Thanks for your reviews once again. It always helps to cheer me up on these gloomy rainy days we're having. Wettest June on British records – I can so believe that! And they say there is more on the way! Oiy! Which is one of the reasons I am late posting this today – apart from the odd passing storm - we've been rearranging the room so I've been off–line.

Have A Nice Day, Jack!

by Lingren.

Previously:-

"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."

Chapter 7 - It's A Nightmare.

"I just can't imagine what the man was thinking of assaulting Colonel O'Neill. I've sent a couple of SF's to pick him up and return him here for questioning, I am determined to get to the bottom of this. I will not tolerate such behaviour in this facility."

To say that Dr. Fraiser was shocked at this news was a gross understatement to say the least. She was beyond flabbergasted. She had grown decidedly fond of Daniel and she couldn't believe that he would do such a dreadful thing, especially to Jack O'Neill. She'd seen how both of them would sit for hours in the infirmary whilst the other was recovering from some injury or illness. What the heck had gone wrong? She just couldn't imagine he would be capable of aggression let alone to the degree the Colonel had been injured. Daniel just wasn't like that.

"How long will it be before Colonel O'Neill wakes up?" Hammond asked, bringing her back to the present.

"Well Sir, I'm keeping him sedated at the moment, the less he moves about the better, so it will be some time before I can let him wake up. Then there are the pain meds which will make him a little sluggish too to begin with."

"Can I see him?" Hammond needed to satisfy his own understanding of Jack's injuries. He wanted to see the damage done, for himself. It would make it easier to keep his mind focused on getting to the bottom of this whole sordid affair.

"Yes Sir, of course, but he's heavily sedated and won't know you're there."

"That's fine Doctor. And I'll know."

While the General stepped quietly into the ICU room, Sam and Teal'c arrived in the infirmary, eagerly seeking any news. Janet took them aside and brought them up to date.

General Hammond stood silently at the foot of the bed and looked down at the almost quiescent form of his friend. Jack was never still for two minutes put together, but looking at him now, the only discernable movement was from the steady rise and fall of his chest; not even a finger twitched adding to George Hammond's regret that he'd allowed things to go on for too long between the two men. 'Don't worry Jack, you just get yourself well again and I'll get this mess sorted out.' Hammond spoke softly to his friend not knowing if he was being heard or not by Jack nor caring if any of the staff overheard him. 'If indeed Dr. Jackson did do this to you, then trust me, he'll be shipped out of here so fast his feet won't touch the ground.'

He really hated to see anyone injured but it went deeper than that if that person was Jack O'Neill. It wrenched his gut every time one of his men came home badly injured, but this, this was far, far worse. This was done deliberately with intent and malice to extinguish his life. Done presumably by a so called friend, and what riled him more than anything was that it had been right here on this base under his very nose.

Jack was a damn good officer, as well as a good friend, who was suffering just because a certain someone had borne a petty grudge. It beggared belief. It was going to be a long time before a new SG-1 was ready to go and face the threat to this world again. And, God, he hoped Jack was going to be okay. Life on the base or in fact life in general wouldn't be the same if... He couldn't even bring himself to think that word, it was just too painful to even contemplate the possibility. He released a deep heart-felt sigh turned on his heel and trudged wearily back to his office. As CO of Stargate Command there was no escaping the unpleasant duty which now awaited him.

OoOoOoOoO

"Janet please, We'd just like to stay with him for a little while," Sam pleaded with her friend.

"He won't know your there, he'll be asleep for some time to come. I gave him enough sedative to keep him from waking for some time. I don't want you disturbing him either; he needs to rest in order for his wounds to heal."

"Well, maybe, but believe me he'll know if we're there or not Janet. It's what he would do for any of us in the same situation, you know that. Teal'c and I will take turns, but one or the other of us will be there for him when he finally wakes up."

"Alright then, but make sure you both get proper rests and meals too. In fact I'll insist on it."

"Thanks Janet." Sam turned to face her team-mate, feeling slightly calmer than she had been now. "Teal'c I'd like to stay with the Colonel tonight. Maybe you get some rest while you can."

"As you wish Major Carter." Teal'c dipped his head and strolled away, his hands behind his back; the perfect picture of relaxation, if they didn't know any better that was.

Sam made her way carefully around the many machines with tubes and wires that surrounded and fed into or from Jack. Sitting herself on the ubiquitous hard grey plastic chair provided. She gently lifted Jack's fingers and placed it within her own, thinking how long and strong his hands were. Those slender yet tough fingers were dangerous in any fight, yet oh so gentle where they were concerned with little children. Those same hands had saved her butt many times. His hand was warm now, not clammy or cool as before when she'd almost believed he had died from his injuries back in the Lab.

She very tenderly stroked his hand, trying to reassure him through her touch that she was there for him, and if she found some little comfort from just holding it, then that was infinitely better too. She spoke softly to him, reassuring him that he was going to be okay. His fingers twitched a little in response, and even though she knew he was deeply asleep, to her, it was a sign that he knew she was there with him.

OoOoOoOoO

The General made his way down to the holding cell, where he had ordered the Security Forces to take Dr. Jackson once they had apprehended him. He wanted to have a good talk with the Doctor of Archaeology about the very recent dramatic events which had taken place in his own Lab. The guards outside the holding cells snapped to attention on Hammond's approach.

Inside the locked cell, Daniel was pacing back and forth when the door opened to reveal the General as he entered with a guard escort.

"General! What's going on? How's Jack?" asked Daniel, his words tripping over each other as he spoke nineteen to the dozen in his eagerness to know what everyone was playing at. "Nobody is telling me anything here! They just said that Jack had been badly hurt and I was needed back here at the base. Then they brought me straight here...in...into...into a holding cell? W...why am I being held in here?"

"Dr. Jackson, right now Colonel O'Neill is in intensive care. He has received some very serious injuries."

"Whoa! W…what? What happened? I want to see him. I have to go see him General."

"I'm sorry son. I can't let you do that."

"W…why?...Why not?...Why am I being held here? Why am I being treated like a common criminal General?"

"Are you denying that you are a criminal Dr. Jackson?"

"What...No!...Yes! I'm not...I haven't done anything wrong. Have I? You tell me what I'm supposed to have done and I'll tell you if it's true or false!" Daniel already felt like he'd stepped through the Transdimentional Mirror.

"Then in your own words, Dr. Jackson, and you tell me, why it was, that you happened to be the only one around at the time my second in command was beaten within an inch of his life!"

"What?" Daniel gaped at the General and wanted desperately to believe that he had stepped onto the wrong planet or Universe because he could understand what was going on at all. "Jack...Jack's really hurt that bad? Oh God no." he cried. "Look, I can't explain what happened to him, but I wasn't there...I went home. I left Jack in my lab making some coffee. I had nothing to do with this whatever happened. I swear to god I didn't know about this. Surely you don't think that I had anything to do with this! You know I would never do such a thing, let alone do it to Jack."

"Then how come, given today's earlier events, I find that really hard to believe?"

"General. I...I'll admit that today's not been an ideal day and I got annoyed with him, yeah, but I don't know what happened to Jack, that's the truth. I could never intentionally hurt Jack!"

"I don't see how that is possible son seeing as Colonel O'Neill himself, said you were the only person there."

"What!...Jack... He told you that I was responsible. I can't believe Jack would say that, General. Why would he lie?"

Daniel was growing more agitated by the minute, he'd started hugging himself, a sure sign of inner distress, and as his disbelief grew, so his movements became more erratic, until he felt like tearing his hair out in frustration. Was there nothing he could show them, tell them that he was innocent in all of this?

Hammond watched him closely and noticed the bandaged knuckles.

"I see you have injured your hands Doctor. Do you mind telling me how you acquired these injuries."

"What...I did this... Oh God!" he cried with sudden clarity. "You think that I did this by beating Jack up, don't you! General, I swear I had nothing to do with it. Please, you have to believe me; I would never hurt Jack! He's my friend!"

"Then why do you have what I clearly recognise as bruised knuckles?"

"After Jack and I talked for a bit, I got angry. I left the room, and in a fit of temper I smashed them into the wall in the hallway."

"Can you prove to me what you did, by showing me the marks?"

Daniel slumped onto the bed, removed his glasses and placed them onto the covers beside him and then scrubbed his throbbing fingers up through his hair and them rubbed his tired eyes, before replacing his glasses, knowing he couldn't prove a damn thing.

"No...I can't." He said sadly, knowing he'd wiped them off earlier.

"Striking a senior officer is a serious offence Doctor Jackson. Even though you're technically not military you come under Air Force jurisdiction as your employer, and will therefore have to face charges of assault."

Daniel was struck dumb by the fact that this could have happened. 'This couldn't be real. It must be some strange and wacky dream he was having. Dream? What am I saying, it's a damn nightmare.' he thought to himself, for once unable to come up with anything that would help prove his innocence.

Maybe there was something on that planet that had exposed them to some weird drug or Goa'uld mind control or whatever, because he just hadn't got a clue what was going on. Things like this had happened to them before; like when they'd encountered the Gamekeeper - only this time it was a twisted dream. Perhaps if he pinched himself hard enough, he might wake up?

"Dr. Jackson! Did you hear a word of what I was saying?"

"Err. No sir, sorry. I was just...thinking."

"I am going to have to keep you in here, until we receive orders about what we are going to do with you. In the meantime I need to keep an eye on Colonel O'Neill. I only hope that you won't have to face a murder charge. Goodnight Dr. Jackson."

When the General had left, Daniel sat forlornly on his bunk, his back against the wall. Wrapping his arms around his knees and rocking backwards and forwards, he buried his head in his arms and wept.

Things really couldn't have gotten much worse if they had encountered a foothold situation. He had literally been accused of trying to kill his one real friend he'd ever had. No-one actually believed him, so how could he prove to them he was innocent when he had no valid alibi? Jack!...oh God! Why did this have to happen to him anyway, especially on today of all days. He could never, would never, do anything remotely like that to his friend. Jack was all he had, he was like a brother. Daniel felt fresh tears spring from his eyes as he prayed to God...'Please, God, please, don't let Jack die. Not from this!' he pleaded.

OoOoOoOoO

"Have you finished that job yet?"

"Not yet Sir. He's one tough SOB. But Doctor Jackson has been locked up and is facing charges of assault on O'Neill. There's a slight change of plans but, with any luck, I should finish the job tonight. Then Dr. Jackson will be facing a murder rap."

"Excellent work! Let me know when it's all done."

"Yes Sir!"

TBC