One Time Too Many

by anfratata

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author(s).

One Time Too Many

Jack O'Neill leant against the wall of the infirmary, reveling in the feel of the cool concrete on his aching head. The room was a scene of familiar chaos with Janet and her team fussing over three patients, and tripping over the guards two of their new charges required.

It had been one of those days.

Daniel sat in one corner, grumpy as all hell, having gone head to head with Janet several times and lost. She'd pinned him to the bed with a glare, and just for good measure, Jack had thrown Teal'c into the mix to make sure he stayed there.

Of course, it didn't hurt in the slightest to have Teal'c present considering the woman in the bed next to Daniel was still a genuine, bonafide Goa'uld. Sure, Sarah `Osiris' Gardner was knocked out, tranq darts having done a marvelous job earlier in the day, and she did have a couple of those guards attached to her, but as far as he was concerned, it never hurt to be absolutely sure. Hopefully a visit from the Tok'ra would solve all their problems in the near future.

Except perhaps the problem in the last bed.

Carter was hovering, but he couldn't really blame her. She kept glancing in his direction, as if embarrassed, perhaps attempting to hide her concern. Why, he wasn't sure, but since it was Pete Shanahan with the shrapnel embedded in him, it was understandable. Janet was in the process of prepping him for surgery, sending the occasional glare in the direction of the guard Hammond had ordered to be present. The remaining question was how they were going to explain all this to the sharp-eyed cop.

Carter looked at him again.

Okay, maybe this was a good time to make himself scarce.

Seeing that everything was in hand, Jack slipped out of the infirmary to go and debrief General Hammond.

*

To say General Hammond wasn't happy was an understatement.

A full blown weapons battle with a Goa'uld in the middle of suburban street just after dawn, resulting in the loss of a very expensive truck load of surveillance equipment *and* the hospitalization of a civilian, a cop to boot, was really not something destined to leave his face wreathed in smiles or find him heaping praises on the shoulders of the Air Force officer in charge at the scene. Hammond was trying hard not to lose sight of the fact that the mission had ultimately been successful; but he was struggling in the face of the volume of phone calls he'd had to handle insisting he clean up the mess *fast*, and then the number of calls he had had to make to *actually* clear up the mess.

Jack sat at the briefing table, his back rigid in his chair as he obviously picked up the General's displeasure.

"How the hell did it happen, Colonel? Please explain to me why I have a civilian in my infirmary?" Hammond went straight for the kill.

*

The General's searching questions and terse words were doing Jack's headache no good whatsoever.

"I don't know, sir."

Hammond pursed his lips. "That was not the response I wanted to hear. This mission has already ruffled enough feathers, several of which are so high up, I need breathing gear. This was a SG-1 mission and it is reflecting badly on you and your team."

Jack felt his headache grow.

"I can't give you any answers until Lieutenant Shanahan is out of surgery, sir. Until Doctor Fraiser gives the okay that he can be spoken to, my hands are tied."

"What about Major Carter?" The General wasn't going to cut him any slack. "Was she able to shed any light on this?"

Remembering Carter's distraught look, Jack shook his head and immediately regretted it as the pain spiked. "No, sir. She had no idea as to why he was there."

Hammond gave a thoughtful nod and then sat back in the chair, his hands clasped in front of him.

"So, Colonel, what happens next with Shanahan?"

The General's change in direction caught Jack off guard.

"Sir?"

With a sinking feeling, he knew Hammond was passing him the buck.

He shrugged. "We have two options, sir. One, we try the 'stolen new military technology' route. Or two, we get him to sign the disclosure and tell him the condensed version of the truth."

The General nodded briefly. "And which option is the preferred one, Colonel?" Crap. Put me on the spot, why don'tcha, O'Neill winced.

With a shake of his head, an action he immediately regretted as his brain threatened to explode inside his skull, O'Neill leaned forward in his chair resting his hands on the briefing room table. "I don't know, sir. I need to find out more about the man before I can make a decision."

"Then that's your next task." Hammond glanced at his watch. "Doctor Fraiser advised that he would be in surgery for at least two hours and would remain under sedation overnight. I want your decision by 0730 tomorrow morning." He rose from his chair. "Am I clear?"

Jack stopped himself from nodding.

*

Released from the infirmary, Daniel immediately headed to the control room for news on the Tok'ra's arrival. The capture of Osiris was invaluable but he wanted the nightmare to end for Sarah as soon as possible.

Hurrying down the corridor, he collided with Jack as he emerged from one of the record rooms.

"Daniel!" Jack stooped down and picked up a file he had dropped in the collision, but not before Daniel managed to glance at one of the photos it contained.

His eyes narrowed. "Jack, what are you doing?"

"Daniel?"

Daniel tapped the file in Jack's hand. "Is that Pete's bio?"

Jack rubbed his forehead, but Daniel was too busy concentrating on the file to notice. "Yes, Daniel. It is."

"Why have you got it?" Daniel's tone was disapproving.

"Because," Jack responded tiredly, "he stuck his nose into something he shouldn't have. Therefore I now have to decide if he should know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God. So instead of going home, ordering a pizza, having a few beers, putting my feet up and watching The Simpsons, I'm here trawling through Lieutenant Peter Shanahan's past to determine if he's a stable enough character to learn a few things."

"Oh." Daniel shrugged. "When you put it like that..." He looked over Jack's shoulder at the steps leading to the control room. "I'm going to go check on the Tok'ra's ETA." He stepped past Jack. "I'll catch up with you later." He hurried away, missing the flash of pain that fired through his friend's eyes and the weary slump of his shoulders as he gathered the file together and headed off towards his office.

*

At 3am, Jack admitted defeat.

A pile of faxed records lay on his desk, all from official channels. All of which told him absolutely nothing about the real Lieutenant Peter Shanahan. Digger deeper without raising suspicion had been tough and frankly he had got nowhere.

Which was damn frustrating.

His head was pounding as if some vindictive force was hammering away inside his skull with a sledgehammer. He could barely see straight, as it felt as if someone was trying to crush his eyeballs through the back of his head. And sweeping bouts of nausea were making him even more miserable; if that was possible.

He finished his report for General Hammond to read and placed it personally on his CO's desk. In his opinion, they really didn't have an option. Shanahan had seen the whole glowing eyes snake thing and in all honesty, the 'secret Air Force technology' excuse wasn't going to fool him. Therefore he had recommended telling the cop the truth.

As officer in charge at the scene, he accepted full responsibility for Shanahan being there and full responsibility for the decision to tell him enough to keep him quiet.

He just hoped he didn't live to regret it.

*

"Sir?"

Carter's voice behind him stopped Jack as he helped himself to a mug of coffee in the commissary. It was 5.30am, he had barely slept in forty eight hours, his eyes felt gritty and, although his headache had now receded, thanks to a dose of reluctantly taken painkillers, there was still a dull ache. He needed strong black coffee before he tackled anything else.

And twenty-four hours' sleep, he grimaced.

Trying to suppress the urge to sigh, he put the coffee pot down and turned to look at his second in command. "Morning, Carter."

Jack knew Carter had been told Pete was going to make a full recovery, as Janet had given her the news just before Jack had returned to the infirmary for an update late the previous evening. The Major had clearly slept well and her fresh faced look depressed the hell out of him.

"Sir, the General mentioned that you would be making the decision on......" she hesitated, looking awkward, "what Pete will be told."

Jack cradled his coffee cup in his hands and looked longingly at the dark liquid it contained. "That would be correct, Carter."

"And?" Her eyes were pleading.

"My report is on the General's desk. Until he and I discuss it later on this morning, I can't tell you anything."

She nodded. "Yes, sir. I understand."

He tried to think of something reassuring to tell her, but he was so damn tired and for some reason his brain wasn't in gear.

"As soon as the General has made his decision, I'll let you know." He sidestepped around her and left the commissary, taking his precious coffee with him.

*

The decision on what to do with Pete Shanahan was put on the backburner with the arrival of the Tok'ra. After a tense four hours, the Goa'uld Osiris emerged from the isolation room in a stasis tank and, after a brief conversation with the General, the Tok'ra departed through the Stargate.

Sarah had been moved into a semi-private infirmary room and was resting peacefully, Daniel steadfastly remaining at her bedside in order to be there when she awoke.

So, six hours later than previously planned, Jack found himself with General Hammond once again to discuss Pete Shanahan.

"Your recommendation is to inform Lieutenant Shanahan of the SGC operations?" Hammond leaned back in his chair and studied Jack closely.

Jack nodded. "Against my better judgment, yes, sir. We don't have much choice in the matter. He's a police officer. If the cover story wasn't up to scratch it would raise his suspicions and he'd be like a dog without a bone. I can only assume it was his curiosity that found him outside Daniel's place. At least by telling him what the SGC is, we have him bound by the confidentiality disclaimer."

There was a moment's silence as the two men considered the next step. Finally Hammond broke the silence.

"This has put the SGC and the Air Force in an extremely awkward position. Questions are being asked about how a civilian from outside of the SGC was exposed to the threat of a Goa'uld. Indeed questions have also been raised about the validity of the surveillance." Hammond paused. "I authorised the surveillance and therefore I make no bones about justifying my decision to my superiors. However, I am not impressed with the ease with which Lieutenant Shanahan managed to meddle in an SGC operation."

Jack straightened in his chair. "Sir."

Hammond raised his hand to forestall Jack's interruption. "Questions have also been asked about Major Carter's professionalism. It has been implied that she let something slip that gave the Lieutenant the impression there was something more to her job than deep space radar telemetry."

"That's unfair, Sir. I can't respond to that until I've spoken with Shanahan." Jack wasn't happy with the way this was going. "But I can tell you one thing - Carter would never compromise security."

Hammond picked up the file on his desk and handed it back to him.

"Then I suggest that you speak with Shanahan; find out exactly why he was there, and how he knew to be there, while you explain to him that he cannot utter one word about what he is about to learn. And if you find Major Carter to have assisted in his discovery at all, then I want to know about it immediately. Is that clear, Colonel?"

Jack took the file. "Crystal, sir."

*

He found Carter hovering outside the infirmary, which struck him as out of character for the Major. She wasn't a person who wore her emotions on her sleeve, preferring to deal with things quietly and in private. With Shanahan there seemed to be shades to 'desperation' and it worried him. In the back of his mind lingered Hammond's words about her possibly assisting in Shanahan's discovery, and it bothered him despite his protests on the subject to the General. He was damned sure she wouldn't have been unprofessional and placed her career, or at least her position within the Stargate program, at risk. But . . . Hammond was placing the whole thing in his court; and Carter was one of his team. It was now his duty, no matter how unpleasant, to get at the truth.

There were days he hated his job.

"Been waiting long, Major?"

She threw him an odd look and shook her head. "Waiting for what, sir?"

He hated it when she answered a question with a question, so choosing to ignore it, he got down to business.

"General Hammond has agreed to Lieutenant Shanahan being told about the Stargate program."

The look on her face, the absolute relief, started the alarm bells ringing in his head, doing absolutely nothing for his seemingly ever present headache. But before he was able to say anything further, his pager made its presence known and he unclipped it from his belt, scanning the message.

"Damn." He glanced back at Carter. "I have to deal with this, but you and I need to have a talk, Major. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." She turned to look at the infirmary door and as Jack walked away, he looked back and saw her enter the room.

*

Having watched Teal'c depart through the Stargate to assist SG-5 on a mission, and after a rather pointed reminder from Hammond to deal with the Shanahan debacle, Jack once again found himself within the location of the infirmary.

As he stood in the corridor and steeled himself to meet with Shanahan for the first time, Doctor Fraiser made an appearance.

"Good evening, Colonel."

He glanced at his watch, surprised to see the late hour, and figuring out why he felt so crap. Doing the math, he had now only slept three hours in the past sixty-two.

He gave a brief nod. "Doctor. Is Shanahan awake?"

Frowning at the abrupt use of her patient's surname, Janet nodded in affirmation. "He's been under sedation for the majority of the day but he's awake now and doing well. Major Carter is with him.

He picked up the unspoken plea of 'leave them alone for a while' but Jack wasn't in the mood for tap-dancing. He was tired, irritable, his head hurt and Hammond was on his case. There was no time for pleasantries. "Yeah, well Carter can play happy girlfriend later as far as I'm concerned." And without waiting for a comeback for the doctor, he pushed the door open and went into the infirmary.

Fraiser wasn't stupid, she sensed trouble.

*

"......other planets, wormholes. Continue." Lieutenant Pete Shanahan was gazing at Major Sam Carter, a grin on his face, when Colonel Jack O'Neill made his entrance, catching the last sentence.

"Major." The one word, spoken icily, made both people jump and look across at Jack.

Sam almost leapt off the bed. "Sir."

He pointed to the door. "A word, Major," he stressed her rank. "Outside."

Sensing that he was not happy and not quite understanding why, she shot Pete a quick apologetic look and followed her CO outside, where he directed her to an empty isolation room and closed the door behind them.

"Major." He glanced up at the viewing area to ensure it was empty before continuing sharply, "I seem to have missed the order I gave you allowing you to explain the SGC to Lieutenant Shanahan."

Sam was genuinely confused. "I'm sorry, sir, but I assumed our conversation earlier...."

"Exactly. You assumed." O'Neill cut her off mid sentence. "Did it not occur to you that both General Hammond and myself have some questions to ask the Lieutenant? About why he was at Daniel Jackson's home while his girlfriend was working on a mission there, despite having no legitimate business there."

Sam bristled. "What are you implying, sir?" She looked at him with aggrieved fire in her eyes. "Sir, I'm not happy that you see fit to question my integrity in this matter. At no time did I indicate to Pete that there was more to my `job' than' deep space radar telemetry'."

"Are you sure?" The Colonel's gaze was on her, and Sam could see the deep line forming between his eyes. He looked tired, his eyes dark with fatigue. She was treading on thin ice here, and she knew it, his formality reminding her that she was talking to a superior officer.

His question was appropriate given the circumstances, but it still hurt that he had needed to ask it. She racked her brains and then finally recalled a conversation. I could be putting you in danger. Why the hell had she said that? At no time would 'deep space radar telemetry' put anyone's life in danger. It had obviously raised his suspicions, causing him to dig deeper.

She looked down, avoiding the Colonel's eyes, trying to put her thoughts into words.

*

Her hesitation in answering, answered the question in Jack's mind.

Oh crap.

"We will discuss this later, Major. In the meantime, you are to stay away from Lieutenant Shanahan whilst he is on this base until such a time as he has been questioned and briefed as I see fit." Jack really did feel like crap now. But his 2IC had exceeded her orders, and he was now backed into a tighter corner than before, and he just knew Hammond was going to be pissed as hell. And his head was starting its impersonation of a full percussion section again.

And sometimes he just hated his job.

*

Lieutenant Pete Shanahan eyed Colonel O'Neill with caution as he re-entered the infirmary, picking up immediately the noticeable absence of Sam and the fact that the Colonel did not look happy.

"Lieutenant Shanahan." Jack stood at the end of the infirmary bed. "My name is Colonel O'Neill, second in command of the SGC."

"SGC?" Pete was going to be deliberately obtuse, something he had learned when he'd first been training to be cop. You tended to get more information that way.

But Jack wasn't stupid and he wasn't going to play games. His mood was rapidly going down hill. The temperature in the infirmary side room slid down a few notches.

"You will be asked to sign a full disclaimer before I explain what the SGC is." Jack gave him a hard look. "And then we have a few questions for you."

Pete sat up a little straighter, ignoring the pain in his back. He didn't like this man standing in front of him, trying to bully him. "Isn't it a bit late for that? After all, I saw what I saw and Sam started telling me an interesting story."

"So I heard. Sounded a bit like a wind up to me." Jack was going for the casual tone.

Shanahan's eyes narrowed. "I know the game. Toe the line, sign up and we can all be friends. Don't, and we'll discredit anything you try to say." He sat back and looked at Jack smugly. "Well, maybe I don't want to sign any disclaimer. Freedom of speech and all that."

Jack shrugged. "Then that's your decision." He looked at his watch. "You've got tonight to think about it. You're being transferred to the Academy Hospital in the morning for security reasons. It makes no difference to me." And to be honest, it didn't. Jack really didn't give a damn about Shanahan. But he did give a damn about Carter. This was going to hang over her career like a thundercloud. As long as there was a suspicion she'd unintentionally or even intentionally let something slip which jeopardized the secrecy of the SGC, it would damage her further advancement in the military. Especially with the intense scrutiny under which the SGC operated.

Pete gave him an equally hard stare back. "Then I'll let you know in the morning."

With another shrug, Jack made to leave but at the last moment, turned back to look at the patient in the bed. "Just remember, Shanahan, whilst you have your little power trip and decide what's best for you, think about Major Carter."

"Sam? What about Sam?"

Jack didn't answer as he left the man to think about it.

*

After providing Hammond with a brief summary of his conversations with Carter and Shanahan, Jack took a couple of minutes to check in on Daniel and Doctor Gardner, finding the two of them in deep conversation.

Sarah looked wan but there was a sense of calmness around her. Jack stayed long enough just to introduce himself properly and to let her know he was available if there was anything she needed. But sensing the two of them had a lot to talk about, he left them to it and made his way back to his quarters, determined to lose the draining feeling of lethargy that seemed to surround him at present by getting some sleep.

*

Pete Shanahan did not sleep well. His back ached despite the painkillers provided by the infirmary staff and he dwelt on Colonel O'Neill's parting words.

Think about Major Carter.

What the hell had that meant?

Sam had become conspicuous by her absence, and his messages sent via the infirmary staff had not been answered. All the doctor would say, when he'd asked, was that Major Carter was an extremely busy officer and she would visit when she was able.

But Shanahan knew avoidance when he saw it.

And Colonel O'Neill was behind it. Of that he was darned sure.

He pressed the call button and waited impatiently for a nurse to appear. When she did, he scowled at her.

"I want to see O'Neill now."

*

Two hours passed before Colonel O'Neill stepped into Shanahan's room.

"You called." The 'this had better be good' tone was all too clear.

Shanahan sat up in the bed, his arms folded across his chest. "I know the game you're playing and I'm not going to bite."

O'Neill leaned against the wall. "And what game would that be."

The atmosphere in the small room was ice cold as the two men looked at one another. Finally Shanahan broke the silence.

"This is crap. You can't treat me like this."

"Treat you like what?" The Colonel obviously wasn't going to give an inch.

"Keep me under lock and key, refusing my requests!" Shanahan grimaced as he pulled at the stitches in his back.

O'Neill straightened up and took a step forward. "Lieutenant Shanahan, the situation has been clearly explained to you. Until you have agreed to sign the non-disclosure, you will not find any of your questions being answered." He hardened his stare. "When I asked you to think about Major Carter, I assumed you would stop thinking about yourself for five minutes. Obviously I was wrong."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

The Colonel shrugged. "You interfered in an Air Force mission, a highly classified mission in which Major Carter was heavily involved. Questions are being asked as to whether Major Carter has compromised her position at this base, or indeed if she should face charges. You are not helping matters with this attitude."

Shanahan scowled. "What do you want from me?"

"I want to know how you came to be at the location in question."

Shanahan hesitated. By revealing he'd run a background check on Sam, he'd be getting himself into trouble. The Denver Police Department frowned upon the use of resources for personal reasons and he suspected O'Neill would ensure his bosses found out.

"No deal."

"Fine." With that single word the Colonel walked out again.

*

Doctor Janet Fraiser was reviewing the overnight charts for her patients when Jack O'Neill made an appearance. It was 6.30am and she was surprised to see him so early.

That was until she looked at him closely.

He looked terrible. He was pale, with dark shadows present around his eyes and tired lines etched into his face. But she wasn't terribly surprised. She had heard about his confrontation with Sam last night, when she found Sam angry and trying to compose herself in one of the isolation rooms. She had also had to deal with a belligerent Shanahan already this morning, demanding that he had rights and he wanted answers now.

It had been a tough few days for the majority of the SG-1 team and it didn't look like it was going to ease up just yet.

"Good morning, Colonel." She put the charts down and smiled in greeting at him. "Can I help you?"

"Have the arrangements been made to move Lieutenant Shanahan yet?" The Colonel was obviously not in the mood to exchange pleasantries.

"Yes, sir. The ambulance is due at ten hundred hours to transfer him to the Academy Hospital." She looked pointedly at the door leading to the side room. "He's awake and wanting answers."

He followed her gaze to the door and then smiled grimly. "I'll just bet he is."

She watched as he took a moment to mentally prepare himself before he went in to face Lieutenant Shanahan for a second time.

*

"I'm not going to sign anything without talking to Sam first." Pete was on the offensive as soon as Jack O'Neill entered the room. "I want her to be here."

The door closed behind Jack with a click and he turned to look at him. "That's your choice but it isn't one of the options I gave you." He was so damned tired of this. Part of him wanted to just throw the man out the damn mountain and let him snoop until his heart was content, knowing that he wouldn't dig up anything but the usual rumours that surrounded the complex. But the integrity of one of his team was in question, and he had to deal with it.

"Major Carter has other duties, Shanahan. When she's able, I'm sure she'll visit you at the Academy Hospital."

Pete scowled. "But not now."

Jack leaned across the closed door. "Apparently not."

He watched as the man struggled with his thoughts. He couldn't blame him. Hell, he'd be suspicious of signing anything before he knew the whole picture. But then again, curiosity killed the cat. Wouldn't you want to know what was shrouded in so much secrecy if it was being offered to you on a plate?

"No, I'm not interested."

The words just confirmed Jack's suspicion that the man was an idiot and didn't deserve Carter.

"Fine." He straightened up and opened the infirmary door, calling out for Fraiser. "Doc, the patient is to remain under full security until he's ready to move." He turned his attention back to Pete. "I'll inform Major Carter of your decision."

*

Daniel found Sam in her lab, staring morosely at a computer screen but not actually doing anything.

"Hey, Sam." He leaned against her work bench. "You okay?"

With a sigh, she drew her eyes away from the flickering monitor and looked at her friend. "No, not really." She idly picked up a wad of paper and began shuffling it into a semblance of a pile. "I'm just waiting for the axe to fall."

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

He could read the emotions flickering across her face as, giving up on the pile of paper, she struggled against her own frustration. "I had no idea that Pete would turn up like that. I don't even know why he did or how he even knew we were going to be there. But Colonel O'Neill more or less accused me of telling Pete about the SGC!"

"That's a bit strong, isn't it?" Daniel was going to have to be the voice of reason. "I mean, you have to admit it does look a bit strange that your boyfriend turned up in the middle of a mission. As far as he was supposed to know, you worked in a lab in the depths of a mountain."

"I know, Daniel, and believe me I will get to the bottom of it. Unfortunately, the Colonel has left orders that I can't visit Pete." Sam slammed her hand down on the top of the work bench. "He's being deliberately obstructive with this. He won't let me explain anything!"

Daniel sighed. "It's been a hell of a few days, Sam. If he's like the rest of us, then I doubt he's slept much and General Hammond, I know for a fact, is breathing down his neck. He's pretty stressed. Why don't you try talking to him again?"

*

Jack left the infirmary, his next task to inform General Hammond of Shanahan's decision and to get the 'plausible denial' machine in gear.

But, as he walked down the corridor, a wave of dizziness hit him and he had to hold on to the wall to steady himself.

Damn, he was more tired than he thought.

And the aspirin he'd taken just a couple of hours ago hadn't made a dent in his headache. If anything, he felt worse now.

The dizziness passed, leaving him with an unpleasant nauseous feeling. Trying to keep it under control, he continued on his way.

*

His voice was beginning to grate on her nerves, but being the consummate professional, Doctor Janet Fraiser managed to bite her tongue. Whereas Sarah Gardner had been the perfect patient, Pete Shanahan had turned from a charming gentleman to a whining sonofabitch when he didn't get his own way.

Janet was beginning to wonder what on Earth Sam saw in the guy.

He was not winning any fans in the SGC infirmary and she found herself looking at the time, counting down the seconds to ten hundred hours.

She emerged from the side room, ignoring his latest demands, and was relieved to see an airman arrive with the wheelchair which was to be used to transfer her difficult patient the hell out of her infirmary. Following behind was the Colonel.

"Sir, am I glad to see you."

Jack's eyes narrowed. "Is he ready to go?"

She nodded. "Most definitely."

He nodded and grimaced slightly. "Then let's get this show on the road."

Falling into step behind the airman with the wheelchair, they made their entrance into the side room.

Pete was sitting on the edge of the bed, having already been prepped to be moved. He was wearing a hospital robe and slippers, and he didn't look happy. If it was possible, he looked even more unhappy when he saw the Colonel.

"I'm not leaving until I speak with Sam."

Jack closed his eyes ever so briefly. He and Hammond had discussed Carter meeting up with Shanahan, but Hammond had been clear he didn't want that to happen until all questions had been answered. It would have been a different story if the guy had signed the non-disclosure.

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant, but Major Carter is unavailable." Janet felt like a broken record. She was well aware of the orders.

Pete shook his head. "I don't care."

*

Hearing on the grapevine that Pete was due to be transferred, Sam made her way down to the infirmary. Knowing that she couldn't actually go in, she theorised that maybe she could accidentally be in the corridor when he was being moved.

She could at least then reassure herself that everything was okay with him.

After her outburst in her office, and Daniel had left her alone to think, she had sat down and gone over the events of the past few days. She knew she had to talk to Pete outside of this environment; she had to find out the answers to the questions that Colonel O'Neill, and no doubt General Hammond, were asking.

To do something to prove she hadn't compromised the SGC.

Pete had one hell of a lot of explaining to do.

*

"Oh, for crying out loud. Get in the damn chair!" Jack's own voice caused waves of pain to course through his skull.

Both Janet and Pete looked at the Colonel in disbelief, temporarily suspending the argument.

Jack took a deep breath, ignoring the fact the room was spinning, and stepped forward. "Lieutenant Shanahan, this is a military base. A highly classified military base at that. This infirmary is for 'military' personnel. The last time I checked, you are not military and you have refused to sign a disclaimer, therefore making yourself a security risk for the United States Air Force. Therefore, you are being transferred to an offbase hospital, where you can continue being treated for your injuries. Now, I'm sure that was all very simple to follow. If not, I have serious concerns for the state of the Denver Police Department's hiring policy."

"Hey!" Pete was now on his feet. "All I want to do before I go is talk to Sam to make sure she's okay." He pushed against Jack. "Is that so hard to understand?"

For Jack, already struggling with his balance, the push was enough to send him falling backwards. Taken by surprise, he didn't have time to grab hold of anything to stop his fall and he crashed to the floor.

*

"Colonel!"

For a split second, Janet stood stunned, waiting for Colonel O'Neill to get up, then with a less than gentle shove, she pushed past Pete and went to Jack's aid. "Sir, are you okay?"

Sprawled on the floor, Jack didn't move and alarm bells began to ring for the doctor.

"Colonel?" She dropped to her knees next to him, realising that something was seriously wrong. The airman had already left the room and she could hear him summoning nursing help.

Pete stood in the background staring in disbelief at the scene as it unfolded in front of him.

*

3/10

Sam, having heard the commotion, entered the infirmary just as a medical team rushed from the side room with an occupied gurney. For a heart stopping moment, she feared for Pete until she saw the grey hair.

It was the Colonel.

She opened her mouth to say something as Janet brushed past her, but one look at the tense expression on the doctor's face and she quickly thought twice about it. She could only watch as they rushed through to one of the treatment rooms.

Then she heard yelling and recognised Pete's voice.

Knowing that she wouldn't get any answers from Fraiser about what had happened to the Colonel, she turned and made her way to the side room, to find Pete being manhandled into a wheelchair by an SF and another airman, whilst another SF hovered in the background.

"What's going on?"

"Sam!" Pete ceased his struggling momentarily. "Tell these goons to let go of me!"

Sam motioned at the men to step back and then she moved closer to Pete. "Are you okay?"

He looked disgruntled. "I'm okay, but I can't say I'm impressed with the bullyboy tactics." His voice developed a whine. "Why haven't you been by to visit? Didn't you get my messages?"

Sam ignored his questions. "What just happened in here?"

Pete shrugged. "Hell if I know. That Colonel was trying to evict me without letting me see you first. I think he was pissed because I wouldn't sign a bit of paper promising to stay quiet, blah, blah, blah. We got a bit ticked off and I pushed him...not hard....and he went down and stayed down. Must have slipped and banged his head."

"You pushed Colonel O'Neill?" The icy tone in Sam's voice didn't register on Pete.

"Hey, the guy was in my way! All I wanted to do was find you so you could explain all this crap!"

She took a deep breath. "Pete, this is a secure base. They would never let anyone walk around without the appropriate clearance. Which is why they are transferring you to another hospital." She hesitated before continuing, knowing what she was going to say next wasn't strictly true. "This is my workplace and I couldn't come rushing down to the infirmary every time you wanted to see me. I'm sorry if no one explained that to you. But I will come visit you at the hospital."

She signalled to the two SFs and the airman.

"Let them transfer you, Pete, and I'll be by later to visit."

It took a while for the message to sink in with Pete; Sam was pissed with him and he wasn't stupid enough to not understand why. He had been a complete ass and, to top it off, technically he had assaulted Sam's boss.

"Promise you'll visit?"

*

"Okay, people, what have we got?" Janet Fraiser moved to the left side of the gurney, her eyes on her patient.

Her medical team began to call out the Colonel's vital signs as she began her own assessment. She was confused, having seen him fall and knowing the impact hadn't been enough to cause this deep level of unconsciousness.

Leaning forward, she fished her penlight out of her lab coat pocket and gently lifted up his right eyelid, checking the pupil's reaction. "Right eye, normal."

Behind her she knew one of the nurses would be taking notes, she didn't need to remind them.

Frowning slightly as she heard another of her nurses call out his blood pressure, she moved across to examine is left eye and then froze momentarily. The pupil was enlarged.

"Blown pupil on the left side." The announcement needed no further explanation and the team prepared to move their patient for an immediate CT scan.

*

Janet sat in front of the computer monitor and closely studied the results of the CT scan.

The results couldn't be more damning.

A slow forming sub acute haematoma had been the diagnosis and she had absolutely no idea how it happened.

The fall earlier hadn't been the culprit, this was at least a day old injury.

Her thoughts were disturbed by voices outside her office and she instantly recognized them as being Sam and Daniel. They had been waiting for a while but as soon as she made the diagnosis, she had made it her priority to talk with General Hammond.

Now she had to face O'Neill's team and break the news to them.

With a deep sigh, she tore her eyes away from the test results and went over to the office door, opening it.

"Guys."

"Janet?" Daniel pushed his glasses back up his nose. "Sam said Jack had been hurt. What's going on?"

She motioned them to come into her office, closing her door behind them. She retook her seat at the desk and waited for the others to be seated before starting.

"This morning, Colonel O'Neill hit his head during a fall and...."

"I heard Pete Shanahan pushed him." Daniel looked at Sam, accusingly, but before Sam was able to throw back a retort Janet held her hand up to stop them.

"This fall isn't the issue. If anything, it may well have saved the Colonel's life." Janet now knew she had their full attention. "The Colonel has a severe head injury, a sub acute subdural haematoma, which basically is a blood clot on the brain. The CT scans show that this has been slow forming and is at least a couple of days old."

The color had drained from Sam's face. "What happens now?"

Janet thought carefully before answering. "The clot is now causing the brain to swell. We have used heavy dosages of medication in an attempt to alleviate it and a neurosurgeon is on his way, in case surgery is a requirement."

Daniel leaned forward. "Brain surgery?"

Janet nodded. "To remove the clot. The medication may not be enough to prevent surgical intervention."

"What's the likelihood of permanent brain damage?" Sam's voice was quiet.

Janet looked straight at her. "Recovery from a traumatic brain injury is difficult to predict. It all depends on the patient's rehabilitation and attitude. However, you must realize that the Colonel is extremely ill and the next few days will be critical for him."

Daniel seemed to sink back in his chair. "You mean he could die?"

Words failed Janet as she nodded solemnly.

*

It was hard to see Jack through all the machinery and other medical equipment surrounding his bed.

Things had been peaceful for the first few hours, the drugs seeming to hold the swelling at bay and preventing his condition from deteriorating further.

Then, just two hours earlier, the alarms had sounded on the monitors and the staff had moved into action again.

Jack's breathing had been compromised and his respiratory rate was falling, a clear indication that his brain was continuing to swell. With the neurosurgeon still en route, Janet had been forced to intubate the Colonel to ensure his oxygen levels were maintained.

The situation was growing ever more dire.

During this time his team, when allowed, maintained a vigil in the infirmary. Even the General had been in a couple of times.

There was a fear that this time Jack wasn't going to pull a proverbial rabbit out of the hat and bounce back.

*

Colonel Simon Collinson had been aware of the SGC's existence for a while, having been briefed when he had taken up his position at the Air Force Academy Hospital, but he had never actually had chance to visit the highly classified base.

Until he received a phone call seven hours earlier.

Unfortunately, he hadn't been in Colorado Springs, but at a medical seminar in Chicago. He told Doctor Fraiser that he would be there as soon as possible, but she should seek help from another neurosurgeon. She told him bleakly that he was the only neurosurgeon with high enough clearance for the SGC.

He broke every record getting a flight back to Colorado Springs.

An airman was waiting for him at the NORAD entrance and rushed him through the security checks and straight to the elevators.

Five minutes later, he was relieved to see the familiar face of Doctor Janet Fraiser.

*

The surgery took just under six hours and by the end of it, Colonel Collinson felt like he had run a marathon.

But Colonel Jack O'Neill had pulled through the procedure and was now settled in the infirmary ICU, being carefully monitored.

The subdural haematoma had covered a large expanse of his brain and there had still been some residual bleeding. It had taken some delicate procedures to successfully keep his patient alive but he wasn't going to repeat that to the people waiting outside the OR.

He took some time to catch his breath and collect his thoughts before updating the people awaiting word on the Colonel.

*

"He looked tired when I spoke to him earlier." Daniel broke the silence. "I just put it down to the stress of the last few days. What with Sarah and Pete...." He trailed off, avoiding looking at Sam.

"Pete?" Sam frowned. "What about Pete?"

They were in Janet's office, having been shut in there by Janet herself to keep them out of her way during the surgery.

Daniel shook his head. "General Hammond ordered Jack to deal with Pete Shanahan. Assess him to see if he was a security risk." He knew he shouldn't be telling Sam this, but he couldn't help it. He wanted her to know the full picture. "Jack researched him and found out that he was one of the 'good guys' and recommended full disclosure. But apparently Pete decided he wasn't going to play ball and threw it back at Jack. Hammond wasn't happy with that and Jack was stuck in the middle."

Sam shook her head. "I don't understand."

"Jack needed Pete to sign the non-disclosure so he could find out the info needed to keep you out of trouble. You said it yourself, you don't know why or how Pete ended up outside my house. Jack was trying to defend you."

Sam looked miserable. "And I didn't see it."

Daniel didn't have to answer, his expression said it all.

*

The hiss and click on the ventilator, the muted blip of the monitoring equipment and the hum of the blood pressure cuff as it inflated and deflated every few minutes was the only noise emanating from the small ICU room.

General George Hammond stood at the side of the bed, silently studying the unconscious form of his second in command.

Jack's head was swathed in bandages, covering the surgical incision which had been carefully performed by Doctor Collinson. His eyes were swollen and bruised, a side effect of the surgery and although deeply unconscious, the pain lines remained etched into his face.

Hammond was finding it hard to recall a time that things had looked so bleak.

He had told Collinson not to sugar-coat the Colonel's condition, and Collinson in return had been brutally honest.

There were three options now facing Colonel O'Neill.

One, Jack would wake up with no major residual effects and, providing he allowed himself a complete recovery period, would eventually make a full recovery.

Two, Jack would wake up with a multitude of issues to be addressed: Paralysis, aphasia, severe headaches, sensory loss . . . the list had seemed endless.

And thirdly, he would never wake up at all.

*

Sam felt emotionally drained as she stepped out the infirmary. Just days before, she had felt so sure about everything. Now it seemed as if everything was crumbling.

She had sat at the Colonel's bedside, watching him closely for any sign of movement. Anything to show he was fighting back.

But he had been so still, so unresponsive.

Finally, she had been forced to leave to allow the medical staff to run further tests and she decided to take the opportunity to go home for a few hours. Janet promised to call if there was any news.

She knew she had to go talk to Pete but she was too damn tired to deal with him.

*

The next morning brought the first piece of positive news. The latest CT scan revealed no new bleeding, which was encouraging. If the bleeding had continued, Colonel O'Neill most certainly wouldn't have survived another day.

Janet and Colonel Collinson met again at six hundred hours to review Jack's notes in an attempt to identify the cause of the trauma. Both completely ruled out the fall in the infirmary and nothing in his notes indicated a previous injury.

"Maybe he knocked his head at home." Collinson took a sip of strong black coffee.

Janet shook her head. "He hadn't been home for a while. And if it had happened here on base, I would have known." She looked frustrated. "It just doesn't make sense."

A knock on the door disturbed them, causing them to look up at the nurse hovering in the doorway.

"Ma'am?"

Janet rose to her feet. "What is it, Claire?"

"It's the Colonel, ma'am. His temperature is up again."

Collinson followed Janet's lead and stood up. "Inflammation of the dura?"

Janet nodded grimly and looked back at Claire. "Can you prepare another IV for me?" The nurse nodded and hurried off and Janet glanced at Collinson. "I'll get him started on Dexamethasone for inflammation and keep a close eye on his temperature."

They walked out into the infirmary to oversee the care of their critically ill patient.

*

Armed with a box of donuts and coffee, Sam stopped briefly at the nurses' station for directions and then finally located room 211. Pete's room.

The door was slightly ajar and she could hear his voice. Not wanting to interrupt something possibly private, she carefully balanced the coffees on top of the donut box and raised a hand up to knock. Then she heard Pete say a name.

Colonel Jack O'Neill.

She froze, waiting to hear more.

It took a couple of moments to realize that he was talking to someone on the telephone.

He was asking someone to check up on the Colonel.

She felt her stomach churn.

Had he run a background check on her?

Her visit to Pete forgotten, she dumped the donuts and coffee in a nearby trashcan before walked way, struggling to figure out what was going on.

*

Janet stepped out of the small ICU room and surveyed the busy infirmary, reminding herself ruefully that life had to continue even though it seemed in the ICU that time stood still.

SG-8 were scheduled to go offworld and her staff were working through their pre-mission checks, whereas the arrival of SG-5 from offworld meant post-mission checks. And she was more than happy to see Teal'c amongst the returnees.

"Teal'c." She crossed the room to the tall Jaffa.

He dipped his head slightly in acknowledgement. "Doctor Fraiser."

She beckoned for him to follow her and led him over to one of the exam cubicles in the far corner. "I'm going to run through your checks and at the same time, I'll give you an update on the Colonel."

Although his face remained impassive, there was a definite tone of puzzlement to his response. "What is wrong with Colonel O'Neill, Doctor Fraiser?"

Janet had turned to put on a pair of surgical gloves when he asked the question and she did a quick calculation. Damn, Teal'c had left before the Colonel's collapse. Putting the gloves back down, she turned back to look at him.

"I'm sorry, Teal'c. With everything that's gone on, I forgot...." She looked straight at him. "Colonel O'Neill collapsed yesterday morning."

"What is his condition?" Teal'c was never one to beat around the bush.

Janet sighed. "He's critically ill, Teal'c. We had to operate on his brain and remove a massive blood clot."

"How was he injured?" Teal'c was ready to gain retribution.

Returning to the task at hand, she pulled her gloves on and shook her head. "We don't know, Teal'c. He knocked his head yesterday morning, but the primary injury was already days old. He must have suffered a blow to the head at home and didn't report it."

She set about running her tests, not really noticing Teal'c's silence. Until she went to draw blood from his arm and he pulled it away.

"Doctor Fraiser, I believe I know how Colonel O'Neill obtained this injury."

*

"The Colonel was hit by Osiris' ribbon device when he confronted her in Daniel's house." Janet sat at the briefing table, a large medical file in front of her. "Teal'c confirmed that the Colonel was unconscious for a very brief time and appeared groggy for a little while afterwards. However, he was able to fire the tranquilizer gun and bring the Goa'uld down."

Hammond sat back in his chair and digested the news, before looking at Daniel and Sam. "Were you aware of this?"

"No, sir." Sam replied, although she looked distracted. "I heard the ribbon blasts but I didn't see the Colonel get hit. The surveillance camera was only situated in Daniel's bedroom."

Daniel looked apologetic. "Osiris had got me with the ribbon device. It took a while to get my senses back and by then Jack had already taken Osiris out. He didn't appear to have been hurt..."

Hammond gave a brief nod. "Thank you Doctor Jackson, Major Carter."

Recognizing a dismissal, Sam and Daniel rose from their seats and departed.

"Well, Doctor Fraiser?" The question was loaded and one that Doctor Fraiser was prepared for, but unsure how to answer.

"I'm sorry, sir. But post mission checks were not carried out." There was a pregnant pause. "And I have no explanation for it. Excuses, yes, but an explanation, no."

"I need to know exactly what happened, what failed and what will be done to prevent future breakdowns in medical procedures. I don't want this happening again. Is that understood, Doctor?"

Janet nodded.

*

Part 4/10

After Doctor Fraiser had left the briefing room, the General allowed himself a few moments to collect his thoughts before returning to his office. He was not surprised to find Major Carter waiting outside. He had picked up earlier that she had something on her mind and it appeared it was important enough for her to approach him.

"Major Carter, is there something I can do for you?" He entered his office and motioned for her to follow him inside.

She slipped into the office, closed the door behind her and stood at attention in front his desk. "General Hammond, I wish to tender my resignation from the Stargate program."

Hammond lowered himself into his chair and looked at the Major. "May I ask the reason why?"

She stood facing him, but not quite meeting his eye. "I believe my actions may have inadvertently compromised the SGC."

"Would this have something to do with Lieutenant Shanahan?" Hammond looked at her shrewdly. "About his discovering the surveillance of Doctor Jackson's home?"

Sam nodded, still not looking directly at him. "I believe Lieutenant Shanahan became curious about a remark I made and as a result, ran a background check which didn't tie back to deep space telemetry."

Hammond smiled internally, whilst maintaining a non committed expression. The Major was beating herself up over dating an overcurious cop. He had already come to the conclusion that she wouldn't have told him about the SGC. Jack had spent hours convincing him of that, although he hadn't needed convincing.

"What exactly did you say that you believe roused the Lieutenant's suspicion?"

If it was at all possible, Sam's back became more rigid. "I told him my job was dangerous."

Hammond almost laughed. "Major Carter, please relax and take a seat." When she looked at him in surprise but made no attempt to move, he continued. "Being in a relationship with a civilian is always tough for anyone in the Armed Forces, because there are always secrets. This is one of the toughest assignments because there is nothing you can tell your family or friends. What you said to Lieutenant Shanahan did not reveal any deep, dark secrets about the SGC. It was, however, unfortunate that he felt he should check up on his girlfriend."

Sam's head lowered and once again he indicated a chair, waiting until she took a seat before resuming.

"Colonel O'Neill and myself had already discussed this in great length. The Colonel was adamant that you hadn't revealed anything about the SGC and I was inclined to agree with him. However, there was the question of how the Lieutenant had turned up at Doctor Jackson's and we both came to the conclusion that he followed you. If it hadn't been for that single on-world mission, Lieutenant Shanahan would be none the wiser about the SGC. As it is, we are now in the unfortunate position that he has seen more than he should and has refused point-blank to sign a disclosure."

Sam finally met his eye. "What about what I told him, sir? In the infirmary..."

"I agree with the Colonel that you stepped over the mark on that one, Major, and it does complicate things. But I can see how the misunderstanding came about." Hammond's voice was steady but carried a warning.

Sam fully understood. "I will make sure he signs the disclosure."

Hammond nodded. "I'm sure you would, Major, but I cannot ask you to do that. The Lieutenant has made his decision and we will have to deal with any consequences from his actions."

"Yes, sir." She didn't look happy. "Umm, Sir. There is something else."

She related what she had overheard at the hospital.

*

Daniel sat at Jack's bedside, his eyes fixed on his friend, watching him sleep.

It had been almost fifty two hours since the surgery and although his temperature had dropped to a much more acceptable level, it was the only piece of good news.

Jack remained deeply unconscious.

The atmosphere was despondent.

A light knock on the door roused Daniel from his thoughts and he turned to see Sam in the doorway.

"Daniel?"

He shook his head and returned his gaze to the unconscious man. "There's no change."

Sam slipped into the room and moved to the other side of the bed. "Janet says it's still early days."

"You got fed that line as well?" Daniel kept his voice low.

"Daniel." Sam looked at her friend. "Janet is doing everything possible. But it's pretty much up to the Colonel now."

Daniel slumped back in his chair, the frustration seeping out of him. "I'm sorry, Sam."

She rested her hand on Jack's arm. "We should have realized something was wrong. When I think about it, he looked so tired. But I was annoyed with him, thinking he was out to discredit Pete that I didn't really see it." She shrugged. "If he'd got seen by Janet earlier......."

"Don't, Sam." Daniel shook his head vehemently. "Don't second guess. Janet is already beating herself up over all this, so am I. In hindsight, we could have all done something that would have helped Jack sooner, but we didn't. We can't turn back time so we just have to deal with the situation as it is now." He ran his hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, Sam. I didn't mean to rant on like that."

Sam gave him a wry smile. "It makes sense, Daniel. Don't apologize." She looked back at her unconscious commanding officer. "Besides, when the Colonel wakes up he's got some butts to kick."

*

In the early hours of the morning, a night duty nurse quietly entered the ICU to perform her regular checks. The room was empty of visitors and she smiled to herself as she recalled Janet forcibly evicting Colonel O'Neill's team and threatening them with dire consequences if they returned before daybreak.

The smile still on her face, she picked up the chart and began noting down the latest readings from the cardio monitor.

The unmistakable sound of a groan in the small, darkened room startled the nurse and it took her a moment to register what was going on. The chart and pen clattered onto the bedside cabinet when Colonel O'Neill's head began to move from side to side, a low moan emanating from his throat.

Alarms sounded, echoing, as he fought against the respirator.

With a slap of her hand, the emergency bedside alarm was activated, before the nurse began her struggle with the Colonel.

Although his eyes remained closed, his hands clawed at the tube in this throat and she tried desperately to prevent him from dislodging it. Pounding footsteps signaled the arrival of assistance and with the help of two more nurses, they were successful in restraining him.

A bleary eyed Janet appeared a moment later, pulling on her lab coat. "What happened!" She reached the Colonel's bedside, casting a critical eye over the situation.

She didn't wait for an answer, as the Colonel's eyes flickered open. "Sir?" She leaned forward into his line of vision. "Sir, it's Doctor Fraiser. Please don't struggle. You're in the infirmary."

His eyes didn't focus on her, and he began twisting against the restricting bands.

"Dammit, sir!"

But almost as quickly as the struggling had begun, it ceased and his eyes drifted closed again.

Janet stood back, allowing her staff to check the Colonel's intubation tube and lines. When one of them went to remove the restraints, she stepped forward and shook her head. "No. Leave them on." At the nurse's questioning look, she shook her head again. "When he awakens again, he may very well be as confused as now. We can't afford for him to pull everything out."

The nurse nodded and left the restraints as they were.

Once Janet was sure that the Colonel was settled and there had been no further damage, she went to make her report.

*

"Doctor Fraiser."

As soon as she heard the deep, rumbling voice of the SGC's resident Jaffa, Janet knew her quest for a quiet morning was going to fail. Cradling a strong mug of coffee in her hands, she turned to face Teal'c.

He looked perturbed, something that surprised Janet.

"Morning, Teal'c." She left the main infirmary and joined him in the doorway to the ICU area.

"Doctor Fraiser, why has O'Neill been tied down." Teal'c was looking across at the soft straps securing the Colonel's wrists and ankles to the hospital bed. It was obvious that it was bothering him.

Janet allowed herself a small smile. Teal'c's protectiveness for Colonel O'Neill was well known throughout the SGC. "The Colonel awoke earlier and was agitated. We had to apply soft restraints to prevent him disconnecting the medical equipment and putting himself in danger. Once he's fully awake, the restraints will be removed."

All she got in return was a brief nod from Teal'c, acknowledging her explanation, before he moved to the end of the bed where he began his daily vigil.

*

"What the heck happened to you?" Detective Ken Travers lounged in the doorway and eyed his friend critically. "Did you get hit by a bus or something?"

Pete Shanahan pulled a face. "Very funny, Ken."

Grinning, Ken sauntered into the private hospital room and slouched down in a chair. "I would have brought grapes but," he shrugged, "you know." He glanced around and then pulled out a file he had tucked under his arm.

"I was going to wait until you got back to town, but when I did that checking you asked for, I got curious." He tapped the file. "So I thought I'd pay you a visit."

Pete took hold of the file. "You found something on O'Neill?"

Looking smug, Ken nodded. "He's got a pretty colorful history, from what I can tell. I ran his name and it came up with a few interesting things. Why are you looking at this guy?

Pete shrugged. "We've met and I want to know who I'm dealing with."

Ken settled back in his chair. "From what I've read of his file, he's not someone you should mess with." His eyes narrowed. "Was he the guy responsible for putting you in the hospital?"

Flicking through the file, Pete shook his head absent mindedly. "Nah, he's Sam's boss and he isn't happy with me. I get the feeling he's researched me, so I'm gonna make sure I know everything about him before I go up against him again."

*

She had allowed herself the luxury of an evening at home but the next morning, as she stepped into the infirmary, Janet felt just as weary as when she had left the previous day.

The same question that had been echoing inside her head since the Colonel's collapse and Teal'c's subsequent revelation, had kept her awake for the majority of the night.

Why hadn't she ordered post mission checks on all of SG-1 instead of just concentrating on the obviously injured Daniel and civilians?

If they had been off world, it would never have happened.

Taking a mug of coffee proffered by one of her staff, she selected Colonel O'Neill's chart from the rack and skimmed through the overnight report. She was pleased to see his temperature had stayed down and his vitals were steady, but there were no notes reporting a higher level of consciousness.

It was not as good as she had hoped.

Reluctantly, she sat down to begin making arrangements for the Colonel to be transferred to the Academy Hospital, where they were better able to provide him with the support therapy he needed.

*

"Mister Shanahan," the physical therapist caught up with her patient, "although I'm impressed by your prowess on crutches, you need to be careful."

Pete glowered at the woman. "I'm perfectly capable of getting around on these things." With that he crutched away down the corridor.

Suppressing the urge to kick the crutches out from under her patient, the physical therapist stayed a few paces behind, silently praying he would encounter a wet patch on the floor and fall on his ignorant butt.

Still dreaming of her patient's downfall, she didn't realize he had stopped at the end of the corridor and almost collided with him.

"Mister Shanahan?"

He didn't answer her query, his eyes locked on the activity in front of him. Curious, she followed his gaze and saw it was concentrated on a group of people standing by the ambulance bay. She returned her gaze to him as he took another step as if to beginning moving towards them, but stopped again as the bay doors opened.

Glancing back again, the therapist immediately recognized Doctor Fraiser as she came in the entrance escorting two medics who were bringing through a new patient for the hospital. Three people immediately fell into step behind the gurney, their eyes all on its occupant. They swept past without a glance at the two of them and disappeared through another set of doors.

Without uttering a word, her patient swung round and stormed off.

*

No one had ever said life was going to be simple.

But then again, no one had ever said life was going to be this complicated.

Sam had seen Pete standing in the corridor but had found it easier just to pretend she hadn't. At some point they had to sit down and have a conversation, figure out what their next step was, if they still had a future.

But at the moment she needed to be with her team.

Janet's announcement that the Colonel was being moved from the SGC hadn't been unexpected, but it had still shaken her. It was as if they were giving up on him, sending him away. Her head told her that she was being stupid, that this was the best thing for him but she still felt they were letting him down.

"Sam?" Daniel's voice interrupted her thoughts. "You okay?"

Pasting a small smile on her face, she looked at him. "Yeah." She accepted the cup of coffee he held out. "Thanks."

He shrugged. "I think we're going to be in for a wait. I believe it's Janet's way of saying `I told you so'."

Sipping her coffee, Sam wandered over to the window and looked down at the parking lot below. Janet had argued that it was unnecessary for them to come with the Colonel to the hospital. It would take time to settle him in the Intensive Care unit and they would be in for a long wait. But her arguments had fallen on deaf ears. Now she was going to prove her point.

"So the thing with Pete is still unresolved, huh?" Daniel slumped down on the couch in the small waiting room. "I saw him. He didn't look too happy."

"Probably because I haven't picked up his messages for the last couple of days." She moved away from the window and joined him on the couch. "How's Sarah doing?"

He waggled a finger at her. "No changing the subject." He grinned. "But she's doing fine, considering what she's been through."

"That's great." Sam fiddled with the plastic cup of rapidly cooling coffee. "At least something positive has come out of this." She glanced around. "Where's Teal'c?"

"Standing guard outside the ICU, intimidating the medical staff."

Sam nodded, put the coffee cup down and sat back. "He wants to move to the Springs."

"Who, Teal'c?" Daniel raised an eyebrow and was rewarded with a smack on the arm.

"Pete, you idiot." Sam glared at him. "He was going to get a transfer from the Denver PD to Colorado Springs so we could spend more time together. And a few days ago it all made sense, perfect sense." She lapsed into silence.

A few moments passed.

"For a while, I had a life outside the SGC. I could pretend, if only for a short while, that I had a slice of American apple pie life."

"Instead of traveling through wormholes, fighting aliens and saving the world." Daniel sighed. "It's a nice dream...the white picket fence and all that. But you and I both know how difficult it is. When was the last time we had any wedding invites at the SGC? Heck, the only married people on base got hitched before they realized the universe was a much more dangerous place."

He stopped when he took note of the incredulous look Sam was shooting at him.

"What?"

She shook her head. "Well, thank you for the words of understanding and encouragement."

He looked sheepish. "I'm sorry." He shrugged. "What are you going to do about Pete?"

She shrugged. "I'm angry with him for throwing away the chance of learning about the SGC, about what I do. I knew he was pissed at the way he was treated by the Colonel... " She got to her feet. "What a mess."

"You need to talk to him. Even if to just end the relationship." Daniel gave a short sharp laugh. "Listen to me dispensing relationship advice. I can't remember the last time I had anything near a date."

Sam began laughing and Daniel looked up at her. "What?"

"You're right, just listen to us. We're hopeless." She glanced at her watch. "I'm going to go down and talk to Pete for a few minutes."

*

"You're doing good, Colonel." Janet straightened out the bed sheet covering her patient and cast another experienced eye over the monitors. His blood pressure was running slightly high at 140 over 90 but it was nothing to set the alarm bells ringing. To have undertaken the transfer could easily have caused the higher than normal readings, but she made a mental note to ensure the nurses kept a close eye on it.

The small ICU room was an improvement on the SGC infirmary. The sunlight flooded in through the slats of the blinds and she could swear Jack looked better for it. Mind you, nothing looked good in the artificially harsh lighting that illuminated the base under the mountain. The MRI scan performed on his arrival had shown no fresh bleeding, which was encouraging, and a patient conference had been scheduled for ten minutes. In the meeting she hoped to get a plan drawn up for support therapy for the Colonel until such time as he decided to wake up.

If he decided to wake up.

*

Sam could have sworn that the corridor hadn't seemed that long when she had stepped out of the elevator, but with every step it seem to get longer and longer. Eventually she found herself outside Pete's room. The door was ajar and she could see him sitting up in bed, a newspaper spread out in front of him.

Telling herself that she had to face him at some point, she gave herself a little mental push and raised her hand, tapping on the door. He glanced across to the doorway and barely acknowledged her.

Okay, not a great start.

"Hey." She stepped into the room. "How are you doing?"

He turned a page of the newspaper. "Good. You?" He didn't look at her.

She nodded. "I'm doing okay."

"I'm glad to hear that." He folded up the newspaper and finally looked at her. "Because I was worried when you didn't visit. Thought something might have happened to you."

"Okay, I guess I deserved that." She stood at the end of the bed. "I'm sorry if it seemed I was ignoring your messages. But you have to understand that things have been a little turned about and I needed to sort a few things out."

"I know."

The little speech she was about to launch into died in her throat when he uttered that short sentence. His body language indicated he was in a mood for a fight, but his agreement to her opening words had thrown her.

He slowly swung his legs round to the side of the bed, careful not to jar his wound. "You were going to ask me what I was thinking, following you...sticking my nose into stuff I really shouldn't have."

"Pete..."

He held his hand up to stop her. "Please, let me finish. I'm sorry if I put you in a bad position at work but that Colonel O'Neill really did rub me up the wrong with his attitude. I could have handled it better but he and I were never going to see eye to eye. And I certainly didn't mean to harm him in any way."

Sam shook her head. "It wasn't clever, Pete. But the Colonel was already injured, it just hadn't been picked up." She paused, not sure how to go on. "I think it would be a good idea if we didn't see each other for a while."

"Huh?" It was obvious that this wasn't what Pete expected to hear but Sam soldiered on. "I think it would be easier for the time being."

"Bullshit." Pete sounded angry. "You just want me out of the way, hoping that if I disappear quietly maybe things would be conveniently forgotten. Did O'Neill suggest this crap?"

This was definitely not the way she had planned this conversation. "Colonel O'Neill didn't suggest anything. He wanted nothing more than a reasonable explanation...."

Pete sneered at her. "If that's what you want to think, so be it."

"Pete," she interrupted. "I'm not going to argue with you..."

The door opened and a nurse entered, a little surprised to see Lieutenant Shanahan had a visitor. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...."

Sam held the door open. "Please don't worry. I was just leaving."

*

Part 5/10

"The wound is healing very nicely, Lieutenant Shanahan." Doctor Warner stepped away from the bed and disposed of the surgical gloves. "Another couple of days and I think we can continue your treatment on an outpatients basis."

"Great." Pete pulled his t-shirt down. "No offence, doc, but this place sucks."

Warner picked his chart up and made a couple of notations. "I understand."

With a slight grimace, Pete stood up. "Um, doc. How's that Colonel doing? Major Carter's CO."

"O'Neill?" Warner briefly stopped writing. "I'm afraid I can't disclose another patient's condition." He went back to his notes, finished up and handed the chart off to the waiting nurse. "I'll be back in two days. Just remember to not overdo it with the physiotherapy and to make sure you stick to the diet as prescribed, then hopefully we'll have you discharged when I next see you."

With a nod, he was gone.

Shanahan sat down on the edge of the bed. Since his last confrontation with Sam a few days ago, he had been trying to make discreet enquiries on O'Neill's condition but everyone had been pretty much tight lipped. Warner's comments confirmed that Sam's CO was still here in the hospital, which meant whatever had caused him to collapse was serious.

Damn. It hadn't been what he wanted to hear.

He knew he wasn't to blame - he'd only shoved the guy out of the way. But it was something they could hold against him if he tried to stir things up. Assaulting an Air Force officer, a Colonel to boot. It wouldn't sound good.

*

"Morning, Leigh." Daniel ambled into the Neurological ICU, the morning newspaper tucked under his arm.

The physiotherapist smiled, having a few days ago succumbed to the charms of the archaeologist/linguist, before returning to her task in hand. "I'm almost finished." She continued stretching and manipulating Jack's left arm.

Daniel settled in the visitor's chair and opened the newspaper, going straight to the sports section. "No problem. Jack won't want to hear the hockey scores from last night. It wasn't a good night for his team."

It was a routine that Daniel had quickly settled into. He got to the hospital at 6.30am, spent anything up to an hour with Jack before heading off to the mountain. In the evening, Sam or Teal'c would visit to give him updates on what was going on at the SGC and Teal'c would read him the latest headlines from the National Enquirer.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Daniel sat and read through the latest sports results, inserting his usual wry comments. He knew it drove Jack nuts that he didn't follow any type of sport and he liked to wind him up at every opportunity. Every so often, Leigh would chuckle at his diatribe on sports until she completed her task.

Packing up her bag, she slung it over her shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow Doctor Jackson."

He glanced up from the newspaper and nodded. "Thanks, Leigh." He watched her go, his thoughts drifting.

Jack had been here for almost a week now and there was no change in his friend's condition. The nursing staff kept a positive attitude talking to Jack as if he could hear them as they changed tubes, bathed him, shaved him, rolled him into different positions to prevent bedsores, and pumped him full of medication and fluids.

Yesterday Janet had tentatively brought up the subject of long term care in a rehab facility. Everyone had ignored her.

Clearing his throat, he began reading again, trying to keep his voice upbeat.

A while later he wasn't quite sure why he looked up from the newspaper. He thought he had seen something move from the corner of his eye but everything seemed the same and he started to turn his attention back to the sports column. Then he saw it.

Jack.

His hand was moving.

Daniel watched, mesmerized at the slow, tiny movements being made. The long fingers on the left hand were definitely twitching.

"Jack?"

He leaned forward, subconsciously holding his breath.

"Jack, it's Daniel. Can you hear me?"

The hand movements ceased and for a moment Daniel's hope plummeted.

"Jack, it's about time you woke up. We're getting a little impatient here...and a little worried." Daniel scrutinized his friend closely, looking for any further signs of movement, and then he was rewarded with Jack moving his head jerkily from side to side.

"Woah! Jack, take it easy." Daniel's hand automatically sought out the call button, worried the sudden movements would dislodge the intubation tube. "You're at the Academy Hospital."

A nurse appeared in the doorway and took in the situation before heading back to the desk to call for Doctor Fraiser, Daniel hoped.

*

The ICU room was a hive of activity with Janet orchestrating it.

Daniel, much to his chagrin, had been ordered out and he was joined in the relatives' room by Sam and Teal'c, who had broken speed records to get to the hospital once they heard the news.

But they were used to waiting.

*

She thanked her lucky stars that she'd been on duty at the hospital when the Colonel woke up. By the time she reached his room he was highly agitated despite a nurse's attempt to calm him. The monitors around the bed were emitting warning alarms and she knew she had to act fast.

Her first task was to get that damned intubation tube out before he choked on it. With the assistance of two of the nurses she quickly extubated him, hoping it would alleviate some of his stress. Her second task was to administer a low dose of Ativan to calm him.

It worked and within a few minutes, he was quiet.

"Colonel?" She kept her voice low and she rested her hand on his arm, "It's Doctor Fraiser." Her eyes flicked briefly to the monitor readings before settling back on his face. His eyes were drifting open again but he wasn't aware of his surroundings, of that she was sure.

"Colonel, do you know where you are?"

He blinked heavily, his mouth opening but with no sound. One of the nurses standing by gently wiped his mouth with a damp sponge, causing him to flinch. It was his only reaction to everything going on before he closed his eyes again.

*

"Is he awake for good?" Sam stood next to Daniel, both of them looking at Janet anxiously. "Is he okay?"

Sighing, Janet motioned for them all to take a seat in the waiting room, not at all surprised that Teal'c remained standing by the door.

"He's doing okay, guys. He's awake and his vital signs are good, but remember we need to take things slowly."

Daniel's eyes narrowed. "Take things slowly? What does that mean?"

She looked at him. "He's suffered a traumatic brain injury, Daniel. He's not just going to wake up as if he's woken from a night's sleep." She sighed again. "He's pretty much unresponsive at the moment but we expect his level of awareness to improve as his period of consciousness increases, and we'll be running full neurological checks on a regular basis."

"Can we see him?" Sam asked tentatively.

Janet nodded. "Only for a few minutes. He needs to stay quiet and calm."

*

It wasn't a successful visit.

Despite Janet's warning, it would appear they expected something more from Jack. But he just lay in bed, his eyes opening and closing periodically and he showed absolutely no reaction to their voices and the gentle touches to his hands and arms.

It left them more than a little demoralized.

*

Late the next morning, one of the nurses reported that the Colonel appeared to tracking her movements with his eyes but wasn't responding verbally to any of her questions.

Janet had received the word whilst on duty at the SGC and wished she was there for him. But she had duties in the infirmary that couldn't just be abandoned and feeling more than a little frustrated, she was forced to leave her patient with Doctor Collinson.

*

He was vaguely aware of movement around him but he just didn't have the energy to do anything about it apart from open his eyes.

Everything was kinda fuzzy and he couldn't figure out what was going on. Any noise was muted and if he tried to concentrate too hard, his head hurt and he would give in the overwhelming urge to sleep.

Which is exactly what he did.

*

"Evening, Janet." Doctor Collinson already had a file in hand which he passed to her as she made her appearance at the Neurological ICU nurses' station.

"Evening, Simon." She took the file and flipped it open, her eyes scanning the contents.

Simon finished updating the stack of charts in front of him. "Colonel O'Neill's level of awareness is improving slowly and both the MRI and EEG results are encouraging. His team has already been by but I kept it short." He shook his head. "I got the impression they weren't too happy with me."

She gave a wry smile. "Imagine that."

With a glance at his watch, he got to his feet. "I have to go. It's my wife's birthday and I promised faithfully I'd be home on time to take her out to some ridiculously pricey restaurant this evening. Being late means she'll order the most expensive items on the menu as punishment."

Janet laughed. "You'd better get going. I'm going to check on the Colonel and I'll be on my way as well."

Picking up the rest of Jack's chart to review at his bedside, she left the station and entered his room.

*

Switching the car engine off, Sam took a moment to just to sit and gather her thoughts.

She was exhausted.

With the Colonel so desperately ill and her personal relationship blown to pieces, she had thrown herself into her work, working long into the night in an attempt to forget the past couple of weeks. Tonight she was home early, which was unusual in itself because often after visiting the Colonel she would go back to the base for a few more hours. But tonight, she just couldn't face it.

Finally, with a mental push, she got out of the car and began walking up the path to the front door - only to be startled by someone stepping out of the shadows.

"Sam."

She stopped in her tracks. "Pete! What the hell are you doing here?"

*

The room was quiet, the only light being the small lamp above the bed which was set on the lowest setting and illuminated the sleeping patient, allowing the nurses to keep a close eye on him without switching on the overhead lights.

"Hey, Colonel." Janet stopped at the bed and rested her hand gently on his forehead. "I hear you've been waking up a bit more today."

She wasn't surprised to see his eyes open - his chart update had reported it was happening more frequently.

She was surprised however that his eyes after a few seconds focused on her.

*

"I heard you were discharged." Sam stood her ground. "How are you doing?"

Indicating to the crutches, Pete shrugged. "Good. The crutches are a bitch but a few weeks of physio and I'll be as good as new.

"That's good news." She was sincere. Despite everything that had happened, she wanted him to be okay.

"Really?" He shivered in the cool night air and threw her a grin. "How about offering me a cup of coffee?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Pete, but it's been a bad few days and I'm really tired."

"Okay." From the tone of his voice, she could tell he wasn't happy. "How about this weekend? I'm stuck in Colorado Springs for a while until the docs say I'm fit to travel. Maybe we could spend some quality time together and talk."

"I can't, Pete. There's too much going on at the moment."

"Fine." He glared at her. "Then I guess you don't want to fight to keep what we have. You obviously care more about other things."

Sam folded her arms across her chest. "I don't quite understand what you're getting at, but you're proving my point about the whole conversation thing. And this isn't the place either." She glanced around, checking that none of the neighbors' curtains were twitching.

But Pete wasn't going to let it drop. "Or maybe you're just hiding behind it as a convenient excuse. I've seen you, you know. Sitting at his bedside, talking to him...sitting a little too close to him."

A look of confusion spread across her face. "What are you talking about?"

He stepped a little closer to her. "Colonel O'Neill. I've been past his room a couple of times when I've been in for physiotherapy. I've seen you in there. No wonder you haven't had time to come and visit me."

Sam slowly unfolded her arms and stepped closer to him. "You're an idiot, Pete. Did you know that?" She kept her voice deliberately low. "You want us to work on a relationship but seem hell bent on destroying it yourself."

"Sam..."

Cutting him dead, she pushed past him and made it to the front door, fumbling momentarily with her keys, before finding the right one and unlocking the door. She paused and turned back to look at him.

"Take care, Pete. Despite everything, I still care."

Without giving him time to respond, she closed the door.

*

His eyes slowly tracked around the room before settling on her again. "Doc..." His voice was slurred, no more than a whisper.

Janet remembered to breathe and gave his hand a gentle squeeze, a smile breaking out across her face. "Welcome back. You've had us worried for a while."

"In'fm'ry?" He looked confused as she shook her head.

"You're a guest at the Academy Hospital." She sat on the edge of the bed. "You've been through the wringer, sir."

He coughed and she automatically reached for the water jug at his bedside, pouring some into a beaker. Inserting a straw, she held the beaker up to his lips with one hand and supported his head with the other as he took a couple of sips.

When he finished, she gently lowered his head back onto the pillow. "Okay?"

"Hmmm." His eyes had closed again and she thought he was drifting back off to sleep, but suddenly they opened again. "My....team?"

She smiled again. "They're fine, sir. They'll be in to see you soon."

Rubbing her thumb in a circular action against his hand, she stayed with him watching as his eyes closed yet again and he drifted off to sleep.

The tests could wait

*

The noise from the briefing room was enough to give General Hammond a headache and it was only 8am in the morning.

The Tok'ra had arrived in the early hours, bringing wounded and unwelcome news. Anubis' super soldiers had located one of their bases and launched a surprise attack. The Tok'ra were convinced no one knew the location of the base, which set alarm bells ringing about a spy. And if a spy knew the location of the Tok'ra....

It didn't bear thinking.

As a precaution he had put the Alpha Site on high alert.

But now the Tok'ra were refusing to go the Alpha Site, claiming it was compromised. Plus it didn't help the rebel Jaffa were still there.

Jacob was currently in the briefing room, trying to reason with his kin. But by the shouting and arm waving, it was obvious he was fighting a losing battle. Even Doctor Jackson had given up an hour ago and retreated, mumbling something about coffee and early mornings.

If Colonel O'Neill were here, he would have just zatted them.

There were times he hated being a General.

*

"Hey, Sam." Daniel joined Sam at one of the tables in the commissary, a cup of coffee in hand. "How's it going?"

Pushing away a bowl of yoghurt, she slumped back in her chair. "Just great, Daniel." She looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry, I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Oh," he took a sip of his coffee. "Why?"

Sam grimaced. "Pete paid me a visit yesterday evening. More or less accused me of caring more about the Colonel than him."

He nearly choked on his coffee. "How did he come to that conclusion?"

"He's saw me in the Colonel's room a couple of times." She retrieved the bowel again, picking up the spoon. "He's an idiot. What the hell did I see in him?"

Daniel shrugged. "It must have been great sex."

"Daniel!" Sam punched him on the arm.

He held his hands up in protest before laughing and she glared at him.

"I can't believe you just said that." She finished her yoghurt and got to her feet. "I have to go. I need to catch up with my dad. Apparently he has something to show me. I'll see you later."

*

Part 6/10

Collinson was not a happy man.

He'd arrived on duty to find a message from Doctor Fraiser saying she was stuck at the SGC with an emergency and could they delay the tests they had planned until she arrived later in the day. He had been more than happy to accommodate her wishes, but unfortunately, he hadn't counted on the O'Neill factor.

The floor nurses reported that the Colonel was restless and he'd decided to check on him before rounds. Jack hit him with the question as soon as he'd entered the room.

"Wh'tt...h'pp'nd...to me?"

And Collinson found himself with no choice.

"You had what we call a sub acute subdural haematoma, a slow bleed on the brain." Doctor Collinson sat at Jack's bedside, keeping a close eye on his patient. "Do you remember anything?"

His question was answered with a shake of the head, which obviously caused the Colonel some pain.

"Can you tell me your full name."

If looks could kill.... "Humor me."

His patient grimaced. "Colon'l Jon'than O'Neill....USAF." He pointed to his head. "How?"

"You took a blow to the head which caused the slow bleed. It took a few days for the symptoms to manifest fully and you collapsed. You've been unconscious since."

"How l'ng." The voice was becoming more slurred, less pronounced.

Collinson frowned, checking the monitors, and then motioned for one of the nurses standing nearby to come forward. "Can we book in another MRI asap and schedule cognitive tests."

*

He wasn't stupid.

He knew there was a problem. Despite the lethargy that surrounded him and his failure to concentrate on anything for more than a few minutes, he knew something wasn't right.

He had known as soon as he had tried to raise his right arm and squeeze the doctor's hand when asked to.

Collinson hadn't shown the slightest indication that something was wrong and after all the tests had been run, he was too damn tired to challenge him on it.

At one point he had attempted to get out of bed. Well, that had been a bad idea and all that had been achieved was a jug of water being spilt over the bed when he knocked the bedside cabinet.

The nurse's aide had clucked and fussed over him until he'd told her to go away.

He was getting pissed.

*

"There's significant weakness on his right side."

Collinson took his glasses off and rubbed his tired eyes. "When I did the cognition tests this morning following the MRI, I detected the weakness in his strength of grip and tension against my hand. I had a colleague repeat the test four hours later after the Colonel had some rest and he drew the same conclusion."

The news didn't surprise Janet, she was expecting something like this, but it was still hard to accept. "Did you do an electromyography?"

He nodded, sifting through a pile of papers until he found what he was looking for, handing a piece of paper to her. "The results were conclusive, detecting muscle weakness. However, I'm more than hopeful that with the right rehabilitation schedule, we can counteract this and he'll make a full recovery."

"Have you told him?" Janet finished reading the results and handed the paper back.

He shook his head. "Not yet. He's still very tired and I wasn't sure how much he would take in. I was going to wait until the morning."

*

General Hammond finished reading the summary of the report in front of him and looked across the briefing table at Sam.

"I can assume that progress is slow, Major."

Resting her hands on the table in front of her, she nodded. "Yes, sir. The plans provided by the Tok'ra are extensive and my father is assisting as much as possible, but we lack certain components to make the weapon."

Hammond frowned. "And have the Tok'ra made any suggestions as to how we obtain these `missing' components."

"No, sir. But they have assured me that they are working on it." Sam glanced instinctively over at the viewing window, looking at the dormant Stargate.

Pushing away from the table, Hammond stood up. "Thank you, Major, for the update. With the threat of Anubis' super soldiers growing daily, it's imperative that we find a weapon which will be effective against them."

"Yes, sir." Sam also stood.

As Hammond turned towards his office, he hesitated and turned back. "Major, I believe Lieutenant Shanahan has been discharged from the hospital."

She nodded. "Last week, sir. I believe he's doing well."

Hammond couldn't miss the vague response and he felt a pang of sympathy, knowing it almost certainly indicated the end of the Major's relationship with the police lieutenant.

*

It was early morning and the hospital hallways were still relatively quiet as Janet made her way to the Neurological step down unit. She had a couple of hours before she was due on duty at the SGC infirmary and she wanted to check on the Colonel.

Her overzealousness when it came to the Colonel's care was legendary, her colleagues had commented on it before. But she knew his medical history and she understood his need to know everything going on and how he hated to lose control. With this in mind, she had spent a few hours the previous evening carefully preparing all his notes and test results to help him understand what had already happened and what was going to happen in the future.

Hiding anything would only make matters worse.

As always, she stopped at the nurses' station to speak to the floor nurses and check Jack's chart. She didn't like the report. He'd been pretty restless all night but had refused any assistance. This morning's breakfast had gone untouched.

The classic signs of brooding.

Entering his room, at first appearance it looked as if he was sleeping. But she knew better.

She settled herself in the chair at his bedside.

"It's...like Grand....Centr'l Station...." His lifted his left arm up and rested it over his eyes, a gesture Janet was all too familiar with.

Janet smiled apologetically. "Yes, sir."

"I'm tired." And he sounded tired, she had to agree, but she also knew that unless they talked now he wasn't going to get the rest he needed.

She picked up the carefully prepared file and placed it on the bed next to him. "I know that Doctor Collinson has told you some of what happened, but I thought maybe you would like to know the full picture?"

He lay still, his arm staying over his eyes.

She sat patiently, knowing the battle that would be raging inside his head, the whole ostrich head in the sand scenario.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he removed his arm from his face and turned his head sluggishly to look at her.

"Go for...it, doc."

She picked the file up. "When you were briefly knocked out, the impact caused a leak of blood under the membrane that covers your brain." Janet held up the first MRI scans taken after he had first collapsed.

Silently, Jack took them in his left hand and held them up to the light.

"The pressure built up slowly causing your brain to swell, which would have manifested itself in headaches, dizziness, blurry vision and mood swings." Janet continued, watching him closely, as he nodded in agreement at the list of effects. "Finally it got all too much and the pressure caused you to lose consciousness, which is when we ran the MRI and identified the sub acute subdural haematoma."

She indicated to the IV port on his left hand.

"We started you on a high dosage of steroids to reduce the swelling but they weren't working quickly enough. A neurosurgeon, Doctor Collinson, who you've met, was called in and he operated to clear the blood in an attempt to ease the pressure. The surgery went very well and the steroids eventually did their job and reduced the swelling. At the moment we still have you on a low level dose of steroids and an anti-seizure drug called Dilantin, purely as a precaution. These are standard text book procedures for this kind of head injury."

"Did I...have... a seizure?" The question was softly spoken.

With a shake of her head, she instinctively moved forward in her chair. "No, but it was a risk. By prescribing a course of Dilantin, we hopefully have avoided that complication. But we will keep you on the drug for at least another six weeks and then we'll review it." She referred back to the file. "What you need to understand is that you suffered a serious injury, which has proved fatal for other cases."

He leaned back against the pillows, looking even more tired. "I guess......I have...a hard head"

Janet smiled. "I would have to agree with that." She cleared her throat. "The tests we ran yesterday have detected a weakness down your right side and that is what we now need to concentrate on."

He turned his head away briefly before looking back at her again. "Perm'nt?"

She shook her head. "I'm confident that we can overcome it, sir. What we need to concentrate on now is rehabilitation. I'm not going to lie to you, Colonel, it isn't going to be quick and I can't guarantee the results. The weakness you are currently experiencing can be improved with physiotherapy and the sooner you begin, the better it will be. But you have to understand, you have been critically ill and your body will need time to recover. Getting stressed, increasing your blood pressure, too much exercise, could trigger another bleed, so we need to take it slowly."

He didn't look convinced.

"I'm going to schedule physiotherapy to begin later this afternoon. Nothing too strenuous, just an assessment, see what kind of work we need to do. In the meantime," she got to her feet, "get plenty of rest."

*

"Ow!" Sam pulled her hand away from Janet and glared at her. "You could have warned me it was going to hurt!"

Janet snatched her hand back and continued to clean the burn. "Don't be such a baby. Anyway, you should have been more careful."

"I was careful." Sam sounded petulant. "I just didn't expect the electrical charge to be so strong."

Janet wasn't going to push. She knew the pressure was on to complete the prototype weapon to defend against Anubis' super soldiers, and it had been especially tough on Sam. It had been almost a week since she had locked herself away in her lab with Jacob and a couple of others in an attempt to get it working.

She finished cleaning the electrical burn and carefully wrapped the hand. "There you go. Keep it dry and come by the infirmary tomorrow to have the dressing changed."

Sam nodded and hopped off the gurney. "Thanks, Janet."

Janet smiled. "You're welcome. Now go get something to eat before you go back to the lab."

"Yes, mom." She turned to go but then looked back. "How's the Colonel doing? I haven't had time to go by the hospital or to catch up with Daniel or Teal'c..."

Janet began tidying away the empty dressing packages. "He's doing okay, Sam. He's still very tired but he started some physiotherapy yesterday. I think it's given him a boost."

Sam nodded, looking relieved. "I'll try and drop by this evening and see him. Maybe go with the guys."

*

Jack turned the television off and threw the remote down on the bedside cabinet, before slumping weakly back on the bed. The noise made his headache worse.

He'd tried reading but after a couple of minutes the printed words blurred.

Earlier, one of the nurses had closed the window blinds to shut out the sunlight as it hurt his eyes and he'd requested the door be closed to block out as much noise as possible.

As for food, the emesis basin placed strategically near the bed was evidence of what he thought of lunch.

He closed his eyes.

*

He wasn't feeling any better when his physiotherapist bounced into the room a couple of hours later.

He wasn't a stranger to physiotherapy, heck he probably had a closet full of crutches at home, and it struck him how all therapists behaved the same.

Maybe they were like the Stepford Wives. Maybe there was a colony of cloned physiotherapists in the depths of Utah or something.

His reverie was interrupted when the woman, who'd greeted him with a cheery `Hi, I'm Leigh, your physiotherapist', attempted to pull his left hip out of its socket.

Well, it felt like she had.

"Colonel?" She paused momentarily. "Is everything alright?"

"Just...peachy!" He glowered at her. His speech was improving on a daily basis but it still frustrated him when he hesitated over a word.

He still felt nauseous from earlier and each time she got him to move a fresh wave hit him, making him feel even more miserable. When she finally announced she had finished for the day, he would have got down on his knees and thanked the Lord if he hadn't thought he'd throw up.

All he wanted to do was crawl down into the pit of the uncomfortable hospital bed and die.

But they weren't even going to let him do that in peace.

The fact that all he had achieved was to shuffle from one end of his room to another was equally depressing.

As soon as Leigh left, one of the floor nurses came bustling in to check his blood pressure and temperature, closely followed by Doctor Collinson to review his progress.

The neurological tests the doctor ran through didn't help the headache.

His dinner tray went untouched, which earned him a `tut' from the nursing aide.

By the time his team arrived to visit during the early evening, he was positively miserable.

*

"That went well." Daniel closed the door behind him as the three of them escaped the hospital room. "I thought Janet said he was doing okay."

Sam glanced at the empty nurses' station. "She said he was improving but...", she looked back at the closed door, "if you ask me, he didn't look too well."

"Indeed." Teal'c agreed.

A nurse emerged from one of the other rooms and Sam moved to intercept her.

Daniel and Teal'c watched as she spoke briefly with the woman, gesturing towards the Colonel's room. The nurse nodded several times and eventually Sam rejoined them.

"Well?" Daniel looked at her quizzically.

Sam shrugged. "Apparently Doctor Collinson saw the Colonel late this afternoon and didn't report anything, but she's going to call Janet."

"Should we stay?"

"I don't know." Sam shrugged again. "It's probably true what he said about being tired and not good company so I think we should go and come back another time."

*

He knew he had been short tempered with his team. He couldn't miss the looks of concern Daniel and Carter had exchanged over his bed that shifted to looks of pity when he stumbled over a word. Even Teal'c had let his usual impassive expression slip when he'd been particularly snippy with Carter. The relief when they'd left had been almost overwhelming but it was mixed with guilt and concern about how tired Sam looked.

His head felt like it was going to explode but he wasn't going to admit that to the nursing staff or even Doctor Fraiser who had turned up a couple of hours later, obviously having been alerted by his team. They'd give him more drugs and he certainly didn't want that. As far as he was concerned the ones they were pumping into him at the moment were bad enough.

Life certainly sucked.

*

The next few days were pretty much the same.

The nurses woke him at a ridiculously early hour by opening the blinds to let in the early morning sunshine. Sixty seconds later, they were hurriedly closed again when he complained about the brightness hurting his eyes.

He picked at his breakfast, just enough to give the illusion that he was eating properly.

Doctor Fraiser or Doctor Collinson would drop by to run the usual checks and avoid answering the one question he asked...

When could he go home?

The physiotherapist would inflict pain and humiliation for thirty minutes in the morning, which was followed by a bland, tasteless lunch that was largely ignored.

He got to sleep undisturbed for a couple of hours in the afternoon, before more physiotherapy which lasted for an hour.

Yet more tasteless food was then delivered.

His team turned up in the early evening to visit. For an hour or so, he would make the effort to be upbeat and positive. He had to suppress a cheer this evening when they announced they would be going offworld for a couple of days to work with the Tok'ra at the Alpha site.

And throughout it all, his head hurt.

It was a vicious circle.

*

Part 7/10

"Colonel O'Neill?" Leigh looked at her patient in exasperation. "Are you listening to a thing I'm saying?"

Jack lay on the rubber mat in the hospital gym and glowered at her.

"Why? Were...you saying...anything...interesting?"

The therapist sat back on her heels and mentally counted to ten. Everything was a battle with this damn man but today he had been particularly difficult. She had thought the natural progression from sessions in his room to time in the gym would have cheered him up, but she'd obviously thought wrong. From the moment she arrived in his room with a wheelchair, he had been nothing but surly.

The weakness on his right side was improving on a daily basis but it obviously wasn't enough for him. They argued constantly - he wanted to do more and she wanted him to slow down. It hadn't been the perfect partnership.

She also knew he was in pain, you didn't need to be a genius to figure it out. The dark shadows around his eyes, the lines across his face were a give away. She had discussed it at length with Doctor Fraiser during their patient conferences but he refused additional pain medication and their hands were tied.

A glance at the wall clock signaled they were close to the end of the session and her next patient was due.

"Time to call it quits for the day, sir." She prepared herself for the usual argument but today he was obviously too pissed at her to even bother.

Without a word, he hauled himself up into a sitting position on the mat and she assisted him to his feet. Knowing better than to mention the wheelchair at the moment, she gave him a break and watched him limp the short distance to the changing room. She could tell by his gait that his first session in the gym had taken a lot out of him as he was literally dragging his right leg, but she knew better than to hover over him. The fact he could walk even that far was an achievement on his first session almost ten days ago, when he could barely raise his arm or leg, something she wished he would realize as well.

With a sigh, she climbed to her feet and began packing away the equipment strewn across the floor.

"Afternoon, Leigh."

Her next appointment had arrived.

"Hey, Pete." She pointed to the changing area. "I'll be ready in five. Why don't you go ahead and get changed."

*

Jack found changing a struggle with the use of only one hand, and having managed to change his sweatpants, was now sitting on the bench in the small room laboriously pulling his t-shirt on. Already exhausted from PT, he was at the end of his tether and his head felt has if it was going to explode.

He heard the door open behind him and, assuming it was Leigh checking up on him, he continued dressing.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Colonel O'Neill."

He recognized Pete Shanahan's voice instantly and finally tugging his t-shirt down, turned to find the man standing by one of the lockers.

"Lieu...tenant Shanahan." He cursed himself for stumbling over the words.

Shanahan dumped his bag on the bench next to him and propped his crutches up against the locker. "I would say it's a pleasure to see you again, but then I would be lying."

Jack climbed wearily to his feet. An hour of physiotherapy had sapped his energy and this was the last thing he needed.

But obviously Shanahan hadn't finished.

"Sam finished with me. Must have been good news for you."

It definitely was good news as far as he was concerned, but it was also a surprise. Carter hadn't mentioned that little tidbit during her visits.

Shanahan scowled. "She was pressured to do it...I wouldn't be surprised to find out that you threatened to end her career if she didn't end the relationship."

"That's...crap and you...kn..know it." His headache, already bad from the physio session, was increasing in pain. "S..she's bi..big enough to make her own sm..smart decisions."

He began limping towards the door but Shanahan moved to block his way.

"Sam and I had something good going. I didn't go public with what I saw because I still think we can be together, but if I find out it's because of you and your `friends' that she's staying away, I won't be quiet."

Jack tried to push him away with his left hand but he stumbled as his right side couldn't compensate. It took all his energy to stay upright. "Black..mail is a..an ugly..threat."

"This isn't blackmail, Colonel O'Neill. I'm just stating my intentions." Shanahan stepped closer to him, his eyes flashing angrily. "And I know you don't enjoy being in the public eye. The whole Kinsey assassination stunt, you didn't look to happy being in the papers. Oh, and let's not forget that incident nine years ago, the one where your son was killed. The media were certainly hanging about then. They'll drag it all back out in the open if I talk. The Air Force Colonel involved in secret operations whose son killed himself with his dad's weapon..."

It felt as if his head was going to implode and the room began to spin. Shanahan was still in front of him talking but he wasn't listening anymore.

"Pete?"

Jack was vaguely aware of a female voice interrupting Shanahan and the police lieutenant moving away from him as he struggled to keep his balance and to stop the rising wave of nausea. He staggered forward and then everything went black.

*

"Colonel!" Leigh rushed towards her patient when she saw him pitch forward, unable to prevent him from hitting the floor with a sickening thud. "Pete, get help now!"

Kneeling beside the stricken man, her fingers sought out his carotid pulse and she was more than a little alarmed at how fast it was. His breathing was ragged and she feared he'd suffered another bleed.

*

"I can't see a fresh bleed." Simon Collinson pushed his chair away from the monitor displaying the MRI scan results. "Which is a miracle given how high his blood pressure is." He turned to the MRI technician. "Let's get the Colonel out and back to his room."

The technician slipped through the door that led into the scanner room.

"What the hell happened?" Collinson turned his attention to Janet. "He was doing so well. His blood pressure and heart rate have been consistently stable."

She looked at him tiredly. "I don't know, Simon. I just got the call that he had collapsed after physiotherapy." She watched as Jack was transferred from the MRI scanner to a gurney. "I'll go with him, make sure everything's okay and then I'll have a talk with the physio in charge, try and find out what happened."

*

Whatever had occurred yesterday afternoon proved to be a major setback in the Colonel's recovery.

His blood pressure remained high despite their best efforts to lower it and when he regained consciousness in the early evening, he was listless and clearly in pain.

*

General Hammond stepped into the darkened hospital room and closed the door softly, mindful of the nurse's warning not to disturb the patient.

Jack was sleeping and he walked quietly over to the bed and settled in the visitor's chair. A call from Janet had brought him here - not that he could do anything, but he just wanted Jack to know that someone was there for him.

Damn Shanahan. The physiotherapist had said, when Janet questioned the events of the afternoon, that Shanahan had been in the changing room when Jack collapsed. Nobody knew exactly what had happened but he was drawing his own conclusions.

The sound of rustling sheets brought Hammond out of his reverie to find Jack's eyes open, and he instinctively knew something was wrong.

"Jack?" Hammond was already reaching for the call button as Jack's body became rigid and went into a seizure.

The time between hitting the button and a nurse responding seemed like an eternity, but in fact only a minute or so passed. Within three minutes the room was filled with medical staff and Hammond found himself being ushered out.

With the door closed on him, he stood out in the hallway feeling distinctly shaky himself.

*

"The Colonel has suffered what we call a post traumatic seizure." Doctor Collinson looked at General Hammond. "It's a known complication of a traumatic brain injury but we're running an EEG at the moment to get a better picture."

Hammond frowned. "And will he have more seizures?"

The doctor shrugged. "It's too early to say, General. As a precaution the Colonel was already on a minimal dose of an anti-seizure medication but it was obviously too low a level to prevent this seizure. Once the EEG has been completed, we will increase the dosage and monitor the situation. It could be it was a one off, but then again it could be a permanent condition." He straightened up. "It's going to be a while..."

Hammond nodded. "I'll be in the waiting room."

Collinson gave him a brief nod and disappeared back inside the room.

Hammond watched as the door began to close, catching a glimpse of the bed and Jack surrounded by a whole lot of new medical equipment before it closed completely. He needed to think about what Collinson had said, all too painfully aware of the consequences it could have on Jack's career.

*

From his head to toe, everything ached.

He had a blinding headache.

And he was overwhelmingly tired.

"Jack?"

He recognized the Texan twang even though the word had been spoken softly and he struggled to focus on the blur present at the side of his bed. After a short while, the blur began to sharpen and General Hammond became recognizable.

"S..." His tongue felt dry and swollen as if he'd been on an all night drinking session and he was more than a little grateful when a glass of water complete with a drinking straw materialized in front of him. With great difficulty, he lifted his head off the pillow and took a few sips before dropping back down.

Hammond moved his chair a little closer to the bed. "I won't ask how you feel, son, because you look like crap."

Jack struggled to keep his eyes open but failed miserably,

*

Watching as SG-1 stepped out of the wormhole and down onto the metal ramp, George Hammond admitted to feeling a certain relief at their return.

It had been three days since Jack's seizure and whereas before the Colonel had been frustrated with his injury and recovery process, now he appeared resentful and angry.

He suspected that the medical staff were considering it another complication of the head injury but he was convinced this wasn't the case. In fact he was positive whatever had transpired between Jack and Lieutenant Shanahan was contributing to his present mood. But any attempt to get Jack to open up had failed.

Hammond was hoping the Colonel's team may be able to help and he leaned forward to speak into the control room microphone. "Welcome home, SG-1."

*

The sound of breaking china gave cause for Janet to quicken her pace as she approached the hospital room. Hurrying through the door, she found the remnants of a lunch tray strewn across the floor.

SG-1's CO was sitting propped up in bed looking not only pale and tired but extremely angry, a nurse hovering anxiously by his bedside.

"I'm sure it's was very nutritious, Colonel." Fraiser decided to go with humor.

Jack eyed the debris with disdain. "You...eat it."

Janet almost winced at how pronounced the slur in Jack's voice has become again. Indicating for the nurse to leave them alone, she waited until the door closed behind her before beginning to pick up the tray and its shattered contents.

"What's going on, sir?" She deposited the remnants into the trash.

He didn't answer, opting instead to stare out the window.

She stepped up to the side of the bed. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"What's....there to....talk about?" His voice was flat.

She suppressed a sigh. "You've suffered a setback, Colonel. But we can overcome it."

He was still staring out of the window. "We?"

Okay, he wasn't going to make it easy for her. "The EEG results this morning were encouraging, showing no abnormalities. That's good news."

"Re..really..."

The disinterested tone he seemed to have adopted began to worry her but she struggled to maintain her light tone. She understood that he was going through a tough time, and she knew the seizure would have frightened him but she was determined not to let him slip into depression, yet another unfortunate side effect of a head injury.

She just hadn't figured out how yet.

*

"Miss Donovan? Miss Julia Donovan?" Pete Shanahan intercepted the reporter as she got out of her car in the parking lot of the TV studio.

Julia eyed him suspiciously and he immediately produced his ID.

"I'm Lieutenant Pete Shanahan, Denver Police Department. I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time?"

She shut her car door and glanced at her watch. "I don't really have much time but if you want to make an appointment with the studio..."

"Have you ever heard of the SGC?" As soon as he uttered the question, he knew he had her attention and smiled. "Is there somewhere we can sit and have a coffee?"

*

Janet had ordered complete bed rest to allow Colonel O'Neill's body time to recover from the seizure and to allow them to keep a close eye on his blood pressure.

Apart from his show of anger which had been taken out on the lunch tray, he had pretty much stayed quiet. He ignored the constant intrusion from the medical staff and when his team came to visit, he found it easier to feign sleep than make polite chit chat with them. The last thing he needed right now was to have to see the pity in their eyes when he stumbled over a word or tried to use the right side of his body.

It had been three days since his setback and the lethargy that had overwhelmed him since it happened was beginning to lift. The ache in his muscles had eased and his head didn't feel as if it was going to explode every time he lifted it off the pillows.

Unfortunately, the improvement was only physical. The overwhelming gloom that had descended over him appeared to be settling in for a long term stay.

*

"I'm curious, Lieutenant Shanahan. Why me?" Julia Donovan sat opposite Pete in the coffee shop booth, her hands resting around a cup of coffee. "What makes you think I'd be interested in hearing what you have to say?"

Pete heaped sugar into his coffee mug and smirked. "Let's just say we share a mutual acquaintance, someone who has an obvious dislike for you." He instantly recalled an offhand comment Sam had once made about the reporter when she'd see her on the TV. A comment that made sense now. "That dislike made me sure that you had some history and the fact that you're sitting here is a dead giveaway, Ms Donovan." He put the sugar dispenser down. "I know you know something about the SGC, something that has pissed them off."

She raised a questioning eyebrow. "And how did you come to that conclusion?"

"Before we go any further, you and I need to make a deal. I'll give you a story, a good story. But you have to agree to keep my name and another person's name out of it all."

There was silence as she considered it. "And who would the other name be?"

"Major Samantha Carter. I don't want her involved." He picked up a spoon and absently began stirring his coffee. "If you involve her, I'll deny everything."

Donovan shrugged. "And what are you going to give me?"

He stopped stirring his coffee and leaned forward. "I'll tell you everything I know about an Air Force base located under NORAD at Cheyenne Mountain called Stargate Command, its activities and a certain Colonel O'Neill, a Special Forces soldier with a past...."

*

The pizza box remained unopened on the bedside table, the tempting smell having long since dissipated as the contents had cooled.

Sam sat in silence in the visitor's chair, lost in thought as she watched her CO sleep. He'd clearly lost weight since his hospitalization and she'd brought the pizza by after a suggestion from Janet.

She had arrived just as he'd returned from his first physiotherapy session since his seizure. Staying in the background, she had watched as the nursing aide helped him from the wheelchair to the bed, dismayed at the level of support he still needed. Unfortunately, she hadn't managed to hide her feelings before he'd noticed her standing there.

Her visit had gone downhill since then.

He'd ordered her to leave, saying he didn't want her pity and the nursing aide had more or less thrown her out.

But she'd returned later hoping maybe he'd talk to her, only to find him asleep. So she'd found herself hanging around, just in case he woke up.

After two hours she gave up and went home.

*

Julia Donovan was someone who didn't like being taken for a fool, and she had certainly felt like one after the whole Prometheus incident.

What Pete Shanahan had handed her, was a chance to redeem herself, and a way around all the damn disclaimers she'd been forced to sign by the Air Force.

In her mind she had the headlines ready, the magazine exclusives, TV appearances and not to mention the book deal. She was going to break the story of the century.

Of course, she could have just sat down and worked on what Shanahan had given her but she wanted more. She was curious to learn more of Colonel Jack O'Neill.

They hadn't really met on the Prometheus. She'd had to deal with that annoying Major Carter, and never really considered O'Neill. That had obviously been an oversight and she'd now rectified it.

It made interesting reading.

A discreet enquiry had revealed the Colonel was a patient at the Academy Hospital and, therefore, accessible. As soon as he was discharged, she knew she wouldn't get close to him, and at the hospital she would be able to catch him off guard.

Her contacts had got her a room number and a visitors pass, so she was good to go.

*

As soon as the door closed behind Carter, Jack opened his eyes and slowly rolled over onto his back, letting out a deep sigh of frustration. He knew he'd behaved like a jerk but he just didn't have the energy or inclination to deal with Carter or any of his team for that matter.

His thoughts were disturbed by the sound of the door opening and the light flooding in, and he mentally cursed himself as he was too slow to feign sleep. With a look of annoyance he turned his head to the door, expecting it to be Carter or one of the nurses, only to find it was neither.

"Colonel O'Neill?"

The door closed behind the figure, leaving only the lamp over the bed to illuminate the room, and he struggled to recognize the woman who was now approaching his bed.

Pulling himself up into a semi-reclining position, it was then that he remembered the face.

"How did you get in here?"

Julia Donovan shrugged. "It's not hard if you know how."

"Then it must be...equally as easy to get out then. Now." He had a sinking feeling he knew why she was here. Shanahan had obviously followed through on his threat.

Ignoring his comment, she settled herself in the chair recently vacated by Carter.

"Knowing the Air Force's biggest secret and being bound by a confidentiality agreement is nothing but frustrating." She smoothed a wrinkle out of her skirt and looked at him. "So you can imagine my surprise when someone turned up on my doorstop and gave me the way out I was looking for. A story about a secret project hidden in the depths of Cheyenne Mountain, controlled by the Air Force and using technology never seen before by the public. Not to mention people with glowing eyes, etc. It was like Christmas and a birthday all wrapped up in one."

His hands surreptitiously searched for the call button before he remembered it had been knocked it from its usually place and was now on the floor. In frustration, he clenched his left hand into a fist. "If you're looking...for a...quote. I'm afraid...you're out of luck."

Julia smiled. "I checked it all out with the studio's lawyers. I can report on the story as told, and as long as I don't refer to anything I learned previously I won't be in breach of the confidentiality agreement. So I got thinking. Obviously, the story I've been told could be easily dismissed by the Air Force as a fairy tale. Glowing eyed aliens, zapping weapons and all that, would be very hard to make believable to the mainstream public. So I'm going to go with the human interest side." She leaned forward in her chair. "I did some digging and found your record. What is a highly decorated, Special Operations Colonel doing assigned to a secret Air Force base buried in a mountain in Colorado? Then of course, there's all the other stories that go with it. The local newspapers were a wonderful source of information. How a local hospital had to be evacuated due to a mysterious radiation leak which required the involvement of an Air Force team, or how you were involved in the `fake' shooting of Senator Kinsey. Little tidbits like that add up and when put together and reported, it's enough to kick start peoples' curiosity. Oh, and then there's the sympathy vote...the tragic story of your son..."

"Get out."

She carried on as if he hadn't spoken. "It's going to make a great story, Colonel. The Air Force will either have to come clean or hang you out to dry as far as I......"

Once again light flooded the room as the door opened to admit a nurse, who immediately frowned at Ms Donovan. "Excuse me, but visiting hours are over."

Flashing the nurse a smile, Julia got to her feet. "It's okay, I'm just leaving." She looked back at Jack. "If you change your mind and want to comment on my story," she pulled a business card out of her purse, "you can contact me any time." Placing the card on the bedside cabinet, she left the room.

*

Part 8/10

"Penny for them?" Janet challenged her friend.

She had met up with Sam on the surface and since they'd stepped into the elevator to take them down into the SGC, she was still waiting for Sam to acknowledge her.

"Huh?" Sam snapped out of her daydream and looked across at the other woman. "Sorry..." Looking apologetic, she shrugged. "I was just thinking."

The lift reached its destination and the doors slid open. Together they stepped out and began walking towards the locker rooms.

"When I home last night, I found a really odd message from Pete on my answering machine." Sam sounded puzzled. "He said he was going back to Denver and I could reach him at his apartment if I wanted."

"And what's strange about that." Janet stopped at the door leading to the locker room. "He was cleared for travel yesterday."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, but it was the tone of the message. As if he was apologizing for something." She shook her head. "I guess you had to hear it to understand what I mean."

*

Rationally the first thing he should have done as soon as Ms Donovan had left, should have been to pick up the phone and call General Hammond.

But then again, he wasn't exactly thinking rationally at the moment.

The card had been shredded into tiny pieces and thrown away in a burst of anger when the nurse had left the room.

And he hadn't slept a wink the entire night.

Subsequently, the following morning the nursing staff reported a rise in his blood pressure and a sharp decline in his attitude. Doctor Collinson had been down to see the Colonel and deferred further tests for twenty-four hours to see if his pressure decreased and ordering physio to be limited to a thirty minute session in his room instead of the gym.

Which only added to the Colonel's frustration.

He was angry.

Extremely angry.

The fact that Julia Donovan had casually strolled into his hospital room and threatened him had pissed him off no end. But not as much as knowing that Pete Shanahan was cowardly enough to hide behind her.

He was going to fight back.

*

The medical staff didn't quite know what to make of the sudden turn in Colonel O'Neill's attitude.

He ate the food put in front of him, drank the protein shakes prescribed by Doctor Collinson to build up his calorie intake and began actively participating in his physiotherapy again.

However, he remained more than a little surly when it came to communicating with him.

Nobody knew exactly what to make of the whole situation but as long as the Colonel continued to improve, no one was going to delve into it too deeply.

*

Julia Donovan snapped her cell phone closed and cursed under her breath.

Lieutenant Pete Shanahan was an ass.

She needed him up in front of the camera but he was being a chicken shit. Her bosses were running scared of the Air Force, despite their earlier bravado when she'd gone to them with Shanahan's revelations. They kept bleating about their earlier agreement with the Air Force and the whole Prometheus fiasco, and how her story could be interpreted as a breach of confidentiality. They wanted Shanahan named and interviewed on camera.

But Shanahan was having none if it. In fact he wanted anonymity.

Julia could see her chances of moving up to the big time news networks disappearing down the drain unless she got him to change his mind.

She was going to have to chase him down.

*

Each time the door swung open or the telephone rang, Jack had to fight the urge to flinch. It had been almost ten days since the reporter's visit and he was still waiting for her to make her next move. He also studiously avoided the television, not wanting to switch on the evening news and see her smug face.

He had worked hard on his physiotherapy, almost to the point of exhaustion, in an attempt to get mobile and it was beginning to pay dividends. Unfortunately, as far as he was concerned, he was progressing far too slowly.

*

"There's something going on, isn't there." Daniel fell into step with Janet as she stepped out of the elevator, heading for the briefing room.

"I don't know." Janet looked puzzled. "I'm just on my way to the briefing room to find out."

He shook his head in exasperation. "I don't mean here...at the SGC. I mean with Jack."

Janet didn't break her stride, she was already running late. "Not that I'm aware of. The Colonel's recovery is ongoing, in fact he's doing much better."

"That's what I mean." He moved to block her way. "One minute he was in the depths of depression, and the next minute he's throwing everything into his recovery. What happened?"

She sidestepped him. "Daniel, maybe that's something you should be asking him. I have a briefing I need to get to."

*

An hour later and she was cursing Doctor Jackson.

All through her meeting with the General and SG-13, she kept pondering what Daniel had said in the corridor. She knew he'd only voiced the opinion that everyone else had kept quiet, too afraid to ask the Colonel.

Too afraid to upset the apple cart, as her momma used to say.

But she knew that it was something that had to be faced now. Daniel was like a dog with a bone when he thought there was a problem and he tended to jump him feet first, sometimes making a situation worse. But in order to head him off at the pass, she would need to face up to the Colonel first.

Something she wasn't looking forward to.

*

Hanging out in the lobby of Central Denver Police Department wasn't Julia's idea of fun but Lieutenant Shanahan had ignored all her messages, which was something she wasn't used to.

The desk sergeant confirmed that the detective was on duty, adding that he was deskbound due to injury, before asking if she wanted him to call up to let him know she was there.

She declined, knowing damn well that he'd only head out the back way, and made herself as comfortable as possible in the waiting area.

It wasn't long before she felt the need for a shower.

However, three hours later she was rewarded with the sight of Shanahan coming through the double doors, his gait slightly unsteady as he used the cane to support himself as he walked.

With a smug smile in place, she stepped up in front of him.

"Lieutenant Shanahan, I believe you've been ignoring me."

*

Despite the improvement in his physical condition, Jack was still prone to suffering from debilitating headaches.

One such headache had hit him full force in the midst of a physiotherapy session causing the therapist to cut it short, and driving him back to bed.

Janet slipped quietly in the darkened room, shivering slightly at the cool temperature set on the A/C unit. The Colonel had been back in his room for a few hours and she hoped that his headache had receded enough to allow them to chat.

His eyes were closed as she took a seat at his bedside, but she knew he wasn't sleeping and sat back waiting for him to acknowledge her.

It took almost ten minutes.

"Don't you have anything better to do, doc." He rolled over flat onto his back, his eyes still closed.

Janet shrugged. "I just wanted to see how everything was going. Doctor Collinson has been more than a little astounded by your recovery."

"Yeah, well. You know how I like to keep you docs guessing."

Janet leaned forward in her chair. "And something Daniel said today, well, let's just say it concerned me somewhat."

When his eyes opened, she knew he had him.

"Cut the crap, doc, and get to the point."

Correction, he was calling the shots.

Damn.

"Sir," She knew she had to phrase her next words carefully. "What's going on?

He finally looked at her. "I'm doing what everyone kept telling me to do."

She raised an eyebrow, Teal'c style. "Excuse me, sir, but why have you changed a habit of a lifetime?"

"Maybe I've given myself a swift kick, doc."

The door swung open before she could respond and a nurse entered. Seeing Janet, she stood in her tracks. "I'm sorry, Doctor Fraiser. Shall I come back?"

Janet quickly glanced at Jack, and realized she wasn't going to get anything out of him. She shook her head. "No, it's okay. I have rounds to make." She rose to her feet. "I'll see you later, sir."

As the nurse checked Jack's blood pressure and ran through her regular checks, Janet left the room.

*

"You want me to do what?" Shanahan stared at the reporter in disbelief. "You must be out of your mind. Did you forget that tiny little deal we had? You know, the one where you can use the information I gave you but you keep my name out it?"

Julia tried her most winning smile. "It would give credibility to the story if a well respected law enforcement officer backed it up

Shanahan paced the small interview room he commandeered after she confronted him in the lobby.

"I'm sorry, Ms Donovan, but my answer is definitely no." He stopped pacing and looked straight at her. "And if you won't run with the story on my terms, then I'm damn sure I'll find another reporter who will."

*

Juggling a bag of groceries and a cup of coffee as she walked to her car, Sam cursed under her breath when her cellphone rang. Dumping everything on the front seat, she pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket and flipped it open.

"Carter."

*

Daniel had just got home after a trip to the hospital, where the floor nurse had intercepted him as he'd headed down towards Jack's room and informed in, ever so politely, that the Colonel had a headache and requested no visitors.

Knowing it would have been a waste of timing arguing, he had asked the nurse to let Jack know he'd dropped by.

He had just switched on the coffee machine when there was a knock on the door and he answered it, to find Sam standing on his doorstep with another woman he hadn't seen before.

"Sam?" He looked questioningly at her companion.

Sam stepped past him into the house. "Daniel, meet Julia Donovan. She's a television reporter."

"Huh?"

Donovan flashed him a smile. "It's nice to meet you Doctor Jackson." She didn't give him time to respond as she followed Sam.

Having no choice, Daniel closed the door and trailed them through to the living room. "Umm... Would anyone like a coffee?"

Sam shook her head and for the first time, Daniel realized that she looked tense and angry.

"Is everything okay?"

As the reporter made herself comfortable on the sofa, Sam moved over to the picture window and looked out into the twilight. "Pete went to the media with his story."

"What!" Daniel stared at her in disbelief.

"He approached Ms Donovan last week and told her everything he knew." Sam was visibly shaking with anger but her voice was calm. "Unfortunately, Ms Donovan can't run with the story without more corroboration and Pete won't go on camera."

Julia remained silent but her eyes tracked the conversation between Sam and Daniel.

"That's a good thing then?" Daniel looked a little confused. "I mean, the story's dead in the water."

Sam shook her head. "Not quite." She looked across at Julia.

Julia smoothed her skirt and placed her hands on her knees. "I could have run with the story if it wasn't for the confidentiality disclaimer I signed last year. In fact, I tried damn hard to get my bosses to let me go with it."

Daniel held his hand up. "Okay, can someone please explain this to me from the beginning?"

"Fine." Julia sighed. "I was told about the Stargate project last year when I was approached to put together a story for the Air Force on the Prometheus. Things didn't exactly go to plan and I have never been able to publish anything which would reveal the project to the public." She looked more than a little unimpressed by this arrangement. "When Shanahan approached me, it was perfect. Using Shanahan as a front, I could finally publish the story of the century. Unfortunately, my bosses wouldn't agree with me unless I got Shanahan on camera. When I went back to him, he said if I didn't run with the story, he'd take it to someone else..."

"Who doesn't have a disclaimer to stop them publishing." Daniel looked back across at Sam. "Damn."

Sam shook her head. "Oh, you haven't heard the best of it." She glared at Julia. "Apparently, Pete was quite keen for Colonel O'Neill to be the focus of the expos and happily provided Ms Donovan with the information he got from running a background check."

"Shit."

"Oh, you haven't heard the best of it." Sam continued. "Ms Donovan paid the Colonel a visit in the hospital."

Julia looked unrepentant. "I wanted the story. And now, although I risk sounding like a petulant child, I want you to stop Shanahan taking his story elsewhere. I have a deal with the Air Force that when the Stargate project goes public, I'll get the exclusive."

Daniel's eyes narrowed and the air in the room became distinctively chilly. "What exactly did you say to Jack?"

*

As far as he was concerned, he was out of here.

It had seemed like a lifetime but, eventually, on the orders of Doctor Collinson, the nursing team had cut back on their regular neurological checks and removed all the monitoring equipment with the exception of an IV. One sneak look at his chart had confirmed his window of opportunity had arrived. After an 8pm check, they wouldn't be back for another until 7am.

Of course there was nothing stopping the floor nurses checking in on him but that was a risk he was going to have to run with.

At midnight, when he was certain the floor was quiet, Jack made his move.

*

Hammond poured himself another mug of coffee and retook his chair at the head of the briefing table, where the others were discussing their options. His quiet night at home had all but been blown out the water three hours earlier with the arrival of Major Carter, Doctor Jackson and Ms Donovan at the SGC.

He was angry with himself for underestimating Lieutenant Shanahan. He had banked on the man's relationship with Carter to keep him quiet and now the whole situation had the potential to blow up in their faces. It was damage limitation time.

"Okay, people." They fell silent as he continued. "Nothing else is going to be achieved here tonight." He looked pointedly at his watch and then at Julia Donovan. "How certain are you that you will find out if Lieutenant Shanahan has approached another reporter?"

Julia shrugged. "I'll arrange to meet with him tomorrow, tell him that I'm going to run with the story independently. That should stop him going elsewhere for the time being."

"In the meantime," Hammond turned his attention to Major Carter and Doctor Jackson, "I will discuss the security implications with the Pentagon. Until otherwise ordered, neither of you are to approach him. If he gets in contact with you, I want to know about it immediately. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." Both Carter and Jackson nodded.

Hammond got up to leave and the Major moved to intercept him.

"Sir..." She hesitated slightly. "I'm due back at the Alpha site tomorrow to meet with the Tok'ra. I request permission to delay the mission for twenty-four hours."

"Major, your request is denied." He looked at her regretfully. "The project is entering a crucial stage and any delays at this time could be critical, therefore I can't justify your absence."

She nodded. "I understand, sir."

*

By the time he stepped through his front door, Jack felt as if his head was going to explode and his body was screaming at the sheer physical exertion it had taken him to get this far.

His plan had made perfect sense when he was lying in the hospital bed.

Escape.

Track down Shanahan.

What the hell he was going to do when he found Shanahan, well he would have crossed that bridge when he came to it.

But now, sheer willpower was the only thing keeping him going.

*

At 6am, the hospital was still fairly quiet as General Hammond stepped out of the lift onto the neurological floor. He needed to talk to Jack before going to the base because he knew from experience that once he was twenty-eight floors under the mountain, the likelihood of getting to the hospital before late evening was almost zero.

As he walked down the corridor towards Jack's room, he noticed medical staff coming in and out of one of the other rooms looking harried. One of the regular floor nurses, however, saw him approaching and stopped.

"Good morning, General Hammond."

Hammond gave her a quick nod. "Everything alright?"

The nurse glanced at the busy room. "We had a critical patient admitted late last night. It's been a busy shift, sir." She indicated to Jack's room. "The Colonel's been quiet. I don't know if he's awake yet." Someone called her name and she hurried away.

Reaching Jack's room, he knocked quietly on the closed door before entering. The room was in darkness and he was forced to open the door wider to allow more light to flood in, only to reveal an empty bed. Switching on the main lights, Hammond scanned the room and then checked the bathroom, finding it empty as well.

"Dammit!"

*

Part 9/10

The early morning call from Julia Donovan had raised Pete's hopes again that she was going to run with the story and bring O'Neill down a peg or two. He was due to return to Colorado Springs in a couple for days for a check up at the hospital, so he arranged to meet the reporter there in the hospital cafeteria.

Several times he had considered picking up the phone and calling Sam, to try and get her to understand his point of view, but in the end he decided it would be better to do it face to face.

*

He'd awoken to find himself sprawled out on the hallway floor, with a feeling of utter disorientation. Instinctively he tried to pick himself up off the floor, only for everything around him to spin sickeningly.

Nothing could stop the wave of nausea that hit him.

He didn't know how long he lay on the floor, fighting the nausea and the intense pain that radiated in his skull, but he did know he was in big trouble. Mustering the last of his strength and willing his head not to explode, he closed his eyes in an attempt to combat the spinning and pulled himself up onto his hands and feet.

It felt like an eternity before his hands brushed against the hallway table and he reached up to retrieve the phone. Lying back down on the floor, clutching the phone, he allowed himself to momentarily open his eyes to punch in Janet's number.

*

To say Janet was worried, was putting it mildly.

Putting down the phone after Hammond's call to report Colonel O'Neill's disappearance from the hospital, she had swung into action.

She dressed as quickly as possible and was just in the process of scribbling a note to Cassie in the kitchen, when her cellphone rang. Still concentrating on the note, she fished the phone out of her purse.

"Fraiser."

For a moment there was silence and then she heard her name being faintly spoken by a voice she recognized instantly.

"Colonel?"

The note forgotten, she concentrated on the call.

"Sir?... Where are you?"

*

The wormhole established itself and for the first time, Sam found herself in the position of not wanting to step through it. Teal'c had already moved up onto the ramp but, sensing her hesitation, turned to look back at her.

"Major Carter?"

With a mental sigh, she tightened her grip on her P90 and joined Teal'c.

*

The doctor knew that she must have broken the speed limit several times in the fifteen minutes it took her to get from her own home to the Colonel's.

Slamming her car door shut, she hurried up the driveway, her hands sorting through her keychain for the Colonel's spare door key, thanking her lucky stars that she was in possession of one.

Unlocking the door, she opened it and stepped inside, almost falling over the supine form of the man.

"Colonel!"

Dropping to her knees beside him, she only allowed herself to breathe when she had checked his respiratory rate and pulse. A quick examination of his pupil reaction confirmed that he wasn't in any immediate danger, but worried about his unconscious state, she gently rolled him over into the recovery position, rested her fingers in his wrist, over his pulse point and waited for the medical team to arrive.

*

"Of all the stupid idiotic things!" Collinson ranted as he scanned the MRI images intently. "What was he thinking?"

Sitting back in his chair, he looked back at Janet and General Hammond. "I don't see any sign of fresh bleeding, which is lucky, but it doesn't mean he's out of the woods."

Janet nodded in understanding but Hammond frowned. "But if the scans are okay..."

"Although the risk of seizures has diminished, we have continued to give him a regular doze of anti-seizure drugs and also medication to keep his blood pressure artificially low. When he left last night, he pulled an IV that was giving him those vital drugs and now we're seeing signs that it's having a detrimental effect." Janet allowed her eyes to drift, focusing on the viewing window into the MRI room. "His blood pressure is sky high, more likely from the stress of his little escapade, and he's complaining of a severe headache. Why he pulled this stunt, is anyone's guess."

"He was doing well." Janet continued, sounding baffled. "I mean, I know the Colonel has an aversion for hospitals but I thought he was more than aware of the seriousness of his condition... I don't understand why he would risk all the work he's put into his recovery by pulling this reckless stunt." Her eyes narrowed as she saw General Hammond shift uncomfortably in his chair. "Sir?"

Hammond sighed. "I think I may know the reason, doctors."

*

When Daniel saw Sam hurrying down the corridor, he doubled checked the time.

"Um... Sam. Aren't you supposed to be offworld?"

She looked at him a little sheepishly. "It would appear that Dad was a little ahead of himself with the project. I wasn't needed, so I gated back. Teal'c has remained behind and will let me know when things are back on schedule."

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

She blushed. "So, what are you doing? Have you heard anything from Julia Donovan?"

"Yep," they started walking down the corridor toward the elevator. "She's arranged to meet up with Shanahan in a couple of days here in Colorado Springs." They stopped in front of the elevator and Daniel swiped his security card through the reader. "However, there's been a bit of a complication."

Sam frowned. "What kind of complication?"

The elevator doors slid open and they stepped into the empty car.

"Jack did a runner from the hospital last night. He didn't get far. Janet found him collapsed at his home and rushed him straight back to hospital." Daniel shook his head in disbelief. "I'm on my way down there now to see him."

"I'm coming with you." Sam's tone brooked no argument.

*

The headache had receded to a dull throb, no doubt as a result of the drugs they were pumping into him, and Jack was beginning to realize the consequences of his actions.

Back in the familiar surroundings of his hospital room, he had drifted in and out of sleep only peripherally aware of the comings and goings of the hospital staff. A couple of hours later he finally conceded he was more awake than asleep and made more of a concerted effort to open his eyes.

"Jack?" Almost immediately, General Hammond's face loomed into his line of sight.

He blinked heavily. "Sir?" He struggled to pull himself up into a sitting position, more than a little shocked at his own weakness and more than a little grateful when Hammond raised the head of the bed to a semi reclining position. He leaned back against the pillows and concentrated on the General.

Who was shaking his head slowly.

"Jack, what the hell were you thinking?"

And at the moment, Jack realized that what he so desperately craved was control. Something he had lost the moment he'd collapsed in the infirmary which now seemed like an age ago. Shanahan and the reporter had just been the icing on the cake.

"I'm sorry." His words were barely a whisper and he moved his left arm to cover this eyes.

*

Hammond sensed his Second in Command was near breaking point and he placed his hand gently on his shoulder.

"Jack, I can't even begin to understand how you are feeling right now but I can draw my own conclusions from your latest actions." He paused, taking a deep breath. "We know Shanahan approached a reporter."

He felt Jack tense up.

"For a variety of reasons, Julia Donovan went to Major Carter and Doctor Jackson and she won't be running with the story. We're working now on ensuring Lieutenant Shanahan doesn't try to take it to another reporter. In fact Ms Donovan is most keen that his story doesn't get published." He shook his head. "You should have come to me when Ms Donovan turned up at here. We could have made moves to stop this a lot sooner."

His tone was gentle but admonishing.

After what seemed like a lifetime, Jack dropped his arm away from his face and turned to look at the General.

"It was personal, sir."

Hammond sighed. "I owe you an apology, Jack. I misjudged Shanahan and I regret the stress it's caused you and your team. All I can do now is try to right a wrong. Will you let me do that?"

Jack considered the words and then eventually gave a brief nod.

*

Leaving Jack to rest, General Hammond slipped quietly out of his room only to see Doctor Jackson and Major Carter approaching.

"Major Carter." He looked at her sternly. "I believe you are supposed to be otherwise occupied."

"Yes, sir." Carter had the good grace to look apologetic. "However, the Tok'ra weren't in a position for the project to continue and I sought Colonel Reynold's permission to return to base." She looked pointedly at the closed door behind him. "Sir, how's the Colonel?"

"The doctors are keeping a close eye on him but apart from being exhausted, it appears he may not have set his recovery back too far." He shook his head. "He's under strict orders to rest, so it's probably best if we let him do that."

Doctor Jackson looked like he was going to argue and Hammond steeled himself for it, however in the end the other man just nodded. "We'll drop by later when he's had some sleep."

*

Having slept for a couple hours after Hammond left, Jack was wide awake when Janet decided it was time the two of them had a chat.

Checking with the nurses, she was more than a little relieved that the Colonel's blood pressure was easing up and he was up and about apparently none the worse for his escapade.

Two cups of decaf Starbucks in hand, she made her entrance into his hospital room.

"Colonel."

Jack was seated on his bed, dressed in sweats, fiddling with the remote control for his TV. Upon her appearance in the room, he switched the set off but not before she noted the volume had been turned down low.

Wordlessly, she handed him one of the coffee cups and settled herself in the visitor chair.

He looked at the cup in surprise before noticing the mark on the lid that indicated the decaf.

"Thanks, doc."

She grinned. "You're welcome." She took a sip of her coffee and put it down on the bedside cabinet. "If you don't mind me saying so, sir, you were damn lucky today."

His shoulders slumped, expecting her to read the riot act.

"As long as you promise me that you'll think twice before treating your own life so carelessly again, then I won't say anything else on the matter. Agreed?"

"You're the doc." He took a sip of the coffee, grimacing at the decaf taste.

"Well, sir, I'm glad you said that." She indicated the TV. "The headaches will ease. Just like the residual weakness continues to improve. It's a slow process but I have every faith that you will step through the Stargate again."

He shook his head slowly. "But in the meantime, it sucks, doc."

*

Daniel set another pot of coffee on to brew, not even wanting to consider just how much of the damn stuff he had drunk in the past eighteen hours.

He had been working flat out trying to dig up anything on Shanahan that they could use against him, even to go as far as to discredit him. But give the police lieutenant his due, despite abusing his police powers on performing background searches, he appeared to have an unblemished career record with the Denver Police Department.

Not that Daniel had been surprised, knowing that Jack had already gone down this route and found nothing.

But he needed to find something for Julia Donovan to use against Shanahan at their next meeting. Something that would be sufficient enough to persuade him to back down from his seemingly personal vendetta against Jack and to drop any notion of going public with his story about the SGC.

The idea that Shanahan was squeaky clean, was one Daniel refused to entertain.

He was going to find something.

*

Hammond had spent a good portion of his time on the phone to Major Davis at the Pentagon discussion legal options. They had undertaken this conversation before when Lieutenant Shanahan had first been injured and refused to sign the disclaimer, and the results remained the same. Unless Shanahan revealed specific details of the SGC base that could compromise national security, their hands were tied.

The Air Force was prepared to deliver a rebuttal against any wild claims of a secret base under NORAD. That, however, wouldn't help Jack if the media used the background information that Shanahan seemed eager to share.

But Hammond was going to keep working on it.

*

Despite his awareness that his friends were doing what they could to stop Shanahan, Jack still felt helpless, hating the feeling that everything was out of his control. The headache that he plagued him since his escape from the hospital was also making its presence known.

"Colonel?"

Carter stood in the doorway, looking more than a little hesitant to come further into the room. With a weary wave, he beckoned her in.

"Major."

She slipped into the semi darkened room, closing the door behind her, and approached the bed.

"I'm not disturbing you am I, sir?" She stood at the side of the bed. "Only Doctor Fraiser said you were allowed visitors and ....."

He shook his head. "It's fine, Major." He managed a small smile. "So what brings you to the most exciting place in town?"

She didn't return the smile, in fact she looked more than a little guilty. "I'm sorry, sir." There was a pause before she continued. "For not recognizing what you were trying to do back at the base...when Pete was there....trying to protect me."

She flushed and Jack reached out to give her arm a gentle squeeze. "Relax, Carter. Even I know I could have handled it better."

"Sir!" She shook her head in protestation. "With all due respect, you had a serious head injury."

He held his hand up to stop her protests. "Water under the bridge." He leaned back against the pillows tiredly, wishing the headache would recede just a little.

"You're tired, sir. I should let you sleep." Sam made moves to leave but he shook his head.

"Stay, I could do with the company."

*

When Daniel swung by the hospital in the evening, he found Sam in residence in Jack's room flicking through the TV channels, the volume set to mute.

"Hey, Sam." He kept his voice low, not wanting to disturb Jack, who was curled up in the bed sleeping. "How's it going?"

She switched the TV off. "They gave him a painkiller a couple of hours ago for a headache. Any luck with your research?"

Daniel shrugged. "Nothing obvious but I've got a couple of things to check into further."

"Like?"

Glancing at their sleeping friend to ensure they weren't disturbing him, Daniel leaned closer to Sam. "Pete took a four month leave of absence when he was a probationer."

"And?" Sam frowned.

"I don't know... it just seemed weird that someone who had only just started out in the police department would take a leave of absence. I thought it might be worth checking out."

She looked disappointed. "That's all?"

"He can't just magic up something out of nothing, Carter." Jack rolled over in bed. "Despite past events, Daniel is only human."

Both heads swiveled round to stare at him, each looking guilty when they realized they had disturbed him.

"We will find something, Jack." Daniel sounded earnest. "We're not going to let Shanahan get away with this."

Jack gave a tired sigh. "As much as I appreciate everything you guys are doing, and not wanting to sound like a 'half empty glass' kinda guy, it's likely that the man is clean. You can't find something that isn't there." He rubbed a hand over his forehead, a clear sign he still had a headache.

Sensing it wouldn't be worth arguing further, Daniel conceded for the moment and scanned the hospital room as if looking for something. When he'd finished, he found both Jack and Sam looking at him.

"Um, Daniel. What are you doing?" Sam frowned questioningly.

Daniel flashed a grin. "Just checking. I didn't see any guards outside so I figured Janet had them stashed in here somewhere."

"Guards?" This time is was Jack who asked the question, looking at Daniel as if he'd lost the plot.

Daniel gave an innocent shrug. "Well, you know, what with your escape and all that. I'm just surprised they trust you to stay put this time."

With a groan, Jack slumped back against his pillows. "Very funny, Daniel."

*

After yet another grueling physiotherapy session in the gym, Jack slowly made his way back to his room. He should have taken encouragement from the fact he was no longer forced to make the trip in a wheelchair, that the session had lasted twenty minutes longer than usual and the usual headache hadn't made its appearance, but he was struggling to shake the feeling of depression that was threatening to engulf him.

When he'd woken this morning, his mind went immediately to the meeting that was due to take place this morning in the hospital canteen. Despite everyone's best efforts, everything now rested on Julia Donovan handling Pete Shanahan and that was something nobody seemed to have too much faith in.

Even the weather outside seemed to playing up to his mood. A storm had rolled in off the mountains, turning the sky black and sending torrential rain, accompanied with loud crashes of thunder and bright bolts of lightning.

His mind preoccupied, he was already entering his hospital room before he realized he had a visitor.

"You!"

*

Having arrived promptly at 9am for his appointment with the doctors, Pete Shanahan had been politely informed that due to an emergency his appointment had been rescheduled for the afternoon.

That left him at a loose end.

To kill time before he met up with Julia Donovan, he'd taken a stroll around the hospital grounds before deciding to swing by the hospital physio department to say hi to Leigh, his ex-physiotherapist. However, one glance through the window into the gym and he'd ruled that out. He'd recognized the patient Leigh was working with as O'Neill.

At that point, he knew he should have left but something made him stay.

After a while, O'Neill had hauled himself up off the floor and Pete had seen in his face the pain and effort it had taken him to complete the physiotherapy session. It also gave Pete an idea. It was clear to see that O'Neill was still far from complete recovery and obviously their previous chat hadn't gone to plan, so maybe the Colonel needed a gentle reminder

When it had become clear the session had finished, he had quickly turned on his heel and hurried down the corridor.

He headed for O'Neill's hospital room.

*

Part 10/10

"What the hell do you want, Shanahan." Jack couldn't muster up the energy to be angry, instead he just sounded weary.

Pete shrugged. "We have unfinished business."

Jack shook his head slowly. "I thought everything was settled." He made his way over to his bed wanting nothing more than to lie down, but not willing to show any weakness to the policeman.

"I wanted you to know I'm meeting with a reporter today." Pete sounded nonchalant. "Someone who's interested in my story."

Jack finally gave into his weakness and sat down on the edge of the bed. He looked across at Shanahan. "And you're telling me this why? To prove that you're a man of your word? Because you want to hurt Sam?"

Shanahan glowered at him. "I'm not doing this to hurt Sam."

"Really? Because I really don't see how else this is going to end." Jack felt the familiar signs of a headache begin. "If I'm wrong, then maybe you can enlighten me."

"We had something good going on." Shanahan moved towards the window, his eyes gazing out at the black clouds that now blocked out the natural sunlight. "Sam and me..." He turned back round to look at Jack. "I could tell her anything and I knew she felt the same. But there was just something, something about her job that held her back. If we were going to be together, I needed to know what it was." His eyes drifted back to the window, drawn by the sound of rain beginning to hit the glass. "And I know we can still sort things out, get back together."

"So you followed her."

At Jack's words, Shanahan shrugged. "Simple really. Although I didn't really expect to learn anything. After all, the last thing I expected was the Air Force to be running operations in the suburbs of Colorado Springs."

A flash of lightning lit the room, followed by a loud clap of thunder, interrupting Shanahan.

Jack made a point of looking at his watch. "Haven't you got somewhere to be? Not that I don't find this conversation fascinating but I've just spent an hour in the gym, I could do with a shower..." His headache had hit now and he wanted Shanahan to just go away.

"It sounds like you want to get rid of me." The man stepped away from the window and began to approach the bed. "No last minute bargaining before I go tell my story? I'm more than a little surprised by that, Colonel. After all, you've got a lot to lose."

His head thumping, Jack rose to his feet. "Well, if you're waiting for me to beg and plead with me then you're certainly going to miss your meeting." He gestured to the doorway. "And obviously I know Sam a hell of lot better than you do. Nothing I could or even would want to say, would have Sam running back to your arms. Hence, as far as I'm concerned this conversation is pointless and therefore over."

For a moment, Shanahan seemed ready to argue but with a shrug he moved towards the door, stopping in front of Jack. "For a moment I thought maybe you were trying to call my bluff but I think I made the wrong call. In fact, I think you are one cold blooded bastard. It's no small wonder your wife didn't hang around after your kid....."

The strength in the hands that grabbed him and slammed him against the wall was unexpected.

"You sonofabitch." The voice was low and menacing. "You don't know the first thing about me."

Shanahan attempted to struggle free but he was held firm.

"You blew it with Carter the moment you decided to follow her. No matter what your twisted mind wants to read into it, your actions ended the relationship. Not me, not Carter." Jack ignored the feeling of nausea that threatened to overwhelm him. "If it makes you feel better, go ahead and tell all. But it isn't going to achieve squat. I doubt Carter is going to thank you for it."

"You've got that right, sir."

Jack didn't flinch as Sam entered the hospital room, however Shanahan renewed his struggles.

"Sam!"

Sam ignored him and looked at Jack. "I think you should let him go, sir."

After a moment of consideration, Jack did what she asked and stepped back, almost melting away into the shadows of the room. Leaving Sam to deal with Shanahan.

She dragged him out of the room, into the corridor.

"What are you doing here, Pete?"

Shanahan straightened his clothing, ignoring her question, more than a little shaken by the intensity of O'Neill's reaction. "Why have you been ignoring my messages?"

"Why did you leave them? I thought we had said everything that needed to be said." Sam shook her head. "I thought I knew you but I'm struggling to understand what I just overheard. Did you honestly think we'd be able to work things out..." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Janet approaching and subtly gestured to the hospital room. Janet gave a brief nod and hurried past them.

Sam turned her attention back to Shanahan. "Have you listened to yourself? Why are you being so spiteful?"

Shanahan looked shocked at her words. "Is that what you think?"

"What am I supposed to think?" She challenged. "I wasn't answering your calls so you lash out at my CO. Well, that makes it all so much better now, doesn't it?"

"Damn." The color drained from Pete's face as he seemed to consider his actions for the first time, but Sam's attention was drawn to the nurse hurrying down the corridor from the nursing station. She immediately knew something was wrong. Without a word to Pete, she followed the woman into Jack's room.

*

Janet lifted the sides on the hospital bed as Jack hunched over the basin, retching painfully. At the sound of footsteps, she glanced across and issued an order for anti emetic drugs, gratified to see the nurse turn on her heel and disappear again. Sam however, continued into the room but had enough sense to stay back, knowing her CO wouldn't appreciate having his hand held while he threw the contents of his stomach up.

The nurse returned with a syringe, passing it to the doctor, before reaching for the leads to take a BP and pulse reading.

"Colonel, I'm going to give you something to ease the nausea." Janet prepped his arm and expertly delivered the drug into his system. "It'll take a few minutes to kick in." She looked across at the monitor, which was now recording his vitals, and relaxed slightly. Everything was a running a little high, but nothing to set the alarms bells ring. Having seen Lieutenant Shanahan outside in the corridor, she suspected this was more to do with stress than a deterioration in O'Neill's condition.

After a while he leaned back against the pillows and she passed him a glass of water to rinse his mouth out. He went through the motions before settling back down, the drugs making him drowsy. Within a few minutes, he was asleep.

"Janet?" Sam moved out of the shadows. "Is he okay?"

Janet nodded. "He'll be fine." She indicated for them to step out into the corridor. "What the hell was Shanahan doing here?"

Sam glanced around, not surprised to find that Pete had gone. "It appears he decided to come back for another talk with the Colonel, Janet. When I got here, things were getting a little heated."

"Damn." Janet scowled. "The Colonel's recovery is going well but he could do without stressful situations at the moment. Do you think he'll return?"

"I don't think so." Sam sighed. "I think everything that can be said, has been said."

*

Julia Donovan sat at one of the tables in the hospital cafeteria, drumming her perfectly manicured nails on the formica surface, and constantly checking her watch.

After two hours, she gave up.

*

A couple of days later, Janet stepped into Jack's hospital room to find the rest of SG-1 already there

"I see good news travels fast."

Jack glowered at Daniel. "So it would seem, doc." He snatched back his kit bag from the archeologist. "Daniel, I am more than capable of packing my own stuff." He made his way over to the closet, his movement still very much deliberate but improving all the time.

"Sorry, Jack." Daniel at least had the good grace to appear contrite.

Shaking her head, Janet placed a bag of medication on the bedside locker. "As we discussed earlier, sir."

"Yes, doc."

"Colonel..." She pointed took the bag and placed it in his kit bag.

They'd had a long talk before she had signed his release paperwork. Jack had a long way to go before she would sign him off for active duty, but she agreed that after a few days at home she would allow him to return to light duty, for no more than a few hours a day. It was a compromise. She knew he was desperate for his life to regain a sense of normality and sitting at home would only make things worse. He was improving daily, his attitude had improved no end but she had warned him that it was going to be plain sailing. He had listened, and she hoped he would at least attempt to follow her orders. At least if he was reporting to the base on a daily basis, she could keep an eye on him.

The only storm cloud that still lingered was Pete Shanahan. Julia Donovan had reported to Sam that he'd failed to appear for their meeting and he hadn't made any attempt to contact her again. Daniel had called the Denver Precinct and had been politely informed that Lieutenant Shanahan was on vacation. It was a situation that nobody was comfortable with.

*

He had good days and bad days.

On the bad days, he quickly learned to stay at home. After all, Janet didn't issue idle threats.

Today he was having a reasonably good day. Along with General Hammond, they had commandeered the briefing room to review the files for the latest intake of SGC recruits, going through their histories and discussing the pros and cons.

He was a little irked that Hammond had removed the coffee pot from the room, replacing it with bottled water.

A telephone call interrupted their debate on the merits of an Airman Phillips and Jack took the opportunity to walk around the briefing room to stretch his legs, whilst Hammond took the call in his office. He paused at the viewing window as SG-11 entered the embarkation room, Daniel in tow talking animatedly to the SG-11 resident archeologist.

"Colonel."

Hammond's return to the briefing room interrupted his musings and he turned his attention to the General, who was looking more than a little perturbed.

"Sir?" He retook his seat at the briefing table, aware than the easy atmosphere of the morning had dissipated.

Hammond clasped his hands together in front of him on the table. "Lieutenant Shanahan has requested a meeting."

Jack rubbed at his eyes, hoping he was imagining the return of his headache. "Do we know why, sir?"

Hammond looked troubled. "No. I have been advised that it would be prudent to take this meeting. The powers that be are not happy with the knowledge Shanahan has of the SGC."

"When are you meeting?" Jack was going to be there come hell or high water.

Hammond shook his head. "I can't allow you to be there, Jack. Doctor Fra...."

"I'm attending, sir." His eyes locked with the General's. "Please."

*

Pete Shanahan stepped out of the elevator, still flanked closely by the two SFs that had met him on the surface. Without a word, they escorted him to what was clearly a meeting room. The room was empty and, oddly, the windows had shutters down preventing any view out and effectively make the large room feel very claustrophobic.

They kept him waiting for twenty minutes until eventually a portly man, in dress blues, entered the room carrying a file. With him was O'Neill.

"Lieutenant Shanahan." The man took a seat at the top of the table, O'Neill taking the seat next to him. Pete took a chair a few seats down and waited.

"My name is Major General Hammond, I am the commanding officer of this facility. I believe you already know my second in command, Colonel O'Neill." Hammond looked directly at him, his expression void of any emotion. "You requested a meeting with me."

There was no attempt to be friendly, no show of diplomacy. Just a very awkward politeness.

Pete cleared his throat. "I came here to sign the disclosure."

Both men across the table from him showed no sign of surprise. Hammond nodded briefly.

"Can I ask why the change of mind?" Hammond opened the folder in front of him and began flicking through the contents.

Pete shook his head. "I'd rather not go into that. But I will sign the agreement."

With a nod, Hammond selected some papers from the file and pushed them across the table to him. Pete stamped on the feeling of annoyance at their presumptuousness that he had come here to sign the paperwork.

"It's the original disclosure form."

Pete started at Jack's voice and looked across at him. Jack retrieved a pen from his BDU breast pocket and passed it over to him.

He took the pen and signed the paperwork, handing it all back to the General. Out of spite, he kept the pen, missing the amusement that flashed across the Colonel's eyes.

"I have one more thing to ask. Will you please make Major Carter aware that I've signed it?"

Hammond nodded and rose from his seat, the Colonel following suit. Pete shrugged. "So that's it? Nothing else to say?"

The two officers exchanged quick glances before the Colonel looked back at him. "What else do you want us to say, Lieutenant?"

"I don't know." Pete got to his feet. "Maybe a thank you for signing the disclosure? After all, I'm sure it eases the pressure on you guys now. No more civilians running around unchecked and all that."

Jack's eyes bored into him. "If for one moment I thought you had done this for the right reasons, then I would have been the first person to shake your hand."

"And why is it you think I haven't done it for the right reasons?" Pete challenged him.

Jack gave him a humorless smile. "Because you would have signed it weeks ago when first asked to."

Before Pete could respond, he turned and following General Hammond out of the room.

"Hey!" Pete backed down as the two SFs flanked him again.

*

Sam stared at the unopened letter, debating again whether to open it.

She'd had the same debate when she'd found it in her mailbox last night. Then, she'd decided not to read it but couldn't quite figure out why she hadn't just ripped up and thrown it away, instead of putting it in her purse, where she had retrieved it when she got onto the base.

General Hammond had informed her that Pete had signed the disclosure.

It had shocked her.

But now the appearance of the letter made sense.

After a while, she decided she needed blue jello.

*

She found Colonel O'Neill already in the commissary, poking his fork at something indescribable on his lunch plate and looking morose. She allowed herself a small smile knowing full well Janet was watching the Colonel like a hawk. He had lost far too much weight for her liking and the doctor was insisting on three square meals again.

She grabbed a salad and a bowl of blue jello, before weaving her way through the busy tables to join her CO.

"Sir?"

He glanced up at her and then waved vaguely at one of the empty chairs.

"Carter."

She poured herself a glass of water and took a sip before attempting conversation again. "General Hammond told me that Pete signed the disclosure."

He raised an eyebrow. "No tap dancing around the subject then, Major."

She blushed. "No, sir." She paused. "The General also told me he didn't give a reason why he changed his mind." She kept her voice low, aware of the personnel seated around them. "I got a letter from him. I don't know whether or not to open it."

"That's up to you, don't you think."

"Yes, sir." She took another sip of water, considering her next words. "You don't think it's the last we've heard of him, do you?"

Placing his fork on the table, the Colonel got to his feet.

"No Carter, I don't."

He started to move away but her next words stopped him.

"I know I made a mistake, sir. But we are good now, aren't we?"

An announcement on the tannoy calling for Colonel O'Neill's presence in the armory interrupted and before she realized, he had left without replying...

THE END

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