The wormhole closed with its usual whoosh, depositing O'Neill and two drab Tok'ra onto the ramp. The colonel was stumbling slightly, refusing help from the men behind him, and stopped in front of General Hammond.
"Colonel, it's very good to see you again. Where's Colonel Maybourne?" Hammond looked concernedly at the state of his 2IC.
"He's not here, sir," O'Neill replied, a grimace of pain added to his usual wit. "I let him go."
"You let him go?! What the hell were you thinking?" Hammond was beginning to turn red.
"I was thinking he had suffered enough." The colonel sighed and shifted his attention to the figure waiting somewhat impatiently behind the general. "Hey Carter. Nice to see ya again."
"You too, sir," she replied with a wide grin. "We all missed you." She was trying to restrain herself, especially in front of the general, but it didn't seem to be working.
"Missed you, too," he replied with the smile he used only on her.
"Colonel--" Hammond interrupted.
Startled, O'Neill accidentally shifted his weight onto his bad leg and let out a quiet hiss of pain.
"Sir, permission to report to the infirmary."
Hammond took one look at his officer and nodded. "By all means. Colonel O'Neill will debrief at 0800 tomorrow. Everyone else go home and get some rest," he ordered, looking directly at Major Carter.
Sam Carter crept quietly into the darkened infirmary. Only one bed was occupied, but she was careful not to spare it more than a glance. Instead she changed direction and poked her head around the corner into the office. If she got his condition from Janet now, maybe she would be able to resist seeing the colonel in person until the morning.
"Janet, how is he?" she asked quietly.
Her friend looked up from the charts on her desk. "Sam, you ought to be at home asleep. You've barely left the base for a month."
"I just need to make sure he's okay. Then I'll go home. I swear."
Janet knew it was useless to try to resist her friend's stubbornness. She sighed and picked up one of the charts. "Actually, he's doing pretty well considering. He's a bit malnourished, which is to be expected. The wound to his leg isn't too severe, but I'm worried about infections, and he's been walking on it for over 24 hours now. He mentioned something about a hallucinogenic plant, so I ran a set of tox screens, but that hasn't come back yet. He should be out of here within 72 hours as long as infection doesn't set in."
Sam slumped her shoulders in relief. "Thank God -- I was afraid for a while we wouldn't be getting him back."
Frasier looked closely at her friend's tired expression. "Like last time -- Edora?" she inquired, careful not to probe the sensitive topic too deeply and wary of rousing too much curiosity.
"Not really -- different, worse. So much has happened since then. But just like then, I couldn't do a damn thing. And that's the worst feeling in the world, to be totally unable to help someone you ..." she trailed off. They could not meet each other's gaze, and the silence was stifling.
"You can see him if you'd like," Janet said finally. "Just don't wake him up. And Sam?" The major straightened and met Frasier's eyes. "It's okay to be there for him."
"I'll try," Sam whispered, "I'll try." It was a very fine line, Sam knew, between the attention of a subordinate and the caring of someone -- closer. She had already distracted the colonel earlier that day in the gate room, and didn't want to draw any more attention to her concern.
"Pssst, Carter!"
"Sir!" The major in question jerked her head up from her folded arms, unaware she had even drifted off.
"Whatcha doin'?" He kept his voice a stage whisper, despite the fact that there was only one disinterested nurse in the next room.
"Making sure you're okay, sir," she stumbled. "But I think I'll probably be going now." She started to stand, but he reached over and grabbed her wrist.
"Stay just a minute."
"Sir?"
"I--I wanted to thank you. For not giving up on me."
"I couldn't do that, ever."
"I know. Thanks." He paused for a second, determining how to continue. "Kinda wished you'd been there sometimes, though -- you'd've made a much better fishing buddy than old Harry."
"You went fishing with Maybourne?" Her eyebrows went up.
"There was a lake, and I was actually trying to catch dinner. He didn't think it was working, so he tossed a grenade in and blew up a bunch of fish. It was awful. Terrible," he pretended to groan at the memory.
She laughed at him. "Not your ideal retirement, then?"
"Not with Maybourne, no," he grinned in reply, "and the fishing kinda sucked after that, too. But it was a pretty nice planet aside from all the dead bodies."
"That would ruin it somewhat, I suppose."
"That and all the vegetables. No nice, big, juicy steaks, no pie, no ice cream or cookies. And I missed beer. It's awful to retire to someplace with no beer."
"I'm sure it is." She paused and looked down at him, and Jack could feel their usual tension return in that one moment. No matter how much he liked to watch her laugh, even if it was only to forget their circumstances for a few minutes, it never lasted longer than those few minutes. "I really should be going. You should rest." She stood up, pulling her hand from his grasp.
"Okay, I won't keep you any longer. See ya in the morning," he replied calmly, belying the sudden twinge of unhappiness at her leaving.
"Right." She nodded, then turned and left, refusing to let herself look back. Tomorrow, everything would be normal again.
She was getting tired of normal.
* * *
Feedback is greatly appreciated.
Story Notes: Email: mackoc@rpi.edu
Spoilers: PL of course
Archive: SJD yes, my own site (katelesky.com)
Status: complete
Author's Notes: This is the second Stargate fic I've posted (I've got some unposted, and some posted in other fandoms), so please let me know what you think. Thanks to my beta, Di.
Spoilers: PL of course
Archive: SJD yes, my own site (katelesky.com)
Status: complete
Author's Notes: This is the second Stargate fic I've posted (I've got some unposted, and some posted in other fandoms), so please let me know what you think. Thanks to my beta, Di.
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 ]