Part Eight
"I told you, I'm fine." Colonel O'Neill's angry voice caused the nurse standing in front of him to flinch. But she held her ground, and answered him in a low, controlled tone.
"No, you are not, sir. Doctor Fraiser left clear instructions that you were not to even sit up. Do I have to call her in?"
"No." With a sigh, he lay back on the pillows, his fingers scratching at the skin on the back of his hand. "It's about time she had a break from this place."
"Yes, Colonel, it is. And, sir, please don't do that." The nurse gently pulled the offending hand away.
"Alright! God, I can't even scratch myself without supervision." He folded his arms, tucking his hands under them and out of sight, glaring up at the woman.
"I'm going on my lunch break, sir. Is there anything I can get you first?" She smiled determinedly.
"How about a hotdog? Oh wait, it won't fit down the tube."
"No, sir." Her smile slipped slightly. "Just buzz if you need anything." She waited until he acknowledged her answer with a small nod, and left, her footsteps moving rapidly away down the corridor.
Jack slowly allowed his hands to unclench, sliding them down, and under the sheets. He closed his eyes wearily, sinking back deeper into the pillows, careful not to disturb the tube threaded into his stomach. If he was honest with himself, he knew there was no way he could sit up properly in bed, the energy required to just move his head was almost more than he had in his weakened body.
Doctor Fraiser, with the help of Carter, and he hated to admit it, the Tok'ra Anise, had found the answer, identifying enough similarities in the toxin to a type of commonly used sheep dip. The lab had taken it from there, devising a treatment that had been almost as bad as the initial 'dosing'. At least it had been administered while he was anesthesiatised, he thought, shuddering as his mind brushed against a memory, he had been under for most of it, totally unaware of the stomach tube pouring the mixture into him, but he still felt the effects. He still had bouts of nausea, his arms trembled, and his legs were too weak to hold any weight even if the Doc would let him try. His stomach was too delicate to take any solid food, the tube feeding him liquids. God he hated it! Why the hell couldn't he eat like a normal person? Janet said it was only to be expected, that he would have to have patience, and to give himself time to get his strength back.
He didn't want to He wanted to get out of here.
And his skin itched.
It even itched when he was asleep.
He found his fingers twitching across his chest, under the thin pyjamas he had finally been allowed to substitute for a gown, and pulled them back. The skin tightened across his prominent knuckles when he flexed his hand and he held it up, staring at it, looking at every line, every indentation.
His fingers looked the same.
Even the fingernails were back, restored by the healing device.
They didn't look like his nails. His nails were back there in the soil of that planet.
That was one of the details he remembered, one of the few from his "freeing". Had those people just thought he was a creature to be returned to the wild? Surely they had known he couldn't survive in the state he was in without help?
His skin was so soft. Not like his own at all.
And so itchy.
There was a noise just outside his room.
He dragged his fingers away from his arm, concealing the slight scratches by hiding them under the sheet, just as the handle finished moving and the door opened.
"Hey, Jack. How are you doing?"
"Great, Daniel, just great." Jack smiled. "I've sent Nurse Whatsit off to get me a hotdog. And you? You had lunch? What did you have? How many cups of coffee have you had today? I don't think I should have coffee. Might burn my stomach. Wouldn't have time to cool on the way down. What do you think, Daniel?" He cocked his head and beamed brightly up at the other man.
"Okaaaay. Do I get the feeling that you have food issues, Jack?"
"Ya think?"
Daniel pulled out a chair, sitting forward and leaning towards the bed. "You know the tube is just temporary, so why act like this?"
The answer was immediate. "Because I don't like it. I don't want it stuck into me. I want to get it out and get out of this room. That's why."
"Janet explained that the toxin did damage the healing device couldn't cure. You need to give your body time to heal. It'll only be a few more days, Jack."
Jack shut his eyes, raising his hand to the bridge of his nose. "I know that, Daniel." He spoke in a quieter voice, sounding exhausted. "I just want everyone to stop poking around with my body. I want to be left alone for a bit."
"I can understand..." Daniel stopped, leaning further forward. "What have you done to your arm?"
The Colonel pulled his sleeve down, "Nothing. I must have scratched it on something. Maybe the bed, I don't know. It isn't anything."
"You should get a nurse to take a look at it. You should have a dressing put on it." Daniel looked worried, as if he was about to jump up and go running for help.
Jack grabbed for the buzzer, forestalling his friend's actions. When the nurse hurried in he held up his arm, pointing. "I need a bandaid here."
"How did this happen, Colonel?" The middle aged, grey haired woman held the arm gently, turning in under the light.
"I don't know, how about sticking a bandaid on and forgetting about it?"
"Sorry, sir, I'll have to tell Doctor Fraiser about this. We have to be sure it doesn't get infected"
"For crying out loud, it's only a scratch!"
"With your weakened system, Colonel, it's a potential problem."
"Crap!" Jack slumped back, his face a picture of chagrin.
"Could you come back in an hour, Doctor Jackson?" The nurse turned to Daniel. "Just while I see to the Colonel." She flicked her eyes towards the site where the tube ran into Jack's stomach.
"Oh, okay." Daniel nodded in understanding. "I'll be back soon, Jack."
"Yeah, I'll see you later then." Jack's dejected voice followed him from the room. As the door closed the Colonel's voice could still be heard. "This is so much fun. Pump it in, empty it out. Much easier than having to chew." There was silence for a moment. The last comment Daniel heard as he hesitated in the corridor had him moving away, grimacing. "Damn! I hate this!"
"Hey, Daniel, wait up." He turned to see Sam hurrying towards him. "I was just going to visit the Colonel."
"Take my word for it, now is not a good time." Daniel touched her arm lightly, moving them both to the side and out of people's way. "I was told to come back in an hour."
"So you haven't seen him today?"
"No, I did visit him, briefly, before being kicked out." He lowered his voice and began walking again, heading for the elevators, Sam following. "He had scratched his arm. Said it was an accident, but I don't buy it."
"Well, healing skin does tend to get itchy." The elevator doors opened and they stepped in, nodding to the three occupants. They stayed silent as it descended, waiting until they were alone again before continuing.
"I know healing wounds are itchy at times, Sam, but given what happened to Jack, I think we should keep an eye on him."
"But we really don't know what happened to the Colonel, do we, Daniel? He hasn't exactly told us much. I know he made a report to the General, but he hasn't given us any details at all." They moved into Sam's lab, and she waited for the door to close before continuing. "Colonel O'Neill told us he was bitten by animals while in the forest, now do you buy that? I certainly don't"
Daniel frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"He wasn't just bitten, Daniel. Those wounds were caused over a period of time. There is no way he would have just lain there and wait to be bitten, no matter how badly injured he was."
"So what are you suggesting?"
She shook her head slowly. "I'm not sure. Think about it. Think about how we found him."
"Are you saying..." Daniel paled a little and leaned heavily against a table. "That Jack was held down, burnt and..." He swallowed.
"That's exactly what I'm saying, Daniel. It's the only possible explanation. He couldn't defend himself from them because he was restrained."
"Oh god!" Daniel folded himself into a chair, rocking slightly. "Oh god, Sam. I just realised..."
"What, Daniel? What is it?"
"Those people in the room where we found Jack. The way the chairs were set up. They were an audience, Sam, a god damned audience!"
Sam stared at her teammate, disgust and panic warring for dominance on her face. "They were watching him being eaten alive, being burnt? What sort of people could do that? God, Daniel, what else did they do to him?"
Daniel stood up, wiping his hand across his mouth. "I don't know, Sam, and I doubt he'll ever tell us, but I do know this." He straightened, looking her in the eyes. "We're going to have to watch him."
Sam nodded. "We should tell General Hammond what we suspect."
"No, let's not jump into things too quickly." Daniel disagreed. "I'm going to speak to Teal'c. Perhaps the three of us can keep an eye on him for the meantime."
Sam nodded again, carefully considering her next words. "This could be bad, Daniel. Very, very bad."
"I told you, I'm fine." Colonel O'Neill's angry voice caused the nurse standing in front of him to flinch. But she held her ground, and answered him in a low, controlled tone.
"No, you are not, sir. Doctor Fraiser left clear instructions that you were not to even sit up. Do I have to call her in?"
"No." With a sigh, he lay back on the pillows, his fingers scratching at the skin on the back of his hand. "It's about time she had a break from this place."
"Yes, Colonel, it is. And, sir, please don't do that." The nurse gently pulled the offending hand away.
"Alright! God, I can't even scratch myself without supervision." He folded his arms, tucking his hands under them and out of sight, glaring up at the woman.
"I'm going on my lunch break, sir. Is there anything I can get you first?" She smiled determinedly.
"How about a hotdog? Oh wait, it won't fit down the tube."
"No, sir." Her smile slipped slightly. "Just buzz if you need anything." She waited until he acknowledged her answer with a small nod, and left, her footsteps moving rapidly away down the corridor.
Jack slowly allowed his hands to unclench, sliding them down, and under the sheets. He closed his eyes wearily, sinking back deeper into the pillows, careful not to disturb the tube threaded into his stomach. If he was honest with himself, he knew there was no way he could sit up properly in bed, the energy required to just move his head was almost more than he had in his weakened body.
Doctor Fraiser, with the help of Carter, and he hated to admit it, the Tok'ra Anise, had found the answer, identifying enough similarities in the toxin to a type of commonly used sheep dip. The lab had taken it from there, devising a treatment that had been almost as bad as the initial 'dosing'. At least it had been administered while he was anesthesiatised, he thought, shuddering as his mind brushed against a memory, he had been under for most of it, totally unaware of the stomach tube pouring the mixture into him, but he still felt the effects. He still had bouts of nausea, his arms trembled, and his legs were too weak to hold any weight even if the Doc would let him try. His stomach was too delicate to take any solid food, the tube feeding him liquids. God he hated it! Why the hell couldn't he eat like a normal person? Janet said it was only to be expected, that he would have to have patience, and to give himself time to get his strength back.
He didn't want to He wanted to get out of here.
And his skin itched.
It even itched when he was asleep.
He found his fingers twitching across his chest, under the thin pyjamas he had finally been allowed to substitute for a gown, and pulled them back. The skin tightened across his prominent knuckles when he flexed his hand and he held it up, staring at it, looking at every line, every indentation.
His fingers looked the same.
Even the fingernails were back, restored by the healing device.
They didn't look like his nails. His nails were back there in the soil of that planet.
That was one of the details he remembered, one of the few from his "freeing". Had those people just thought he was a creature to be returned to the wild? Surely they had known he couldn't survive in the state he was in without help?
His skin was so soft. Not like his own at all.
And so itchy.
There was a noise just outside his room.
He dragged his fingers away from his arm, concealing the slight scratches by hiding them under the sheet, just as the handle finished moving and the door opened.
"Hey, Jack. How are you doing?"
"Great, Daniel, just great." Jack smiled. "I've sent Nurse Whatsit off to get me a hotdog. And you? You had lunch? What did you have? How many cups of coffee have you had today? I don't think I should have coffee. Might burn my stomach. Wouldn't have time to cool on the way down. What do you think, Daniel?" He cocked his head and beamed brightly up at the other man.
"Okaaaay. Do I get the feeling that you have food issues, Jack?"
"Ya think?"
Daniel pulled out a chair, sitting forward and leaning towards the bed. "You know the tube is just temporary, so why act like this?"
The answer was immediate. "Because I don't like it. I don't want it stuck into me. I want to get it out and get out of this room. That's why."
"Janet explained that the toxin did damage the healing device couldn't cure. You need to give your body time to heal. It'll only be a few more days, Jack."
Jack shut his eyes, raising his hand to the bridge of his nose. "I know that, Daniel." He spoke in a quieter voice, sounding exhausted. "I just want everyone to stop poking around with my body. I want to be left alone for a bit."
"I can understand..." Daniel stopped, leaning further forward. "What have you done to your arm?"
The Colonel pulled his sleeve down, "Nothing. I must have scratched it on something. Maybe the bed, I don't know. It isn't anything."
"You should get a nurse to take a look at it. You should have a dressing put on it." Daniel looked worried, as if he was about to jump up and go running for help.
Jack grabbed for the buzzer, forestalling his friend's actions. When the nurse hurried in he held up his arm, pointing. "I need a bandaid here."
"How did this happen, Colonel?" The middle aged, grey haired woman held the arm gently, turning in under the light.
"I don't know, how about sticking a bandaid on and forgetting about it?"
"Sorry, sir, I'll have to tell Doctor Fraiser about this. We have to be sure it doesn't get infected"
"For crying out loud, it's only a scratch!"
"With your weakened system, Colonel, it's a potential problem."
"Crap!" Jack slumped back, his face a picture of chagrin.
"Could you come back in an hour, Doctor Jackson?" The nurse turned to Daniel. "Just while I see to the Colonel." She flicked her eyes towards the site where the tube ran into Jack's stomach.
"Oh, okay." Daniel nodded in understanding. "I'll be back soon, Jack."
"Yeah, I'll see you later then." Jack's dejected voice followed him from the room. As the door closed the Colonel's voice could still be heard. "This is so much fun. Pump it in, empty it out. Much easier than having to chew." There was silence for a moment. The last comment Daniel heard as he hesitated in the corridor had him moving away, grimacing. "Damn! I hate this!"
"Hey, Daniel, wait up." He turned to see Sam hurrying towards him. "I was just going to visit the Colonel."
"Take my word for it, now is not a good time." Daniel touched her arm lightly, moving them both to the side and out of people's way. "I was told to come back in an hour."
"So you haven't seen him today?"
"No, I did visit him, briefly, before being kicked out." He lowered his voice and began walking again, heading for the elevators, Sam following. "He had scratched his arm. Said it was an accident, but I don't buy it."
"Well, healing skin does tend to get itchy." The elevator doors opened and they stepped in, nodding to the three occupants. They stayed silent as it descended, waiting until they were alone again before continuing.
"I know healing wounds are itchy at times, Sam, but given what happened to Jack, I think we should keep an eye on him."
"But we really don't know what happened to the Colonel, do we, Daniel? He hasn't exactly told us much. I know he made a report to the General, but he hasn't given us any details at all." They moved into Sam's lab, and she waited for the door to close before continuing. "Colonel O'Neill told us he was bitten by animals while in the forest, now do you buy that? I certainly don't"
Daniel frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"He wasn't just bitten, Daniel. Those wounds were caused over a period of time. There is no way he would have just lain there and wait to be bitten, no matter how badly injured he was."
"So what are you suggesting?"
She shook her head slowly. "I'm not sure. Think about it. Think about how we found him."
"Are you saying..." Daniel paled a little and leaned heavily against a table. "That Jack was held down, burnt and..." He swallowed.
"That's exactly what I'm saying, Daniel. It's the only possible explanation. He couldn't defend himself from them because he was restrained."
"Oh god!" Daniel folded himself into a chair, rocking slightly. "Oh god, Sam. I just realised..."
"What, Daniel? What is it?"
"Those people in the room where we found Jack. The way the chairs were set up. They were an audience, Sam, a god damned audience!"
Sam stared at her teammate, disgust and panic warring for dominance on her face. "They were watching him being eaten alive, being burnt? What sort of people could do that? God, Daniel, what else did they do to him?"
Daniel stood up, wiping his hand across his mouth. "I don't know, Sam, and I doubt he'll ever tell us, but I do know this." He straightened, looking her in the eyes. "We're going to have to watch him."
Sam nodded. "We should tell General Hammond what we suspect."
"No, let's not jump into things too quickly." Daniel disagreed. "I'm going to speak to Teal'c. Perhaps the three of us can keep an eye on him for the meantime."
Sam nodded again, carefully considering her next words. "This could be bad, Daniel. Very, very bad."