AN A lot of people guessed what was wrong with Sam. Thanks for your enthusiastic reviewing :D Hope you enjoy this chapter...
Chapter 17 – Lousy Timing
The following morning, Sam tucked her ration bar inside her jacket pocket, assuring her teammates that she would eat it on the road. She sat very still and while doing her share to help avoided movement as much as possible. She had slept fairly well after emptying her stomach but still did not feel up to much.
Watching her, Jack grew more and more concerned. He knew Carter to be one of the strongest people he had ever known. If the was tired or hungry, she would work through it. She was also renowned for refusing to show weakness. Jack knew this to be the result of having to fight her way up the ranks in an organisation that was still very male dominated. Come to think of it, Sam was the highest ranking woman he knew.
Knowing that she was good at hiding any discomfort she may feel, Jack, as her CO had learned to spot the tiniest signs of pain or injury from his 2IC. However, he had always trusted her to tell him if there was a serious problem. Now, he watched her, helping the others as they did what they could to remove all evidence of them having stopped here.
She stood stooped over the bush at the edge of the ditch taking the loose branches one by one from Teal'c and hiding them among the other plants. He noticed that she did not stand up straight, even when there was no call for her to be hunched she remained slightly doubled up.
At that point Daniel and Roan returned from the spring where they had gone to take care of any ablutions and calls from mother nature. Roan moved away in the direction and Sam and Teal'c to help them in their task. Jack continued to gaze in their direction. When he reached them, the little man stood beside Teal'c, breaking small branches while keeping a careful ear on the two men behind them.
"Jack, can I talk to you?" Jack turned to Daniel who had not followed to join the others. The younger man's face was uncommonly grave.
"Sure. What's up?" He was surprised when Daniel gestured away from the group, for some privacy.
"Something's up with Sam." This was not what Jack had expected and the statement both made him relieved that he wasn't being paranoid and terrified that both he and Daniel had noticed something and still, Sam had said nothing.
"I know. She hasn't said anything but she's not herself."
"She was throwing up last night." Again Jack was surprised. Why the hell hasn't she said anything? Daniel looked sick himself. From the look on his face, Jack could tell it hadn't been pretty, but then, when was it? "She kept going to the bushes, then tossing and turning trying to sleep. I decided just to give her some space but when she threw up...she was really hauling Jack – she couldn't stop. She looked like hell.
"You spoke to her?"
"No. I let her sleep." Jack couldn't believe that a member of his team had been violently sick, yards away from where he was sleeping and he hadn't noticed. God Jack! Time to get the ol' retirement papers out again, you useless bastard.
"God Carter, what are you doing?" He said under his breath but Daniel heard him clearly.
"You know what she's like Jack, you're the same."
"I'm not that damn stubborn. She's got some explaining to do.
"OK Jack, but take it easy. She's just trying to put the mission first, you know that. She never complains about stuff."
Put the mission first!? What was the point? Why even bother escaping if you're gonna neglect your own heath on the way home? He sighed and strode away towards the three at the edge of the ditch. Roan focused more fully on the breaking of twigs as the colonel approached.
"Alrighty folks we're moving out. Teal'c, just chuck those last branches over there." He gestured vaguely and Teal'c complied, flinging the armful of large branches into a dense area of gorse.
With Teal'c and Daniel taking point, Roan keeping pace behind them, Sam made no response as her CO drew up beside her where she was walking in silence. She watched the ground and concentrated on breathing without wincing. After a quarter hour of walking across reasonably flat, rocky ground, she was chewing her lower lip to keep from whimpering at the pain which was now a constant sucker punch to the gut. She had pulled her dark sunglasses over her eyes to hide behind.
Jack gave up on hoping that Sam might give in to a whim suggesting she tell her commanding officer that she puked her guts up last night, just in case the mood took her.
"So Carter, what's going on?" He asked with all the false cheer he could muster, hoping she would catch onto the fact that he was pissed. She did.
"Sir?" She glanced at him sideways. Her stomach clenched sending a sharper stab of pain across her muscles, almost making her choke on the word.
Her pitiful voice managed to undo Jack's growing anger, for now. He spoke softly.
"Daniel said you were ill last night. Are you OK?"
"Yes Sir, I'm fine now. I think I'm just struggling with the sudden change in diet from eating cardboard crackers for weeks." She tried to joke but it was obvious form her tone that she didn't expect him to be any more amused than she was.
"Listen Carter, I trust you to know when there's something wrong with your own body, but for god's sake, we can't do anything for you if you won't tell us when something's wrong. You're sure you're fine?" Please Sam tell me the truth.
Sam heard the plea and felt suddenly guilty. She had hoped to improve but so far, there had been no signs of the pain letting up. There was something wrong with her, but that was the last thing any of them needed. Surely she could handle the pain until they got home. An unbidden voice in her head told her exactly how much it doubted that. I can manage a day's hike, if it's no better I'll let him know and they can fill me full of high strength pain killers. A different voice inside her head did a perfect impression of Homer Simpson 'mmmm...painkillers...' The thought of what the colonel would say if he knew she was hearing Homer Simpson inside her head made her smile.
"I have abdominal pain Sir, but it' not bad. I should be fine."
"Let me know if it gets worse. If you leave your dinner at every camp it'll make it real easy to track us." He gave her a wink before turning to tell Roan to keep pace. Sam swallowed her laugh, knowing that it would make the pain unbearable but she smiled meekly as they fell silent.
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Scanning the horizon for any feature of the landscape that might provide some shelter for a night, Teal'c could see the other three men of the group further along the ridge that he and Major Carter stood on also searching for a place to stop.
"Can you see anything Teal'c?" Sam lowered her binoculars and placed them in his outstretched hand.
"There is an area where the ridge dips. It would make a good defensive position, but it is small for five people."
"Yeah, I saw that. Not great."
"There may be be more appropriate choices further up the mountain."
"Yeah." I was afraid you'd say that. She sank onto a rock beside where they were stood and leaned forward, pulling her knees to her chin. The pain was at it's best if she was lying down, curled up. That however, was hardly an option. It had become gradually harder to stand upright as the day had drawn on and the muscles of her stomach were tensed to breaking point. She was grateful for the mist in the air from the nearby waterfall, cooling her face.
"Are you feeling well Major Carter?" Teal'c scrutinised his friend's ruddy face.
"I'm fine Teal'c." She had sounded less convinced of this over the past couple hours. "I'm just tired."
"We should rejoin the others." Teal'c held out his hand to her to help her up. It was obvious that the major was not 100 percent. None of them were. He scanned the surrounding valley more closely as they walked. Hearing a pained gasp from behind him, he spun on his heal to find the major doubled over and clutching her abdomen.
Dropping to his knees, scanning her for signs of injury Teal'c saw her face, contorted in pain. Her eyes were dry and closed, her lips white and her jaw clenched.
"Major Carter?" Teal'c spoke clearly, looking for a lucid response. She nodded and after a few deep breaths opened her eyes. He gave her a moment to gather herself. "Can you stand?" Another nod. He slid an arm around her waist for support and lifted her to her feet, speaking into the radio as he did so. "O'Neill, Major Carter is unwell."
Fifty yards ahead of them Jack swore colourfully, thumbing his radio controls.
"We're coming back to you Teal'c. How is she?" His breath held in his throat until the answer came over.
"She is standing, but in considerable pain."
"OK, get to the best place you can find nearby, we'll find you. O'Neill out."
Jack set off at a jog back down the slope towards the place he had last caught sight of Carter and Teal'c.
When he arrived, with Daniel and Roan in tow, Jack hit the radio button again for more precise directions.
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Sat sat with her back against a rock when he reached them, one of Teal'cs strong hands on her shoulder, stopping her from standing.
"Carter?"
"Worse Sir." Typical, she's talking through gritted teeth but still manages to say 'sir.'
"Right we're stopping here for the night. Teal'c." He tossed the man a fresh packet of extra strength pain killers. "Carter, what have you eaten today?"
"Nothing sir."
"Then get some food into you right now."
"Yes sir." He watched her closely as she removed the same bar he had given her at breakfast and opened the wrapper. All her movements were as small as she could possibly make them. He guessed that even now, the pain was worse than she was letting on. She needed to be properly checked over.
"Teal'c, can you and Roan go scout out the area – nearest water any possible hazards, best place for a watch." Teal'c nodded and led Roan out of the thick cover of plant life surrounding the group.
Jack waited as Sam ate half the trail bar, then passed her the drugs and an open canteen of water, filled fresh from the spring that morning. She swigged them down, avoiding eyes contact with either of the men. Daniel caught Jack's eyes, looking worried.
"Ok, take your jacket off." She glanced at him, confused. "I'm gonna check you out." He flashed he a grin and she visibly relaxed, tugging her jacket off painfully, with Daniel's help. Jack began the routine questions. "Your stomach right?" She nodded. "When you move?"
"The pain is constant sir, but it's worse when I move." She began making her own mental diagnosis as she answered his questions, forcing herself to face the possibilities that she had, so far refused to think about. "Last night didn't make it any better either." He nodded and she could tell from his expression that he was thinking along the same lines as she was. It was not a happy thought.
"Lay back." she obeyed his gentle request, without question. Laying back on the uncomfortable ground as Daniel arranged her jacket beneath her head.
Jack laid his hands on her stomach, feeling her flinch slightly. "Sorry." He pressed against her skin, watching her response. Her skin was hot to the touch, much more so than it should have been. Her muscles were tense but there was nothing obviously out of place. He pressed higher, below her ribs – less pain. Pressed lower – more. More pain when he lifted his hands away than when he pressed down.
Sam stared at the sky as the colonel examined her. The ground was stony and she was cold but she felt safe, which was ridiculous considering their situation. His hands had been cold when he first touched her skin and she had flinched but he was being as gentle as possible
Twisting her head, she could see his face. He stared back into her face and she suddenly felt a lot less safe, seeing how grave his expression was.
He wanted to find something, anything that would tell him that this was something simple, something that would pass. When he felt her shivering, he helped her sit up and pull on her jacket.
"What do you think Carter?"
"Appendix?"
"That's what it looks like at the moment but we have a problem."
"We can't be sure, but if we do nothing and it is appendicitis then..."
"Yeah..." He nodded, knowing exactly what could happen if an inflamed appendix was not removed. Appendicitis, rupture, peritonitis, septicemia, death.
If Carter had appendicitis and they did nothing, her appendix would rupture, the excess toxins within her body would inflame the lining of the abdominal cavity and she would be poisoned to death from the inside out as the toxic chemicals were leaked into her bloodstream and carried to the rest of her body.
Sat huddled on the ground, in a clump of bushes, in the growing dark, Sam began to feel the panic setting in. She lifted her gaze to meet that of her Colonel. His jaw was clenched, his eyes unreadable.
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Daniel excused himself in order to go find Roan and Teal'c. As he walked away from the clump of bushes, he tried to swallow the lump in his throat. He found himself irrationally going through the blurred events of the last month trying to remember if there was something he could have done, some warning sign he could have picked up on before he had. But he knew it wasn't possible. Appendicitis was notoriously fast developing. A tenth of the population experienced it and the only reason more people didn't die was the easy availability of hospitals and qualified surgeons. Most people were admitted to hospital with hours of developing symptoms and most were in theatre within 24 hours.
When Daniel had been laid up with appendicitis several years previously, he had looked up statistics, out of boredom. The mortality rate of appendectomies was less than ten percent in standard cases In a hospital, not a ditch. This rose to forty percent in complicated cases, people who were otherwise ill, or have spent three weeks as a damn guinea pig!, or cases in which treatment was delayed beyond 48 hours. Sam been in pain almost three days! Grabbing a rock off the ground, Daniel hurled it as hard as he could in the direction of the river,yelling his frustration. He watched it fall, his shoulders slumping and turned away, swiping a tear from his face.
"Daniel." Daniel stopped dead. Roan stood in front of him, gazing up at him in concern. "Is Major Carter unwell?"
Daniel tried to pull himself together.
"Yes, very unwell. It ...uh, it doesn't look good." He looked away again, clearing his throat and blinking.
"You are upset." It was not a question but this man's habit of stating the obvious had grated on Daniel from day one and right now he just didn't need it.
"What!? A friend of mine, a very close friend is in danger, of course I'm fucking upset." Teal'c appeared behind Roan at that point looking to Daniel for an explanation for his raised voice. Daniel sighed. " I'm sorry Roan." He strode past the man and led the way back to Sam and Jack, while filling Teal'c in the details. He saw his friend's face become increasingly upset as they drew closer.
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"What are we going to do?"
"What do you want us to do?"
"Sir I--"
"It's up to you Carter. Nobody else can make this decision for you, you know that."
"I think it would be easier if they could." She looked down at her boots, tears forming in her eyes.
Jack stared across at her. He tried to take in every detail, the sound of her voice, her hair in her eyes, he wanted to be selfish. If he was going to lose her then wanted everything he could have, branded in his memory, but all he could see was her pain. She kept her eyes on the ground, looking younger and more vulnerable than he had ever seen her. In moments he was at her side, pulling her against him and surprised to find that she was still shivering despite how warm her forehead felt against his cheek. He held her as tightly as he dared, without hurting her.
She felt calmer. Hysterics would be of no use. If she chose to take this risk then she knew that there were no people she trusted more than her team to get her through it, so why should she fall to pieces about it. It was a no brainer really.
"What are my options?" her felt her words against his chest.
"Do nothing or...exploratory field surgery."
"So... do nothing and maybe die or surgery ...and maybe die."
"You know I'm not qualified to do this."
"You're the best I have. You have the basic knowledge, if not the practice. It only has to last until we get home."
"I know, but it needs to be clean. There's no point in removing the bugger to then have you go toxic on us." She snorted at his choice of phrase.
"Hey, no giggling."
"I know." The humour faded quickly as she felt the knife point return. "I'm scared."
"Me too. Is that a decision?"
"Yeah, I think so. Don't suppose you'd consider leaving me behind? I could follow if I'm feeling better in a couple of days or..."
"Or we'll have left you lying dead in a ditch — not gonna happen."
"Thankyou." She looked up into his face and saw the fear there - and a torrent of other emotions. For a moment she wondered if they could come out the other side of this without their relationship having changed. Maybe this was the breaking point, sitting here together, knowing that this could be their last chance to say...anything.
Jack's heart shuddered, looking into her pained face, tears held at bay in her eyes. She was so beautiful, how could there be a universe without her in it? He had to say something. Why was he so hopeless with words?
Should he kiss her? Did it have to complicate things? Only if they let it.
He kissed her lightly, just a touch to let her know he was there and hopefully to let her know so much more. She sighed.
Pulling away after only a second he rested his chin on her head.
"You should eat some more. Get your strength up, make sure you pull through."
"What do we have?" She wasn't sure she actually wanted to know.
"We have some hefty drugs that'll knock you out for a while, with the right dose. Needle and thread, a knife and some surgical spirit."
"Lucky me."
"Yeah, I'm gonna make you carry it all home too as payment."
Again she tried to laugh but instead groaned as the movement jarred her insides.
"You know Carter, I used to think Daniel had lousy timing."
AN I didn't think I'd done very well with this chapter, but let me know.
I actually had a situation very similar to this. I was on a canoe expedition in Canada and had appendicitis for just over three days before I was flown to Sioux Lookout and driven back across the border. I had been deliriously semi conscious for a while, my poor team had to carry me across portages and then I had a wonderful Canadian surgeon and an awesome nurse, Wayne, who brought his Stargate videos from home for me to watch in the hospital while I recovered :D Anyway, let me know what you think – I wasn't too happy with this myself.
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