Leila had gotten back to the clinic before O'Neill. She checked Sam's latest blood work and frowned. Jamale was sitting in a chair beside Sam's bed. He stood as Leila entered.
"Good morning to both of you." Leila smiled. "I hope you slept well."
Jamale nodded. Sam gave a small tilt of her head. "Good. " Leila moved to the side of Sam's bed. "How are you doing this morning?"
"Better." To prove her point Sam wiggled her toes, twirled her ankles, flexed her fingers, rotated her wrists, and bent her elbows.
"Excellent. How is your pain level?"
"Tolerable."
Leila turned towards Jamale, who had been quietly watching the exchange. "Could you please excuse us?"
Jamale stood, "I should get to work anyway. I will return this evening. I hope you will be much improved when I return."
"Thanks Jamale." Sam grinned slightly.
Leila gripped the chart to her chest. "Your blood work shows signs that your kidneys and liver are struggling to clear the toxins in your system."
"And that means?"
"That means we need to lower the amount of toxin in your system."
" Isn't that what the anti-toxin has been doing?"
Leila shook her head, "Actually the anti-toxin is one of the issues, as is the pain medicine."
Sam's eyes widened as she realized what Leila was saying. Sam couldn't stop the tears. The pain was worse than she was letting on and the concept of less pain medicine terrified her.
"I'm sorry Sam but with less anti-toxin your progress is going to stall and some of the paralysis might come back but it will be temporary."
"And the pain?"
"It will get worse too. I am so very sorry but I can't risk having your kidneys or liver fail."
"I understand." The tears were stream down Sam's face. "Can I just be alone?"
"I'll leave you for a while but I am sure Jack will be here soon."
"No." Sam's voice was the strongest Leila had heard since she woke. "I don't want any visitors."
"Sam that might be a bit of an overkill. It would help you to have friends here."
"No. I don't want any visitors."
"As you wish." Leila frowned.
"I would also like to get some help rolling over onto my left side."
"I'll get Ajo and be back in a minute."
Leila and Ajo's helped Sam move onto her side. They put her right arm around a pillow and bent her legs. She looked comfortable even though the pain meds would soon be wearing off. Ajo put a sign on Sam's door that said no visitors allowed.
Leila was still in Sam's room when Jack arrived. He saw the sign, paused briefly, and walked in any way.
"Why the no visitor's sign?"
Sam turned her head into her pillow as he walked in asking about the sign. She didn't want him to see her crying.
"What's going on?"
"Let's walk out in the hall and talk." Leila walked over to O'Neill and put her hand on his arm.
"Like hell. What's going on?"
"As I said, we can go out into the hall and talk." Leila pushed on O'Neill's arm even harder. She stepped in front of him, opened the door, and gestured for him to leave. O'Neill glanced back at Sam curled up on the bed before following Leila out.
"So?"
Leila turned around to face a very irate and worried O'Neill. "Her kidney and liver function are showing signs of stress. The poison, anti-toxin, and pain medicine are all being processed by her kidneys and liver. In order to prevent her kidneys and liver from failing I am cutting back on the anti-toxin and pain medicine."
O'Neill looked back at the door. "And that means?"
"It means her paralysis might get a bit worse, but not bad enough to harm her lungs or heart, and her pain level will increase substantially." Leila had her hand on his arm.
"I should be in there with her."
Leila shook her head. "I'm afraid that is exactly what she doesn't want right now."
O'Neill was still looking at Sam's door. "That doesn't make any sense."
"Really? Would you want Sam watching you suffer?" O'Neill looked at the healer and frowned. "Exactly, I suspect you and Samantha aren't that different. I hope to be able to get her back on a full dose of pain meds in a couple days. This won't last long."
"Let me have just a moment." Leila tilted her head to the side and glared. "I promise. After that I'll leave without a fuss."
Leila nodded. "Only a couple minutes. She was very clear about doing this alone."
"I get it."
O'Neill quietly opened the door and stepped into Sam's dim room. She looked cozy lying on her side but he knew that was a ruse. As he got closer he could see the sheen of tears on her cheek.
"I'll be back every day to check on you and I'm going to put your tractor to good use. It looks fabulous." O'Neill stood there awkwardly.
He was backing towards the door when Sam answered. "Thanks for understanding."
"I'll be back tonight and tomorrow morning. When you're ready I'll be here." He stepped out into the hall and stared at the door. He took a deep breath and walked past Leila without even a thank you. She didn't take any offense. She knew he was upset so she was honestly happy that he didn't take it out on her.
He lived up to his word. He gave the tractor a work out and chopped some wood to work out his anger before returning in the late afternoon. When Jamale saw him walking back past the store after visiting the clinic he called out to get O'Neill's attention.
"I assume your quick return from the clinic means Samantha is still not accepting visitors."
O'Neill grimaced. "Word travels fast."
"I went by at midday."
"Oh."
"I know you will want to visit often and your walk is long. I thought you might like to use my son's bike. I had been planning to loan it to Samantha."
O'Neill jammed his hands in his pockets. "I don't mind the walk."
"We are close to planting season. You will not have much time to spare and you should not be traveling at night. A bike would cut your travel time in at least half."
"I guess that would be good. Thanks."
"Follow me." Jamale led O'Neill into the back of the shop. "My son hasn't used it for a quite a while but I cleaned it up. It should serve you well and Samantha can use it to get to work once she is better."
O'Neill pulled on the handle bars. "I appreciate this and thanks for getting Samantha to the clinic so quickly."
"I am glad I could help."
It had been a while since O'Neill had been on a bicycle and his knee protested a little but he was home before dark. The bike was a good idea. Jamale still got on his nerves but he appreciated his help and knew he needed to be nicer.
O'Neill was up early the next morning and rode the bike to the clinic only to be disappointed by the same note on Sam's door. He finished another field and tilled the garden beside the house before he got a shower and went back to the clinic. That dang sign was really making him angry and worried so he tracked down Leila.
"How's she doing?"
Leila looked up from her paperwork. "Most of her paralysis is gone, which is surprising since she is on fewer meds. Her pain level is high but her liver and kidney function is beginning to improve. I hope to be able to add back some anti-toxin soon."
O'Neill nodded. "When will she be able to take pain meds again?"
"Lowering the poison levels should reduce her pain so if she tolerates the anti-toxin tonight I will add back pain medication tomorrow. I don't like that she is in pain. My goal is to not only make people healthy but to keep them comfortable. I hate this too."
"I know you do and I know you are doing what is best for her. I just hate not being able to see her." O'Neill left the clinic and rode home, still wondering what he would be doing if Sam had let him stay. He knew he would feel just as useless in her room as he did on this bike but he would still rather be in her room.
On the third night he arrived at the clinic he was pleased to see Sam's door was open and the sign was gone. He tentatively walked inside. Sam was sitting up in bed eating something that looked like pudding. She looked so good it made O'Neill smile, something he hadn't done all week.
"Good to see you sitting up and eating."
"I am feeling much better. The paralysis is almost gone. I'm weak and sometimes my muscles seem to respond too slowly but this is still major progress."
Her bruises had turned yellow since he last saw her. He knew that meant they were healing but it made her skin look very sickly. "Is that pudding? I didn't know they had pudding."
"It isn't really as sweet as pudding but it is fruity, almost like peach but not quite. It has some kind of citrus tang to it. I like it." Sam grinned.
"I'm glad you like it. We'll have to get the recipe. So where's doc? She never seems to be far away."
Leila was standing in the doorway listen to their banter so she coughed quietly. O'Neill looked over his shoulder. "As I said, she's never far away."
"I assume you are pleased to see how well Samantha is doing today." Leila walked to the side of Sam's bed.
"I am tickled pink." Leila's brow creased in confusion. "That's a phrase we used back home that means heck yes."
"I see." Leila glanced at Sam's chart. "Your kidneys and liver are doing fine. I want you to be on a full dose of anti-toxin for one more day and then we will begin to taper that off. Once you are done with the anti-toxin we can begin discussing letting you go home."
Sam and O'Neill smiled. Leila left but stood just outside the door for a few minutes. She heard O'Neill sit and within minutes they were both laughing. Leila went home and slept well that night knowing Samantha was going to be just fine.
Sam threw O'Neill out before dark. He returned early the next morning but Sam made him go back home after a couple hours. She was really worried that the fields wouldn't be ready for planting if he stayed too long. Jamale visited while O'Neill was gone. Sam asked him for help picking out a variety of foods to plant and he readily agreed. Leila came in while they were discussing the different planting options.
"Good afternoon to you both."
"Good afternoon." Sam and Jamale spoke in simulcast which made Leila smile.
"Are you about ready to get out of here?"
Sam set up straighter. "Absolutely. It's not that I don't appreciate all you've done but going home and sleeping in my own bed would be great." Jamale looked away when Sam mentioned her own bed.
"I am sure that would be nice." Leila's face became very serious. "I do want to see you every day for the next week or so and I am not sure I would be able to make it out to your house every day. I also don't want you walking that far, at least not right away. There are a couple homes near the clinic that have rented out rooms to patients in the past in similar situations. Would you be opposed to me making arrangements for you to stay near here for a few days?"
Sam squirmed a bit. She and O'Neill were still receiving food as gifts and although she had earned some money working for Jamale much of it had gone into building the tractor and repairing the house. She hated the thought of spending what little they had on a room. Leila saw her hesitation.
"You are welcome to stay here a few more days if that is easier."
Sam was pursing her lips and pondering when Jamale spoke up. "You are also welcome to return to your room at the shop. You would be close enough to visit the clinic and if you were feeling up to it you could work on a few small projects, but nothing that requires heavy lifting." He cut his eyes towards Leila.
Sam looked from Leila to Jamale and back to Leila. "I'd prefer to stay at the shop as long as you are sure I won't be a burden Jamale."
"You have always more than earned your keep and I suspect you will do the same even while recuperating. I doubt I would even be able to stop you from working if I tried."
Sam smiled. "Work is therapy for me."
"In that case it is settled. I want to check your blood work one more time and then I will release you. It should only take a couple of hours."
Sam's eyes widened. "I really shouldn't leave without telling Jack."
"If you have been released before he gets here I will make sure he knows where you are."
Jamale stood. "I will get your room ready and make sure we have enough dinner so Jack can join us. I am sure he will be happy to see you have been released and get a home cooked meal at the same time." Jamale looked at Leila, "You and your family are also welcome to join us. It would give you a chance to make sure Samantha is doing well."
"I'd like that actually. I'll bring the bread and dessert."
"Excellent. We will make it a celebration." Jamale nodded at both ladies and left the room.
Leila tucked Sam's chart under her arms and smiled. "You have good friends."
"Yes, I've always been luckily in that department."