Author's Note: Just so you all know, I'm not going to start my next campers! story until this story is finished, since the next story in the campers! saga is going to include quite a bit of Janet Fraiser, and this story obviously does, as well, and I don't want to write two stories about the same person at the same time... it's too hard for me to keep them separate... I'm writing this one as fast as I can, though, so it shouldn't be too long. Keep up the reviews so i know what you like and what you don't!

It was late when Janet came back to O'Neill's room. She needed another blood sample from him, and she needed a break from the microscope she'd been looking in for the last several hours. She wasn't the only one; her research staff was working feverishly – no pun intended – to figure out the sap from the sliver of wood she'd pulled out of Jack's wrist. Unfortunately, all they knew so far was that it wasn't anything any of them had ever seen before, and that it had a property in it that caused it to change as it invaded O'Neill's body – meaning as he was developing a defense to it, building antigens to the bacteria, the bacteria – or virus, they hadn't quite decided yet how to classify it – was changing as well. It was bad, Janet knew. As bad as it could get.

Sam was asleep in the chair next to Jack's bed, and Janet set her equipment down on the stand beside the bed and rested her hand gently on the other woman's shoulder, shaking her gently.

"Sam..."

She came awake almost immediately, her eyes going to the bed and then up at Janet when she realized it wasn't Jack that had woken her.

"Janet? How is he?"

"He's asleep. Go find yourself a bed to sleep in." She couldn't let her stay.

"I'm not tired."

"Sam... go. If something changes I'll let you know."

Carter looked like she wanted to argue, but Fraiser didn't really give her much of a chance to. She pulled Sam gently to her feet, giving her as reassuring a smile as she could – which wasn't much and even Carter knew it was forced. She yawned, and stretched, wondering how Janet could look so awake and alert when she, herself, felt exhausted.

"Did you figure it out, yet?"

"Not yet, but I will."

"What is it?"

"Something like the flu... I'm not positive, yet. I need to run more tests. You can sleep on the cot in my office if you don't want to go too far, although it's not that comfortable." Janet knew; she'd slept on it plenty of times.

"Where's Cassie?"

"She's staying with a neighbor. Nothing new."

"You'll call me?"

"As soon as I know something."

Sam nodded.

"I'll be in your office..."

Janet nodded as well, and shooed her out of the room. Then she walked over to O'Neill's side, and checked the machines that were hooked up to him, monitoring his progress. His fever was worse, and it was reaching dangerous levels, so she called in a corpsman, and she and the Lieutenant packed ice packs around him in a few key spots – groin, armpits, neck and along his sides. Then she told the lieutenant that she wanted them changed continuously to keep the cold constant. With the icepacks wrapped in heavy cloths there was no danger from the constant exposure, and it was definitely necessary. Jack's temperature dropped two degrees almost immediately, and he even shivered.

She put the back of her against his cheek, which was sheened with sweat and hot to the touch. He roused, either from the sudden change in temperature – which probably wasn't that comfortable for him – or from her touch, and his eyes opened.

"Sam?"

"I sent her to bed, Colonel," Janet told him softly, giving him a chance to take in his surroundings. She knew all the medication they were pumping into him was going to make him a little slower than normal, and she made sure to speak slowly.

He looked up at her, and she knew then that he knew whatever was wrong with him was bad. Whether it was something he read in her own expression, or if he just knew from the way he felt, she could see in his eyes that he knew.

"I'm not getting better, am I?" His voice was a whisper.

She forced a smile, reverting to her regular bedside manner, and took his hand.

"You're going to be fine, Colonel. Just hang in there, okay?" If he thought it was hopeless, he'd give up, and she needed to be able to rely on that indomitable spirit she'd seen so many times before. If he gave up, he was as good as dead, and she knew it.

He knew she was lying. Jack was better at reading people than anyone suspected, and Janet Fraiser was not as sure as she was trying to sound. But he didn't want her to worry about him – she already looked as tired as he felt, and there was no need to add to her burden – so he nodded, and squeezed her hand.

"You got it, Doc..."

"Good."

She smiled down at him again, and this one wasn't quite so forced.

"I'm going to take some blood samples."

"If you keep taking it, I'm not going to have any left..."

"I'll ration myself."

It was his turn to smile, and his tired eyes were searching as he studied her.

"You look tired, Doc... maybe you should take the rest of the night off."

"I'm fine," she assured him. "Don't worry about me."

"Worry? Me?"

"Uh huh." She let his hand go, feeling refreshed just by talking to him. If he could joke, she wasn't as worried as she might have been. Of course, it didn't mean he was any healthier than he'd been when she'd walked in the room, but at least he was trying. "I have work to do. Take your own advice, and get some rest, Colonel."

"I'm not tired."

Yeah, which was why his eyelids seemed to be drooping already.

"Want me to tell you a bedtime story?"

Jack's smile turned into a grin.

"Nah... want me to keep you company while you work?"

"It'd bore you to tears."

"I'm cold."

She nodded.

"We're trying to keep your fever down with ice."

"I don't like ice..."

"I know." She did know, too. He hated being cold, and had ever since he'd almost frozen to death in Antarctica. They hadn't spoken of it, but she'd noticed the change. She was just as perceptive as he was, whether he knew it or not. She picked up her blood drawing kit and with quick, practiced, moves she took a small vial of his blood.

"Vampire..."

Janet smiled.

"Go back to sleep, Colonel."