Long Road Back, Part 6
Jan. 10th, 2007 12:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
catspawIt was the unvarying politeness that was the most dispiriting thing, Daniel thought as he pulled the door quietly shut behind him after yet another session with Jack: well, that and the constant repetition of the same damn stuff. Jack's short-term memory was still not good although it at least was improving. But the politeness was so utterly uncharacteristic, far too worryingly submissive. He leaned against the corridor wall and sighed as he pulled off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. The best part of two weeks of sitting periodically with Jack, attempting to reassure him, trying to convince him of the truth of his previous existence, trying to jog some sort of response from him and what did he have to show for it? Pretty much nothing. It wasn't as if he hadn't tried, they'd all tried, he and Sam and Teal'c taking it in turns. Jack was still behaving like an obedient child scared of upsetting his elders and betters, minding his manners with that awful, determined politeness. They were making no headway whatsoever, and that was hard to bear.
Sure, Jack was physically starting to look a lot better in the couple of weeks since he'd been back. The bruises had faded away and he'd started to put on some of the weight he'd lost – just a few pounds, but they made a huge difference to his appearance. The physiotherapy seemed to be going well, although it was still early, and he'd been persuaded to start shaving again on a regular basis. But mentally? Who knew?
And yet, there was something there, some stirring of recognition maybe, but a... what, exactly? At times, he had seen a spark there, he was sure: quickly suppressed, granted, but there nonetheless. Almost as if the submissiveness were a front. That was it, he was nearly certain: under the obedient veneer, Jack was falling back into the habit of threat assessment, of analysis. He didn't think it was wishful thinking although there was maybe a good element of that in his conviction.
No. It wasn't just wishful thinking. The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that he wasn't just kidding himself. There was something there, some small filling in of the gaps, if not in Jack's memories, at least in his personality. He just couldn't seem to find a crack in the façade that Jack was presenting, couldn't find a way to worm his way in, gain his confidence, open the crack wider and get him to respond.
Daniel laughed bitterly to himself. This was irony indeed: this was his job, for fuck's sake, to reach out to people, to make contact with them. He did this on a daily basis – the whole 'member of the premier first contact team' thing. He was good at it too: for whatever reason, people generally responded favourably to his overtures. Yet he couldn't reach out and touch Jack, couldn't seem to connect with the one man should have been able to reach. The one man he knew intimately, inside and out, physically and mentally.
He sighed again as he replaced his glasses and pushed himself away from the wall. He supposed he'd better go and check in with Janet.
She was sitting at her desk when he knocked and stuck his head around the door. She smiled warmly at him and indicated that he should come in and sit down, her expression changing to a slight frown as she registered the weary slump of Daniel's shoulders.
"Still no progress, I take it."
"Not outwardly, no. Maybe it's a bit soon to expect any, I don't know. He has only been off that damned drug they were feeding him for a couple of weeks. Maybe it's a bit optimistic to expect its effects to wear off so soon."
"I don't know, Daniel. The halcion seems to have cushioned the worst of the withdrawal; at least the Colonel's never complained or seemed distressed. Physically he's improving rapidly – but then I'd have expected that anyway. The Colonel always has healed fast. In that respect, at least, he's the ideal patient," she added drily.
Daniel gave a mirthless laugh. "Yeah, usually about the only respect. I admit I for one would be a lot happier if he was a little crankier. Especially since he's now almost at the end of the treatment to taper off his dependence on the benzos."
Janet chuckled quietly. "I have to agree, although I doubt my nurses would." She sobered up and took a deep breath before continuing.
"You said you could see no 'outward' signs of improvement. Does that mean that you think the Colonel might be improving inwardly?"
"I don't know, Janet. Sometimes I think there's something there, something that he won't allow himself to show. He seems to be processing the information we're feeding him, but I'm not sure if he really believes it or not. I can't seem to get him to open up, somehow, so I'm not sure whether he's really taking it in or not. Actually, that's not quite true: I think he's taking it in, but I'm not sure he's really applying it to himself. I don't think he's convinced yet that we're telling him the truth.
"But I don't know, not for sure. He won't talk to us unless spoken to. It's taken us this long to get him to answer direct questions without prevarication, and even then he only gives minimal answers. But sometimes... sometimes I wonder if there isn't something more there."
Janet nodded. "Yes, that's the impression I get too. It's good to have it confirmed, it makes my next decision easier."
Daniel looked sharply at her. From her manner, he was getting the impression that he wasn't about to like what was coming. "Which is what, exactly?"
"We've established that there's no brain damage and his most recent scans have given every indication that the alien drug's effects on the neural ganglia are diminishing quite rapidly. He's growing stronger physically every day. This is starting to look more and more to me like a case of hysterical amnesia due to post-traumatic stress, rather than something drug-induced. So I think some specialist help is now indicated. I'm referring him for a psych. eval. with Doctor Mackenzie."
Daniel's protest was instinctive and vehement.
"No, Janet, you can't do that."
"Daniel, it's getting to the stage where I really don't have a choice. I'm not a clinical psychiatrist, I'm a physician. A physician who's reached her limits as far as advancing the treatment of the Colonel's condition is concerned. There's only so much that can be achieved by drug therapy. And, forgive me, SG1 don't seem to be having much success in helping him retrieve his memories. We don't even know yet if they are capable of being retrieved. A psych. consult and further specialist treatment is the next logical step. I would be failing in my responsibilities as the Colonel's doctor if I didn't refer him."
"What if Jack lets slip to Mackenzie about us? Have you thought of that? We told you because we trusted you as a friend, but Mackenzie? No way! He'd turn Jack in, end his career."
"Daniel, you have to appreciate my position here. I can't base recommendations for treatment for the Colonel on the fact that you're lo-- friends. I swore an oath to do the best for my patients based on their medical requirements. And in my opinion, Jack needs more help than you can possibly give him – professional help." She added drily, "And I'm not naïve enough to think that you would have told me if I hadn't been more than half way to finding out for myself, anyway. I'm your physician, I'd have figured it out eventually and you know it."
That was maybe nearer to the truth than Daniel was prepared to admit - but he wasn't going to let himself be distracted by a red herring even if he was quite prepared to try the same tactics on Janet. "I'm not going to let him anywhere near Mackenzie's clutches. You know Jack loathes him, he doesn't trust him an inch, and if he remembers that - well, how the hell is seeing him now going to do Jack any good? Besides, that quack will have him doped up to the gills again and in a straitjacket before you can say 'knife'."
"That's unfair. Doctor Mackenzie is a good psychiatrist, he- -"
"Is it so unfair? He did it to me, remember: he doesn't have the imagination to be able to see beyond the end of his nose. The man is an idiot."
Janet's face hardened. "In your opinion. But I'm the Chief Medical Officer here and I'm telling you that in my professional judgement- -"
"Doctors? Do you have a problem?"
Both whirled around: they'd been so engrossed in their burgeoning argument that neither had noticed General Hammond coming into the room behind them.
Janet was the first to recover. "No, Sir, just a slight disagreement over how to proceed with the Colonel's treatment."
"Doctor Jackson?"
Daniel took a couple of deep breaths to calm his temper. "Doctor Fraiser has suggested psychiatric treatment for Jack, Sir. I was just explaining to her that I'm opposed to that course of action."
General Hammond's eyebrows had been crawling up his head, but now they lowered.
"That sounded more than a slight disagreement to me. I could hear you both out in the corridor – you might care to reflect on the fact that Colonel O'Neill might have heard you as well. Now, will you both calm down and tell me, quietly, what this is all about? Dr. Fraiser?"
"As Daniel says, I've decided to refer Colonel O'Neill to Doctor Mackenzie for a psych. consult with a view to starting a course of psychiatric treatment."
"I see. This is your medical opinion, based on the Colonel's progress thus far?"
"Yes Sir, it is. I don't feel that I can do much more for him as his physician."
"Doctor Jackson, I take it that your position on this is different?"
"It certainly is. I refuse to allow it. General, you know how Jack feels about psych. services in general and Doctor Mackenzie in particular. I can't see it would dong him any good."
Hammond's eyebrows were on the upward track again.
"You refuse to allow it?"
Daniel's mouth was set in a stubborn line. He wasn't about to back down, this was too important. "Yes, General, I do."
"Daniel can't do that Sir. As Chief Medical Officer of this facility- -"
"Ah, in point of fact, I can. If you check our personnel records, you'll see that Jack and I have named each other as next of kin in the absence of any closer relatives. We had the change made just before Jack's disappearance. As I understand it, I can refuse treatment on his behalf as long as my refusal doesn't threaten Jack's life. And I can tell you categorically that Jack would object strenuously to this course of treatment if he were in a position to do it himself, unless all the other options had been exhausted. And probably even then," Daniel added as an afterthought.
"Which is my point exactly Daniel. I think all the other options have been exhausted. General, I really can't think of anything else to try."
"And I'm afraid I'm not convinced that they have been. Sir."
"Daniel, you can't refuse treatment for the Colonel based on your own prejudices. It's not fair to him, and it might ultimately jeopardise his recovery. And as far as refusal of treatment not threatening the Colonel's life is concerned, well, strictly speaking, I suppose you're right. But we have to make a qualitative judgement here as well as a quantitative one: referral for treatment might make the difference between the Colonel regaining full functionality with his memories restored and living a half-life, unable to remember any of the experiences that have made him him and being ultimately unfit to command. Which of those options do you think he'd prefer?"
Daniel opened his mouth to reply but Hammond held up a hand. "A moment please, Doctor Jackson. This is getting us nowhere. Give me a chance to think about this." Daniel subsided, albeit unwillingly, to wait in mutinous silence. When General Hammond spoke again, his voice was kindly.
"Son, the Doctor is right. I can't allow your personal misgivings about Doctor Mackenzie to colour my judgement and neither can Doctor Fraiser. We would both be failing in our responsibilities if we allowed that to happen."
"I would agree if that was all it was, Sir. But it's not just that. I genuinely don't think that Doctor Mackenzie would be able to do anything to help Jack." Daniel paused for a moment to formulate his thoughts. " General, you know I've been spending most of my free time here with Jack since he's been back, so I've probably had the best chance to observe his behaviour for the longest period out of any of us here. I said to Doctor Fraiser earlier in our, uh, conversation that I felt there was something different about him.
"But he's hiding that, or trying to. Think of it from his point of view: he's been pitchforked into a situation that is quite outside his realm of experience as he remembers it. He's been held captive and abused to the point that he's completely forgotten his previous existence, can remember nothing except the abuse. It's become the only normality that he can remember and now that the abuse has stopped, he's more confused than ever. He knows he's still captive, he's seen the SF stationed outside his door whenever he's been taken to the gym for his therapy, he knows that the SFs escort him to the gym and back. He knows that he's rarely left alone, I'm there a lot of the time he's awake, talking to him, trying to... well, it must seem like trying to break him down, from his point of view. Which is nothing more than the simple truth, when I think about it. So I think he's taking refuge in something else that he knows, something that's been deeply engrained in him. I think he's hanging on to his training to get him through this. If you think about it, it's a perfectly logical reaction in the circumstances as he perceives them."
"Your point being?"
"That I'm starting to think that his best chance of recovering all of his memories will come if we can just persuade him that it's safe to let his guard down. Maybe they have already started to return to some extent, we just don't know until we can get him to open up to someone. And the best chance of that happening will be with someone that he has 'known' since he got back here, if we can just persuade him to trust us enough to try. Kind of a 'first contact' type of situation. I think that maybe introducing another stranger into the equation might just be enough to make him suspicious all over again and set the process back. "
Hammond pursed his lips for a moment or two, a considering look on his face, before he turned back to the doctor. "I have to say that to a layman, that argument sounds logical. Doctor, will a delay in seeking psychiatric help for Colonel O'Neill damage his chances of recovery?"
Janet paused before answering, and reluctantly shook her head. "I can't say for sure, Sir, but if pressed for an answer, I would say that a short delay would probably have limited impact on his long-term chances. I have to stress though, Sir, a short delay. And I want to state for the record that any delay at all is against my best judgement. I'm starting to think that the Colonel's state of mind is not merely drug induced, that there's something more, some event behind it that he's suppressing. In which case, the sooner after such an event psychiatric treatment is started, the better for the patient."
Hammond turned back to Daniel. "If that's the case, if there's something more to this than drugs, what makes you think that you're the best one to help Colonel O'Neill sort through it all, rather than a professional therapist?"
"General, we're friends. I know things about him, have shared experiences with him, that he's never shared with anyone else. Things that aren't on his record. Personal things. I can use those to gain his trust."
"If his memories start to return spontaneously."
"As I said to Janet at the start of our discussion, Sir, I'm convinced there's something there. His attitude is changing – slowly, I'll grant you, but I'm convinced of it. And I'm about the only one who can help him sort out his personal memories."
"Some of those memories will be classified."
"I've got the clearance – what could be more classified than the Stargate program?"
Daniel held himself completely still as he waited for the General to speak again, marshalling his resources for further argument. As it turned out, he could have saved himself the effort, as Hammond pursed his lips before turning to Doctor Fraiser again.
"How long a delay would you be prepared to sanction, Doctor?"
"No more than three or four days, Sir. A week at most. As I've said, I don't take this decision lightly, but I would be failing in my responsibility to my patient if I didn't progress his treatment as quickly as possible."
"Very well. Let's see if we can't find some middle ground here. Son, I'm not prepared to completely discount the opinion of my Chief Medical Officer when it comes to medical matters. But at the same time, Doctor," Hammond turned back to nod at Janet, "I'm unwilling to rush into referring Jack for psych. treatment. You and I both know how that looks on the record. So I suggest a compromise: delay the referral for a full psych. eval. for that week and give Doctor Jackson the best possible chance to make the breakthrough, but at the same time assign a psychologist to the case to give Doctor Jackson any support or help that he needs. Not Doctor Mackenzie - I'm sure you'll be able to come up with something plausible to delay his involvement for now. That seems to me to be a reasonable course of action to be fair to all three of you. And I am aware, Doctor Fraiser, that you have the authority to overrule me on this. But I'm asking you not to."
Daniel and Janet both took a breath to speak, but the General quelled them with a look, and they both rapidly revised what they had been intending to say, merely nodding their agreement instead. The General gave a sharp nod of satisfaction as he turned on his heel and left the room, throwing over his shoulder as he went, "Good. Keep me advised of any progress."
"Yes, Sir."
"Uh, one other thing, General?"
Hammond's expression as he swung back around to face Daniel was intimidating, but he said mildly enough, "Doctor Jackson?"
"Can we, I mean you, arrange for the guards to be removed? It might give Jack a little more confidence if we make some visible show of faith...?"
"I think not just yet, son. I would be happier about doing so if you'd shown any real advances, but as things stand --"
Daniel cut the general off. "I just think--"
"Asked and answered, Doctor. My decision stands for now."
Once again, Daniel recognised whipcrack finality when he heard it. He murmured a faint "Yes Sir. Thank you, Sir," to the General's retreating back and then sighed when the door shut behind him. A week. Ah well, it was a reprieve albeit a brief one, and better than nothing. At the end of the week – well, they would see. He caught Janet's eye, shrugged an apology of sorts, and went in search of some peace and quiet to help him decide what to try next.
*
Part 7
Sure, Jack was physically starting to look a lot better in the couple of weeks since he'd been back. The bruises had faded away and he'd started to put on some of the weight he'd lost – just a few pounds, but they made a huge difference to his appearance. The physiotherapy seemed to be going well, although it was still early, and he'd been persuaded to start shaving again on a regular basis. But mentally? Who knew?
And yet, there was something there, some stirring of recognition maybe, but a... what, exactly? At times, he had seen a spark there, he was sure: quickly suppressed, granted, but there nonetheless. Almost as if the submissiveness were a front. That was it, he was nearly certain: under the obedient veneer, Jack was falling back into the habit of threat assessment, of analysis. He didn't think it was wishful thinking although there was maybe a good element of that in his conviction.
No. It wasn't just wishful thinking. The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that he wasn't just kidding himself. There was something there, some small filling in of the gaps, if not in Jack's memories, at least in his personality. He just couldn't seem to find a crack in the façade that Jack was presenting, couldn't find a way to worm his way in, gain his confidence, open the crack wider and get him to respond.
Daniel laughed bitterly to himself. This was irony indeed: this was his job, for fuck's sake, to reach out to people, to make contact with them. He did this on a daily basis – the whole 'member of the premier first contact team' thing. He was good at it too: for whatever reason, people generally responded favourably to his overtures. Yet he couldn't reach out and touch Jack, couldn't seem to connect with the one man should have been able to reach. The one man he knew intimately, inside and out, physically and mentally.
He sighed again as he replaced his glasses and pushed himself away from the wall. He supposed he'd better go and check in with Janet.
She was sitting at her desk when he knocked and stuck his head around the door. She smiled warmly at him and indicated that he should come in and sit down, her expression changing to a slight frown as she registered the weary slump of Daniel's shoulders.
"Still no progress, I take it."
"Not outwardly, no. Maybe it's a bit soon to expect any, I don't know. He has only been off that damned drug they were feeding him for a couple of weeks. Maybe it's a bit optimistic to expect its effects to wear off so soon."
"I don't know, Daniel. The halcion seems to have cushioned the worst of the withdrawal; at least the Colonel's never complained or seemed distressed. Physically he's improving rapidly – but then I'd have expected that anyway. The Colonel always has healed fast. In that respect, at least, he's the ideal patient," she added drily.
Daniel gave a mirthless laugh. "Yeah, usually about the only respect. I admit I for one would be a lot happier if he was a little crankier. Especially since he's now almost at the end of the treatment to taper off his dependence on the benzos."
Janet chuckled quietly. "I have to agree, although I doubt my nurses would." She sobered up and took a deep breath before continuing.
"You said you could see no 'outward' signs of improvement. Does that mean that you think the Colonel might be improving inwardly?"
"I don't know, Janet. Sometimes I think there's something there, something that he won't allow himself to show. He seems to be processing the information we're feeding him, but I'm not sure if he really believes it or not. I can't seem to get him to open up, somehow, so I'm not sure whether he's really taking it in or not. Actually, that's not quite true: I think he's taking it in, but I'm not sure he's really applying it to himself. I don't think he's convinced yet that we're telling him the truth.
"But I don't know, not for sure. He won't talk to us unless spoken to. It's taken us this long to get him to answer direct questions without prevarication, and even then he only gives minimal answers. But sometimes... sometimes I wonder if there isn't something more there."
Janet nodded. "Yes, that's the impression I get too. It's good to have it confirmed, it makes my next decision easier."
Daniel looked sharply at her. From her manner, he was getting the impression that he wasn't about to like what was coming. "Which is what, exactly?"
"We've established that there's no brain damage and his most recent scans have given every indication that the alien drug's effects on the neural ganglia are diminishing quite rapidly. He's growing stronger physically every day. This is starting to look more and more to me like a case of hysterical amnesia due to post-traumatic stress, rather than something drug-induced. So I think some specialist help is now indicated. I'm referring him for a psych. eval. with Doctor Mackenzie."
Daniel's protest was instinctive and vehement.
"No, Janet, you can't do that."
"Daniel, it's getting to the stage where I really don't have a choice. I'm not a clinical psychiatrist, I'm a physician. A physician who's reached her limits as far as advancing the treatment of the Colonel's condition is concerned. There's only so much that can be achieved by drug therapy. And, forgive me, SG1 don't seem to be having much success in helping him retrieve his memories. We don't even know yet if they are capable of being retrieved. A psych. consult and further specialist treatment is the next logical step. I would be failing in my responsibilities as the Colonel's doctor if I didn't refer him."
"What if Jack lets slip to Mackenzie about us? Have you thought of that? We told you because we trusted you as a friend, but Mackenzie? No way! He'd turn Jack in, end his career."
"Daniel, you have to appreciate my position here. I can't base recommendations for treatment for the Colonel on the fact that you're lo-- friends. I swore an oath to do the best for my patients based on their medical requirements. And in my opinion, Jack needs more help than you can possibly give him – professional help." She added drily, "And I'm not naïve enough to think that you would have told me if I hadn't been more than half way to finding out for myself, anyway. I'm your physician, I'd have figured it out eventually and you know it."
That was maybe nearer to the truth than Daniel was prepared to admit - but he wasn't going to let himself be distracted by a red herring even if he was quite prepared to try the same tactics on Janet. "I'm not going to let him anywhere near Mackenzie's clutches. You know Jack loathes him, he doesn't trust him an inch, and if he remembers that - well, how the hell is seeing him now going to do Jack any good? Besides, that quack will have him doped up to the gills again and in a straitjacket before you can say 'knife'."
"That's unfair. Doctor Mackenzie is a good psychiatrist, he- -"
"Is it so unfair? He did it to me, remember: he doesn't have the imagination to be able to see beyond the end of his nose. The man is an idiot."
Janet's face hardened. "In your opinion. But I'm the Chief Medical Officer here and I'm telling you that in my professional judgement- -"
"Doctors? Do you have a problem?"
Both whirled around: they'd been so engrossed in their burgeoning argument that neither had noticed General Hammond coming into the room behind them.
Janet was the first to recover. "No, Sir, just a slight disagreement over how to proceed with the Colonel's treatment."
"Doctor Jackson?"
Daniel took a couple of deep breaths to calm his temper. "Doctor Fraiser has suggested psychiatric treatment for Jack, Sir. I was just explaining to her that I'm opposed to that course of action."
General Hammond's eyebrows had been crawling up his head, but now they lowered.
"That sounded more than a slight disagreement to me. I could hear you both out in the corridor – you might care to reflect on the fact that Colonel O'Neill might have heard you as well. Now, will you both calm down and tell me, quietly, what this is all about? Dr. Fraiser?"
"As Daniel says, I've decided to refer Colonel O'Neill to Doctor Mackenzie for a psych. consult with a view to starting a course of psychiatric treatment."
"I see. This is your medical opinion, based on the Colonel's progress thus far?"
"Yes Sir, it is. I don't feel that I can do much more for him as his physician."
"Doctor Jackson, I take it that your position on this is different?"
"It certainly is. I refuse to allow it. General, you know how Jack feels about psych. services in general and Doctor Mackenzie in particular. I can't see it would dong him any good."
Hammond's eyebrows were on the upward track again.
"You refuse to allow it?"
Daniel's mouth was set in a stubborn line. He wasn't about to back down, this was too important. "Yes, General, I do."
"Daniel can't do that Sir. As Chief Medical Officer of this facility- -"
"Ah, in point of fact, I can. If you check our personnel records, you'll see that Jack and I have named each other as next of kin in the absence of any closer relatives. We had the change made just before Jack's disappearance. As I understand it, I can refuse treatment on his behalf as long as my refusal doesn't threaten Jack's life. And I can tell you categorically that Jack would object strenuously to this course of treatment if he were in a position to do it himself, unless all the other options had been exhausted. And probably even then," Daniel added as an afterthought.
"Which is my point exactly Daniel. I think all the other options have been exhausted. General, I really can't think of anything else to try."
"And I'm afraid I'm not convinced that they have been. Sir."
"Daniel, you can't refuse treatment for the Colonel based on your own prejudices. It's not fair to him, and it might ultimately jeopardise his recovery. And as far as refusal of treatment not threatening the Colonel's life is concerned, well, strictly speaking, I suppose you're right. But we have to make a qualitative judgement here as well as a quantitative one: referral for treatment might make the difference between the Colonel regaining full functionality with his memories restored and living a half-life, unable to remember any of the experiences that have made him him and being ultimately unfit to command. Which of those options do you think he'd prefer?"
Daniel opened his mouth to reply but Hammond held up a hand. "A moment please, Doctor Jackson. This is getting us nowhere. Give me a chance to think about this." Daniel subsided, albeit unwillingly, to wait in mutinous silence. When General Hammond spoke again, his voice was kindly.
"Son, the Doctor is right. I can't allow your personal misgivings about Doctor Mackenzie to colour my judgement and neither can Doctor Fraiser. We would both be failing in our responsibilities if we allowed that to happen."
"I would agree if that was all it was, Sir. But it's not just that. I genuinely don't think that Doctor Mackenzie would be able to do anything to help Jack." Daniel paused for a moment to formulate his thoughts. " General, you know I've been spending most of my free time here with Jack since he's been back, so I've probably had the best chance to observe his behaviour for the longest period out of any of us here. I said to Doctor Fraiser earlier in our, uh, conversation that I felt there was something different about him.
"But he's hiding that, or trying to. Think of it from his point of view: he's been pitchforked into a situation that is quite outside his realm of experience as he remembers it. He's been held captive and abused to the point that he's completely forgotten his previous existence, can remember nothing except the abuse. It's become the only normality that he can remember and now that the abuse has stopped, he's more confused than ever. He knows he's still captive, he's seen the SF stationed outside his door whenever he's been taken to the gym for his therapy, he knows that the SFs escort him to the gym and back. He knows that he's rarely left alone, I'm there a lot of the time he's awake, talking to him, trying to... well, it must seem like trying to break him down, from his point of view. Which is nothing more than the simple truth, when I think about it. So I think he's taking refuge in something else that he knows, something that's been deeply engrained in him. I think he's hanging on to his training to get him through this. If you think about it, it's a perfectly logical reaction in the circumstances as he perceives them."
"Your point being?"
"That I'm starting to think that his best chance of recovering all of his memories will come if we can just persuade him that it's safe to let his guard down. Maybe they have already started to return to some extent, we just don't know until we can get him to open up to someone. And the best chance of that happening will be with someone that he has 'known' since he got back here, if we can just persuade him to trust us enough to try. Kind of a 'first contact' type of situation. I think that maybe introducing another stranger into the equation might just be enough to make him suspicious all over again and set the process back. "
Hammond pursed his lips for a moment or two, a considering look on his face, before he turned back to the doctor. "I have to say that to a layman, that argument sounds logical. Doctor, will a delay in seeking psychiatric help for Colonel O'Neill damage his chances of recovery?"
Janet paused before answering, and reluctantly shook her head. "I can't say for sure, Sir, but if pressed for an answer, I would say that a short delay would probably have limited impact on his long-term chances. I have to stress though, Sir, a short delay. And I want to state for the record that any delay at all is against my best judgement. I'm starting to think that the Colonel's state of mind is not merely drug induced, that there's something more, some event behind it that he's suppressing. In which case, the sooner after such an event psychiatric treatment is started, the better for the patient."
Hammond turned back to Daniel. "If that's the case, if there's something more to this than drugs, what makes you think that you're the best one to help Colonel O'Neill sort through it all, rather than a professional therapist?"
"General, we're friends. I know things about him, have shared experiences with him, that he's never shared with anyone else. Things that aren't on his record. Personal things. I can use those to gain his trust."
"If his memories start to return spontaneously."
"As I said to Janet at the start of our discussion, Sir, I'm convinced there's something there. His attitude is changing – slowly, I'll grant you, but I'm convinced of it. And I'm about the only one who can help him sort out his personal memories."
"Some of those memories will be classified."
"I've got the clearance – what could be more classified than the Stargate program?"
Daniel held himself completely still as he waited for the General to speak again, marshalling his resources for further argument. As it turned out, he could have saved himself the effort, as Hammond pursed his lips before turning to Doctor Fraiser again.
"How long a delay would you be prepared to sanction, Doctor?"
"No more than three or four days, Sir. A week at most. As I've said, I don't take this decision lightly, but I would be failing in my responsibility to my patient if I didn't progress his treatment as quickly as possible."
"Very well. Let's see if we can't find some middle ground here. Son, I'm not prepared to completely discount the opinion of my Chief Medical Officer when it comes to medical matters. But at the same time, Doctor," Hammond turned back to nod at Janet, "I'm unwilling to rush into referring Jack for psych. treatment. You and I both know how that looks on the record. So I suggest a compromise: delay the referral for a full psych. eval. for that week and give Doctor Jackson the best possible chance to make the breakthrough, but at the same time assign a psychologist to the case to give Doctor Jackson any support or help that he needs. Not Doctor Mackenzie - I'm sure you'll be able to come up with something plausible to delay his involvement for now. That seems to me to be a reasonable course of action to be fair to all three of you. And I am aware, Doctor Fraiser, that you have the authority to overrule me on this. But I'm asking you not to."
Daniel and Janet both took a breath to speak, but the General quelled them with a look, and they both rapidly revised what they had been intending to say, merely nodding their agreement instead. The General gave a sharp nod of satisfaction as he turned on his heel and left the room, throwing over his shoulder as he went, "Good. Keep me advised of any progress."
"Yes, Sir."
"Uh, one other thing, General?"
Hammond's expression as he swung back around to face Daniel was intimidating, but he said mildly enough, "Doctor Jackson?"
"Can we, I mean you, arrange for the guards to be removed? It might give Jack a little more confidence if we make some visible show of faith...?"
"I think not just yet, son. I would be happier about doing so if you'd shown any real advances, but as things stand --"
Daniel cut the general off. "I just think--"
"Asked and answered, Doctor. My decision stands for now."
Once again, Daniel recognised whipcrack finality when he heard it. He murmured a faint "Yes Sir. Thank you, Sir," to the General's retreating back and then sighed when the door shut behind him. A week. Ah well, it was a reprieve albeit a brief one, and better than nothing. At the end of the week – well, they would see. He caught Janet's eye, shrugged an apology of sorts, and went in search of some peace and quiet to help him decide what to try next.
*
Part 7
