So, here's chapter 10, thanks for all the support I've received for this story, it's really keeping me motivated!!!
Thanks to Naliza for being the best beta I could ask for!! :D
Don't have anything else to say right now so I'm going to get on with the story!!
*~*~*
"Jack really hit you?" Daniel asked, dropping heavily in the chair by Sam's bed.
"I didn't even see it coming, we were just talking. He turned away suddenly, I asked if he was alright. He just hit me, he said something like 'How dare I talk to him after everything I've done', I don't understand why and then he just hit me," she slowly mumbled with a slight laugh as she realised the absurdity of what had happened. The moment of humour was lost as a flash of pain radiated through her jaw.
"Is it possible that Jack really doesn't remember, like what happened to me this morning," Daniel suggested.
"It's a possibility I suppose but it's a completely different manifestation."
"Look into it Doctor," Hammond ordered.
"Yes Sir. Sam needs to rest now," Janet announced.
Sam rolled her eyes slightly at Janet's tone. She said goodbye to her friends as they left the room.
"So how are you feeling, really?" Janet asked, taking the opportunity to sit down at her friend's side.
"Headache and did I knock a couple of teeth loose?" Sam asked, gently exploring the interior of her mouth with her tongue.
"Yeah, you might have to watch what you eat for a while. That must have been quite a punch," Janet said, trying to be subtle.
"I don't get it Janet, I don't understand why he did it. We were joking around, he was totally normal but then he suddenly hit me. He was so angry, I've never seen him like that."
"That has to be strange."
"You have no idea. There has to be something wrong with him Janet," Sam implored. She could not imagine that he would ever hit her like that unless there was something wrong with him.
"Okay, I'm going to check him out. You know the deal with head injuries by now."
"Oh yeah," Sam agreed.
"Get comfortable. I'll let you know if I find anything," Janet said, knowing that Sam would want to be kept informed, she deserved to know as well.
"Thanks Janet," Sam replied warmly. She lay back on the bed, thankful that her stomach had calmed enough so that she did not have to consciously fight the nausea. Jack really could pack a punch, she realised, her head was still throbbing and her mouth was pretty sore. She accepted the painkillers that the nurse offered her and tried to relax.
*~*
"I do not understand why O'Neill would attack Major Carter
in such a way."
"Me neither, he would never hurt Sam like that, not on purpose," Daniel agreed,
shaking his head.
"Do you believe that O'Neill has been affected by your time on P2X-739?"
"I don't know Teal'c but I almost hope so."
"What will happen to O'Neill if Dr. Fraiser can not find anything physically wrong with him?"
"I don't know but it's a serious offence," Daniel offered. He did not pretend to know much about the intricacies of the military justice system but he did know that there was a good chance that Jack would end up being court-martialed, jail time and a dishonourable discharge if found guilty.
*~*
Jack allowed the SF's to escort him to the holding room without trying to resist or even make any attempted wisecracks. Hr passively sat down on a bench in the small holding room and stared at the bare concrete wall. Sam was totally sure that he had hurt her, he could see it in her face. The problem was that he had absolutely no recollection of it ever happening and he knew that it was not something he would forget that easily. The only thing that he could remember was going to her lab to try and get her to come to dinner, she had refused and so he had gone to the commissary alone. That was where Teal'c had told him later on about the attack.
He gazed up from the point on the wall he had been focusing on as he heard the door lock disengage. Janet entered the room, slightly nervous with a SF towering above her, his right hand resting on the holster on his hip.
"I need to check you over Sir, okay?"
"Sure, I'm not gonna bite," Jack muttered flatly.
"Okay, we'll see if we can find out what's going on," Janet said kindly. She had rarely seen O'Neill looking so passive and defeated. Since Sam had regained consciousness she had not heard one wisecrack or sarcastic comment from him. Despite the obvious shock on his face she was only too aware of the fact that he could still be capable of snapping unexpectedly.
"Is Sam okay? Did she say anything more?" The rare use of her first name did not go unnoticed by Janet
"She's fine. She's got a pretty nasty concussion but as I said before, no permanent damage."
Jack allowed her to check him over. He also allowed the heavily armed SF's to escort him to the CT scanner and back to his cell once Janet had reported that she could find nothing wrong with him.
It was the last thing that any of them wanted to hear. Though Janet was unable to say that there was definitely nothing wrong with Daniel, Sam or himself for that matter.
*~*
Sam was worried about the Colonel since she had never seen him so angry as he had been in her lab.
There had been times in the past when he had lost his temper, when the anger had been right on the surface, but in everyone of those situations there had been a reason for that anger, it had been justified in some way. She had never seen him lash out in that way with absolutely no provocation. Even on K'Tau, when he had almost killed the man who had caused the deaths of two SGC officers, she had not even seen that type of look on his face.
She looked up when Janet sat down next to her, interrupting her musings.
"How are you feeling? Headache any better?"
"Yeah, I guess. How's Colonel O'Neill?"
"The guy viciously attacks you and you're asking how he is?" she asked incredulously.
"Janet, you know that he wouldn't hurt me on purpose."
"I know but I can't find anything wrong him," Janet admitted, unsure why she felt just that guilty about that. The brutality of the attack on her friend had shocked her and knowing the identity of the perpetrator had made it much worse.
"So what now?" Sam asked.
"I don't know, Sam."
*~*
General Hammond was in his office, pondering the same question. The security tapes from Major Carter's lab had been brought to him, he was waiting for Daniel and Teal'c to arrive before he started watching them. He had been given a rundown on what it showed, apparently it confirmed O'Neill's guilt. Teal'c and Daniel arrived a few minutes later, Hammond noticed that Daniel was uncharacteristically quiet, not that he could blame him for that.
They all sat in silence as they watched the tape. It was just as Sam had described it. They could see on the screen how the Colonel and she were talking, joking about her work. Daniel winced as Jack viciously backhanded Sam. He looked away when, despite Sam's attempts at self-defence, Jack's lightening blow knocked her to the floor. What chilled Hammond was Jack's casual treatment of the unconscious Major, kneeling beside her for a few seconds before shrugging the event off like it was nothing, something inconsequential.
*~*
The worst thing about having a concussion, Sam decided, was that she was not able to sleep long before she was woken by one of the medical staff making sure she was not displaying any worrying symptoms. She just managed to settle down when one of nurses came over and shone a penlight in her eyes.
Once the nurse had departed Sam shuffled awkwardly in the bed, she was finding it difficult to get comfortable. Her eyes darted around the infirmary, her eyes straining to see in the dimmed lights, trying to locate the sound that had caught her attention. She realised what the noise was after a few seconds, two of the nurses were whispering in the corner of the infirmary. Sam could not make out what they were saying but she had no doubt that they were talking about her. She knew right away that they were planning her transfer out of the SGC, they were trying to get rid of her.
Sam slowly pulled back the covers and climbed out of bed. As she tried to straighten herself she had no choice but to grip the rails of the bed as the world decided to start spinning around her. She grabbed her BDU pants and black t-shirt from under the bed. Her need to get away was great, she had to get away at all cost. She could not let them transfer her off the base, she enjoyed her work at the SGC too much. Despite her sudden overwhelming desire she did not fancy running around in her current attire, a backless gown. Balling the clothes up in front of her, she slipped out of the infirmary without the nurses even realising that she had left her bed.
She quickly changed in the small supply room adjacent to the infirmary. Once changed she moved through the halls quickly, or as quickly as she could with her head throbbing in unison with her rapid heart beat.
She sought out somewhere she felt safe, somewhere that she could hide from the people who were trying to get rid of her. That turned out to be a quiet spot on the surface above the base. It was a small clearing where only trees, and not a trace of anything even remotely military, could be seen. It was the same place she visited in the past when she needed to see the sky after spending too many hours underground.
Sitting on a fallen log, she pulled her knees to her chest, listening intently for any sound of possible approaching personnel coming to force her off the base. She shivered in the cold air, her thin t-shirt offered no protection against the elements. Sitting in the dark, she waited for the inevitable heavy footfalls to approach.
*~*
The nurse on call went to check on Major Carter, she quietly pulled back the curtain and was surprised to find the bed empty. She swore under her breath. Hoping that she had not gone far, she started to search for her.
They could find no sign of her in any of the rooms of the infirmary. Widening the search to the commissary and Carter's lab and quarters also turned up nothing. On a whim the young nurse tried Dr. Jackson's lab, she was slightly surprised to find him still working.
"Dr Jackson."
"Is everything okay?" Daniel asked quickly.
"Have you seen Major Carter?"
"You mean she's not in the infirmary?"
"Uh no. I just thought she may have come here."
"No, I haven't seen her. Although there is a few places she could have gone to hide. I'll check them out for you."
"Thank you Dr. Jackson," the nurse sad, smiling sweetly at him.
Daniel knew what her favourite spot was and so decided to go there first. He had found her there on more than one occasion during the three months Jack was stuck off world on Edora. None of the guards had seen her but the front door was not the only way out of the mountain. Daniel heard Sam before he saw her, her panicked breathing and shuffling feet announced her location.
"Sam, is that you?" he called out, not wanting to surprise her. Stepping into the clearing he saw her, sitting hunched up on a log, her bare arms wrapped around her knees.
"I don't want to go, Daniel," she muttered, just loud enough for him to hear.
"Go where, back to the infirmary?"
"I don't want to leave. Don't make me leave."
"Sam, I don't understand."
"I know they're coming to throw me off the base."
"You're not making any sense. Nobody is coming, it's just me. You're not being thrown off the base," Daniel reassured her in a calming voice.
"Don't lie to me Daniel," she half shouted.
"I'm not lying, I wouldn't lie to you."
"Don't treat me like a child," she yelled.
Daniel's eyes widened in shock as Sam stood and span around, a 9mm pistol levelled at his chest.
*~*~*
So, that was chapter 10, let me know what you thought!!
I hope to get another chapter posted before my finals start but there are no guarantees and there are definitely no promises on me finishing chapter 12 before uni finishes. Feedback motivates me though, but unfortunately most of my motivation has to go into revision right now!! Shame I know!! ;)