chapter 4

"OFFWORLD ACTIVATION!! OFFWORLD ACTIVATION!!" the klaxon’s blared.

"Sir, it’s SG-1"

"Open the iris," Hammond nodded to Sgt. Davis then turned to an airman, "Alert Dr. Fraiser." SG-1 were returning unscheduled--either early or late returns invariably meant one or more of SG-1 would require the good doctor’s services.

SG-1 made it through the wormhole accompanied by fire from staff weapons. Major Carter carried by Teal’c, Daniel more drug by Jack and Xander than walking on his own between them. Both Xander and Jack battered and looked far worse for the wear, even the unruffleable Teal’c looked a bit roughed up around the edges.

"Colonel?"

"Jaffa." O’Neill managed.

"Whose?"

"New snake on the block" Xander winced. "Gotta check the books."

~~*~~

Janet Fraiser glared at SG-1. Daniel, for once, didn’t come out the worst. They’d nearly lost Samantha on the operating table though, her spleen had been ruptured and she had lost a dangerous amount of blood, if SG-1 had been even a few minutes longer in getting to the gate it was a very real possibility they would have lost Sam. Daniel had suffered a concussion, broken ribs and partially collapsed lung, though right now Janet was more worried about the pneumonia threatening to set in. Daniel had been run down and fighting an allergy-induced sinus infection before this most recent injury, and the infection had traveled south and settled in his lungs. Daniel and Sam were in adjacent beds--after a tirade from Colonel O’Neill which had two of Janet’s nurses terrified of going near SG-1 and a third needing talked out of applying for a transfer.

If Janet had her way both Jack and Xander would be in beds as well. Jack had dislocated his shoulder and aggravated his bad knee--though the stubborn man was limping around without the crutch Janet was tempted to throttle him with. The rest of his injuries amounted to assorted bruises, scrapes, and a couple very small minor burns. Xander had a mild concussion, which he’d shrugged off as "normal" and had gotten quite the earful from Janet over that. Even mild concussions were a concern especially if they occurred frequently. A burn from a staff weapon on his arm, bruises and cuts and just overall banged up.

Jack was sitting at Daniel’s bedside, Xander at Sam’s, Janet was having a difficult time deciding which of them she was going to sedate and strangle first. Teal’c was looming about as well, standing sentry and intimidating the hell out of some of Janet’s newer staff who did not know what to make of the massive Jaffa.

"I am going to lunch…you will not threaten, intimidate or harass my staff or else. Is that understood? Jack? Xander? Teal’c?"

"Yep" Xander said.

"We shall not upset your staff if they do their job adequately" Teal’c answered.

"Who us, Doc?" was Jack’s reply.

Janet shook her head and stalked out of the hospital wing.

~~~~*~~~~

"What was that stunt you pulled with the Jaffa’s boots?" Jack asked. The monotonous beeping of the machinery Danny and Carter were hooked up to were wearing on his nerves. Janet’s nursing staff giving the corner SG-1 was in a wide berth.

Teal’c raised an eyebrow. Jack quickly explained the boot and weapons zatting. "How the hell does that qualify to be explained off as ‘habit’?" Jack turned back to Xander.

Xander was thankful for the interruption of the change in beeping of Sam’s IV drip indicating the bag need to be changed and the nervous Airman, Nurse Kimble, scurrying to get the bag changed acting as if one of the conscious members of SG-1 were going to bite her.

This was going to be fun. Not. Slayers weapons didn’t grow on trees. Xander Harris had been given the task of ‘carnage clean up’ more than once in Sunnydale, sent back to vampire and demon lairs that Buffy had cleaned out to gather up anything that could be useful to the Scoobies or the magic shop or perhaps used to be traded with some of the ’neutral’ demons for information, and destroy anything potentially dangerous.

The ‘scavenger’ aspect of a Watcher’s duty was fairly well kept from the girls. Buffy when she was younger especially would have gotten her panties in a bunch over the fact her favorite axe had been found in the nest of a demon she had slayed. It was after the official split with the council that that had become even more necessary. Stakes, axes, knives, assorted magical weaponry didn’t grow on trees or come cheaply, and without the council’s checkbook, Xander had helped Giles make sure that Buffy was well armed any means necessary. The more nauseating aspect is when parts of whatever Buffy had slayed that earlier that night was good for spell components. Which meant good old Xander got to go collect demon bits for Giles to dry or powder or bottle one way or another for future use. Buffy blithely accepting that Giles, or later Anya as the proprietor of the magic shop, would simply have what she needed. She was the Slayer. Trivial matters of where the necessary weapons and items came from weren’t her problem, especially since unlike most slayers; she had a lot at her disposal. Even Willow to an extent had simply never bothered to wonder where a lot of things came from.

Xander Giles strange nomadic life in the deserts of the Middle East had not been short on the violence or scavenging either. For all intents and purposes they’d been outlaws, smugglers, occasional guerilla fighters. They’d taken what they could carry and destroyed what they couldn’t as far as supplies and weapons went when it had been necessary. Wasn’t like they could just go to the mall and pick up ammo or new boots or anything like that.

"Xander?" Jack wasn’t letting the subject drop.

He shrugged. "Not used to having access to steady supplies. You got creative and did whatever to slow the other guys down." That seemed to sum up both sets of memories to Xander and hopefully would be enough to make Jack drop it.

Teal’c nodded with thoughtful approval.

"I think I should be scared that that makes sense." Jack muttered.

Daniel stirred restlessly. Jack brushed back Daniel’s hair, "Shh, we’re home. We made it home."

~~*~~

Forty eight hours later Janet was ready to requisition a zat herself. Daniel was awake and complaining. Jack, Xander and Teal’c had yet to leave the infirmary and the still unconscious Sam.

Daniel and Xander were at least distracted from annoying her staff by the books Nyan had brought up to them, even though Janet was ready to sedate Daniel who wasn’t resting as he should be.

"Oh crap," Xander muttered. There was the sigil the Jaffa had worn. It was a sort of diamond shaped starburst design. The mark of a little known goddess who had been banished by Kali. There were a handful of names but the one that had Xander’s attention was what some second century monk had tagged the bitch with--Glorificus.



Part 3
Part 5