Chapter 2
"Strong Feelings"
"He should come around soon."
"Good. Half an hour has already passed since Major Carter..."
The voice drifted off, the words falling apart in Jack's mind as he tried to comprehend what was being said. He moaned softly and tried to open his eyes, but to his surprise found that his eyelids were extremely heavy. Giving up on them and leaving them closed, he decided to use his voice instead.
"Mmmblrmph?"
"Colonel?"
Silence hung over the infirmary as everyone waited for Jack to speak again. After what seemed like an eternity, Jack was finally able to slowly open his eyes.
"Where am I...?"
Janet's face came into view, a smile gracing her elegant features. "Good afternoon, Colonel, it's about time you woke up."
Jack blinked slowly. "Excuse me? What... What happened?"
"You don't remember, do you, Colonel?" The question came from General Hammond, who stood to the side of Jack's bed. Jack turned his head to face him.
"Not entirely, sir. I remember arguing about something... Arguing about something I found quite stupid, sir."
The general sighed. "Well, at least you remember that much. After being shot with a zat, I'm surprised you remember anything at all."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Whoa whoa whoa, hold up, did you just say I got shot with a zat?"
The general sighed again. "Jack... There's no easy way to tell you this, but-"
"Wait." Jack looked around. There was Daniel, standing right next to the general. There was Teal'c, standing right next to Daniel. His eyes kept going, expecting to see a fourth and final person, but when space filled his eyes, he frowned. "Where's Carter?"
The room fell silent once more. Jack felt his muscles tense and his heart skip a beat. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
"Jack..."
Dr. Fraser cleared her throat loudly. "If I may, sirs, I think you should let the Colonel rest before telling him. He's been through enough already."
"Oh for crying' out loud, doc, I get shot by zats all the time! I'm fine!" Jack sat up, however hard he had to struggle just to manage to get into a sitting position. He coughed weakly and forced a smile. "See? Fine! Now can you tell me where Carter is?"
Worried glances were exchanged from one to the other. Sure, Jack was strong and he had been shot by zats many times before; but this was no ordinary situation. As his teammates and friends gazed at him in concern, one thought passed simultaneously through all their minds - How would he react to the surrender of Sam? For it was not unknown that Jack had feelings for Sam; SG-1 as well as General Hammond and Doctor Fraser knew how he felt.
Yes, Jack often wondered if he regretted coming forward with it. It had been a very dismal day for him. Jack shuddered at the thought. He had confessed - been forced to confess, rather - in front of his team, general, doctor, and of course Samantha herself that he would have rather died than lose Sam. It wasn't exactly a declaration of love, but it was enough to define how he truly felt for her.
Knowing this, it was all the harder for anyone to remind Jack of what Sam had done. There would be no sugar coating it, no putting it in an easy tone to add comfort - it had to be said out-right, and that was something no one wanted to have to bear doing.
Jack sighed loudly, disrupting everyone's thoughts. "Will someone tell me already!" He looked at General Hammond. "Sir?"
General Hammond shifted uneasily. "I'm not sure it's my place to tell you, Colonel."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"
General Hammond sighed. "I left before Major Carter... Before it happened, son. I had a hard time believing it myself."
Jack turned to Teal'c. "Teal'c, buddy, after all we've been through, you decide to bail on me now!"
Teal'c's expression remained rather impassive. "I do not wish to fail you, Colonel O'Neill; however, given the current circumstances, I believe it wise to request Daniel Jackson for assistance."
Jack frowned. "Oookay..." Turning to Daniel, he smiled, though Daniel could see the pleading look in his eyes. "Daniel?"
Daniel returned the false smile. "Yes, Jack?"
"Tell me where Carter is, Daniel."
Daniel looked from Teal'c to General Hammond to Dr. Fraser, scanning for a way out, searching for an escape - but found none. Sighing heavily, he finally accepted the fact that he would once again have the unpleasant job of being the breaker of bad news.
"Alright then, here goes... Sam... Sam's not here."
Jack nearly fell out of his bed in impatience. "No shit, Sherlock, I think I can see that!"
Daniel bit his lower lip and, pressing on the nose of his glasses, pushed his glasses back into their more comfortable position on his face. He cast around for words to say and found none; he hadn't expected this to be easy, but he hadn't expected it to be quite so hard either.
"Daniel?"
Daniel shook his head and shut his eyes, and in one fast blurb spit it all out. "Sam surrendered herself to the Goa'uld on P3X 293 because she wanted to learn if they had created a hok'tar or not and felt that it would be safer for the rest of us if she went alone."
Jack fell rigid. "Ah."
The room became deadly quiet. Nervous glances were exchanged between Jack's comrades while Jack continued to stare unblinkingly at the foot of his bed. Everyone could take a safe guess at what must have been passing through Jack's mind.
"Jack?" Daniel finally sliced through the thick silence that had befallen the room. Without even so much as moving a muscle, Jack answered.
"Can I get some rest? Please."
Three heads nodded simultaneously as Daniel, Teal'c, and General Hammond turned to leave. Doctor Fraser sighed and gazed in worry at the colonel.
"I can stay with you if you like, sir, but it depends on what you want."
Jack shook his head. "No. That's alright." Lying on his back, he closed his eyes. "I want to be alone."
"Alright then, sir. I'll come back to check on you later, after you've had a good long rest."
"Thank you." Jack listened to the sound of Fraser's feet against the floor as she left the room. As the door was opened and closed, Jack's eyes snapped open.
Little did Dr. Fraser know that when she came back to check on Jack, she would find nothing but an empty bed.