A/N: I want to thank BookWorm37 for pointing out my faux pas, which I went back right away to fix, and thank you all for the reviews.
Chapter 16
Jack, Harm and Mac waited patiently for word on Sam; it had been about twenty minutes since they had found her, and Janet and the nurses pulled the curtains to work on her. Mac was back in her own bed with Harm sitting beside her on the edge of the bed and Jack occupying the chair. They listened as Janet barked out orders and saw nurses coming and going through the curtains. Finally, the curtains opened and three sets of eyes all focused on Janet. "What can you tell us Doc?" Jack asked standing up quickly.
Janet wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked at the three officers. "Well we put her back on the monitors and we're watching her closely. I've given her extra glucose in her IV to try to help. The device seemed to drain what little energy she had left."
"What on earth is going on here, you told me Mac would never walk again and yet here she is with full mobility, and what does it have to do with Sam's condition?" Harm asked truly perplexed from what he had witnessed.
"Well I guess you two have seen enough to warrant an explanation, but I think we'll have to wait for an official briefing with the general. I can go set one up, but I'll have to know when you can leave the infirmary. Any idea Doc?"
"Well give me a few minutes to check the Colonel then I'll be able to give you an idea Sir."
"I'll want you at the briefing also Doctor, so keep that in mind when you give me a time frame."
"Yes Sir. Well if you two will wait elsewhere I'll examine Colonel Mackenzie." She waited for the two men to move out of the way before drawing the curtain around Mac's bed. "Well Colonel, I'd like to examine your back, so if you'd lie on your stomach I can get started."
"Certainly Dr. Fraiser, but I tell you I've never felt better, and I'm just so grateful to be able to walk again."
"I'm sure you are Colonel." Janet said as she examined Mac's back. The upper area of Mac's back still had the initial damage from the ceiling falling on her, but the area where they had performed surgery was clear, as if no trauma had occurred. 'Remarkable' Janet thought as she felt the area. Janet was always amazed when she saw the effects from the healing device. She wished she could use something like that, or that Sam would use it more often, but seeing the affect it had on Sam, she quickly changed her mind.
"Well Colonel, you still have damage to your upper back you will be sore for a while and will need the bandages changed, but I don't see any reason to keep you confined to the infirmary.
"Thank you doctor but putting up with some pain is nothing compared to what I was facing, I'm just so grateful for getting a second chance."
"I'm sure you are, but the person you should be thanking is in the next bed." Janet said as she finished with Mac.
"Any idea how long Sam's going to be out of it doctor?"
"There's no telling given her condition before the incident; but we'll have to cover that during the briefing. I'll get one of my nurses to get you some clothes."
"I'd appreciate that doctor; I don't think I'd make a very good impression on the general showing up at the briefing dressed like this."
"Oh I don't know Colonel; you might turn a few heads." Janet said laughing slightly with Mac. Janet left Mac's area and told one of her nurses to get the clothing then she headed back to Sam's bed noticing the Colonel sitting next to the bed.
Jack was sitting next to Sam's bed waiting to see if she'd wake up, he saw how pale her features were now, even more so than before. He kept watching the machines that were monitoring Sam, he watched as the numbers changed and the line that kept moving that monitored her heart. He was mesmerized by the blips and bleeps and was only snapped out of it by the sound of Janet coming towards him.
"So Doc?" Jack said looking up into Janet's eyes.
"Well Colonel Mackenzie can be released and after I check on Sam one more time we can go to the briefing. Give us about twenty minutes so the colonel can get ready."
"Okay Doc, I'll set up a meeting with Hammond." Jack stood up, took one last look at Sam then headed out of the infirmary.
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General Hammond put down his phone and got up to go to the briefing O'Neill had hastily put together; maybe now he would be able to get some answers he was looking for. He headed through the door seeing the blast doors had been closed and three members of SG1 sitting to the right of his chair with Jack seated first. On the other side of the table was Commander Rabb and whom he presumed to Colonel Mackenzie; both were wearing the customary blue BDU's. Everyone stood as he entered the room. "Be seated everyone." He waited for everyone to be seated, noticing Col. Mackenzie moving stiffly. "Colonel O'Neill I thought Dr. Fraiser was going to be joining us?"
"She is Sir; I think she just had a few last things to take care of first."
"Very well we'll start without her." Hammond said looking at O'Neill.
"Sorry I'm late Sir." An out of breath Janet said as she rushed in to take a seat nest to Mac carrying files in her arm.
"That's alright doctor, I know you have your hands full. Now why don't we start at the beginning and maybe find out how this all went to hell." Hammond said looking at Jack.
"Well Sir after Commander Rabb and I left here we went to get Major Carter, unfortunately we were too late, she had already been attacked by two men wearing black ski masks. They were attempting to carry an unconscious Carter out the front door when Rabb and I intervened." Jack took a few moments to take a sip of water before continuing. "We managed to get Carter away from them but many shots were exchanged in doing so. Rabb carried her to my truck and I provided cover fire. Then we drove off, but we were being followed. We managed to lose the tail and we took refuge in a friend of mine's house. He was away for a while so there was no problem in bringing someone else in. While I secured the area Rabb watched over Carter." O'Neill couldn't help but grin at the memory.
Rabb decided it would be a good time for him to add to the briefing. "Ah Sir, Major Carter was suffering from a concussion and was still unconscious when O'Neill went to secure the area. Major Carter started to coming around, and let's just say she was a little surprised seeing me there."
"Surprised, I'll say she attacked him." Jack couldn't help but laugh a little.
"She what?" General Hammond said astounded.
"Ah when she came around she didn't recognize me, and she tried to get my gun. I can't blame her for that Sir, after what she went through. Unfortunately we ended up struggling for the gun, which is when Col. O'Neill came back in and got Major Carter to calm down." Rabb said, still feeling guilty about the whole situation.
"How's the hand by the way?" Jack asked grinning.
"Fine thank you?" Rabb said his annoyance at Jack showing.
"What's wrong with your hand?" Janet asked puzzled trying to look at Harm's hands.
"Oh nothing much, Carter just bit him."
Daniel couldn't help but spit out a little of the water he just drank. He couldn't help but remember when Sam did the same thing to Jack a few years ago. "Sorry." He said a little embarrassed at his reaction.
"Anyway Carter passed out again and that's when we discovered her other injuries." Jack looked at Janet while listing the injuries. "She had severe bruising on her right side from her abdomen to her spine. One of the bruises on her back had the distinct shape of a boot print." Jack's fist tightened as he recounted that fact.
Daniel covered his forehead with his hand while resting his elbow on the table, Teal'c's jaw clenched and the quiet room was filled with the sound of a pencil snapping coming from General Hammond.
"We weren't sure if Major Carter had a broken rib or not, but when she came to again we discovered that her right knee had also been injured when she tried to stand." Rabb said his anger coming through in his voice.
"Yes Sir, Carter wasn't very mobile so we decided to rest there that night and figure out a plan in the morning.
"Ah General, during the night while Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter were asleep I called in Colonel Mackenzie as backup, O'Neill had no idea I had done so until Mac showed up the next morning."
"And why didn't you contact me Commander?" General Hammond asked his anger at the matter showing.
"Well Sir, as you know we weren't sure who we could trust on the base, and I didn't know if contacting you on the base that someone could have had us tracked down." Rabb said explaining his reasoning hoping the general would agree.
"Understood Commander, continue." Hammond said sighing.
"Well Sir, Mac showed up and assisted us in taking care of Major Carter." Harm decided to leave out the part of Mac and O'Neill almost shooting each other, after all the general seemed upset enough. "Mac brought a laptop with her which Major Carter used to get in touch with Dr. Jackson.'
"So that was you I was talking to Col. Mackenzie, it was a good idea using Arabic. Where did you learn the language Colonel?" Daniel asked quite interested
"Well actually…"
"Ack Daniel you're getting a little of topic here." Jack interrupted. "Sorry Mackenzie."
"That's alright Sir." Mac answered feeling a little out of place here.
"I arranged a meeting with Daniel for the next day, and Carter used the computer to do some research to try and find some NID hiding places. We changed hiding places that day and when I went to meet Daniel I gave him the list to check out and to report to you Sir; but before the plan could be carried out…all hell broke loose." O'Neill shook his head at the memory. "When I got back to the car, I found it empty and a dart where Mackenzie was supposed to be."
"Colonel Mackenzie care to fill us in on what happened." Hammond asked looking at the beautiful young woman.
"Ah, yes Sir. While I was waiting in the car for O'Neill, I was keeping an eye on the area; I noticed a young woman pushing a baby carriage, I could hear the baby crying and I was worried for her if anything should happen. When she got closer to the car she reached into the buggy and pulled out a gun and starting shooting. I managed to evade the first shot, that's when I noticed it was dart, unfortunately I couldn't respond fast enough to avoid the second. That's all I remember until I woke up in a locked storage room." Mac explained trying to keep her voice calm and cool in front of everyone.
"After I found Mackenzie gone I called Rabb, but there was no answer so I rushed back to the house. I found the door busted open, an empty gas canister and more darts all over the room. I searched the rest of the house and found Rabb unconscious in the basement; but there was no sign of Carter. That's when I called Daniel to join me with Teal'c Sir. We split up the addresses, Daniel and Teal'c taking the first; Rabb and I taking the second."
"Okay Col. O'Neill, why don't you take a rest. I'd like to hear more from Col. Mackenzie right now." Hammond could see this briefing was more distressful on Jack than he would like to show.
"Yes Sir." Mac began. "After I woke up, I realized that the people after Sa…Major Carter mistook me for her." Mac could see the puzzled looks on the faces across the table. "Major Carter and I were both dressed similar and I was wearing a baseball cap on my head, and Major Carter had been wearing a cap earlier that day when we switched houses." She had to smile as a look of comprehension spread on their faces. "It wasn't long after I woke up that I heard voices outside the room, the door opened and Major Carter was dragged in; one of the men addressed me by name and said he knew a lot of things and that Carter had put up a fight and ended up with three darts." Mac had to lower her head for a moment. "Sir, I know how I felt after one dart; I'm still puzzled how Major Carter managed to survive three."
Janet was listening intently at everything that was going on and had been jotting down notes, she noticed Mackenzie looking at her when she mentioned the darts. All Janet could do for now was ignore the questioning look, and wait for her to continue.
"A little while later a woman came in and took a blood sample from Major Carter. A little after that Carter came to, but was having difficulty moving. She tried to talk me into escaping if I got the chance. She told me to do what ever was necessary to get away and how to act when they were going to…question her." Mac had to stop for a moment; she was trying to regain her composure before going on with the more difficult part of the briefing. She reached for the pitcher of water but Teal'c beat her to it, pouring the water and handing her the glass. She took it from him and for the first time noticing the strange emblem on his forehead. She took a sip and began to resume her report.
"When they came back there were four men, one holding a gun on us, they made me help Sam walk to another room; there was a column there, where they had attached a large metal hook, after I was tied to a chair…they tied Sam's hands together and then hung her from that damn hook." Mac had to look down, she couldn't face the people in the room; know they were all Sam's friends and cared about her.
"Are you able to continue Colonel?" Hammond asked gently, he could see the toll this was taking on Mackenzie, but it had to be done no matter how distasteful it was.
"Ah yes Sir." Mac said looking up at the general only finding compassion in his eyes. Then she felt Harm place a hand on her forearm and give her a light squeeze.
"Sam was unable to stand up, her knee wasn't able to hold her up and that bastard Stan had punched her in the stomach, she was barely catching her breath when they put her up there. Then Stan started asking her questions."
"I know this is difficult Colonel but we need to know what was said during the interrogation; from everyone." Hammond didn't like what he was hearing but it was his job to find out everything; his emotions could wait.
"He kept asking the same questions over and over again, could she control alien devices, how did the devices work and they wanted to know about something called the tok'ra. Sam kept saying she didn't know what they were talking about, ah Sam did manage to spit some blood in Stan's face…which only infuriated him, the next blow caused Sam to lose consciousness." Mac had to take a break and reached for her glass of water again, noting the looks on the other men's faces.
O'Neill couldn't hide the fury; his face was turning red and his knuckles white. Daniel had a look of utter shock. Teal'c didn't show any emotion, but if you looked closely, you'd be able to see hid jaw clench.
"Another man, who's name I learned later to be Frank, was angry at Stan. He said they wanted Sam alive and if he kept this up, he was going to kill her. All Stan said was that they said they wanted her alive, they didn't say what shape they wanted her in. Then Frank ordered the others to take her down, then he came over to me and told me to convince Sam to talk or things might get much worse. Uh as if, they could. Then we were taken back to the storage room. I have to admit Sir that an opportunity may have presented itself for me to escape. There was only one man holding a gun, and the other two were holding Sam up, I could have tried to escape…but I couldn't leave Sam alone in that condition; even though she told me to earlier."
"That's understandable Colonel, I'm sure you did what you thought was best." Hammond said, not knowing what he would have thought of her if she had left a fellow officer in that condition.
"After Sam regained consciousness I tired to talk her into making up a story to tell them; I figured if they were asking about alien devices they couldn't be very stable. Sam just said she couldn't because they wanted specifics she couldn't give them, and they'd know if she was lying." Mac had to shake her head at this part. "Then the same woman came back and took another blood sample. I told her Sam needed a doctor; she said if I co-operated she would send some water and medical supplies so we did. Then Frank came with bottled water and a med kit. He told Sam he didn't like what was happening and hoped that I had convinced her to talk. Then he told her that the other guy had an alien pain stick and things could get worse. The look on Sam's face…well it's actually, the first time I saw fear in her eyes. I managed to talk to Frank; I told him that any more time on that hook would probably dislocate Sam's shoulders, and that she probably wouldn't survive another round with Stan. He told me he'd do what he could, but didn't think he could do much. Then he left."
The briefing had been taking a toll on everyone in the room, they were trying to keep their composure, but the more Mac kept recounting the events the more Jack felt his blood boil. Janet had seen the ghastly results, but hearing how she received them gave her mixed emotions of anger and sympathy for her friend. Daniel who was the most passionate member of the team felt like he could cry over what had happened to his friend, no she had become closer to him, more like a sister. Teal'c on the other hand still looked calm as he took in the information, choosing to wait until he heard everything before reacting. Harm kept his emotions in check, choosing to help Mac through this by offering her a comforting hand and a reassuring nod. General Hammond kept feeling guilty; he promised Jacob to look after his little girl but had obviously failed miserably. He remembered the enquiring big blue-eyed youngster that used to run around the house when he would visit. Now hearing what happened to this vibrant young woman under his command was breaking his heart; but right now, he had to finish this briefing no matter how painful it was on everyone.
Mac started again, bringing everyone's focus back on her. "Sam told me she didn't think she would…live if they used the pain stick. Then she told me her last request." Mac's voice was faltering and Harm squeezed her hand again.
"Anything you can tell us about?" Jack asked quietly looking at Daniel and Teal'c.
"Well I suppose it wouldn't hurt, she wanted me to tell her teammates that she loves you all and she didn't want you blaming yourselves for her death." Mac knew that this part would be ok to say, as it had no implications; but she wouldn't talk about how Sam felt about O'Neill. Mac noticed Daniel remove his glasses and wipe his eyes, and Teal'c put his hand on the man's shoulder.
"Thank you for telling us." Jack said, his voice choked up a bit.
"Next Sam came up with a plan to start a diversion, to give us; but most likely she was just thinking of a way to get me out of this. I really believe she didn't think she would be getting out of this. She managed to talk me through how to make a small bomb out of cleaning fluids and a first aid kit."
"That's our Carter; she does love to blow things up." Jack said with a small grin, feeling proud of Sam.
"She made sure it wouldn't go off until we left. I had to knock it in order to set it off. Then it would ignite and start a fire. When the time came, I helped Sam up and knocked the first aid kit, which stated the chain reaction. Sam was getting weaker and I was struggling to help her walk, then Frank came over and helped me with Sam. This time when we entered the room, they had a chair for Sam sit in but she wasn't tied up. I was tied to my chair again. This was when we learned the identity of the person behind this. Sam recognized him right away calling him Colonel Kennedy. He said something about the last time they had met, he had tried to take Teal'c into his custody, and if he'd been able to back then, he probably wouldn't have had to take her."
Everyone was startled by the sound of Teal'c's fist hitting the table and him quickly rising from his chair, the anger now fully showing on his once composed face.
"Teal'c I know how difficult this is on you, hell on all of us; but we have to know everything. So if you'd please take your seat, then we can continue." Hammond's voice was firm but yet compassionate at the same time. Then he nodded to Mac to continue.
"Sam mentioned that he knew everything that was going on at the SGC and didn't know why he needed her. He had Stan bring in some items, then said he had acquired them when working with Maybourne and was pretty sure she could use them, but he needed to know how she was able to use them. He said that if our soldiers were able to use them that we'd be as strong as the…Gould. I think that's the word he used but I can't be sure." Mac said looking at the general, he nodded and motioned for her to continue.
"Then he said that's why they had been testing her blood, to see if the answers could be found there. He then showed her two items and said that she would probably like to use the healing device on herself. Sam asked which one would that be?" Mac shook her head, now knowing that Sam did know how to use it.
"Kennedy mentioned that he'd seen Sam's blood tests and there was something foreign in her blood that he suspected gave her the ability to use the devices. Sam just kept denying everything, that she didn't know what he was talking about."
"Excuse me Colonel, but what did Major Carter say about the foreign substance?" Janet asked.
"She said that she was just the expert on the base and a soldier; that if there was anything in her blood she should have the base doctor check it out." Mac said smiling at Janet. "Kennedy then said something about Sam being the reason they were able to make allies with the Tok'ra and that all he wanted to do was be able to arm our soldiers and she was the link to getting the answers. Then he held up one of the items, telling her to demonstrate it and explain how it works. Sam said nothing, then he threatened to use the pain stick, that anyone could use the item." Mac took another drink before continuing, then looked at everyone at the table.
"General Hammond, I next learned how they found us. I'm afraid it was my fault." Mac had to look down, she couldn't face them knowing what Sam went through was her fault.
"What?" Jack said, not angrily but mystified.
"It seems after Sam had disappeared on them, they kept an eye on Commander Rabb's friends and associates; when I left for the airport they had someone waiting here to follow me…They lost me when I went to the first house, but kept an eye out at the area fast food places and gas stations. They picked up my trail the day we were moving. They followed us to the new house…and that's how they were able to get a hold of Sam."
Harm could see that Mac was feeling very guilty, "Look Mac if it's anyone's fault its mine. If I hadn't contacted you, or anyone else they wouldn't have found us. I'm so sorry everyone."
"Well at least you know it wasn't me." Daniel said quietly, he didn't want to say I told you so, but he didn't like the implication that was made about him being the leak.
"Look everyone, its no use playing the blame game. I'm sure many things could have been handled differently, but I'm sure there's been enough guilt to go around. Right now we should finish the briefing." Hammond told the group, hoping to get things back on track.
Mac cleared her throat before continuing. "After Kennedy told us how they found Sam, she asked him if he any people in the SGC, but he wouldn't answer. He asked once more to answer the questions, she adamantly refused." Harm could see Mac's hand start to shake slightly so he placed his hand on hers to comfort her.
"Kennedy then called Stan in, he had that pain stick. What I saw next…I…I still can't believe. He touched her chest with it and there was this light that seemed to go right through her…I can still hear her scream before she passed out and fell to the floor." Mac was unable to hold her emotions now, as tears started to fall down her cheeks.
O'Neill took a tissue out of his pocket and handed it to Mac, if there weren't people around he thought he might start to cry too.
Mac took the tissue and wiped her eyes before continuing. "Frank went to Sam and took her pulse; he told everyone she was dead. Then alarm bells started going off and another man came running in yelling there was a fire. Then everyone ran out of the room."
"You mean they left you tied to a chair in a fire?" Harm asked her, his fists tightening.
"Wait if you were tied to the chair how did you get down that hallway?" Jack asked truly puzzled.
"After they all left, Sam started to come around, I managed to get her come over to me, she had to crawl; it was slow going and she was in a lot of pain. Once she was by my chair, she managed to untie my hand and I did the rest. I saw that healing device and picked it up, then I started dragging Sam out into the hallway, the smoke was thick and we were both starting to cough. Sam told me to leave her and get out, but I kept dragging her, then she passed out again. I remember hearing a noise from above and then I covered Sam. That's all I remember Sir, until I woke up here."
"Thank you Colonel, I know that was difficult. Why don't we take a little break and continue with the rest of Colonel O'Neill's report."
A/N: I didn't realize the briefing would take up a whole chapter, and part of the next. It took me a little longer because I had to go back and check my facts. But what really took time was me downloading my anti virus. I made a boo boo and had to figure out how to do it all over again. Talk about frustrating! Now I know how Jack feels! Anyway I hope it won't take me as long to get the next chapter up, keep your fingers crossed.