Lt. Peters was the first one to step through. He was momentarily shocked by the site that greeted him on the Earth side of the Stargate before he turned to help receive the civilians after their tumultuous ride through the wormhole.
As they watched the first man step through the Stargate, Hammond and the Vice President headed down to the Gate room.
Cathy Ryan was the next one to stumble out of the wormhole escorted by Daniel, followed closely by her husband and then Secretary Bretano. The two Secret Service Agents weren't that far behind them and stepped through with Captain Bates and Sergeant Simms.
When they all gathered their bearings they all looked around the Gate room that looked like a field hospital with bandages strewn about and puddles of blood scattered around the floor.
"What happened?" Daniel asked as he looked around the room.
General Hammond scanned the crowd for the rest of SG-1before focusing on the archaeologist standing in front of him. "Where are the others?"
"On their way," he replied curtly. He then reiterated his question, "What happened sir?"
He steeled himself for the reaction he would receive, "There was an explosion at the Alpha Site…" he began before he stopped when he saw Jack O'Neill step out of the event horizon.
"Is everyone okay?" a concerned Daniel asked.
Taking a look around the room, he asked the obvious question, "What the hell happened here?" as he found Hammond standing at the base of the ramp. He worked his way down and stood before him. "What happened George?" he calmly asked as he motioned at the blood and the bandages.
When Hammond spoke, it was quietly, "There was an accident at the Alpha Site…"
O'Neill interrupted him this time, "Is everyone okay?"
"No… So far there have been eight casualties and over forty wounded." He paused as he saw Jack's eyes glaze over with shock at the tragedy that had struck one of their bases. "Jack…" he began softly as he gained his attention and looked at Daniel as well, "Colonel Carter was seriously injured in the explosion."
Both men's mouths gaped in shock at the news they received. "Where is she?" the base CO finally uttered.
"She just came through, they took her to the infirmary," he informed them.
Daniel immediately took off for said infirmary. Jack paused momentarily before his former CO and sought understanding. He received it, "Go on son, I'll take care of things down here."
O'Neill quickly nodded his head as he took off after Daniel.
General Hammond watched the two men run out of the room. He then returned his attention to the group standing before him, "Mr. President," he stated in a tired voice.
The President's face and voice were filled with concern, "What happened?"
"We're not quite sure…"
"Are you alright Mr. Vice President?" Andrea asked, hating that she had to ask about this one man before the man who had lost eight men already in the past few hours.
"I'm fine," he assured her before nodding at his own secret service agent, "and he's been better."
The other female in the group spoke up, "General, is there anything I can do?"
Hammond turned his attention to the petite woman. He stared at her momentarily when he remembered that she was a doctor, "I'm sure they'd greatly appreciate it… Sergeant Matthews, take the First Lady to the infirmary."
Cathy nodded her head in thanks and began to follow the airman out of the room.
Roy began to follow her, he was coming up on Agent Price and saw that she was about to object, "You can't stop her," he knowingly whispered to her as he caught up with his protectee.
President Ryan stepped over to his bodyguard, "Andrea."
She looked over at her Boss. Looking at his face she understood, she remembered what had happened less than a year ago when the First Lady had insisted on helping at the hospital when the Ebola virus had reached the soils of their country.
She nodded her head in acceptance of the situation. The obligation she felt to protect the President and his family was the same one that the First Lady felt towards anyone who was injured.
Just then the intercom came to life, "Sir, Teal'c and the others are returning to base!"
They all looked up at the event horizon and saw Teal'c escorting Colonel Reynolds through the wormhole, and then the two CIA operatives sharing a laugh. All their faces turned serious when they saw the state of the Gate room.
Reynolds' teammates came up to help him as Teal'c headed to the former base commander.
"General Hammond?"
"Teal'c," he began quietly, "Colonel Carter was injured in a blast on the Alpha Site, she's down in the infirmary now."
For the first time in his acquaintance with Teal'c he watched the tall Jaffa take off without any sort of acknowledgement or permission. He watched as Teal'c ran out the door and threw his staff weapon at one of the Marines guarding the Gate.
Jack and Robbie shared a look, wondering how one person could cause such a reaction among several battle hardened soldiers, not to mention that General Hammond was seriously concerned for her well being.
Hammond turned to his guests, "Mr. President, if you'd like I can arrange for your transport off the base."
"I'd like to stick this out with your men, if that's all right with you?" He felt the need to see how this base operated when tragedy struck. He needed to understand what they were going through. It was a leadership function he felt obligated to fulfill. The personnel on this base risked their lives to defend their world, he needed to know who they were.
The President looked over at his lead agent. He saw in her eyes that she understood, she didn't like the situation, but knew that he felt the need to stay. She sent him a small nod in return.
Hammond nodded his head, "Yes sir. If you'd like I can set you up in some VIP quarters-"
"Actually, the conference room will be fine." Ryan suggested, he didn't want to be far from the action. "I'd like to discuss what we all saw," he offered.
"Of course, Mr. President," he told them as he led them away. He took them through the control room and indicated the stairs up, "Sir, if you'll-"
Ryan nodded his head, "You have a job to do and a base to check up on."
"Thank you, sir." Hammond then quickly turned away from his guests and turned to Sergeant Davis. "Dial up the Alpha Site!"
"Yes sir," was the quick reply as the inner ring of the Stargate began to spin.
-
When Jack O'Neill caught up with Daniel he was quickly exiting the main infirmary entrance.
"Where is she?" he called out as he slowed down to a fast walk.
Daniel looked over his shoulder as he continued down the hall, "She's in X-ray."
"What'd they say?" he asked as he caught up with his friend.
Daniel looked over at him knowingly, "Nothing."
They entered the X-ray room's ante room where they were met by a nurse who had seen them enter. "Sir, you can't come any further!"
"Like hell I can't!"
"No you can't. They're taking some scans right now! You can't go in there!" she forcefully told him.
The General stared at the nurse in front of him trying to stare her down. But it didn't work. "Where's the doctor?"
The nurse gently answered him, "She's on her way General. She'll explain the Colonel's condition once she has the opportunity." The nurse then stepped back, "I have to get back, sir."
O'Neill stared at the door she had just gone through. He then looked over at Daniel, whose face was as distraught as his own. They don't know how long they stared at each other, but they were eventually pulled from their morbid thoughts when they heard the page.
"Dr. Brightman to X-ray, STAT!"
They both looked up and processed the overhead order. They were only beginning to understand the implications when the doctor and another nurse came charging into the room and on into the room where only authorized personnel were allowed.
Both men ran up to the door and crashed through as well. They watched the doctor and nurses standing over Sam's badly injured body.
They stared in shock as they heard the doctor order one of the technicians, "Charge to 200!"
"Charging," the tech stated as the doctor continued doing chest compressions.
Once the defibrillator had reached the proper amount she handed him the paddles as another nurse applied the conducting lubricant to them.
They watched in stony silence as the doctor positioned the paddles on Sam's chest and yelled out, "Clear!"
They jumped back as they watched Sam's body accept the electric shock as her body jolted up from the gurney she was lying on.
"Still nothing!" another nurse stated as Teal'c made his way into the room and also observed in silence.
"Charge to 250!"
Fifteen seconds later, her teammates jumped with her body again as the doctor transmitted the electricity through her body.
"We got a heartbeat!" a tech stated as Dr. Brightman stepped back and started issuing orders.
"Okay, we gotta get her to the O.R. now! Make sure they have it ready by the time we get there," she told her staff as she began to roll the gurney out of the room.
The three men closely followed the gurney. "How is she?" Daniel frantically asked.
Brightman looked over her shoulder and noticed the group of men, "I won't lie to you, not good."
They were coming up on the entrance to the O.R. The doctor looked over her shoulder once again and saw that the group of men were still in the same spot as a few seconds ago. She saw the fear and pain in their eyes, she so wanted to help them. She pushed the gurney through and turned to the three men, "She's a fighter sir. We're going to do everything we can." She turned and entered the O.R.
The door swung close and Sam's teammates all stared at it blankly.
Neither of them moved, they were all numb from the news they had received.
Daniel was the first to move as he stepped up to the door and tried to look through the window and catch sight of Sam. Not seeing anything he turned and stepped to the wall next to the door and lowered himself to the ground as he cradled his head in his hands.
Teal'c moved to stand across from the door, keeping a vigil and making sure that no harm would come from outside the walls of the O.R.
And O'Neill paced outside the doorways. It took all his power to not go running into that room and demand to know what was going on. But his mind told him that he had to stay out there and let the doctors and nurses do their jobs.
Thirty long minutes later they all jumped when a nurse came out of the room.
The nurse who was focused on getting more of Carter's plasma and red blood cells wasn't ready for the onslaught she faced.
"How's she doing?"
"What's her condition?"
"What is Colonel Carter's condition?"
She blinked at the men around her, "I'm sorry sir, I can't say… If you'll excuse me, I need to get some more of her blood."
At that, the three men let her pass. When she returned they again asked her, "What's going on in there?"
"Sir, one of the doctors will be out to explain as soon as they can," she told them as she snaked her way through the crowd and back into the O.R.
They continued to wait outside those doors, anxious to hear any word from anyone who would tell them anything of her condition. They all paced and sighed. Wondered what would happen if she did die, how they would be able to carry on.
And for the first time in a long time, Jack O'Neill prayed.
TBC
Another cliffhanger? What an evil author!!
Wait a minute... I'm the author!