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He froze! Then took a hasty step back. "Carter!" he hissed at her "What the hell do you think you are doing?" she could be risking her whole career, what the hell had made her do that?

She looked at him and her eyes filled with tears, CRAP he hated it when she cried, because she was so strong as a rule she only cried when she was seriously hurt, physically or emotionally. She turned her head away and Jack went close to the bed again.

"Carter" he said softly "Sorry, you just startled me, that's all" she wouldn't look at him, he walked around the bed and she turned away again, her chest moved suddenly as if she was sobbing, Jack took the only action he could think of, he went for the doctor.

"She's awake" he said as he poked his head around the door

"Has she said anything?" the doctor asked getting up quickly from where she was reading someones medical file, it could have been his by the thickness of it.

"She keeps moving her lips as if she is trying to, but she hasn't made a noise as yet"

"Has she done anything that you think makes her conscious as opposed to just having her eyes open?" Jack blushed and cleared his throat, damn he had to stop that habit, people knew him too well nowadays and a tell of any kind was not good!

"She, erm, she smiled at me and, the she…erm…I …"

The doctor stopped at the side of the bed and looked at her patient. "Major Carter?" she said "I'm Doctor Brightman, we have met, but it was some time ago, when the Nassyans were at the hospital, I don't know if you remember, you were ill soon after I understand" 'yeah really ill seeing as how she had a snake in her head' Jack thought "Major, I need you to look at me" Sam turned her head and looked straight at the MO making sure she avoided his gaze. Brightman looked at him and asked sharply

"Have you upset her Colonel?" he didn't know what to say, he HAD upset her, but this doctor was military, he couldn't tell her WHY he had upset her, or why she had upset HIM come to that.

"I may have done" he said, she gave him a disgusted look and turned back to her patient.

"Would you like me to send the Colonel away Major?" she recieved a nod and turned to him. "OK sir, could you wait outside, I want to talk with you in a minute" he winced, he could see one of those talks Janet used to give him on the horizon, he wondered if his glare would make her cower as it had the other doctor, but somehow he doubted it, this one was 2 things the others wasn't, she was self confidant and she was a she, somehow his glare rarely worked on women, some had even told him it was sexy for crying out loud!

It was less than 20 minutes before Brightman came out of the room into the corridor, she looked at him and then opened the side passage that lead to the iso rooms and her office without passing through the ward.

He followed her and she sat down behind her desk and gestured for him to sit down. "I looked over the tape of the few minutes before you came to get me" she said, he cleared his throat again. "I don't believe that anything improper is going on between the two of you, your reaction showed you were startled by her actions, however I have to ask, is there any reason, you know of, that … have you any idea WHY she did it?"

"Not a clue, I swear!" he said "She has a boyfriend" he told her.

"Yes, it's in her medical file" she told him, he wondered why it would be mentioned and then blushed, of course, if she had been… if they had had… there would be evidence on, in, her body and the after mission medicals would spot the… DAMN he couldn't even think the words! Not when it was his Carter!

"However, getting back to the Major" she continued after studying him for a second "she would not react verbally to my questions, if she continues like this I will ask for a scan of her vocal chords and we will have to see if there is a physical reason or if it is mental."

"I know I sent you away before, but I would like you to actually go sit with her for a while if you don't mind. If she tells you to leave, please come tell me before you go" Jack nodded at her and rose out of his seat. As he exited the other door he caught Carters eye and she immediately turned her back on him again, he started to get annoyed, she was treating him as if he was the one in the wrong! HE hadn't kissed her! HE wasn't the one who had run of with the first idiot to turn up! He hadn't betrayed their lo… he shook his head and strode over to the side of her bed.

"Get used to it Carter, I am not leaving until you are better" he walked around and before she could turn away from him he grabbed her chin firmly and held her head still looking her straight in the eyes until she closed hers to avoid his gaze. "The only way I walk out of here and leave you is if YOU tell me to go, or Hammond orders it!"

Her lips moved, but no sound came out, and the movements were tiny, she was whispering or mumbling, whichever, he knew 6 languages and he ran through them all while trying to match the movements to the sounds he knew, nothing!

He sat back on the orange chair, but he didn't touch her now, he just waited, looking at her and catching her every so often opening her eyes as if to check he was still there. He was… Teal'c came to relieve him at 05:00 but he stayed where he was, explaining that she was awake, but she wouldn't talk to the big man either, in fact she wouldn't open her eyes and acknowledge he was there. Teal'c tried over and over to get a response from her but he too ended up with nothing to show for his effort.

Daniel turned up at 08:00 with 3 breakfast trays, an orderly brought her some but she ignored it. The men sat and talked, Daniel trying to get her to join the conversation every so often, Teal'c and Jack just happy to talk amongst themselves. General Hammond turned up at 11:00 and ordered Jack to sleep, Brightman it seemed had listened into his conversation with Sam earlier, he said goodbye and that he would be straight back as soon as he had slept.

As soon as he exited the infirmary he slumped, he needed to figure out what the hell happened, but he had nothing at all to go on! WHY had she smiled so brightly at him and then kissed him? He could still feel her lips on his even after all this time. Why was she not talking?

He headed to his quarters, took a couple of aspirin for the threatened headache and went to sleep.

He slept a full 8 hours, something he had not done in a while, actually not since Baal and that damn sarcophagus. He woke up and had a shower, his 'morning' problem as evident as always. He refused to jerk off thinking of her though when she was ill so he turned his shower to cold and stood under it until he was blue!

He got his clean BDUs out of the cupboard and took his patches off his dirty ones and threw them in the hamper, he then took the hamper bag to the locker room and dumped it ready for the base laundry to collect.

He headed back to the infirmary to find Daniel and Teal'c almost exactly as he had left them, and she was the same. Laid down eyes closed, he didn't know if she was asleep or just pretending again. Daniel looked up as he entered and he asked the question without saying a word, the younger man shook his head sadly. Jack saw Brightman gesturing him silently and went into her office again.

"She hasn't said a word, we had her for a scan earlier and can see no reason, we even put a laryngoscope down, but her chords look fine, I see no physical reason why she isn't talking, and strangely she does not seem distressed by it, which again points to a mental cause rather than a physical one." Jack nodded

"So… what now doc?" he asked

"We give her another day or so and then we ask her to undergo psychological treatment" 'Mackenzie, oh yeah, she would just love that!' He thought

He marched out of the office and with a jerk of his head got Daniel and Teal'c to leave the room. He stood looking down at her, frankly he was pissed. "MAJOR!" he snapped, her eyes shot open and she was almost at attention in her bed! "The Doctor tells me if you don't start speaking Dr. Mackenzie will be called! That means you won't be passed for active duty for ages! Is that what you want?" she shook her head "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" he shouted at her.

"No SIR!" she spat out, the venom in her voice more than making up for its lack of volume, he grinned at her

"That's my girl" he said softly and turned back to the doctor "See you soon Doc," he said in the direction of the woman at the door "got some paper work to get done" he walked out of the room, feeling very pleased with himself.