A dark figure stood on his roof staring at the huge mass of bright stars. Colonel Jack O'Neill was looking at a particular star when he heard a car pull into his drive. He peered over the ledge as a figure emerged from the drivers seat. Leaning over the ledge he shouted down to them. "What do you want?"
The figure started walking to the door, pretending not to hear his authoritive tone.
"The doors locked, Captain" Jack shouted down to his subordinate.
"Well open it or I'll break it down" She shouted up.
"What do you want?" He shouted with a commamd tone.
"We're not on duty, so open up so we can talk" her face masked by the dark shadows.
"We may not be on duty, Captain" He emphasized her rank, "But you can still be arrested for tresspassing."
She walked into the moonlight and stared up at Jack. "Do you REALLY want me to shout this"
He took her tone of voice seriously and decided not to mess with her. "Key's under the flower pot " He said turning back to his telescope.
"You keep your keys under the flower pot" she said puzzled, picking up the key to open the door before making her way up the stairs to the roof where Jack sat awaiting her arrival. She just stood staring at him. He was still looking through his telescope and he took no notice of her.
"Colonel" she said wanting his full attention. He continued gazing at the stars. "Colonel O'Neill" her voice seriously demanding.
This got his attention. He looked over at her. A look of annoyance on her face. She was wearing her green combat trousers and black T-shirt and he was wearing the same uniform. "You're interuppting my stargazing" He said feigning annoyance as he leaned back against the wall.
She threw him his keys. "What good home security you have" she said trying to lighten the mood.
"It's better than your diary's"
"My diary" her eye's widened.
"I never knew you liked Daniel." He joked
"Yeh, didn't you know im in love with him" her tone scarcastic.
He smiled and she returned the gesture. "What did you want then? Have a seat by the way."
She sat on the ledge, leaning forward staring at her grasped hands. Immediatly she stood up. "Colonel... There's a mission meeting at the base 23.00 hours"
"I'll be there" He said and when she didn't move he continued, "Was there somthing else?"
"Well there was actually."
"Spit it out Carter." She took a deep breath but before she could say a word her pager bleeped. She stared at Jack.
"Saved by the bell" he remarked.
She sighed and looked at the small screen. She was never going to tell him at this rate.
"Can I use your phone" she asked replacing the pager on the waist band.
"Sure." He got up and walked down the stairs. She followed him to the nearest telephone which was in his bedroom. She picked up the reciever and started dialing the bases number.
"Captain Carter?" the voice on the other end of the line said. It was General George Hammond.
"Yes Sir. I was paged is there a problem?" her back to Jack, who stood eavesdropping.
"There's been an accident" The General said in his slow drawl.
"What kind of accident?" Her voice was questioning as her muscles tensed and she straightened. Jack moved closer at the mention of an accident. He tried to listen in on the conversation by lowering his ear to hers.
"Daniel, Teal'c and SG-4 have failed to return from P9X28. Colonel O'Neill and yourself are going to go and find them with SG-5. You need to get back here now. I couldn't get hold of the Colonel, can you get hold of him?"
"I think so sir. We'll be there as soon as possible."
"See to it," He said disconnecting the call.
"Did you hear that?" She asked replacing the reciever and turing to Jack. He was still standing close and he nodded, but he remained where he was. She just stared at him. "We should be going," But neither made a move.
He nodded. She did not want to break his gaze but knew that there were lives at stake. Her heart told her to stay, as Jack was not making a move. Was she going to let her heart or head rule her decision? She knew what she had to do. She had come here to talk but it would have to wait, she had a job to do. She broke his gaze and walked to the bedroom door.
He saw her turn and head for the door. He began to follow her but part of him wanted to stay in the room, to stay in that moment of time with her. He knew he couldn't not with Danny in trouble. He knew they couldn't no matter what the situation. A relationship between them was against regulations, but he could dream couldn't he?
The two officers climbed into Sam's car and she drove back to the SGC. The entire ride was silent.
xxxxx
Once at the base Sam climbed out or the car and headed straight for the General's office. Trying to get Jack out of her head, she switched into command mode. She knocked on the door and waited for an answer.
"Come in," the General boomed.
Captain Carter and Colonel O'Neill walked in and stood to attention.
"At ease," he said and the two officers relaxed slightly but remained standing, "Where were you, Colonel?"
"At home, sir."
"You didn't answer the phone!"
"I had the ring switched off."
"Fine, how did you find him Captain?"
"Erm, he was at his house, sir."
The General nodded and continued, "SG-4 went to P9X28 to study some artifacts. They were due for returning two hours ago so we sent SG-5 through. They searched the immediate area and found these," he placed something on the table, "At the base of the gate. No sign of anyone else."
Jack picked up the object and handed them to Sam. They were Daniel's cracked glasses.
xxxxxx
Sam, Jack and SG-5 were stood in the gateroom as the code was dialled in. To Sam it seemed a longer time had passed than usual, for the code to be dialled in. She couldn't believe that Daniel and Teal'c were not with them, it didn't seem right. She felt fear, her best-friend was gone and she should have got here sooner. As soon as the gate was activated she charged through the gate pushing passed Jack and into the event horizon of the wormhole, hoping that Daniel would be on the other side. He wasn't.
"What's the rush?" Jack said when he emerged the other side, "Missing your boyfriend?" He joked.
"For crying out loud, two of your team are stuck out here somewhere, possibly dead or injured and all you can do is make snide remarks." She shouted as she flung her arms around and she walked off to the west.
Jack gave some orders to the team and ran off to catch up with Sam. He grabbed her by the right shoulder and spun her round to face him.
"Calm down," he said holding his hands up in surrender when he saw the angry tint in her eyes.
The anger in her eyes softened as she stared into his eyes once again. "Which way?" She asked softly.
"Seeing as you stormed off this way, we're taking west." He said patronizingly as he continued to study her eyes for ay emotion other than anger.
'How could I have fallen in love with such an arrogant man,' She thought with a sigh as she shook her head. Then her concern for Daniel over powered her need to stay in such close proximity to Jack and she walked off again, "We'd better find Daniel."
Jack kept two paces behind his angered Captain and said,
"Danny'll be fine. His rocks just got him preoccupied." He was trying to make her smile. He fell into step with her to see if it had worked. The cornor of her lips truned up despite herself, she shiock her head.
"You know Colonel thats not funny."
"I can order you to laugh if you want" he said smiling.
"That won't be nesscessary" she said giving him a big smile and she pretended to laugh, "see I'm laughing."
"That's what i like to see. Wait what's that over there?" Jack said running to a fallen object.
"What is it" Sam said standing behind the knelt down Jack.
"It's Teal'c's Zatgun." Jack said standing back up.
"Did Daniel and SG-4 have any weaponary?" Sam asked concerned.
"I don't know. It was a research mission. They might have had a few guns between them." Jack stood there a while longer staring into the distance. Sam's voice snapped him back to reality. "Pardon?"
"Where now?" she said continuning to gaze across the area.
"We should see what the others have found." Suddenly Jack fell to the floor when a tranqualising dart hit his arm.
"Uh-Oh" Sam said to the fallen Jack "Let's get you out of here" She said pulling him behind a tree as another dart went past her head. She pulled him as far as she could before her arms felt like they would fall off. She collasped next to the unconsious Jack and pulled the dart from his arm. A drop of blood escaped staining his T-shirt. She lay there face down hoping anyone around would give up and disappear. Once her arms felt normal again, she pushed herself up on her elbows and looked at Jack.
"Well Colonel, I hope this has a short effect I don't think I can carry you back to the gate" when there was no reply she flopped back down awaiting Jack's awake. She picked up her radio.
"Lieutenant Hayward, come in"
"Lieutenant Hayward here"
"This is Captain Carter here. The Colonel and I have found Teal'c Zatgun and have been attacked with tranqualising darts. The Colonel is out cold and I need help to get him back to the gate"
"We'll be right there." He said gruffly. Five minutes later the rest of the rescue team found them and helped Carter to carry the Colonel to the gate.
"I'll dial home" The Lieutenant said. He pressed the large buttons and then the red globe. It glowed and the gate jumped into action. The unstable silver vertex whooshed out and the wormhole settled. The team walked up the steps and through the doorway. Upon emerging on the otherside Captain Carter's eyes opened wide as she placed the colonel on the floor.
"This isn't earth!" she said.
******
"Em... No sir" The Lieutenent answered shocked.
"Well Its not surprising if you dialed the wrong code, you idiot" she shouted at him.
"Wrong time of the month, Captain?" someone asked. She turned to look at the Colonel still lying on the stairs his eyes open.
"Now you decide to join us, I've just had to carry you all the way back to the gate. Colonel" She sighed ignoring his question.
"Sorry, I couldn't help it, I was unconscious you know." He said climbing to his feet. He looked around him and saw a deserted baron planet. There were a few mountains in the distance but nothing else was around. he looked at the Stargate and realised there was no DHD.
"Ah Captain?"
"Sir" she said
"Where's the DHD?"
"Right th... em... It should be there sir." she said walking round the gate "Sir. I have no idea."
"Well we'd better find it!"
"Where do we look?"
"I suggest we head to those cliffs, we can check in those caves for it, there's a storm coming." He said glancing up at the sky. He began to walk off, his steps shaky. Sam beckoned for the other to follow as she jogged up to the Colonel.
"Are you alright Sir? or do you need a hand?" She said once she had reached his side, holding his arm to steady him as he stumbled.
"That's okay." He said moving his arm out of her reach. They all walked along in silence. Colonel O'Neill and Captain Carter at the front with the others a few paces behind them, "Care to share?" Jack said looking at Sam.
"Pardon?" She said looking up at him.
"The reason why you're in such a bad mood."
"Not really," she faced the mountain.
"If you need someone to talk to- well you know where I am. I can listen just as well as Daniel." he said glancing at Sam and then back at the approaching mountains.
She too, continued to stare at the mountains, the past day had been hard on her. She had tried to keep it out of her work but it was too hard. She wished her visitor had never come to see her but it had happened and she had to deal with it. She had wanted to speak with Jack about it but now wasn't the right time, later after the mission maybe. By this time they had reached the mountain.
Jack took the lead and began climbing up the gentle rock face. The others followed him up. He reached a small ledge and climbed onto it. Offering a helping hand he helped Sam onto the ledge and the others followed. Jack led them to a small cave opening and they all turned on their flashlights and scanned the interior. There was nothing but rock. Jack peered out of the entrance to see a worse storm than that in the wizard of oz. Debris, sand and small rocks were carried off by the strong wind.
"Looks like we're setting up camp here, kids." he said with a sarcastic smile upon his face.
Sam took off her backpack and started to set up camp, "It's starting to get a bit cold in here. Do you think we could make a fire?"
"Go ahead, captain, I'm sure you can start one without wood." he said sarcastically as he sat down.
"There might be something that we could use. We might be here a while if this storm carries on."
"I'm going to see if there's anything else in here. It might be warmer further in." He said leaving the captain in charge.
*****
Jack walked through the passageway his gun out and ready and his flashlight with it. The effects of the short term tranquiliser had worn off and vision was no longer blurry. That was what puzzled him - why create a ten minute tranquiliser? What good would that do? It would not give enough time for an escape so it must have another purpose. Maybe Doctor Captain Samantha Carter could figure it out, afterall she was the scientist.
Jack had been right it was getting warmer. He should go back and get the others, but he didn't. Something was urging him to go on and he never denied his urges. Well almost never.
He continued to follow the path and he realised the temperature was still rising. He could feel the beads of sweat forming at his hair line and he wiped them away with his free hand. Before he could regrip his gun with both hands, something knocked the gun out of his hand and another hand clasped over his mouth.
*****
Sam sat huddled on a rock trying to keep warm. She wished Jack would hurry back, after finding someplace warm. Her thoughts had been going over how they had got here, the lieutenant wasn't one to misdial. As he walked past she called him over, "Lieutenant Hayward?"
"Yes, captain?" he asked sitting down next to her.
"Is that hole covered up?"
"Yes, sir, it should keep the wind out."
"Good. How sure are you that you typed in the right code?"
"I've dialled in Earth's code, millions of times and never got it wrong."
"So why are we here?" She asked more to herself than to the lieutenant.
"I don't know, sir."
"I'm sure that you don't. Go get warm, lieutenant."
"I wish the Colonel would hurry up." He said quietly.
"Me too." She said in a low mumble. She stood up and started walking around trying to get her circulation going. She reached into her backpack and pulled out her waterbottle and took a sip. She settled back down and thought, 'I'll give him half an hour and then I am going to go and find him.'
*****
Jack squinted his eyes as a bright light was shone in them.
"Hey. do you mind?" Jack asked. His mouth was uncovered but two strong hands were restraining him by the elbows.
"Let him go, Teal'c." Daniel said. Daniel shone the light around illuminating his and Teal'c's face.
"I'd like to see how you greet you're enemies." Jack said rubbing his arms.
"Sorry" Daniel said "What are you doing here on your own?"
"Carter and SG-5 are nearer the entrance. I came in looking for warmth." Jack said.
"It is warmer further in, O'Neill, that is why we are here." Teal'c said
"Are all of you alright?" Jack asked.
"Yeh, we're fine, we sheltered here waiting for the storm to clear before we looked for the DHD. I must have dialed the wrong code when we tried to get home" Daniel said "Maybe we should get the others and pull our resorces."
"Hang on." Jack said "You dialed the wrong code?"
"Well that's what we think. We were under attack and in a bit of a hurry, we didn't know how else we got here."
"Lieutenant Hayward believes he dialed the right code but we ended up here. Yet on his first time back he got home."
"We'll think about it later. Let's fetch the others." Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c went to find Captain Carter and SG-5.
*****
Sam could hear footsteps approaching. She stood up and turned to face the sound. She saw more than one figure appearing out of the shadows.
"Daniel" She shouted and ran ran towards them giving him a hug "What are you doing here?"
"And you deny you love him!" Jack joked, Sam smiled and the others looked confused.
"It appears we too misdialed." Daniel said sceptically.
"Ok, thats a one in million chance isn't it"
"Let's move further in" Jack said and they all picked up their stuff and made their way to Daniel's Base camp. They reset up their new camp and everyone sat down except Jack.
"I suggest we search these caves throughly. Split into two whenever you reach a crossroad and place markers so you don't get lost. I need two volunteers to guard camp."
"Sure, Colonel. I'll stay here on my own" Sam said
"Are you sure I don't want you to take your bad mood out on the rocks."
"I'm sure the rocks will be fine, they seem hard enough, Colonel"
"Alright, lets move out. Oh here you go Daniel, new glasses." Jack said remembering as he walked off with Daniel. Daniel and Jack were walking through the tunnels with SG-4. Two officers turned left leaving Daniel, Jack and Two other officers alone. A while later they came to another fork in the path and Daniel and Jack were on their own. They continued walking in silence until they reached another cave. This cave caused a dead end to their journey. Jack shone his flahlight around the cave but it seemed like any other room. There was nothing of any significance, just rocks.
"Well, the DHD is not here," Jack said about to leave when Daniel caught him by the arm.
"These rocks may not look like what they seem,"
Jack looked at him puzzled, "There may be a secret passage," he said moving round the cave, touching the walls to see if any moved.
"Yeah right Danny boy" Jack said staying where he was. Suddenly the rocks did begin to move. They covered the entrance causing Jack and Daniel to be locked in.
"Oops, that's not what's meant to happen."
"Ya'think" Jack said joining Daniel in touching the wall to try and reverse the mistake.
xxxxx
Teal'c and Lt. Hayward were walking through a passageway when they came to a dead end. Hayward turned to go back to camp when Teal'c noticed a tunnel leading upwards.
"I think we should see what is up there," Teal'c said.
"And, how do you propose that we do that?"
"By climbing," without further hesitation Teal'c began to climb up.
"Sure, why not?" Hayward said trying to follow, with little success. Once Teal'c was up he held out a hand to help the Lt up. Once they were both up they saw a near exact cave.
"All these caves look the same to me," Hayward said.
"On the contrary," Teal'c said, "None of the other caves had markings on the walls."
"Where?"
Teal'c pointed, "However, I cannot decipher them. I believe we will need Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said beginning to climb down.
*****
Jack and Daniel were still stuck in the cave and it was getting hotter. Daniel was using his yuothful energy to try and find a way out, while Jack was running his hands along the wall. He really wanted to go home. He wanted to be looking up at the stars not at these stupid cave walls. He'd rather be looking at anything other than these rocks and, no offence to Daniel, but he'd rather be here with someone else. He was itching to find out what was going on with captain Carter. He had nearly believed her 'Daniel's missing' excuse. Nearly. Something was going on and Jack was curious.
'Well she won't tell you,' One voice inside of his voice said.
'Why not?' Another voice asked.
'She wanted to tell you earlier but you had to be arrogant and leave her standing outside.' The first voice said.
'Oh that!' The internal conversation ended and Jack realised what he had done. He sighed in annoyance at both this situation and the Carter one.
"We'll get out," Daniel said with yet more of his youthful enthusiasm.
"I won't hold my breath!"
"I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry for getting us stuck."
"I'm not blaming you," Jack said and Daniel soon forgot the conversation as the entrance revealed itself.
"Woo-hoo!" Daniel said walking out. Jack followed him as he shook his head. For all the brains that boy had he was still kind of ditzy.
*****
Sam was sat against the cave wall thinking about her visitor. Memories of long ago flooded through her mind as she remembered how she had felt. On that day everything had been fine but she had soon become anxious. Fear had flooded her body as the smoke had filled her lungs. The heat of the fire had been intense, making her skin tingle. All around she had heard screams and pleas. Blood had covered her uniform and all she could think about was getting him to safety. His cries had run through her, telling her to leave and let him die. She couldn't do it. After they had been rescued she had wished she had left him, it would have been for the best. And now, back in the present, a similar tragedy had struck but with different conclusions. She could feel a tear starting to spill from her eyes. She tried to hold them back, this was not the time to become an emotional wreck.
She was brought out of her thoughts as she heard voices approaching her.
"Danny, quit blaming yourself," Sam heard Jack shout as Jack and Daniel walked in.
Jack saw Sam sat against the wall and he couldn't help but notice the sadness in her eyes. He saw her wipe a tear from her cheek. Now he knew something was wrong.
"What's up with you two?" She asked trying to compose herself.
"Daniel here just got us stuck in a cave."
"Oh, did you find anything?"
"Sadly, no," Daniel said sitting down next Sam. Jack sat down opposite and asked, "Have you any idea how we all got here?"
"The possibility of two teams both misdialing to the same planet is, well to say the least, impossible. So something else must have happened. Something must have depolarised the gate." Sam explained.
"There must have been something different about all three journeys." Daniel said.
"Well, don't ask me I was unconscious at the time." Jack said.
Daniel looked up at him, his eyes wide open. Jack and Sam exchanged looks of confusion as Jack asked, "What?"
"You were unconscious?" He asked but did not wait for a reply, "So was officer Fredericks."
"Was she tranquilised?" Sam asked.
"Yes, during our attack she was hit. We dialled to come home but we ended up here. She regained consciousness shortly after getting here." Daniel smiled as both he and Sam realised what was going on.
"Oh-my-God, that's it." She said, her smile as wide as Daniel's.
"What? What's what?" Jack asked, feeling left out as usual.
"The tranquiliser changed your blood chemistry to change, it may also have caused the wormhole to be disrupted. If it did change then when the code was dialed in we ended up here. The codes were mis-read and we all ended up here."
"Of course," Jack said pretending to understand, "So now what?"
"Colonel," Hayward said walking into the cave, "We found some markings in a cave and we thought that Daniel might be able to translate them."
Daniel stood up and followed Hayward and Teal'c out leaving Jack and Sam sat in silence. Jack wanted to ask Sam what was wrong. He wanted to help her, he wante to make up for his earlier behaviour but she had made it clear that she wasn't ready. And maybe he couldn't actually apologise for his behaviour. He hadn't meant to be horrible to her but she had interrupted him and he had wanted to be alone. So he had been sarcastic, he hadn't wanted to but it was his defence mechanism and it was a hard habit to break.
Once Daniel had gone, Sam leant against the wall with her eyes closed. Now that they had worked out how they had got here, they had to find a way home. Hermind could not focus on finding an answer as it kept wandering. She sighed and stood up trying to think of the task at hand.
Jack coughed and Sam looked over at him, "Long day, huh?" He asked.
"Extremly. I haven't been very good company, have I?" She said tuning to face him.
"I wasn't going to say anything," he joked, "Do you want to talk about it?"
"I had a visitor this morning," she said sitting down next to him.
"What happened?"
"He proposed."
*****
Daniel walked through the caves with a smile on his face due to the discovery of how they had got here. It was typical of Jack to stumble upon an answer with one of his clever sarcastic comments. He now hoped that he could decipher the markings - it would be an interesting challenge. He followed Hayward and Teal'c into the cave.
"Daniel Jackson, I will follow you up the wall to prevent you from falling."
"Wall?" Daniel stammered.
"Yes. Climb Doctor Jackson." Teal'c said pointing to the wall in question.
"Climbing's not my strong point. Are you sure there's not another way up?"
"I am sure," Teal'c said nudging Daniel towards the wall.
"Okay, but you better catch me if I fall," he said beginning to climb the wall as he wished he had never come here.
Teal'c watched his young friend climb the wall and he then joined him in the cave. He watched as Daniel ran his fingers over the old and intricate letters. Daniel began a mental scan for anything in his memory that bared a resamblance. He soon realised that it was a form of Greek and he soon translated them.
He read it out loud to the others, "Visitors go home, Follow the instructions and you'll find what you seek." Daniel trailed off as he memorised the remaining instructions. Once he was done Teal'c climbed down with Daniel and Hayward following him.
*****
Jack's eyes opened wide. He tried to speak but he could not find his tongue. He coughed in the hope either she would continue or his tontongue would move. It was the latter, "So, uh," he stumbled. Why did he feel like this? She was his captain so why did he feel so upset and jealous. "So are you considering it?" He asked trying to block the emotion from his voice.
"No. I haven't seen him for seven years and we didn't part on the best of terms."
"Why, what happened?" He asked trying to conceal his happiness and not reveal his true feelings.
"Ten years ago I was at college and I was going out with a guy, his name was Ryan Eliot. He was 25 and was the next big thing. Two years later we were on a mission and we were helping some refugees. Ryan went off with the village leader and after half an hour I got worried so I went after him."
Jack sat there patiently listening, trying to guess where this was going.
"I found the leader and he told me that Ryan was off getting some supplies. I was about to go get him when there was a big explosion from where he was. I was thrown to the ground and when I sat up all I could see were people running around. There was smoke everywhere. I noticed him lying on the floor and I went over to him. He was covered in blood and groaning in pain. I began to move him to get him to safety and he kept telling me to leave him there to die.
"We managed to get him back alive but his right arm had to be amputated. He was also paralyzed at first but he learnt to walk again. All the way through his physio he told me I should have let him die. He couldn't cope with the fact that his military career was limited to a desk job. He had always wanted to be on the front line he hated the idea of sitting behind a desk all day. He blamed me. He said I should have let him die and he told me to leave and never come back. I got a transfer to the pentagon and I haven't seen him since." She paused, "Until this morning. He came to tell me that my friends died while helping some refugees. They were attacked and Gina was shot in the head right in front of Chris. Chris made it home but he died soon after. Ryan said that Chris was mumbling about Gina when he died.
"I haven't seen her in over a month and I never will again." Sam didn't look up at Jack as she did not want him to see how upset she was, even though her voice trembled at the painful memories. She had never spoken of the events even though they still haunted her dreams. "Colonel, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure," he said knowing how hard it must have been for her to say what she had.
"It's rather personal," she said not looking at him.
"I think your little confession took us beyond the Colonel-Captain line."
"How did you cope when Charlie... with the accident?"
Jack took a long pause before answering, "Charlie died four years ago. I don't know how much Daniel told you but it was hard for me to talk about - it still is. Umm," Jack paused. It was his turn to look at the ground while Sam looked up at him, "He, uh, he shot himself with my gun as I sat outside with Sara. I ran inside but there was nothing that could be done. On that day both my son and my marriage died. I shut Sara out to cope with his death and it drove an irremovable wedge between us.
"I took the death badly. I shut everyone out of my life and I didn't see the point in living. That's why I was chosen for the Abydos mission. If there was danger there I was to destroy that world with all of the innocent lives and my own. I couldn't do it. Something there made me see that there was a reason for living. I don't know exactly what it was but I returned to Earth with a purpose. I couldn't save my marriage but I could save my life." Jack paused and there was a long silence before Jack decided to bare his soul further. He looked up and Sam immediately looked away, "Today would have been his twelfth birthday," he sniffed trying not to let his emotions show, "We used to spend his birthday looking at the stars through his telescope. He loved sitting on the roof, he loved the idea of visiting another planet. I planned to spend tonight as close to him as possible."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring it all back to you."
"Misery likes company," Jack whispered. They remained in silence for a long time.
"It's been hard for me to deal with Chris and Gina's death which was why I wanted to find Daniel. I didn't want to lose anyone else. I guess Ryan felt the same and that's why he proposed to me. He realised that he still loves me and even though I said no he wants to go out with me and see what happens. I can't think of any reason why I shouldn't, can you?" She turned to face him revealing her tear stained face.
He looked up at her and met her gaze. He looked up into her deep blue eyes seeing something different. Over the past few months she had been changing from military officer and colleague to... He didn't know what to, but she was no longer simply an officer. He couldn't explain his feelings nor did he want to. He had spent ten years in love with Sara but he had never fully opened up. He had never spoken of Charlie's death with Sara yet he had with Sam. Maybe he was crazy but that should mean something. "I..." he started and paused.
Jack sat there, "I..." he repeated and paused again. He began to realise what the something Sam was when he remembered who she was. He may think of her as Sam but she was captain Samantha Carter. She was his Captain and he was her Colonel. The only relationship that they could ever have was that of commanding officer and sub-ordinate, and he hated knowing it. But if he could not make her happy she deserved to be with someone who could. He cleared his throat and said, "If you love him and he loves you nothing should stop you."
"He hurt me when he told me to leave but I forgave him. I suppose I do still love him and one date doesn't mean a life time."
In a way she had wanted him to give her an excuse, but his response gave her no indication of any love he had for her. She loved Ryan, but what she felt for him was nothing compared to what she used to. Maybe with time she could forgot Jack and learn to love Ryan once more.
After another pause Jack decided to change the subject, "I wonder how Daniel and Teal'c are doing? I'd really like to get home, while it's still night."
"I'm sure they're doing fine. We'll be out of here in no time, sir." She said switching to military mode as their heart-breaking conversation ended.
"I'm sure we will." The Colonel said reassuringly as Daniel and Teal'c walked in.
"We got it, I know where the DHD is!" Daniel shouted jubilantly. His joy was short lived as he saw the looks on his Jack's and Sam's faces.
"Where?" Jack asked, glad for the destraction.
"In the ground," Daniel said as he recieved a puzzled look from Jack, "The writting on the wall told us to follow some instructions and the DHD will appear out of the ground."
"And how do we get it out of the ground?" Sam asked.
"Er, we have to dance on the steps."
"Excuse me!" Jack said standing up as the other groups walked in.
"Dance, Jack, we have to dance."
"I was never one for dancing," Sam said looking at Daniel strangely.
"And I do not dance!" Jack said.
"Well, four of us have to once the storm has cleared." Daniel said as he followed Jack back to the entrance to see if the storm had cleared, while the others remained in the warmth. Jack peered out of the entrance and saw that the storm had settled.
"Captain Carter?" Jack said into his radio.
"Yes, Colonel?" She answered.
"You and the rest can pack up camp and head back here."
"Sure thing, sir."
Jack switched off his radio and sat down on a rock, beginning his patient wait.
"So, Jack, what's wrong?" Daniel asked, obviously nervous.
"What do you mean?"
"Well you didn't seem too happy back in the cave with Sam."
"Captain Carter and I are fine."
"I never asked that, I just asked what was up."
"We talked that's all," Jack said, really wanting a big gust of wind to blow the annoying Doctor away.
"Okay," Daniel said realising that Jack did not want to talk. They remained in silence until Sam came running in.
"Colonel, I think we have a problem."
"What is it this time, Captain?"
"I've been thinking. What happens if our tranquiliser theory is right and you and Fredericks still have it in your blood stream? Theoretically it will still affect the gate."
"You lot go through first and Lt. Fredericks and I will go though after you have rematerialised. If we don't end up home..." He trailed off.
"Colonel, that could be very dangerous. If the tranquiliser hasn't worn off you could end up anywhere." Sam said sounding worried.
"We'll get home eventually," Jack said climbing out of the entrance, "Let's move out."
Jack had gone before she could protest any further so she followed him out. Daniel followed and ran to catch up with Sam.
He wanted to talk to her but could not think of the right words. He stopped walking when Sam, who had been looking at the floor, bumped into Jack.
"What's the matter, sir?"
"Sorry, we're at the gate. What do we do first - dial or dance?"
"We need to dance to get the DHD Jack," Daniel said walking forward, "Now, if I remember this right four of us have to jump onto different steps at the same time. Any volunteers?"
Eight people stepped backwards leaving Sam, Jack and Teal'c forward with Daniel.
"Do I have to do this?" Jack whispered to Sam.
"You have to set an example, sir." She teased walking towards the steps. Daniel instructed each of them with their individual dance patterns. They stood in a line of four on the base step and Daniel counted to three. They each jumped on their designated steps at the same time and once they were finished the DHD appeared.
"Thank-you," Jack said stepping off of the steps.
"What did I tell you, one DHD." Daniel said.
"Dial us home, Captain."
"Right away, sir," She said walking to the DHD, "Sir," She called him over. He joined her and saw a holographic image just above the DHD.
"If you are seeing this," It said, "Then you passed the test. To pass the test shows great wisdom and courage. We will be glad to call you friends."
It disappeared and Sam dialled in the seven chevron code before finally pressing the red semi-circle.
"Great, this was all just a test," Jack said sarcastically. The vertex whooshed out from the gate and settled back. "You lot go through and Fredericks and I will be along later, hopefully."
Daniel went through first with Sam close behind. Before she went through she said, "Good luck, Colonel." Their journey through was like any other, she emerged through the gate onto the ramp. Instantly she turned and looked back at the gate as Teal'c and SG's 4 and 5 emerged. It seemed like hours later before Jack appeared. She was filled with worry and anticipation maybe even fear before he finally came through. She sighed at the sight of his face, thanking every possible source and giving a small smile.
The teams had been ordered to the infirmary to be checked over. Doctor Janet Fraiser had seen to everyone except Jack and Sam. sam excused herself to go to the toilet and when she returned, Janet had gone.
"Where's Janet?" Sam asked.
"She had to go get um, er, uh..."
"A what?"
"I don't know. It had some long name or something," Jack said waving his hand about absently.
She smiled.
He liked her smile. Taking a deep breath he decided to take a risk. He walked over to Sam, who was sat on her bed, and stood in front of her. "What's your answer?" He asked quietly.
"To what?"
"To Ryan."
"Oh, I thought we had this conversation."
"Not on if you would actually go out with him or not, we didn't."
"Why the sudden interest? Do you know what the answer should be?"
"It's up to you. I was just curious."
"If there's no reason not to, I don't see how one date could hurt."
"Maybe there is a reason." He said staring into her blue eyes. He didn't know what he was doing. He knew he couldn't make her happy but he wasn't sure that Ryan could either. If Ryan didn't, Jack would make him pay.
"Colonel, if you want to say something, than say it." her tone soft as she looked into his eyes.
"I," he said and then paused. This meant something so it had to sound sincere. That was unusual for the usually sarcastic and cynical Colonel, "I just wanted to say that..."
He was interrupted by the General standing in the doorway, who coughed. Jack stepped back diverting his gaze to the general.
"Just the pair I was looking for," Hammond said taking a few steps into the room.
"What's up?" Jack asked.
"I'd like to introduce you to a new technician," he continued and in walked a major.
Sam's jaw dropped and her eyes widened in shock of who was with the general. She tried to splutter out some words but nothing could escape her lips. Jack noticed this reaction but believed it to be frustration at the interupption.
"This is Major Ryan Eliot. He..." The general continued but Jack heard no more. Looking at Sam and then back at Ryan, he realised that her expression also contained shock. Shock of seeing her ex-lover and the realisation of her having to work with him day in and day out. To make matters worse, he too, would have to work with his rival.
'Sweet,' Jack thought to himself, 'This is going to be fun!'
The end!
Story Notes: Season: Third or after, we're not quite sure. This is the first SJ story that I have written with my friend Vanessa. Please forgive us (me anyway) for weirdness at the end as we had been awake for 24 hours and had just finished watching 16 hours of gate.
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 ]