Chapter 25
Sam could hear voices, but they sounded like they were in the distance, she tried calling out but couldn't find her voice. Next, she tried opening her eyes, she knew they were moving but her lids wouldn't open.
"Well Colonel I hope you know what you're doing." Hammond said.
"I do Sir, and I think this is the best solution to the problem. After that bomb…well I just want to make sure she's safe." Jack said with a sad tint to his voice.
Bomb? Now it was coming back to Sam, there was a bomb under her bed; the colonel was there…an explosion! "No!" Sam cried out and started to move.
"Damn," Jack said as he hobbled over to Sam's bed.
"I'll call Dr. Fraiser." Hammond told Jack.
Jack came up to Sam's side and could tell she was trying to wake up. "Carter, you have to stay still." Jack said firmly, gently placing his hands on her arms.
"Fraiser's on her way." Hammond said as he approached the bed. When he looked down on Sam he could tell she was trying to struggle against Jack; he was relieved to see that she was able to still struggle but concerned what it was going to cost.
"Hear that Carter, Fraiser's coming just stay still until she gets here." He said this time more tenderly.
Hammond turned when he heard the door open. "I thought she was supposed to be out longer?"
"She was, but with Major Carter it's difficult to tell." Janet said as she entered the room and headed to Sam. Jack stepped back allowing Janet to step in, she adjusted the IV before taking out her pen light and shining it in Sam's eyes. "Yep, she's waking up alright." Janet said worriedly
"Isn't that good?" Hammond asked.
"I was hoping she'd stay under a while longer. Since I don't want to give her morphine, I'm using a different pain med; it's not as strong so I'm also giving her a sedative, hoping she'll sleep through the worse of it." Janet said while taking Sam's pulse.
"Can we do anything for her?" Jack asked, he said we but was thinking more of himself.
"The only thing now is to make sure she keeps from moving too much and hope the pain meds work." Janet said shaking her head, thinking about how she had to get Sam's ribs back in place. "Actually Sir, I don't think she'll be able to move much on her own, no matter how she tries."
Sam could still hear the voices; yes, they were talking about her. It was time to try again, this time her eyes started to flutter. She could feel a pressure squeezing her hand, but didn't know who was doing it.
"Sam can you hear me?" Janet asked her, squeezing her hand.
"Y…yea," Sam managed to croak out, then opened her eyes fully. Her eyes scanned the area and she got a puzzled look on her face. "Where are we?"
Hammond could see the confused look on Sam's face. "Major we moved you to one of the V.I.P rooms for security reasons. SG1 will be guarding you inside and we'll have guards at the door. After that attempt on your life…well lets just say we don't want to take any chances."
She remembered again the explosion, "The bomb, it went off…was anyone hurt?" Then she remembered that Jack was closest the bomb after her. "The Colonel!" She shouted trying to sit up. "Ahhh!"
"Easy Carter I'm right here." Jack said coming up next to her as Janet was trying to hold her down.
Sam had closed her eyes and was grimacing. "Sir?"
"Yea Carter, it's me, I'm okay, just try to relax." Jack said placing his hand on her shoulder.
"Hey guys, what's going on?" Daniel asked as he came into the room followed by Teal'c, Mac and Harm. Daniel was concerned when he came in and saw everyone around Sam's bed with Jack leaning over her.
"Ah, Major Carter woke up and tried to move." Hammond informed them.
Daniel came up and stood next to Jack, and took Sam's hand in his, "Hey Sam, how are you doing?"
"Not so good Daniel, but I have to know if anyone else was injured because of me?" Sam said quietly looking into Daniel's eyes.
"Everyone's fine Sam, see there's Teal'c and Harm right there." Daniel said pointing to Teal'c and Harm standing at the foot of the bed next to Hammond. He didn't like it when Mac and Harm tagged along with him and Teal'c, but now that Harm was here to assuage Sam's fears, he didn't mind as much.
"Yes Major Carter we are fine." Teal'c said in his usual stoic voice.
"Everyone's actually worried about you; they're waiting to hear word about your condition." Harm said soothingly.
"Are you sure?" Sam asked then looked to the side of her bed where Jack was and noticed for the first time he was using crutches. "What about the crutches?"
"Well Carter I got this little scratch on my leg, and you know how ole Doc Fraiser is, making me use crutches." Jack said looking at Janet and getting a rather nasty look. He took a gulp and then thought of how his next exam would go. "Ah sorry Doc."
"Janet?"
"Yes Sam the Colonel's fine, he just suffered a deep laceration on his leg, and everyone else is fine." Janet said looking down at her friend. Janet could see the sad look on Sam's face and could see her eyes were starting to water.
"I think Sam needs her rest, if everyone wouldn't mind leaving her alone for a while. Sam I'm just going to give you a bit more of the sedative in your IV, it will help with the pain and allow you to get some rest."
"Okay and thanks." Sam said, she knew Janet got rid of everyone for her sake, she couldn't help but think about how close she came to dying today, and that she could have taken Jack with her. It was just too much to handle all of a sudden and she welcomed the darkness that slowly came upon her from Janet's meds.
The group moved from the back of the room where Sam's bed was located, to the front sitting area of the VIP suite.
"So let's get down to discussing what's going on here." Hammond said sitting down on one of the chairs. The others also sat down on the available chairs and sofa.
"Jack why don't you start by telling us what happened when the bomb went off." Hammond said.
"Yes Sir," Jack said, taking a deep breath. "I'm sure you were able to see how we got set up from the security cameras. What happened next was very quick; after I gave the order, we quickly pulled on the rope, I'm not sure at which point the bomb went off, but Carter came…well Sir the best description I can give is she came flying at me. I managed to catch her and after we landed I rolled over so I could protect her with my body."
"Which explains how you got that wound in your leg." Daniel interjected. Noting that Jack nodded his head.
"What I really want to know is why he's decided to try and kill Carter. So far he's just been supplying information…what made him take it a step further?" Jack said angrily.
"Well before all hell broke loose Teal'c and I were in Sam's lab, I was helping her with her plan to catch the mole; and Teal'c was keeping guard." Daniel informed them.
"Any luck?" Jack asked.
"Well we went through a lot of the files before the alarms went off and Sam was called away; but there were still a lot of files to go through."
"So then that emergency with the gate Was a diversion." Harm said.
"Yes I'm afraid it was; but how did they know Major Carter was working on finding them?" Hammond interjected.
"Perhaps they used the security cameras." Teal'c acknowledged.
"Possibly, but they wouldn't know what was being said, there's no sound on those cameras." Mac added.
"No, no there's not which is why they tried to kill her." Daniel said.
"What? That doesn't make sense Daniel." Jack said.
"Think about it Jack, they would have seen Sam working, probably thought the only reason she'd be up in her condition was to find a way to catch him." Daniel explained.
"So he tampered with the gate so he could plant a bomb in Carter's quarters. I can't believe this guy." Jack said angrily.
"This is why I'm having Major Carter's lab as well as the rest of SG1's quarters and work areas swept for bombs." Hammond informed them.
Daniel looked a little pale at that news and Teal'c just raised his eyebrow. "So you think he'll be after us?"
"There's no telling, he did after all see you helping Carter." Jack told him.
"Colonel, I've noticed you keep referring to the mole as a he, is there something you know?" Mac asked.
"No not really, it's just that the majority of people on the base are male, so the odds are that the mole is a male." Jack explained.
"So what now?" Daniel asked.
"Well we get you to continue looking into the files Daniel; hopefully you can find the mole." Jack said.
"Since this room is secured, with round the clock security I want the rest of SG1 to remain here also." Hammond informed them.
"Ah, we were planning on guarding Carter ourselves anyway general." Jack told him.
"Then you can do your work from here as well." Hammond said.
"And Colonel you should also get some rest, and stay off that leg as much as possible." Janet interjected.
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An hour or so later, SG1 was finishing setting up in their new area. A computer had been set up for Daniel to work on, and another was set up so Teal'c could patch into the security camera in the hallway outside their room. Only one other bed was brought in since there was a couch that could be used for sleeping and someone would always be awake to watch over the rest.
Jack heard Sam starting to stir and figured Janet's happy drugs were wearing off. He made his way next to her bed, which had less room because the other bed was close to it. Then he heard her start to cough a bit.
"Carter, you awake?" Jack asked in a quiet voice. He saw her nod and cough again. He reached for the pitcher and poured her a glass of water.
"Here drink some water." He said as he slid his arm under her shoulders and neck to lift her slightly so she could drink. He watched and waited for a sign that she had finished before helping her lie down again.
"Thank you Sir."
"No problem Carter." Jack said looking at her for signs of pain or discomfort.
"So what did I miss?" Sam asked.
"Oh not much, in case you hadn't noticed Martha Stewart was here and redecorated the place."
Sam looked around as much as possible from being flat on her back, and noticed the room was more crowded and a bed had been placed close to hers. "So what I have roommates now?"
"Yes you do and we're not leaving you alone." Jack said firmly. "By the way the nurse was in here just a little while ago; but if you need her or Janet just let me know."
"I'm fine for now Sir, thank you."
Their attention was brought to Daniel, when they heard him say something in another language. Jack didn't have to understand it to know it was a curse. "What's wrong Space Monkey?"
"Oh not much, I just can't get into the files, they're password protected and I don't have the password." Daniel said frustrated.
"Well I think your answer is right here." Jack said motioning to Carter.
"Oh hey Sam, I didn't realize you were awake. How are you doing?"
"I'd be better if everyone stopped asking me that question." Sam said a little testy.
Jack could tell Sam was still in a lot of pain by the she answered Daniel and decided to try and lighten the mood. "So Daniel you could ask Carter for the password, or I bet you I could guess it."
"You're kidding right?" Daniel said.
"No, actually I'm pretty good at figuring out people's passwords. I bet I can figure out yours." Jack said raising his eyebrow.
"Okay, I'll take that bet." Daniel said getting in the light hearted spirit.
"Let's see…what would a doctor of Archaeology use for his password?" Jack looked to be deep in thought as he rubbed his chin.
"I got it BookWorm37." Jack said looking smugly.
"How, how could you know that?" Daniel asked astounded.
"Daniel you have your face stuck in a book 18 hours a day."
"Okay, try to guess Sam's password."
"I'll try, but this one could be more difficult. Let's see Carter's a scientist and what do all scientists have to do…" Once again, Jack rubbed his chin deep in thought, then tilted his head to the side. "I think it might be froggy0319, since all scientists have to dissect frogs and Carter's birthday is March 19th."
"He's not right is he Sam?" Daniel asked.
"Afraid not Sir." Sam said feeling a little better having her mind taken off her situation.
"No? I could have sworn it had something to do with frogs." Jack said smiling at Sam.
"I'm afraid not Sir." Sam said her voice now a little lighter in mood.
"Okay I give up what is it?"
"It's ah…Bart77Simpson." Sam said with a slight blush coming over her face.
Jack took a double look at Sam, "I never had you pegged as a closet Simpson's fan Carter." Jack said grinning at her.
"I'm ah, not Sir that's why I chose it; no one would connect me with the Simpson's."
Daniel couldn't help but snort at that answer. "She's right on that one you know Jack."
"Hey, what's wrong with the Simpson's?" Jack asked looking back and forth from Sam and Daniel.
"Colonel O'Neill, Daniel Jackson do you not think you're time would be better spent going through the files now that Major Carter has revealed the password to access the files." Teal'c said in his stoic voice from across the room.
"Yea Teal'c, I guess you're right." Jack said as he watched Daniel head back to the computer. He couldn't help but add a little something as Daniel left, "Party pooper."
Daniel was back looking at the computer and listening to the files through headsets and Teal'c was watching the monitor for any signs of suspicious behaviour. Jack had been lying on the bed resting his leg, when he heard Sam starting to move again. He was up next to her in no time.
"Carter, what's wrong?" Jack asked.
"Nothing Sir." Sam said trying to wiggle around and catching her breath as the pain shot through her.
"You know you're supposed to stay in bed, no getting up, no passing go." Jack said with a little bit of frustration in his bed.
"But Sir…"
"Ah ah, no buts, now you are going to stay in that bed even if I have to tie you down." Jack said forcefully. Then he realized what he said, and how Kennedy had actually tied Sam to her bed and regretted his words immediately.
"Sorry Carter, I didn't mean to say that."
"That's okay Sir, and I wasn't trying to get up, just to change position." Sam said, truth be told she had been lying in the same position for many hours now and it was getting to her.
"Oh, okay; I guess I could give you a hand." Jack said, then wondered where he would have to put his hand.
"I'd appreciate that Sir." Sam said, the meds that Janet had given her did take the edge off the pain but not by much.
Jack went to the other side of the bed so that when she turned she could see the others. "Okay let's see if we can get you more comfortable." Jack said as he placed one hand under her shoulder and the other under the small of her back. A few moments and a few groans later Sam was laying on her side leaning on a pillow in front of her. Jack was adjusting her blankets when he noticed how red her back was. He thought back to when he found Rabb giving her a massage and thought she might need one again. After all if Rabb a complete stranger could give her a back rub why couldn't he, anyway they were 'friends' weren't they.
Without saying a word Jack kept making like he was adjusting the blanket, his hands moved higher, he noticed that this time Janet had wrapped Sam's ribs and she was not wearing a bra. 'Well I'll just have to be careful.' He thought to himself as he put his hands on her shoulders and gently began to massage them.
Sam was a little nervous at having the colonel help her move, she was a little embarrassed because the gown she was wearing always managed to come open at the back, 'Damn things', she was wondering why it was taking him so long to pull the covers up. Then she took a quick breath as she felt his hands on her shoulders.
"It's okay Carter, just relax, after all we are here to help you in anyway we can." 'Yea that should be a good explanation, she should be able to accept that', Jack thought.
"Ah okay…Sir." Sam said uneasily, 'and what's with the We', she thought besides it was his hands on her, Daniel was seated at the desk staring at the computer with headphones on, and Teal'c appeared to be a deep state of kel noreem, which meant by all intense purposes they may as well have been alone.
Jack heard Sam's reply, so he decided to get comfortable by sitting on the edge of the bed while he got to work. He knew her upper back and shoulders were bothering a lot as well as her ribs. He started off gently rubbing her shoulders going towards her neck, trying to work out the knots. He could feel the tension in her muscles, and began to intensify the massage.
Sam moved her head down to give Jack further access to her neck. She had to admit it did feel good, but wasn't sure if she should be enjoying having the colonel's hand on her as much as she was. 'This would be nicer if the lights were dim, a glass of wine and a better location'.
Jack had moved to massaging her upper shoulder, his hands were reaching her collar bone now and going over her upper arm and the gown was slipping exposing a little more skin. Jack tried to keep his mind on the task at hand, providing pain relief to his teammate and friend. 'Boy this would be nice if it was in my living room with the lights turned down low and a glass of wine', Jack thought to himself. He noticed Sam's face became a little flushed and she let out a soft moan. One more from pleasure than from pain. This made Jack grin; he knew he must have been doing a good job. It was so good he could feel her relax, then noticed she had fallen asleep.
'Well I guess my job is done, damn.' Jack thought to himself. Then he pulled Sam's gown so it was covering her again and tied the back before pulling the covers over her. He stood up, and looked down on her noticing for the first time in a long time a peaceful look on her sleeping face. "Sleep well Sam."
Daniel knew what Jack was doing, from the reflection on his screen and decided to make sure he or Teal'c didn't disturb them. He pointed out the screen to Teal'c, who decided it would be a good time to go into a deep state of kel noreem.
"Hey Daniel how's it going?" Jack asked patting Daniel on the shoulder.
"Well I've gone through a lot of files, but I have to admit this job is tedious." Daniel said yawning and stretching.
"Why don't you take a break, I'll take over for a while." Jack offered.
Daniel took his headset off, then stood up offering Jack his chair. He showed him how to go through the files then went to lie down on the couch. 'Might as well get some rest,' he thought. Daniel just made himself comfortable and was about to nod off when he heard something distracting. Yes, Jack O'Neil was drumming his fingers on the desk.
"Jack, do you mind." Daniel said annoyed.
Jack kept on drumming his fingers not hearing Daniel. Daniel took one of the throw pillows and well…threw it, at Jack.
"Hey what was that for?" Jack said angrily taking the headset off.
"Do you mind not making so much noise?"
"Oh, ah sorry." Jack said sheepishly.
"It's okay, just keep it down will you, I'm not the only one sleeping in this room." Daniel said looking over at Sam. Jack nodded and went back to listening to the files, while Daniel tried again to fall asleep.
A few minutes later Daniel heard something else; this time Jack was tapping a pencil on the desk. Daniel rolled over on his side and put a pillow over his head. No it wasn't working. He wanted to yell at Jack, but didn't want to wake Sam. He got up marched over to Jack grabbed the pencil out of his hand and broke it in half. Jack had a look on his face like his puppy had just died.
"Sorry?"
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Harm and Mac had been going over files again trying to get a handle on who the mole is. "Well we could try questioning the prisoners again." Harm suggested.
"You know Harm, you might have something there. Only this time I think I should talk to one particular prisoner myself."
"Really? Which one?" Harm asked feeling slightly puzzled.
"The one we know as Frank. I think I might be able to get to him, if I talk to him alone." Mac said looking up at Harm.
"Well if you think it will work, I'll arrange for him to be brought up here." Harm said not liking the idea himself.
"So Frank how have they been treating you down there?" Mac asked.
"Not too bad. The food could be better though."
"Yea well you better get used to it. You know due to the top secret nature of this base and the information you have you and the others probably won't even see a court room." Mac told him in a calm voice.
"Yea, I was wondering about that? What about a phone call?" Frank said in a light tone.
"I think you know the answer to that."
"So what do you want from me?" Frank asked curiously.
"Information, of course." Mac answered.
"And what do I get in return?" He asked fascinated.
"Well I could make sure there was no death penalty, and see you get placed somewhere with a nice view." Mac said sincerely.
"Well that sounds nice and all, but I was thinking more in the lines of a phone call and getting out of here."
"I'm afraid I can't pull that off." She said exasperated.
"Well maybe if I give you a little information you may change your mind."
"Go ahead, I'm listening." Mac told him.
"Okay first thing my name's not Frank."
"Wow, that's hard to believe." Mac said sarcastically.
"It's Malcolm Barrett, Agent Malcolm Barrett."
"Ah, you're an agent? I find that hard to believe." Mac said surprised.
"Well that's good; at least I know I can fool people."
"What agency do you work for?"
"The N.I.D." He said seriously.
"Isn't that the same agency that was headed up by Maybourne?"
"Yea, it was."
"So that still doesn't make you one of the good guys, seeing that your organization is under investigation, not to mention the ties it had to Kennedy."
"What do you mean had?" Barrett asked puzzled.
"Oh, yea you wouldn't have heard. Kennedy was killed when he tried to kill Major Carter."
"He what! He never said he was going to kill her."
"So you were working for him." Mac said forcibly.
"I was undercover, trying to get proof against him and his colleagues, to find out if he had anymore connections to the NID." Barrett said regretfully. "How is Major Carter?"
"I find it funny that you're concerned about her, seeing that you let her be tortured in the first place." Mac said angrily.
"I couldn't break my cover." He said remorsefully. .
"I can't believe you're cover was more important than our lives. You do know they were planning on killing me?" Mac said her fury starting to rise. "What kind of agent would let that happen when he could have stopped it?"
"I'm…sorry, I tried what I could at the time. I brought you a first aid kit, and I told them Major Carter was dead in hopes of giving you two the opportunity to escape." Barrett said looking down at his hands.
"Well how about now, you do something that can actually help? Like tell me all you know about the mole here at the SGC." Mac asked hopeful to get some answers.
"Well actually, I didn't get that far in my investigation. However I'm sure that Stan knows who the mole is." Barrett answered.
"Do you think that's who attacked him?" Mac asked hoping for some good news.
"I'm not sure, it could be; or it could have been someone out for revenge."
"Did he mention anything to you?"
"No, but then I was in not position to help him, I couldn't offer him what you could; and knowing Stan he'd sell out his mother if he could get something out of it."
"Well that doesn't help me much. Did you notice anything before or during the attack?"
"Not really, and I was in a different room and unconscious at the time of the attack. So ah do you think you can get me out of here?" Barrett asked, now that Kennedy was dead and most everyone else was captured there was no use keeping up his cover.
"I'll have to speak with General Hammond and have your story checked out before I can do anything." Mac said standing up and heading for the door. "Guard, show the prisoner back to his cell."
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'Geez my butt's going numb.' Jack thought to himself as he continued to sit in front of the computer listening to the files, he was just about to give up and wake Daniel when he heard it.
"Yes!" Jack yelled jumping up from his chair.
Daniel who had been sleeping jolted and fell off the couch. "What the hell." Daniel said from the floor leaning against the couch. Teal'c merely tilted his head and looked at Jack.
"I found it Danny, the call we've been searching for." Jack said grinning, finding Daniel's position rather funny.
"Well that's good news." Daniel said going over to the computer.
"Ah, what's going on?" A quiet voice asked from the back of the room.
Jack realized what he did and hobbled over to Sam's bed. "Sorry Carter, I didn't mean to wake you. I finally found the file we were looking for."
"Wow that's great news Sir, have you figured out who the mole is?"
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A/N: Okay, I put in a little something for those of you who lost the vote all the way back in chapter 9. I also had a hard time with this chapter, I had to rewrite the beginning, I just hope the chapter came out okay.