Note: Thanks to all of you for the encouraging reviews. :grins like an idiot: Here's chapter the next chappy before Turkey Day. I might not get a chance to update tomorrow night, but I assure you all that I will if I can. Have a good holiday everyone!
SIX
Hearing the restless grumbling of her CO that night, Sam rolled to her right side to look at him. He was a few feet away from her, and Teal'c laid a few more feet to her left in a deep state of kel-no-reem that would last throughout the night. Daniel was fast asleep and snoring loudly across the fire. With no hostiles on the planet, there wasn't any need for anyone to keep watch during the night, so they all were able to get plenty of rest. Well, as much as their minds and bodies would allow anyhow. Unfortunately, Sam noticed, for the Colonel, sleep wasn't going so easily.
Sitting up and letting her eyes further adjust to the lack of lighting, Sam dragged her blankets and scooted closer to Jack. She reached out a hand and touched his forehead, finding it damp with sweat. He seemed to calm a little at her touch, but Sam gasped softly in surprise when she noticed a flash of Jack's piercing brown eyes. "Colonel," she whispered quietly when he didn't move. Those eyes were locked onto hers, and she just about melted right there, her heart clenching in sympathy at the pained look on his face.
Jack's mouth opened and closed a few times, but no words came out. He blinked as though trying to keep focus, then managed to speak in no more than a strained whisper. "Duh..don't let them...puh-put that...suh-snake in my..head..." Struggling against unseen forces, Jack rolled onto his back, his face a mask of determination not to give in. His eyes were still locked with Sam, silently pleading. "Please...Sam,"
Her brows knit together, watching Jack with concern. She tugged on her blankets and laid beside him, reaching out to gently run a hand through his hair. Sam knew it really wasn't appropriate, but she didn't care. He wasn't in his right mind, and he needed her. She couldn't be sure if he had already started losing it, or was just stuck in some dream. "Shh, it's okay Jack, I won't let them get to you," Sam whispered reassuringly. Belatedly realizing she'd used his first name, her eyes flashed to him half-expecting a mention of it, but he said nothing.
Looking into Sam's baby-blue eyes was comforting to Jack's delirious mind. He felt at ease, as though there were fifteen Teal'cs watching his back in the middle of a blood-thirsty battle. He could always count on that guy, but he also knew he could always count on Carter as well. She'd been there with him through thick and thin just as many times as Daniel or Teal'c, maybe more even.
Even with just the slight glow from the fire as illumination, Sam could still see that the Colonel's face was positively flushed with fever. Propping herself up on an elbow and tilting her head in concern, she regarded him gently. "Sir," Sam slipped back into the formal, though her CO didn't seem to be in any shape to notice at the moment. "Try and sleep now, Sir." She watched him shiver suddenly, tugging on his previously kicked away blanket and curling onto his side.
"Cold," Jack murmured in response, his eyes sliding shut once more as he laid with his back to her.
Sam risked moving closer, drawing Jack's blanket tightly about his shoulders and pulling hers up as well. She snuggled close to his back, reminded of the other night where she'd first found him ill at his home and had slept close to keep him warmed. Going further back in her memories, Sam thought about their time stuck in Antarctica. She'd been so close to him then, both in mind and body. It was her responcibility to keep him alive, and she'd nearly failed.
Clenching her eyes shut and forcing back tears, Sam gripped the Colonel a little tighter, reminded of how close she'd been to losing him. It was close, she thought with a faint sniffle. Way too close. Closing her eyes, she shifted to get comfortable again as Jack turned to his back. Sam found her head rested on his shoulder while one arm draped across his chest. Smiling contently, she soon drifted off to a light sleep.
-
A strong hand shook Sam awake at first light, and after rolling to her back she opened bleary blue eyes to see a huge Jaffa hovering over her. She blinked back the hazyness of sleep before trusting herself to say anything. "Teal'c?"
"Major Carter, Colonel O'Neill is not in camp," he announced with the faintest twinge of concern in his normally unwavering voice.
"What?" She sat up in alarm, thrusting the blankets off of her and rising to her feet while looking around. "What do you mean? Where's he gone?"
"I do not know," Teal'c lips were turned into a slight frown. "Daniel Jackson has gone looking for him."
"Oh, God," Sam muttered worriedly, running a hand through her messy hair. Her focus shot off to the left when she heard Daniel's shouts not too far away.
"Sam! Teal'c! He's over here!"
Sharing a quick glance with Teal'c, Sam darted off into the trees to follow the sound of Daniel's voice. When she broke through a small clearing, she spotted the archaeologist hovering close by the Colonel, who was sitting on the ground beside a small flowing stream. "Daniel?" She questioned her friend worriedly. Something wasn't right.
Daniel shrugged. "I don't know what's wrong. He was just sitting there. Hasn't said anything and won't answer when I talk to him." His brows furrowed, and with a frown he tapped his head and tilted it to the side, suggesting that the poison had already begun affecting the Colonel's mind.
"Colonel?" Sam chewed her bottom lip nervously as she began a careful approach. "Sir, it's me; Sam. Will you look at me? Please?"
"Sam," he gasped out suddenly, turning to look at her with jerky movements. His normally intense brown eyes were wide and glazed. Jack scratched compulsively at his collarbone, shoulders flinching. "Those...bugs..everywhere.."
"Bugs?" She watched him with confusion, then jumped back slightly with a start as he abruptly pulled out his knife. Sam's eyes widened at the sight of the blade, forgetting that they had left him with it.
"Uh..Sam," Daniel said lowly in a warning tone.
"Ach!" Jack yelped suddenly, startling everyone around, including Teal'c. He shifted to his knees and held out one arm, quickly rolling up the sleeve of his green jacket, brown eyes wide in terror as he watched a non-existent creature crawl up and burrow into his arm. "It's under my skin!" He hollered, then began muttering, "Gotta get it out!" Taking his knife, he brought the sharp point of the blade against the skin on the underside of his forearm and began cutting, gritting his teeth against the pain.
"Jack!"
"O'Neill!"
"Colonel!"
The simultaneous shouts of the rest of SG1 were screamed in alarm and sudden terror as all three friends leapt into action to stop their commanding officer, and friend, from further harming himself.
"Teal'c, hold him down, quick!" Daniel shouted, grasping one arm while the Jaffa pinned Jack down. He hastily knocked the knife from the Colonel's jerky hand.
"Lemme go!" Jack strained, fighting them. "I gotta get it out!"
Sam fought back tears, distressed at seeing him like that. Remembering the medicine Janet had given her to take along, she quickly unclipped her pack from her vest and dug through the supplies to find a plastic-wrapped syringe and a sedative, as well as some gauze and antiseptic. Hurrying over while Teal'c and Daniel kept him pinned, Sam made quick work of the sedative and injected it into Jack's shoulder.
Jack had begun to fight less and less as the drugs took effect, and Teal'c and Daniel both eased their hold on him, laying the man carefully on the ground with Daniel's jacket used as a pillow. "Get it...out.." His mutterings trailed off before Jack slowly lost consciousness.
Daniel's attention shot to Sam, brows slightly furrowed. "What do you give him?"
"Just a...mild sedative," she responded after a moment. Sam's voice cracked slightly. "God," She ran a hand through her hair briefly before kneeling beside the Colonel and grasping his injured arm as the blood trailed freely from the lengthy cut. "He's bleeding... I - I've gotta patch this up.."
Teal'c could see that the Major was visibly shaken by O'Neill's behavior. He knelt beside her and took the roll of bandages as well as the antiseptic. "I shall take care of Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter," he insisted in a surprisingly gentle manner.
Sam nodded distantly, then found herself being guided to her feet by Daniel.
-
Not much later, Sam was sitting beside the Colonel where he lay on a folded blanket by the remnants of the fire from the previous night. She had her legs bent and pulled up close to her chest as she held an unfocused stare directed at the unconscious man. Her focus would occasionally shift to the bandaging around his left forearm where the sleave of his jacket was still rolled up. Flinching slightly as she noticed spots of blood that had seeped through the bandages, Sam chewed her lower lip slightly as she recalled the wild look in the Colonel's eyes when he did the damage to himself. He truly believed something was crawling in his skin, like that time they got infected with those Goa'uld killing things that made them nuts. Well, everyone except herself and Teal'c of course. Teal'c had a larval Goa'uld, so naturally he got very sick. Nearly died even.
Sam's breath hitched in her throat when she noticed Jack stirring slightly. Her blue eyes were locked onto him as he shifted from side to side, his face a mask of worry and...something else. Was that despair she detected? But why?
"Charlie," Jack groaned in a sleepy mumble.
Eyes tearing up at the name, Sam moved herself a little closer. Daniel and Teal'c were both scouting ahead on the trail, trying to find the easiest route toward the mountain tops, so she wasn't worried about them returning and questioning her. Lightly she began stroking the Colonel's hair with slow, gentle movements, his skin radiating warmth.
His expression changed, no longer sorrowful, but there was still something bothering him. Struggling, Jack started to sit up, still in a drug-induced dream state. "Gotta...pick up...Charlie...school,"
"Shh," Sam pushed him back down gently with a hand to his chest. Her brows furrowed as he continued to struggle, trying to get up.
"Charlie...I gotta..." Jack insisted in a breathy whisper.
"It's okay Jack... I - uh - I already picked Charlie up at school," she assured the Colonel, hoping to ease his disillusioned mind. Sighing with relief as he laid back willingly, Sam reached for her nearby pack to retrieve the thermometer. Once doing so, she gently brought it toward the Colonel's ear. He didn't resist, and after a moment the thermometer beeped and she drew back, taking a good look at the reading. What she saw made her frown, heaving a sigh. 102.2. Dammit. Sam quickly removed the little notepad from her vest pocket and scribbled down the readings for the third time before tucking it away safely once more.
Sitting back again, Sam waited patiently while the sedative wore off. She rose her head and broke from an unfocused stare when she heard Teal'c and Daniel's return. Daniel appeared slightly out of breath. Eyeing them curiously, she slowly stood, awaiting news. "Hey, what did you find?"
Pausing a few feet from her and the Colonel, Daniel began his explanation. "Every which way up the mountain is pretty rough." He frowned slightly, then looked almost hopeful. "I found a path that'll take us up at a slower pace, but it's at less of an angle sorta. Shouldn't be too hard of a climb."
Chewing her lower lip, Sam glanced from Teal'c to Daniel. She grimaced slightly. "I dunno Daniel. I mean, sure the longer path will be easier on the Colonel, but we need to get there quickly. The sooner the better." Her eyes dropped down to Jack. "He's becoming more and more..." Sam trailed off, not knowing quite how to phrase the Colonel's behavior.
Daniel sighed quietly and put a hand to her shoulder in understanding. "I know," he said lowly, looking to Teal'c. "What do you think?"
Teal'c's gaze was steadily focused on Jack. "I believe if O'Neill needs our assistance during the journey we shall be able to assist him. It is quite important we retrieve the cure from the Das'ira plant as soon as possible."
Sam nodded, eager to get going. "We'll have to keep a close eye on him. The Colonel's mental stability could come and go, so one of us should be at his side at all times." She knelt down to retrieve her pack. "If his behavior becomes out of control, I'll administer small doses of the sedative to keep him fairly compliant without knocking him out. His fever keeps rising, so I'm going to set him up with the IV Janet gave me. It can attach to my pack so I'll walk alongside him for a time."
Teal'c and Daniel both nodded in agreement, then began gathering things together around camp before they would head out.
After getting her own gear together and checking the medical supplies, Sam went about getting Jack prepared for the trek further up the mountain. She carefully inserted the IV line and hooked the bag up to her pack before trying to wake him. "Colonel, can you hear me? I need you to wake up," Sam's brows furrowed as he shifted to his side and groaned. She had to move to avoid ripping out the IV. "Jack," she whispered more firmly.
"Hn?" There was a pause while the Colonel managed to prop himself up on an elbow. "I'm up, I'm up," he whispered with another groan.
"Sir, we're going to start up the mountain. Can you stand?" Sam took hold of his right arm while he struggled to get to his feet with a firm nod. She watched him carefully, gauging his reactions to see if he was all there at the moment. He seemed lucid enough.
Jack studied the IV line in one arm, and the bandage on the other. He rose a brow while glancing sideways at Sam. "Carter...what happened?" He asked slowly.
Her brows briefly knit together. "You don't remember Sir?" As he shook his head, Sam licked her lips before meeting his sharp gaze. "You...weren't acting yourself Colonel." Judging by the look on his face, there was no need for further information.
"I see," Jack took a step forward woozily, then fought to steady himself. He rose a hand, signalling to Sam that he'd be fine as she sprung forward to help. "Where's Daniel an'...Teal'c?" He asked breathily.
"Packing up camp," Thumbing her radio, Sam kept slowly at Jack's side as he began walking at an even pace. "Daniel, I'm going to start up the trail with the Colonel, you and Teal'c should be able to catch up."
"Sure thing," Daniel answered briefly after a short moment. "Sam, if you get to where the trail splits three ways, follow the path to the left," he added quickly.
"Got it," With a sharp nod to herself, Sam dropped her arm by her side.
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