"Keeping Silent - Epilogue" by Deb

Title: Epilogue: Keeping Silent

Author: deb

Status: complete

Category: S/J UST, h/c, angst

Rating: M

Season/Sequel Info: After Shades of Grey

Spoilers: Shades of Grey

Archive: SJA, Heliopolis OK

Feedback: Sure

Summary: The aftermath.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret Productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognized characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Author's Note: I'd like to thank my beta reader, Bruni (for not letting me get sloppy with my verb tenses) :-)

* * * *

Epilogue

Jack entered the infirmary and watched the medical staff working to mend Sam Carter. She was still unconscious and looked horribly broken, but he felt more at ease. She was in good hands. He wanted to go closer, but he knew better, so he just stood and watched, and prayed, and hoped that she would be OK. He was offered a chair by one of the staff. No, it was Daniel. He and Teal'c had come to the infirmary to support their friends.

"Jack, are *you* hurt?"

Jack just silently shook his head. No, he wasn't hurt...not physically anyway. He continued to watch the commotion around the patient.

It seemed like hours had passed before Doctor Frasier came to talk to them. It had been hours. By now, General Hammond had joined them in the infirmary.

"Gentlemen, I'm not yet ready to brief you on Sam's condition. I believe she will make a full recovery, but it will take some time."

"When will your report be ready?"

"It will take me an hour or so."

"When it is ready, come to my office." He then turned to Jack. "Colonel, I need your report on what happened. Follow me to my office."

Jack hesitated and looked back to where Sam lay.

"I'll give you a couple minutes, son."

"Thank you, sir." Jack then looked over at Janet. She nodded permission to him and he went over to Sam.

"I'm worried about him. He didn't once argue or demand or annoy. He stayed out of the way and let us work. What exactly happened?"

"We don't know."

* * * * * *

Jack sat down next to Sam's bed and took her hand in his. He didn't think it was possible, but she actually looked worse than he remembered. He felt someone place their hand on his shoulder.

"I know she looks bad, Colonel, but she's stable."

"She looks worse…swollen."

"That's normal. Her body is retaining fluids to stave off shock. That's why we have her on an IV. In addition to providing her with medication, it is helping to replenish fluids."

Jack looked around at all the equipment and tubes surrounding Sam. Janet noticed this.

"This tube here, " she said pointing to the device coming out of Sam's chest, "is a chest tube. It is helping with her breathing…one of her lungs collapsed. That machine over there," Janet pointed to a machine sitting near the bed, "is an ultrasound. We used it to find any internal bleeding and damaged organs."

Jack nodded. She wasn't sure if the colonel was actually hearing anything she was saying, but in her, and most doctors, experience, family and friends felt better when they understood the equipment, devices, and procedures.

"Jack, you need to go see the general and I have a report to finish. You can come back later."

Jack sighed. He didn't want to leave, but he had obligations, and he didn't want to keep the general waiting.

* * * * * *

"Come in." General Hammond was beginning to wonder if he was going to have to send someone down to the infirmary to retrieve Colonel O'Neill. He had many questions that needed answering.

Jack slowly entered the office and took a seat. The general was just beginning to see how devastated the man looked. "Jack, first off, are you OK? Did Doctor Frasier check you out?"

"No sir, I'm fine." Jack bowed his head and lowered his voice to a whisper. "They didn't touch *me*."

Hammond noted that Jack had emphasized that last word. "OK. What happened?"

"It was NID personnel who took her. They wanted the iris code. When they couldn't get it out of her, they tried using her to get me to tell them." Jack just sat there in silence for a few moments, lost in thought. Hammond wanted more information, but he didn't want to rush him. "It's all my fault."

Hammond looked sympathetically at the man before him. "No, it isn't."

Angrily, Jack looked at Hammond. "Yes, it is!" He shouted. Standing up, he began pacing the room. "I should have done something...anything. But NOOOO. I just stood there and watched her get the crap beaten out of her." He suddenly stopped pacing and looked at the general. "They were ready to kill her...blow her brains out. If it wasn't for Makepeace..." He had to stop when the words became choked in his throat.

Hammond seized the opportunity to get more information. "Yes, you mentioned him before. What was Makepeace doing there? How did he help you?"

Jack sighed. "Apparently he was with off-world NID personnel. I don't know how or why...he just was." Jack took his seat again and continued. "He wasn't at the camp originally and when he found out what was going on, he came into the cell and shot the NID guys to death."

"What?"

"Yeah, he killed them...to save me and Sam. He then got us out of the compound and led us towards the 'gate." Jack paused and studied his hands in his lap. All the thoughts he had been ignoring began to surface. He looked back up to Hammond…tears in his eyes. "If Robert had gotten there just ten seconds later, she'd be dead. Gone...forever." With that, Jack placed his face in his hands and cried. He didn't care that the general was there. His overwhelming sense of guilt and grief was more powerful than his pride.

"Jack, you need to pull yourself together. Sam is alive and she's going to pull through."

Jack nodded his head and pulled himself together. Just then Doctor Frasier knocked on the general's door and he waved her in.

"I just finished Sam's medical report."

"Bottom line?" Hammond asked getting to the point.

"She should pull through. She had some internal injuries, the most serious being her collapsed lung, a bruised spleen and bruised kidneys. She has a broken left clavicle, some cracked and broken ribs, plus multiple hairline fractures in both her cheekbones and orbital bones and slightly more serious fractures in her upper and lower jaws, as well as an undisplaced skull fracture." Janet stopped a moment when she realized that the two men only heard the words 'skull' and 'fracture'. "Don't worry...undisplaced means no bone fragments touched or penetrated the brain. The MRI and CT scans showed no sign of injury to it."

General Hammond ran his hand over his face and sighed. "That's enough doctor. I'll read the report for the rest. How long before she can return to active duty?"

Janet was aghast. "General...she isn't out of the woods yet and you're asking..."

Hammond cut her off. "I need some idea about what to do with her remaining team. Is it a month, two, a year? I understand that you'd just be making an educated guess."

Janet sat down next to Jack, who had sat quietly while the doctor had rattled off the list of Sam's injuries. "Well, she has multiple injuries and I'm concerned with infection, plus she'll be in bed for a while, so pneumonia is always a concern. Of course, she is in great physical shape and I think we all know how strong her will and determination is.... Best guess. I'd say she'll be in the hospital for a month to six weeks, then rehabilitation for another few weeks. At some point during that she should be able to return to the lab. Probably another three to six weeks after that to return to active duty and off-world missions."

"So we're looking at two and half months, best case scenario, and almost five months, worst case?"

"General, there are so many variables...Yes. I'll know better in 72 hours."

"Good...keep me updated." With that, Janet left to return to the infirmary.

With that out of the way, Hammond had to settle the other pressing matter of what to do with SG-1. "Jack, what are you doing for the next two and half to five months?"

Jack, who had been lost in his thoughts, suddenly realized he had just been asked a question. "Whaaat? Why?"

"I need someone to lead SG-1 while Sam is down and I really don't want to bring someone in. I don't want to give anyone the impression that Sam could lose her command."

Jack just stared at him. Silently he stood up and began to walk out of Hammond's office. When he reached the door, he paused. "I'll be in the infirmary with Sam. I need to discuss it with her."

Although he knew Sam hadn't regained consciousness, and probably wouldn't for another day, Hammond knew what Jack meant. "Take your time, son. SG-1 won't be needed for a mission for another week."

END