Title: Team Rebuilding Author: Kazza Email: kazzak999@hotmail.com Story Status: Complete Sequel/Series Info: Epilogue to Fifth Man Season: Six Spoilers: Fifth Man Categories: Missing scene/Epilogue, Hurt/Comfort. Pairing: None Rating: PG Content Warning: Very mild swearing and pain for Jack Summary: How Jack handles his team’s misplaced guilt. 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 File Size: 55KB Authors Notes: Be kind, this is my first ever posted fic
Team Rebuilding by Kazza
It was never that simple, Jack reflected, as he sat on the edge of the gurney giving the infirmary staff the evil eye. He told them he was fine, just a little tired, but they had insisted on running endless tests which were all routine when he questioned them. Now they had left him alone but he still wasn’t allowed to leave because Dr Fraiser had yet to finish reviewing the test results. He leaned back and closed his eyes briefly, wishing for nothing more than a long hot shower, something to eat and the comfortable bed. Aware that he was beginning to drift, he snapped his eyes open and sat back up. There was absolutely no way that he was going to be spending the night in the infirmary. Janet watched as he leaned back, his eyes closed and for a moment she thought he was going to give into the exhaustion. But almost as soon as the thought had entered her head, he had sat back up with his eyes wide open. Shaking her head and clasping the folder to her chest, she walked across the infirmary to stand in front of him. “Colonel?” He fixed her with a steely look. “Doctor.” His voice was laced with sarcasm. “I was beginning to wonder if you had gone home for the night.” Janet bit back a retort, knowing that it would only make things worse. “I’m sorry for the delay, sir, but we were waiting for the chemical analysis to be completed. It was a very complex chemical that Tyler produced. In fact……” She trailed off when she realised that the colonel was looking annoyed. Taking a deep breath, he got to his feet. “Doctor, I don’t have the patience or the inclination to listen to some science techno babble. I’m sure that you find it all very interesting, but unless you have something in that file,” he tapped the file that she was still clutching to her chest, “that prevents me from leaving this godforsaken place, then I am walking out that door.” Janet shook her head. “Your results came back okay, sir, nothing unusual. But you have cuts and bruises, muscle strain and you haven’t slept in almost three days. It would be wise for you to stay in the infirmary overnight.” “No way, doctor. Tonight, I am sleeping in my own bed.” She sighed. “Can we compromise?” She was met with silence so decided to jump in feet first. “Just spend tonight in one of the VIP rooms. I promise that no one will disturb you including your team.” He looked at her feeling the fatigue wash over him. In all honesty he knew that he was too tired to drive home but it was just the thought of sleeping in his own bed that was just so damn tempting. Janet smiled recognising that the Colonel was holding his own little debate in his mind. “You can steal fifteen minutes in the infirmary hydrotherapy pool.” She added the bait. “I’ll also personally run down to the commissary whilst you’re in the pool and get you something to eat.” His shoulders slumped and she knew that she’d won the battle. * The hydrotherapy pool worked wonders and by the time Janet arrived at the VIP room with a roast beef sandwich and a glass of warm milk, he was beginning to feel more human. He eyed the milk suspiciously. “What is in that?” “Milk, warmed up. It’ll help you sleep.” “Sleep? I don’t think that I’ll have a problem with that.” He sniffed the milk. “Are you sure you haven’t slipped something in it? Usually warm milk hides a multitude of sins.” Janet sighed impatiently. “No Colonel, there is nothing untoward in that glass only milk. Now I would advise that you drink it and eat that sandwich. I’m not leaving until you do so.” Mumbling something under his breath Jack drank the milk and devoured the sandwich, handing her the empty plate and glass. “Satisfied?” Janet nodded, heading for the door. “Get some sleep Colonel. I’ll be back in the morning.” * “He’s fine, General, just exhausted.” Janet handed him the medical report. “I’ve got him tucked away in a VIP room and I’ll keep an eye on him.” Hammond leaned back in his chair still not looking 100 percent convinced. He knew that that he wasn’t going to be on SG1’s christmas card list this year because of his refusal to let them go back to retrieve their CO straight away and he couldn’t blame them. Heck, he was feeling guilty enough as it was. When the mystery of the fifth team member had been explained and SG1 had gone back to the planet, he had stood in the briefing room staring at the dormant Stargate for the three hours it had taken for them to return. Then he’d watched as Jack had emerged from the Stargate, the fatigue causing him to stumble straight into the arms of the waiting Dr Fraiser. It was then that he wondered if he’d let his second in command down. “Sir?” The voice interrupted his reverie and he sat up straighter, returning his attention to the doctor. “I’ll be staying on base tonight. If Colonel O’Neill needs anything, please let me know.” Janet nodded, a confused look crossing her face and then she left the General’s office. * “He’s fast asleep in one of the VIP rooms.” Sam joined Daniel and Teal’c at the table in the commissary. “Janet’s has issued orders that be on the pain of death should anyone disturb him.” Daniel shuddered. “Very effective, never ignore a threat from the Chief Medical Officer.” He got up from his chair and wandered over to the coffee machine. “Did she say how he was doing?” Sam made a sign for him to pour her a mug of coffee. “She said apart from a few cuts and bruises, some aching muscles and lack of sleep for three days, he’s fine.” She took a mug of steaming coffee from Daniel as he returned to the table. “He’ll be discharged tomorrow after another check up and then given the bad news that he’s on a week’s medical leave.” “He will be most displeased.” Teal’c looked at the two of them. “Why?” Daniel took a sip of his office. “I believe that Colonel O’Neill would take the opportunity to go fishing.” He looked disturbed, remembering the one and only time he had accompanied Jack on a fishing trip. “However, his cabin is unavailable.” Sam put her mug down. “Of course, he’s let Ferretti and his team take the cabin. Ferretti wanted to do a team bonding thing because he’s got a couple of new team members before they went off world.” She shrugged. “Maybe we could arrange something else for him.” Daniel raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think that would be a good idea, Sam.” She shot him a questioning look and he hesitated before going on. “I know that Jack said he understood why we didn’t go back for him immediately and he probably does……understand that is. But you know what he’s like, he’ll have issues with it. Let’s face it, he was a bit off hand with us after Tyler left.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Knowing Jack, he’ll want a couple of days on his own just to sit back and mull it over. Then he’ll tuck it up in the back of his mind and get back to work.” “So you think we should just let him get on with it?” Daniel finished his coffee. “Yep.” * With a groan he rolled over in bed and coughed, flinging his arm out from under the covers as he blindly groped for a glass of water that he always left by his bed. When his search was unsuccessful, he recalled where he was and opened his eyes, only to jump as Janet appeared at his bedside in the semi-darkness. With a smile she handed him a beaker of water and he took it grudgingly, pulling himself up into a sitting position. He gulped the water down, cleared his throat and glowered at her. “One day, I’ll figure out how you do that.” She shook her head and returned to the chair that she’d occupied for the last couple of hours, watching him sleep. “It has taken years of practice.” She sat back down. “You’ve been asleep for just over eighteen hours. My nurses were drawing straws to see if the sleeping beauty treatment would work.” He put the glass down. “And I guess you drew the short straw?” She laughed lightly. “No, I actually rescued you. Lt Tom McKenna won and he was most eager to test the theory out.” She stopped joking and scrutinised him. “How are you feeling, sir?” He stretched gently, testing his aching limbs. “I’m good, doc.” He sounded surprised. “I guess I needed the sleep.” He scrubbed his hand over his face. “Now I need a shower and food.” He pulled back the bed covers and swung his feet out onto the floor. “Which I’ll get at home.” He gave her a look as if to say ‘don’t stop me’. Janet held her hands up in mock surrender. “I’m happy for you to go home, Colonel. In fact I’ve already signed you off on a week’s medical leave.” She was surprised when he didn’t argue. * They were waiting from him in the locker room with Daniel and Sam both sporting an uncertain look, whilst Teal’c just looked as he always did. “Morning Campers.” Jack opened his locker, pulling out his jacket. “Everything okay?” Daniel exchanged a glance with Sam and stepped forward. “We heard that Janet had put you on a week’s medical leave and we just wanted to check that you were alright before you left.” Jack retrieved his wallet and keys and closed the locker, stuffing them in his jacket pocket, before turning to look at his team. “Look guys.” He leaned against the cold metal of lockers. “You didn’t leave me behind, I told you to go. Admittedly I was a tad worried when you didn’t come back as soon as I would have liked but you did come back. So quit with the hang dog impressions.” He saw that Daniel was about to protest and he waggled a finger at him. “Daniel, I’m going to go home, take a long hot soak in the tub, eat some fine take out, drink beer, watch some sport of the TV and then sleep. I will repeat that process for the next seven days. You on the other hand can catch up with the cataloging of your rocks, Carter here can play with her doohickeys and Teal’c can intimidate some more new recruits with his hand to hand combat classes. When the seven days are over, I’ll be back to make your lives miserable again.” He gave them a smile. “Do we all understand.” Sam grinned. “Yes, sir.” He nodded. “Good.” * He stuck to his plan for the first couple of days but as the fatigue lifted and the muscle aches eased apart from an annoying ache in his side, Jack O’Neill began to feel bored. By the end of the third day he’d mown his lawn, stocked up on groceries, cleaned out the garage and washed his truck. Daniel and Sam had each called to check up on him and he’d assured them that he was fine, still relaxing and enjoying the peace and quiet. Hammond had also called and Jack had found himself secretly wishing that he was overriding Janet’s medical leave and ordering back on base. But, as like the others, Hammond was just checking that he was okay and as Jack put the phone down after the conversation, he began to think that he was the only one that hadn’t got an issue with the last mission. * He didn’t know what woke him but a quick glance at the alarm clock on the nightstand told him it was just after 2am. He sat up, rubbing his eyes and then wincing as he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. That would be typical, start to feel better only for the aches and pains to come back. He went to lie back down but the pain was nagging, finally forcing him to get out of bed and head for the bathroom. Snapping the light on, he opened the medicine cabinet and rooted around for the packet of Tylenol that Janet had sent home with him. Locating it, he popped a couple of pills from the foil and dry swallowed them before returning to bed. Fifteen minutes later he was fast asleep again. * He was awake again at 6am and this time he knew it was the pain that had woken him. Clutching his stomach he barely made it to the bathroom in time to be sick. * “Hey Cassie.” Sam entered the kitchen. “Ready to hit the shops?” Cassie gulped down her glass of orange juice and got up from the table. “Of course.” “Nothing could stop my daughter from a Saturday at the Mall spending money.” Janet appeared in the kitchen doorway. “You should know that by now, Sam.” “I know.” Sam looked at Janet. “Are you sure that you won’t join us? It’s rare that we get downtime on a Saturday.” Janet looked at her ruefully. “I’d love to but I’ve got a ton of paperwork to catch up with and I thought I’d drop by the Colonel’s place to see how he’s doing.” Cassie frowned. “I thought you said that Jack was alright?” Janet gave her daughter a reassuring smile. “He is, Honey. But I can imagine that he’s not taking it as easy as I would like. A spot check wouldn’t hurt. Now go and shop, you’re wasting valuable time.” Cassie gave a mom a hug and escaped, dragging Sam with her. * He didn’t know how long he’d been slumped on the bathroom floor but the dry heaves that racked his body seemed never ending. Twice he’d attempted to move but the pain in his stomach had put an end to that. With a moan he curled up into a foetal position on the cold tiled floor. * “Daniel, what are you doing here?” Janet walked up the steps to the front door. Daniel looked at her guilty. “I was just passing.” His eyes narrowed. “What are you doing here?” “As CMO, it’s my duty to check on personnel on medical leave.” She knocked on the front door. “I’ve been knocking on the door for the last five minutes. He’s not answering.” She frowned. “Are you sure he’s in?” He nodded. “His truck’s here and there’s a couple of windows open. Jack is Mr Security Conscious. He wouldn’t have gone out leaving windows opened.” He pulled his cell phone out. “He’s not answering his phone either.” Janet shook her head. “Doesn’t that strike you as strange?” She knocked on the door again, this time a lot harder. “Colonel!” * Jack was vaguely aware of a noise and he lifted his head off the floor. He recognised it as someone knocking on the door but that was all he could do. Moving wasn’t an option and even the effort of raising his head brought on a fresh wave of dry retching. * “I’m not happy.” Janet pushed past Daniel, going round to the back of the house. “Janet.” He followed. “I’ve tried all the doors, they’re locked.” She stooped down and picked up a large stone. “So we break in.” And before Daniel could protest, she threw the stone at a window. * As soon as they were in the house, she knew that something was wrong. “Colonel?” She stepped over the broken glass into the lounge and looked around. “Colonel? Are you here?” She was met with silence and she turned to look at Daniel. “Check down here. I’ll check up stairs.” * She recognised the sounds as she approached the bathroom and quickened her pace. Swinging the door open wider, she found him lying on the floor. “Sir!” She moved swiftly to his side, her hands searching for his pulse as he opened his eyes blearily. “Doc?” His voice was raspy, barely a whisper. His pulse was racing and she rested her hand on his cheek, feeling the heat. “It’s okay, colonel. We’ll get you sorted.” Daniel appeared and she looked at him. “Daniel, call the base and get an ambulance here asap.” He nodded, and to give him credit, he didn’t ask any questions before running back downstairs to make the call. Janet turned her attention back to Jack. “Okay, sir, can you tell me what happened?” His eyes had drifted closed again but he coughed in an attempt to clear his throat. “Stomach pain……..real bad…..making me sick.” He flinched as he felt something cool wipe across his face and forced his eyes open. Janet had retrieved a flannel from the basin and was carefully wiping his hot face. “Hurts like hell, doc.” Janet rested the cloth across his forehead and began running the symptoms through her mind. “Okay, sir. I need to move you onto your back. I know it’ll hurt but you have to bear with me.” He nodded and she moved him, trying to ignore the hiss of pain from the colonel. “Right, sir. I’m going to lift your t-shirt up and press down on your abdomen. When it hurts, tell me.” He nodded again and gritted his teeth as she began to press down. As she reached his right sight and pressed down, the intense pain caused his back to arch up off the floor. “God!!!!!!!” Janet pulled his t-shirt down and again rested her hand against his cheek as he breathed heavily through the pain. “I think that has answered my question, sir.” She shook her head. “I believe that your appendix has ruptured. We need to get you to the infirmary and get that sucker out.” * Hammond reached the infirmary in record time and was in time to see his second in command being wheeled into the OR. Daniel was standing in the hallway, wearing an anxious expression. “Doctor Jackson?” Daniel sighed. “Janet said he’d probably had the symptoms for the past few days….maybe even the last mission.” Hammond frowned. “Symptoms of what? I was only informed that Colonel O’Neill had been admitted to the infirmary.” ”He has a ruptured appendix. But because he’d pulled so many muscles on his last mission he probably ignored the ache until it had actually ruptured.” Daniel shook his head. “Chance in a million.” Hammond looked at the closed door that led to the OR. “What has Dr Fraiser said of the colonel’s condition?” Again Daniel shook his head. “Nothing but I remember what she said when I had appendicitis. She said I was lucky that it hadn’t ruptured because that made it life threatening.” He looked miserable. “Jesus, why doesn’t Jack get a break?” Hammond rested a hand on his shoulder. “As the colonel is always fond of saying, he sure must have pissed someone off in a former life.” * Three hours later the hallway outside the infirmary was now occupied by Daniel, Teal’c, Sam and Cassie, who had refused point blank to go home when Daniel had called Sam at the Mall. Hammond had returned to his office but left orders that he was to be notified as soon as Jack was out of surgery. They were all silent having given up attempts at conversation at least an hour ago and were now all looking at the closed door that led to the infirmary. When the door handle rattled slightly and the door swung open, all of them bar Teal’c jumped out of their skins. Daniel, who had been sitting on the floor, scrambled to his feet just as a very weary looking Janet emerged. “How is he? Why did it take so long? Can we see him?” He knew he was babbling but he was anxious. Janet held a hand up to stop him. “Daniel, calm down. The Colonel is doing okay.” “Positive?” Cassie moved to her mom’s side and wrapped her arms around her waist. Janet gave her a hug. “I’m sure, sweetheart. Let’s give it a couple of days and I guarantee that Colonel O’Neill will be driving the infirmary crazy.” She sighed. “His appendix had ruptured as suspected. The reason why he was in surgery was because we had to eliminate any risk of bowel infection.” She glanced at Daniel. “As you well know, he’s going to be sore for a couple of weeks and limited to what he can do.” “We will endeavour to assist Colonel O’Neill in his recovery, Doctor Fraiser.” Teal’c sounded definite and would have no arguments. Janet shot a thankful look at him. “He’s still woozy from the anesthetic so I suggest you all go and have something to eat. Come back in an hour and he should be settled in the infirmary. Then I may let you see him.” * Hammond stood at the end of the bed and watched Jack sleep, noting how pale he looked. ”Are you sure that he’ll be alright?” Janet noted something in the chart and handed it to the hovering nurse. “Yes, sir. His vital signs are good and he’s beginning to show signs of waking up. However, I’m afraid that he’ll remain on medical leave for at least the next four weeks.” Hammond glanced around the infirmary, which for once, was devoid of any other patients. He hated the grey walls and the smell of antiseptic. “How long will he be in the infirmary?” “Three to four days minimum, most likely a week.” If she was lucky. Jack was notorious for his intense dislike of all things medical. * He recognised the voices and opened his eyes. Taking in the grey walls and the drab ceiling, he cursed under his breath. The infirmary, yet again. With a deep breath he attempted to sit up only to experience intense pain. “Jesus!” He slumped back down gasping for breath. “Sir?” Janet immediately moved into his line of vision. “Just lie still. You’re in the infirmary.” “No kidding.” He was surprised at how weak his voice sounded. “And there was me thinking I was fishing.” She looked amused. “Do you remember what happened?” She watched as his brow furrowed and then he nodded. “Stomach ache.” “Appendicitis. Your appendix ruptured.” “Damn. No wonder I feel like crap.” Hammond appeared next to Fraiser. “Jack?” He lifted his hand up and feebly waved to the General. “Hey, sir.” “Doctor Fraiser said you need to take it easy for a while. Can I trust you to do that, son?” He looked concerned. Jack coughed and Janet picked up a cup of ice chips, spooning a few into his mouth. As the ice melted bringing welcome relief, he nodded. “I think so, sir.” Hammond looked reassured. “Well, I think I’ll leave you to rest.” He gave Jack’s arm a squeeze. “You gave us all a scare, Jack. That’s twice in a week.” He watched as Jack’s eyes began to close and he turned to leave, only for Jack to speak again. “I like to keep you all on your toes.” It was only a mumble and then he was asleep again. * Sam checked the lounge again for what was probably the hundredth time. The couch had been turned into a bed with plenty of pillows and a warm blanket. On the coffee table sat a jug of iced water with a glass, a pile of sports magazines and the TV remote. Moving back into the kitchen she gave the chicken soup another stir. The kitchen had been stocked up with plenty of healthy food which she knew he wouldn’t appreciate being fed. But Janet’s orders were final. No pizza, no chinese take out. They had even hidden the beer as alcohol was a definite no during his recuperation. She heard a car draw up outside and few moments later, the opening and closing of car doors. Going to the front door, she opened it to see Teal’c helping a sore looking Jack up the steps with Daniel hovering behind them. “Hi, sir.” He eyed her suspiciously. “I should have known that you were lurking somewhere, Major.” “As always, sir.” She stepped aside to let them into the house and watched as Teal’c, still holding onto the Colonel, went down into the lounge. “You have thought of everything, haven’t you?” Jack allowed himself to be lowered down onto the couch. “Doctor Fraiser was most insistent that you should rest, O’Neill.” Teal’c indicated that he should lie down, which he did with a sigh. Teal’c then drew the blanket up over him. “I rented last year’s hockey finals for you.” Daniel pointed at the pile of video tapes by the TV, looking pleased with himself. “And there’s homemade chicken soup warming up at the moment, sir.” Sam smiled. “All you need do is just lie back and issue orders.” Jack, weary from the trip home, nodded. “Thanks guys….but at the moment I think I’ll just have a sleep.” Daniel patted his arm. “No problem. We’ll be in the kitchen if you need anything. Just shout.” * When he woke a couple of hours later, he ate a bowl of Sam’s chicken soup, watched one of the hockey tapes (although he would never admit to Daniel that he already had the game on tape) and let Teal’c fetch him magazines and fresh jugs of water. In the early evening, Hammond dropped by and told him that he’d assigned his clerical assistant to sort through his backlog of paperwork and clear as much of it as possible. Finally Janet arrived to check on her patient, shooing the rest of them out of the room. She sat down on the edge of the coffee table and looked closely at him. “How’s it going, sir?” Jack grinned. “Do you know what, doc. I think that my appendix bursting was a stoke of good luck.” “It very nearly killed you. I wouldn’t call that good luck.” She pulled the blanket down and rearranged his clothes so that she could look at the surgical incision. “Hey, doc. Two weeks ago my team and the General were all on a massive guilt trip over something that wasn’t their fault. This,” he pointed at his scar, “gives them the perfect excuse to offload their misplaced guilt.” He gave a satisfied smile. “And just this once, I’m going to let them.” As if on cue, Daniel stuck his head into the room. “Janet, Sam’s cooking up something special for Jack’s dinner. Are you going to stay and join us?” Janet gave Jack a sly glance and then nodded. “Thanks, Daniel, I will.” Daniel gave a nod and vanished again. “See, doc. It’s therapy for them as well.” He settled back down into the comfort of the couch. “Perfect team re-building.” With a content smile, he drifted back off to sleep.
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