The Touched
Part 6
Jack ran through to her room as he heard her moaning. As he entered, he watched her thrashing around in her sheets mumbling incoherent words, tears streaming down her face. Slowly he lowered himself onto her bed and began to stroke her face and forehead, waiting until she had stilled enough to allow him to pull her into his arms. It was a technique he had learned with Charlie and it had come in handy over the last week or so.
After a few days of ignoring him completely, she had finally relented and began to talk to him again but she still tried to keep herself at a distance. It had taken her a while to get over her initial anger, they no longer flirted so openly but their friendship was definitely back on good terms and he was very worried about her.
She was still feeling the side effects of her mysterious illness and Jack had tried everything short of telling Doctor Fraiser to confine her to the infirmary, to keep them from going on an away mission. He watched silently and without comment as she spent time throwing up meals and watched her move, painfully aware that she was feeling severe discomfort in her stomach and back. But still she refused to talk to him about it, didn't complain at all, well that wasn't true, she complained that General Hammond had yet to send SG1 off planet but he had failed to mention his part in that.
She began to still slightly, still mumbling to herself as Jack pulled her into his arms and rested against her pillows. It had become a nightly ritual. She would begin having nightmares and he would comfort her, leaving before she had the chance to wake up. It had gotten to the point where he was afraid to go to sleep in case she should need him. However, he remained grateful for her presence. Whilst she was here, his own nightmares had ceased as he found himself too exhausted taking care of her and worrying about her, that he found himself sleeping soundly.
He breathed a sigh of relief as she stilled. Just a few more minutes and he would leave her to sleep. Just a few more minutes...
~x~x~x~x~x~
Sam sighed, pulling herself into the waking world. She felt strangely at ease and was, for once, aware that she couldn't remember any nightmares. That didn't mean that she hadn't had them, simply that she was, for some reason or another, unable to remember. Snuggling in, she buried her head into Jack's shoulder, breathing in his scent...
*Wait a minute, Jack's shoulder?* She gently pulled herself up and opened her eyes. Looking up, she saw him sound asleep, his head making an odd angle with the wall. *That's gonna be painful when he wakes up* She thought grimacing.
She had long since suspected that he had been coming into her room while she slept, making the nightmares go away, even if only for a couple of hours. Gently moving him down, she allowed him to lie straight on the bed before placing her head on his chest and allowing him to, once again, pull her into his warm embrace.
~x~x~x~x~x~
As he awoke, he began to stretch, feeling the bones in his neck creak in protest. He groaned and tried to ease the muscles. Sitting up he felt slightly disoriented, only to realize that he must have fallen asleep in Sam's bed. What confused him more was that she had not only pulled him into what was a – marginally – better sleeping position and allowed him to stay, but she was no where in sight.
A noise from the bathroom confirmed his suspicions as he stood and walked to the door. Sure enough, his Major was leaning over the toilet seat throwing up whatever she had eaten the previous night. Sighing he decided that he'd had enough of letting her pretend that everything was all right. Walking quietly over to her, he surprised her by brushed her hair from her face and then waited with her until she was finished.
~x~x~x~x~x~
"I'm fine."
"Sure you are. I mean if spending half your time with your head in the toilet, being in pain for most of the time and spending most of the night having nightmares is what you consider to be fine, then you're just peachy,"
Sam glared at him and walked over to the cupboard to remove two plates. Saying nothing, she placed them next to the cooker where Jack was finishing the breakfast and went to the fridge to get them their orange juice.
Placing the glasses onto the table and dodging past him to get the cutlery, she found her voice again, "It's not as bad as you make it sound."
"Isn't it?" Jack placed the plates on the table and sat, waiting for her to join him. He watched as she leaned back against the work top, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, her eyes tearing.
"I don't know what's wrong, Jack." She whispered, "I want it to stop but I don't know what's wrong." Jack stood and walked over to her and, removing the cutlery from her hands, pulled her into a tight embrace, allowing her to cry.
~x~x~x~x~x~
Jack pulled their jackets from the hooks and called for her to join him. She was in the bathroom and he only prayed that she wasn't flushing away this morning's breakfast. As she walked down the stairs, the phone rang and, after helping her into her jacket, he answered.
"Hello?"
"Jack? It's Daniel."
"Hey Daniel." Sam signaled that she was going to the car and he nodded as he answered, "Carter and I were just leaving, ya need anything?"
"Er, no." Jack frowned as he appeared agitated.
"Everything okay?"
"I think you might want to bring Sam to the base as soon as you can."
Jack looked at her retreating form, panic in his eyes, "Danny, what's wrong?"
"I think you'd be better waiting..."
"Daniel, for crying out loud, what's wrong?" Jack cringed at his own voice, not having meant to sound so harsh.
"I've finished deciphering the book that Ma'ari gave us...I know what's wrong with Sam."
~x~x~x~x~x~
End of part 6