“Would you leave one of your men out there?” he continued. “No. So if you’re suggesting Lotar’s somehow a second-class citizen because she’s not from Earth then — ”
“Whoah, whoah, settle down,” said Dixon, a bite in his voice. “Did I say that? What I
said
was that bringing another sick person in here could increase our chances, yours and mine, of catching whatever the hell it is that’s going round. Because we’re not sick yet and I’d like to keep it that way.”
“Oh for crying out loud!” he shouted. “
We’re al
ready exposed
.”
With a grunting effort, Jack shoved himself upright and braced his forearms on his knees. “Shut up, Daniel. Fraiser was right, and so’s Dixon. Yes, Carter’s sick and I’m sick, but we’re not sick in the same way and we should be. Something’s screwy with this rebirth disease.”
“You don’t know that. You could just be in different stages, or something.”
“Maybe,” said Jack. “But until we know for sure, Daniel, Lotar stays where she is. Not just for your sake, but the village’s too.”
“But Jack — ”
“
Goddammit, I said no
!” said Jack, his voice ragged. Then he took a deep breath, holding tight to his temper. “Please, Daniel, for once take no for an answer.”
He stared at Jack, open-mouthed. Then Teal’c stepped forward, his face stern. “Daniel Jackson, your compassion is, as always, admirable. But this time you must listen. I will return to Lotar and stay with her through the night. She will not be alone. But she cannot be allowed any closer to Mennufer.”
Daniel scowled. Clearly he wasn’t going to win this one, not with all three of them so vehemently against him. “Okay. Fine. But Jack, at least let me tell Bhuiku that she’s here, and she’s sick.”
Jack stared at him, his puffy eyes dull. “And what happens when you tell him? He’ll want to be with her. And then what? He’s stuck with her. He can’t leave, in case he carries the infection away with him.”
“Why would he want to leave her, Jack? He loves her. They’re
getting married.”
“Daniel…”
“I’ll tell him, okay? I’ll tell him what the rules are. I’ll make sure he understands.”
Jack glared. “And if he changes his mind? If he tries to break the rules? What? Are you prepared to shoot him, Daniel? Because that might be what it takes!”
“Do not worry, O’Neill,” Teal’c said quietly. “I will make sure Bhuiku complies.”
Jack dropped his forehead to his forearms. “God,” he muttered. “Look. Daniel. I’m not even sure I should let you leave. You could carry what we’ve got to the villagers, or catch something they’ve got and bring it back here. We don’t have the first idea how this rebirth works. Until we do, and until Fraiser tells us what disease we’re dealing with…”
Dixon cleared his throat. “Someone’s got to check on the villagers, O’Neill. If any of them are sick we should take them back to the gate with us, so they can get treatment.”
And there was support from an unexpected direction. Daniel gave the man a tentative smile. “He’s right, Jack. We can’t just abandon them. They have no medicine. It’d be tantamount to murder.”
“
Fine
,” said Jack. “Fine. You can go. Find Bhuiku, tell him about Lotar. But don’t make a big song and dance about it. Get him to one side, let him know
quietly
his girlfriend’s sick, and if he wants to see her send him up here and Teal’c can take him to her. Then you track down Khenti, because I want a
serious
talk with that old bastard.”
“Ah… Jack…”
That earned him another glare. “I
said
talk. I
meant
talk. Can you never
not
argue?”
This time it was Teal’c who shot him a look. Swallowing a retort, he said instead, “Yeah. Okay. And if I come across any sick villagers?”
Jack shrugged, wearily. “There’s nothing we can do for them tonight. We’ll take them with us to the gate in the morning.” He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, eyes screwed shut. “
God
.”
Daniel turned to Teal’c. “I think he needs more Tylenol,” he murmured.
Jack’s head jerked up. “Hello. Not deaf. Not so sick I can’t kick your butt.”
It was probably true. If only the same thing could be said for Sam… so still in the lamplight, her breathing slow and harsh. Sam sick was unnatural… like some fundamental law of nature had been broken.
“Daniel,” Jack said sharply. “Go, if you’re going.”
Their eyes met, and he nodded. Knew Jack didn’t want him slumping into despair.
And despair would be easy. We
are so screwed…
“Yeah. Okay,” he said. “I’ll be as quick as I can.”
He left the retreat and hurried down the path to the village. The dusk was gentle, leaving him enough light to comfortably see by. Torches burned outside many of the houses, but there was no-one walking the dirt streets. He went first to the lamplit Elders’ hall. It was empty.
Probably they’re at the shrine of rebirth.
Which meant he’d have to wait till they came back. Except he wasn’t in the mood for waiting. Jack and Sam were sick because the Elders had withheld vital information about Adjo. He was angry enough over that to trample Khenti’s cultural sensibilities into the dirt.
If I can find him, that is.
Leaving the empty hall he knocked on the door of the first dwelling he came to with lamplight burning behind its shutters. After a moment the door opened to reveal a woman of middle age.
“You are Daniel,” she said, with a cautious smile. “You tell the children stories in the square.”
He smiled back. “Yes, that’s me. I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.”
“I am Rabiah.”
“Rabiah, I’m looking for Bhuiku. Can you tell me where he is?”
Rabiah nodded. “Until Bhuiku marries he lives with Odjit, his mother.”
“Where?”
From behind Rabiah came a child’s fractious cry. The woman
jumped, and a little of the color drained from her cheeks.
“Rabiah?” he said. “Is something wrong? Is that your child crying?”
“Yes. It is nothing.”
“Doesn’t sound like nothing. Is your child unwell?”
Rabiah wrung her thin hands. “No. No.”
He took a step closer and lowered his voice. “Rabiah, I know about rebirth. I know an illness comes upon you at this time.”
Her eyes opened wide. “You cannot know that. That is Mennufer’s secret business.”
“Yeah, well, the secret’s out. If you’d like, I can help you. But first I need to find Bhuiku.”
“Odjit and Bhuiku live in the third row,” she said, pointing. “The house with two windows in the front.” She pulled a face. “Only Odjit can have a house with two windows in the front. Odjit complains if someone else tries to make another window. She complains so loudly it is easier to have only one window.”
Daniel clasped her hand briefly. “Thank you, Rabiah. In the morning you’ll see me again, and we will speak of helping your child who is sick.”
Rabiah stared, her eyes hollow with fear. “No-one can help her, Daniel. She will live, or she will die.” Another wailing, hurting cry. “Go to Odjit and Bhuiku. I must see to my child.”
She closed the door in his face. Since there was nothing he could do for her right then, he turned and jogged the way she’d pointed, as the last of the sunlight bled from the sky.
He found Bhuiku and his mother’s home with no trouble and tapped on the door. Odjit opened it, but only a crack. The little he could see of her staring eye was puffy and bloodshot.
“What do you want?”
“I’d like to see Bhuiku.”
“You are one of the divide visitors. Why do you want him?”
“We were talking before, when I helped him make mud bricks for his new home with Lotar. I have a question.”
“It could not wait?”
He tried his most gentle, appealing smile. “I am sorry, goodmother Odjit. It could not.”
The door banged closed. Moments later it opened again and Bhuiku came out.
“What do you want?” he demanded, pulling the door almost closed behind him.
Daniel stared at him.
I can tell you what I don’t want. I don’t want to stand here and ruin your life
. “Bhuiku, where are the Elders? Do you know?”
Bhuiku glanced over his shoulder. “You cannot ask me that.”
“Sorry, but I think I just did.”
“They are praying at the shrine. They have prayed there since yesterday morning.”
“Is that usual?”
Another evasive, concerned look over his shoulder. “That is Elders’ business, Daniel. You should go now.”
Daniel took a deep breath. “Bhuiku, there’s something else.” Oh crap. He felt sick. Memories of Sha’re crowded his head. “It’s Lotar.”
“Lotar,” said Bhuiku. He tried to step back but the door was right behind him. “Lotar is in her passing time.”
“No. She’s in the woods near the village. Teal’c found her at the
chappa’ai
, Bhuiku. She’s sick. The rebirthing.”
For the longest time, Bhuiku said nothing. Then his dark eyes slowly filled with tears. “Take me to her. Take me to Lotar. I will say the marriage words to her. What do I care if she is sick? She is the woman I want as my wife. It might be she will not die. I did not. Lotar might live too.”
He put a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “You’re right, Bhuiku. Lotar might live. Tell me — is there any way to predict who will live, and who will die? Is there any way of knowing who will get sick?”
Bhuiku shook his head. “No. There are people in Mennufer, and in the other villages, who are old and were never touched by rebirth. Then there are the babies who die in their mothers’ arms. Nobody knows who rebirthing will blight. All we can do is wait and see.”
Daniel felt his eyes burn.
Oh my God. Every year another crop of death. What a hellish way to live
. He tightened his fingers. “Bhuiku, go to the Elders’ retreat. Teal’c will take you to Lotar. I must speak with Khenti. Where is the shrine of rebirth? How do I get there?”
“The shrine is in a secret cave.”
“How secret? Do you know where it is?”
Bhuiku looked at the darkening sky. “I know which way the Elders walk when they walk to the shrine. Everyone in Mennufer knows that. But we do not follow. The shrine is for the Elders. You cannot go there.”
“Bhuiku, because the Elders would not talk to us of rebirth, would not let anyone in the village talk of it, two of my friends are sick. If we’d known what was coming we might’ve prevented that. We might’ve prevented Lotar from getting sick. Khenti and the others have put us all in danger. Now I’m asking you — I’m
begging
you — show me how to find the shrine.”
“You can save Lotar?” Bhuiku said, his eyes narrowing. “With your
medicines
, you can save her?”
“I don’t know. It might be too late. But I promise you this, Bhuiku, we’re going to try as hard as we can.”
“Wait,” said Bhuiku, and went back inside his home.
Daniel stood in the street and tried not to listen as Bhuiku and his mother argued bitterly. It would be a long time before he forgot the look in Bhuiku’s eyes when he realized he might be a widower before he ever was a husband.
The door opened again and Bhuiku came out, carrying two lit lamps. “Come,” he said, and nothing else.
When they reached the edge of the village, and the path leading up to the Elders’ retreat, Bhuiku handed over one of the lamps and pointed at the sloping valley side ahead and to the left. “There is where the Elders walk to the shrine. You can walk there in the darkness if that is what you want, Daniel. I am going to find Lotar and marry her.”
He kept on going, up the path to the retreat. Daniel watched him for a moment, his heart heavy and aching.
Then he took a deep breath and started walking towards the shrine.
After Teal’c and the villager Bhuiku left to be with Lotar, Dixon said something about getting some fresh air and wandered outside.
“Yeah, whatever,” O’Neill muttered in reply.
Like I could care less w
here you go or what you do
. Another handful of painkillers had helped his pounding headache, a little. His skin still felt hot and scratchy though. The blisters on his face continued to tingle.
No matter what I’m not looking in a mirror
. He felt strangely disconnected. Somewhere inside him was rage, was fear, was gut-slitting disbelief that they’d been hammered,
again
, for doing their jobs. But his emotions were cocooned, bundled in something soft and slippery. He cared, God he cared… and at the same time he didn’t care at all.
On the floor beside him, Carter stirred. Groaned. Made a feeble attempt to shove aside the sleeping bag covering her.
“Hey,” he said, and pulled the bag from her face. “Carter. Welcome back.”
She groaned again, squinting up at him. “Oh. Sir. You look terrible.”
He managed a smile. “Yeah, well, I don’t think you’d win Miss Air Force USA right now.”
Slowly, she touched her cheeks. “No blistering. That’s something.” Then she winced. “Sorry.
God
. My head’s pounding. What’s wrong with me?”