"Sorry, Daniel," Janet smiled softly when she noticed Daniel drowsily staring at her. "I just need to do your obs and then you can go back to sleep."
"Uh huh," Daniel mumbled and his eyes drifted closed again.
Daniel was now three hours post opp, settled in the ICU, still under the effects of anaesthesia with tubes coming out of most of his orifices and machines surrounding his bed.
Janet plucked a pen out of her top pocket and started to jot down her findings, one eye on her patient at all times. Daniel was as pale as the starch sheets he lay on although there was a pink blush of fever high on each cheek. His breathing was deep and even, thanks to the oxygen he was receiving and Janet was happy to note that his vitals were within normal range although his temperature was a little high for her liking.
Overall, he was as comfortable as possible and, after giving his Morphine pump a quick press, Janet hung his chart on the end of his bed and went in search of his teammates, knowing that they were eager to come and check Daniel out for themselves.
Xxx
Awareness drifted slowly into Daniel's consciousness and with awareness came confusion.
Everything was murky, he wasn't quite sure where he was but the bleeping of monitors, and the smell of antiseptic soon registered in his befuddled brain.
The infirmary.
The last thing he could remember was agonising pain, pain that still seemed to be hiding in the shadows ready to strike at any moment.
His head pounded, nausea rolled in his stomach and the heat that enveloped him was almost unbearable.
Knowing that to find relief from how he was feeling, he put all his effort into prising open eyes that didn't really want to be open.
"J'ck," he groaned when the familiar outline of his friend came into blurred focus. He watched as Jack immediately put his magazine down, reached and pressed the alarm and then stood at his side.
"How you doing, buddy?"
The touch to his forehead was wonderfully cool and Daniel sighed in appreciation. "Hot," he mumbled.
"Yeah, I know – Doc's on her way."
"Happened?"
Jack stood to one side to allow Janet access to her patient. "Here's the Doc. She'll explain everything."
"Nice to see you awake," Janet smiled as she took Daniel's pulse. The monitors did tell her everything she needed to know but she wanted extra reassurance.
Daniel bought his hand up to remove the suffocating oxygen mask. "Happened?" He croaked.
Janet quickly put her hand on his and repositioned the mask. "Leave that, you need it," she smiled softly and Daniel let his hand flop down on the bed, the art of holding it up proving to be exhausting. All he really wanted to do was sleep but everything was still such a blur. "Happened?" He asked again as his eyes fluttered shut.
"Well," Janet cleared her throat and brushed his bangs off his hot forehead. "We had to take your appendix out, sweetie. It decided to burst on you I'm afraid. You just need to lie back and let us look after you. You'll soon be feeling better."
"'kay," Daniel muttered, the pull of sleep tugging at his awareness once more.
"Just sleep."
The click of the Morphine pump following Janet's urging told Daniel that he'd have no real say in the matter and he surrendered to his body's exhaustion willingly.
Xxx
Janet hung a fresh bag of fluids and added another dose of antibiotics before straightening Daniel's covers. Happy that he was again comfortable she smiled at Jack who was leaning against the wall, waiting for her to finish. "He's settled again," she reassured. "Why don't we grab a coffee in my office, sir?"
"Well, I..." Jack stuttered, his gaze going to the sleeping man in the bed. "...I don't want to leave him," he admitted with a shrug.
"He's just going to sleep – I've given him another shot of Morphine."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive but if he wakes; Dawn has her orders to fetch me."
"Oh, right – okay. Coffee sounds good."
Janet chuckled to herself and then led the way to her office, pausing at the nurses' station to update Daniel's notes. She watched Jack as he slowly walked into the room, turning to check his friend as he walked. SG1 were such a close team now and papa bear was so obviously worried about baby bear. She couldn't blame him – Daniel looked awful.
"If you turn your chair you can still see him, sir," she grinned at Jack as she lowered her tired body into her comfortable chair. She'd been on her feet for nearly seven hours now and knew she had another five hours to go on her shift.
"I'm okay," Jack shrugged although he did turn his chair slightly causing Janet to hide a knowing smile by ducking her head.
"So, where's this coffee then?" he then asked.
Janet rolled her eyes and then picked up her phone. "Hi, it's Doctor Fraser. Would you mind bringing two cups of coffee and some sandwiches into my office. Thank you." She put the phone and turned to Jack again. "I thought we'd have take out," she shrugged.
"Yeah, sounds good," Jack scrubbed his face, his exhaustion showing. "What time is it?" He then yawned and wiped his eyes.
Janet checked her watched. "Nearly midnight, sir," she told him.
"You can't tell what the time it is in this damn place," Jack grouched, flicking a ball on Janet's desktop cat's cradle. "It's always damn dark."
"Thought you'd be used to it by now, sir," Janet said, adding a light hearted giggle at the end of her statement in the hope of lightening the Colonel's mood.
"Yeah," Jack sighed heavily and then sat back in his chair. "What a mess," he ran his fingers through his hair and closed his eyes.
"Daniel's strong, sir," Janet reassured softly.
"Yeah, I know," Jack shrugged. "But, how the hell did we miss the signs, Doc – he damn well gave us enough," he sighed again and then sat forward and rested his head in his hands. "We should have known."
"Nothing is simple in our lives anymore," Janet answered. "I suppose we're always on the lookout for the extraordinary so much so that we sometimes miss the mundane. If someone comes into the infirmary with a fever – I check for alien illness first, the last thing on my mind is a simple Earth virus. Our perception has been altered by what we know and what we do."
"That hasn't helped Daniel."
"No it hasn't," Janet agreed. "But, we can't change what happened; we have to deal with the consequences as best we can."
"So, let's cut through the crap here Doc," Jack looked up. "What's his prognosis?"
"Well," Janet leant forward and clasped her hands in front of her. She took in Jack's determined features and knew that she had to tell the truth, there was no point sugar coating things for him. "At the moment he is comfortable," she reassured. "But, like I said, the problem with a blown appendix is it could lead to Peritonitis, a serious infection of the stomach wall which could lead to Sepsis in turn. If that happens, the odds of survival are not good."
"All this because of an appendix?"
"Yes, sir. That's why it's very important to remove it before it ruptures."
"Which didn't happen in Daniel's case?"
"I'm afraid not."
Jack sat back again. "I should never have let him go home on his own; I could see that he wasn't doing so well."
"Daniel is stubborn. Don't beat yourself up."
"I should have tied his ass to a chair but he insisted on going. I didn't even question him as we knew he'd had a tough week or so because of Nick."
"I suppose he probably put how he felt down to the stress of the situation. He probably didn't realise how sick he really was."
"Well, we know now."
"Yes we do but, he's strong, in the right place and getting the right treatment and, at this moment in time, that is all that matters." Janet started to clear her desk when she spotted an airman in the hallway. "Right, let's eat and then I want you to get some sleep, sir," she paused when Jack started to protest. "Sam can sit with Daniel for a while," she assured, "we will alert you to any change, I promise." She beckoned the airman in when he knocked on the door.
"Eat, sir. It's going to be a long few days." She watched Jack as he reached for a sandwich and started to pick at it. She'd never seen the Colonel so nervous or worried about anything before.
Xxx
Daniel really did look young when he slept. Sam could almost make out the little boy he had been on his features and wondered how anyone could have abandoned someone who looked so innocent.
Janet had succeeded in persuading the Colonel to go and get some sleep and it was Sam's turn in the plastic bedside chair. Daniel hadn't even stirred during her stint, not even when the nurses did their checks. He just slept on, thanks to the Morphine and anethestic, oblivious to anyones presence.
Sam just felt so sorry for her friend; he'd had a lousy couple of weeks and now this. It was time life gave him a break.
After straightening Daniel's covers for the third time in so many minutes, Sam sat back in her chair, picked up the file she'd brought with her to check, and was just about to continued her work when Janet appeared at her side.
"No signs of waking?" The base Doctor asked as she started her checks.
Sam closed her file. "Nope," she sighed. "He's flat out."
"Best thing for him," Janet smiled and nodded as she worked. "His body needs the rest."
Sam leant forward again and rested her chin on her hand that she propped up on the edge of his bed. "How could Nick have done it?" She sighed.
"Done what?" Janet frowned as she noted down her findings on Daniel's chart.
"Abandon him in when his parents died?"
Janet sighed and grasped the chart to her chest. "I don't know, Sam. He must have had his reasons."
Sam shook her head sadly. "Daniel was only eight, his world had been turned upside down, heck, he'd watched his parents die. He must have been so traumatised – didn't Nick take that into consideration?"
"We don't know what went on in Nick's mind back then, he may have been showing the first signs of his mental illness – we're not in a position to judge him, we weren't there, Sam."
"I just can't understand it, Janet. It's so sad; Daniel's life could have been so different."
"Perhaps the rejection made him the man he is today, have you thought of that? It could have given him his steely determination and work ethic." Janet replaced the chart on the end of his bed and then placed a hand on Sam's shoulder.
"Sometimes, things happen for a reason, I'm convinced there is a grand scheme of things out there," she calmly stated and then straightened. "Right, that's me done for the day. I'm off to give my daughter a hug and catch up on some sleep. You going to stay here?"
Sam reached and patted her friend's hand. "Yeah, I don't want him to wake up alone."
"Make sure you eat and rest too."
"I will." Sam glanced up and smiled before returning her gaze to Daniel. "He is going to be alright, isn't he Janet?" She asked softly as she watched him sleep.
"He's holding his own at the moment and that's a good sign." Janet reassured, giving Sam's shoulder squeeze. "Doctor Warner is on duty now and I'll catch you in a few hours."
"Okay." Sam nodded. "Sleep well," she smiled and as Janet walked away, she reached for her file again.
She may as well get some work finished while Daniel slept.
xxx
Jack closed the door behind him and wandered over to the fish tank. After managing to get a few hours of refreshing sleep, he was stopping off at Daniel's apartment to feed the fish and grab his friend a few essentials.
He'd phoned the infirmary to be told that Daniel had had a comfortable night and that Teal'c was with him while Sam got some rest. SG1 had closed ranks for their ailing teammate. The General had put the whole team on stand down while Daniel recovered and Jack was grateful for that. They'd been going nonstop for months now, it was time to pull back and regroup.
After feeding the fish, Jack made his way into Daniel's bedroom, reached under the bed and removed the overnight bag Daniel always had packed ready. Forward thinking was a priority in their line of work, as you never knew what was going to be thrown at you next. Each member of any SG team were always prepared for any eventuality, which included hospital stays.
Jack placed the bag on Daniel's bed, noting that the archaeologist's normally neatly made bed was a mess – obviously from restless tossing and turning and his heart sank again. He should have made sure his friend stayed the night. He must have been in such agony on his own.
He rifled through the bag, double-checking that Daniel had packed toiletries alongside a change of underwear and fresh clothes. When he was happy that everything was there, he zipped up the bag, placed it on the floor and then proceeded to strip the bed as Daniel would be in no condition to do that when he was fit enough to return home.
After quickly placing the soiled sheets in the laundry, he grabbed some fresh ones and made the bed again. Satisfied that everything was neat and tidy, he grabbed the bag and turned to leave. It was then that he spotted the tatty, old book on Daniel's bedside table. He sat on the bed, put the bag down again and started to flick through it, sighing in frustration when he realised what Daniel had been reading.
Nick had been a real tool.
Xxx
"Doctor Jackson? Daniel?"
Daniel had been aware of hushed voices for a while but chose to ignore them as responding would take too much effort. He was happy being cocooned under the cover of sleep, waking up would mean pain and he really didn't want to go there again. Unfortunately for him, the voice was insistent, as was the freezing hand on his shoulder.
"Come on, Doctor Jackson. It's time you woke up."
"C-cold," Daniel muttered and tried to pull away from the icy grip but all his action did was igniting the pain in his stomach. "Mmmm," he groaned. "H-hurts."
"I know," the voice soothed. "I just want to check you out and then I'll give you some more pain relief."
"'kay," Daniel mumbled and willingly submitted his aching body to the person who promised to take the pain away.
All he wanted was to retreat to the place where he didn't hurt again.
Xxx
Doctor Warner was not at all happy with his patient's condition.
Daniel was extremely lethargic even for someone who had recently been through major surgery. His last set of bloods had not been good and the temperature of 102.4 he was cooking at at the moment was more than slightly concerning.
It wasn't unusual to be running a fever after surgery but Daniel's temperature was too high to just be a reaction to the operation. The Doctor had been as thorough as he could be when he washed out the abdominal cavity but Daniel obviously had an infection. Not surprising really, his appendix had blown.
After completing his examination, which Daniel hardly reacted to, Doctor Warner turned to Dawn who was standing to one side, waiting for instruction.
"Can you get some ice packs and arrange for a cooling blanket to be on standby? I'm going to alter his antibiotics; we need to get a handle on this infection."
"Yes, Doctor Warner," Dawn nodded and then hurried out of the room.
Doctor Warner turned to his patient, who was now listlessly rolling his head from side to side and whimpering in distress. "Easy, Daniel," he soothed as he reached for the Morphine pump and gave it a press.
"Try and relax."