Measure After Measure

"That's enough havoc for one day," Janet declared loudly, three hours later. "Out, out, out!"

She'd had every intention of kicking three-quarters of the team out hours ago, but in the end, she hadn't had the heart to do it. Having seen first-hand the hell the men of SG-1 had been through since Monday morning, not to mention the horrors inflicted on Sam, Janet had, against her better judgment, allowed the teammates the time they needed to de-stress together.

To be fair, they had all been well behaved, relatively speaking. Even Jack had kept his harassing and haranguing of her staff to a minimum, owing, no doubt, to the fact that he, along with the rest of his team, was utterly exhausted They had even foregone their usual infirmary past times – tongue depressor Jenga, five or ten syringe bowling, gauze roll basketball and prescription drug hangman – in favor of a companionable meal and quiet conversation amongst themselves, voices little more than gentle murmurs the whole time.

"You heard the lady!" Jack grinned, enthusiastically throwing back the blankets draped over his legs. They were all clinging to whatever traces of 'normal' they could find right now, and 'normal' involved at least one attempted escape from the infirmary on his part.

"All of you not currently hooked up to IVs are free to go," Janet amended. Upon seeing Jack's hand creep towards the tape holding his IV line in place, she barked, "Colonel O'Neill, if you disconnect that line, I'm confining you to that bed for the next week and hooking up a catheter!"

"You wouldn't," Jack stated confidently while his team looked on, amused.

Janet stared him down while his fingers toyed with the edges of the tape. When her expression didn't change, he felt his confidence begin to wane. Finally, after a few long moments, Jack's hand dropped away and the stare down ended; Janet looking pleased while he muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'Napoleonic power monger' under his breath.

"You're sure Sam will be okay if we take her home for the night?" Daniel asked, glancing at his teammate in concern. She had been uncharacteristically quiet for most of the night and although he knew it was probably just because she was worn out and coming to terms with the week's events, a part of him couldn't help but worry it was indicative of something more.

"I don't see any reason to keep her here, but I want her back for a check-up tomorrow and a promise that she'll drink lots of fluids to help flush some of the drugs out of her system," Janet stipulated, making her terms and conditions clear.

"She can hear you," Sam said quietly, looking less than amused at being talked about like she wasn't even in the room.

"We will ensure that Major Carter complies with your instructions, Doctor Frasier," Teal'c swore solemnly. He could always be counted on to follow her instructions to the letter. Unless, of course, they were issued for the benefit of his own health; he had the annoying habit of doing the exact opposite of those instructions.

"One of you will, at least," Janet replied, mock glaring at Daniel who, more often than not, helped the others bend if not flat out break her rules. "I'll be back in five minutes and the only person who'd better still be here is one cranky colonel with bad knees."

"Shot through the heart, Doc," Jack retorted playfully, clapping his good hand over his chest. Having successfully negotiated himself a shot of morphine two hours ago, he was feeling much better. The dosage was just strong enough to take the edge off the pain without affecting his cognitive state, and he was grateful Janet had left him in full control of his faculties.

"Five minutes," she reminded over her shoulder, giving the team some privacy.

oOoOoOoOoOo

"No one gets left behind," Jack reminded, hopefully uttering the unofficial team motto, making one last effort to slip out of Janet's clutches.

"One word," Daniel reminded, ducking his head and watching the older man over his glasses. "'Catheter'."

"Fine," Jack sighed heavily, rolling his eyes. "I'll humor the Doc and stay here. You kids be good tonight; no wild parties just cause the old guy's not around to cramp your style."

"Do you wish for us to bring you anything from your home, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked, untangling his legs and gracefully rising out of something vaguely resembling the lotus position.

"Yo-yo, Gameboy…" he held up a finger for each item he listed.

"Uh, sir," Sam interrupted, looking pointedly at his sling. "Maybe you'd like to try that again?"

"Right," he agreed, glowering at the sling. "Simpsons DVDs and a laptop in return for my eternal gratitude?"

"Janet's too," Daniel grinned knowingly. Jack's favorite way to kill time in the infirmary was by harassing Janet, followed closely by harassing her nurses. From pressing the call button incessantly to peeling off heart monitor sensors without warning, Jack never failed to drive the infirmary staff up one wall and down the other. "Consider it done."

"T, make sure these two get to Carter's and crash. No work, no reading the dreadfully boring journals either one of them subscribes to, no puttering around the house. Just sleep," Jack ordered, looking back and forth between his two exhausted scientists as he recited the ground rules. "And absolutely no coffee. You guys need sleep, not caffeination."

"Yes, sir," Sam smiled indulgently, even as Daniel whimpered quietly at the thought of having to go until morning without the beloved brew.

"Two minutes!" Janet's voice called out from her office, glad there were no other patients in the infirmary right now.

"It has not been three minutes already!" Jack called back, protesting even as he checked the clock on the wall and saw that she was correct.

"One-minute and fifty-three seconds!" Janet retorted, daring him to continue arguing.

"I believe Doctor Frasier will strictly enforce her deadline, O'Neill," Teal'c observed helpfully, hands clasped behind his back. Even after all these years, he still loved to observe the small woman effortlessly bend battle-hardened warriors to her will. Until it was his turn, of course. It was flat out embarrassing that he who had stood up to his god could be so easily handled by the diminutive doctor.

"I think you're right, big guy," Jack sighed, looking back and forth between his teammates. They were all still standing, all going home at the end of the day. His team had walked away from another brush with disaster and that, Jack decided, made it a good day even if Mayborne had shot him. "Look after each other, kids."

"Always," Daniel promised, his lips quirking upwards slightly as Teal'c slowly began ushering him and Sam towards the door.

"Good night, sir," Sam bade over her shoulder, offering him a half smile. "We'll see you first thing in the morning."

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Jack called, fixing Sam with an indignant glare. "Get back over here, Major!"

Knowing Janet really was sitting in her office watching the seconds tick by, Sam didn't waste time arguing. Turning on her heel, she made her way back over to his side, unconsciously giving two instrument trays a wide berth.

She might not have noticed the detour, but her teammates did, trading significant looks with one another. They didn't comment on it though, knowing she was too tired to begin actively trying to curb unusual behaviors tonight. When she was close, Jack patted the mattress beside him pointedly, waiting for her to take a seat before speaking

"Frasier let me keep my cell," he said quietly, lowering his voice. His words were for her and her alone; the others didn't need to hear them, but she did. Catching her gaze, he added, "If you need to talk, any time, don't be afraid to call, all right?"

"I won't," she promised, swallowing hard against the sudden lump in her throat. "I promise."

"Good," he nodded, satisfied that she was telling the truth. Her easy acquiescence told him more about how she was really coping than anything else ever could. It took a lot before she would agree to reach out if she needed to, rather than argue that she was fine and insist their concerns were unfounded.

"C'mere," he held his good arm out invitingly. Forget the cameras, forget what anyone else might think, he needed the reassurance almost as much as she did.

Careful of the sling keeping his injured arm in place, Sam slid further up the bed and leaned into him gratefully. Closing her eyes, she let out a slow breath and relaxed at the familiar yet still novel sensation of being held by him. It wasn't quite up to the usual caliber of a Jack O'Neill hug, but there was no denying the feeling of safety that flowed through her when he pulled her close.

"You're okay," he murmured into her shoulder, though he didn't know if he was trying to reassure her or himself. "You're okay," he repeated, turning his head enough to brush his lips lightly against the side of her head.

"All right, time's up," Janet declared, marching out of her office. As soon as the words left her mouth, she started berating herself for so thoughtlessly slipping back into her usual habits when dealing with SG-1. Usually loud and brash was the best approach to take when dealing with this particular team, but at the moment, when one of them was so painfully skittish, loud and brash was the last thing they needed from their friend and doctor.

Startled, Sam pulled away from Jack and hopped off the bed with a quiet yelp. She tensed as she spun around, searching for the source of the disturbance. The familiar sound of Janet's voice faded into nothingness; squealing tires and the sound of a heavy door being rolled back assaulted her ears.

Mercifully, this time the memory failed to take complete control over Sam's senses and through the heart-stopping noises, the familiar sights of the infirmary stayed with her. Fighting against the panic that screamed for her to lash out in self-defense, the logical part of her brain railed that she was with her friends in the infirmary, not a deserted parking lot on a bright, sunny Saturday morning. Her eyes landed on Janet's guilt-ridden face and Sam forced her fists to unclench, releasing the tension in her shoulders and exhaling slowly.

The others all noticed her reaction – it was hard not to – but before any of them could intervene, Sam had already reigned herself in. Having witnessed similar behavior several times throughout the day, her teammates were pleased to see that Sam had managed to snap herself back to reality so quickly. Unfortunately, it was hard to say whether she was becoming more adept at coping with her fears or merely learning to better handle the flashbacks.

"We are departing now, Doctor Frasier," Teal'c assured quietly, closing some of the distance between Sam and himself. He stopped when he felt his symbiote squirm in reaction to the naquadah in the astrophysicist's blood, confident that she could sense him as well and hoping the sensation would soothe her.

"I'll see you all in the morning?" Janet asked, keeping her voice low and calm.

"We will be here," Teal'c assured solemnly, bowing his head. "Good night, Doctor Frasier, O'Neill."

"Night," Sam offered, forcing a weak smile onto her face as she moved to join the others by the door. She still looked shaken, but there was no panic left in her eyes. It wasn't much, but it was still progress.

"See you tomorrow," Daniel bade Jack and Janet farewell as he draped an arm around Sam's shoulders and pulled her against his side. He was a little surprised when she let him get away with it on the base, but took it as a sign of how much she needed the comfort the simple gesture provided. Squeezing her shoulders, he escorted her out of the infirmary, trailing in Teal'c's wake.

"Take good care of her, boys!" Jack called softly after his departing teammates before lapsing into silence, listening as their footsteps faded down the corridor. He ruthlessly quashed the little voice in his head that screamed he couldn't possibly take care of his teammates if he wasn't with him. Nope, no separation anxiety there.

"Sorry, sir," Janet apologized quietly once the trio were gone. "I didn't think… I didn't mean to scare her."

"Hate to break it to you, Doc, but you scare most people around here!" Jack retorted brightly, clamping down on his concern and flashing her the cheekiest grin he could muster.