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Comment about this chapter: I was always bothered by the episode Emancipation. It sometimes even hasn't been shown during reruns, so I am not the only one. It didn't make sense from any point – military strategy, storytelling, whatever I can think of… Jack looked like an incompetent leader and Daniel as a bad friend. I can cut Teal'c some slack since he was new and still adjusting.
I consider rewriting the ep as a separate fanfic at some point. We'll see.
I am curious what you think, so please REVIEW!
And I would like to thank Schrodinger's Spice who with the latest comment won the title MindReader, because that is exactly what's going to happen. So that's a bit of a spoiler, anyway, read on…
Finally came the day of removal of Gracie's splint and afterwards the little kitten was sleeping off the sedative she was given for the procedure. The leg would remain a bit sore, but it was time to get rid of the splint and start exercising it. Sam wasn't given any sedative, but was sleeping as well. Due to the poison left in her system her liver couldn't keep up with the workload. It meant low levels of nutrients, minerals and vitamins, which of course Laura tried to rectify, but still Sam suffered from excessive fatigue. After the conversation with Laura, Sam slept for twenty hours straight.
Daniel spent most of that time in the infirmary, watching over Sam and often bugging Laura with the same questions over and over again. But no matter how often he asked Laura didn't know when would Sam wake up or when would she regain her sight. They also talked about O'Neill and Laura assured Daniel she'd talk to O'Neill if the current situation persisted.
At some point she just asked Daniel to leave and get something to eat and drink. When he inquired if she wanted something she said some tea, even though she could very well do without that. She was just looking forward to a minute or two of silence. It was also true that she felt bad about what happened to Sam and hated that she couldn't heal all her wounds at once.
Suddenly Sam's vitals spiked, which made Laura sprint towards her. The blood pressure, heart and respiratory rate was very high and it happened seemingly without a reason. She heard Sam cry out in pain and then watched with horror as she started trashing around with unbelievable strength.
"No! Stop!" Sam's voice was raised, full of agony. "Don't…"
The blood in Laura's veins froze in fear. What was Sam dreaming about? She was punching around her and Laura was struggling to keep her in place, even with her condition still being pretty bad. It seemed Sam was putting all her energy into the fight.
"Sam?" Laura whispered, trying to restrain Sam enough to prevent her from hurting herself. With her liver problems she bruised very easily and her clotting ability was subnormal, so she could bleed severely from the tiniest of wounds. "Wake up, Sam." Laura gripped Sam's shoulders and shook her unconscious body with great force.
With a loud scream, Sam shot up in the bed. For a moment she didn't move, just sat there hyperventilating with her eyes fixed desperately darting around. Tears ran down her cheeks as she kept trembling violently.
"Sam, you're okay. You're safe. Ssssh." Laura raised one half of the hospital bed to make Sam more comfortable. She watched with worry as the crying woman in front of her sank into fluffy pillows. "Can I hug you, Sam?"
Laura waited until Sam gestured her approval and then gently embraced her. She could sense the distress Sam was in, her body still shuddering at times. But after a while she could feel Sam returning the hug, sort of melting into the contact.
"Sam, what happened? What was the nightmare about?" Laura's tone of voice was soft as she tried not to startle Sam. Also they were pretty close, so whispering was enough.
"I…." Sam started, but was still sobbing too much. She just huddled closer to Laura, hanging for dear life. Laura wasn't going to force her, of course, so she proceeded to reassure Sam with kind words and light caresses.
Couple of minutes later, when Sam and Laura were in the middle of harrowing conversation, Daniel came with two cups in his hands. They didn't even notice Daniel entering the infirmary and putting the cups down on a hospital bed on the other side of the infirmary, so when Laura got up to get Sam something to drink, Sam panicked when Daniel approached her.
"Don't touch me!" She shouted as he drew closer, which made Daniel stop immediately.
"Sam?" He said, confusingly looking at Laura for an explanation.
"It would probably be best if you left…" Laura suggested, hoping Daniel would get the hint. But he didn't. Watching Laura return to Sam's side, he studied the scene more closely. He noticed Sam's teary eyes, the way she quivered with emotions and at first pulled away even from Laura's touch.
"Sam, please let me help you. I am your friend." He pleaded with her.
"It doesn't feel like that right now, Doctor Jackson. Please, just leave." Sam said, her voice more of a little whimper.
"What?" Daniel's exclamation was loud and in the state she was in, it frightened Sam. Her blindness made her feel even more vulnerable and so when she heard Daniel again moving in her direction, she raised her hand in an effort to prevent him from getting too close. It was textbook defense gesture, but with her lack of sight and Daniel leaning in, it resulted in her hitting him right across the face. His scream made Sam jump even more and she didn't even see the blood gushing out of Daniel's nose.
Laura was paralyzed. She just watched Daniel holding his nose, hissing in pain and Sam hugging her knees while rocking back and forth. And then suddenly there was another person present.
It's been a long time since Laura saw General O'Neill. But god, was she glad to see him now! He got a big role of gauze from the table and ordered Daniel to sit down, then pressed it against the bleeding nose. Another whimper sounded in the room when he did that.
"It's okay." Laura was whispering into Sam's ear, who was still rocking back and forth in Laura's arms.
"I didn't want to…" Sam's voice broke, and was unable to continue because her throat constricted painfully.
"We know. It was an accident." Laura saw O'Neill help Daniel stand up and out of the room. They probably headed to their quarters, the beds there were more comfortable and Daniel surely was bursting with questions about what happened. And while O'Neill did not have more information, he might be able to force the archeologist to let it go and rest.
Laura didn't expect to see O'Neill back in the infirmary so soon. But he marched in only few minutes after his departure.
"Don't worry, Carter. He's fine. He's been through worse and I am sure he deserved it." He tried to lighten the atmosphere, but Carter was too far gone for that. She even flinched in fear when he began speaking.
"I told him to stay back and I can't… I can't see." Sam's voice sounded terrible, hoarse and fearful.
"Are you listening to me? It's alright." O'Neill took another two steps towards where Laura and Carter were sitting. "What did you remember?" He just said, all plain and simple.
"Simarka." Carter answered quietly, hoping he would remembered what planet that was, but of course he didn't. So when he asked again, hesitantly, she was more specific. "The one with Mongol-like tribe, Shavadai and…" Although she didn't raised her head, the tears were noticeable in the way she spoke.
O'Neill instinctually balled his hands into fists, but kept them by his sides. Laura thought that it was a curious reaction. Apparently he was also distraught by that memory.
"Carter, we should talk."
"With all due respect, sir, I don't think we should talk right now."
The protective way in which Laura held Carter told O'Neill she didn't think it was a great idea either. But he just couldn't stand seeing Carter so defeated and broken. Who knows how much she remembered about that mission? Maybe she filled the rest with speculations. Maybe not. Still, it was his duty to protect her, as it had been back then. Back then - when he failed, but he'd be damned if he failed to protect her again.
"You deserve to know everything that happened, the consequences and so on. Let's just make sure you recall everything correctly, you can ask some questions whatever. I am here for you."