DISCLAIMER: See first chapter
Jack watched Sam as they pulled into the parking lot of the hospital. She had yet to say a word in the entire forty minute drive in. He knew that she and Daniel were close, but the withdrawn persona she was exhibiting now was disturbing to say the least. It was almost as if she already knew that this was going to be bad, really bad.
As soon as Jack had stopped the truck, Sam had bolted out the door and into the hospital. Jack and Teal'c followed almost as quickly and neared the receptionist's desk in time to hear Sam say, "I need to know where Daniel Jackson is immediately."
Although she had been in a silent shock since finding out about Daniel's accident, her voice had returned with a vengeance upon arriving at the hospital. The pure desperation in her voice as she said those few words surprised Jack. He'd never heard Sam sound like that.
"Excuse me?" the nurse running the desk said as she looked up from her paperwork.
"I said, 'I need to know where Daniel Jackson is immediately.'" She didn't want to put up with any crap from the receptionist and paused slightly after each word, hoping the nurse would understand the urgency of this request.
"Are you relatives?" The nurse asked looking at the unusual mix of people in front of her.
"No we're not but..." Jack began.
"Unless you are family members, I can not let you see him or release any information about his condition until he is conscious and capable of releasing that himself. Because he is not military personnel, I can only release information to family members of a patient."
Jack responded with as much restraint as he could acquire at the time, "Listen to me closely Captain, Daniel does not have any family other than us. While we are not blood relatives we are in every way his family. Take into account that I have been his commanding officer for the last seven years and you could say we are closer than family. Obviously someone here found his Air Force passes and clearance or they wouldn't have called us. He might not be in the Air Force, but he has been on its payroll for a long time now. If I have to I will make it an order, but I don't want to. Now we'll ask again, where is Daniel Jackson?"
"I'm sorry, what did you say your name was?" the nurse asked then quickly added, "just so I can get your names on his approved guest list."
"Put Colonel Jack O'Neil, Major Samantha Carter, and Murray on the list."
Upon hearing the titles attached to the names the nurse looked up again, "Colonel, Major?"
"Yes."
"Okay, your names are now on the list sir. I'm sorry about the misunderstanding. I didn't know."
"Well that's just great isn't it? Can you tell us where our friend is now?" Jack was still upset about her treatment of Sam before but he knew she was just doing her job so he tried to be a little friendlier.
"Of course sir. Just one moment while I access his file. I see it now. He is still in the operating room. Based on what I am seeing, he is expected to be there for at least another four hours. As soon as I hear anything from a doctor or nurse I will personally come and find you. If you want, you can wait in the family waiting room on the third floor. It is right next to the ICU."
"Thank you Captain." Teal'c said as he made his way over to the elevators.
"Carter, Carter." Jack tried. Eventually he gave up with the formal approach and tried, "Sam!"
"Huh? What?" Sam said before turning to look at Jack. "Oh sorry sir."
"Come on. We should go upstairs and wait. There's nothing we can do right now."
When Sam remained as quiet as she had before and was still not moving, Jack saw that she must be in some kind of shock. Instead of prodding her more, he simply put an arm around her waist and led her to the elevators and the waiting room. She didn't acknowledge his touch or even the movement. She simply let him lead her to where he was going. Once there, he set her down in a chair and sat next to her with Teal'c on her other side. All they could do now as wait, and that was going to be the hardest thing of all.