Chapter 4: Guilt and Support
As soon as they had been informed of what had happened, Daniel and Teal'c had rushed to the infirmary to be nearby and see what they could find out about Jonas' condition. Now Jonas was in surgery and they were waiting outside the infirmary for someone to let them know something about what was going on.
"I can't take much more of this, Teal'c. Why haven't we had any sort of information about what the hell is going on here? It's like we're invisible or something." Daniel raged, more for himself than for Teal'c.
"I do not believe we are being ignored. I believe that the current situation we find ourselves in may indeed be more serious than what we have been told." Teal'c said calmly.
"If he'd have just stayed here, this never would be happening. I was the one who supported his idea to go and get us some food. I had heard the weather was bad, I knew it was raining. I should have never told him to go out there. I should have known better. What happened to Jonas is my fault."
"It is not. The weather is to blame for this accident. You have no need to blame yourself."
"I don't understand how you can possibly say that. I knew the weather was bad. I should have told Jonas not to go out in weather like that. If I'd done that, then none of this would be happening." Daniel said, finding it very hard to speak around the knots forming in his throat and stomach.
Teal'c was completely at a loss as to what he could say to convince Daniel that he wasn't to blame for Jonas' accident. Finally, he decided not to say anything, opting instead to give his friend some silent support and render help with merely his presence.
At the same time, Cameron Mitchell raced through the gate of Cheyenne Mountain and made a beeline for Landry's office as soon as the elevator doors opened. He needed to know where his team was and he wanted to find out what exactly had happened. He found the General sitting behind his desk, working at his computer.
"Colonel Mitchell. What can I do for you?" Landry asked, looking up from his work when he heard the knocking on his office door.
"I need to know where the rest of my team are. Also I'd really like to know just exactly what the hell is going on here. The information you gave me earlier didn't exactly tell me a whole lot." Mitchell said.
"What I told you earlier is really all that I know. One of our SFs called in to the base around 2300 hours telling us that he had come across a serious accident about 15 minutes out from the complex. He told us that we needed to dispatch a medical team and have Dr. Lam at the ready and when he was questioned as to why he called the base, he told the switch operator that the injured driver was formerly one of our own."
"Was there anyone else involved?"
"Yes, there was another vehicle involved. He was shaken up and bruised but otherwise unhurt. Apparently made a wrong turn in the bad weather and when he turned around to get back on track, the accident occurred. He was checked out and cleared by our medical staff and sent home with our staff driver. We told the man to look for us to be in touch if we needed anything further from him." Landry explained.
"Well, that's just a punch in the gut, isn't it. The rest of my team?"
"Dr. Jackson and Teal'c are down in the infirmary waiting for an update on the situation. As I said before, I left a message on Colonel Carter's voice mail and she called in and talked to Sergeant Harriman earlier but she hasn't made it in as of yet. She doesn't know what happened yet or how bad the situation is. I didn't think it would be a good idea to tell her over the phone."
"If you don't mind the bluntness of my asking, sir, exactly how bad is the situation we're dealing with?"
"From the limited information Dr. Lam was able to give me earlier, Jonas was very seriously injured. He has severe internal trauma and Dr. Lam and Dr. Warner have him in surgery right now trying to do what they can to repair as much of the damage as possible. He's critical, Colonel." Landry explained.
"I'm worried about how Sam is going to react to this when she finds out. How are Jackson and Teal'c handling this? From what I can gather about when this guy was on SG-1, he made quite an impact on the program and formed strong bonds with the rest of my team."
"Dr. Jackson and Teal'c are taking this very hard. My personal opinion is that they may be dealing with a great deal of guilt over this situation."
"Guilt? What in the world for?"
"Well, from what they've told me, they had just completed translating the scroll and Jonas volunteered to go and bring some food back for the three of them. So he took a car and went down the mountain and he was on his way back when all of this happened."
"I still don't understand. Neither one of them has a thing to feel guilty about as far as what I gather from what you told me."
"I know that, Colonel. The hard part is convincing them of that. The problem is that the weather was bad and Dr. Jackson feels like it's his fault for not stopping Jonas from going down the mountain in the first place. I didn't tell you this over the phone but he was driving Teal'c's car so I think this is affecting Teal'c a lot more than he's letting on."
"This is really heavy. If you'll excuse me, sir, I'm going to go up to the infirmary and see what I can do if anything at all. When Sam gets here send for me if you need some help."
"I'll do that, Colonel. Right now, you need to be with the rest of your team."
"Yes, sir." Mitchell said, saluting smartly as he pivoted on his heel and walked out of the office.
Back in the infirmary, Daniel was pacing back and forth across the room they were waiting in, trying to calm his jangled nerves. Teal'c watched his friend moving from one wall to the other and back, growing more concerned with each step the archaeologist took. Finally, the Jaffa decided he needed to say something so he rose from his chair and stood in Daniel's path, not moving when the other man plowed hard into him.
"Ooof. Teal'c what the hell are you doing?" Daniel asked, mildly irritated.
"There is something I wish to speak to you about and you would not hear me if you did not cease movement."
"Okay. What is it that you wanted to talk about? "
"I wish to tell you that I am extremely concerned for you. You do not appear to be coping with this tragedy very well. Do you believe that you must make amends for Jonas Quinn's injury by causing yourself to become physically exhausted? I am not taking this action and I must accept more responsibility than even yourself." Teal'c confessed, casting his dark eyes to the floor for a moment.
"Well, I guess I handle things a little bit differently than…" Daniel began, stopping as he was hit by the implication of what Teal'c had just said. "Wait a minute. More responsibility than me? What are you talking about? This isn't your fault. I'm the one to blame here."
"What you speak is not the truth, Daniel Jackson. Jonas Quinn was driving my vehicle. He had suggested taking a staff car down the mountain to retrieve food. Had I not proffered the use of my vehicle, the accident would not have occurred."
"Actually, you're both dead wrong." Cameron said from where he had appeared in the doorway.
Upon hearing a familiar voice, Daniel and Teal'c broke from their conversation and turned to face the source of the voice. For a long moment, there was an awkward silence between the three men. It was Daniel's stress lined voice that finally broke the silence.
"Cameron, what are you doing here? What do you mean that Teal'c and I are both wrong. How the hell long were you standing there anyway?"
"One question at a time. First of all, I was at the door long enough to hear most of your conversation with Teal'c. I came back to the SGC because General Landry called me at home to let me know what was going on and even though I don't know Jonas Quinn personally, he made a huge impact on you guys and I felt I needed to be here for my friends. Secondly, you guys are wrong about being responsible for what's happened here. Neither of you are. The only thing to blame is the weather and last I checked we can't control the weather." Mitchell insisted.
"Oh my God. I can't believe I didn't think about this before now. Sam's in Washington. She really needs to know what's going on. I can't believe I was so self absorbed that I didn't think about her." Daniel shouted.
"Calm down, Jackson. Sam's been informed that something's going on and she called in so she knows to report in as soon as she lands. From what I understand, she en route back from Washington as we speak. She should be here any time now."
"Oh, no. Sam's going to be completely dumbstruck by this. You know I wasn't around during the time Jonas was here." Daniel began.
"Yeah, I, uh, read the file."
"Well, from what I understand from Teal'c, Sam and Jonas got to be good friends during that time. I even saw it for myself when we helped protect Langara, Jonas' home world, from destruction two years ago. This is no doubt going to hit her very hard as well."
"I drew the same conclusion. When she gets here I'm gonna head upstairs and help Landry break the news to her. You guys should stay here in case Dr. Lam has any news."
A few minutes later, the telephone on the wall near them began ringing. Cameron walked over to it and picked it up, thinking that it may be that Sam had arrived.
"Mitchell. Yeah. On my way."
"What was the purpose of the call, Colonel Mitchell?" Teal'c asked.
"That was Landry. The staff driver just reported in and he's back with Sam. She's on her way down from the surface now. I'm gonna go down to the General's office to meet her." Cameron said, heading out the door. As he headed to the elevator and headed down to Landry's office, Mitchell had a huge knot in his stomach that refused to unravel itself.
When the staff car left Sam at the surface and the driver got out to take her luggage inside, she was overcome with a feeling that something bad was wrong that she couldn't shake no matter how hard she tried. As she stepped into the elevator and pressed the button to take her down to level 28, Sam tried to calm her nerves and steady her trembling hands.
"Get a grip, Sam. You don't know what General Landry wants to talk to you about. There may not be anything wrong." Sam scolded herself as the elevator stopped at level 28 and the doors slid open for her.
Sam walked into Landry's office and was met outside by Walter Harriman, sitting at his desk going through some papers. He looked up from what he was doing when he heard her approach. She looked at him nervously and couldn't get up the nerve to speak.
"Welcome back, Colonel. General Landry is waiting for you in his office. He wants to see you immediately."
"Thank you, Sergeant." Sam managed to say as she walked past him and into the office.
When Sam walked into Landry's office and saw Cameron Mitchell sitting there with the General, her heart immediately leapt into her throat. She knew Cam very well and the fact that he was here on base in General Landry's office, meant that something had to be very seriously wrong.
"Come in and sit down, Colonel Carter." Landry said, an obvious tension in his voice.
"Yes, sir." Sam began as she approached the desk on unsteady legs and took a seat next to Mitchell. "Will someone please tell me what's wrong."
"Colonel, I hate to have to call you in at this time of morning after a pleasant trip to Washington and tell you what I have to say but I'm afraid something serious has happened. There was an accident last night that critically injured a former team member of yours."
"What do you mean? Who was hurt?"
"A former member of SG-1, Jonas Quinn. He was involved in an automobile accident during the inclement weather we had earlier. He's in surgery with Dr. Lam and Dr. Warner right now and as of yet we haven't heard anything else."
"Wait. That can't be right. Jonas is on Langara. What the hell was he doing here?" Sam demanded, tears springing to her eyes, as Cameron put an arm around her shoulders.
"I suppose I should start from the beginning, Colonel Carter. Dr. Jackson and Teal'c were hung up on a scroll that was brought back by another SG unit earlier today and Dr. Jackson came to my office asking for permission to send for Jonas Quinn. I approved it and they were able to decipher the scroll, after which point Jonas offered to go down the mountain and get some food for the three of them, taking Teal'c's SUV. On his way back up the mountain, he was involved in the accident. One of our SFs on his way here for his shift, ran across the accident on his way to the base and called here for help after realizing that one of the drivers used to be a member of SG-1." Landry said solemnly as Sam shook her head and began crying.
"I can't believe this is happening. Jonas has to be okay. He doesn't deserve to have this type of thing to happen to him." Sam cried. "Wait a minute. Where are Daniel and Teal'c? I need to be with them."
"They're both down in the infirmary waiting for an update, Sam. Come on, I'll walk down with you." Cam whispered, giving her a hug. "I'll catch up with you later, General."
"That's okay, Colonel. I have another phone call I need to make anyway." Landry said as Cam lead Sam out of the office and into the corridor.
As soon as the two were safely out of earshot, Landry picked up his desk phone and dialed a number. He was well aware that the recipient would be agitated with him for calling at 4:00 in the morning but he also knew that this person needed to know what was going on.
"He'd be even more irritated at me if I didn't call. Knowing him like I do, he'll probably want to be here." Landry thought to himself as he waited for the call to connect.