Just a little prompt fic for Dee
Jack O'Neill stared absently at the waves and peaks of the ECG machine that was connected to his second in command. The rhythmic beeping was reassuring to him; she was still alive, still fighting, even after all she had been put through.
It was not the first time he had star in this position over the years; his hand tightly grasping hers, waiting for a sigh that she was slowing being pulled from the dark depths of unconsciousness, and he was also sure that this would likely not be that last time he would sit watch over one of his friends in the infirmary.
It seemed like hours since Janet had made her last rounds before forcing herself to go and get some rest in her on-base quarters, and who knew, maybe it had been hours. Time in the infirmary seemed to behave differently than it did anywhere else. It seemed slower, and yet it seemed to disappear in the blink of an eye.
Jack smiled to himself at the thought. If Carter were awake she would no doubt go into a very long-winded and detailed lecture of the impossibilities of such a phenomenon occurring inside of the Cheyenne mountain infirmary, without the use of a time dilation device of course.
But then again, it was hard to give lectures when one is in a near comatose state. He squeezed her hand just a little bit tighter, glad that no-one else was around, and focused on the sound of the ECG beeping and the rhythm of her slow and steady breathing.
It had been a stressful week, waiting to see if Carter was going to make a full recovery. Daniel had finally be ordered off base to get some sleep I'm his own home by both Janet and General Hammond after a week of too much coffee and too little actual sleep had caused him to crash out in the middle of the commissary. Teal'c and Jack had promised the young archaeologist that they would take turns watching over Sam and would contact him immediately with any news.
Jack felt for the younger man. The 'simple' recon mission had been a disaster from the beginning and had culminated in Carter getting injured, something Daniel had decided was ultimately his fault, no matter how many times Jack and Teal'c had told him otherwise. After all, how could the collapse of a temple be his fault?
A young doctor carefully slipped behind his chair quick reading from the ECG. Seemingly satisfied with what she saw on the small monitor, with the spikes and waves that made absolutely no sense to Jack whatsoever, she moved to the unoccupied side of Sam's bed and checked the placement of the IV drip in Sam's arm.
"How's she doing?" He asked as she shone a penlight in the Major's eyes.
"Her pupils look relatively normal, their reaction times are a little sluggish, though that's not surprising given the blow to the head she got, she was lucky it didn't kill her." The doctor replied absentmindedly, writing her notes onto Sam's medical chart.
"So, she's okay?" Jack ground out, doing his utter best not to glare at the nurse for her blunt observation. His temper had been running on a shorter fuse than normal, and taking his frustration at the situation out on the woman would likely only earn him a one-way ticket home like Daniel.
"I expect Doctor Fraiser will want to explain it to you in more detail when she gets back, but it's my guess that Major Carter could wake up any day now." She smiled at the colonel and closed Sam's medical chart, tucking the pen she had been using into the breast pocket of her uniform.
"I'm sorry, did you just say your guess?" Jack pulled himself out of his chair and raised an eyebrow at the young doctor, who surprisingly started defiantly back.
"Yes sir, it is my best guess that the Major will be awake any time from a few hours from now to a few days. Head trauma is very difficult to predict." She replied calmly, her voice deliberately soft so as to not further antagonise the short-tempered colonel. "Sir, I know you're worried about Major Carter, but these things happen in their own time, she'll gain consciousness when she's good and ready, which given her history most likely won't take too much longer."
Jack sighed and nodded apologetically. He returned to his seat and leaned forward, his forearms on his knees, ready to resume his vigil over his fallen friend. The doctor gave him a small sympathetic smile and left to tend to Siler, the Sergeant having apparently injured himself during routine MALP maintenance.
Jack allowed his eyes to catalogue the slowly healing bruises and cuts that decorated Carter's face. He had been horrified to see them the day after she had been admitted to the infirmary under Janet's care, if he didn't know better, he would have said she had gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson. He snorted inelegantly at the though. Knowing Carter, she would have taken Tyson down without breaking a sweat.
The sound of footfalls behind him alerted him to another persons presence and he glanced quickly over his shoulder. Teal'c. No doubt the normally quiet Jaffa had purposely moved in a less stealthy manner than usual so as to not startle him.
"Teal'c." He murmured in greeting, returning his gaze to Carter's still form.
"I have come to relieve you of your watch, O'Neill, Doctor Fraiser was most insistent that I ensure you remain adequately rested."
Jack nodded shortly and hauled himself once again out of his seat, wincing as his knee popped but keeping his eyes firmly fixed on Sam, watching intently for any sign that she might choose that moment as the perfect time to wake up.
"I shall send word of any change in Major Carter's condition, O'Neill." The Jaffa spoke softly, but there was no mistaking the message that was hidden just beneath the surface: leave now and get some rest.
Jack yawned and rubbed his hand across his eyes, only just realising how tired he had become.
"Thanks, Teal'c." Teal'c nodded in acknowledgment before wandering away to find the on-call doctor for an update on Sam's condition, though Jack knew fast it was merely an excuse to afford him one last moment of privacy, a moment which Jack was hardly going to waste.
A quick glance around the infirmary told him that no-one was paying him any attention. He leaned close to Sam and brushed her soft blonde hair away from her forehead, revealing a row of stitches on her bruise mottled skin.
"Y'know, Carter, sleeping on the job is frowned upon around here, I should know, Hammond's had my ass for it a few times, so don't take too long before you wake up okay? Besides, not using that big ol' brain of yours this week has probably caused more damage than a bash to the head could." Silence was the one reply he was given. He shook his head and leaned a little closer to his second's ear. "Just wake up soon okay, Carter?"
He pulled himself away just enough to be able to see her face properly. She looked peaceful, her sleep apparently completely untroubled. Something for which Jack was grateful given the nature of their work and the horrors they had seen.
He pressed his lips gently to her closed eyelid, one of the few places on her face that was not marred by abrasions and bruises, and almost smiled at the reassuring warmth of her soft skin.
He straightened fully. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Teal'c waiting at a respectful distance. He nodded a goodbye to the Jaffa and made his way towards to door, missing the corner of his second in command's mouth crease in the smallest of smiles.