"Sir! We can not just leave him there," Daniel said pleading.
"Dr.Jackson, Colonel O'Neill is one of the finest men it has ever been my pleasure to serve with. He will be a great loss to this country and to everyone in this room, but I am sure he would not hesitate to make the same decision for himself that I am making now," General Hammond said with a tone that said that his decision was final.
Sam and Daniel knew that there was no sense in arguing with the General any more. For his part, General Hammond looked as upset about it as they did. But he was only doing his job and his job was protecting the security of the people of the base, not to mention the rest of the country.
Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c were sitting in the conference room just staring at each other, not sure of what to say or do next.
"Well, I guess we should tell the Colonel the news," sighed Sam.
"How exactly are we going to do that?" Daniel asked, "We can't go through and sending a note just seems so..."
"Impersonal? Yeah, I know." Sam replied.
"I will go through and tell him myself," said Teal'c.
"No, Teal'c, just because you cannot be harmed by the virus doesn't mean you couldn't be a carrier for it," said Sam, "I have an idea. We'll send a video."
"A video," said Daniel slowly, "I guess that would work."
"Yeah," Sam replied and walked away leaving Daniel and Teal'c lost in their own thoughts.
Teal'c looked at Daniel and then he quietly left the room. Daniel wondered briefly what Teal'c thought of the whole thing. Teal'c was hard to read.
Daniel sighed. He wished there was something he could do for Jack. Jack... probably his best friend. Daniel almost laughed, who would have figured. They hadn't exactly gotten off to the best start. But then again, Jack had been different back then. And so had he. He was no longer the bumbling academic so caught up in his books to notice the world around him. He was a much more assertive person now. In a word, he had grown up. He used to attribute most of these changes to Sha're. Although she did play a major part in it, he also thanked Jack for that. Jack was a great influence on his life. Jack the brave, Jack the loyal, Jack the unknowable. Daniel liked to think that he knew Jack better than anyone. Yet still, there was so much he didn't know. So much he would never know.
"We find them." Jack had said after the Goa'uld had taken Sha're and Skaara.
Now, Daniel had lost his last link to his wife and his friend. He knew that Sam was supportive, as was Teal'c. But it wasn't the same. Jack had made him a promise. And Daniel knew that with Jack, a promise made was a promise kept. Daniel wondered if Jack felt guilt over that, probably. Jack felt way too much guilt over everything: his son's death, Sha're and Skaara's capture, Kawalsky's death, and now this. Now he was going to have to say good-bye to his friend, his brother. Yeah, brother, the older brother that Daniel had never had. And now he was lost at sea again, all alone. His landlady in college used to say that there were only two important things in life: heart and home. If you hadn't any heart, you couldn't have any home. If Sha're was his heart, then Jack was his home. And now, he hadn't either. He never had the chance to say good-bye to his wife. Somehow, that kept her with him. Not saying good-bye meant that she hadn't really gone. And he was damned if he was going to say good-bye to Jack. He would explain the situation if need be, but he wasn't going to say good-bye.
*
Sam was taking her time locating the video equipment. It was a task that would normally would only take her a few minutes. But she was having trouble seeing because of the tears in her eyes. Leaving the Colonel behind. *Jack*, she silently corrected herself. Why did she always call him that? Even in her head.
She remembered the first time she had met him. She smiled at the memory. She had automatically jumped to the conclusion that he was a sexist pig. No, that wasn't Jack. Okay, so maybe he did have a little problem with scientists. But the more she got to know Jack, the more she knew he was full of it. That made her laugh, full of it. Yeah, that was the Colonel. He was a good man, a good leader, and he cared about his team. He made them all feel like a family.
Two weeks ago, Jack had invited them all over to his house to watch a hockey game. Sam had brothers, she loved hockey. They had such a blast making fun of Teal'c who just didn't get it and Daniel, who didn't want to get it. It was like being with her brothers. She had half expected a wrestling match to break out. As it was there was a major popcorn war, in which Daniel had participated fully and even Teal'c had gotten a few throws in. Family, they were her family now. It went beyond being a team.
What had started out as a happy memory, suddenly made Sam's tears erupt in full force. She was losing someone who was more important to her than just a commanding officer. She was losing her friend, a dear friend. She remembered when they had come back from that mission where she had to deal with Jonas. Jack, the last person she had ever expected, had sat her down and listened to her. He really helped her deal with her feelings about the whole thing, like any good friend would. And she knew he did the same for Daniel. She wondered if anyone had ever done the same for Jack. She wished she could return the favor, but now Jack was going to have to deal with this all alone. She located the video equipment but instead of leaving, she slumped against the wall, sliding down to the ground. Man, good-byes really sucked. Then she buried her head in her hands and wept for her friend.
*
Teal'c paced in the hallway. He was a man of action. He disliked leaving O'Neill behind. O'Neill was his friend. The man who had stood up for him, the man who had taken him in. O'Neill had promised to help free his people. O'Neill was a man of his word and he had felt that this promise would some day be fulfilled. He knew that Daniel Jackson and Captain Carter would do their best to help his people, but not as O'Neill could.
Teal'c felt shamed that he could not be with his friend at the end. It was a custom among his people to honor those they respected. He respected O'Neill as he had no other. He knew no words to do honor to the man who had given him the most important gift he had ever received, his freedom. He had offered to remain with O'Neill but that had not been enough.
He saw Captain Carter coming with the video equipment. Silently, he followed her into the room where Daniel Jackson was sitting.
Daniel was sitting at a table picking off chunks of styrofoam from the coffee cup in front of him. He looked up as Sam and Teal'c walked in the room. His eyes were blurry as if he had been crying and he noticed that Sam's eyes looked red. Teal'c looked especially grave. Sam sighed as she set up the video camera.
"Let's do it," Sam said finally.
She switched on the video camera and taking a deep breath, looked into the camera. Daniel and Teal'c stood on either side of her.
"We're working with computer simulations and practical simulations. Realistically sir, I'm afraid it might take years," She said.
Daniel then spoke, "The General says that gate travel to Argos is strictly off limits for the next few," Here Daniel stumbled, "uh, millennia. But we can send objects through so if you need anything just call," Not able to go on he turned to Teal'c, "Say something."
Teal'c tried to put into words some of what he felt, "Colonel, I have learned very much from you. Thank you."
Sam couldn't stand it, what would the Colonel do? Probably say something to lighten the mood, "You know, goodbyes really suck."
Then Sam shut off the video camera and turned to the others sadly.
"I will find a cure for him, I have to," Sam said.
Daniel gave her a hug, "I know you will. We have faith in you. Don't we Teal'c?"
"Yes, Captain Carter. I do, as does O'Neill."
"It won't be the same without him," said Sam.
"That's why we need to work as a team, so that we won't be without him," said Daniel determination in his voice.
He held out his hand to Sam who took it. Then he looked at Teal'c and nodded his head toward Sam. Teal'c grasped both of their hands. After a few moments, Sam broke the circle.
"Let's do it then. Let's find that cure. For Jack."
The End
Reflections by Diva
Story Notes: Thanks goes out to Katie for betaing this for me and supplying the dialogue from the episode. Spoilers for Brief Candle obviously, this is set right before the team sends the video to Jack.
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 ]