Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended.
Sam's Migraine
Sam woke up with tense muscles throughout her shoulders coursing through her entire back. She could felt the edges of a headache threatening to take hold. Remembering what Janet said during her post mission check up about getting as much fluids in her system as possible Sam drank the remainder of the water on her nightstand. She had fallen asleep early, very early the previous evening.
The planet SG1 had visited the day before had been one of the hottest thus far. They all suffered during the entire mission. They ended their time on the dessert planet a bit early before water became an issue. Sam was more grateful than she was willing to voice. But she had become increasingly uncomfortable and felt her body grow weaker step by step. She took small sips from her canteen in hopes to conserve the remaining water. When they returned Janet diagnosed each of them with dehydration and exhaustion. But nothing a good nights sleep wouldn't take care of in a warm bed. They filed out of the infirmary quickly before the good Doctor could change her mind. She called after them to drink plenty of water. Sam had fallen asleep after two glasses of water and half of the third she sat on the nightstand next the bed. She was sure she didn't drink enough water last night. She didn't drink any of the sport drink Janet recommended to 'Replace the lost fluids and electrolytes'.
She made her way to the bathroom and decided a hot shower would loosen her tense muscles. She finished and turned off the water. If she didn't hurry now she'd be late. She was due in her lab in 45 minutes with a 30-minute drive to get to the mountain. SG1 was also due for a mission briefing at 1000. 'Damn!' she thought filling her glass with water from the sink then took two tablets from the bottle in the cabinet in hopes the headache would let up before it really began. She finished in the bathroom after brushing her teeth and running a comb through her short blonde.
The headache that started out as a slight ache wasn't getting better. She was willing the aspirin to take effect soon.
As she walked downstairs she decided she better grab something to snack on during her morning drive. In the kitchen Sam gathered up her jacket, keys, and a banana from the counter. 'Maybe eating something will help her headache' she thought to herself as she locked up her house and made her way to the car.
As she drove through Colorado Springs she barely noticed the road. It was official the headache was gaining control and the banana in her stomach was making attempts to reappear. She started to take controlled breaths to escape the increasing pain in her head and keep the contents of her upset stomach down.
She was thankful to finally be at the main gate of the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. She parked her car in the lot and made her way to the elevators slowly. She signed-in, stepped into the elevator then getting off when elevator stopped at the infirmary. Sam was finding it more and more difficult to keep her feet moving. This headache was knocking her for a loop. She was tempted to just stop in the passageway and curl up in hopes to ward off the pain. 'I wonder what Janet would do if tripped over me coming out of her office' Sam though. 'Oh, she'd be pissed' Sam fought the desire to slide down the wall to the floor. She just wanted relief. The infirmary was in view but in seemed like miles through the veil of pain now thundering inside her head. She walked with a hand on the wall to keep herself upright. Finally she made it 'Woo! Hoo! Yea for me!' She gave herself a silent cheer.
Dr. Janet Fraiser was sitting at her desk completing some paper work she left from the night before. Janet looked up when she heard the doors open and jumped up when she saw her friend, Major Samantha Carter, looking rather pale. As Janet came closer she could see a light sheen of sweat forming across Sam's brow. "Sam?" she asked.
Sam looked at the Doctor with a weak smile. "Janet? Thank, God!" Sam said as her legs started to give way. Janet grabbed Sam's arm then directed her to one of the neatly made beds. "No!" Sam told her with panic in her voice, "I'm going to be sick!" Janet then guided her to the infirmary's private bathroom. They went in with Sam rushing to heave the contents of her stomach into the toilet. Janet knelt calmly next to her with supporting hand on her shoulder. Finally she finished Janet flushed the toilet. "Are you ready?" Janet asked softly. The only response she received was a head shaking negative. "Do you still feel sick?" This time Janet received a head nodding affirmative. Janet placed a hand to the woman's face. "You don't seem to have a fever. What can you tell me?"
Janet watched as her normally strong and composed friend struggle to control her breathing and not begin drying heaving in the toilet once again. Sam's voice was barely above a whisper and she was trembling visibly, "God, Janet…my head…" Complete thoughts were a chore at the moment. When Sam leaned against the bathroom wall and let her eyelids fall shut Janet whispered, "Let's get you into a bed." Slowly Sam was raised to her feet with Janet's help. When finally settled in the bed Sam closed her eyes. She then covered eyes with an arm against the harsh florescent lights. Janet noticed the discomfort of her patient and dimmed the lights.
"Sam? I'm going to start you on an IV. You're seriously dehydrated which is probably causing the migraine. Once we get some fluids in you you'll start feeling better. I'm also going to give you sedative to help you sleep. Let me know if you still feel sick or if the pain doesn't let up." Sam nodded with her eyes closed not fighting the blackness of a drug-induced sleep.
Janet next had to make a call to General Hammond. SG1 was due off world later that afternoon with a morning briefing.
"Hammond!" he said distractedly into the receiver.
"Yes, sir. This Dr. Fraiser. I have Major Carter here. I'm afraid she won't be up for today's mission, sir."
The General now spoke with deep concern, "Her status doctor?"
"Well, sir. She came into see me this morning barely able to stand on her own. She really hasn't been able to tell me anything yet. Right, now I have her on an IV. She's seriously dehydrated and exhausted. She's sleeping now. I'm going to run a few test and give you a more detailed diagnosis."
"Okay, Doctor. I'll let you get back to it. It looks I'll be giving SG1 some time off. Keep me posted."
"Yes, sir."
General Hammond hung up the phone with Dr. Fraiser when he heard SG1 one walk into the conference room.
"So, Daniel…did you seen any rocks really worth our time?" Jack asked the archeologist playfully.
"NOT rocks, Jack! Artifacts or ruins…NOT rocks." The archeologists responded annoyed.
Teal'c watched his teammates amused by the conversation. Jack only referred to Daniel Jackson's artifacts as rocks to get what O'Neill called a 'rise out him'.
"Hey, have you seen Carter?" Jack asked his two teammates as they all sat down at the conference room table.
"No, I figured she just grabbed something quick then went down to her lab. She's always got some kind of experiment going on down there. I didn't stop in to check because I had some translation to get through from last night." Dr. Daniel Jackson told him.
"Teal'c?" Jack looked to him Jaffa friend.
"No, O'Neill I have not seen Major Carter as of yet."
"Good Morning, SG1." General Hammond said he walked from his office to the table.
"Good Morning, sir. I'm sorry but we haven't seen the Major yet. She must be running late or caught up in her lab and lost track again. I could run down and check…" Jack spoke while looking at his superior officer.
"No, Colonel." The General cut him short as O'Neill rose from the table. "She actually down in the infirmary with Dr. Fraiser."
"Sir?" Jack asked trying to keep his growing concern from his face.
The General regarded his 2IC for a brief moment. Jack was trying to hide his feeling but his eyes spoke volumes. "Don't worry gentleman the Doctor says the Major is dehydrated and sleeping now. Major Carter will stay in the infirmary until released by Dr. Fraiser. SG1 you are all now on downtime until we have Major Carter back at 100. Dismissed."
SG1 filed out of the conference room and without words. Theyfollowedeach another down the passageways of the SGC to the infirmary. One by one they entered scanning the room for their fourth teammate. Dr. Fraiser saw them and quickly cut off their questions with a wave of her hand.
"Guys" Janet said quietly. "Sam needs to sleep. She came in pretty sick this morning but she'll be fine in a day or two. I have her on an IV to get some fluids in her."
"What is it, Doc?" Jack asked the petite Doctor with concerned eyes. Again his usually stony eyes gave him away filled with concern for Sam, eyes only for his Major.
"Well, Sam usually greets me with a 'Hello' and a cup of coffee but this morning I was greeting with her nearly vomiting on shoes." Janet said as she thought 'Gees, Colonel O'Neill has left no one untouched by sarcasm. Even I'm sarcastic.' She told them "She's dehydrated from your mission yesterday which in turn caused a full blown migraine. She'll be fine once she gets some fluids in her and a couple days of R and R." Janet smiled at them then said. "Tell her if she doesn't rest and relax she'll be here where I'll make sure she doesn't have a choice. Now you can see herbut try not to wake her up."
They went to Sam's bed and just looked at her. She was still pale but she seemed to sleep comfortably enough. It wasn't really a huge surprise to have her here in the infirmary. Sam wouldn't admit it but she was overworked. She finally worked herself sick. They decided with a silent pact she would rest and relax if it killed them trying. She probably would kill them.
As they stood around her she began to stir. She opened eyes then tried to blink off the drug-induced sleep.
"Hey, how are you feeling? Doc has threatened to strap to this bed if you don't rest and relax" Jack told her with an amused smile.
She smiled weakly, "Hi guys!" she tried to sound enthusiastic but her voice dropped down to a whisper with the effort. "I've had a splitting headache" she grimaced "that has refused to quit…" Her eyes slid shut "I seem to having trouble keeping my eyes open."
"Okay well you go ahead and sleep. Do you need anything before we leave you to rest?" Jack asked. Teal'c and Daniel were already making there way out of the infirmary leaving Jack and Sam some private time. They both knew Jack was desperate to not show his emotion for Sam. It was best they leave to take the pressure off the Commanding Officer.
"Would tell Janet this thing still hasn't quit?" She asked with pain written on her face. Sam looked on the verge of tears.
"Okay, Major. Just take it easy now. I'll go get her for you." Jack was worried now. Sam rarely admitted to being hurt or sick. He stood watching her for another minute then went to find the 'Napoleonic Power Monger'.
He found her in her office. "Hey, Doc!"
"Sir?" she said surprised almost knocking her cup of coffee off the desk.
"Sorry…we were going to leave for awhile. I think you should check on Carter. She won't admit to it but she's in a lot more pain then she's willing to admit. She looks like she ready to break." As he spoke he tried with all his might to sound professional but instead he sounded like a concerned lover.
"Okay, sir. Don't worry she'll be fine." Janet got to feet ad made way to Sam's bed.
As she moved closer she could soft whimpering. "Sam?"
"Janet please help me…make it stop…make it stop…please…." Sam begged as tears streamed through clenched eyes. "I want to sleep…Please Janet…" Sam whipered.
"Okay Sam. Shhhh! I'm going to give to something for the pain."
"Janet I think I'm going be sick again…"
Janet quickly grabbed a bucket from behind her ready for Sam. Sam began to retch then dry heave into the bucket. Her stomach was empty from her earlier episode. Sam spit into the bucket as the heaving subsided. She lay back against the pillow. Janet had already given Sam the needed medication through the IV tube in her arm after replacing the bag. With any luck Sam will be feeling better the next time she wakes.
Janet had decided to schedule a CT scan just as a precaution. If the scan and the blood work came back negative then the Major will have another day in the infirmary and acouple moreat home with three men willing and waiting to make sure she adheres to doctor's orders.
She gave her diagnosis of Sam to General Hammond. "She's still not feeling to good, sir. I think yesterday's mission hit her pretty hard. I have given her a painkiller and sedative to help sleep. I have also scheduled a CT scan but I'm hoping after a few hours of sleep and more fluids in her system she'll feel better. Even after that, sir, she'll still need two maybe three days."
"Not a problem Doctor. I'm giving SG1 a week. They had a rough and busy few weeks." He told her.
"That's a good idea, sir. They all look pretty tired. Although, it could just be worry for one of their own."
The General had just told Colonel O'Neill that he and his team had a week off from off world travel. They wanted to give Sam…Major Carter time to recover. Doctor Fraiser suspects the previous mission took a hard toll on his 2IC now sleeping in the infirmary. He had attempted to finish up some over due paperwork but his mind was forever wondering. Major Samantha Carter was always on his mind more so now since she was in the tender care of the Napoleonic Power Monger. 'This is useless' he mused. He got up and made his way to see 'his' Major.
He walked into the infirmary not at all surprised to see Sam sleeping. She looked a bit better than she had a few hours early. He quietly made his way to the chair next to her bed. He sat in silence. One of his favorite past times was watching her sleep. He was happy to see color back in her cheeks. Hopefully she'll be back on herfeet tomorrow. He smiled at the thought of springing her assuming she really is feeling better. Maybe he and Daniel could come up with something. Hell, Daniel is as much a Genius as Sam just a different kind. He's able to memorize just about anything her hears and retain something like 26 different languages while Sam is more on a visual level. She can retain things she sees. It was very doubtful she'd be able to learn any new language unless it was written down phonetically or maybe numerically. He smiled again at the thought of Daniel listening to one of Sam's Astrophysics books on tape while Sam learned Ancient Arabic on a computer screen written in algorithmic equations. He was so deep in thought he almost didn't notice her stirring. He was slightly startled to hear her speak.
"What are smiling about, sir?" she looked at him with wonder written on her face instead of the pain from earlier that morning.
He breathed a sigh of relief as he at took in her features. Then he spoke softly, "I was just thinking about you and Daniel being my personal geniuses." He smiled at her.
"Really?" She questioned.
"Yeah, you know how he's auditory…while you're visual? I was thinking what if you two switched duties?" He paused.
She just stared at him with wonder in her eyes.
"I found it amusing to imagine Daniel with an Astrophysics Book on tape and you trying to learn Ancient Arabic on the computer." He was smiling again. "I know it wouldn't be impossible but could you actually imagine someone trying to read an entire Astrophysics Book in a mic? Would you like to try? I know you really enjoy that stuff and it's so much 'fun'…" he was getting sarcastic now. "But do you really want to try?"
"Well, sir. I actually find it hard to read anything out loud. My mind tends to work to fast while my mouth is simply to slow…"
"Mouth to slow, Carter?" He cut in, "I can't even understand half of what you say because you throw it at me at the rate of a speeding bullet."
"Maybe I'll just let you read it from now on." She threatened.
"Oh, now let's not be to hasty here." He said, "you have a great voice…" his own voice fell quiet when he realized what he said.
"You like my voice, sir?" She asked hopefully.
"Well, actually I do Carter. I find it soothing even when I don't comprehend a word. I could even hear your voice through one of Doc's drug-induced stupors." He was starting to wonder where this honesty was coming from. He really shouldn't be telling her this.
"Wow!" was all she said before a yawn escaped her lips.
"Yup, it's all true as well as a few other things I'll keep to myself for now. I better go now because Doc will have my head and my backside if I keep you from getting better." He smiled wide then simply told her, "Sleep." Then walking from her bed he stopped for a second to watch her eyes close falling a sleep once again.
'Oh, yeah!' Daniel and he were springing one Major Samantha Carter from a certain Doctor. All they needed was a distraction then it would be rest and relaxation SG1 style. 'Oh, yeah!" He mused making his way out of the infirmary to begin the great escape.