The Colour of Pain – Chapter 6
Bold = Symbiote talking.
**
"She seems a bit better than she was, but… It's difficult for me to tell, Jacob. She's still avoiding me. All of us, really, but me in particular."
Colonel O'Neill admired Jacob Carter's patience. He'd managed to wait until the official business between the Tok'ra High Command and the representatives of the SGC was complete before pulling Jack aside for an update on his daughter.
"Have you even tried talking to her?"
The older man looked irritated by the younger's response to his original question. Jack faced him calmly. He'd expected the retired General's frustration to be aimed at him. There was, after all, no-one better to take it out on round these parts.
"Yes, Jacob. I have. But she doesn't want to talk to me and it's not like I can force her. Maybe you ought to come back to Colorado with us, spend a few days with her – it must be nearly 2 months now since you last visited."
"That's not my fault! The Tok'ra are seriously undermanned for all the missions we have. You know that!"
Carter Senior sounded very defensive. Undoubtedly he felt very guilty about being unable to help his daughter more. His eyes glowed momentarily and his voice changed. Even as his back stiffened, Jack sat forward a little in his seat. Selmak knew of his discomfort with symbiotes so he guessed she would only join this personal conversation if she felt she had something important to say.
"Perhaps you should force her, Colonel O'Neill."
"What?!"
"Samantha may believe she is coping with her pain but I believe she is simply hiding from it. Confront her and the façade may crumble."
"I dunno… That sounds like a pretty dangerous assumption, Selmak. What if it has the opposite effect? Drives her further away? Damages her chances of ever fully recovering?"
The eyes of the former General, current Tok'ra operative, flashed once more, his voice returning to normal.
"I hate to say it, Jack, but Selmak might be right. She refused counselling, refused any professional help in that area. Maybe she needs to open up to a friend rather than a professional, whether she consciously knows it or not."
He looked down at his hands, shaking his head.
"I'll come back and see her. I'll persuade the High Command I can be spared for a day or two but she'll never open up to me, Jack. She still thinks she's got something to prove to me – that she has what it takes to be career military. I think you're probably her best shot. I mean, Daniel isn't really military and Janet is first and foremost a doctor, not a soldier."
Selmak once more took control of their shared body.
"I would concur with that assessment. Also, Jacob will be less able to function in his duties whilst he worries. That should be enough reason for the High Command to release us."
**
George Hammond watched the pair taking seats in his office. Jack O'Neill, one of the finest officers he'd ever had the honour of serving with. Janet Frasier, the dedicated CMO of his facility. They were probably Major Carter's closest friends. They were certainly the two people who cared for her most, outside of her family. And it was their opinions he would have to base his decision on. Was Major Carter fit to continue as officer in the USAF? Certain rules could be bent to keep her at Cheyenne Mountain, she was an incredibly valuable member of the team, but some just couldn't be broken. She had to be mentally, as well as physically fit. From the discussion with his subordinates, he quickly ascertained that her physical fitness shouldn't be a problem. Dr Frasier opined that Sam should be able to pass her physical evaluation in around 6 to 8 weeks, if not sooner.
"But what of her mental… emotional… state, Doctor?"
It was Jack O'Neill who answered, squirming in his seat a little.
"Her father and I were discussing that, Sir. He and Selmak think we ought to force her to talk. To me."
That explained the squirming.
"Though, personally, I think she would just refuse to talk to me completely if you tried to order her. He does however think she's a lot better than the last time he saw her, which is something at least."
He shrugged, at a loss about how to proceed. Not all problems could be shot down or blown up - and this was one of them.
Janet Frasier looked up, with a sudden smile.
"I think I might have an idea, Sir."
**
End of Chapter 6