"Incoming travellers, Sir. Its SG-1"The event horizon exploded outwards and a second later four familiar figures, dressed in parkas and winter clothing, tumbled out of the gate and moved quickly down the ramp.
General Hammond released the breath he hadn’t realised he was holding. He hated the wait for the SG teams to make it back. So many things could and usually did go wrong that when all of SG-1 emerged unscathed from the ‘Gate he was almost surprised. As the final member cleared the event horizon, the shimmering water effect disappeared leaving only the view of the back of the embarkation room.
"Debrief in fifteen minutes," Hammond announced over the tannoy.
Jack looked up and nodded his head before leading his team out to the locker rooms to get changed.
The General sighed. At least they were back all in one piece. It certainly made a change. He didn’t have long to dwell on this thought as SG-5 entered the room and prepared to enter the gate...
Jack and his merry band of gate travellers quickly made their way down the long corridors of the Cheyenne Military Complex towards the locker room where they could change. Every step took them closer to break time.
Jack whistled tunelessly as the thought of the long overdue break loomed closer. It was only for one week but there would be no-one trying to kill him, eat him or otherwise annoy him for the whole week. He’d go fishing. He smacked his lips noisily at the thought of the fish he would catch...
Sam was glad to be back as well. It was a while since she had had time to catch up on her reading. Perhaps she’d lose herself in a good novel or maybe she would just finish off some of her reports and... She dismissed the idea. She was on a week’s break and she was thinking of work. Perhaps she should get the doctor to take a look at her. She turned to look at Daniel. The young man’s forehead was creased into a frown as though he was thinking very hard about something.
"Are you okay, Daniel?" she asked. There was no response to her question, only silence.
She tried again. This time his head jerked up and he looked at her. More exactly, he looked right through her. Then his eyes seemed to focus and he was back with them. Then he yawned.
"Sorry, I didn’t hear you. I’m glad of this break though. I feel like I could sleep for a week."
Sam laughed.
"I know exactly how you feel. C’mon, I’ll race you to the locker room."
"You’re on." And with that the two of them took off laughing. They were still giggling like school children and trying to get their breath back when Jack and Teal’c walked in.
Jack tried not to laugh. Teal’c stared in bewilderment. He did not understand this human sense of humour. It seemed very strange to the Jaffa. Perhaps he would spend his down time learning more so he could fit in better. Satisfied with his decision the Jaffa began to change.
Soon, SG-1 was ready for debrief. They took their seats in the command room and waited for the General to enter. Daniel sat staring at the notes he had made. Perhaps he would hand them over to the linguistics team after he had had another look. One term made him frown. A reference he hadn’t noticed when he’d copied out the glyphs. Perhaps he should have a closer look himself. Linguistics were good but in this case he’d feel happier checking it out himself first. Besides he could almost read it straight. Linguistics could confirm it later if the general needed them to.
The General entered and SG-1 filled him in on the planet, the temple and the fact that apart from lots of books there had been little else to note. The General nodded.
"Very well. Dismissed."
SG-1 stood and began to leave.
"Don’t forget to report to the Infirmary before you leave." A wave of acknowledgement and SG-1 disappeared on a well-earned break.
SG-1 headed for the infirmary where they were met by Dr. Janet Frasier.
"Just got back?" the pretty airforce doctor asked as she prepared to take blood samples and test the team's general health.
"Yeah," replied Jack. "And guess what - trees!"
The doctor laughed. She'd heard this gripe a million and one times before.
Half an hour later and the doctor had nearly finished. Daniel was the last patient. As she gave him the once over, she noticed a small scratch on the side of his neck.
"How did you get these, Daniel?" she asked.
"Get what?" He seemed genuinely surprised.
"A scratch on your throat. Its small. Nearly healed. Nothing to worry about." She turned away, placing small vials of blood in a case to be frozen.
Daniel stared at the doctor. He could FEEL his thirst rising in his throat. He swallowed convusively. He clenched his fist and forced it to relax again. Then, as Janet turned back to face them, the feeling passed.
"Right, people. You're free to go. I'll see you all in a week. Enjoy your vacation."
Daniel slipped off the bed and joined Sam as she made her way to the lifts.
"What are you planning on doing with your time Daniel?" Sam asked.
"Not much. I was hoping to try and decipher some of those glyphs we found today and then I think I’ll sleep" came the reply.
"How do you feel about going on a shopping trip?"
"Sounds good. Where did you have in mind?"
"Well, I’ve found a book shop which might interest you."
"Sounds good. When do you want to meet?"
"How about I pick you up," Sam said diplomatically, remembering Daniel's car and the state of the man's driving. It was erratic to say the least.
"Okay," Daniel agreed. "How about Friday. I should have finished everything by then."
The lift shuddered to a halt, and the doors slid open. Sam made to move and turned to see Daniel, staring off into space. The lift doors began to close again.
"Daniel?" Sam pressed the button to stop the lift descending. "What? Oh, sorry. I must have drifted off." Daniel exited the lift and the doors closed again.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Sam asked. He'd been fading in and out since they'd arrived back. Maybe the bang on the head had done more then they thought.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Janet said so. I'm just tired." And with that Daniel wandered off in the direction of his car.
Sam watched him go. Something wasn't quite right but she couldn't put her finger on it. Maybe he just needed a rest. Now who was drifting off, Sam admonished herself as she realised Daniel had disappered. Pulling herself together, Sam left the base and headed home.
Daniel left Sam at the entrance to the compound and wandered over to his car. He stifled a yawn as he unlocked the door and slid behind the wheel. He couldn't believe how tired he was. Still, he was on leave now. He could sleep for the whole week if he needed to. Daniel started the car and headed for home.
Driving down town towards his apartment, Daniel's head drooped. He could hardly keep his eyes open. His head was starting to pound and he couldn't remember the way home. Luckily though he had driven this way so many times before that it was almost second nature.
Finally Daniel arrived home. He could hardly see. He fumbled for the key and eventually got it into the lock. He staggered into his room and flopped onto the bed. Daniel just managed to get his glasses off before be passed out. The last thing he saw was the digital clock display.
2:37pm
10:41pm Daniel's eyes opened and he found himself staring at the digital clock display. Straightening slowly, he found his glasses and slipped them on. Daniel couldn't believe it. Only eight hours sleep had passed and yet he now felt fully awake and refreshed. Perhaps he had had concussion, he thought has he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and pulled on his jeans. Then, bare-footed, he padded out into the living room and switched on the television.
Absently looking through the days post, Daniel was unaware of the noise in the background until one particular advert caught his attention. He looked up to see scantily dressed young women dancing and gyrating to the lastest dance beats. A banner flashed up, announcing it to be an advert for "Macy's Nightclub, the hottest new spot in town."
Daniel gazed at the screen. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he had last been out on the town. He certainly hadn't been out since joining SGC. He wondered how far away it was. Then, making the decision, he went back into his room to change.
The nightclub was heaving by the time Daniel goT there. A part of him wondered what the hell he was doing, as he paid his money to the bouncer on the door. He was winding down, he told himself. Nothing wrong with that. As he moved through the door a young lady sidled up to him.
"Hi. I'm Kitty. Wanna dance?" She took his hand and pulled him onto the dance floor after her. Daniel followed. Kitty was almost as tall as him and her body swayed against him in time with the music. She leaned into him.
"Whaddya do?" she asked him.
"I'm a scientist." Daniel replied honestly.
Kitty laughed. "Cool. I always wanted a man with brains."
Daniel laughed too. He could feel his heart pounding in time to the beat of the music. He felt alive. More so than ever. Perhaps this was what he needed, he thought. A change of pace.
Kitty took his hand again, pulling him into a side room.
"I like you." she said, pushing herself against him. Her skin was soft under his hand. Like velvet. he ran his hand lightly up her leg. Kitty giggled. He could hear her heart beating in time to the sound of the music in the main bar. Suddenly he wanted to be alone with her, somewhere private.
"How about we skip this joint," he asked, drawing her to her feet. "Wanna come see how a real scientist lives."
Still giggling he took her hand and lead her outside to his car and back to his apartment.
Daniel awoke slowly. He and Kitty had arrived back at his in the early hours. He looked down at the swathe of blond hair that covered the pillow. Moving slowly so as not to wake her, he extricated himself from the bed. He was hungry. He looked again at the figure in the bed. Something was wrong. Then he realised that she hadn't moved or stirred when he had got out of the bed. Sudden terror filled him. Was she...then she muttered something and turned over. Daniel breathed a sigh of relief. For one horrible moment he'd thought she was dead. Shaking himself for being silly, he left the room.
He felt her come up beside him rather than heard her. She slid her arms around his waist and snuggled closer.
"Umm, good morning," she purred.
"Good morning, sleepy," he said teasingly.
He turned in the circle of her arms. "And how are you today?"
He could feel her heart beating against his chest. Leaning down, he kissed her, first on the lips then trailing them down her body. She arched against him. His lips rested against her throat and he nibbled at the soft flesh. Then without warning he bit down hard.
Kitty screamed.
"Ow, Daniel. That hurts. Daniel." Her voice began to rise in terror as he bit down harder. He could feel the warm blood running into his throat. She struggled against him but he held her tighter, subduing the trashing until she collapsed, limp in his arms. Then he carried her into his room and laid her on the bed.
The teeth marks were obvious on her throat. Daniel sat back and watched her. She was sleeping now. Good. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. He'd let her sleep. And then he'd drive her home. And with that thought, Daniel closed his eyes and waited for Kitty to awake.