Part Thirty-Nine

Sam folded the map carefully and then switched off the interior light, plunging them into darkness. The sun had set hours ago. By the time they had finished with the Tok’ra, the afternoon was gone and she and Teal’c had scrambled to catch their flight to LA. Now they were here hours after they originally planned.

“If we keep on this road, we should get there in an hour.” She put her hands on the steering wheel, but made no move to pull away from the curb.

When the General first suggested this, Sam thought it had been a good idea. It was obvious that something was going on in LA, something which Sam was convinced was connected to Rosenberg. And, when the General had tried to get answers, he hit a brick wall. SR-1 and Daniel weren’t talking and it was doubtful Rosenberg would tell them anything either. So, knowing that, this really seemed the only course of action.

Yet somewhere between Colorado and California doubt had begun to seep in.

Now Sam wasn’t so sure they were doing the right thing. She had to admit her gut was twisted up in knots.

If this trip…this ‘investigation’ was SGC related, Sam wouldn’t have any hesitation. But they were investigating the past of an SGC officer, an exemplary officer. Sam knew that, in light of what she discovered, an investigation was warranted but…

It was the method that was causing her difficulty.

If felt dirty, even underhanded. They were going behind Rosenberg’s back. They were seeking the answers they sought from sources she knew Rosenberg wouldn’t approve of. It just felt so wrong. They should be going to LA to confront the Lieutenant and Daniel directly, not doing this.

Daniel was going to be angry when he found out what they were doing. No… He was going to be furious. If she were in his position, she’d be livid. Not to mention the impact this would have on Lieutenant Rosenberg. Sam doubted she would ever trust them again.

Sam wanted to turn around and head straight to LA. And she would have… if the General didn’t have a point.

The General was right. There was a good chance Rosenberg would lie to them. Daniel and Major Kawalsky already had. They had outright lied to their best friend. They both trusted him with their lives… but not with whatever was happening in LA.

Not with Rosenberg.

That didn’t make sense to Sam. Why wouldn’t they trust the General with Rosenberg? Sam knew, from several attempts at getting information, that the General himself had covered for her. No one had ever explained to her how Rosenberg had been able to find, let alone defeat, the aliens they encountered on P3X-697.

Sam had tried to tell the General that she’d fired an entire round at the aliens and nothing had happened. She had tried to make clear that those aliens had been undefeatable. Yet every time she asked him to clarify, he told her to quit worrying about it. Teal’c and Daniel wouldn’t tell her either.

It seemed like everyone was covering for Rosenberg.

So why keep the General out of the loop this time?

Because whatever was happening was big… and probably dangerous. Sam’s mind went back to the picture of Graduation, and the looks on the faces of those students, on Rosenberg’s face. Then she found herself remembering the Lieutenant’s face on the news. She looked more frightened on the news than in a photograph taken before the rigors of military training and facing Goa’uld induced horrors.

“Colonel Carter,” Teal’c’s voice seemed to boom in the small confines of their rental car. “Is there something concerning you?”

Sam thought for a moment then shook her head. “No, Teal’c, nothing we can really do anything about.” At least nothing that some answers wouldn’t alleviate.

Checking the mirror, she pulled out onto the road.

** ** **

Daniel closed his eyes and sucked in his breath, fighting the urge to yell.

“I take it that hurts?” Dr Whitwood asked, holding his injured ankle in his hand.

“Ah… Ah… Yeah. Yes, it hurts!” A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead. “Can you stop touching it now?”

Kyle ignored his request and continued the examination. As he bit back another yelp of pain, Daniel found himself infinitely grateful that Kawalsky had ordered Willow to remain in the room to answer more of his questions. This was something Willow shouldn’t see.

He owed Kawalsky a beer, maybe two.

She had wanted to be with him, while Kyle looked at his ankle, but Daniel didn’t want her to witness this. Whether Willow knew it or not, she wasn’t quite ready to leave the safety of Lorne’s bedroom. Talking about Sunnydale had taken a lot out of her. God, it had been harrowing just to hear about her life and he could only imagine how hard it had been on her. Willow needed some time to get herself together.

Daniel would be lying if he said he didn’t need some time on his own as well. He needed to process everything without burdening her with his issues.

Although… He wasn’t exactly on his own. Grogan, Faith, Giles, Angel, Cordelia, Tara, and Gunn were all watching the examination. Grogan was here because he had been ordered by Kawalsky. Willow’s friends, however, were here for another reason. While he was sure they were concerned about his welfare, the real reason they were here was because of Willow. They wanted to know if she was all right and Daniel couldn’t blame them for their concern.

Everything was so clear now.

It all made sense, Willow made sense. The pain behind her eyes, her inability to open herself up to anyone, the wall she always seemed to have up around her… Daniel understood it all.

It was all so overwhelming that Daniel didn’t know what to think. God, he had no idea what he was supposed to say to Willow… Well, aside from telling her that it wasn’t her fault and that he loved her.

Though Daniel wasn’t entirely sure telling Willow how he felt was wise at the moment, either. Now that he knew everything, the micro-snail pace their relationship was traveling at appeared incredibly fast. He was half tempted to slow things down.

Willow… She hadn’t loved anyone for seven years; physically or emotionally.

Daniel knew Willow had isolated herself after Graduation, but he hadn’t realized the extent of it. God, he was so scared he was going to say the wrong thing and screw it all up.

And, seeing how her team were looking at Willow after her confession, if Daniel hurt her in any way… SR-1 would kill him. So would a few of the people standing around him.

Essentially he was a dead man walking.

Which was kind of appropriate, considering how it felt like he was going to die from pain. “Kyle…” he said the name through gritted teeth. “Have you finished?”

The doctor placed his ankle gently on the chair and then put his hands on his hips. “How much pain were you in last night, Daniel?”

The excruciating type. “Not much.”

Grogan snorted and Daniel glared. The Lieutenant shrugged, looking completely unrepentant. “Sorry, sir, but you lie worse than Rosenberg.”

“Why didn’t you come down and see me?” Kyle wanted to know, ignoring the Lieutenant.

He sounded like Janet. A less scarier version of Janet, but Janet none the less. “It wasn’t that bad.” It was a lie and everyone knew it. He’d been in agony, but his concern for Willow outweighed his own well-being. He was far from the bookish scholar he’d been when he first came to the SGC. He had learned to deal with immense pain and torture. He’d known how bad the ankle was but the pain could be suppressed. Willow had needed him.

“Well you should have Daniel,” Kyle scolded him. He sighed and then turned to Angel. “We’re going to have to take him to the hospital.”

Daniel couldn’t stop the cold shivers that swept through him at the mention of the hospital. His ankle hadn’t been the only reason he had trouble sleeping last night.

“You want to take him to the hospital?” Grogan repeated, looking uneasy. “You can’t fix him here?”

Cordelia rolled her eyes. “This is a karaoke bar, not an emergency room.”

“Really? I never would have known.” Grogan feigned shock, talking in a tone that reminded Daniel of Kawalsky. “Thank you, Ms Chase, for pointing that out to me.”

She smiled sweetly. “You’re welcome.”

Grogan looked as though he had a come back, but thought better of it. Instead, he shook his head. “I wasn’t talking about the doc fixing him. I was talking about Tara.”

The blonde’s eyes widened at the mention of her name. “Me?”

He nodded. “The Major was hoping you would be able to heal Daniel with magic like you healed Rosenberg.”

“With magic?” she repeated, slightly alarmed. “I’m not… I don’t think I can do that. Not on my own.”

“Magic isn’t an alternative to medicine,” Angel said. “The only reason the witches healed Willow was because she had been dying, as a last resort.”

Daniel would be a lot happier if no one mentioned ‘dying’ and ‘Willow’ in the same sentence. Especially here.

“I mean no disrespect, Angel, but this would fall under the last resort category,” Grogan argued. “Dr Jackson can’t go back to the mountain in a cast. Our asses will be grass if he does.”

It was only by chance that Daniel caught the look between Giles and Angel. “Why is that?” Angel wanted to know.

Grogan hesitated a moment before answering. “Dr Jackson does some consulting for the Air Force,” he told them. “He’s also close friends with the General. If he goes back to the base injured, O’Neill will want to know what happened. He’s going to look to Rosenberg for answers. Trust me when I say you really don’t want that.”

Actually… Was it wrong of him to want that? Daniel didn’t have to look too deeply inside himself to know that was exactly what he wanted. He wanted Jack, Sam, and Teal’c involved. He didn’t want Willow to get into trouble with Jack, but he knew Jack would probably be able to get through to her more than anyone.

Jack had a way of getting through to people.

Jack had gotten through to him, so many times.

And, since he was being honest with himself, he’d feel a lot better about this situation knowing SG-1 was here. Both Sam and Teal’c would improve their chances considerably, regardless of what Willow’s friends had said yesterday and last night. SR-1 were phenomenal. There was no denying that. And it was obvious that Willow’s friends would go to hell and back… literally. But in all truth, he wanted HIS team. He wanted SG-1 to watch his and Willow’s six.

And he had no doubt they would keep this secret or ensure that Willow didn’t get into any trouble.

Maybe that was why he had so much trouble lying to Jack last night. Consciously he wanted to protect Willow. Subconsciously he wanted his team nearby. In the light of day he could admit that now. Impossible situations was one thing SG-1 were good at dealing with – and succeeding.

“I know a warlock who might be able to heal Daniel if Tara can’t,” Angel admitted reluctantly. “He’s not the type of person I usually like dealing with, but if it will keep Willow out of trouble I’ll do it.”

Warlock? He wanted a warlock to heal him? Daniel didn’t like the sound of that.

“It’ll take me a few days to get in touch with him, though. He likes traveling between dimensions.”

Traveling between dimensions? Maybe he should take Willow’s advice and discuss the supernatural with Giles. She never mentioned anything about inter-dimensional travel.

“If that’s the case, we’ll still need to take Daniel to the hospital,” Kyle stated. “The sooner the better.”

All thoughts of inter-dimensional travel stopped at the mention of the hospital. “Isn’t it a little too dangerous to go back to the hospital?”

“You won’t be going back to LA Memorial,” Kyle said. “I have a friend who works at a private hospital a few miles from here. He owes me a favor.”

Oh thank God!

Grogan didn’t look too happy. “Is it safe to go out there? What if the demons tracked Tara and Giles while Willow was drawing power from them?”

“They would have attacked by now,” Giles pointed out.

“And I have guys keeping watch,” Gunn said. “The only demons around here are Angel and Lorne.”

“We don’t have a choice.” Kyle’s tone was grim. “Ideally, we should have gone to a hospital last night. It’s almost twenty-four hours since the injury occurred, I don’t want to wait until morning . If it’s a bad break and Daniel’s ankle begins to heal…”

Grogan nodded. “Okay, I’ll let the Major know what’s going on. He’ll probably want one of us to go with him.”

“Of course he will,” Cordelia sniped.

** ** **

They were here.

Sam glanced at Teal’c briefly before walking up the small concrete path. Tangible uneasiness settled over her as she stopped at the front door. A light shone from what she guessed was the living room window, indicating that the one and only person who had agreed to talk to them was still awake.

Taking a deep breath she knocked on the door. There was no turning back now. She had made her decision. This… They needed answers.

After a few minutes, she heard the deadlock disengage and the door opened. Sam frowned when she was met with empty space. Her eyes traveled downward to see a man in a wheelchair looking up at them.

“Yeah?” he spoke warily and regarded her the same way.

“Hello.” She smiled, hoping to put him at ease. It didn’t work. “I spoke to you on the phone earlier today. We’re friends of Willow Rosenberg. I’m Samantha Carter, this is Murray.

If Sam thought his wariness of her would fade at the introduction, she was wrong. He stared at them for a full minute before rolling his chair backward, allowing them to move inside without invitation.

“I’m Percy.”

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