She'd tripped slightly on her way down the ramp, and only his hand on her arm had steadied her. Nevertheless, after General Hammond had dismissed SG-1 and what remained of the Russian team with an order to be back at 0830 the next morning for a full debriefing, she'd actually set out in the direction of the lockers.

"Major Carter?" he called after her.

She turned back to look at him, her face appearing even more pallid under the harsh lights of the SGC than it had back on the planet. "Yes, Sir?"

He cocked his thumb in the opposite direction from the one in which she'd been headed. "The infirmary's that way…"

"Sir? I don't need…." He raised one eyebrow at her, and her voice trailed off in defeat. "Yes, Sir."

He fell into step next to her as she took off in the indicated direction.

"Sir, I don't need an escort," she protested.

As pale as she was, he wasn't too sure of that. "Probably not," he agreed. It was easier than arguing. Or pulling rank. "Still, after what Nirti did to you, I think we'd better let Doc Fraiser be the judge of that."

"Really, Sir, I'm…"

She tripped again, stumbling into him and Jack caught her elbow, keeping her upright. "Fine?" he finished.

Defeated, she smiled ruefully. "Okay. Maybe not so much."

He returned her smile, trying to ignore the fear that gripped him again at this reminder of how close he'd come… they'd all come… to losing her again. He really should let her get down to the infirmary by herself. It wasn't that much further; he was sure she'd be fine on her own.

Because he'd made the same mistake back there on the planet… He still had to be careful....

But instead of pulling her arm away, Carter leaned into him, accepting his offer of support. And, really, what was wrong with that? After all, she was on his team and under his command and that made her his responsibility. He couldn't have one of his people falling over in the corridor.

Jack shifted his grip on her, taking even more of her weight himself. "Good. Now, let's get you to the infirmary."

She nodded, and together they continued down the hall. Carter broke the silence a few moments later. "Thank you, Sir."

"For what?"

"Insisting I get checked out."

"Just doing my job, Carter."

She made an odd little sound in response, half sigh, half mirthless chuckle. "Yeah, I know," she finally replied, her voice so low he had to strain to hear it. Then she lapsed into silence, saying nothing more until after they had reached the infirmary, proving more than anything else just how tired she really was.