Part 60
Hammond was in the Briefing room when Daniel found him, early the next morning. The usually clean-looking, well-kept archaeologist looked rough, even in the dim lights of the base - 28 levels below the surface. Daniel had stayed longer than he should have at the hospital, barely slept once he did finally go home and then he didn't bother to shave before he dressed and came into work. Hammond looked over the disheveled man as Daniel approached him.
"Sorry to interrupt," the anthropologist said, throwing a glance at Dr Frasier as she stood in quiet conversation with the General.
"What is it, Dr Jackson?" Hammond asked, again scanning his view down the unkempt uniform.
Daniel shot another quick glance at Janet before saying, "Well, General, it's like this. I need time off.."
Hammond frowned. "Time off? For what?"
Daniel wet his lips quickly before looking down at where his splayed fingertips were tapping the tabletop. "Personal reasons," he stated.
Hammond looked at the doctor then at the anthropologist. "Would this have anything to do with the situation in Colonel O'Neill's life?"
"Yes, Sir," he said, finally looking up to meet the small eyes. "It has everything to do with that."
"I don't see how it has a bearing on you, Doctor. I know you and Colonel O'Neill are close friends, but I fail to see how .."
Daniel held his finger up and screwed his nose up slightly as he said, "This isn't just about Jack, General. I happen to be a close family friend of the Simmons'..."
A frown creased Hammond's face. "Simmons'?" He looked at Janet, who gave him a non-committal shrug, before he looked at Daniel once more. "Is Jack's partner any relation to Graham Simmons?"
The young man's mouth dropped open. "I.. ugh.. I thought you knew?" Daniel stammered softly.
"No, Doctor Jackson, I did not know. That would account for the sudden epidemic in Colorado Springs. I thought it was perculiar that Lt. Simmons had to take immediate time off to care for an ailing relative, then Colonel O'Neill to care for his partner..."
Daniel and Janet exchanged silent glances.
"Well, I'm going for the hatrick," Daniel muttered quickly.
"I'm sorry?"
"General, I'm requesting immediate compassionate leave.."
"Compassionate leave is only granted in the event of a close family relative or a partner.."
Daniel swallowed. "Well, I don't have any parents, so can't we just use one of those leaves up?" he asked, a little smartly.
Hammond's eyes narrowed. "So what is *your* connection to all this?"
"I'm Jack's best friend, General..."
"The Colonel's a close friend of mine as well, but you don't see me dropping everything to go there and sit with him?"
Daniel looked to the Doctor for some help.
"Sir, it would benefit Colonel O'Neill to have people around him at a time like this," she piped up.
"That's what Visiting Hours were invented for, Doctor," he said swiftly.
"Philip and I are close friends, if you must know!" Daniel said abruptly. "Jack met Philip through me..."
"I see," Hammond said, a little suspicion had crept into his voice.
"And I'm close friend's with Graham - who is Philip's brother - if you hadn't made the connection yet.."
"Oh, I've made the connection, Doctor Jackson," Hammond said warily. "Trust me!"
Daniel felt his ear burn as the older man sized him up with a long look.
"And because of my close ties with all three men, I would like to request some compassionate leave. I don't care if it's unpaid... I just want to start it now - today.."
Hammond turned quickly to the doctor then said, in disbelief, "How many more of my people will this one event affect?"
It was obvious he wasn't actually expecting a response, and was surprised when Janet said, "Well, you can count me in that lot, Sir. Philip is not only a patient of mine but in the months that I have been caring for him, he's come to be quite a good friend of mine as well.."
"You?"
"And Sam's," Janet added, knowing how much it affected Sam whenever she was upset about something.
"Probably Teal'c," Daniel added, also knowing that if all three members were out, Teal'c would rather stand by their side than work alone.
Hammond looked between the other two people in the room then gave a large shrug with his arms held wide. "One person.. and he affects six people here?"
Janet and Daniel both shrugged wordlessly.
"Not just 'any' six people either. All of my flag team and my Chief of Medical and one of my best Gate Personnel...?" Hammond's voice was strained with surprise by now.
"Who is destined to leave once his brother dies anyway," Daniel added solemnly. Hammond stared at him a long moment.
"You knew that?"
"Ah, yeah," Daniel said, jutting his thumb over his shoulder. "Graham mentioned it to me.. sometime.."
The older man nodded slowly.
"And of course," Janet said, "There's the Colonel's retirement from the program.."
Daniel gave a soft sigh as she said this. "I have to be honest, I don't blame him," he said.
"How so, Doctor?" The General asked when he sensed a snide tone in Daniel's voice.
The young man's cheeks flared then he squared his chin as he said, "I told Jack last night that I thought you meant what you told me in your office yesterday. That you wished you could do something more to help him.."
"And I do mean that," Hammond said.
"Yet here I am asking for some time off to help him through this, and you're disputing that?" Daniel tilted his head as his face screwed up in disbelief.
"I'm not disputing anything, Doctor Jackson," Hammond said with a slight chuckle of incredulousness. "All I asked was how many people this one life touches..."
"Well," Daniel said, folding his arms over his chest. "Now you know."
The balding red-haired head bobbed in a nod. "Now I do, Doctor. As for not meaning what I said yesterday, you couldn't be further from the truth. Before you go on leave today," Hammond said wryly, "I'd like to see you and Major Carter in my office please!"
Daniel blinked and looked at the small doctor before shifting his gaze onto the rotund man. "Ugh, yeah, sure."
"I'll expect you in a ten minutes then," Hammond said, turning towards Dr Frasier as he said, "Now, sorry Doctor. Where were we?"
The pretty woman's dark eyes watched as Daniel frowned slightly then he turned and left the room. Off to find Sam, not doubt, Janet thought.
*
Sam screwed her face up as she pulled the device from her hand and dropped her head into her palms, growling softly in despair.
"You'll get it Sam," Daniel told her as he rubbed her back lightly.
"I'm going to end up killing someone with this thing!" She protested, staring at the device on the table before her. The archaeologist leaned down and picked up the shiny object, held it in his hand for a moment then he put it down once more.
"No, you won't. You'll do fine. You've been working on this for.. hours.. now. Why don't you go down and see Janet?"
Sam slotted her eyes at that thought then smiled tiredly. "Sure. That makes sense," she said as she picked up the device from the table. As she reached to door she turned to Daniel. "Thanks for the help."
"I wasn't much help really."
"Never under-estimate the power of good moral support."
He smiled at her wanly. "That's me. King of Moral Support."
Sam smiled affectionately. "There are worst things to be, Daniel!"
He rolled his eyes as he shrugged. She smiled at him as she said, "Give the Colonel my best, please. Explain that I'll get there as soon as I can.."
"Sure. I'll tell him something's keeping you here..."
"Tell him it's the hand device. He knows I want to work on it.."
Daniel wasn't so sure that was a good idea - how would Jack feel if he thought Sam was not coming to the hospital because she'd rather work instead? But he nodded and said, "Sure." The pretty blond woman gave him a quick wink before she headed out of the office.
*
Several hours later Sam headed down the sterile-looking hospital corridor and felt her blood run cold with every step she took. Despite her love for a certain Doctor, hospitals and infirmaries always made her feel uneasy and she always did her best to avoid them. The silence around her almost felt oppressive as she crept quietly along the corridors in the dimly lit hospital, aware that it was completely outside of visiting hours now.
Her tests and research had detained her longer than she'd wanted them to and eventually she gave up in a flurry of frustration and exhaustion. She entertained the idea of not going home at all but sleeping on the base instead but the thought of *not* seeing her beloved tonight was too much for her. Sam also knew she wouldn't really rest if she remained there - she'd be constantly compelled to try again with her tests or to see if another kind of approach might not make the device work instead. Self-preservation and a hankering to see her partner, therefore, drove her away from the base and towards the hospital.
Before going off duty four hours ago, Janet had stopped in at Sam's lab to tell her that she was heading to the hospital to check on Philip again - and Jack. She'd told her how she'd managed to have Philip moved from the Intensive Care Unit and placed into a private room in the High Dependency ward, mostly to give those with Philip the privacy from prying eyes that Jack had to suffer with all day yesterday as other patient's visitors in the I.C.U. found the situation around Philip's bed compelling watching. The private room meant, though, that Jack *never* left Phil's side. Graham had utilized the carer's bed instead, insisting that he didn't want to leave his brother either, especially as Phil's condition was steadily declining.
When Sam had called the hospital a little after seven Janet had sounded emotionally drained as she confessed to her that she feared he could go at any time. Sheer will and determination was all that seemed to keep him alive, Janet had confessed sadly. Sam hoped that he had enough will and determination to last just that little bit longer...
She slowed down to locate Philip's room in the darkened corridors - the only lights were down low to light the walkway, and there were the mandatory illuminated 'emergency exit' signs along the walls, but apart from that there was no other lighting. It was now a little after ten pm and Sam expected that the lights were out to aid in the settling of the patients.
As she reached the door to the room she paused with her hand against the wood before going inside. Looking through the panel of glass she saw how dark it was in there. There was a large lump across the legs in the bed and Sam instantly knew it would be Jack sleeping with him, again.
She pressed on the door and entered the room. She caught her breath when she saw how frail Philip looked; the mask that now sat on his face looked like it was two sizes too big for him. He was sitting upright in bed, his head resting back against the pillows as he slept. She'd been right about the lump being Jack. The colonel was asleep across his legs and one of his hands was grasped around one of Phil's. Sam bit her lips together when she saw this then lowered her eyes. Quietly she turned around and left the two men to sleep in peace.
*
She was in the corridor a half an hour later, sitting on an uncomfortable chair, when the door opened and Jack emerged, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He didn't hide his surprise to see her.
"Carter?"
"Sir, Janet told me that Philip's condition had deteriorated," she told him empathetically. He stared at her a long moment, then nodded.
"Yeah. He's .. not good."
Sam's face flinched as she sighed. "I'm sorry, Sir," she said, reaching out to grip his upper arm.
"Well, he's stable now. So the Doc says that's a good thing."
The pretty blonde woman nodded briskly but her heart thudded in her throat.
He acknowledged her quiet discomfort with a slight incline of his head then said, "The Doc went to get something to eat about an hour ago, if that's who.."
"Actually I thought, perhaps, you could do with some company, Sir. Maybe we could get a coffee together?"
Jack was about to reject that suggestion, if the look on his face was anything to gauge it by, however he didn't get the opportunity to speak before Daniel and Teal'c turned the corner in the hospital's corridor and appeared out of no where.
"Sam!" The anthropologist greeted his friend with some surprise. His voice grew quiet with anticipation as he asked, "Everything all right?"
She plastered a smile on her face when she saw how tired Jack and Daniel looked. Wishing she were in a position to do more for them she mumbled her response; "Things are not any better than they were a few hours ago - unfortunately!"
He sighed with disappointment then nodded.
Recreating her smile, Sam said, "I thought I'd steal the Colonel away for a quiet coffee."
Daniel looked at Jack, noting the dark circles under his eyes then he looked at the bright face of the Major beside him. "Good luck!" he said sarcastically.
"Daniel," Jack growled as he rubbed his face.
The young man rolled his eyes then addressed Sam; "I tried to get him to leave and join us for dinner. He never made it. We asked him for a coffee. He said he'd catch up-" He turned and glanced at Jack, "-that was an *hour* ago."
"Oh, for crying.." the colonel mumbled.
"I see," the major said with a sharp nod.
Jack rolled his eyes this time and grumbled, "I'm not hungry. Sue me!"
"When was the last time you ate?" Daniel asked him as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Look, we've already had this argument and it was.."
Suddenly two people, a man and a woman, seemed to appear out of nowhere, rushed by them and ran into Phil's room. Jack looked at Daniel and both men hurried into the room behind them, followed by Sam and Teal'c.
"Philippo!" The woman wailed as she bent over the side of the bed. The patient startled awake and Daniel had to physically grab Jack's arm to stop him from running over there, abusing them for waking him up.
"Philippo. Philippo.." The man now wailed as he bent over the other side of the bed, hugging the patient.
Jack met Daniel's eyes and before the young man could say anything the door suddenly flung open and Graham entered, looking flushed.
"Our parents," he mouthed to the curious others in the room.
"Get them off him!" Jack hissed quietly.
"Jack," Daniel reminded him gently. "He's their son!"
"They're all over him!"
"Seems to me he's hugging them back," Daniel said, observing the trembling hand that reached up to lightly touch the back of his father. Jack clamped his eyes shut and rubbed his thumb and fingers into his stinging eyes. Daniel grimaced at his friend's distress and looked at Graham, seeing the desolation in the lieutenant's eyes too.
"Are you okay?" He asked as he stepped to his side and bowed his head to talk in whispers.
"Oh, just great," Graham replied tersely. "Got to hear - the whole drive in - how this was my fault."
Sympathetically Daniel shook his head then looked up as Jack came over to them.
With a face twitching with tension the older man hissed hotly over the din at Graham, "I don't think this wailing's doing anyone any good, especially me. Can't you tell them to shut the hell up?"
"Jack!" Daniel cautioned him for the tone he was taking with the distraught Lieutenant.
Graham seemed oblivious to Jack's rudeness though as he answered him wearily, "I doubt it."
"Do ya think you could give it a damn try?" Jack said, clearly at the end of his tether.
Graham looked from Jack to Daniel then sighed heavily before going over to the bed. Jack also sighed and shrugged his shoulders as he rolled his head, trying to block out the hysterical tears of the parents. Daniel watched him with a tight mouth and a furrowed brow, but he said nothing.
Graham's voice pleaded softly with the two people still hugging and crying over the weakened man in the bed. "Moma, Poppa. Please. He needs his rest."
"Who are you to be telling me what he needs!" The father turned and hissed vehemently at the young man. Instinctually Graham took a step back, and just as instinctually, Daniel took a step forward.
This time it was Jack that placed a hand on his friend's forearm. "Easy Butch," he whispered into the dark blond hair. Daniel's furious eyes turned to meet Jack's guarded gaze. With a disgusted grunt the anthropologist shook his head and looked at the floor, realizing that Jack was right. Stepping forward in defense of Graham would serve no purpose at the moment.
Graham, oblivious to the activity going on behind him, leaned around the menacing figure of his father as he pleaded with his mother - in Greek - asking her to please put Philip down.
Jack, baffled by the sudden language change, turned to Daniel for a translation. The linguist told them all that Graham had just pleaded with the mother to release Philip and to let him rest.
"Or I'll.." Jack said, meeting Teal'c's gaze this time. The ebony brow arched high in question but Jack said nothing more, just shook his head and stared down at his boots, as the realization that he could hardly start up in Philip's defense, or face blowing their relationship out of the water.
"What the..?" Daniel suddenly exclaimed as the father verbally abused Graham in his native language - Arabic. The tone alone told the other three that there was definite dissention between father and son, however only Daniel knew exactly the level of abuse Graham was receiving at that moment.
"HEY!" Unable to stomach it any further the linguist suddenly burst forth and came to stand by Graham's side. "How can you call your own son such a thing?"
"Crap," Jack muttered beneath his breath as the father hissed and spat as he asked Daniel who he was - and the young man surprised him by responding in fluent Arabic.
Past the feuding men Jack caught a glimpse of his lover's pallid face. He now raced into action, going over to the bed to be with him once again. Sam and Teal'c sidestepped around the three men, arguing in Arabic at the foot of the bed, to reach the side of the bed. Daniel was trying to keep the conversation down by keeping his voice low, and Graham was also doing the same, but when the father spoke Jack felt Philip physically jump beside him. He looked down and saw Phil's sad, watery eyes.
"Right! That's enough!" The colonel barked as he came over to the men once more. In his most patient voice he informed them; "Philip doesn't need yelling and screaming around him at the moment. He needs quiet and rest. Can you take this outside?"
The older man turned and looked at him. Gruffly he asked, again in his native tongue, "Who are you?"
"Talk in English, Poppa! You're fourth generation after all!" Graham snapped, showing a side to the shy, softly spoken Lieutenant that the others in the room had never seen, not even Daniel.
"I never forget my heritage!" The older man spat vehemently.
"I wish I could!" Graham retorted sourly.
Suddenly the older man threw his arms over his head and slammed them down onto Graham's shoulder, grabbing his son violently. "You show me no respect!"
"Hey!" Jack yelled and jumped to help the young man who was being shaken by the irate father. Daniel also threw himself into the fray, frantically trying to make Jaheed release Graham's shoulders.
Teal'c reached out and grabbed one of the wrists and as he applied slight pressure, using a technique he'd learned as a Jaffa, he said, "You will release Lieutenant Simmons."
The older man had no choice. His hands released the distressed man and while Graham stumbled then gained his composure after the attack Jack and Teal'c stepped between father and son, blocking him from touching Graham again.
As he rubbed his aching wrist the older man hissed once more, "Who are you - to treat me like this!"
"See," Jack said, wagging his finger at him though he addressed Teal'c. "See, now *that* I understood!" He faced the other man with a coldness in his eyes that Daniel only ever saw reserved for the likes of Maybourne, the Tok'Ra or the Goa'ulds. With his hands on his hips, Jack told him, "I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill. I'm Philip's.. friend. This is Major Sam Carter and this is Teal'c. And, ah," he waved his hand towards Daniel now, "you've already met Daniel - our resident Egyptologist.....You seemed to be getting along like a house on fire, if I may add!" He ignored the groan from his friend beside him as Daniel wrapped his arms tightly across his chest and looked down at his feet. "We are *all* Philip's friends."
The gristly man appraised Jack up and down slowly then he extended his hand and said, "I am Jaheed."
With some relief that the volume, and tones, had all come down a notch Jack reached out his hand.
The owner of the leathery-hand pointed to his wife and said, "This is Rosa. We are Philippo's parents."
"And mine," the Lieutenant muttered under-his-breath. Daniel lifted his eyes to briefly meet Graham's dark gaze then they both looked elsewhere.
"I wish we could meet under better circumstances," Jaheed said as he and Jack moved back to the bed to stand over Philip. The colonel looked down into the now-grateful brown eyes and he gave his lover a faint smile. Phil's eyes fluttered close and remained shut as Jack and Jaheed talked across him from opposite sides of the bed.
"Me, too," Jack said then looked at the end of the bed to where Graham and Daniel were standing side-by-side, watching the events unfold around the bed.
"This is so unfair," Jaheed said, his mouth tight with anger. "Our boy... dying of cancer. Why did the doctors not know earlier?" He pleaded passionately, gripping his hands together and shaking them at the ceiling. "Look at him, so young yet he looks like the walking dead!"
Jack bit back his first response to that and jerked his head, inviting Jaheed to move away from the bed. The other man did as he was silently asked to do, and together Jack and he went to the corner, near the window, to talk quietly.
Staring out at the darkening sky, and noting the rain clouds forming overhead, Jack sighed and said, "He's looked better, I'll grant that."
While they were discussing Phil's 'cancer', Rosa and Sam stepped up to the side of the bed.
"How is he?" Rosa asked as she reached for Phil's hand. Nervously she began to pat the back of his withered hand and Sam wondered if that wouldn't hurt the patient, knowing how sensitive he'd become to things touching his skin.
"He's .. uhm.. he's, you know, I'm not sure that that's very comfortable for Philip," she said, pointing to the rapid hand patting. Rosa stopped immediately and swiped some of the lank black hair out of the dull brown eyes.
"How are you, my Philippo?" She asked, smoothing her hand over his cheek and into his hair. He closed his eyes and looked like a cat being stroked. Sam almost expected him to begin purring at any moment.
The young man's hand clumsily tried to find the mask but Rosa gently took his hands away, laying them on the sheet again. "No, you must not," she told him.
"It's perfectly fine for him to take the mask off - for a moment," Sam said, and then ended up reaching over and assisting him with taking it off slightly so that he could speak to his mother.
"F..Fine," he whispered hoarsely. Rosa smiled through her tears.
"My brave boy!" She said, cradling his cheek in her palm lovingly. Sam eased the mask back into place and Philip melted against the pillows behind him once more, seemingly exhausted by the little activity.
Daniel was gnawing on his bottom lip, not talking to the man beside him. Graham's eyes were lowered to the floor, his face was flushed and his neck was red. Daniel wondered if it was from the attack, rage or pure embarrassment. He was about to ask when Teal'c came up to them.
"Is everything all right, Daniel?"
Graham's head snapped up and he looked between the two friends. Mistaking Teal'c's care for something more, Graham took a step back and said, "I'll be right back." As he left the room Daniel's worried gaze watched him go.
Jack and Jaheed had been discussing Phil's rapid failing health.
"He's so thin!" the father said, touching at his own face to illustrate the point. "So thin!"
"Yeah, you probably shouldn't point that out to him when you speak to him though," Jack muttered as he scratched at his chin. Jaheed looked at him a long moment then nodded.
"You have known Philippo for long?"
"Ah, a little over a year now," Jack said then glanced across to the bed, disappointed and frustrated that the hefty mother hid the ailing man from his view. "We, ah, we work with Graham, so.." Jack shrugged, unprepared to rattle off a reasonable excuse for how they met at such short notice.
He was also unprepared for the coldness in the father's eyes as the man snorted and looked out of the window at the mention of his other son's name. They remained in silence a while then Jaheed said, "No more raised voices around Philippo."
Jack nodded. "Good."
"I go to him now," Jaheed said, going to the side of the bed and almost elbowing Sam out of the way in his attempt to reach down to his son. The displaced Major rolled her eyes at the arrogance of the man as she came across to Jack at the window. Both cringed as Rosa instantly burst into more tears again.
"Oh, for crying out loud," Jack hissed beneath his breath.
"Would now be a good time to take you for that coffee?" Sam asked. Jack sighed and rubbed his hand down his face.
"Sure. I'll just tell him," he mumbled then stepped over to the bed.
"Philip?" He called softly, waiting for the dark eyes to finally flutter open. With an unguarded loving smile Jack looked down into the brown eyes that took a while to locate him. "We're all stepping out for a minute, okay?"
Phil's fingers twitched against his chest where his hand lay now. Jack's eyes shifted onto the father and mother, and seeing them not looking at him, he winked at his lover, mouthed 'I love you' then turned and left the room with Sam, Daniel and Teal'c in tow.
Daniel paused before leaving. "Graham?" He called and all three people standing in the room looked at him. Aware of the watchful gaze of the father, Daniel kept his eyes on the young Lieutenant. "Do you want to join us for a coffee?"
Shaking his head, Graham turned back to the bed and stepped up to be right beside his brother. Daniel bowed his head and happened to catch the hot stare from the father before he left the room.
<End of part 60>
Stories on this page are the property of Nessessitee and Slida. Please do not copy these without the written permission of the Author. All Rights are acknowledged for MGM, Gekko and Stargate Productions as to the Copyrights of the characters within this story and no infringement on the copyrights are intended. For the Bombshells Series the character of Philip Simmons is entirely the creation and intellectual property of Nessessitee and Slida.
While the performances given by RDA and MS help to fuel the author's desire to write for their characters in a niche that she feels is present on the actual show, the portrayal of their characters in loving relationships in no way reflects the Author's opinion of the men's private life, nor should it be construed in that manner.