A/N: Well I'm writing this even before I see any feedback from the last chapter. So basically I hope you've all replied to the last one (there's still time to press back and do it before going any further…). Actually, I more hope you liked the last one!
Ah I lied, I have now read some reviews... glad you like Stacey's sense of humour and I'm glad Jonas is getting some sympathy... it's always hard writing a fic without the beloved Daniel (but as he's ascended he may appear...). Thank you so much for reviewing, and please keep it up! I love writing so much I can hardly wait to get the next chap out, but it really helps me along if I know people are reading!
Chapter 3 – Nightwalkers
Yet again finding themselves in the infirmary, the various members of SG1 were waiting impatiently amongst all the different beds looking at each other. Jonas was lying in the middle of them with Stacey hovering anxiously next to him, her eyes moving constantly to the monitors next to him showing his healthy life-signs. Jack and Sam were both perched on a bed to the left, glancing at each other occasionally as they waited for Janet to come back. Teal'c, as usual, was standing stoically at the end of the bed, watching over everyone else.
"I'm really fine." Jonas was protesting to Stacey's worried glances. "I must have been sleep-walking – I mean, I haven't had a rest for quite a while so it's probably just exhaustion!"
"As rare as this may be," Janet had walked into the room and instantly got the attention of everyone present. "I think Jonas is right." She moved to his bedside, and lay her hands flat next to him. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with you as far as I can tell – apart from the little cough, but that's nothing to worry about."
Jonas pushed himself up off the bed. "So can I go now?" He was already pulling the covers away and making to move off when Janet lightly but firmly pushed him back down.
"I think given your actions whilst asleep, it may be best if you spent the night here." She raised her hand up to the sudden outburst of protest from Jonas and the others. "My decision is final, and I'll remind you all that I out-rank everyone on this base when it comes to medical matters. He's staying here tonight."
"What about Sam?" Jonas protested like a petulant child.
"What about her?" Jack said instantly, puzzled.
"Well, she was in the room too, maybe whatever's affecting me will affect her as well!" He exclaimed.
"Jonas Quinn, nocturnal ambulations has not been identified as an adverse effect resulting from exposure to a collapsed building." Teal'c said evenly. "I do not believe Colonel Carter is in danger of replicating your puzzling actions."
Janet had to suppress a giggle as she effectively agreed with Teal'c. "Sorry Jonas, I'd have to agree with Teal'c. But," she looked sharply at Sam, "you are definitely not to leave the base tonight, got it?"
"Yes ma'am," Sam gave a mocking salute before they all dispersed.
Walking towards her temporary quarters, Sam couldn't help but mull over what had just happened in her lab. Jack was walking quietly next to her – he had learnt years ago to recognize when she was working something out in her mind and knew to leave her be. She would be ready to work it out with him soon enough.
"It's just so weird." Sam said, as if she were continuing a verbal conversation.
"Huh?" Jack said quietly as they reached their destination and moved inside to sit down next to each other on the bed.
"Jonas…" Sam sighed, rubbing her hand against her eyes, trying to focus her attention. "I mean, sleep-walking is one thing, but what he did while sleep-walking is so ridiculously unlikely…"
"Maybe he's learnt from you?" Jack said hopefully, rubbing Sam's back, his hand moving in small circles as he tried to relax her weary muscles. "I mean, the guy can learn anything if he's just read a book once… what's to stop him from learning all that computer stuff just from watching you?"
Sam arched her back and stretched her neck muscles as Jack's magical hand managed to slowly bring her ever-whirring mind under control. "Yeah I guess." She conceded. "It's just so weird – why on Earth would he want to do that while asleep?"
"Hey, you're the one who insisted he join the team." O'Neill shrugged. "I personally thought we'd filled our alien quota." Seeing the look on Sam's face, Jack quickly backtracked. "You were right I know! He's proved completely indispensable and I don't wanna lose him! I'm just saying, he's an alien – and therefore we've gotta expect these kinda weird things."
"Hmmm… I guess you're right." Sam suddenly felt completely exhausted and let Jack slowly ease her down onto the bed. She drifted slowly off to sleep as he quietly slipped off her boots, clinging to the waking world to ask just one thing of him. "Stay with me? If I have to be here overnight, it'd be much nicer with you as well."
"Shhh, of course Sammie." Jack whispered into her ear as he took his own boots off and settled on the bed next to her. They both went to sleep, lying sideways, his arms wrapped around hers, contented to pretend that they were at home, and not at the SGC.
The next day Sam awoke to a strange and frightening sensation. She snapped her eyes open and looked to the clock on the bedside table to see it was barely even daytime – only 5.50am. The sensation that had no doubt woken her so early was something she was so un-used to she sat upright immediately, the sudden action not helping any.
Jack felt the movement and stirred from his deep sleep. Once his hearing became sharper, he realized something was very wrong. Sam had sat up next to him, but was wheezing heavily. He opened his eyes swiftly and sat up next to her, placing a hand on her arm which was white-hot.
"Jack!" Sam whispered, unable to get her voice to work properly. "I don't know what's wrong with me! I can't breathe properly-" she had to stop speaking as an all-encompassing rasping cough took over her entire body, leaving her even more breathless than before. "I'm not asthmatic… I don't know what this is." She tried to rationalize weakly as Jack scooped her into his arms and burst through the door into the corridor, racing towards the infirmary at top speed.
He burst through the door, shouting for whoever was on duty to come and help, only to find that Jonas seemed to be suffering from exactly the same malady as Sam. He was lying weakly on the gurney, covered in sweat, wheezing audibly. Someone had obviously called Janet in to see to him as she was bustling around issuing various orders to the nurses present.
At Jack's arrival, she whirled around on the spot and instantly understood what must have happened. "Put her down on the bed next to Jonas." She said, pulling out her thermometer, stethoscope and various other paraphernalia. "Sir, you're going to have to get out of the way if I'm going to have any chance of helping her." She protested as Jack placed Sam on the bed but refused to move away. He finally bowed in acquiescence and moved a couple of feet back to look on anxiously.
Despite the fervent desire, Jack managed to hold his tongue while Janet quickly checked Sam's symptoms and barked another couple of orders to the nurses. One of them placed oxygen masks on both the patients before attaching IV lines. He didn't understand any of this activity, and so was still gripped in the silent panic that had greeted him upon waking up a few moments earlier. After what seemed like an eternity, both Sam and Jonas calmed down and Janet finally turned to Jack.
"They're comfortable now sir," she said, trying to calm him down. "I won't be sure until I've done some tests, but they both present symptoms consistent with bronchitis. The strangest thing is that they've manifested at exactly the same time."
"Could it be something to do with what happened off-world yesterday?" he asked quietly, glancing over to Sam's exhausted body; she was again asleep.
"That's exactly what I was thinking," Janet nodded approvingly. "since they were the only two to go into the structure, it's probable they were exposed to some form of viral or bacterial agent. I'm going to start them on anti-biotics immediately, but if it's viral they won't have any effect – only bedrest will help."
"But you made them better just then!" Jack motioned to both patients who were peacefully asleep.
"All I did was apply some medicine that could have been administered in the home." Janet shrugged. "I gave them oxygen and ventolin to help their breathing, and an anti-pyretic analgesic combination through the IV to bring down the fever." She slowly turned away to do a final check of her patients and moved to the edge of the room, sitting down on a chair to grab the cup of coffee one of the nurses had kindly brought for her. "You should get some sleep sir," she said as Jack hovered over Sam. "They'll probably sleep for a while yet."
General Hammond waited patiently as an obviously under-the-weather Colonel Carter tried to convince him to let them return off-world to look for more evidence of the disappeared civilization.
"Colonel," he said patiently as Sam finally drew a breath in her impassioned recitation. "Dr Fraser tells me that in all likelihood you and Jonas contracted this virus or whatever it is on that planet. Furthermore, you are clearly not well at this time and I highly doubt that you would be cleared for off-world travel." He cut Sam off as she prepared to protest. "I'm sorry but that's my final word." He said firmly. "Until Dr Fraser believes you are well enough to return you are stood down on sick leave. And, until we can be sure that your illness is nothing serious, no-one will return to the planet."
"Yes sir," Sam sighed and sank back into the chair, realizing how exhausted she was. "Can I at least go home?" She asked meekly, surprising herself even with the request. She didn't know why, but she had an almost uncontrollable desire to leave the base.
"That will be up to the good doctor, I'm afraid." The General replied warmly. "As long as there is someone to watch over you while you're off-base, I can't see that there would be a problem."
"If Colonel Carter is ok with it, I'd like to volunteer for that particular mission, sir." Jack had opened the door to the General's office without knocking, knowing already that Sam was inside.
General Hammond smiled, rolling his eyes knowingly. "As I said to Colonel Carter, Jack, that's not up to me – you'll have to put your case in the infirmary."
"Well, I'm not entirely sure that I want you off-base, Sam." Janet had listened patiently to Jack and Sam's combined efforts to sway her into letting one of her patients leave. "By all rights you shouldn't be sick." She sat down on the chair next to her desk to look again at all the tests. "As far as I can tell, this is the most benign of bronchial diseases – so benign, that with your naquada-fortified immune system you shouldn't be affected at all."
"C'mon Doc," Jack opened his eyes wide and raised his eyebrows, trying to look as adorable as possible. "She's not Wonder Woman! For once Sam is actually willing to take a break from the SGC – why on earth should we stop her?"
"Hey! I'm not completely useless!" Sam retorted, trying not to cough for the umpteenth time that hour. "It's just that, well, if I'm not going to be allowed back off-world, I'd prefer to get outta here!"
"Fine, fine." Janet closed her eyes and threw her head back in defeat. "But only on the condition that Colonel O'Neill doesn't let you out of his sight."
"No problem doc," Jack winked at her playfully. "I'll keep her well and truly in my sights."
"But she needs rest!" Janet warned dangerously. "Anyways, you don't want to get sick as well do you sir? You saw how many needles I had to put into poor Sam this morning for all those tests…"
The mention of needles managed to wipe the cheeky grin off Jack's face and he quickly indicated that he understood; he'd only been joking anyway.
Jack woke up to find the space in the bed next to him empty. Despite Sam's assertions that she'd be fine – and that he didn't want to get sick anyway – he'd refused to sleep anywhere else other than by her side. He'd noted silently how she'd been grateful for his decision. She had snuggled right up to him to go to sleep, clinging to him even.
Although he didn't mind – quite on the contrary, he loved the feel of her against him – it unnerved him that she seemed so, well, afraid. He tried to rationalize it in his mind: she wasn't used to being sick, or people always went a bit sooky when they were sick. Still, her actions spoke volumes of her state of mind. In his eyes, a worried and scared Sam couldn't mean anything good.
These waves of concern all led him to be downright anxious to awake and find that, in the middle of the night, she had moved and was no longer sleeping next to him on the bed. Maybe she just needed a glass of water, maybe she needed some more of the medicines Janet had sent them home with. But maybe there was something wrong.
Instantly alert, Jack swung his legs off the bed and rose to his feet the moment they touched the carpet.
It didn't take him long to find Sam, she was moving around the house, slowly but with an air of purpose. He watched her for a moment as she ran her fingers along the mantelpiece where he had a collection of old photos. She then reached a window and slowed to examine that as well. He stood there, puzzled, for several minutes. It seemed almost like she was cataloguing everything there. When she came across a piece of technology like the TV or the stereo, she'd stop and fiddle with the controls, turning it on and experimenting with the functions, before turning it off again and continuing on her survey.
"Sam?" He asked tentatively. There was no response. "Whatcha doin?" He moved slowly towards her. She was now looking into the mirror, as if transfixed by the image of herself reflecting in the dim light. She had lifted her left hand and was now fingering her cheek, as if she'd never realized it was there before.
Jack moved cautiously towards her, trying not to startle her. He caught her eye in the mirror and saw something strange there. It was as if she was on the verge of tears, but her facial expression seemed completely calm. There was just the illusion of water welling in her eyelids.
"Sam, come back to bed." He murmured softly as he stopped just inches behind her. He reached an arm out to touch her, to bring her back to him, to bring her back to the bed to get some rest.
It was as if she had been burned. The instant Jack touched her Sam reacted violently and struck her right arm out, pushing him away with such force that he was sent flying across the room, crashing on the coffee table behind him and landing awkwardly up against the sofa.
He looked up to Sam, more in shock than anything else as he cradled the bruised arm that had landed awkwardly under the full weight of his body. Upon doing so, he noticed the strange tingling sensation on his fingertips where he'd touched her. Looking up to Sam with incomprehension, he saw an expression on her face that was if nothing else completely puzzling. She looked as if she loathed him. This wasn't a case of being pissed off, or angry, or even of hating him for doing something. She was looking at him as if he were a pile of cow dung that smelt particularly horrible.
Jack sat there gaping at her for a couple of moments, trying not to jump to any conclusions when, abruptly, all the colour seemed to drain from her face. The life in her seemed to dissipate before his eyes as she collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
To be continued…
A/N: Ok I've already written the first bit of the next chapter. I'll try to make it a speedy update for you all. Pleease review and tell me what you think of the fic, where it's going… and any hypotheses about what's happening (Bookworm, you're not allowed to do that bit).
Oh, and keep in mind I am NOT a doctor and so if any of you spot holes in my diagnoses or whatever, it's an honest mistake! I'm describing the symptoms from personal experience though. A couple of years ago I had to do a medical exam to get a visa and woke up on the day of the exam feeling exactly like Sam did in my description... NOT fun!