Oh, all right then, I'll give you the next part. Honestly! Okay, no more cliff-hangers, nope. I'll be nice.

And I thought I told you all not to tell Jackie I was being mean? She reads her email reviews you know. Sheesh – I can't trust anyone these days. (pouts)

Jackie is ahead by several parts, but we are catching up with her. I may have to slow down the updates. What do you all think?

And remember, this is set at the start of Season 9 and there is an awful lot going on back at the SGC at the moment – things that can't just be dropped to rush to a friend's bedside. That's not to say that Daniel and Teal'c won't make an appearance though – you'll just have to wait a little while longer.

And while I have you here – how about you go read my new fic 'Breakfast Meeting' and its sequel 'Light Lunch'. No S/J but you may enjoy it anyway.

Flatkatsi

Supporting Rumors - Part 16

General Hammond excused himself and left the office to take the call. Sam leaned back against the desk, staring at the carpet, feeling quite lost, and not just a little embarrassed at the way she'd spoken to a three star general, friend or not.

He was back within a couple of minutes. "Come on, we need to get to Jack."

Sam's heart jumped. "What? Surely they can't have . . . "

George shook his head, indicating he wasn't much wiser than her and offered her his hand. Together they made their way upstairs. They were greeted at the elevator by the personal guard and escorted through to an emergency room.

The nurse stopped them at the doorway and ushered them outside before they could see what was going on.

"Doctor Hill will be with you in a moment."

"What's happened? Surely you can't have started to operate yet?" demanded Sam.

"The General is being prepared for emergency surgery."

"What?"

Doctor Hill made a hurried appearance, to the immense relief of the nurse.

"Mrs O'Neill, your husband is in a very bad way."

"What happened, he was fine when I left him . . . he?"

"He left his room on his own and for some reason tried to get down the stairs and didn't make it. He took a very bad fall. He broke several ribs and punctured a lung. He's also showing signs of internal bleeding and unfortunately the bullet has moved."

Sam's legs began to fold on her. The doctor's words became a hotchpotch of nothing . . .

George had been watching her carefully and caught most of her weight. The guard hastily dragged a chair away from the wall and Sam was quickly seated, her head pushed down towards her knees.

Doctor Hill knelt down in front of her. She took Sam's frozen hands into hers and spoke slowly to her, allowing time for the words to sink in.

"I'm sorry Mrs O'Neill. If we don't operate now he will not survive the night. Apart from the internal bleeding, the bullet is now pressing into his spine and his mobility has certainly been impaired to such a degree that it would be impossible for him to walk, aside from the pain it is causing."

Sam gathered her scattered wits. She'd left him in bed . . . she thought she had time to stop the operation . . . crazy fool, what the hell had he been doing?

"Can you remove it?"

The doctor squeezed Sam's hands gently. "I'll do my best. Even if the operation is successful, there's no guarantee the damage won't be permanent."

Sam nodded. "I want my husband to live, anything else is a bonus."

Doctor Hill nodded and gave Sam's hands a final squeeze before releasing them and standing up.

"He's in a lot of pain. I don't want to risk sedating before we have to, but would you like to see him while I get scrubbed up?"

Sam took a deep breath and nodded. George helped her to her feet and held onto her arm to steady her. He made as if to stop outside the room, but Sam urged him onwards, holding on to him for support.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Jack was on a gurney, ready to roll into theatre. The fluid bags held blood this time and various tubes were threading their way into his body. He was semi conscious, groaning quietly, though his eyes were closed.

Sam moved closer. She thought her heart would surely burst and her whole body shook with such tremors it seemed as though the world shook with her. She grasped at the hand that was clenching and unclenching with pain nearest to her and held it tightly, bringing it up to her face as she bent low, the tears from her eyes running over both of their hands.

"Jack," she whispered, her voice thick with tears.

His eyes flickered open, giving her the barest glimmers of brown. She watched as he tried to focus on her, trying to open them wider.

"So . . .rr . . ." he gasped.

Sam shook her head and moved closer still, her other hand stroking the hair over his forehead. "Shush, it's okay, don't try and speak." Her lips were quivering as was the rest of her body, her voice low and tender. She sniffed at her tears, trying to hold them back as they dropped onto his face.

"So sor . . ." He tried to curl against the pain, his breath coming in short pants, but only his upper body was moving, something Sam was trying desperately not to notice. His other hand was balled up tightly into a fist, grinding a tempo of it's own against the gurney.

Doctor Hill appeared beside Sam. She was in her theatre scrubs, the mask ready to don.

"I'm sorry, we need to start as soon as possible."

Sam choked back a sob and bent to kiss him gently on his lips.

"No matter what, I love you Jack, no matter what."

Sam kissed him again and moved back quickly before she could change her mind about letting him go. She stepped back into the comforting arms of George Hammond, who led her quietly to the waiting room . . . That's all anyone could do now, pray and wait.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

TBC