We Love as One – Chapter 19

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Jack tapped his fingers impatiently against the metal bar of his hospital bed and stared in distaste at the small TV hooked to the corner of the room. Figures he’d been stuck in a hospital that only offered basic cable. It was the result of his bad karma; he just knew it.

He had completed or been tortured with all the tests that Doc Frasier had made him take and he, Daniel, and Teal’c were waiting for her to come back with the results. Jack was so bored. Confined to a place he couldn’t leave, with inedible food, and essentially no TV – who wouldn’t be bored? Glancing over at Daniel, who was totally engrossed in an archaeology magazine and then at Teal’c, contentedly (at least he looked content) looking out the window at the hospital grounds; Jack defended his mental question. Daniel and Teal’c didn’t count. Teal’c was an alien and Daniel...was just strange. Carter would’ve been bored too...*Fine*, Jack thought as he rephrased his question. What ordinary *normal* person wouldn’t have been bored?

Jack’s hospital room opened and Janet came in, carrying a clipboard. “Good afternoon, Colonel. How are you holding up?”

“I’m in pain, starving, and there’s nothing good on TV. I’m peachy, Doc.” Jack replied in his usual sarcastic manner.

Janet shook her head, well used to the Colonel’s sarcasm, and took a deep breath. She looked at her clipboard. “Well, Colonel, here’s the diagnosis. You have torn cartilage or the meniscus located in your knee. Most of the meniscus has no blood supply and for this reason, it is unable to heal normally like the rest of your body.” Janet began.

“Ah, ah, ah, doc. My eyes are beginning to glaze over here.” Jack joked, earning a glare from everyone in the room with the exception of Teal’c.

“Jack, this is serious, okay. Let’s just listen to Janet.” Daniel said, anxiously sitting in the chair beside Jack’s hospital bed.

Janet started again. “Also, with age, the meniscus is beginning to deteriorate and degenerative tears are forming; the torn piece of cartilage in your knee is beginning to move in an abnormal fashion, Colonel, which is why your knee is so painful, swollen, and extremely hard to move.

“Now here is what we can do. There is meniscectomy, where we remove the cartilage, meniscal repair, and ligament reconstruction. By choosing any of these three options, it means you will have to stay in the hospital for up to several days, have one or more surgical incisions that may go up to several inches, spend several weeks on crutches, and up to several months to completely rehabilitate the knee.

“I would suggest doing an arthroscopic procedure since you would be an outpatient, and could be walking without crutches in 48 hours. You’d be placed on an exercise program and have some forms of activity restricted usually 6 weeks after the surgery or until you’re completely rehabilitated. But the actual recovery time is incredibly long and as with everything else, the ability to repair a torn cartilage or a tear greatly decreases as a person gets older.

“Either way, colonel, the odds of you going through the Stargate at the rate you do, is impossible.” Janet finished sadly, not wanting to look into the colonel’s eyes.

Jack sighed as he heard Janet. He may act as if he had the IQ of zero most of the time, but he knew what Janet was saying. Inhaling deeply, he nodded slowly as Daniel, Teal’c, and Janet looked on concerned. Jack thought about everything in his life and wondered what he was going to do now.

A few minutes of silence passed before Jack said quietly, “Well then, Doc. What do you think is the best route for me?”

“Well Colonel, Jack, as I said, the ability to repair this type of thing greatly decreases with age. So, our best bet would be to remove the cartilage. It’d take you awhile, about just under a year if all goes well to recover completely, but after that, you’d be up and walking around.”

“I’d be up and walking, but essentially be grounded to the SGC. The chance of me going on a mission where there’s even the slightest hint of danger is impossible.” Jack retorted, steeling to keep the bitterness out of his voice. Nobody was at fault here; it was just life. “Hey Daniel, mind putting in a call to the general? I’d like to see him ASAP.”

~~~~~

Elias groggily opened his eyes and was barely aware of the fact there were dozens of people fluttering about him, talking in steady and low voices. He opened his mouth wordlessly in an attempt to say something, but his mouth was too dry, his lips cracked and bleeding, and no sounds were audible from his mouth. Elias’ eyes rolled mindlessly from one direction to the next, unable to focus on anything and everything around him was blurry and the light shining down on him stung. He also couldn’t move; his body seemed devoid of any strength.

What parts of his brain that weren’t trying to block out the immense pain he was feeling acknowledged that he was hurt badly, both externally and internally. Whether he was going to survive or die was a thought that flashed through his mind and he sought out Lantash for comfort and answers. Elias struggled to take a breath as he realized that Lantash was too busy trying to repair the damage done to his body to speak. The situation did not bode well for Elias and he knew it.

Knowing Lantash and the other healers would be angry and knowing that he was damaging his chances at survival, Elias struggled to lift his trembling hand to weakly grasp the sleeve of a Tok’ra bending over him; the quiet hum of a healing device made itself known to Elias. A hand grasped Elias’s shaking one and he heard a quiet insistent voice, but he could not make out the words. Elias gasped out and his voice was raspy and hoarse as he said one word and hoped that it was enough to convey the message he was trying to get across.

“Martouf.”

***All medical information used in this chapter and the last can be found at: Torn Cartilage (Meniscus) http://www.arthorscopy.com/spo05005.htm

My thanks!