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hathor_girlSummary: With Jolinar and Selmak badly injured and unconscious, Sam and Jacob are healing slowly.
Martouf POV
It took several hours, but we managed to find all the herbs we were looking for. We cannot refine it, nor will it be as strong as the medicines the Tok'ra can make, but this herbal drug should help both Selmak and Jolinar heal and gain strength.
Both Lantash and I worry terribly, for our friend Selmak and her new host, but particularly for our beloved Jolinar and Samantha. Also, who is this goddess they talk about? Is she a Goa'uld? It does not sound that way. What else? Will she be able to sense symbiotes? How will she react to Tok'ra, if that is the case? Will she know Tok'ra and Goa'uld are not the same? Will she even care?
Or...is she...Tok'ra? Dare we hope for that?
We return to the house, where we busy ourselves with making the medicine, trying not to think of anything else. It is hard, though.
Jacob, Selmak, and Jolinar are still unconscious. Samantha is awake, but is not feeling well. Her healing is not going as fast as it should, so Jolinar is still focused mostly on her own healing. Worse, Samantha is feeling sluggish and drowsy - a sign Jolinar's unconsciousness is affecting her. It should not, since they are not blended.
"Here, drink this, Samantha." I tell her. "It should help Jolinar regain her strength."
"Thanks." She smiles at me, but she is very clearly worried. She drinks the medication, then grimaces. "Gah, it's more bitter than anything I've drank before!"
"I apologize, Samantha, but I do not have the resources here to make it taste better." I give her the luke-warm, honey-sweetened herb tea I have brought. "Drink this. It should help with the taste."
She nods and drinks. "Thanks. It does help." She closes her eyes and sighs. "I don't feel so bad - and the pain is almost gone, with the medication I got earlier - but my mind feels like it's inside syrup, and sinking. It's as if...just speaking, is an effort." She lies down.
"Yes. It should not be like this. You are being affected by Jolinar's unconsciousness, which is rare, at least to this degree. In someone who hasn't blended, it's unheard of. I do not know why it is having this effect."
"Oh, but Jolinar and I have blended - didn't we tell you?" She frowns.
"Blended! You have? But didn't Jolinar tell you about the consequences if she leave you, when you are fully blended?"
"Yeah, she did." Samantha looks distant. "Right, I think we didn't tell you. There wasn't really any good time. We've blended - and I've decided to remain Jolinar's host, so the consequences doesn't matter."
"Samantha!" I look at her in shock for a few moments. If the situation wasn't so dangerous, this would be a dream come true! Samantha - whom we have already fallen so deeply in love with - has decided to remain the host of our beloved Jolinar! They are both ours! Lantash and I feel both happiness - and fear - at the same time. This means that Samantha almost certainly also cannot be saved, without Jolinar surviving. Even if we were back with the healers.
Jolinar must survive - we cannot lose her again, and we cannot lose Samantha.
"Aren't you happy? I...I thought you wanted this? You don't like me?" Samantha looks sad, about to cry, actually.
"Of course we want you! Dear, sweet Samantha! We want you very much. We have fallen in love with you, and there is nothing we want more than to have both you and Jolinar! We were just...surprised." I say.
"Yeah, sorry about not telling you." Samantha yawns, and she looks very sleepy.
"The medication is working. You should rest. I will go and give Jacob some of it, and then return later when you have slept some."
"Mmm." Samantha sleepily opens her eyes. "Martouf?"
"Yes?"
"Will you kiss me goodnight?"
"Of course, Samantha!"
Our lips meet, and the kiss is sweet, but short. When I pull back, Samantha is almost asleep. I smile at her, hoping she will soon be well.
It was difficult to give Jacob the medication, since he and Selmak are both unconscious. With the help of Nadira and Rohk, we get the drug poured down his throat. Hopefully, it will help.
I really wish I had a healing device.
I have inquired about the chaapa'ai. I cannot sense it, so it must be quite far away.
Nadira told me she had never seen it, but that it existed, far away. The original ruler of this world had lived closer to it, according to what she knew, but one day the goddess had come down from the mountains, and she had led them in a battle against the evil ruler. During the battle, there had been some sort of explosion, which had damaged the chaapa'ai.
It could not dial out, only in, and the goddess had decided they should bury it to keep the evil Goa'uld away. The priestesses had agreed, and added that they should all move far away from it. It had been done.
That was now more than 100 years ago, and the new, kind goddess had ruled since.
I really wonder about this. Where did this 'goddess' come from? She unseated a Goa'uld. Is she truly Tok'ra?
Sam POV
When I wake up, it is late evening. I am feeling somewhat better, though my head is still heavy. The medication I have gotten from the priestesses is wearing off, and there is more pain than before. I do think the drug Martouf gave me is helping Jolinar - I think I can sense her a little more, unless it is my imagination.
I have only been awake for a short time, when Martouf and Lantash enters. I smile at them, and they give me one of their charming smiles back.
"Hello, Samantha. How are you doing tonight?" He puts a tray on the table beside the bed.
"Better." I wince a little as I try to sit up. "There's some pain, though."
Martouf nods. "Yes." He hands me a small bottle. "Drink that. It is the pain medication the priestesses gave us."
Obediently, I drink. This potion is bitter as well, though not as bitter as the drug Martouf gave me earlier today. "Done."
"Good. Now this." He gives me a wry smile. "Yes, it's the bitter one. Sorry."
I nod. "Okay." I drink it quickly, then take the tea he hands me afterwards, washing most of the bad taste away.
"Very good, Samantha!" He smiles, a little teasingly, then sits on the bed beside me. "You should eat some. There is chicken broth and fresh bread."
"I can smell it. It smells good. I am hungry, but I'm not sure how I feel about eating - odd, I know."
He shakes his head. "Not at all." He takes the bowl of soup and holds it out to me. "Do you need help to eat?"
"No, I think I can do that."
"Okay."
I slowly eat the soup, and some of the bread. It is good, but it feels like almost too big of an effort. Finally, I get most of the food down, but I have a different problem. "I...need to use the facilities. Do you think you can help me get up?"
"You are not strong enough. I can bring you something you can use to..."
"No! I'm not going to pee in some bedpan or whatever! Just...help me up. I can manage." Not even Janet has ever been able to make me do that!
Martouf looks at me, then sees my determination, relents and slowly nods. "Of course, Samantha, but you must move carefully. Your leg is broken in several places, even if it is mending faster than it would without Jolinar, even in this situation. You also have broken ribs, and the concussion is still bad. Also..."
"Yes, I know. I haven't forgotten! My whole body is sore! I hope this damn medication works soon!"
Martouf nods. "Understandably, as do I."
He helps me to sit, then stand, before half-carrying me to the toilet, where he leaves me, waiting outside the room. It hurt like hell to move here, and I sit still for several minutes before I can breathe normally due to the pain. Janet would have never let me get out of bed in this situation, and I only think Martouf did because as a Tok'ra, he is used to people being hardier and healing faster, than humans. As it is, I am grateful.
Martouf POV
"How is Carter and her dad?" Colonel O'Neill asks. He is sitting up in bed. The pain medication is clearly good enough that he feels reasonably well. That is fortunate.
"Samantha is healing...but slower than she would, if Jolinar was well. Jolinar...is still unconscious. She is gaining strength, but not as fast as I would like. Jacob...was awake for a short time earlier today." That had been a great relief, actually. "Selmak is still not awake, but Jacob seemed clear when I spoke to him."
"That's good. So, progress?"
"It is." I say, guardedly.
"What about the Stargate? Any news about that?"
I give him the information I have found, and it does not please him. I can't say I am surprised. I was not pleased either. "We shall have to contact the 'goddess' of this world, I fear."
"You think she's trustworthy? She's not a snakehead?"
I hesitate, both because I don't know, and because I feel insulted by the comment about snakeheads. Lantash even more so, but I insist on control. It will not do to make an enemy. "I do not know. I do not believe she is a...normal Goa'uld, at least, but I do not know if she is a danger."
"Fair enough. I guess we don't have any options. We need to talk to her."
"We do - also because I believe we may need her healing skills."
"What are you not telling me?"
I sigh, but Lantash agrees with me. He should now. I tell him about my worry for Jolinar and Selmak - and thus for Samantha and Jacob.
The priestesses will arrive later today, bringing more medicine and such. I shall ask them to take me to their 'goddess', in the hope she will truly be as kind as they say, not detect I am Tok'ra - or not care, and have the means for me to heal Jolinar and Selmak. And help us get off world.
It is a lot to hope.