Sam had only been in the infirmary for three days, but she was quietly going crazy. Her teammates would have had to be blind not to realize what the problem was. Everywhere you looked there were reminders of Fraiser. And every time Sam woke up she expected to see her friend hovering. They could actually see the grief wash over her each time she realized that it was the new CMO and not Janet checking her vital signs. That coupled with the pain that she was in had her on the verge of a breakdown, and she had begged the new CMO to let her go home.
Dr. Meyer was still playing it by the book though. He wanted to monitor Sam's mild concussion and ensure that no infection set into the myriad of cuts she had received. He also refused to send her home until she was strong enough to get around on crutches, having checked her file and noting she had no family to assist her. Finally Hammond stepped in. He normally wouldn't interfere with the medical treatment being given, but in this case he quietly made Dr. Meyer aware that Sam did indeed have family in her SG1 teammates and Cassandra Fraiser. He also clued the doctor into the reasons for getting the Major out of the depressing infirmary environment as quickly as possible.
Later that day Sam let the guys settle her onto the couch in her living room with a huge sigh of relief. She hadn't been sleeping well in the infirmary but now that she was home and surrounded by her teammates she let the painkillers she had taken just before leaving the SGC take over and she quickly fell into a deep peaceful sleep. She slept through Daniel and Teal'c heading out to get groceries and movies and Cassie coming home from school.
Cassie's eyes flew to the sleeping figure in surprise and then to Jack O'Neill who had been watching TV with the volume turned down. He switched off the set and signaled for her to be quiet and then met up with her over in the kitchen where he explained in hushed tones.
"We sprang her a little while ago. She's been sleeping since we got here. Teal'c and Daniel will be back soon with food," he told her. "We'll let her sleep until dinner is ready."
"How is she really?" the teen asked, having gotten only the considerably condensed version of events so far. Nobody had wanted to worry her with just how close she had come to losing another surrogate mother.
"The doctor's are concerned. It was a really bad break, multiple bones in the foot and ankle plus a compound fracture of the tibia. To make matters worse she did some muscle and ligament damage as well. They are worried she won't ever get full mobility and strength back. But they don't know her. They have no clue how hard she'll work to get back in shape. I think she will prove them wrong. It's just going to take a while," Jack assured her.
"What if the doctor's are right?" Cass asked in concern.
"She'll get a medical discharge. But she will still be at the SGC. We couldn't afford to lose her. But that's the worst possible scenario Cass. We need to be positive for her and not let her give up," Jack stated confidently, wondering who he was trying to convince Cassie or himself.
"Too bad the Tok'Ra are incommunicado," Cassie commented. "Selmac could use the healing device."
Jack hated to agree with her, but for once he really wished one of the damn snake-heads would make an unscheduled visit. Barring that, what he really wanted was for Fraiser to be there to give them an honest assessment. He just didn't know if this new Doc was being overly cautious or not. Dr. Meyer didn't know Carter and her unusual body chemistry. Jack had once seen her throw off a case of the flu that had felled two hundred-pound marines. She might not have a symbiote, but the naquada in her blood still seemed to give her body's healing powers a boost. Hopefully that would be the case this time as well.
A short while later, Sam woke up to the muted voices of her teammates. She could hear them moving around putting groceries away and she wondered how long she had been asleep. If the pain she was in was any indication she had been out long enough for it to be time to take her meds again. She twisted slightly so she could read the clock on the VCR and was shocked to see that she had another two hours before she could take any more pain pills. She had a feeling it was going to be a long night.
By lunchtime the next day it was obvious to everyone that something was wrong. Sam had thrown-up twice from the pain, and Jack had put in a frantic call to the SGC infirmary. In the old days, Fraiser would have made a house call, which was definitely preferable to dragging Sam back for an exam. Luckily Dr. Warner was just heading off duty and offered to stop by. The male members of SG1 practically hugged the man when he arrived. Sam's description of how the pain pills were only taking the edge off and were wearing off too soon prompted Warner to pick up the bottle and check over the contents. What he saw surprised him. While the pills contained one of the few drugs that didn't react negatively with the naquada, the dosage was only a fraction of what the Major usually required.
"Well, Major. I'm very glad I was there to take the Colonel's call. Obviously we need to make a larger note in your file of your requirements to prevent this from happening again. For the time being you can double the number of pills you are taking, or even triple them if that doesn't do the job. I'll write you a new script for a higher dosage that you can fill when you run out of these. You are probably going to need something to control the pain for the next 3-4 days. At that point I expect you to be able to start doing without. If not, then we'll want to examine you again," he explained patiently.
"Thank you Doctor, " Sam replied gratefully. "I'm sure once I'm able to get a couple of night's of sleep I will feel much better."
The doctor nodded his agreement. He'd seen the notation on her chart when he'd checked it before coming over that she hadn't slept well in the infirmary. If she had gone several days with no real sleep and the pain pills weren't doing the job it was no wonder she had been nauseous. A couple of days to sleep and stay totally off her feet should be all she needed. He looked over at the three obviously worried men attending her and knew he was leaving her in good hands.
"Make sure she takes it easy gentlemen," he warned as he took his leave, more for her benefit than theirs.
"Don't worry Doc, we won't let her lift a finger," Jack assured him. "And thanks," he added sticking out his hand to shake the doctor's.
Dr. Warner took the offered hand in surprise. He was well aware of the Colonel's dislike of all things medical, so this show of gratitude was a bit unexpected. He would have been shocked if he knew the number of times Dr. Fraiser had gotten a private thank you from O'Neill after she had patched up one of his team. It wasn't something the battle-worn Colonel wanted to get around.
True to Sam's word, once she got a sufficient dose of painkillers into her she slept like the dead. Eventually as she began to snore, (much to the amusement of her teammates who had never heard such a racket from the woman before), Daniel and Teal'c decided to head back to the base with a promise that one of them would come relieve Jack in the morning. Jack puttered around until Cassie got home, and once she had assured him she had very little homework the two set about making a light dinner. Sam woke up for a couple of hours, and they were able to get her to eat some soup and crackers. Then they settled down to watch a movie. Finally Sam announced she was ready to go back to bed, and Jack carried her to the bathroom. After Cassie had helped her get washed up, the two tucked her into bed and gave her more pain meds.
Soon after their patient had fallen once more into a deep sleep, the phone rang. Since Cass was in her room and had her own phone line (which she was currently using to chat with a friend), Jack debated on whether he should answer it or let the machine pick it up. Worried it would wake his 2IC he picked it up on the second ring.
"O'Neill," he stated bluntly.
"Colonel O'Neill? It's Pete. Pete Shanahan. I was calling for Sam. Is she in?" the suddenly wary voice on the other end of the phone inquired.
"She's asleep at the moment, Pete. Have you talked to her in the last couple of days?" Jack asked.
"I've been away on a case. She left me a message two days ago to call her. This is the first chance I've had. Is everything ok?" Pete asked in concern.
"She took a really nasty tumble out in the field four days ago. She has several broken bones all in her left foot, ankle and leg. She'll be fine eventually, but she's going to be out of commission for a bit," Jack informed him.
"God, I keep telling her that job is too dangerous. I'm constantly expecting to get a call that she's been killed in action. Especially after her friend was shot and killed," Pete complained.
Jack bit back a retort about Carter's job being her own business. Sam was going to need all of the support she could get and having her boyfriend and CO fighting wouldn't do her any good.
"Well, she's probably going to be out of it from the painkillers for a couple of days, but after that she's going to be bored out of her head, so I'm sure she would appreciate some company," Jack graciously suggested.
"That works out well. I need to wrap up this case but I should be done tomorrow or the next day at the latest. Tell her I'll call back and let her know when I'll be down. Hopefully I can make it a long weekend," Pete remarked.
"Great," Jack replied with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. "I'll tell her."
Actually, Pete's arrival on Friday morning was well timed. Sam was taking less of the painkillers and so becoming more alert and mobile, and SG1 had just been paged back to the base. SG6 had managed to anger some natives and a show of force was needed to get them safely home. Daniel stayed behind just long enough to give Pete a list of instructions and to tell him they would call as soon as they got back.
They spent a quiet day together. Sam slept a good part of the afternoon, waking up when Cassie arrived home, and staying awake through dinner, and seeing the teen off for the evening with strict instructions to be home by 01:00. Pete made sure she ate, and kept her amused after Cassie left with stories of some of the bizarre characters he had come across over the years as a detective. He eventually sent her to bed with a promise that he would make sure Cassie was home safely before he crashed on the couch.
Saturday started out in the same manner. Sam was glad to see that Cassie seemed to get along with Pete, and they spent a couple of pleasant hours together. Finally Cass left to go to the mall with friends and Sam and Pete were left alone. He couldn't help but notice that she was checking the clock more and more frequently as the day wore on.
"They'll be fine," he finally assured her.
"They should have been back by now. It's been twenty-nine hours," she worried. Then with a sigh she confessed, "I really hate it when they go out without me."
"Now you know how I feel," Pete confessed. "Since I've known you you've been seriously injured twice and lost your best friend. Every time I don't hear from you for a couple of days I expect to get a call saying that you're missing or dead."
"That's my life Pete," she stated bluntly.
"But it's insane. How much longer do you plan on putting your life on the line day-in and day-out?" he asked.
"Until I don't have to or I can't anymore," she asserted firmly.
"Why? You could confine your work to the lab and go out on scientific missions. Why do you have to be in the thick of the battle?" Pete questioned her.
"Because I'm damn good at what I do. And believe me, if the four of us hadn't been out there in the thick of it for the last seven years Earth as you know it would be history!" Sam shouted in frustration and anger.
Pete was stunned into silence for just a minute. "Ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration, isn't it?" he finally asked trying to get Sam to see the absurdity of her statement.
Sam just sighed. She didn't have clearance to tell him about any missions so she settled with looking him the eyes and saying sadly, "No, it's not."
Pete didn't know what to think, but he really couldn't wrap his head around the fact that the planet was in danger, so he chose to believe she was being overly melodramatic.
"Sorry Sam. Didn't notice the capes you four keep hidden away. I'll try to remember that I'm dating a superhero. It will be such a comfort on those nights when you're off saving the universe and I'm home alone," he declared waving his arms around dramatically.
Sam watched him with a heavy heart. She really didn't need this right now. She needed him to be supportive and funny and caring. She was too tired mentally and physically to deal with anything else. Besides if that was how he really felt there wasn't much hope for their relationship anyway. She was saved from saying anything in return by the ringing of the phone, which she reached out to answer gratefully, only realizing as she brought it to her ear that her hands were shaking.
"Carter," she answered unknowingly holding her breath.
"Hey, Sam. Just wanted to let you know we are back all in one piece," Daniel's reported.
Sam let out the breath that she was holding. "Great. Can you guys come over tonight? I want to hear all about it," Sam requested.
"Um, what about Pete?" Daniel asked, knowing they couldn't discuss a mission in his presence.
"Pete has to go home," Sam assured him staring defiantly at the man standing next to her who was looking confused.
"Ok, we'll bring dinner," Daniel confirmed.
Sam set down the receiver and turned to Pete with a sigh.
"See I told you they would be fine. And what's this about me leaving? I was planning on staying through the weekend," he protested.
"Pete, I think you should go. You've spent the last ten minutes railing against what I do, and frankly if I was healthy I probably would have kicked you physically out on your ass. You obviously have issues with my not being here at your beck and call, waiting for you to come home from a hard day at the office. I am never going to be that kind of woman, or have that type of relationship," she explained.
"Sam I honestly don't want that either. That type of woman would bore me to tears. What I object to is the constant danger you subject yourself to. It tears me apart," Pete admitted sadly.
"So what do you want me to do quit?" Sam asked indignantly.
"No… Yes… I don't know," Pete shrugged in confusion.
"Well, I *know* I don't want to, so you have some thinking to do," Sam chastised gently. "Go home, and when you have a better idea of what you want give me a call. I won't be going anywhere for a while," she stated sarcastically.
Pete loaded the overnight bag he had brought into his car and the instant Cassie got back he left. Sam spent the couple of hours before her teammates showed up thinking about what had occurred and came to the conclusion that it was probably over between them. She couldn't see any logic in trying to hold together a relationship with someone who resented a large part of who she was, and she certainly wasn't going to consider giving up SG1 for him.
The sad truth was that she might not have a choice in the matter, and despite her determination she knew that Pete might get his wish. However she also was honest enough to admit (especially after regaining consciousness in the embrace of her CO almost a week ago) that if she was forced to give up her commission it wouldn't be Pete Shanahan's arms she would be running into.
End Week 1
Story Notes: Eight Weeks Series – Week one: Season: Season 7, immediately after Resurrection
Spoilers: Heroes II, Death Knell, Chimera
Spoilers: Heroes II, Death Knell, Chimera
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc, are the property of their respective owners. Any original characters and plots are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended. ... [ read more ]