Go Figure!
Jack had a mother of a hangover. Groaning, he eased his body out of bed. It came to him that it took longer to get out of bed these days than it used to. A sign of age, and the physical punishment he had put that body through over the years. Gone were those good old 'up and at 'em' days. Huh, go figure! It was depressing, particularly when he had a sledgehammer pounding in his head.
Then he remembered the how and why of the hangover with a start. Sam. Tomorrow was Monday. Crap! As his thought processes awakened with startling rapidity, he contemplated his confrontation with Sam the next day. God, if only he could find a way to avoid that. Oh for a Goa'uld attack, an emergency, or a disaster. Yeah, a good disaster should do it.
His now too swiftly thinking brain then forced him to recall his nightmares from the previous night. Sam had been chasing him like a monster Barbie doll; he was running but never seemed to get far out of reach. Not difficult to see why he had dreamed that. Go figure! Yeah, give me the Goa'uld any day, he thought, them I know how to deal with.
Making his way to the bathroom, he hoped the hangover would ease under the hot running water of the shower; and that he could start to think straight about seeing Sam the next day, without imagining giant Barbie dolls. He laughed at that idea. Could he ever look at Sam again without thinking about that? God forbid. Opening the medicine cabinet and quickly dry swallowing a couple of aspirin, he turned his attention towards the increasingly inviting shower, and plans for what he would say to Sam. A good long shower always helped his thought processes.
*******
Meanwhile, in the Carter house, Sam was having thoughts along similar lines. Hers, however, were free of worries about getting old; or of the hangover for that matter. Mark and the kids were leaving today. She was pissed that their rare few days together had been spoiled the previous night. Hadn't she known something like this would happen? What a fool to even think about accepting the invitation to the barbecue in the first place.
She breathed a sigh of relief when her family left, a little earlier than she had anticipated. Mark said they wanted to do something on the way to the airport. Sam believed it an excuse to leave the place in which he suddenly felt decidedly uncomfortable. She had planned to go with them, see them off, but now felt this was a supremely bad idea. Mark had seemed happy with that, no doubt as relieved as she was.
She spent the time after they left trying to distract herself from imaginary conversations with the Colonel in her head. These imaginary conversations were hell; nothing ever turned out like you imagined it would. Sam knew it was something she couldn't really prepare for; Jack could be a mystery with unpredictable actions and reactions. It was both a charm and a curse. He knew how to keep her on her toes alright. Jack was full of surprises.
*******
Neither of them was prepared for the call when it came. Sam was trying to divert herself by busily clearing up the house after the visit; she thought she'd probably cleaned every nook and cranny. Jack was nursing his hangover by having a small hair of the dog and some more aspirin, wondering how much he had actually drunk to make him feel this bad.
They were recalled to duty because of an emergency at the SGC. As they got ready to go, they each felt a rising dread of facing the other when they got there. No doubt there would be no time to have that little chat, as O'Neill had planned. Was that better, or worse? They would just have to try and deal with it in the best way they could. Jack groaned inwardly, regretting what he had been thinking earlier about emergencies and disasters saving him from confronting Sam.
********
Later, The SGC:
When Jack entered the briefing room he immediately looked at Sam and his brain inserted 'giant Barbie doll'. He stifled a laugh. Sam saw this and it perturbed her greatly. What the hell was he thinking? Was he laughing at her? Bastard! Was he concocting ways for a sweet revenge for her brother's stupid behaviour? She had to get herself under control; concentrate on the mission.
Jack immediately turned his attention to the rest of the room, all business. What were the SG-3 Marines doing here? Oh crap, this is gonna be good, he thought. Just then Hammond came in and the briefing started.
Almost predictably, it was a mess; a conundrum. Jack winced inside wondering why it had to be today of all days. His hangover had been subsiding but was now transforming itself into a mighty powerful headache at the very thought of the mission ahead; dealing with so many unknowns was something he preferred not to do. It helped to have a little information, however sketchy. They appeared to have nothing.
He sincerely hoped that his wishes earlier had not been the cause of this, knowing it was stupid to even contemplate it. He didn't believe in that sort of thing, but did pause to consider that some big fate fiend in the heavens had been maliciously inclined to curse and vex him.
He had wondered why SG-3 was here. It was because SG-6 weren't available for search and rescue. They were the ones who were missing. To make matters worse, so were SG-9. The latter had been on a mission. The last report had mentioned meeting some friendly natives, then nothing. They had been overdue for 10 hours and the MALP had indicated nothing untoward. Hammond had ordered a UAV be sent through, and got a major amount of zilch for his pains. They couldn't even find the friendly natives.
Although concerned for the safety of SG-6 in these mysterious circumstances, Hammond had still sent them in. Then a great deal more zilch. All attempts to contact them had failed. They could find nothing wrong, nothing that explained it. And they still hadn't located those friendly natives SG-9 had mentioned. Go figure!
Hammond looked weary and care-worn. Jack knew he would be reluctant to send more men into the unknown, but no doubt felt he didn't have any other options. He would probably do the same thing. Never leave anyone behind. Jack could feel his hair getting greyer at the very thought of how they even got started once they reached the other side of the wormhole. He could do 'seat of the pants', was good at it. It looked like this mission was going to be one of those.
********
Daniel took a deep breath before entering the locker room. Jack was in there, gearing up. Daniel knew that he must have been pretty upset last night. He wasn't dumb, he realised that Jack had feelings for Sam that he couldn't act on or express. Ergo Jack would be pissed. Go figure! He just hoped Jack didn't decide to take it out on him. Some way to start a mission, he thought.
As Daniel walked in Jack groaned inwardly. If Daniel was going to get him to try and talk, he'd probably punch him. He was in that sort of mood; ill-tempered and verging on wanting to kick the shit out of something. So he started a little internal mantra; Daniel please just don't ask, please just don't ask, please just don’t ask!
"Um, Jack? You OK?" He enquired tentatively as he started to gear up himself.
He asked! Jack didn't really want to make Daniel incapable of going on the mission, so took a deep breath before he answered, seemingly calm.
"Sure Daniel."
Daniel thought Jack sounded tired and subdued. He was able to read between the lines. Jack was praying that he'd just leave him alone; was a volcano ready to explode. He could take a hint - sometimes. Oh boy, this could be a bad day, Daniel thought, and decided not to push it.
********
As Sam changed, she pondered the conundrum. Not the mission, but Colonel O'Neill. Oh, crap! She was fearful that she'd screw up on the mission through her preoccupation. He had been so distant towards her; had seemed uncomfortable at the briefing, although he was bound to be concerned about the mission. He was more than capable of making things up as they went along, but no commander liked to go into a total unknown. The Colonel was no exception, maybe it was that making him withdraw. Why would it be her? That was ridiculous. He was a professional. He'd get on with the job and give her no thought. She should do likewise.
************
Later, off world:
It worried Daniel that Jack and Sam seemed so uneasy with each other. Normally the banter would be relaxed and free-flowing, but it was far from that. An uncomfortable and heavy air hung between them and it was not just because this was such a spooky mission; although everyone was getting increasingly puzzled and edgy
The planet seemed almost empty. On arrival, Teal'c had found tracks that were definitely caused by military boots. Following them, however, had got them nowhere. They could find no sign of other human life or habitation, not a foot print. It was most odd.
O'Neill was increasingly frustrated. Give him something he could fight and he was in his element. Sure, he was used to sneaking around; he had been in special ops, so go figure! This was different. He knew he was feeling self-conscious about this whole Carter thing. That didn't help the increasingly mounting tension that was building up; this place was so damned lacking in activity that it was eerie.
"Ok, campers, lets take 10." His headache had gone but he was still feeling weary. A break might help them all. "But keep your heads up."
They all sat and tried to rest for a few minutes, each one of them were feeling the weirdness of this place. Jack wondered why SG-9 hadn't mentioned spookiness when they had reported in. Hammond would surely have told them if they had.
Out of the corner of his eye he watched Carter. She seemed distant and cold. Why did he think it would be otherwise? Only yesterday he had screwed up badly, intimidating her brother, coming close to punching his lights out. His thoughts rambled. God, Sam, please forgive me. Forgive a grumpy old man for being so dumb and thoughtless.
Had it really been only a few hours ago, that they'd been having such a good time at his place? He'd come so close to just taking her in his arms and she'd stopped him, wise woman. It hurt a little, nonetheless; her rejection of him. All that Zatar'c stuff had been such a long time ago. He knew she cared about him, but did she care in the way he wanted her to? Maybe he'd already lost her.
Sam was studiously trying to avoid looking at the Colonel. Now they were relaxing a little it was giving her too much time to think. Jack often said she over thought situations. Maybe she did but she couldn't help but keep thinking about her current plight. She wanted to walk over there, force him to accept an apology; beg him to be her friend again. Now was neither the time, nor the place.
It was frustrating to be so close to him but unable to communicate. They so frequently spoke without words, and she had missed that silent conversation today. She had missed it one whole hell of a lot. Sam had almost come to take it for granted. More fool her. Even she was not impervious to the Colonel's dark-side; his ability to totally shut someone out of his life and be relentlessly unforgiving. It hurt like hell and she ached from the wounds.
O'Neill thought about how much he would just like to go over there, sit by her and apologise. He could hope that, this time, she would accept it, and they could be friends again. He missed the easy going manner they had with each other on missions these days. Things had changed between them so much over the years and he admired and respected her now more than ever.
He could accept everything else between them, that there could be nothing between them, if he could only keep her friendship; her respect. It was very important to him; one of the most important things in the world. He feared he'd really lost it this time; as if there hadn't been enough times when it had come close. Every time he felt her disapproval, he feared for the loss. She had stuck by him, on many occasions when it was undeserving. He was a hard guy to have as a friend. Go figure! She deserved a medal for even trying.
As Daniel looked on, he was saddened. It was hard to see two friends in such pain because they could not act as they wanted to, needed to, with each other. Sometimes he just wanted to lock them in a room together and exhort them to get on with it.
He knew there was nothing he could do to help either of them right now. They were his friends, but neither would ever speak to him, or ask for his help, about this. Nor would they thank him for interfering, however tempting that might be. He'd probably end up with his head bitten off, although he might consider it worth trying if it came to that. He couldn't just let everything fall apart around him. It was not in his nature.
Teal'c sat with a stony face, O'Neill right next to him. He turned and spoke softly, saying simply,
"Can I be of assistance, O'Neill?"
Jack looked up into his friend's eyes with a dejected look within his own. He knew his friend alluded to the situation with him and Sam; the tension and disruption to the normal team dynamic. It was strange that Teal'c was the one who offered this now, given his normal reticence. He had thought it would be Daniel who had so spoken. Go figure!
Teal'c so often just observed, and he observed much. O'Neill observed too. He observed that Teal'c was always there for him when there was something wrong; he always supported him. It gave him strength. By saying this simple thing, Teal'c was demonstrating that he was there, as the rock for Jack to lean on when he was in trouble.
"Thanks Teal'c, old buddy. I don't think you can help me this time."
"MajorCarter cares about you a great deal, O'Neill." His voice was very soft and low so that no one else could hear. Jack smiled weakly.
"Sure Teal'c. I know."
"But you do not know, O'Neill. If you did know, you would not be feeling the way in which you feel at this very moment."
"Yeah. I guess that's part of the point." Jack looked away from Teal'c at this, again capturing Sam in his field of vision. His heart flipped a little then he took a breath, about to call everyone back to order and get on with it. It helped if he could concentrate on this mission; on finding the missing teams. He looked back at Teal'c again briefly, and they just nodded to each other; a nod of friendship that meant more than any words.
Porter and Johnson, from SG-3, just thought this was like any other mission and sat oblivious to it all.
Then, as if from nowhere, appeared an elderly man in long flowing red robes. Jack started, and the whole team raised their weapons as one towards him.
"Do not be afraid, I will not hurt you." Said the man. No, because we're the ones holding the guns here, Jack thought. Daniel could almost read Jack's mind, and moved towards him, touching him lightly on the arm. He whispered to Jack, barely audibly.
"Jack, he seems pretty confident for an unarmed man. Don't do anything rash, ok?"
"Daniel!" O'Neill was irritated. Daniel always thought he'd shoot these guys as soon as look at them. Daniel brushed him off and got up, slowly.
"Hello. I'm Daniel Jackson. We're peaceful explorers from a planet called Earth. We travelled here through the great stone ring." He gestured in the direction of the Stargate.
"Greetings. I am Tobias. I have come to welcome you to our world. I already know that you have come through the great circle of stone." Daniel introduced the rest of the team, as usual, then asked Tobias whether he had seen other people like them.
"Yes, indeed I have. They are with my people. Perhaps you would like to join them?" Daniel looked at Jack who nodded acquiescence.
"Oh sure… why not?" Said Jack, shrugging.
He wasn't happy about it but what options did they have? They could wander around all day and get nowhere. So they followed Tobias, warily.
"Daniel," he whispered "don't you do anything rash either, ok? The guy seems friendly enough, but that's what SG-9 said about the natives and look what happened. I won't believe they're ok until I see them for myself."
Daniel just nodded meekly. He was also a little freaked out by all of this. Where had Tobias appeared from? Where were these people that they had seen no sign of them so far?
Tobias led them through the woods to a circle of stones. They were smooth and evenly placed; obviously man made. Jack groaned; Daniel would start going on about religious meeting places any moment now. Having led them all into the circle, Tobias touched an amulet on his wrist. And then they were… somewhere else.
Some sort of transportation device, thought Jack. Nothing like they'd ever seen before. Looking at Tobias, he had assumed these people were fairly primitive. Now it appeared there was more to them that met the eye.
They were on the fringes of a settlement. It looked relatively primitive too. Jack wondered whether the technology was just stolen, or left behind by a previous, more advanced, civilisation.
"Any thoughts, anyone? Carter?" He looked directly at Sam for almost the first time since they had arrived. She squirmed at his gaze. Just get on with the job Sam, she thought. Jack noticed the squirming and winced inside. Just get on with the job Jack, he thought.
"Nothing immediate comes to mind, sir. Advanced technology like that does not fit with these people."
"I concur, O'Neill. I have no immediate answer to provide." Said Teal'c.
Daniel just shrugged helplessly.
"All will be explained if you come with me." Said Tobias, leading them into the settlement. The people seemed amazingly incurious about the arrival of strangers in their midst.
At the centre of the settlement was a larger building. It looked something like a barn.
"Maybe a meeting place?" Said Daniel.
Jack almost laughed. Was it of religious significance? This was the type of fact that Jack was eagerly anticipating. In his line of work this kind of information was really useful, or not! He bit back the laugh effectively. Why did he always see the bizarre in any situation? He guessed it was a defensive thing, and helped to ease the tension.
"You are right Doctor Jackson." Tobias said as he led them inside.
The first thing they saw as they walked in the door was the two missing SG teams. They appeared to be asleep. Jack looked at Tobias and lifted his weapon, about to ask what was going on. Daniel was just wondering how Tobias knew he was Doctor Jackson when he had introduced himself as Daniel Jackson. Neither of them had time to think further as they crumpled, unconscious, to the floor.
Story Notes: Sequel/Series Info: Part 4 of what is now called the Exclamation Series. Other parts: Part 1 "Oh Crap!", Part 2, its companion piece "Holy Hannah!", and Part 3, "For Crying Out Loud!"
Thanks are due to Bonnie for her beta of this fic and keeping me on the straight and narrow. Hi bonnie! And to those people who asked for a fic of the barbecue, thanks very much for the support; both For Crying Out Loud! and this sequel were written as a consequence.
Email: su.freund@blueyonder.co.uk
Website: http://home.comcast.net/~fic_with_fins/
Copyright (c) 2003 Su Freund
Thanks are due to Bonnie for her beta of this fic and keeping me on the straight and narrow. Hi bonnie! And to those people who asked for a fic of the barbecue, thanks very much for the support; both For Crying Out Loud! and this sequel were written as a consequence.
Email: su.freund@blueyonder.co.uk
Website: http://home.comcast.net/~fic_with_fins/
Copyright (c) 2003 Su Freund
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 ]