I knew, the minute I saw it, that there had to be more on that note than a terse message not to go to 307. I wouldn't have just left it like that. At least I would have told myself who won the world series in 2004.
When I was a kid, my friends and I used to write messages in invisble ink. We learned to write really small too, so we could fit great big long messages on tiny pieces of paper.
Some things you never grow out of.
I was planning to go to Frasier, and ask for the note, but she surprised me, and came to me with it.
"I analyzed the blood." she said. "Most of it is yours." No surprise there.
"And the rest?"
"It's Sam's blood." she said to me, then left me alone.
I turned the note over in my hand. Sam's blood.... My blood.... In a way, it felt good to know that whatever we were doing in the future, we were doing it together. On the other hand, I was hoping we weren't dying together.
A few minutes over the flame, and the writing came out, tiny but legible. The guy ..I ... had written practically a whole essay on it. I started to read.
So, if you're reading this, chances are I'm dead. I should imagine Teal'c is too, Junior's about to go, and there's no chance of a replacement, and Teal'c's not the kind of guy to go slowly. Maybe Daniel survived. I'm hoping Sam did. I'm hoping she's the one who gave you this. But then, if she did you probably wouldn't be reading this bit. So she's dead too.
So, this is a warning. I really mean it about not going to 307. And if you ever meet a race called the Aschen, get out of there fast. If anyone asks why, get Sam and Janet to break into the Aschen medical computers, and find out exactly what's in the anti-aging vaccine. But don't leave them alone. The Aschen have a habit of wiping out curious people, and besides, there's other ways they can hurt Sam and Janet.
Second. If you ever meet a guy called Joe, don't let him within ten feet of Sam. Don't even let him be in the same room as her. You'll know the one I mean. He's one of those good-looking, 'sensitive', non-violent wet types she has a tendency to fall for, and we both know that they're no good for her. This one was the worst of the lot. In fact, don't let any man who calls her 'Samantha' and wears a suit anywhere near her. Ever.
Third. Don't argue with Sam. I might have wiped that out, but thinking back, I knew the fights were coming. There was a darkness in me .. you .. a tension in her, that had to come out sometime. Whatever you do, don't let her walk away. Keep your patience, this once. I know what's it's like without her. It twisted like a knife when Daniel told me she was going to marry Joe, and it hurt just as bad when I saw her again after seven years. I tried to hurt her back, reject her like she once rejected me, but I couldn't. I sat in the dark, all alone, listening to silence, and finally realized, after ten years, that no matter what the circumstances, I was happier by her side then away from it.
So there. There's your warning. Use it.
I put the note down. Ten years? Ten years away from her? And Carter married? I couldn't imagine that now, yet it had happened to him. They might have died together, but they hadn't lived together.
Carter knocked on my door later, knocking me out of my introspection.
"We're going down to O'Malley's. Coming?" she asked. I looked at her.
"Carter, do you know anyone named Joe?"
"Joe? I think Major Davis has mentioned someone, someone who wants to meet us. Why?"
I'd had the warning, but I wasn't sure I could stop things. One path had been cut off, but maybe another was opening. I looked at her, gazing at her. He was right. There was a tensing between us, like we were building up to something, but I wasn't sure what, whether it was good or bad.
"No reason." I told her. "Sure, I'll come."
I followed her out, resting my hand briefly on the small of her back as I followed her down the corridor. And it suddenly struck me. He'd never been able to do this again. One day, he'd walked away, and never touched her again, heard her voice again, seen her again. He'd lost that awareness of her, even when she was out of his sight.
I'd had my warning.
I wasn't going to lose her.
The End
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