Chapter Text
Jack was sitting next to Daniel’s bed, looking at the man sleeping, and trying not to cry. Janet gave them her prognosis over two hours ago, there was nothing she could do. The dose of radiation was a deadly one. She estimated Daniel had a few days at most. And less than two, before he was bedridden and unable to move.
The Colonel jumped a little when a hand came down on his shoulder. When he looked over, he found Hammond standing there with glassy eyes.
“Sir, when Daniel woke up, he would probably want to spend his last days with his parents," Jack said, turning back to watch his lover.
“That's why I came here, you should go pack a few things for the two of you,” George said, knowing there was no way Jack would let the archaeologist go alone. "I will stay with him until you come back."
“Thank you, sir.”
A few hours later, as he stood at the base of the ramp, the gate glowing behind him, Daniel said, “Thank you, General.”
Hammond looked at him and stretched out his hand for Daniel to shake.
“It was a pleasure and an honor, Doctor Jackson.”
“Likewise, sir.” Daniel replied before he got pulled in a sudden hug from the man. Surprised, it took him a few seconds before returning the hug. He then got a no less surprising hug from Teal’c and a more expected one by Sam.
When he took a step back and looked up at the control room for one last glimpse, he blinked a few times, surprised and mildly shocked. Behind the glass, a bunch of SGC personnel, civilians as well as military, were standing. Doctor Fraiser and Major Ferretti were right behind Walter and both saluted him when their eyes met. He offered them a small teary smile and a nod in return before inhaling deeply and turning toward the waiting gate, followed by Jack.
“Boys, what’s wrong?” Melburn asked, seeing Jack's wretched look.
Daniel looked up at his father, then his mother.
“Mom, Dad, I’m…” he took a deep breath before finishing his sentence. “I’m dying.”
“What?” Claire stared at her son in disbelief, then took a look at Jack, whose eyes were closed and a single tear was going down his right cheek.
“What happened?” Melburn questioned, his legs becoming unstable, making him sit down beside his wife.
“Yesterday, I… received a deadly dose of radiation. Janet did everything she could, but there is nothing that can be done. I’ve got a few days at most.”
“Radiation? What type of radiation?” Daniel’s father asked, his hand closing around one of Claire's.
“Um… An ‘unstable radioactive variation of naquadah.’ If I’m quoting Carter correctly,” Jack said, throat tight around his words.
Both parents look at each other, hopeful.
“Come with us.”
“Dad?”
“Please, son.”
Daniel looked at Jack, and both men stood up to follow.
"You're telling me that you can cure Daniel?” Jack asked after Daniel went through some tests and Inaya gave them the news.
“Yes. He hasn’t reached the critical level, at least not for us.”
“How?”
“It’s a long story, but to make it short, a few decades ago, one of the planets that we trade with had an accident with what looks like a similar variation of this material based on Daniel's test results. They knew we were medically advanced and asked for our help. It took us a while, but we were able to put a treatment in place. I can go into more details later, but the sooner we start the better it will be,” she summarized before turning to Daniel to explain the procedure part.
“We will have to place you in a pod for a few days, you will be sleeping during that time. After a day or so, the poisoning will have decreased enough for the process to repair the damage done to your body to start. Then, to eliminate the remaining radiation, you’ll need to stay on Aelia for a few weeks and receive a daily injection.
“Are there any side effects?”
“No. We never had any negative effects during or after the treatment. And you’ll recuperate at 100%.”
Jack grabbed Daniel’s hand in his and squeezed it, making the younger man turn to him with a smile and hopeful look.
“Shall we start?”
“Of course.”
“You can go in the room right there and change into more comfortable clothes,” Inaya pointed out as she got up to go prepare her equipment.
Daniel did as told and then followed a nurse to the pod in which he was going to spend a few days. Sitting on the padded part, he looked at his family. His dad came first, putting a hand at the back of his head and pulling him to kiss his temple.
“See you in a few days, Danny.”
His mom followed, her hand going to his hair and kissing his cheek. Then Jack approached and put his left hand on Daniel’s cheek, staring into the blue orbs.
“Déjà vu,” Daniel smiled, making Jack laugh lightly.
“Déjà vu,” he repeated before kissing him.
“I love you,” Jack said, his second hand coming to hold his lover’s face, his forehead resting against him.
“I love you, too,” the archaeologist replied, both hands gripping at Jack’s wrists, his thumbs going back and forth on the skin as he leaned for another kiss.
After that, Daniel lay down, and Jack squeezed his hand one last time and got out of the way, his eyes not leaving the blue one’s on the other side of the glass until they closed.
“We’ve got a transmission, sir, from Colonel O’Neill.” George froze, Jack and Daniel left only a few hours ago.
“Colonel O’Neill?”
“Sir. Daniel’s gonna be okay, sir.”
“Can you repeat that, Colonel?” George asked, exchanging a glance with Walter.
“You hear me, General. Don’t ask me for details, but they have a cure for radiation, at least for a certain level, in which Daniel still is.”
“A cure? Really?” Hammond wondered, hopeful.
“Yes, sir. Daniel's going to have to stay around for a few weeks, but they are giving him back to us at 100%.”
“A few weeks?”
“Yeah. They put him in a kind of a pod. That will be for a few days, after that, he will need an injection every day for a few weeks.”
“That is really good to hear, Colonel.”
“I would like to stay, at least, until Daniel woke up, sir.”
"Permission granted, Colonel."
After a few more minutes, the gate shut down, and George looked at it with amazement, wondering how many more times Daniel could cheat death.
"General?" Walter asked after a minute.
"Yes, sergeant?"
"I believe this is something most of SGC would be glad to hear about," the man grinned up at his commanding officer, gesturing to the mic beside him.
"Without a doubt," Hammond said before taking a step to his right to face the microphone and leaning down. "Attention everyone, this is General Hammond. I know this is usually used for high alert or other crises, but I believe this time it would be nice to share some good news. Doctor Jackson is going to be alright and back to full health thanks to the Aelians and their medical expertise. Enjoy your day."
"Nothing can kill that man," an airman said to a newbie after the announcement. "I can't even keep up with the number of times the Doc had been believed dead or actually died before coming back. We should have expected something like that," he finished with a smile.
No one in the infirmary, medical personnel or patient, was surprised when Doctor Fraiser rushed out of the room, no doubt going to the General's office to get more information on her not so secret favorite patient.
Teal'c was in the middle of his Kel'no'reem when the General's voice came through the speaker, he opened his eyes at the mention of Daniel Jackson and felt a sense of relief run through him at the news. He got to his feet and walked out the door of his quarters. He had believed Major Carter needed space and time to deal with the upcoming loss of their friend, but he believed that now she would gladly welcome his presence as she let her restrained emotions out in relief.
Sam's legs gave up, and she sat on her chair when she heard the news. She had done everything to keep herself up and going when Daniel went through the gate earlier, trying not to show how affected she was. She had told herself she would have all the time to break down when she reached home later, but the relief just defeated her right here in her lab. Tears came down her face, and she closed her eyes until she felt two arms circling her into a tight embrace.
Ferretti stopped writing when the General started speaking, ready to leave his office at any chaos-related announcement, he relaxed when Daniel's name came up and sighed at the good news.
"Why are we still surprised?" he asked out loud, despite being alone in his office. "Nothing can keep that man dead."
Going back to his paperwork, he murmured with a small smile on his face, "Take care of our favorite geek, Colonel."