"Morning Janet," said Sam, as Jack helped her up onto the bed.
"Mornin doc," said Jack.
"So, how are you feeling in general?" asked Janet, taking Sam's vitals.
"Pretty good actually. I'm down to just the pain meds at night. I still have a little trouble sleeping. Seems I can't sleep any other way except on the side I'm not supposed to sleep on."
Janet removed the bandage on her lower back, "This looks like it's healing quite well. I see the General has been doing his job as far as wound care goes." She looked over at Jack and smiled, "Seems someone is a very good student."
Jack waved off her praise, "Ah, 'tis nothing. It wasn't that hard. And I paid close attention to my teacher."
Sam was getting impatient, "Ok you two, while it's great hearing how good a student the General here is, how bout we get to the part where I can feel my leg again?"
Janet and Jack shook their heads, "Where's that patience Carter?" asked Jack.
"I left it home," she said, "Now about rehab?"
"Whoa there Sam," said Janet, "Let's get some tests done and see where you are."
"But I thought you said I could start rehab as soon as I had feeling in the leg." Said Sam.
"I did, and you will, but I just want to run some tests to be sure everything is healed enough. It won't take long. Nancy?" Janet called to a nurse across the room, "Let's get the Colonel into a gown and over to x-ray. I want to do a full scan to check out the how the nerves are healing." She turned to Sam, "Then we'll do some physical tests and see where you're at. After that, we'll schedule the rehab." Sam blew out a frustrated breath, "Sam, we need to know where to tell the rehab doctor to start, and we can't do that without the tests. Now, like Jack said, patience, ok?"
Sam nodded her head, "Okay, I get it. Let's just get the tests going. I'm anxious to get to rehab."
"Hey," said Jack, sitting next to her on the bed, "We know you want to get started, and you will, but as much as I hate to say it, you gotta let the doc do her thing." Sam looked over at him and nodded, "Look, I'll go get some work done and when you're all set here we'll do lunch."
"Does that include blue jello?" she asked with a hint of a smile on her face.
He playfully shook a finger at her, "Only if I get a good behavior report from the doc here, deal?"
"Deal," she said. The nurse came over and handed her a gown.
"I'm going to call x-ray and make sure they're ready for us," said Janet and she left the room to phone x-ray.
Jack leaned over to whisper in Sam's ear, "You sure you don't need help changing into that? Cause you know I am more than willing to help..."
She playfully slapped him on the arm, "Go get some work done. I can handle this just fine thank you."
"Ok," said Jack jumping off the bed, "I'll be in Daniel's office. Buzz me over there when you're done and we'll do lunch."
Sam nodded, "See ya in a bit." He closed the curtain and headed off to go see Daniel.
Jack whistled his way down to Daniel's office. He was definitely in a good mood. Nothing going on in Washington or in the SGC and Carter was getting prepped to start rehab. The last part was the real reason for his good mood. He had some doubts about being able to help her in the beginning. She could match him time and time again in terms of stubbornness. When she refused the medication her first night home, he gave some serious thought to not staying and asking a nurse to come. He wondered if his being there was making her uncomfortable. If his presence would cause more harm than good. He was almost grateful for the severity of her pain that night. She had no choice but to accept his help, without feeling like she was letting him down. Once that barrier was broken it was smooth sailing. She was taking the meds when she needed them, and she was letting Jack help her when she needed it.
"...isn't it strange to be in the same house with her all the time?" Daniel's question popped into his head. He had to admit, not only was it not strange, it was wonderful. He'd leave in the morning after getting her breakfast and making sure she had everything she needed. He went about his day over at the SGC, using an empty office as his base to keep track of the goings on in Washington. And he found himself looking forward to going home, knowing she would be there.
It was as if they were meant to coexist in the same house. And he was amazed at how much they had in common. He learned some things about her that he never would have known had he not lived with her. Sure, he knew her well. Hell they had known each other for 10 years, but he didn't know her very well outside the confines of their jobs. They were never really able to get to know each other as just Jack and Sam. Not that they didn't want to, but they both knew that it was pointless to even entertain the idea that there would be a Jack and Sam who were more than friends. So they had stayed 'Carter' and 'Sir'. But since he started to stay at her house, the 'Carter' and 'Sir's were gone. They were just Jack and Sam. And as soon as the safe confines of their formal names went, he knew he could never go back. He turned a corner and a thought hit him. He stopped whistling. What happens when she's ready to go back to active duty? What the hell happens to them? Did they just go back to the 'Carter' and 'sir'? Could they? He shook his head, "I don't know how the hell she does this. All this thinking is making my head hurt."
Daniel looked up as Jack entered his office, "What makes your head hurt?" he asked as Jack took a seat next to Daniel.
"Thinking," he said. Matter-of-factly, "I don't know how Carter does it all the time. I've been thinking on my way over here and my head hurts. And that was what 7 minutes or so? How the hell does she think, like 24/7 and not have her head explode?"
Daniel just stared at Jack, a puzzled look on his face, "Jack, what the hell are you talking about?"
"What?" he said.
"You just came in here saying your head hurt from thinking and you wanted to know how Sam does it all the time without her head exploding."
"I did?" said Jack, "Oh, oh uh yes I did. I was just wondering aloud." He said.
"O...kay.." said Daniel.
"Whatcha doin'?" asked Jack, trying to look interested in the textbook that Daniel was pouring over.
"Just trying to decipher some of the writings off of that artifact that we got on PX5-426." He said, "But I'm not having much luck."
"Oh," said Jack, spinning a pen around in a circle on Daniel's desk.
"Jack?" asked Daniel, watching his friend nervously twirling the pen.
"Yeah?" said Jack.
"Everything alright?" Jack nodded, "Sam's ok?" again he nodded, "Okay, so what's on your mind. I mean, you were thinking when you came in right?"
"Yup, I was. I was definitely thinking." Said Jack, walking around Daniel's office picking up some books and skimming them over.
"About?" asked Daniel.
"About? Yes, well, what was I thinking about? Oh, nothing much." Said Jack putting down the book and picking up another.
"Jack," said Daniel, taking off his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose, "what's on your mind? Is it Sam? Is she ok? I mean, is everything ok with the two of you under one roof?"
Jack stopped, "Yup, everything's fine. Great even. Really, really great."
"Okay, am I missing something? If everything's 'great' what's the problem?"
Jack took a deep breath in and blew it out, "Daniel that IS the problem, I think."
Daniel shook his head, "Wait, wait, the problem is that things with you and Sam are really great?"
"Bingo," said Jack, putting down the book he was holding and resuming his pacing around Daniel's office, "What the hell happens when it's over and she's better and I have to go to Washington?" He was starting to get agitated and began to gesture with his hands, " I'm really starting to get used to this, Daniel. And I like it, I mean I REALLY like it."
"OH," said Daniel, "That 'thing' again, huh?"
"Thing?" asked Jack, a puzzled look on his face.
"Remember the bracelets and the zatar?" Jack nodded, but still didn't connect where Daniel was going. "The 'thing' that you and Sam know is there but can't do anything about? Regulations and such..."
"Oh, oh, THAT thing," said Jack, once again sitting in the seat next to Daniel. He crossed his arms and hung his head to his chest. He blew out another breath. "And it's not just me either, Daniel, I know she sees it too. I don't know." He said running his hand through his hair, "How do I go back to just seeing her once or twice a month and talking on the phone a couple a times a week after living with her?"
"Well," Daniel said, putting his glasses back on, "do you want to go back to the way things were? I mean, can you even do that now?"
Jack shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno. You know, it's just that I'm getting to the point where we've saved this planet like a million times over and I'm thinking that we deserve some happiness and a shot at some kind of life, no matter who we can maybe find that with or whether or not it's 'legal' in the military sense. After all these years of saying that nothing could ever become of Sam and I except to be CO and second in command, we almost lose her, again, and yet somehow, this time it seems different. This time I don't want to waste any more time saving the world, or worrying about what the Air Force would say about a General falling in love with a Colonel." He looked at Daniel intently, "You don't seem to be surprised by any of what I'm saying. Why is that?"
"C'mon Jack, you think you and Sam are the only ones who know that there's a 'thing' between you two." Jack looked surprised, "Don't look so surprised. Half the base thinks you should retire and the other half thinks you should both retire and come on in a civilian capacity. You know, the whole base has ideas about how you two can make this work."
Jack laughed, "What? Do people stand around the water cooler and talk about our nonexistent relationship and how we could make it exist?"
"Well," said Daniel, "let's just say that there's a running pool about when something will finally happened with you two."
Jack turned white, "You're not serious...are you?"
Daniel nodded, "Oh yeah, very."
Jack covered his face with his hands, "Oh crap."
Author's note: Sorry there isn't a lot of real action going on here, but I wanted to get inside Jack's head...next we get to see what's inside of Sam's head.
Coming up...Sam starts rehab...and bites off more than she can chew...