What Fate Decrees - Part Six

Voices again. The blackness drew away slightly, but the pain unfortunately didn't. It clawed at him, gnawing away inside. 'Focus, Jack, got to try and take a look around.'

Jack's eyes opened slowly, but then he was overwhelmed by a choking sensation and he found himself struggling to breathe.

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"Janet!" exclaimed Sam, seeing the flicker of brown.

The Doctor responded quickly, leaning over her charge. She saw how he was starting to fight the ventilator and made the decision to remove it. "Okay, Colonel, take it easy, I've got you intubated. You know the drill - steady now, blow on the count of three." A whole lot easier than it went in, the endotracheal tube was removed from the Colonel's throat and a cannula was swiftly placed on his nose.

His grip on Sam's hand tightened and his gaze fixed on her. His deep velvet eyes seem to burn into Sam's. She held his gaze, blue eyes suspiciously moist once again.

Janet gave Jack a few sips of water to help to moisten his dry throat.

"Hey, Colonel," said Sam softly.

His eyes held puzzlement. "What happened?" he whispered hoarsely.

Janet bent in closer, trying to get the Colonel to focus on her. "How much do you remember, sir? Do you know where you are?"

A blank look crossed the Colonel's features for a moment, as he unwillingly altered the direction of his gaze, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Yeah infirmary, everything's hazy, PX whatever …. eyes," he murmured, leaving Sam and Janet to exchange puzzled looks.

"In short, you were on PX3403-7 and you and Daniel ended up in a pit full of bones with a spear through you," provided the good Doctor.

"Daniel okay?"

Sam nodded. "He's fine."

"Good," the Colonel whispered as Sam saw the battle to keep his eyes from closing was one he was going to lose.

"I've upped the pain meds for now. He'll probably sleep a while," offered Janet, once more monitoring his vitals.

Feeling slightly better now that she'd spoken to Colonel O'Neill and that he was off the ventilator, Sam allowed a small smile to touch her lips as she lowered her head back to its previous resting position.

She must have dozed off, because she stirred, feeling slightly disoriented, and as if she was being watched. She immediately raised her head, only to meet a gaze of chocolate brown, which seemed quite used to a steady perusal of her features.

"Hey," she murmured, suddenly nervous for a reason she couldn't quite pinpoint, but unable to bring herself to look away. She licked at her dry lips.

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Jack stared into the Major's eyes, unable to tear his gaze away. 'I wish you wouldn't do that, Carter. They do things to me, those eyes. Damn, they're so…' Startling himself with his thoughts he began to cough, slightly at first, but it quickly became a choking cough as he tried to bite back the cry of pain that came from him.

Janet appeared quickly at his side and adjusted the IV, once more injecting more painkillers into him. "Easy Colonel, take it easy." She braced his shoulders as he coughed in the hope of preventing further damage to his wounds.

"…Amazing…" he slurred as he held his focus on his 2IC for as long as he could, before sinking once more into a drugged slumber.

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"Pain med talk?" Sam blushed, well aware of her Colonel's implication.

"Yeah, probably," agreed Janet, whilst her face was giving Sam an 'I don't think so' look.

Luckily, Sam was saved from further interrogation as Teal'c and Daniel both entered the small room. "Hey guys, you just missed the Colonel. He came around for a little." She felt much better than she had earlier, knowing that her CO had been conscious and aware of his surroundings.

"But he's okay?" asked Daniel.

"He's certainly showing improvement, although he's in a lot of pain," replied Janet.

Teal'c inclined his head towards the Doctor as he acknowledged her words. "I have found someone to undertake the repair of the glove. It will not be exactly as before, but I believe it will be acceptable."

"Good. That glove saved his life. Whatever it meant to him before, it's so much more than that to us all now," replied Sam, knowingly.

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