Title: A Simple Trap

Author: Kazza

Email:  kazzak999@hotmail.com

Story Status:  Complete

Sequel/Series Info:  None

Season: Season 6

Spoilers:  Minor ones for Frozen and Abyss

Categories:  Angst, Hurt/Comfort, POV

Pairing: None

Rating: PG

Content Warning:  Just mega Jack whumping

Summary: A simple trap causes Jack a great deal of pain – Janet's POV

Archive Permissions:  Jackfic, Incoming Wormhole

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property

of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, Gekko Productions; all the powers that be, not me; This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement intended. The story is the property of the author and may not be posted without the author's consent.

File Size: 41KB

Authors Notes:  When I started writing this fic, I didn't intend for it to end on a cliffhanger but I was in a particularly evil mood <g>,  but honestly I just thought it was good place to stop for a while.

A Simple Trap

by Kazza

Blood, so much blood.  It was the first thing that registered as I raced into the Gateroom with my medical team.  The second thing that registered was the screams of pain and it was this that made me sick to the stomach.  If there was one thing in this world which was constant, it was that Colonel Jack O'Neill never made a sound like that. 

Pushing the thought to the back of my mind I raced to the metal ramp where SG-1 were kneeling by their stricken leader, their hands trying to hold him down as he writhed around in agony. 

"Move back!"  My voice was almost drowned out by the Colonel but they obeyed instantly, stepping down from the ramp.  Aware of my team moving into position I began my initial assessment.  There were two entry wounds, much like bullet wounds, and they were still bleeding heavily but it didn't explain the incredible pain that he was in.  Lt Jeffries was busily packing the wounds in preparation to move him and I took the moment to look at his team. 

"What happened?"

It was Jonas that spoke, Sam's eyes were still fixed on Jack and the anguish was only too clear in her eyes.

"It was a trap, Yalen was a Goa'uld."

"Dr Fraiser, we're ready to move."  Lt Jeffries sound urgent and I nodded.

"Let's go people!"

*

The morphine had worked its magic and Jack was now quiet, although his face still betrayed the pain that he had experienced. 

My team worked fast trying to restore his blood volume but as fast as they pushed the bags of blood into his body, his body bled it out.  Dr Warner had now joined us and together we watched in horror as clear signs of massive internal bleed began to appear on his abdomen and chest. 

"What is going on?"

Dr Warner stepped up to examine the first set of x-rays which clearly showed the ‘bullets' lodged in the left side of his chest and right side of his abdomen. 

Another alarm went off and another of my nurses consulted the machine.

"Doctor, his oxygen stats have dropped to 91!"

Grabbing my stethoscope, I pressed it against his chest to listen to his breathing.  "Dammit, we have a collapsed lung!  I need chest drain and intubation kits now!"

There was another burst of activity as the medical team got to work and it was then that I had a horrible feeling.  At the seem time, I guess, Dr Warner came to the same conclusion and he spoke first.

"We need another set of x-rays."

*

The truth was just to horrible to believe but there it was right in front of us.  The first set of x-rays showed the position of the ‘bullets' but the second set of x-rays showed that the ‘bullets' had moved. 

"Jesus."  Warner shook his head in disbelief.  "We need to get him into surgery now but they move any further."

But before either of us could issue the order, he flatlined.

*

We were in the OR for almost seven hours, carefully removing the ‘bullets' and repairing the massive damage their paths had inflicted.  The Colonel had coded twice more as his blood volume had dropped to incredibly dangerous levels and we had staff literally pumping the life giving fluid into him, squeezing the bags as fast as they could.  Bags were shipped in from the Academy hospital and SGC personnel with the right blood group had been called to the infirmary to give donations.

The ‘bullets' had caused severe internal damage, including a punctured lung, damage to his liver, a kidney and his spleen.  There was also massive muscle damage.  All the time he had been writhing on the floor the ‘bullets' had been tearing him up from the inside.  It was no wonder that he'd been screaming in agony.  The pain would have been excruciating. 

Whilst he was being settled in the ICU I had taken time to compose myself and then went to see his team.  They had remained the entire time outside the Infirmary, refusing even to go to the briefing room to debrief with General Hammond.  In the end the General had joined them in the hallway.

When I stepped outside, the three of them were immediately on their feet.

"Janet?" You could hear the frantic worry in just that one word from Sam.

I held my hand up.  "He's still with us."  I hesitated before continuing.  "But he's still extremely ill."

Jonas nodded at me.  "Dr Warner explained about the projectiles."

"They have caused a lot of damage and this is something that the Colonel isn't going to bounce back from in his usual way.  At the moment he is under sedation and will be for a few days to come.  We can't risk him moving too much until the healing process is well underway.  Then he will need to take it extremely slowly."

Teal'c stepped forward.  "We will do everything we can to aid ColonelO'Neill, DoctorFrasier."

I gave him a small smile.  "I know, Teal'c."

"Can we see him?" 

I turned my attention to Sam.  "Not until you have taken the time to go get something to eat at least.  Come back in an hour and then you can see him."

*

It was while they were maintaining their vigil that they told me what happened on P4C 449.  

SG-5 had been on a scouting mission when they had encountered a man named Yalen.  Yalen appeared to be the leader of a village full of people, people who called themselves his followers.  Although they were nowhere near as technologically advanced as Earth, they appeared to have medicine that would have been beneficial.  SG-5 had reported this to the SGC and SG-1 had gone out to join them.  However, upon their arrival they had found SG-5 to be missing and Yalen denying all knowledge about their whereabouts.  Instead he had invited them to join him in the village to prove that he was lying.  Suspicious, but with the whereabouts of SG-5 unknown, the Colonel had had no choice but to go along with it. 

It had been Jonas who had stumbled upon SG-5 almost by accident, shackled up in one of the buildings.  Sam had caught up with him and taken only one look at the shackles to realise the situation that they were in. 

Jack had been with Yalen when Sam had tried to get his attention.  She had given him the signal that they'd found SG-5 and as he'd tried to respond, Yalen had revealed his true colours as a Goa'uld.  With that, Jack had ordered Sam and Jonas to free SG-5 and head for the Gate leaving the Colonel and Teal'c to defend them from the rear. 

They had been fifty yards from the Gate when Jack had been shot, crashing heavily to the ground.  Teal'c had grabbed him, slung him over his shoulders, and continued running ignoring the angry cries of Yalen and his followers.  The Gate had already been activated by Jonas and Teal'c had dived through the Gate without a look backwards.

It was well known that SG-1 had a price on their heads, after all they had managed to piss off most the System Lords one time of another, but this had been a simple trap and they had walked straight into it.  It was a sobering thought for the team as they waited for their CO to wake up.

*

It was just before 2am before I finally laid my head down on the small cot in my office, determined to get at least a couple of hours sleep.  Closing my eyes I had let myself drift off only to shaken awake by one of night staff.

"Doctor Fraiser?"

I pulled myself up into a sitting position and glanced at the clock, my shoulders slumping when I realised I'd only been granted twenty minutes sleep. 

"It's the Colonel, his temperature has risen."  The nurse looked worried. 

Running my hand through my hair, I got to my feet and followed her out into the ICU. 

*

"Okay Colonel, what are you doing?"  I scooped up the chart and examined the latest readings.  "When I asked you not to give me any more trouble, I wasn't joking." 

I put the chart back down and walked round to the side of the bed, resting my hand gently on his cheek, being careful not to dislodge the respirator.  He felt warm to the touch and what I feared, a post-op infection, was now becoming a distinct possibility. 

"DoctorFraiser, is something wrong?"  Teal'c stood at the end of the bed. 

"He's just a little hot, Teal'c, so I need to give him some new medication."  I gave the nurse a quick nod and she hurried away.

Ten minutes later the Colonel was now being treated to a heavy dose of IV antibiotics which she hoped would stop any infection in its tracks.

*

The next seventy two hours tested the stress levels of myself, Dr Warner, my staff, SG-1 and General Hammond to the limit.  The Colonel remained sedated as we battled the infection that the IV antibiotics failed to contain.  Several times during this period his temperature spiked dangerously and we were forced to pack his body with ice in a desperate attempt to bring it back down.

His blood pressure had also dropped and Dr Warner was worried about further internal bleeding.  Another blood transfusion brought his pressure back up and we waited with baited breath to see if it would drop again. Luckily for us and the Colonel it seemed to stabilise.

Finally the antibiotic treatment began to win its battle with the infection and for the first time since his arrival in the infirmary, we all began to feel optimistic. 

*

The General had taken to coming down to the infirmary late each evening to receive an update on his second in command and to spend a moment at his bedside.  Knowing that he would never intrude on SG-1's vigil, I had started sending them away for the evening before the General's arrival so that he would be able to spend a brief private moment with the man he considered a good friend.

"How is he tonight?"  The events of the past few days reflected in the tired lines of his face, it was the same lines that we all had. 

"He's doing okay, sir."  I managed a tired smile.  "His vital signs have improved today and if he continues like this, we will be able to transfer him to the Academy hospital within a week."

Hammond settled himself down in the well worn chair that was a constant at Jack's bedside.  "That's good news."  He placed his hand on the unconscious man's hand and studied his face.  "Will he be okay?"  He didn't look at me when he asked that question.

"Sir, I don't know.  What those ‘bullets' did was tantamount to torture and can't even begin to imagine how traumatic is has and will be for him.  What I do know is that the damage that was caused and he'll need the support of his team and friends throughout the recovery process."  I absentmindedly began to stroke the Colonel's hair as a comforting gesture.  "But until he wakes up, we won't know any more."

*

I had never been so thankful of the fact the Cassie was working as a youth volunteer at a school camp, which meant I didn't have to deal with the guilt of remaining on base to be near Jack.  But even so, I wasn't there when he decided it was time to wake up.

Sam was sitting at his bedside when the monitors signalled an increase in his heart rate.  She immediately called a nurse over, who assured her that it was fine and then hurried away to page me.

By the time I arrived back in the infirmary, he was asleep again.

"Sam?" 

She looked at me with a beaming smile.  "He opened his eyes briefly and squeezed my hand when I asked him to." 

The news was good but I wished that I'd been there.

*

He didn't attempt to wake up again for another sixteen hours and this time I was there, as was Jonas.

Jonas had been telling him stories about Kelowna when Jack's hands had started twitching and he'd called across to me.

"Doctor Fraiser, I think he's waking up."

I was across the room in a flash, taking his hand in mind.  "Colonel?"  His hand moved within mine and I found myself holding my breath.  Then I was rewarded with a glimpse of his chocolate brown eyes as they flickered open and then closed again. 

"Colonel, it's Janet.  Can you keep your eyes open for me?"  as rewarded as his eyes slid open and I smiled.  "Hey, sir."

He looked confused, his eyes cloudy from the drugs and I knew what I had to tell him.

"Sir, your team is fine.  Jonas is here with me."  I pulled Jonas into his line of sight.  "You're in the infirmary but you're doing good."

He tried to talk but the intubation tube prevented it.

"Sir, don't try to talk.  One of your lungs was damaged and the respirator is helping you to breathe.  Do you understand?"

I felt the pressure as his hand squeezed mine.

"Good.  Now, I just need to you rest and take it easy.  You've been through the worst of it and from now on it's all good news."

He gave a small nod and slowly drifted back off to sleep.

*

Every day he stayed awake for a little longer and on the third day since waking up, I removed the intubation tube.  By the fifth day he was move to a semi sitting up position, supported by pillows, so he would find it easier to talk to his visitors. 

On the sixth day, I told him of the plan to move him to the Academy hospital to continue his recovery and the look of dismay on his face quickly changed my mind.  After a brief conversation with General Hammond, the plan was changed and Jack was happy to learn that he would remain in the SGC infirmary. 

*

It had been a big day for Jack, the first time I'd allowed him out of the bed, albeit a slow shuffle down to the end of the infirmary and back again.  It exhausted him and he'd slept for the rest of the morning.

Late in the afternoon, one of the nurses reported that he seemed subdued but I put it down to tiredness.  But then another nurse also reported that he seemed depressed so I decided that it was time for a chat with my favourite Colonel.

He was dozing as I approached the bed but as I sat down, his eyes opened.  "Evening Doc."

I leaned back in my chair and gave him a smile.  "You've got my nurses worried, Colonel." 

He didn't answer so I tried again.  "You've been a bit quiet today.  Are you worried about your team?"  SG-1 had gone off site to help set up a new Tok'ra base and weren't due back for a couple of days.   

"I'm fine, Janet.  I guess the walk today just took a little more effort than I thought it would." 

I shook my head.  "Try again, Sir."

He lay back against the pillows.  "Doing the McKenzie on me, are you doc?"  He sucked in a deep breath and winced as it pulled at his chest.  "I just need to sort some things out in my head.  That's all."

"Like what?"  I was determined not to let him off the hook.

"Jeez, doc.  Can't you just drop it?"  He was beginning to look annoyed.

I bristled.  "Sir, I can't and I won't just drop it.  I've put a lot of work into you and I'm determined that it's not going to stall at this stage."  I took a deep breath.  "So are you going to tell me what's on your mind?"

What he said wasn't what I expected to hear.

"I'm tired.  I'm tired to it all.  I'm tired of stepping through the gate wondering if this is the time that I'm going to lose a member of my team or even get killed myself.  I've already lost one team member and good friend, that was enough."  He scrubbed his hand over his face.  "It was only three months ago that I was infected with that virus, implanted with a Tok'ra…….captured by a Goa'uld.  Now I walk into a simple trap and….hell I died.  I'm just tired of it all."

I leaned forward, my hand squeezing his arm.  "It's been a tough time, Sir.  For you, for all of us.  At the moment you're in pain, you're hurting."

He shook his head vehemently.  "Janet, don't say it's going to get better.  How many times have I or any of my team been in this infirmary?   I've lost count."  He looked straight at me.  "Maybe it's time to quit."