Having won three games in a row, the novelty of playing chess against
her CO was beginning to wear off. Sam had noticed O'Neill getting paler and
paler throughout the morning, so after winning for the forth time and then
forcing the colonel to eat some jell-o for lunch, she hobbled into the room
next to the infirmary; Janet's office. Her friend was sitting in her chair
reading a book with an intense look of concentration on her face, her
normally neat hair was partially falling out and her face was set in a half-
frown.
"Janet," said Sam softly. She jumped at Sam's voice and dropped the book onto the table in front of her. She could now see that the title of it was 'Poisons and Toxins: An Advanced Study'.
"Sam! You scared me, is there anything wrong?" She asked. "Are you ok?" Sam realised that the worry was probably taking a toll on her as well.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that I've noticed the Colonel getting paler and he has begun to sweat. I think he may have a fever."
Janet looked even more tired. "Well that's a symptom that the seriousness of his condition is progressing." She sighed. "I'll come and take his temperature and see if I can give him some medication to keep it down." She got up and walked to a cupboard where she took out a thermometer. Then Janet suddenly seemed to grow taller, her head lifted and her back straightened. With a click of heels she was gone, moving swiftly into the other room towards the bed where Colonel O'Neill was lying. Sam shook her head in wonderment, she had never realised how strong Janet was. Even if she was near total despair she never let her patients know it, to them she was a rock, an emotional safety net. Her patients could be at death's door but they knew that Janet would always be right behind them with another way out, a new drug to try, or in Jack's case, a syringe. Sam grinned at the thought.
In the other room Janet stuck the thermometer into O'Neill' mouth muffling his protests.
"Just lie still a moment Colonel." She ordered. He squirmed under her stern gaze. She took it out and raised her eyebrows at the reading. Sam's stomach lurched. "You have a very high temperature Sir, I think I'll need to give you some drugs to bring it down. Ok?" She said.
"You're the doc, doc." He said weakly. Janet bustled out and Sam sat beside his bed. She hated seeing him, someone who was usually so energetic and animated, in this state. Watching her expression, he smiled lopsidedly at her. "Hey Carter cheer up. They'll be back soon and we'll be able to go back to our downtime." He tried to sit up but his shoulder was obviously still painful and he slumped back into the pillow. "We'll get through this."
She looked up and she could feel the tears stinging her eyes. "But how do you know that we'll get through this? How do you know Sir?" She stopped. She could almost feel the cold biting at her face again.
"Yeah, I just got déjà vu too." He may be poisoned, bedridden and with a fever but he still retains his sense of irony Sam thought bitterly. "It's gonna be ok Carter. We've been in worse situations before and it's not as if there's no hope. I mean when we got an alien equivalent of Mr T and our very own Indiana Jackson helping us it's practically a safe bet." He grinned.
Sam choked on her laughter then quickly made a failed attempt to look serious when General Hammond walked in.
"How are you doing Colonel?" He asked kindly.
O'Neill coughed slightly and said, "Never been better Sir."
"Well Teal'c, Dr. Jackson and SG3 should be back any time soon," he said.
"Yes Sir." O'Neill paused. "Thank you Sir."
"That's alright Jack," he said. "Major, Colonel." He was about to turn and leave when...
"Unscheduled off-world activation." A voice droned over the speaker system in the corridor and red lights started to flash.
"Go on," said O'Neill to Sam. "Just come back and let me know who's visiting." With that General Hammond and Sam left the infirmary.
"Sir. We aren't expecting any Tokra and SG15 aren't scheduled to be back for another two days. It might be Daniel and Teal'c." She said, almost unable to contain her excitement, as they went down the passage side by side.
"Don't get your hopes up too much Major, just wait until they come through the gate until you start celebrating. In the past five years that I've been in charge of the SGC, I've learnt that if you don't expect anything then you can't be disappointed." General Hammond said wearily.
* * *
Sam hopped into the gateroom to see the general standing in the control room above her.
"Receiving a transmission Sir." There was a pause, which seemed to Sam to last forever. She curled her hands into fists to stop them shaking. "It's SG3 Sir."
"Open the iris!" Barked General Hammond and with one fluid motion, the massive metal disk retracted in on itself revealing the brilliant blue of the event horizon.
For a few seconds the only sound that Sam could hear was the strange low roaring sound of the Stargate and her own harsh breathing. She imagined Jack lying in the infirmary; his eyes closed, beads of sweat forming on his forehead and his dark grey hair messed up against the pillow. Waiting.
Without warning a solitary figure fell through the Stargate and landed heavily on the deck below it. Sam's senses began to take it all in but her brain refused to function. It was Captain Jennings of SG3. His uniform was muddied and torn and around his leg it was covered in blood. The glint of metal could be seen in the fabric just below the back of his knee. He spoke in short ragged breaths, his face contorted in pain.
"We left... Dr. Jackson, Teal'c at village to get plant... Went back to... Radio contact." Sam could vaguely hear General Hammond in the background calling for a medical team but for now she focused all her energy on listening to the man lying on the floor in front of her. She stiffly knelt by him, one hand holding onto her crutches. "They followed us... Damn boy must have...Twenty of them... And then they." Tears began to stream down his face. "My team they're... Gone. Dead." She suddenly felt dizzy.
The medics lifted him gently onto the gurney then wheeled him out of the gateroom and Sam struggled to keep up.
"What about Daniel and Teal'c? Where are they? Are they ok?" She asked urgently.
"I think... they..." He gasped.
"What?"
"They got captured... Sorry..." He began to shake violently and as they pushed him away into the infirmary, into the room next to the colonel's, Sam could hear him whispering, "My team..." over and over again.
It took all the self-control she had not to break down as she staggered into O'Neill's room. She forced herself to look at him.
"Who? What happened?" He asked. She couldn't lie.
"All but one of SG3 were killed." Tear began to cloud her vision. "Daniel and Teal'c were captured by the guards, Sir." She collapsed onto the side of his bed. "There's no way that General Hammond will let anyone else go through."
"Come here," he said gently and she leaned into his arms. She could feel his heart beating. When they separated Sam had stopped crying but O'Neill's face was masked and his eyes were deadened. "Carter, I just want to be alone for a while now," he said, his voice emotionless. With a jolt she realised that he must blame himself for this.
"Sir. This isn't your fault." Her mind was curiously numb.
"Carter. Just... Just leave me alone for a while will you?" He said, staring resolutely at the wall behind her.
She got up slowly and left. Sam made her way towards her lab, the tap- tap of the crutches echoing in the silence.
"Janet," said Sam softly. She jumped at Sam's voice and dropped the book onto the table in front of her. She could now see that the title of it was 'Poisons and Toxins: An Advanced Study'.
"Sam! You scared me, is there anything wrong?" She asked. "Are you ok?" Sam realised that the worry was probably taking a toll on her as well.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that I've noticed the Colonel getting paler and he has begun to sweat. I think he may have a fever."
Janet looked even more tired. "Well that's a symptom that the seriousness of his condition is progressing." She sighed. "I'll come and take his temperature and see if I can give him some medication to keep it down." She got up and walked to a cupboard where she took out a thermometer. Then Janet suddenly seemed to grow taller, her head lifted and her back straightened. With a click of heels she was gone, moving swiftly into the other room towards the bed where Colonel O'Neill was lying. Sam shook her head in wonderment, she had never realised how strong Janet was. Even if she was near total despair she never let her patients know it, to them she was a rock, an emotional safety net. Her patients could be at death's door but they knew that Janet would always be right behind them with another way out, a new drug to try, or in Jack's case, a syringe. Sam grinned at the thought.
In the other room Janet stuck the thermometer into O'Neill' mouth muffling his protests.
"Just lie still a moment Colonel." She ordered. He squirmed under her stern gaze. She took it out and raised her eyebrows at the reading. Sam's stomach lurched. "You have a very high temperature Sir, I think I'll need to give you some drugs to bring it down. Ok?" She said.
"You're the doc, doc." He said weakly. Janet bustled out and Sam sat beside his bed. She hated seeing him, someone who was usually so energetic and animated, in this state. Watching her expression, he smiled lopsidedly at her. "Hey Carter cheer up. They'll be back soon and we'll be able to go back to our downtime." He tried to sit up but his shoulder was obviously still painful and he slumped back into the pillow. "We'll get through this."
She looked up and she could feel the tears stinging her eyes. "But how do you know that we'll get through this? How do you know Sir?" She stopped. She could almost feel the cold biting at her face again.
"Yeah, I just got déjà vu too." He may be poisoned, bedridden and with a fever but he still retains his sense of irony Sam thought bitterly. "It's gonna be ok Carter. We've been in worse situations before and it's not as if there's no hope. I mean when we got an alien equivalent of Mr T and our very own Indiana Jackson helping us it's practically a safe bet." He grinned.
Sam choked on her laughter then quickly made a failed attempt to look serious when General Hammond walked in.
"How are you doing Colonel?" He asked kindly.
O'Neill coughed slightly and said, "Never been better Sir."
"Well Teal'c, Dr. Jackson and SG3 should be back any time soon," he said.
"Yes Sir." O'Neill paused. "Thank you Sir."
"That's alright Jack," he said. "Major, Colonel." He was about to turn and leave when...
"Unscheduled off-world activation." A voice droned over the speaker system in the corridor and red lights started to flash.
"Go on," said O'Neill to Sam. "Just come back and let me know who's visiting." With that General Hammond and Sam left the infirmary.
"Sir. We aren't expecting any Tokra and SG15 aren't scheduled to be back for another two days. It might be Daniel and Teal'c." She said, almost unable to contain her excitement, as they went down the passage side by side.
"Don't get your hopes up too much Major, just wait until they come through the gate until you start celebrating. In the past five years that I've been in charge of the SGC, I've learnt that if you don't expect anything then you can't be disappointed." General Hammond said wearily.
* * *
Sam hopped into the gateroom to see the general standing in the control room above her.
"Receiving a transmission Sir." There was a pause, which seemed to Sam to last forever. She curled her hands into fists to stop them shaking. "It's SG3 Sir."
"Open the iris!" Barked General Hammond and with one fluid motion, the massive metal disk retracted in on itself revealing the brilliant blue of the event horizon.
For a few seconds the only sound that Sam could hear was the strange low roaring sound of the Stargate and her own harsh breathing. She imagined Jack lying in the infirmary; his eyes closed, beads of sweat forming on his forehead and his dark grey hair messed up against the pillow. Waiting.
Without warning a solitary figure fell through the Stargate and landed heavily on the deck below it. Sam's senses began to take it all in but her brain refused to function. It was Captain Jennings of SG3. His uniform was muddied and torn and around his leg it was covered in blood. The glint of metal could be seen in the fabric just below the back of his knee. He spoke in short ragged breaths, his face contorted in pain.
"We left... Dr. Jackson, Teal'c at village to get plant... Went back to... Radio contact." Sam could vaguely hear General Hammond in the background calling for a medical team but for now she focused all her energy on listening to the man lying on the floor in front of her. She stiffly knelt by him, one hand holding onto her crutches. "They followed us... Damn boy must have...Twenty of them... And then they." Tears began to stream down his face. "My team they're... Gone. Dead." She suddenly felt dizzy.
The medics lifted him gently onto the gurney then wheeled him out of the gateroom and Sam struggled to keep up.
"What about Daniel and Teal'c? Where are they? Are they ok?" She asked urgently.
"I think... they..." He gasped.
"What?"
"They got captured... Sorry..." He began to shake violently and as they pushed him away into the infirmary, into the room next to the colonel's, Sam could hear him whispering, "My team..." over and over again.
It took all the self-control she had not to break down as she staggered into O'Neill's room. She forced herself to look at him.
"Who? What happened?" He asked. She couldn't lie.
"All but one of SG3 were killed." Tear began to cloud her vision. "Daniel and Teal'c were captured by the guards, Sir." She collapsed onto the side of his bed. "There's no way that General Hammond will let anyone else go through."
"Come here," he said gently and she leaned into his arms. She could feel his heart beating. When they separated Sam had stopped crying but O'Neill's face was masked and his eyes were deadened. "Carter, I just want to be alone for a while now," he said, his voice emotionless. With a jolt she realised that he must blame himself for this.
"Sir. This isn't your fault." Her mind was curiously numb.
"Carter. Just... Just leave me alone for a while will you?" He said, staring resolutely at the wall behind her.
She got up slowly and left. Sam made her way towards her lab, the tap- tap of the crutches echoing in the silence.