Chapter 6
The SGC suddenly became a hive of
activity. The holding cells quickly
filled with the bodies of those from the bunker. Jack sat patiently in the med bay watching the nurses rush
around, tending Teal'cs wounds gently and making sure the sedated Daniel is out
of it, Justin case. He looked down on
his hands his clothes, all stained in drying blood.
"The one day I decide to wear my good pants" he thought
He jumped off the bed and landed clumsily on
his ankle. He looked down and pulled a
disgruntled look, knowing that won't do anything. Concentrating more on his ankle than on where he was going, he
ran straight into the path of a busy looking nurse. "Colonel O'Neill, I think
you should sit down and wait for Dr Fraiser to see you", frustrated at the
Colonel suddenly becoming impatient.
"Fraiser said she couldn't see anything wrong
with me" he pleaded
"I still think you should wait sir"
"I only want to hit the showers, I'll be back
in no time"
"Colonel…"
"Its all right Kate" Janet interrupted "The healing
device healed him properly, he can go" she informed the young nurse
Backing down reluctantly, she went on with her
business. Jack smiled with his best "So
there" smile, earning him a dirty scowl. "So Doc how is she?"
"It's hard to tell" she said concern laced into
her voice "I don't know how long she will be out for, all we can do is monitor
her condition carefully" Pausing for a short time, she then continued "Actually
Colonel you may be able to shed some light on the other bullet in her shoulder"
"Yeah, that guy did that too, also put that one
in Teal'cs leg" He said reluctantly, wishing he could have done something else
"Thanks Colonel, you can go get cleaned up,
have a good nights rest"
Jack nodded and backed up slowly, he turned and
headed for the locker room. His walk
down the gunmetal gray corridors was interrupted several times by surprised
faces, concerned faces. All asking how
he was whether she will be alright. Jack got bored of this after the tenth time. All he wanted was rest, sweet comforting sleep. A very loud yawn made the next person forget
their question, knowing better than to anger a tired Colonel.
Jack fumbled at the door to the door to his
quarters and made the basket ball hoop rattled noisily. The bright orange ball rested softly on the
desk, looking tidier than usual. This
was only because everything had been shoved into the nearest (and emptiest)
drawer. He fell onto his bed ready to
fall asleep there and then, but the stench of dried blood filtered up his nose
while his stomach reminded him loudly of his lack of food. Arranging his time he knew want he had to do
"Showers, mess hall, bed"
He quickly grabbed a change of clothes and
headed for the showers. He jumped in
and allowed the warmth of the shower create a protective barrier around his
tired body, protecting him from more prodding questions by other officers. Quickly drying and changing into the
military fatigues, he grabbed a sandwich from the mess hall with a cool bottle
of water. Throwing them back on his
way, he again proceeded to fall face first into the cushion of the pillow.
Eyes feel heavy, close them. Now grab the blanket, wrap it around
you. Soft, safe warm his mind
soothed. Sleep enveloped Jacks body as
his mind drifted into his dreams.
**********
"Jack…Jack!"
Jack grunted as he lashed out at the innocent
alarm clock sitting on the bed side table. A prompt smash and a satisfied grunt later, Jack rolled over and started
back into his happy carefree dreamland.
"Jack…WAKE UP!" someone yelled
Snorting with half an effort, Jack rolled over
on the soft warm mattress, a fuzzy body standing in his line of vision. His mouth tasted dry, like he has something
spicy the night before. Recalling what
he had, he realized he must have subtle words with the chef.
"I believe this method to be ineffective" a
deep calm voice stated
The next thing Jack knew he was on the floor,
no longer wrapped in the comforts of the soothing blanket, but dumped on the
freezing merciless floor, letting out an involuntary yelp as the cold grabbed
at his skin, teasing every nerve in his body. He scrambled up and looked at the assailants. Daniel simply smirked and Teal'c was impassive as ever.
"Do you mind?" he asked bitterly
"No" Teal'c replied simply
"What time is it?" He asked, shoving on a shirt
over his rumpled black t-shirt.
"1 o'clock…" Jack looked bemused ready to take
his head of for waking him this early, then Daniel finished the sentence "In
the afternoon"
"Wha?!" Jack gargled
"Yeah" Daniel said sheepishly "I've not been
awake too long either"
"I've never slept in this late" Jack said to no
in particular
"Well lets go see Janet, find out some more
info"
Jack nodded, following his team mate out the
door.
"Teal'c" he said "Do you mind not doing that
again"
"It was necessary to wake you properly"
"Yeah, well don't okay"
"Very well"
"Good"
"If it not required" he finished leaving a
dumbstruck colonel in his wake. Unsure
as to whether the big man was going to make good on what he said, Jack put it
aside and ran to catch up with the pair pacing faster than needed down the
corridor.
**********
The mountain was calm
and watched on blissfully as small flakes landed around it. They fell slowly, landing with precision
over everything natural or manufactured. They fall together now, landing , creating soft little mounds of
themselves. Each mound grew bigger like
a flower in spring, they fell as groups. They soon blanketed the landscape in the crisp whiteness they brought,
but they kept on coming, not content in what they have already done. They come down without mercy on the helpless
soldiers, each one trying to find some shelter from the snow pouring down
around them.
**********
Hammond hated talking to business
over the phone. It was less formal, and
seen to be more urgent if a quick phone call was all that informed the most
powerful man in the world about the good senators work. Although really, they have nothing on
Kinsey, who just happened to leave the country this morning for a family vacation. This was all too convenient in Hammonds eyes
and with him gone they had no one to point the finger at. Only Harris could tell them what was going
on but had clammed up, not talking to anyone and not even eating. He'd never seen anyone react like that.
Holding the telephone
close to his ear, Hammond waited patiently for the man on the other end to pick
up. A female voice answered informing
the General that the President is in a serious meeting with several world
leaders and so is unable to come to the phone. "Typical" Hammond thought thanking the young woman as pleasantly
as he could.
He hung up and looked
around at the furnishings in his office. Two big chairs sat in front of him, covered in deep green leather, lined with oak decorations. The big mahogany desk sat with pencils and
paper neatly to one side and a flower brought back by one of the teams several
months ago, flowering beautifully. The
bright purple bounced the light off the desk, following a neat line to the gray
door.
Three short raps on the
door signaled someone was outside. Answering with a sharp "Enter" the door was pushed open and a tired
looking Jacob carter walked in. Hammond
smiled at his old friend and signaled for him to sit down. "How are you Jake?"
"Tired, confused,
worried. And that's just the start of
it"
"We're all worried
about her Jake"
"I know but I just feel
really guilty that I'm not doing anything"
"Actually I was just
going to interrogate Harris over his involvement"
Jacob smiled dryly and
followed Hammond out of the doors. The trek to the holding cells was slow and
Hammond wondered why he had agreed to put them this far away from his
office. Then he remembered. He put them there because if they were going
to be holding violent aliens he didn't want to be around when they were not in
a very good mood. There was also the
issue of security around the Commander in Chief of Stargate Command.
The soldiers snapped to
attention when they saw Hammond and quickly opened the doors, allowing him in
to Harris' cell. The armed guard
flanked Hammond constantly, watching intently on the moves of the other
inmates. Harris stood knowing why
Hammond was there. "I won't talk
General" he said his voice dry, hoarse.
"Well you better had
son, or else your career with the air force is over"
"I won't talk" he
repeated
Jacob walked up to him
and bowed his head. Selmak took over
and scared the man so much his face turned an unearthly white. He staggered back into the table and chairs
in the middle of the room. "If you
will not talk to General Hammond, then maybe you will talk to me" he said
slowly, making sure Harris understood the intent behind every word.
Harris did but he
stupidly refused to budge on his convictions. Harris swore to Kinsey that he will sacrifice his career to protect him,
and that is what he will do. "I am not
talking to a Goa'uld, a general or anyone. You can Court Martial me for all I care"
"Fine you ruin your
career, your life, because when I get a hold of you I will not hold back, do
you understand. You will never be able
to work in again in your life." Hammond said loving the mans face change with
every word.
"Fine" Harris stuttered
"But let me ask one question" he said bravely
Intrigued Hammond
nodded
"How is she?"
"Major Carter?" he
asked, Harris nodded "She's in a serious condition but I think she will pull
through" he replied. Harris flickered,
wavered from his military bravado and showed some form of humanity. He looked truly sorry for what had happened.
This
sudden show remorse intrigued Hammond although he was reluctant to pursue it at this time. Maybe a little persuasion from the Major will help him see the
error of his ways. Hammond left the man
standing, shaking at the realisation of what he had done.
"George"
Jacob called
Hammond
looked at his friend and they both knew what was to be done if they wanted to
take down Kinsey. The good Senator has
covered his tracks so far but with a bit of deceit they could be uncovered for
the President to see.
"Jacob
get down to the infirmary, see how she is" Hammond said calmly "She will want
you there when she wakes up"
"Alright
but I want you to not do anything else to him until…"Jacob didn't finish the
sentence. He didn't want to say
something in case Irony decides to pay them a visit.
Hammond
nodded and the two went their separate ways.
**********
Daniel looked around his 'second home' and tried to find at least one nurse who wasn't actually doing anything. Daniel was on first name terms with all the young nurses, and could name all of them as well. He smiled as he saw Debs and she returned the grin. They walked towards each other and she knew what he was going to ask "Dr Fraiser will be around in a minute and Major Carter is fine"
"How…"
Daniel began to ask
"Did
I know? SG-1 seems to live down here
for one reason or another" she said trying to hold back a small giggle "Your
always asking after each other, you take are of each other" she finished with a
raised eyebrow, prompting one from Teal'c too.
"Are
we really that predicable?" Jack asked, surprised at the youngsters confidence
"If
you really want answers Colonel, ask me" Janet interrupted
"Hi
Doc!" Jack said cheerily, masking the underlying concern
"Do
want to see her?"
"That
is why we are here Doctor" Teal'c stated
Janet
smiled and proceeded to walk into one of the personal Med rooms. They used this room when Apophis was found,
and promptly died. Jack knew it gave
off bad vibes but never voiced his insignificant worry.
Sam
lay on the bed with the monitors around her, off in the hazy world induced by the
sedatives and painkillers running through her blood stream. The team filed around her and looked
on. She looked peaceful, no pain, no
worries. Only caught up in the dreams
that filled her mind, their minds. Jack
winced, he couldn't get used to this no matter how hard he tried. Sam would not be the same person, it may
look like it, but inside there will always be something else. A voice, an argument, a smug know-it-all who
is nothing more than a snake. Jack
tried not to think like this, but that has been all that was on his mind for
the past three and a half months.
Big
changes were defiantly just around the corner.