SG-1 were over 4 hours late and General Hammond was starting to worry. Although the flagship team of the SGC was often late, this was only a routine scouting mission. Just then, the alarm sounded and the technician announced, "Incoming wormhole. It's SG-1, sir"
"Open the iris," Hammond ordered.
Colonel O'Neill came through first, carrying an unconscious Major Carter in his arms. "Medic!" he screamed.
Dr. Jackson and Teal'c stumbled through next, walking backwards, still shooting.
"Close the iris!" General Hammond ordered. He then ran down to the gate room to see how bad the major's injuries were. Laid out on a gurney, she was as white as a sheet. She had a huge gaping wound on her abdomen and there was a lot of blood.
"We need to get her to surgery now, sir!" Dr. Janet Frasier said briskly.
"Go!" Hammond replied. He then assessed the rest of SG-1's condition.
They were all covered in mud and had what looked like minor scrapes and bruises, except Dr Jackson who had a large cut on his head. Colonel O'Neill looked shocked and also upset, as did Dr Jackson.
"Debriefing in one hour people." They all nodded dumbly and headed off to the locker room
***********************************************************
Jack stood in the shower trying to clean off all of the mud, while thinking back over the mission. It was supposed to be just an ordinary scouting mission. How did it go so horribly wrong? General sure was gonna want a good explanation this time. He was so worried about Sam that he couldn't wait to go to see her. He then realized he had only 10 minutes to get to the briefing room
"Shit!" he swore loudly and hurriedly finished his shower.
***********************************************************
He got there just as General Hammond walked into the briefing room, still dripping wet from his shower.
"I know you're all eager to check on Major Carter's condition," He looked pointedly at Jack, "but I need to know what happened."
"Sir, to be honest I don't really know. It was supposed to be an uninhabited planet and for the first few hours everything went as planned."
*Flashback*
Sam was collecting her routine soil samples, with Colonel O'Neill, as usual, moaning in the background.
"Have you finished yet, Carter? It's only soil for crying out loud!" His tone reminded Sam of a three-year-old child, complaining about their bedtime.
She grinned and said, "No sir, not quite"
"Well hurry up, would ya? I'm gonna check that Danny hasn't done anything stupid." He then turned and walked off.
Sam smiled and shook her head. Sometimes he really did remind her of a small child. It was just another reason that she loved him. Yep, Major Samantha Carter was in love with her commanding officer. 'Not the best thing to do, but then, you can't help who you fall in love with can you?'
Just then, she heard sounds of gunfire and her radio came to life as the colonel shouted, "Get your ass over here, Carter, we're leaving now!"
The smile evaporated from her face as she grabbed her stuff, knocked the safety off her P-90 and ran towards where they had left Daniel. When she got there, she saw Daniel unconscious on the ground and Teal'c and the colonel shooting at what appeared to be... nothing.
She ran over to them with a puzzled expression on her face. "Sir, with all due respect what the hell are you shooting at? There's nothing there!"
"I know, it looks like nothing, but trust me, they're there. Just shoot, Carter. You'll see."
So she shot in the same direction as the colonel and was amazed when her bullet seemed to stop dead, she had actually hit something! When the attack seemed to have stopped, Jack said, "Carter, go get Daniel. Teal'c, dial us home," Teal'c nodded and ran to the DHD, while Carter went to check on Daniel.
"Come on Daniel, wake up."
He came round rather groggily and said, "Sam? What's going on?"
She was just about to answer him when the colonel screamed, "Carter!" Sam turned around and saw some kind of blast coming towards them. She dove in the way of the blast to stop it from hitting Daniel and passed out when it hit her.
Jack ran towards them, knowing he could do nothing about it. *She can't be dead, he thought, Please God don't let her be dead.* He picked her up in his arms, knowing instantly from the blood seeping through her uniform they had to get her back to the SGC immediately.
"Daniel, Teal'c, cover my back," Jack shouted as he ran towards the Stargate. His last thought before he went through was, *Please let her be okay,*
*End flashback*
"And that's what happened, sir," he finished.
"Do you agree with that Teal'c, Dr. Jackson?" Hammond asked, looking at the other two members of SG-1.
"That is an accurate description, GeneralHammond," Teal'c said. Daniel just nodded.
"Can we go now please, sir?" Jack asked, clearly desperate to go to the infirmary.
The general nodded, "Dismissed."
SG-1 practically ran out of the room.
************************************************************
"Janet, how is she?" Daniel asked when she came out of surgery.
"She's stable for now, but when we were closing her wound, we found that whatever was in that weapon is eating away at her skin, like some kind of acid." The petite doctor couldn't look any of them in the face, "If it carries on, it's going to be only days before all her skin is gone. I'm sorry." At this point Janet collapsed into sobs, knowing how painful this was going to be for her best friend.
"Isn't there anything you can do?" Jack demanded, the concern clearly showing in his eyes.
"We're trying everything we can to neutralize it, but so far, nothing has worked."
"Oh, Janet," Daniel put his arms around her and let her sob into his shoulder. Jack sat down, the shock evident on his face.
"Can we see Major Carter?" Teal'c asked, unusual emotion showing on his face.
"She's still unconscious, but I suppose so, just not for long," Janet recovered and went back to being a doctor, rather than a friend.
She watched as they took places around Sam's bed. It seemed nothing would ever split them up. Especially not Sam and Jack, she thought watching the way he pulled up a chair and took her hand. They were, without a doubt, the closest team in the SGC.
*************************************************************
"Sir, you really need to get some rest," Janet ordered. Colonel O'Neill had been sitting at Sam's bedside since she was brought home yesterday. Other SG teams were being sent back to the planet to see if they could find anything useful. SG-1 didn't want to leave Sam.
"Janet, you know there's no point. I won't be able to sleep anyway." She knew Sam meant more to Jack then he could ever say because of the regulations. She also knew that Sam felt the same way.
"I know," she said quietly
*************************************************************
When he wasn't in the infirmary with Sam, Daniel spent all his time in the lab hovering around those who were trying, in vain, to neutralize the acid that was eating away at Sam's skin. He had tried everything he could think of, and it didn't help that he wasn't the most scientific of people to start with. He had everyone in lab trying to help. Daniel's head slumped forward onto the desk thinking, we need Sam to do this.
*************************************************************
Sam woke to find someone holding her hand. She tried to move and discovered that it was incredibly painful.
She moaned and Jack looked up. "Hey," he said.
"Hey, yourself."
"How you feeling?"
"Like someone ran over me in a ten-ton truck," she admitted. "What happened?"
"It'd probably be better if Janet explained that to you." From the look on his face, she could tell something was really wrong. "I'll just go get her." He stood up, let go of her hand and stroked her cheek gently.
Sam remembered being hit in the stomach with some kind of blast but surely it couldn't be that bad if she was here and awake?
"Hey hon, how are you?"
"Like I just told the colonel, like someone ran over me in a ten-ton truck. What's happening to me, Janet?"
Janet's eyes filled with tears as she looked at her best friend. She was still very pale which made her beautiful blue eyes stand out even more. "Oh honey, I'm sorry. When they hit you with that blast it was carrying some sort of chemical..."
When Janet had finished her story, Sam gazed up at her and whispered, "I'm going to die, aren't I?"
************************************************************
When Jack and Daniel came back later, they could tell Sam had been crying.
"Hey Sam."
She gave them a watery smile. "Hey guys."
Jack's heart broke watching the way she was trying to be strong for them. He went over to her bed and pulled her into his arms. Tears trickled down her face as she held in her fear and Jack pulled her away from him to say, "I won't let anything happen to you. Trust me, I never would."
"Neither would I, Sam," Daniel added.
"Or I, MajorCarter." Nobody had even realized Teal'c had come in. Sam felt proud to have three men who cared about her the way they did.
"Thank you," she whispered as she fell back to into unconsciousness, exhausted, still in Jacks arms.
************************************************************
Janet worked around the clock with Daniel, trying to help him.
"Daniel, what did these people look like?" Janet asked suddenly.
"They were invisible."
"And did the weapons they used give off a yellowy-green kind of energy?"
"Yeees, why?"
She scrolled through a report about the Tok'ra she was reading on the computer and pointed it out to him. "Look," she said excitedly. "It says that the Tok'ra have met these people before and have an antidote for what's happening to Sam!"
Daniel read through it and a smile broke out on his face. "Then we'd better contact the Tok'ra"
**************************************************************
A week later Sam had recovered enough to go home. After the antidote had been administered, her father had used the healing device to help. The members of SG-1 had taken turns staying with her in the infirmary to stop her from getting incredibly bored.
"Now Sam, as I know you far too well, I'm not letting you go home on your own because, if I did, you'd spend your two weeks of downtime working," Sam blushed and looked away. "So I'm sending you home with the colonel. He's the only one who would actually stop you working," Janet said. Little did Sam know that she had been planning to stay with Sam, but the Colonel had begged her to let him take Sam home. Made some excuse about it being less trouble as he was on downtime anyway. Ha.
"Janet, I promise I'll look after myself."
"My cabin not good enough for you, Carter?" Jack interrupted her with a grin on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. He stood in the doorway, hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans.
"Its not that sir. hang on, we're going to your cabin? The one you've been threatening to take me for all these years?" Sam asked a shocked look on her face.
"The one and the same." If Jack's grin got any bigger, Janet was sure it would split his face in half. She shook her head as the two continued bickering like small children, and Jack helped Sam out of the infirmary to his car.
"Don't forget to take your pills, Sam!" Janet yelled after her.
**************************************************************
"We are going back to my house first aren't we, sir?" she asked as they were getting in his 4x4.
"Yes, but only so you can get some clothes; and please, please call me Jack!" he replied.
Sam smiled and said, "Yes, Jack! But you have to call me Sam, not Carter."
"Fine then."
Sam grinned and settled back in her seat, looking forward to spending two whole weeks alone with Jack O'Neill.
***************************************************************
"Wow, this is great. I can see why you've been trying to get me up here for so long." It was a beautiful place. There was light snow on the ground and the lake was frozen over. It looked amazing, like something on a Christmas card.
"Thank you. Glad ya like it." Sam could tell he was proud of the cabin from the smile on his face, and the way he almost looked embarrassed. "You can have my room; I'll sleep on the sofa."
"No, it's okay. I can sleep on the couch."
"No way, you're the one who needs it most. And you're the guest."
"Okay fine!" Sam sighed and gave in, knowing there was no way she was ever going to win.
"Wanna go grab some dinner?" Jack yelled from the kitchen.
"Yeah, sure just let me unpack my stuff," she shouted back.
Ten minutes later, they were walking towards the centre of town, Sam having changed into warmer clothes to walk in the snow.
"So, what do you fancy?" Jack asked. "There's Mexican, Chinese, Indian..."
"Mexican sounds good to me."
"Good 'cos there's only really Mexican anyway," Sam raised her eyebrow at him and laughed. *God, it's good to hear her laugh, Jack thought, she doesn't laugh enough anymore.* She had the most infectious laugh ever and he couldn't help but join in.
As they entered the restaurant, the owner shouted, "Hey Jack, long time, no see."
"Tony, sorry been busy at work."
"Usual table for you and your friend?"
"Thanks, that'd be great."
They talked about everything and anything, and Sam was amazed by how relaxed she felt with Jack. She was almost reluctant to leave, but it was getting late and she'd already had three... or maybe four beers too many. The minute she tried to get up she fell over almost instantly and Jack had to grab her arm to stop her from falling.
"Janet's gonna kill you when she finds out you got me drunk," Sam giggled.
"Now Major, no giggling."
This just made Sam giggle even more and this time Jack joined in. He put his arm around Sam's waist to stop her falling over and she did the same.
"Y'know Jack, I love you," Okay, now he knew she was drunk.
"Course ya do," he replied with an amused look on his face. "What's not to love?"
"No, I really do." This time, she was being serious. She stopped and said, "I really do love you."
"I know you do Sam and I love you too, but there's nothing we can do because of the regs."
"Aren't I supposed to be the one who thinks too much?"
"Yes, but I care about you way too much to let you mess up your career because of me. I couldn't do that to you."
"Not even if I wanted you too? General Hammond wants us to get together as much as everyone else. He understands, Jack."
"How the hell do you know that?"
"Daniel," she shrugged. After all Daniel knows everything. He was the biggest gossip on base.
"So you're telling me we can be together without either one of us giving up the SGC?" A smile was beginning to show on his face
"Hmmm... yep that would be it," Sam had a delighted smile, showing just how pleased she was. Jack laughed, picked her up, spun her round and kissed her. It was everything either had ever hoped for. When they finally broke apart, Sam looked up and said "It's snowing"
Jack just smiled, still not believing that this beautiful woman was his and would give up everything for him.
"Let's go home."
*********************************************************************
They spent the night just holding each other, not wanting to do anything else just yet. They decided they had to tell General Hammond first.
Jack woke up first with his arms wrapped around Sam's stomach and his head nestled into her hair. He noticed that she smelled really good and lay there for five minutes just watching her. Reluctantly, he got up to have a shower and make breakfast.
When Sam woke up, she could smell pancakes and smiled when she remembered the night before. She stretched in bed, then got up and borrowed Jack's robe, as it was cold in the cabin.
He heard her pad into the kitchen and greeted her, "Morning."
"Morning yourself," she smiled then yawned.
"Have you seen it outside? I'm soooo gonna beat you at a snowball fight after breakfast."
"Not a chance! I'm the best," she retorted.
The next two weeks were spent having fun in the snow and just general relaxation, just as the doctor ordered. On the last day, they were both sad to go back to their normal lives at the SGC, but happy because they were finally going to talk to General Hammond.
"Jack, how come I got stuck with you any way?" Sam asked as they were eating lunch for the last time at the cabin.
"Because Teal'c wanted to spend downtime with Rya'c and Daniel's too spineless to stop you working anyway. So, I was the natural choice. Are you complaining?" he teased.
"Course not! This has been the best two weeks of my life."
"Mine too, Sam, mine too."
***********************************************************************
Two days later, they were back at work, back to their not-so-normal lives. However, the first thing they did was go to see the general.
"Come in," he called from inside his office.
Sam and Jack walked in holding hands and Jack said, "Now sir, don't be angry bu-"
"You two finally got it together, didn't you?" The general had a delighted smile on his face.
"Yes sir, we did. And you don't have a problem with this AT all?" Jack was very confused.
"Not as long as you still behave professionally on missions, which I'm sure you will. I'm very pleased for you both. Dismissed."
They walked out of the office, Jack very confused and Sam with a huge grin on her face.
"Told you so"
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Now, that General Hammond knew about their relationship, there were only a few people left to tell, and all those people were coming around tonight. In the last couple of weeks, Sam had gradually moved more and more of her stuff into Jack's place. It seemed easier, because his house was a lot bigger and closer to Cheyenne Mountain than hers.
In an hour, Daniel, Teal'c, Cassie and Janet were coming around to what they thought was just a normal team night at Jack's - barbeque, talking, laughing and lots and lots of beer. Sam smiled as she felt Jack come up behind her and encircle her waist with his arms. She carried on stirring the marinade she was preparing for the steak.
"Hey," he mumbled into her shoulder. "You nervous?"
"A bit," she admitted, "but I know they'll understand. They just want us to be happy."
"As usual, you're right," Jack groused good-naturedly as he disentangled himself from her. "I'm going having a quick shower before they get here."
"Ok," Sam replied.
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Exactly an hour later, the doorbell rang and Sam opened it to find all her friends on the doorstep. It was only after she opened it and Jack appeared behind her that she realised what she'd done.
"Well, as Carter's oh-so-kindly opened my door for me, why don't you all come in," he said sarcastically. Daniel just raised his eyebrows and said, "Get here early, Sam?"
Sam answered, "Yep, had no work to do."
Daniel almost dropped the cake he was carrying "No work to do?" he squawked. Sam ignored him and walked off to help Jack with the cooking. 'Okay' Daniel thought 'There is so something going on'.
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After the barbeque, during which much talking and laughing had taken place, Sam and Jack looked at each other and Jack cleared his throat.
"Now kids, I have an announcement to make. Well, not really an announcement, but ya know what I mean." Teal'c raised an eyebrow and Sam nudged him, urging him on. "The thing is, well...um...Sam and um... I are well..." Jack was finding this much harder than he thought.
Sam sighed and shook her head. "What's he's trying, very badly, to say is that we're kinda seeing each other." Daniel choked on the beer he was drinking, Janet's eyes went wide, Cassie squealed, and Teal'c, being Teal'c, did his usual stoic Jaffa eyebrow raise.
"What? How?" Daniel spluttered.
"Well, the thing is, Spacemonkey; it's really not that difficult. Y'know, you tell a girl you love her and she's all yours," Jack said dryly.
Daniel shot Jack a dirty look and said, "Ha, ha, you're so funny, Jack. What I meant, as I'm sure you know, is what about the whole regs thing?" Although Daniel already knew about the regulation changes for Sam and Jack, he was clarifying for others who didn't.
Sam felt she had to step in. Otherwise, Jack would have come back with some kind of sarcastic retort and it would carry on for hours. "General Hammond said it would be okay so long as we didn't act unprofessionally on missions."
"Well, congratulations, you two," Janet said, smiling widely.
"Yeah, I'm so happy for you guys," Daniel said, finally getting over the shock.
"Me too," added Cassie.
"As am I," was Teal'c's response. Jack let out a breath he didn't realise he had been holding.
"Well, now that's sorted how 'bout some cake?" he suggested.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sam had followed Jack in to help him clear the dishes and take out the cake.
"Well, that went well," Jack smiled.
"Just like I told you," Sam answered cheekily.
"Ooooh, you're soo gonna regret that!" Jack pulled her into a quick, but fiery kiss before running off with the cake and yelling, "No cake for you, Major Carter!"
Sam ran after him but, unfortunately, he had longer legs and reached the table first. He put the cake down, turned round and launched himself in a rugby tackle at her. They both landed in a heap on the grass out of breath, laughing and kissing.
"Get a room! Some of us are *trying* to eat!" Janet yelled good-naturedly.
"Shut up, Doc! Y'know you're only jealous!" he laughed. Janet just stuck her tongue out at him in retaliation. Then Jack stood up and offered his hand to Sam, and they went to eat cake.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Later, when Janet and Cassie had gone home, Teal'c back to base and Daniel was crashed out on the sofa, Sam and Jack had a quiet moment alone on the roof of Jack's house.
"God, I'm so happy, Jack," Sam sighed.
"Well, there's one thing I want to do to make you happier. Samantha Carter will you marry me?"
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Later, when Janet and Cassie had gone home, Teal'c back to base and Danny was crashed out on the couch, Sam and Jack were having a quiet moment alone on the roof of Jack's house.
"God, I'm so happy, Jack" Sam sighed.
"Well there’s one thing I want to do to make to make you happier. Samantha Carter will you marry me?"
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Sam stood there in shock for a few moments until what Jack was saying finally got through to her fogged brain. Then she flung her arms around him and whispered, “Yes,” into his ear.
Jack kissed her soundly on the lips, his eyes shining with the love he felt for this wonderful woman. “I guess we’ll have to wait till tomorrow to drop our next little bombshell,” Jack said.
“Good! It’ll give them time to get over the last one,” Sam laughed.
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The next morning, Sam woke up snuggled comfortably in Jack’s strong arms. I could so get used to this, she thought. She remembered last night and she smiled widely. She started to get up, intending to go and make some strong coffee for Daniel, who was still asleep on the couch, and some breakfast for her and Jack. However, as she started moving the strong arms wound round her waist tightened and pulled her back into bed.
“You’re not going anywhere,” Jack mumbled sleepily. Sam giggled at the sound of his cute, child-like voice.
“I’m going to put some coffee on for us and Daniel.”
“Daniel?” Jack asked
“Yes, Daniel. Remember him? Your best friend, fast asleep in your living room.” Sam said patiently, a hint of amusement tingeing her voice.
“He’s still here?” Jack groaned and turned over.
Sam just rolled her eyes before replying, “Unless Thor abducted him in the night, then, yes, I’m guessing he’s still here. So, can I go now?” Sam asked.
“’Spose” The arm around her waist loosened enough for her to get up and put her robe on. Jack rolled over and fell back to sleep. Sam shook her head in amusement and walked down the hall to the kitchen, where she put on the coffee machine. The smell must have woken Daniel, for ten minutes later he staggered into the kitchen.
Sam grinned at him and said, “Want some coffee, Daniel?” He just grunted in response. She made a cup for Daniel, Jack and herself. She took Jacks into their room and put it on the stand next to his side of the bed, before going into the bathroom and getting some painkillers for Daniel. She took them back and plonked them in front of him.
Fifteen minutes later, Jack appeared showered and fully dressed, bringing his empty cup with him and saying, “Morning campers,” rather cheerily.
Daniel raised an eyebrow and said, “Why are you so happy?” before taking a swig of his third cup of coffee.
“Because the most wonderful woman in the world agreed to marry me last night.” For the second time in 24 hours, Daniel choked on what he was drinking, before complaining “Can’t you ever tell me these things when I’m *not* drinking?”
“Sorry Danny,” Jack replied, not sounding in the least bit sorry.
“Well, congratulations,” Daniel had recovered and was now smiling at them both “I’d better be going, I agreed to be back on base sometime this morning”
“You work too hard, Daniel,” Jack admonished him. “It’ll come back to bite you in the ass one day, when you’re old and alone.”
“Like you were until very recently,” he replied sweetly. “Especially the old part.” And, before Jack had the chance to reply, Daniel got up, said goodbye to Sam and walked out of the house. Jack stood there giving the front door a dirty look, while Sam was trying to stifle her giggles in the background.
“What have I told you about giggling, Major?” Jack said, softening and turning to pull Sam close.
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Half an hour later, Sam left Jack’s house to meet Janet for lunch downtown. She couldn’t wait to see Janet’s face when she told her about their engagement! They met in a lovely little café that was just set back from the hustle and bustle of downtown Colorado Springs, where both Sam and Janet were well known and the food excellent.
Sam, of course, arrived early and sat in their usual table by the window; Janet arrived ten minutes later.
“Hey Sam.”
“Hey Janet,” Sam greeted the other woman with a smile. They sat and chatted about everything and anything for about fifteen minutes until, when they were ordering food, Janet noticed the beautiful sparkling ring on Sam’s left hand, that Jack had given her the previous night. Janet stopped dead in the middle of what she was saying and went
“Sam, what the hell is that on your hand?!”
Sam just grinned.
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“Hey Sam.”
“Hey, Janet!” Sam greeted the other woman with a smile. They sat and chatted about everything and anything for a few minutes until, when they were almost ready to order, Janet noticed the beautiful sparkling ring on Sam’s left hand.
Janet stopped dead in the middle of what she was saying and demanded, “Sam, what the hell is that on your hand?”
Sam just grinned blissfully.
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“I was going to tell you, I promise!” Sam was still grinning as she tried to explain to her best friend, “Jack proposed last night after you left and I didn’t want to call and wake you”.
“Hmmm, a likely excuse,” Janet narrowed her eyes at Sam.
“I’m not lying, I swear! Don’t you trust me?” Sam laughed and Janet joined in.
“So, shopping this afternoon then?” Janet asked.
“What for? You can’t be thinking about my wedding dress already!” Sam answered with a shocked look on her face.
“Oh, but I can,” Janet had a very mischievous look on her face.
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Four hours later, Sam finally escaped after trying on at least twenty different dresses and deciding on none of them. She was exhausted. It only took her fifteen minutes to drive back to Jack’s where he was waiting with a cold beer and barbequed steaks.
“Thanks, Jack. I’m shattered” Sam sighed, sinking into a chair on the deck. It was a lovely evening, mid–summer, so it wasn’t too hot, but not too cold either.
“Janet wore you out?” he asked with a smirk on his face. “All that shopping must be so tiring”
“Oh, shut up,” she said good-naturedly “I need to go home after.”
“Why?”
“In case you’ve forgotten, we are actually working tomorrow and, it may have escaped your keen notice, but I have no BDUs at your place.”
Jack just raised his eyebrow at her before replying, “Why don’t you just move in here? It’d make things so much easier.”
“Are you asking me to move in with you, Jack O’Neill?”
“Well, considering we are already engaged, it would make the most sense, really, wouldn’t it? And you’re supposed to be the clever one.” It was Sam’s turn to roll her eyes.
“The next time we get some downtime, I’ll move in,” she promised.
“Really?” He grinned at her.
“No, I just thought I’d say it,” she said sarcastically. “But now, I have to go home. I’ll be back in about an hour.” She jumped up, kissed him quickly and left him sitting on the deck, nursing his now warm beer.
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When Sam got to her house, she grabbed her keys from the side pocket of her car, walked quickly up to her front door and opened it. She picked up the various letters and bills on the door mat, left them on the kitchen counter and went to her room. Sam got a bag out of her wardrobe, put in some clean BDUs, her wash kit and the small amount of make up she owned. She then checked her answering machine. There were three messages.
“Hey Sam, it’s only Mark. Just wondering when you’re gonna come to see us; the girls are all missing their favourite aunt. Give me a call when you get this.” The second was from an old school friend and the third was from a telemarketer. She called back her friend, but not her brother. She knew if she called him, it would only end in an argument, and she didn’t want to deal with that right now. Sam picked up her bag, checked to see that everything was secure and left.
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When Sam woke up to the shrill blare of Jack’s alarm clock the next morning, she groaned. Back to getting our asses kicked every other day, she thought. Then she shook her head and smiled when she realised just how much she sounded like Jack. Her smile got even bigger when he reached across to turn off the alarm and said, “Morning, gorgeous,” into her shoulder.
“We really need to get up or we’re gonna be late,” Sam said half-heartedly.
“I know,” he answered just as half-heartedly. Sam pushed herself out of bed and headed for the bathroom.
“I’m gonna have a quick shower.”
“Want to share?” Jack was grinning at her from the bed.
“Then we really would be late!”
“All right, I’ll go make breakfast for us,” Jack said with a mock-hurt look on his face as he started to get dressed and Sam went for her shower.
Half an hour later, they sat in Jack’s truck on their way to the SGC. When they got there and both jumped out of Jack’s truck, the SFs on duty gave them a strange look, especially when Jack half-bowed to let her through first, saying, “Ladies first.”
Sam laughed and shook her head. When they got in the elevator, Sam said, “You do know that this is gonna be all over that base by lunch time.”
“Yeah,” Jack answered. “But to be honest, I don’t really care.”
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Over the next few months, Sam and Jack spent all of their spare time organising the wedding, with huge amounts of help from Janet and Daniel. They settled into a familiar routine, going off-world together. They had a review every couple of weeks by General Hammond to check that their behaviour was, indeed, still professional. They passed every time. However, two weeks before they were supposed to be married, on their final off-world mission before the wedding, something went wrong. Very wrong.
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It was just a standard mission. SG1 left the gate room at 1400 hours.
"Alright SG1, you have a go. Report in every 24 hours," General Hammond said from the control room.
"Move out campers," Jack ordered his team. They stepped through the wormhole as one, all four team members in a line. On the other side, they were met by three people who looked very similar to accountants back on Earth, wearing dark suits with silver shirts and ties, and silver bowler-like hats. The strange thing was that they all looked exactly the same. Much like Smith and his clones, in The Matrix, actually.
"Howdy folks," Jack smiled at the natives as they appeared to be friendly and, for once, weren't pointing weapons at SG-1.
"We are peaceful explorers from Earth and mean you no harm," Daniel started his standard greeting.
"We know who you are and where you are from." The aliens spoke English without a trace of an accent, which made them sound, well, creepy. The fact they all said it at exactly the same time didn't help either Sam thought.
Jack raised his eyebrow at their comment. "Ya do, huh? Well, that's strange."
"We have heard of your deeds. Please come and eat with us. We will talk." Again, they spoke in unison. Daniel looked pleadingly at Jack. Jack sighed and said, "Sure, why not?" He knew he was going to regret it. There was just something suspicious about them.
They followed some distance behind the strange, almost-robotic aliens.
"Carter, is it just me or do these people seem a little, well, freaky?" Jack asked under his breath.
"No, you're right. The whole time they spoke the facial expressions didn't change. It's unnerving, sir"
"I agree with Major Carter's assessment, O'Neill," Teal'c interjected quietly.
"Come on guys, give them a chance," Daniel begged. "They could become powerful new allies." Then Daniel turned around and saw an entire army of the aliens, exact replicas of the three who were with them, with strange pointed sticks aimed their way. They didn't look nice. "Then again, maybe not,." Daniel sighed.
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Jack was the first to speak up. "Um guys, is there anything you wanna tell us?" He shifted nervously, scanning the crowd. All three aliens turned back towards SG1.
"You will pay for what you have done to our Gods. You have killed more Goa'uld in the last seven years than any other species has in the hundred before that. You will pay." When they spoke this time the whole army joined in. The noise was bordering on deafening. Jack had given up hope when he heard the words 'Gods.'
Daniel, however, hadn't. "The Goa'uld are an evil and vindictive people. They are *not* Gods."
"They care for us and have given us everything we have today." Sam winced when they spoke again.
"Whoa, can we just talk to *one* of you?" Jack said. One of the ones who had previously been leading SG1 stepped forward.
"Okay first, who the *hell* are you?" Jack asked them.
"We are the Kelanians. Drop your weapons or we will kill you."
Jack scanned the crowd once again and saw they had no choice. He motioned to Sam, Daniel and Teal'c to lower their weapons at the same time as he was doing. They were immediately surrounded by ten or twelve of the Kelanians and prodded with the shiny silver sticks. They gave off what was similar to an electrical charge and Sam guessed they fired in a way similar to a zat'nik'atel.
"You will come this way. You will be punished for what you have done" And, with that, the members of SG-1 were pushed, poked and prodded to a large silver building.
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They were put into separate cells with what seemed like nothing in between them except a slight shimmering of the air. Daniel was at one end with Teal'c next to him, then Sam, and then Jack. Glass doors were slid in front of them with a kind of metal back wall. . Fortunately, the cells weren't soundproof, so they could talk.
"Everyone ok?" Jack shouted, so Daniel could hear.
"Yes, sir."
"Indeed, O'Neill."
"Never better, Jack."
"Daniel, have we ever heard of these people before?"
"Nope. I think they're humans whom the Goa'uld have forgotten about and, therefore, they believe that the Goa'uld were kind to them."
Jack snorted. "So then, they're being totally fooled?"
"Apparently."
"And I don't suppose you can talk us out of it?"
"I seriously doubt it."
"Remind me *never* to trust your opinion on things like this *ever* again." Jack's head slipped into his hands with his elbows resting on his knees.
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"So they're being totally fooled then?"
"Apparently"
"And I don't suppose you can talk us out of it?"
"I seriously doubt it"
"Remind me *never* to let you do this again" Jack's head slipped into his hands with his elbows resting on his knees.
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Two hours later, they still sat there on the cold floor of their cells. Jack was bored senseless and had long since given up trying to think of a way out of there. He had tried every way he could think of. The cell was completely secure.
Sam was in a similar situation, as were Daniel and Teal'c. Daniel's mind was now full of the awful things they could inflict on him, as the Kelanians seemed to be a more technologically advanced culture. He was also trying to think of a way to talk himself and his team out of this awful place. Suddenly, they were plunged into darkness.
"Okay, who put out the lights?" Jack demanded, his head snapping up.
"I do not know, O'Neill." Teal'c was becoming increasingly worried about their captors. They appeared angry and yet no sign of violence had been shown towards them.
Half an hour later, two Kelanians appeared at Sam's cell door, seemingly from nowhere. It was almost like an Asgard transporter.
"You, come with us" Again the Kelanians spoke in unison. Jack jumped up in the dark when he heard the voices and, when he squinted, he could just make them out outside Sam's cell.
"You're not taking her anywhere," Jack said defiantly. "I'm the leader of this team. Take me instead. I order them to do these terrible things you've been talking about. Punish me. Let them go."
"No. They have free will. They do not have to follow your orders, especially the Jaffa and the bespectacled one. She will come with us." Sam rose slowly from the floor and walked towards the aliens. She looked back; leaving one last lingering glance with Jack, then was pushed roughly away. They marched her down the corridor and out through the smooth metal door.
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About two hours later, by Teal'c's estimate, Major Carter was brought back. Her face was bloodied and bruised, her uniform torn and stained. Her eyes were glazed over and, although she seemed to be conscious, she was seeing nothing, her eyes glazed and passed over Jack showing no sign of recognition. Teal'c felt a pang of anger and regret at the sight of her.
"MajorCarter," he whispered, as she was dragged past. "What has happened?"
She didn't answer, merely looked at him and was carried on.
"What the hell have you done to her?!" Jack yelled at the men carrying Sam, as they chucked her in her cell. They ignored him and left the room.
"Sam, Sam honey, are you okay?" Jack said through his cell into hers. When she didn't reply, he became more insistent, "Sam, talk to me, please!" She still didn't reply.
"Major Carter, I need to know the seriousness of your injuries. That's an order!" Jack almost yelled in his best command voice. Whereas before, she had been lying on her side, where she had been thrown, she now rolled over away from him. Now Jack was seriously worried about her. She would never ignore an order. He sat on the floor as close to her as he could get and just watched.
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A long while later, their first food and water came. Daniel swore it tasted exactly like their MREs and God only knew if what they were drinking was safe. Probably, Daniel thought bitterly, they want to keep us alive to torture us. He shook his head when he realised what he was thinking. Though Teal'c and Daniel were half-heartedly eating theirs, Jack still sat staring at Sam, and she was just… not doing anything. She hadn't since she was brought back.
"Jack? You've gotta eat something."
"I'm not hungry, Daniel."
"Jack…"
"Daniel, just leave it," Jack said angrily. Daniel sat back down on the cold, hard floor of his cell, wondering if Jack would stay like that. Then, just as suddenly as before, the building was again plunged into darkness. This time no one said anything.
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Sam couldn't face him. She knew if she looked at him her military façade would break and it'd hurt him more than her. And she couldn't do that. Not to him.
It hurt more than anything she had ever experienced before. The machine she had been attached to had lacerated her arms, legs and torso, the pain was intense. She knew Jack would want to know why they had chosen her, and she couldn't tell him.
"Major Carter. You have been chosen to bear all the punishment for your team. You are the glue that holds them together. You are the most important to each of them. Without you they are nothing," they had recited.
She'd argued and told the Kelanians they all loved each other equally. In a way, she was glad no one else had to suffer. They wouldn't understand why though, because she could never tell her friends, her family. Because the only way they were going to be released, was if she died.
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The lights came back on about six hours later. Daniel had now figured that this was the Kelanians day and night. He noticed Sam still hadn't moved or eaten, and neither had Jack. However, Jack did now seem to be asleep, which was good.
"Sam?" Daniel called softly "Sam? Please listen to me, you need to eat and drink; otherwise, you'll never be able to fight off infections or disease from this place."
"I can't, Daniel." At first, Daniel thought he was imagining it, her voice was so soft.
"You have to. I'm not going to let you give up." Jack had been awakened by Daniel and he too tried to persuade Sam. Slowly, she started to inch forward and used the wall to help her pull herself upright. She let out a small groan and bit down on her lip as the pain became almost too much for her. She grabbed the water in shaky hands and raised it to her lips. There was a collective sigh of relief from all three male members of SG1.
The metal sliding doors at the end of the cell block hissed open again and two Kelanians marched in, headed for Sam's cell.
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Again, they took her and, again, she came back despondent and beaten. Jack had tried everything to get them to listen. He had yelled, negotiated,; hell, he'd even begged. Daniel and Teal'c had joined in, but the aliens either completely ignored them or shot at SG1 with the pointy stick things. This was their routine for the next couple of days. Just as they got Sam talking and eating again, she was taken. Jack was still hopeful that there would be a rescue mission from the SGC. After all, they had totally missed the last scheduled contact by more than two days, by Jack's estimate. He just hoped it would be soon.
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Sam was in more pain than she could ever have imagined. What had happened the first time was nothing compared to this. There were deep, infected cuts across her arms, legs and torso. Her lip was split and her wrist and three fingers were broken on her right arm.
And still, she hadn't told her team just what she was going through. She couldn't. If she died, Jack would always blame himself, more than Daniel and Teal'c would blame themselves. They would eventually move on, get past it. Jack never would. So, she wasn't going to tell them.
"Sam?"
"Jack?" Sam croaked.
"Why do they keep doing this to you? Why not me? Or Daniel or Teal'c?" he asked with a pained expression on his face.
"I don't know," Sam lied. God, she hated lying to him and she was sure he could tell.
"You sure?" Jack asked doubtfully. Yep, he could tell.
"Don't you trust me?" she played a guilt card hoping, it would make him drop it.
"Course I do, Sam. I just...don't understand why they're picking on you." Jack wanted to touch her, to hold her, comfort her so much. She just smiled weakly at him.
"I'll be okay."
"Next time they come back with food, we'll try to escape, okay? We can help you back to the gate."
"No! If they catch you, it'll just be ten times worse. Please, Jack," Sam pleaded with him. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to convince him, as the guards came to take her away again. Funny thing was, they didn't even look like guards. More like businessmen, with their smart suits. Sam groaned and pushed herself upright, trying desperately not to move her right arm.
"Why do you keep doing this, huh? Why her?" Jack yelled at them. "Take me. I'm the leader of SG1; I deserve the punishment."
"So, she has not told you? She is stronger than we anticipated." Again they spoke in perfect unison.
"What the *hell* do you mean?"
"Perhaps, she does not wish to inflict this on her friends."
"We do not understand what you are saying," Teal'c said calmly.
"She has been chosen to bear all your sins against our Gods, the Goa'uld. Without her, your team would be nothing and there would be no threat to the Gods. When she dies, you will be set free." They explained it all so logically and calmly, like explaining a trip to get takeout.
Silent tears started streaming down Sam's face. They knew now, there was no point in hiding her pain. They would hate her for lying.
Jack slumped to the floor, while Teal'c stood glaring at the two guards, and Daniel's head fell into his hands. While this new, horrifying knowledge was sinking in, Sam was dragged away and, when she looked over her shoulder, only Teal'c's brown eyes would meet her blue ones. His were full of confusion and hurt. That broke Sam's will more than months of torture ever could.
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Jacks thoughts were a mess. Why wouldn't she tell them? Didn't she trust them? Or was it simply because she was too damned unselfish? Except, now they knew. Now he knew. His fiancé was dieing because of him. It was all his fault.
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Sam was dreading having to face her team mates again. She could tell, though, that she wouldn't last much longer. Then they could go home, away from these sadistic, crazed aliens. God only knew what they were doing to her. There was still the machine, but it had been altered in some way. Now, when she was secured to it, nothing on her exterior was hurt. There was a beam, not unlike the Goa'uld hand device, except that it ran up and down her body. And, God, it hurt.
When she was thrown unceremoniously back into her cell, between Jack and Daniel, she curled up in a ball, trying to will away the pain.
"Sam, why didn't you tell us?" Jack asked, pain and hurt evident in his voice.
Sam sighed. "I know you too well, all of you. You'd feel guilty for something that wasn't your fault. I didn't want you to have to live with that if I died."
"You are not going die. Understand? That is an order, Major Carter; one you better damned well follow."
"Sir… Jack… I'll try." Sam wasn't going to tell him just how bad she was feeling.
"The SGC will no doubt send people to find out what has happened to us MajorCarter."
"Yeah, you're right, Teal'c. I'm sure they'll be here soon." She managed a weak smile. "But, right now, I'm exhausted." Sam settled back down and closed her eyes, hoping that a team from the SGC would miraculously appear while she was sleeping. Huh, she thought, some hope.
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When Jack awoke the next morning, he saw Sam was still fast asleep in the next cell.
Suddenly Daniel said "How'd you think she really is Jack?" Jack sighed. "Not good, Daniel, not good at all"
"MajorCarter is a strong woman, O'Neill. I do not doubt she will do everything she can do get out of this place alive. After all, in 9 days it is your wedding. She would not want to miss that" Teal'c said reassuringly.
Oh God. As weird as it might seem he'd forgotten all about his wedding, in the apparently 5 days they'd been here. He'd trust T on that one.
Under his breath he whispered "Come on Sam. Fight for me" and God he hoped she heard him.
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SG-3 and SG-5 reported back to General Hammond via the MALP five hours after leaving the SGC.
"Sir, they quite freely admit they have SG-1. But there's no way in hell we can overpower them. They're like clones, sir. Thousands of them," Colonel Reynolds, the leader of SG-3 reported back.
"Who are these people?" Hammond asked.
"They're called the Kelanians, sir. Unsurprisingly, they think the Goa'uld are gods and, because SG-1 are who they are, they've apparently been taken for `appropriate punishment.'"
"What does *that* mean, Colonel?" Hammond asked sharply.
"I'm not too sure, to be honest, sir."
"Come home Colonel, we can discuss it properly here."
"Yes sir."
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They waited all day and no one came. Still Sam slept and, yet, no one came to take her.
"Daniel, not that I'm complaining, but why haven't they taken Carter?" Jack asked.
"I have no idea, Jack. I'm not clairvoyant," Daniel snapped, then immediately regretted it. "Sorry, I'm just worried."
"I know, Danny; so am I. Is T still in Kel'no'reem?"
"Yep."
Next time their food came, one of the guards gestured to Jack. The human stood up and walked slowly towards the clear door to his cell.
"I do not believe in what my people are doing to you. Tell your woman to hold on. Men from your planet came looking for you today and that is why she has been left here. The men have returned to your planet now, but I talked to one before he left. He was confident they would be back. Tell her to be strong," he muttered under his breath, and then walked off as if all he had been doing was giving food to a prisoner.
Jack felt hope surge inside him. They'd be out of here soon. Daniel and Teal'c were both looking at him quizzically. "Some people from the SGC were here today."
"And we're still here because…?" Daniel asked quizzically.
"They had to go home; there's obviously too many people to be overpowered by one SG team."
"But this is good, right? Coz we can get Sam home before y'know…"
"God, I hope so," Jack sighed and continued to watch her.
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Sam felt strange when she woke up. Her head spun and her stomach churned. She tried to sit and immediately threw up.
"Sam, you okay?" Daniel asked, concern in his voice.
"Carter, Sam," Jack had been awakened by the noise of her being sick.
"MajorCarter, are you not well?"
"I'll be fine in a sec, guys." She waved her hand vaguely at them. Teal'c raised his eyebrow and Daniel and Jack both shook their heads.
Unfortunately, the whole moving quickly thing to prevent her throwing up on herself, had resulted in a whole new wave of pain that had inevitably caught up with her.
"Ahh, crap," she muttered under her breath, trying not to let any of them know there was something wrong.
"Sam, what's up?"
Damn Jack and his military training. "It's nothing, I'm okay." She gritted her teeth and didn't try to move again.
"Look at me," Jack commanded.
"I can't."
"What?"
"I can't! It hurts too damned much, okay?" Silent tears fell down her cheeks. She hated admitting weakness to any of them. Her fiancé was the one that she couldn't bear to see her as weak.
"Oh, Sam." He watched as she lay there in a crumpled heap, tears running down her cheeks. He couldn't bear to see her in so much pain.
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"Colonel, is there any way of getting SG-1 out of there?" Hammond asked the leader of SG-3.
"Short of a full-scale military attack, no sir. We could try sending SG-7 to negotiate, but to be honest sir I can't see it working."
Hammond sighed. Why was it always SG-1? "All right, Colonel; take SG-7 and give it a try. Report back to me every twelve hours. You leave tomorrow."
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General Hammond watched SG-3 and SG-7 leave for the Kelanian planet. As soon as the 'gate shut down, he ordered Walter to contact the Tok'ra and Asgard to find out anything they could about these people, and if their allies could help rescue SG-1.
Four hours later, Thor beamed into his office.
"General Hammond, it is good to see you again."
"It's good to see you, too, Thor. I just wish it was under better circumstances.'
"As do I."
"Can you help us?"
"I believe so. The Asgard have recently developed a new technology which enables us to temporarily freeze time. Only those wearing a special patch can move inside the frozen time. I believe, if correctly applied on the planet where SG1 are being held captive, there should be enough time to get SG-1 out. Unfortunately, the effect only lasts for 90 seconds, so we would have to beam your other team straight into the complex where SG-1 are being held." Thor informed the general.
"Would 90 seconds be enough time?"
"I believe so. We can locate O'Neill, as we still have a copy of his DNA, and can scan for it. Major Carter, Dr. Jackson and Teal'c are sure to not be far away."
"How long will it take to reach the planet by ship?"
"Three Earth days."
"I'll recall SG-3 immediately and SG-7 are on downtime" He had already picked up the phone.
"I will be back in six of your Earth hours."
"Thank you Thor," Hammond said sincerely, covering the mouthpiece with his hand. Thor simply nodded his head and beamed up in his usual flash of light.
"Sergeant, dial P4X-521 and recall SG-3 and SG-7…"
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Exactly six hours later, having been debriefed (negotiations weren't going well) and briefed, SG-3 and SG-5, an additional combat unit the general decided to send it, stood in the gate room, waiting for Thor to beam them up. He appeared seconds later.
"Bring them home, Colonel. God speed," General Hammond said, watching them shimmer out of the gate room. He stared at the spot where his teams had stood, realized what he was doing, almost as though he could wish his people home, safe, shook his head and walked out of the gate room.
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Sam had tried eating again a couple of hours after crumbling in front of Jack, Daniel and Teal'c. She picked at her food and could feel Jack's eyes burning into to her off to her left.
"Will you stop staring at me?" Sam grumbled.
"Sorry." She turned her head, painfully, to look at him. He didn't look sorry. At all.
"No, you're not," she accused him.
He just shrugged. "How ya feelin'?"
"I'm fine," was the automatic response. He quirked his eyebrow. She managed a weak smile. "I'll be okay. So long as they get here soon, I'll be okay."
You have no idea how much I want to believe that Sam, Jack thought.
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SG-3 waited - nervously. They had been through the plan several times already, and they all could recite it word-for-word. All knew exactly what to do and when to do it. Now, they had to wait.
At last their time came. Colonel Reynolds checked one final time that his team had the correct equipment. Each wore the special patch, and he and his 2IC had communication devices to call Thor after they, hopefully, successfully freed SG-1.
"Alright Thor, whenever you're ready," Reynolds shouted, from the opposite side of the room, where all their gear had been stowed. Thor bowed and activated the time technology. SG-3 saw a sudden glow engulf the planet and Thor activated the transporter.
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SG-3 had transported directly into the cell block where SG-1 where being held. Thor had successfully located O'Neill. As soon as they beamed in, all four members of SG-3 moved swiftly toward the cells. Then the plan started to go wrong. They seemed to be no locks for the cells, only slabs of metal attached at hand height to the wall outside.
'They must be DNA scanners,' Reynolds thought. He grabbed the nearest guard's hand and slammed it onto the metal pad. The door slid open into Colonel O'Neill's cell. Reynolds ran in, grabbed O'Neill and pulled him out of the cell. When the leader of SG-3 turned, he saw his team copying his actions. Unfortunately, there was only one guard and the going was slow.
"Sir, Dr Jackson's cell won't open," his 2IC shouted.
"Move onto Teal'c's," Reynolds hollered back. He hit his communicator.
"Thor, Dr Jackson's cell won't open. Can you transport him from inside it?"
"I cannot, the shielding is too great; but I may be able to open the door. Please wait."
Colonel Reynolds looked at his watch. Thirty seconds left. The door slid open and they were finally able to pull Dr. Jackson out. Then, for some reason , the guards started moving again. As soon as they realized what was happening, the guards shot randomly at anything.
"Thor, get us out of here!" Reynolds yelled into his communicator. "Reynolds?" O'Neill asked confused. He didn't reply, just watched helplessly as a guard fired at Daniel. O'Neill followed Reynolds gaze and shouted, "Daniel!" He made to dive in front of his friend, but it was too late. As Daniel collapsed on the floor, all eight people were beamed up, away from the danger.
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As soon as they reached Thor's ship, Jack ran to Daniel. He had a huge burn mark on the center of his chest, and didn't appear to be breathing.
"Daniel, wake up!" Jack looked beseechingly at Thor, who looked back, his eyes full of sadness.
"I am sorry, O'Neill. There is nothing that can be done."
"NO! There has to be something," Jack said full of desperation. Teal'c put a restraining hand on his shoulder, himself greatly saddened at the loss of his friend.
"O'Neill, Dr. Jackson was dead before you left the prison. I am truly sorry, but there is nothing to be done. I will go and tend to Major Carter," Thor said softly.
Jack collapsed onto the floor, beside the body of his best friend.
"Why him Teal'c? Why him?"
"That I cannot answer, O'Neill, but you must remain strong for Major Carter. She also is injured." Teal'c hurt greatly and wanted nothing more than to act exactly as O'Neill was doing. Yet, he felt the need to remind his friend of his fiancée's well being. It seemed cruel, swapping one friend for another, but that was not Teal'c's doing. He was, in fact, attempting to motivate O'Neill to keep living, to stay strong, because without MajorCarter, Teal'c knew O'Neill would see no reason to continue. A single tear slipped down Teal'c's face.
"Goodbye, my brother," he whispered.
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Just as Teal'c was rising to check on Major Carter, he noticed Daniel's hand twitch, ever so slightly. Teal'c paused, thinking it was a hallucination, his mind playing tricks on him. Then he saw it again.
"Thor!" he yelled.
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Jack had just settled himself by the biopod that Thor had placed Sam in when he heard Teal'c shout. He jumped up, knowing Sam was okay for the minute, wiped the few stray tears from his face, and ran over to Teal'c. He crouched down by the side of his friend.
"What is it?"
"DanielJackson moved."
Jack started, "You sure"
"I am positive."
"But he's dead," Jack said bluntly. He couldn't cope with being told his friend was dead but apparently moving.
"Daniel Jackson is indeed alive. Although, I do not understand why." Thor commented.
A small smile grew on Jack's face. "He always had a bad habit of coming back. Kinda like a boomerang." Daniel's body disappeared from the cold, hard floor in front of them and reappeared in a pod next to Sam's.
"It is not certain Daniel Jackson will survive, O'Neill," Thor warned him.
"I know," Thor's warnings were starting to grate on Jack. They all seemed to be hopeless.
"Neither is it certain Major Carter..."
"I KNOW!" Jack exploded. "I know," he continued more calmly. "but at least they are both actually *alive.*"
"DanielJackson and MajorCarter are both resilient," Teal'c added.
"They sure are," Jack said fondly. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Four hours later, after bunking down with SG-3 when Teal'c had practically ordered him to, he rose, grabbed a ration bar and went to take his place by his friends' side..
"There has been no change in either's condition," Teal'c informed him. Although, Jack had hoped, foolishly , that they would both miraculously have recovered while he was sleeping, he was glad neither had gotten any worse.
"Thanks buddy," Jack sighed. Teal'c bowed his head slightly and rose, leaving Jack to watch.
About two hours later, Sam stirred. The pain was better, she noticed. Then she saw she wasn't in her cell and tried to sit up. Jack was there instantly.
"Hey, stay still; it's okay. Thor saved us… again."
Sam immediately relaxed at the comforting sound of his voice. She turned her head to look at him and saw Daniel next to her "What happened?" she asked weakly.
"He… um sorta… got shot and died… again. He's okay now, though," Jack quickly reassured her, seeing the stricken look on Sam's face. "He's getting way too good at this coming-back-from-the-dead thing." A small smile appeared on her face as she sank back into unconsciousness.
Everything was going to be okay, Jack knew.
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Thor came to check on Daniel and Sam half an hour later.
"How long until we get to Earth?" Jack asked him.
"Two more days, O'Neill."
And that put it exactly two days before his wedding. He glanced over at his sleeping fiancée. Looked like that wasn't going to go quite as planned.
Well, that sucked.
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Thor was true to his word. Exactly two days later, Jack was back in the SGC infirmary, being poked, prodded and injected by that ever-loveable Dr Frasier.
"Boy, its good to be back," he muttered.
"Well, sir, you seem to be in perfect health."
"Can I go see Carter and Danny?" Jack pleaded.
Janet smiled. She was surprised he had lasted this long. "Only for a couple of minutes, sir. They need their rest."
Jack grinned broadly and jumped up off the infirmary bed. Sam was asleep, but Daniel had apparently woken up. It was the first time since he… died.
"Hey Jack," Daniel greeted him softly.
"Hey Danny. How're ya feeling?"
"Sore, actually. How's Sam?"
"She's okay. Slowly getting better. Doc Frasier said she might even be ready for Saturday, thanks to those lovely pod-things. At least she didn't die on us again," Jack glared at Daniel.
"I died? Again?"
"Yeh-huh. Even Thor had given up. Then, god only knows how, you just started breathing again."
"Wow, I really have to stop doing that." Daniel's words were getting fainter, and Jack could tell he was worn out. He turned to walk away when he heard Daniel whisper, "I'll be ready on Saturday too"
Jack smiled and headed to Hammond's office. This'd be a hell of a debriefing.
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Four hours later, Jack and Teal'c had finally finished.
"Go home, Jack," the general instructed them. Unsurprisingly, both Jack and Teal'c had not gone home at all. Instead, they sat in the infirmary, annoying Janet's nurses and watching their friends. When either woke up, they would talk and laugh until whichever it was fell back asleep. Eventually, Jack fell asleep, too.
When he woke up the next morning, he noticed immediately that Sam wasn't in her bed. "Teal'c where is she?"
"MajorCarter has gone to the women's locker room. To shower, I believe," Teal'c stated calmly. Jack visibly relaxed.
"How's Daniel?"
"He is well. He is merely sleeping. Dr Frasier believes if he is careful, then he will be ready for your wedding tomorrow."
"Yes!"
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In the locker room, Sam had just gotten out of the shower. The cuts on her legs and torso were healing well. The bruises covering her body were also becoming less visible, but would unfortunately still be visible tomorrow. Sam was just lucky that she had a long dress to cover her legs. Her lip was no longer swollen, and with some make-up she was sure she could cover that black eye. All in all, she was incredibly lucky, not just to be alive, but to have healed so well, so quickly. She smiled suddenly, thinking, this time tomorrow, I'll be getting ready to marry Jack O'Neill.
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"OhmyGod.OhmyGod." It was Saturday morning. The morning of Sam's wedding.
"Sam, calm down and sit down so I can do your hair!" Tracy, her ever-patient hairdresser, said.
"But I'm never going to be ready! I've only got another two hours!"
"And you will be ready," Janet said with a mouth full of hairpins, in the middle of twisting Cassie's hair back.
"She's right Sam, provided you stay still long enough, I'll have your hair done in half an hour, which will give you plenty of time to do your makeup to cover that eye and get dressed," Tracy explained. Now that it had been logically explained to her, Sam felt much calmer.
"Okay, you're right," Sam said, taking deep breaths.
*********
Exactly two hours later, Jack stood in front of a room full of people he didn't know, waiting for Sam to walk down the aisle. General Hammond was giving her away because Jacob couldn't make it, and Teal'c and Daniel were acting as his best men. Although Daniel was pale and his chest still hurt, he had begged Janet to let him come anyway. She'd always had a soft spot for him.
The music started playing and Cassie walked down first on Teal'c's arm. Janet was next, on Daniel's arm. But then...
…then came Sam. Jack felt his eyes widen and his mouth open. All right, close your mouth now Jack, he told himself. Her hair was twisted and curled back from her face, with random curls framing her face. Her dress made her look amazing, covering all evidence that two days ago she was close to death, and her simple silver necklace finished it off. He heard a snort of quiet laughter off to his left and recognized it as coming from Cassie. He couldn't look away from Sam as she walked down the aisle. She was breathtaking.
When she reached Jack, General Hammond gave her a fatherly hug and whispered, "You look beautiful, Sam," in her ear.
She whispered "Thank you, sir. None of this would be happening without you.". Then she turned to face Jack. God, he looked so handsome in his traditional tuxedo and the distinguished grey in his hair. I am the luckiest woman in the world, she thought.
And then Jack took her hand and the ceremony began.
*********
For them, it went past in a blur. After what seemed like only minutes, she heard the priest say, "You may kiss the bride," and felt Jack leaning over, kissing her lightly on the lips. Everyone cheered and then they headed for the reception.
Jack had chosen the venue and had promised Sam she would love it. He was, of course, right.
It was a picturesque restaurant just outside Colorado Springs. Ivy covered the outside walls and roses grew in front. As the weather was beautiful, the reception had been set up outside under a white marquee. There was a perfect view of the setting sun, and Sam couldn't have asked for anything more perfect.
"Jack," she breathed, "this is wonderful."
"Told you," he said with a cocky grin on his face.
"Shut up," she said laughing. She had never been this happy before in her life.
"I just wish... I just wish Jacob was here. He would have wanted to see you looking so beautiful," Jack said wistfully.
"I know, me too." Sam, her eyes shining, took his hand in hers and squeezed it gently. "Come on, we've gotta go cut the cake."
*********
After the cake, it was time for the first dance. When Ronan Keating's 'When you say nothing at all' came on, Janet couldn't think of a more appropriate song for his two friends.
It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart
Without saying a word, you can light up the dark
Try as I may, I can never explain
What I hear when you don't say a thing
The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me wherever I fall
You say it best, when you say nothing at all
All day long, I can hear people talking out loud
But when you hold me near, you drown out the crowd
Try as they may, they can never define
What's been said between your heart and mine
The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me wherever I fall
You say it best, when you say nothing at all
The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me wherever I fall
You say it best, when you say nothing at all
The day came to end too soon for Sam and Jack. When there was only Daniel, Teal'c, Janet, Cass and General Hammond left, Jack picked Sam up and carried her out into the car before whisking her away on their honeymoon. It was to Jack's favourite place in the world. His cabin.
When they got there, Jack realized how lucky he had been. Sam could've died and today… today would have been one of the worst he had ever had. He had just married the woman of his dreams and now he had to show her just how much he appreciated her.
"I think, Mrs O'Neill, that we should retire to the bedroom"
Sam just shot him a wicked smile.
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*The End*
And there it is! Finished! Please send me feedback and thanks for reading!
Story Notes: Feedback: Please but only constructive criticism!!
A/N Huge thank you to my brilliant beta Carhop!
A/N Huge thank you to my brilliant beta Carhop!
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 ]