4 hours later Jack found himself sitting by Carter's side in the infirmary in Cheyenne Mountain. Hammond had arranged for them to return to Colorado Springs via helicopter. Dr Smith and Janet had finally agreed on Sam's condition being a result of going into shock because of a high fever. Sam wasn't conscious yet and Jack had fallen asleep in the chair beside her. To anyone else, he would have only seemed genuinely concerned and only concerned but Jack had felt terrified.
"Colonel O'Neill" Dr Smith said shaking him out of his sleep
"Hmm" he muttered as he woke
"Do you want to go to your quarters?" she asked
"No, I'm fine thank you" he disregarded her and turned back towards Carter
"Colonel you've been by her side since she lost consciousness, it's almost five" Janet warned
"Alright, I'll go get coffee" he surrendered and stood up from his chair. Janet shook her head at him but didn't fight.
"Stubborn it's he" Dr Smith remarked turning to Janet
"You have no idea" Janet smiled "what about you, shouldn't you be resting given your condition" Janet hinted
"I can't sleep with these lungs" Dr Smith joked "besides, sleep wouldn't help"
"Chemotherapy not an option I take it" Janet asked
"Nope" Dr Smith sighed
"How long?"
"I kick the bucket in 5 months" she grinned forcefully
"Nina, I'm sorry" Janet offered
"Don't be, I chose to smoke my lungs away knowing the risks, it's my fault and I want no sympathy" she warned
"Still as head strong I see" Janet laughed
"Yes, still head strong and stupid" she grinned
"Stupid? You're still smoking aren't you?"
"Guilty" she coughed "look as long as I'm in town, you want to get together and run amuck just like old times?" she asked diverting the conversation away from her cancer.
"Sure, I'd love for you to meet my Daughter, she's just like you" Janet smiled
"Ah a trouble maker, wait you have a daughter! When did that happen?" Nina asked wide eyed
"Adoptive daughter, she's in her terrible teens" Janet laughed
"Adoptive? Does that mean there's a guy in your life? Because last I heard, you and your husband split up"
"No guy" Janet admitted
"Good then we can go clubbing" she smiled and Janet laughed
"What would we have done if there was a guy?" she asked
"Gone clubbing" Nina grinned
"You never change" Janet laughed
Daniel walked into the commissary and laughed at the sight of Jack asleep in front of a mug of coffee. He nudged Jack awake.
"Didn't make it?" he laughed
"What?"
"To the coffee, didn't make it in time?" he asked lifting Jack's mug
"Um no, it put me to sleep" Jack muttered sitting upright
"That's when you turn to espresso" Daniel grinned lifting his espresso. Jack took the espresso out of Daniels hand and drank it
"Hey" Daniel glared at him
"I'm tired" he shrugged
"Then don't come in so early. Since when do you come in this early anyway?" Daniel shook his head at him
"I don't, why are you here?" Jack asked finishing off Daniels espresso
"I couldn't sleep, wait aren't you supposed to be in Salt Lake City?"
"I was, Carter wasn't feeling to good" Jack replied
"You were supposed to go or you were there?" Daniel asked critically
"I was there but Hammond sent a helicopter for us" Jack told him
"Because Sam wasn't feeling well? Is she alright?" Daniel asked worried
"I don't know she hasn't come to yet…" he was cut off by his beeper going off. He picked it up and smiled "I stand corrected. She's awake, wanna come with?" Jack asked standing up.
"Sure" Daniel said following him out of the commissary "Jack?"
"Yeah"
"Have you been drinking?" he asked and Jack stopped dead in his tracks
"A little last night, why do I look drunk?" he asked slightly worried
"No, you just smell like whisky" he replied and Jack shrugged as they headed to the infirmary.
"How are you feeling?" Janet asked as she shone her pen light over Sam's pupils, noticing her eyes were red again
"Just like I did on Wednesday" Sam replied blinking away the bright light. She grimaced at the fact that her legs were numb once again.
"What's the last thing you remember?" Nina asked and an image of her being in Jacks arms as he kissed her came to mind. Sam found herself smiling
"What?" Janet asked curiously. Sam shook herself from her thoughts
"Um cooking, I remember cooking" she lied and Janet frowned at her. Jack and Daniel came in then and Sam smiled, happy to see them. Janet finished up what she was doing and she and Nina decidedly dragged Daniel out of the room to leave Jack and Sam alone.
"Whoa, why can't I see her?" Daniel asked confused as to why they had dragged him out
"Because…" cough "...You haven't been up all night, he has" Nina said coughing
"Are you okay?" Daniel asked alarmed by her coughing.
"Fine" she wheezed
"You don't sound fine" Daniel stated
"Daniel, don't worry" Janet shot him a warning glance
"Okay, what's wrong with Sam?" he asked looking back towards the infirmary
"The infection she contracted is elevating her body temperature and she suffered heat stroke. I've been doing my best to lower her temperature and anti-biotic seems to be keeping the infection at bay but I don't know how long her immune system will cope under the pressure or how long until the infection up it's own immunity against the anti-biotic" Janet explained and Daniel absorbed the information like it was a blow to the head
"How is this going to turn out?" Daniel asked breathing deeply
"Right now it's a 50/50 situation depending on how the infection reacts to the medication. On the upside she could recover really well and be out of bed in a few days time or on the down side, the infection builds up immunity and the fever escalates. Daniel, this could get really bad" Janet warned
"How bad?"
"Really bad" Nina added
"Are you saying she could die?" Daniel asked Janet
"Dying, everybody's dying. There's so much death around. I hate hospitals or in this case infirmary's" Nina scowled and Janet glared at her
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Daniel asked irritated
"Dr Nina Smith" she said putting out her hand.
"Dr Daniel Jackson" he said shaking it "You're a Doctor who hate's hospitals?" Daniel criticised
"Are you a doctor, Dr Jackson?" Nina asked
"Good point, but was I wrong in assuming that you're a doctor?"
"No, you're not" she admitted "Janet, I'm just going to pop up to the surface for a few minutes Okay"
"Oh no you're not" Janet warned "you are going to slap on a nicotine patch and go to bed" she ordered and Nina couldn't help but giggle
"You always were the boss" Nina rolled her eyes at her and then walked away
"Bed" Janet called after her
"Surface" Nina called back and Janet raced over to her
"Bed or you don't get to meet my daughter" Janet warned
"Fine" Nina caved. Janet smiled satisfied and then returned to Daniel
"Sorry about that" Janet smiled as she approached him
"Sam?" Daniel asked bringing her back to the problem at hand
"Yes" Janet frowned as her mood dropped
"So it's true, death is a possibility?" Daniel asked concerned
"Admittedly, it's an option but that's only because her fever is so unusual and I can't even begin to understand what's happening to her" she sighed "her bodies acting as if it's fighting off an infection but the blood test I ran showed nothing to even indicate she has an infection, it's not a virus either. Based on these test results, she should be perfectly healthy"
"God I hope she pulls through" Daniel sighed
"She will, Daniel" Janet comforted him "she always does"
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AN: sorry about any of the medical information i may have gotton wrong. i'm not a doctor and dont claim to be. i also am used to celsius so the whole temperature problem would probably be incorrect. thanks for pointing that out Vid Z.
all reviews are welcomed with a big smile.
plz R+R