Thanks for the reviews guys. Hope you're all still with me, and enjoying this. Here's another update for you to read.

Title: Unity.

Author: LetitiaRichards.

Previously:

Jack wasn't going to argue with that. He was tired. His eyelids felt extraordinarily heavy and drooped, so Daniel shepherded Teal'c from the room, leaving Sam with a message for Janet about coming by later and to sit with Jack for a while longer. She held his hand while he drifted off in the quiet of the room.

Chapter 30

Pain. All he could feel was pain as it ripped through his abuse feet. The agony of searing flesh; the smell of his own burning skin made him gag. Retching on nothing but an empty stomach brought forth its own torture with broken ribs. He tried to break free of the restraints but he was tied down; his limbs useless pulling against the ropes as they tore the flesh on his wrists and ankles. Sweat beaded his brow and ran in rivulets down his face. Then there were the endless questions.

Name, Rank and Serial number, he mumbled losing his grip on reality.

More questions. More pain.

Sam felt the first jerky movements under her fingers. Before long they were followed by more as Jack fought within the depths of his nightmare.

She jumped up from the chair, holding onto his hand, but he tried to fight her off.

"Jack! Jack!" she called out to him, trying to drag him from the terrifying dream. "Jack…it's okay. It's just a dream. You're safe. You're back at the SGC.

He calmed a little, the thrashing of his limbs, slowing. Sam kept up the reassuring monologue of words, telling him it was all over. That he was home. She cupped his cheek gently, soothing him further until he stilled.

He groaned pitifully. His body drenched in the sweat of fear and he couldn't help the bile that rose in his throat as he came to, suddenly jerking to the side to heave the contents of his last meal into the bowl that Sam had managed to grab from the table just in time.

A few moments later when he felt able to calm his nausea, he flopped back onto the pillows with another groan, completely spent. Embarrassment coloured his pale cheeks and he refused to look at Sam as he passed the bowl and its vile contents to a passing nurse, by closing his eyes.

Sam took his hand again and brought it to her lips in a sweet kiss, then dipped the cloth into a bowl of tepid water to wash away the evidence of his fear.

His eye flew open at the first swipe of the cloth against his brow. It felt good after the horrors he'd relived. He looked up into her eyes, searching for condemnation and scorn, but found only compassion and love. Her softly uttered words full of comfort. He almost broke down under the knowledge that she would do this much for him, but his heart felt lighter and it helped to banish the deep rooted horrors he'd endured.

He remained silent. Watching her as she continued to bathe the sweat from his upper body with a tender smile on her face. He closed his heavy eyes again as she covered him with the sheet that he'd tossed aside during his nightmare, and drifted off to sleep again, feeling safe.

OoOoOoOoO

When he woke, feeling marginally better, he found Daniel by his side instead of Sam.

He lay quietly for a few moments, just watching Daniel who was asleep in the chair, his glasses askew and half way down his nose, while the open book still sat in his lap. It was so normal he wanted to weep.

He pulled himself together, and smirked at Janet as she approached the younger man and gently removed his glasses and placed them and the book on the night stand.

She moved nearer the bed and took Jack's wrist, checking his pulse first before feeling his brow for a temperature.

"How are you feeling today Colonel?"

Residual memories of the nightmare still haunted him, but the feel of Sam's ministrations were better.

He shot the Doctor a genuine smile.

"Hungry Doc!" he whispered.

She grinned and satisfied that he was better after last night's 'activity' she patted him on the knee.

"Then I'll get you some breakfast sent up and I'll have someone bring enough for Daniel too."

Jack nodded. He'd like that.

Jack lay there soaking up the warmth that spread through him. Warmth that was there because his friends hadn't abandoned him; they weren't about to leave him behind; and they promised they would help him. And helping him they were.

He realised he must have dozed off again when he heard Teal'c talking to Daniel.

"Hi kids. Breakfast?"

"Hi Jack. Yeah. Help yourself," Daniel said cheerfully placing the tray in front of Jack. "How're you doing?"

"I'm fine Daniel. Teal'c?"

"I am well O'Neill," he rumbled, "And yourself?"

"I'm okay actually. Better than yesterday."

He ate his breakfast, listening to his team-mates chatter – well, Daniel mostly - about the base gossip, filling him in on what's been going on while he'd been out of it.

He felt out of the loop, as if he'd been away far too long, which in a way he had. It had been over a month since he'd been walking the halls of the SGC. A lot of water had rushed under the bridge since that time. Could he go back to after so long. He still had a lot of healing to do before Janet would be happy to sign him off the sick list. That's not including a psyche evaluation which he knew was inevitable. Something, he just knew he wasn't looking forward to. MacKenzie was going to have a field day.

"Jack?"

Daniel's worried voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Just thinking that's all."

"General Hammond's on his way down. He wants to see you. He's been worried too Jack."

Jack sucked in a huge breath. Yeah. Lots of people have been worried about him. He needed more than anything to go home and recover in his own good time, not under the constantly assessing eyes of those in the SGC.

He expelled the air noisily but nodded his acceptance of the fact that Hammond would of course be concerned. He would be too if it was Daniel or Sam or Teal'c lying there instead.

Minutes later, after Jack had been propped up, the door opened to admit one larger than life, General Hammond.

Daniel and Teal'c quietly and discreetly left the room, leaving the two officers to talk.

"Jack!" Hammond greeted him cheerfully, though his face was worn with new lines etched into it. Lines that Jack knew he was responsible for putting there. "I won't ask how you're doing. I can see you look better than when I saw you last."

"I am sir. A whole heap better. And so I should be looking better since the last time you saw me I was writhing on the floor in the grip of a seizure. Sir," he added a few seconds later.

Hammond chuckled at Jack's wry comment.

"It's good to know that son."

"Yes sir."

Hammond pause for a moment to gather his thoughts and Jack could feel the air turn more serious.

"Jack what do you remember of Lieutenant Enrico Diaz?"

Jack churned the name over and over in his mind.

"He was one of those I tried to help back in Iraq if I remember correctly sir. Mexican origin. Pleasant enough…"

Hammond cut him off with another question.

"How did he seem to get over his imprisonment?"

"Actually he seemed pretty good, but I always felt there was something inside him. He was a deep character. I don't think I ever reached the bottom General. Why?"

"He was the key to your brainwashing Jack. He started this whole thing off."

TBC