Daniel Jackson strolled hand in hand with his Kathleen through the park. While she carried the conversation, Daniel was rather reserved. The young woman realized quickly the archaeologist was with his thoughts and completely in a different place. Kathleen looked at him lovingly and tried to talk to him.
"A penny for your thoughts," she said quietly, looking at him expectantly
Daniel gave her an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry, I'm not good company right now," he murmured, taking off his glasses and rubbing his burning eyes.
"Your friend?" She asked, worried. He nodded.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
At first, he hesitated and then nodded. He had to talk to someone, even if he could not tell her everything. For days he had carried this emotional burden around with him and could not talk to anyone about it. Sam was completely out of her mind since Jack had overdosed on the strong pain pills and barely could get through a day without breaking down. Teal'c - well Teal'c was not Daniel's first choice for this type of conversation. And Janet? Janet was very professional as always, looking outwardly as if she were unshakeable. She would give him the medical facts very straight-forward but never had time for anything else, especially when it came to comfort him or anyone.
Kathleen sat down on the park bench at the edge of the path and asked Daniel to sit beside her. She was worried about him. With some encouragement from her side, he finally told her what troubled him, describing his worries about Jack, his thoughts about losing a good friend. It was good to finally be able to share all his pent-up feelings with someone and he was not ashamed when tears came to him. He trusted this woman, felt he had known her all his life.
"And there is no hope for your friend anymore?" She asked in dismay.
Daniel shook his head in frustration while he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket. He removed his glasses and wiped away his tears. Trying to calm himself he took his time and polished his soiled glasses on his shirt before putting them back on his nose.
"Could you talk to him?" She asked, taking his hand and holding it tight with her own.
"No, he was so changed, dismissive. As if he did not want to see me let alone talk to me." he said sadly.
"Maybe he needs time to process everything for himself, he is lost. You have to be there for him when he needs you, that's all you can do. I don't think he's expecting anything more from you, he'll come to you when he's ready for a friend to lean on. "
"If he does not start ...", he remarked, he suddenly stopped in mid-sentence.
"What?" She asked in surprise, looking at him.
He had already said too much.
"Nothing," he murmured, unable to look her in the eye any longer.
"Daniel, look at me." she begged him, gently stroking his cheek.
He looked at her, a little shyly.
"Whatever troubles you, if you need me, I'm here for you! I want you to know that!" She said, kissing him tenderly on the forehead.
Daniel suddenly noticed something on his knee, looked up, and looked directly into the loyal, brown eyes of one of Kathleen's dogs.
"Dogs know when somebody is not feeling well and that's her way of telling you she's there for you, as I am. Hope is a particularly sensitive animal with an extreme sense for such situations."
He smiled, stroked the dog gently over the head. He was glad to have Kathleen and her canine friend.
A few miles away, deep in the Cheyenne Mountain complex, General Hammond was slowly losing his patience. For days, the prisoner was interrogated over and over again, with no results - he was silent and persistent. His only reaction in all that time was just a happy grin now and then. George Hammond would have preferred to execute this guy with his own hands. Even today's conversation was no different. Puffing, the general vented his anger, banging his fist on the table in the room behind the glass where he and Jaffa Teal'c watched the interrogation unseen. The coffee cups clattered loudly as the table shook from the General anger. Teal'c raised an eyebrow, wondering at the unfamiliar emotional outburst of his otherwise calm superior.
"General, if you let me, I'd like to try, maybe I can get him to change his mind," the Jaffa suggested.
The general snorted. He had put the best people on this man, but slowly lost the belief that anyone could ever make him talk. He knew this guy was no more than a henchman. He absolutely had to get the mastermind of this "crime" of his friend and to punish the sick person that had caused him so much pain. He swore he would not rest until he had done that and if it was the last thing he did! He owed it to Jack O'Neill.
The general nodded, not sure whether Teal'c could change anything or not, but he was grateful for any attempt. As Teal'c entered the interrogation room, the man grinned maliciously at him. However, as the Jaffa slowly approached him, building himself in full height before him, the guilty man nervously and instinctively clenched his fists, handcuffed to his back.
"You will not hurt me!" He barked confidently.
"Do not worry, I won't even get my fingers dirty on you!" Teal'c snarled.
Slowly he neared the man, then leaning, with his head close to his ear – he whispered something to him. The man opened his eyes wide, and began to squirm in his shackles.
Teal'c remained calm and unemotional as usual, just turned around and left the room again, without another word while the sergeant screamed, trying to free himself from his handcaffs.
As far as General Hammond could tell from where he stood, all of a sudden, the guy had lost his entire color. He wondered what the Jaffa had said to him, addressing him directly when he entered the observation room again.
"I've just told him his future, General, that is all," Teal'c said in his usual stoic manner.
George Hammond did not ask any further, left it at that, and ordered that the sergeant be returned to his detention cell.
On another level of the compound, Jack O'Neill lay in his bed, smiling as he watched Sam, sitting in a chair by his bed, fast asleep. It was the first time he could stay awake for more than a few minutes. As hard as he tried, he could not remember what had happened. He just enjoyed seeing Sam and the closeness, but a few minutes later, Janet Frasier entered the room, destroying the calmness of the moment.
"Colonel, you're awake," she said.
Glancing at Sam, she shook her head angrily.
"Why does anyone think they could do what they want here?" She said in Sam's direction.
Sam woke abruptly, blinking at Jack in surprise, then at Janet.
"Major Carter, did we not have a deal?" The doctor said halfheartedly.
Sam shrugged apologetically and smiled at Jack.
"Hi," she whispered softly.
"Hi," he greeted back, smiling again.
"How are you feeling?" She asked worriedly, taking his hand.
"That's my part," said the doctor.
"So? Colonel?" She demanded as she took his wrist and checked his pulse.
"Better," he stammered, wondering what he was recovering from.
"Why am I actually here?" He asked with a frown.
"Sir?"
Janet did not quite understand the question. He had to know why he was here!
Jack waited for an answer, looking helplessly at Sam. But even she said nothing at first.
"Jack," she suddenly sobbed, weeping. "Why did you do that?"
He stared at her for a moment, not knowing what to say.
"I, I know, it was not right to let my frustration out on you, Janet, I apologize for that, I did not mean to hurt you, certainly not you," he said, looking pleadingly at the doctor.
Janet Frasier and Samantha Carter looked at each other, confused.
"I know that, sir," she said, patting his shoulder lightly. "My reaction was inappropriate and unprofessional, I blamed myself when it happened and even now, I think I still have a degree of blame. "
"Why?" He asked, puzzled. "I was an ass, believe me, I know that." her patient confessed meekly.
"Jack," Sam whispered, starting to cry aloud.
He did not understand what was going on. He felt so helpless when she cried bitterly.
"Sam, I do not know what to say," he mumbled.
Janet took over the conversation "Sir, you really do not know why you are here?"
He shook his head. The doctor could see from his reaction that he was very confused. Nothing seemed to be clear to him. Jack frowned, looking puzzled between the two women.
"Colonel, we had to treat you for an overdose of opiates!" She said directly, eyes fixed.
Jack O'Neill stared at her wide-eyed, sitting up abruptly.
"Are you implying that you think I've tried to kill myself? That's it, isn't it? "He shouted again indignantly, barely able to control himself.
"Sir, that's a fact, not a guess," she said harshly, keeping his eyes fixed directly on her.
"I did not do that! I would not end my life this way, believe me! I'd rather be ...", he stopped suddenly, averted his eyes.
"What, Colonel?" She asked, already knowing the answer.
"Nothing, I did not do that!" He repeated angrily. Looking down at his bandaged hand, nervously playing with his fingers.
"Then how did the overdose happen, Colonel, explain it to me, please!" She demanded.
She tried to get eye contact with him, waiting for his explanation. She tried to lift his face, but he refused. Jack shuddered, he was terribly upset and unable to even look at her.
How could she believe he had tried to end his life with an overdose?
"I do not remember, I was so tired and suddenly had a terrible headache. I took one of the pills, the stuff did not help, so I took one more, I do not remember anymore," he assured her.
Janet looked at him, not knowing what to believe.
"Sir, you did not just take two of the pills, your blood counts are clear!"
"I do not remember," he yelled angrily at the doctor.
Jack begin trying to calm down as he saw Sam wince next to him. She said nothing, but cried incessantly. He hated seeing her like that. He gently took her hand in his and looked at her pleadingly.
"Sam, I did not do that, believe me," he sobbed, his voice hoarse and hoarse.
She would like to believe him so much.
At the same moment the door opened and one of the nurses burst in.
"Doctor, there is an emergency in the holding cells," she called.
Janet ran away immediately, she had no other choice, she had to leave her friends alone in this difficult situation, whether she liked it or not.
A few minutes later, she and her team reached the holding cells, not knowing what to expect there. General Hammond, Teal'c, and several other people stood in front of the cell, all talking excitedly. Janet Frasier struggled to make her way through the crowd, suspecting nothing good when she entered the room. But what she eventually found there, she would never have expected.
The sergeant was dead!