Title: Seven Days, The Epilogue
Author: dietcokechic
Email: dietcokechic@hotmail.com
Category: J/S, Angst, Recovery and a dash of humor
Spoilers: Only my story so far. (The Mis-Adventures of Jack and Sam)
Season: 4th Season
Summary: Jack and Sam and Daniel's recovery from last week's events. 3/ ?
Notes: Right kids, I think you'll agree this was worth the wait. Serious stuff awaits you. AND it
doesn't end with the desire to send me death threats for yet another cliffhanger.
Part 3
Jack's eyes instantly flew open and before he was even aware of it, he was out of bed and on
his way towards Sam. Unfortunately he was still tethered by several plastic tubes and wires.
"Carter!" He shouted. In Jack's fevered head he was back in the cave and Sam had just
tripped over the stove again. He had failed her the first time but he wasn't going to fail her
this time. Pushing Janet roughly aside, Jack brutally ripped out all offensive medical restraints
and headed in the direction of Sam's bed. He had only taken a few steps before gravity and
his injuries took over and Jack fell gracelessly to the ground.
"Colonel!" Janet shouted as she tried to steady Jack on her own. Less than 20 feet away,
another nurse was assisting Sam. Daniel flung his covers off to help, but it only took one
scathing look from Janet to convince him that he should stay put.
Teal'c quickly joined Janet and took the limp but conscious Jack O'Neill off her.
"Sam!" Jack yelled again as firm hands gripped him on both sides.
"She's fine Colonel." Janet assured him as she tried to lead him back to his bed. "It was just a
bad dream." From the corner of her eye, Janet could see that Sam had indeed fallen back into
a troubled sleep.
"Have to help Sam." Jack said again as he fought against Janet and Teal'c. Jack O'Neill on a
good day might have been able to push Teal'c aside, but in his weakened condition he was no
match for the Jaffa and the diminutive doctor.
"I need a sedative over here!" Janet yelled as she and Teal'c led Jack back to his bed. He
might not have the strength to leave on his own, but he was fighting them with everything he
had.
"Carter!" Jack yelled in anguish. He hadn't heard anything from her since the original scream
and feared the worst.
"Colonel, she's fine." Janet said soothingly. Unfortunately it had little effect.
"I'm trying Sam!" Jack cried, struggling in vain to be free of Teal'c strong arms. "Hang on
Sam! I'm coming."
"I need that god-damn hypodermic NOW people!" Janet yelled angrily.
"O'Neill, you must cease your fighting."
Jack froze. "Teal'c?" He whispered.
"It is I O'Neill."
"Sam's hurt Teal'c. We haveta help her."
"Major Carter is safe O'Neill."
"She's ok?" Jack said as Janet pricked him with a sedative.
"She is."
"She was so badly hurt Teal'c." Jack said in a tearful voice as he began to slip back into sleep.
"She's better now Colonel. You just need to concentrate on getting well yourself."
"Doc?" Jack asked staring incomprehensively at Janet. "How'd you get here?"
"Sleep Colonel. We'll watch Sam for you."
"k." Jack gave up the struggle to stay awake and allowed his eyelids to close. Within seconds
he was deep in sleep.
From the next bed over Daniel lay stunned and swiped his eyes furiously as he cursed
whatever gods there were that his friends had to go through this. At least they would not be
alone.
"Janet?" Daniel said in a gravelly voice only vaguely reminiscent of his own.
"He'll be o.k. Daniel. They both will." Janet said meeting Daniel's worried glaze. "Try and get
some rest, all right? I need to see to the Colonel here."
Daniel nodded. Rest? Right. As if that would happen anytime soon. What the hell had just
happened? He had never, ever heard Jack sound so desperate. And that scream. Daniel knew
that tormented scream would be haunting his nightmares for the next several weeks.
Janet held back her own emotions as she switched into her "Dr" mode and efficiently cleaned
and bandaged the Colonel's arms. She could feel the heat radiating from his body and softly
explained to the nurse at her side what tests needed to be done and what drugs should be
administered. Janet was pretty certain the Colonel had pneumonia. A pretty common
secondary infection but one she was hoping not to see. She ordered a chest x-ray after
listening once again to his lungs.
Yep. Just like she thought. His lungs sounded congested and the sudden spiked fever and
chills were all classic symptoms of bacterial pneumonia. Most likely caused by something in
the water he swallowed. The tricky part would be to keep the Colonel from coughing. With
broken ribs that could be deadly. Janet sighed and lightly touched Jack's face. "We'll fix you up
Sir." She said softly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Samantha Carter was in hell. Or at least a close facsimile there of. Every time she closed her
eyes, Sam relived the agonizing moments she went through on the planet. She felt not only
her physical pain, but also the psychological as her psyche told her again and again how she
wouldn't be able to save Jack from freezing to death. How she wouldn't be able to resuscitate
him. How she had actually made him worse by performing CPR.
Sam knew this to be a lie but she couldn't escape the nightmare that it might not have been.
She might have killed him. She herself might have died. And the pain was still very, very real.
Intellectually Sam knew she should ask Janet to give her something more for the pain, but she
wouldn't do that. Wouldn't tell Janet how good she had felt after using that entire ampoule of
morphine on the planet. How much she had hurt after the effects faded and how much she
craved more relief. More morphine. Anything to stop the horrific pain.
Sam shut her eyes tightly and held herself very, very still. If she didn't breathe too hard she
could almost imagine she wasn't hurt. Almost. She heard Janet approach her but remained
still. Eventually she fell back into a troubled sleep, her eyes moving rapidly in REM sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Dammit!" Janet Frasier said as she observed the spike in Sam's heart rate for the third time
that hour. 'She needs to calm down!' Janet slapped a hand on her thigh as she stood up.
"That's it, Samantha Carter. You may not want it, but I have to give you something to help
you rest."
'And if you get some rest,' Janet thought. 'Then I think I might be able to as well.'
"Gina," Janet said motioning to the younger woman. "Give Major Carter 5 cc's of Valium and
notify me if there is any change in Colonel O'Neill's condition. I'll be sacked out in my office."
"Yes Ma'am."
"Oh, and Gina?"
"Ma'am?"
"Don't let Daniel talk you into any more coffee, ok?" With one final look at her injured charges,
Janet walked out of the infirmary door and down the hall to her office. Within 30 seconds she
was sound asleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1800 Hours
"Dr. Fraiser! Wake up!"
Janet bolted straight off the couch. "I'm up!" She declared blinking her eyes rapidly. "What
happened?"
"It's Colonel O'Neill Ma'am. We're having problems stabilizing his temperature and his stats
don't look good at all. We thought you'd want to know."
"Damn right I would." Janet said grabbing her stethoscope and heading out the door.
She arrived just in time to see a pale and unconscious Jack O'Neill start to convulse. From the
corner of her eye Janet could see a Daniel looking very worried and Sam continuing to sleep.
"Temp!?" Janet yelled as she expertly pushed Jack's head back and placed some cotton gauze
between his lips.
"105 F"
"Way too hot." Janet said to herself. "We need to get his temperature down ASAP." Janet said
to the two nurses and one orderly in the room. "I need a portable tub and some ice. NOW
people!"
Daniel watched once again helpless as Jack was stripped of his clothes and placed in a
stainless steel tub. He never said a word as he was then covered with bag after bag of crushed
ice, the only sign that he was even alive the slight movement of his chest and the way his
neck lolled from side to side. As soon as his body was completely covered with ice, Janet took
his temperature. 104 F.
Janet let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. This was going to work. It might be
extreme and old fashioned but it was going to work.
After several tense minutes Jack began to stir. Slowly he opened his eyes and stared
incomprehensively at Janet's worried face. He felt wet and very cold. He looked down and
frowned. Were those ice cubes?
"Colonel, you have a very high fever. You are currently in an ice bath to help bring your
temperature down."
Jack looked back up and opened his mouth to talk. A small cough escaped his lips and Jack
froze in pain as his broken ribs contracted around his lungs. The small cough gave way to
deeper coughs that racked his body excruciatingly. Jack writhed in pain, still submerged in the
ice bath.
Firm hands gripped him under the ice and he heard Janet's voice telling him to breathe slowly
and concentrate on the sound of her voice. He felt a small pinprick against his arm and
instantly a great weight was released from his chest. Jack softly sighed as he carefully opened
his eyes. Janet was easily able to read the question left unspoken in his eyes.
"Pneumonia Sir." Janet said as she once again took a temperature reading from the Colonel's
ear. (103) "Your fever spiked and we needed to get you cooled down as quickly as possible.
The pneumonia will be especially painful and dangerous to you Sir because of your broken
ribs. It would be best if you refrained from speaking for the next 48 hours. That should be
enough time for the antibiotic cocktail I'm giving you to start to work."
Jack nodded slightly. "Cold." He mouthed looking down at the ice cubes.
"We won't keep you in any longer than necessary Sir." Janet said sympathetically as she
observed the Colonel begin to shiver from the cold.
"Just a few more minutes Sir." Janet said as she started to turn and walk away. Jack's arm
shot up out of the ice quicker than anyone would have thought possible as he grabbed Janet's
arm to stop her. She turned back around.
"Sam?" Jack mouthed looking frantically back and forth between Janet and Sam's bed.
"She's fine Sir." Janet said amazed at the depth of emotion the Colonel held for her best
friend. "She's sleeping." Jack closed his eyes and sighed softly. Several minutes later he was
taken out of the tub and dried off before being put into a fresh hospital gown. It was truly a
sign of how sick he had become, that he offered no resistance to the assisting hands. He still
had a slight fever but the initial danger had passed.
Janet looked around the ward. Daniel sat stiffly in his bed staring at Jack while Sam STILL
remained asleep. Janet frowned again, she needed Sam to wake up and talk to her. She was
pretty certain Sam wasn't really sleeping but rather passing out from intense periods of pain
and that was not an acceptable. Sam needed to be on a careful regiment of pain medication
right now and Janet didn't want to do that without Sam's help.
She walked over to Daniel's bed and picked up his chart.
"Jack will be fine this time Daniel." Janet said honestly. "We got his temperature down and the
antibiotics should alleviate the worst of the symptoms very soon."
Daniel nodded, still not taking his eyes off of Jack's still form.
"He's sleeping Daniel. Something I would like you to do as well. You are getting better quickly
Janet said with a smile. "I imagine we'll have you out of here in another day or two." Daniel
nodded again, still not smiling.
"He will be fine Daniel." Janet assured him as she placed a warm hand on his arm. "I promise.
Try and get some rest." Daniel inhaled deeply and nodded still not trusting his voice. Moments
later he too was fast asleep.
2300 Hours
The Infirmary was deathly quiet when Daniel awoke for the third time that day. He could hear
the synchronized beeps of the heart monitors from Jack and Sam's bed as well as various
whirls and beeps from other machines but otherwise the Infirmary was still. Not a single nurse
in sight.
Daniel put on his glasses and was quite happy to see his IV had been disconnected sometime
while he slept. He lifted up his blankets, and looked under his gown- catheter was gone as
well. Daniel smiled.
"Thank you Janet." He whispered into the silent room. He had long since stopped fighting
against the nurses and their desire to stick tubes into various orifices, but that didn't mean he
liked it. And he was ALWAYS glad when they were gone.
This meant Daniel was mobile! Carefully he sat up and took stock of his situation. Weak, still
tired, incredibly hungry and thirsty but otherwise doing pretty darn good. Could use a cup of
coffee, but wasn't even going to attempt that one. At least not while still in the infirmary.
Suddenly Daniel remembered Jack and what had happened earlier that day. Whipping his
head sharply to the left Daniel was glad to see his friend resting much more comfortably in dry
clothes and not an ice cube in sight. He could hear a faint wheezing coming from Jack every
time he exhaled, but it didn't seem to be causing him much discomfort. Daniel could only see
the top of Sam's head across the infirmary and decided he wanted to see how she was doing
personally. No sign of Teal'c- Janet must have kicked him out earlier.
Carefully he eased his legs out from under the covers and onto the cold infirmary floor. He
scowled as he tried to tighten the flimsy gown behind his back. Using the bed as leverage,
Daniel gingerly stood up and after only a slight wobble headed in the direction of Sam's bed.
Sam lay curled on her side, her brow covered in a fine sheen of sweat as her eyes moved
rapidly in her private dream world. She had begun to make soft mewing noises and Daniel was
afraid that she'd wake up screaming again and wanted to stop that particular nightmare from
happening again.
"Sam?" Daniel said softly touching Sam's arm. Sam's rapid eye movement ceased as she
opened her eyes a fraction with a light moan.
"Daniel?"
"I'm here Sam." Daniel said continuing to touch her arm as he eased himself into a seat next
to her bed.
"I hurt Daniel." Sam said struggling hard not to cry in front of her friend. She hadn't met to
say that, but it was the first thought that had jumped into her head and Sam had been unable
to not articulate it.
"Let me get a nurse." Daniel said starting to stand.
"No!" Sam cried grabbing a hold of his arm. "No, drugs."
"Sam, you're in pain. That's what drugs are for- to help take away the pain."
"I can't Daniel." Sam said tightly closing her eyes to keep the pain at bay.
"Why can't you Sam?" Daniel asked simply giving Sam's hand a gentle squeeze.
"The nightmares are back Daniel."
"What nightmares?"
"From before. From Becky."
"I don't understand Sam. Who is Becky?"
Sam swallowed the dry lump in her throat and glanced at the water pitcher to her left. Daniel
poured her some of the water and carefully helped her to drink a bit of the liquid. Sam closed
her eyes again and Daniel thought she might have fallen back asleep. Several long moments
later she began to speak.
"Becky was a friend of mine in high school. Although my dad moved around a lot when I was a
kid, he did manage to stay 2 years in San Diego when I was a teenager. I met Becky shortly
after we moved there and by the spring of our Junior year we were best of friends.
Becky was everything I wasn't Daniel. She was strong and daring and constantly driving her
parent's crazy with her actions. She got into UCLA on a Volleyball scholarship.
During spring break, Becky and I were bored out of our minds one day and decided to play a
game of Truth or Dare. The Dares kept getting crazier and crazier and before long I had dared
Becky to climb to the top of the old Elm tree next to her house. The tree was ancient Daniel
and at least 20 feet high.
A branch near the top gave way and Becky fell to the ground. She had broken her collarbone
in two places and crushed one of the vertebrae in her back. Surprisingly, this didn't paralyze
her, but her volleyball playing days were over."
Sam closed her eyes again as tears began to involuntarily trickle down her cheeks. Without
saying a word, Daniel grabbed a tissue and gently blotted the tears away. Sam gave him a
small smile.
"I was with her all the time Daniel. I helped her with her homework and spent hours watching
movies with her. I would notice her taking the pills but assumed it was prescribed and what
she was supposed to do. It WAS prescribed, but it shouldn't have been. By the end of the
summer my friend was addicted to pain medication and no one seemed to be able to get her
to cut back.
She grew bitter and violent Daniel. She would scream at me, 'What do you know of pain
Samantha Carter?' And she was right! I knew nothing of pain, and occasionally I would be the
one who helped get her a vial of morphine or pick up her latest illegal prescription of percocet.
Right after Becky took one of those pills, she would be almost normal again- joking and
laughing and telling me how she was bouncing back. She told me the drugs kept her sane.
We tried to get her into rehab Daniel, but she didn't want to go. She broke off all contact with
her family and friends and a few weeks before my high school graduation they found her dead
from an overdose in an alley behind the school."
Sam had begun to softly cry now and Daniel carefully pulled Sam into his arms as sobs racked
her thin body. The physical act of crying hurt, but the emotional catharsis was necessary.
"Sam," Daniel began gently stoking her back. "It wasn't your fault. You know that don't you."
Daniel felt Sam nod slightly against his chest. "So what is it Sam?"
"Daniel, Becky needed the drugs to function. And when we were in that cave, and I fell that
first time…" Sam had begun to shake in pain and terror of the memory. "I fell Daniel, and I
hurt like nothing I had ever experienced before. Nothing mattered but making the pain stop.
Nothing. Daniel, I injected myself with an entire vial of morphine!"
"Sam, you were in pain. That's what morphine is there for- to take away the pain."
"You don't understand!" Sam sobbed hiccupping against his chest. "I needed the morphine
and felt the most wonderful sense of relief after taking it."
"Sam," Daniel said gently pulling the battered woman away from his chest. "I know a little
something about addiction, remember? And needing morphine when you are in serious pain is
NOT the same thing as craving morphine when you are not."
"But I did crave it Daniel! Jack apparently had to use the last vial on me in order to repair
some stitches and afterwards I wished he hadn't. I wished he had saved it because I knew I
would hurt so much more later. And I did Daniel! I hurt!" Sam had begun to cry again and
Daniel was unsure if she was hurting in the past tense or the present.
"Sam, you WERE hurt. You ARE hurt. You DO need medication to alleviate that pain. You need
it Sam. Not psychologically, but physically. And it's perfectly ok to need it."
"But.."
"No. Sam, listen to me." Daniel said shifting his weight away to create more distance. "I will
not allow you to become addicted to pain medication, all right? I won't Sam. And neither will
Jack. We will be there for you."
"Promise?" Sam asked in a small voice as tears streaked down the sides of her face.
"I promise Sam." Daniel said with total conviction. "You need that medication right now Sam-
let Janet give it to you."
"I hurt Daniel." Sam said closing her eyes and leaning back into the bed. "I hurt a lot."
"Let us help you Sam."
"o.k." She whispered as her eyes closed and Samantha Carter once again fell back to sleep.
Only this time it seemed a little restful.
Daniel tenderly tucked the covers around her and using a cloth by the side of the bed,
cleansed her face with cool water. Sam sighed in her sleep. Daniel felt utterly drained as he
slowly made his way back to his bed. He thought back to all the times Sam had been in the
infirmary (not even half as many as he himself) and realized that she had almost never been
there longer than a few days, and had never really had to deal with long term pain
management before. Daniel rubbed the bridge of his nose as he pressed the "help" button by
the side of his bed.
"What can I get you Dr. Jackson?" Dr. Williams asked.
"Is Dr. Frasier still on base?"
"She's sleeping, but yes, she's still here. Is there something I can help you with?"
Daniel knew Dr. Williams to be a competent doctor but for this, he needed Janet. "Could you
get her for me please? It's important."
The doctor needed only to look into Daniel's eyes to realize the futility of denying him this
request. "I'll get her right now Doctor Jackson."
"Thank you." Daniel said sincerely, leaning back onto the soft pillows. He suddenly felt very,
very tired. He'd rest soon, but first he needed to have a little conversation with Janet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC. There! How's that for a nice compact chapter? No cliff hangers!!
Author: dietcokechic
Email: dietcokechic@hotmail.com
Category: J/S, Angst, Recovery and a dash of humor
Spoilers: Only my story so far. (The Mis-Adventures of Jack and Sam)
Season: 4th Season
Summary: Jack and Sam and Daniel's recovery from last week's events. 3/ ?
Notes: Right kids, I think you'll agree this was worth the wait. Serious stuff awaits you. AND it
doesn't end with the desire to send me death threats for yet another cliffhanger.
Part 3
Jack's eyes instantly flew open and before he was even aware of it, he was out of bed and on
his way towards Sam. Unfortunately he was still tethered by several plastic tubes and wires.
"Carter!" He shouted. In Jack's fevered head he was back in the cave and Sam had just
tripped over the stove again. He had failed her the first time but he wasn't going to fail her
this time. Pushing Janet roughly aside, Jack brutally ripped out all offensive medical restraints
and headed in the direction of Sam's bed. He had only taken a few steps before gravity and
his injuries took over and Jack fell gracelessly to the ground.
"Colonel!" Janet shouted as she tried to steady Jack on her own. Less than 20 feet away,
another nurse was assisting Sam. Daniel flung his covers off to help, but it only took one
scathing look from Janet to convince him that he should stay put.
Teal'c quickly joined Janet and took the limp but conscious Jack O'Neill off her.
"Sam!" Jack yelled again as firm hands gripped him on both sides.
"She's fine Colonel." Janet assured him as she tried to lead him back to his bed. "It was just a
bad dream." From the corner of her eye, Janet could see that Sam had indeed fallen back into
a troubled sleep.
"Have to help Sam." Jack said again as he fought against Janet and Teal'c. Jack O'Neill on a
good day might have been able to push Teal'c aside, but in his weakened condition he was no
match for the Jaffa and the diminutive doctor.
"I need a sedative over here!" Janet yelled as she and Teal'c led Jack back to his bed. He
might not have the strength to leave on his own, but he was fighting them with everything he
had.
"Carter!" Jack yelled in anguish. He hadn't heard anything from her since the original scream
and feared the worst.
"Colonel, she's fine." Janet said soothingly. Unfortunately it had little effect.
"I'm trying Sam!" Jack cried, struggling in vain to be free of Teal'c strong arms. "Hang on
Sam! I'm coming."
"I need that god-damn hypodermic NOW people!" Janet yelled angrily.
"O'Neill, you must cease your fighting."
Jack froze. "Teal'c?" He whispered.
"It is I O'Neill."
"Sam's hurt Teal'c. We haveta help her."
"Major Carter is safe O'Neill."
"She's ok?" Jack said as Janet pricked him with a sedative.
"She is."
"She was so badly hurt Teal'c." Jack said in a tearful voice as he began to slip back into sleep.
"She's better now Colonel. You just need to concentrate on getting well yourself."
"Doc?" Jack asked staring incomprehensively at Janet. "How'd you get here?"
"Sleep Colonel. We'll watch Sam for you."
"k." Jack gave up the struggle to stay awake and allowed his eyelids to close. Within seconds
he was deep in sleep.
From the next bed over Daniel lay stunned and swiped his eyes furiously as he cursed
whatever gods there were that his friends had to go through this. At least they would not be
alone.
"Janet?" Daniel said in a gravelly voice only vaguely reminiscent of his own.
"He'll be o.k. Daniel. They both will." Janet said meeting Daniel's worried glaze. "Try and get
some rest, all right? I need to see to the Colonel here."
Daniel nodded. Rest? Right. As if that would happen anytime soon. What the hell had just
happened? He had never, ever heard Jack sound so desperate. And that scream. Daniel knew
that tormented scream would be haunting his nightmares for the next several weeks.
Janet held back her own emotions as she switched into her "Dr" mode and efficiently cleaned
and bandaged the Colonel's arms. She could feel the heat radiating from his body and softly
explained to the nurse at her side what tests needed to be done and what drugs should be
administered. Janet was pretty certain the Colonel had pneumonia. A pretty common
secondary infection but one she was hoping not to see. She ordered a chest x-ray after
listening once again to his lungs.
Yep. Just like she thought. His lungs sounded congested and the sudden spiked fever and
chills were all classic symptoms of bacterial pneumonia. Most likely caused by something in
the water he swallowed. The tricky part would be to keep the Colonel from coughing. With
broken ribs that could be deadly. Janet sighed and lightly touched Jack's face. "We'll fix you up
Sir." She said softly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Samantha Carter was in hell. Or at least a close facsimile there of. Every time she closed her
eyes, Sam relived the agonizing moments she went through on the planet. She felt not only
her physical pain, but also the psychological as her psyche told her again and again how she
wouldn't be able to save Jack from freezing to death. How she wouldn't be able to resuscitate
him. How she had actually made him worse by performing CPR.
Sam knew this to be a lie but she couldn't escape the nightmare that it might not have been.
She might have killed him. She herself might have died. And the pain was still very, very real.
Intellectually Sam knew she should ask Janet to give her something more for the pain, but she
wouldn't do that. Wouldn't tell Janet how good she had felt after using that entire ampoule of
morphine on the planet. How much she had hurt after the effects faded and how much she
craved more relief. More morphine. Anything to stop the horrific pain.
Sam shut her eyes tightly and held herself very, very still. If she didn't breathe too hard she
could almost imagine she wasn't hurt. Almost. She heard Janet approach her but remained
still. Eventually she fell back into a troubled sleep, her eyes moving rapidly in REM sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Dammit!" Janet Frasier said as she observed the spike in Sam's heart rate for the third time
that hour. 'She needs to calm down!' Janet slapped a hand on her thigh as she stood up.
"That's it, Samantha Carter. You may not want it, but I have to give you something to help
you rest."
'And if you get some rest,' Janet thought. 'Then I think I might be able to as well.'
"Gina," Janet said motioning to the younger woman. "Give Major Carter 5 cc's of Valium and
notify me if there is any change in Colonel O'Neill's condition. I'll be sacked out in my office."
"Yes Ma'am."
"Oh, and Gina?"
"Ma'am?"
"Don't let Daniel talk you into any more coffee, ok?" With one final look at her injured charges,
Janet walked out of the infirmary door and down the hall to her office. Within 30 seconds she
was sound asleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1800 Hours
"Dr. Fraiser! Wake up!"
Janet bolted straight off the couch. "I'm up!" She declared blinking her eyes rapidly. "What
happened?"
"It's Colonel O'Neill Ma'am. We're having problems stabilizing his temperature and his stats
don't look good at all. We thought you'd want to know."
"Damn right I would." Janet said grabbing her stethoscope and heading out the door.
She arrived just in time to see a pale and unconscious Jack O'Neill start to convulse. From the
corner of her eye Janet could see a Daniel looking very worried and Sam continuing to sleep.
"Temp!?" Janet yelled as she expertly pushed Jack's head back and placed some cotton gauze
between his lips.
"105 F"
"Way too hot." Janet said to herself. "We need to get his temperature down ASAP." Janet said
to the two nurses and one orderly in the room. "I need a portable tub and some ice. NOW
people!"
Daniel watched once again helpless as Jack was stripped of his clothes and placed in a
stainless steel tub. He never said a word as he was then covered with bag after bag of crushed
ice, the only sign that he was even alive the slight movement of his chest and the way his
neck lolled from side to side. As soon as his body was completely covered with ice, Janet took
his temperature. 104 F.
Janet let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. This was going to work. It might be
extreme and old fashioned but it was going to work.
After several tense minutes Jack began to stir. Slowly he opened his eyes and stared
incomprehensively at Janet's worried face. He felt wet and very cold. He looked down and
frowned. Were those ice cubes?
"Colonel, you have a very high fever. You are currently in an ice bath to help bring your
temperature down."
Jack looked back up and opened his mouth to talk. A small cough escaped his lips and Jack
froze in pain as his broken ribs contracted around his lungs. The small cough gave way to
deeper coughs that racked his body excruciatingly. Jack writhed in pain, still submerged in the
ice bath.
Firm hands gripped him under the ice and he heard Janet's voice telling him to breathe slowly
and concentrate on the sound of her voice. He felt a small pinprick against his arm and
instantly a great weight was released from his chest. Jack softly sighed as he carefully opened
his eyes. Janet was easily able to read the question left unspoken in his eyes.
"Pneumonia Sir." Janet said as she once again took a temperature reading from the Colonel's
ear. (103) "Your fever spiked and we needed to get you cooled down as quickly as possible.
The pneumonia will be especially painful and dangerous to you Sir because of your broken
ribs. It would be best if you refrained from speaking for the next 48 hours. That should be
enough time for the antibiotic cocktail I'm giving you to start to work."
Jack nodded slightly. "Cold." He mouthed looking down at the ice cubes.
"We won't keep you in any longer than necessary Sir." Janet said sympathetically as she
observed the Colonel begin to shiver from the cold.
"Just a few more minutes Sir." Janet said as she started to turn and walk away. Jack's arm
shot up out of the ice quicker than anyone would have thought possible as he grabbed Janet's
arm to stop her. She turned back around.
"Sam?" Jack mouthed looking frantically back and forth between Janet and Sam's bed.
"She's fine Sir." Janet said amazed at the depth of emotion the Colonel held for her best
friend. "She's sleeping." Jack closed his eyes and sighed softly. Several minutes later he was
taken out of the tub and dried off before being put into a fresh hospital gown. It was truly a
sign of how sick he had become, that he offered no resistance to the assisting hands. He still
had a slight fever but the initial danger had passed.
Janet looked around the ward. Daniel sat stiffly in his bed staring at Jack while Sam STILL
remained asleep. Janet frowned again, she needed Sam to wake up and talk to her. She was
pretty certain Sam wasn't really sleeping but rather passing out from intense periods of pain
and that was not an acceptable. Sam needed to be on a careful regiment of pain medication
right now and Janet didn't want to do that without Sam's help.
She walked over to Daniel's bed and picked up his chart.
"Jack will be fine this time Daniel." Janet said honestly. "We got his temperature down and the
antibiotics should alleviate the worst of the symptoms very soon."
Daniel nodded, still not taking his eyes off of Jack's still form.
"He's sleeping Daniel. Something I would like you to do as well. You are getting better quickly
Janet said with a smile. "I imagine we'll have you out of here in another day or two." Daniel
nodded again, still not smiling.
"He will be fine Daniel." Janet assured him as she placed a warm hand on his arm. "I promise.
Try and get some rest." Daniel inhaled deeply and nodded still not trusting his voice. Moments
later he too was fast asleep.
2300 Hours
The Infirmary was deathly quiet when Daniel awoke for the third time that day. He could hear
the synchronized beeps of the heart monitors from Jack and Sam's bed as well as various
whirls and beeps from other machines but otherwise the Infirmary was still. Not a single nurse
in sight.
Daniel put on his glasses and was quite happy to see his IV had been disconnected sometime
while he slept. He lifted up his blankets, and looked under his gown- catheter was gone as
well. Daniel smiled.
"Thank you Janet." He whispered into the silent room. He had long since stopped fighting
against the nurses and their desire to stick tubes into various orifices, but that didn't mean he
liked it. And he was ALWAYS glad when they were gone.
This meant Daniel was mobile! Carefully he sat up and took stock of his situation. Weak, still
tired, incredibly hungry and thirsty but otherwise doing pretty darn good. Could use a cup of
coffee, but wasn't even going to attempt that one. At least not while still in the infirmary.
Suddenly Daniel remembered Jack and what had happened earlier that day. Whipping his
head sharply to the left Daniel was glad to see his friend resting much more comfortably in dry
clothes and not an ice cube in sight. He could hear a faint wheezing coming from Jack every
time he exhaled, but it didn't seem to be causing him much discomfort. Daniel could only see
the top of Sam's head across the infirmary and decided he wanted to see how she was doing
personally. No sign of Teal'c- Janet must have kicked him out earlier.
Carefully he eased his legs out from under the covers and onto the cold infirmary floor. He
scowled as he tried to tighten the flimsy gown behind his back. Using the bed as leverage,
Daniel gingerly stood up and after only a slight wobble headed in the direction of Sam's bed.
Sam lay curled on her side, her brow covered in a fine sheen of sweat as her eyes moved
rapidly in her private dream world. She had begun to make soft mewing noises and Daniel was
afraid that she'd wake up screaming again and wanted to stop that particular nightmare from
happening again.
"Sam?" Daniel said softly touching Sam's arm. Sam's rapid eye movement ceased as she
opened her eyes a fraction with a light moan.
"Daniel?"
"I'm here Sam." Daniel said continuing to touch her arm as he eased himself into a seat next
to her bed.
"I hurt Daniel." Sam said struggling hard not to cry in front of her friend. She hadn't met to
say that, but it was the first thought that had jumped into her head and Sam had been unable
to not articulate it.
"Let me get a nurse." Daniel said starting to stand.
"No!" Sam cried grabbing a hold of his arm. "No, drugs."
"Sam, you're in pain. That's what drugs are for- to help take away the pain."
"I can't Daniel." Sam said tightly closing her eyes to keep the pain at bay.
"Why can't you Sam?" Daniel asked simply giving Sam's hand a gentle squeeze.
"The nightmares are back Daniel."
"What nightmares?"
"From before. From Becky."
"I don't understand Sam. Who is Becky?"
Sam swallowed the dry lump in her throat and glanced at the water pitcher to her left. Daniel
poured her some of the water and carefully helped her to drink a bit of the liquid. Sam closed
her eyes again and Daniel thought she might have fallen back asleep. Several long moments
later she began to speak.
"Becky was a friend of mine in high school. Although my dad moved around a lot when I was a
kid, he did manage to stay 2 years in San Diego when I was a teenager. I met Becky shortly
after we moved there and by the spring of our Junior year we were best of friends.
Becky was everything I wasn't Daniel. She was strong and daring and constantly driving her
parent's crazy with her actions. She got into UCLA on a Volleyball scholarship.
During spring break, Becky and I were bored out of our minds one day and decided to play a
game of Truth or Dare. The Dares kept getting crazier and crazier and before long I had dared
Becky to climb to the top of the old Elm tree next to her house. The tree was ancient Daniel
and at least 20 feet high.
A branch near the top gave way and Becky fell to the ground. She had broken her collarbone
in two places and crushed one of the vertebrae in her back. Surprisingly, this didn't paralyze
her, but her volleyball playing days were over."
Sam closed her eyes again as tears began to involuntarily trickle down her cheeks. Without
saying a word, Daniel grabbed a tissue and gently blotted the tears away. Sam gave him a
small smile.
"I was with her all the time Daniel. I helped her with her homework and spent hours watching
movies with her. I would notice her taking the pills but assumed it was prescribed and what
she was supposed to do. It WAS prescribed, but it shouldn't have been. By the end of the
summer my friend was addicted to pain medication and no one seemed to be able to get her
to cut back.
She grew bitter and violent Daniel. She would scream at me, 'What do you know of pain
Samantha Carter?' And she was right! I knew nothing of pain, and occasionally I would be the
one who helped get her a vial of morphine or pick up her latest illegal prescription of percocet.
Right after Becky took one of those pills, she would be almost normal again- joking and
laughing and telling me how she was bouncing back. She told me the drugs kept her sane.
We tried to get her into rehab Daniel, but she didn't want to go. She broke off all contact with
her family and friends and a few weeks before my high school graduation they found her dead
from an overdose in an alley behind the school."
Sam had begun to softly cry now and Daniel carefully pulled Sam into his arms as sobs racked
her thin body. The physical act of crying hurt, but the emotional catharsis was necessary.
"Sam," Daniel began gently stoking her back. "It wasn't your fault. You know that don't you."
Daniel felt Sam nod slightly against his chest. "So what is it Sam?"
"Daniel, Becky needed the drugs to function. And when we were in that cave, and I fell that
first time…" Sam had begun to shake in pain and terror of the memory. "I fell Daniel, and I
hurt like nothing I had ever experienced before. Nothing mattered but making the pain stop.
Nothing. Daniel, I injected myself with an entire vial of morphine!"
"Sam, you were in pain. That's what morphine is there for- to take away the pain."
"You don't understand!" Sam sobbed hiccupping against his chest. "I needed the morphine
and felt the most wonderful sense of relief after taking it."
"Sam," Daniel said gently pulling the battered woman away from his chest. "I know a little
something about addiction, remember? And needing morphine when you are in serious pain is
NOT the same thing as craving morphine when you are not."
"But I did crave it Daniel! Jack apparently had to use the last vial on me in order to repair
some stitches and afterwards I wished he hadn't. I wished he had saved it because I knew I
would hurt so much more later. And I did Daniel! I hurt!" Sam had begun to cry again and
Daniel was unsure if she was hurting in the past tense or the present.
"Sam, you WERE hurt. You ARE hurt. You DO need medication to alleviate that pain. You need
it Sam. Not psychologically, but physically. And it's perfectly ok to need it."
"But.."
"No. Sam, listen to me." Daniel said shifting his weight away to create more distance. "I will
not allow you to become addicted to pain medication, all right? I won't Sam. And neither will
Jack. We will be there for you."
"Promise?" Sam asked in a small voice as tears streaked down the sides of her face.
"I promise Sam." Daniel said with total conviction. "You need that medication right now Sam-
let Janet give it to you."
"I hurt Daniel." Sam said closing her eyes and leaning back into the bed. "I hurt a lot."
"Let us help you Sam."
"o.k." She whispered as her eyes closed and Samantha Carter once again fell back to sleep.
Only this time it seemed a little restful.
Daniel tenderly tucked the covers around her and using a cloth by the side of the bed,
cleansed her face with cool water. Sam sighed in her sleep. Daniel felt utterly drained as he
slowly made his way back to his bed. He thought back to all the times Sam had been in the
infirmary (not even half as many as he himself) and realized that she had almost never been
there longer than a few days, and had never really had to deal with long term pain
management before. Daniel rubbed the bridge of his nose as he pressed the "help" button by
the side of his bed.
"What can I get you Dr. Jackson?" Dr. Williams asked.
"Is Dr. Frasier still on base?"
"She's sleeping, but yes, she's still here. Is there something I can help you with?"
Daniel knew Dr. Williams to be a competent doctor but for this, he needed Janet. "Could you
get her for me please? It's important."
The doctor needed only to look into Daniel's eyes to realize the futility of denying him this
request. "I'll get her right now Doctor Jackson."
"Thank you." Daniel said sincerely, leaning back onto the soft pillows. He suddenly felt very,
very tired. He'd rest soon, but first he needed to have a little conversation with Janet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC. There! How's that for a nice compact chapter? No cliff hangers!!