He nodded. “I agree.”
“And despite what the colonel may think, we can’t survive out there alone. Even Colonel O’Neill admits that, and you know what he thinks about the Tok’ra.”
Hammond smiled at the picture she was painting. O’Neill had never been backward in coming forward with his criticism of their allies, but he was prepared to give them credit too when it was deserved. Maybe his frank honesty, Hammond reflected, was why they trusted him.
“Well,” Fraiser said, getting her feet, “with your permission, sir, I’ll get on with my rounds.” She nodded toward the two occupied beds in the infirmary. “I’ve got half of SG-5 in with a nasty case of bacterial gastroenteritis.”
“From their last mission?” He didn’t remember hearing about it.
The doctor gave a rueful smile. “Leftover Chinese takeout, sir.”
Hammond chuckled. “I guess not all the dangers are to be found off-world, doctor.”
“No sir,” she said, but the smile slipped from her face. “Only most of them.”
He nodded as his thoughts also returned to SG-1. “I’ll be sure to keep you apprised of any progress.”
“Thank you, General. I appreciate that.”
He stood up and headed to the door, but he’d only just grasped the handle when a thought struck him out of the blue. It was perfectly formed and perfectly right and he wondered why it hadn’t occurred to him before. “Doctor,” he said, turning back around. “How would you feel about taking a little trip?”
Fraiser cocked her head, curious. “A trip, sir?”
“To Tollana,” he said. “I’ve a feeling I’ll need a friend by my side.”
CHAPTER SIX
“Sam?”
Daniel’s voice roused her from a light doze and she was awake at once. She never slept deeply off-world, and even less so when the situation was this precarious. It was dark in the tent, but much warmer than outside with the three of them crowded in together. Daniel lay in the middle, inside his own and the colonel’s sleeping bags, Teal’c lay flat on his back and unmoving on one side of him and Sam had been curled up on the other. She could hear the slow, deep breaths that meant Teal’c had entered kel’no’reem, and moved quietly so as not to disturb him.
Sitting up, she pushed her sleeping bag down to her waist and reached over to find Daniel’s forehead. The colonel had ordered them to observe light discipline, so she had to make her way by touch alone.
“I’m here,” she said quietly. His skin felt fevered, which sent a coil of disquiet spiraling up into her throat. On the plus side, at least he hadn’t gone into full-fledged shock. “You want some water?”
She could feel him nod under her hand, so found the canteen — which was now less than half full — and held it to his lips. He took a few thirsty sips and then lay back down with a hiss of pain.
“Bad?”
“Um, yeah.”
She squeezed his shoulder. “Hang in there.”
“I’m hanging.”
She smiled at his quiet stoicism. He’d always been like this, right from day one when he was still reeling from the loss of his wife. “You want me to ask Colonel O’Neill about a morphine shot?”
There was a rustle of movement as Daniel shook his head. “Save it for later.”
She knew what he meant, of course — later, when the pain was more intense. “We’ll be home by then,” she said, smoothing her hand over his forehead.
He made a soft sound that might have been a laugh. “Optimist.”
“Try to get some sleep,” she said, stroking her fingers up into his hair. She remembered her mom doing the same for her as a child and felt a sting of old, old pain.
They were quiet for a while, the sound of Teal’c’s steady breathing filling the tent. Outside, she could hear the colonel moving about on watch. He was probably trying to keep warm. They’d not lit a fire, for obvious reasons, so there was nothing to do but keep moving. She peeked under her Velcro watch cover at the glowing face — twenty minutes until she had to relieve him. No point in trying to go back to sleep. Not that she’d been sleeping.
“Sam?” Daniel again.
“Shh,” she soothed him, stroking his head.
“No, Sam, there’s something…” She looked down and saw his eyes glint in the almost total darkness. “I… I think I saw something, before.”
Her hand stopped moving. “What kind of thing?”
“A person,” he said. “I thought I saw someone out there, watching us, right before I passed out.”