"It's working..."

Janet had been in constant attendance since injecting her critter derived antidote into Jack O'Neill's IV, and she'd been watching the monitors that were watching O'Neill's health so closely. Only an hour after the injection, his fever began to drop. It wasn't immediate, of course. But since Janet had just about been ready to order Jack back into another ice bath, it was especially relieving to see the temperature level off and then slowly start to go down.

Teal'c, Daniel and Sam had all been there to hear her. They hadn't left the room since she'd given Jack the injection, and as much as she preferred an empty room to let a patient sleep, there was no way she was going to kick any of them out at that time.

"You're sure?" Sam asked, hopefully. She checked the monitor like Janet was, but Sam didn't really know what to look for. All she saw was the same blood pressure, and the same heart rate.

"His temperature is leveling off," Janet said. "That's a good sign. We're not out of the woods, yet, but it's looking good."

"He's going to be okay?" Daniel asked, wanting something a little more positive.

"It's looking good," Janet repeated. "I'll keep a close eye on him for the next few hours, but unless he has a relapse, he should be..." She looked at the others in the room, noting the tired faces and dark circles under their eyes – well, Sam and Daniel's, anyways.

"You three need to go take a break. Get something to eat and take a while to get some rest somewhere else."

"But-"

"If something comes up, I'll come find you." She reverted to the one thing she could always say to clear a room. "He needs a chance to rest, and he's not going to get it with an audience."

"We won't-"

Daniel was just as opposed to leaving as Sam was. Janet interrupted before either of them could get into full swing and really start to argue.

"Go get something to eat, go take some time to yourselves." She told them. "I'll stay with him, and if I need you, I'll have someone come get you."

"Doctor Fraiser, I would prefer to remain in the room."

Great. Teal'c was seldom someone Janet had to argue with, and she was glad for that, because he was more stubborn than anyone – including Jack – when he was in the mood to be.

"I know you would, Teal'c," she said, nodding. "However, I don't want any of you here. Not only because he needs the rest, but because you need the rest as well, or you're all going to be my next set of patients."

Teal'c scowled. He was in perfect health and did not need to rest or eat. He wasn't hungry or tired. But the same way that Janet recognized that Teal'c was quite the stubborn one, Teal'c knew the same was true when it came to the SGC's chief medical officer. He would not win this argument. The infirmary, after all, was her domain and it was her decision to make who stayed and who left. He stood up, still scowling, but accepting her authority to kick him out.

Daniel and Sam both sighed. When Teal'c gave up, they knew they didn't have a chance.

"You'll call if-"

"If anything happens," Janet assured Daniel, ushering them all out the door. "I'll make sure you're the first to know."

"How long do we have to stay away?" Sam asked.

"Until I call you back."

"But-"

"Sam, go. Before I have General Hammond come down and order you to go home and get your sleep there."

That was a serious threat, and Sam knew it. Although Janet was her best friend, there was no doubt that if she needed to, Fraiser would send Sam home to get some sleep. Hammond would do it, too, which meant that Carter wouldn't be able to come back for quite a while – hours. And that was unacceptable.

"I'll be back..."

"But not until you get some rest, and something to eat," Janet said. This time she made sure Sam knew it was an order. Her infirmary, her rules.

"Come on, Sam," Daniel said. "We'll get some coffee..."

"And some sleep," Janet told him; glad Daniel was willing to help her and not argue. She was too tired to really deal with a lot of arguing just then.

Daniel nodded, and the three of them left without further complaints.

OOOOOO

"Sam..."

She was dozing next to him, but her entire focus had been on him for so much of the weekend that she didn't need more than the very soft, hoarse, whisper to bring her out of her restless sleep. Janet abandoned the chair she'd been napping in, and went to Jack's side.

"Colonel..."

She rested her hand on his cheek – which wasn't so flushed, thank God, and O'Neill opened his eyes.

"Doc?"

She smiled, turning on the bedside manner.

"Yeah... how do you feel?"

"Tired... sore... cold..."

"You had us worried, Colonel." She told him, looking over at the monitor once more. His fever had broken completely about an hour before – only a few hours after the rest of his team had left him to get some sleep. Once Janet had been certain he wasn't going to relapse any time soon, she'd cleared out the medical staff from the infirmary, sending all of them to get some much needed rest or food. They'd been working their collective asses off, and they need the break.

"Sorry..."

Janet smiled again, wishing she had a video camera. An apology!

"Just don't let it happen again, okay?"

He nodded.

"Can I have something to drink?"

Fraiser filled a cup with cool water, and helped him drink it. He didn't have the strength to hold the cup in his hand, so she did all the work for him, but he drank it down completely, and held it down. It was a good sign.

"More..."

"Not yet, Colonel." She told him, taking the cup and putting it to the side. "Let's see how well you hold that down first."

"But-"

Janet smiled. He was already starting to feel well enough to argue. Another good sign.

"Trust me, Colonel."

He nodded, closing his eyes. He was too tired to make a big deal out of it, and maybe she was right.

"Where is everyone?"

"Off sleeping." She pulled all the icepacks from around his body – they'd simply been a precaution, and one Fraiser didn't think she'd need anymore – then tucked his blankets warmly around him. "You should start to warm up, now..."

He reached out and caught her hand, opening his eyes and looking up at her with an unreadable expression in his tired, dark eyes.

"No more ice..."

Janet shook her head, squeezing his hand gently.

"No, Jack. No more ice. You're going to be fine. Try to get some rest, okay?"

He nodded, and closed his eyes, but he didn't let go of her hand, and Janet took a long moment, holding his hand and feeling relief run through her. They'd come very close to losing him, and while she didn't feel the same kind of love for Jack O'Neill that she knew Sam Carter did, Janet did love the man.

Almost as if he had been listening in on her thoughts, Jack opened his eyes and looked up at her.

"It was close, huh?"

"Too close." She admitted. She put his hand down and tucked it under the blankets, then pulled them up to his chin, determined that he warm up now that it was safe to allow him to. "If you ever scare me like that again, I'll... do something really bad to you. Something with dull needles and enema bags."

O'Neill managed a tired smile, and he allowed her to fuss over him. Time enough to complain about it – later, when he felt better.

"Thanks, Janet..."

She brushed her fingers against his cheek, and nodded.

"You're welcome. Now go to sleep, okay? I have things to do."

"Yes, ma'am..."

He closed his eyes again, and Janet left him to his rest. She had a worried group of people who needed to be reassured, and a cup of coffee had never sounded better. She walked through her almost deserted infirmary, waving over a single medic and asking him to keep an eye on O'Neill – but not to wake him up. Then she headed out the door. What a weekend.