CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: DEALING WITH THE AFTERMATH
At about 0430 hours Jack heard Vicky moving about and decided that neither one of them would get any more sleep, so he got up and grabbed a quick shower and went down to start breakfast.
He was just about finished when she came downstairs. She smiled at him a little as he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. "You look better this morning."
"I got some more sleep, thanks," she said as she open the fridge and got out orange juice and poured them both a glass. She also poured Jack a fresh cup of coffee.
When they sat down and started to eat Jack tried to surreptitiously study Vicky.
//I really wish he would stop that, I feel like a microscope slide\\
//I wish that I could have asked her to sleep with me again last night. I be damned though if I use this situation to use her like that\\
//I really wanted to sleep in his bed again but won't use him like that\\
"I called and talked to T when you were in the shower."
"How is Lisa?"
"He said that she was restless occasionally, but he would hold her hand and she would settle down." Both of them smiled at the thought of someone as large as Teal'c being so gentle, though Jack knew that it was not so unusual as most people would think. He hid his feelings well that didn't mean that he didn't have them.
~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~
When they got to the base the first place they headed was to the infirmary. They spotted Gunny crashed on a couch outside. Hack reached over and shook his shoulder. He jumped up and looked around wildly and said, "I'm awake. What happened?" He realized where he was and asked them, "is Lisa alright?"
Vicky replied, "Relax Gunny, she's fine. You, however, should get something to eat then some sleep."
"I'm fine, M'am."
Jack looked him over, "no you're not. You won't be any good to her if you don't take care of yourself. Now go and get something to eat and that's an order. We'll talk about sleep after."
"Sir, yes, Sir." He then turned and headed toward the commissary.
Vicky waited until he was out of earshot, "I think we can get one of the doctors to give us something to make him sleep and we can slip it to him."
Jack smiled at her, "my thinking exactly." He then went to the door and motioned Teal'c outside.
"T, how's she doing, buddy?"
"SargeantChang is much improved, O'Neill. The Doctor states that she will be enough of a stable fashion that he will be able to operate this afternoon."
"That's great. Teal'c, why don't you go grab something to eat? I just sent Gunny to the commissary, you can keep him company. We'll stay and watch over Chang."
Vicky added, "General Hammond is having a briefing at 0800. I have someone in mind to relieve you that Lisa will be comfortable with.
He bowed at them again and left. They entered the ICU quietly. Jack stayed back while Vicky approached the bed. He watched as she began to stroke Chang's hair again. Lisa's eyes fluttered open and she looked around confused for a moment.
"M'am," she said softly.
"Shh, they tell me that you're getting better. The Doctor will operate this afternoon and they will fix you right up."
Lisa licked her dry lips. Jack noticed and knowing exactly how she felt went over and picked up her cup of water, then gently lifting her heat with his other hand he held it up for her to drink. She took several small sips and said, "Thanks, Sir."
He smiled at her, "just let me know if you need more, I'm right here."
"Michael?"
Jack looked at Vicky confused. Who the hell was Michael?
"He spent the night here. We found him dozing on a couch outside when we got here. Jack had to order him to go and eat."
//oh, Gunny, Michael right\\
"He should get some rest."
"Got it covered, gonna slip him a Mickey." Jack smiled down at her. She looked at the Captain confused.
"Jack, she's a a little young to know what you just said."
"Oh, right, we're going to slip him a sleeping pill in something." Lisa gave her first genuine smile, knowing that would be the only to handle him. "Do you want some more water?" When she nodded he again lifted her head and held up the cup.
"Lisa, Teal'c and the rest of us are going to a briefing and then he has to get some sleep. I will make sure there is someone that you are comfortable with at all times, OK?" When Lisa nodded she started stroking her hair again and continued, "go back to sleep, you need your strength for the operation.
Slowly her eyes drifted closed and by the time Teal'c had returned she was fast asleep. One of the younger doctors came in to check on the patient and Jack pulled him aside and explained about needing something to knock the patient's boyfriend out, because that was the only way he would rest. The Doctor had seen this sort of thing many times with friends and relatives of patients. And while he didn't condone medicating anyone without their consent, some times it was necessary.
Jack slipped the pill into a cup of coffee, stirred it well and added just a little bit of sugar to cover the taste. They walked out and he handed the cup to gunny, "here you go, I thought you would need this."
"Thanks, Sir."
"I got the doctor to agree to let you see her for just a minute after he finishes his examination of her. He'll be done by the time you finish your coffee."
"Gee, thanks, M'am," Gunny brightened considerable when he heard that. He hurried to drink the coffee figuring that the faster he drank the faster the doctor would be done.
After they had gone a ways down the hall Jack leaned over and whispered, "you are truly evil, Mrs. O'Neill."
"And don't you ever forget it, Mr. O'Neill," she smiled back.
~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~
There were quite a few people in the conference room when Teal'c joined them. He took a chair next to Carter. On her other side was Daniel. He looked around the room and recognized almost every one. All of the leaders of SG teams, except for the two teams off world, were there. As well as the CMA and Colonel Schmidt.
"Who relieved you at the infirmary," Jack asked.
"I got Captain Rebecca Anderson to relieve him. I figured that Lisa would be comfortable with her, plus we wouldn't have to worry about her safety."
Jack's eyes bugged out, "That Norwegian Amazon?"
"I do not believe that Amazons are from Norway, O'Neill. They are found on the continent of South America." Sam and Vicky giggled at the look on Jack's face.
It's just a figure of speech, T. What I mean is that she's huge. She's taller than I am, forcryingoutloud. And I sure as hell wouldn't want to meet HER in a dark alley."
"Indeed she is an impressive warrior. I have trained many times with her. Though I fail to see why you would, or would not, wish to meet her or anyone else in a dark thoroughfare."
Everyone around the table had a good laugh at that, but only for a moment. The purpose for this briefing was far too serious a matter. Everyone stood at attention when General Hammond entered.
"As you were, people." He looked at the CMO and said, "Report, Doctor."
The Doctor opened a file before he began, "Sergeant Chang has now stabilized enough to be operated on. I am going to get some more sleep after the briefing so that I will be more rested for the surgery this afternoon. Chang has obviously been severely beaten, though it appears that a sexual assault did not occur."
Several people muttered, "Thank, God." Hammond said, "I second that feeling."
Hammond then turned to Colonel Schmidt, "Colonel, what can we expect form her mental state."
Alex took a deep breath, "General, every woman reacts differently to assault. Though rape did not occur I still believe this was still by its nature a sexual type of assault. From what I have been able to ascertain, there have been a number of assaults each progressing in violence. I will not be able to meet with Sergeant Chang today because of her surgery, but would like to start working with her tomorrow, if possible.
"I think it's also necessary to treat the Gunnery Sergeant, who is apparently is her boy friend. I am not sure however, how receptive he will be."
Jack interrupted, "don't worry, Doc, I'll handle it. I'll make sure he'll be there."
Schmidt nodded, "Thank you, Jack, I'm sure you can be very persuasive." There were several snickers around the table before he continued. He leaned forward and looked at Vicky, "Captain O'Neill, I hope you don't mind rescheduling our appointment. I feel my time would best be used by having and open door to any of the women on the base who might need to talk."
"Not at all, I think that's a very good idea. General, if I may offer a suggestion?" When he nodded she continued, "I think this would be a good to give some more advanced hand-to-hand training to all of the women on the base. Most of the instructors are men, and while very at what they do, women's bodies are built differently. Teaching them same way that men are taught puts them at a disadvantage. I would like Teal'c to assist me in giving two classes. I feel that the enlisted personnel would be more comfortable in a class separated from the officers. They wouldn't have to worry about possible court marshal by striking a superior officer."
Teal'c nodded his consent and the General said, "I think that's an excellent idea. Can you arrange for the enlisted personnel to have the class this afternoon?"
"No problem, I'll get right on it after the briefing ends."
The meeting continued for a while, covering what evidence they had, suggestions on the investigation and increased security. When they were all leaving Vicky called, "Sam, can I have a few minutes of your time? I need your help on something."
"Of course." When they started walking to where their labs were she asked, "what did you need?"
"Let's wait until we get to my lab before I tell you."
~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~
They were seated in Vicky's lab with the door closed for privacy and Vicky handed Sam a piece of paper. "This is the name that came up when I questioned some of the women who had been attacked. Not all of them talked and the ones that did, did so only on the promise that it was entirely off the record."
Sam gasped when she opened up the paper and saw the name, though when she thought about she wasn't entirely surprised. She had always felt uneasy around this man.
"Normally, of course Lisa would have helped me. My second choice would have been Jack, but if I give him any name, I'm afraid that he will kill him."
"The Colonel really doesn't know his way around computers that well."
She was startled when Vicky laughed at her, "you really have bought into the whole "dumb Jack" thing, haven't you?"
"Well, no I don't think the Colonel is dumb..."
"Sam. Jack has doctorates in Astronomy, Military History, AND physics."
"Really? I thought you guys were kidding."
"No, Jack is one of the smartest men I have ever met. Anyway, what I need is a complete background check on this sleezeball. I want everything. Call the Military Police and check on unsolved sexual assaults when he was on their bases. Get as much as you can. Then, I want a version of what you find, but without any identifying information. We are going to give that to Alex and see if it fits a profile of the attacker. But not one word to anyone else, I don't want any vigilante justice against this guy. Unless, of course, I'm the one doing it. And if I'm wrong I don't want his reputation smeared. Once someone is accused of this sort of thing, even if they're smeared, it follows them around for the rest of their lives."
"You're right about that. I'll get right on it. Do you mind if I do it here? I'll have less people bothering me if they don't know where I am."
"No, go right ahead. I'm going to go and start arranging for the hand-to- hand training. I'll set up the one for the Officers for tomorrow morning."
Sam turned to the computer as well as the phone. There were several people she knew at the Pentagon that could help. Vicky walked away to start her kind of hunt. One that she wasn't about to tell Carter, or anyone else about.
At about 0430 hours Jack heard Vicky moving about and decided that neither one of them would get any more sleep, so he got up and grabbed a quick shower and went down to start breakfast.
He was just about finished when she came downstairs. She smiled at him a little as he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. "You look better this morning."
"I got some more sleep, thanks," she said as she open the fridge and got out orange juice and poured them both a glass. She also poured Jack a fresh cup of coffee.
When they sat down and started to eat Jack tried to surreptitiously study Vicky.
//I really wish he would stop that, I feel like a microscope slide\\
//I wish that I could have asked her to sleep with me again last night. I be damned though if I use this situation to use her like that\\
//I really wanted to sleep in his bed again but won't use him like that\\
"I called and talked to T when you were in the shower."
"How is Lisa?"
"He said that she was restless occasionally, but he would hold her hand and she would settle down." Both of them smiled at the thought of someone as large as Teal'c being so gentle, though Jack knew that it was not so unusual as most people would think. He hid his feelings well that didn't mean that he didn't have them.
~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~
When they got to the base the first place they headed was to the infirmary. They spotted Gunny crashed on a couch outside. Hack reached over and shook his shoulder. He jumped up and looked around wildly and said, "I'm awake. What happened?" He realized where he was and asked them, "is Lisa alright?"
Vicky replied, "Relax Gunny, she's fine. You, however, should get something to eat then some sleep."
"I'm fine, M'am."
Jack looked him over, "no you're not. You won't be any good to her if you don't take care of yourself. Now go and get something to eat and that's an order. We'll talk about sleep after."
"Sir, yes, Sir." He then turned and headed toward the commissary.
Vicky waited until he was out of earshot, "I think we can get one of the doctors to give us something to make him sleep and we can slip it to him."
Jack smiled at her, "my thinking exactly." He then went to the door and motioned Teal'c outside.
"T, how's she doing, buddy?"
"SargeantChang is much improved, O'Neill. The Doctor states that she will be enough of a stable fashion that he will be able to operate this afternoon."
"That's great. Teal'c, why don't you go grab something to eat? I just sent Gunny to the commissary, you can keep him company. We'll stay and watch over Chang."
Vicky added, "General Hammond is having a briefing at 0800. I have someone in mind to relieve you that Lisa will be comfortable with.
He bowed at them again and left. They entered the ICU quietly. Jack stayed back while Vicky approached the bed. He watched as she began to stroke Chang's hair again. Lisa's eyes fluttered open and she looked around confused for a moment.
"M'am," she said softly.
"Shh, they tell me that you're getting better. The Doctor will operate this afternoon and they will fix you right up."
Lisa licked her dry lips. Jack noticed and knowing exactly how she felt went over and picked up her cup of water, then gently lifting her heat with his other hand he held it up for her to drink. She took several small sips and said, "Thanks, Sir."
He smiled at her, "just let me know if you need more, I'm right here."
"Michael?"
Jack looked at Vicky confused. Who the hell was Michael?
"He spent the night here. We found him dozing on a couch outside when we got here. Jack had to order him to go and eat."
//oh, Gunny, Michael right\\
"He should get some rest."
"Got it covered, gonna slip him a Mickey." Jack smiled down at her. She looked at the Captain confused.
"Jack, she's a a little young to know what you just said."
"Oh, right, we're going to slip him a sleeping pill in something." Lisa gave her first genuine smile, knowing that would be the only to handle him. "Do you want some more water?" When she nodded he again lifted her head and held up the cup.
"Lisa, Teal'c and the rest of us are going to a briefing and then he has to get some sleep. I will make sure there is someone that you are comfortable with at all times, OK?" When Lisa nodded she started stroking her hair again and continued, "go back to sleep, you need your strength for the operation.
Slowly her eyes drifted closed and by the time Teal'c had returned she was fast asleep. One of the younger doctors came in to check on the patient and Jack pulled him aside and explained about needing something to knock the patient's boyfriend out, because that was the only way he would rest. The Doctor had seen this sort of thing many times with friends and relatives of patients. And while he didn't condone medicating anyone without their consent, some times it was necessary.
Jack slipped the pill into a cup of coffee, stirred it well and added just a little bit of sugar to cover the taste. They walked out and he handed the cup to gunny, "here you go, I thought you would need this."
"Thanks, Sir."
"I got the doctor to agree to let you see her for just a minute after he finishes his examination of her. He'll be done by the time you finish your coffee."
"Gee, thanks, M'am," Gunny brightened considerable when he heard that. He hurried to drink the coffee figuring that the faster he drank the faster the doctor would be done.
After they had gone a ways down the hall Jack leaned over and whispered, "you are truly evil, Mrs. O'Neill."
"And don't you ever forget it, Mr. O'Neill," she smiled back.
~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~
There were quite a few people in the conference room when Teal'c joined them. He took a chair next to Carter. On her other side was Daniel. He looked around the room and recognized almost every one. All of the leaders of SG teams, except for the two teams off world, were there. As well as the CMA and Colonel Schmidt.
"Who relieved you at the infirmary," Jack asked.
"I got Captain Rebecca Anderson to relieve him. I figured that Lisa would be comfortable with her, plus we wouldn't have to worry about her safety."
Jack's eyes bugged out, "That Norwegian Amazon?"
"I do not believe that Amazons are from Norway, O'Neill. They are found on the continent of South America." Sam and Vicky giggled at the look on Jack's face.
It's just a figure of speech, T. What I mean is that she's huge. She's taller than I am, forcryingoutloud. And I sure as hell wouldn't want to meet HER in a dark alley."
"Indeed she is an impressive warrior. I have trained many times with her. Though I fail to see why you would, or would not, wish to meet her or anyone else in a dark thoroughfare."
Everyone around the table had a good laugh at that, but only for a moment. The purpose for this briefing was far too serious a matter. Everyone stood at attention when General Hammond entered.
"As you were, people." He looked at the CMO and said, "Report, Doctor."
The Doctor opened a file before he began, "Sergeant Chang has now stabilized enough to be operated on. I am going to get some more sleep after the briefing so that I will be more rested for the surgery this afternoon. Chang has obviously been severely beaten, though it appears that a sexual assault did not occur."
Several people muttered, "Thank, God." Hammond said, "I second that feeling."
Hammond then turned to Colonel Schmidt, "Colonel, what can we expect form her mental state."
Alex took a deep breath, "General, every woman reacts differently to assault. Though rape did not occur I still believe this was still by its nature a sexual type of assault. From what I have been able to ascertain, there have been a number of assaults each progressing in violence. I will not be able to meet with Sergeant Chang today because of her surgery, but would like to start working with her tomorrow, if possible.
"I think it's also necessary to treat the Gunnery Sergeant, who is apparently is her boy friend. I am not sure however, how receptive he will be."
Jack interrupted, "don't worry, Doc, I'll handle it. I'll make sure he'll be there."
Schmidt nodded, "Thank you, Jack, I'm sure you can be very persuasive." There were several snickers around the table before he continued. He leaned forward and looked at Vicky, "Captain O'Neill, I hope you don't mind rescheduling our appointment. I feel my time would best be used by having and open door to any of the women on the base who might need to talk."
"Not at all, I think that's a very good idea. General, if I may offer a suggestion?" When he nodded she continued, "I think this would be a good to give some more advanced hand-to-hand training to all of the women on the base. Most of the instructors are men, and while very at what they do, women's bodies are built differently. Teaching them same way that men are taught puts them at a disadvantage. I would like Teal'c to assist me in giving two classes. I feel that the enlisted personnel would be more comfortable in a class separated from the officers. They wouldn't have to worry about possible court marshal by striking a superior officer."
Teal'c nodded his consent and the General said, "I think that's an excellent idea. Can you arrange for the enlisted personnel to have the class this afternoon?"
"No problem, I'll get right on it after the briefing ends."
The meeting continued for a while, covering what evidence they had, suggestions on the investigation and increased security. When they were all leaving Vicky called, "Sam, can I have a few minutes of your time? I need your help on something."
"Of course." When they started walking to where their labs were she asked, "what did you need?"
"Let's wait until we get to my lab before I tell you."
~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~
They were seated in Vicky's lab with the door closed for privacy and Vicky handed Sam a piece of paper. "This is the name that came up when I questioned some of the women who had been attacked. Not all of them talked and the ones that did, did so only on the promise that it was entirely off the record."
Sam gasped when she opened up the paper and saw the name, though when she thought about she wasn't entirely surprised. She had always felt uneasy around this man.
"Normally, of course Lisa would have helped me. My second choice would have been Jack, but if I give him any name, I'm afraid that he will kill him."
"The Colonel really doesn't know his way around computers that well."
She was startled when Vicky laughed at her, "you really have bought into the whole "dumb Jack" thing, haven't you?"
"Well, no I don't think the Colonel is dumb..."
"Sam. Jack has doctorates in Astronomy, Military History, AND physics."
"Really? I thought you guys were kidding."
"No, Jack is one of the smartest men I have ever met. Anyway, what I need is a complete background check on this sleezeball. I want everything. Call the Military Police and check on unsolved sexual assaults when he was on their bases. Get as much as you can. Then, I want a version of what you find, but without any identifying information. We are going to give that to Alex and see if it fits a profile of the attacker. But not one word to anyone else, I don't want any vigilante justice against this guy. Unless, of course, I'm the one doing it. And if I'm wrong I don't want his reputation smeared. Once someone is accused of this sort of thing, even if they're smeared, it follows them around for the rest of their lives."
"You're right about that. I'll get right on it. Do you mind if I do it here? I'll have less people bothering me if they don't know where I am."
"No, go right ahead. I'm going to go and start arranging for the hand-to- hand training. I'll set up the one for the Officers for tomorrow morning."
Sam turned to the computer as well as the phone. There were several people she knew at the Pentagon that could help. Vicky walked away to start her kind of hunt. One that she wasn't about to tell Carter, or anyone else about.