Daughter of My Heart, Chapter Nineteen
[Set during Entity]
The son-of-a-bitch had zatted her. Twice.
For all intents and purposes, Sam Carter was dead, her body sustained 100% by machine.
Daniel could kill him.
Fifteen hours. Just long enough to feed his kid, get some rest, and see Cass off to school before coming back in.
And the son-of-a-bitch had killed Sam.
Daniel slugged the punching bag, sending it swinging.
What was he supposed to tell Cassie? He'd just finished promising her he'd make everything right!
He took another swing at the bag, lashing out again and again against the unyielding leather.
He could rip Jack's throat out for this, that cocky, good-for-nothing ass...
"Daniel Jackson. May I be of assistance?," Teal'c intoned, eyeing the wildly swinging bag.
"Doesn't matter," Daniel growled, kicking the bag up toward the ceiling.
Teal'c grabbed the bag, holding it steady against the rhythm of Daniel's fury.
Daniel struck the bag until his knuckles bled, but still, his rage held strong.
"Should we not join Colonel O'Neill in biding Major Carter farewell?," Teal'c asked softly after some time, and Daniel responded by hitting the bag harder. Blood splattered from his knuckles across the smooth surface of the blue leather, but he didn't care. He threw another kick at the unsuspecting bag, sending Teal'c staggering back a step. The Jaffa raised a brow.
"Is there something you wish to discuss, Daniel Jackson?," Teal'c inquired.
"Nope," Daniel replied, striking the bag once more.
The Klaxons blared to life. "SG-1 to the M.A.L.P. room," came the call over the base intercom. "SG-1 to the M.A.L.P. room," the message repeated, and Daniel sagged against the bag.
Teal'c released his grip and grabbed Daniel's arm, pulling the exhausted archaeologist out of the gym and down the corridor.
"What's the point?," Daniel moaned, struggling to keep up.
"There may yet be hope for Major Carter," Teal'c replied, startling his friend. "We must hurry."
She was alive. Her body ached from the double zat fire, and her head...well, her head felt as if a fleet of Goa'uld motherships were trying to shoot their way out. But she wasn't dead, at least. They'd heard her.
He'd heard her, she corrected herself. The oh-so-complicated Colonel O'Neill. The thought did little to comfort her.
Those feelings they'd left locked in a room had caused her an awful lot of grief as of late, not least of which were the repercussions they'd had on her family. As if the tension between the members of SG-1 wasn't bad enough, Cassandra was perpetually angry with her and Daniel for something she didn't even fully understand herself.
There was a reason the military forbade this sort of emotional bond: It created too many damned problems. Even if it had just saved her life.
Sam sagged deeper into the infirmary bed, letting her eyes droop shut. She was much, much too tired to deal with any of this.
Daniel wasn't sure what exactly he was supposed to be doing here. Jack had spent most of the day by Sam's bedside, keeping tabs on her progress he supposed. Or maybe just trying to assuage the guilt of having zatted her in the first place. Daniel really couldn't be sure. But Jack had been called away to attend to...something else, Daniel really didn't care, and Teal'c had dragged him in here and told him to wait.
It was difficult to argue with a Jaffa, particularly one who now suspected his deepest secret.
So there he waited, watching Sam sleep, acutely aware of how messed up their relationship had become that he could feel so very uncomfortable sitting beside the hospital bed of his one-time friend.
Sam stirred, and he flushed guiltily for noticing.
"Janet?," she croaked, squinting against the fluorescent lights.
"She went to get something to eat," Daniel replied softly. "Do you want me to get one of the nurses for you?"
"No," Sam replied groggily. "I'm all right."
"Can I get you anything?," Daniel offered, feeling particularly awkward.
Sam shook her head, then groaned.
Just then, Janet bustled in, grinning when she saw Sam awake. "How do you feel?," she asked, checking the monitors.
"Terrible," Sam replied, wincing.
Janet chuckled softly. "Given what your body has been through the last couple of days, I don't doubt it," she replied. "You're on bed rest for the rest of the week."
Sam groaned again.
"No arguments, Sam. Whatever you have in the lab can wait."
"What about Cassie?," Sam asked weakly.
"I'll be sure to brief her on the proper care of a bedridden parent," Janet replied with a knowing look.
"And I can pick up anything you need," Daniel replied softly. Sam's brows knit together in consternation. Janet shot a quick look between the two of them, then quietly backed away from the bed. Daniel was silently grateful for the show of privacy, though he was fully aware she'd be listening to every word they said as she went about her duties.
Sam eyed Daniel contemplatively from the bed.
"Look, Sam...I know I haven't been a very good friend to you since that whole mess with P3R-118. But... I still care about you." He paused, taking a deep breath. "You're my friend, Sam, and my teammate, and the mother of my daughter...I owe you this."
Sam lay there a moment, unspeaking, unmoving, and for an instant Daniel wondered if she'd reject him. But almost as soon as the thought had formed, she reached a tentative hand toward his, squeezing lightly. "Thank you," she whispered, and Daniel shut his eyes, breathing a quiet sigh of relief.
Janet insisted she stay in the infirmary overnight for observation, but Sam was released to go home early the next morning. Daniel and Cassie both came to pick her up. Sam couldn't help but notice that Cassie looked a lot happier than she had in a long while, even with the long list of instructions Janet had given her creased in her hand.
Daniel dropped them off, making sure Sam made it into the house without trouble. "Cass and I already restocked the fridge, so you shouldn't go hungry," he was saying, gingerly supporting her weakened frame as Cassie undid her boots and took off her coat for her. She couldn't believe how frail she felt, even after all the sleep she'd had under Janet's watchful eye in the infirmary.
"And I've stocked your bedroom with everything we'll need for the rest of the weekend," Cassie added, grinning.
Sam could only imagine what that would entail.
"Do you want me to help you up the stairs?," Daniel asked. Sam nearly said 'no' out of habit, then realized that without his help, she might not make it up to bed for her prescribed bed rest. "Yeah," she agreed weakly, letting him support some of her weight as Cassie took up the rear heading up the stairs.
Sam was more than a little surprised to find that the top of her dresser had been cleared to make room for the TV and DVD player from the living room, and her bedside table was positively littered with DVDs. There were extra pillows and blankets on the bed as well, along with a stash of energy bars, bottled water, a can of mixed nuts, and what Sam could only assume was every piece of leftover Hallowe'en candy Cassie had been able to find, all haphazardly stacked in a laundry basket beside the bed.
Daniel frowned. "I hope you're planning on eating more than just that this weekend," he commented.
Cassie shrugged. "It's just snack food, Dad. I picked out all the healthy stuff for Mom."
Daniel helped Sam over to the bed, where she gratefully sat down.
"And don't worry," Cassie added. "I know you need to sleep and all. I just thought it might be nice to have some good quality movie time this weekend. Like we used to," she added cheerfully.
Sam smiled. "Sounds great," she said tiredly.
"Okay. If you two need anything...I'm just a phone call away," Daniel said, easing out of the room.
"Aren't you staying for the first movie?," Cassie asked, frowning. Daniel glanced at Sam, who felt as if she could sleep sitting up at this point.
"I, uh, think your mom needs some rest," he declined politely. Sam shot him a grateful smile.
"All right. Maybe tomorrow then," Cassie replied, getting comfy on the bed. Daniel smiled.
"See you both later," he replied, heading out the door.
"Daniel," Sam said, fighting to keep her eyes open.
"Yeah?," he replied, turning back to face them.
"Maybe you should keep Cassie company. For just one movie," she said, laying exhaustedly on her pillow. Cassie grinned, scooting over to the centre of the bed and patting the spot beside her.
"Come on, Dad. We're starting with 'Ten Things I Hate About You'."
Daniel glanced over at Sam, who was grinning sleepily. "Is it any good?," he asked warily.
"It has Heath Ledger. Of course it's good," Cassie retorted.
"You've survived worse," Sam murmured, smirking into her pillow.
An hour and a half later, Daniel really wasn't sure he had survived worse.
He'd been conned into watching what could only be described as a date movie. Worse yet, a date movie geared toward teenagers.
He'd worn his eyes out casting suspicious glances at his daughter. Surely not, he kept thinking. Then he'd catch another glimpse of her enraptured face and groan inwardly.
He was so not ready for this.
On Cassie's other side, Sam slept peacefully through it all. Lucky her. Daniel was fairly certain he'd have nightmares for years to come because of this.
"So what'd you think?," Cassie asked eagerly, clearly expecting a favorable review.
"It was...good," Daniel lied, not wanting to hurt her feelings.
"Oh, good," Cassie said gleefully. "Then you'll love what's next!"
Daniel fought a groan. He could only imagine...
"I'm pretty sure I was only supposed to stay for one...," he tried, but Cassie wouldn't hear of it.
"Mom's still asleep. And movie days are so much more fun when you're not alone," she pleaded.
"One more," Daniel reluctantly conceded.
"Goodie!," she replied happily, crawling out of bed to change the DVD. Daniel took a moment to glare over at Sam's sleeping form.
This was definitely not what he'd had in mind when he'd offered to help.
Someone was in for back-to-back documentaries on ancient Egypt once they were feeling better.
Cassie clambered back into place, grinning like the Cheshire cat. Daniel settled in for another two hours of silent panic.