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Have A Nice Day, Jack!

by Lingren.

Previously:-

They all lent a hand at lifting Jack's limp body gently onto the waiting gurney and Sam could only stand and watch them as they rushed her CO to the infirmary, and pray that he survived.

Chapter 6 – The Waiting Game

General Hammond sat restlessly in his office, under normal circumstances he considered himself a placid man, but these little 'incidents' that were happening between Dr. Jackson and his 2IC, were beginning to seriously try his patience. Where was Dr. Jackson anyway? The young linguist should have been here by now. He reached out to pick up the phone when suddenly the alarms bells rang throughout the base. He hurried out of his office and down to the control room.

"What's going on Sergeant? What's the emergency?"

"There's a medical emergency in Dr. Jackson's lab Sir." Announced one of the airman technicians replacing the telephone.

General Hammond reeled at the news.

"Now what?" he cried, wondering what else had gone wrong.

The telephone rang almost immediately again and this time the General personally answered it. A few moments later he slammed down the phone, turned and rushed out of the room, collecting two SF's on his way to the infirmary. He told them to find Dr. Jackson, and take him to his office, where he would deal with him later, but right now he had to find out what was wrong with Jack.

The General didn't know what to expect by the tine he'd reached the sick bay. He was only told the briefest outline on the phone, only that Jack was hurt again, and needed medical attention. He was understandably furious with Dr. Jackson, especially if he'd had anything at all to do with this latest turn of events. He came to a halt just outside the infirmary, simply standing in the hallway for a moment taking in the scene before him.

Major Carter was there, pacing the allotted waiting area for news of her CO. When she turned once again, she spotted the General and stood very still. Even from this distance Hammond could tell she was fighting not to give in to her emotions. Was the reason for her agitation indicative of how bad Jack's condition was? Fearing the worst, he approached her and Teal'c.

"General Sir," Sam saluted her superior officer and tried hard to quell the butterflies...or rather the elephants, that were quite literally stomping around inside her stomach right now. She felt physically sick too, about what she had learned tonight, and for that fact that she would have to report her team-mate.

"At ease Major, what in tarnation has happened now?" He demanded, though he wasn't angry at the Major, noticing there were already tear stains on her face and her eyes were red rimmed. His sour mood was aimed at the young archaeologist, and the mounting concern over what state the Colonel was currently in; and judging by Sam's obvious distress, he knew the news couldn't be good.

"We think the alarms were tripped by Colonel O'Neill, sir. He was in Daniel's lab, where the alarm originated. When Teal'c and I arrived on the scene shortly afterwards, we found him lying on the floor. He'd been beaten unconscious Sir. The Colonel was only vaguely aware for a few moments, and not very lucid at that, but it sounded to me like he said Daniel was responsible." Sam gulped back the need to cry for what it might mean for the Colonel and for the team. She was determined not to give in, but was finding it harder than she thought possible. She pulled herself together to finish her statement, sketchy though it was.

"The Colonel also said he had to warn you about something, but when I asked why, I found he'd lapsed into unconsciousness again sir." The tears that had been threatening to fall, regardless of her struggle to keep them at bay began to fall, and she hoped to god that the General wouldn't notice, or at least say anything to her. This was turning out to be a really, really bad day.

"Why in God's name would Dr. Jackson do such a thing to Colonel O'Neill? I thought they were friends? I had no idea things had gotten so far out of hand."

"I just don't understand it sir. It's not like the Colonel hasn't upset Daniel before."

"I have two SF's searching for him as of now. As for the colonel's warning, well I have no idea what that could be about, but I'll put the base on high alert just to be ready for anything should whatever it was that he'd seen. Not knowing why this happened is mystifying to say the least." Hammond couldn't help but wonder if he'd stepped into an Alternate Universe, rather like the one Dr. Jackson had visited before, because something strange was going on and he was determined to find out why.

Silence fell over the three concerned people as they watched the medical staff running around on various unfathomable errands. Medical procedures were so not the General's forte.

"Any news of what's going on down there." Hammond asked indicating the activity in the OR.

"Not yet Sir. Janet only said that she would have to operate fairly quickly, but she didn't have time to explain anything until she'd examined the Colonel further." Sam paused to swallow the ominous lump in her throat that threatened to defeat her resolve not to give in to her feminine side. "She already mentioned that the Colonel might not make it with all the damage that had been done to him."

She could no longer stop the tears from flowing and her hand batted the moisture away angrily. Hurt, frustrated and in desperate need of comfort, she was annoyed with herself for succumbing to such weakness, berating herself for allowing people, especially the General, to see her like this. The General laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it, just as Teal'c enfolded her into his strong arms, offering her much needed comfort.

Hammond knew she was upset, God, he felt terrible himself over this whole fiasco. For all of Jack's provoking behaviour, he had grown quite fond of his irascible, irreverent, and hot tempered but extremely loyal 2IC. He also knew that Jack and his team were very close too, but he never allowed that to cloud his judgement on their valuable contribution to the Stargate programme.

As for anything bordering on the too friendly side, well, for them, he could turn a blind eye so long as they continued to be professional about working together on the same team. If he thought for one moment that there was any cause for concern, then he would have to face that when the time came, but now, everything hinged on whether Jack could pull himself out of the mire once again so that he could return to normal duty as soon as possible.

"Why don't you and Teal'c go and get yourselves some coffee in the commissary, Major. I'm sure it will make you feel better. I'll send someone to fetch you as soon as I hear any news if you're not back by then." He ordered gently. "I expect it will be some time before Dr. Fraiser will be through anyway."

Sam didn't want to leave before she knew her CO was going to be okay, so when the General spoke to her in that kindly manner, she knew it was, in reality, a thinly veiled order. Therefore she'd had no choice in the matter.

"Yes Sir!" she nodded numbly, and allowed Teal'c to lead her away.

General Hammond then paced up and down the corridor to wait for the CMO's report on the condition of his subordinate who was also his friend.

After around ten minutes the telephone rang and the General picked up the receiver. "General Hammond...I see...thank you...I want someone to go round to Dr. Jackson's apartment to apprehend him and then bring him back here for questioning. Put him in a holding cell until I'm ready to see him." He replaced the receiver and looked up in time to see Dr. Fraiser and her team wheel Jack into the ICU.

Squaring his shoulders, he would knew the time had come to hear all of the details on the Jack's condition. He was sure he had aged at least another 10 years whilst waiting for that news. He snagged another SF to go and tell Major Carter and Teal'c, that Colonel O'Neill had returned from surgery, just as he had promised her that he would.

OoOoOoOoO

Doctor Fraiser settled her latest patient into the ICU and wired him up to several monitors, IV lines and various tubes that snaked over and around his battered body. She then hooked him up to the respirator to help him breath while his broken ribs and punctured lung healed. Satisfied that he was fairly comfortable at last, she left to make her report.

"What is his condition Doctor?" Hammond asked, nodding in the direction of his 2IC. He approached the petite medic who pursed her lips as she recited the catalogue of fresh injuries.

"Well Sir, we managed to repair the injury to his lungs, as wall as his spleen, which were both damaged in the attack. He is comfortable for the time being, but it's really up to him now Sir. He's tough enough to get through it, I don't see that it's going to be so much of a problem for him to recover." Janet sighed a little in relief and could see that the General had relaxed slightly from her words. "Even though the Colonel has sustained more physical injuries than he did that time in Antarctica, these are a little more serious, possibly life-threatening; that said though, most of the cuts and bruises on the surface are just that...purely superficial."

"Apart from those injuries you listed, Doctor, where there any other problems? Major Carter told me he had what looked to be a serious head injury."

"Well, yes Sir, there were quite a few other injuries. I've had to put eight stitches into the cut on his head, and it's a wonder he's still with us General. Any 'normal' person would probably be dead after a blow like that, but as I've said before, Colonel O'Neill does appear to have a fairly hard head. He's already had a CT scan and an MRI done, and I'm going to take a look at the results just now Sir. All in all he sustained four broken ribs, a punctured lung, a bruised kidney, a damaged spleen, a severe cut on the head with a probable concussion, several cuts to his upper arms, back, shoulders and knees, and there was extensive bruising just about everywhere. Someone really did have a go at him Sir, and it's my opinion that they really had meant to kill him. But he's a fighter Sir, and if I know the Colonel, he won't give up, so I'm sure he'll make it through this. Do we know how or why it happened yet sir?"

General Hammond paled at the staggering amount of injuries that Jack had sustained. He didn't know how the man had survived at all. As the Doctor had already pointed out, any other person would probably be dead. He knew a lot about his people on the base so what he was about to say, he knew the Doctor would find it all rather upsetting; as had he.

"All Major Carter managed to get out of the Colonel was an incomprehensible and garbled rambling. When she asked him who had done this to him, he mentioned Dr. Jackson."

TBC