had them.
Jack rubbed his eyes, trying to keep awake, but knowing if he didn't get some sleep soon, he'd fall over.
Teal'c, seeing this, waited until they were the only ones awake in the room and rested his hand on Jack's shoulder.
"O'Neill, you must rest. You will be of no use to them if you fall asleep rather than defend them."
Jack let a wry grin twist his mouth in a garish parody of a smile.
"I know. I'll turn in if you stay here."
"I will accompany you and then return directly."
Jack stood, silently grateful for the Jaffa's steadying hand.
Nodding a thanks, he stumbled to his quarters, Teal'c by his side.
Danger...wake up.
Janet stirred, the babies kicking her violently.
She cried out in pain, feeling Daniel's hand caress her face.
"I'll get Dr. Warner. Be right back."
"Thank you."
He was chalk white, obviously reacting to the babies' agitation.
Janet sighed as he ran out of the room, desperately wishing the children would stop moving.
Nausea slapped her chest as she tried not to vomit.
"Dr. Fraiser. It's too bad this isn't a better time, but you just remember you had your chance to come willingly."
Janet watched in horror as Maybourne motioned the man with him to walk to her, a full syringe in his hand.
"You can't do this."
"On the contrary. If I take you one at a time, I'm fully within my jurisdiction. It's only together that the General can stop me."
Janet tried not to become hysterical, but the closer the man got, the more the babies moved, and Janet thought she felt something tear.
"No, please. You're scaring them."
Maybourne's face lit up.
"They're reacting to this? How? What exactly are they doing?"
Janet stared at him, even knowing what he'd done before, shocked at the callousness with
which he saw the situation.
Janet choked a bit, trying to control her panic as the convulsions in her abdomen increased.
She suddenly realized she might lose the children and she screamed as loud and long as she could.
Blackness hit her, slamming her brain into the back of her head and she felt nothing else.
Daniel felt his children's increasing unrest and had begun running back, but even though
he'd gotten control of his tail, sometimes the rest of him was a bit uncoordinated.
He was having to be careful as he ran so he didn't spend more time picking himself off the
floor than sprinting toward his children and their mother.
Then, Janet screamed and he felt an animalistic rage boil up through him.
That wasn't just pain, it was terror which meant a threat.
Daniel didn't think, allowing instinct to take over as his rage became a physical manifestation.
His skin turned a deep blue...like a gelcap or Jell-O...and he could see the floor pass underneath him, but couldn't see his internal organs.
He didn't even consider stopping to explore how that was possible.
His tail moved to speed him, balancing his weight as his body streamlined itself, losing all
unneccesary fat and excess, burning it to make new parts that needed the room inside him.
His jaw moved up and back, literally melting to allow a new jaw to form in its place.
Color disappeared and he saw every shade of grey that ever existed, able to mark movement almost before it happened.
Daniel entered the infirmary room in time to see Maybourne and a man he didn't recognize start to lift Janet's unconscious body off the bed.
The small piece of control that had been hanging on snapped and Daniel grabbed Maybourne, his teeth ripping through the man's soft throat, his blood coating them both as
Maybourne gargled his dying moments.
Without thought, Daniel's tail wrapped itself around the other man's throat, lifting him off the ground.
"Put my family back and be gentle about it."
The man reluctantly let Janet go, her head dropping to the bed with a thunk that made Daniel sick.
His tail tightened and the man's neck snapped, unable to handle the strength pulsing through the long appendage.
"Daniel?"
Daniel whirled to confront another possible threat and stopped when he saw it was Jack.
"They hurt Janet. They pulled out her IVs and were pulling her off the bed."
Jack slowly edged his way into the room, ignoring Daniel's impatient glance in favor of keeping his eyes on Daniel's tail...it seemed to have a life of its own.
The dead man hit the floor, the sound making Daniel sick, but the paleness of Janet's skin washing away his guilt over having just murdered two men.
He began humming low and soothingly as he ran his hands over her, trying desperately to get some reaction from her, but other than the faint scent of burning flesh, nothing was happening.
Jack's nose wrinkled as he tried to figure out where the smell was coming from until Janet's belly glowed brightly, increasing the room's illumination two-fold.
Jack blinked, his hand shielding his eyes and Daniel gasped, realizing what was happening.
"No! Not yet!"
Dr. Warner stepped over the dead bodies, directing the infirmary staff around Janet.
"She's about to birth them, isn't she?"
Daniel nodded numbly at the doctor, unable to stop the process and aware that Janet was very weak.
He wasn't completely certain how the birth would happen, but the pain she was already in
looked like it was just going to increase.
In shock, Daniel kicked the corpses aside to let Dr. Warner have more room and then
leaped to the bed, gently massaging Janet's face and murmuring desperate pleas into her ear.
His own body was still changing, but he was unable to divert his attention from the
soundless screams Janet's mouth was forming as she finally regained consciousness.
"We're going to have to perform a Caesarian. She's not dilated enough to birth one, much
less three at the rate they're growing."
Daniel rocked, his weight shifting from one side to the other, helpless and restless, just waiting for something he could do.
Hammond ran into the room, only to be blocked from getting near the expectant parents by a horde of bustling attendants, each with a task to do that didn't involve briefing him on the situation.
So, he joined SG-1 at the doorway when they arrived, moving whenever someone came in or left, but otherwise glued to the scene.
Janet couldn't believe how much pain she was in.
Never in her entire life had she imagined the burning fire in her veins with the sharp stabbing inside her abdomen as her children prepared to enter the world.
The only thing keeping her alive, she was sure, was the soothing pulse from Daniel's glowing fingertips as they worked magic across her face, sending pain killer of some type through her body.
She refused to even think of what it would be like if he hadn't been there.
For a moment, she wondered about Maybourne, but then a convulsion racked her body and she didn't care anymore.
"Get them out of me! Now!"
Surprised by the sound of her voice, everyone tried to work faster than they already were.
Dr. Warner took his place, ready to make the first incision to remove the children when he blinked, certain his eyes had deceived him.
The glow in her belly was dissipating now, allowing everyone to easily see the pouch that had developed.
The same color as her natural auburn, a light dusting of fur lined it.
Putting the scalpel away, the nearest nurse gently probed the skin, pulling the top of the pouch back a bit to see inside.
Janet gasped at the touch, unable to miss seeing the confused and fascinated expressions on her colleagues' faces.
"What's happening?"
"Are you still in pain, Dr. Fraiser?"
Janet considered her answer and then was blunt.
"Yes, but not like I was a moment ago. I feel like I'm on a morphine drip after being ripped open."
Dr. Warner's answer had Daniel moving to see exactly what had happened.
"Dr. Fraiser, Janet…that's almost exactly what's happened."
"What?"
Daniel kept his hands on Janet, but couldn't tear his eyes away from the pouch.
Trailing his fingers along the seamless edges, he felt a bulge bump against his fingertips for a second.
Surprised, he leaned down to watch as the bump followed wherever his fingertips led.
Daniel grinned, looking up to see if anyone else was watching.
"I can feel him. He's moving around inside the pouch."
"Him?"
"My son. I just…know."
Janet gasped, her eyes closing in exhaustion.
"Tell him to go to sleep. Tell his siblings, too, while you're at it."
Daniel chuckled, laying his head gently against her to see inside the pouch.
Three distinct and almost frighteningly tiny bumps could now be made out inside the pouch and he wanted to see them with his own eyes.
As he lifted the edge, though, Janet growled, startling him.
"Don't touch me there. Any of you. Just go away."
His eyebrows furrowing, Daniel glanced back to see her stern expression.
"Does it hurt?"
"Yes and no. It…tingles. I'd just like to have some time to adjust before anymore poking and prying happens. Just…enjoy them the way they are right now. Okay?"
Daniel smiled, disappointed, but able to understand the need to adjust.
"Okay."
"In the meantime, you need a complete physical. You look nothing like you did, earlier."
At that, Dr. Warner spoke up.
"Yes, Dr. Jackson. You gave me quite a fright when I first saw you. What interests me,
however, is Dr. Fraiser's lack of reaction to seeing your changed appearance."
Janet tiredly shook her head.
"It just felt right. He's beautiful and I just…it felt right."
Daniel smiled almost shyly as he looked around the room, noticing just how many people were either ogling him or his family.
"Could we have some time alone? Well, with less people in here at least?"
At Dr. Warner's nod, everyone except Hammond and SG-1 filed out of the room, pausing
only to remove the bodies.
They didn't say a word, just taking closer spots to view the changes to their friends.
Finally, Hammond motioned Dr. Warner out to talk privately and SG-1 took seats around the bed.
As Daniel curled up with Janet, his eyes bright with pride as each little bulge in her pouch
determinedly went in circles around the other bumps, his teammates kept silent vigil, no one having a clue what to say.
