Chapter 4: Ups and Downs
When they got to the infirmary, Teal'c was standing outside Jack's room waiting for them. He looked up and inclined his head in greeting as Sam and Daniel rushed up to him.
"Teal'c!"
"Are you well, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked.
"Yeah. I'm a little better than I was, thanks to Sam."
"I am glad."
"What's the news on Jack?" Sam asked anxiously.
"Dr. Fraser says that he has begun responding to various forms of verbal stimuli. She believes this to be positive."
"I think that is a good sign. When did this happen?" Daniel asked, still not completely awake.
"Not long before Teal'c called you." Janet Fraser said as she emerged from Jack's room, looking tired but cautiously confident.
"What exactly happened, Janet?" Sam asked.
"Well it started with me telling him to squeeze my hand if he could hear me. Then after that I tried a few other things, some that worked better than others. I can't be sure if it's voluntary or just coincidence but it may be a sign that his brain is starting to recover."
"At least its something that we can hold onto at this point. A little bit of hope is better than none at all." Daniel pointed out.
"Hey, guys. Why don't we head to the cafeteria to try and get some breakfast."
"Indeed. Some nourishment would be beneficial at this point." Teal'c agreed.
A few minutes later, they were sitting at their normal table in the cafeteria having something to eat. They were all very relieved and it made Sam happy to see that Daniel didn't seem quite as distracted. She didn't think he was over what he felt by any means, but at least he wasn't dwelling on it right now.
"There we go. I needed a little caffeine to jump start my brain." Daniel said as he took a sip of his coffee.
"I am glad that you appear to feel better, Daniel Jackson. I was beginning to become concerned. Are you still troubled?"
"Yeah, a little. But now that we have a little hope to hold onto in this situation, I can keep my mind off of it enough to where I can actually function. Thanks for your concern, Teal'c. I really appreciate it."
"I believe the Earth saying goes 'What are friends for?'" Teal'c smiled and patted Daniel on the shoulder.
After he finished his coffee, Daniel decided to report to General Hammond with his briefing of what had happened the previous day.
"Hey. I need to go and speak with General Hammond and give my report about what happened since I was in too bad a state of shock to do that yesterday. I'll meet you back in the infirmary as soon as I'm finished." Daniel said quietly.
"Good luck, Daniel." Sam whispered as she took Daniel's hand and squeezed it gently. Teal'c noticed this and made a mental note to ask Sam about it later.
* * * * *
As Daniel arrived outside the door to General Hammond's office, he took a moment to steady his nerves before he knocked.
"Come in." General Hammond looked up as Daniel stepped in the door. "Sit down, Dr. Jackson."
General Hammond gave Daniel a moment to collect his thoughts before speaking again. He wanted to make sure that he got Daniel's end of the story as accurately as possible.
"As you know, Daniel, I need you to tell me everything that you remember about the ambush that SG-1 was involved in by the Goa'uld yesterday that led to the injury of Colonel O'Neill. It's imperative that I give the President a complete report of the incident from all able persons immediately. I need your report to add to what I received from Sam and Teal'c yesterday."
"Yes, sir. This is harder than I thought it was going to be. Like Sam already said, we were on the off-world mission to rendezvous with the Russian team. Before we could complete the mission, however, the Goa'uld launched an ambush that completely wiped out the Russian team. We managed to destroy all the Goa'uld, or so we thought. I was analyzing something that I found that appeared to be of interest when I heard what I know now was two Goa'uld operatives blasting down the statue near the Stargate. The next thing I knew Jack shoved me clear of the danger and when my head cleared I turned around to check on Jack and found him lying in the rubble." Daniel paused and put his head in his hands.
"It's all right, Daniel. Take your time."
Daniel drew a shaky breath before continuing. "Then, after we cleared the rubble away, Sam went ahead to dial the gate and Teal'c and I carried Jack through and that's pretty much all I remember."
"That's more than enough information to create a full report. Thank you for your time, Daniel. Dismissed."
"Yes, sir." Daniel said just as the desk intercom buzzed an urgent tone.
"Hold on, Daniel. This is from the infirmary." General Hammond called, causing Daniel to halt in his tracks. "Hammond. Yes, Dr. Jackson is with me in my office. Right. We're on our way."
"Sir?" Daniel asked, visibly upset.
"We need to get down to the infirmary. It's Jack."
* * * * *
When Daniel and General Hammond reached the infirmary, Sam and Teal'c were standing outside Jack's room with Janet. Another SGC physician was working frantically to stabilize Jack's condition.
"What the hell happened?" Daniel shouted, lunging in Janet's general direction only to be stopped by Teal'c.
"Remain calm, Daniel Jackson."
"I'm not sure what happened to Colonel O'Neill. One minute he was stable and the next he just crashed." Janet explained as her colleague thrust his head through the door.
"Dr. Fraser, we need you in here now. He's flatlined."
Janet rushed through the door and began assisting the frantic effort to revive Jack. Teal'c and General Hammond exchanged looks and Sam placed a hand on Daniel's shoulder as he stood rigid with shock and horror.
"Daniel. Are you okay?"
"No, Sam, I'm not okay. Would you be okay if you knew you may have killed your best friend because of your damn arrogant stupidity? I need some air. I have to get out of here." Daniel shouted as he turned and bolted through the corridors. Once he reached the door, he ran out into the night air and then collapsed to the ground in total exhaustion, praying that his stupidity hadn't killed his best friend.
Back in the infirmary 15 minutes later, Janet came out of Jack's room looking completely worn out. She looked at the three worried faces outside the door and gave a positive nod.
"Colonel O'Neill is stable. We thought we were going to lose him but he pulled through somehow. What happened was that he had an adverse reaction to the pain medication that we were giving him. We've tried something different to keep that from happening again. He isn't out of the woods by any means but at least he's alive."
"Thank God." Sam breathed.
"Once again, O'Neill has proved impressively strong." Teal'c grinned.
"Well, people, as much as I had to abandon my people during crises, I must go contact the President. Janet, keep me posted on any developments."
"Yes, sir." Janet acknowledged, then turned to return to the room to attend to Jack.
"I'm going to go outside and see if I can find Daniel. Hopefully if I let him know that Jack has been revived it'll calm him down a little."
"Indeed. Go and find Daniel Jackson. Later we must speak." Teal'c acknowledged.
"Sure. We'll talk later, Teal'c. I promise." Sam said as she turned and headed through the corridor, looking for Daniel.
* * * * *
A few minutes later, Sam caught up with Daniel outside the SGC. He was sitting on the hillside, looking absolutely lost, and he stood when he saw her approaching.
"There you are. I've been looking for you everywhere." Sam breathed as she walked up to Daniel.
"Well, here I am. Sorry I ran out like that but I just couldn't take it back there. So, what happened?" Daniel asked, terrified of what Sam was going to say next.
"Jack's alive. Janet was able to stabilize his condition." Sam said softly as Daniel collapsed to his knees, completely relieved.
"Thank God. What caused that to happen? Does Janet have any idea?" Daniel asked as Sam knelt down in front of him.
"She said it was a reaction to the pain medication that he was being given. They've changed that to something a lot less dangerous."
"Oh. Well, I'm just relieved that I didn't kill him."
When Daniel said this, Sam took his face in her hands and looked into his eyes, seeing the worry and turmoil housed there. She was getting even more worried about him.
"Daniel, you can't keep doing this to yourself. When I tell you that you aren't to blame for what happened, you have to believe me. Jack would ring your neck if he heard you talking like this, not to mention how insulted he'd be. If Jack hadn't lunged for you and knocked you out of the way when that statue fell, you would have been killed. He tried to get clear too but there just wasn't enough time. What happened was just a tragic accident, no one was to blame for it except the Goa'uld who brought that thing down in the first place. Teal'c and I don't blame you for this and I know Jack doesn't blame you either. When he recovers, he'll tell you that himself."
"I hope that can happen soon. I know that no one blames me for this but I can't help but blame myself and feel that if I had been paying more attention to my surroundings then none of this would be happening. I know that sounds crazy, but it's just how I feel. It breaks my heart to think of Jack lying in the infirmary in a coma. This isn't how it was supposed to happen, Sam." Daniel whispered as Sam wrapped her arms around him gently and he rested his head on her shoulder, accepting a link to her strength.
"It's not crazy at all, Daniel. If I had been in your shoes yesterday, I'd probably be saying the same thing right now. It's okay to hurt, just don't beat yourself up over something that you aren't responsible for." Sam reassured him. She just sat there with Daniel on the hill for a long moment, holding him and lending him some of her strength to try to mend his shattered heart. "Come on, let's get back inside. Teal'c is waiting."
When they got to the infirmary, Teal'c was standing outside Jack's room waiting for them. He looked up and inclined his head in greeting as Sam and Daniel rushed up to him.
"Teal'c!"
"Are you well, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked.
"Yeah. I'm a little better than I was, thanks to Sam."
"I am glad."
"What's the news on Jack?" Sam asked anxiously.
"Dr. Fraser says that he has begun responding to various forms of verbal stimuli. She believes this to be positive."
"I think that is a good sign. When did this happen?" Daniel asked, still not completely awake.
"Not long before Teal'c called you." Janet Fraser said as she emerged from Jack's room, looking tired but cautiously confident.
"What exactly happened, Janet?" Sam asked.
"Well it started with me telling him to squeeze my hand if he could hear me. Then after that I tried a few other things, some that worked better than others. I can't be sure if it's voluntary or just coincidence but it may be a sign that his brain is starting to recover."
"At least its something that we can hold onto at this point. A little bit of hope is better than none at all." Daniel pointed out.
"Hey, guys. Why don't we head to the cafeteria to try and get some breakfast."
"Indeed. Some nourishment would be beneficial at this point." Teal'c agreed.
A few minutes later, they were sitting at their normal table in the cafeteria having something to eat. They were all very relieved and it made Sam happy to see that Daniel didn't seem quite as distracted. She didn't think he was over what he felt by any means, but at least he wasn't dwelling on it right now.
"There we go. I needed a little caffeine to jump start my brain." Daniel said as he took a sip of his coffee.
"I am glad that you appear to feel better, Daniel Jackson. I was beginning to become concerned. Are you still troubled?"
"Yeah, a little. But now that we have a little hope to hold onto in this situation, I can keep my mind off of it enough to where I can actually function. Thanks for your concern, Teal'c. I really appreciate it."
"I believe the Earth saying goes 'What are friends for?'" Teal'c smiled and patted Daniel on the shoulder.
After he finished his coffee, Daniel decided to report to General Hammond with his briefing of what had happened the previous day.
"Hey. I need to go and speak with General Hammond and give my report about what happened since I was in too bad a state of shock to do that yesterday. I'll meet you back in the infirmary as soon as I'm finished." Daniel said quietly.
"Good luck, Daniel." Sam whispered as she took Daniel's hand and squeezed it gently. Teal'c noticed this and made a mental note to ask Sam about it later.
* * * * *
As Daniel arrived outside the door to General Hammond's office, he took a moment to steady his nerves before he knocked.
"Come in." General Hammond looked up as Daniel stepped in the door. "Sit down, Dr. Jackson."
General Hammond gave Daniel a moment to collect his thoughts before speaking again. He wanted to make sure that he got Daniel's end of the story as accurately as possible.
"As you know, Daniel, I need you to tell me everything that you remember about the ambush that SG-1 was involved in by the Goa'uld yesterday that led to the injury of Colonel O'Neill. It's imperative that I give the President a complete report of the incident from all able persons immediately. I need your report to add to what I received from Sam and Teal'c yesterday."
"Yes, sir. This is harder than I thought it was going to be. Like Sam already said, we were on the off-world mission to rendezvous with the Russian team. Before we could complete the mission, however, the Goa'uld launched an ambush that completely wiped out the Russian team. We managed to destroy all the Goa'uld, or so we thought. I was analyzing something that I found that appeared to be of interest when I heard what I know now was two Goa'uld operatives blasting down the statue near the Stargate. The next thing I knew Jack shoved me clear of the danger and when my head cleared I turned around to check on Jack and found him lying in the rubble." Daniel paused and put his head in his hands.
"It's all right, Daniel. Take your time."
Daniel drew a shaky breath before continuing. "Then, after we cleared the rubble away, Sam went ahead to dial the gate and Teal'c and I carried Jack through and that's pretty much all I remember."
"That's more than enough information to create a full report. Thank you for your time, Daniel. Dismissed."
"Yes, sir." Daniel said just as the desk intercom buzzed an urgent tone.
"Hold on, Daniel. This is from the infirmary." General Hammond called, causing Daniel to halt in his tracks. "Hammond. Yes, Dr. Jackson is with me in my office. Right. We're on our way."
"Sir?" Daniel asked, visibly upset.
"We need to get down to the infirmary. It's Jack."
* * * * *
When Daniel and General Hammond reached the infirmary, Sam and Teal'c were standing outside Jack's room with Janet. Another SGC physician was working frantically to stabilize Jack's condition.
"What the hell happened?" Daniel shouted, lunging in Janet's general direction only to be stopped by Teal'c.
"Remain calm, Daniel Jackson."
"I'm not sure what happened to Colonel O'Neill. One minute he was stable and the next he just crashed." Janet explained as her colleague thrust his head through the door.
"Dr. Fraser, we need you in here now. He's flatlined."
Janet rushed through the door and began assisting the frantic effort to revive Jack. Teal'c and General Hammond exchanged looks and Sam placed a hand on Daniel's shoulder as he stood rigid with shock and horror.
"Daniel. Are you okay?"
"No, Sam, I'm not okay. Would you be okay if you knew you may have killed your best friend because of your damn arrogant stupidity? I need some air. I have to get out of here." Daniel shouted as he turned and bolted through the corridors. Once he reached the door, he ran out into the night air and then collapsed to the ground in total exhaustion, praying that his stupidity hadn't killed his best friend.
Back in the infirmary 15 minutes later, Janet came out of Jack's room looking completely worn out. She looked at the three worried faces outside the door and gave a positive nod.
"Colonel O'Neill is stable. We thought we were going to lose him but he pulled through somehow. What happened was that he had an adverse reaction to the pain medication that we were giving him. We've tried something different to keep that from happening again. He isn't out of the woods by any means but at least he's alive."
"Thank God." Sam breathed.
"Once again, O'Neill has proved impressively strong." Teal'c grinned.
"Well, people, as much as I had to abandon my people during crises, I must go contact the President. Janet, keep me posted on any developments."
"Yes, sir." Janet acknowledged, then turned to return to the room to attend to Jack.
"I'm going to go outside and see if I can find Daniel. Hopefully if I let him know that Jack has been revived it'll calm him down a little."
"Indeed. Go and find Daniel Jackson. Later we must speak." Teal'c acknowledged.
"Sure. We'll talk later, Teal'c. I promise." Sam said as she turned and headed through the corridor, looking for Daniel.
* * * * *
A few minutes later, Sam caught up with Daniel outside the SGC. He was sitting on the hillside, looking absolutely lost, and he stood when he saw her approaching.
"There you are. I've been looking for you everywhere." Sam breathed as she walked up to Daniel.
"Well, here I am. Sorry I ran out like that but I just couldn't take it back there. So, what happened?" Daniel asked, terrified of what Sam was going to say next.
"Jack's alive. Janet was able to stabilize his condition." Sam said softly as Daniel collapsed to his knees, completely relieved.
"Thank God. What caused that to happen? Does Janet have any idea?" Daniel asked as Sam knelt down in front of him.
"She said it was a reaction to the pain medication that he was being given. They've changed that to something a lot less dangerous."
"Oh. Well, I'm just relieved that I didn't kill him."
When Daniel said this, Sam took his face in her hands and looked into his eyes, seeing the worry and turmoil housed there. She was getting even more worried about him.
"Daniel, you can't keep doing this to yourself. When I tell you that you aren't to blame for what happened, you have to believe me. Jack would ring your neck if he heard you talking like this, not to mention how insulted he'd be. If Jack hadn't lunged for you and knocked you out of the way when that statue fell, you would have been killed. He tried to get clear too but there just wasn't enough time. What happened was just a tragic accident, no one was to blame for it except the Goa'uld who brought that thing down in the first place. Teal'c and I don't blame you for this and I know Jack doesn't blame you either. When he recovers, he'll tell you that himself."
"I hope that can happen soon. I know that no one blames me for this but I can't help but blame myself and feel that if I had been paying more attention to my surroundings then none of this would be happening. I know that sounds crazy, but it's just how I feel. It breaks my heart to think of Jack lying in the infirmary in a coma. This isn't how it was supposed to happen, Sam." Daniel whispered as Sam wrapped her arms around him gently and he rested his head on her shoulder, accepting a link to her strength.
"It's not crazy at all, Daniel. If I had been in your shoes yesterday, I'd probably be saying the same thing right now. It's okay to hurt, just don't beat yourself up over something that you aren't responsible for." Sam reassured him. She just sat there with Daniel on the hill for a long moment, holding him and lending him some of her strength to try to mend his shattered heart. "Come on, let's get back inside. Teal'c is waiting."