"Chevron 5... Engaged."
The soft feminine voice sounded gruff over the intercom in the gateroom. Colonel Jack O'Neill did a quick about-face toward the doorway, as if waiting for someone, or something.
"She'll be here Jack," Daniel Jackson assured the leader of his team.
"I will not tolerate tardiness," Jack growled beneath his breath just as the sixth Chevron was announced as engaged. "Especially..." He began, only to cut it short when a slim, petite blonde woman came running into the gateroom, her pack hanging off her left shoulder and her weapon dangling from the fingertips of her right hand.
"I'm sorry, sir," she immediately stated as soon as she came to a halt at his side. She couldn't look him in the eye just now, for she knew that to do so would rob her of her resolve to ignore his black looks.
"Are we ready now, Captain?" Jack demanded sarcastically, since he and the other members of SG-1 had been ready for quite some time.
"Chevron 7... Locked."
As soon as the words were uttered over the intercom, the stargate seemed to explode with activity as the Kawoosh swept out and immediately back to form a perfect, shimmering bubble across the surface of the gate. Sam was saved from answering Colonel O'Neill's question when he practically elbowed her aside in his march up the ramp leading to the stargate.
"SG-1, you have a go!" General Hammond's voice called to them from the control room on the other side of the blast window overlooking the stargate.
With a jaunty about-face and salute to the general, Jack stepped up to the stargate and through the shimmering bubble, disappearing from sight. Sam was the next to disembark, as she, too, walked through the gate.
"Well, Teal'c," Daniel said to his companion, who was bringing up the rear. "It looks like it's going to be one of 'those' type of expeditions."
Teal'c gave Daniel a curious look, quirking an eyebrow that usually meant that he didn't understand a thing that was said. He was quickly learning earth's custom of making sarcastic jokes about nearly everything, but he still didn't catch on to most of what his companions were talking about.
"I do not understand, Daniel Jackson," he said as he followed Daniel up the ramp.
Just before they were to step through the gate Daniel dropped the telemetry bag that he was carrying in his right hand. Teal'c leaned down to pick it up for him when, suddenly, the ramp to the gate began to shake and rattle. Grabbing onto the railing leading up to the gate, he reached out to steady Daniel just in time to keep him from falling through the stargate.
Just as suddenly as the quake had come, it stopped and as soon as it did the stargate disengaged.
"Hey!" Daniel shouted, whirling around to glare up at the control room. "Why'd you do that for?"
"It shut down by itself," Lt. Miller said with a frightened sound to her voice.
"Did Colonel O'Neill and Captain Carter arrive at PTR78832?" Teal'c demanded.
Lt. Miller quickly scanned her computer screen, her face losing all color. She glanced up into General Hammond's concerned face and shook her head.
"WHAT?" Daniel dropped his equipment and raced from the room and up the stairs to the control room. Slamming into the room, the door rebounded off the wall and against Daniel's shoulder before swinging shut again. Rubbing his bruised shoulder Daniel hurried over to the computer and gazed in disbelief down at the screen.
"Not again," he groaned as he sat woodenly in a vacant chair.
"Dr. Jackson, just what do you mean by that remark?" General Hammond asked, though he had a gut feeling that he knew already.
"Well, if the stargate from Antarctica hadn't been removed and sealed, I would suspect that Jack and Sam were sent there due to the earthquake we felt just as they gated." Daniel tapped a few keys and frowned. "It's a complete mystery to me," he concluded.
Teal'c walked into the control room carrying his and Daniel's equipment in one hand, his staff weapon in his other. From the expression on every face in the room, he knew that it couldn't be good news.
"What has become of Colonel O'Neill?" He asked as soon as he came to a halt beside Daniel.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Daniel stated reluctantly.
"They are not on PTR78832?"
"No." Daniel turned to the computer and scanned the area around the stargate on PTR78832 once more with the M.A.L.P. unit, finding no sign of life.
~*~
Jack felt the tremor that hit Stargate Command just as soon as he came through the gate on the other end. Tumbling head over heels down the stone steps leading up to the gate, he came to a rather abrupt stop at the base of the dial home device, or DHD. Shaking his ringing head Jack looked hopefully toward the stargate and held his breath as he waited for Sam to emerge.
~*~
She felt something akin to a jolt of electricity shoot through her body, causing her to temporarily black out. When Sam hit the destination side of the stargate, she was disoriented and didn't have the muscle control to check her fall. She heard her right arm snap as if it were a twig, then the pain hit her and she instinctively reached out with her left arm to protect her injury. Crashing down the steps she landed face down in the dirt, her senses momentarily deserting her.
Jack watched in horror as Sam was spat out of the gate. He also heard the snap of Sam's right arm as soon as she hit the steps. Scrambling to his feet and shrugging out of his pack, Jack ran over to kneel by Sam's side.
"Sam?" He called worriedly when she didn't respond to his placing a light hand on her back. "Sam, talk to me." He didn't want to move her just in case she had injuries other than the broken arm, but he also didn't want her to suffocate because her nose was in the dirt.
Pulling her canteen from her backpack he poured a bit of water into his hand and gently patted her exposed cheek with it. "Sam, wake up. That's an order from your C.O." Running a shaking hand through his short-cropped, and graying hair, he looked around for something flat with which to strap her to so that he could turn her over for fresh air.
"I hurt," Sam's pain-filled voice whispered, displacing the sand around her mouth into little puffs of dust. "And I can't breathe."
"Sam," Jack said sternly. "Where do you hurt?" He prayed that she would not say her neck, or back, then thought better of that prayer and just asked that she would be okay. He'd learned early in his career in the Air Force that you had to be careful for what you prayed for, it may just come true.
"My arm..."
"Sam, I'm pretty sure your right arm is broken, so tell me where else you might hurt." Jack unsnapped the pack from her back and gently moved it to the side.
"My head and left shoulder. Sir, I have to move," she warned, just before she shifted onto her back with a scream of pain.
"Doggone it, Sam!" Jack snapped, grabbing her in order to keep her as still as he could. "You aren't supposed to move around like that after..." She looked up at him, her deep blue eyes swimming with tears that she so obviously tried to hold back and he shut up.
"I'm going to splint the arm, okay?" He said softly and waited for her slow nod of agreement. "It's going to hurt," he warned as he reached for the first aid kit she always carried in her pack.
"I... I know. Just do it." Gritting her teeth against the pain, Sam attempted to concentrate on anything but the pain radiating from her arm. Her eyes followed Jack's every movement, making him nervous. "Remember..." She began, only to clamp her mouth closed in order to hold in a scream when he reached out to cautiously touch the arm.
"I'm sorry," he muttered, then lifted the arm anyway. Sam passed out cold. "Good," he whispered as he wiped beads of sweat from his brow with a sleeve. Quickly and efficiently, he removed her jacket and cut the sleeve of her fatigues to the elbow and set the arm, splinting it with expert ease. Rummaging through the first aid kit he came up with a small bottle of aspirin. Opening the bottle he snorted in disgust that they had been given only 8 tablets. Sam would need those in the next few hours, then there would be nothing to cut the pain.
Suddenly it occurred to Jack that Teal'c and Daniel didn't arrive on the planet behind Sam. Glancing up at the stargate, he was shocked to see that it had disengaged and appeared to be damaged in several places. Swallowing convulsively he quickly shrugged out of his jacket and placed it over Sam's unconscious body, then ran over to inspect their only way home.
~*~
"People, you have got to come up with some solution to this problem," General Hammond growled. His temper was on a short fuse at this moment. He, and everyone else in the briefing room had had very little sleep in the past four hours. Up to this point no one had been able to come up with any explanations, or solutions.
"General Hammond," Teal'c said quietly from the other side of the room where he stood staring at the stargate map. "Perhaps we could send M.A.L.P. units to the planets along the course to PTR78832?"
"We tried that with the Antarctica mix-up," Daniel reminded the Jaffa.
"Yes, but then they weren't on the planets that we went to," General Hammond said, placing his finger alongside his cheek. "Let's get as many units out there as we can." He turned to face the group gathered. "We have a goal, people. Dismissed."
Like so many ants scattering to avoid being stepped on, the men and women around the conference table hurried from the room, everyone except Teal'c.
"Teal'c?" General Hammond said as he passed the Jaffa. "Was there something else?"
"Sir, I would ask your permission to lead a team to PTR78832."
"To what avail? There is nothing there, the M.A.L.P. would have shown it." General Hammond walked over to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Jaffa and looked at the round marker that was PTR78832 on the map.
"That may be, sir," Teal'c agreed. "However, Colonel O'Neill and Captain Carter may not be within the range of the unit."
"I'll call SG-3 together." General Hammond walked toward the door.
"Sir?" Teal'c called to the general just before he stepped out of the room.
"Yes, Teal'c?" Hammond stopped in the doorway and turned to face the Jaffa.
"Do I have your permission to go with SG-3?"
Looking down at the floor, General Hammond sighed, then nodded his head. "Permission granted," he finally said. Teal'c strode from the room in search of his pack.
~*~
"Colonel O'Neill?" Sam called from her uncomfortable place on the ground at the base of the stargate. Moving her head experimentally she found that the movement only caused a slight twinge of pain. Testing her battered body even further, she had a bit more trouble moving her left shoulder. As soon as she lifted her right arm to investigate her injured shoulder, she gasped aloud from the excruciating pain. Deciding that she would be much better off just lying still, she stared up at the cloudless blue sky. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the edge of twin suns that were beginning to set... or rise, she wasn't sure how long she'd been lying there.
"Awake, are we?" Colonel O'Neill said with great relief as he dropped a load of wood a few feet from her position. He walked over to kneel by her side. "How do you feel?"
"I could use something to drink," she said with a weak smile.
Jack uncapped the canteen and tilted it toward her mouth, spilling more on her than in her. "I want you to take this too," he told her as he popped two aspirin in her mouth and poured some more water along with it. "Sorry," he muttered when she turned her head to the side to avoid being drowned. Taking great care to recap the canteen, he gestured toward the setting suns. "Suns are going down. I figure it'll get cold soon, so I went out and found some wood." He sounded so much like a little boy who wanted approval for what he'd done that Sam couldn't help but smile.
"Why aren't we going home?" She asked when she realized that he intended for them to spend the night on the planet.
"Um, well, there seems to be a problem..." He began, looking everywhere except at her.
"Colonel? What's wrong?"
"The stargate is damaged," he informed her, finally looking her in the eye. "It would appear that we gated in just as the planet was experiencing an earthquake. It damaged the stargate."
"Is it bad?"
"Well, it isn't good," he hedged.
Sam tilted her head back and to the side, wincing at the pain the movement caused, she looked up at the stargate. Several small areas of the gate had broken off, creating gaps in the ring of glyphs. The colonel was right, it didn't look good.
"I'm going to build a fire," he said as he moved over to the wood he'd collected. "Are you hungry?"
She grinned. Men thought you could be healed by filling your stomach. "I could use a bite," she agreed, though she was anything but hungry. Right now she was wishing for something stronger than the two aspirin that the colonel had made her swallow with her water.
Setting about building the fire, Jack kept one eye on Sam. As the suns set lower and the shadows lengthened, he worried that the temperature would dip much lower than they would be able to endure. While Sam had been unconscious, Jack had gone through their supplies and found them lacking. Of course, they were only supposed to have been gone for a few hours, and even though they carried emergency rations and supplies, a sleeping bag was not among them. The only covering they had was a foil thermosheet, which would do little for them except help hold in their own body heat.
Pulling two cans of M.R.E's from his pack, he opened them with his knife and propped them on a rock alongside the nicely blazing fire. It wouldn't take the canned food long to heat up, though Jack was sure even that wouldn't make it palatable.
"Colonel?" Sam called to him from the other side of the fire.
"Yes?" Jack stood and walked around the fire in order to see her as the suns fully set and the only light came from the fire.
"Do you know where we are?" She asked as she tried to control her shivering body, it just made her arm hurt more.
"I'm fairly certain that we aren't in Kansas, Dorothy," he said with a smile in an attempt to avoid answering her.
"Sir, I'm sorry, but I am not in the mood." Sam clamped her lips together over her words. "I'm sorry, Colonel O'Neill," she hastened to correct her blunder. "I shouldn't have..."
"No, Sam, it's okay," he quickly reassured her. "It's a nasty habit I have. I'm the one who should apologize." He walked over to sit on the step at her back. "I have no clue where we are. However, since the M.A.L.P. unit sent back information from PTR78823 showing that it was a lush, rain forest-type planet, then we aren't there."
"Oh." Sam attempted to move herself into a sitting position, her back against the step that Jack was sitting on. Her face paled as a wave of nausea swept over her and she swayed to the side. If not for the quick action of her commanding officer Sam would have pitched forward on her face once more.
"Hang on, Sam," Jack urged as he grabbed her by the cloth of her shirt over her shoulder. He didn't think, he just reacted and when she screamed in extreme pain he realized his mistake. He had inadvertently seized her wounded shoulder. "Aw man," he muttered beneath his breath as Sam wilted in his arms. Lifting her carefully into his arms he carried her closer to the fire, laying her down on one reflective blanket while covering her with the other. Then, sitting on the ground beside her, he pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs in an attempt to keep warm. The temperature had dropped considerably and he eyed the diminishing firewood with a worried frown.
By the time Sam regained consciousness, Jack was shivering and hugging his knees to his chest so tightly that he was afraid that the circulation would be cut off. He watched her carefully as she turned her head to look at the small fire in puzzlement.
"I carried you over here," he offered, forcing his words through chattering teeth.
"I seem to remember..."
"Yeah, it's best that you don't try to remember," Jack interrupted. "How's the arm?"
"It's throbbing," she answered, moving the appendage experimentally. "It's my shoulder that is killing me."
"Oh. Sorry."
She gave him a direct stare, then shook her head. "I don't know why you should be sorry. I injured it in my unceremonious exit from the stargate. It isn't like you had anything to do with the pain I'm in." She closed her eyes and missed the startled expression on his face.
"Yeah. Okay. So, do you feel up to eating some overcooked... something?" He reached out toward one of the rocks he'd used as a fire ring and plucked a blackened can from it, using the end of his sleeve to protect his fingers from the heat. "I think it used to be beef stew..." His words trailed off as he lifted the can to his nose and promptly set the can back down on the rock. "Never mind, I've got some beef jerky in my pack."
Sam grinned, despite her pain and the situation they were in. "Remind me to never let you cook me dinner," she joked. "I'm not very hungry, anyway," she said on a more serious note. "I would like some water and another couple of aspirin."
Moving over to the first aid kit, Jack removed the dwindling bottle of aspirin and Sam's canteen and brought them back to her.
"I'm going to help you sit up," he warned, reaching for her good shoulder. With a minimum amount of effort on her part he smoothly sat her up and tapped two aspirin into her waiting hand. Holding the canteen for her he held it to her lips after she'd popped the aspirin into her mouth and nodded her head. This time he didn't attempt to drown her.
"Do you want to lie back down?" He asked when he'd recapped the canteen and set it aside.
"I think I'll be fine," she said, sounding a little more like the Sam he knew.
Removing himself as her support he moved around to sit with his back to the fire. Since he'd been facing the fire, that part of his body was warm enough, but his backside was freezing.
"Colonel, where is your jacket?" Sam asked, her brows wrinkled in concern as she noticed the cool air that seemed to penetrate through her own jacket and the blanket over her.
"Well, um..." He gestured toward her and Sam lowered the blanket to see that he'd placed his jacket over her.
"You must be freezing," she accused. "Here take it back." She tried to remove the jacket, which he'd zipped up the back, having put it on her backward so that she could be warm from front to back. He hadn't wanted her to go into shock.
"I'm fine," he lied from between chattering teeth.
She shot him a glare that was so hot it should have warmed him for days. As it was he was so cold that his feet and fingers were beginning to grow numb.
"Oh, this is ridiculous," Sam snapped, not at all concerned that she was chastising her commanding officer and going against his orders. "At least take one of the blankets," she offered, attempting to scoot off the blanket she was sitting on."
"Captain Carter," Jack warned in his best no-nonsense
voice. "You will not remove that blanket, nor the one that covers you. Neither will you remove my jacket. Is this understood?"
Sam dropped her eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry, sir" she whispered, completely chastised, or at least he thought. "Sir, I'm still cold. Could you come over here and share your body heat with me?" She didn't make eye contact with him, she just carefully lowered herself to the ground with a groan. "Please?"
He had opened his mouth to tell her, in no uncertain terms, that he would not do as she asked, until she began to shiver, making the foil blanket crackle with her movement.
"Sam..." He began in indecision.
"Please."
Taking the edges of the blanket lying on the ground in his hand he gently moved her closer to the fire and added another log. "Is that better?" He asked, watching her face carefully.
"No, I'm still cold," she said, her teeth chattering so badly that her words were almost indistinguishable.
Grinding his own chattering teeth together Jack moved around to Sam's back and slid beneath the covers, trying not to jar her, or make body contact. Lying as stiff as a board, her back to his chest, Jack looked toward the star-filled sky and whispered a fervent prayer for strength. Before he knew it, he was fast asleep.
~*~
SG-3 returned from PTR78823 looking as if they had been swimming. Drenched from head to toe, Teal'c sloshed down the ramp and out the door, headed immediately to his quarters and a quick, hot shower and clean clothes. Afterward he sought out Dr. Frasier to remove several very large, very bloodthirsty leeches that had attached themselves to his back. If he never saw PRT78823 again, it would be too soon.
General Hammond found Teal'c in the infirmary. Standing in the doorway, he stood watching in macabre fascination as Dr. Frasier heated a large forceps and removed the bloodsucking creatures from Teal'c's back. In their place the leeches left tiny teeth that Dr. Frasier had to painstakingly remove one by one.
"General, did you need anything?" Dr. Frasier asked as she began to work on the last lesion, glancing up at him momentarily, then returned her attention to her calm patient. "Teal'c, are you sure I can't give you something for the pain this must be causing you?"
Through gritted teeth Teal'c told her, "No." With a nod of her head, Dr. Frasier continued.
"I just need to debrief Teal'c," the general said and grimaced when Dr. Frasier pulled out a deeply embedded tooth, causing Teal'c to grunt in pain. She shot General Hammond a black look and he ducked his head.
"I'm sorry. Teal'c, when you're ready..." Leaving the room quickly, General Hammond sought out the sanctuary of his private office.
~*~
"Colonel?" Sam hissed the word through clenched teeth. Pain radiated from her injured shoulder. Jack practically lay on top of her, his body wrapped, spoon fashioned behind hers. When he didn't immediately answer her, Sam pulled her booted foot up and kicked his leg. She got an immediate response.
"What!?" Jack cried out, clutching her tightly to his chest in his confusion.
"Let me go!" She turned her head just far enough to scream in his ear, to Jack it seemed that she had turned it completely around. Dropping his arm from around her waist, Jack scrambled as far away from her as he could.
"What'd I do? What happened?" He asked guiltily, his eyes shooting wildly around the campsite for an escape route.
Sam lay gasping for breath as she attempted to breathe through the pain his abrupt movement caused. After several long minutes she was able to get her pain under control and she turned her head to see Colonel O'Neill sitting on the steps leading up to the stargate, his head held in his hands.
"Colonel," Sam called to him. He looked up at her in surprise. "Would you please come back and get warm?"
"No, I'm fine over here," he said with a definite shake of his head. Stretching out on the bottom step he propped his head on his arms and pretended to sleep.
"Are we going to have to go through this again?" She asked in frustration. "I promise I won't attack you," she added sweetly.
Jack turned his head and looked at her as if she had lost all of her senses. "I beg your pardon?"
"Sure, you say that now..." Turning cautiously back onto her side, her back to Colonel O'Neill, she snuggled into the blanket.
"Are you just going to go back to sleep?" Jack sounded like a petulant little child. When he didn't get an answer from Sam, Jack decided to ignore her as well. Tossing and turning on the hard rock surface, he finally gave up the battle and sat up. Hugging his arms to his chest he gazed wistfully across the way at the glowing fire and the warm blanket covering Sam. Maybe she wouldn't even notice if he moved a little closer to the fire, after all she was asleep. Right?
Figuring that he had nothing to lose and warmth to gain, Jack stood to his feet and, as quietly as army boots would allow, walked over to the fire and squatted down beside it. Picking up the last of the wood, Jack laid it in the fire and sat on the ground to watch the flames catch on and begin to burn.
"You don't have to sit out there in the cold air," Sam whispered sleepily.
"I know."
"Come on then," she offered, lifting the edge of the blanket by way of invitation, she watched him carefully.
"Sam," Jack stared into the fire for a moment before looking across it at Sam. "I..."
"Sir, I don't even pretend to know how we're going to get off of this planet. But, what I do know is that we are going to have to make do with what we have." She dropped the edge of the blanket. "If that means sleeping together beneath this blanket in order to keep warm, then if I don't mind, you shouldn't either." That said, she closed her eyes and pulled the blanket up over her exposed shoulder. "Good night, Jack."
Running his hand through his hair, Jack stirred the fire and watched the sparks as they floated up to the sky. Whom was he kidding? He was sitting here freezing his can while Sam was lying there warm and toasty. He knew that he was being ridiculous, but he couldn't allow himself to let his guard down. Glancing over at Sam he smiled wryly, thinking to himself, with her I've always got to keep on my guard.
Sam watched the colonel from beneath lowered lashes. She'd seen him look her way and smile and thought he'd caught her watching him. But, he didn't say anything, so she knew that her spying on him had gone undetected. She was pretty sure of what was bothering him about sharing her blanket, but she thought it ridiculous. There were always extenuating circumstances when it came to cold weather and sleeping together to keep warm.
As the fire blazed warmly, Jack sat gazing, mesmerized, into the flames. Once in a while he would shift his position in order to warm another, cold part of his body and every time he moved the rustling of his clothes would wake Sam. Finally she sighed dramatically and, wadding up the blanket over her, she threw it at the colonel.
"If you aren't going to share it with me, then at least use it to keep warm. I don't want to get home and have them blame me for your catching pneumonia." With that said she turned over onto her back and snuggled down into her jacket.
Jack sat staring at her, shocked into silence by her words. She had never, in the two years that they'd known each other, talked to him in any way but respectfully. Holding the blanket in his hands, still balled up, he wondered what she would do if he tossed it right back in her face. Grinning, he lifted it to do just that, then remembered her injuries and realized what it had cost her to throw the blanket to him. Standing to his feet, the blanket in his hand, he walked over to Sam's side.
"Slide over," he said gruffly, kneeling at the edge of the ground blanket. Without a word Sam turned back over onto her side. "Now I don't want you to try anything," Jack warned her as he slipped in behind her, spreading the blanket over the both of them. "I'm a light sleeper, you know?" Sam snorted in a very unladylike manner, but still didn't say anything. "And there will be no snoring, either," he added as he tucked his arm beneath his head.
Sam burst into laughter for she couldn't hold it in any longer. "I promise I won't attack you, or anything and, for your information, I do not snore," she informed him rather regally.
He could just imagine the haughty look on her face and grinned at her playfulness when she must be in considerable pain. "Well, I'll be the judge of that," he answered. Then, "Good night, Captain."
"Good night, Colonel."
~*~
The planet's suns were rising rapidly, reflecting off the foil blanket covering the two sleeping soundly on the ground in front of the stargate. The blanket rustled and movement could be detected from beneath it.
"Um, sir?" Sam's sleep-filled voice broke the silence of the desert morning.
Jack awoke in an instant at her words. Snatching his hand back to his side, he scrambled away from Sam and the warmth of the blanket, his face blushing bright red. "I'm sorry, Sam," he apologized, rubbing his offending hand against his thigh.
"It's all right, sir," Sam said as she sat up slowly, grimacing when she inadvertently moved her shoulder in an attempt to stretch. She couldn't bring herself to look up into Jack's eyes for she knew that he hadn't meant to do what he did, yet she was as embarrassed as was he.
"I... I didn't..." He stuttered, then fell silent. Pivoting on his heel he marched away from the campsite, muttering beneath his breath.
Sam straightened her clothes as best she could with two damaged appendages. She felt somewhat better today than she did yesterday and owed that fact to a decent night's rest and the colonel's excellent care in setting her broken arm. Struggling to her feet she determined that she was not going to be pampered today. She would find a way for them to return to Earth even if it damaged her further.
Walking slowly over to the stargate she got a firsthand view of the trouble they were in. Huge chunks of the carved rock that formed the gate were scattered around the platform surrounding the gate. Looking up toward the top of the gate she tried to see where the chunks had fallen from, but she wasn't tall enough. Taking a couple of steps back while looking up at the top of the gate, she didn't see that she was close to the edge of the platform.
"SAM!" Jack yelled at her as he ran toward her, his arms outstretched.
Not knowing what was about to happen, Sam took another step back and promptly lost her balance. Without the help of her arms to keep her balance, she fell straight back toward the stone steps.
He didn't know how he did it, but Jack was there just in time to throw his arms around Sam just before she hit the hard steps. Holding her body tightly in his arms he somehow twisted his own body to take the brunt of the blow when their combined weight hit the steps. Sam heard, and felt, the rush of Jack's breath as his back made contact with the first step the force knocked the air from his lungs. They tumbled, unchecked, down the remaining steps, landing unceremoniously on the ground below.
Held in Jack's tight grasp, her shoulder and arm burning as if they were on fire, Sam didn't even have the strength to struggle out of his grip. Lying on top of him, her back to his chest, Sam tried to gather her breath to ask him to let her go. She heard him wheezing and tried to move away, but his arms held on tight.
"Colonel," she gasped. "Let me go." She waited a second, then turned her head to look up at his chin. "Sir? You can release me now." She still got no response and began to grow angry with him, after all, just because he'd kept her from certain harm, did not mean he could manhandle her like this. She began the struggle to remove herself from his arms.
"Sam," she heard Jack whisper painfully and hoarsely. "Don't move. Please."
She could tell by the sound of his voice that he was trying desperately to hold in the pain and not let her know that he'd injured himself in the fall.
"Sir, what's wrong?"
"I'm... I... Ah..," he wheezed, obviously talking through his gritted teeth. "I can't... Move."
Fear lanced through Sam at his chilling words. "What do you mean?" She asked fearfully.
"My arms, my legs. I can't..." His voice caught on a quick intake of breath as she shifted slightly in order to look up further than his chin. "Don't... move," he commanded. Sam lay perfectly still, not moving a muscle, then she realized that she would have to move from atop his ribs, or she would suffocate him.
"Sir, I'm going to slip out of your arms," she said softly and slowly in order not to move too much. "I'll be as careful as I can."
"NO!" Jack practically screamed in her ear.
"Colonel, I have to," Sam said a little more forcefully. "If I don't you're going to suffocate with my weight lying on you." With that she attempted to slip out of his arms. He begged for her to please stop and she froze. "Oh God, I'm sorry, Jack," she cried, not even aware that she'd said his name.
Slowly moving her injured shoulder bit, by bit, Sam raised her arm upward to his. Touching his arm with her trembling hand she tried to gently move it from around her waist. She heard him panting for breath and knew that it was now, or never. With a swift movement that caused the both of them more pain than she realized, she broke the hold he had on her and tumbled to the ground beside him.
Jack began to cough uncontrollably and Sam crawled on her knees back to his side. "Sir?" She called to him when she looked down at his closed eyes.
Opening his eyes only long enough to shoot a dark glare at her, Jack quickly closed them as he tried to control his coughing. Tears ran unchecked down his cheeks. Sam, her own tears streaming from her eyes, reached a trembling hand out to gently wipe away his tears. Hopelessness swept over her and she slumped dejectedly at his side.
~*~
The SGC stargate disengaged minutes after a very tired SG-4 moved down the ramp, dragging their packs behind them. Disheartened that they had found no clue of the missing Carter and O'Neill, everyone at the base were walking around like zombies. Sleep was a thing of the past and every available team, and even some volunteers who had never gone off-world before, was bone-tired from the search. So far they had searched 42 planets with the M.A.L.P. units and 26 with actual teams. They found no trace of the colonel and captain.
The debriefing with General Hammond for SG-4 sounded like a broken record to the general. For days now all he had heard from his people was the same report, over and over. Nothing. He had spoken with the President several times to keep him abreast of the news coming out of Cheyenne Mountain, however with this last report General Hammond was being forced to make a decision whether to continue with the search, or to call it off and admit that Colonel O'Neill and Captain Carter were lost to them forever.
Sitting in his darkened private office, General George Hammond closed his eyes in prayer. He asked for guidance in the coming days as he, and the rest of the base, had to come to terms with the loss of two very important people in the stargate program and in their lives. Feeling all of his 52 years, General Hammond stood to his feet and sighed. This was the part of being a general that he disliked the most.
Striding into the stargate control room and over to the intercom on the computer panel, he gently cleared his throat and everyone in the room turned to face him. What they saw in his face gave them an idea of what he was about to announce.
"People, I have been given the decision by the President to discontinue the search for Colonel O'Neill and Captain Carter. While the President is aware that the colonel and captain may never be found, he has given me permission to continue our search as long as necessary. There seemed to be a collective sigh of relief throughout the base, then the general continued. "However, the President reminded me that the search, so far, has cost the country much and that further searches would be a further drain on tax dollars." General Hammond once more cleared his throat and looked down at his feet to avoid the shocked expressions on everyone's face. He knew that they were all thinking, "What if it was me out there? Would a dollar be between my being found, or being left behind forever?"
"I'm sorry, but I am going to have to call off the search." General Hammond moved away from the microphone and did an about-face then strode from the room, leaving the shocked and dismayed soldiers behind him.
"Sir!" Daniel Jackson called from a distance down the corridor as he hurried to catch up to the general. General Hammond stopped and groaned beneath his breath, this was the last thing he needed at this moment.
"Yes, Dr. Jackson? What is it?"
Daniel stopped short and stood staring at the general. "You can't tell me that you're already giving up on Jack and Sam?" Daniel reached up to adjust his glasses as he was won't to do whenever he was confounded.
"Dr. Jackson, I don't want to give up on them anymore than you do, but we have to face the facts here. Although the President gave me the decision, the decision was already made by Washington to stop the search. My hands are tied." Turning about General Hammond continued on his way, leaving a stunned Daniel Jackson in his wake. He was nearly to the junction of the corridor when Daniel called to him again.
"Sir, is this what happened when I was being held hostage?" He asked in disgust. "You all gave up on me and even held a funeral, yet I was still alive and praying that you would come for me." As he spoke Daniel advanced toward the general. "It was Jack, Sam and Teal'c who rescued me, sir. I can't give up on them and I know that Teal'c feels the same way." Daniel paused, looking General Hammond in the eye. "Permission for Teal'c and me to continue on our own, sir."
Shaking his head the general walked the short distance to stand before Daniel. "Son, you don't understand. The President is not going to care if it's two doing the search, or twenty. What he sees is the bottom line. Every time we operate the stargate it costs more money than most people see in a lifetime and I am going to have to agree with him on this. I can't allow any more time on this search."
Daniel was quiet for a moment, his head down and his finger slowly tapping on his cheek. General Hammond was sure the man was distraught and even reached out to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. Then Daniel surprised him when he jerked his head up, his eyes alight with a plan.
"Sir, permission to explore the planet PTR72715?" Daniel asked excitedly, nearly dancing in place as he stood waiting for the general to comprehend his suggestion.
A slow grin spread across General Hammond's face and he squeezed Daniel's shoulder in delight. "Son, you have my permission to sear... er, explore PTR72715. Gather SG-11 in the briefing room in 20." With that General Hammond turned and practically race down the corridor to his office.
Picking up the direct line to the President he waited for an answer.
"Mr. President, General George Hammond here. I just wanted to inform you that the search for Colonel O'Neill and Captain Carter has been discontinued. Regular planetary explorations have been resumed." The General listened for a second, then smiled. "Why thank you, sir. I will inform the teams of your condolences." Hanging up the phone the general closed his eyes in a quick prayer of thanks, then hurried from the room to brief SG-11 on their next mission.
The nameless, faceless man at the other end of the red phone gently placed the handset back into the cradle of the receiver, heaving a great sigh of relief. He was glad that George had figured out the loophole in the system and that he was, unofficially carrying on with the search. Leaning back in his leather chair the president steepled his fingers and gave way to daydreams of someday, possibly, traveling through the stargate himself. His thoughts were interrupted by his assistant with an important bill to go over and he reluctantly pushed his dreams to the back of his mind.
~*~
The blazing hot suns of the planet threatened to bake Jack and Sam despite their attempts to avoid the sunlight. Sam, who was now the caretaker, had taken the foil thermoblanket and fashioned a makeshift tent for the colonel. After securing her backpack and his beneath the covering, she crawled beneath it herself in order to avoid the searing heat. Sweat flowed freely down her face as she practically roasted in the two jackets that she couldn't remove. She had managed to remove Jack's boots and socks so that his feet were not covered, but didn't want to go any further with undressing him least she injure him more. At this point he was lapsing in and out of consciousness, due to the extreme heat, or to his injuries, Sam didn't know.
Lying on her back beside Jack, Sam gazed up at the ceiling of the tent and wondered just how long they would survive. It was only midmorning and her thermometer showed the temperature at 100 degrees already. As soon as the sweat would seep out of her pores it would evaporate which she knew wasn't a good thing. Turning her head to look at the colonel she was startled to see that he was watching her.
"Sir?" She croaked, her voice barely audible.
"I'm glad you managed to whip up an oven for us to bake in," he murmured sarcastically, his own voice sounding as if he had a mouthful of marbles.
"Well, sir," Sam answered thoughtfully. "I could roll you out into the direct sunlight and see how long you last there." She attempted to smile, but her dried, cracked lips caught on her teeth and she figured that it wasn't worth the effort.
"Nah, I think I'll stay here where there's shade," he replied, closing his eyes.
"Colonel?"
"Yeah?" He didn't open his eyes, but turned his head toward her once more.
"Remember when we gated to Antarctica?" Sam asked wistfully.
"Sure. Don't like to, but I remember. Why?"
"Isn't it ironic that we thought we were going to die on an ice planet far from Earth and we were there all along?" Sam closed her own eyes and measured each breath, feeling the searing heat as she drew it into her lungs.
"Sam." The colonel said in a warning tone. "You don't think we've gated to another stargate on Earth, do you?"
"Sir, Earth only has one sun."
"Oh, yeah," Jack remembered. "I could sure use some of that ice about now," he added just before he lapsed into unconsciousness.
Lifting a hand to her chapped lips, Sam felt like crying only she knew that she couldn't afford to waste even one teardrop of water. Drifting off to sleep herself, she wondered at a buzzing noise that emanated from the DHD near the stargate, but didn't have the energy to investigate. Just as she lost consciousness she could have sworn that she heard the stargate beginning to rotate.
~*~
"I tell you, sir, the M.A.L.P. showed a desert planet with a mean temperature of at least 125 degrees and no vegetation within several kilometers." Lieutenant Sanders was in the midst of his debriefing when he was interrupted by Daniel Jackson who ran into the conference room with a video tape held aloft. He was grinning from ear to ear and shouting, "We've found them!" at the top of his lungs.
"Dr. Jackson!" General Hammond's voice was like steel, causing Daniel to stop immediately and hand the video to him.
"They're there," he reiterated, least the general hadn't gotten the message he'd shouted earlier.
"Where?" The general asked, completely confused now.
"RTP72715," Daniel answered, pointing at the video in the general's hand. "Look for yourself." He quickly snatched the tape out of General Hammond's hand and popped it into the VCR.
The picture was fuzzy and shaky at first, then the M.A.L.P. finally focused its onboard video camera on its surroundings and panned to the left and right.
"THERE!" Daniel shouted, jumping over to the screen to point at the edge of a shiny object barely visible in the corner of the picture.
"Where?" Lieutenant Sanders snapped, thoroughly disgusted with the un-military-like way that Daniel was handling himself.
Daniel rewound the tape and slowed the play until it was frame by frame. It took a few minutes, but when the frame with the edge of a foil thermoblanket came into to view, it was clearly US government issue. Daniel practically danced a jig beside the conference table.
"We have to send a team," he was saying to the general in excitement.
"Jackson," Lieutenant Sanders growled. "If they're there, why didn't they respond to the gate opening and the M.A.L.P. unit coming through the stargate?"
Gazing at the man as if he'd lost all his senses, or that he smelled particularily bad, Daniel shook his shaggy head full of hair. "It is, after all, 125 degrees. Not exactly the temperature to be out sunning yourself," he added sarcastically.
General Hammond placed a hand over his mouth to cover a slight grin. He was excited that they had discovered the colonel and the captain, though he was reserving judgment about whether his people were still alive after all of this time.
"Hey, wait a minute..." Lieutenant Sanders voice held a bit of fear in it, causing the others to look at him, then turn their eyes toward the screen to see what had disturbed him so.
"The stargate is damaged," Daniel filled in for them as he sat heavily in a chair. "We can dial in, but I'll bet they aren't able to dial out."
"Apparently so," General Hammond said, then picked up the remote to the VCR and zoomed the picture in order to study the damaged stargate. "Did the M.A.L.P. get any decent pictures of the DHD?" He asked as he hit the fast forward button.
"I think there's one frame with it in it," Daniel replied as his eyes busily studied the pictures that passed by so quickly on the screen before him. "There!" He shouted as the general scrolled right past the object in question.
Rewinding the tape to the DHD, General Hammond sat looking thoughtfully at the badly damaged device. Picking up the phone he quickly dialed a number and commanded someone to come to the debriefing room and to be there yesterday.
Sergeant Siler ran into the room still holding a soldering iron in one hand and his welder's helmet in the other.
"Sir?" He said, standing at attention beside the general.
"Sergeant Siler, I want you to take a look at a DHD and tell me if it can be repaired." General Hammond rewound the tape and played the scene once more for the sergeant, freezing it at the point where the DHD was more clearly visible. "There."
Siler stepped closer to the screen and gazed at the device in despair. "Sir, it appears that the DHD is completely disabled." He turned to glance at the others who were looking hopefully at him. "Where is this device?"
"RTP72715," Daniel said before the general could answer.
"Well, I would count it as a lost planet, then. Because you can probably gate in, but getting home would be impossible." Siler looked back at the screen for a moment, then turned around to face the general.
"Sergeant, we believe that Colonel O'Neill and Captain Carter are marooned on RTP72715," General Hammond said softly. "Are you sure there is no way to repair the DHD?"
Siler shot a look at the general to see if he was trying to pull one over on him, when he saw that the general was dead serious, he swallowed the lump that had come up in his throat. "Sir, from what I know about DHD's, and that's sadly very little, I can tell that this device is not repairable."
"Couldn't we devise a computer dialing device like we use in the control room?" Daniel asked thoughtfully, his blue eyes gazing hopefully around at the others in the room. Teal'c had come into the room at one point and stood quietly at the doorway listening to the conversation.
Staring at the frozen picture on the screen, Siler tapped his fingers on the conference table in deep thought, apparently not even aware that he was doing it. The others watched him with hope in their eyes. Even Teal'c moved away from the doorway and walked over to stand shoulder to shoulder with Daniel, eagerly awaiting Sargent Siler's answer.
"Could be," the man muttered. "Take the program from the mainframe, download it into a laptop..." He began to pace the small area in front of the screen showing the DHD. "It would take some fancy wiring to pull it off..." Siler stopped at the star map that graced the briefing room and stared through the glass partition as if it weren't even there. "It just might work..." Turning on his heel he strode from the room without even awaiting permission to do so by the general. As soon as he left the room they burst into conversation.
"Sir, permission to be on the retrieval team," Teal'c said.
"You aren't leaving me behind!" Daniel shouted in order to be heard over the others.
"Lieutenant Sanders, I want SG-7 and 5 in here on the double," General Hammond ordered as he stood and headed for the door. He reached for the handle when Daniel's word stopped him.
"What if..." The archeologist began, then quickly quieted when the others shot glares at him. "Uh, never mind."
"Teal'c. Daniel, you're with the retrieval team," General Hammond said as he walked from the room.
Punching his fist into the air Daniel raced from the room as fast as he'd entered it fifteen minutes earlier, Teal'c fast on his heels. Lieutenant Sanders left the room at a more sedate pace, best befitting military personnel.
~*~
Breathing became such a chore and several times Sam wondered why she even bothered to do so. Once she'd heard the colonel's breath rattling in his chest and had feared that he was dying and leaving her all alone on this Godforsaken planet, but he'd pulled through to suffer much as she was. Her body no longer produced the liquid needed in order to sweat and she knew that it was only a matter of time before dehydration would sap the will to live out of her.
"Colonel?" She whispered, her voice nearly gone. When he didn't answer her, she reached out with her broken arm and placed her swollen fingers over his heart. It still beat slowly and she was glad, though she didn't know why. They were dying a slow, painful death on a planet that no one knew where they were. One day their bodies might be found and wondered about by some alien culture. She had to heave a dry chuckle at the thought of someone finding them beneath a wrapping of tin foil and wondering whether they were being baked for some giant's dinner. Her humor didn't last long, however, as she felt the colonel's heartbeat slow even further beneath her hand.
"Jack?" She called again, a bit louder this time, fear lending strength to her voice one last time.
"Sarah?" Jack groaned, turning his head toward Sam, his eyes remaining closed.
Sam's heart sank. He'd muttered his ex-wife's name before, when they were freezing to death in Antarctica. Sliding closer to him, Sam painfully moved her hand until it rested against his heat-flushed cheek.
"I'm here," she repeated her exact words from before. "Jack, I'm here." Leaning her forehead against the side of his head, she waited for him to acknowledge that she was there with him.
"I don't want to die," he murmured thickly.
"Shhh, we aren't going to die," she lied smoothly. "Just go to sleep and when we wake up we'll go swimming in the lake."
"Will you come with Charlie and me when we go fishing?" He whispered, his words faltering momentarily over his dead son's name.
"Of course," Sam answered, fighting back the dry sobs that were collecting in the back of her throat. "I'll even dig the worms." She received a slight chuckle for her efforts and smiled sadly when Jack immediately began to cough spasmodically. He groaned in pain then drifted into blessed unconsciousness. As she'd told him before in Antarctica she said, "It was an honor serving with you, Colonel Jack O'Neill." Only, this time she received no answer from him. "I love you, Jack," she finished her thoughts, knowing that he would never hear her.
~*~
Butterflies fluttered in his stomach as Daniel stepped through the stargate and traveled along the wormhole to RTP72715. He landed on his feet and the heat hit him like a punch in the face. The rest of the rescue team had gated in ahead of him, so they had already acclimated themselves to the intense heat and were scampering about preparing the stargate for the return trip home.
Teal'c and Captain Conrad were trotting over to the makeshift tent several paces away from the stargate platform. Peering beneath Teal'c looked up at Daniel and waved him over.
"They're here!" He shouted, his face grim.
Daniel hurried to their side and crawled beneath the tent to kneel at Sam's side. Reaching out a trembling hand to her sunburned cheek he gasped at the heat that emanated from her body.
"We've got to get them out of here," Daniel said, his voice gruff with fear.
"What of Colonel O'Neill's condition?" Teal'c asked Daniel.
Leaning over the unconscious form of Captain Carter, Daniel felt for a carotid pulse. It took several tries for him to find the pulse and when he did it wasn't promising.
"Teal'c," Daniel warned as he backed out from beneath the tent. "We have to get them out of here, now!" Uncapping his canteen, Daniel pulled his handkerchief out of his back pocket and carefully poured enough of the water to saturate it and then crawled back under the tent to gently bath first Sam's face, then Jack's. "I'm going to need a lot more water and another handkerchief," he called. Captain Conrad handed him his own handkerchief, then hurried over to assist the dismantling of the DHD.
Being beneath the blanket for only a few minutes Daniel was sweating profusely and knew that it would only be a matter of time before he, too, was dehydrated.
Teal'c stood over those working on the DHD like a sentry until finally Sargent Siler shot a glare at him. The Jaffa quickly interpreted the look and took himself back to the tent and assisted Daniel in cooling their friends.
It took one scorching hour to get the temporary DHD connected and working to Siler's satisfaction. Already two members of their team had returned home with the news that their missing pair had been found and their condition. Dr. Frasier had a staff of medical technicians standing by when they were brought back.
Placing Captain Carter onto a stretcher, Daniel stayed by her side as they gated back home. When they reached the other side she was whisked swiftly to the infirmary before even General Hammond could see her.
Moving Colonel was another matter entirely. Sam had roused long enough as they were moving her to warn them that the colonel may have a serious back injury, then she had lapsed back into unconsciousness. Gently placing a backboard beneath the colonel Teal'c and the others strapped him down, then lifted him onto a stretcher and hurried to the stargate and home.
General Hammond stood waiting in the gateroom as his rescue team returned with the colonel. Hurrying up the ramp to assist personally with the stretcher, General Hammond helped place him and the stretcher on a waiting gurney. Dr. Frasier ran into the gateroom just as they were rolling the gurney from the room and stopped them in the doorway to check on her patient. After listening intently to his weak heartbeat through her stethoscope, she shot a worried glance toward General Hammond, then snapped for her assistants to get him to the infirmary on the double.
"Doctor," General Hammond called after the swiftly moving woman. "I want a report as soon as possible, if not sooner," he said when she stopped, impatiently, in the middle of the corridor.
"Sir, I will get my report to you as soon as I can," she shot at him, then turned on her heel and ran down the corridor, her white jacket flapping behind her.
~*~
Jack groaned as he felt needles of pain shooting through his body when attempted to move. Too tired to open his eyes, he wondered why he was feeling so cool when he knew that he should be feeling the heat of twin suns. Unable to remain conscious any longer his body slowly slipped back into blessed, pain free darkness.
Lifting her hand to scratch her nose, Sam nearly knocked herself senseless with the cast on her arm and hand. Opening her swollen eyes to look around her, she was shocked to find that she was in Cheyenne Mountain's infirmary and her friend and physician, Dr. Janet Frasier was standing by her bedside with a huge smile on her face.
"Welcome back," Dr. Frasier greeted her friend.
"How..." Sam began, only to discover that her voice was not producing sound.
"Don't talk," Janet warned Sam. Pouring a cup of cool water she placed a straw into the cup and held it for Sam as she drank thirstily. Taking the cup away before Sam could drink all of the water, Janet set it on the table by the bed. Sam looked at the cup hungrily. "No. You may only drink a little at a time, or you'll make yourself sick."
Sam looked down at the bandage holding her left arm and shoulder immobile and glanced back up at Janet with a question in her eyes.
"The shoulder isn't broken, but it was severely dislocated, so I don't want you trying to move it until I give you permission to exercise it." She followed Sam's eyes as she looked around the room. "Colonel O'Neill is going to be fine," Janet answered Sam's unvoiced question. "I've got him in isolation because so many people were coming around to visit him and you know the colonel, he would try to entertain them." Janet shook her head and gently patted Sam's good shoulder. "I'll let you rest now. Just push this button on the bed if you need anything and someone will help you."
"Janet?" Sam whispered despite the pain it cost her sore throat.
She had begun to walk away, but Dr. Frasier turned back to face her friend with a frown. "I asked you not to speak," she chastised as she moved back to Sam's side.
"Can I see him?" Sam asked, ignoring her physician's orders not to speak.
"Who?" Janet inquired, though she was sure of whom Sam was speaking.
Sam glanced around at the other patients in the infirmary and was glad that they were across the room from her bed. "Colonel O'Neill," she whispered so lowly that Janet had to lean closer in order to hear her.
"Not tonight," Dr. Frasier said firmly. "If you're feeling better in the morning, perhaps we can arrange something. Now, rest." Janet left Sam's side and returned to her other patients, keeping one eye on Sam the rest of her shift.
~*~
The sounds of the night shift checking IV lines and patient charts awoke Sam. Sitting up with great difficulty Sam watched as Dr. Hamilton walked from one patient to another, his back to Sam. Apparently he had already checked Sam's chart and had moved on without waking her. Sam watched him as he finished his rounds and walked from the room. Two nurses sat at their station at the end of the room, their back to her. Slipping out of the bed, Sam grabbed the side rail before she pitched forward onto her face. The room whirled around her and she breathed deeply in order to right her world. As soon as she was able she grabbed her IV tree and quietly pulled it behind her as she made her way toward the private rooms. She had to see that the colonel was okay for herself.
Holding onto the wall and then the door casing as she reached his room. Keeping an eye out for anyone who would try to stop her, Sam walked unsteadily into the room and over to Jack's bedside. He was sleeping soundly and as she moved closer she accidentally bumping the IV tree against the side of the bed. Jack awoke with a start, wincing at the sharp pain the movement caused him.
"Hi," he greeted her softly, a smile playing along his lips. "I'm willing to bet that Dr. Frasier isn't aware that you are out of bed." He quirked an eyebrow at her since she remained standing by his bedside without saying a thing, she just stared at him with tears pooling in her eyes. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable beneath her scrutiny he dropped his eyes, his smile slowly disappearing.
"I... I wanted to make sure..." Sam stammered to a halt as she looked down at him. "Are you okay?" She finally finished in a rush, her voice hoarse.
Jack looked up into her intense blue eyes and saw something that hadn't been there before. "I'm fine," he said quickly. In his mind he was remembering something she whispered to him, but he couldn't quite grasp what it was. "Sam, are you okay?" He asked, turning the tables on her.
She shrugged her good shoulder in answer, then grabbed her IV pole and started the long, slow process back to her bed. By the time she'd reached it she was close to falling in the floor in fatigue. Crawling back onto the bed wasn't as easy as sliding off and she finally had to call to a nurse to help her. Safely tucked in bed and thoroughly chastised for having gotten out in the first place, Sam fell into an exhausted sleep, heedless of the world around her.
~*~
Sam felt something tickling her cheek and reached up to brush it away and encountered a hand. Opening her eyes slightly the first thing she saw was Colonel O'Neill sitting on the edge of her bed and grinning like the Cheshire Cat from Alice In Wonderland. Quickly closing her eyes before he could notice that she was awake, she pretended to be asleep.
"Too late, Sam," Jack whispered with a chuckle. "I know you're awake, so open 'em up." He gave the bed a little shake to prompt her to open her eyes.
"What do you want?" Sam growled hoarsely, finally opening her eyes to look at him.
"Well, Dr. Frasier let me get out of bed, as long as I remember to use these." He gently kicked a pair of crutches. "So, I thought I'd come bug you."
Sam's eyes swung to the crutches and widened, she then looked up at Jack in concern. "Why?"
"Oh, because I was bored lying in that bed and staring up at the ceiling," he answered, intentionally misinterpreting her question.
"No!" She groaned, closing her eyes in irritation at his playfulness when she didn't feel like being humorous at the moment. "Why the crutches?"
"I dunno, I guess Dr. Frasier thinks I'm easier to catch with them, or something." He picked up one of the crutches and studied it carefully as he continued. "Carter... Sam," he began, closely studying a splinter on the crutch he avoided making eye contact with her. "We came close to dying again," he said softly.
"I know."
"What you said on the planet," Jack reminded her, his voice low so that anyone walking by wouldn't overhear. He looked down at her suddenly, his dark eyes searching her flushed face. "It is an honor serving with you, too."
Sam's eyes filled with tears and she released the breath she hadn't known she was holding. Gazing up at Jack she smiled slowly, one tear escaped the rest and trailed slowly down her cheek. Jack leaned over and gently cupped her cheek, wiping the lone tear away with his thumb.
"Sir..." She began, but quieted when his thumb moved to cover her lips.
"No, not yet," he whispered softly, his fingers lightly caressing her cheek before he removed his hand just before Dr. Frasier walked over to join them.
"Well, I'm glad to see that you're using those," Janet told Colonel O'Neill, putting a hand on the crutches and looking up at him. "Although, I would prefer that you didn't disturb my patients while they were trying to rest." She looked down at Sam and winked at her. "I suggest that you head back to your bunk and get some rest yourself, while I take care of some things with Captain Carter."
"Yes, ma'am," Jack said with a sharp salute as he picked up the crutches and expertly slipped them beneath his arms and walked away from them.
"Thanks," Sam told Janet as soon as Jack was out of hearing.
"Has he said anything?" Janet asked as she took Jack's place and sat on the edge of the bed.
"No," Sam whispered, shooting a quick look after the colonel, she shook her head. "I don't want him to know."
"But, you told him when you were on the planet," Janet reminded her.
"I know, but he was unconscious and near death." Sam watched Jack as he stopped to joke with another patient across the room. Janet glanced over her shoulder at the colonel and smiled softly as he and the patient burst into laughter.
"Janet," Sam said slowly as she remembered what the colonel had said to her just a while ago. "He told me that it was an honor to serve with me," she worried.
"So?" Janet swung her eyes back to Sam and looked at her in confusion.
Sam's eyes showed shock when she gazed up at her friend. "I told him that just before I said I loved him." Her eyes automatically looked for, and found, Jack. "Do you think he only heard that?" She asked hopefully.
Janet slipped off of the bed and picked up Sam's chart. "I wouldn't count on it," she answered softly. "With Jack O'Neill, I wouldn't count on it."
~*~
Teal'c and Daniel had come to visit Sam and keep her company. After an hour they left her to hunt Jack down, per Dr. Frasier's request. She had groused that she wouldn't have given him the crutches if she'd known how fast he could move around on them. He was out of bed more than he was in it these days and she supposed that she could just release him with the promise that he would take it easy for the next two weeks, with no off-world travel for another week after that. She would discuss it with the general before suggesting it to the colonel, if she ever found him.
"Well, Sam," Janet called to her friend as she walked up to her bed. "It looks like you are ready to be discharged from that bed and the binding on your shoulder." Janet held up Sam's recent x-ray to the overhead lighting and smiled. "Your shoulder is healing nicely and you'll only need to keep it in a sling for a week more."
Sam smiled in delight. "Good, I'm starting to go stir-crazy," she grumbled good-naturedly. "When can I leave?"
"Not until I remove the binding around your shoulder and take one more x-ray of your arm," Janet answered. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening. "I told General Hammond that you needed some R&R and he's granted you two weeks." Janet smiled at her friend.
"I'm going to go to Dad's apartment and get some things straightened out," Sam confided to Janet. "Please don't tell Jack where I'll be."
Janet raised her right hand and held up three fingers saying, "Scout's honor!"
Sam grinned, eager to leave the close confines of the infirmary and the closeness of Jack O'Neill. Though he had dropped in on her a few times, he hadn't said anything else about their most recent brush with death. Sam was oddly disappointed that he obviously hadn't heard her speak her heart when she thought they were going to die. Yet, she knew that anything between them, other than commanding officer and subordinate, would be against the rules, she also knew that she couldn't help what her heart felt. So, it was with stoic ease that she gently, carefully buried her emotions deep within her heart and squared her shoulders for the days ahead.
~*~
"Okay, sir," Jack growled as he burst into the general's office after only the briefest knock. He'd barely given the general time to acknowledge the request to enter before barging in. "Where is she?" He demanded of the startled man.
"Excuse me, Colonel?" General Hammond slowly stood to his feet, his steel-blue eyes pinning the recalcitrant colonel to the floor.
Jack had the effrontery to be embarrassed, but it didn't last long. "Beggin' your pardon, sir," he apologized, then launched into his demands once more. "Where is Captain Carter?"
"Colonel, as long as you head SG-1 and you are off-world, you have every right to know where Captain Carter is. However, since your team in at stand-down right now, I don't see as this is any of your business." General Hammond stood glaring at his friend.
Jack seemed to lose steam as he sank into a chair in front of the general's desk. Dropping his head into his hands he muttered something beneath his breath that the general couldn't hear.
"What was that, Jack?" He asked as he sat in his own seat and propped his elbows on the desk.
"Sir?" Jack snapped his head up to stare at the general in confusion.
"I didn't hear what you said a moment ago."
"Oh, sorry sir. I was just talking to myself." Jack smiled sadly. "I've been doing a lot of that lately."
"Has Dr. Frasier discharged you from the infirmary?" General Hammond asked suspiciously, noting the crutches propped against Jack's legs.
"Yes, sir," Jack answered with obvious relief. "She said I would be ready to travel in a couple of weeks."
"I, of course, will receive a report from her clearing you for active duty," the general said knowingly.
"Okay, okay. I believe she said at least three weeks, if I comply with the physical terrorist." Jack grinned at his play on words. "At least that's what it feels like when she's massaging the muscles in my back that were injured." A shudder went through him when he remembered the pain the skilled therapist's hands caused him.
"It's for the best, Jack," General Hammond said as he closed a file that he had left open on his desk. Placing it in a basket on the edge of his desk he looked up to see Jack watching him carefully.
"Do you know where she is?" Jack asked.
Steepling his fingers, General Hammond propped his chin atop them and considered Jack's question carefully. "Colonel, why are you so interested in Captain Carter's location?"
A flush crept up Jack's neck and he dropped his eyes from the general's direct gaze. "I'm concerned for her health," Jack said lamely and knew that the general wouldn't divulge Sam's whereabouts on that slim excuse. "She and I have some things to iron out, sir," he admitted, looking directly at his commanding officer and friend.
"And you think that this can't wait until she returns to the base?"
"Sir, I'm not sure that she will return," Jack admitted carefully.
"Just what is it that you have to discuss?" The general asked as he continued to closely eye the colonel.
"Um... It's private, sir."
"Does Captain Carter know about this?" General Hammond questioned.
"I sure hope so, sir." Jack stood nervously to his feet, dragging the crutches beneath his arms and began pacing the room.
General Hammond sat back in his chair and watched the colonel for a moment. Jack resembled a tiger in a cage, eager to get out and away.
"Captain Carter has requested that her location be kept from you," General Hammond finally responded. He waited for the explosion, and wasn't to be disappointed.
"WHAT?" Jack shouted, dropping one of the crutches in his haste to turn and face the general. Overbalanced, he began to fall, but caught the back of a chair and righted himself at the last moment. "Why would she do that?" He demanded of the general.
"Colonel, I don't have to tell you that what Captain Carter does on her off-time is her business. If she issues a request, then it's up to me, and you, to honor that request to the best of our ability."
"Yes sir," Jack agreed reluctantly. "Permission to be dismissed?"
"Granted." General Hammond watched as Jack retrieved the dropped crutch and hurried from the office. Picking up the telephone he dialed the infirmary. "Dr. Frasier, please," he requested of the nurse who had answered. "Janet? General Hammond here. I'm fairly certain that you're going to having a visitor in a few. Just wanted to warn you." Hanging up the telephone, General Hammond again sat back in his chair and sighed. The things I do for these people, he thought as he picked up a file and immersed himself in his work once more.
~*~
People were scattering out of his way as Colonel O'Neill practically ran down the corridor to the infirmary, his crutches barely touching the floor. Dr. Frasier stood just inside the doorway of the infirmary, frowning at him as he barreled into the room, nearly knocking one of her aid's to the floor.
"Colonel O'Neill, do you wish to be confined to quarters?" She demanded when he came to an abrupt halt before her, out of breath and not just a little angry.
"I am not in the mood to play games, Doc," he snapped. "I want to know where she is and I want to know now." He stood glaring at the physician, as if that would win her over.
"Come into my office," she said as she turned on her heel and left him standing there. As she suspected he quickly followed her into the office. "Close the door, please." Janet watched the colonel as he attempted to control his anger and close the door without slamming it. She almost smiled as the door shut with a sharp click.
"Before you launch another attack at me, I want to tell you something." She waited for Jack to close his mouth on what he was about to say, then he nodded his head for her to continue. "Samantha Carter is not only a coworker of mine, she is also my friend and as such, I made a promise to my friend that I would not divulge her whereabouts unless she gave me permission to do so."
Jack seemed to wilt before her eyes. Moving slowly over to a chair and slumping down into it he closed his eyes and leaned his head against the high back. "I just need to talk to her. That's all," he sighed.
"Colonel, I would help you, if I could. Sam asked me not to tell anyone where she went." Dr. Frasier took pity on the confused man. "I'm supposed to have dinner with her tonight," she said quietly. "If there is anything you'd like for me to tell her... or, perhaps give to her, I would be glad to do so."
Jack sat up a little straighter. "Then she's in town," he said thoughtfully.
"I never said that," Dr. Frasier said quickly, too quickly.
"You wouldn't be having dinner with her if she was out of the area," Jack deduced. "Come on, Doc. I just need to talk to her."
"I'm sorry, Jack."
Scrambling to his feet Jack jerked the door open and stormed from Janet's office. She didn't call him back to get his crutches that he'd left propped against the wall. He seemed to be doing well without them, she thought as she watched him as he limped angrily from the infirmary. Apparently the physical therapy on his back was working well. Picking up his chart from the basket on her desk Janet opened it to jot a note about his seeming progress.
~*~
Sam sat on the sofa, a blanket wrapped securely around her body, and stared at the dying fire. She'd been at her father's apartment for a week now and was growing quite bored with the inactivity. Snow had been falling for hours now and she felt as if she was all alone in the universe. Depression settled over her like a blanket and she pulled the blanket a little closer about her to ward off the chills that had plagued her ever since she and Jack had left RTP72715.
She and Janet had met for dinner three nights ago and Sam was still reeling from the news that Jack was desperate to see her. She didn't know what to do, and Janet wouldn't guide her at all. Covering her face with her hands, Sam growled beneath her breath. When the telephone rang she nearly jumped off the sofa in fear.
Reaching for the telephone, her hand hovered over it for the second ring. Afraid that Jack had, somehow, gotten her father's private number, she decided to let the answering machine pick up the call.
"Sam," Janet's voice called urgently over the line. "Pick up the phone!"
Grabbing the phone in one hand and slapping at the off button on the answering machine with the other, she put the phone to her ear.
"What is it, Janet?" She asked, fear making her voice quake.
"Sam, Jack's on his way over there," Janet informed her friend.
"How?"
"I'm not sure, but I know he knows where you are." Janet paused then continued. "Do you want me to come over?"
Sam sighed heavily. "No. I'm a big girl. I think I can handle myself with the colonel." She pulled the blanket tightly around her. "Thank you for offering, Janet. You've been a very good friend." With that she hung up the phone and sat staring at the embers in the fireplace in indecision. Then, as if she just realized that she was still wearing her nightgown, Sam jumped to her feet, and dragging the blanket, she hurried into the bedroom and quickly changed into jeans, a thick, wool sweater and sneakers. She returned to the living room to tidy it up, then realized what she was doing and dropped the book she'd picked up back onto the coffee table. Moving to the fireplace she added a couple of logs to the embers and coaxed it back into a decent fire once more. Sitting back on the sofa, the blanket wrapped around her once more, she waited nervously for Jack to arrive.
~*~
Tearing down the snow-covered roads leading into town wasn't the smartest thing that Jack O'Neill had ever done in his life, but he wasn't thinking clearly at the moment. He had overheard one of Sam's friends talking to another woman, telling her that Sam had holed up in her father's apartment to recuperate from her ordeal off-world. Jack hadn't waited around to eavesdrop on the rest of the conversation. He had merely requested permission to go into to town and commandeered a Jeep and left.
Now, as he neared the town, Jack slowed the Jeep down and began to take notice of the icy condition of the road. He was glad that no one seemed to be out and about this late at night. Turning into the parking lot of Jacob Carter's apartment complex, Jack pulled the Jeep into an available space just down from Sam's own car and sat staring at the lighted window in the apartment above. Now that he was here, he was beginning to doubt his reasons.
Gathering his courage, Jack opened the door of the Jeep and stepped out into the freezing mix of snow and sleet. Pulling his jacket collar up to cover the back of his neck, he hurried down the sidewalk and up the two flights of stairs that lead to the apartment. Standing in sudden indecision before the door, he nearly turned and fled, but lifted his hand to knock on the door instead.
Sam opened the door, clearly disturbed that he'd found her.
"I don't have to come in," he surprised himself by saying.
Apparently he'd surprised her as well, for she stepped aside and gestured for him to enter. "Please come in out of the cold," she invited as she busied herself with closing the door after he'd entered. She stood watching him from the doorway as he walked over to the fireplace and stretched his hands out toward the fire. Long, tense moments passed with neither saying a word to break the silence. Finally Jack looked up from the fire, his eyes taking in the blanket she held tightly around her shoulders.
"Sam, if you're cold, you shouldn't stand next to the door. Come on over here near the fire and warm yourself," he offered as he moved aside for her to join him.
"How did you find me?" Sam asked, maintaining her post in the shadows by the door.
Leaning a hand on the mantle, Jack stared down into the blazing fire. "Let's just say that I overheard someone discussing your location and leave it at that, okay?" He looked over at her, his face illuminated by the fire. She saw the look of regret in his eyes and nearly choked on a sob.
"Jack, I wanted to be alone," she began, only to be interrupted by him.
"No you don't," he argued as he pushed away from the fireplace and walked toward her. He stopped short when she skittered away from him. "I'm not going to hurt you," he said softly, urgently.
"You already have." Sam clamped a hand over her mouth and turned to run. Jack grabbed a handful of blanket to stop her. Releasing her hold on the covering, Sam ran toward the bedroom. She made it halfway across the room before Jack was able to catch her up in his arms. Carrying her, kicking and spitting-mad across to the sofa, Jack was shocked at how light she was. She appeared to be loosing the battle to squirm out of his arms until he sat on the sofa, holding her in his lap. She slapped his face, which wouldn't have normally even bothered him, but she slapped him with her right hand and the cast that she still wore. Jack's head snapped back and bounced off the back of the sofa, leaving a bump on the back of his head and a spreading bruise on his left jaw line. Tear sprang instantly to his eyes, but he fought them back least she see them.
"Oh, Jack!" Sam cried, lifting her trembling hand to the bruise on his face. "I'm so sorry," she sobbed, tears racing down her cheeks. "Let me get some ice for that."
"No," Jack told her. "It's okay." He released his hold on her and cupping her face with both hands he gently wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Sam. I shouldn't have come here." He leaned forward and placed a soft, tender kiss on her lips. "In fact, I believe I should go." He kissed her left cheek, then the right. Then, lifting his eyes to look into hers he asked, "Do you want me to go?"
As if the dam had been breached, Sam burst into tears and threw herself against Jack's chest, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.
After several minutes of trying to calm her, Jack realized that she had no idea that she was slowly choking him to death. "Sam," he whispered breathlessly when she wouldn't allow him to lift her head, or break her hold. "Sam, you're choking me," he finally admitted, his voice strangled.
She jumped from his lap so fast that she tripped over the blanket he'd draped over her shivering body. Falling to the floor, she untangled herself as quickly as she could and began to scramble away from him as quickly as she could.
"Sam, STOP!" Jack shouted as she backed toward the fire. Leaping to his feet he cleared the coffee table in one stride and grabbed her around the waist just seconds before she fell into the fire. Holding her sobbing form against his, his heart racing, Jack couldn't move if his life depended on it.
"Jack..." Sam murmured after several minutes, her hysteria finally under control.
"Yes?"
"I feel like I'm on fire," she confessed.
"Me too, Baby," he purred, leaning his head down to steal a quick kiss.
"No. I mean, I think my legs are on fire!"
Moving her away from the fireplace, Jack called himself all kinds of a fool. Freeing her from his embrace he quickly turned away and headed for the door. Without saying a word to her, he simply walked out the door.
Sam ran to the door, threw it open and watched him as he practically ran down the snow covered steps and over to the Jeep. He looked up at her standing in the doorway, her arms wrapped around her waist, tears coursing down her face and his resolve to leave crumbled. Slapping the door to the Jeep closed, he retraced his steps back to the apartment.
"We've got to talk," he said when he finally stood face to face with her. "May I come inside?"
With a trembling smile, Sam stepped out of the doorway and into the room, leaving Jack to secure the door. Sitting on the sofa, she pulled the discarded blanket over her lap and waited for him to join her.
Jack walked over and sat on the coffee table in front of her. Taking her slender fingers in his hands he looked into her eyes and sighed. "Sam, I'm going to ask you a question and I want an honest answer, okay?" He asked solemnly and waited for her answer. She simply nodded her head.
"Have you been eating?" She appeared to be shocked by his question to the point that he wasn't sure she would answer him. She surprised him, however, when she did.
"I haven't been hungry."
"How much weight have you lost?" He inquired sternly, then realized that he'd taken the wrong approach when she shot a glare at him and jerked her hands out of his grasp. "I'm sorry, Sam," he quickly apologized for his insensitivity. "I'm just concerned for your health."
Sam looked down at her hands and saw, for the first time, how thin they looked. Turning her hands over, she was shocked to see the veins protruding so obviously. She glanced up into Jack's concerned face and nearly lost it again. With her emotions feeling much like a roller coaster, she felt anger surge through her, replacing her earlier depression and sorrow. Glaring up at Jack, she had to resist the urge to strike out at him again. After all, it was his fault that she had lost nearly twenty pounds and was riding on this runaway coaster of emotions.
"Sam, talk to me," Jack urged, wondering at the sudden cold, icy glare she'd given him. "I can't help if I don't know what the problem is."
"You think you can fix anything, don't you?" Sam accused, jumping to her feet and pacing the floor. "You're the MacGyver of the nineties!" Stopping in front of the fireplace Sam picked up a photograph of her father and her. She smiled sadly down at the image and wished that he could be here to hold her.
Sitting on the coffee table Jack wondered at what she had said. He was nothing like the fictional character he remembered from the television show. I am not like him at all, besides I like guns, he thought to himself. He heard her snort and realized that he must have spoken out loud.
"Sorry," he mumbled. "Did I say that out loud?" His attempt at humor fell flat.
"Colonel, I think it's best that you leave," Sam said with a sigh. Walking over to the door she opened it and stood waiting for him to comply with her request. When he remained sitting on the coffee table, she shot him a steady glare while the cold, wintery air blew into the apartment from the open doorway. Shivering from the cold she slowly closed the door, leaned her back against it and just stared at him. "What do you want?" She intoned steadily.
Jack looked across the room at Sam, wondering where he'd lost it. He had come her with every intention of talking sensibly with Sam, but somewhere along the way they had gotten off-track.
"Sam," he began, giving her a searching look. "Back on RTP72715 there were some things said... things that we... um, I, need to talk about." He watched Sam carefully when she dropped her eyes to avoid his searching gaze.
"What things?" Sam asked as she toyed with the satin binding of the blanket, running it through her fingers nervously.
"Well, we thought we were going to die," Jack reminded her softly. "Some things were said that may, or may not be..." He faltered for words and Sam picked up on it.
"True?" She spat, taking a step toward other side of the room.
"Yes, maybe."
Sam looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. She couldn't believe that he would actually bring up the fact that she'd told him she loved him, or that he was dismissing her confession as if she'd just thought of it to salve a dying soul. His dying soul. Fire shot from her eyes as she stalked toward him, the blanket falling to the floor in her haste to confront him.
"Just say what you want to say, then get out," she snarled, the fine hair on the back of her neck standing on end she was so mad. Stopping in front of Jack she awaited the inevitable with much dread.
"Sam, I don't know what you're getting so excited about," Jack growled, picking up on her defensiveness and growing defensive himself. "If you know what I'm talking about then there's no sense in my staying here." Standing to his feet he reached out to gently move her aside, then walked toward the door. "Don't try to get out tonight," he warned as he opened the door. "The roads are iced over." With that he shut the door firmly and navigated carefully down the stairs once more.
~*~
Sam ran to the window, pushed the drapes aside and watched tearfully as Jack clamored into the Jeep. Snow had begun to fall again and Sam sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and chewed on it. Jack had just told her that the roads were nearly impassable, yet here she was letting him drive away in this storm. Snapping out of her reverie, she hurried to the door just as Jack backed the Jeep out of the parking spot. Slipping and sliding down the stairs, Sam ran to catch up with him as he began to drive the Jeep out of the parking lot.
"COLONEL!" She shouted, suddenly realizing that she hadn't any shoes on when she stepped into a freezing puddle of water, but she didn't let that distract her as she raced after the colonel.
Pulling the Jeep cautiously out of the parking space, the wheels spinning in the slush and ice before grabbing the pavement and backing out of the space. Jack had maneuvered the Jeep up to the street when he looked in his rearview mirror and saw Sam chasing after him in her socks. He slammed on the brakes and immediately regretted the mistake as the Jeep began a slow, uncontrollable slide toward the street and an oncoming tractor-trailer rig.
"JACK!" Sam screamed in horror as she watched the Jeep slide into the path of the rig that had less of a chance to stop than Jack did on the icy road.
Practically standing on the accelerator, Jack prayed that the Jeep would clear the path of the rig, though he had little hope of its doing so. He felt the initial impact as the truck, it's brakes screaming in protest, slammed into the Jeep just behind the driver's seat. Thrown against the side window, then back against the seat, Jack was tossed about like a rag doll, his ears ringing from the noise of the truck's engine and brakes. Slumping down in the seat, barely conscious, he was carried along, the Jeep precariously attached to the front of a truck that was out of control.
As the horrible tableau unfolded before her eyes, Sam sank to her knees in the cold snow, unable to turn her eyes from the inevitable conclusion.
The front of the Jeep smacked into a telephone pole, effectively dislodging it from the truck that came to a standstill twenty feet farther on. Sam scrambled to her feet and raced across the slippery street to skid to a stop beside what had been the driver's side of the Jeep.
"JACK!" She called as she fearfully grasped the door handle and tried to open it. "Oh, God. Jack, talk to me! Please tell me you are all right!" Sam sobbed as she twisted and pulled at the handle, to no avail.
"Sam?" Jack's voice came from behind her and she froze. "You're going to catch your death out here," he told her, his voice sounding odd to her. She whirled around to face him and nearly screamed. Blood flowed steadily from a gash on his forehead and he stood swaying there, staring down at her feet.
"Come on, Jack," she whispered as she threw the blanket she'd somehow kept with her over his shoulders. Wrapping an arm around his waist she guided him back toward the apartment.
By the time they'd reached the stairs leading up to her father's apartment she was shivering uncontrollably and Jack was leaning heavily on her newly healed shoulder.
"Jack, you're going to have to help me," she grunted as she placed one frozen foot on the first step and was nearly knocked to the ground when Jack swayed. It was only her military training that kept her from falling as she reached out and grabbed him without a thought to what she was doing to herself. With her casted hand on the railing and her other around his waist, Sam managed to pull the both of them up the stairs. When they finally reached the landing she was out of breath and covered with his blood. "Three more steps," she urged, then nearly tripped on the trailing blanket as she reached the door.
Safely inside the apartment, Sam had no time to rest as she led Jack to the sofa and unceremoniously dropped him there. He fell half on, half off the sofa, but Sam didn't waste any time trying to adjust his limbs. Running into the kitchen she grabbed up her first aid kit and a dishtowel, then raced back into the living room to Jack's side.
Working feverishly she applied pressure to the bleeding cut, then, when it had all but stopped she carefully cleaned the area and applied antibiotic ointment and a thick bandage. Smoothing the tape into place, she looked down into his face and saw that he was watching her intently.
"You do that very well," he murmured, raising a hand to his aching head. She gently batted the hand away, lest he was to touch her handiwork and ruin it.
"Thank you, but don't touch," she whispered gently.
"What happened?" Jack asked groggily, his eyes sliding closed of their own accord.
"Jack, stay with me," Sam demanded, afraid that he'd suffered a concussion and told him so. "I don't want you to go to sleep just yet." She shivered in her wet clothes and wished that she could quickly change into something warm and dry, but she didn't dare leave him alone. "Talk to me," she urged, taking his cold hand in her own she began to gently rub it until the blood began to flow warmly through it.
"I think I asked you that a little while ago," Jack muttered, turning over onto his back and laying an arm across his eyes to block out the light. "My head hurts," he complained, sounding for all the world like a little boy.
"I know," Sam sighed. "But, you're going to have to listen to me and stay awake, okay?" When he didn't answer her, Sam reached out and gently shook his arm. "Jack, wake up, please."
"Doggone it, Carter," Jack growled. "Leave me alone for a minute, will ya?" Turning his back to her and curling up on the sofa as best he could, Jack ignored Sam's repeated attempts to keep him awake.
Her lips blue from her exposure to the freezing weather, Sam gave up on the colonel and took herself into the bedroom and turned on the shower. Grabbing her thick cotton robe she went back into the bathroom, carefully closing and locking the door. Staying in the shower long enough to thaw out her frozen toes and make her fingers look like shriveled prunes, Sam finally stepped out, refreshed and renewed. She was ready to take the colonel on once more. Slipping into the thick robe she opened the bathroom door and stopped short in the doorway. Lying across her father's queen-sized bed lay Jack, sound asleep, his hand curled up beneath his chin. Smiling softly Sam padded over to kneel on the bed beside him.
Gently probing the bandage to assure herself that it would not fall off, she brushed back an errant lock of hair from his forehead. He opened dazed and dilated eyes to look at her. "I'm cold, Sam," he told her, his body shivering uncontrollably.
Working the comforter out from beneath him, she began to wrap it around him until she realized that his shirt and jeans were soaked as bad as hers were. Tugging his boots off, she took a deep breath and reached for the zipper to his jeans and quickly pulled it down. It took some effort to remove the jeans, especially since she was trying to do all of this without looking. Hunting through her father's dresser she found a pair of pajama bottoms and bullied Jack into them.
Reaching over to remove Jack's shirt, Sam was caught unprepared when he moaned and hauled her into his arms. Burrowing his face in her hair he sighed and began to relax. Sam smiled and gently attempted to extract herself from his arms. This was the last thing she needed at this moment in her life. She had just managed to slip from Jack's hold when he whispered something that she couldn't hear.
"What did you say, Colonel?" She asked softly, staying far enough away from him to keep away from his searching arms.
"Sara," Jack whispered and Sam's blood froze in her veins. Staring sadly at Jack, Sam wiped at the silent tears that flowed down her cheeks. She finished with removing Jack's shirt, then quickly covered him with the comforter. Backing away from the bed Sam bumped into the wall and slid down it to sit on the floor. Wrapping her arms around her drawn up legs and, propping her chin upon her knees, she watched Jack as he slept.
~*~
"Welcome back, SG-1!" General Hammond watched as his best team walked wearily down the ramp from their first off-world mission since Colonel O'Neill and Captain Carter's adventure on RTP72715. Colonel O'Neill waved a hand at the general, then promptly dropped it to his side.
"Thank you, General Hammond," Teal'c said graciously, inclining his head in salute to the man. Teal'c seemed to be the only member of the team who was not bone-weary.
"Colonel O'Neill, debriefing in one hour," the general informed, watching the rest of the team carefully as they filed from the gateroom to their quarters. He noted that the captain strayed behind the others, as if she had no intention of trying to keep up with their longer strides.
"Captain Carter," General Hammond called to her just before she rounded the corner and disappeared from sight. She looked back over her shoulder at him, one eyebrow quirked in question. "A moment, if you don't mind."
Sam practically dragged her gear with her as she turned on her heel and returned to the gateroom. "Sir?"
With one look from the general the room cleared of all personnel. "Captain Carter, I have detected a noticeable tension between yourself and Colonel O'Neill. May I inquire as to the problem here?" General Hammond watched Sam's shoulders straighten and a flash of fire enter her eyes as she hitched her pack up onto her shoulder.
"I'm sorry, sir," she said clearly and precisely. "It won't happen again." She stood there, as if awaiting further orders.
General Hammond watched her another full minute, then shook his head. "Dismissed," he told her, then grinned when she practically ran from the room. He'd get to the bottom of this matter, though. It wasn't procedure, or healthy, for a team to gate off-world when one, or two members had a difference of opinion between them. That difference might be all that was between life and death if the situation ever presented itself.
With determined strides that caused everyone to step out of his way, General Hammond ended up at Colonel O'Neill's quarters. Raising a hand to knock on the door, he stopped in midair as he heard voices raised from within. Cocking his head the general recognized Jack's voice and that of a woman, though her voice wasn't so loud that he could make out who she was. Stepping away from the door, the general decided that a tactical retreat was in order here. He decided that he could ask the colonel about his and Captain Carter's attitudes later.
~*~
"Doggone it, Carter," Jack snapped. "What did you tell him?"
"I told the general nothing," Sam answered, pulling at a loose string on her jacket. She didn't look up to meet Jack's eyes and this made him all the more suspicious.
He snorted. "Yeah, right."
Sam jerked her head up, looking across the room at Jack. "Are you saying that I'm lying?" She accused in a dangerous voice.
Jack shrugged his shoulders and returned her stare as if daring her to say she wasn't lying. Despite her resolve to never let him make her cry again, Sam felt tear's pool in her eyes and quickly averted them, hating herself for doing so because he would, no doubt, take it to mean that she was not telling him the truth.
"I'm tired, Jack," she mumbled, then quickly realized that she had addressed him so personally. "I'm sorry. Sir." She pulled the thread off of her jacket and tucked it into her pocket. "Permission to return to my quarters, sir."
"Sam," Jack's voice took on that smooth quality that made shivers run up and down Sam's back, and she couldn't resist looking up into his deep brown eyes. "Nothing is going on between us," he continued once he knew she was paying attention to him. "Is there?"
Swallowing past the sudden lump in her throat, Sam shook her head, then realized that he would require a verbal response. "No, sir." A sob caught, unexpectedly in her throat. Covering her mouth with her hand she gave Jack a stricken look and bolted for the door. Wrenching it open she practically flew down the corridor to her own quarters that were, in her opinion, clearly not far enough away from the colonel's for her good.
Jack walked over to the door and peered out just in time to see Sam racing down the hallway as if the hounds of Hell were on her heels. He didn't know what to do about his and Sam's predicament. He didn't know why, but it seemed that their friendly companionship was fast deteriorating. Raising his hand to thrust it through his short hair, Jack shook his head as he pondered the working of a female mind. He thought he would never understand women.
~*~
Sam threw her gear across the room as soon as she shut the door. The pack crashed against the far wall and bounced to the bed. Regretting the irrational temper that caused her to possibly destroy her gear, Sam walked slowly over to the bed and picked up the pack and began removing the items from within. Luckily, she hadn't damaged anything with her outburst, however she had drawn attention to herself. A tentative knock came at her door and Sam sighed heavily, rubbing her aching temple. She didn't need another confrontation with Jack O'Neill tonight. Standing to her feet she walked over to the door and opened it. She was surprised with her visitor.
"Captain Carter?" Teal'c said softly, his eyes searching her for an injury. "Are you well?" At her frown Teal'c looked into the room. "I heard a loud noise emanating from your quarters."
"Oh. I'm sorry," Sam offered with a weary smile. She had forgotten that her room shared a wall with Teal'c's. "I dropped my gear," she added lamely, knowing that he was aware that the noise wasn't a pack dropped on the floor. To Teal'c's credit, he merely nodded his head at her and turned to leave. "Thank you, Teal'c," Sam said with a catch in her throat.
"You are welcome, Captain Carter." He started to walk away, then stopped, looked back over his shoulder at her and shot her a small smile. "If you need to discuss anything," he offered. "I am available."
Sam nodded her head, a trembling smile on her face. She slowly shut her door and walked over to sit on the bed. Running a hand through her hair she stood again and gathered together the necessary items for a quick shower and headed for the locker room, hoping against hope that none of the guys were there.
Knocking on the door she waited for an answer. When she didn't hear anything, she slowly opened the door and peeked around it. All was quiet. Stepping into the locker room, she walked over to her locker and quickly opened it to remove her shampoo and soap. Holding everything in her arms, she grabbed a towel from a rack just before the showers, she piled it atop the stack in her arms, effectively obscuring her vision.
Dropping her load onto the counter in the shower room, she began to remove her shirt. Dropping it to the floor, she kicked it into the corner under the counter and followed the shirt with the rest of her clothing. Lifting the towel from her supplies she took the shampoo and soap along with her to the first available shower and turned on the water. Stepping into the water, she allowed the soothing warmth to flow over her body for several long minutes. She uncapped the shampoo and began to work it into her hair. Some of the lather trailed down into her eyes, making them burn. With a gasp she thrust her face into the flow of the water and vigorously rubbed at her burning eyes. With her attention on the pain in her eyes, Sam didn't hear the knock at the door and the request to enter.
With a last rinse of the lather in her hair, Sam turned off the water and stepped from the shower just as Jack O'Neill stepped through the shower room door. Rubbing her hair with the towel, she couldn't see that she was not alone. When she finally lowered the towel to dry off the rest of her body she froze at the sight of Jack O'Neill's back as he was leaving the room.
With a shriek of rage, Sam wrapped the towel around her body and stalked after the colonel, catching him in the locker room as he was stowing his things in his locker.
"What the hell are you doing in here?" She demanded as she marched up to him, her finger poking him in the chest.
Backing away from the angry woman, Jack slammed into the lockers behind him. He had never seen Sam this mad and he couldn't agree with her more. He hadn't taken notice of the sign that the women of the base placed outside the locker room door whenever they were in residence.
"Didn't you see the sign?" Sam demanded, punctuating each word with a punch of her finger into his chest. "Or, did you come in here just to get your jollies?" She growled, angry at him for more than catching her stepping out of the shower.
"Sam," Jack protested, then quickly closed his mouth when she took another step toward him, practically breathing fire.
"This is the women's locker room right now and I know you aren't a woman." She added emphasis to the pronoun. She waited for him to realize what she meant and when he did, a deep red blush crept up his neck.
"I know you're a woman," he told her, his voice cracking with strain. "Oh, boy do I know," he muttered beneath his breath.
"What?" She growled, her finger at work once more, the movement of her hand causing the towel to slip from its moorings.
"Stop!" Jack finally demanded, grabbing the offending hand and pressing it flat against his chest, which caused the towel to slip even more, but neither one realized it. "I'm sorry, Sam. For whatever I've done to you. For coming in here without looking to see if it was occupied." Jack caught himself gently smoothing the soft skin of her hand with his other hand. The towel gave up its post and slithered to the floor.
Jack swallowed convulsively, his eyes straying to areas that he didn't mean them to go and Sam, with a shriek of outrage, slapped his face, grabbed up the towel and raced back into the shower area. Standing with his back against the lockers Jack stared after Sam with a stunned expression on his face.
Within minutes he saw the door to the shower room open and Sam stepped out, fully clothed and avoiding eye contact with him. Her face was flushed bright red and she practically ran to the door leading out of the locker room. Jack didn't say a word, he just reached up, placed a hand over the area where she'd slapped him on the face and silently watched her leave.
~*~
Sam walked into her quarters, tossed her things onto the bed, then followed them to fall bonelessly atop them. Throwing her arm over her eyes she worried for her career. Sure Jack should have honored the sign that she'd put out stating that the showers were occupied by female personnel, but she had no right to attack him like she did. The colonel had every right to court-martial her. She lay on her bed for two hours waiting for the call from General Hammond and when, after two hours no one came to her door, she slowly stood to her feet and left the room in search of the general herself. Her father had taught her to always face a situation and she wasn't going to shirk her duties now.
Tapping lightly on the door, Sam waited a bit impatiently for the general's permission to enter. When it came Sam cleared her throat, straightened already straight shoulders and opened the door. She had expected to see the general, but not the rest of SG-1, until she realized that she had missed the debriefing that the general had called. Apparently it was just winding down and she stepped inside mumbling a lame apology for being tardy. Slipping into a vacant chair she glanced around at her teammates. Teal'c inclined his head in greeting. Daniel lifted a hand slightly from the table and gave her an encouraging smile. Jack was turned to face the general, so she was able to study him without his knowing it. It was with sad eyes that she watched him as he concluded his part of the debriefing.
"Captain, do you have anything to add?" General Hammond asked politely, though his eyes gave her the impression that he was not happy with her at all.
"No, sir," she quickly answered, then dropped her eyes to her hands folded together atop the table.
"All right, then. Dismissed." General Hammond waited for them to stand and begin filing from the room, then said, "Captain Carter, a moment of your time, please."
"Yes, sir." Sam stopped where she was, which put her in the direct path of Colonel O'Neill. He hadn't noticed that she had stopped so abruptly, so he bumped into her. Her face lost all color when he reached out to steady her, mumbling a quick apology before he moved around her and out the door.
"Captain, are you all right?" The General asked gently, taking her elbow and leading her to a seat.
"I... Yes, sir," she stuttered as the blood rushed to her face. "I'm sorry, sir." She stood to her feet and awaited his reprimand, her shoulders squared and ready.
"Relax, Sam," the general began. "I'm not going to send you to the brig, or anything. I just want to ask you some questions." He wondered at her heavy sigh of relief.
"Certainly, sir."
Tapping his chin with a finger, the general looked at the floor before raising his eyes and looking at her. "Captain... Sam, what's going on between you and Colonel O'Neill?" He inquired gently.
Standing as straight as possible, Sam resisted the urge to sink back into the seat she'd just recently vacated. Swallowing past the sudden lump of fear in her throat, she opened her mouth to speak, but was saved by someone pounding on the door.
"Hold that thought, Captain," General Hammond told her, then stepped over to the door to converse with the messenger there. He returned only minutes later to apologize to Sam, explaining that he had to leave and that she was dismissed.
Feeling as if she'd dodged a lethal bullet, Sam watched General Hammond as he hurried out the door. All of a sudden her strength seemed to desert her and she did sink into the chair, dropping her face into her hands with a groan.
"Sam?" Daniel Jackson popped his head in the door and stood staring at her. When she looked up he gave her a quick smile, then an invitation, "Teal'c and I are going to the commissary, care to join us?"
Giving him a trembling smile of thanks, Sam stood and walked to the door. When she reached him, Daniel pulled her into his embrace and simply held her. "It will be all right," he whispered just before Teal'c walked up and the three of them headed down the corridor, Teal'c on her left side, Daniel on her right. Both held protective arms around her waist and shoulders, and she felt safe and comforted, knowing that whatever may come, she had two of the best friends she could ever hope for in her corner.
The End
Sherrill
"I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me." Phil. 4:13
Story Notes: Hi all, this is my first attempt at posting a Stargate SG-1 novelette. I hope you all enjoy it. I would like to give a small warning here. I consider this story as PG-13, mainly because of violence and some, slight sexual innuendo. Consider yourself warned.
Stargate, Stargate SG-1 and the characters of the series belong to MGM/UA, Gekko Entertainment and Showtime. I have only borrowed the characters for a short time and, after the story, have put them back where they belong. This story line, however, belongs solely to the author and cannot be used without the express, written permission of the author.
Critiques and comments are welcomed by the author.
Please email me at: bosco4@gte.net
Stargate, Stargate SG-1 and the characters of the series belong to MGM/UA, Gekko Entertainment and Showtime. I have only borrowed the characters for a short time and, after the story, have put them back where they belong. This story line, however, belongs solely to the author and cannot be used without the express, written permission of the author.
Critiques and comments are welcomed by the author.
Please email me at: bosco4@gte.net
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc, are the property of their respective owners. Any original characters and plots are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended. ... [ read more ]