Sam had dinner ready when O'Neill got back to the house. Sam told him about the conversations she had overheard at Jamales about timing the granatia planting just right. She knew O'Neill was planning to plant granatia because it was one of the main money crops in this region. When O'Neill brought up a hunting trip the next day Sam said she wanted to stay close to home and get a few more repairs done but urged him to go out on his own. It was hard to eat because of the burning in her chest. The whole night left her depressed. He was her best friend and one word had come between them. She'd even given him an out and he still wasn't interested in her.
"Jamale is coming in the morning to drop something off."
"Something?"
"Yep."
"I don't get anything else, just something."
"Just something." Sam grinned. "You'll see."
She went out to the barn after dinner and worked on a small motor she had brought home. She was trying to make some small improvements without using any Earth technology to extend the life of the belts. In the end it just couldn't occupy her wandering mind so she gave up and got ready for bed.
O'Neill never asked her where she was going nor came out to check on her. He had seen her blankets in the stall and the shirts hanging in the supply closet. He assumed this was her version of getting her own place so he decided to let her have her space.
The next morning O'Neill woke up later than he had planned. He got up, made a quick breakfast, and dressed to go hunting. It had been getting a bit warmer the last couple of days so he wore layers that he could take off. As he stepped out of the house Jamale was pulling up. Jamale jumped out of the truck and walked towards O'Neill.
"Good morning O'Neill."
Jamale had something large on a trailer being pulled behind the truck. "Whatcha got there?"
"I think it is best if Samantha shows you since it is her surprise."
"I haven't seen her yet this morning. She might be in the barn.
They both made their way to towards the barn. As they got to the door they heard faint crying, a sound that made O'Neill's heart skip a beat.
"Carter? Is that you?"
Very faintly he heard, "Jack."
He moved toward the sound, which was coming from the stall where he had seen her blankets. Sam was laying on the straw in a tank top and shorts. She was covered in bruises and small needles. She was crying and moaning.
"Carter!" He knelt down beside and reached out.
"No." Her voice was a raspy whisper but fierce. "No touching."
"What the hell happened?"
"Some kind of caterpillar."
O'Neill reached out towards her. "No. No touching." She was really crying now. The effort of talking was making her worse. Sam's toes were pointed straight out and her fists were balled up. Tears were streaming down the sides of her face. O'Neill reached out and held her hand, which made her scream. He let go quickly.
"Sorry, Carter. Sorry."
"I'm sorry, Jack."
"You have nothing to be sorry for Carter."
"Find someone." Sam's eyes were fluttering open and closed. "I don't want you to be alone."
O'Neill swallowed. "I have you around to keep things exciting."
Sam shook her head, "I mean it. If I die make friends and find someone."
O'Neill grimaced, "You aren't dying and I got all the friends I need."
"Promise me."
"I don't know what you want me to promise and there's no reason for all this. You're going to be fine." O'Neill started to reach for her hand but stopped himself at the last second. "I need you to keep telling yourself that you're going to be fine. You need to believe it."
"I promise to be fine if you'll promise to not be alone." Sam looked up into his eyes.
He nodded, "I promise."
"Jack, we have to get her in my truck and take her to the clinic. I will go unhook the trailer so it won't slow us down."
O'Neill nodded. He knew Jamale was right but he also dreaded putting in Sam in pain, which is what he knew would happen when he touched her.
"Carter, I have to carry you to the truck." She shook her head no. "I'm sorry Carter but this is what has to happen." The tears got heavier.
Jamale stuck his head in the door of the barn. "The truck is ready. Do you want help lifting her?"
"No, I've got her. I'll sit with her in the back."
O'Neill slid his arms under her knees. She gasped and whimpered. His knees protested mightily as he lifted her and stood in one motion. Sam screamed. She turned her face into his shoulder to try and muffle her sobs.
O'Neill climbed into the back of Jamale's truck. He banged the side once they were in and Jamale took off. It was a bumpy ride. Sam cried out many times. O'Neill tried to keep her from moving around without holding her too tight but nothing he did seemed right. Sam was as stiff as a board, which made it hard to get her settled in his lap. He had never seen her in so much pain. She kept crying even though he could see she wanted to quit.
When they got to the clinic Jamale jumped out of the truck and went inside. When he returned he was accompanied by a tall thin woman. "I'm Leila, a lead healer. It looks like you lost a battle with a bunch of orlins. Let's get you inside."
A shorted man wheeled out a bed and O'Neill laid Sam on it. Leila and the man wheeled Sam inside to a room. O'Neill and Jamale followed closely.
"We are going to have to remove all these stingers." Sam's eyes widened. "I have some medicine that will make you very sleepy. That will let us get these stingers out without you having to feel it."
Sam nodded slowly and Leila kept examining her. "Based on the bruising I assume you were stung a while ago."
Sam nodded again. "Several hours."
O'Neill turned away and ran his hand through his hair. Jamale looked at O'Neill's back and scowled.
"Can you move your toes for me?" Sam slightly shook her head no. "It will hurt."
"I know. I'm sorry. I just need to see them move a little."
"Ok." Nothing happened. Sam's toes stayed pointed, just as they had been since O'Neill had found her.
"Good Samantha. Please wiggle your fingers." Sam's fists remained clasped.
"Ok. Thank you. I want you to drink this." The small man handed Leila a vial. "It will help you sleep while we remove the stingers and get you settled in a room. Hopefully you won't remember anything about the next few hours."
Sam drank the disgusting liquid. It took about three minutes for it to kick in. Her eyes rolled back in her head and closed.
As soon as Sam was out Leila turned on O'Neill. "I know you are new here but didn't either of you know to avoid orlins?"
Anguish was written across O'Neill's face. "Neither of us even knows what an orlin is."
Jamale stepped forward, "They are a poisonous insects. They inject the poison into their victim and then return after it dies to eat it."
O'Neill ignored Jamale and stayed focused on Leila. "She's gonna be ok, right?" Jack looked down at the now sleeping Sam.
"I don't know. I've never treated anyone who has been stung this many times." The bruises covering Sam's body made O'Neill ill. It was his fault that she'd been sleeping surrounded by poisonous caterpillars and he was mentally beating himself up.
"It will take us at least two hours to remove all of the stingers. The best use of your time is to take these vials back to your home and kill the orlins. Pour two vials into a spray bottle of water and soak everything around the nest. Pour one bottle straight down the nest and back up. Anything that manages to crawl past where you sprayed needs to be sprayed until it dies. No matter what happens don't touch any of them. One victim is enough work for one day. Burn everything you sprayed once they are all done."
O'Neill looked at the three vials in his hand. "I don't want to leave her."
"There's nothing you can do until we get done and I suspect if I let you hang around you will annoy us all. You seem like a man who is better tolerated if you have a job to do." Leila spun on her heels and leaned over Sam's bed. "Get out while I work"
O'Neill and Jamale backed out of the room. "I will drive you back and help."
O'Neill nodded and headed back to Jamale's truck. They drove in silence. They both jumped out and headed into the barn when they arrived. The nest was easy to locate. The orlins left an orange trail when they crawled and the boards in the stall beside where Sam was sleeping was covered in orange streaks. O'Neill picked up a spray bottle and filled it with water and two vials of the medicine Leila had given him. He walked over towards the stall with the orange on the wall.
"I assume Samantha has been sleeping in the barn on a regular basis." Jamale watched O'Neill spraying the hay around the wall.
"For the last few days, yeah."
Jamale picked up a rake and raked the straw into a pile around the nest. "Hopefully next time there is discord in your relationship you will ensure Samantha sleeps somewhere much safer."
"Samantha and I aren't in a relationship like you mean."
"She has told me that you are only friends but that is still a relationship and sleeping in the barn indicates there was discord."
O'Neill nodded. "Point made. I'm going to pour this in the nest. Back up."
As soon as he poured the vial down the center hole there was a skittering noise. The first few caterpillars that crawled out were twisting as they fell and died where they landed. The next group crawled a little distance after they landed but died before they made it off the straw. After about three minutes the caterpillars that emerged were able to make it past the soaked straw. Jack sprayed them until they were soaked. Jamale pushed them back towards the straw with the rake.
It was over in less than ten minutes. There were hundreds of caterpillars. Jamale raked the soaked straw and dead insects out into the yard. O'Neill pulled the boards off the wall of the stall and carried each board out to the pile Jamale had started. It took nearly thirty minutes to pile everything up and light it on fire. The drug turned out to be flammable so the pile went up quickly.
It took the two men just over an hour to eradicate the nest. As they finished O'Neill looked at the trailer sitting in front of the house.
"So what's under the tarp?" Jamale looked over at his trailer and sighed.
"I suppose it is best to show you so I can take the trailer back empty when I leave." Jamale walked over and took the tarp off of a tractor. "Samantha has been spending her evenings building this for you."
"Seriously?"
"Of course."
"How could she afford all of this?"
"She found most of it in the scrap yard. The parts she needed to purchase she bargained for. She is a tough negotiator."
"Yes she is. I can't believe she has been building this."
"What did you think she was doing with her evenings in town?"
"I knew she was working but I thought she was working for you."
"No, she was working for you. She knew you would need a tractor before the weather got warm so you could get your land ready for planting."
"Yeah, for me." An overwhelming sense of guilt encompassed O'Neill. "We should go."
"Agreed. I will back the tractor off the trailer and we can leave."
They were back at the clinic before Leila had finished getting the stingers out, which took longer than the two hours Leila had predicted. O'Neill paced just as Leila had expected. He asked about Sam every ten minutes and the staff grew tired of him quickly.
Leila came out to the waiting room an hour after O'Neill and Jamale had arrived. She made O'Neill sit down.
"We think we got all of the stingers but we will keep an eye on her to make sure. She had been stung all over but there were a smaller number on her left side."
O'Neill nodded. "She tends to fall asleep on her left side. Maybe the stupid bugs couldn't get there."
"That would make sense."
"So she'll be ok now?"
Leila leaned towards O'Neill. "I can't guarantee that. This poison causes muscle paralysis."
O'Neill's eyes widened but Leila shook her head. "The paralysis is temporary. The problem is the paralysis can stop her breathing or her heart."
"If that happens you can put her on life support until she's better."
Leila tilted her head to the right. "Life support?"
"A machine that breathes for you and keeps your heart beating."
"I'd love to have something like that but I'm afraid I don't. If Samantha stops breathing or if her heart stops there won't be much I can do."
O'Neill looked at his knees. "Oh."
"Samantha is still asleep but I expect her to wake up within the hour. Once she is awake I won't be able to give her as much pain medicine as I gave her when she arrived and she will be in a lot of pain. Although this poison paralyzes the muscles it over stimulates the nerves. She will feel like she is burning."
O'Neill kept his eyes down and shook his head. "Why no pain meds?"
"I didn't say none. I said not as much. The pain medication can slow down her breathing and heart rate. I can't risk that."
"Makes sense."
"I want you prepared for her to be in pain. Her bruising is also very bad. Her blood vessels are very leaky right now so she is bruising as she bleeds internally. I am giving her injections to help her clot. I've tried to match her blood type to give her a transfusion but so far I haven't found a match. I've never had that happen before."
O'Neill lifted his head. "That I can help with. I've given Carter blood before. We're a match."
"I will have someone come and get blood from you. If your blood is a match that will be helpful."
He nodded. "When can I see her?"
"She should be in her room by now. I'll take you there."
Leila led O'Neill and Jamale down a short hall. They turned right twice and stopped at the third room on the left. Leila opened the door. The room was dimly lit and an attendant was taking Sam's pulse.
"How is she doing?" Leila walked over and looked at Sam's chart.
"Her heart rate is 50 beats per minute. Her respiration rate is 8 breaths per minute."
O'Neill had moved to the far side of the room. He was standing right beside Sam's bed. "And that means?"
Leila glanced at Sam and then O'Neill. "That means her heart is beating slowly and her breathing is shallow and slow. Those aren't the signs I'm hoping to see."
O'Neill nodded.
Jamale leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "How long until we know she will be ok?"
Leila turned towards Jamale. "I am not sure. I've never treated someone with so many stings. Every hour is progress. For now I want her to wake up. Then my goal will be to get her vital signs back to normal. Until then either I or one of my staff will be in here with Samantha. You are both welcome to stay as long as you can behave."
"I think I will return to my shop for a bit. I need to check on my son's. I will return later in the evening." Jamale nodded towards Leila but ignored O'Neill as he left the room.
Leila turned back towards O'Neill. "I am going to have someone come in and take blood to test you as a match for Samantha."
"Good." O'Neill nodded. Leila stepped out for a moment and returned with another woman carrying all kinds of tubes and needles. O'Neill sat and she took two tubes and a bag of blood. She put a cotton wrap around his elbow when she finished and quietly left the room. O'Neill stayed in his seat and watched Sam. Leila took Sam's pulse almost every ten minutes. Her level of attention was actually making O'Neill more nervous.
Two hours later Leila was replaced by Amira who also took numerous reading about Sam's breathing and heart rate. After another two hours Amira was replaced by Jora. Eventually O'Neill lost track of how many people had been in the room. Leila checked in regularly. O'Neill was uncomfortable but getting up and pacing didn't help much. Eventually O'Neill nodded off in the chair.
He had napped for thirty minutes when a panicked voice roused him. The young man currently monitoring Sam's condition had his head stuck out the door as he called out, "Leila, her breathing has stopped."
Leila slid into the room, still at speed after running down the hall. She went to Sam's side and took her pulse. She leaned down so her ear was over Sam's mouth and watched Sam's chest. O'Neill's chest was tight as he waited for good news. Leila looked up at him and shook her head. "I'm sorry."
"Oh hell no." O'Neill stood up and leaned over Sam. He stuck out the knuckles on his right hand and rubbed Samantha hard on her sternum. At first he didn't get a response but then Samantha gasped. Her eyes didn't open but she was breathing again.
Leila smiled and nodded. "Very nice. How did you know to do that?"
"It is called a sternum rub. It is very uncomfortable. In my first aid classes it was taught as a way to rouse someone after a seizure. Figured it couldn't hurt to try."
"It was very effective."
All O'Neill could do was nodded. He stayed standing for another hour, afraid Sam would stop breathing again but she kept on, slow but steady. Leila was clearly still worried but she did leave after a while to get some sleep. O'Neill managed to stay awake for about an hour.
"Samantha. Samantha, I need you to wake up." Hearing Leila call out Sam's name made O'Neill wake up quickly. He had been asleep for three hours. O'Neill's panic quickly calmed when he saw the look on Leila's face.
"What's up?"
"I'm sorry to wake you Jack but Samantha has been asleep for far too long. I really need her to wake up."
"It's ok. I'll be fine." O'Neill stood up and moved to the head of Sam's bed. He moved her bangs off her forehead. Her hair had really grown since they'd arrived. He wondered how often she usually cut her hair back home.
"Samantha, I need you to open your eyes. Come on. Wake up." Leila rubbed Sam's chest but her touch was too light to get a response.
"Rise and shine Carter. It's your shift." O'Neill used his deep commander's voice. Sam made garbled noise. "You heard me Carter. Get up." Her eyes fluttered.
Leila smiled at O'Neill. "Good job, Jack."
"Yep, it's just great that I can use her sense of duty to get her to wake up. I'm afraid it's my only trick."
Leila shook her head. "I doubt that." Leila rubbed Sam's arm, which caused her just enough pain to get her eyes open a bit further.
"Hello Samantha. It's good to see you again."
"Again?" The word was mumbled but both O'Neill and Leila understood her.
"It's ok if you don't remember meeting me when you came into the clinic. I'm going to pull the sheet off your feet. I want you to move your toes for me."
"Hurts."
"I know it hurts Samantha. I'm sorry. Once you answer a few more questions for me I can get you some more pain medicine."
"Ok."
Leila pulled the sheet up from Sam's feet to her mid-thighs. "Please move your toes."
Sam cried silent tears as she concentrated on her toes. Nothing happened. "Thank you Samantha." Leila started to pull the sheet back down.
"No."
Leila stopped. "No what?"
"No sheet. It hurts."
Leila's eyebrows lifted. "Ok, I can leave it folded up like it is. Can you move your fingers for me?"
Sam concentrated again but nothing happened. "Thank you Samantha. Do you think you could drink a little bit for me? I'd like for you to be awake for a bit before I give you more pain medicine, since it will put you back to sleep."
"Ok." Sam's eyes were still glistening. Her pain was written across her face.
"Jack's here." Leila looked across to the side of Sam's bed where O'Neill was standing a couple steps back. Sam's eyes shifted over to O'Neill. A small smile crept onto her face. O'Neill gave her a slight grin back.
"Hey, Carter." The smile left Sam's face. "Good to see you with your eyes open."
Sam's head nodded slightly and her eyes shifted back to Leila. "What's wrong with me?"
"You were stung by orlins. The poison in the stingers causes temporary paralysis and intense pain. I gave you a large dose of pain medicine so we could remove the stingers. The combination of the poison and pain medicine suppressed your breathing but I think that's behind us now. The poison has also left you with extensive bruising and some minor internal bleeding but thanks to a transfusion from Jack your blood volumes are back to normal."
"Temporary?"
"Yes, the paralysis should begin to go away quickly. I am giving you an anti-toxin to break down the poison so I expect you to be able to move again by tomorrow."
"Pain medicine?"
"I will give you some more pain medicine but smaller doses so we can wake you up every few hours."
"Thank you."
Leila injected the pain medicine into Sam's IV. It only took a few minutes for Sam's eyes to flutter and shut.
"Hopefully the worst is behind us. Why don't you go home and get a few hours of sleep, Jack."
O'Neill shook his head. "I'm fine." He sat back down in the chair and starred at Sam. His insides were twisted. Seeing her lying here hurt him and he blamed himself for her being in the barn. He wished he could have done something while she was awake to make her feel better.
Jamale came in a couple hours later. He was disappointed he missed Sam's brief period awake. He spoke with Leila before heading back to his shop.
O'Neill woke six hours later when he heard Sam's voice. "Hey."
Leila was standing beside Sam's bed. "Your breathing has really improved. Can you move your toes for me?"
Sam squinted a bit but nothing happened. "Ok, good. Now your fingers."
The squint returned. This time though her hands slowly unclenched and her fingers twitched.
"Excellent! Now that's progress." Leila beamed and Sam smiled a little. O'Neill breathed a sigh of relief.
"How's the pain?"
"Still very noticeable."
"More pain meds on the way. Any chance you could eat a little? I'd feel better if both of you ate some." Leila glanced towards Jack as she finished her sentence.
Sam missed the look Leila gave Jack. "I can try."
Amira brought O'Neill a sandwich and a shake of some type for Sam. Sam drank a bit through a straw before she fell asleep. Once she was asleep O'Neill ate his sandwich. He hadn't realized he was so hungry until he started eating. It wasn't even a great sandwich.
Leila came back in to check on Sam about fifteen minutes after O'Neill finished eating. "I hope you feel a bit better now that you have eaten."
"I do. Thank you." Jack looked towards the end of Sam's bed. "I was wondering why Carter has a black spot between her toes."
Leila's brow creased. "Which foot?"
"Her right one." Jack stood up and pointed.
Leila moved down and looked closely. She walked to the door and stuck her head out. "Sari, please bring me pluckers and a hand glass."
Sari joined Leila at the foot of the bed. "Please hold these toes apart." Sam moaned as Sari moved her toes. Leila used the magnifying glass and got close to Sam's toes. She removed something using the tweesers.
"We missed a stinger which was causing a large bruise. Good job seeing that Jack. Hopefully with that out her feet will begin to move again." Leila dropped the stinger in a cup Sari was holding. "Go home for a few hours and get some sleep."
"I'm fine."
"She's stable now. She's doing well enough that I'm going to go home and get some real sleep. You should do the same. She'll be here for several days and when she gets out she will need you well enough to take care of her. I can arrange a ride for you." O'Neill rubbed the back of his neck. "She won't be alone. I promise. Let me get you a ride."
"Fine." He felt bad relenting but he was tired and he knew trying to get more sleeping here wouldn't help. He also needed to feed the darn chicken things.
Some nice guy who was thankfully very quiet dropped O'Neill off. He fed the chicken things, made sure the orange bugs hadn't reappeared, and went to bed. He slept for twelve hours. He took a quick shower, grabbed a muffin, and headed back to the clinic. The walk was frustrating because it took so long but also calming because nature was doing its best to be beautiful. A few trees were just starting to bloom and the birds were singing loudly.
