Silenced Screams

Chapter Two

His unexpected stop had Janet plow right into him. So close behind him that she didn’t have time to course correct and avoid the ‘immovable object’ now blocking her path. Bumping into him her nose was smashed into Jack’s back. Momentarily forgetting the reason for the ‘mad-dash’ back to Sam’s bedroom she was forced to take a few steps backward as she rubbed her noise and complained loudly about the pain his abrupt stop had caused her. But it didn’t take long for her initial concerns to resurface. Even though she was still unable to see into the room Jack’s very quiet oath clued her into the seriousness of what lay ahead.

“Oh My God.” Was all Jack could get out.

Pushing pass him and getting her first real look at what could cause such a reaction from the Colonel, Janet stood momentarily in shock also at the sight before her.

Sam stood just inside of her bathroom door…every visible part of her body was covered in cuts and bruises. Some fresh, some obviously several days old. And if that wasn’t bad enough, she was bleeding. None of the visible cuts seem to be the cause, but the huge stain seem to be spreading, growing larger.

Another scream pierced the air around them while they stood unable to process what their eyes were seeing. It wasn’t until she started to crumble to the floor that they were able to move. Jack again moving faster, managed to catch her before she could do any more damage to her already battered and beaten body. He lift and carried her almost nude body to her bed and obeyed Janet’s instructions to retrieve her medical bag. Sam was becoming hysterical, showing signs of the pain that had been inflicted on her body. She had to be sedated before Janet could begin her examination. It concerned Janet that Sam had not shown any signs of her condition when she was brought in. But Janet suspected she already knew the answer to that question. A few simple test would answer at least that question. All thoughts of the hot shower and food completely forgotten.

It didn’t take long to determine the source of the bleeding and the extent of her cuts and bruises. She needed to be in the infirmary and fast. If it hadn’t been for the cold she’d have bleed to death already Janet had informed Jack. Alerting the infirmary to the emergency they loaded Sam into the backseat of the Colonel’s truck and broke all the land speed records getting to the SGC.

They were met topside with a gurney and several IV drips which were worked in during the elevator ride down. Her blood lost was becoming critical. After over an hour of surgery and with the aid of Dr. Warner, Sam’s condition was stable. Janet found Jack pacing the halls and went to give her full report.

“She’s stable Sir. There were contusions and lacerations over most of her body and significant blood loss, but we were finally able to identify the bleeders and it’s been taken care of. There was significant bruising on both her wrist and ankle and around her throat. Several bruised ribs but none broken, they’ll be sore for a few days. We’ll keep her sedated for the next twenty-four hours to give her body a chance to heal.” Rattling off the long list of trauma Sam’s body had received, Janet paused to gather her strength to deliver the last piece of bad news. Before she could give voice to it Jack spoke up.

“She was raped.” The haunted look in his eyes spoke of past memories he was also reliving.

“Yes Sir. There was considerable trauma and bruising on the inner thigh area and…it’s not as bad as we initially thought. She should be okay in a few days.” Trying to add a positive spin to the bad news.

“Physically… okay in a few days.” He corrected her. Slumping down in the chair beside Sam’s bed.

“Yes Sir.”

“We’ve got a team going over her place now, to see if they can find some answers.” He informed Janet bring her up to date from his end.

“You should eat and get some sleep Sir. I promise I’ll call you if there’s any change.” Janet offered, knowing it would fall on deaf ears.

“Just…gimme a minute.” Came the mechanical reply as he took one of Sam’s hands in his, his thumb absently rubbing a spot near her own thumb.

Placing a comforting hand on his shoulder Janet spoke just above a whisper. “I’m sorry Jack.” Before leaving him to his solitary vigil.

Flashback

…Finally, finally the mission is finally over. As missions go this one had turned out to be a ‘piece of cake’, ‘text-book perfect’ from start to finish. And I’ve done enough of them by now to have a fine appreciation for that seemingly simple occurrence. Been on some (more than I care to recall) where they started as a nightmare and swiftly got worst. So, I am by no means scoffing at this stroke of good fortune.

But I’ve been uneasy this whole mission . Hell, long before this mission. Days…no weeks now. For weeks it’s felt like I’m just one step away from total disaster. My nerves stretched beyond the breaking point and still being pulled. I have the feeling I’m being watched…no…studied…studied like a bug under a microscope. I’ve already driven everyone crazy with that theory weeks ago. Even insisting Sahara take extra precautions, change her patterns, stay home or with one of the guys or Janet at all times. But whether it was because of the extra measures or my paranoia, nothing has happened and everyone has humored me long enough. Time to get back to a normal life and lose the cloak and dagger routine. But, the feeling hasn’t passed, only grown worse. It was almost a relief to be out in the field again. At least there the feeling goes away, some. At least there I can breath easy and so can everyone else, some.

As sad as it is to say I’m sure Sahara's been hoping and praying for a mission to come up for this weekend. She and her friends had big plans for the weekend which would be severely cramped with big brother hanging around keeping watch. I could practically see her jumping for joy when I announced I had a mission. She would surely be able to talk Jan in to saying yes before I could even get in the air, which was why I pulled Jan aside and gave my approval before hand. So with one final kiss on my cheek goodbye she said hello to her freedom. I was smiling to myself thinking about all the wonderful things she’d have to tell me as soon as I came through the door. Well, it would be nice to be home. The mission had been slated for up to two weeks, but as luck would have it we’d finished in only eight days. Ya, definitely ‘a piece of cake.’

My good mood lasted until I caught a glimpse of the Base CO headed toward the hanger deck where we were off-loading all our gear from the mission. It was absolutely unprecedented having him visit the decks. And since we were the only ones there, it had to mean trouble for one or all of us. Training kicked in and we all dropped our gear and snapped to attention. Not knowing what was going on, but feeling sure following proper military protocol never hurt any situation Cromwell, Captain and CO of our team stepped forward with his report on the mission.

“Sir, mission accomplished.” And he snapped off a prefect salute.

“Yes, yes. Good work men, all of you. Job well done. However…that is not why I’m here. Lieutenant.” He turned from one face to the next until he settled on Jack’s face, his own face noticeably falling even before he began to speak.

“O’Neill, my office received word…your sister is in the infirmary. There’s a jeep waiting to take you across base just outside.”

Had he spoken any slower I would’ve missed most of what he said because at ‘…sister and infirmary’ I started to run. Never even noticing the silent signal by Cromwell for Dixon and Kowalski to follow. The trip across base was a short one although it felt like it took years off my life. Jumping out of the jeep before it stopped and racing through the hospital, the guys could barely keep up. Spotting Janet at the end of the hall we all skidded to a halt just barely avoiding barreling her over in our haste.

“Where is she Jan? What happened? Is she all right? How serious is it?” Everything came pouring out as one continuous stream. Once started there was no end. Months of worry with no target all zeroed in on this one place and time.

“I’m sorry Jack, I’m so sorry.” The fear and guilt she’d been carrying these last few days chose that moment to overflow. Not able to answer with any thing more helpful than ‘I’m sorry’ she turned and led us all down to Sahara’s room. Sue Dixon was momentarily startled when we all barged into the quiet dark room. She had been keeping watch over Sahara in Jack’s absence.

“Oh my God.” Was all Jack could get out as he stood frozen to his spot, in shock. Dixon and Kowalski weren’t fairing much better as Sue fell into Dixon arms seeking the comfort she had needed these past few days.

Feeling like she was more in her natural habitat Janet easily reverted to her ‘doctor in charge’ manner and began filling Jack in on what had happened.

“She was found on the side of the road just outside the base gates two days ago. She was missing for almost 24 hours before that. Jack I’m sorry. She got separated from her friends at the mall and when they couldn’t find her they called me. We had the SF looking everywhere for her.” Janet knew she was babbling and crying and being very unprofessional, but the tears and guilt wouldn’t stop. “I’m so, so sorry Jack.”

The guilt she felt wouldn’t allow her to ask for forgiveness, and made her unworthy to even be in his presence, so she quietly turned to leave the room, leaving all the family time to console each other. She was no longer worthy to be apart of them. Jack had stood completely immobile through her entire summary, trying to reconcile the battered and beaten body he was seeing with the sister he had left only a few days earlier. As Janet moved to pass him Jack grabbed her hand, finally registering the guilt and pain she must be suffering and pulled the petite woman into his arms.

“I don’t blame you Jan. This is all my fault. I should have been here for her. I was suppose to protect her.”

After a moment Janet pulled out of his arms gathering her strength to deliver the rest of the bad news. "There's more. There was evident of rape. When she woke a few hours ago she wouldn’t allow any of the male nurses near her." Jack closed his eyes trying to process this nightmare. The room had fallen quiet as they all stood trying to absorb the reality of what she must have gone through. Into the silence of the room a small whisper was heard.

"Jack.?" Jack turned to see two beautiful blue eyes looking up at him.

"Hey Muchkin, yeah it’s me." She started to cry.

“He hurt me. Why‘d he do that Jack? What did I do wrong? Why‘d he hurt me so bad?” She said through her tears. It tore his heart out to see and hear her like this.

How could he have failed the most important person in his life.

End Flashback

Several times during the day Janet or one of her nurses had come in to check Sam’s vitals, always finding Jack slumped in his chair.

“Sir, we finally got some of Sam’s test results back.” Janet began as she entered the curtained off area. If he heard he gave no indications so she continued. “We found several drugs in her system. GHG and Poly…”

He cut in, not having the patience to go through all the scientific stuff. “Doc, please.”

“Sorry, the date rape drug had a high concentration, plus several blood clotting drugs and some very strong pain killers. That’s probably why she didn’t show any signs of pain when you brought her in…and why we didn’t spot the bleeding right off…well, that and the cold temperature. Even with the drugs, she would have bled out in a few hours. The cold weather saved her life…” Not really sure what else she should say she left the sentence hanging.

Not having anything else to say or do Janet turned to leave when she heard him question.

“So, what does all that mean?”

“She probably won’t remember much of what happened after the drug was introduced to her system. The combination of several of these drugs would also make her very susceptible to anything they wanted her to do. There’s just no way of telling until she wakes up and can tell us Sir.”


To Be Continued


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