he had to.
Moving around Daniel, he did a couple practice drawings on the table to get used to the way the glue dispensed.
Satisfied, he began drawing onto his Captain's abdomen and stomach.
Daniel knew Jack wasn't anymore okay with this than he was so he hurried as much as he could, knowing Teal'c was doing the same.
Hammond's eyebrows drew together.
"Dr. Jackson, are you about to cast a spell or invoke something?"
Daniel, startled by the unexpected sound of someone speaking normally, almost dropped the small bag of spiced incense he was holding.
"Not exactly, General. Well, not like you're probably thinking, anyway. I'm not…well…it's complicated. The way Sam was removed from her body was weird and this part of it should draw her back to her body from wherever she is, whether it's inside Dr. Fraiser or somewhere else. It's a summoning, really…I'm summoning Sam."
Daniel hoped he'd explained himself enough, but he stopped talking when the General just waved his hand to show he wasn't going to try to understand at the moment.
Daniel didn't miss the look Jack and Teal'c exchanged, either, but they weren't stopping, so he wasn't going to complain.
Jack drew back, finished with the design.
"That okay?"
Daniel glanced over.
"Yeah, that's perfect."
Jack stepped back, far enough away he wasn't in Daniel's way and close enough he'd be able to assist.
The room had always stunk of disinfectant, but now it smelled like Carter.
No, not Carter…Carter's house.
It smelled of Hazelnut, Cinnamon, and Vanilla.
His head swam a bit from the discordant smells.
Her house always smelled so warm and inviting.
Mixing that wonderful smell with the infirmary smell wasn't pleasant.
It was downright disgusting, as a matter of fact.
Glancing around, he could tell no one else was pleased with the stench either.
"Daniel."
Daniel looked up at him; his nose wrinkled as much as everyone else's.
"Won't the stink make her and everyone else leave?"
Daniel smiled a bit.
"It uses candles, and it needs a smell associated with the deceased. The candles and incense are Sam's and they're just like the ones at her house."
"Daniel, I know that, but the only time I would have ever associated this particular smell with Carter was that time she and Teal'c took a dive into that muddy lake to get rid of those insects and we found out if was the villages version of a sewer system. They stank for weeks. I just don't see her voluntarily entering this room."
Daniel just gave him one last annoyed look and stepped back to check everything was in place.
Jack looked over and noticed that both generals as well as Martouf were on his side as far as the smell was concerned and smiled a bit.
"Teal'c, hand me the book so I can make sure we're through. If we are, something should happen soon."
Teal'c handed it over and then froze, staring at the doorway behind everyone.
"DanielJackson."
"Just a sec, Teal'c."
"O'Neill. Look."
Jack turned, his eyebrow rising, and then went very still.
"Daniel. Look. Now."
Daniel looked up and dropped the book in shock.
"Janet!"
Janet stood in the doorway, her eyes empty, her lips slack, and a blank look on her face.
She walked, as if in a trance, past Daniel to the corpse on the table.
Everyone watched her, no one making even the smallest sound for fear of breaking the intense silence in the room.
Janet's arm suddenly knocked every item on this side of Sam's body to the floor with a violence and crash that startled everyone.
Then, almost peacefully, Janet laid down on the table, her body half draped on Sam's corpse.
No one moved, but their eyes darted around the room, wondering what was supposed to happen now.
Finally, Jack spoke.
"Daniel, when you said Sam would go to her body, I kinda assumed you meant she'd leave Janet's first."
Daniel just stared at Jack a moment longer, and then the light dawned.
"This is the proof. Martouf and I are right. Sam has to be inside Janet's body."
Realizing he had everyone's undivided attention, he decided to use the extra hands.
"She's here, but she didn't actually leave Janet's body so we have to re-setup everything aga…what the?"
Daniel jumped back as a ball of light lanced out of Janet's body and through the floor.
Just as fast, it re-entered the room and as it slowed to a stop beside the table, Daniel found himself looking at a slightly fuzzy-edged and very upset Janet Fraiser.
"Where did you come from?"
Janet's mouth moved, but no sound came out.
Daniel sighed.
Back to square one almost.
Daniel blinked to make sure he wasn't imagining anything and then took a step closer to Janet, knowing he was being watched carefully by the others.
Janet's eyes widened and she shook her head emphatically, her hands reaching up to obviously push him away, but even as he saw her hands go into his chest, another ball of light lanced out of Janet's body straight into Daniel.
He brought his hands to his head, trying to contain it since it felt like it was so full it would explode at anything second.
He barely felt the floor hit his back it as a very horrible tickling itch raced around and around inside his brain.
His fingers scratched his scalp desperately, helpless to massage the mental itch.
Then, it stopped and he relaxed a bit, even though his mind felt stuffed and heavy.
*Who are you?*
He started a bit at the sudden, clear, and very feminine voice inside his head.
*Who are you?*
*I am Jolinar of Malkshur. Who…are you? *
*I'm Daniel Jackson of Earth. I can't believe you're alive. Martouf was so certain you were, but I didn't see how it could possibly…*
Pleasure and amusement shot through him, cutting off his thought and for a moment, it was difficult to separate it from his own emotions.
*I am very happy to meet you Daniel. I am finally free, un-trapped, and able to move freely inside you…what is it? *
Daniel was more and more shocked and excited as what had happened truly sunk in.
*I'm a Tok'ra now. *
Jolinar laughed, her musical voice a bit deeper than Sam's.
*I do not have a physical body so I am not certain what limitations I have, but I am inside you. Do you mind experimenting with me to see what, if any, control I have? You can take back control at any time, of course.*
Daniel's mind flooded with possibilities and he immediately consented.

* * * * * *

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