WIP November 2002 -
Category: h/c angst, jack whump
Spoilers: One hundred days, shades of gre Season: 3
Summary: SG1 have a lot of bridges to mend before they function as a team once more
Leftovers by Roo
PROLOGUE
On PX3 4242: 0100 hrs
"Dammit Jack you could at least have taken your boots off!" cursed Daniel as he made his way into the tent that they shared. Jack lay flat on his back sprawled across both sleeping bags, still in his flak jacket, and P90 loose in his hand. A light sheen of sweat coated his face and neck. It was as if he had fallen asleep as soon as he lay down. Jack might snore a lot but he usually got in his sleeping bag and took his boots off first. He was usually much more careful about his weapon too. The way he was laying meant that Daniel couldn't get into his bag at all.
"What's up Daniel?" It was Sam; it was her watch which was why he was going to bed.
"Look at him!" he said. "How am I going to move him without him waking up and trying to kill me?"
"Jack?" He called softly, knowing Jack was usually a light sleeper. In fact why hadn't he already woken? "Jack." he said again loudly. Still no response.
"I give up. Why is he doing this to me Sam? Is this some kind of Zen test, because I've had enough of this."
"I don't know Daniel. He's not that cruel."
"Don't you dare apologise for him, Sam."
Daniel crawled in and tried to push Jack over the other side of the tent, off his part of the sleeping bag. Jack still didn't stir.
"Sam, what about the gun? I don't like him holding it like that. He doesn't normally do this. You know him and guns. Does he still think he's with Maybourne's outfit?"
"Careful Daniel." She warned. They knew that Jack had very fast reflexes when he was woken up abruptly.
He looked at the gun and saw the safety was still on, and started to unwrap Jack's hand from the grip. At his touch, abruptly Jack surged up, pushing Daniel out of the way with a sharp thump to his chest, bringing the gun up, spitting unfamiliar words as he did so.
"JACK! Wake up! It's Daniel and Sam's here too!" shouted Daniel struggling upright again.
Jack just stared at them, breathing heavily, eyes narrowed peering at them. He blinked at them, and then shut his eyes as if in pain, dropping the gun as he brought both hands up to press against his head. What the..? He didn't expect to be here, he'd dreamt he was somewhere else, much warmer, much nastier…He remembered now; PX3 4242 he'd taken the earlier watch.
"God, I've only just come in here. Why did you wake me? What's up?" Jack said tiredly
"Jack it's been 3 hours, you slept through my watch and Sam is on watch now. You fell asleep across the bags; I was trying to move you out of the way. Are you awake yet?" asked Daniel, heart thumping, waiting to see what Jack might do next. Was everything getting to him? He wouldn't hurt any of them surely.
"I'll be outside if you need me Daniel."
"What language was that you said just then?" asked Daniel once Sam had gone.
"Didn't say anything."
"Yes you did."
"Did not!"
"Ok Jack I've had enough for tonight. Just forget I ever asked. Move over so I can get in." Daniel said gritting his teeth.
Jack moved onto his bag, checked the weapon and laid it down to one side. Then he undid his jacket and removed his boots, and slid into the bag. Damn -it was all falling apart and there seemed nothing he could do about it. How on earth did we get like this? SG1 was the flagship team. And he didn't remember saying anything when he woke up, he was sure of it. Get a grip O'Neill, or they'll be shipping you off to the funny farm before you know it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Five DAYS EARLIER
SG1 have just returned from PJ3 989 three days after Jack's undercover mission with Maybourne ended
General Hammond's office 2130 hours
There was a knock at the door
"Come in." Dr Janet Fraiser stepped in. "Sit down Doctor, give me your report on SG1."
"Do you want the good news or the bad sir?"
"That doesn't sound promising Doctor. Let's start with the good news by all means." he sighed.
"Sir, they all check out fine after PJ3 989. Nothing to keep them in for."
"So what's the bad news, Doctor?" asked Hammond patiently
Dr Fraser gathered her thoughts together.
"They just aren't comfortable with each other. It was tense down there, polite and quiet. That's not normal for SG1. They need to trust each other off world, here, anywhere."
"Hell, I knew catching the rogue unit would be only part of the problem. Do you think any of them will talk to you or McKenzie about it? I thought an easy pick up like PJ3 989 would get them into the swing of things again even if it was at such short notice."
"Hmm. maybe Major Carter and Teal'c, but Daniel just works in his lab and says everything's fine. There's no way he'll talk to McKenzie."
"And the Colonel?"queried the general
"He acts like nothing has happened and everyone's going to fall back into the same old routine. But deep down I think he knows. Perhaps some down time will help them get back together."
Flashback…
Hammond thought back to the scene as the Stargate rippled open and Jack O'Neill had stepped through with a nod to him in the control room window, and stuck his arm in the wormhole to keep it open for the rogue soldiers that were coming through- if they were going to come through. The Ex SGC soldiers came through the gate surprised and angry that the Asgard had so easily retrieved all their carefully collected items. . O'Neill nodded to himself and left the wormhole so it could close and he was certain all were here. He came down the ramp, watching the SF's securing the soldiers.
'You got another one of those ties?' he asked Makepeace
'Sure, here''Thanks' and he swiftly grabbed Makepeaces' arms and tied him up like the rest of his team
'Hey what the hell' I thought that you wanted to wipe out the Goau'ld' cried Makepeace
'Not like this, not by stealing from our allies and enemies alike. We need them even if they won't give us their technology. Don't you get that?' cried O'Neill
SG1 watched in confusion, as first the General then the Tollan leader congratulated O'Neill on a job well done. The rogue soldiers were led away. Jack stood on the end of the ramp
'I'm back' he declared with a grin.
Daniel eyed him warily, 'so just to clarify- the last few weeks..?'
'All forgotten, don't worry about it' but Daniel plainly didn't get it. They moved off together down the corridor
'So Daniel… about the whole friendship foundation thing, you know I was just saying….'
'Solid. Yes'
'It was nice of you to come visit'
'Actually, Jack, we drew straws'
'And you won?'
'No I lost'
Jack's stride faltered and then stopped as they all looked at him and moved on.
"Dr Fraiser- how was Colonel O'Neill when you saw him?"
"Alright, a bit short tempered."
"I see."
"And the others didn't stay. They went off as soon as I cleared them. They usually stay just to be sure everything's ok even on a mission where no one's been injured." added Doctor Fraiser
"And …?"
"Colonel O'Neill checks out fine. He's tired, now he's come back through the Gate. He's been on the go ever since he was undercover a few weeks ago. Not to mention several days debriefing and interrogating Makepeace and his team, I am sure you know all about that. And before that he was trapped on Edora for three and a half months. All of which were very stressful situations, and all have distanced him from the rest of SG1." reasoned the Doctor
"I am well aware of that Doctor. But he's a trained officer, he survived on Edora until we could pick him up, and he has plenty of experience from other undercover missions." countered Hammond
"Yes sir and we know how well some of those turned out!"' replied Dr Fraiser.
She began again
"I'm sorry sir, but we didn't know that we could get him back or how long it was going to take. It was only through Major Carter's non-stop efforts that we did at all. It's not the first time he's been left behind."
Hammond did not comment just looked at her; they both knew the contents of some of O'Neill's files. But they were both thinking of the time Colonel Jack O'Neill had been left for dead and captured in Iraq for four months. Not to mention the extraordinary episode on the border of Iran -dragging himself back to safety in nine days with a fractured skull and other multiple wounds. He decided it was best to let the Doctor have her say, before things festered.
"Doctor, he wasn't injured on Edora so I don't thinks that's an issue here. He was surrounded by good friendly people, he wasn't a prisoner, and he did what he had to do to survive." the General began.
"But he wasn't there by choice, was he sir?"
"You know he would rather risk himself than any member of his team."
"And no sooner has he adjusted to not coming home, to a completely different way of life, than his old one comes back and drags him off again. He's given no chance to be home before you send him off undercover where he lies to his team and then retires back on Edora!" said Dr Fraiser hotly
"Doctor, I was approached by three of our most powerful allies for help. They all wanted Colonel O'Neill for this operation. They insisted that we sort out the problem ourselves, they could not." argued Hammond steadily
"Sir, I was just trying to tell you how it looks from SG1's point of view and mine."
"Point taken Doctor."
"Why so soon after Edora though, sir? If I may ask?"
"Just bad timing. The situation came to a head, and we were in danger of losing everything. The Colonel happens to be somebody the Tollan, Asgard and the Nox trust. I really did not have much say in the matter. It was up to the Colonel to decide. His time on Edora turned out useful after all. He was the one person we could prove categorically hadn't been running around stealing things. SG1 hadn't worked together for a while and things might be strained when they did. The Tollans allowed Jack to remove the device and attract Maybourne's attention."
"Oh yes, that byplay really seems to have ruined the Colonel and Dr Jackson's working relationship. Not to mention SG1's experiences with Makepeace, which, by the way the Colonel doesn't know about yet.
Today's short notice 'easy' trip to PJ3 989 after the whole sting operation thing actually seems to have made things worse sir. Major Carter and Doctor Jackson aren't talking to Colonel O'Neill, and who knows what Teal'c thinks about all of this. Sam and Daniel aren't talking to each other either and that's never happened before. It's a mess sir. None of them know the whole story and none of them are willing to ask the other for the truth because they don't trust each other any more." explained the Doctor with feeling
"I know this is very hard Doctor. Do you know that the Colonel begged the Asgard, Tollan and the Nox to let the rest of SG1 in on the deal? They wouldn't let him. He almost refused to do it at all. He knew what would happen, what it would mean for him and the team. Although it was up to the Colonel to agree to do this, we all knew he wouldn't let someone else do this in his place. He didn't really have a choice. Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter are military and they know how it works. It's never easy policing your own, but sadly it has to be done from time to time. Teal'c I'm sure understands even if he doesn't outright say so. And Dr Jackson …."
"…Isn't military." finished Dr Fraiser.
"No he isn't Doctor. We'll just have to explain it to him. He's intelligent, he'll realise it was for the greater good."
"With all due respect sir, I think that it's the Colonel and Major Carter that need to help him out with that. So I recommend some time off for SG1, sir they are all tired and stressed out just now." finished Dr Fraser
"I can give them a couple of days downtime and hope they talk to each other. But with one team down and a lot of bad feeling in the SGC as a whole, I need them out there doing what they do best."
"But they need longer than that!" exclaimed Dr Fraiser
"I know. It's the best I can do at the present. I have to get the teams out there as much as I can while I can. We are constantly under review. You know how Senator Kinsey feels about this project. And I don't always have the President's confidence any more. Do I make myself clear? I think we are done here Doctor."
"Yes sir." she acknowledged, and turned to go. She heard him shuffle papers and sigh.
"I'll see what I can do about the shore leave. Keep an eye on them and keep me posted."
"Yes sir." she smiled as she left his office.
Colonel O'Neill strode out of the Infirmary, his face set, ignoring salutes, stares and greetings alike until he reached the empty locker room. Quickly he showered and changed into his civvies and pushed the locker door shut. He was back. But where the heck was everyone else? Gone already? How could they even think he'd turned? Ah yes, because he'd made them think so. And done it rather well. It was how he used to be - the hard ass Colonel with no feelings. Like he was after Charlie- no, not going there. He breathed in deeply. Like he was before Abydos, before Skarra, before Daniel. It had been a while but the undercover darkness had come back with surprising ease.
"Dammit!" he cursed and hit the locker door hard with his fist. Pain flared and he welcomed it .At least that was real. He rested his head against the cool locker for a moment.
He trusted his team, but they apparently didn't trust him anymore. Surely they understood. He knew he had to talk to them, but the way he felt now and from the cool and distant way they had treated him on PJ3 whatever- it would be a bad idea.
However not talking to them until they were due to ship out again in five days time would be even worse. They might even drag Mackenzie in, and then he would have to kill him before Daniel did. Crap, what a mess this was. There was something else going on that he hadn't figured out yet, but he would, and if was connected with his team well someone was in big trouble.
Jack sighed and straightened up, trying to ignore the headache that had centred round his right eyeball and was steadily worsening. He hadn't mentioned it to Dr Fraiser. It was one damn thing after another. He was so tired. Edora, the undercover op followed by several days of sorting out the smirking Makepeace, Maybourne and his team, then off world with SG1 at no notice.
Five days off. What was he going to do? He left the locker room.
Start easy and look for Teal'c or face the problem and start with Daniel? Split the difference and try Carter? he reasoned with himself. This was worse than facing the Goa'uld; this was his team, his family.
He came across Teal'c in the corridor. So much for careful plans he told himself.
"Colonel O'Neill."
"Teal'c. Do you have a minute?" Teal'c's eyebrow twitched.
"I have several minutes." was that a Jaffa joke?
"Ah, I need to know how you feel about the whole undercover … thing." he asked waving his hands expressively. "Have the others said anything to you?" Crap that made it sound like he was asking Teal'c to rat on them, Jack thought with dismay.
"Some of your ways are still unknown to me. We did discuss the fact that you did not seem to be yourself. I reasoned that the outcome would become clear in time, and that you would explain it. Veiling of intent is well known among the Goa'uld I have seen it." Teal'c paused.
Jack waited. This was the most voluble he had heard Teal'c in a long time.
"But…?" he filled in knowing it was coming
"The Jaffa have no need for it. Our intentions are clear- to serve the Goa'uld. A warrior must do what is required no more no less. It can be useful to pretend that something is other than which it appears to be, to discover a truth. System lords war with themselves, Jaffa follow orders, we do not pretend to each other."
"I see. So you knew that something was up, that it would sort itself out, and or I'd fill you in on the situation eventually. You just waited." O'Neill reasoned. The Jaffa inclined his head
"We are very patient." he replied. Jack wasn't sure if that was another joke or not, but whatever it was he welcomed it.
"You do know I was following orders? I wanted to let you all in on it but I was overruled. I couldn't tell you anything. It just looked better that way." Stop, Jack you're babbling.
"Are we ok?" he asked needing to know. That doesn't sound too desperate does it?
"We are." Teal'c stared back at the Tauri soldier who fought against his false gods with such zeal and passion, but who also cared about the people he worked with in the same way. He knew they had let him down on Edora. O'Neill's belief in never leaving people behind was legendary. O'Neill had convinced him to turn against his family, gods and people. He had done distasteful things in his time as a Jaffa. He understood what he was trying to tell him. However Teal'c knew that the other members of the team were not as accommodating, and he was uncomfortable with the resulting situation. He wondered how to bring up the Makepeace situation, but he had to go now. Perhaps the others would tell him in their own way by the time he got back.
"Ah, I was thinking of having a BBQ at the weekend for all of us, before we ship out next week, might help things along a bit." said Jack
"It is very unfortunate but I have received word that my son is ill, and I have permission to go to Chulak." replied Teal'c
"God, no of course you must go, why didn't you say earlier Teal'c? Don't let me keep you from your son. I'll see you when you get back. Be careful." said Jack with concern.
"It was obviously important that you wished to talk to me O'Neill. Thank you for your kind wishes, I will go now."
"Yes go to your wife I'm sure she needs you now." answered Jack as he watched the tall Jaffa move away.
That thing again. Family. SG1 was a family or had been until he'd loused it up. Think positive O'Neill- find Carter and Daniel, do the BBQ thing, talk to them, do the mission. Easy steps one at a time. Move out airman.
Carter's lab
Outside Carters lab he paused in the doorway, uncertain whether to go in after all.
Chicken are you Colonel? This is your 2IC, whom you trust to do whatever is needed, who scares you with techno babble, but always saves our asses. Actually he did understand some of the techno babble but wasn't going to spoil Carter's fun
He stepped forward. Major Samantha Carter looked weary, he could tell from the slump of her shoulders, and normally she was so alert and vibrant. Guess it had been hard for her working with Makepeace and whatever they'd been doing while he'd been on Edora. No one had actually said much about either to him yet. There never seemed to be the time.
"Carter." he called. She immediately stiffened in her chair, but didn't turn around.
"Sir." she snapped.
"We have a pre mission briefing next week, and as we have some time off before that I thought we might all get together over the weekend- BBQ, movies. What do you say?" Was that apologetic enough he wondered?
"Oh, Teal'c's been called to Chulak- his kid's sick." He added.
"Yes I know."
"What?"
"About Teal'c - he came by."
"Oh."
"I'm sorry sir but I have a lot of work here, some experiments that I can't leave. I was… busy while you were away and I've got to catch up." replied Carter still facing her computer.
"Okay then, we'll do it some other time soon then Major. I'll see you Monday at the briefing. But I'll be around if you change your mind. Don't forget to go home." he advised and then he left.
Then ducked back to the doorway and peered in. She had slumped back down, and as he watched she shook her head and then threw the pencil she was holding across the room 'Dammit all to hell!' she cursed. Jack jerked back into the corridor, no way was he going back in there, and it didn't look good at all. Nice to know they'd been busy while he'd been on Edora, wouldn't want them to just sit around not visiting planets and stuff he reasoned to himself.
-Carter-
Major Samantha Carter threw threw the pencil across the room 'Dammit all to hell!' she was sure that the Colonel had gone now. She felt so tired, so hurt by him, and yet relieved that he was back at all. He was back in charge of SG1.
No more Makepeace making suggestive comments, belittling her in front of Daniel and Teal'c. Hell, none of them had exactly behaved their best while under Makepeace's command. He commanded all right, such a gung ho Marine, ordering them about like that! SG1 a neatly packaged stereotype for a Colonel who apparently didn't like women, civilians or aliens however nice they were.
Sure, Colonel O'Neill hadn't originally picked her but at least he had listened, watched and assessed and that was it she was in. He'd asked for Daniel on the team, and Teal'c was another warrior for O'Neill.
How dare Makepeace suggest that she had only got the place on SG1 because of her father's connection with General Hammond? How dare he suggest anything between her and Colonel O'Neill? There were thousands of officers who'd served in the Gulf. SG1 were close but all teams were, it was how the military operated- know your team and trust each other no matter what, even if some of the decisions or orders seemed crazy at the time. They'd all had moments of clarity like that.
While she was genuinely fond of Daniel, that was all it was. As a team-mate she hated it when he got hurt, well when any of them got hurt really. Teal'c she respected as an elite soldier, he was always there for them, and yes, sometimes Junior did freak her out. As for the Colonel, well he drove her mad but kept her sane- if that made any sense. But he was the best CO she had ever served under, and she would never jeopardise her career, or his.
At the moment though she was fed up with the whole Edora thing. Yes she'd got him back, but did he want to be? And as for asking 'that woman' to come back with him…! It had been a real kick in the teeth to see him saying goodbye to her. He'd been quiet and distant on his return. The next thing they knew he was blowing off the Tollan meeting and ripping out the weapon detector.
Worse was to come in the debriefing - she knew that General Hammond and the Colonel had a lot of respect for each other. The General called many of the SGC personnel 'son' but with O'Neill she believed he really meant it. There was no other reason he got away with what he did. It was awful seeing the General and Colonel arguing and shouting at each other. The situation was not helped by the rest of SG1 sitting like stranded ducks not knowing whether to lie or tell the truth- either of which would tear the team apart.
The Colonel was told to resign, she found out later, and then when she tried to offer support he said insultingly that he hadn't been the same since he met her and that he was now acting like himself. No wonder he wanted to go back to Edora! Go figure. She almost gave up then; maybe her dad's strings could still pull her into NASA. But she knew in her heart it would be too limiting after the SGC.
Then they got stuck with Makepeace, was his constant sniping a controlling mechanism- just so much smoke and mirrors so they didn't have a chance to see what he was doing? Not that they'd seen him do anything.
They'd all tried hard on PJ3 989, but none of them knew where to start and they were all tired out. They had been put in hurriedly after SG6 all went down with mild food poisoning from a contaminated batch of MRE's. If they weren't so wrapped up in themselves, they might all have found that a bit funny. So they had said the bare minimum and been very polite instead which wasn't hard to do while collecting soil, rock and plant samples and retrieving SG6's gear.
She wasn't going to warn Daniel that the Colonel was probably on his way over like she sometimes did. She'd tried to protect him from Makepeace and that had backfired on both of them. Just as her explanations to Daniel about military orders, undercover operations (what little she did know) and command structures had. Hadn't he learnt anything in the last 3 years?
It was sweet of him to hope that she'd be in command. But then he'd thought that she was defending Colonel O'Neill or even that she knew what was going on. And that had hurt a lot, coming from Daniel. She was merely trying to lay out the framework of how the Colonel would see things. Trying to defend his civilian status against Makepeace hadn't helped at all and she hated what Daniel had done. Teal'c had tried to help as well but had been politely refused.
She sighed. It was all one big mess. At least they got some time off before the next off world trip. Although she'd told the Colonel that she had experiments to run, suddenly she didn't want to be here. Janet was still after her to eat and rest more. Tiredly she finished off her notes, and left the simulations humming away to themselves, and retired to her quarters on the base. Tomorrow she'd go home and sit out in the sun for a while and think of absolutely nothing. No- one to rescue, nothing impossible to build, just nothing.
-Jack-
Just Daniel now. No wait. There never was a 'just' with Daniel- it was all or nothing, and that's what he was afraid of. His head throbbed, he had to do this now, all his ducks in a row, and then he could go to bed. He needed someone to fill him in on a few of the blanks from the last four months. If someone didn't ante up soon he'd have to go back to the General, and that would mean admitting the team wasn't back together, wasn't normal, wasn't anything.
Daniels's office looked much like it always did, coffee cups and books strewn randomly about, and his computer with the dancing pharaohs. The man himself was inside pacing up and down with a book open in his hand.
"Hey there."
"Jack."
"Yes, it's me."
"And…?" prompted Daniel
"What?"
"I don't have time for this, Jack!" Daniel said as he snapped the book shut and hugged it to him.
"You don't even know what it is yet!" complained Jack as he watched Daniel continue pacing.
He looked worn out, dark circles round his eyes. But then Daniel often burnt the candles at both ends. Jack knew he'd had to be pretty nasty to Daniel but his house was bugged and Maybourne was watching him. Hang on, hadn't he mentioned something about working on a document for the Tollan government? Guess the guy had been busy while he'd been under cover. But didn't they realise he was just as exhausted as they were?
"I came to ask you over for a BBQ, but it'll be just you and me since Teal'c's off with his sick son on Chulak. Carter has to run some experiments. You could stay over if you want." explained Jack
"Oh right! Like I want! Sure, what you want you mean!" spat Daniel bitterly.
"Hey!" protested Jack, taken aback by Daniel's vehemence.
"No, for once- you listen to me Jack! You were gone for over three months- we didn't even know if you were alive. You come back, behave like a…a barbarian, and think that a BBQ is going to solve everything?! Well just forget it. I can't do it just now. I'm too angry with you. I worked for over a week on that treaty with the Tollan after you went all dark side on us. And what thanks do I get? Nothing! Because it didn't mean a damn, the whole situation was a fake. What a waste of time. And let's not forget what Sam did while you were sunning yourself on Edora. She worked herself to the bone for you, Jack. Building that generator, no-ones ever done that before but she did it. Don't you get it Jack? See you didn't even know that did you? And as for working with Makepeace? Don't even ask about it." Daniel's diatribe wound down.
Stunned by the barrage of feeling and information, Jack was tempted to just shout back at Daniel, but knew he'd have to go carefully. It was clear they needed another talk later when they had both had more time and space to think things through and weren't so tired. He sighed and pinched his nose before speaking,
"Daniel, I'm sorry that it all seems such a mess. You know I didn't get stuck on Edora on purpose." he began
"No, but you bolted back there to retire quickly enough!" retorted Daniel
"That was part of the smoke screen I had to put about. I'm truly sorry that it hurt everybody so badly. I'm good at it but that doesn't mean I like it. It's true I don't know what's been going on while I've been away recently. We all have a lot of adjusting to do, but you're all going to have to tell me sooner or later, just as I will tell you what happened on Edora and what I can of the undercover thing. Okay Daniel?" explained Jack.
"For now, Jack." said Daniel grudgingly.
"Forget the BBQ, it's clear we all need to get some rest and take this slowly. I'll be around if you do want to talk. We are due to ship out to PX3 4242 in five days, so I'll see you for the pre mission briefing at 0800, Monday or whenever. Daniel make sure you go home please, no more staying here falling asleep over the books." said Jack quietly but firmly. Damn that sounded like he was ordering Daniel about, and treating him like a kid…
He watched as Daniel momentarily stiffened as the words sank in, then resignedly he nodded at Jack. Jack breathed a sigh of relief and decided that was as far as they both dared go for the moment and left Daniel on his own.
-Daniel-
Great! He and Sam had been given the all clear from the Infirmary and a whole five days before we go through the Stargate with Jack in charge. Sam could talk to Jack if she wanted but he wasn't going to. So he'd left Jack on his own waiting to be cleared for duty. They hadn't exactly talked on PJ3 989, why did the General think they would now? The Tollan treaty that he'd worked on for over a week (in between being maligned, yelled at and generally punched about…) sat on the chair by the door where he'd flung it after Jack had come back with Makepeace's soldiers. He could always use it as a doorstop or something useful.
That reminded him, he needed to look up a link between a symbol he'd seen on Px3 5491 and something SG9's video had shown… doors, gates, passages… He grabbed the book he needed and began to look through it, pacing up and down as he did so.
Then Jack had shown up, blown his train of thought, and he couldn't help exploding in his face. Really, it was quite an achievement to catch Jack off guard, but he didn't have a clue what had been going on. There was too much to tell all in one go and it involved Sam and Teal'c as well, so he didn't feel he could say 'everything'.
And if that meant his shooting and so called self defence lessons with Makepeace than so be it. Jack was always telling him he needed to learn how to duck and use his weapon better. Plus he'd never quite understood those weird commando hand signals. Well, that was what he'd been doing, sort of. At least it kept the focus off Sam and Teal'c. Imagine ordering Sam to set up camp and all meals just because she was female! Even Teal'c bristled at that one, and Sam couldn't disobey an order. Daniel had tried to explain how they normally did things, but Makepeace just said 'This is how SG1 runs from now on' and that's when it hit them that Jack had really gone this time.
Jack didn't need to know how Makepeace had treated them, all that was over now. Makepeace wouldn't be asked about how he'd led SG1, just about being the mole in the SGC. SG1 hadn't seen him acting suspiciously, anything illegal had been done out of their range. And that's what they'd reported.
At least Jack still seemed to care; being told to go home had startled him. It had been awhile since he'd heard that from Jack, and it felt …normal, comfortable. That was why he'd agreed. They all still had a lot of explaining to do, but it was a start. First though, he would go home. See Jack, I can obey orders. Watching his fish swim round the tank sounded like a restful way to spend a few days. Well maybe one day as a start.
2230 hrs General Hammond's office
-Jack-
He left Daniels office, and made his way up various levels and corridors to General Hammond's office. He tapped on the door.
"Come in!" he went in, and saluted at his commanding officer, eyes staring at the wall behind the General's shoulder.
"At ease, Colonel. Report please, and sit down. You look tired, son" –actually you look awful, thought the General.
"Thank you sir." and Jack slid gratefully onto a chair
"Before you start, Teal'c has gone through to Chulak. We are just waiting confirmation about his son's condition and whether there's anything he needs from us at this end."
"I'll wait here on base, until we have that confirmation, sir."
"If that's what you want Colonel." though the General had expected his reply. He wouldn't go until he was sure all his team were ok
There was a pause
"How are you and the rest of SG1 going to spend your downtime Colonel?"
"I tried the usual BBQ thing, but they wouldn't bite. I've managed to suggest that Daniel and Major Carter actually go home for a change. I think we all could do with getting off the base, sir. We are all too tired today for any backslapping bonding." he replied with a wry smile. Then his face got serious.
"General, just how many times did Makepeace go out as SG1?"
General Hammond grunted, typical of his 2IC to get straight to the heart of the matter
"Colonel, they went out on three missions in the two weeks you were undercover. I assure you your team reported no evidence of sabotage or witnessed covert activities. I went through this with them at the debriefings. They won't be involved in giving evidence,"
"It's not that I'm worried about General."
"Then what is it?"
"Something Makepeace told me. He couldn't wait to say it." O'Neill paused and looked warily at his CO, his fingers rubbing the edge of the desk.
"It was something Daniel said to Makepeace. About not trusting my command and that he was willing to try anything. Daniel just told me not to ask about working with Makepeace, which makes me think something happened that I've not been told about, sir."
"Makepeace reported that they were a fine team to work with, granted his way of doing things might be different from yours. Colonel O'Neill they weren't out with him long enough for them to get used to each other as a team. Yes, they all looked uncomfortable when they got back, but then even your SG1 has its off days."
"If you say so General." replied the Colonel, not convinced
The phone rang on the General's desk.
"Hammond here." He listened "Thank you sergeant." and put the phone back down.
O'Neill raised an eyebrow "Teal'c, sir?"
"Yes, Teal'c and his family are fine and don't need us; he expects to be back before you ship out next week."
"Then with your permission General sir, I'm not here until Monday."
"Permission granted. You're on stand down until then. Get some rest Colonel."
"General." Jack nodded and left.
Once out of the Generals office, Jack relaxed, only to wince at the returned fury of his migraine. He'd have to stay on the base for tonight. No way was he driving home now and he couldn't be bothered to get someone else to drive him. Slowly he made his way back to his quarters; he had to make a few phone calls anyway. He knew he had some tablets the Doc had prescribed for him, somewhere in his desk. He subdued the lighting in his room, picked up the phone and called security. Within minutes he got confirmation that Daniel had left in the last half hour, and that Major Carter had just finished up in her lab and gone to her quarters.
Reassured at last that his team were behaving themselves he rummaged in the drawer for the bottle. By now he was feeling nauseous, and shaky, he knew he'd left it too late for his pills but he had to try. He got the top off the bottle and shook it. He couldn't believe it, there was only half a tablet left. Not enough but a start. He went and washed his face in ice cold water before filling a glass and took the tablet. Maybe his head would just explode and that would take care of everything. Nothing for it, he'd have to go and see the Doc.
Feeling like death warmed up he went to the infirmary. Doctor Janet Fraiser was in her office checking reports and supplies when she heard footsteps. She went outside to investigate. She was surprised to see Colonel O'Neill she'd only seen him a few hours ago and he seemed fine-quiet but fine; usually he couldn't wait to get out of the place.
'Doc, you in here?' he said carefully
'Yes what's up?' as O'Neill turned round to face her. Dark brown eyes with dark smudges underneath in a pale wan face told her something was definitely up.
'Headache, need pills, feel sick' he said slowly and succinctly and taking a deep breath went over to a bed and leaned against it, he put the empty bottle on the side locker so she could refill it.
'Have you taken any already Colonel?'
'Only half one left' he said as he crawled onto the bed and covered his face with his arm. She turned around and quietly she ordered the night lights to be dimmed further, and asked her nurse to fill up his medicine bottle for him.
Suddenly she heard movement behind her. The Colonel had sat up on the side of the bed, looking even worse than before -ready to bolt; experience told her what this meant. She grabbed the emesis basin from the side locker and thrust it at him just in time. Her staff rallied round getting fresh ones just in case and a warm cloth to clean him up with. Another nurse handed him a glass of water to rinse his mouth.
When he'd finished, he lay back on the bed eyes closed
'Oh God' he groaned 'I hate it when that happens' still feeling slightly embarrassed.
'Actually you might feel better now.' She asked a nurse to get a cold pack for him.
'Just give me the damn pills and I'll go back to my quarters' he said quietly from behind his arm. He was tired of fighting for everything. He would move in a minute, just as soon as he stopped shaking and feeling cold, though his head was on fire.
'No Colonel. I think an injection will be better for you this time. It'll work faster than pills on your raw stomach and you can stay right where you are.' The words- 'where I can see you'- hung unspoken in the air.
He groaned, again but didn't move. Janet took that as a yes.
She went away to sort out the injection. As she came back with the needle and vial she saw that he was sitting on the side of the bed again, slowly undoing his boots with his eyes shut tight and going by feel alone. It was obviously too painful to bend down and undo them. He wiggled his feet out of the boots and stopped. He took a deep breath, and sat still, his hands gripped the side of the bed, and he took another deep breath. He got under the covers and lay with his arm covering his face again.
'Colonel' she said softly, placing her hand on his arm.
'Hmmm' he said
'Ready for the injection, sir? Left arm, please.'
He presented his arm and she deftly wrapped the rubber tubing round his arm to get the blood vessel up, and quickly injected him. She sat for a few minutes while she pressed cotton wool against the site, and put a plaster over it. The Colonel lay quietly throughout, one hand holding the cold pack to his forehead.
'All done, sir. Get some rest; I'll leave orders that you aren't to be disturbed. There's only you and Lt Michaels from SG6- the others are checking back in tomorrow. I'll see you in the morning sir'
He opened one bleary eye
'Thanks Doc'
'You're welcome' she got another blanket and put it over him, before returning to her office to pull his file and update it.
Another migraine to add to the tally she thought. Although this one was probably due to the accumulation of stress as well as the days Gate travel. Going through the Stargate did seem to give SGC teams more than their natural share of headaches.
A quarter of an hour later footsteps sounded outside again, and she looked up, it was General Hammond- time for the Infirmary end of day report. He preferred to visit in person when he could; he said it gave him an excuse for wandering the corridors before he left his post. He wasn't above chatting to whatever personnel were confined to the Infirmary.
'Doctor Fraiser-is that Colonel O'Neill? I saw him less than an hour ago!'
'Yes, it is sir. He's fine, just a bad migraine. He came in because he'd run out of his usual medication. Probably forgot to renew it what with all that's been going on. But it wouldn't have helped anyway - I had to treat him here. He'll get a good night's sleep; I'll keep an eye on him just in case General'
They both walked over to the bed, the injection had sent the Colonel to sleep. Lying on his side, the cold pack had slipped down the pillow to the bed cover. Doctor Fraiser picked it up, brushing the hand lying outside the covers. The Colonel made a slight noise and shifted in the bed. His hand closed and opened again. General Hammond and the Doctor looked at each other- typical – even slightly drugged the Colonel still fidgeted. He mumbled again, this time they heard him say 'damn straws…I lost…' They didn't know what that meant. Could be anything knowing him.
'You're sure he's ok?' said the General anxiously
'Quite sure -about this- anyway. About sorting things out with the others- who knows? But they will, they've gone through too much to lose it all now' assured Doctor Fraiser.
'Fine, tell me about SG6 Doctor' and they both moved on down to the end of the Infirmary.
-Five days later SG1 leave for PX3 4242
General Hammond looked out from the Control room at SG1 getting ready to depart for PX3 4242. It was quiet down there, none of the Colonel's jokes. They just stood waiting at the end of the ramp. Even Dr Jackson was on time, perhaps the only good legacy of his time with Makepeace.
'Chevron 7 encoded' the gate kawooshed' Hammond leaned forward to the microphone.
'SG1 you have a go. See you in 36 hours'
Colonel O'Neill stared darkly up at the control room, and then set off up the ramp, the rest of the team following behind.
General Hammond felt unsettled by his 2IC's stare. He really hoped that they would work things out. If not he'd have to get them around a table, remove sharp objects, bang a few heads together until they did.