Page 26

Jack had barely stepped out of Daniel's office before a puffing airman came running up to him.
"Sir, we can't find the general and Dr. Fraiser's having some sort of seizure or somethi..."
He was talking to empty air.
Jack ran into the infirmary just in time to hear Janet scream as if she was being ripped apart.
Knocking at least three people out of the way, promising himself he'd apologize later, he rushed to her side.
"What happened?"
Corvores, obviously un-thrilled to find him there, helped him hold Janet down to control her pain-filled thrashing.
They could barely hear each other over the screaming, even though it was becoming more and more hoarse.
Dr. Warren waited until she was held down tightly enough for the injection not to cause damage and then administered the sedative.
It took five more minutes, during which all involved shot each other incredulous looks at how long it was taking, before Janet calmed down and was still.
Jack checked her pulse himself, just to reassure himself.
Then, he turned to the medical personnel present.
"Would someone please tell me what just happened?"
Dr. Warren made a fish mouth at him.
"Sir, we're not sure what happened. Her tests weren't normal, exactly, but there wasn't anything alarming on them, either."
Dr. Corvores looked him in the eye.
"Sir, we'll do everything we can. We'll go over her results again, and we'll eliminate every possibility we can. Maybe you should talk to other people on base. Maybe someone saw something that will help us narrow the search more quickly."
Jack looked back at Janet, suddenly aware of how small a woman she was.
"Yeah. Okay. Keep me updated. First thing I have to do is find the General and report."
The doctors nodded slightly, not willing to move until the Colonel did.
Jack took one last look and then fought down his fear, resolutely walking out of the infirmary and to Gen. Jacob Carter's quarters.
The General had probably taken some time to visit with him.

* * * * * *

"I thought I'd find you here. I was wondering whether you wanted to go through her things before you left or leave it to the rest of SG-1."
"I just wanted to look around. See where she spent her time. There's not much I can take with me. I'll let them have the rest."
Jacob paused in front of the mirror in his daughter's on-base quarters as George walked in, carrying a bag in one hand and a bowl of something in the other.
Noticing Jacob's attention to the bowl, George gave a slightly sheepish smile.
"Unless becoming a Tok'ra's changed your tastebuds, I know you can't resist them. I thought maybe we could do this together instead of you being alone."
Jacob's exhausted expression lightened a bit and a small twinkle lit in one eye as his glance took in the contents of the bowl George was offering him.
"You know, Sammie was as addicted to these chocolates as I am. Her mother couldn't stand them."
The smile wavered a bit on George's face.
"I know. She's the one that gave me these. I don't know if she knew I knew that or not, though."
George smiled a bit at Jacob's bemused expression.
"There's been numerous harmless, but embarrassing incidents in the lab, usually involving one or more members of SG-1. After helping them out a bit, I found this bowl of chocolates on my desk and it never even got half empty until she died. They're the brand you always had on hand so it wasn't hard to figure out."
Jacob sighed a bit and stepped away from the mirror as George set the bag on the table, gently pushing some papers to the side..
"Selmac is sleeping...well, we call it sleeping, but it's a kind of meditation. It keeps her psychic whatevers up to par."
George nodded.
"I like Selmac, but I was hoping to spend time with you. There's a lot about Sam you don't know. I wondered if maybe I could share with you the pieces of her you never got to see. If it's too soon, just say so..."
Jacob's voice shook as he looked around her room.
"No...it's not that. I'm just afraid I'll miss her more, though I don't know how that's possible."
George nodded and sighed.
"I know. I have about an hour of your daughter on tape with her teammates in the lab if you're interested. There's other tapes, but, well, Col. O'Neill had these made especially for me simply because he's as aware of my sense of humor as you are and so is able to sneak things to me without making it where I have to let on to the rest of the base that I'm as human as they are."
Jacob laughed softly.
"Yeah. I like what I've seen of O'Neill. I'm glad you've got someone you can relax a bit with. He's second in command, right?"
George smirked.
"Yes, and I'd trust him with my life in a heartbeat, but he's certainly got his share of quirks."
"I'm sure."
George placed the chocolates on the table and then stepped back out of the room for a moment before returning with a VCR/monitor setup.
"Get comfortable, Jacob. I left a note with Lt. Simmons detailing where all I might be in case I'm needed so I'm here until another emergency comes up.."
Jacob sank down into a chair and picked up a chocolate.
"You say that so calmly."
George smiled.
"Hard not to get a bit cynical around here."
Slowly un-wrapping the chocolate, Jacob leaned back a bit.
*Do you need me?*
Jacob smiled automatically at the concern in Selmac's thought.
George caught the smile and raised an eyebrow in inquiry.
Jacob mouthed "Selmac" and George nodded, finishing up and sitting down in the chair Jacob had pushed out for him.
*No. Not yet. I'm just tired of hurting. Maybe it's just fatigue that's dulling the pain a bit. Whatever it is, I'll take it.*
He felt Selmac's displeasure.
*You need to talk. He needs to talk. Don't pretend you're not hurting. He's reaching out to you. Allow the connection...*
Jacob's immense annoyance stopped her well-meant, but unwanted lecture.
*Let me deal with this my own way. I'll figure it out.*
Selmac sighed.
George sat quietly, watching the emotions play on Jacob's face.
He wasn't sure this was a good idea.
He hadn't been sure it was a good idea when he'd first had it, come to think of it.
Oh well.
Too late now.
Jacob finally convinced Selmac to sleep and let them be.
He looked up and saw the concern on his friend's face.
"I'll be okay, George. Just a bit raw."
George's jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed.
"Jacob, if you need to be alone, I won't be offended. I'd understand..."
"No, actually, you're the only person I really feel comfortable with right now. If I can't handle something, I'll tell you."
"You're sure?"
A ghost of a wry grin flitted across Jacob's lips.
"No, but I'll fake it to my dying day."
George gave a short laugh and motioned to the screen.
"Shall we?"
Jacob popped up, shut the door, and turned out the lights, hoping his unease would be more difficult to notice.
"Sure. Push play."

* * * * * *

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