His phone rang vehemently, it was in the middle of the night.
"O'Neill." he barked into the receiver, annoyed to be disturbed now.
"Am I speaking to Col. Jack O'Neill?"
"You do, and now do I want to know who I am talking to!" he demanded.
"I'm sorry, this is Officer Warner, local police. You are listed as next of kin for a Samantha Carter, that right?"
He felt his blood turn cold, a police officer calling in the middle of the night because of Carter. He was afraid of what had happened.
"Yes, I am. She's an air force Major and I'm her commanding officer."
"Sir, I need to inform you that Major Carter had been a participant in an accident. Her bike has been hit by a pick up..."
What the hell did Carter do on her bike in the middle of the night? Couldn't she have a drink after a bad day at work instead of riding her bike like a devil?
"How bad is it?" Jack asked with a shaking voice.
"Doesn't look good." the officer told him. "As she is in the military, do you want her to be brought into the academy hospital?"
"Yes, please. I inform her Doctor that you'll arrive soon. Hopefully she'll be there by then. What should I tell her what she should prepare for?"
"The Major has a few broken bones, a cracked rib, maybe internal bleeding, but I think the worst is her head. A concussion and a slight fracture in her skull."
Jack felt sick. It's a miracle he didn't throw up.
"I'll inform her Doctor and be there as soon as I can."
"Thank you, Sir. I'll also be there." the officer replied.
While Jack frantically got dressed he called Janet.
"Fraiser?" she asked as sleepy as he was when he got the call.
"Janet, it's me, Jack. You have to come to the hospital. Something is wrong with Sam. A police officer called a few minutes ago. She has been in an accident and it doesn't look good."
Janet was wide awake by the end of Jack's story. She recognized how broken his voice sounded.
"I'm on my way. I'll meet you there." was all she said before hanging up.
Not even ten minutes later Jack arrived at the hospital, devastated. He saw the officer and headed towards him.
"Jack O'Neill," he greeted him and let him know who he was "where is she?"
"She's already in surgery. Your Doctor arrived shortly before you did. Can we talk a little over there?" he pointed towards the waiting area of the emergency room.
Jack only nodded and followed him.
"So, Officer, what happened? I know she is not the slowest driver, but she's always a safe driver."
"As far as we know the driver of the pick up was drunk and drove over a red light, he collided with her bike and sent her flying quite a distance. There's nothing else the police can do at the moment. It wasn't her fault, that's obvious. And it will be in my report as well. I hope your friend gets through. I'm sorry, Sir."
"Thank you, Officer."
And suddenly Jack was alone for the rest of the night, sitting in that damn waiting area, praying that Sam would make it.
The sun was up already as Janet came to see him.
She sat down in the chair next to him, exhausted. She placed a hand on his knee and looked at him.
"Just tell me, Doc."
"Doesn't look good, Colonel. We fixed the broken bones, took care of her ribs and were able to stop the bleeding, but her head..."
She wasn't able to speak any further.
He looked to the floor and nodded absently.
"Will her memories be affected if she gets through this?" he asked in a panic.
"Most likely. I don't know for sure until she wakes up and we can ask her herself."
"Can I see her?"
Janet knew for sure how the Colonel felt for his Major and couldn't deny him to see her. "You can stay for a while, but you have to be quiet."
"That's ok, Janet. I'll sit with her for a while, you won't know I'm even there."
She put her hand on his shoulder.
"I'm going to inform the General and let him know you will be here today."
"Thank you, Janet. For everything."
He took a seat in a chair next to her bed, it wasn't comfortable but he didn't plan on sleeping either. He just wanted to sit here and watch over her.
Four hours later Janet was back with Daniel and Teal'c in tow.
"How is she?" Daniel asked quietly.
"No change," he answered. "I like to think that this is a good thing. At least it hasn't gotten worse."
They sat together for the next few hours. A nurse checks in on Sam every half an hour.
"Jack, if you want to go home, have a shower or even a few hours sleep, I would be happy to stay with her." Daniel told him.
"Thanks Danny, but I need to be here. I want to be here if...when she wakes up."
"Ok, Jack. Teal'c and I'll be heading back to the mountain. Call if you need anything or if there is news on Sam."
"I will, thanks you two."
It wasn't for another two days, Jack didn't leave her side, before Sam stirred and woke up. Janet was instantly by her side.
Jack got up and took a few steps back to let Janet do her work and for him to be able to observe.
"Sam honey, how are you feeling? Do you remember anything that had happened?"
She shook her head.
"Do you want some water?"
She nodded.
Jack went to get her some and quickly returned with a glass of water.
"Sam could you say anything, please? So that I know your speaking abilities are ok."
"Who... Who are you? And what happened?"
Both were shocked, Jack and Janet knew pretty well that it was an option that she won't recognize them. It wasn't unusual after everything she went through, but they hoped they wouldn't always have to deal with the worst outcome.
"I'm Janet, your friend and Doctor. You have been in an accident a few days ago. A car hit your bike. Do you remember this?"
"No."
"Do you know your name?"
"Samantha Carter?"
It was more like a question, but the answer was right. At least she remembered her name. That was a start.
Janet got some photos out of her coat to show Sam. She was prepared for this. She gave Sam the photos for her to have a look at them. Watching her closely for any hint of recognition.
She stopped at a photograph of the stargate, looking at it a lot longer than the other ones.
"Do you recognise this?"
"I'm not sure."
"It's ok, it most probably will come back. Give it some time." Janet told her, patting her shoulders in support.
Sam looked around the room and her gaze stayed on him.
He looked back and held her gaze.
"I do remember you! No name or anything, but your face. You're important to me, right?"
His heart skipped a beat. He cleared his throat.
"Yeah, we're coworkers... friends."
"That's all?" she asked carefully.
"Hmm, it's... It's complicated. Let's say we're close friends. We care about each other. A lot. I'm glad you're awake and able to speak, the rest will come. Just relax for the time being and get well. I can stay with you for a while if you want."
"I'm probably asleep in no time, I'm quite tired. Maybe you can stay till I'm asleep and come back later? I'd like that." she asked him shyly.
She studied him for a while, he was watching her too.
"O'Neill..." she said softly. "Jack O'Neill? Is that right?"
He smiled. So glad and a little proud that she remembered his name.
"That's right, Carter."
"Carter... That's what you call me! Only you call me that."
"See, your memory is coming back. No need to worry." he said, relieved about it.
"And by the time you're ready to leave the hospital I'll have your bike back home and you can start repairing it. It was quite damaged when the car hit you. Maybe I can help you, we could work on it together, if you want."
"I think I'd like that." she murmured and was asleep in seconds.
He sat back on his chair and watched her sleep for a while before he left. Only to come back later.
She scared him a lot, but she will get back to her normal self. And maybe he decided it was time to finally open the door to that damn room.