The Colonel remained deeply unconscious for the rest of the day. Fortunately, the bleeding from the chest and arm wounds had stopped after she'd sewn him up. The shoulder wounds continued to ooze but there didn't seem to be too much blood and she figured it might be better to let them alone. She was afraid if she sewed up the puncture wounds it would cause the infection to get worse. This way they could still drain.
She sat beside O'Neill the entire day, not daring to move. She had this deep fear that if she left him he'd die. Not that she could actually do anything more for him but she somehow felt her presence was required to hold on to him, to not let him leave her.
She spent a lot of time thinking about the Colonel and how she felt about him. They had come close to admitting their feelings for each other after the incident with the Zatarc detector but had quickly shut that down. After that episode nothing more had ever been said and they had moved back into a more professional, impersonal relationship. She'd regretted losing the closeness she'd begun to feel between them but knew it had to happen for both their sakes. It had felt like things had begun to thaw out a bit over the last few months, and she'd finally been able to relax more in his presence. He'd even begun to flirt a bit, but in a purely innocent, non-threatening way. She knew there was no ulterior motive behind it although she suspected there were still some latent feelings in some of what was said.
As she looked at the injured man in front of her she knew it wouldn't take much for those feelings to flare into life pretty quickly if either of them let them. She admitted to herself that that wasn't going to happen.
The Colonel would never do anything that might harm her career – and an affair with a senior officer would just about end any chances she had of getting ahead. It would be worse for him, of course. He would be held responsible and would probably end up with a Court Martial – or at the least a dishonorable discharge. She knew that O'Neill had too much respect for her, for the Air Force and for himself to ever allow that to happen.
She sighed, thinking that it was just her luck. She seemed to meet completely unsuitable men. Either they were crazy (Jonas), aliens (Martouf, Narim) or illegal (O'Neill). Just once she'd like to meet a nice guy who could give her a normal life. Somewhere deep in her psyche, however, she knew that 'normal' was probably not going to be something she'd ever get to experience. As she looked down at the pale face of the man beside her she knew that she could never settle for anything but the best. She was just afraid that the best was already here with her.
The light outside was beginning to grown dim when she heard a soft moan and looked down to see the Colonel beginning to move. He was waking up.
"Aaah" he groaned. He tried to reach up with his arm but the sharp pain caused him to groan again and to open his eyes. Unfortunately, both arms were affected – one simply because of the vicious punctures in the shoulder and the other which had received deep cuts from the animal's claws.
"Car -", he gasped, looking around with bleary eyes.
"I'm here Colonel. Just stay still. You've been wounded and any movement is going to hurt. I'm going to get you a drink but I'll help you, don't try and move on your own."
He made a small sound but settled down, deep furrows of pain between his eyes.
Sam carefully put her arm under his back, careful to avoid his hurt shoulder. She then lifted him up, all the while supporting his head with her shoulder. "There you go Sir, just take it slowly.
He sipped a bit of the water, which helped his burning throat. He had a terrible taste in his mouth and the water was helping. The bad news was it also helped wake him up a bit which just made him more aware of the agony coursing through him.
By the time Sam lowered him gently to the ground he'd broken out into a cold sweat and the nausea had returned. He took a few moments to simply breathe and try and get a handle on the pain. Once he felt like he was no longer about to throw up he opened his eyes and looked at his Major.
"What -?" he croaked. It was still hard to talk.
"You were attacked by some kind of large cat Sir. It grabbed you around the shoulder and tried to pull you away. I was able to kill it before it got very far but it did some damage. You've lost quite a bit of blood so you're going to feel weak but you're going to be okay." She said that last bit as much to reassure herself as him.
He nodded weakly, trying to understand what she was saying. He had a quick flashback to the feel of the wicked teeth piercing his flesh and the smell and heat from the animal. He remembered the terror he'd felt as he was being dragged away and how ineffectual he'd felt trying to stop it. He had a brief moment of thankfulness that he'd had Carter with him. He'd almost left her in the cave.
"Thnks", he muttered, incredibly grateful for the fact that she'd saved him. He just wished he was up to saying more than that one word.
"Anytime Colonel." she answered with a small smile. "Although I'd prefer it if you'd avoid trying to be 'lunch' next time."
He grinned slightly, appreciating her humor, although the pain made it difficult to concentrate on anything. He suddenly frowned, a random thought leaping into his mind.
"Sabo-?" he asked.
"Sorry Sir, I don't know what you're saying." She leaned closer knowing it was difficult for him to talk.
"Sabo too - "
"Sabo? Oh, Sabre Tooth Tiger? Is that what you're asking?" she looked at him and caught his small nod of agreement. She thought back to the animal she'd killed and her eyes suddenly widened.
"Yes Sir, I think you're right - that's what it was. Oh my God – how it the world did it get here?" She looked at O'Neill who gave a small shrug, and then grimaced at the movement.
"Don't Sir. That was a rhetorical question. I can guess. We know that humans were taken from earth 1000's of years ago and brought to other planets – I don't see why animals weren't also taken. Although I wouldn't have wanted to be the one to transport a Sabre Tooth! I expect this planet must not have experienced an Ice Age like we did – so they've managed to survive." She looked puzzled for a minute. "I wonder why they would have transported animals and not humans to this planet?" Eventually she shrugged and looked at the Colonel.
She could tell from his expression that the pain was getting bad again. His face looked gray and a fine film of moisture covered his face. He had also begun to swallow convulsively, probably feeling a return of the nausea.
"I'm going to give you some more morphine Sir. It'll help you rest and regain your strength." She reached over to the med kit and began pulling out the supplies when a soft sound stopped her. She glanced up at the Colonel who was frowning at her.
"M'okay", he said softly.
"No you're not Sir. You've been hurt and are in pain. I know you don't like to take painkillers but in this case you have to if you're going to get well. If you don't rest you'll get sicker and I really don't want to be left alone here."
"Car – no dru-s!" he tried to speak using his 'commander's' voice but she continued to prepare the syringe.
"Sorry Sir, I'm afraid I'm in charge right now. You're not well enough so just lie back and close your eyes. As soon as you're better you can chew my ass off for disobeying you." As she pulled the corner of his pants down to get at his hip for the injection she glanced up in time to see a small grin on his face. She jabbed him and he gave a small 'yelp' and glared at her but she simply smiled back at him.
"Jus' like Frasier." He muttered.
"Why thank you Sir!" she replied. "Now close your eyes and sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."
"Hmmm", he murmured as the drugs quickly began to take affect. "Thks Majr". Those were the last words he said for a while.
He slept through the night although he began to toss restlessly after four or five hours of deep sleep. She reached over and touched him and was worried when it became obvious that he was developing a fever. She'd been afraid this would happen. Sitting up she prepared a needle with more of the antibiotic and gave him another injection. She tried to see how the wounds were doing but it was difficult to do by the light of her flashlight. She'd check it again first thing in the morning.
By the time morning came it was clear the Colonel was in a bad way. The fever was over 103 degrees and he was beginning to get delirious. What made it worse was he began to toss and turn which caused some of the stitches to break and the bleeding on his shoulder to start up again. She tried to keep him calm through the use of her voice and by bathing his face gently with cool cloths. She'd rinsed out his ripped shirt and had cut it into strips to use with the cool water.
She wasn't sure but based on the lump that was forming on his collar bone she suspected that it had been broken by the force of the tiger's jaws. She hadn't thought to look for that and felt bad but realized there wasn't much she could do about it anyway. She just hoped it was a clean break. Anything else and they could be looking at severe infection. She did take some strips of cloth to bind him and immobilize his arm, knowing that a broken collar bone could be extremely painful if moved.
All during the day she kept trying to give him small sips of water, knowing how easy it was for him to become dehydrated, and how dangerous that would be. He seemed to move between total, death-like stillness and a restless semi-awareness. She didn't know which was worse. When he was still she would check him every few minutes, worried that he had slipped away. When he was stirring he constantly moaned and whimpered – sounds that she would never had associated with the Colonel. She knew they were unconscious and purely involuntary, but they were eerie and distressful to listen to.
Around midnight of the second night O'Neill's fever peaked. Sam was worried that he would go into convulsions, or that he'd die. She knew she had to do something before it was too late. She made a quick decision and reached over and began to strip the Colonel. He wasn't wearing a shirt – just the bandages and she had laid his jacket and her sleeping back over top of him. She took both of those off and then reached to the buckle of his pants. Quickly undoing that she eased them off his hips and pulled them off. That left him with his socks and boxers. She reached down and took the socks off, needing to cool him down as much as possible, but opted to leave the boxers on. They wouldn't make that much difference and she needed to leave him some dignity.
Once he was stripped she reached down and grabbed the tarp and sleeping bag underneath him and began to gently pull him, trying not to jostle his shoulder or upper body too much. It was slow work but eventually she got him to their little 'bathing' area with the shallow pool of water. Pulling him as close as possible she began to bathe him from head to toe with the cool water. She kept it up for what felt like hours but whenever she felt his skin it was still hot to the touch.
She herself was shivering, covered as she was in almost as much water as the Colonel. She just prayed that this would work.
She could tell that the sun (or this planet's equivalent) was just coming up by the time she felt the Colonel's skin and could feel that it had cooled down substantially. With a grateful sigh – that sounded more like a groan – she rested her head for a moment beside his. She was thoroughly exhausted, not having had much if any sleep for two nights in a row.
She knew she couldn't fall asleep now however. She couldn't leave the wounded man lying there practically naked now that his fever had dropped. She went back to the other room and pulled out the small 'super absorbent' towel they traveled with and dried him off as much as possible. She'd have to work at getting him off the tarp as he was now lying in puddles of water. She frowned, wondering how she was going to do that without hurting him.
"Sam?" he soft voice startled her. She looked at his face and could see his half-lidded eyes staring at her. He looked terrible, but alive. She felt like she was going to cry.
"Colonel! How are you feeling?" She moved up close to him.
"Little chilly", he answered. He glanced down at himself and frowned. Why was he lying here in his underwear? He couldn't figure out what was going on; couldn't remember what had happened; he just knew he shouldn't be dressed like this with his 2IC present.
"Sorry Sir, you had a fever and I had to bring it down. That's why you're dressed like that." She realized he was confused by his state of 'undress'.
"Oh" he replied weakly. That kinda made sense, he thought. Although who took his clothes off? "Danny? Teal'c?" He figured it must have been one of them.
"No Sir, they're not here remember? They went back to earth through the gate. We're here alone."
"Alone?" he murmured. That couldn't be right. He would like to be alone with Carter but it was wrong – a definite 'no no'.
"Yes Sir. The Jaffa destroyed the gate. We have to get you warmed up now Sir. I'm going to try and get this tarp out from under you. Do you think you can help me?" She realized he was pretty out of it and was looking even more confused. She was really beginning to worry.
"Kay" he answered, although he didn't move. She didn't think he knew what to do.
"Colonel, I'm going to help you roll a bit on your side and try and fold the tarp under you, then I'll roll you back, okay?" She didn't know how she'd get the remainder out because she couldn't roll him onto his bad shoulder. She'd have to figure that out when she came to it.
"Mmmm" He closed his eyes and started to drift.
"Sir!" she said sharply. She needed him awake. He opened his eyes and frowned. He just wanted to sleep.
"Come on Sir, here we go." Helping support him she rolled him slightly to the side. He groaned as it put pressure on his wounds so she worked quickly and laid him back down. He looked up at her accusingly.
"Hurts Carter!" she almost wanted to grin – he sounded like a little boy whining to his mother.
"I know Colonel, I'm sorry. Come on, we're almost done." Rather than getting him to move again she began to try and wiggle the tarp out from underneath him. The legs were easy, she simply lifted them up one at a time. He complained but it didn't seem to be because it caused him pain – more because it disturbed him and he wanted to sleep. She smiled again – if the wounds hadn't been so serious she would have enjoyed this. The Colonel was like a small child when he was sick. It was a side to him she'd never really seen before.
She finally got the last bit of tarp out and quickly dried him off where he was a bit damp. She then retrieved the other sleeping bag and gently tucked it around him. He burrowed his face into it, obviously relishing the warmth, although she noticed he had started to shiver a bit.
"Ccccold". Great – from burning to freezing! She reached out and touched his forehead, relieved that he didn't seem to have too much of a fever. She knew that the change in his body temperature, and the blood loss, would make him feel very cold which could be equally as dangerous. Well, there was one way to solve that – and her fatigue at the same time.
"Okay Sir, I'm coming in." She pulled up the sleeping bag and wiggled in beside him. Careful not to disturb his wounds she snuggled up as closely as possible. She bunched her own jacket under her head as a pillow, knowing she couldn't use the Colonel this time – not with his chest wounds. Sighing in exhaustion she closed her eyes, remembering that time a few years ago in Antarctica. At least this time it wasn't so cold.
O'Neill began to wake up and the first thing he noticed was the burning pain that radiated from his shoulder all the way down his arms and chest. Fortunately his hips and legs seemed fine. It took him a moment but everything came back to him. He'd been attacked by a damned Sabre Tooth tiger for God's sake! He couldn't remember too much of what had happened since but he did remember that! He also had a vague notion of thinking Daniel had stripped him but where that thought came from he didn't know. It must have been some pain-induced hallucination. At least he hoped that's what it was. He didn't normally have dreams of Daniel, or any other man, for that matter, stripping him. If he started that he was hot-footing it to a psychiatrist real soon cause he definitely didn't lean that way!
He was feeling stiff so he tried to move but stopped as a shooting pain radiated through his shoulder. Damn, he knew what that was! He'd broken his collarbone years ago when playing soccer as a kid. He remembered it had hurt like crazy and he'd had to wear a shoulder sling. He hadn't been able to do any sports for the rest of the summer – although he remembered his mom had looked after him and had spent time playing with him and making him special treats. It was one of his special memories of his mother and made him want to see her again.
As he tried again to stretch, this time much more carefully, his hand knocked against something warm. What the hell? He turned to his side and stared directly into the face of one blond haired, blue-eyed (okay, so they were closed right now but the picture of those eyes was burnt into his mind) Major. She was sound asleep, snoring softly.
He indulged himself by simply staring at her for a few moments. He knew this was dangerous but heck, it was just like when he was hurt as a kid and his Mom had given him treats – he figured this was his 'treat' for having been wounded.
Sam could feel that something or someone was looking at her even before she awoke completely. She didn't know how, but the awareness was there. She slowly opened her eyes and looked directly into the brown ones of her commanding officer – although truth to tell, she wasn't thinking of him as that right now. All she knew was that she could easily get lost in those eyes. They made her feel safe, and warm and loved.
Holy Hannah! What was she doing. She gave a startled 'yelp' and sat up, pulling the covers off both of them. Jack just blinked, not sure what had just happened.
"Carter?" he asked, confused.
"Sorry Sir!" she sat licking her lips, trying to figure a way out of this uncomfortable situation. "I was having a dream and got startled."
"Yeah, okay." he said softly. He started to feel a bit chilly and looked down, only to realize he was naked. What the hell?
"Uh Carter?"
"Yes Colonel?" she was still feeling embarrassed and wouldn't look at him.
"My clothes?"
"What? Oh, sorry Sir. I had to take them off because you were burning up with fever. I can help you get dressed again although it might be easier to leave them on for now. Whatever you'd prefer of course – I don't mind, I - " She stopped, realizing she was babbling which was causing a look of confusion to appear on the Colonel's face. He still looked awful, but better than he had. She hoped this meant he was getting better.
"Uh – okay" he glanced down again and this time realized he was still wearing his boxers. Thank God, he breathed a silent sigh of relief. It's not that he was terribly modest but somehow the thought of Sam seeing him naked had given him a funny feeling.
"Are you hungry Sir?" she asked.
"No, but I could use some water." She helped him take a few sips from the canteen and then settled him back down.
"How long?" he asked. She glanced down at her watch.
"Uh, it's been over two days Sir. How are you feeling now?" His voice still sounded incredibly weak but at least he seemed to be coherent.
"Weak, dizzy but okay I think."
"How's the pain?" she asked, knowing he didn't usually like to talk about it but needing to know.
"Oh, the pain is doing just fine, thank you very much!" She looked slightly confused – and maybe a little hurt – by his sarcasm. He knew he sometimes used it inappropriately but it was his defense mechanism for when he was feeling vulnerable. Right now he was trapped on an alien planet with no foreseeable (at least in the near future) way home, with his beautiful Second in Command for whom he had inappropriate feelings, was hurt, in pain and didn't know how the hell they were going to survive. So yes, he was feeling kind of vulnerable! Still, that was no reason to take it out on her.
"Sorry Sam", he said, using her name for once. "It's better than it was but it hurts – It'll be okay though. I'm pretty tough!"
"I understand Sir – but you don't have to tough it out for my sake you know. There's more morphine and I have other pain killers with codeine. You'll heal faster if your body can rest."
He remembered her saying something similar before and knew she was right. It was one thing when he was in the Infirmary but another now that they were on this planet. He needed to get well as quickly as possible and misplaced machismo wasn't going to help.
"I could use some of those pills if you have them Major. I think we should save the morphine for when we really need it." She smiled and nodded, pleased that he wasn't going to be pig-headed about this.
After she'd given the Colonel his medication she told him to go back to sleep. The relief she felt that he seemed to be better was such that she could feel the reaction starting to hit. Lying down again she closed her eyes but the tears escaped and ran down her cheeks. She was startled to feel fingers touch her face and dry her tears.
"It's okay Carter. Just rest." With a soft smile she did just that.
"We need more food." The Colonel spoke softly but seriously. Sam knew he was right and that it was up to her to find some but she hated the thought of leaving him. He could sit up now, with help, but didn't have the strength to be up and around.
The last few days had been difficult as the Colonel started to improve. He was always easier to deal with when really ill and a pain when getting better. She knew it was his frustration at not being able to help but so help her, she wanted to kill the man!
"I know Sir. As soon as you're up and around I'll go hunting."
"No Carter, we don't have time for that. I'm well enough that I don't need a babysitter. If we don't start stockpiling now we won't have enough to last the winter." She knew he was right so finally nodded.
"Okay, I'll leave first thing in the morning." Jack lay back, relieved yet worried. He hated the thought of Carter our there alone, especially with the possibility of tigers around and who knew what else! Still, there was nothing else to be done. He knew it would be a while before he was up to doing much – a thought which frustrated him to death.
"Now be careful, okay? Make sure you watch above you in case any of those things are stalking you. You need to- "
"I know Sir", she interrupted. They'd been over this a hundred times already. She was a seasoned officer – not some junior Airman out for the first time.
Jack looked over at her and could see her frustration at him and admitted that she had reason to feel that way. It wasn't that he didn't trust her – hell, he trusted her more than anyone he'd ever worked with. It was just the thought of something happening to her tore him up inside. He gave a silent groan – this was the very reason for the frat regs – you couldn't be objective with someone you cared about.
"Look Carter", he knew he needed to make it up to her. "I trust you and I know you know what you're doing. It's just that I feel so useless here and that's one helluva big cat out there. I just don't want you to get hurt."
She looked over at him and smiled, appreciating his honesty and realizing suddenly how he must be feeling. Scooting over closer to him she gently touched his arm.
"I know Sir and I'm sorry. I'd be feeling the same if I were in your shoes. But don't think you're gonna get off just because you're sick. I'm bringing the meat back to you and you can fix it!"
"So, you'll bring home the bacon and I'll cook it, is that so Major?" he grinned at her
"Yup, that's it Sir."
"Okay, you have a deal. Do you know where you're going to go?"
They talked about it for a while longer until Jack started to get uncomfortable. He really hated feeling so helpless – besides which it was embarrassing. It was one thing to have nurses look after all your needs, it was another when it was a woman under your command. He'd really had enough!
"Carter!" he interrupted her this time. "Help me up." He reached out his 'good' arm.
"Uh Sir, I don't think you should try it yet."
"Come on. I'm sick of sitting here on my butt. I need to take a little trip outside."
She knew how difficult it had been for the Colonel but really felt it was too soon for him to be walking that far. Still, she knew she'd have a fight on her hands if she refused to help him. Reaching down she helped him to his feet. He swayed for a moment but then seemed to get his bearings.
"I'm okay now Major." He tugged on his arm but she held on.
"No Sir. If you want to go outside you'll have to let me help you." She spoke firmly. There was no way she'd give on this one.
"Major, I think I'm old enough to go to the John by myself!" he exploded.
"I'm sure you are sure – normally. But you've been injured and you're still weak. I tell you what, I'll walk with you and then leave you to ah … and when you're done I'll come back for you. I won't let you go by yourself."
He looked like he was going to argue but even standing for the few minutes of their argument had tired him out so he gave in – although not without a few muttered words.
It took a lot longer than he thought to get to the latrine and by the time they'd arrived he was feeling dizzy and weak. He assured Sam he was okay but when she left he had to lean against the rock wall, feeling like he was going to pass out. Okay, you're an idiot O'Neill – all this so you didn't have to pee in a jar!
It took him longer than he had thought it would and Sam had already called out to him a couple of times, checking to make sure he was okay.
"Alright Carter, come and get me!" he called. He really needed to lie down. She was back in an instant and helped him back into the cave. She could see him starting to sweat and knew this had been a stupid idea. Once O'Neill was sitting she checked his wounds to make sure they weren't bleeding. Sighing, she sat back and just looked at the stubborn man.
"You have a 'Janet Frasier' look on your face." He murmured, knowing he was in trouble.
"And what's that … Sir?" she asked, sounding irritated.
"The 'I'm really pissed at Colonel O'Neill and if he wasn't so sick I'd hit him over the head with a bed pan' look." He looked up at her sheepishly but was relieved when she started to smile.
"Yeah, that's just about right. I'm gonna have to take Janet out for a big steak supper when we get back."
"Why?"
"Because I didn't realize what she went through when you were sick. It's either a steak dinner or a medal and I can't give her a medal." Sam smirked at him and then stood up and tucked him in, just like his Mom used to do.
"Go to sleep Sir."
"Kay. Night Carter." He yawned and closed his eyes, soon drifting into a restful sleep.
She stood looking at him for a while longer, smiling at this stubborn but honorable man. For about the twentieth time since they'd gotten stuck in this place she thought how glad it was that he was the one who was with her. She just wished he wasn't her commanding officer! Lying down beside him she too drifted off to sleep, knowing that tomorrow would be a big day.