Chapter 5: An Old Friend Returns
When Janet spoke those words, Sam turned and looked at her with her hands trembling and her stomach turning somersaults. Jack nodded in resignation and gave Sam's hand a comforting squeeze.
"Okay, Colonel, we're ready. I need to prepare you for the surgery so we can get this ball rolling. Dr. Anderson is already waiting for us in the operating room. Sam, honey, I need to ask you to stand back for a minute please." Janet said softly, as Sam stepped away from the bed to let Janet do her job and went to stand beside General Hammond who placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Well, what's the first step?" Jack asked.
"The first thing that we need to do, like I said, is to prepare you for surgery. Since you already have an IV started, what I'm going to do is inject the anesthetic into the line because it prevents additional discomfort and also helps the medication work quicker. After that's done, one of the nurses will take you on to the operating room while I go and prepare Daniel. Once we have both of you in the OR the surgery should take about five hours from start to finish. I'll keep everyone up to date on what's going on so that should help with everyone's anxiety."
"Right. Might as well get to it then, I guess."
As Sam and Hammond looked on, Janet moved with amazing accuracy as she injected the drugs into Jack's IV line. After she had finished, Sam went back to Jack's bedside and talked to him.
"We're all behind you, Jack. Once this is over, we all need to go out and do something spontaneous and crazy as a group to celebrate."
"That sounds like a good idea. I'll hold you to that, Sam. Remember that you and Sarah aren't alone either. Teal'c and the General will give you more than enough support to get you through this. We'll talk more about spontaneity and craziness after this is over." Jack whispered, a numbness beginning to steal over him as Sam reached out and took his hand.
For a long moment, Sam stayed by Jack and held his hand in her own. After a time, she watched his eyes close as the anesthetic took effect and felt his grip on her hand go slack. She turned to Janet and gave a barely perceptible nod of her head, hearing the pounding of her own heartbeat in her ears. Sam felt Hammond's hands on her shoulders and allowed him to lead her away from the bed as the nurse wheeled Jack away into the operating room.
"Sir, you can take Sam to the waiting room down the hall. That's surgical waiting. I'll send Sarah that way after I prep Daniel and take him to the OR." Janet said as she left the room and headed down the hall to where Daniel was.
"Come on, Major. Teal'c's probably in the waiting room already and waiting for us to get there. There's nothing we can do here." Hammond said gently.
"Yes, sir." Sam assented as she allowed herself to be lead down the hall. As she walked into the waiting room with Hammond and saw Teal'c there, Sam realized that this was the first time since she started at the SGC that she felt completely helpless.
Down the hall, Daniel was sitting up in the hospital bed talking to Sarah when a knock on the door drew their attention. When they looked to see Janet standing there, an uneasiness filled the entire area.
"Daniel, Sarah, I'm sorry to interrupt but it's time to get everything started. Jack is already on his way to the operating room if he's not already there by now. So what I'm going to do is prepare you and wheel you down too and get this show on the road." Janet said, feeling slightly guilty for breaking up a tender moment between two of her friends.
"Janet, can I talk to Sarah for a second before this whole thing gets started?" Daniel asked.
"Sure, Daniel. Take a minute if you need to. Do you want me to step out?" Janet offered.
"No, that's okay. You can if you want but you don't have to."
"Sarah, honey, I love you. I hate that you are having to go through the back side of this thing but I hope you realize that this truly is the only choice. Just hang on to that lucky charm I gave you earlier and take advantage of the fact that you have Teal'c and General Hammond to lean on if you need some support. Most important of all is that I want you to remember how much I love you. I know first hand that love can help you through almost anything."
"I know that you love me and I would never forget that. I truly hope that love can get you through almost anything as you said. The only thing that is keeping me from losing my mind right now is that what you're doing is an act of love for a friend. I'll be right here when it's all over." Sarah whispered, trying to contain the terror that was going in her heart.
"Okay, so what now?" Daniel asked nervously.
"Well, what I'm going to do is inject the anesthetic into your IV. After it's had enough time to take effect, I'll wheel you into the operating room where Dr. Anderson is waiting with Colonel O'Neill and we'll get this done. The whole thing from beginning to end will take about five hours. I'll go to the waiting room periodically and let everyone know what's going on so that they can keep up to date on our progress. So, if you're ready, we'll get started." Janet said, injecting the anesthetic into the IV line as Daniel nodded absently.
Sarah stepped back long enough to let Janet do her work but as soon as the deed was done, she hastened back to Daniel's side. She held his hand and played with his hair, whispering softly to him. It was comforting for Daniel to know that his fiancé was beside him and would stay with him as long as she was able. Her voice was also soothing and he focused on her face as well as he could without his glasses until the anesthetic kicked in and Daniel finally closed his eyes, feeling a gentle kiss on his forehead as his consciousness slipped away.
"What do I do now?" Sarah asked softly, watching Janet begin moving Daniel out of the room.
"You need to go to the surgical waiting room down the hall. It won't be hard to find. Sam, Teal'c and General Hammond are already there. I promise that I will take very good care of Daniel. Please don't worry." Janet said gently.
"Okay. Although I don't trust the situation very much I do trust you."
As she watched her fiancé being wheeled out of the room and away from her, Sarah had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach that she couldn't seem to shake.
Back in the waiting room, Sam, Teal'c and Hammond were sitting in silence when Sarah walked in. Upon noticing her friend, Sam stood up and crossed the room to her.
"Sarah, are you okay? I know this whole thing is really creepy." Sam asked.
"I suppose I'm all right. It just really scared me to stand there and see what just happened back there. This is probably going to sound strange but I have a really bad feeling that I can't seem to get rid of. I know that Daniel is in the best of hands but that doesn't help very much." Sarah whispered, her voice cracking slightly.
While the women were talking about their fears, Teal'c looked at the clock on the wall and realized that he needed to go and await something at the SGC that he had arranged the evening before.
"General Hammond, I must return to the SGC for a short while. I shall not be long." Teal'c announced in a low voice.
"But why, Teal'c. What is back at the mountain that you could possibly need right now?"
"I have arranged for something to come through the Stargate that will offer assistance in the predicament we now find ourselves facing."
"Of course. I'll stay here with the women. Tell Sergeant Siler that I gave permission to open the iris for whatever coordinates this thing is coming from whatever it is." Hammond said, curious about what the Jaffa was up to, as Teal'c nodded to him and walked out of the room.
"Where is Teal'c going, sir?" Sam asked when she noticed Teal'c leaving.
"He said he's going back to the SGC to wait for something that he arranged to come through the gate. Apparently he set this up at some point last night."
"Oh. I hope he gets back here soon."
Back at the SGC, Teal'c walked into the control room with about two minutes to spare until his expected arrival. Sergeant Siler was standing there with the gate technician and the two looked up in surprise when Teal'c approached.
"Teal'c. What are you doing here?" Siler asked.
"I am expecting an arrival through the Stargate. General Hammond has granted permission for the iris to be opened when the coordinates come through."
"But we don't have any teams due until tomorrow." The technician pointed out.
"That is correct, however I arranged last night for someone to come through the gate today right about now."
"Incoming traveler. Receiving Kelownan IDC."
"Open the iris." Siler commanded, watching Teal'c head into the gate room as the iris swished quietly open.
Teal'c walked into the gate room and stood at the bottom of the ramp, a welcoming committee of sorts. The two in the control room looked on curiously as Jonas Quinn stepped through the Stargate.
"Greetings, Jonas Quinn. Your promptness in responding to my message is much appreciated." Teal'c smiled as his friend met him at the base of the ramp.
"Teal'c. Your message said that you needed my help. What's going on? Is something wrong?"
"I am afraid that hard times are faced. O'Neill and Daniel Jackson are in the hospital across town. That is why I am the only one of your friends present."
"What? What's the matter with Jack and Daniel? Why are they in the hospital? I don't understand, Teal'c." Jonas asked, confused.
"Allow me to elaborate. Yesterday, O'Neill was informed by Dr. Fraiser that his liver function was declining severely. The only available solution was for a new organ to be transplanted in place of the damaged one. To save the life of O'Neill, Daniel Jackson volunteered to donate a portion of his liver to O'Neill. That is why they are in the hospital. We must leave at once."
"Right. Let's go." Jonas replied as he followed Teal'c through the halls, too shocked to say anything more.
