Supporting Rumors - Part 26

Jack's return to consciousness was slow.

Sam was there. Whenever he woke – she was called. Sometimes it was barely a few minutes that he woke for, but each and every moment was worth it to Sam.

The day wore on into night and the night became day again. Jack was beginning to focus on her more clearly and for longer each time. He was calm and quiet. The tranquilizers that were fed into his IV seemed to be doing their job – for the moment.

The smile that tugged at his mouth each time he woke and saw her, reached his eyes. He'd barely spoken, other than an odd word, but Doctor Hill assured Sam that it was the combination of the sedatives leaving him and his body's adjustment to the tranquilizers and pain killers that kept him almost under.

His breathing had certainly improved and by the end of the fourth day the nursing staff had turned him to lie on his side, protected and propped with pillows. The oxygen mask had been exchanged for a nasal cannula. The tubing and wires were much lighter now, and only a single clear fluid IV remained.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

It was late afternoon on the fifth day after the operation when Jack finally asked after Daniel and Teal'c, his voice low and rough from the oxygen.

Sam had her chair hitched right up to the bed, her upper body almost on the bed with him.

"You just missed them," said Sam, her voice light and she couldn't resist adding, "Sleepy head."

Her fingers threaded through his hair and he nuzzled his head against her hand.

"Nice," he rasped.

Sam watched as his eyes closed slowly, drifting once again to sleep on the tide of drugs. Only when she was sure he was asleep, did she buzz for a nurse and then leave for a brief rest.

She'd made Daniel and Teal'c accept keys to her house and they took turns in resting and bringing Sam fresh clothes. Sam never trod further than the relatives' room she was given, making use of its small shower and taking all her meals there

No-one tried to persuade her to leave. When Sam had voiced her intentions, surprisingly Daniel and Teal'c nodded in agreement and began to get things organized to help her out. General Hammond was also a frequent visitor and another line of support.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

The days passed slowly. For Sam they were a haze and, if she had been asked, she couldn't have said exactly what day it was. When Jack slept, Sam slept. When Jack woke, Sam was there.

Jack began to take a little more interest in what was happening around him now, although his eyes were still clouded from the drugs, his speech a little slow, and his words hesitant.

Sam was waiting for him to ask 'that' question … each time he woke – she waited. It was hanging over them both, she knew that, but she was too much of a coward to shout it out and get it over with. He didn't struggle, but she watched silently as he ran a hand over his stomach, down to his thighs, his eyes dark, but his face betraying nothing.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

TBC

Note from Flatkatsi - Sorry, but if you don't like Jack whumping you shouldn't be reading Jackie's stories. That's what she does. And not because she 'hates' Jack. A true hero has to be made vulnerable to show his best heroic qualties - they don't only appear during battles.