Bound Reflections
Part 7
-19-
It was several hours before Hammond freed himself from duty and made his way to the infirmary. Crossing the threshold, he immediately sought out Dr. Fraiser.
Detecting the petite doctor's voice emanating from behind an exam curtain surrounding one of the beds, Hammond caught the eye of the nurse standing just outside the screen. The nurse turned and spoke to someone, presumably Fraiser, and pushed the barrier aside. Retrieving a tray, she scampered off to her other duties.
"You can come in, sir," Janet called, turning back to the patient occupying the previously hidden bed.
As Hammond neared, Ka'lel slid gracefully from the bed, standing proudly before him.
"General Hammond, now that my mission has been carried out, I must return to Hak'tyl," she announced.
Glancing to Dr. Fraiser, Hammond inquired, "Doctor, is Ka'lel well enough to travel through the Stargate?"
"I assure you I am fine, General Hammond," Ka'lel said, amusement rather than irritation coloring her words.
"If you don't mind," Hammond responded just as lightheartedly, "I'd like that opinion from my Chief Medical Officer."
Conceding with an appeasing smile, Ka'lel tipped an inquiring brow at Dr. Fraiser.
"She's fine to travel, sir," Janet confirmed.
Hammond nodded and smiled at the female warrior. "I am grateful that you were not seriously wounded. Thank you for bringing us the intelligence regarding Dr. Jackson's whereabouts, and for offering to assist with his rescue."
Ka'lel inclined her head, acknowledging his thanks with grace. "While the alliance between Earth and the rebel Jaffa has unfortunately dissolved, the people of the Tau'ri, in particular the people of the SGC, are very special to the warriors of Hak'tyl."
Glancing back in the direction of Daniel's private room, Ka'lel pulled a wry face. "Will you keep us informed of Dr. Jackson's progress?"
"Of course." Hammond stepped aside, opening her path into the aisle. "Thank you, again."
As the small party made its way towards the exit, Jacob Carter rounded the corner, pulling up short when he spotted the group headed his way.
"You're leaving?"
Jacob directed his question to Ka'lel, seemingly unaware of the others with her, and Hammond noted with mild surprise that his friend appeared regretful.
"Yes. I must return to my sisters with news of what has transpired."
"I'll get someone to escort you to the gateroom," Hammond offered.
"I'll take her George, if that's alright." Without waiting for a reply, Jacob practically elbowed Hammond aside, stepping into place next to Ka'lel.
Shuffling backward, Hammond exchanged a bemused glance with Dr. Fraiser. "Very well, Jacob," he agreed.
Jacob turned to Janet. "I'm supposed to meet Sam down here. She was going to say good night to Daniel."
"She's in with him now." Janet gestured over her shoulder, indicating Sam's location.
"Would you tell her where I've gone? Just have her go to the locker room and change and I'll find her down there."
Janet's large eyed widened. "She agreed to go out?"
"It wasn't easy," Jacob huffed softly. "But, I figured she needed to get away, if only for a little while, to talk or cry or... scream. All those things she won't do on base."
"I wish the colonel and Teal'c had someone to drag them out of here," Janet remarked wistfully. "They also need the opportunity to talk out their anger and misplaced guilt."
"Guilt?" Hammond's brows drew together, his pinched features reflecting his confusion.
Janet nodded sagely. "Even after all this time, and the fact that he's proven over and over that he's a capable combatant, Daniel's teammates still can't help believing that they've somehow failed him when he gets injured."
"And let's face it," Jacob muttered ruefully, "this injury isn't something he's likely to just bounce back from. Sam's devastated by what's happened to him." A deep frown punctuating the comment, Jacob shook his head once, as if to dispel his melancholy, and shifted towards Ka'lel. "You ready to go?"
Ka'lel raised a slender hand, the move overtly intended to stall their departure. "General Hammond, as I did not attend your briefing on Dr. Jackson's rescue I am unsure if the entire tale of what transpired on Anat has been told to you."
"What do you think might have been left out?" Hammond queried, his eyes grazing the others who had been present on the planet.
"I wish you to know that, when I was wounded by the staff weapon blast, it was Jacob Carter who came to my aid. He stayed nearby and protected me from further injury, at great risk to himself."
As she finished her accolade, Ka'lel turned her eyes on the Tok'ra, a move mirrored by the Tau'ri. She clasped Jacob's shoulder.
"I am grateful to you, Jacob Carter, for your assistance on Anat." Ka'lel bowed her head ceremoniously. "I will speak of your gallantry and heroism to Ishta, and request that she convey to the rebel Jaffa leadership how a Tok'ra proved himself a worthy brother-in-arms."
His chest expanding noticeably, Jacob beamed. Sparing his friends just a glance, he motioned Ka'lel towards the exit.
"Dr. Fraiser, General Hammond." Ka'lel nodded her goodbyes in turn, and strode grandly from the infirmary, her Tok'ra guardian close on her heels.
Staring slack-jawed after the pair, Hammond shook his head in wonderment. "If I didn't know better, I'd swear Jacob is smitten with her."
"Well, I'd say that if Jacob has his way, the Tok'ra — Jaffa alliance will be resurrected," Dr. Fraiser tittered.
Hammond stared at the empty doorway, his brow knotted thoughtfully.
"Sir?"
Prompted from his musings, Hammond blinked, smiling apologetically for his preoccupation. Turning towards the private rooms at the back of the infirmary, he sighed heavily.
"I was just thinking how very special that young man is," Hammond said, his features and voice softening in fondness. "He has this way of endearing people to him, simply by being himself. So much so that two races, who have recently severed ties with one another, and with us, banded together just to ensure his safe return home."
Dr. Fraiser shrugged faintly. "Who knows, maybe Ka'lel's glowing endorsement of Jacob to Ishta will get them back to the negotiating table."
"Well, if anyone was going to pull that particular miracle out his hat, it would be Daniel Jackson," Hammond chuckled.
Nodding agreement, Janet gestured towards Daniel's room. "Did you want to see him?"
The question a reminder that Dr. Jackson was currently a patient in her infirmary, Hammond sobered immediately. "How is he?" the general asked, walking slowly beside the doctor to Daniel's private room.
"He's resting comfortably. His vitals are all good; his fever has come down with the antibiotics. Teal'c is sitting with him."
Hammond's lips twitched upward. For as long as they had been a team, this had been SG-1's pattern when one of them was injured. Tag team vigilance, he called it. As soon as the team was released from duty — down time was usually mandatory in a situation like this — they would set an unspoken schedule, each knowing instinctively when it was his or her turn to sit vigil.
Sighing sadly, Hammond reflected that all too often the vigil was over Daniel's bedside.
Just outside the door to Daniel's room Dr. Fraiser's voice broke into his reverie.
"Sam, your dad's escorting Ka'lel to the Stargate. He said you should get changed and he'll meet you at the locker room."
Her eyes fixed on Daniel, Sam sniffed discreetly. "Thanks, Janet."
Hammond watched, a lump in this throat, as Major Samantha Carter carefully leaned over her fallen teammate and placed a gentle kiss against his temple.
"I'll see you in the morning, Daniel," she whispered. "Have a good night."
Feeling suddenly that he was intruding on a private moment, Hammond retreated a few paces, moving into the shadows outside the door until Major Carter exited, stalking briskly in the opposite direction.
Brows drawn in disconcertment, he shuffled to the doorway and crossed into the room.
Immediately, Teal'c rose from his seat and bowed his head respectfully. Acknowledging the gesture with his own nod, Hammond moved to the Jaffa's side. He caught Dr. Fraiser's eye, smiling faintly at her look of undisguised admiration, surmising she had guessed the reason for his delayed entry.
Finally, lowering his gaze to the still figure on the bed, Hammond scowled at the myriad bruises and cuts marring Daniel Jackson's upper body, evidence of the violent nightmare the peace-loving archaeologist had endured.
Pushing back the rage the sight engendered, Hammond allowed the regular, steady beep of the heart monitor to calm him, its rhythmic tone serving as a reminder that, though his outer shell was damaged, Daniel's pure heart remained unscathed.
'From your lips, to God's ears,' Hammond recited in his head, though his lips had not actually uttered the prayer that this ordeal would not irrevocably change who Daniel was.
He shifted only slightly when Dr. Fraiser slipped by him to check Daniel's IV, his eyes steadily focused on Daniel's prone form.
It was the squeak of a boot, scuffed across the concrete floor in its haste to halt the wearer's progress, that finally drew the general's attention away from the bed, redirecting it to the doorway.
Standing like a deer caught in headlights — a clichéd comparison sure to make the colonel cringe — stood Jack O'Neill. His deeply shadowed brown eyes flittered erratically over the occupants of the room, settling finally on the man in the bed.
"Everything alright?" O'Neill asked, clearly alarmed by what he'd obviously perceived as undue attention on his unconscious lover.
His lips twitching minutely at the realization that he'd just, without conscious thought, acknowledged Daniel as Jack's lover, Hammond offered a comforting smile.
"Everything's fine, Jack. I just came down to see how Dr. Jackson is doing." He glanced at his watch. "But, it's getting late, and I have a few things to finish up before I leave for the night. I won't waste my breath telling you to go home and get some rest." Pausing, he followed his 2IC's eyes to Daniel's battered face. "Mostly because I don't think you'd get any rest at home."
'And because you're needed right here,' he appended silently. Hammond wished he could say the words out loud. These two men, who had given their all in service to their government and the people of this planet, deserved so much more than a clandestine romance.
Exhaling sharply, the general turned to leave. "Dr. Fraiser, I'll be in my office for a while." The directive to alert him to any change in Dr. Jackson's condition went unspoken, but was nevertheless well understood.
"Yes, sir. Good night." Lifting Daniel's chart from the bedside table, Janet laid it on the mattress beside his leg and fingered his wrist, gently pushing aside the bandages, to check his pulse.
Hammond swept his gaze over Teal'c, returning the Jaffa's goodbye nod.
Turning to O'Neill, Hammond drew the other man's attention from the bed and offered a paternal smile. "Colonel, I'll see you here in the morning."
"Thank you, sir," Jack muttered, his eyes darting up to Hammond's. He held the kind blue gaze until the general broke the contact with a nod and walked out the door.
"I, too, shall take my leave, O'Neill," Teal'c announced quietly. Stepping closer to the bed, Teal'c rested his hand lightly on the crown of Daniel's head, a gesture that to Jack resembled a priest blessing a child.
"Rest well, Daniel Jackson," the big man intoned, sliding his hand over his friend's hair in a soothing pet — as soothing for the giver as for the receiver if Teal'c's serene countenance was any indication.
Lifting his hand, Teal'c turned sparkling eyes on Jack and bowed his head, respect and affection clear in the motion.
"'Night, Teal'c... and thanks," Jack said as the Jaffa moved by and silently left the room.
Returning his full attention to his lover, Jack startled when a voice broke the stillness.
"He's stable, Colonel," Fraiser assured him. "His fever is coming down. With any luck we'll be able to repair his ankle tomorrow afternoon."
Instinctively, Jack's hand moved to rest on Daniel's injured leg.
"He'll sleep through the night," Fraiser continued, replacing Daniel's chart on the bedside table. "We'll reduce the sedation in the morning and let him wake up."
Jack simply nodded.
"I'll be around all night," Fraiser reminded him softly, as she turned towards the door. "Call if you need anything."
Jack nodded again, his eyes never straying from the incongruously tranquil figure on the bed. As much as he was looking forward to having Daniel back, Jack loathed the idea of destroying Daniel's now peaceful state.
Needing the contact, Jack angled his back to the security camera and slid his hand up Daniel's leg to his forearm. He snagged the tall stool with his foot, pulled it closer, and settled, gently caressing the warm flesh beneath his fingers.
"Alone again, huh?" he murmured.
Disappointed when he got no response, even though he had not expected one, Jack closed his eyes and leaned back to await the dawn and Daniel's return to consciousness.
-20-
Awareness came with an ache, low in his back, soon followed by a more intense pain lower down. Reflexively, he shifted away from the discomfort, moaning deep in his throat when the move resulted in a stabbing twinge between his legs.
His fingers twitched involuntarily, bunching the blanket between them, and he held on against the wave of torment that cascaded down his body, beginning at his left temple, down through his shoulders and back, over his hips and ending at his right ankle.
'Hurts,' he whined silently. The agony swelled, as awakening tissues resumed intimate contact with their respective nerve endings.
'J'ck.' The mental cry to his lover was instinctive, the name equated with comfort at the basic level of his being.
Attempting to escape the pain, he groaned in frustration when his body, leaden and unresponsive, refused to cooperate.
From somewhere within his inmost memory a deep voice instructed, 'Relax.' Compelled to obey, he was soon able to tolerate the all encompassing ache, his mind automatically capturing and compartmentalizing the spasms into manageable bits.
Extricated from the debilitating discomfort, he tried to remember what had happened to cause it, but every thought he called into being soon became lost in the pea soup fog that surrounded him. Firmly planting his subconscious feet, he pushed against the haze, striving to uncover whatever information lay beyond.
''Scape pod.' An image came to mind of the pod doors sealing tightly over him.
Shifting his concentration slightly, he was suddenly aware that he was lying down. And that the surface he laid on was not hard.
'Not,' he rejected the escape pod image, quickly retreating to the place where his mind controlled the pain when his back cramped again. Once the torment passed, he returned to his quest, his awakening brow knotting of its own accord under the effort. He compressed his lips, surprised when they slid easily against each other. His gingerly probing tongue detected balm, coating skin that was dry and broken.
Consciousness of his anatomy expanding, he perceived the parched sensation likewise encompassed his tongue, which suddenly felt twice its normal size. Within seconds the desert dryness was clawing its way back over the organ and sinking torturous talons into the lining of his throat, kneading and nestling, cat-like, somewhere in the vicinity of his left tonsil.
Beating back the urge to cough, fearful of the searing agony he knew would result, he set his mind back to the task of intel gathering, discovering that the fog in his brain was lifting at the same rate his body was recovering the ability to feel more than pain.
Focusing his investigation on what lay beneath his fingertips, he pushed downward, comprehending two things at once: the surface easily gave way under the meager force he exerted; and, more importantly, his hands were no longer bound together, but rested on either side of his body.
This realization caused his heart to jump elatedly, but he quickly damped down its enthusiasm, still unsure what the lack of fetters signified in regards to his situation.
Determining that viewing his surroundings was the best way to gain information necessary to formulate a viable hypothesis concerning his current status, he struggled to raise his eyelids. He opened his eyes just a crack, figuring he needed no more than that to see what lay outside ... and immediately slammed them shut again, groaning as the brightness invaded his brain, stabbing like iron spikes into his already tender head.
"Should you be taking away all the pain medication?" The tone was worried, with just enough anger to harden it at the edges.
"I need to assess his pain level, Colonel. I promise I won't make him endure any more than is necessary to evaluate his condition." Patience and understanding permeated the words.
The unintentionally overheard conversation answering his inquiry definitively, Daniel abandoned his experiment. Focusing on the voices, he allowed their soothing familiarity to flood his being, pushing the pain aside by slow degrees.
"Go on the other side and talk to him — gently." Understanding made way for rebuke. Having heard the diminutive doctor admonish his lover in such a manner when they were waiting for Sam to regain consciousness, Daniel knew Janet suspected Jack might just order him to wake up.
Inwardly, Daniel smiled. An image appeared before his mind's eye of Jack's piercing eyes and tight mouth, tilted in an irreverent smirk — a silent smart ass reply to Janet's warning.
Daniel was sure he would see just that expression on the real Jack's face, if he dared open his eyes to see it.
But that real Jack existed in a place Daniel didn't care to be a part of just now, a place that would be utterly different from anything he knew prior to his recent ordeal. With the realization that he was home, came the memory of his capture and rape, and the uncertainty of what that meant for his relationship with Jack.
'Jack loves me,' he reminded himself firmly. The sureness of it warmed him and, for the briefest moment he felt the steadfastness of Jack's affection overwhelming the chill of doubt in his heart.
Until his heart was closed off from the comfort by a barrier that repelled Jack's warmth as effectively as a Goa'uld force shield deflects bullets.
'Yes, he does. But he's not the problem, is he?'
Daniel flinched, startled as much by the abrupt materialization of the voice, low and mocking, as by the words it spoke.
Unable to cope with what the voice implied, Daniel squeezed his eyes together and determinedly quashed it. Quickly retreating to his memories of Jack, he focused on his stalwart partner, allowing the images in his mind to flow over him, washing away the tension and conflict the voice had engendered.
Mentally beaming, he conjured the Jack, who, just a few short months ago, had professed his love in such an unexpectedly eloquent torrent of flowery phrases, Daniel had been unable to breathe under the onrush.
Recalling the way that Jack had taken his hand that night, Daniel gasped at the sensation of fingers ghosting over his own, encircling them in a tender grasp. The fingers tightened when Daniel attempted to pull his hand away.
"Doc?"
Jack's voice, raised an octave above normal, conspired together with the quickened tone of the monitor which audibly registered his increased heart rate, to bring him back from his sanctuary.
"Daniel?" Janet's voice dragged him further into reality. "Daniel, I need you to wake up," Janet directed, softly but firmly. "Come on Daniel, open your eyes."
Knowing it was only a matter of time before Janet yanked his eyelids up to shine her penlight in them, Daniel sighed resignedly and forced his swollen tongue between cracked lips.
"Ligh..." he croaked.
"Ah, sorry," Janet said.
Observing through his still-closed eyelids that the brilliance of the room had decreased considerably, Daniel raised them slowly, blinking into focus the face that bobbed dizzily above him.
"We'll give you a few minutes to adjust." Janet's smile was almost as bright as the pre-dimmed lights.
Daniel opened his mouth to thank her when the tickle that had begrudgingly quieted in the back of his throat awoke with a vengeance. Coughing explosively, he jerked convulsively against the pillows, a cry of pain escaping amid the dry hacks. One strong hand slipped behind his neck, another settling carefully against his chest, steadying him while he rode out the paroxysm.
"Here." Cold moisture touched parched lips, which opened automatically to receive it.
Daniel rolled the ice over his tongue, closing his eyes again to fully experience the blessed wetness coating his mouth and sliding down his throat, drowning the tickle.
Jack gently positioned him back on the pillows as Janet dabbed at the tears his coughing fit had shaken loose.
"Better?"
Humming his affirmative response, Daniel slumped, exhausted, into the pillows.
On Janet's sharply spoken, "Daniel," his eyes flew open.
"Don't go back to sleep yet," she directed mildly, pulling a pair of sterile gloves from a box on the rollaway table nearby. "I need to check your wounds, okay?" It was not really a question, though she phrased it as one. "If it looks like the infection is under control, we'll be taking you to surgery to repair your ankle."
Daniel scrunched his brow, a questioning expression Janet easily read.
"You broke your ankle when your escape pod hit the planet," she explained patiently, the words offering information, the voice comfort.
Sighing, Daniel nodded understanding.
"Okay. Let me look at you." Janet's digits tenderly probed the vicinity of his left temple. "Turn your head a bit to your right," she instructed.
Remembering that Jack was on his right, and not yet ready to see the hurt and anger he feared he'd find in his lover's eyes, Daniel lowered his eyelids before complying with the request.
"Okay, Daniel, I'm going to remove the bandage on your neck. Keep your head turned for me."
As the tape pulled away from his skin, Daniel's still fuzzy mind amplified the sensation, calling forth the moment when Osiris's teeth had penetrated the skin, at the same time the Goa'uld's cock had penetrated his ass.
Inhaling spasmodically, Daniel twisted away from her touch. "No," he gasped sharply. Though nearly inaudible, the denial was powerful, infused as it was with fear and anger.
The hands leapt from his skin. Distantly, he heard a bleated, "Don't touch him!"
Daniel writhed again, and lifted his face in Jack's direction, harsh breaths gusting over tensely parted lips, eyes burning with rage.
Jack froze, his hands hovering over Daniel's shoulder and arm.
"You can't hold him, Colonel. He's having a flashback. Restraining him could reinforce the image his mind has created and he'll react accordingly."
"I know that!" Jack snarled. The instinct to soothe Daniel visibly warred with the requirement that, for Daniel's sake, he keep his distance. He stepped back, winding impotent arms around his midsection. Cringing, he watched helplessly as Daniel muttered and thrashed on the bed.
"He'll wear himself out in a minute. We just need to watch he doesn't dislodge his IV."
True to her prediction, less than a minute later, Daniel laid quietly, eyes closed, his face and neck glistening with sweat. Except for the frantic pumping of his lungs, it might have been assumed that he'd lost consciousness again.
"Daniel?" Janet's concerned query came out as a strained whisper.
"Sorry," Daniel muttered.
Realizing that he had taken a trip back to the ha'tak, dragging his doctor and this lover with him, Daniel felt a warm flush of mortification creep across his skin. His forehead drew tight, knotting over the bridge of his nose, as the back pain that had finally settled to a dull ache shortly after his waking, spiked distressingly across his flank.
"No, it's..." Janet stopped mid-sentence, the reassurance she was about to utter discarded. Nothing about this situation was alright.
Pulling a shaky breath, Daniel turned towards her and opened misery-filled eyes, his hesitant gaze meeting Janet's kind, understanding one.
Her palm held out to him, fingers splayed as though confirming they held no hidden dangers, Janet slowly lowered her hand to Daniel's shoulder. It rested softly there and she smiled down at him — a tight, sympathetic smile that to Daniel's eyes stopped just short of being a grimace.
Janet stroked the shoulder with her fingertips before taking the hand away. She quickly checked his pulse and respiration, then, removing the penlight from her coat pocket, gently pressed her thumb above his left eyelid. "I'm going to check your pupil responses. Let me know if the light is too uncomfortable."
"'Kay," Daniel breathed even as the light hit his left eye. Though the brightness marginally increased the pain in his head, he remained mum.
"Do you know where you are?" Janet asked softly, pocketing her penlight.
"Infirmary." Daniel swept his tongue across his bottom lip. "But not a minute ago."
"You had a flashback?" An unnecessary question as the signs were clear.
His affirming nod was barely discernable.
"Okay," she cooed, "I think it would be better if you keep your focus on me while I..."
"Yeah." The word hastily ejected, Daniel cast his eyes downward, wishing he were back in the blissful world of unconsciousness.
"Daniel."
Waiting for him to train his eyes on her, Janet reached towards his neck. "I'm taking the bandage off now. It's alright. You're safe here."
Hating that Janet had to treat him like a frightened child, Daniel swallowed convulsively, determined to stay in the here and now. His eyes cast a grapple hook towards Janet's, anchoring his consciousness in the peaceful depths of her serene brown orbs.
Janet offered a reassuring smile then with deliberate care lifted the gauze from the bite wound on his neck. Gently palpating the surrounding area, she pulled the gauze free from his skin. "Good, the antibiotics are working," she announced, her voice encouraging. "This wound is healing nicely."
Moving around the bed, Janet glanced up at Jack, who instinctually stepped back to give her room.
Reaching up to his shoulder, Janet called Daniel's name again, making sure she had his attention before removing the gauze from his knife wound, describing each stage of the exam as before.
"Okay. Good." She added a nod, satisfied that her probing fingers had detected no complications. She repeated the process, checking the wounds on his wrists.
Her comfortable façade slipped for just a second when she leaned back and glanced at his hip. The smile returned as she said, "Just one more to go."
Adroitly removing the blanket that covered the second bite wound, careful not to expose him unnecessarily, Janet again locked her gaze with Daniel's. Receiving his assent, she turned to her work.
"Okay. I'm going to take the bandage away from the wound..."
Daniel watched Janet slowly ease the tape away from his skin, concentrating on her deft fingers as they moved over his thigh. When Janet lifted the gauze, a soft grating sound drew Daniel's attention to his right.
Jack cleared his throat again, his face twisted in an angry moue, his eyes staring holes in ground.
Recognizing the disgust clear in Jack's expression, Daniel groaned softly. Unprepared to consider the ramifications of his lover's dark scowl, he quickly threw up a wall, shutting away behind it all of his feelings for Jack, until such time as he was better able to deal with them.
Janet pulled her hands back, alarmed by Daniel's stifled vocalization. "Daniel, did that hurt?"
"No, Janet," Daniel replied mechanically. "You didn't hurt me." He shifted his gaze to the doctor as Jack's eyes lifted from the floor and turned in his direction.
Janet studied Daniel's face for a moment, her forehead wrinkling at his suddenly closed-off manner. Nodding acceptance of his avowal, still her lingering gaze revealed a suspicion that something had just caused Daniel pain.
"Okay," she sighed when Daniel's eye fled from hers. "This wound is healing as well." After quickly treating and re-bandaging the wound, she lifted the blanket back over Daniel's hip, tucking it gingerly under his ribs.
Removing her gloves, Janet swept his stiff form with a critical gaze, experienced eyes easily noting his discomfort.
"What about the rest of you? How's the pain?"
"I'm fine," Daniel responded automatically, the stressed quality of his voice belying the assurance.
"Uh-uh. Give me a number," Janet demanded, donning her stern doctor mask in response to what she referred to as his petulant child persona. Concentrating her penetrating gaze on Daniel's shuttered eyes; Janet patiently awaited the inevitable end to this game Daniel always insisted on playing.
Daniel stared back, but as the seconds passed, his determination waned with his strength. Finally, sucking in his bottom lip, unwittingly giving credence to Janet's view that he was acting like a stubborn two-year-old, Daniel sighed dramatically.
"Eight," he ground out, defeated.
"Okay." Janet nodded curtly, receiving no joy from beating Daniel at his own game. "I'll get you something for the pain. Karen will be in to re-bandage these wounds."
Janet turned to Jack. "You need to be ready to leave when I get back, sir," she stated, giving him her equivalent of a two-minute warning. "We'll be prepping Daniel for surgery soon."
From the periphery of his vision, Daniel saw Jack nod his understanding. The CMO spun sharply and they watched Janet's back until she exited the room. As soon as she was gone, Jack stepped forward, fully into Daniel's line of sight, and lightly fingered the edges of the younger man's blanket.
Trying not to study Jack too obviously, still Daniel cut his gaze quickly in his lover's direction. Jack's eyes were riveted to the spot where his digits fidgeted, apparently fascinated with the activity.
Jack cleared his throat several times, and shifted his gaze between his fingers and Daniel's face, but neither man said anything for half a minute.
As the uncomfortable standoff continued, Daniel fought the urge to squirm, finding it extremely difficult, for the first time since they had admitted their feelings for each other, to be the focal point of Jack's attention.
"Daniel," Jack finally ventured, his eyes locked to his hands.
"You don't have to keep me company, Jack," Daniel blurted, the forced nature of his words the result of his mounting anxiety. "Karen will be in any second."
"You want me to go?" Jack asked, his tone wounded, his eyes leaping to Daniel's face.
"No," Daniel insisted, not altogether convincingly. "I just meant I'll be fine alone for a minute."
Daniel's eyes darted to Jack's, retreating to the top of his blanket covered toes as soon as they made contact. He had only a second to wonder at the conflict he'd seen there.
"Colonel, I need you to clear out."
Jack's head came up, and he sneered at Janet as she crossed the threshold, Nurse Karen and two orderlies in tow. Grudgingly acknowledging the order, he continued to watch Daniel.
While Karen took Daniel's temperature and redressed his wounds, Fraiser and one of the orderlies went about disconnecting equipment. The other wheeled in a gurney that had been parked just outside the room.
Daniel lay impassive, seemingly oblivious to the presence of any of them, including Jack.
"Colonel."
Tearing his eyes away from Daniel, Jack shot a glare at Janet, then, balling his hands, he muttered to Daniel, "I'll see ya later," then hurriedly left the room.
Watching him go, Daniel lifted his left hand to his face. Hoping that the medical staff was too preoccupied to notice, he quickly captured the tear balanced on his lower lash, squashing the tell-tale moisture into oblivion against his blanket-covered leg.
"Janet?"
Having just positioned the needle full of pain killer at the opening to the IV shunt, Janet froze when Daniel's broken voice sounded her name.
Glancing up to find he had her attention, Daniel asked, "Can I talk to you?" His eyes cut to the other occupants of the room, the medical team helping to get him ready for surgery.
Removing the needle from the port, Janet replaced the cap and pocketed the medication. "Karen, gentlemen, give us a minute, please."
Karen nodded, and left immediately. The orderlies exchanged a puzzled glance then followed behind the nurse, one of them looking over his shoulder at Daniel, an undecipherable expression on his face.
"I'm going to raise the bed a bit." Janet warned.
Snapping off the gloves, Janet placed one warm hand on Daniel's arm, and slowly inclined the head of the bed, watching his face for any sign the change in position was causing him additional distress.
Now that his eyes were fully open, Janet noted that the usually vibrant blue orbs were lackluster, not altogether unusual, granted, considering the sedatives and concussion. But, added to the dark circles beneath his eyes, the overall effect made them appear sunken and extremely sad.
'Which, given the circumstances, is also not surprising,' Janet mused.
Once the bed was at the desired height, so that Daniel was nearly eye level with her, Janet stood, waiting for Daniel to speak.
Daniel shifted slightly, wincing in discomfort as the movement pulled at one injury or another. He settled, but instead of beginning the dialogue he had requested, he stared at the opposite wall, distractedly chewing his bottom lip, teeth nervously pulling on loose skin.
Janet frowned at his stiff posture, certain the rigidity was more attributable to his determination to maintain a stoic pretense than to any discomfort resulting from his upright position.
After a moment, when he still hadn't said anything she prompted, "Daniel? Are you alright?"
His eyes finally skittered in her direction, and Janet was taken aback by their dispirited, almost lifeless, aspect.
'Well, what did you expect? Colonel O'Neill may think Daniel is the original "bounce back kid" and he does have an amazing resiliency, but, as Jacob pointed out, even Daniel's going to need time to get over this.'
As the thought hit her, Janet's eyes softened and narrowed and her brow bunched in sympathy.
The instant Janet's countenance modulated from concerned physician to empathetic friend, Daniel's laboriously erected emotional wall started to fall apart. His bottom lip trembled and warm tears spilled from his pain-filled eyes. Finally, Daniel's face crumpled, and, releasing a heart-rending sob, he slid sideways into Janet's waiting arms.
Standing on her toes, Janet wrapped her arms firmly around her friend's torso. Daniel clutched her in a desperate hold and Janet forcibly bit back a yelp as his grasping fingers pinched the back of her arm. Pulling him closer, Janet murmured, softly consoling, and gently rocked the fiercely trembling man who had come to mean so much to her.
Daniel slid down in the bed until the heels of Janet's shoes rested back on the floor. Janet marveled that, even in his desolation, Daniel was apparently conscious of the strain that taking his full weight had put on her.
If he asked her to, Janet would gladly bear that burden and more. Silently, she encouraged him to draw every measure of comfort he could from her strong embrace.
Yet the longer he wept his wretchedness into her shoulder, the less sure Janet was of her ability to absorb his misery. Each anguished whimper tore at her soul, until, finally, her heartbreak spilled from her eyes.
After several minutes, Daniel loosened his hold.
Taking her cue from him, Janet released her friend and took a shuffling step back. As Daniel rolled onto his back, Janet snagged a handful of tissues from the box on the bedside table, handing half to her patient and dabbing at her own eyes with the other.
Sniffling loudly, Janet offered a wan smile. "Dumb question, huh?" she remarked, in reference to the inquiry that had precipitated his breakdown.
Rubbing the tissues coarsely over and under his eyelids, Daniel enclosed them in a fist. He huffed a small laugh then let loose a shaky sigh.
"I'm sor —"
"No." Janet cut him off firmly. "Don't you apologize."
Realizing from his startled reaction that she had come on a bit strong in her admonishment, Janet took a moment to collect herself, turning to toss her tissues in the waste bin. Softening her gaze, she came again to Daniel's bed side and rested a cautious hand on his forearm.
"Daniel, what you're feeling is normal. You've been horribly brutalized and your body is still in shock. You'll likely be very emotional for a while, but, believe it or not, crying is a good thing right now."
"Yeah?" Daniel's mouth lifted in a dubious little smile. "'Cause I don't feel any better." His gaze locked on his long lithe fingers as they tugged idly at the gauze surrounding his right wrist.
Janet gently grasped his hand and pulled it away from his bandages. "I know," she replied, understanding clear in her voice.
Using the wadded-up mass of tissue to sop up the stray tears that still lined his haggard face, Daniel gestured shyly to Janet's shoulder. "Anyway, I was actually going to apologize for soaking your lab coat."
Janet glanced at the patch of wetness and shrugged.
"Occupational hazard," she said, smiling reassuringly. "Comes with the job."
Grabbing another handful of tissues Janet thrust them in Daniel's direction. After he took them, she held the hand open, offering to take the sad remains of the tissues that had again disappeared into his fist.
Daniel dropped the tightly compressed paper into her waiting hand. "Thank you," he whispered hoarsely.
Rubbing his arm soothingly with her free hand, Janet replied, "Anytime." She turned to discard his tissues.
Daniel sighed again and sagged into the pillows. "Jack knows?"
Straightening, Janet stared at him for a second, confused at first by his barely audible inquiry.
"Yes," she confirmed simply when she realized he was asking whether the Colonel was aware that he had been sexually assaulted.
He nodded distractedly. "Who else?" Daniel's mounting agitation was manifested in the action of his slender fingers, which slowly shredded the tissues Janet had just offered.
Placing a hand over his frantically working digits, a move designed both to still his fidgeting and offer support, Janet leveled her eyes in a stern glare — her patented 'You need to rest, now' face.
"Daniel, this isn't going to help —"
His eyes darted upward and he countered her glare with a determined one of his own. "Who else?" he asked more insistently.
Sighing heavily, Janet leaned a hip against the bed. Gently squeezing the hand beneath hers, she fixed her eyes to his, watching him closely.
"Sam and Teal'c know," she began, her voice quiet and gentle. "And, of course, General Hammond."
Daniel's head bobbed slowly.
"Karen, Barbara and Lieutenant Miller will be your nurses, so they've all been briefed. I needed two orderlies, Jeffries and, um, Singleton to get you ready for surgery, but they've been given no details of your injuries.
"I've not told anyone else directly, but, while nothing positive was determined until your exam, it is possible that some of the personnel on the rescue mission made certain deductions from your injuries..."
"The bites." Daniel's eyes wandered down to their conjoined hands and his bottom lip disappeared into his mouth.
"Yes," Janet confirmed, "and some of the bruises. I had two medics with me on the planet. Sgt. Marcus helped me assess you and get you ready for transport. Airman Gaylor was apprised of your condition.
"I've warned all of my people against revealing confidential patient information."
A forced puff of air passed between Daniel's lips, expelling his bottom lip in the process, and Janet realized that Daniel had been holding his breath. Seemingly of its own volition, her thumb started moving along the top of his hand, the steady motion soothing both doctor and patient.
"Who else was on the rescue team?" Daniel forced out, his need to know warring visibly with his reluctance to learn the information.
"SGs 3 and 6. SG-3 was in the immediate vicinity when we extracted you from the escape pod, as was Major DaSilva. I'm certain Colonel O'Neill and/or General Hammond has instructed Colonel Reynolds and Major DaSilva to caution their teams against discussing any details of the rescue without prior authorization from one of them.
"I also spoke with Jacob, Ka'lel and Sa'reb, and they all agreed that there is no reason for the Tok'ra or the rebel Jaffa to know the details of your captivity, only that you were safely returned to us."
Daniel's head came up, eyes and mouth opened in surprise. He blinked twice.
"You'll be fully briefed when you're stronger," Janet declared, "but for now, all you need to know is that both the Tok'ra and the rebel Jaffa sent representatives with information regarding your abduction. And, once we had a plan for your rescue, both Jacob and Ka'lel offered their help."
Daniel's forehead tightened, signifying that his mind was processing that bit of news. Finally he asked, "And Sa'reb is okay?"
Janet smiled. "Sa'reb is fine. His pod landed safely on the planet and he helped us get you out."
Again Daniel nodded. Neither of them said any more for a minute or so.
Observing him, Janet knew from the lines between Daniel's brows that his brilliant mind was working through the number of people who knew about his rape and the odds of keeping the information completely confidential — a hunch that was confirmed when he asked softly, "So everyone who knows, or might know, has agreed not to say anything or has been ordered not to say anything..." he pulled a hurried breath, "but you still can't promise me that it won't get out?"
His eyes, when they met hers, held an odd mix of hope and resignation. Janet wanted so badly to satisfy the hopeful half.
"No, Daniel, I'm sorry. We'll do our very best to keep the details private, but, no, I can't give you a one hundred percent guarantee."
His eyes retreated to their clasped hands again, and the left side of his face twitched slightly, before he nodded understanding.
Janet squeezed his hand. "There's nothing to be ashamed of Daniel. Sa'reb says that you were remarkably brave."
Daniel sniffed and lifted the tissues to poke at his nose. "I don't feel remarkably brave," he rasped.
Frowning in sympathy, Janet squeezed his hand again and slowly pulled her own from his grasp. Straightening, she rested the hand on his arm.
"Are you ready for the pain meds?" she asked, extracting the needle from her pocket.
"Yeah," Daniel sighed. "I could use a little oblivion just now."
- 21 -
"Way to go, O'Neill," Jack quietly berated himself, stomping from Daniel's private room. "You couldn't find something to say, just to ease his mind?"
Falling heavily against the wall, Jack irritably swiped a hand through his hair. Letting the hand drop to the back of his neck, he inhaled deeply, forcing out the breath, and his ire, with a whoosh.
Slumping further, he searched the ceiling. 'But, God, what could I have said? Wouldn't any expression of love have reminded him of the physical part of our relationship? And what if that had reminded him of ...?'
Growling softly, Jack closed his eyes, running the events of the last twenty minutes through his head, trying to think what he could have done differently. After a moment, he grudgingly admitted the exercise was pointless.
The uneasiness emanating from Daniel had been a palpable presence between them, making Jack wary even of making eye contact. Yet he kept hoping that the younger man would look up and catch his eye, would see the love he was hesitant to express in words but couldn't keep from his gaze when he looked at Daniel.
Having witnessed Daniel's reaction to Janet's touch, Jack now despaired of Daniel's ever accepting his touch again. Still, he had to find a way to let Daniel know he would be there to support and comfort him, if that was what Daniel wanted.
Putting the quandary aside for reflection at a more opportune time, Jack trudged through the infirmary, having decided to go forward with his plan to visit first General Hammond, then Lou Ferretti.
It had been nearly ten hours since Sarah Gardner and Agent Webb had been brought back to the mountain. Though Ferretti and the general had conducted preliminary interviews, Jack had been occupied with Daniel's rescue and return, and hadn't taken time to meet with either of them at length about those interviews. Intending to question Daniel's former lover and her bodyguard while he waited for the younger man to get out of surgery, Jack needed first to find out what the others had already learned.
Spying Dr. Warner as the surgeon wandered into the infirmary, Jack waved to the amiable man.
"Hey, Doc. You're doing Daniel's surgery?"
"No, Colonel, though I am assisting. Dr. Buchammer, the orthopedic surgeon will be doing the actual procedure."
"How long's something like that take?" Jack inquired casually.
"A few hours, but Dr. Jackson probably won't be in any shape to receive visitors until dinnertime," Warner replied with a smile, obviously guessing the real information Jack was after.
Jack's mouth tensed. 'Am I that transparent?'
"Thanks, Doc," he nodded and resumed his quest for his CO and Major Ferretti.
Jack stopped in the locker room to change and shower before proceeding to Level 27. His hair still damp, he crossed the briefing room, grateful to find Hammond's office door open. He stopped just outside the room and rapped lightly on the doorframe.
Glancing up from the report he was reviewing, Hammond motioned Jack inside, leaning easily back into his chair.
"Colonel. How is Dr. Jackson this morning?"
Jack stepped into the office, quietly closing the door behind him.
"He was awake when I left him, but Dr. Fraiser was taking him to surgery for the broken ankle. She kicked me out of the infirmary." His shoulders lifted in a lethargic shrug. Sauntering across the office, he also closed the door opposite the general's desk, the one that led into the hallway.
Hammond eyed his 2IC critically. "I take it you have something you want to discuss?"
Jack was not surprised by the question. Long years of observing O'Neill in crisis situations had taught the general how to read the colonel's true state of mind, even when the man was doing his utmost to project calm assurance — like he was now. Hammond had quickly learned to detect the edge beneath the colonel's casual manner, a subsurface tension that existed only when O'Neill knew he was heading into battle.
Jack moved over to the desk, resting his hand on the back of one of the chairs. "Yes, sir, I do."
Gesturing to the chair, Hammond reached out and flipped the file folder closed.
"What can I do for you, Colonel?"
Jack slowly lowered himself into his seat, his left knee popping with the strain, and his gaze steadily met the general's attentive eyes.
"It's about Sarah Gardner, sir. I want to talk to her." Remembering Agent Webb, he amended, "To both of them."
Hammond nodded. "I expected as much. Have you had any sleep since this whole thing started?"
Slightly taken aback, Jack nodded. "Fraiser ordered me to take a nap before spending the night with Daniel." He winced faintly at his unfortunate choice of words. "And I dozed off and on in the chair during the night."
Hammond watched him for a moment longer. "Very well, Colonel."
"Thank you, sir." Jack's mouth lifted in a grateful grin. He shifted uncomfortably, scrubbing his hand across his cleanly shaven cheek. "So, you said earlier you didn't learn much when you spoke with Sarah?"
"I limited my questions to her knowledge of this base and her time as a host to Osiris," Hammond replied evenly. "I thought I'd leave the more... personal questions to you."
Jack flashed an appropriately chagrined smirk. "Anything I should know going in?"
"She denied any memory of the Goa'uld. Though, I got the distinct impression she was lying through her teeth," Hammond offered.
Jack's brows rose sharply. "Ya think?"
Hammond huffed a small, humorless laugh then sobered quickly. "If what you told me earlier is true — don't worry, Colonel, I believe your version of events — Dr. Gardner is quite an actress."
"Or completely off her rocker," Jack concluded. "Personally, I'm inclined to go with the second scenario. If she's really as nuts as she appears to be, she's potentially dangerous to Daniel and possibly the SGC as well. I'm going to proceed with that presumption in mind."
Hammond pursed his lips, studying O'Neill for a few seconds. "Obviously, you'll want to interview her alone."
Returning Hammond's considering gaze, Jack let none of his concern at that statement show on his face.
"Actually, I was thinking of having Ferretti sit in, but, yes, sir, I would like to have the guards wait outside. I'd also like to do this without security cameras. I think that's the best way to keep whatever information she offers from ending up in the wrong hands."
Hammond nodded absently. "And you think she's unbalanced?"
"Yes, sir. I do," Jack replied automatically, his brows drawing closer together.
Compressing his lips, Hammond declared evenly, "Then you have my leave to arm yourself when you go in there."
Jack's lips parted in surprise. He'd had no intention of going any where near Sarah Gardner without his weapon, but, by sanctioning that plan, Hammond had just relieved Jack of the specter of suspicion in the event he actually had to use it.
"Thank you, sir," Jack finally acknowledged, hoping his gratitude also showed in his eyes. "With your permission, sir, I'd like to get to it."
"Permission granted, Colonel. I've got a full schedule this afternoon, but why don't you stop back here at 1700."
"Yes, sir. I'll see you at 1700." Getting quickly to his feet and heading to the door, Jack twisted the door knob and stepped into the corridor without looking back.
"Just watch yourself, Jack," Hammond muttered to the empty room. "Daniel's going to need you alive and well, when this is all over."
"Hey, Lou," Jack called, followed quickly by, "At ease, gentlemen," as the men at the table with Ferretti stiffened to rise. He caught the eye of each man, thankful that they all held his gaze with no indication of embarrassment or contempt.
Returning his attention to the major, Jack cocked his head in the direction of the exit. "Sorry to interrupt your lunch, but I need your help."
"Of course, sir." Setting his half-eaten sandwich back on its plate, Ferretti wiped his fingers on his napkin and stood. Gesturing towards his tray, knowing that one of his teammates would clean up for him, Ferretti followed the colonel into the hallway.
Taking just a few steps away from the doors, Jack guided his friend against the wall. "Again, sorry you couldn't finish your meal, but the commissary at lunchtime is not the proper place for this conversation. I'll make it up to you."
"Not a problem, sir." Hearing boots, Lou said nothing more while two BDU-clad men, whom he recognized as members of SG-12, approached. Along with Jack, he nodded amiably to their colleagues, waiting until they passed out of earshot before he again turned to his superior. "I assume this has something to do with Daniel?"
"Indirectly." Noting the inquisitive quirk of Lou's brow, Jack clarified, "What did you find out in your interview with Agent Webb?"
"Ah." Lou shrugged. "She didn't say anything especially intriguing. According to Webb, she and Sarah pretty much stick to a routine of work, shopping and home. She insisted she knows nothing of any shrine, though she didn't seem surprised when I told her we'd found Daniel's pictures in Sarah's room?"
"And what about...?" Jack vaguely waved his hand in lieu of adding his and Daniel's names to the question, confident that Lou would recognize he was asking whether Webb knew about their relationship.
His eyes automatically scanning the hall for hidden eavesdroppers, Lou shook his head. "Apparently Sarah told her that Daniel is an old boyfriend who has recently come back into her life."
"Really?" Jack drawled. He clenched his jaw, the musculature bulging noticeably.
"Either she doesn't know or she's saving that bit of knowledge — though I can't imagine why she'd hold on to it unless it hasn't occurred to her to use it as leverage to get herself released."
Thinking to offer his comments on the questionable intelligence of the average NID agent, Jack instead said, "I'm gonna talk to her myself. You wanna come along?"
"Sure," Lou agreed, filing in beside Jack when the older man began walking down the hallway. "Though being NID trained, the good-cop, bad-cop thing might not work on her."
"I'm not interested in playing games," Jack growled. "If she knows something about what Sarah's been up to, she's gonna tell me." Stopping at the elevator, Jack swiped his keycard through the call mechanism with undue force.
Lou followed him into the car, and as he turned to face front, Jack saw his friend's eyes dart down and to the side. Dropping his own gaze, he frowned at the tightly balled fist near his thigh. Purposefully stretching out his fingers, he firmly shook the hand to further release his pent up tension.
Jack slid through the doors as they opened on Level 16, marched through the hallway and directly to the security station. "Have Agent Webb moved to an interview room," he barked. "And I'll want to talk with Sarah Gardner when I'm through with her."
"Yes, sir," one of the guards, a young airman in his twenties, answered smartly, reaching for the phone as the colonel turned and stalked towards the holding area, his companion close behind.
Turning the corner onto the hallway lined with interview rooms, Jack slowed, nodding to the guard, a captain, who opened one of the doors and motioned them inside. "The prisoner will be here shortly, sir. As ordered, the security camera has been deactivated."
Silently thanking Hammond for his foresight in calling ahead, Jack grunted acknowledgment and preceded Lou into the room. Absently registering the door close behind them, he gazed around. Noting with satisfaction that this interrogation room had no obs loft, he surmised that Hammond had specifically directed that all interviews with these two detainees would be strictly confidential.
He turned to Lou. "Looks like you'll be standing." He shrugged apologetically at the absence of a third chair at the interview table.
"Works for me," Ferretti replied blithely. "I'll just lean against the wall over there and watch the master in his element. Who knows, maybe I can pick up a few pointers on the subtle art of beating information out of someone without actually touching them."
"Yeah." Jack tipped his head, easily accepting Lou's reference to his reputation as a deft interviewer. "I got nothin' on Teal'c, though," he groused good-naturedly, a crooked grin twisting his lips.
All humor fled, both men directing their attention to the door as the locking mechanism hummed. The captain who had shown them into the room crossed the threshold and stood with his back to the door, holding it open.
The clank of chains heralded Agent Fredericka Webb's presence before she came into view. Topping her guard by a good three inches, she shuffled, head down, to the doorway. Lifting her face as she entered the room, her eyes widened slightly and locked with recognition on her visitors, a sly smile creeping across her features. She paused long enough that the guard escorting her was forced to give her a gentle nudge towards the table.
Settling the prisoner in the chair opposite the door, the guard glanced up sharply at Ferretti's barked, "Thank you, Sergeant." Shooting his eyes to the colonel, he found that O'Neill's attention was riveted on the woman at the table. Glancing down, he raised a brow at the intensity of the look the shackled woman leveled on the base 2IC.
Lou cleared his throat and the sergeant startled. Having gotten the man's attention, the major gestured emphatically towards the door. His cheeks flaming red, the young officer moved to obey.
Watching the man out, Lou nodded dismissal to the captain, who tightened his mouth briefly before following the younger man into the hallway, closing the door behind him.
Testing the door unnecessarily, Lou slowly paced to the right of the table and settled his back against the wall. Arms crossed casually over his chest, his stiff posture marked his still-alert status.
Keenly aware of everything going on around him, Jack continued his staring match with Freddie. The second Lou came into his peripheral vision, he snatched the chair from under the table and executed a controlled fall into it. Squaring his shoulders against the chair back, he flashed a tight smile.
"You remember Major Ferretti," he said conversationally, jerking his thumb at Lou. "He's the guy you tried to bullshit last night." Folding his arms on the table, Jack leaned towards Freddie. "I think you already know that's not going to work with me."
Sparing Ferretti just a passing glance, Freddie narrowed her eyes at O'Neill, giving him a hard, assessing glare. She shifted easily in her seat, clearly not impressed. Jutting her chin out, she looked down her nose at Jack.
"You won't stop Sarah, you know," she jeered lightly, a note of triumph in the statement.
Managing to restrain his eyebrows from leaping to his hairline, Jack allowed only mild surprise to show. Affecting a mystified gaze at Ferretti, he observed that the major had pushed himself off the wall, obviously finding something 'intriguing' in the agent's comment. Apparently, nothing like it had passed Freddie's lips when Lou had first talked to her.
Turning back to Freddie, he shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said, affecting a confused frown.
Freddie's contemptuous glower deepened, augmented by the addition of a supercilious smirk. "Don't play dumb with me, Colonel. I know all about your pathetic efforts to keep Sarah and Daniel Jackson apart."
Jack stiffened, a chill of alarm skittering up his back when she uttered Daniel's name. He attempted to conceal his ill-ease by relaxing back into his chair.
Her grin took on an amused tilt, unaccountably softening her features. "I also know that Daniel has never refused to take Sarah's phone calls, in spite of your protests." Giving voice to her amusement, Freddie snickered, raising a hand to mask her blossoming smile. The smile faded quickly, replaced by a boldly ominous stare. "It's only a matter of time before she gets everything she wants from him."
"That is so not gonna happen," Jack growled, reflexively compelled to defend even the suggestion of a threat to his lover.
"He doesn't belong to you, or to the SGC. He will choose to leave here once he learns what Sarah has to offer him."
"World domination, subjection of millions, absolute power." Jack tossed off the 'offerings' like items on a grocery list. Smirking self-satisfied at her startled reaction to his blatant ridicule Jack added as though letting her in on a secret, "Daniel's done the galactic dictator thing before. He told me it wasn't such a good time."
"Sarah will have Daniel!" Freddie proclaimed fiercely, thumping her fists on the table to underscore the assertion. "She is destined to greatness and he is the means by which she will attain it!"
"What the hell," Ferretti muttered, taking a step towards the table.
Jack was only slightly unnerved by her outburst. His eyes never leaving Freddie's, he halted Lou's forward progress with the lift of his fingers. "So you've bought into Sarah's despot by proxy plan, huh?" he asked knowingly.
Sparing a glance for Lou, Jack noted, that Ferretti's brows were raised significantly.
Returning his full attention to the prisoner, he aimed a patronizing sneer at her. "You do know she's crazy, right?"
Momentarily taken aback by the statement, Freddie scoffed, "Of course you would think that. Your mind is too small, too prosaic. You don't have the insight necessary to see the truth."
"What, and you do?" Jack returned, matching his level of scorn to hers.
Freddie's disdainful leer made a re-appearance. "He will come to her, Colonel. You can't stop it."
"Yeah, you said that already." Pushing his palms against the table, Jack slid his chair back and stood. Looking pointedly at their guest, he said, "Let's go, Lou. I think I've learned everything I need to know here."
Spinning on the ball of his foot, Jack stomped to the door, pounding once. It opened almost immediately and, without looking back, Jack slipped through as soon as there was enough clearance.
He turned to watch Lou Ferretti follow him out, wearing a decidedly perplexed frown. Nodding approval as two guards entered the room immediately upon their exit, Jack addressed the captain in charge, who closed the door behind them. "What about Sarah Gardner?"
"On her way down, sir. We'll be putting her in the room across the way." He nodded at a door just down the hall, before which stood another member of base security.
"Good," Jack said, glancing in the indicated direction. "Keep Agent Webb here until I've started my interview with Dr. Gardner. I don't want them encountering each other in the hallway."
"Yes, sir."
Jack turned away as the captain resumed his attentive posture outside Agent Webb's door. He suspected that the officer might be feeling a bit resentful at being treated like a raw recruit, though none of it showed in the young man's manner. The specific direction regarding contact between the prisoners was unwarranted — that was SOP. But Freddie's unwavering devotion to Sarah made her more dangerous than your run of the mill co-conspirator. There was no telling what she might do if confronted with the sight of her 'god' in chains.
"Jack."
Swinging suddenly tired eyes on Ferretti, Jack sighed at his friend's expectant expression.
"You wanna tell me what that was about?" Lou questioned, clearly agitated by the turn of events.
Jack glanced at his watch. "Tell you what. I'm going to debrief Hammond at 1700. You wanna come with? I'll even treat you to dinner after."
Eyeing the colonel speculatively, Lou finally nodded agreement.
"Okay. I'll hunt you down when I'm through here and we can go over everything."
Both men pivoted, alerted to the imminent arrival of Sarah Gardner by the distance rattle of metal restraints.
"I'll probably be in the main armory for the next few hours," Lou offered helpfully.
"I'll find you."
As soon as his friend turned away, retreating hastily down the hall in the opposite direction of the clatter, Jack strode to the interview room in which Sarah Gardner was to make her appearance. Gesturing for the guard to let him in, he pushed his way past the airman and stalked to the middle of the room.
Standing to the right of the table, he shoved his hands into his pockets, his brow pulled tight in thought.
Outwardly he relaxed, automatically schooling his features to casual indifference when the door buzzed open, admitting Sarah Gardner and one of her guards. A second guard stood in the hallway just outside the open door.
"Colonel O'Neill," Sarah chirped brightly. "What a pleasant surprise."
Exuding sensuality, even in her olive drab prison jumpsuit, Sarah sashayed across the floor, every bit as commanding as Jack would have expected her to be while host to Osiris.
Watching in apparent disinterest as the guard guided Sarah to the chair on the far side of the table, Jack let loose a silent calming breath.
Once Sarah was seated, the guard removed his hand from her arm and stood back.
"We're keeping the cuffs on then?" Sarah inquired directly to O'Neill, holding her restrained hands up in front of her. "Afraid I might overpower you both and escape?" she asked, her voice cheerfully mocking.
Ignoring her attempt to goad him, Jack tipped his head towards the door. "Lieutenant, you can wait in the hall." Jack's tone left no question that the apparent invitation was an order.
Straightening immediately, the guard snapped a brisk, "Yes, sir," and left them alone.
The lock hadn't even clicked when Sarah turned in her seat to face him. "I hear you got Daniel back."
Already on edge from his confrontation with Webb regarding Sarah's plan for Daniel, Jack yanked his hands from his pockets and stomped menacingly to the table.
"You're not getting anywhere near Daniel. Not if I have anything to say about it."
"But you don't, do you," Sarah mocked. Raising her hands, she skimmed her long neck with the tips of several well-manicured fingers. "Daniel will want to see me. And you won't be able to stop him from coming here." The expression she donned was the epitome of a shit-eating grin.
Jamming his hands back in his pockets, Jack clenched them into tight fists and spun away from her too-knowing smile, grudgingly conceding the first point to her.
'Damn it, she's right. Once Daniel knows she's here, Doc'll have to permanently sedate him to keep him away.'
Pushing thoughts of that impending conflict aside, Jack hardened his features and moved to stand opposite Sarah, the table a comforting barrier between them. 'I'd actually have to dive across the damn thing to get my hands around her throat,' he reasoned.
Returning his attention to the matter at hand, Jack scowled down at the prisoner. "You know we searched your apartment," he announced, "and your office." He purposefully pulled his hands out of his pockets and tightly gripped the back of the chair in front of him, his nails scraping noisily against the plastic.
"Find anything interesting?" Sarah leaned her left shoulder against the back of her own chair. Lifting her slim arm, she rested it on top of the seatback, dangling the hand casually, its mate suspended by the hand cuff still adorning her wrists. It was a pointed display of the fact that she was not intimidated by his apparently advantageous position.
"You know damn well what we found," Jack snapped. Fast losing patience with her manipulative games, Jack lifted the chair's back legs from the floor. Tempted to slam the chair down onto the concrete, he instead settled it down gently, released it and stepped back. Sweeping Sarah with an appraising glance, he turned to his left and started a slow walk, swinging wide of the table.
"You know, when I talked to you the other day, I thought, 'This one is dangerously close to the edge,'" Jack said, twisting his half-opened hand near his temple to illustrate his point.
A few meters from the table, he pivoted on the ball of his left foot, fixing her with a piercing stare. "But now that I've seen that you actually have yourself a little nook where you worship Daniel, I know for a fact that you are a certifiable whack job."
Sarah's mouth contorted in obvious displeasure. Jack wondered whether her pique was caused by his remark or the fact that his change in position had practically put him at her back.
Without warning, Sarah pushed back her chair and stood, whirling on him. "Your opinion means nothing to me. Obviously, you will never understand that Daniel is worthy of the veneration I offer him. His brilliance —"
"Yadda," Jack shouted over her, his patience at an end. "We are so not gonna revisit your deranged plans to set Daniel up as some sort of godly figurehead with you as defacto deity."
Taking one large step towards her, Jack grabbed a bony wrist. "Sit your ass down," he snarled, yanking her towards him and spinning her until she fell into the chair. "Get out of that chair again and I'll be happy to introduce you to some of the more confining restraints we have to offer. You got that?"
A frantic tapping on the door's observation window drew his attention away from her bowed head.
"Colonel O'Neill?" One of the guards outside the room peered through the window, the barrel of his gun visible in the lower corner.
Jack released Sarah and walked to the door, holding up his hands. "Everything's under control, Lieutenant," he yelled, glancing back at Sarah, who sat sulking, her arms resting on the table. "Dr. Gardner just got a little excited."
Acknowledging the younger man's man reluctant nod with a sloppy salute, Jack turned back to Sarah.
Daniel's former lover was hunched over the table, leaning heavily on her elbows. As Jack stepped closer Sarah lifted her head. When her eyes found his, they narrowed, hatred blazing through the cracks like a lighthouse beacon on a foggy sea. Her lips pulled back in a derisive smile, stopping just short of becoming a sneer, exposing an impressive row of perfect white teeth.
'If she's trying to prove she's dangerously nuts, this is so working for me,' Jack thought.
Moving back behind his chair, Jack folded his arms loosely in front of him and met her threatening stare unflinchingly.
Sarah's eyes softened a bit, hatred replaced with something like joy, though the hard smile remained. "You may have Daniel now, but you won't be able to keep him," she trilled mockingly.
"I told you we are not gonna talk about Daniel," Jack decreed. "You are here to answer my questions, the first of which is, where did you get the pictures you plastered all over your bedroom closet?"
Sarah's feral smile disappeared, replaced by a smug grin. She remained maddeningly silent.
"Most of those pictures are at least ten years old, so I'm assuming you had those stashed somewhere in Chicago and someone, maybe your old buddy, Steven Raynor, sent them to you." Jack made a mental note to check on Steven and find out what he knew about Sarah and Osiris.
Ignoring her blatantly haughty smirk, Jack came slowly to the side of the table, stopping a meter or so away to loom over her. "At least two dozen, though, are recent photos."
Sarah watched him, pointedly unimpressed by his intimidation tactics.
"I believe that you took those shots in my backyard," Jack continued, an angry frown briefly adorning his features. "But those others... there are so many of them. Too many."
Jack crossed one arm over his waist. Resting the elbow of the other on top of it he pensively fingered his bottom lip. "You said you drugged Freddie, but I'm wondering whether the function of the drug was to put her out so she wouldn't know what you were up to... or to gain her cooperation."
Her eyebrows rising, Sarah shot him a look of scornful pity, the expression clearly saying what her lips did not — 'I'm not telling you a damn thing and nothing you do can make me.'
Acknowledging the look with a cocky smile, Jack nodded. "Not gonna talk unless it's about Daniel, huh?" He shrugged, the gesture showing that her lack of participation was inconsequential. "Okay, I'll do all the talking then."
Sarah turned away, obviously disinterested in what he had to say.
Jack stared grimly at her stiffly superior form for a second. Unwinding his arms and jamming his hands into his pockets, he pivoted and took a few steps away from her before spinning back with an easy smile.
"You might think you have the upper hand here. But I promise you, eventually, Agent Webb is going to fold."
"Freddie will never betray me," Sarah crowed imperiously, unable to resist the urge to turn and bat mocking eyelashes at him.
Acknowledging that possibility with a shrug, Jack stretched to his full height. Snatching his hands from his pockets, he announced authoritatively. "Ultimately it won't matter, though. You are an obvious threat to a very much valued member of a top secret government project."
The dubious tip of her lips at Jack's description of Daniel's worth was all the response he received before Sarah lowered her head, refusing again to maintain eye contact.
Her reaction, or lack thereof, fueling his ire, Jack raised his figurative blade for the killing stroke.
"The Tok'ra say they've overwritten the memories of your time as a host to Osiris with your own memories." Jack rubbed distractedly at his temple. "Clearly that didn't happen as they intended, and I gotta wonder if that damn memory recall device didn't somehow amplify your previous obsession with Daniel." Jack threw his hand up to indicate the idea really mattered little. "In any event, it won't be all that difficult to convince the President and the Tok'ra that something went horribly wrong when that Goa'uld was taken out of you."
Jack forcefully suppressed a gloating smile when Sarah's head came up, her decidedly self-assured mien faltering a bit. "The Tok'ra are a curious lot. They're gonna want to know what happened."
He chewed for a second on his bottom lip, a stall tactic designed to prolong her apprehension. His mouth barely twitched when Sarah shifted forward then froze, firming her features to mask her anticipation.
Sure he had her complete attention, Jack eagerly passed sentence. "So, we're gonna let them take you and try to figure it out." Spinning, Jack jauntily walked away a few steps. "Of course, they may have to dissect your brain in order to learn anything. But even if they don't have to resort to such a drastic step..." he turned back, capturing and holding her openly hostile gaze, "they are gonna lock you away in one of their deep, dark Tok'ra tunnels somewhere, on another planet, light years away from Daniel, for the rest of your life. Your dreams of world domination will die there with you. And Daniel will go on with his life — and forget you ever existed."
Though he should have expected the reaction, Jack was stunned when Sarah came out of her chair, hurling epithets his way. She swung one clawed hand, catching him just above the left eye. Instinctively, Jack gripped her chained wrists and pushed her away, distantly registering the thump as she fell into the table behind her.
Snarling at the spot of blood that came away on the fingers he pressed to the sting just under his left eyebrow, Jack scowled at the form huddled on the floor beside the table and strode to the door.
"Guard! Call the infirmary. Dr. Gardner's hurt herself."
His fingers again poking at his wound, Jack winced into the palm of his hand and stood back as the guards filed in to check on the prisoner. Seeing Sarah sit up, her angry eyes immediately searching him out, he pointedly returned her glare. Confirming with the lieutenant that she would receive medical attention, he nodded once and stalked from the room.
