-- Chapter 4 --

I watched as Sam walked slowly toward the door. Was I imagining it, or did she seem unsteady on her feet? She placed her hand on the doorframe, leaning on it. I craned my neck to see past the people standing around my bed, all smiling at me.

"She has been most concerned for your welfare," said Teal'c. "As have we all."

I glanced quickly at Teal'c, flashing him a grateful smile. Sam was still leaning against the doorframe, now with one hand on her forehead.

Something was definitely wrong. "Sam?" I called.

Jack turned toward the doorway as Sam began to crumple to the floor.

"Carter!" He rushed to her side, catching her just in time to keep her head from slamming into the concrete. "Damn it!"

"What's wrong? Is she okay?" Ignoring the pain in my side, I tried to get up, but I couldn't. With all the machines I was hooked up to, I might as well have been tied to the bed.

Jack scooped Sam up off the floor, and Janet ordered him to put her on the bed next to mine. For several agonizing minutes, Janet and her staff bustled around Sam's bed. I couldn't see much of what they were doing. It was incredibly frustrating.

"She's alright," Janet said finally. "I think it's just low blood sugar."

I looked over at Sam, unconscious on the bed next to mine. A nurse started putting an IV into the back of her right hand.

She stirred and opened her eyes, wincing at her IV. "What...?"

Janet nodded to a nurse before turning to Sam as the nurse hurried out of the infirmary. "Major Carter," she said with one hand on her hip. "You've been lying to me."

"About what?"

"When was the last time you ate anything?"

Her eyes widened for a moment and then squeezed shut. "Um," she said.

"I brought her a sandwich just before Jacob showed up," said Jack.

"Do you mean this sandwich, O'Neill?" Teal'c picked up the trash can next to my bed and tilted it toward Jack.

"For crying out loud."

I sighed. Oh, Sam. What have you done to yourself?

The nurse returned just then with a tray of food. He handed it to Janet, who set it on a table and slid it into place in front of Sam.

"I want you to eat all of this, do you understand?"

Sam scowled at the doctor but picked up a spoon and stirred the steaming bowl of soup. Janet seemed satisfied and left with a nod. Jack, however, apparently wasn't.

"That's an order, Carter."

She glared at him over her spoon. "I'm eating!" Then, to prove her point, she swallowed her first mouthful.

"Good," he said. "Otherwise I'll have to bring in the General."

Sam just sighed before she popped a piece of cheese into her mouth.

"And I'm not talking about Hammond," continued Jack.

I smiled, knowing that the retired General Carter was very protective of his daughter, even when the threat to her was herself.

Sam wrinkled her nose and swallowed another spoonful of soup.

Teal'c remained at the foot of my bed, watching us, while Jack stood between my bed and Sam's, supervising her meal. Finally, she put down her spoon and sighed. She gave me a little smile that betrayed her exhaustion. I smiled back, and she leaned back against her pillow.

"Ah," said Jack, pointing at her tray. "Drink your juice."

I stifled a chuckle. He was such a mother hen. Though in this case she deserved it.

"I will, sir," Sam murmured as her eyelids slid closed and she fell asleep.

Jack crossed his arms over his chest with a heavy sigh and stared at her for a long moment. Finally, he rolled her table away from her bed and sat down next to me. "So, Danny-boy. You're back from the dead again. Must be Wednesday."

"I didn't die, Jack."

"Ole Doc Fraiser says you came pretty close. Gave us all a good scare."

"Perhaps the next time another team wishes to procure your services, we should include lack of impalement on the list of requirements to do so," Teal'c added.

Jack failed to suppress a snort of agreement. Assuming he'd even tried.

I winced as the memories of what happened in the vault came back to me. Haswell was dead, but I was glad the others had made it back safely.

Jack patted my arm. "You're going to be okay."

"I know." I looked over at Sam, and Jack followed my gaze. Her face was turned to the ceiling, giving us an unobstructed view of her profile. She was beautiful.

She gave a little sigh and her head rolled slightly in our direction. The movement caused a lock of hair to fall across her forehead.

I felt an overwhelming urge to brush the hair off her face. Glancing at Jack, I decided he was fighting a similar feeling. How close the four of us had become to read each other so well. To understand the tiny nuances of behaviour. Brief flashes of body language or a tone of voice spoke volumes. It was almost as if the four of us shared a psychic bond.

The three of us chatted for a few hours while Sam slept, and they told me what had happened to them while I was on my mission to PK4-808.

Soon, Jacob arrived, carrying a healing device and wearing a smile. His smile vanished when he saw who was lying on the bed next to mine.

"What the hell happened?" he demanded, rushing to Sam's side.

"She's alright," said Jack. "Was just overdue for a good meal and a long nap."

Jacob brushed back Sam's hair and touched her cheek. With a sigh, he shook his head and turned to me. He held up the healing device. "Ready to try this again?"

I nodded. "If you are."

A few minutes later, I was feeling much better. The pain in my side was barely noticeable, and my head had stopped throbbing.

"Thank you," I said.

Jacob nodded. "Anything I can do," he said as his eyes wandered past me to look at Sam in the next bed. "You know that."

Abruptly, Jack snorted and stood up, pushing his chair backwards with a loud scrape. He took a deep breath and looked about ready to say something to Jacob. But instead, he huffed angrily and began to pace.

Jacob watched him a moment, his eyebrows raised. "Something bothering you, Jack?"

"Is something—" Jack uttered a harsh, humourless laugh. "You've got some nerve, Jacob. Where the hell were you?"

Oh boy. This wasn't going to be pretty.

A frown creased Jacob's forehead. "When?"

"When? When, he says!" Jack shouted, his hands flying around in the air.

"Jack," I said, trying to sound as calming as possible. "Take a breath."

His expression softened slightly as his eyes darted from me to Sam and back again. He scowled at Jacob and sat heavily in his chair between the beds.

"What's this about?" asked Jacob.

"I can't help noticing how quickly the Tok'ra responded to our request for flying lessons in our shiny new Ha'tak." Jack's eyes narrowed as he stared at Jacob. "I wouldn't be surprised if you wanted us to give it to you."

Jacob cleared his throat and shifted on his feet.

Jack just shook his head. "Now, tell me why we should help you when you won't even return a phone call asking for help finding one of my team who's gone missing?"

Jacob's eyes moved from Jack to Teal'c and then to me. "When was this?"

Oh God. Was it possible Jacob had no idea what had happened? One thing was for sure, this was definitely not the best way for him to find out. I opened my mouth to respond, but Jack beat me to the punch.

"Oh, let's see. About six months ago?" He was on his feet again, but wisely keeping his voice at a volume that wouldn't attract Janet's attention. "Do you have any idea what Cronus does to the people he captures?"

Jacob sighed and looked sadly at Teal'c. "Look, I'm sorry, but I didn't get that message." He turned back to Jack. "How long did he—"

"At least a month," Jack snapped. "Missing for a total of two. Trading hands dozens of times in between."

Teal'c crossed his arms over his chest. "The Goa'uld are never merciful in the treatment of their prisoners."

"You think I don't know that?" Jacob was definitely starting to get angry now. "I've been in similar situations myself, you know!"

This was not going well. The tension had clearly been building for quite a while, and now that Jack had a Tok'ra target in range, poor Jacob was getting the full force of it.

"Jack," I said. But he had built up too much momentum to stop now.

"And who came to the rescue and pull you out of Hell, eh?" Jack jabbed at his chest with his thumb. "Us, that's who. So where were you when we needed you?"

"I told you, I didn't—"

"So it's okay for one of us to be tortured for weeks on end because the Tok'ra have a broken answering machine?"

It was like watching a train careening toward the end of the tracks. There was nothing I could do but watch and wait. And hope for the best when we picked up the pieces after it was all over.

"Jack, if I had known, I would have come to help. You know that. I'm sorry I—"

"It's not me you should be apologising to. It's her."

Jacob paled, his eyes darting from Jack to Sam and back again. "What?" he whispered.

Jack just huffed and shook his head, finally out of steam. The silence in the infirmary was actually palpable.

Jacob looked at Teal'c and then at me. "Sam was—" His voice broke with emotion. My heart ached for him. I knew exactly what he was feeling. We all did.

I turned away, looking over at Sam. Thankfully, the argument hadn't woken her up. Jacob moved to stand next to her bed and took her hand in his.

"She was broken when we finally got her home," Jack said very softly. "It took a long time to get the pieces put back together."

Jacob's head lowered over his daughter's hand as he brought it to his lips. "We did not know," came Selmak's voice. He didn't look up.

Jack sighed, and I knew he knew that. We sat for a long time while Jacob and Selmak silently processed the news. I couldn't help but wonder what conversation was taking place in their head.

Janet arrived and quietly checked the progress of my injuries. I was feeling much better, and she disconnected me from the machines monitoring my status. Janet told me that I was allowed to leave the infirmary as long as I stayed there for sleeping.

I was happy with the prognosis, but wasn't quite ready to take advantage of my freedom just yet. Despite having been asleep for days, I was still exhausted. As hard as I tried to stay awake while I had company, I eventually dozed off.

Some time later, I woke up to a soft whimper. Then there was a sharp intake of breath. Sam was having a nightmare. Carefully, I got out of my bed and sat in a chair next to hers. I held her hand and smoothed her hair, talking softly to her. It wasn't long before she was once again sleeping peacefully.

I looked up at the sound of a throat clearing and saw Jack leaning casually in the doorway with two cups of coffee in his hands. "One of those for me?" I asked softly, smiling at him.

Jack pushed off the door frame and handed me a steaming mug. "How's she doing?"

"She's okay." A small smile tugged on one corner of my mouth as I looked at her. "Just sleeping."

Jack nodded and pulled up a chair to sit across Sam's bed from me. "So, is there anything I should know about here?"

I frowned at him, not understanding the question. "You know everything I know. Janet said it was low blood sugar."

"That's not what I mean."

"Well, then, uh, what do you mean?"

"I mean with this." He waved his hand at Sam's sleeping form.

I studied Jack's face, trying to decipher his cryptic question. Realisation dawned, and I glanced toward the doorway where he had just been standing.

"Oh," I said quietly. He must have seen Sam's nightmare. I hesitated, not sure of what to say. I knew Sam didn't want him to know how her imprisonment by Cronus still affected her. "It's nothing to worry about, Jack, she's fine. It was just a nightmare. We all get them."

"No, that's not—" He stopped, the muscles in his jaw flexing.

"Jack?"

He just stared at me for a long time. I squinted at him, trying to figure out what his tense posture was saying. Okay, maybe I needed to rethink that whole psychic bond thing.

Finally, he shook his head. "Never mind." Jack took a sip from his mug and grimaced. "I'd better get back to working on my reports. With both you and Carter out of commission, Hammond's running out of things to read." And with that, he left the infirmary.

A few hours later, I was starting to doze off in my chair when Sam uttered a soft sigh. Her brow furrowed, and she turned her head in my direction. She opened her eyes and gave me a sleepy smile. "You're awake."

I chuckled softly. "So are you."

"Are you okay?" She tried to sit up. "Whoa," she said, falling back against her pillow and raising a hand to her head.

"Take it easy, Sam. You alright?"

"Yeah, just a little dizzy." She smiled slightly and then winced in what seemed like discomfort. Sam turned her hand over and examined her IV line, frowning. "What happened?" She looked up and to her right, where the IV bag was hanging over the head of her bed. Her frown turned to a grimace. "Oh yeah."

"You haven't been taking care of yourself."

Her eyes squeezed closed, and she turned away, obviously embarrassed. After a moment, she looked at me again. Her gazed moved down to my abdomen and back up to my face. "Are you okay?"

I smiled at her. "Don't change the subject."

"Daniel." Her eyes pleaded with me.

"I'm fine, Sam."

She frowned, clearly not liking that answer.

"I really am okay," I clarified. "A little tired, which is weird considering I've been asleep for days, but there it is." I gave her what I hoped was a reassuring look. "Jacob and Selmak did a good job. One more round with the healing device and I should be good as new."

"That's good." She smiled and sighed, looking around the infirmary. "What time is it?"

I checked my watch and gave her a lopsided grin. "Thursday."

Sam's eyes widened. "What? How long have I..."

"About twenty-three hours."

"Holy Hannah."

"Why haven't you been taking care of yourself?"

"I was worried about you."

"That's not much of an excuse."

"It is to me."

I sighed and took her hand in mine. "Sam," I said softly. I lifted her hand and surprised myself by kissing the back of her fingers. She didn't pull away, so I tried not to worry about it.

My eyes searched hers, trying to understand how she could have forgotten to eat while I was injured. It wasn't like her to be negligent. She stared back at me for a long moment. Her thumb brushed across my cheek. My eyes half-closed at the touch, and I felt myself smile against her fingers.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"Dad," said Sam, smiling a greeting to the man at the door.

I straightened in my chair and cleared my throat, trying to get a handle on the unexpected emotions sweeping through me.

Jacob walked up. "Hey, kiddo. What've you gotten yourself into now?"

"I'm okay, Dad."

"Sure you are." Jacob pulled up a chair on the other side of Sam's bed and sat down. "Now." He smiled at his daughter before looking up at me.

I nodded and gave Sam's hand a squeeze. "I'll let you two catch up."

Sam smiled warmly at me, and it felt like sunshine. "Thanks, Daniel."

With another nod to Jacob, I headed out of the infirmary and toward my office. I had a lot to think about. And probably a lot of work waiting for me on my desk. It would be best if I got started on both right away.

To be continued...
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