Chapter 22

"How are they?" Hammond asked, standing at the foot of the infirmary bed that held the unofficial 3IC of the SGC.

"It's to early to tell with the Major. She's in the early stages of sarcophagus withdrawal right now and when you couple that with her physical injuries and the sheer fact that she was held prisoner for a month, it's going to be a long road back for her." Kate's voice was tired, even if the sarcophagus had been continually healing Carter, the escape had cost the Major more than she probably should have given.

"And the other two?" Hammond turned his eyes from his goddaughter to two of her teammates.

"They are in better condition. Whatever torture they went through, Sa…Major Carter was the focus of it. The other two should be awake sometime tomorrow. Like with the Major they have been through a lot too." Janet answered this time, and like the General had her eyes locked on the other two returning members of SG-1.

Janet sighed, all she and Kate could do was heal them, and wait. Only they knew what had happened on whatever planet that they had been on and for at least another day they would be unable to physically tell the tale of what had happened over the last month. But mentally was another story. All three would need to undergo new psychological evaluations, and SG-1 was not just famous for base-wide for saving the world. They were also famous for hating the bi-monthly psych evals and the mandatory sessions that all were forced attend if they had been captured. McKenzie, the on-staff psychiatrist, also hated having to deal with his most frequent customers. Well, McKenzie was an idiot, on par with Fields. Maybe for the sake of everyone, (since no one actually liked seeing McKenzie) she should look into getting a new shrink for the base. Or at least have someone else handle SG-1's latest set of evaluations.

With another internal sigh, Janet turned her thoughts to the missing member of the team, as she showed the General out of the infirmary. She wondered if the other three, the returning three, knew that one had not made it. She knew that it would be very rough on all of them when they woke. The philosophy of "No one gets left behind" was something that SG-1 more than believed or lived by. With them, it simply was. Janet knew that is their missing fourth was still alive, and she prayed to a God she hadn't fully believed in since she was a little girl that he was, they would get him out. She knew they would simply because they were SG-1, they were a family, they were the people who constantly saved the world, nothing was impossible for them.

Looking back at Kate, she saw the younger woman gently touch the empty bed. The bed that was reserved for the missing fourth. And Janet knew he would be back to use that bed again, if only because like a bed penny, he always showed up.