The Fire Still Burns - Part6

When he heard the door of his quarters opening Jack lifted his head a little, to peer blurry-eyed at the figure he fully expected to be Daniel. His behavior toward his friend had been inexcusable and he had an apology already on his lips when he realized it was Doctor Fraiser who had entered.

"Thank god!" He couldn't stop the heart-felt exclamation from escaping. Things had gotten much worse in the short time since he had driven Daniel from the room. The itching sensation in his neck had spread, except now the itching had become a fiery stinging that felt as if he was burning from the inside out.

"Colonel?" Janet was at his side immediately. The touch of her hand on his forehead was icy cold, and even though he still felt chilled, Jack turned his head, trying to spread the comforting feeling to where it was most needed.

"Oh!" An uncharacteristic gasp from the doctor was accompanied by light pressure on his shoulder. "Turn your head a little more to the side please, sir."

Twisting his neck set the fire burning again and he groaned, not even trying to conceal the pain it caused.

"Okay, let's get you sitting up so I can have a closer look."

"At what?" Jack started to pull himself upright, finding to his shock that he needed Janet's assistance to perform the simple task. A resurgence of his sneezing didn't help. He groped for another tissue with one hand, while steadying himself with the other, only to remember they were still on the floor. Wiping his nose on the sheet wasn't an option now Janet was there, so he sucked as much up his nostrils as he could, cringing at the horrible noise the action caused. "Sorry – this is the worst damn cold I've ever had."

"Ummm." A tissue was thrust into his hand and he blew his nose thankfully. There were a few seconds of silence as the doctor held his wrist to take his pulse, then he felt her hands at his neck. "I'm going to check the wound, sir. Tell me if it hurts at all."

"It already does."

"Captain Duarte said you'd complained of it being slightly itchy." The doc was still leaning behind him, but he wasn't sure exactly what she was doing. Once she had the bandages off the wound, she seemed to have stopped moving.

"Yeah, except it's more than just an itch now, Doc."

"Burning?"

"Uh huh." He tried to turn enough to see her expression, but the movement again had him unable to bite back a low groan. It was as if a dagger was being pressed into the nerves between his shoulder blades. "Damn, that hurts. Is it infected?"

"Could be. Would you take off your shirt please, sir." There was another period of silence as Jack struggled with the buttons, his fingers shaking as he attempted to guide them through the holes. When he finally managed to loosen the last button, he looked up, turning as he did so – only to have the room do another spin. He clutched wildly at the edge of the mattress and sat, his panting breath loud in his ears.

Janet put a steadying hand on his arm. "Sir, what's wrong?"

"Dizzy."

"It's okay, I've got you. Can you sit up for just a few more seconds while I examine you?"

"Yeah." He didn't nod, preferring to keep his violently spinning head as still as possible. There was another silence, broken again by Jack. "What are you looking for back there, Doc?"

Janet settled his shirt over his back again and gave a slight push on his shoulders, indicating she had finished and that he could lie back down. "Unfortunately I'm not looking for anything anymore, sir – I've found it. You do have a type of infection from the injury."

As he began to rebutton his shirt, Jack glanced down. A band of red ran across his front, the skin blotchy – like some sort of rash. "What's this?" He pressed accusingly at the area, seeing the redness turn to white and back to red again as he released the pressure. "Have I got measles or something?"

"No, sir, it's a symptom of the infection. I'm afraid you'll have to be admitted to the infirmary again."

"All right."

"What, no argument? That's not like you, Colonel."

"Frankly, Doc, I feel terrible and if you've got something to help in your infirmary, then the quicker we get there the better."

He began to sit again, but the doctor stopped him. "Stay there, Colonel. I'll send for a gurney."

The indignity of being pushed through the SGC corridors was a small price to pay if it meant he didn't have to try and walk, so he just nodded, closing his eyes in the hope the pounding in his head would lessen. He heard Janet make the call and return to his bedside.

"I'll take your temperature while we're waiting, sir."

She didn't wait for his answer as she pushed the thermometer under his arm. After a short time he felt it being removed.

"Well?"

"It's high."

He waited for more detail and when it didn't come, cracked one eye open a little. The doctor was staring down at him, her concerned expression clearing as soon as she realized he was watching her. "How high?"

"Let's not worry about that right now, Colonel." Janet began to fuss with her bag of tricks, stuffing things back into it in the most obvious attempt at avoidance he had seen. "We need to get you ready to move."

"What's to get ready? I'll just lie here and your minions will carry me off. What aren't you telling me?" An uneasy feeling was growing in his stomach. He had to be honest with himself – he knew this was more than just a cold. Maybe Daniel was right. Maybe it was all in his mind despite his protests to the contrary. Sure, he had a cold – that was obvious – but the rest. . . A sick sensation had him biting back nausea. Was this the beginning of a downward spiral into paranoia? Perhaps the snake had enough time to get into his brain after all.

The nausea grew until it was too hard to keep contained and he lurched up to grab at the nearby bin.

It wasn't until Jack had finished heaving that he heard the doctor's words, her hand rubbing circles calmingly on his back. "It's okay."

But it wasn't. And he still didn't have any answers. He gulped in a mouthful of air and found himself panicking as it failed to reach his lungs.

Small hands held him fast. "Don't try to take a deep breath. Just a little at a time." So he obeyed and found that it worked – or at least that he was able to take small gasping breaths.

"Wha...?"

"Shush." Janet's stethoscope was cold on his back. Staying as quiet as possible, he waited until she spoke again. "Your lungs are congested." She paused when there was a sharp rap on the door, calling out the order to enter.

"We have to get you to the infirmary as soon as possible, Colonel. I'll explain everything when you're settled – okay, sir?"

They were already lifting him, moving him across to the waiting gurney. He had time for one last question.

"So not crazy then?"

"No more than usual, sir."

TBC