Syracuse readers: Told ya ;)

A/Ramble: Happy New Year! Final part for the 'Broca Divide'. Next, I think we'll look into living arrangements and touch on more mundane things like kids and engagement. Some housekeeping for the endings. But in the meantime, Jack has a few words with Jonas. Some Janet/Kawalsky in this one. Enjoy!

~ 25 ~

"Stay awake, Doc," Jack ordered, shaking Sam's shoulder. Janet could only watch the General try to keep Sam awake. She couldn't believe the amount of self-control he was holding onto. She fully expected him to have lashed out by now. He was a man of action; if there was anything he could to help their situation, he would jump at the chance. With that in mind, Janet thought it best to let Jack continue trying to talk to Sam.

Janet turned to West in the doorway. "Did you give Doctor Carter a sedative when you arrived?"

"Yes Ma'am. Not a large dose; just enough to calm her down. She and Howard were going at it pretty hard."

Janet looked back at Sam, narrowing her eyes sceptically. She had given Sam a pretty hefty dose herself. If enough sedative is used, it must hold back the primitive part of the mind. That said, the dose required to achieve that effect would be dangerously high.

Sam opened her mouth again to speak, but the words did not come easily. "C-cure?" she whispered, her eyes drifting between Janet and Jack. Jack looked up at her and Janet took it as an invitation to join the partly intimate moment. She knelt down behind Jack.

"We're working on it, Sam." Sam was clearly struggling to hang onto her words. "The Virus feeds on histamine. We want to try a large course of antihistamines to see if we can starve the virus."

Sam coughed and grimaced, "Try...M-me."

"No, I'm afraid not, Sam. We'd have to trial it on someone, but I'd prefer to test it on one of the boys first. We don't want to risk any permanent damage."

Sam groaned her disapproval.

"It's alright Doctor; we appreciate the offer," Jack smiled tenderly and tightened his arms around her. "Just go to sleep so Frasier can stitch you up."

Janet had to smile; she held her clipboard to her chest and watched in silence as Sam nodded her head and let her eyes close. Her body quickly became limp and Jack called for West to help him get Sam to the infirmary. All of the gurneys were currently being used to restrain personnel and hold some who - like Sam - had been injured.

"Um, a little help here?" Bailey asked from his place on the floor. He was still sitting on Howard who, though now much calmer, was still wide awake. Howard didn't look very comfortable lying face-down on the floor with both arms locked behind her back.

"Well, since everyone is shooting up, might as well let you join the fun." Janet pulled another syringe from her pocket. It was easier than letting her patients hurt themselves.

~ SJ ~

Charlie pulled at his restraints towards her as Janet stood by his bed, her attention on the syringe in her hands. Unlike the other male personnel who'd been infected, she wasn't afraid of Kawalsky. He wasn't trying to take her as a mate by force. She'd quickly learned a more effective method of calming him down than sedatives. She slid her hand into his and rubbed her thumb soothingly. He gave her a loud grunt, but relaxed.

She would have preferred to do this in private, but not knowing the effects of the chloropheniramine malleate, at least giving in this quantity, she still needed Adrian West's presence. Luckily, West had the good sense to stand back and make no comment. The Senior Airman stepped around the bed. Charlie growled at him, but Janet quickly averted his attention with a squeeze of his hand.

"Ready, Captain?"

Janet took a shallow breath and released Charlie's hand. He gave her a look of confusion and panic, tugging at his restraints. Adrian had to hold his shoulders down as Janet injected the drug into his bicep. Charlie convulsed a little before passing out. Janet sighed and capped the syringe.

"Alright then. Keep a close eye on his vitals and let me know if anything changes."

Adrian nodded; though Janet didn't stay long enough to see it. She quickly escaped the room.

~ SJ ~

0657h,
Saturday 23rd April 1996
SGA Infirmary

Janet didn't rouse at the knock on her door. She'd only been asleep for an hour after a long night of administering the megadoses of antihistamines to everyone on base, infected or not. She'd given the last patients their doses at around four in the morning. Once those patients were in the clear and on the road to recovery, she'd retreated to her office for a few hours of sleep, at least enough so she would be able to drive herself home. The fact that the base would still be under lock-down for the rest of the day also contributed to her inability to go home.

Jack raised his hand again to knock, but thought better of it. He wasn't sure where Sam had disappeared to, but he did see her heading to the women's locker room with a pair of tweezers which, he only suspected, she'd commandeered from the infirmary. He couldn't blame her; he wasn't a fan of her monobrow either. He'd gone away to do some trimming himself.

He leaned over Janet's desk and shook her shoulder.

Janet lifted her head, blinking rapidly with bloodshot eyes. She definitely deserved the overtime pay. She honestly looked like she had a hangover.

"I've found that long periods of excessive caffeine consumption lead to dehydration and a very large headache the next morning," Janet groaned, pushing a hand through her tangled hair. Jack chuckled and held out the half empty bottle of water that he'd brought with him. She needed it at lot more than he did.

"Only just worked that out now?"

"No, Sir," she took a long swig of water, "worked that out while studying for finals. I just conveniently ignored it over the last two nights."

"Well, you did a good job, Doctor." Jack slipped his hands into his pockets and nodded to his CMO.

"Thank you, Sir. I'll happily forgo any extra pay if I can go home."

"Sorry, you're stuck here." Janet groaned and fell back into her chair. "But, you can stand down and change into civs. Kawalsky is taking SG teams one and two back to seven-nine-seven to discuss a trade agreement with Tuplo-"

"Too-who?"

"Tuplo. He's some sort of leader in the city on seven-nine-seven. Apparently the place has some sort of archaeological significance. And it would be nice to make some more allies. We'll try and offer the..." he made quotation marks with his fingers, "...'untouched' a cure for the 'touched' people. Even Tuplo's daughter came down with the virus."

"Yes, I read the report. They exile the touched to the dark side of the planet. That doesn't quite sit right with me," She wrinkled her nose in disapproval, "I suspect they have a naturally occurring antihistamine in their diet. If we can identify the particular food, we can help them prevent any further outbreaks."

"That's the idea." Jack nodded, looking around the room. Janet downed the rest of the bottle of water. Jack quietly made an inquiry that she didn't hear.

"Sorry, Sir?"

"How is Hanson?"

Janet laughed when she remembered the incident that preceded his admission to the infirmary. "His nose is well and truly broken. I released him and last I saw he was heading to his quarters to change shirts."

Sam made him bleed, a thought that filled Jack with a strange pleasure. "Right."

"Sam appreciates the lessons, General. She's told me as much."

Jack stewed on that for a moment. "Well, I feel a lot better knowing she can look after herself."

"She can. Very well. Hanson will be sporting proof for at least a week, maybe two."

Jack smiled, "Get some sleep, Doctor." He slowly backed out of the room and disappeared in search of Lieutenant Hanson.

~ SJ ~

"...So maybe I came along a little strongly," Hanson laughed, rocking on the back legs of his chair in the observation room. He had been happily chatting with the three other airmen in the room until one asked what had happened to his nose. Now he was beginning to brag.

"Ya think?" Another chuckled.

"Yeah but, I mean, I heard she went after the General." Jonas guffawed, feigning his confusion.

"He is the CO, man. Half the chicks on base would have gone for him," a Technical Sergeant added, flicking his eyes over the security cameras.

"Maybe now she's got her head screwed on straight she'll wake up to the, uh... better specimens, she'd call 'em, on the base." Jonas grinned, looking to the other men. They all shared a glance, mostly disbelieving, except for the other Lieutenant in the small room.

"Careful what you say, mate. The General is a General for a reason. Besides, I heard Doctor Carter is seeing someone. One of the boys in logistics asked her out. She said she was spoken for."

Jonas scratched his belly as he stretched in his chair. "Maybe. I wouldn't mind trying to change her mind though," he smirked and waggled his eyebrows suggestively. He didn't get the response he was hoping for. The other men were looking at something over his shoulder. Jonas had his back to the door and he knew it was open. Looking at the opposite wall, he recognised the silhouette.

"The General is right behind me, isn't he?" Jonas asked as the men quickly turned back to the monitors. Jonas turned in his seat and, as he guessed, the General was standing in the doorway behind him.

"Got a minute, Lieutenant?" Jack asked calmly, as if he hadn't heard that entire conversation. Jonas stood and followed Jack out into the hall. They continued down the hallway, following the pipe-like corridors until they came to the door that led to the stairway. Jack roughly pushed the door open and stepped onto the landing. Once the door closed behind them, Jack cast Jonas a dark look.

"I hope I'm not going to have any problems with you, Hanson."

"Sir?"

Jack rubbed his chin, carefully regarding Jonas. "You better be careful about giving Doctor Carter any unwanted attention. I don't want to deal with a harassment case."

"In fairness, Sir, I was infected with an alien virus."

"I'm aware. I'm fully aware of why you would go after a woman like her. But I'm not talking about work relations here."

"If anything was to happen between the Doctor and myself outside of work, Sir, it would be none of your concern..." He took a moment, weighing up the consequences of the word he wanted to add. The game was more dangerous if the General knew that Jonas was aware of the relationship. "...Normally."

Realisation flooded the General's eyes and Jonas could feel the adrenaline begin to rush. Jack took a step forwards, coming nose to nose.

"I'm telling you, right now: she is spoken for. You understand?" he warned darkly, confirming Hanson's suspicions. Jonas loved a challenge.

"Understood." Jack put his hand of the door to leave, but Jonas couldn't help himself. "But, like I said, maybe she's keeping an eye out for someone younger. A little competition is fun. Right, Sir?" The suspense was palpable while he waited for the General's next move. If the General had any doubt about what Jonas knew, he didn't now. Jonas wasn't prepared to have his shoulder slammed into the wall behind him. The General's grip wasn't bruising, but certainly threatening.

"You listen carefully, Jonas..." The given name; now it was personal, "...do you know how many years I spent on Special Ops? It's simple; you so much as look at her the wrong way, you'll find out real quick."

The threat sank in enough for Jonas to begin to reconsider his commentary. His face gave nothing away, but the bead of sweat trickling down the side of his face spoke volumes. He had no doubt the General would protect his own.

Jack didn't wait for confirmation. He pushed off Jonas' shoulder and trudged up the stairs, leaving the Lieutenant on the landing.

~ SJ ~

1846h,
Jack's house

"Stop looking at my eyebrows," Sam covered her eyes with her hands. Jack laughed at her, giving her ankle a firm squeeze.

"They're fine! They look the same as they did before," he assured her. They were on the deck in his backyard; he'd invited her over for dinner and although they'd had a very long forty-eight hours, she happily agreed. For Jack, his house felt too empty without her in it. She seemed to feel the same way. It was that realisation that had Jack spending the last half hour in silence as Sam read her book, her legs resting over his lap while they sat together on the bench outside.

"Thank God; I spent almost an hour this afternoon trying to repair them."

"You missed a spot," Jack teased, resulting in a cushion being thrown at him. Again, Sam hid her face, this time with her book.

"Jack..." she growled at him from the book. When he first met her, he thought she'd spend most of her time with her nose in books about astrophysics and engineering. Not entirely the case, as he'd discovered. She had a taste for Mills and Boon.

"You did quite a number on Hanson, you know."

Sam lowered the book to reveal a very smug grin. "I know..."

"You seem awfully proud."

Sam closed the book and leaned across Jack to place it on the small table beside him. She fell back into the cushions and tucked her hands into her pockets.

"He gives me the creeps... and it was nice to know I can defend myself." She shrugged, almost shyly.

"Well, it's done and dusted. We'll just have to be more careful with our medical procedures." They enjoyed a peaceful silence and Sam was going to resume her reading when Jack patted her leg. "What do you say to an early night?" The subtle lift of his brow and the playful smirk ensured Sam that Jack wasn't thinking about sleep just yet.

"I hadn't planned to stay the night..."

"So we'll go get your stuff and you can stay for the weekend," Jack shrugged as if the whole idea was the least trivial thing in the world.

"The whole weekend?"

"Sure. It's only tonight and tomorrow night. We lost most of today to lock-down."

Sam nibbled the inside of her bottom lip. "Sounds good." She pulled her legs from his lap and stood, offering him a hand and helping Jack to his feet.

"You know, if this works out, we should look at moving in together. Not now, but down the track," Jack gestured with his hand as he opened the glass door for her.

"We'll see. Where would we live? Your place or mine?"

"We could always get our own place..." Jack offered, grabbing his car keys from the kitchen counter. "We'll see how we go and let the powers that be decide."

"Works for me."

"Sam?"

She turned back to him at the front door. "What?"

"You missed a spot."

~ SJ ~

So, powers that be (that's you), in 'There But For The Grace Of God', where did our happy couple live? Jack's place, Sam's place, or their place? I'm thinking his place. Your thoughts?