Note: Thanks again for all the reviews. :) Enjoy.

Five

After a few more days the doctors had Jack out of bed and standing for short periods of time and getting around in a wheelchair. Another two days and his strength had returned enough for him to get around on crutches, alternating use of those and the chair. He still had a lot more healing to do before they could get him fitted for a prosthetic, but the specialist was confident that they could get that process started within the next two and a half months. That gave Jack a goal to work toward, which was something he desperately needed in order to keep positive about the whole situation.

Finally, on Christmas Eve, Jack was sent home. He would be going to occupational therapy and physical therapy several times a week on an outpatient basis, but because Sam had assured the doctors he had people at home to help out, he wouldn't need to spend a week in rehab.

While Jack carefully hobbled up the front walkway after Sam helped him out of the car, she took out his wheelchair and pushed it along behind him, hovering close by just in case. Janet had warned her not to let him overdo it and to coax him into using the chair when he was tired. Sam already knew that wouldn't be an easy task; a determined Jack O'Neill was a force to be reckoned with.

Much to Sam's relief, MacGyver was awaiting their arrival and met Jack at the door, swinging it open wide to allow his entry. She sent Jack's brother a warm, grateful smile as Mac hovered around Jack while he hobbled his way into the house.

Nikki came up to Sam to take the wheelchair while Mac followed Jack down to the lounge. "How's he doing?" she asked, her eyes tracking the twins.

"Better. Glad to be out of the hospital." Sam moved with Nikki into the kitchen, leaving the wheelchair by the dining room table. "Daniel and Teal'c wanted to come over, but I asked them to give us a day so Jack can get settled. We'll have everyone over for Christmas tomorrow and I figured we can just order takeout for tonight."

"Yeah, that's fine." Nikki nodded with understanding. "I think Mac will get more rest now knowing Jack's home. He hasn't been sleeping very well; the head injury and all."

Sam's heart was warmed with how much Nikki cared for Mac, the same way she cared for Jack. The woman was a workaholic, much like herself, but would move heaven and Earth to be with her loved one when he needed her.

.

At the end of the evening, Sam walked with Jack to their room and got him to lie down so she could change the dressing on his leg before bed. He'd just had his painkillers and was practically asleep, so Sam was grateful he wouldn't be feeling too much while she tended to him. When she was done, she helped Jack change into some sweats that had the right pant leg cut off, and then handed him a long-sleeved knit shirt.

Sam put on her own pajamas and then got into bed while Jack sat and changed his shirt. Her eyes briefly darted to the knife scars on his back and chest, remembering what he'd just been through before this recent tragedy. She quickly swallowed the lump in her throat and schooled her features as Jack pulled the clean shirt on and laid down, trying to find a comfortable position.

Wanting to show Jack that she wasn't afraid to get close to him, even though she was worried about hurting him accidently, Sam scooted over beneath the blankets and snuggled against his chest. She sighed softly with relief when he wrapped his left arm around her.

.

Feeling a sudden draft in the middle of the night, and the sensation of the mattress shifting, Sam opened her eyes and squinted at Jack's silhouetted form moving at the end of the bed. Confusion clouded her mind suddenly, until she watched Jack attempt to stand. Before she could get her voice and limbs to cooperate, Jack had abruptly rose on his one foot before losing balance and falling forward with a yelp of surprise.

Sam scrambled across the bed as she heard him hit the floor, followed by muffled cursing and exclamations of pain. "Jack!" She got out of bed and knelt beside him on the floor, pulling him to a sitting position as he cursed, rocking in agony and clutching his bad leg just above the bandaged stump.

"Easy, easy," she crooned helplessly, pulling his head against her chest and rubbing his back with her other hand. Sam blearily eyed the clock on the nightstand; it was too soon for him to have another dose of painkillers.

Jack grunted, trying to control his breathing and still clutching at his leg.

"What happened?" Sam asked gently, trying not to sound upset with him for being so foolish and not asking for help. He hadn't even reached for the crutches leaning beside the bed.

"I forgot," Jack growled lowly, sounding irritated—not with her, but with himself.

Oh. That explained the lack of crutches. Before they'd left the hospital Jack's orthopedic surgeon had pulled her aside and warned her that there would be times where he could forget he was missing a limb, especially if he was groggy from drugs or just waking up. Sam continued rubbing Jack's back as she felt the tenseness in his shoulders abate slightly. "Do you think you can get up now? I want to make sure you're not bleeding."

Jack grunted, his face tight with pain as she helped him back on the bed and turned on the light. "I don't think I am," he murmured, lying back and throwing an arm across his eyes.

Sam reached for the edge of the bandage, but Jack's slightly-shaky hand gently coming down on hers stopped her. She looked up and locked eyes with him, seeing the silent plea in his glossy brown orbs, the exhaustion.

"It'll keep 'till morning," Jack insisted, his voice getting low and muzzy.

Pursing her lips, Sam nodded slowly and reached over to turn out the light. She moved around the bed and got back in on her side. She knew changing the bandage would be painful, and if she did it now he probably wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, so she'd conceded.

As she pulled the blankets back up over them, Sam leaned over and kissed Jack's cheek, settling against his shoulder and putting a hand on his chest to feel him breathing.

"Sam?" Jack muttered after a short beat of silence.

"Yeah?"

He groaned. "I still hafta pee."

Sam turned her face into his neck and laughed softly. Hearing him chuckle in return was like music to her ears. "Why didn't you say something before?"

Jack shrugged. "I just remembered why I was gettin' up in the first place." He heaved a sigh, then pushed himself to sit up when she moved off his shoulder.

"Okay." Sighing softly, she got out of bed again and went around to Jack's side to help him. "Crutches this time."

.

"Mac, you'd better make some regular pancakes along with those wheat banana ones of yours. I don't think your brother would stand for it," Nikki teased as MacGyver was mixing the batter at the counter on Christmas morning.

He just waved his spoon at her and grinned. "Aw, he'll like 'em. Have some faith." Mac paused for a moment and then jerked his chin toward the fridge. "On second thought, better throw some bacon and eggs on just in case."

Nikki laughed and got out a frying pan.

Mac smiled as he watched her. It had been a long time since he and Nikki had done anything this domestic and it was pretty nice, especially considering that it was Christmas. They'd been together almost three years now, but this was actually the first time they'd been able to spend a holiday together because of work. He wished the circumstances were slightly different, but it was still nice.

Turning at the sound of crutches tapping along the wood floor, Mac smiled when Jack hobbled into the kitchen with Sam right behind him, the both of them still in their pajamas. "Morning. Merry Christmas," he greeted.

"Merry Christmas," Jack murmured with a quick smile.

"Merry Christmas Mac, Nikki. Oh, you guys didn't have to make breakfast," Sam said, looking at all the food they were preparing.

"We wanted to," Nikki assured her with a warm smile. "It's Christmas." She shrugged. "And besides, you guys are letting us stay over all this time to share your home. It's the least we could do."

Jack hopped a little closer to Mac and the stove, sniffing audibly. "Is that bacon I smell?" He gave Mac a surprised look. "My mostly-vegetarian brother is cooking bacon?"

Mac smirked, then waved his spatula at Nikki. "To be fair, she's the one cooking it." He winked, his brother and sister-in-law laughing softly.

One of Jack's hands left the grip of his crutch to wave a hand dismissively. "I don't care as long as there's bacon. It smells heavenly."

Sam rolled her eyes, but Mac could see her smiling. She lightly patted Jack's shoulder. "Go have a seat, Jack, I'll get us some coffee."

Turning back to his pancakes, MacGyver flipped the ones that were half done and piled the finished ones up on a plate on the counter.

Nikki attended to the bacon and eggs beside him, sending him a warm smile, her dark eyes shining as she gently nudged his hip with her own, careful not to bump his broken arm.

Mac grinned back at her, amused by the playfulness, and nudged her back.

She leaned over and kissed him, whispering, "Merry Christmas, MacGyver."

.

By one o'clock in the afternoon the house was filled with the warmth and chatter of their friends and family—their extended family, really. Jack had been quite animated and talkative, laughing and joking with everyone like nothing had changed. As the evening wore on, however, Mac could see that his brother was worn down. He'd gotten quiet over dessert, and afterwards Mac watched Jack hobble down the hall to his bedroom, disappearing for at least ten minutes.

Mac was tired as well, but after having a brief nap once they'd finished their first course meal, he'd been refreshed, ready to go again. He found himself getting along quite easily with his brother's extended family, having only met them a small handful of times before, and discovered it was quite easy to converse with Daniel especially. Nikki had been chatting amicably with Janet, Sam, and even fifteen-year-old Cassandra like she'd known them all for years.

Seeing Sam break away from the group after looking around the room with a puzzled furrow between her brows, Mac moved toward the kitchen and beckoned her over. "Looking for Jack?"

She nodded. "Yeah, is he okay?"

"I don't know." Mac shrugged uncomfortably and gestured down the hall. "I saw him disappear into the bedroom, but that was over ten minutes ago, now."

Sam's face was suddenly pinched with concern, but she hesitated, biting her lower lip, unsure.

Mac could tell she didn't want Jack to think she was being overly concerned or nagging. "I can go check up on him," he offered with a friendly smile.

She nodded, her hand brushing down his good arm. "Okay, thanks Mac. Come get me if you need to."

"No problem." He smiled back at Sam reassuringly and slowly made his way down the hall.

Mac paused at the bedroom door, finding it open just a crack. He tapped softly, but getting no answer, pushed it open and stepped inside. Looking around but not seeing his brother anywhere, his brow furrowed in puzzlement until he thought he heard something from the half-open door to the attached bathroom.

"Hey, Jack?" MacGyver tapped on the doorframe. He leaned close, hearing some shuffling from inside.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Uh, can I open the door?"

A sigh. "Sure."

Stepping inside, Mac looked at his brother who was sitting on the closed toilet seat lid with his injured leg extended, bandage removed, dabbing around the stitched area with a damp towel that was stained with blood. It was the first time Mac had seen what his brother's injury looked like since they'd gotten out of the train, and he tried desperately to mask his shock. He cleared his throat roughly. "Uh, everything okay?"

Jack heaved a disgruntled sigh. "Yeah, I'm fine. I came in to use the bathroom and when I was leaving I…I fell." He frowned, gestured at the end of his leg with the towel. "Damn thing got to bleeding again."

Mac jerked a thumb behind him with his good hand. "Want me to get Sam?"

Seeming to consider his response for a moment, Jack's dark eyes flicked to his injured leg again, his face tight with pain. Finally, he nodded. In a defeated voice he murmured, "Yeah. I think it's okay, but…you'd better get Sam and the doc to have a look."

Worried, Mac nodded and quickly left the room.

As discretely as possible, Mac pulled the two women aside and explained what was going on. He quickly led them back to the room and hovered in the en suite doorway while Sam and Janet moved in on Jack.

.

"Did you land on your leg when you fell, Colonel?" Janet asked immediately as they went up to Jack. She was instantly in doctor mode.

He grimaced, reluctantly moving his hands out of the way as Janet reached for the towel. "Yeah."

Sam pursed her lips, staring at the end of Jack's stump in concern. His still-bruised skin was red, a good area around the stitches stained with blood. She just hoped that he hadn't done any real damage, knowing how upset Jack would be if he had to return to the hospital already.

Janet gingerly prodded around and Sam could see Jack's shoulders tensing, then he flinched as her questing fingers got closer to his wound. "It looks like you've just torn some stitches, sir." She looked up at him and placed a soothing hand on his shoulder. "I've got a med kit in my car. I think we can fix this up without taking a trip to the hospital."

Jack visibly sagged in relief. "Okay."

Janet handed back the towel, then Sam went to get her husband's medication while the doctor got her kit from the car and Mac stayed behind with Jack.

When she got back Sam was glad to see that Mac already had Jack joking about being a stupid klutz and tripping himself up. She smiled and gave Jack his meds as the twins bickered back and forth for a while until Janet walked in with her medical bag, assuring them that no one had seen her retrieve it from her car because she'd discretely snuck in the back door.

Giving Jack his crutches, they helped him over to the bed and put a towel down as he sat back with the end of his leg on it so Janet could fix his sutures. Sam winced as Janet injected the local anesthetic into Jack's stump, then sat beside him on the bed and clutched his hand while he looked at her to distract himself from what the doctor was doing.

It didn't take Janet long to suture Jack's leg, then she wrapped it in a new bandage, using extra gauze for cushioning, and he was good to go. By then Jack was sleepy from meds and Sam noticed Mac had been swaying slightly on his feet. As Janet gathered her things and left the room, Sam got off the bed and quickly grabbed for Mac's arm as he stumbled while Jack remained on the bed.

"Hey, take it easy MacGyver. Is it your head?" Sam asked gently as she guided him to sit on the edge of the bed.

His eyes closed and he gingerly put a hand to the bandage on his head. "Yeah, just felt dizzy all of a sudden. And really…tired."

Sam looked between the two brothers for a moment, hands on her hips. "Okay, why don't you both just stay here and rest for a little while."

Jack lazily lifted his head and glanced sleepily at his brother. He just nodded blearily and scooted back so that his head rested on the pillow.

MacGyver made a face and eventually nodded in acquiescence as well. He moved back and got comfortable.

Satisfied that she'd got both Jack and Mac to take it easy, Sam smiled and began to leave them to rest. "Mac, I'll let Nikki know where you are."

"Thanks," he murmured, lifting his good hand in a wave.

Sam left the room and grinned in amusement as she heard Jack mumbling to his brother that they haven't shared a bed since they were kids.

.

Later, once everyone had gone home save for Mac and Nikki who were still staying over, Sam laid beside Jack in bed, curled against him and tracing patterns on his t-shirt clad chest. "I think we had a good Christmas, don't you?"

Jack breathed out slowly, his left hand absently stroking up and down her back. "Hm. Yeah, it was nice."

She smiled. "I'm really glad your brother was here, Jack."

"Yeah. It's nice to finally see him on a holiday for a change… Circumstances aside."

Sam pursed her lips, her hand going still to lie flat against his chest when the silence grew between them and she knew he hadn't fallen asleep yet. "Talk to me?" she said softly.

"I thought we were talking?" His voice was getting low, sleepy.

Chuckling soft against his chest, she shook her head, but her voice was serious. "How…How are you dealing with all this?" Sam knew she wouldn't have to elaborate on what the 'this' she referred to was.

Jack breathed in, then out, then in, and finally murmured, "I'm okay, Sam."

Her fingers started plucking at his t-shirt. She worried her bottom lip for a moment, contemplating his answer. "Promise?"

He kept rubbing her back. "I know that there's gonna be a lot of changes…and it's gonna take some getting used to, but…" Jack breathed in deeply, Sam's hand rising and falling in time with his chest. "It's gonna be alright, Sam. And I am okay. Really."

"Alright. But if there are times…or days where you...where you're not okay…" she sucked in a breath. "I Just want you to know—"

"Sam," Jack said softly with a chuckle. "I know." He pulled her tighter against him. "I love you. And…thank you."

Nodding, Sam leaned up to kiss him. She'd be there for him, no matter what, and it warmed her heart to know that Jack already knew that.

.