Chapter 7: the fourth horseman
"Umh... Umh umh. Hank ... Hank, Hank!" It was hard to interrupt the SGC general in the middle of a plea, but Jack had little time to spare. "If Carter says she can do it, she will. I'll make sure she has the funds and resources. We're talking about Carter, no one else could do what she's doing, so give her a free pass. This psychic power neutralizer would be ready in how long according to Carter? ... Ah Dr. Lee is also ... Very good. Keep me informed Hank, I have to leave you, I have to go to the briefing with the successful candidate to take command of the Daedalus ... See you soon Hank."
He passed his hand over the back of his neck. It would be a long day. He'd been back in Washington for a few days, but the events of the evening with SG1 were running through his mind. It would be hard to hide his feelings from Cassie at their dinner tomorrow night. He had to pick her up at the airport, she was coming back from Colorado Springs after a few days of training in what Jack called the SG Academy. The training course that young aspiring SGC members were taking. He wondered what simulation Cassie had undergone and how the two days she had spent at the SGC helping Dr. Lam in the infirmary had gone. He would know how to put on a brave face to the young woman, he knew now that the line was clear between him and Sam. He had made a decision and Samantha needed to rebuild her barriers. He understood it. But his heart didn't accept it. But Jack O'Neill had learned over the years not to listen to his heart.
"General, your car is downstairs."
"Thank you Hoswald."
COLORADO SPRINGS - CHEYENNE MOUTAIN BASE - INFIRMARY
Cassandra finished drawing blood from Colonel Barnes while Dr. Lam examined the other team members. It was strange for the young woman to see someone other than her mother administering these places. But the SGC needed a chief medical officer and Dr. Carolyn Lam was particularly competent. And despite the stench emanating from the men, the medical team worked as if nothing had happened.
"So this SG simulation?" Cassandra had grown up in the SGC, once the bomb in her body had been removed, it had not been uncommon for her to accompany her mother there. She was not really an earthling, her health had been closely monitored throughout her childhood. It was not uncommon for a member of an SG team to ask about her to Janet, Samantha or Jack. She smiled at the soldier as she placed a sterile cotton ball on the puncture site.
"A little invasion of the earth by one of his particularly prideful Goau'ld spies. Major Sullivan makes a very convincing false god that said." The Colonel laughed, "But I think I did pretty well. Dr. Lam even offered me a shift here to prepare me for what I'll have to do in a while."
"It's because his kids are driving him nuts, he volunteers for little vacations with the recruits to have a little recreation." The young woman laughed in turn and placed a bandage on the injection area. "Your mother would have been proud of you Cassandra." A sad smile passed over the young woman's lips.
"Thank you Colonel." She then turned toward Dr. Lam who was approaching her after releasing one of the team members. "I believe the Colonel's check-up is finished, Doctor." She handed the doctor her pad with the different vitals and the labels of the blood samples.
"Sounds good to me Cassandra. You can go ahead Colonel, the shower is just waiting for you."
"I dream about it. Thank you Doctor, good luck Cassandra."
"Thank you Colonel. Enjoy your shower!"
COLORADO SPRINGS - CHEYENNE MOUTAIN BASE - SAMANTHA CARTER LAB
"See you soon Cassie." The young woman had changed into a more comfortable outfit for her upcoming plane ride and Samantha hugged her one last time before she left. Daniel had offered to drop her off at the airport, allowing Samantha to focus on her research with Dr. Lee on the anti-Priors weapon. Cassandra frowned as she noted the tray of food sitting on the research bench, but which had not been started by the scientist.
"Promise me you'll feed regularly, I wouldn't be a good future doctor if I didn't tell you, so don't frown." Samantha burst into an amused laugh.
"Don't reverse the roles, I'm the oldest one in this room." The military woman falsely reprimanded her.
"I'm going to miss you Sam, when are you coming to visit us in Washington?" Cassandra threw out a marker in hopes that things had settled down between Samantha and Jack during her whirlwind visit last week.
"I'll come by and see you as soon as things settle down a bit here. If I can get this device right, we can get the Ori to back off."
I'll come see you. Obviously things hadn't gotten any better. "Ready Cassie?" Daniel had just entered the laboratory, dressed in civilian clothes. Too late thought the young woman as she hugged Samantha one last time.
"See you soon Sam. Love you."
WASHINGTON D.C. - OFFICE OF GENERAL JACK O'NEILL - 9:35 PM
"I'm so sorry Cassie." He placed a kiss on her cheek as the car came to a stop in front of the Homeland Security entrance.
"Don't worry, I could have ordered a cab." Protested the young woman as he left the vehicle, Jack leaned over to talk to the driver.
"I prefer to know you are safe, I entrust her to you Hoswald." His subordinate nodded. Then Jack became General Jack O'Neill again, and as he walked through the doors, he did not turn around.
"Really Julia, you don't have to take me back to the Academy, I can take a cab. I don't know what this is all about, but he's going to need you."
"Don't take this the wrong way Cassandra, but I'm under General O'Neill's orders, so in order for him to be focused on his task, it's best if I take you back to your dorm." But as the car was about to pass through the security gates, armed military personnel blocked the vehicle.
(...)
"Hank, what's the situation?" Sitting in a chair in his office he held out his arm to a nurse dressed in a protective suit to perform the blood sample. Hoswald and Cassie had also been isolated and were undergoing the same sampling.
"The team was able to intercept Lieutenant Fischer before he made contact with George. He is back at the SGC. According to Dr. Lam, the Prior made him a healthy carrier so he could spread the virus quickly. Barnes is in bad shape. I already have over a dozen infected officers here and all of them have had no contact with SG6. Fischer stopped at a restaurant and gas station before going to this ceremony, I don't know how bad the damage is. I have sent Mitchell into the field to help with the quarantine but I fear the outbreak will quickly get out of control. At this time, only the areas around Colorado Springs and Denver are affected, but..."
But Cassandra had traveled from Denver, and she wasn't alone. The epidemic would soon escape the state's borders. He sighed. Although in isolation, he continued to work, hoping only that Cassandra would not be affected. He rubbed the back of his neck.
"I will call the President and issue recommendations... Does Dr. Lam have any solution to cure this 'plague'?"
"She works day and night, but the number of sick people is increasing..." Jack sighed. A deadly pandemic. This is what the Ori were sending them to prove their omnipotence. He allowed himself three seconds to be terrified for those he loved, his old team, Cassandra, Samantha. Then he snapped back into reality and focused on what needed to be done.
"I'm going to ask the President to put the state on lockdown. For the press, a release will explain that this is a new variant of the flu. As for Mitchel, he needs to track down all of Barnes' contacts. Hopefully, if Cassandra Frasier is not a carrier of the virus, we may be able to limit it to Denver."
"Let's hope so."
(...)
"Orlin..." Jack sighed. Great, all that was missing was Martouf and Pete to complete the picture of his personal nightmare. "And he says he can help design a cure without getting called back by his little buddies?"
"Yes sir." Samantha's voice was scarily neutral. "He has offered to synthesize a cure but it will take time." She paused. Uncertain.
"Cassandra is fine, her results are negative for Prior's Plague, she's safe, I'll see to it." He marked a pose too, looking up at the opening in front of him the Homeland premises were abuzz and yet he was taking the time to call her to hear her report in person. To hear her. To know she was okay. "You can get on with your mission Sam. I'll take care of Cassie. Take care of yourself, I'll take care of her." He marked another pose and resumed a more formal tone. "Go back to your job Colonel and save the world once again."
"Right, General."
(...)
"Cassandra." He was so weary, yet the day was far from over, he had been going through meeting after meeting, briefing after briefing, and interview after interview for the past two days. He hadn't left the HQ since that night when he was supposed to have dinner with Cassandra. He was exhausted but could not take a rest, so went the life of a Homeland commander.
"Don't start with your 'Cassandra'. The whole country is infected. The Academy has been asked to send recruits to the local hospitals. Jack please stop trying to protect me at all costs." The young woman was particularly annoyed on the screen. Jack understood that but he didn't want her to get within reach of this virus, they had already been lucky that she wasn't infected with the Preacher Plague. He knew Samantha worked better knowing she was safe. Still, he understood her need to do what she'd been training for the past two years. "I assume you promised Sam you would keep me safe? Well I'm in the military Jack, I'm mobilizable. One day I'll go on a field mission. You're going to have to learn to let me do what you used to do every day, risk your lives to protect others." Jack ran his hand over his forehead, wiping the sweat from his brow, obscuring her face on the screen for a second with his hand. He understood her wanting to be in the field, but ... But he'd already lost one son. And... "Jack?"
"I understand Cassandra but..." A coughing fit shook him, preventing him from finishing his sentence.
"Jack, are you okay?" But the general coughed and coughed. Then suddenly he collapsed. "JACK!"
( ...)
"General! ... General O'Neill! ... General!" Hoswald's panicked voice came to him from a great distance. He could not open his eyes.
"Jack! Please Jack!" Cassandra's voice sounded even more distant, as if it were coming from far away. Yet he would have gladly opened his eyes if it would have silenced the concern he sensed in her voice. But he couldn't do it. The effort was too great. The fatigue was immense. He was so tired. The saving darkness was reaching out to him, there was no harm in taking a little rest, was there? So he let himself be carried away.
COLORADO SPRINGS - CHEYENNE MOUTAIN BASE - LABORATORIES
"Orlin"
"Sam. Are you alright?" He seemed to sense her trouble, she was concerned about the results she had just seen in Dr. Lam's office. Her brain was being damaged. Permanent damage that he was obviously willing to suffer, for her. To save the human race.
"I'm fine…it's you I'm worried about…We just got your test results back…they show significant and progressive changes in different areas of your brain..."
COLORADO SPRINGS - CHEYENNE MOUTAIN BASE - LABORATORIES
"It's like catching a glimpse of someone from the corner of your eye then turning around…and they're gone. You begin to doubt whether you really saw them in the first place. *turns to look at her* tell me Sam…how can you regret losing a memory you can't even remember?"
"What are you working on?"
"the instruction for assembling the cure…in the event that I am too incapacitated to complete it myself. …it's uh…a precaution we have to take. The most frustrating part in all this is I am unable to control what I can hold on to…even for a little while. Crucial information I need to finish the cure is slipping through my fingers…while insignificant minutia of my experiences as an ancient are still fresh and clear in my mind. In time I shall lose it all…but for now…it just doesn't seem fair.3
"Is there anything I can do?
"no…at this point…its best if I work alone."
COLORADO SPRINGS - CHEYENNE MOUTAIN BASE - CONTROL ROOM
General Landry stands in the middle of the Stargate Command Room and watches Julia Donovan's newscast on the television screen.
"Despite the best efforts of all those involved the virus continues to spread at an alarming rate…the CDC advises anyone who suspects they may have the virus or may have come in contact with someone who did to quarantine themselves and immediately contact their loca ... "Sergeant Harriman approaches the general with urgent information.
" Sir. Just received word that china, Great Britain and Russia have grounded all air travel and have closed off their ports to foreign ships."
"This is out of control and it's only going to get worse." Sighs the General.
"and according to General Hammond's office our allies have expressed concern about the cover story…specifically how long we can continue to maintain it… they've requested a meeting with you.." New sigh from the General at the head of the SGC.
"General Hammond's office?" He wondered as he followed the Sergeant up the stairs to the briefing room.
"General O'Neill is unavailable General, his assistant has informed us that General O'Neill has been infected with the Prior's Plague General, he is hospitalized at Bethesda."
BETHESDA - AIR FORCE MILITARY HOSPITAL - ISOLATION ROOM
"Are you awake?" The beeping around him was unbearable, but the hand holding his and that broken voice nearby gave him the strength to open his eyes. He was exhausted, aching and pain radiated from his lungs. She didn't look very well, exhausted was the term, her big eyes were darkened, she was wearing a hazmat suit. Around him, a large plastic bubble isolated him from the rest of the room.
"Ca...Ssie" His voice was hoarse. A hiccup halfway between laughter and tears escaped the young woman.
"Jack. You're awake... I was so scared when you collapsed." She squeezed his hand vigorously, he tried to smile at her but the effort was too great.
"What... What happened?" He had to know. The young woman brought a glass with a straw close to his mouth and he gulped down several mouthfuls, moistening his parched throat.
"Your tests are not good Jack, you have the virus. You've been transferred to Bethesda Military Hospital. You're in quarantine. You were unconscious for almost five hours." She was trying to be professional but, it was her almost father who was lying in that bed. He who was so strong and vibrant, looked so small and exhausted surrounded by all his tubes and machines.
"The Homeland... The SGC?" He was having trouble keeping coherent thoughts, he was so exhausted. The fever was gaining ground, he could feel it.
"General Hammond has been recalled to duty temporarily. I don't know about the SGC. As soon as I could, I asked to be at your bedside, it was Julia who arranged it, then she went back to HQ."
"Good... Don't worry. It's okay..." He tried to reassure her, fighting the fever and torpor that was rapidly taking over him.
"No, it's not okay. I wanted to be here when you woke up, but now I'm going to go tell Sam and the team that you..."
"NO!" His cry was more like a croak than the command he had hoped to give.
"Jack, she's working on the virus, she has a right to know that you're ..."
"NO!" He swallowed his saliva with difficulty to pronounce his request. "Promise me you won't tell her anything Cassandra. She doesn't need that."
"But she has a right to know. It's Sam, your Sam." Pleaded the young woman, revealing what she knew with those few words. Her Sam.
"Promise me Cassie... It'll be okay. She'll figure it out. She always does. Promise me." The General fidgeted, clutching the young woman's hand, she watched the machines around them panic.
"All right, all right, calm down, Jack I promise. I won't say anything. Calm down."
COLORADO SPRINGS - CHEYENNE MOUTAIN BASE - GENERAL LANDRY'S OFFICE
"George." He was surprised to find the former SGC Chief General in his office. The situation was serious.
"Hi Hank, how was the grilling?"
"Medium rare. I just got off the phone with the CDC…a flight left salt lake city, three days after the contagion was identified. Made a stop over at O'Hara before continuing on to its final destination Charles de Gaule airport." The two generals sat down on either side of the desk.
"you're telling me the virus has already reached Paris." George Hammond was worried.
"Three people on that flight have already tested positive for the virus. French authorities are doing all that they can to track down the passengers, flight crew, any ground crew or airport personnel that may have come into contact with them."
"And…anyone who came into contact with them… and…anyone who came into contact with those people. You know at the rate this thing is traveling in three days it will hit the middle-east. Six days it will be in china"
"Stock market has already taken a dive and people are panicking… if this thing spreads far enough and does enough damage. It could start destabilizing governments. We're going to have to be prepared for any and all possibilities."
There was a pensive silence in the office for a few seconds.
"You're right Hank. Fortunately, we have the best people in the world on our teams to handle this situation."
"I don't mean to sound rude George, but what are you doing here?" For it puzzled him, if Jack was off duty at Bethesda, George should have been in Washington.
"I'm going back to Washington as soon as I can."
BETHESDA - AIR FORCE MILITARY HOSPITAL - ISOLATION ROOM
"His vitals are not good. What did the tests show?" Cassandra Frasier stood on the other side of the isolation bubble, conversing with the doctor who was treating Washington officers infected with the Prior Plague.
"Cassandra, you know that's not information I can share with anyone who isn't family." Jennifer Keller admired the dedication of the young soldier who had not left the General's bedside since her arrival. Nevertheless, she was concerned about the possibility of contamination of the young woman with so much time spent at the bedside without resting or taking breaks.
"I'm his only family Dr. Keller, I need to know where he stands. I... I made him a promise, but if he's on the wrong track... There's someone I need to warn. Someone who should be with him if..."
"He has fallen into a coma Cassandra... According to what the SGC has transmitted to us as data, he could die in a few days. I'm sorry." Cassandra took the blow, her gaze deviating to Jack's body lying in his hospital sheets, unconscious. "I'm worried about you, spending so much time at his bedside might have contaminated you. I would prefer that you go to the observation room and have your blood drawn, in the meantime, you will have to stay there in isolation." The young soldier nodded.
"All right. But I have to make a call first."
COLORADO SPRINGS - CHEYENNE MOUTAIN BASE - CORRIDORS
"Colonel. How are things progressing?" General Landry had deferred George's departure. His presence at the SGC was timely, he wanted Orlin to accompany him on his mission, so he would leave the command of the SGC in the interim to George Hammond.
"They're not sir…As you know the contagions rapidly mutating nature necessitated our requiring a specimen of DNA from the Original virus… we finally managed to get a blood sample from the prior who started the plague but so far it hasn't helped. It looks like we've hit a dead end." She seemed exhausted nevertheless he had to ask her to continue. Hadn't Jack said to give her a free hand?
"Well let's hope "looks like" is the operative sentence here"
"yes sir."
COLORADO SPRINGS - CHEYENNE MOUTAIN BASE - BRIEFING ROOM
"it's always darkest before the dawn *they all stand* my uncle used to say that all the time, he was a wedding planner." George Hammond entered the briefing room, which had been his daily workplace for several years, one last time.
"General Hammond." Samantha gave him a shy smile, he was glad to see the team together despite Jack O'Neill's absence.
"At ease." The military woman relaxed. He saw that she was obviously exhausted.
"sir when did you arrive?"
"oh I've been here a while…colonel. But you were busy and I thought it best not to deserve you. Colonel Mitchell. Congratulations on getting the band back together."
"Thank you, sir. It wasn't easy." No, and now George understood why Samantha Carter had been so hard to convince.
"ah…but worth it. you couldn't ask for three better people watching your back. I'm sorry I won't get a chance to see Teal'c before I go."
"Already my general?"
"I'm leaving for Peterson. I've been called back to Washington." Samantha's face scrunched up for a split second, the sadness fleeting but would have noted it
"Well…it's good to see you again sir."
"it's good to see you too. All of you. Give my best to Teal'c. take care of each other. take care of General Landry too. " As he walked away down the hallway, the general turned back. "Colonel Carter, may I have a word with you in private?"
COLORADO SPRINGS - CHEYENNE MOUTAIN BASE - GENERAL LANDRY'S OFFICE
"Sir?" The military woman seemed taken aback as he closed the door to General Landry's office behind them.
"Sit down, Colonel." Samantha complied. The solemn look of the General did not leave her any room for doubt, he was going to tell her something serious. When he sat down in the chair next to hers and not in General Landry's, Samantha had the confirmation that this conversation would not be official. "Samantha, I took over command of Homeland Security at the request of the President two days ago." He saw the astonishment paint itself in her blue eyes, then the questions form on her lips so he continued. "I was notified that General Jack O'Neill had collapsed in his office, he was rushed to our hospital in Bethesda. His tests have informed the medical team that he is in an advanced stage of the Prior's Plague." He paused for a moment allowing her time to integrate her information. "Cassandra Frasier tried to reach you this morning, but General Landry had suspended all outside contact so you could work on the vaccine. So she contacted me, through the General's assistance. Samantha, I'm sorry to tell you this, but General O'Neill slipped into a coma this morning, in the final stages of the disease. Cassandra wanted you to know." The pain that crossed the military woman's face squeezed the former General's heart. Ten years, he had been with Jack O'Neill for ten years, and he had also witnessed Samantha Carter's and Jack O'Neill's sense of duty and sacrifice for the past five years. At no time had he doubted them, he knew that Jack had never broken the non-fraternization rule with his subordinate. Never. He had tried to help them in his own way, by proposing Jack for the head of the SGC. Then by recommending him for the leadership of Homeland Security when he had retired after Jacob's death. He had hoped for them. If any two people deserved happiness, it was them. "According to her, he only has a few days left. She asked me to tell you. I hesitated. I almost left without doing so, so as not to hide anything from you. Your work is very important and you know it. I think Jack knew that too." A tear rolled slowly down the corner of her right eye, a fleeting glimpse of the grief that ravaged her but which she did not let show. He took her hand in his. "Samantha, he made Cassandra promise not to tell you."
"Thank you for telling me, Sir." She removed her hands from his. "I have to... I have to get back to work."
"Sure Colonel, dismissed."
As she stood up and left the office, Walter's voice came over the SGC speakers.
"Unscheduled external activation of the Stargate" She hurried down the stairs to the gate control room.
"This is Teal'c." The Sergeant told her as she approached the control console. Teal'c walked through the door wearing his Jaffa battle gear. But he was not alone, a Prior accompanied him. The men raised their weapons and Teal'c stood in front of him.
"Lower your weapons." Ordered the Jaffa. Samantha trusted Teal'C, maybe he was the one who would bring them the solution? Maybe he would save Jack?
"This is Colonel Carter. Stand down."
BETHESDA - AIR FORCE MILITARY HOSPITAL - ISOLATION ROOM
She stood at his bedside, holding his hand in hers, though she was dressed in her protective suit. She had begged Dr. Keller to let her be with him. His vital signs were not good. He didn't have long to live. She didn't want him to be alone. She had warned General Hammond but Sam had not come. She had to save the world, wasn't that what Jack kept saying. She was crying but she couldn't wipe her tears away, her protection preventing her from doing so.
"You know, the first year I spent with Mom, I hoped for a long time that you and Samantha would adopt me, that we would be a family like I saw every day when I left school. A father and a mother. In my mind, you were the perfect duo, I don't think I even realized at the time that a couple is formed out of love, not because an 11-year-old decided to." She laughs, squeezing his hand. "It's not fair to Mom, when I think about it what a little pest I was. She had taken me in, loved me, and you were the one I wanted. But Sam stayed with me in that bunker, I was so attached to her. As for you, you came every weekend when you weren't on a mission. You taught me to ride a bike, you gave me a dog, Mr. Burns. To me you had that little something that made you the perfect mom and dad." She sniffed, trying to fight back her tears. "And when Mom died, I needed you so much. And you were there. You're going to think this is silly but, I didn't even understand it until I caught you in the kitchen one morning. And it just seemed so normal. I needed you and you were there, together. Just like I had wanted so badly when I was 11. I needed you and you did so much for me... So I know you're going to be angry, but she had a right to know Jack. She had a right to know." She sighed, "But this time I'm not sure she can save the world in time to save you. I'm sorry. But I'll stay with you, you're not alone. I'm here... You know there's something I've always wanted to tell you. But I never dared to ask you. You're the one who brought me flowers for the prom so my date could attach them to my buttonhole, you're the one who taught me how to ride a bike, who gave me a dog, the one who told me I could do anything, alien or not. I always told myself that the day I got married, you would be the one standing next to me... You know Jack, what I never dared to tell you is that, for me, you are my father... But I know that for you, it would be too painful to say it, to admit it, because you would be afraid to lose me... Like you lost Charlie. But it's just the two of us, and for once, you can't run away from this conversation..." She hiccupped, between laughter and tears. "But even now, when you can't make one of your famous jokes I can't say it... This is so hard, I didn't think I'd lose you so soon after Mom..." Sobs shook her shoulders as she laid the visor of the suit against Jack's chest, snuggling up to him like a child dressed as an astronaut. "I love you, Daddy. I'm staying with you, you're not alone, I love you."
COLORADO SPRINGS - CHEYENNE MOUTAIN BASE - LABORATORY
Sam was pacing back and forth in the observation room that overlooked the research lab. At this point in the vaccine manufacturing process, her skills were no longer needed. She had been kicked out of the lab by Colonel Stevens and Dr. Lam, who were now busy synthesizing the vaccine from the antibodies of the patients Gerak had cured.
"You should sit down Colonel Carter." The Jaffa was carefully following the movements of the two researchers in the room below.
"Teal'C is right Sam, you've done all you can do with Orlin's notes. Sit down and get some rest." Cameron, on the other hand, couldn't take his eyes off Samantha. Something had happened during her meeting with General Hammond. She had come out of that interview more determined than ever, but to a point that bordered on the unreasonable.
"My plane leaves for Washington as soon as they finish synthesizing the virus. I'll be resting on the plane." Cameron frowned. He hadn't heard that Samantha would be mobilized to help deploy the vaccine.
"Are you going to Washington?" He wondered.
"General Hammond asked me to join him as soon as the vaccine was ready." She explained. Of course, she was mostly lying. When General Landry had returned to duty a few hours earlier, after his miraculous recovery, she had asked to be the one to bring the vaccine to Washington to be administered to General O'Neill. Although the General had seemed surprised by her request, he could not refuse her. He was the one who had forbidden Cassandra Frasier's call to be transmitted to him, he could not refuse her to be near her former superior and the man with whom she "shared" the custody of the young woman until she came of age. The distress of the Colonel had not escaped him in spite of his attempts to mask his emotions.
"Are you going away for long?" Daniel asked with a frown. "Is Cassie okay?"
"SG1 is going to get a few days off, according to General Landry. She has been staying at the bedside in D.C., I'd like to spend some time with her." She struggled to lie to her two closest friends. But she had to. Jack had refused to let Cassie warn them of her condition... If she got there in time, he could explain to them himself why.
In the room below, Dr. Lam was coming out of the test tubes of a centrifuge, his eyes met Carter's who had frozen. She smiled and motioned for him to come down, the first doses were ready. They were reserved for the active personnel of the SGC. And one of them would be for Jack O'Neill.
BETHESDA - AIR FORCE MILITARY HOSPITAL - ISOLATION ROOM
He was fighting for his life. Cassandra knew it. She had been talking ever since he went into a coma. She was sure that if she stopped for even a moment, he would leave. So she talked and talked. She had only agreed to take time off with the knowledge that he would not let her down. Sam had called him just before his plane left Cheyenne Mountain. She was bringing the vaccine. She'd made it. But no one could say that it would be enough to cure the already severely ill general. There was still a faint hope, and Cassandra was hanging on with all her might. When Dr. Keller entered the isolation room, a syringe on a tray in front of her, hope flared in the young woman's heart. Sam had arrived. Dr. Keller approached her patient, Cassandra couldn't take her eyes off her, and she disinfected Jack's arm before injecting the vaccine into his muscle.
"We have to wait now. We have no feedback on the vaccine injection. You must have faith Cassandra." Murmured the doctor as he squeezed the young woman's shoulder. "Colonel Carter is changing, she will be here soon. When she arrives, I'd like to examine you and inject you with a dose of antiviral. You've spent time at the SGC and with the General, let's not take any chances, okay?"
The doctor left the room, leaving the young woman alone with the general. When Sam entered the room, she froze outside the containment bubble. Her gaze was drawn to the figure lying in the medical bed, hooked up to a respirator and connected to several machines emitting reassuring beeps. He looked so frail, despite his large figure discernible under the sheets. But more than anything, what struck her like a blow was the total immobility of his face, without any expression. She had slept hundreds of nights with this man over the past ten years. She had never seen such an inexpressive face. Even in the stasis chamber of the ancients, he had that expression that made him Jack O'Neill. He was so pale and still. As if he were dead. Cassandra turned, feeling his silent presence behind her. Tears had marbled her face with lighter lines. Samantha opened her arms to her, despite her bulky suit, and the young woman hugged herself. Samantha was wearing only a mask and a sterile outfit, before leaving the base Dr. Lam had injected her with a dose of the vaccine.
"I'm sorry Cassie. You shouldn't have gone through this alone..." Murmured the Colonel as she pulled the young woman slightly away from her. "I'll watch over him, go get some rest, I'll have you called at the slightest change." She will be the young woman's hand between hers. "Thank you for being there Cassandra."
The young woman, with a tight throat, simply nodded and moved with heavy steps towards the exit of the room. Exhausted, she finally admitted it now that Sam was there.
When Cassandra was out, Samantha approached the medical bed and sat down in the chair the young woman had left empty. She looked at him for a long moment before taking his hand in hers. She didn't care that she was in a military hospital, that she was likely to be caught hand in hand with him. She wouldn't leave him alone.
"You really are the most stubborn man this galaxy has ever known, you know that..." She sighed, squeezing his hand. "You had no right to order Cassie not to tell us anything. If you had died, she would never have recovered. The weight of guilt for keeping your condition from us would have eaten away at her, and you know that, Jack." She wiped away the tears of anger and hurt that beaded in her eyes. "What did you tell yourself? That I had to save the world and that you shouldn't distract me from my mission? The Great General O'Neill has decided and ordered and the world must comply, right? If you only knew how much I hate you and your stars sometimes... " She pressed her forehead against Jack's palm. "Do you even know how it made me feel when General Hammond told me you were in a coma? What I felt and what I had to repress immediately ... And if you die Jack...do you know how I'll feel?" She closed her eyes for a second. "You had no right to choose for me. To force us to lie for you. Sometimes I hate your stars... But Jack... You don't have the right to die... You can't leave me... I don't want the last thing I said to you to be 'good night'... Please... Come back to us."
(...)
The beeping woke him up from the semi-comatose state he had been in for several hours. He was aware of what was going on around him, the beeps and whispers. But his mind was still too foggy to hold on to reality enough to be aware of his body. His body was sore from holding the same position for too long. And his head hurt like hell. Yet he struggled to open his eyes. For the whispering voices were familiar to him.
"Doctor, I think he's waking up." That voice. It had come. She let go of his hand.
"General O'Neill, can you hear me?" The voice was unfamiliar to him. "If you can hear me, Sir, squeeze my fingers." He complied, slowly regaining his footing in his body. "General, you are in the Bethesda Military Hospital. You are recovering from the Prior's Virus." He fluttered his eyelids, struggling to open his eyes. His throat was sore, probably the result of an intubation. The last thing he remembered was fever and intense pain in his chest. His vision was blurred, he fluttered his eyelids again. The shadows and silhouettes stabilized, a young blonde woman in medical clothing was leaning over him, smiling. Behind her, Cassandra was holding Samantha's hand. They were both smiling. "I think, General, you're out of the woods.
