Serpent's Vow

24: Medical Debrief

"Yes, but that's more of an annoyance or an inconvenience," Dr. Fraiser said with a dismissive wave. "They act like toddlers about to get a shot."

Hammond chuckled in agreement. "That is fairly accurate."

The smile Dr. Fraiser offered in return was hesitant. "Kaiba's hesitancy, I think, comes from something else." She glanced over to the star map etched on Hammond's office window overlooking the briefing room in thought before continuing. "I think he's had a bad experience in a medical facility. Perhaps more than one."

Hammond's amusement faded as quickly as it had come. "What do you mean?"

"He would only allow me to come near him and kept a close eye on everything I said and did," she said. "He also refused to go anywhere near the MRI machine."

"Refused?"

Dr. Fraiser nodded. "I think we'd have to sedate him to get him in there. I get the feeling he doesn't do too well in small, enclosed spaces."

Hammond considered that. "Good to know," he murmured. "Anything else?"

"Now, this may be too early to tell," Dr. Fraiser said, waving a hand absently, "and Kaiba is the only Goa'uld queen I've ever worked with directly, but I think queen symbiotes may be larger than other Goa'uld symbiotes."

Now that was interesting. "What makes you say that?"

"Well," the doctor said up, crossing her legs comfortably, "when I felt around Kaiba's throat, I could feel the symbiote more clearly. Now usually when a symbiote has taken a host, I may feel some swelling around the nape of the neck and near the base of the skull but it takes an MRI to confirm its presence. With Kaiba, I could feel the symbiote distinctly with just my hands." She shrugged. "Granted, I couldn't feel it in detail, and if I didn't know what to look for, I probably would've just thought he had some swollen lymph nodes."

Hammond nodded. "But because you did know what to look for..."

"I could feel it clear as day," Dr. Fraiser confirmed. "Also, I'm pretty sure Kaiba could feel me pressing him and I think it may have hurt a little. I saw him rubbing his throat when he thought my back was turned."

Hammond hummed.

"Sir," she began, "while I was checking Daniel, he told me about some of the damage Kaiba did to Apophis' forces in the other reality. Neither he nor Teal'c could figure out how he pulled some of that off. I don't know if SG-1 has submitted their report to you yet-"

"They haven't," Hammond said. "I'm expecting it sometime this evening." He smiled wryly. "If Jack decides to finish it on time."

Dr. Fraiser rolled her eyes at her friend's predictable antics. Jack was many things, but mature was very rarely one of them. She sometimes wondered if she should start keeping a stash of suckers and stickers just to keep him from complaining after a checkup.

"Kaiba was pretty tightlipped about the whole ordeal," she said, "but Jack and Daniel weren't." Her brow furrowed in consternation, "I haven't seen anything first hand to back up my conclusions, but I have never known Daniel to lie about what he's seen or heard and I'm inclined to believe him no matter how crazy he may sound. So take this with a grain of salt."

Hammond frowned and braced himself for the bad news he'd really hoped he wouldn't have to deal with.

"I think we should keep Kaiba as far away from the NID and Nirrti as possible," Dr. Fraiser said.

Oh dear. "That's a pretty serious claim to make," the general said, studying the doctor closely. "Although I agree with you about the NID." He and the good doctor shared a look. "But I am curious about why you mention Nirrti. She's not a Goa'uld we've had frequent contact with."