Except for the occasion scratch of a pencil or rustle of paper, Jack's infirmary room was quiet. Surrounded by a mound of pillows, the colonel was reviewing his lesson plans while Cassie worked on her latest assignment. She was doing well – very well – and he was beyond proud of her progress. Even from their first session, Jack could tell she had the aptitude to grasp whatever equation, concept, or formula she was given. His priority now was to give her a strong review of the basics, while helping her to overcome her fears surrounding blackboards and testing.
Not that you can blame the poor kid for being afraid… he thought.
It had taken a little coaxing, but Jack finally got Cassie to reveal the reason behind her anxieties. Back on Hanka, she'd had a grizzled teacher with a stopwatch, little patience, and no business teaching grade school math. He'd drilled them daily at the board, insisting on speed and accuracy. She'd tried to keep up, but the demanding pace and strict teaching style left her frustrated and discouraged. The other students often teased and laughed when she failed to keep up at the blackboard or was the last one to hand in her tests. Her parents finally had her pulled from the class, but the damage had already been done.
Jack found himself privately wishing that the tyrannical teacher were still alive. I could thank him for damaging a young girl's confidence and then show my appreciation by shoving that stopwatch up his…
"I think I'm done," Cassie declared, interrupting his thoughts.
"Already? Let me see." He took her notebook and compared her answers against the ones he'd circled in the textbook. They were all correct, just as he suspected they would be. "Not bad – not bad at all. You keep this up and you'll be giving Carter a run for her money by the end of the summer."
The young girl grinned, eating up the praise from her favorite uncle. "No one will ever be as good at math as Sam. She's the best."
"Well, just don't tell her that, okay? It'll go right to her head."
Cassie giggled. "So what's next?"
"What? You mean you want to do more already?" Jack sighed and shook his head when she nodded vigorously. "All right, you're the boss." He picked up his notes and made a show of flipping through them. Although it was only their third session, he wanted to start working on her anxieties right away. He'd spent the last couple of days trying to decide how best to approach it with little luck. It wasn't until he was rereading the notes from Mrs. Struble that an idea finally struck him. "It looks like you have a pretty good grasp on fraction basics, so I guess the next step is to…aw crap."
"What? What is it? Something hard?"
"Ah, yeah, kinda." He turned a few more pages and frowned. "I hate to do this, but I think we're going to have skip over the next section and come back…"
"No! What is it? Tell me! I can do it! I know I can! "
"It's not you I'm worried about, Cass. It's me."
"You?"
Jack put on the most sheepish expression he could muster. "When I told your mom I was good at math, I sorta left out one tiny, little, so small it's almost insignificant thing."
"What?" she asked, completely buying into his act.
"I'm not good at doing word problems," he muttered, not meeting her eye.
"Word problems?"
"Even when I was back in school, I could never figure them out. It's the way they're worded – it's like they're trying to trick you or something."
Cassie broke into a broad smile. "I love word problems! They're like puzzles or riddles. I can help you, Jack. I can show you how to do them. They're fun!"
Jack couldn't believe what he was hearing. Mrs. Struble's notes had said the young girl enjoyed working through word problems, but he never expected her to call them fun. "You could?"
"Sure! Do you have any?"
He riffled through his notes and took out the page of fraction based word problems he'd made the day before. "I haven't had a chance to solve these yet, so I don't know how difficult they are."
Cassie scanned down through the problems he had given her. "I can do these."
"Are you sure you don't want to skip ahead and come back once I've been able to figure them out myself?"
"Positive. These ones are easy – I'll show you." Cassie picked up her notebook and tried to find the best way to situate herself so Jack could see as she wrote. Because of the way his pillows were arranged, it wasn't going to be easy. After a few unsuccessful arrangements, she turned and looked at the object of her fears: the blackboard.
Jack tried hard to keep the surprise off his face. He hadn't said a word about her using the board; she'd made that decision herself. He watched as she walked over to it, noting her tense body language and white knuckled grip on her notebook. As she stopped in front of it, he held his breath, waiting to see what she'd do next.
I can't do this… Cassie thought, staring up at the blank slate. I'll do something wrong and then Jack will… Jack will what? Will he laugh? Will he yell at me? He's laughed at me before, but only when I was trying to be funny. And he's never yelled at me – well, except that one time we were hiking and I wandered off the trail, but he was more afraid that I'd get lost than angry.
She sighed and closed her eyes. The memories from her days on Hanka were so strong, she could practically feel the hungry stares from the other students in her class. They were all watching and waiting; wondering if 'Can't Count Cassie' would mess up again. 'I never met a farmer's girl that couldn't count the number of peas in a pod…' her teacher had said. When she'd told her parents about it that night over dinner, her father laughed and said it was an old joke. He'd told her not to let it bother her, but it had. And still did.
But you don't live on Hanka anymore. You live on Earth. Earth schools are different. And you're with Jack – he doesn't have a stopwatch and he won't laugh or yell if you make a mistake. He said he needed help doing these problems and you said you would do it. So just…
"Do it," Cassie uttered. Drawing in a deep breath, she opened her eyes and took a piece of white chalk from the tray.
Behind her, Jack was practically bursting with delight as she began to write one of the problems on the board. Although he wanted to praise her, he was afraid that it did it too soon she'd suspect his word problem shortfall was just a ruse. Praise would definitely be forthcoming, but for now, he had to stick to his befuddled uncle routine. Not that that should be too difficult…
Cassie finished copying the problem and stepped back so he could see it. "I chose the one I thought might interest you the most."
"Me interested in a word problem? Let's just see about that." He cleared his throat and began to read the problem aloud. "4/7 of your birthday cake was eaten at your party. The following day, your friend ate 1/2 of what remained. The rest of the cake is yours. How much cake do you get?"
"Well?" she asked expectantly.
"Are you trying to show me how to do word problems or just make me hungry?" he replied, making her giggle. "All right. What's the first step?"
"First you have to determine what the problem is asking you to find."
"What it's asking me to find…" he echoed, taking a moment to think. "I think it's asking me to figure out how much cake I have left – and it better be a lot 'cuz I'm hungry."
Cassie grinned. "Next you need to look at what the problem gives you for information."
"Well, it tells me 4/7 of the cake of eaten at the party, and then my pig of a friend ate 1/2 of what was left the next day."
"Right! Now we just have to put the numbers into an equation so we can figure out how much you have left."
"How do you do that?"
"It's easy – I'll show you…"
From the privacy of her office, Janet adjusted the volume on one of the wall-mounted monitors beside her desk. Her paperwork had been pushed aside and her full attention given to the scene that was playing out on the screen in front of her. She didn't consider it to be spying – at least not overtly. She was merely checking up on her daughter's progress, and was absolutely stunned by what she saw.
When Jack first agreed to tutor Cassie, Janet was certain he'd have her comfortable working on a blackboard by the end of summer. To see her using one so soon was remarkable considering that just a few days ago, the mere sight of one would cause her to break out in a cold sweat. She was still visibly nervous, but not so much that she couldn't enjoy Jack's playful nature.
The doctor found it interesting to watch the colonel's unique style of teaching. By falling back on his often maddening, yet effective 'dense solider' routine, he was able to give Cassie something other than her discomfort to focus on. Even on the small screen, she was able to see the satisfaction and pride on Jack's face. He'd worked hard to plan out these lessons, and to see his diligence paying off so soon was surely gratifying.
He must have done something right, as Cassie suddenly began to clap and cheer. The two celebrated with a high five and Jack playfully mussing up the young girl's hair. Janet grinned. Tutoring Cassie had given him something else to focus on as well, taking his mind off his injuries and recovery. His broken ribs still caused him a decent amount of pain, but the distraction of planning and teaching had greatly reduced his level of suffering. He was happy, alert, and keeping as active as he could possibly be while confined to a bed.
On the screen, Cassie passed an easer across the blackboard and began to eagerly write out what Janet assumed to be another problem. Jack sat back against his pillows and watched patiently, allowing the young girl to take the time she needed to be comfortable. Janet knew he wouldn't start to push her until she was ready, and even then he'd likely take it slow. Guided by instinct rather than experience, he was letting Cassie's verbal and nonverbal cues tell him when she was ready to move on. In his own words, he was listening to his guts.
Janet blotted the excess moisture away from her eyes before it could cause her make-up to run. She considered herself to be good at containing her emotions, but to see her daughter making such progress was causing her to get misty. Although she knew he would never expect it, she wanted to find a way to thank the colonel for the gift of time, effort, and compassion he was giving to Cassie.
Smiling contently, Janet settled back in her chair to watch as Cassie gave Jack a lesson in word problems, while Jack gave Cassie a lesson in confidence.
Jack had nearly dozed off when someone knocking at his door jarred him awake. He opened his eyes to discover a rather guilty looking Daniel and Teal'c peering into the room. "Hey, you're back."
"Oh oops. You were sleeping, weren't you?" the younger man asked. "I'm sorry, Jack. We should of…"
"Don't worry about it," Jack replied, groping beside him for the bed's remote control. "I've been sleeping too much lately anyway."
"Are you certain, O'Neill? We do not wish to disturb…"
"Nope. You're here, so now you're gonna stay and keep me company." Jack carefully sat himself up, grimacing slightly as the movement pulled at his ribs. "So when'd you guys get back?"
"A few hours ago," Daniel said as he and Teal'c came into the room. "We would have come down sooner, but we got called in to debrief."
"How was the mission?"
"Most productive."
"Ah, what Teal'c meant to say…" Daniel began when his friend failed to elaborate. "…Was that we got our equipment back, confirmed the presence of Naquadah in the mine, and finished documenting the apparent massacre at the barracks."
"Sounds like a blast."
"Indeed it was, O'Neill."
Jack lifted an eyebrow at Teal'c's unusually upbeat tone. "Really now? How so?"
Daniel chuckled nervously and cleared his throat. "Well, we…we found this," he said, passing Jack his hat.
"My hat – nice!"
"I had to wash it. Some sort of large slug must have taken up residence under the visor at one point. The dirt came right out, but it took a couple of washings to get all of the orange slime off."
"Eww."
"Yeah, that's pretty much what I thought too."
Jack slipped the hat on his head and began to shape the visor with his good hand. "So you did find Naquadah in the mountainside?"
"Major Mansfield's team confirmed the presence of a sizeable Naquadah vein running close to the mountain's exterior. If the samples prove to be of superior quality, another team will be sent to extract the raw ore for further refinement," Teal'c explained.
"Well, if it pans out, Carter will be thrilled. She's been itching to make more of those generator thingies she keeps talking about." It never failed to amaze him how many projects Sam could have going on at a Ftime. If one got delayed, she could transition to the next without so much as a hitch in the process. He supposed it was sign of intelligence – or a tactic she had developed to ensure she would always be busy whenever he asked her to go fishing. "I take it you got on all right with Mansfield and SG-17."
"Yeah…" Daniel said with some hesitation.
"What happened?"
"Major Mansfield does not possess the same enthusiasm toward explosive devices as you do, O'Neill," Teal'c replied.
"Explosive devices?" Jack repeated, now very interested in what they had to say. "This is going to be good, isn't it?"
"We blew it up," Daniel muttered.
"You blew what up?"
"The ma'krell stone."
"The mackerel stone?"
"The ma'krell stone, Jack. The thing that reacted to the Naquadah in Sam's blood and hurled you against a rock wall."
"Oh, right. That thing. How?"
"We wrapped it in two blocks of C4 and touched it off."
"Two blocks?" Jack exclaimed.
"We didn't know how strong the stone was! I mean Teal'c said they were hard to destroy, so we decided just to use everything we had and hope it would be enough."
"You're lucky you didn't blow a hole in the ground."
The archeologist shot Teal'c an uneasy look. "Um…we sort of did blow a hole in the ground. And in the mountain."
"I underestimated the ma'krell stone's own explosive properties," the Jaffa admitted. "It magnified the power of the C4 several times, and created a sizable crater in the alcove and surrounding mountainside. The explosion also triggered a minor cave-in at the mining site, however no members of SG-17 were injured."
"And I assume you told Major Mansfield what you were planning to do?"
"Not exactly. He sort of found out after the fact."
Jack shook his head and chuckled. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Daniel…"
"We didn't think of it at the time. Besides, he was more startled than angry, and I think he was kind of glad we did it. It was sort of symbolic, you know? Destroying something evil so it can never do harm again."
Jack peered out from beneath the brim of his hat at his teammates. He didn't buy into Daniel's 'symbolism' bull, but he did feel a small sense of relief knowing the object was gone. Regardless of size or purpose, every piece of technology they could take away from the Goa'uld brought the parasitical race another step closer their inevitable downfall.
And their little stunt will make Mansfield's report one hell of an interesting read… He spied Daniel's camera and nodded towards it. "Get any good shots?"
"I did, actually." Daniel removed the camera from its case and cued up its review option. "These are from inside the barracks we were telling you about," he said, passing it to his friend. "I'm going to have them put onto a disk, but I thought you might like to see them first."
As Jack scrolled through the photos, he couldn't help but cringe at the ferocity of some of the weapons depicted. An image of a skeleton with a decorative battleaxe embedded in its skull made him stop and shake his head. "Taking prisoners certainly wasn't in their orders, was it?"
"Punishment for defection was always death," Teal'c said. "Although it may not appear to be so, those victims were fortunate. Had Cronus truly been out for revenge, these people would have been tortured prior to their deaths. As would Menoetius."
Jack panned through the next set of photos, stopping when he came to a group that depicted several crudely made books.
"I think those are journals," Daniel replied, looking over his shoulder. "We brought them back with us, but some of them are in rough shape because of their age and the way they were stored. They're also written in an ancient form of Greek, so it's going to take some time to get them translated."
After a few more pictures of books, the photos went back to showing piles of assorted bones and grinning skulls. One sequence of shots documented Teal'c as he carefully moved a small skeleton off to the side. Jack brought the camera closer to his face. There was something silver on the floor where the skeleton had been laying. "What's that?"
"It is how we believe Cronus knew where to find Menoetius," Teal'c replied.
"Keep going," Daniel urged. "I think you'll recognize what it is – or was."
Jack advanced through the photos again. At first he had no idea what to make of the small pile of crushed metal shown in the picture. The object was vaguely round in shape and made out of a dull, silver material. Bits of what looked like electrical components had spilt from its interior, a few of them blackened from a short circuit that likely had occurred when the item was crushed.
The item did look familiar, but he couldn't quite place what the destroyed object was. "All right, I give. What is it?"
"A Goa'uld communication device," Daniel replied.
"It would appear Menoetius brought a spy along with him when he raided Cronus' slave population. It was most likely a male child looking to prove his loyalty to his god. Had he survived, he would have been a strong contender for Cronus' next First Prime."
Jack shook his head. It was a simple, but effective way to root out defectors. Sneaky snake-headed bastards… he thought, continuing to scroll through the images. He'd scanned through nearly fifty more shots of the barracks and surrounding landscape before he felt his eyelids starting to droop.
"See, I told you we'd bore him," Daniel said when his friend yawned loudly.
"No, it's not that," Jack replied, passing the camera back to his friend. "I was up late last night working on Cassie's next few assignments."
"Has Cassandra Fraiser made adequate progress?" Teal'c inquired.
"Definitely. She's a very smart young lady. She surprises me with what she knows every time we have a session." He yawned again. "I guess I just stayed up too late past my bedtime."
"We'll let you take a nap, but I want you to see this first," Daniel said, handing him the camera again.
Jack looked at the photo Daniel had cued up for him. It was nothing special, just a shot of one of the large kiwi-like birds they had seen on their initial trip to the planet. It was surrounded by half a dozen smaller versions of itself, presumably her brood. "Yeah, so?"
"The big one in the middle doesn't look familiar?"
"No…should it?"
"We believe it to be the one that took interest in you previously, O'Neill," Teal'c explained.
Jack looked his alien friend in the eye to see if he was being serious. When he found that he was, he snorted and shooed them both away. "Leave me alone," he said, although his tone was far from serious.
"I still have a memory card's worth of photos that I took at the bone yard."
"Swell."
"Sam said something about everyone getting together for dinner. I'll bring them by then."
"I'll be sure to clear my calendar."
Daniel rolled his eyes. "Get some sleep, Jack. We'll come back later when you're feeling less abrasive."
"Do not expect the impossible, Daniel Jackson. You will only be disappointed."
"Teal'c!" Jack exclaimed, turning his annoyance to Daniel when he heard him laugh. "And don't you encourage him."
"He gets it from you, Jack."
"Yeah, he'll get something from me all right…" Jack dropped sulkily back against the pillows and watched his friends head toward the exit. "Hey. I need to know something."
Daniel paused on his way out the door. "What?"
"What makes you think the bird in the picture is the same one that harassed me?"
"That's easy, Jack. The chicks have your eyes." Allowing himself a scant moment to enjoy Jack's open-mouthed stare, Daniel shut the door and escaped into the safety of the hall before his shocked friend had a chance to reply.
Teal'c's concentration was intense. He sat motionless, observing an enemy that had yet to sense his presence. Sweat beaded along his dark brow, and his muscles twitched in anticipation of the coming fight. It had been a long, perilous journey to make it to this point, but he felt he was ready. Throughout the weeks of grueling training, he had honed his skills and amassed the knowledge necessary to face his adversary with confidence and pose.
Seated cross-legged on the floor in the corner of Jack's infirmary room, the large alien was fixated on the television screen. After weeks of battling enemies ranging from bats and dinosaurs to centaurs and zombies, he had finally made it to the last level of Tomb Raider. Sizing up the demonic form of the final boss, he carefully considered the range of weapons and tactics at his disposal. Settling for the most logical combination of weaponry and evasive moves, he was ready to take the game off pause when he heard a grunt and muted curse from behind him.
Looking over his shoulder, he discovered Jack to be sitting up and trying to swing his long legs over the side of the bed. "O'Neill, are you well enough to be attempting such an endeavor?"
"Yeah – I've got it," Jack muttered, struggling to untangle his legs from the blankets. When he succeeded in only twisting himself up worse, he turned to his doubtful looking friend. "A little help, please?"
Teal'c set the game controller on the floor and stood. With little effort, he freed the human from his entanglement and steadied him as he wriggled his way the edge of the bed.
"Ahh…that's better," Jack uttered when his feet touched the floor. "Thanks for the help, T. And you can stop frowning like that – I'm fine."
"Did Doctor Fraiser give you permission to do this?"
"Nope – she doesn't need to. I think I know whether I can sit up or not," he replied stubbornly. "Besides, if I waited until Fraiser said it was all right, I'd be…"
"You'd be what, colonel?"
Janet's unexpected arrival caused Jack to jump and jar his sore ribs. He swore, more out of the displeasure of being caught than pain. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough, sir." She walked over to the bed and looked down at him with the most annoyed glare she could manage. Jack normally stood a good eight inches taller than her, but with him seated, the tables were turned.
"I suppose you're mad at me," he said, not meeting her eye.
"I should be," she replied. "However I'm more surprised that you haven't tried to do this sooner."
"Well, this wasn't the first time I've…" Jack snapped his mouth shut and cringed. If she hadn't been angry with him before, then she would certainly be pissed at him now.
Janet folded her arms across her chest and kept quiet. He was expecting to be scolded – and he certainly deserved it– but she saw no harm in allowing him to squirm for a few minutes first.
"Doc…" he began, unable to stand the silence or her scrutiny any longer.
"So when did you decide to start sitting up on your own?" she interrupted, not giving him a chance to make excuses.
"About a week ago."
"A week ago? Colonel, do you have any idea the damage you could have done to yourself if you'd moved incorrectly?"
"Yeah…well, sort of. I mean it wasn't really on my mind the first time I did it, but after that…"
Janet sighed and shook her head. She wanted to get mad at him, but she couldn't. He'd been so tolerant of his situation, allowing her staff to do what was necessary to treat his injuries and keep him comfortable. For someone as fiercely independent as Jack to hold it together for this long, she couldn't help but sympathize with his covert effort to be self-sufficient.
"I attempted to dissuade O'Neill from undertaking such actions without your permission, Doctor Fraiser, however he would not listen."
"It's all right, Teal'c. We all know the colonel suffers from selective hearing and sporadic lapses in common sense."
"Hey!"
The doctor ignored her patient's indignant outburst. "How's your pain?"
"Tolerable. It's a lot better than the first few times I did it."
"That's because you should have had somebody here to support you until your muscles had a chance to regain some strength." She couldn't help sounding a little upset given the way things could have gone if he'd made a wrong move. If he had asked, she would have approved his request to start sitting up – just with help. She hadn't broached the topic herself as she assumed he'd start bugging her mercilessly when he was ready, or at least when he thought he was ready.
But now that he's taken it upon himself to start the process… Janet debated over whether or not to proceed to the next step. She didn't want to reward his risky behavior, but she didn't want him taking any more chances on his own either. "Do you feel like trying to stand up?"
Jack's guilty demeanor instantly brightened. "What? Now? Really?"
"If Teal'c is willing to give us a hand."
"I would be honored, Doctor Fraiser," the Jaffa replied. "What do you wish me to do?"
"Well, that sort of depends on the colonel. How far can you raise your left arm, sir?" She knew his energy burn had healed nicely thanks to the high potency antibiotics he'd been on for the pneumonia, however the state of his cracked ribs beneath it could pose a problem. They would definitely be knitted by now, but still had the potential to be quite painful.
Jack managed to get his arm about half way to shoulder height before the pain shut him down. "Guess I'm not ready yet."
"Not necessarily. We just have to do things a little differently, that's all." She pushed aside the pile of blankets and motioned Teal'c over to Jack's left side. "Ideally I would have liked the colonel to be able to put his arm across your shoulders, but his ribs are still too sore for that. What I'm going to have you do instead is wrap your right arm around his waist. Do you understand?"
"I do."
"Good. Now colonel, I want you to let Teal'c do all of the lifting at this point. You can lean against him and once you're up and balanced, he can let you take some of your own weight. I'll be here to help steady you, and if at any time it becomes too much, just say the word and we'll put you back down. Sound like a plan?"
"Yep – let's do it."
At Janet's nod, Teal'c sat down on the bed and slipped his large arm around Jack's waist. He could feel his friend's heart beating rapidly through the thin garment that he wore, a mixture, he presumed, of both anticipation and anxiety.
"We'll do this on three. One, two, three…stand!"
Before Jack could even shift his weight to lean into his teammate, Teal'c had him standing in one fluid motion. Pain exploded across his chest, but he fought against it, determined not to let it spoil the moment.
"You doing okay?" Janet asked, watching him closely.
"Yeah. Good." He felt Teal'c loosen the grip he had around his waist. His legs were weak from lack of use, but they held up under the extra weight. Using his friend for support, he carefully straitened up to as close to full height as he could get. It felt good to be on his feet again after having been bedridden for so long. Unfortunately, the good feeling didn't last for very long.
"How's it feel to be six feet tall again, sir?"
"Great," he replied, the pain in his chest rapidly increasing to an intolerable level. "Can I sit down now?"
"Of course."
As easily as he'd stood him up, Teal'c lowered Jack back onto the bed. The change in position helped a little, but the pain was slow to dissipate. He was shaking, sweating, and feeling like he'd made a huge mistake.
"Colonel? Are you okay?"
"Yeah – just hurts," he uttered, his eyes squeezed tightly shut.
"You want to lie down?"
"Please." Jack tried not to groan as they helped him to lay back. He felt Janet place a small pillow against his sore ribs, the light pressure easing some of his pain.
"Do you want me to get you something for it, sir?"
"No. No, it's getting better." When his level of discomfort became tolerable again, he opened his eyes to find his two friends watching him with concern on their faces.
"Are you recovered, O'Neill?"
"I'm getting there, Teal'c. I'm getting there." He huffed out a shallow sigh. "Guess I wasn't ready for that yet, huh?"
"Actually, sir, you did better than expected," Janet replied.
He looked at her skeptically. "Oh?"
"You've been on your back for over a month. The fact that you got to your feet and held your own weight the first time up is impressive. Most of the patients I've had only make it about halfway before calling it quits. Given the extensive nature of your injuries, I honestly didn't think you were going to be able to do it this time."
"I've had broken ribs before. Standing up has never hurt that bad."
"You did more than just break ribs, colonel. You did substantial damage to your chest wall. This is one of those injuries that you can't just bounce back from overnight. It's going to take a long time for those muscles and bones to heal properly."
An odd look crossed his face. Normally Janet took a small amount of pride in her ability to read the colonel's various moods, but this one had her stumped. Fortunately Teal'c was there to interpret it for her.
"Do not be discouraged, O'Neill. The first attempt to rise is always the most difficult."
Jack's broody thoughts abruptly vanished. Did Teal'c just say what I think he did? He was about to ask his friend to repeat himself, but Janet's wide eyes and creeping blush told him everything he needed to know. They had just been treated to the Jaffa version of 'the first time is always the hardest,' with a rather suggestive undertone.
"You know," he began, unable to resist adding to the innuendo. "They also say it's the most memorable. What do you think, doc?"
Despite her best effort to keep professional, Janet couldn't keep herself from snickering. "I'm afraid the verdict is still out on that one, sir."
Frowning, Teal'c looked between the two humans. He thought he'd offered his friend a sound piece of advice, not told him a joke. "I do not understand, O'Neill. Why would you deem one successful rising as more memorable than the last?"
"Um…well…"
"I would presume someone in your condition would see each subsequent rising as more memorable than the first, as you will have regained more of your strength and vigor."
Jack clapped his good hand over his face and groaned. As well as he knew Teal'c, there were still times when he couldn't tell if the alien was joking or being serious. "I'll explain it to you later."
"Teal'c is right, sir," Janet said.
"Oh really? And exactly which part are we talking about here?"
Her cheeks flushed red and she was unable to meet his eyes, but Janet managed to keep her composure. Barely. "That you shouldn't be disappointed or frustrated by the weakness and pain you experienced your first time standing. It's no different than the pain you felt when you first started sitting up. Your body has to get used to the motions again, rebuild muscles, and coordinate itself. After what you were able to do today, I'd say that within a couple of days, you'll probably be ready to take a few steps or maybe even sit in a chair."
The doctor's words did little to help his building frustration. "Now there's something to look forward to. A chair!"
"What I'm trying to say, sir," she began, choosing to ignore his sarcasm. "Is that while you are making progress, this isn't something you can rush. If you re-injure yourself at this stage, there's a very good chance you may never set foot through the Stargate again."
She could see this final piece of information really got him thinking. There was no need to scare or threaten him with trumped up lies; the truth was frightening enough. Gate travel had become a large part of who Jack O'Neill was. To lose the ability to explore the cosmos would be to lose an important piece of himself as well.
"You must listen to Doctor Fraiser. She speaks the truth. There is an Earth saying that claims a team is as only as strong as its weakest member. I disagree. A team is as only as strong as its leader. Should you not be able to return to battle, O'Neill, SG-1 will never be the formidable force it once was."
Jack wasn't sure how to respond. He'd never been one for compliments – giving or receiving – but it seemed Teal'c had just given him a big one. While he thought of himself as a fairly decent leader, he could never claim responsibility for giving SG-1 its edge. This, he felt, belonged to the other members of the team and the many unique talents they brought along with them.
Sighing, he looked to Janet. "Can it be one of those comfy chairs from your office?"
"It can be any chair you want, sir," she replied with a grin. "I just need you to promise me one thing."
"What?"
"That you won't try to stand up without me or a member of my staff present. It'll just be a temporary thing until you regain some of your strength and balance, but it's really important. A fall right now – even a minor one – could be disastrous."
"I think I can handle that."
"You will be mobile again soon, my friend," Teal'c told him with confidence. "But you must do it appropriately and allow yourself ample time."
"Speaking of time," Janet said as she caught a glimpse of her watch. "I have a twelve o'clock appointment I need to get to and then I'm going to pick up Cassie. If you're still feeling up for a two thirty lesson, that is."
"Wouldn't miss it for the world."
"Good – she's been looking forward to it. And I should probably warn you: she found a bunch of word problems online last night and is quite eager to show them to you."
"I think I've created a monster."
"I thought the purpose of tutoring was for O'Neill to instruct Cassandra in mathematics, not for her to be instructing him?"
"It is, Teal'c," Janet replied. "However Cassie has either completely bought into the colonel's obtuse act, or she's trying to call his bluff. Whatever the reason, it's certainly helping her confidence level. If she keeps going like this, she'll be over her fears and caught up with the rest of her classmates by the end of the summer."
"Most impressive."
"I think so too," she agreed, giving Jack an approving smile. "Try to take a nap if you can, sir. I'll see you in a few hours."
"Thanks, doc," he said as she took her leave.
"Is there anything you require, O'Neill?"
"What? No, I'm good, Teal'c. You can go back to your game." As his friend returned to his virtual adventure, Jack settled back against the pillows and stared up at the ceiling. His chest still ached from the stress of standing, but it was a small price to pay for having come another step closer to normality.
He thought back over Janet's interesting visit. He'd expected her to be angry when she discovered him sitting up, and was surprised when she barely reprimanded him at all. He'd been even more surprised when she allowed him to stand. The thought of doing it on his own had certainly crossed his mind, but the pain of just sitting up without support had kept him from actually trying. Now he had to wonder if maybe she'd done it as a preemptive strike. By showing him how difficult it was in his current state, she was trying to keep him from being foolish and attempting it without help.
Well, it worked… he mused, idly rubbing his sore ribs. He recalled the frustration he'd felt when things didn't go as smoothly as he'd thought they should. Did I really think I could do it on my own the first time up? Did I think I could just hop out of bed and start walking around like nothing ever happened? And what Teal'c said about a team only being as strong as its leader – did he really mean it?
Jack looked over at his friend seated in front of the television. He was completely absorbed in the pixilated environment displayed on the screen, his reactions to the simulated battle as precise as they would be in real life. He took the game seriously, analyzing, strategizing, and prioritizing his actions as if he were in a real combat situation.
Despite his past service to the Goa'uld, Teal'c was a good man. Jack had sensed this from the moment he'd turned against his fellow soldiers to save a group of villagers from execution. His plight to free all Jaffa from Goa'uld oppression was just, and his loyalty to Earth and SG-1 was was a skilled warrior with a heart of gold, and one of the best friends Jack had ever had.
'Should you not be able to return to battle, O'Neill, SG-1 will never be the formidable force it once was…' Teal'c's words echoed in Jack's mind. Whether the large man actually believed this or he'd just been trying to cheer up a friend, it was a profound compliment nonetheless. And while Jack knew he could never accept such lofty praise, he felt he owed his friend an expression of gratitude just the same.
"Hey, T?"
Lara Croft froze mid-jump on the screen as Teal'c paused his game. "Do you require assistance, O'Neill?"
"No…I just wanted to say thanks for giving me a hand and for the encouraging words. It really means a lot."
Teal'c turned to face his friend. "You are most welcome."
"And I'm sorry if I came across as a little petulant. The trouble I had standing up kind of drove home that coming back from this isn't going to be as easy as I thought. Or had hoped."
"Long-term recoveries are understandably difficult. Especially when the mind heals long before the body."
Jack couldn't help smiling at the irony in his friend's statement. "This coming from a man that can heal a broken bone in a couple of hours."
"As I have said in the past, possessing a symbiote does have several advantages. However, its presence also serves as a constant reminder of our enslavement by the Goa'uld."
"Touché."
"It is natural to desire a rapid recovery. I would be lying if I said I did not wish for you and Major Carter to recover swiftly so that SG-1 may be complete once again. But to sacrifice proper healing over a moment of impatience…" Teal'c paused for a moment as if contemplating what to say next. "Do not risk jeopardizing your future in this way, O'Neill."
For the second time in less than fifteen minutes, Jaffa logic had left Jack speechless. It was strange for someone like Teal'c – who'd probably never been laid up more than a day in his life – to have a better grasp on the fundamentals of recovery then Jack did himself. This wasn't the first serious injury of his career, but healing wasn't something that got easier with experience.
Or age… Jack thought dismally. And there's no use in dwelling over that 'cuz you ain't getting any younger… He sighed and looked over at Teal'c. The Jaffa sat quietly, patiently watching and waiting for his friend to process what he had told him.
"You're just full of good advice, aren't you?" Jack said at last.
"It is more than mere advice," he replied. "It is the truth. Whether you allow yourself to see it or not, O'Neill, you are a valuable person. To lose you as a resource on the front lines would be to lose a wealth of tactical knowledge, skill, and companionship. Do not permit your feelings of inadequacy and impatience to deny your body the time it needs to heal."
There was no doubt in Jack's mind that Teal'c meant every word he'd said. "Teal'c, I…" he stammered, genuinely touched. "All right. I'll do it. I'll try. I just…I might need some help along the way."
Teal'c tipped his head. "You need only ask, my friend. Daniel Jackson and Major Carter are also willing to lend their assistance."
"I appreciate it. I'll definitely be needing a hand with the whole standing up thing for awhile."
"You are free to borrow my hands for anything."
Never serious for long, Jack's eyebrows rose with interest. "Anything?"
"Within reason."
There was a spark in the larger man's eyes that Jack took to be the Jaffa equivalent of laughter. He chuckled and nodded toward the TV. "Go back to your game," he said as he sank into the pillows. "Apparently Doc thinks I need a nap before Cassie gets here."
"A little beauty sleep never hurt anyone, O'Neill." A small pillow came sailing across the room, barely missing the back of Teal'c's head.
"Wise guy."
Turning back to the TV, Teal'c retrieved the controller and settled in to resume the game, the ghost of a satisfied smile on his lips.