TEN
"Now he's still groggy from the anesthetic, so I only want you to sit and talk with him for a few minutes," Janet instructed the remaining members of SG1 firmly, but gently. She regarded Sam thoughtfully for a moment, knowing that the Major had been with Jack throughout the night, and had only left his side that morning when Janet had ordered her to get some breakfast and a change of clothes while she checked the Colonel's wounds and cleaned his surgical incision. However, Janet had promised that Sam could stay and look after the Colonel while she left the base to check up on Cassie, and stopped by the hospital briefly to gather some paperwork. The clever doctor was using the excuse to allow the Major to remain by her beloved Colonel's side without arousing suspicion of any sort from the General or her nursing staff.
Daniel and Sam were both standing at the side of Jack's bed, looking down at him studiously while Teal'c regarded the man with care from the foot of the bed. Daniel quirked a half smile, tilting his head a little to one side. "Hey Jack," He crossed his arms over his chest and adjusted his glasses. "How ya doin'?"
Sam had her eyes on the Colonel intently, trying to hide the rediculously happy grin that threatened to spread across her face. She was so glad to see him conscious for longer than a brief flicker of a moment.
"Great..swell..peachy," Jack answered Daniel hoarsely with a faint twinkle in his eye along with a lazy, crooked grin. He started to doze off again, and before long Janet was ushering them all out of the infirmary, insisting that they let him rest.
Nodding, Daniel retreated to his lab to look over a few things before they were all due to attend the mission debriefing at 0900.
Teal'c nodded slightly in acquiescence with Dr. Fraiser's orders, then gave a brief smile and left the room.
Janet shared a knowing look with Sam, then laid a hand gently on her shoulder as they were left alone in the infirmary. "Alright, I'm going to go take care of some errands now. Keep an eye on the Colonel, and if you need anything I'll have my nursing staff on stand-by."
Sam smiled approvingly with a nod, letting Janet know she wouldn't let Jack out of her sight.
-
General Hammond wandered into the infirmary to find Sam reading a magazine while parked in a chair beside the Colonel's bed. He stood in the doorway for a moment without Major Carter noticing, just watching with a warm smile on his face. The man may have been a seasoned Airforce General, but he wasn't blind by any means. Hammond had noticed that both Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter shared a great fondness for eachother, and sometimes he wished he could just throw regulations out the window and let those two be happy together, but he couldn't.
Sam looked up from her magazine when she noticed the commanding presense in the doorway. She sat straighter and was about to stand up when Hammond stepped forward and held out a hand, waving her off dismissively. "General, Sir! Sorry, I didn't realize-"
"That's quite alright Major," He smiled genuinely and gestured for her to take a seat once more. The General crossed his arms and took a few more steps over to the bed, looking down at his unconscious 2IC. "How is he?"
"Janet says he's doing well," Sam offered a tight smile, her gaze dropping to look down at Jack. She offered no further information, and General Hammond was simply nodding when she looked up once more. As he gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder, Sam sighed softly and watched the man head out of the room with a slight heavyness to his step. She could understand the General's concerns, and knew just how much Hammond cared about those under his command, even though he sometimes acted as though Colonel O'Neill was simply an insubordinate pain in the ass.
-
By late afternoon Jack was up and alert, and the effects from the anesthesia seemed to have fully worn off. Janet had yet to return, but one of the nurses gave the doctor a call for permission to give the Colonel more pain medication since he was lucid and very awake. Sam had only left the infirmary once, per Jack's request, to go to his on-base quarters and retrieve his Gameboy.
She had been given several pages of Daniel's notes from O'runak to look over, which took up quite a bit of time. Sam was just as curious as the archaeologist was to learn about Arcana's people and try to figure out why they failed to mention the dangerous beasts that dwelled in the mountains.
For nearly an hour Jack just laid quietly, having gotten frustrated with his Gameboy after being unable to get past level nine on Super Mario.
Sam was getting worried about his silence, but when she was about to ask if he was okay, she looked up from her reading to find his head tilted in her direction. Those dark brown eyes were locked onto her, intently focused.
"Think we could get a tv with a VCR put in here? Ya know, have someone bring in a couple tapes of The Simpsons?" Jack's brows went up and down in question, and he grinned lazily.
Sam couldn't help her sudden burst of laughter. The man sure loved his Duff Beer drinkin', doughnut lovin', bald-headed, yellow cartoon characters. Her smile widened at the brightening twinkle in Jack's eyes.
He scoffed softly. "You think I'm kiddin' Carter," Jack's head shook faintly. "The little Napoleonic Power Monger's gonna have me holed up in here 'till I die of boredom!"
Trying to hide another burst of laughter at Jack's secret nickname for Dr. Fraiser, Sam met his eyes once more. "Janet's only concerned about your well-being Sir," she assured him.
Jack just rolled his eyes with a muttered, "Yeh, yeh." As Sam smiled with a snort, he chuckled softly, suddenly wincing at the pain it caused him. He drew a hand up slowly to lightly rub the center of his chest. "Ow," Groaning, Jack closed his eyes tightly and laid still for a good several minutes. With the anesthetic all worn off, he became more aware of the fierce headache starting at the back of his skull. The pain medication was helping, but it seemed like it was alternating on dulling the pain of his knee and his head. His chest barely bothered him unless he tried to shift to a more comfortable position, and sitting up wasn't even an option. Besides that, laughing turned out to be rather painful.
Sam's eyes were fixed on him with concern. "Colonel? Do you need me to get someone?"
"No," Jack quickly gave up on trying to shake his head. His whole skull was pounding and he felt miserable. "No, I'm fine," His voice was strained and quiet, giving less meaning to his insistance that he was alright. Closing his eyes, Jack found that his focus was slipping, and his mind felt fuzzy, all sounds around him becoming quickly muffled like someone had stuffed cotten in his ears.
"Jack," Sam called out, using his first name in an attempt to keep him more focused. "Jack? Can you hear me?" Sensing that something was really wrong, she got out of her seat quickly and hurried over to find the call button. However, before she reached it, Janet had returned to the infirmary, much to Sam's surprise and relief.
"What happened?" Janet asked with concern, reaching for her stethoscope and hurrying to check her patient's vitals, watching the monitors carefully.
"I - I don't know," Sam stuttered with uncertainty. She was looking down, studying the Colonel's pained expression, even as he appeared unconscious. "He was fine; talking and everything, then..." Her voice trailed off as she watched Janet inject something into Jack's IV line.
The doctor busily went to work, taking out a penlight and lifting Jack's eyelids one at a time while flashing the light into his eyes. He groaned, squeezing his eyes shut and failing to roll to his side in an attempt to curl up. Janet sighed softly, brows knit together in concentration. "His pupils and both equal and reactive, though a bit slow. It's just effects from his concussion," she briefly placed her hand to Jack's forehead before her eyes rose to meet Sam's and she smiled gently. "I've adjusted his pain medication, so after a good rest the Colonel should start to feel better."
Nodding slightly, Sam sunk back into her chair. Taking her mind off of Jack for a moment, she turned to Janet. "You were gone awhile, is everything alright with Cassie?"
"Oh yeh, Cassie's fine," Janet smiled at her friend. "There were just a few problems I had to take care of at the hospital, nothing major. It just took awhile."
Sam had stopped listening much after that, the words of her friend just flowing in one ear and out the other. She held a vacant expression for a few moments before suddenly blinking away the dryness in her eyes and tilting her head to the side slowly. By that time she had just noticed Teal'c was in the room, standing at the end of Jack's bed. Sam turned to stare at him with a questioning look.
"Major Carter," he greeted quietly in a neutral tone. "Doctor Fraiser gave me permission to remain here while O'Neill rests," Teal'c explained to her confused stare.
She just nodded blankly, then looked around to realize that Janet had gone. Running a hand through her hair, Sam released a heavy sigh before lounging back in the chair and crossing her arms.
Teal'c remained standing at attention at the foot of Colonel O'Neill's bed, watching the sleeping man with great focus and protectiveness. They'd been through alot with SG1 through the years, and Jack was like a brother to him. In and out of battle they watched eachother's backs, and that wasn't about to change anytime soon.
-
The next few days flew by rather quickly, for everyone except Jack, that is. Sam was a constant at his bedside for awhile, and Daniel was in the room off and on during the time between his research into P2J-795. Teal'c was a steady visitor, choosing mostly to remain outside the infirmary as if keeping guard like when the Colonel was ill from the poison of the Das'huda plant. Currently, Jack was going stir-crazy and bugging Janet to go home like he did nearly every time she came in to check up on him.
"C'mon Doc, lemme outta here!" He complained with a dramatic groan. Jack was sitting up, propped up thanks to the bed's remote and a few pillows. His chest didn't hurt nearly as much any longer, and the pain from his head injury was manageable with the meds Janet had given him. What was really aggravating Jack was his knee. The fact that the doctor hadn't let him out of bed to stretch and work out some stiff muscles much wasn't exactly helping. In a couple days time she'd only allowed him to roam from the bed for bathroom trips, which he had to be escorted by one of the nurses and use a wheelchair.
Janet merely shook her head stubbornly at his plea. "I'm sorry Colonel, you're still not quite fit to go home."
"Maybe I would be fit if ya let me outta this damn bed once in awhile!" He threw his head back to the pillow, then grunted at the rough contact against the abbrasion on the back of his skull.
"Take it easy Colonel, you've just had those staples removed." Janet stepped closer, urging him to lower his chin so she could examine the wound. She sighed softly with relief. There was a mark which would leave obvious scarring where the hair would normally grow, but she wasn't concerned about it being very bad. Luckily, Jack hadn't upset the recently-sealed wound from his severe concussion.
Jack frowned, crossing his arms over his chest and rolling his eyes. His brows shot up when he noticed Sam enter the room, and he waved a hand toward her in gesture. "Hey, what if Carter comes with me? Then can I atleast walk around a little?" He was practically begging to be able to leave the infirmary, if only for a short time.
Janet's eyes wandered over to Sam who just shrugged unknowingly. She looked back over to the Colonel, studying her patient carefully. "I don't know Colonel..."
He huffed with annoyance and closed his eyes. "Doc, you're killin' me here," he grumbled.
"I don't mind Janet," Sam assured the doctor with a half smile, striding to the side of Jack's bed.
"You're not ready to be on your feet yet Sir, you've only had surgery on your knee a few days ago," Janet was regarding Jack with a serious expression, and at his exasperated look she added, "But I'll allow you to leave the infirmary for half an hour as long as you stay in the wheelchair."
"Sweet," Jack's eyes lit up and he grinned, already beginning to carefully swing his legs over the side of the bed, keeping his right leg fairly straight. "Carter, my chariot?"
Sam laughed softly and went to the other side of the room to retrieve a wheelchair. She brought it back toward the bed, then helped Janet lower the Colonel into the chair carefully.
Dr. Fraiser watched Jack with narrowed eyes for a moment as Sam prepared to wheel him out of her sight. "Colonel," she called in a warning tone, "Don't even think about getting out of that chair, do you hear me?"
"Gotcha," Jack muttered with a sloppy salute, craning his neck to look at Sam while pointing toward the infirmary door. "Onward!"
Sam smiled reassuringly at Janet while pushing the chair from the room. "Don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn't try anything Janet,"
The doctor crossed her arms, a faint smile on her lips. "Have him back in half an hour or I'll send Teal'c after you!" She warned jokingly.
-
As soon as they'd left the corridor where the infirmary was, Jack insisted that they go the commissary, because as he explained (or rather complained) to Sam, he was absolutely sick of the stuff Dr. Fraiser was giving him to eat. Sam wheeled Jack over to a table, then stood in his view for a moment, arms crossed and head tilted to the side. "Alright, what would you like to eat Colonel?" She eyed him almost sternly, daring him to ask for something that Janet would kill her for giving to him.
He just grinned in a very endearing, child-like way. "All I want is a piece of cake. That's all. And I promise I'll choke down whatever crap the Doc gives me."
Rolling her eyes, Sam half-smiled. There was no way she could refuse him, especially with that boyish grin on his handsome face. "Alright," she gave in after a moment of pretending to think it over. Lifting her hand in front of him, she held her index finger and thumb less than an inch apart in gesture. "A small piece," Sam emphasized before walking away to retrieve his dessert.
Sam watched with a smile as Jack dug into the piece of chocolate cake in front of him, but she could tell he was slowing down and wasn't about to finish it. She gazed at him pensively for a while before glancing at her watch to check the time. It had been about fifteen minutes since she'd had Jack away from the infirmary. Sam was silently grateful for the time she was getting to spend with Jack alone.
"C'mon Sir," Sam pulled out the Colonel's chair and began pushing him out of the commissary. "You've still got some time left before Janet sends Teal'c after us, so how 'bout we go give Daniel a visit in his lab?" She suggested cheerfully.
"Sure," Jack shrugged partially with a half-smile. "Why not," He dropped his hands to his lap, unconsciously rubbing his right leg, just above the heavily bandaged knee.
Sam noticed the action but didn't say anything. She was constantly monitoring his expression and movements at all times, looking for any signs that he may need to return to the infirmary a little earlier than anticipated. Janet had given her half an hour, and it was probably because that's as long as the doctor figured Jack would be able to keep away without exhausting himself or needing medication.
The pair found Daniel busily working on some translations on a smooth round stone. He looked up when he heard the wheelchair and a pair of footsteps. Seeing Jack and Sam, the archaeologist pushed his work aside and smiled. "Hey guys,"
"Heya Danny-boy. Ya look busy, are ya busy?" Jack rose an eyebrow, tilting his head to one side.
Daniel just smiled with a shake of his head, his current project at the back of his mind easily. "Jack, how you feeling?"
"Good enough to go home," The Colonel replied, sporting a boyish grin.
Sam half-smiled. She didn't believe that, but she wasn't about to say so. Dr. Fraiser would never let Jack go home in his current state, she was confident about that. He wasn't yet able to take care of himself, not being very mobile at the moment, and pretty reliant on others to get around.
Jack leaned back in the chair and winced slightly, lifting a hand casually to lightly rub at the center of his chest. His right leg was propped up to stick straight out in front, cushioned by a small pillow under his knee. The leg was stiff, and he tried to move it slightly, which only caused a sharp stab of pain to shoot through the limb. Jack's face contorted with the discomfort, which he failed to hide from his friends. "Ah, crap," he groaned.
"Sir, you need more medication," Sam said, looking down at him sympathetically. It was a statement, not a question. She reached down and gently touched Jack's shoulder when he didn't respond.
"Jack?" Daniel drawled out his name, seeing Sam trying to get a response.
The Colonel had his head lowered, pinching the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger in exasperation. "Yeh, yeh, I know. Back to see the Doc," he grumbled with a faint grimace.
Sam gave a brief nod and a smile toward Daniel before wheeling the Colonel away.
-
As soon as he had returned to the infirmary, Janet injected Jack's knee with anti-inflammatory to prevent swelling, then gave him another type of medication. The doctor had cut away the portion of the Colonel's pant leg that covered his knee, then carefully removed the bandaging to examine his wound and surgical incision. A few of the ligaments at the back of Colonel O'Neill's knee had been compromised, but surgery had aided in repairing most of the damage. There was some deeply colored bruising around the Colonel's knee, but Janet wasn't concerned at the moment. Because of the trauma, it was fairly normal.
"Ack, watch it Doc," Jack complained with a grimace, squirming as Dr. Fraiser prodded at his knee.
"I'm sorry Colonel," Janet apologized sincerely, rebandaging the area after applying antiseptic. She gestured for him to lay back on the bed before lifting his shirt to attach monitor leads to his chest. The doctor noticed a great amount of bruising along his sternum, and her brows knit together in thought for a moment.
"What's with the monitors?" Jack asked with furrowed brows. He blinked several times, suddenly feeling very tired. When his chin started to tip forward, the Colonel jerked his head back up and shook it. "Whoa,"
"It's alright Sir, I've given you a sedative with your pain medication. I need you to rest while I set a brace on your knee. I'd rather you not be feeling anything while I do so," Janet explained, forgetting about his previous question concerning the monitors.
"Yeh, me too," Jack responded groggily.
Janet smiled tightly, then looked up as Sam came back into the infirmary.
"Heya Carter," a sloppy wave was directed toward the approaching Major as Jack mumbled his greeting. The sedative Dr. Fraiser gave him was working very quickly.
Sam smiled faintly at Jack before sending Janet a confused look.
"I just gave him a sedative," Janet explained. She gestured toward the black leg brace on a nearby medical cart. "Would you hand me that please. I'd like to get this fastened on his knee while he's out of it. This could be quite painful."
Nodding, Sam reached for the brace and handed it over to Janet. She noticed that the brace had hard edges on either side, and it would be used to keep the Colonel's knee fairly immobile, preventing him from doing more damage while the ligaments had time to heal. She guessed that after a little while Dr. Fraiser would use a different kind of brace for physical therapy to make sure the muscles didn't atrophy.
Janet went to work carefully wrapping the Colonel's knee over the bandaging. She stilled momentarily when his opposite leg jerked up and something nonsensical came forth from his mouth.
Sam jumped slightly in surprise, worried eyes flashing toward the doctor. "Is he still awake?" She asked softly with concern.
"No," Janet shook her head reassuringly. Her eyes dropped to study the Colonel's face. "He's out of it. Just dreaming," She smiled gently at Sam, then went to finish strapping the brace around Jack's knee. Briefly glancing at the monitors, the doctor noticed that the Colonel's heart-rate had increased. Chalking it up to the dreams he was having, Janet disregarded it for the moment as she concentrated on balancing his drug levels.
"Janet," Sam began tentatively. "How is the Colonel doing, I mean seriously." She studied the doctor questioningly, hoping for a straight answer.
The doctor sighed heavily. There was a little thing called Doctor-Patient confidentiality, but she was also aware, as a close friend, Sam needed to know. "Physically, he's doing pretty well considering. There doesn't seem to be any lingering trauma from the severe head wound, his sternum is healing nicely besides leaving some pretty nasty bruising on the Colonel's chest, but I'm most concerned about his knee."
"How so?" Sam's brows knit together in concern, head tilting slightly to one side. "He hasn't contracted some kind of infection or anything, ..right?"
"No," Janet shook her head, eyes dropping. Her arms crossed slowly. "What I'm concerned about, is whether or not the Colonel will lose movement in his right leg due to the injury. I've got to keep the knee fairly immobile for some time, but I'm worried that the time of disuse will cause more harm than good." She frowned slightly and sighed. "There's the problem you see. If I start physical therapy with him this soon I'm almost certain it'll just undo everything we repaired during the surgery. And if he ends up fairly immobile..."
Sam nodded in acknowledgement. "No more going off-world," she finished somberly.
Janet knew how much of an asset the Colonel was to the SGC, his team imparticular. If he was no longer able to be with them due to a debillitating injury, she was certain he would suffer emotionally. Saying nothing further, the doctor checked the monitors once more before pausing to glance at Sam. "I'll be in my lab checking some samples. I shouldn't be long," she said quietly with a faint smile.
Sitting down on the vacant bed beside the Colonel's, Sam drew her legs up to sit cross-legged. "Do you mind if I stay with him for awhile?"
"That's fine Sam, stay as long as you like," Janet told her kindly with a warm smile before she disappeared out the door.
Sam stared at Jack pensively as he lay in a drug-enduced sleep. She smiled thoughtfully for a moment, her eyes appearing as though she was mentally trying to convince herself of something. "We'll get you on your feet and in the field again in no time Sir," she whispered softly, sliding off the bed and stepping forward to place her hand over the Colonel's.
"That's optimistic."
Jumping at the unexpected response, Sam flashed wide eyes toward her CO's face to see him gazing at her with drug-hazed eyes. She smiled briefly at Jack's comment. "Sorry Sir, I just-"
"It's okay," he whispered with a lazy grin. Jack pushed the remote on the bed so that he was nearly sitting up. His eyes closed briefly before opening to raise a brow and stare at his right leg. Blinking tiredly and taking a deep breath that caused a twinge of pain in his chest, Jack focused on Sam once more. "This whole knee thing's startin' ta be a real pain in the ass," he grumbled flippantly, causing a quiet giggle to light up Sam's face.
Sam adapted a somber expression for a moment. "Colonel, Janet's worried that-"
He rose a hand weakly, cutting her off. "I know, I know." Jack blinked slowly, leaning his head into the pillow and tilting it slightly. Releasing a heavy breath, he continued. "The Doc already explained that my knee could be completely shot."
"Yeh..." Sam murmured wistfully with a frown, dropping her chin. Despite Jack's fairly light attitude at the moment, she could tell he was taking the news harder than he dared let on. He knew what the ramifications of such a permanent injury could mean just as well as Sam did. She rose her head and smiled gently at the Colonel, noticing his head kept tipping forward. "You alright Sir?"
"Sorry Carter," he murmured apologetically, obviously straining to keep his eyes open and focused. "Kinda tired."
"It's okay Colonel, Janet gave you a good amount of sedative. Don't fight it." Sam squeezed his hand reassuringly before slowly pulling away.
Jack fought the urge to slip into oblivion just a little bit longer. He would do anything just to have a few more moments with Sam. "What, not...enjoying..my company, Carter?" he quipped teasingly with a feeble grin.
She smiled wryly. "Usually I prefer my conversations with someone more than half-conscious," Sam joked right back, glad to see the grin on his face.
"Ah, I see," Jack snorted softly before his eyelids fluttered, now out of his control. He was certainly losing this battle. "Sorry Sam," he whispered sleepily before his head lolled to one side and the darkness claimed him.
-