I hope this puts all your anxieties away now. I promise, no more whumping for Jack. All healing and fluff from now on! I make no excuses for whumping him, after all, they were out to murder Jack, seeing as the first attempt to silence him had failed.
Thanks for all your reviews, they inspire me to write quicker! So pretty please R & R?
NOTHING IS EVER THAT SIMPLE
By LetitiaRichards
Previously:-
Jack was a good friend besides being his 2IC, and a pain in the ass more often than not. What the General wanted more than anything, was for Jack to recover and get back to being his usual sarcastic self. He'd have to admit that he actually missed the man who had become like a son to him.
"Keep fighting in there son!" he whispered, hoping Jack could hear him. "Don't you dare give up!"
Chapter 19 – Damn You Jack!
"Why?" demanded Sam softly as she sat by Jack's bed, his left hand gently cradled in both of hers. "Why did you do this Jack?" The tears that had hovered on her eyelashes began to fall once more. It seemed like she hadn't stopped since she'd come back from their mission.
General Hammond had recalled them but refused to explain why until he met them face to face so that he could break the news as gently as possible.
He remained in a coma, even after two days. She had been shocked rigid, in fact they all were, when they returned from off-world to find Jack had fallen down the stairs and was still unconscious. Her legs had almost given way and if Teal'c hadn't been as observant as he usually was, then she was sure she would have hit the floor. He'd been a constant tower of strength for her with his quiet presence.
Mac was curled up at his master's side refusing to be separated except when someone let him out to answer nature's call. He'd howled the SGC down apparently until he'd been reunited with Jack. Now he moped silently, barely eating and disinterested in anything other than the still form of his master.
He'd bucked up a little since Teal'c and Sam had returned, but he was still too quiet for a normally boisterous puppy.
Sam looked away for moment, her eyes lighting on the young pup. She smiled wanly at him, and reached over to stroke his head for a minute. They had an empathy with each other, both grieving over the unexplained events which had led to this point in time.
Janet was unsure what damage, if any, the swollen tissues in Jack's brain would leave behind when they reduced, nor how much it might affect him when he woke.
Sam was angry with Jack too, just as the others had been. 'What the hell had he been trying to prove?' she'd wondered many a time, unable to see his logic. She knew of course that Jack O'Neill was a damn stubborn man from working with him for the past number of years, but this defied even his logic; it was downright insane! Tackling the stairs when he couldn't even walk a few steps...? Well, it was beyond her. She would be sure to thrash it out with him when he'd recovered from this. 'When' he recovered, she promised herself, not 'if'! He had damn well better recover, or she would kill him herself! Damn idiot!
Her heart lurched once more at the thought and the tears tumbled freely now as she reminded herself how much she loved him despite his stupidity.
OoOoOoOoO
"How is he?"
Sam sighed and shook her head negatively.
"There's no change Daniel," shrugged Sam. She hadn't moved from Jack's side for the last four days and neither had Mac much. In fact Mac was pining away which wasn't good for such a young puppy; he needed the nourishment to grow, but he was refusing to eat at all now.
Daniel walked over to stand behind her chair, placing his hands on her shoulders, and looking over her head at his friend's lax features.
"Janet said the latest scans show that the swelling has finally gone down so he should be coming round soon." Daniel was more positive. He had to be, if only to encourage Sam not to give up on Jack.
Sam didn't answer, but her hand came up to rest on top of Daniel's. He squeezed her shoulder in reply. A moment later, he pulled away and stroked Mac who hadn't even stirred at his entrance.
He squatted down, eye to eye with the young dog, while keeping up his gentle caress of the soft golden hair.
"You wanna come for a walk Mac? C'mon boy. Jack won't be very happy when he wakes up to know you've been so sad all this time."
Mac licked his hand but still didn't attempt to move. Sucking in a huge sigh, Daniel stood up again.
"He won't go Daniel. I'm worried about him. If Jack doesn't wake up soon, then... Well, I'm...afraid... If anything were to happen to Mac, Jack would be so upset. And vice-versa too. We could end up losing both of them."
"I don't think so Sam," Daniel said, then added more forcibly, "Jack's not gonna die. Janet said he should recover, and, okay, he might not be the same Jack, but at least he'll be alive."
"He would hate to be...like that Daniel."
"He might not know any different Sam."
"Whatever happens Daniel, I'm not leaving him."
"I know Sam. I know. You'll just have to be patient and see what happens."
Sam sniffed back a wave of fresh tears. That's all she seemed to do these days, she just couldn't seem to stop herself. She didn't want to lose the Jack she knew, and she didn't want to lose Mac either.
"The police are quite happy to accept that it was an accident. They rang General Hammond this morning to tell him the news. They did put forward a theory that perhaps Jack might have done this on purpose as a sort of suicide attempt, but Hammond shot that idea down in flames. Jack wasn't suicidal; he wouldn't do that to you Sam. He loves you too much."
"Oh god! He wouldn't do that would he? Why would he even think about that?"
"No! He wouldn't Sam. But apparently Cindy told him that he might never be able to walk properly again, that he'd probably always have to use a stick."
"Oh god, Jack!" Sam's heart bled again for the man she loved. 'Would he have thought that dying was better than the alternative?' she pondered.
"He's not that same person as he was back then Sam. He has everything to live for now, despite what Cindy told him. He had nothing when I first met him, but now he has family, us, and you, and now he has Mac too. He wouldn't do that to you. The one thing about Jack, Sam, is that he is not selfish. He wouldn't care about himself; everything he's done lately is for you."
Daniel had taken her hands in his and gripped them firmly to emphasise to her exactly that he meant every word.
"We won't know why he tried to walk down those stairs until he wakes up, so let's not jump to conclusions huh?"
Daniel released her hands to pull her into a hug, letting her weep against his chest.
They stayed like that for a while, Daniel offering all the comfort she needed for as long as she wanted.
It was some moments later that Mac let out a whimper, then another and surprised them by getting up and licking Jack's face until Jack responded with a moan and tried to move his head away from the source.
"Jack?"
"Daniel, he's waking up. Go get the doctor." Sam was almost ecstatic to see him waking at last.
Daniel could barely take his eyes from his friend but he hurried from the room to tell the nearest nurse to fetch the doctor, and tell him that Jack appeared to be waking up at last.
"Blaagh!" Jack groaned, wondering what was happening. Someone was smothering him with something warm and wet.
Sam pulled Mac away from licking Jack to death and held him tight while he squirmed to get back to his master. His tail was thumping like crazy against Sam's leg and he was now licking her too, obviously delighted.
Jack's eyelids fluttered, and Sam could see slivers of brown showing, but his eyelids closed again almost instantly, before the Doctor came hurrying in.
Sam was anxious to know if Jack was going to wake properly or if he'd go back to sleep, but the medic forced Jack's lids up to shine a pen-light into his eyes. Jack reacted with a jerk and a pained moan.
Satisfied however with the reaction he'd had to his examination, Doctor Brown called his name a few times.
"Colonel? Can you open your eyes for me? I know you want to go back to sleep but can you open them for me for just a minute. There's someone here who is anxious to see you're okay."
Jack forced his heavy lids open, and the images he saw were blurry to say the least. He couldn't really make out who they were, though he was hoping one of the shapes hovering over him would be Sam.
"SsssSam?" His voice was thin and weak, rusty from disuse.
"I'm here Jack. I'm right here!" she cried, overjoyed to think that he was lucid enough to know she was there. "Mac's here too!"
"Mmac?" he frowned. Too tired to think he let his mind drift back to the warmth that sleep afforded.
Sam bit her lip, 'Was there some damage to his memory after all?'
"Your dog Jack. Don't you remember? You called him after MacGyver, the TV character."
Jack's eyes closed in sleep and the doctor apologised, but said it was a good sign. Jack had been awake and fairly alert, despite his not recalling the poor dog. It was early days yet and it could take a little time for him to recover still.
Sam smiled weakly then sniffed, turning to Daniel who had stood by her side watching his friend closely; his throat tight with emotion.
Mac was wagging his tail and squirming to jump out of Sam's arms.
"I think perhaps he might be hungry Daniel. Would you?"
"Sure. C'mon Mac, let's go for that walk now and then we'll find you some chicken or something."
He took the puppy from Sam with a smile and left her to watch over Jack, knowing she was a lot happier now.
The Doctor had checked all of Jack's vitals then smiled reassuringly before leaving her to keep vigil.
TBC
