Fic: Trigger

[welfycat]

Trigger - SG1 - Gen (Sam Carter, Daniel Jackson) - 2,850 words
Written for H/C Bingo; Prompt: Bites
Summary: Daniel is troubled after Sam is attacked off-world.
Content notes: Blood, discussion of post traumatic stress disorder. G.
Notes: Thank you to Welfybomb for betaing this for me!
Link on AO3: Trigger

Sam’s scream brought everyone to a millisecond standstill before Jack and Teal’c swung around, already raising their weapons to point at whatever was attacking them. The creature was fairly large, easily the size of a wolf, and covered in grey, thick fur. It had knocked Sam to the ground with a powerful lunge, the dense forest surrounding them providing enough cover for it to have stalked the team without them noticing. Sam’s screams continued over the sound of staff weapon fire and Jack’s side arm.

Daniel managed to stumble back a few steps off the path and out of danger, his gaze locked on Sam. He could see blood but he couldn’t tell where the creature was biting. He consoled himself that since Sam was still screaming at least they knew it hadn’t gone for her throat. At least she was still alive. He stared helplessly, his hand resting near the gun strapped to his thigh but powerless to actually pull it out and fire.

A bullet caught the animal in the snout, coming far too close to Sam for comfort, but the beast let out a painfully loud yowl. It lifted up its head to see who was attacking it, blood dripping down from its jaws. Jack and Teal’c didn’t waste the opportunity, firing directly at the beast’s head until it loped back into the woods, whimpers both from Sam and the creature filling the air.

Sam had rolled onto her side as soon the beast had left her, her body spasming and shaking.

“Carter!” Jack shouted, rushing to her and trying to see how badly she was hurt. He rolled her onto her back again, pulling the remains of her jacket away from her injured arm.

All Daniel could see was the blood; blood soaking her already dark jacket, blood spattered on the pale skin of her face and throat, blood darkening the ends of her hair. He knelt, feeling the loose wet soil sink a little beneath his knees and the damp soaking into his pants. Jack was calmly applying a combat dressing to the worst of the wounds on her arm, pulling gauze out of his vest pocket and keeping Sam as still as possible while he tried to slow the bleeding. Sam was repeating a litany of reassurances; she was just fine, it looked worse than it was. Jack wasn’t letting this stop him as Sam was still trembling, her voice a little hoarse from screaming.

“Daniel Jackson, are you well?” Teal’c asked as he bent down to where Daniel was kneeling.

“Fine,” Daniel said, using his hands to get to his feet, his knees weak and his stomach rolling ominously.

“You weren’t caught by our weapons?” Teal’c asked again, his eyes scanning the surrounding forest before returning to rest on Daniel.

“No,” Daniel shook his head. “I got out of the way in time.”

“We need to get back to the SGC. I’ve done what I can here.” Jack got up, rubbing his bloody hands on the front of his jacket before reaching down to help Sam to her feet.

Sam accepted the help, her skin pale under splashes of bright blood. “I’m alright, sir. No need to rush.”

“I do not believe this is a safe place to remain.” Teal’c said firmly, his staff weapon still ready to fire. He stood so that he could keep the entire team in his line of vision as well as a good portion of the densest part of the woods. A howl from deep in the forest was joined by two more as if responding to his statement.

Jack kept supporting Sam, one of his arms wrapped firmly around her torso, the other holding his side arm with his finger on the trigger. “Daniel, get your side arm out and have the safety off. If you see something moving in the forest, shoot at it, don’t stop and ask it questions. We’re not far from the ‘gate. Daniel, take point. Teal’c, guard the rear.”

Daniel took a moment to brush his hair away from his eyes and resettle his glasses. The cold mud from his fingers brought him back to himself and he pulled his gun out from its holster. He was experienced with guns, even before he’d joined the Stargate program, and he didn’t have any trouble firing one when the situation demanded it. Despite his experience, his hand shook as he flicked off the safety and he aimed it at the ground away from the team so he wouldn’t accidentally shoot anyone if he tripped. Checking back to make sure everyone was ready, Daniel led the way back to the ‘gate, frequently looking back to where Jack was helping Sam.

They’d been walking for a while when Sam stumbled, Jack catching her before she dropped to the ground, lowering her gently. Her bandage had started to seep again, blood dripping down the bare skin of her arm. They paused while Jack added another bandage over the first, looking increasingly grim. Sam had stopped saying she was fine, settling for leaning against Jack as he helped her back to her feet. He had holstered his gun, now placing all of his focus on keeping Sam up and moving. They started walking again, slightly slower than before.

Daniel almost broke into a run when he saw the ‘gate. He hurried forward to the DHD to dial, the symbols for Earth coming to his mind as easily as dialing for take out from his apartment. After the ‘gate connected he sent through their IDC and stood by the ‘gate while Jack and Sam approached. Teal’c turned so that he was surveying the area, standing guard against further attack while Sam and Jack were vulnerable.

Sam had slowed considerably during the twenty minute walk and Jack was half carrying her by the time they reached the active ‘gate. Daniel caught himself staring again; her blood was staining the front of both of their jackets now and had completely soaked the bandages that covered her arm. Jack and Sam went through the ‘gate first, followed quickly by Daniel and Teal’c.

Jack was already at the base of the ramp with Sam and shouting for a doctor when Daniel and Teal’c stepped into the SGC. Daniel put the safety back on his gun and shoved it back in his holster. It would have to be cleaned later, just like his vest and clothes. Glancing around he saw that Teal’c was the only person on SG1 who wasn’t completely covered with some combination of blood and dirt, and even his pants and boots were decently filthy.

A medical team with a stretcher rushed through the side doors and took Sam from them, leaving Jack standing in the middle of the room looking a little bereft.

“Is anyone else hurt, Colonel?” a nurse asked, examining the bloody spot on Jack’s front with obvious concern.

Jack swung his head back to check on Teal’c and Daniel before shaking his head. “It’s all Captain Carter’s blood.” He shook off the nurse and left the room, following the medical team that had taken Sam.

An officer rushed down from the control room, demanding to know what had happened. Teal’c and Daniel ignored him and hurried after Jack, their concern for Sam overriding anything else. Debriefing could wait until after they knew if Sam was going to be alright.

The infirmary was hectic and noisy; Doctor Fraiser and two nurses gathered around Sam as other doctors and nurses dealt with another team that had returned only minutes earlier. Jack stood a few feet behind Doctor Fraiser, his expression carefully unreadable as he watched them work. Daniel and Teal’c joined him, unable to see anything past the moving bodies of the nurses but listening for any clue about Sam’s condition.

When Doctor Fraiser turned to get something and nearly bumped into Jack she frowned and waved them back several paces. “Unless you’re injured get out of my infirmary. Captain Carter will be fine.” She picked up a tray of medical supplies and went back to Sam’s bed, pulling the curtains closed behind her.

Jack stared at the closed curtains for a long moment before gathering himself and turning to the rest of his team. “Doc said she’ll be fine.” He explained as if Daniel and Teal’c hadn’t been standing with him when Doctor Fraiser had spoken.

Teal’c nodded solemnly. “Samantha Carter will prevail.”

Both Jack and Daniel glanced at each other briefly before Jack responded. “Right. Anyway, I’ll go check in with Hammond. You two can go clean up.” Jack motioned to their muddy clothes before turning away and leaving the infirmary, his usually laid back slouch nowhere to be seen.

Teal’c raised an eyebrow at Daniel, who was gazing at some point beyond the curtains that hid Sam, his eyes unfocused. “Do you not wish to change your clothing?”

Daniel turned to Teal’c, his expression still a little vacant. “Yeah.” He paused, squeezing his eyes shut and then opening them again, this time managing to focus on Teal’c. “Yeah. I’m just going to check something in my office first.”

“As you wish.” Teal’c left the infirmary, obviously aware of Daniel’s subterfuge but not interfering.

Seeing a chair a few feet away, Daniel dropped down into it and watched the feet moving under the curtains that surrounded Sam’s bed. He listened, letting the chatter of nurses and doctors working on patients wash over him. The words all joined together in his mind until it was like listening to a foreign language for the first time. Rises and falls in pitch, the harmony and melody of sounds all blending in what amounted to nonsense without a key to decode it.

“Daniel?”

A warm hand pressing against the clammy skin of Daniel’s wrist pulled his attention outward to where Doctor Fraiser was leaning forward to get a better look.

“You didn’t tell anyone you were hurt?” She asked, titling his head back to look into his eyes.

“I’m not hurt,” Daniel said, pulling his head away from the doctor.

She let her hand fall away but kept examining him. “I’m afraid I have to disagree. You look terrible.”

“I’m fine. I just need to see to Sam.” Daniel stood up, moving towards the curtains that were still closed.

Doctor Fraiser blocked his path. “Captain Carter is resting, as you should be.”

“Please, I have to talk with her.” Daniel dodged the doctor, half imagining a particularly strange and difficult tango, or maybe a waltz.

“Daniel?” Sam, clad only in a hospital gown and bandages, peeked out from behind the curtains. Her face was still pale and Daniel could see faint smudges of blood from where the nurses had wiped her face and neck.

“Captain Carter, I ordered you to rest.” Doctor Fraiser turned her ire away from Daniel and moved instead to guide Sam back to her bed.

Daniel stared at Sam as Janet helped her lay back down, Sam protesting all the way that she was fine and didn’t need the rest. Sam rested her head against the pillows; simply getting up and walking a few feet had left her visibly drained, despite her protests to the contrary.

Janet readjusted the IV stand that Sam had dragged along with her and gave her a particularly stern look. “Bed rest, and that’s an order, Captain.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Sam gave a meek smile and settled under the blankets. “But Daniel can stay for a few minutes, right?”

Janet looked at Daniel, assessing his well being. “Five minutes, and I better not see a speck of mud near her bandages.”

“Of course, Doctor.” Daniel nodded to Janet and wiped his hands on his pants self-consciously. He waited until Janet left the enclosed area before approaching Sam, anxiety clear on his face.

Sam squirmed and adjusted her pillows so that she was propped up. “Well, I think that’s our shortest off-world trip yet.”

“Yeah,” Daniel agreed, staring at the thick white bandages that covered Sam’s arm from wrist to elbow.

Sam followed Daniel’s gaze and smiled reassuringly. “It’s not as bad as it looks. Janet said that the creature had some kind of anticoagulant in its saliva, which is why I was bleeding so much. After she cleaned the cuts everything was fine. I only needed seventeen stitches, which is pretty much nothing compared to some of the stuff I’ve seen. It won’t even scar much with proper treatment.”

Daniel looked away, his head dropping down and color draining.

“Daniel, what’s wrong?” Sam frowned, concerned by Daniel’s reaction.

He took a deep breath and folded his arms, looking more down at his feet then at Sam. “It was my fault. There was a moment when I saw it about to leap at you. I could have gotten in between it and you, and I didn’t.”

Sam’s brow creased, her eyes narrowing. “I don’t expect you to sacrifice yourself for me, Daniel. I don’t expect any of you to get in between me and a bullet or a staff blast, or whatever we find out there.”

“Sam, that’s not what I mean. I could have got in its way, or shot it, or called to Jack and he would have shot it. But I didn’t. I just froze up, and you got hurt because of it.” Daniel’s voice wavered, his hair falling down to cover his eyes. “I’m really sorry.”

Craning her head to the side to get a better look at Daniel, Sam pursed her lips as she thought. This wasn’t the Daniel that she was used to seeing, off-world or on Earth. Even though she had originally been a little wary of having a civilian on their team, though her own place on the team was probably more precarious in the beginning than Daniel’s had been, Daniel had acquitted himself well in the few missions they had been on. Now he was closed in on himself, his entire body pressed together as tight as possible.

“Daniel, this isn’t just about me getting hurt, is it? Do you know why you froze up?” she asked, her mind putting together possibilities far more quickly than she could process.

Daniel frowned, recognizing that Sam had latched onto something and wasn’t about to let it go. “When I was eight my family moved to America for the first time in my life because my parents were working on setting up an exhibit for a museum. I was still adjusting to different cultures, and going to an actual school with other kids. Before that, my parents just taught me whatever they knew.”

“Okay,” Sam said, when Daniel paused and glanced back towards her.

Sighing, Daniel continued. “Anyway, as you can imagine it was a bit of a culture shock, and I didn’t always get along well with the other kids at school.”

Sam could imagine this very well, a tiny Daniel with his bright smile and big eyes approaching kids who wouldn’t understand how smart he was or appreciate his different experiences.

“One day, when I was walking home from school I went the long way, through alleys and around the back of buildings. I didn’t realize that two of the boys I was trying to avoid had followed me, and one had brought his dog.” Daniel shook his head and laughed a little, his eyes bright when he looked back toward Sam. “I don’t even know what breed it was. They’d trained it as some kind of attack dog and set it on me. It pinned me to the ground and started biting at my shoulder. Not much scarring left, and it didn’t really leave me afraid of dogs.”

When he had been quiet for what felt like eternity, Sam reached out with her unwounded arm. “Daniel…”

“But when I saw that thing lunging toward you I just froze up. I can’t even explain it.” He shrugged. “Then all I could see was the blood, all over you and your clothes, and knowing that you were hurt and I could have stopped it.”

Sam sighed and wrapped her fingers around Daniel’s wrist, her hand still slightly stained with blood. “It’s not your fault. People can freeze up when something in their memories is triggered, I’ve seen it tons of times in the field. It’s even happened to me once or twice.”

“But-” Daniel started.

“No buts. Jack would tell you the same thing. I bet even Jaffa have some kind of post traumatic stress response.” Sam nodded firmly.

“Probably involves shooting something.” Daniel mused, the corners of his mouth quirking slightly.

“Probably.” Sam returned his smile and pulled Daniel in for a quick hug. “It’s okay.”

Daniel shook his head. “No it’s not. The doctor is going to kill me when she sees I got you muddy.”

Sam grinned and leaned back against her pillows, examining the spots of mud that Daniel had left on her hospital gown. “Well, she only specified the bandages had to be kept clean.”

“I’ll let you tell her that.” Daniel remained perched on the edge of Sam’s bed as she drifted off, exhaustion finally catching up with her.