Chapter 3

Sirens blared as rescue vehicles hurried to Jack's plane in the pouring rain.

Two members of an emergency response team entered the cockpit and found Jack disoriented and he was having trouble speaking.

After getting Jack into an ambulance, the driver notified the nearest hospital to let them know they were in route. A medical team was waiting when they arrived and quickly rushed Jack inside. A doctor ordered a CT scan, blood tests and an MRI.

The test results showed that there was a blood clot in the right frontal lobe of Jack's brain.

"Let's get him into surgery" a neurosurgeon ordered the team.

~oOo~

Sam made sandwiches as George stood at the door that led out to a balcony, overlooking a flower garden below.

"Nice view you have here, Sam."

"Yes it is."

George turned around to face her. "Think you might buy another house eventually?"

"No. I spend too much time at work to take care of a house. This is enough space for me right now."

They sat down to eat and Sam took a sip of Diet Coke as George took a bite of his sandwich.

Sam clasped her hands in her lap. "I'm not sure I want to know this but I'm going to ask anyway."

"Okay."

"Do you know if Jack is seeing anyone?"

"I don't know for sure but I don't think so. He's too busy at the Mountain and as I told you before, he still loves you."

"I thought leaving Colorado was best for both of us but after all this time, I still miss him. If he'd open up and tell me what he's feeling maybe we could work this out."

"I urged him to talk to you but getting Jack to discuss his feelings is like pulling teeth."

George paused for a moment. "Jacob wanted you and Jack together. Did he ever tell you that?"

"Just before he died. He had known for a long time how we felt about each other, or how I felt about Jack."

After lunch, they sat on her balcony as they talked about the meeting they'd had with the NASA officials and what was going on with George's job in Washington.

George's cell phone rang so he got it out of his pocket and answered.

"Hammond."

George looked at Sam and smiled. "Hi, Dr. Jackson."

Sam watched as the smile quickly faded and George's eyes grew wide. "Oh no."

George listened several moments longer. "You don't need to call Sam. I'm with her now in Houston. We'll be there as soon as we can. Bye."

Sam set up in her chair. "What's wrong?"

"Dr. Jackson called me from his car. He's on his way to Memorial Hospital. Jack had a stroke and they just took him to surgery. Jack piloted a plane to Houston and just as he returned home, the stroke happened as he landed on the runway. The staff at the hospital found a piece of paper in Jack's wallet with Dr. Jackson's name as an emergency contact so they got in touch with him. Go pack a bag. I'll make a call and get us a plane."

Tears filled Sam's eyes as she hurried to her bedroom. As she quickly packed a suitcase, she realized her hands were shaking. Putting her hands to her chest, she took several deep breaths and tried not to cry.

Upon their arrival in Colorado, George and Sam hurried through the airport and were met by Teal'c.

"Is there any word yet on Jack?" George asked as they headed to Teal'c's vehicle.

"I spoke with Daniel Jackson a few minutes ago and he informed me that O'Neill is still in surgery."

Arriving at the hospital, they hurried inside.

Getting off an elevator, they could see Daniel in the waiting room and Sam rushed to him.

Daniel looked up to see them coming and he stood up to give Sam a hug. "I'm glad you're here."

"How is he?"

"No word yet."

~oOo~

The four friends sat talking when Sam suddenly stood and looked out a window.

Daniel watched Sam while wishing there was something he could say to make her feel better. He knew that Jack had missed Sam since she had been gone but Jack had told him, just after she had left for Houston that he didn't care to discuss their situation any more so the subject of Sam had been totally off limits.

He walked over to Sam and put his hand on her shoulder. She jumped slightly to his touch and as she turned to face him, he could see tears in her eyes. Daniel took her hands in his.

"He can't die" she whispered.

"We have to think positive that he will be okay. Did you talk with Jack when you saw him today?"

"I asked him to have lunch with me but he refused and hurriedly left. I don't think he wants anything to do with me."

"Even though he won't admit it, I know that Jack has missed you and he still loves you."

"Why can't we work this out? Why does this have to be so hard? Thinking that things were never going to change between us, I just felt I couldn't stay in Colorado. Did I make a mistake when I moved to Houston?"

"I don't know what to tell you. When you first left, I tried to do as you asked and advised Jack to leave you alone and not go after you, but now I'm not so sure that was the right thing to do."

They saw a doctor approaching, dressed in green scrubs.

"Are you the family of General O'Neill?"

"We're his friends. He doesn't have any immediate family" Daniel answered as George and Teal'c came to join them.

"I'm Dr. Swenson. General O'Neill had what we call a thrombotic stroke. This type of stroke occurs when a clot forms in a blood vessel in the brain. General O'Neill's occurred on his right side where speech and memory are regulated and there may be paralysis on his left side. We were told by the paramedics that when they found General O'Neill, he was having trouble speaking and was disoriented and he lost consciousness in the ambulance. Until he wakes up, we don't know how much damage the stroke has caused. Any questions?"

"When should he wake up?" George asked.

The doctor shook his head. "Could be hours, could be days or weeks. Each person is different."

"When can we see him?" Sam asked.

"You can see him now."

Feeling that Sam might like a moment alone with Jack, Daniel suggested that she go first.

Sam followed the doctor to Jack's room and he stopped just outside the door. "It's important that you talk to him. If he can hear you, he needs to know that he isn't alone."

The doctor turned to leave and Sam pushed open the door. Walking up beside Jack's bed, she stared at his face. She pulled up a chair and sat down beside him. Gently taking his hand in hers, she stared at the bandage around his head, knowing they had shaved his head for the surgery and she remembered how much she had always loved his gray hair. Her eyes filled with tears and she stared at his face as she spoke softly. "I don't know if you can hear me, Jack, but if you can, please know that I'm here and I'm not going to leave you."

She looked down at Jack's hand and gently rubbed her fingers over the top as tears ran down her cheeks. She had always loved his hands; these hands that could fire a P-90 with great precision or speak expressively when he talked; these hands that she had dreamed of touching her as he made love to her.

She sat in the chair for several minutes, wanting nothing more than to sit beside Jack until he awoke but she knew that her friends would like to see him too. Reluctantly releasing his hand, she stood up and walked to the door, glancing back before turning to leave.

Quickly wiping away the tears, she returned to the waiting room to see Teal'c, Daniel and George sitting silently, each lost in his own thoughts.

Sam sat down beside George and he could see that she had been crying. He placed his hand on top of hers and gently squeezed. "Jack will be okay. He's tough, you know. He's a fighter."

Sam nodded her head. "Yes, he is."

George offered to have Sam spend the night at his house but she wanted to stay with Jack and Daniel did not want to leave her alone.

After Teal'c and George had left for the night, Sam and Daniel stood beside Jack's bed. Daniel glanced at Sam and he could see how scared she was so he put his arm around her waist.

"The doctor said this affects his memory, Daniel. What if he doesn't remember me or what if he does but he doesn't want me here and he can't speak to tell me?"

"We don't know how he'll react. Right now, Jack needs to know we're here for him and that we'll always be here for him, whether he has his memory or not or whether he can speak or not. He would do the same for us."

"If he comes out of this, I'm going to tell him I love him. He may not want to hear it but I need to say it."

"Yes, you do. Something has got to change between you two. You can't go on being miserable like this. You love each other and you should be together."

Daniel took her hand and they sat down. "What about the healing device? Maybe it would help."

Sam shook her head. "The last time I used it was when I tried to heal you when you had the lethal dose of radiation. I only made things worse and almost killed you so I'm not about to use it on Jack. Besides, it has been years since I was infected. I would think that the effects have worn off by now."

"The Tok'ra might help but we haven't been in touch with them since your Dad died and although Vala knows how to use a healing device, we haven't heard from her in a long time either."

"I thought that you and Vala might end up together."

"No. I'm very fond of Vala but I'm not sure I could ever really love her. We're too different. She's adventurous and I get very involved in my work. In the long run, I think she would get bored with me."

~oOo~

They stayed up talking into the evening in Jack's room. Knowing they needed to get some sleep, they went into the waiting room and Daniel lay down on a sofa and Sam lay down on one across from him.

Daniel awoke in the early morning light. As he set up, he noticed that Sam wasn't there.

He hurried to Jack's room and went inside. Sam sat on a chair beside Jack with her arms folded on the side of the bed, head resting on her arms, her hand holding Jack's. He could tell by her breathing that she was sleeping. She had probably not left his side all night.

He sat down and watched his friends. Although he and Sha're had loved each other deeply, never in his life had he known two people as much in love as Jack and Sam. From the beginning as they had worked together as SG-1, he had noticed the attraction between them. Just like now, so many times he had seen them sit beside each other when the other was injured and in the base infirmary.

On far away planets, he would awaken during the night and hear them talking as they sat together beside a camp fire and sometimes he would hear Sam laugh at something Jack had said. There, so far from Earth, they could let down their guard for a while and enjoy each other's company before having to return to their Air Force ranks and responsibilities.

He remembered that Jack had tried to hide his hurt and disappointment when Sam had gotten engaged to Pete and he had seemed to come alive again when she had broken the engagement.

When they had been at Jack's cabin, he and Teal'c had purposely left them alone a few times so they would have a chance to talk. It had surprised him and Teal'c that their relationship had gone no further after they had returned home and suddenly Sam was leaving. Although he had understood why she felt she needed to get away and tried to respect her wishes, he had since questioned himself that he had done the right thing and maybe he should have urged Jack to go see her after all.

He had witnessed how Jack changed after Sam left. Gone was the sparkle in his eyes and he would often find him in his office, staring at his desk with a faraway expression on his face. They never discussed Sam but knowing Jack better than anyone, he knew that Jack was hurting.

Putting his elbow on the arm of the chair, he rubbed his forehead as thoughts ran through his mind of what this would do to Sam if Jack did not recover.

Sam awakened and she set up slowly but she did not let go of Jack's hand.

He stood up and walked to where she sat.

"Have you been here all night?"

"Yes. I tried to sleep but I couldn't so I came back in here. I didn't want Jack to be alone if he woke up."

At that moment, a nurse entered the room to take Jack's vital signs.

"How is he?" Daniel asked after she had finished.

"He's stable" she answered as she left.

"Sam, you need to eat. Do you want me to go with you to the cafeteria or I can stay with Jack while you go have breakfast."

Sam quickly thought it over. "One of us should be here so I'll go eat and come right back."

"Okay."

After Sam returned, Daniel headed to the cafeteria. After he got his food, he noticed Dr. Swenson sitting by himself, reading a newspaper, so he walked over to where he sat.

"Good morning."

Dr. Swenson looked up. "Good morning."

"Mind if I join you?"

Dr. Swenson put the paper aside. "Not at all."

Daniel sat down and took a sip of coffee. "Could I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What's your opinion about Jack? Do you think he'll be okay?"

"I really don't know. I've had patients wake up a few days after they've had a stroke and make a complete recovery. Some people don't wake up for weeks or months and some die without ever waking up. The longer a patient waits before seeing a doctor, the worse the outcome is but the paramedics got him to the hospital quickly and we got him into surgery so I'm hopeful that he will come out of this. We also have to take into consideration a patient's age and general health or if they have anything else wrong with them. General O'Neill's health is good so that will make a difference in his recovery. Are you close friends?"

"Yes, we've been best friends for several years."

When Daniel returned, he saw Teal'c, Sam and George in the waiting room and overheard Sam ask George if she could take a leave of absence from her job to stay with Jack.

"I'm sure that can be arranged. I'll take care of it for you."

"Thank you, sir."

George glanced at his friends. "Well, I hate to say this but I have to get back to Washington. I really don't like leaving Jack but I know the three of you will take good care of him."

"Is Colonel Reynolds taking over for O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.

"Yes, for the foreseeable future. Keep me informed of Jack's condition."

"We will, sir" Daniel answered.

Teal'c volunteered to stay with Jack that night so Sam could go home with Daniel to get some rest.

On the ride to Daniel's house, he glanced at Sam as she stared out the window and he could see the worry and fatigue on her face.

As they entered his house, Sam suddenly began to cry. Putting his arm around her, he sat down with her on the sofa.

"What if Jack stays like this, Daniel? What if he doesn't wake up? You know how independent he is, he would not want to live this way."

"No he wouldn't but we have to be patient and give him time to heal."

Sam wiped her eyes. "I just have so many regrets about us. I wish we'd been together years ago."

Daniel squeezed her hand. "When Jack wakes up, you'll work this out."

TBC