Title: Reality (2/?)
Author: curse_of_avalon (wheretobe)
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Jack, Sam, Janet, Daniel, Teal'c
Spoilers: Children of the gods
Word count: 1957
Summary: Jack wakes up in the infirmary and can't seem to remember.
Author's notes: Critique appreciated!
A longish chapter for now. Hope you enjoy and that you can follow the way Sam and Jack feel about things. I'm trying hard to get my jumbled mind into this. Cheer for Christmas stress!
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!
Disclaimer: All characters, names etc. aren't mine but belong to the SciFi channel. Not making money with this, just spreading the cheer.
"So Colonel O'Neill is suffering from Amnesia due to the blow he received to his head?"
Hammonds hands lay calm on the table, folded neatly as he listened to the medical findings of the base CMO, trying to understand why his second in command seemed to have lost years of memory about his personal life, whereas he remembered all their missions.
"Not exactly. He suffers from post-traumatic Amnesia but not in any form I have seen before. As you said he recalls everything just not his personal life. He states that Major Carter is his second in command until today. The swelling we made out in his brain after the blow has receded and his memory should return. That's not what I'm worried about though. I'm worried about his mental well being. Since he was informed of his relations to Major Carter he's shown signs of distrust towards everyone and I fear that he will develop a form of Memory distrust syndrome instead of starting to remember."
"Memory distrust Dr.?"
By now Hammond's hands started wringing each other in an almost nervous fashion and Janet had to sigh. The worry emanating from the older man was held back but there. Sam's face was ashen while Daniel kept looking back and forth, pushing his glasses up on his nose in a nervous manner and Teal'c simply stood with a raised brow. Sighing once more Frasier nodded and flipped to another page in O'Neill's rather thick medical file.
"Memory distrust means what it says. He will possibly remember but then distrust what he remembers which could lead to paranoia. That's what we have to be worried about."
"So what can we do for Jack? He's barely talking to us now. How can we possibly assure him that everything is the truth?"
Daniel leaned forward in his chair, shooting Sam a sympathizing look and leaned on the table with his arms folded, worry etched across his features.
"I'm not even sure if releasing him from the infirmary is a good idea Daniel and when I prescribed sessions with Mackenzie he looked as if he wanted to throttle me before declining. On the other hand he has to see that things are true so maybe releasing him home with Major Carter is a good step. In the end I think Sam should decide. Not just because you are his proxy..."
Janet turned to Sam who looked up from her cup of coffee, her teeth worrying her bottom lip.
"...but because I believe that going home seeing the truth might be the best course of action to avoid the memory distrust syndrome."
"Major Carter if you decide to go for it I'll give you leave until this is resolved."
All eyes turned on her and Sam felt a little caged. She was unsure of the action to take. She had barely gotten to talk to Jack since he woke, barely had time to explain to him what or who was waiting at their home for his return. It had been two days now since Jack had woken, two days on which she had to listen to his claims of them never having been together besides in a military relationship of superior and subordinate. After sitting with Jack for a day, swearing on everything holy to her that she was telling him the truth, she had gone home depressed to console two children who desperately wanted to see their father again and just couldn't understand what was taking him so long.
So Sam had sat with them and tried to explain what was wrong only receiving confused stares and her five year old proclaiming that Daddy sure couldn't have forgotten them since he promised to go to the ice rink with them once he got home again.
It broke her heart and made her unsure of how to progress with the situation.
Sam Carter liked things clean and straight. The contrary of this situation and this time she couldn't fix it by tweaking some machine or inventing a computer program from scratch. That's what scared her most. This time she couldn't magically solve it and make it better or put a band aid on a scratched knee and promise that the band aid with the blue elephant would heal it in no time. She was just as lost as everybody else.
" So tell me Dr. when will you deem me safe to be released? Kingdom come?"
The sneer in Jack's voice was clear as he fixed her with his best angry stare.
"Or don't you want o release me because the BS you're telling me would be revealed as false?"
Two days he had been trapped in the infirmary now, poked and prodded, tested into oblivion and still it seemed like he had been made a prisoner of the medical staff. He was sure they were hiding something. In his mind he had conjured up scenarios of an alien race trapping him, again, and experimenting on him for information. But before they got that he'd rather rot in this infirmary hell is angered mind had screamed.
"Actually we're going home today. I just had to get your stuff from your locker. I know how you hate going home in your BDU's."
Sam's voice rang out soothingly from the infirmary door.
"Home?"
His eyes had gotten a little bigger. He hadn't thought that they'd actually let him leave. Soon his face contorted back to the angry mask and he fixed Carter with a stare.
"Yes Jack, home."
By now Carters voice had taken a pissed off tinge that she tried to will away by trying to smile. What she did to her mouth looked painful.
"Right...another word for...."
"Home Jack! God damnit! Stop the paranoia act and get dressed please without interrogating me. I know you don't believe me or anyone. I know we're all talking bullshit and I know you won't say a word about your memory anymore. So could we please not engage in another shouting match and just call it a truce? I'm tired and worn out and I'm sorry to say this but I just don't want to hear it right now."
Carter looked it, Jack realized. She looked more than tired. The dark pools under her eyes deep, the white around her eyes having been exchanged for a red hue and her shoulders slumped deeper than he had ever seen.
Her little tirade had shut him up. She had never been so unrespectful to him before. Before Jack could think of a come back a lump of clothing was unceremoniously dropped in his lap and Carter had walked away from him, over to Dr. Frasier, rubbing her eyes and listening to the directions for his pills.
"I'm not changing!"
Slowly Sam turned to him and looked at him indifferently, shrugging.
"I don't care Jack."
She admitted defeat. Never before had Sam Carter admitted defeat.
'Well there's a first time for everything. Suck it up!'
With another shrug she took the medication Janet held out to her and took deep calming breaths. Janet whispered to her softly, laying a hand on the younger womans shoulder and squeezed softly.
"You should tell him."
"No. I want him to see for himself. Before he thinks we're conjuring more things up for him."
"Sam...don't. This could be contra productive."
"Telling him too Janet. Look I know this seems off from me but really I just want this day to end. I just want this all over and done with. I know I'm a terrible wife and I should be there for him step by step but right now I'd rather like to pack everything up and get the hell away before he loses it completely. And no, I'm not sure it's a good idea to stay at home with him. Maybe he just needs this goddamn space that he wants so much."
She rubbed her eyes tiredly and shoved the packages of pills into her purse while she held back her tears with resolve born from a military upbringing and sheer bullheadedness. She wouldn't let Jack see how much he was hurting her. She couldn't effort to seem weak before her children who would soon enough need her to help them through this too.
"Sam..."
Janet tried to soothe again, say reassuring words but was stopped by Sam's raised hand and then watched as the normally so strong and cheerful Major walked by Colonel O'Neill's bed, simply telling him to follow. Without further ado the two had left Janet's infirmary.
The trip home Jack and Sam spend in silence. Jack staring out of the window his mind jumbled. He hadn't believed that they'd release him. He hadn't believed that he was living with Carter. But they sure as hell were driving towards his neighborhood, in a car that he didn't remember ever buying. Since when would he need a family Car instead of his good old trusty truck. Nor was this car Carter's style, who liked old cars that she could tinker on in her free time. Everything seemed to be getting more and more confusing to him and he wasn't sure what to believe anymore.
Post traumatic amnesia.
'Been there, done that, bought the mug.'
Never like this before though. He usually had remembered nothing and then waited for it to come back. This time Jack was sure he remembered everything and people told him he forgot the basics. Such as being married to Carter. Her having taken over the scientific department so they could while still remaining in the military.
"Another reality..."
He must've said that one out loud since the next second he felt the car come to an abrupt halt in his, their, drive way and he felt her resigned stare directed at him.
"Amnesia Jack. Not another reality and if you wouldn't spend so much time on theorizing over scenarios maybe then you'd actually start to remember."
Leaving the car without further ado, Carter slammed the door and then grabbed her purse and his duffel from the back seat.
Jack got out seconds after her his hands raised at his side, retort on his lips as he realized she wouldn't be stopping to listen to his oncoming rant. Carter was already unlocking the door and then shoved it open forcefully, making it bang against the inside wall.
He actually flinched. Carter had never been pissed at him like that. Annoyed yes, but never insubordinate or banging doors.
"Look Carter..."
Following hot on her heels he went inside after her, closing the door and then stepping forward trying to grab her wrist. And maybe if he had succeeded in grabbing hold of it he wouldn't actually have fallen. His foot stepped onto something that slipped away from under it and he felt himself going airborne a curse flying from his lips as he tumbled down.
"JACK!"
"What the hell is a toy car doing in the middle of my living room Carter?!"
My Christmas present to you guys! Hope you enjoyed and many thanks to the readers who reviewed!
