Hammond returned to the infirmary just in time to see Fraiser and Ray start gorging Jaffer with charcoal, using yet another tube down his throat, this one even bigger than the stomach pump one. The black lab was still unconscious, but as Hammond watched them running charcoal down the tube, he thought it was probably just as well that he wasn't awake for that.
Sam was watching anxiously, standing so close to Daniel that she was actually leaning against him without realizing it. She turned when she saw Hammond enter the room, and her expression was bleak when he walked over.
"Did you talk to him, Sir?"
"I have a message for you from Colonel O'Neill, Major," Hammond said, slightly uncomfortably. He didn't like to bandy about their relationship any more than Jack and Sam themselves did. Not on base, anyways. "He asked me to tell you that he loves you, no matter what. His exact words."
Sam met his words with utter silence. She knew she should feel relief that Jack wasn't going to hate her if the worst happened, but she could never forgive herself, and his words only made her feel worse than she already did. She couldn't cry, though. She'd already cried too much. She was a Major in the United State Air Force, damn it, and Majors didn't cry. She felt Daniel's arm around her waist, though, and started to lean against him, only to realize she already was.
"I told you..." Daniel said, softly. He couldn't have been prouder of Jack's reaction. Jaffer meant everything to Jack, and everyone knew it, and even when things were at the worst, Jack had risen magnificently to the challenge and had sent Sam the one message that could comfort her.
"Was..." Sam cleared her throat and tried again. "Was he angry?"
"He's worried, Major. Worried about Jaffer, and worried about you. He's probably already in the air and on his way back."
She nodded.
"Sam?"
They all turned and saw Monica Ray walking over to them, wiping charcoal off her hands and looking over at a test result that Janet Fraiser was holding as she walked beside the vet.
"Monica. How is he?"
She gave a slight smile, "I'm not going to say he's completely out of the woods, yet, but in instances like these time is always critical, and you got him to help far quicker than many pet owners would. The possible exception being Jack, of course."
Sam smiled, knowing she was dead on about that. Jack would have known immediately something was wrong and had taken measures. Sam hadn't known until Jaffer had collapsed.
"Will he be okay, do you think?"
"Probably. We pumped his stomach and gave him charcoal. The wonderful thing about liquid charcoal is that there's nothing on Earth it won't bond to, and whatever the stomach pump missed, the charcoal should catch. We'll have to wait and see what happens when he comes around, but so far it looks promising."
She felt relief, then. Not complete relief, since Ray's comment about nothing on earth the charcoal wouldn't bond to made her wonder if there were substances elsewhere that wouldn't bond to it, but more than she'd felt before. Monica knew Jaffer. More importantly, she was his vet. She knew how much he could take – like Fraiser know how much Jack could take.
"Will you be here?" Sam asked, not wanting her to leave, but knowing she had a practice of her own to run, and probably some other anxious pet owners to calm.
"Where's Jack?" Monica asked.
"He's on his way, but he was out of town. I... I was supposed to be watching Jaffer."
Which explained to Ray why Sam looked so stricken, even for a distraught pet owner. She probably figured it was all her fault that the black lab had gotten hold of whatever it was he'd eaten. Of course, Monica had no clue what it could have been. She knew all the plants in Colorado, and none of them were so dangerous to dogs. It had to have been some offshoot, maybe a plant transplanted from another state – or even another country.
"Sam..." Monica frowned, looking at the major critically. "You do know that no matter how closely you watch a lab, they're going to eventually eat something they shouldn't, right?" She looked over at the black lab who was being cleaned up by a corpsman. "Jaffer is the worst I've ever seen when it comes to getting into trouble, and I've seen some real hellions. Jack and I lab-proofed his entire house one afternoon, and the very next day, Jack was in my office with a pair of sunglasses stuck in Jaffer's throat."
"I know..." Sam said, nodding. She remembered quite clearly that incident, since Jack had been beside himself with worry and angry that he'd left something out for the puppy to get hold of. But it was different. This time it was Sam who was responsible.
"You know, but you still feel responsible..." Monica said, softly.
Sam nodded again.
"Well, I'll stick around and wait for Jaffer to wake up. Just your luck that my brother is in town and happens to be a better vet than I am, so he can watch my office if any emergencies show up."
"Thanks, Monica."
The vet shrugged, looking around. "It's not every day I get to come charging onto a top secret base and have people ushering me through check- points like I'm some kind of VIP."
Hammond smiled. "Well, we appreciate you coming on such short notice, Doctor Ray. How long do you think it'll be before Jaffer wakes up?"
"A couple hours, give or take." She shrugged. "He's not going to be happy when he wakes up, so if you can't have Jack here, I suggest, Sam, that you stick around."
"I'm not going anywhere," Carter said. She looked around, though; able to think a little more clearly now that the panic of worrying about Jaffer had passed a little. "I wonder where my dad's at."
"Doctor Ray? Can I interest you in a cup of coffee?" Hammond asked. "We have a very good selection in our Commissary, as well as something to eat if you'd like?"
"Coffee would be wonderful, General Hammond," Monica said. She smiled at Sam, "If you need me, just come get me."
"Thank you."
Sam and Daniel walked over to the examination table Jaffer was on, and Hammond led Ray and Fraiser to the commissary to get a much-needed cup of coffee.
Sam was watching anxiously, standing so close to Daniel that she was actually leaning against him without realizing it. She turned when she saw Hammond enter the room, and her expression was bleak when he walked over.
"Did you talk to him, Sir?"
"I have a message for you from Colonel O'Neill, Major," Hammond said, slightly uncomfortably. He didn't like to bandy about their relationship any more than Jack and Sam themselves did. Not on base, anyways. "He asked me to tell you that he loves you, no matter what. His exact words."
Sam met his words with utter silence. She knew she should feel relief that Jack wasn't going to hate her if the worst happened, but she could never forgive herself, and his words only made her feel worse than she already did. She couldn't cry, though. She'd already cried too much. She was a Major in the United State Air Force, damn it, and Majors didn't cry. She felt Daniel's arm around her waist, though, and started to lean against him, only to realize she already was.
"I told you..." Daniel said, softly. He couldn't have been prouder of Jack's reaction. Jaffer meant everything to Jack, and everyone knew it, and even when things were at the worst, Jack had risen magnificently to the challenge and had sent Sam the one message that could comfort her.
"Was..." Sam cleared her throat and tried again. "Was he angry?"
"He's worried, Major. Worried about Jaffer, and worried about you. He's probably already in the air and on his way back."
She nodded.
"Sam?"
They all turned and saw Monica Ray walking over to them, wiping charcoal off her hands and looking over at a test result that Janet Fraiser was holding as she walked beside the vet.
"Monica. How is he?"
She gave a slight smile, "I'm not going to say he's completely out of the woods, yet, but in instances like these time is always critical, and you got him to help far quicker than many pet owners would. The possible exception being Jack, of course."
Sam smiled, knowing she was dead on about that. Jack would have known immediately something was wrong and had taken measures. Sam hadn't known until Jaffer had collapsed.
"Will he be okay, do you think?"
"Probably. We pumped his stomach and gave him charcoal. The wonderful thing about liquid charcoal is that there's nothing on Earth it won't bond to, and whatever the stomach pump missed, the charcoal should catch. We'll have to wait and see what happens when he comes around, but so far it looks promising."
She felt relief, then. Not complete relief, since Ray's comment about nothing on earth the charcoal wouldn't bond to made her wonder if there were substances elsewhere that wouldn't bond to it, but more than she'd felt before. Monica knew Jaffer. More importantly, she was his vet. She knew how much he could take – like Fraiser know how much Jack could take.
"Will you be here?" Sam asked, not wanting her to leave, but knowing she had a practice of her own to run, and probably some other anxious pet owners to calm.
"Where's Jack?" Monica asked.
"He's on his way, but he was out of town. I... I was supposed to be watching Jaffer."
Which explained to Ray why Sam looked so stricken, even for a distraught pet owner. She probably figured it was all her fault that the black lab had gotten hold of whatever it was he'd eaten. Of course, Monica had no clue what it could have been. She knew all the plants in Colorado, and none of them were so dangerous to dogs. It had to have been some offshoot, maybe a plant transplanted from another state – or even another country.
"Sam..." Monica frowned, looking at the major critically. "You do know that no matter how closely you watch a lab, they're going to eventually eat something they shouldn't, right?" She looked over at the black lab who was being cleaned up by a corpsman. "Jaffer is the worst I've ever seen when it comes to getting into trouble, and I've seen some real hellions. Jack and I lab-proofed his entire house one afternoon, and the very next day, Jack was in my office with a pair of sunglasses stuck in Jaffer's throat."
"I know..." Sam said, nodding. She remembered quite clearly that incident, since Jack had been beside himself with worry and angry that he'd left something out for the puppy to get hold of. But it was different. This time it was Sam who was responsible.
"You know, but you still feel responsible..." Monica said, softly.
Sam nodded again.
"Well, I'll stick around and wait for Jaffer to wake up. Just your luck that my brother is in town and happens to be a better vet than I am, so he can watch my office if any emergencies show up."
"Thanks, Monica."
The vet shrugged, looking around. "It's not every day I get to come charging onto a top secret base and have people ushering me through check- points like I'm some kind of VIP."
Hammond smiled. "Well, we appreciate you coming on such short notice, Doctor Ray. How long do you think it'll be before Jaffer wakes up?"
"A couple hours, give or take." She shrugged. "He's not going to be happy when he wakes up, so if you can't have Jack here, I suggest, Sam, that you stick around."
"I'm not going anywhere," Carter said. She looked around, though; able to think a little more clearly now that the panic of worrying about Jaffer had passed a little. "I wonder where my dad's at."
"Doctor Ray? Can I interest you in a cup of coffee?" Hammond asked. "We have a very good selection in our Commissary, as well as something to eat if you'd like?"
"Coffee would be wonderful, General Hammond," Monica said. She smiled at Sam, "If you need me, just come get me."
"Thank you."
Sam and Daniel walked over to the examination table Jaffer was on, and Hammond led Ray and Fraiser to the commissary to get a much-needed cup of coffee.