Ice Lessons 6
General Hammond
As the General put the phone down, he let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in. Doctor Fraiser had just told him that the Colonel had come round fighting, and she'd had to calm him down. He would just have to wait with everybody else for the next instalment when the Colonel woke up properly.
What a mess. He shook his head as he reached for the coffee and thought back to the last few days when it all started…
The day had started well; Doctor Fraiser had cleared Colonel O'Neill for duty after overnight observation and the results from various tests. Dr Jackson was cleared for light duty following his leg injury on Hathor's planet. General Hammond spent the morning reviewing mission reports that had stacked up on his desk. His aide knew that he liked to read team reports together when possible so that he could get the whole picture.
Sometimes the General had to wait days for reports to come through due to illness or injury. And sometimes they were delayed because they hadn't been written yet. Certain people just hated writing them. Hammond could understand that. The SGC had the best military staff doing what they did best- defending the country and saving the planet from time to time. They were battle trained not pencil pushers, so he allowed a little latitude. Well, he had to really because it was his 2IC that was notoriously late with the written reports. It got left until he had to practically confine Colonel O'Neill to his office to finish them. His idea of filing was to put them in the trash bin.
He'd been horrified to learn from Dr Jackson and Major Carter that the Colonel had semi volunteered to become a host, the infant Goa'uld had also made its choice. That man really would sacrifice himself to save his team. How did he think he would get away with it? And as for being frozen twice, who knew what effect that might have on his body or what it felt like?
The main reason the Doctor had kept him in all afternoon and overnight was that he was too exhausted to sleep properly while his body was wracked with shivers. He'd lain there under piles of warmed blankets until his system sorted itself out.
So, once cleared from the infirmary, General Hammond did expect to see some sort of report by the end of the day so that he could then go home. The late morning was disturbed by SG 11's unscheduled return from a mining exploration. Torrential rain created a mudslide, which hit the camp, destroying equipment and injuring two marines. Doctor Fraiser stayed on to deal with the resulting injuries and decontamination procedures. All was fine until one of the team suddenly collapsed and was rushed into surgery.
Afternoon came and went and neither O'Neill's report nor the man himself appeared. Mildly annoyed Hammond had rung his office- no reply. He tried the infirmary just in case there was a problem. The Colonel always said he was 'fine' right up to the point where he would then keel over.
That's when he'd found out that O'Neill had left the base a few hours earlier to pick Cassie up while the Doctor was busy dealing with SG11. He had expected to see him back on the base. Then Doctor Fraiser had rung him to say that the Colonel had been arrested and that she'd keep him posted on the situation. Only O'Neill could do this to me, Hammond thought with a tight smile.
Just how much trouble could he get into while he had Cassie with him? he wondered.
He asked his aide to get the number for the police station and after a bit of a run around got to the Captain of the special crimes squad.
"This is General Hammond at Cheyenne Mountain base. I believe you have one of my officers, brought in for questioning. A Colonel Jack O'Neill. I am his commanding officer, what details can you give me to help clear this up?"
"All that I can say at the moment is that we are pursuing a possible line of enquiry following recent attacks on young female students over the last 6 months. We were alerted by a member of the public. Uniforms were dispatched to the scene..." said the voice at the end of the phone.
"Scene what scene? It was an ice rink!"
"General Hammond, we are running background checks as we speak. He's been taken for questioning. I don't know the outcome of that yet. But since we are having this conversation perhaps you can confirm some details and dates with me?"
"Give me what you got."
"Check where your man was on 3rd January, 25th March this year and a couple of weeks ago- 4th May. If you have anything you'd like to tell me now about your officer that might speed things up, please do so."
"I'll check the dates our end. And as for Colonel O'Neill, he is a highly decorated officer. I trust him with my own grandchildren for goodness sake."
"Like I said we are pursuing all lines of enquiry. You know how it is with these things; in fact we have another suspect being brought in right now. So you see..."
"I do see. I'll be there shortly with what we have."
"You do that." and the conversation was over.
Hammond sprung into action calling for duty roster records, infirmary records and Jack's file, to get documentary evidence that Jack was elsewhere on those dates.
He recognized the January one of course; Jack hated having to 'schmooze' as he called it, in Washington. But once the Colonel had got his grumbles out of the way, they had a good trip. The uninterrupted travelling time was spent sorting out SGC matters. They made an efficient team. In relaxed moments, the General would tell his 2IC what his grandchildren had been up to recently and when was he coming over again? The Colonel would respond with less than stellar episodes from SG teams, when things got a bit too hot, or wet and muddy, and the fun that could ensue when both natives and SG teams got completely the wrong end of the stick. But it was not done in a malicious way; after all nobody was perfect, SG1 and other teams had made it through in the end.
The General knew the latest date on the list, 4th May, was while SG1 were on Hathor's planet. He just had to confirm the March one to make his point and then he would present the paperwork himself. The General made a few more phone calls. He needed more information on the attacks, so he knew exactly what was going on.
He toyed with telling the rest of SG1, but decided that for the moment 'less was more'. He was a General after all. This time Mohammed would go to the police station and end this.
General Hammond wanted his second in command to wake up so he could tell him that everything was alright, that nothing had changed between any of them.
But he knew in his heart of hearts that word would leak out soon enough, that Colonel O'Neill had at least been questioned and that something had happened at the police station. The fact that the perpetrator had been caught on the same day with incriminating evidence in his car would not remove the tarnish some people would see on Colonel O'Neill's character.
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Many hours later when Jack surfaced again and got his eyes to open, he felt better. A glance to the side told him no one was babysitting him. He lay for a moment assessing the situation. Did that mean that no one wanted to be near him or had he just missed them? He knew from the grey walls that he was in the SGC Infirmary.
The tube had gone from his throat, and there were no beeping machines either. He lifted his head to look for some water for his painful throat, and wished he hadn't. The heaviness in his head doubled. Pushing the discomfort away he levered himself up, reaching for the bed locker.
"Colonel, just what do you think you are doing?" a stern Dr Frasier appeared seemingly out of no where.
Busted…
How did she know? he wondered. Damn, a few more minutes and he might even had found his clothes and got out unnoticed…
"Water" he said, or at least that's what he thought he'd said, what actually came out was a dry croak.
Dr Fraiser passed him the water "Slowly Colonel," she admonished and watched him carefully, before putting the beaker back.
"Where?" he croaked
"Where's everyone?" she guessed.
He nodded.
"It's the wee hours of the morning. I sent Daniel to rest some time ago. Teal'c and Sam have been here but you were still asleep"
"Cassie!"
"She's okay. She'd like to see you later, after school."
"Home?"
"Not now! Maybe tomorrow"
"Doc…"
"Don't 'doc' me."
"I'm okay?"
"Yes. Your throat will take a little while to heal, anti inflammatory and painkillers will help. Your nose is bruised and you have two lovely black eyes."
He raised his cast forearm and wrist.
"A clean fracture, nothing to worry about. A few weeks in the cast then some physio"
He pointed to his head, the moment making him wince briefly.
"Are you okay sir"
"Head's still attached" he rasped.
"Colonel!" said Janet exasperated and amused at the same time- a typical O'Neill reaction.
"You're still not going home today."
He huffed lightly in response.
"We are keeping an eye on the head trauma because you were knocked out twice."
"Been there, got the t shirt." he said tiredly.
"Which bit or all of it?"
"All."
He was right, Dr Frasier thought, mentally reviewing his file.
"Well, but this is different..." she began and wished she hadn't as his face tensed fractionally then set.
"What's done is done! Don't make it into anything more than it already is!" he rasped angrily.
He shifted in the bed. Leaning back slightly and closing his eyes again. Janet looked at him; he looked uncomfortable like that, half sitting on the pillows.
When she lightly touched his shoulder, his eyes flew open again and his arms jerked up,
"Sorry Colonel but I need to check..." and she produced the penlight.
He nodded.
"Let's get you a bit more comfortable. Lean forward, Sir." he did so, slightly unbalanced, his cast wrist flailing about wildly.
Janet quickly brought her left arm up to support the Colonel, noting that his body tensed against hers as she tugged at the pillows behind him.
Sorted, comfy and more awake he reached for the water again, savouring the cool water as it slipped down his painful throat.
"I'll go get a pad and a pencil for you. I don't want you to speak too much just yet. Give that throat a chance to rest and heal. Actually that goes for the rest of you too, Colonel!" advised Dr Fraiser.
He stared at her.
"I'm on duty until 0600, I'll leave a report for General Hammond. He wanted to see you as soon as I said you were able."
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When Dr Fraiser came back on duty later that evening and read the nurses reports on the Colonel, she saw that General Hammond had indeed visited for some time. Oh to be a fly on the wall for that conversation… The rest of SG1 had visited briefly on and off. That was good; at least he seemed to be interacting with everybody.
The Colonel appeared to be a model patient. There were references in the notes to him being "asleep" or "quiet". Hmmm, she thought.
She spoke to the nurses. No, he hadn't shouted, moaned or even whined at any of them, not even about the gloopy lunch he'd been prescribed and apparently eaten. Oh dear, she thought, this could be bad. Well, he was probably going home tomorrow, so maybe he's just biding his time.
But she did not feel reassured.