The last part. Thanks for the reviews everyone.
Jack's Fangtastic Adventure - Part Nineteen
Jack stared at the unpleasant gloop currently hanging off his spoon, dripping downwards in an obvious effort to escape its fate.
He could do this. He had to.
He opened his mouth, lifted the utensil, and took a bite.
Ugh. It didn't taste any better than it looked – sort of like mud - mud from a Bolivian jungle. Nothing like that mud in Russia, nope. Or the mud he had been forced to swallow on PC7-69H. He grimaced, considering how sad it was that he was a connoisseur of the taste of mud.
The Doc had informed him this particular mud was actually a protein enriched concoction guaranteed to help him regain weight and get him back on his overly shaky feet. Jack was sure she lied. It was punishment for his behaviour.
He swallowed another small mouthful down, mindful of the nurse's watchful eyes.
He could do this. He had to.
Already he felt the hard, tight awkwardness of unused muscles whenever he tried to flex his left arm. The physiotherapist visited him twice a day, giving him simple exercises, but he needed to be up on his feet with the strength to push himself to his limits. He needed to get back to duty. Lying here in a hospital bed, he had too much time to think.
He didn't want to think.
His stomach clenched, and he gulped, feeling the tiny amount he had swallowed moving back up.
"Sir?" The nurse was holding out a bowl, but he shook his head, and after a moment, took another mouthful.
xoxoxoxoxoxo
"Are we disturbing you?' Teal'c hesitated in the doorway of his commander's room, but Daniel Jackson had no such qualms, pushing past.
O'Neill placed a bookmark between the pages of the paperback and put it down on the bed beside him, smiling.
"Hi, guys. What're you up to?" Teal'c was pleased to note the familiar joking tone was back.
"Well d'uh, Jack! We're visiting you." Daniel Jackson gave an answering smile, sitting on the end of the bed. "We thought we'd come and see if you wanted to go for a little spin around the SGC."
"Can't, Daniel. I'm…" O'Neill lifted his right arm in the air, twiddling his fingers in the gesture Teal'c knew denoted quotation marks. "… 'confined' to bed by order of the Doc."
"I've signed a release, Colonel." Doctor Fraiser stood in the doorway, hands in the pockets of her white coat. For a Tau'ri unfamiliar with combat, she moved remarkably silently. "You've been granted parole for good behaviour."
"You mean for eating all my food like a good little boy?"
The sarcasm wasn't lost on Teal'c and certainly not on the Doctor. Her pleasant smile became fixed as she nodded. "If you want to put it like that, sir."
"Does this mean I can start physio?" The eagerness was obvious.
The Doctor's tone softened, and she stepped up to the bed as she replied. "Let's take it one step at a time, sir. You're still weak. Give it another couple of days, and if you continue to improve we'll talk about it then, all right?"
"Fair enough."
The whole room seemed to breath a sign of relief at the softly spoken words.
"Then let's get this show on the road." Daniel Jackson stood as the Doctor pushed a wheelchair forward. Teal'c moved into position next to the bed and watched carefully, ready to offer his support.
He could see the strain on O'Neill's face as he struggled to manoeuvre himself. He took the other man's arm in a firm grip, ignoring the sensation of the hairs on his arms moving as they touched the already sweaty skin. O'Neill needed his help, and he was there to give it, as always.
He felt pride as O'Neill grunted his thanks and accepted his assistance, moving his far too thin frame into the chair. This was still the man he had pledged his service to, a man who would push himself to the limits. An honourable man brought low through no fault of his own.
Teal'c pressed the bony arm beneath his grip, passing his own strength to his friend.
xoxoxoxoxoxo
Jack acknowledged the greetings of the personnel they passed in the corridors, just happy to be out of the infirmary, if only for a short time. He had been cooped up far too long. He needed some fresh air.
"How about we take a trip to the surface?" He already knew the answer, but it was worth a try.
"Sorry, Jack, no can do. We're under strict instructions to go no further than Sam's lab."
"Carter's lab. Sweet!"
Good. A chance to play with some doohickies, tease Carter a little. No fresh air, but fun none the less. He pointed imperiously, enjoying the sound of Daniel's laugh as he spoke. "Onwards, James."
They were almost there when the moment he had been dreading occurred.
"Jack! Good to see you up and around."
Daniel halted the wheelchair, and Jack found himself staring up into the face of Colonel Johnson of SG-10.
"Tom. I was hoping to see you." The lie came easily. "I wanted to thank you. I was sorry to hear about Sergeant Deol. He was a good man."
Johnson inclined his head in a move reminiscent of Teal'c. "Yes, he was."
"I would have liked to be at the memorial service, but…" Images raced through his head, and he stopped.
God, not now! Not here in the corridor for all to see. He wouldn't lose it now.
"Jack? Is there something wrong?" Johnson was peering into his face, his nose a few short inches from his own.
Jack forced a smile out. "I'm just a bit tired, Tom."
He could have kissed Daniel when he interrupted. "We better get on, Colonel. I promised Doctor Fraiser we'd have Jack back in an hour."
Johnson backed off, his concerned look fading somewhat. "I have to meet with General Hammond in a few minutes anyway. Good to see you up and around, Jack." With another nod, he walked away, heading for the elevators.
The wheelchair moved as Daniel began pushing it again. Jack sat back, his pulse still racing.
Jack had not known anyone had died trying to rescue him until he read the mission report. The fact that the popular young sergeant had lost his life trying to save his had come as a shock, but it wasn't his death that filled Jack's sleep with horror. Even now, so many days later, he could barely look at himself in the mirror, knowing what he had done. Intellectually Jack knew it wasn't his fault. Even if he had been in any condition to recognise the lumps of meat for what they were, he had no choice. If he hadn't eaten he would have died. But he hadn't known, hadn't understood. He had been drugged, totally unable to comprehend his breaking of one of the most basic taboos.
His actions would haunt him, joining others also hidden from sight. Locked down tight. What was done was done. He would get over it.
"Colonel! This is a surprise." Carter's cheerful greeting pulled him from his thoughts. The Major was wiping greasy hands on a towel, her hair standing up in clumps. A pile of machinery filled the low table in the centre of her lab, and Jack motioned Daniel to push him up to it.
"What's this, Carter?' He snaked his hand out, grabbing a bright yellow glowy thing he immediately recognised as part of a biogenic diprobe.
Carter yanked it from his grip, placing it carefully back on the table. "That's what I'm trying to work out, sir."
And so their game began, played to familiar rules.
xoxoxoxoxoxo
The salad sat on the table, bread on a plate next to it. Cool beer waited. The grill was ready. His team bustled around, organising, fussing over him.
Jack basked in the feeling of the sun on his face, and grinning, accepted the bottle Daniel handed to him, the fingers of his left hand gripping it, the condensation cold on his skin.
His arm was getting stronger everyday and the Doc was cautiously optimistic. Jack wasn't just optimistic, he was certain. He still had a long way to go before he was ready to return to duty, but return he would.
He was beginning to doze, truly relaxed for the first time in weeks, when Daniel called out to him.
"How do you want your steak, Jack? Medium rare?"
He took a long swallow of beer before he answered, clearing his suddenly congested throat.
"Don't cook any for me, Daniel. I'm not very hungry. I think I'll just have salad."
The End