Mongolian Blues

Related Episode: 103 - Emancipation

Category: Thought I better amend this to include Angst along side of the Hurt/Comfort categorization. Major Sam-whummping ahead.

Rating: I think 'T' will cover it, but some of the descriptive scenes might merit an 'M'. I'll warn ya before it gets too graphic.

Author's Notes - After watching Emancipation (an episode that truly is not good at all ) , I realized that this ep was probably the first time an SG-1 member got hurt. Not that we saw it mind you, but come on! We see a whip one moment and then...morning. Yeah, right. Anyhow, I started looking around for stories that filled in the blanks. There are a couple good ones out there, but most of them take place after Sam was back at the SGC. But what if they didn't make it back before Sam's injury started giving her grief? How would she react? How would her new teammates? I am a major sucker for a good hurt/comfort story, and just couldn't get this one out of my head. I wrote it for me, but seeing as there's this whole community out there, I thought I'd post and see what you guys think! g

Captain Samantha Carter was slowly falling more and more behind. She hurt. A lot. And she needed to let her CO know soon before it got to be a problem. Sam silently scoffed at herself. Before would have been shortly after they had left Turghan's village, and not two hours later still several hours from the Stargate. Of course her back hadn't really been bothering her earlier. After the guys had bought her back from that barbaric asshole, she had changed back into her SGC clothing without too much fuss. Sure, it had hurt some, but nothing, nothing like it did now. Even this morning it hadn't been so bad. Yeah, it hadn't been her most comfortable night, but as long as she slept on her front... Sam sighed. She should have told the Colonel last night. It was easy to blame it on the fact that she had first watch and he last, but that was just an excuse, and a damn poor one at that. She should have said something at first light. But then Abu came back and told them about Nya... well, there was no way in hell she was going to let that bastard stone his daughter to death. Sam was itching for a fight and was thrilled when Colonel O'Neill allowed her challenge. Of course, he hadn't known it was supposed to be a fight to the death... but it had all worked out and she had totally kicked Turghan's ass. Damn if that hadn't felt good. Beating him that is. Her back? Not so much.

The adrenaline of the fight, along with the lingering effects of the local medicine the women had applied to her back after the beating had truly numbed most of the pain. That was until Sam had put on her backpack for the trek back to the gate. Thankfully, none of the guys had noticed the hiss of pain that had escaped her lips as the weight of the pack settled on her shoulders and against her back. No one saw her pale determination as they began to move out. Sam was thankful she was bringing up the rear.

Her plan was to finish this god-damned mission, head home through the 'Gate and then brief Colonel O'Neill on exactly what had transpired while she had been taken prisoner. It was never her intention to hide a serious injury from a senior officer. Sam just hadn't realized she had a serious injury. Until now. She knew her back was in rough shape. Every step was agonizing, and she could feel a warm stickiness in the space between her pack and her waistband. It was time to tell the Colonel. She just didn't know how.

"Do you think one of us should go talk to Doctor Carter?" Daniel Jackson asked, glancing back at their teammate. "I'm worried about her."

"I concur DanielJackson," Teal'c said solemnly. "Captain Carter has not been herself since we took leave of the Shavadai."

Jack frowned. Truth be told, he also was a bit worried about her. He hadn't worked long with the young Captain, and although she wasn't the chatterbox that Daniel was, she did usually participate in idle conversation. After her fight with Turghan, Carter had become quiet. Too quiet. Jack didn't think Turghan got any serious licks in, but maybe he had and they just weren't aware of it?

"I'm sure she's just thinking about how much she wants to leave this planet," Jack surmised. "This hasn't exactly been the best mission for a woman, don't you think?" Daniel nodded and Teal'c tilted his head in agreement. "Still," Jack said slowing down, "why don't I just go keep her company for a while." He encouraged Daniel and Teal'c to keep walking and turned around to wait for Captain Carter. As he watched her approach, he was aware that she wasn't actually looking at him. Her eyes were scanning right and left, but not straight ahead. Her movements were methodical, almost as if she was willing herself to put one foot in front of the other. She was also walking far slower than usual. Jack's frown deepened. Something was definitely wrong.

"Earth to Carter..." Sam jerked her head up and stared into the concerned brown eyes of her CO. "You almost ran into me, Captain," Jack joked good naturedly as Sam stopped short just a few inches from O'Neill.

"Sorry, sir," Sam said contritely. "I didn't see you." Sam looked around, gripping her weapon firmly, instantly on alert. "Is everything okay?"

"You tell me, Captain," Jack said as he critically examined the woman in front of him. Sam's face seemed pale and her expression pinched. It took him a moment to figure it out, as he hadn't seen that particular look on Carter's face before. Unfortunately, he had seen it on others, including himself. This was a woman in pain. Jack held up a hand to indicate she should stop. He then turned and yelled back to Daniel and Teal'c.

"Guys, let's take a 15 minute break! Daniel, see if you and Teal'c can't find a good water source to refill our canteens." Daniel wanted to ask what's up, but the look on Jack's face instantly told him he should shut up. He might not know what's going on, but after half a dozen missions with Jack (with several of them being rather significant), he understood 'Jack-Stance' pretty well. Whatever was going on with Dr. Carter, Jack needed some time to work it out.

"Sure, Jack," Daniel called. "We'll be back in a few minutes." Teal'c nodded to O'Neill as he followed Daniel through the forest.

Sam frowned. Why'd the Colonel call for a break?

"Sam?" Jack asked quietly, "can I help you take your pack off so we can rest for a few minutes?" He pointed a few feet away towards a fallen log. "I don't know about you, Captain, but my knees wouldn't mind a bit of a break."

"Break?" Sam repeated.

"You know," Jack quipped, "a break, a short rest...a respite if you will." Jack took off his own pack and rested it against the log.

"A break sounds great, sir." Sam hadn't moved. She knew she needed to get that pack off, but she wasn't entirely sure how to do it that wouldn't cause her more pain. The thought of putting it back on terrified her. The throbbing in her back was getting worse, and even the smallest of movements now caused ripples of acute discomfort. Sam nearly laughed out loud at how absurd that sounded. Even her subconscious was trying to downplay the pain.

"Captain," Jack repeated gently, as he took another step towards Sam. He could see that she was barely holding it together. "Can you undo your hip belt so I can help you take your pack off?"

"What?" Sam refocused her eyes on the Colonel's. "Oh, my hip belt. Yes, of course." Jack absently noticed that she hadn't said, 'sir' at the end of that sentence, but the thought was quickly replaced by the realization that her hands were shaking. Not much, but enough to make him even more concerned. He watched as Sam held one side of the belt with one hand and tried to release the belt clip with the other. Nothing happened. She couldn't seem to apply enough pressure.

"Dammit!" Sam muttered sharply as tears stung her eyes. Why weren't her fingers working right?

Jack took the remaining step forward so he was directly in front of his 21C. "Let me help," he said gently replacing her shaking hands with his own and releasing the belt. A strangled cry erupted from Sam's throat as the full weight of the pack settled on her shoulders and back. Her knees buckled and it was all Jack could do to keep her upright as he pulled the pack off of her. Not knowing where the pain was coming from, Jack had no idea that sliding a heavy pack across her shoulders and back was probably the worst thing he could do. Sam screamed as her arms jerked backwards with the pack, pulling muscles and tearing tender skin underneath her shirt.

A/N - It's been a while *cough* 8 years. Let me know if this is working for you! For the record, Daniel was still calling Sam "Dr. Carter" in those early eps, and Jack actually went back and forth between 'Sam' and 'Carter'. It was kinda cool to see. :)