Author: BadgerGater

Email: [email protected]

Category: Sequel to the episode Prodigy

Rating: PG, this is Jack, after all, watch the mouth

Pairing: None

Season: Four

Summary: Jack's in trouble (what's new?) after Prodigy

Warnings:

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, Gekko Productions; all the powers that be, not me; This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement intended. The story is the property of the author and may not be posted without the author's consent.

Authors Notes: For Margo, who quite appropriately 'bugged' me to write this.

-----------------------

*Dr. Fraiser*

We knew there'd been trouble on that planet, okay, that Moon, M4C-862. When the gate opened unexpectedly, and it was Colonel O'Neill sending the iris code, radioing through to expect the science team and casualties, everyone knew something was up.

Someone had paged me and there I stood, waiting, at the bottom of the ramp, wondering who and how many I'd have to try to put back together this time. Wondering what kind of injuries, not knowing that this time I'd face a completely new and unknown menace. That's one thing about this job. It's never, ever dull.

The first couple of people came stumbling from the wormhole looking winded and scared but unhurt. Then Dr. Lee came through, holding his arm, his face pale, sweating, doubling over and falling to the ramp. I raced to his side. "Doctor?"

He was holding a bandage on his arm. "It was okay, until I stepped into the gate," he moaned. "Oh God, it hurts. Burns. Owwww."

"What happened to you?" I was peeling back the wrap covering the wound on his forearm.

"Creatures, those twinkling light creatures, they attacked and killed Bill, Dr. Thompson. I got hit only once. This just hurt a little, it wasn't bad, a nasty sting, until I came through the gate. Made it worse, a hundred times worse."

Just then my second casualty came through. Dr. Harrison arrived, falling out of the gate, landing unconscious on the ramp, clutching his ribcage.

"He got hit a bunch of times, six or seven," said Lee.

"Any more?" I asked worriedly, heading for Harrison.

A worried look crossed the scientist's face. "Colonel O'Neill. He saved us by making a run for the gate and activating it. He took a lot of hits, a lot. The last I saw of him, he was okay, he was just sitting on the steps when we left..."

---------------

An apology. From Dr. Harrison, well, that was nice, thought Colonel Jack O'Neill. After all if it wasn't for the man's stubborn, 'I need to do this now and to hell with the consequences, I'm a scientist and you're not attitude,' there wouldn't have been so much trouble. And I wouldn't be sitting here feeling like an overused pincushion, he thought glumly, knowing Doc was going to have a field day. And she'd sure make him stay in the infirmary for God only knew how long, and probably in the same room with these two *scientists*, no less.

O'Neill climbed stiffly to his feet, feeling the sting of every one of those 18 or 20 'bug bites' he'd sustained, then jogged up the steps to the wormhole, ready to go home. He'd done this so many times now, gone through the Stargate dozens, even hundreds, of times, that it had become a routine thing. He strode forward confidently, expecting the usual slap of stinging cold for the few seconds before he emerged in the familiar surroundings of Cheyenne Mountain's gateroom. His foot crossed the event horizon, and the Colonel felt a sudden sharp stab of pain in his calf, right where one of those twinkle creatures had zapped him. Then, as his right hand entered the wormhole, another sharp pain, knifing through tissue, tendons and bone. His momentum carried him across the threshold of the gate, and pain exploded in 20 places in his body, in each spot where the tiny, speck of light creature had penetrated, his face, ribs, arm, thigh and back.

His silent scream went unheard in the wormhole, turning into a moan of agony as he thankfully felt the familiar metal of the ramp beneath his feet. Leaving the wormhole didn't stop the pain, though, and he moaned again, crumpling to his knees.

---------------

*Dr. Fraiser*

He may have been just fine when the scientists left him on that moon, but it was plain as day he wasn't okay now. I've watched Colonel O'Neill return through the gate hurt quite a few times, but never like this, crashing through the event horizon, all but unconscious on his feet, white-faced and moaning, collapsing to his knees with a painful groan and a look of agony on his face.

"Doc? Oh shit," he mumbled, "arrrgghhh, damn mosquitos. Aaarrgghhh. aaarrgghhh." He was rolling on the ramp, writhing in pain.

I left the orderlies loading Dr. Harrison onto a gurney,and ran to O'Neill, grabbing for his shoulder, trying to get him to hold still, Teal'c helping me now. The only wounds I could see were small, inflamed marks, like, well, like mosquito bites on his face, two of them. I pulled up his shirt, spotting four more on his side, several on his back, and his arms. "How many?" I looked in panic at Teal'c.

"He was bitten many times. Fifteen, perhaps 20."

"God," O'Neill was moaning, rocking on the floor, curling into a fetal position as if to hold in the pain.

"Hurry. Get him on a gurney and down to the infirmary. Come on, people, move!" I hollered.

----------------

"Is it always like this?" Cadet Jennifer Haley asked as she and Major Carter stood on the platform at the base of the Stargate, light years from Earth, on the gas giant's moon.

"No, sometimes it gets really exciting," Carter told the young woman with a smile.

"Will I ever find out which one of us is right?"

"If you stick around long enough, maybe," the Major offered, "besides, there's always other planets."

"It's a moon," said Haley.

"You're right about that," Sam smiled and they stepped into the wormhole. Seconds later they emerged from the Stargate into the SGC gateroom, and into a scene of utter chaos. O'Neill was down on the floor, moaning in pain, Dr. Fraiser and Teal'c trying to help him. Dr. Harrison, unconscious, was being loaded onto a gurney, medics at his side; and Dr. Lee was sitting on the steps, rocking back and forth, a medic working over him.

Taking in the scene with a quick, worried glance, "what happened?" the Major asked of no one in particular as she peered around the room in dismay. "They were fine, back there, when we left," she whispered. Not wanting to disturb Janet, she looked around. "General?"

He looked stunned. "I was hoping you could tell me, Major." He was watching intently as the medical staff worked on the three injured men. "What the hell happened? That was supposed to be a secure base."

"It was, Sir, until we were attacked by tiny creatures. They were energy beings, creatures with no physical bodies, but possessing a strong electrical charge. They just started attacking, right after I got there. A swarm of them killed Dr. Thompson. Dr. Lee was zapped once, Dr. Harrison seven times. Colonel O'Neill," she stopped, swallowed, her eyes following the action as a medical team lifted him onto a gurney and started out of the gateroom. "Colonel O'Neill risked his life, ran for the gate, and they attacked him as he dialed. He was back on his feet when we got there, Sir, said the bites stung but he was okay. As were the others. What happened?"

"Apparently, it's related to the gate. Dr. Lee said the pain started when he entered the wormhole," reported Hammond.

Haley was looking around wide-eyed. "Major..."

"There were people on that planet for weeks," Hammond asked. "What made the creatures attack now?"

"We're not sure, Sir. We have two opposing theories. One was that they felt threatened or angry because the science team captured one of the creatures. The attacks started shortly after the creature was released." The Major went on. "The other theory, Cadet Haley's theory, is that, at that same time, we entered the polar phase of the moon's orbit, creating a sudden increase in the magnetic field, which could have affected the creatures, an in the wrong place at the wrong time scenario, Sir."

Hammond was still trying to grasp the facts of what had happened. "Where these men bitten, Major?"

"No, Sir. The creatures have no bodies, they are pure energy, or light. The injuries seemed to be like minor burns. Dr. Lee's injury seemed to be healing, and Dr. Harrison's were painful but similar to a bee sting."

"This was much more than a bee sting, Major," Hammond said, remembering Dr. Fraiser working over O'Neill's restless form.

---------------

"Colonel, Colonel O'Neill, can you hear me?"

Glazed brown eyes opened slowly, looked questioningly up into my face. "Doc?"

"Colonel, what..."

"Aarrggh, hurts. Hurts," he shuddered.

"Tell me, Sir, tell me, what is happening."

"Like something burning, eating into my skin..."

Thinking quickly, I turned to a nurse. "We've got to find out what's going on inside. We need an MRI. Now." I turned back to the pale, sweating man on the bed. "Sir, we're going to take an MRI first. That should tell us what's happening."

We wheeled him into the lab, quickly stripping him of boots and gear, cutting away clothes down to his briefs. Much as I wanted to alleviate the pain he was in, and from his reactions I knew it was excruciating, I didn't dare give him a thing, not when we hadn't a clue as to what was going on. "Colonel, I know this sounds impossible, but I need you to be still, so we can get a picture of what's happening."

He looked up at me, his brown eyes pain-filled, his face grim. "I'll try."

"Good, Sir." I nodded at the tech, and she switched on the equipment.

O'Neill screamed, there was no other word for it, a bloodcurdling cry of sheer agony, his back arching off the bed, his eyes rolling back in his head.

"Stop! Turn it off!!" I ordered frantically.

The tech flipped the switches and the equipment went silent.

So did O'Neill. He shuddered and went still, breathing in ragged gasps.

"Colonel?" I took his wrist. His pulse was racing, his respiration rapid, his heartbeat thundering in my stethoscope.

For long moments, he lay silent and then his eyelids fluttered, and he shuddered and he moaned. "Doc. Oh God. That hurt. Doc?"

"Colonel, what happened?"

His eyes were glassy, dazed, but he replied, "Hurt. Every place. Like a shock. Like fire. Like," he licked his lips, "like a zat. Only worse."

As I muttered soothing words to him, feeling his pulse begin to slow toward normal, my mind was racing madly. We had turned on the MRI and O'Neill had reacted like someone had hit him with an electrical charge. So what did it mean? What had happened? There had to be an answer, and I was searching for an explanation, and a sudden thought made me realize who I needed to consult.

"Colonel, I need to go talk to Sam. I'll be right back. Nurse Lee will stay with you, okay?"

"You won't turn that thing back on?" there was a pleading tone to the voice.

I patted his arm as I signaled for the nurse to come in. "We won't. Just hold on, Sir. We're doing our best."

He nodded, then gazed up into my face with a look of trust that made my heart freeze. "Just don't take too long, eh, Doc?" he mumbled, eyes closing.

I rushed out the door, where Sam, Teal'c, the General and the cadet were all pacing.

"How is he, doctor?" Hammond demanded.

"Other than in tremendous pain, I haven't a clue."

"Didn't the MRI show anything?" Carter asked.

"We couldn't do the test. Sam, the moment we turned on the machine, he went crazy..."

There was a dark look in Sam's eyes. "We heard," she said, with a shiver.

"Only great pain would make O'Neill cry out in such a manner," said Teal'c.

"Yes, he was in terrible pain, but it eased the moment we turned the machine off..."

"The MRI?" Sam thought a moment, then her face lit up. "Magnetic fields, the machine uses magnetic fields, like the Stargate and half the equipment on the base." Carter turned quickly to Hammond. "Sir, we've got to get the Colonel and the others out of here. Quickly."

"Why?" asked the General.

"The creatures...."

"Or some kind of residue left by the creatures..." Cadet Haley interjected.

"Right," Sam continued, speaking so fast she was stumbling over her words, "something at the 'bite' site is reacting to the magnetic fields here. Just like on the planet. That's how we kept the creatures out of the building, by electrifying the walls, and then we chased them away from the compound, by dialing up the gate. They are affected by magnetic fields."

"So when Colonel O'Neill stepped into the wormhole...." the General prompted.

"It would be like turning on an electrical switch. If the creatures left a residue of some kind in his body, and the others, too, it's reacting to the magnetic fields, vibrating or charging..."

"Or discharging..." added Haley.

"Right. We've got to get the Colonel and the others away from all magnetic and electrical fields."

"For how long, Major?" asked Hammond.

"I don't know, Sir. Yet. I need to get to my lab and run some tests."

"Okay," said Hammond. "There are a couple of unused rooms, on this level, in the back hallway, that were designed for nuclear storage back in the days when this facility was a missle silo. They're isolated, and lead lined. Will those work?"

"They should, Sir. I hope." Carter turned to Fraiser. "Janet, we need to culture those wounds, see if we can find any sort of residue..."

"You've got it." Janet hurried back to the lab, and her restless patient.

O'Neill was back on a gurney, his BDUs replaced with a hospital gown that was already sweatsoaked. His eyes were closed, his face tight with pain, his fists clenching and unclenching.

"Colonel?"

He opened his eyes, blinking. "Doc?" his voice was soft. "Hope you got this figured out, Doc."

"We've got a start, Sir. We're going to move you. Major Carter thinks the electrical and magnetic fields from the medical and computer equipment is causing a reaction. We're taking you and the others across to the old bunkers. It won't be the most comfortable place, Sir, but it should shield you from the worst of the problem, until we can get things fixed."

"Sure, Doc," he let his eyes drift shut. "Doc?"

"Yes, Colonel."

"Now would be good."

It was as close as he would come to pleading for relief. "Yes, Sir. Right now." I nodded to the orderly, and we quickly wheeled him down the corridor.

---------------------

It helped. The moment we got the three patients into the room and the door closed, all three improved. Lee was awake and alert, Harriman began to stir, and even the Colonel roused from his doze.

The makeshift infirmary wasn't much, as we had to do without every bit of electrical equipment that wasn't vital. We'd brought in a couple of battery operated emergency lamps which left the lighting low. It was a bit chilly, but I'd had to say no to heaters. We piled on the blankets, kept ourselves moving to keep warm, and checked patients the old fashioned way-- stethoscopes and pulse counting.

O'Neill's vitals seemed okay, elevated a bit but pain will do that to a person. "Colonel, how are you feeling?"

"Fine," he muttered, looking around at the bleak gray walls. "Home Sweet Home. Ya' need a little atmosphere in here, Doc," he whispered as I checked him over once more.

O'Neill as a patient can be my worst nightmare, but to tell you the truth, when the chips are down, he can be my best patient, what with that no quit attitude and that never ending if bad sense of humor. He even got me to smile.

"Next time, I'll bring in my Mel Gibson posters, just for you, Sir."

"Jennifer Lopez," he grinned, eyes sliding shut.

"We'll keep the lighting down low so you can't see just how bad it looks, Colonel."

"And here I thought you were just being romantic, Doc," he mumbled between grimaces.

"How's the pain?"

"Better."

"Which means what, on our favorite 1 to 10 scale? At it's worst what was it? And what's it now?" He gave me a dirty look. "I'm not prying Sir, I need to know, to help us figure out what's happening."

He closed his eyes a moment, thinking, then opened them and looked straightforward at me. "When they attacked, a split second of 7 or 8. Back on the planet, after, a one. Coming through the gate, about an 8. In the lab, by the MRI," he grimaced, "the proverbial perfect 10..."

"Jesus..." I hadn't meant to say it out loud, but O'Neill saying it was a 10 meant a 20 on anyone else's scale. "And now?"

"Hmm, about a 3, spikes sometimes, up to 5 or 6. Some...places...hurt more than others."

"All the time?"

"No. One place, then another. Like it's, um," he paused, I could see him searching for a word, "burning, or digging deeper..."

"Digging deeper?"

He looked away, then back at me. "Yeah. Almost like there's something in there. Moving. Sometimes."

My surprise must have registered on my face because he looked hard at me. "I know those things don't have bodies, but that's how it feels." He shrugged, grimaced.

"Sir?" I could see his fists were clenched again.

"Just hurts when I move."

I had to examine each wound. They were small, like minute burns, penetrating an inch or more into his body in some places. The ones on his cheek were shallow, as if the creatures hit the bone and retreated. I knew they could have penetrated bone, but for some reason they didn't. The deepest wounds were the two on his right calf, and the one on his thigh. The three on his ribcage and the one in his right biceps were moderately deep, while those on his shoulder, back and hand were also shallow.

"Sorry, Colonel, but this might get a little uncomfortable," I warned, needing to probe the wound.

"*Get* uncomfortable?" he snorted, closing his eyes and covering his face with his hand as I carefully examined one of the wounds in his calf.

"Uhmmm," he flinched.

"Sorry, Sir, nearly done."

"Oh yeah," he muttered. "Ahh. Ahh. That *hurts,* Doc."

"I know, Colonel, sorry, but the worst is over. I'm just going to get some blood and tissue samples and then we're all through."

He watched me as I worked, something I've always found disconcerting. Most people don't like to watch while you draw blood or take tissue, but O'Neill did, he studied what was being done to him. I suppose it's part of his need for control, so as always I explained while I worked. Seemed to keep him occupied and eased his discomfort, knowing why I was doing what I was doing. Once I had the tissue and blood samples, I patted his arm. "I've got to get these over to Sam at the lab and we'll take a look. I'll be back in a few minutes. The nurse will be right here with you, okay, Sir?"

He nodded.

--------------------------------

Once out of the room I hurried down the hall with the samples and the information. Sam and Cadet Haley were already busily at work in the lab, having set up several pieces of test equipment.

"I'm not sure how we're going to do this, but I'm looking for any electrical charge that might be in any residue the creatures could have left behind," Carter explained. "I don't know what else there could be."

She listened raptly while I related O'Neill's description of how his wounds felt. "And the others agreed, Harrison especially. They used almost exactly the same words to describe their symptoms, that it felt like something crawling inside them."

Haley was staring at the floor.

"Jennifer?" Carter looked at her.

"If I was right about the reason the creatures attacked, because of the phase of the planet's orbits, that might only be part of it," said the young woman.

"And what would the rest be?" Carter asked.

"Animals on Earth, including humans, often experience cycles related to our own moon, even though we're nowhere near as sensitive to electrical and magnetic fields as the light creatures."

"Yes..."

"So what if the actions aren't simply magnetic fields causing excitement. What else causes animals to act differently, in cycles that often match planetary movements?"

Carter stared at the cadet. "Reproductive cycles. Like a woman's menses, or mating seasons among animals." Carter paced, running a hand through her hair.

My heart all but stopped. "You mean, those things might have attacked the men to what, mate?"

"No," said Haley. "Lay eggs. Like wasps and some other creatures. They lay their eggs on or in other creatures, let them burrow in until hatching."

"So the Colonel and the others are acting as incubators?"

"Oh no," said Carter, a look of horror growing on her face. "If they are, we can't contain those creatures once they hatch. They can move through solid objects. We couldn't stop them."

"But you said you captured one," I reminded her.

"Only by generating an electrical field around that container Dr. Thompson rigged up."

"I don't know that we could do that here," I spoke up quickly.

Sam looked at me, eyebrow raised.

"Colonel O'Neill was in excruciating pain near the field generated by the MRI. He rated it a 10." I saw Sam blanche, knowing she understood what that meant, coming from the Colonel. "We have to find some other alternative."

"We have to get them back to the planet, err, moon," said Carter.

"What?"

"I know the wormhole ride was nasty too, but it only lasts seconds, and the pain will ease. Most likely, the creatures won't attack again. By now, the moon should be moved well past the polar phase of its orbit, so those things should leave us alone this time. We can take a generator with us, just to be sure, and use it only if we have to."

"There could be other complications," I said softly. "We don't know what damage these things could do. If the 'larvae' are migrating within the tissues of the bodies of the Colonel and the others, they could cause more than just pain. If they hit an artery, or a vital organ..." I looked up at Sam. "Something they did killed Dr. Thompson."

"Janet, I don't know that we have any other choice. We can't let those things, ah, hatch, here."

"And we don't know how soon," added Haley.

"We'd better move, then, quickly."

---------------------

I went back to my patients.

In our dimly lit, bare little infirmary, Lee was sitting up reading, Harrison dozing and O'Neill seemed asleep. At least until I approached his bed, and his eyes opened. Typical.

"How are you doing, Colonel?"

"Swell."

"Good," I smiled reassuringly. "Hope you got some rest, because we're going to be moving you again, Sir."

He raised one eyebrow. "Up to the penthouse, this time, I hope," he said wearily.

"Not exactly. We need to take you back to the base on the moon of M4C-862."

"What?"

"Sir, we're not sure, but the theory is that those creatures didn't randomly attack because they were annoyed, or in a frenzy due to being in orbital proximity to the pole..."

"God, now you're talking like Carter, too," he mumbled. "No science. Just give me the bottom line."

I smiled. "Colonel, what it means is that the creatures may have attacked as part of their life cycle, to for lack of a better term, lay eggs..."

"What?" the brown eyes popped open. "Eggs? I'm a host for laser-light bug eggs?" He shuddered.

"Sort of, Sir. They may have left 'eggs' of a sort. And we can't take the chance on them hatching here."

"Oy," he sighed, eyes closed. "So we go back?" He looked up at me, and I could read the resignation in his eyes, that there was more pain to come.

"Sorry, Colonel. I know it was painful and it won't be any better this time."

"Let's just get it over with then, huh? Get rid of these little critters." As I walked away I heard him mumble under his breath. "Damn aliens. Always poking me full of holes."

-------------------------------

We prepared for the move quickly. Clearing the hallways between our special infirmary and the gateroom, so that we could transport rapidly through the corridors and get the three men through the wormhole with as little discomfort as possible. I snorted silently. 'As little discomfort as possible', nice soothing words for extreme pain, even if only for a short duration.

When the gate was open and M4C-862 dialed in, Carter went through first to check the situation and get the generator in place. On her signal, we opened the bunker doors, the orderlies hurrying through the hallway pushing Harrison's and O'Neill's gurneys, Lee jogging alongside. At the bottom of the ramp, the orderlies grabbed the stretchers and headed for the wormhole.

I walked beside O'Neill. "Here we go Colonel," I said as cheerily as I could, keeping a firm grasp on his hand.

As we approached the shimmering horizon, his eyes caught mine for a moment and his hand squeezed my fingers. I saw him steel himself and then we were in the wormhole and bare seconds later, out the other side. The Colonel was shaking, breathing roughly, eyes squeezed shut as if to block out the pain.

"We're here, Sir."

"There's no place like home," he said, loosening his death grip on my hand. I felt quickly for his pulse, rapid but easing even as we moved down the ramp and away from the gate.

Back at the research camp, I settled O'Neill and the others, and we sat down to wait.

--------------------------

An hour passed. Teal'c came over to talk to the Colonel, so I got up to stretch, walking over to where Sam was pacing restlessly. "You okay?" I asked her.

"Yes. It's just nerve-wracking waiting."

"And watching someone you care about in pain."

"Yes," she admitted.

Suddenly, Dr. Lee yelped. "Owww!"

I spun to look and saw a tiny, shimmering spark of light flicker, pause above his head, shimmy and then float slowly upward.

"That's it!" shouted Sam triumphantly.

"Doctor?" I asked Lee.

He shook his head. "Stung when it emerged, but it feels better already."

"No more sensation of something moving under your skin?" I asked, examining the wound on his arm.

"No," he grinned. "What about the others?"

"Well, you were 'infected' first, so it may take a few more hours for the others to hatch."

"Look!" Haley pointed out the window, where a swarm of the light creatures was flickering above the treetops. The 'baby' flew toward them, joining in the swarm, which seemed to hum even more loudly, and swirl in tight, shimmering bands.

------------------------

We settled down to wait, Harrison and O'Neill dozing fitfully. About 15 minutes later, about the length of time between Lee and Harrison's injuries, the scientist began to moan. A tiny, sparking creature popped out of the skin of his upper arm, followed seconds later by another from his ribcage. One after another the sparks of light popped free, shimmering in a tiny huddle above his head, then, as suddenly as they'd appeared, scooting out the open window and into the wild. Again, the swarm repeated the humming and swirling above the treetops.

"How much longer for the Colonel?" I looked at Sam.

"A half hour at least, between the attack on Harrison and the Colonel's run to the gate," Carter informed me.

-------------------

We waited again. I refrained from checking my watch, knowing the time was only a guess, wishing it would hurry and the time would pass. I was checking O'Neill's pulse, needing something to do, when I felt him flinch.

"Hmmm."

"Colonel?"

"They're...ah, ow... Ow!" and a spot of light burst out of his hand. "Now that hurt," he said, shaking the stinging appendage. "Ow. Damn. Ow. Shit! Ow! Hmmm." One after another, the pinpoints of light emerged, clustering in a tiny, whirling, humming flock above our heads as Carter counted and the Colonel cursed.

"Eighteen, nineteen, twenty," she called out.

The whirling mass of lights spun around one more time, wavered, and with a tiny whoosh disappeared outside to join the swarm.

"All done?" the Colonel asked wearily. "Please. Twenty-uplets are enough."

"All done, Sir." I agreed.

"So, Doc, was it boys or girls?"

I laughed. "No way to tell on that Colonel. Some of each, none of each."

O'Neill shifted his gaze to look over at the others. "Carter? Haley?" The two women appeared above him.

"Good work, Major, Cadet. And, now, not that I don't like this lovely little moon and all this feminine companionship, but can't we go home? And stay there this time?"

I grinned. "Yes, Sir. Home it is."

--------------------

He didn't want to be carried back to the Stargate, tried to hide how worn he felt and did a masterful job, but I've become an expert at reading our good Colonel. I could see his exhaustion. "Besides," I pointed out to him, "you'd look pretty silly walking through the gate room in that hospital gown."

He looked down at himself, frowned. "In that case," he turned to the orderlies, "home, James" he ordered, and lay back.

By the time we reached the gate, Sam had dialed Earth, sent the iris code and received clearance. She came back to where I stood beside the Colonel. "We're ready to go, Sir, if you are."

"Oh I'm ready, Major, way ready." He was silent a moment. "Hey, Carter, am I some kind of alien magnet or something? You know, there's been Machello's creatures, and the orb thingies, and Urgo and Hathor," he shuddered, "and the Ancients, and now these things, and if one more alien decides to invade my head or any other part of my anatomy, next time, just shoot me right away and get it over with, will you, Major?"

She smiled. "Uh, yes, Sir."

He grinned. "Just don't look so happy about it, Major, okay."

"Right, Sir."

"Now let's get the hell home, campers."

---------------------------------------

Major Carter and Cadet Haley watched as the others stepped through the event horizon, Carter turning to grin at the young woman. "So, Cadet, it appears your hypothesis was correct. Magnetic fields exciting the creatures caused them to attack."

Haley bit back the first words that came to mind, suddenly realizing it wouldn't be prudent to say "I told you so" to this officer. "I just used Dr. Thompson's research. And your idea was also very good, ma'am."

"Good, maybe, but not right. It could have gotten us killed."

Haley looked around, shivering, taking one last, lingering look at the moon. "I'm glad Colonel O'Neill will be alright. He seems like a great commanding officer."

"He is, Cadet. The Colonel is the best there is, a little unorthodox sometimes, but I've never served with anyone finer. If you're very lucky, you may find yourself working with someone like him someday. He's an officer worth emulating."

Haley nodded, then looked up at Carter. "Thank you, Major, for bringing me here. I learned a lot, from the Colonel, and from you."

Carter grinned. "Let's go home, then, huh?"

As they headed up the steps and disappeared into the wormhole, Haley asked, "so Major, is this want you meant by exciting?"

(((FINIS)))