Daniel had left the Infirmary and was walking down the corridor with his nose stuck in a book and sipping a cup of lukewarm coffee when Jack jogged up behind him and slapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, Danny! Whatcha readin'?"

Daniel paused and knitted his eyebrows together. Since when did Jack care about 'The newly revised Oxford edition of Translations of Aztec Symbols'?

"Um, it's rather fascinating, actually, it's the updated version of the translations of-"

Jack drew in a short, sharp breath.

"Yes, Daniel, I'm sure it's a very interesting read, don't spoil the ending, will ya?"

Ah, didn't think so, Daniel mused before eyeing up Jack and realising what he was really there for.

"I've, uh, just spent the last few hours with Sam," he offered, "She's been asleep the whole time but it gave me a chance to catch up on my reading." Daniel waved the book casually.

"Well, thanks for the report, Daniel." Jack announced, glancing almost imperceptibly at a nearby on duty Airman. "I guess that saves me a trip to ol' Doc Fraiser's lair!"

Daniel gave Jack a puzzled stare but before he could say anything a loud yell came from down the corridor.

"NOOOOOOOOOO! Please, NO… DAD!"

Jack and Daniel simultaneously turned to each other:

"Sam!"

"Carter!"

and flung themselves towards the Infirmary doors. They were greeted with the sight of Sam Carter thrashing about wildly as a nurse unsuccessfully tried to restrain her. When she spotted the two other members of SG-1 her face paled.

"She's having nightmares, Sir!" the nurse yelled at Jack over Sam's loud protests. "We've already administered the maximum safe dosage of sedative but she just won't calm down, Sir."

"Where's Fraiser?" Jack demanded.

"She went down to the Commissary to get some coffee, Sir. When she left, Major Carter was sound asleep."

Jack fixed Daniel with a look.

"Daniel? I'm gonna go get the Doc, you-"

"Go, Jack, just GO!" Daniel yelled before sprinting to Sam's bedside. He gripped Sam's shoulders firmly and began to speak soothingly to her. "Sam, it's me, Daniel. You're safe now, you're in the Infirmary! Sam, listen to me, no one's going to hurt you or Jacob!" Sam's thrashing was subdued slightly at the sound of Daniel's voice but she continued to fight against his hands.

"No… have to get to the weapon… need the chip…"

"Sam, listen to me! The drone is dead, you helped Jack and Teal'c kill it, remember?"

"Wha-, I don't… Daniel, you have to help him!" Sam pleaded, her eyes rolling around in her head as though she was drunk.

"Help who, Sam?"

"The Colonel! He's… oh God!" she whimpered. "NO!"

At that moment Jack came stumbling through the door accompanied by the 5' 2" base CMO.

"What happened?" barked Janet before glaring at the nurse she had left in charge and shoving Daniel to one side.

"She must have been having nightmares, Ma'am, she just started screaming a few minutes ago!" The flustered nurse announced.

"I need 1mg of methotrimeprazine , STAT!" Janet yelled at the nurse who promptly disappeared through a doorway to retrieve the meds.

"Sam, it's Janet, can you hear me?" she said gently.

"Janet! Got to go back through the 'gate… Colonel needs… help!"

Jack moved around the other side of Sam's bed.

"Carter! I'm right here! You're safe now, we killed Anubis' drone."

Carter paused and looked confused.

"Sir?"

"It's OK, Major, Teal'c's guarding the drone. The chip worked."

"You sure, Sir?"

"Affirmative, Major! Now stand down, that's an order!" Jack barked.

"Yes, Sir!" Sam hesitated for a moment before going limp. Whilst Janet checked Sam's vitals the nurse returned with the syringe and methotrimeprazine. Janet took the vial from the nurse's hands and injected the drug into Sam's arm. Jack's brow furrowed and he turned to the nurse.

"I thought you said she couldn't have any more sedatives?"

It was Fraiser who fielded the question.

"Under normal circumstances I wouldn't recommend it, Sir, but Major Carter has been surviving on pure adrenaline for the past 48 hours and it has caused excess blood to flow through her brain. Now that her body is returning to its previous state, the reduction in blood flow and, hence, oxygen to Sam's brain is making her delirious, Sir."

"Should I be concerned, Doctor?"

"No, Sir. She should return to normal brain function within the next twenty four hours, we just need to keep her sedated and keep an eye on her until then."

Now, why couldn't she have just said that in the first place? Jack wondered. Damn techno babbling scientists!

"Oh, well, that's a relief!" Daniel announced, looking slightly less panicked. "Jack do you need me to…?"

Jack waved him off.

"That's OK, Danny. I'll take the next watch, you go get some shut-eye. I'll get Teal'c to wake you when it's your turn."

With a silent nod Daniel spun on his heels and headed out of the door, pausing only to take one last glance at Sam just to make sure she was sound asleep once more. Janet made one last check on Sam before heading back to her office on the opposite side of the room whilst the nurse busied herself tidying away the used meds and heading off to get Sam's next dose to keep nearby, just in case. Jack pulled up a chair and sat with his elbows resting on his knees and his chin resting between his palms. After a few minutes he pulled a yo-yo out his BDU pocket and began flipping the object up and down, tying it in several knots and then pausing to undo them. He repeated this series of actions over and over for the next few hours and every so often Janet would raise her head from her paperwork to glance over at her CO. To the casual observer he was simply playing with his yo-yo but Janet knew that his eyes never really left his sleeping 2IC. She had watched this scene so many times over the years that it had become as familiar as dressing Sgt. Siler's burnt hands. Not that Colonel O'Neill was the only one whose behaviour she had become so accustomed to. She had lost count of the number of times she'd had to wake Daniel from his translation-induced sleep in the very seat O'Neill was in now or how often she'd witnessed first hand Teal'c's silent, stoic bedside vigils as a member of SG-1 recovered from yet another injury. The members of SG-1 were closer than those of any other SG unit; it was a huge part of what made them such a great team.

They're more than just a team, she mused, they're a family. Teal'c was like a protective older brother to Sam and Daniel and, to some extent, the Colonel too. Similarly, Sam was like Daniel and Teal'c's sister and Daniel was the little-brother-all-grown-up of the group. Then there was O'Neill. In many ways he had been like a father figure to Daniel and a younger brother to Teal'c. When it came to Sam and Jack, however, Janet decided it was best to leave that particular relationship well alone. She was well-aware of the regulations that existed between CO and 2IC and as far as Janet was concerned, the two officers had followed those to the letter. Still, she couldn't help thinking, at moments like these, that her two friends were being robbed of something huge.

Maybe Janet was just reading too much into what wasn't there. After all, Sam was dating a cop from Denver and things seemed to be going pretty well. She wondered for a fleeting moment whether the Colonel knew about Pete.

…………………………………………….

Jack sat silently untying the knots in his yo-yo string as he contemplated the woman asleep in front of him. A task not all that dissimilar to the one currently occupying his hands, he thought. As soon as he unravelled one knot, three more seemed to appear in their place. There was a time when he felt like he knew Samantha Carter but that day in the elevator had made him realise that he didn't know her that well at all. Sure, he knew Major Carter like the back of his hand, after all, she was his 2IC, and he felt like he had gotten to know Sam pretty well after numerous team outings together but Samantha? Nope, he realised, he knew nothing but snippets of Samantha, the woman beneath the military façade. Somehow, the realisation of that fact had shocked if not pained him. Oh, he knew why, deep down, but it was something he would and could never admit, not even to himself. So he settled for what he could get. He'd rather spend an eternity by her side as a friend and comrade than risk losing her as… something else! The Colonel in him snapped to attention and blocked that path before he could go further along it. He was perfectly happy with his relationship with Major Carter. Damn straight! The Colonel in his head yelled.

Now if only he could get Jack to listen.

…………………………………………………

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