The call went out, "incoming wormhole... receiving signal... It's SG1 Sir!" "Open the iris!"
The grating sound echoed round the gateroom as the Gernal hurried down the stairs, the guards by the doors snapping to attention as he passed. The watery pool of blue light rippled and shimmered as four figures, one after the other stepped through the event horizon, making their way despondently down the metal ramp, stopping in front of the SGC's Commanding Officer.
The General quickly glanced over his flagship team. They were all walking, that was a good sign, but they had numerous bruises, cuts and their fatigues were torn, equipment obviously missing, but they had their guns and their GDO's strapped to their forearms. Good.
The Colonel brought his arm up in a tired salute as did Major Carter. "Sir, permission to report to the informary and get cleaned up before we debrief. We... need a little time Sir..."
Frowning, wandering what happened to them, but seeing their state of grief and confusion he stepped aside. "Permission granted Colonel, report to Dr Frasier, debriefing in two hours." It was an hour longer than he normally gave them, but they looked like they needed it.
Nodding, the four walked past him and out of the large metal doorway to the infirmary.
*****************************************************
An hour later a knock was heard on the General's office door. "Enter!" And the door opened to admit Dr Frasier, looking fairly bright given her recent leave, but worried. She carried a report file under her arm.
"General. I have finished with SG1, here is my report." "Do you have any idea what happened on that planet Doctor?" "No Sir, they didn't talk about it at all, which is unusual, they normally engage in some conversation, but each of them appeared to be preoccupied. Their physcial injuries are not major, mainly cuts and bruises, its their emotional state I'm concerned with. I'm not sure what happened on that planet, but I'd like to recommend a session with Dr MacKenzie, pending further information of course." "Of course, thankyou doctor." "You're welcome Sir. I'll be my office if you need me."
******************************************************
They sat in one of the small common rooms dotted around the base. A coffee machine stood in one corner, a video and tv in another. There were chairs and a table scattered around. It was simplistic, but their quarters were too small to all sit there together, and right now, they were not keen to let each other out of their sights.
T'ealc sat to one side of the table, hands folded together, staring at the grey top; it almost matched the pallor on Sam's face as she took a similar posture and looked at the wall, her eyes wide and upset. Jack, his expression indecipherable, stared up at the wall, his eyes flicking occasionally to his team mates, just to make sure they were still there. Daniel was slumped forward, his expression a picture of misery, he had just encountered something he didn't want to explore, and that prospect was almost as bad as the experience itself had been.
It was Sam who spoke first, not moving from her position, or looking at anyone, but they knew who she was talking to just the same, even without the name. "I'm sorry Jack." It was rare she used his first name, and almost never on base, but the recent shock overrode any suprise, hearing his first name from her helped Jack to relax ever so slightly. He replied slowly, as if unsure what to say.
"It's... ok Sam. You needed... to make sure..." The memory rose slightly and touched her mind, causing an almost imperceptible shudder to run through her body. Reaching out Jack laid a hand on her arm. Just a simple touch, to reassure and confirm that the memory wasn't real. Not any more.
Daniel cleared his throat. "I want to..." "Don't go there Danny. you weren't to know," Jack cut in. "But-" "Leave it. It's over now. We'll have to tell Hammond and type up our reports. We should get it all done and over with today." T'ealc interrupted then. "Colonel O'Neill. Will we be allowed a leave of absence. I sorely feel the need to behold my wife and son." "No problem T'ealc. I'll get it cleared with Hammond. What about you Danny?" "I think I'll stay on base, hang around with Janet, or you two. Maybe spend some time with Cassie."
Jack nodded, the conversation over. He didn't ask Sam, he didn't need to, neither did he need to hear her reply. None of them did, they had seen it already. After a while Jack glanced at the clock. "Time to go campers..." But his voice lacked it's usual enthusiasm; they understood, and were grateful.
**************************************
The General looked up at the clock, and aroudn at the ashen faces of SG1. They had had enough, and they still had reports to write yet. Jack had already explained they wanted to get everything done today, get everything put past them.
"OK people. One last thing, Dr Frasier has recommended that you talk to MacKenzie..." He didn't get any further, nor did he really expect to, Jack, as anticipated, immediately spoke out, loudly. "No Sir General Hammond!" "Hang on son, I wasn't finished." Jack looked at him for a moment, then sank back into his chair. "Sorry sir." "As I was saying, that was Dr Frasier's recommendation, pending further information about your mission. Under the circumstances I think it would be a mistake for you to talk to him." He almost heard the sigh of relief go around the table, MacKenzie was one of the best, but no one can be educated and trained in off-world psychology. The SG teams faced difficulties every day and experienced situations that scenarios simply hasn't been envisioned for. "But, I will be keeping a close eye on you, and the incident will be mentioned to him when you go for your regular psych evalution. If I see any problems I won't hesitate to schedule you all appointments with him." The mood of the room turned a shade darker. "Yessir," came several, nearly inaudible voices, knowing it was the best deal they were going to get. "Alright people, you are on five days downtime. Dismissed!"
*****************************************
For the next few days, anyone in search of a member of SG1 would not find a sign of T'ealc, him having left a few days before to visit his family in their new home.
The others could be seen in Sam's lab; Daniel Jackson examaining an artifact from a trolley he had wheeled in from his own lab, tapping occasionally into the laptop from home. Jack O'Neill spent his time slowly typing up a backlog of reports on the main computer terminal, stopping sometimes to watch Sam or Daniel, and listen to the technobabble and discussions of ancient history between them; or he would simply sit and read. Sam tinkered with a few pet projects, tapped into her laptop, and looked up occasionally, as the others did, eyes flicking to their team mates.
Sometimes, Sam and Jack would sit next to each other, him watching as she dealt with some gizmo or another. Sometimes their hands would touch, or sides would brush as they maneuvered around Sam's lab. Sometimes they would all look up and share a glance. And sometimes, a voice would call out in the night, and they would meet in the common room, the first one there always making three cups of coffee, and later, four. And, slowly, the nightmares began to recede.
On the last night they gathered at Jack's house, the backyard grill lit, steaks cooking, and beer flowing. Sam and Jack stood close together, the others watched and knew that the nightmares were finally over, and the waiting could begin again, in reassurance, and in hope.
They looked up at the night sky as glasses clinked and fleeting faded memories rose and fell of time loops and pain and tears and silence and death. They felt the wamth of each other's presence as they looked up at the night sky and smiled at the thought of rejoining the stars.
Story Notes: ARCHIVE: SJD yes
SEQUEL: Not yet
SPOILERS: None
SEQUEL: Not yet
SPOILERS: None
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 ]