Chapter 6

Sam leaned slightly away from the Colonel, her eyes wide with apprehension. She had seen him angry before, many times. He had even been angry with her in the past, but not like this! Going for a calm, quiet voice, Sam replied, "I was just trying to get a book down, Sir."

"Climbing seven feet off the ground for a book? Carter, you could have broken your neck!"

"I was fine, Sir. I've always been a good climber!" she tried grinning at him slightly. He wasn't falling for that today.

"Carter, you are supposed to be the smart one here!" he growled at her. "Is there something wrong with asking someone for some help once in a while?"

Sam had had enough of his high-handedness. She scooted back further on the table and glared at him. "Does it look like there is anyone here to ask? Besides, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself and doing things for myself, especially in my own lab!"

"Yeah, well you're not exactly 'yourself' right now are you Carter?" He leaned away from the table and ran a shaky hand through his hair. He still couldn't get the image out of his mind of her perched up on the bookshelf seven feet off the ground. It continued to fuel his anger, even though part of him realized that he was overreacting. "For crying out loud, you have some limitations that you need to take into account, before you go and do something so foolhardy again!"

"The only limitations I have are the ones you are placing on me!" Sam yelled right back at him. At his renewed glare at the tone of her voice, she added a somewhat disrespectful "SIR!" at the end.

Daniel entered the room in a rush, having heard the raised voices from down the corridor. He looked from Jack, pacing at the end of the table, to Sam, who now stood on top of the stool so that she was eye to eye with her CO.

"Umm..guys? What's going on in here?" Daniel asked. "I could hear shouting from down the hall. As could half of the base, I might add."

Jack turned his anger on Daniel. "And where the hell have you been? Did I not tell you to keep an eye on Carter? Can't you follow simple directions Daniel?"

"Jack, take it easy! I just stepped out to my lab to get a book I needed. Sam assured me she would be fine. She looks fine to me, if not a bit angry. What happened?" He continued to glance back and for between the two angry officers.

"Well Danny, I come in to take you two off for lunch and find Carter here practicing her mountain climbing skills on her bookcase. She was on the top shelf, on her tiptoes reaching for some stupid scientific book. She could have fallen and cracked her head open, or worse!" Jack's tone had only lessened slightly. Recounting the events didn't do anything to calm him down.

"The Colonel is exaggerating just a bit," put in Sam from her perch on the chair.

Jack turned back to glare at her once again, effectively silencing her for the moment.

"What book was so all important that you had to leave? And why may I ask are you carrying two mugs of coffee?" Jack continued, nodding at the two mugs in Daniel's hands.

"I had to get a journal of ancient Goa'uld from my lab. Some of the words on the back of the Triplexus don't fit what Teal'c and I know. As for the coffee, we've been working hard and I figured Sam and I deserved a cup before we headed to lunch. Why?" Daniel was slightly puzzled by this overbearing attitude of Jack's.

Jack stepped closer to Daniel and pointed an accusatory finger at him, "You were going to give coffee to an eight year old?" he asked, the incredulity evident in his voice.

That was it! Sam placed her hands on her hips and shouted, "For the last time, I am NOT eight years old! You need to stop treating me like a kid!" He was the last person she thought would treat her like this. Tears of frustration burned in her eyes, but she would not give in to them.

"Well maybe, Major," he emphasized her rank, "You need to stop acting like one."

Both Sam and Daniel sucked in a breath at his comment. He had gone too far. Sam's eyes registered the hurt and disbelief she felt at his words. She turned and jumped down from the stool, walking around the end of the table and toward the door.

"Geez, Jack, "said Daniel, putting down the two mugs and his journal, "That was uncalled for. She has enough to deal with without you throwing that kind of crap at her!"

He turned and left the room to follow Sam, leaving Jack alone in the lab. He closed his eyes and shook his head. God, he felt like he had just kicked a puppy or something. Once again, he had let his mouth go off before he thought about things. He'd have to catch up and apologize; he hoped he hadn't done any permanent damage to their relationship.

Sam brushed the tears from her eyes as she made her way down the hallway. This was so much worse than she had ever imagined. Hadn't she stood by the Colonel when strange things happened to him? Like when he turned 100 years old in a matter of days, she had not treated him like some senile old man! And when he and Teal'c had their bodies switched...she didn't treat either of them any differently. Was it too much to ask for the same consideration?

Sam's head began to ache and her stomach was starting to churn as she thought about what had occurred in her lab. She felt her heart begin to pound loudly as well, seeming to race along as if she were trying to outrun some Jaffa. Maybe she was having a panic attack. She turned as she heard footsteps rushing along behind her, grateful to see that it was only Daniel and not Colonel O'Neill. She just couldn't face him right now.

Daniel caught up to Sam and slowed his stride to match hers. "Are you OK Sam?" he asked her quietly, bending slightly so he could scrutinize her face. He saw the traces of tears on her cheeks, which only served to make him angrier at Jack.

"I'll be all right Daniel." She said quietly. She really didn't feel like talking right now. On top of everything else, she was starting to feel a little dizzy. Suddenly, her face turned very pale and she bolted down the hallway, heading for the nearest ladies room.

"Sam! What's wrong?" Daniel shouted as he followed on her heels. Sam covered her mouth with her hand and rushed into the restroom, leaving a very worried Daniel on the outside. He wanted to go in with her but feared there might be other women using the facilities. Never the less, he did put his ear up to the door, wincing when he heard the unmistakable sounds of someone retching.

When the sounds stopped and he heard the toilet being flushed, Daniel opened the door slightly and called in to Sam, "Sam, do you need me to come in? Are you going to be all right?"

Sam, feeling weak as well as embarrassed, didn't want him to see her like this. She needed to get herself cleaned up and calmed down. "I'll be out in a minute Daniel. Just wait there," she answered tiredly.

By this point, Jack had caught up to them in the hallway. "Is there any particular reason you are standing there with your ear against the women's bathroom door Daniel?"

Daniel turned to look at Jack. "Sam got sick. She ran into the bathroom and I heard her throwing up. She got so pale all of a sudden, Jack." His concern for Sam overshadowed his previous anger at Jack. Concerned as well, Jack moved toward the door, "And you're going to just leave her alone in there?"

Daniel held out a hand to stop him. "Jack, she asked me to wait a minute or two. We need to respect her desire to do things without one of us hovering over her constantly. If you recall, that is what started this whole mess anyway."

Jack hesitated, then put his hand back down. Daniel was right; he needed to let Sam do as much as she could on her own. However, he would not compromise her safety, no matter what.

In the bathroom, Sam rinsed her face and the ends of her hair that had gotten in the way. She would have to start pulling her hair back and securing it; she wasn't used to long hair. Sam really wished she could see her face in the mirror. Unfortunately, these bathrooms were not made with children in mind.

Sam dried her face on the towels provided and then had to lean against the sink as another wave of nausea assailed her. She took a step forward, intent on getting back into the stall, when the room began to spin and the floor rushed up to her as she passed out.

Jack and Daniel looked at each other in surprise when they heard the unmistakable 'thunk' of a person hitting the floor. Daniel pushed his way in first and rushed over to the still form of Sam, lying on the bathroom floor. Both men checked her over quickly for any injuries, relived that nothing seemed broken. Although she did have a small goose egg beginning to form on the side of her head that hit the floor and her pulse was racing beneath Jack's fingertips.

"Let's get her to the infirmary!" Jack ordered, panicked once again at finding Sam in a less than ideal situation. Why couldn't she just sit and read a book somewhere safe?

Daniel scooped up the pale, limp body in his arms as Jack held the door open for him. Together, they raced to the infirmary, each of them feeling guilty over what had transpired.