Symptomatic, by Sneezy (PG-13)

[figs_sg1_rec]

Rec Category: Daniel Jackson

Pairing: none
Category:  Daniel Jackson, gen, episode related, drama, hurt/comfort
Warnings: some language, Daniel and team whumping
Author on LJ: unknown
Author's Website: Sneezy at Heliopolis
Link to Story: Symptomatic

Why This Must Be Read:  There have been a thousand stories told of Daniel's appendix, some attached to Crystal Skull, others not. This one is the only fic I've read which picks up from the final scene of Crystal Skull and takes it from there, and it's the only one that offers a really plausible connection between the planet and Daniel's condition.

Sneezy gives us a terrifying return to the SGC, even more hazardous than SG-1's first trip to the planet. Daniel seemed all right when he first phased fully onto the alien's plane of existence, but does that mean that he wasn't actually affected by the deadly radiation on the planet? By the time SG-1 is back in the SGC, with some very timely help from Teal'c, no one is quite sure what's wrong – or what needs to be done to fix things.

 While Daniel does very little in this story except try to stagger along in Jack's wake, it's still very much about Daniel, especially in the infirmary, when Janet is convinced he's delirious and only Jack realizes that he's actually still thinking faster than everyone else. There's no real happy ending to Daniel's concerns about Nick, but at least Jack feels assured that SG-1 can look forward to some downtime… right?

 Nemesis, here we come. :)

 

He could hear Doc Frasier's voice in his head again, telling him they were lucky to get off this planet when they did. A few more minutes of exposure and it would have been a very different story.

They'd left Daniel here for two hours. Two hours with radiation at lethal levels.

Jack felt like throwing up again, but forgot all about it when he saw Daniel's head slowly lifting. Those big eyes drifted open, not all the way, and Jack wondered if his youngest team member was seeing anything at all.

"Uh, I feel . . . better." Daniel coughed to clear his throat. "I think."

His voice did sound a little stronger. Although his color scheme wasn't improving, not unless stark white was the in thing this season. Jack watched Daniel pull his legs up, then try to roll over onto one knee. Totally uncoordinated, even by Jackson's standards.

"Hang on, Danny," Jack put a hand on his shoulder, easily restraining him. "Chances are you'll fall on your ass if you try and get up. Believe me, I know."

Daniel peered across at him, completely confused, then looked at Sam. That's when the penny dropped and his eyes sprang open wide.

"You think I have radiation poisoning."

A statement, not a question. You had to hand it to Jackson. Zoned out to the max, and he still got the answer right in the space of five seconds. Although by the look of things, he was going to argue the point. He was shaking his head in slow motion, like it weighed a ton.

"No, it's not that. At least I don't think it's that. I've been fine up until now. I felt dizzy, that's all. Guess I'm a little tired."

Quite a speech for someone who hadn't said more than a couple of words in the past five minutes. And even though he'd used extremely short sentences, it cost him. Left him looking completely drained and out of breath. Daniel rubbed his forehead in a circular motion, then extended his hand to Jack. "Help me up."

O'Neill questioned Carter with a sideways glance. She didn't appear at all enthused with the idea, but shrugged both shoulders. Jack could almost hear her saying, 'Wrong sort of doctor, sorry.'

"Just be ready to catch him," she suggested.

Jack's smile was tight. "Thank you for the wonderful advice."

Daniel was obviously able to pay better attention now, because he let out a sigh and tried to get up by himself again. Jack was quick to lend a helping hand . . . or two. In fact he practically lifted Daniel back onto his feet. Once up there, he wavered a bit, which had Jack worrying all over again. He remembered how he'd peered over the edge of the platform into the dark abyss, trying to calculate how far the drop was. Not that the precise distance really mattered, all you needed to know was that it was splat height -- with an extremely narrow bridge back to the other side. Not ideal conditions for crossing by someone who could keel over at any second. Jack knew from painful experience -- he'd been there, done that, with Carter hoisted over his shoulder to make the journey all the more memorable.

He considered the options.