CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Jack didn't wake until two days later.
That was intentional on Janet's part. His wound wasn't atrocious, and he'd certainly had much worse in his time with the SGC and before, but she wasn't taking any chances. She kept Jack sedated for a full forty-eight hours post-op so she could assist his breathing with a ventilator. The bullet that had found its way into Jack's chest had broken two ribs and lacerated his lung before lodging in the underside of his scapula. The fact that the thick slab of bone had stopped the slug had probably saved Jack's life. With no damaging exit wound to bleed profusely, he'd managed to get lucky once again.
But as is always the case with lung damage or broken ribs, breathing wasn't easy for Jack, and Janet worried about the post-operative complications of respiratory infection and collapsed lung tissue. Since Jack was historically one of her less than cooperative patients, Janet didn't leave anything to chance. She kept him on artificial respiration until she was sure his lung would stay inflated on its own.
His initial treatment was done at a local ER, then he was transferred to the SGC's ICU infirmary, where he slept on until Janet was certain that waking him was in his best interest.
When that time came, Jack woke to a ceiling he'd seen many times before. As consciousness slowly brought his mind back online, he nearly grinned at his familiar friend, but found that too difficult with a tube stuck down his throat. Instead, he made a pathetic gargling noise and flailed one arm around in an attempt to reach his mouth.
Sam appeared instantly in his vision.
"Whoa! Easy, Colonel. Calm down. It's just a trach tube. You know the drill. Nurse!"
Sam waved her arm in the air, and a passing nurse appeared. She nodded to Jack and grabbed the tube extending from this mouth. After unhooking it from its oxygen source, she spoke to her patient directly while Sam stepped back out of the way.
"Ok, sir. Just blow out when I pull. Ready?"
Jack nodded weakly, and the nurse pulled the short, wide plastic hose from Jack's throat in one fluid movement. Jack coughed as the thing cleared his lips and stuck his tongue out in a panting gesture. Sam snorted.
"Seriously, sir," said Sam. "It's not that bad. Want some water?"
Jack nodded and continued to hold his mouth open like he'd just eaten something very rotten.
"Here." Sam held out a cup of water and placed the straw in Jack's mouth.
Jack sipped a small amount of the fluid and uttered a barely audible whisper.
"Thanks."
"Anytime, sir," answered Sam.
Jack leaned back onto his pillows and smacked his lips a few times. He knew that his voice wouldn't return in force for several more hours or longer, so he didn't try to communicate. He saw Janet come barreling into the infirmary's ICU ward and he knew she'd been alerted to his awakened state. Jack would've sighed at the impending exam, including penlight, but he was suddenly too tired to do so. As Sam turned to greet Janet, oblivion claimed Jack once again, and he was grateful.
XXX
When he next woke, Jack found his company had tripled. Sam had been joined by Daniel and Teal'c. Daniel was sporting a soft bandage on his upper arm, but was otherwise unmarked, and Sam and Teal'c looked as fit as ever.
Daniel and Sam were arguing about something in harsh whispers while Teal'c looked on with that funny expression of his that indicated he was half-annoyed and half-amused by their antics.
Jack smiled a little and finally found his voice.
"Hey! What's a guy got to do to get some peace around here?"
His voice was still pathetic and hoarse, but his team heard him just fine. Sam and Daniel immediately started mumbling apologies while Teal'c stood and bowed his head at Jack.
"Sorry, Jack."
"Didn't realize you were awake, sir."
"It is good to see you conscious, O'Neill."
Jack waved one hand in the air. "Yeah, yeah… any food around here?"
Daniel grinned. "He's back."
Teal'c nodded. "Indeed."
"I think we can manage something. Hold on," Sam said.
Sam disappeared for a moment. She returned carrying a tray. She looked furtively over her shoulder, then set the tray on Jack's bed as Teal'c helped Jack into a sitting position.
"Don't let Janet see you with this," murmured Sam. "I stole it from her office."
Jack looked down at the tray and saw that Sam had pilfered him a single piece of carrot cake.
"Now, this is worth waking up for," said Jack with a grin.
Daniel and Teal'c formed human shields on either side of Jack's bed so that no wandering eyes could see what Jack was eating.
"Just hurry up and eat it, already," urged Daniel. "Fraiser might come by at any minute."
Jack had to laugh at the universal fear his team showed for the petite doctor, but he nonetheless heeded Daniel's advice. He shoveled the cake into his mouth with lightning speed and prayed that his system wouldn't get angry with him for it.
The cake wasn't gone two minutes when Fraiser showed up, with General Hammond in tow.
Janet did a quick check of Jack's vitals and nodded to Hammond, who addressed the group as a whole.
"I thought the four of you might want to know that the shooters from the restaurant were found dead in their cells this morning."
"What?" asked Daniel. "I thought they had them on suicide watch and they were under the highest levels of security, and…"
Hammond held up one hand to stop Daniel's ramblings.
"They were. At this point, we're not sure what happened. All we know is that the young men are dead. They appear to have been poisoned. The most likely method for that is either that a guard slipped them something on their request and thus assisted their suicides or that their food was poisoned somewhere along the way and they were murdered. Either way, it's out of our hands. The local police and the FBI are working on it. I just thought you'd like to know."
It was quiet for a long moment in the infirmary, then Jack spoke up.
"Sorry if I'm out of the loop, but do we know what went wrong with those two, anyway?"
Hammond nodded. "Apparently, one of the shooters was involved with a girl named Louise. She discontinued their relationship and then later realized she was pregnant with a child, most likely his. The young man found out about the pregnancy and demanded that Louise have the child and give it to him. She refused, and there was a public argument about the child. The shooter stormed off and apparently, after a good deal of substance abuse, convinced his friend that they should try to scare Louise into abiding by his wishes. The entire shooting scene was just a scare tactic."
Jack snorted. "Some scare tactic. And how many people died because of these morons?"
"Well, if there's any bright spot in this mess, it's that the death count was low," continued Hammond. "The boys apparently did just want to scare the girl. They mostly fired into the ceiling, and most of the injuries in the restaurant were minor."
"Present company excluded," murmured Jack.
"Present company excluded," allowed Hammond. "However, one man, a Jeremy Myers, died as a result of his wounds last night. We think that's what either pushed the boys into suicide or caused someone to murder them."
"Or a little of both," mused Janet.
"Indeed," chimed Teal'c.
"I guess it's probably for the best," said Sam. "I mean, it'd take years to get all the trials done, and then they'd either be killed or spend their lives in prison. This is probably more humane."
"Especially when you consider that each and every person in that restaurant would have to testify over and over," Daniel added. "No one should have to rehash something like that publicly." Daniel pointedly looked at Sam when he spoke, but she missed the gesture. Jack didn't.
"Fair enough, then," said Jack, killing the topic. "So, when do I get out of this joint?"
Janet chuckled. "Not today. In fact, not until I say so, so you'd better be nice, Jack O'Neill."
Jack scowled at the physician, and Sam and Daniel couldn't help but snort small giggles at his expression. He looked as petulant as a six year-old child, and they both knew he'd soon be acting like one, too. Of course, neither one of them was a model patient, either, so they said nothing.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other patients to attend to," said Janet.
"Thank you, doctor," said Hammond in dismissal. When Janet was gone, Hammond turned back to Jack and his team. He looked like he still had something important to tell them.
"I've got some news that might speed your recovery a little, Colonel. This last little adventure of yours has turned some heads in Washington. I've gotten permission from the Pentagon to clear Major Carter for duty."
Sam's head whipped towards Hammond quicker than lightning on fast forward. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open, but Daniel was the first to speak.
"That's great!" he exclaimed.
"Indeed that is excellent news, General Hammond," agreed Teal'c.
Sam had to ask for confirmation. "Really?"
Hammond smiled, and the grin reached his eyes. "Absolutely, Major."
Sam smiled broadly and summed up her feelings in one word. "Sweet."
Jack snorted a small laugh at her response, and everyone turned to him. The briefest shadows of confusion and concern flickered in all eight eyes that met his.
"Problem, Colonel?" asked Hammond.
Jack shook his head and laughed a little more, which caused him to cough a bit. When he was through gagging, he wheezed a response.
"Just glad to see Carter giving a one word answer, sir."
Sam looked mildly offended at Jack's words. Daniel started to protest, then appeared to think better of it and remained silent. Teal'c and General Hammond shared a look that clearly said they understood Jack's sentiments all too well.
Hammond chuckled under this breath and patted Jack twice on the thigh in a fatherly manner.
"That, son, I can understand," he said.
Sam's mouth fell open, then snapped shut again as Hammond held up a hand to her.
"No offense, Major. Now, I've got more paperwork and phone calls about this matter to take care of than I'd like to think about, so if you'll excuse me?"
Hammond turned and started to leave the infirmary without waiting for acceptance of his question, but just as he reached the door, he spun back around and addressed Jack and his team one more time.
"Oh, and SG-1?"
"Yes, sir?" chimed Jack and Sam in unison while Daniel and Teal'c met the General's gaze silently.
Hammond's eyes roamed over Daniel, Sam, and Teal'c before settling on Jack. They met and held the Colonel's gaze for a long moment before the General spoke again.
"It's good to have you back."
Jack grinned in a lopsided way. He didn't pretend, for once, to misunderstand the double meaning of Hammond's words. He knew George wasn't just referring to his injury, and as his own eyes followed the path that Hammond's had just traveled, his grin grew wider.
Jack's eyes lingered on each of his teammates for a moment as they gave their own form of thanks to the General for his comment. Teal'c inclined his head toward General Hammond wordlessly. Daniel stammered out a 'thank you', and Sam confidently raised her head and offered a hearty 'thank you, sir'. Finally, it was Jack's turn, and he said the only thing he could.
"Yes, sir, it is."