"Colonel!" Sam called, trying to locate her commanding officer. He had gone for a walk while she and Daniel were collecting samples and they were ready to go home now. She turned around and saw him walking over the top of a hill towards her. "There you are. I thought you'd gotten lost on us" she said with a smile.
"No. Just had to answer a call of nature. Sorry to scare you" he replied.
Sam looked at him carefully. He sounded sincere, none of the usual sarcasm or flirtatious comments that she normally would have received. "Everything okay?"
By this time he had reached her. "Yeah. You guys ready to go home?"
"Ready when you are Sir."
"Well, let's get out of here." He turned and headed back to the others.
~~o0o~~
Later that night, Sam was just finishing the dishes when there was a knock on the door. She wiped her hands on a tea towel and headed to the door. She opened it to find Jack O'Neill standing there. "Colonel. This is a surprise" she said, opening the door wider to let him in.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything" he said, walking in.
"Not at all Sir. Would you like a beer?"
"Sounds good."
A few minutes later they were both sitting on the lounge in the living room, beer in hand.
"So Sam" he began. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure Colonel" she replied, unsure why she had butterflies in her stomach.
"Why don't you ever call me Jack?"
Sam looked at him, trying to gauge whether he was joking or not. His face was deadly serious, he even looked a little nervous. "I... uh... I don't know to be quite honest. Would you prefer me to call you Jack?" Her stomach was churning now.
"Well I don't want you to feel uncomfortable but... yeah. I mean I consider us friends and friends call each other by their first names." He looked over at her and saw she was staring back at him. "What?"
Sam shook her head. "Nothing."
"Well what do you say then? Will you call me Jack?"
"Yeah, I'd like that."
"Good."
He sat back and took a drink of his beer. Sam continued to look at him. "You've been different this afternoon" she said quietly.
"Different good or different bad?"
"Definitely good" she replied with a smile. "I like this side of you."
He looked at her intently for a few moments. "Well how would you like to see more of it?" He asked quietly, taking her hand. He looked at her and saw the confusion in her eyes. "I care for you so much and I don't want to fight it anymore."
She gave him the most beautiful smile before leaning in to give him a mind blowing kiss. "Does this mean you agree?" He asked breathlessly as they pulled apart.
"Oh yeah. I definitely agree" she replied, leaning in to capture his lips
again.
~~o0o~~
Early the next morning at the SGC Lieutenant Simmons had just finished a routine computer check when the klaxons sounded and the chevrons started spinning.
"Incoming traveler!" He yelled as the chevrons started to lock into place.
"Who is it son?" General Hammond asked as he rushed towards the window.
"Ah... it's an SG1 code Sir" Simmons replied, suddenly fearful. He knew that SG1 was already home.
"SG1? Alright open the iris and put the guards on full alert." Hammond ordered. He wanted to know who had gotten access to his best team's code.
The wormhole established and a very familiar looking figure stepped through. "Hey guys. Good to see ya missed me. Now where's my team?" Jack O'Neill asked, noting there were more guns trained on him then normal.
"Drop your weapons" a guard shouted.
"What in the hell's going on?" Jack asked, placing his gun on the ground. "I know I'm a little late, but this is ridiculous."
General Hammond walked into the room and Jack turned to him. "General. What's happening?"
"Just who the hell are you?" The General replied.
"What? Is this some kind of joke? Where's my team?" Jack asked, exasperated and a little concerned.
"Your team?" The General asked, trying to find out how much this person knew.
"Yes. Samantha Carter, Daniel Jackson and Teal'c. Perhaps you've heard of them?"
"Right. If I'm to believe that you're Jack O'Neill than who the hell did I send home last night?" Hammond was growing more and more nervous. This seemed too much like deja vu.
"What?! You mean there's another one of me around? Oh hell, those crystals I touched!" Realisation dawned on Jack. "Christ, not again."
General Hammond shook his head. "Take him to the holding room and call in SG1. Don't alert them to the problem, especially the other O'Neill."
"Yes sir" the Airmen replied, moving carry out the Generals orders.
~~o0o~~
"So Colonel" General Hammond began, sitting on the opposite side of the table.
"Would you like to tell me what happened today?"
"Yes sir. My team and myself gated to P3X101. There were no signs of life so I went to check out the scenery while Carter and Daniel were doing their thing. I left Teal'c to keep an eye on them and walked over a hill to have a look and to... well to take a leak Sir. I saw these black crystals growing and I thought I'd help Carter out for a change and I went to get a sample for her. The next thing I remember is waking up and realising that my team was gone, so I gated home." He looked at General Hammond who was looking very concerned. "So are you telling me that another me came through and nobody realised it wasn't me?"
The General nodded. "Yes son that's about it. You... I mean he was a little quiet and I did notice that there were no sarcastic comments but I just thought that you were tired."
There was a knock at the door and Daniel and Teal'c entered. "Where's Major Carter and the other O'Neill?" Hammond asked immediately. Daniel and Teal'c had arrived earlier and already been briefed on the situation.
"Ah there's no answer at Jack's house and Sam's phone has been engaged for the last hour" Daniel replied.
"Well I want them both found" Hammond demanded. He turned to Jack. "Although I tend to believe you, I have to keep you in isolation until the other you comes in and we can be sure. You understand Colonel?"
"Yes Sir. You may want to see if he's been to my ex-wife's house. That's where the last one went."
"Will do Colonel. You may as well get some rest." He turned and ushered everyone out of the room.
~~o0o~~
Sam woke up and smiled as she felt the strong arms around her. "Morning" Jack whispered, pulling her closer to him.
"Hey. How long have you been awake?" Sam asked, stretching.
"A little while. Do you know how beautiful you are when you sleep?"
Sam blushed and looked at her bedside clock. "Wow. I can't believe we slept so late. Do you want some breakfast?"
"Yeah. I'll make it. Why don't you stay in bed?"
"You sure?" Sam asked.
"Yeah. Stay in here." He gave her a kiss and got out of bed.
Sam gave a happy sigh and rolled over. She saw that the phone was still off the hook and put it back on it's cradle. She laid there and thought about what had happened last night. Obviously Jack had done more than answer a call of nature on that planet, he must have done some really hard thinking to have changed so much in the space of a few hours.
She jumped as the phone rang, pulling her from her thoughts. "Hello?"
"Sam! We've been trying to ring you for hours! What have you been doing?" Janet's voice came through the phone.
"Oh hi Janet. I took the phone off the hook last night and forgot to put it back on this morning. What's up?"
"General wants you in here immediately. Have you seen Colonel O'Neill?"
Sam got up, taking the cordless phone with her. "Uh, yeah he's here."
"He's there?" Janet repeated, surprised.
"Yeah. He... uh came over to..." Sam walked into the kitchen and saw Jack doubled over in pain. "Jack! Janet something's wrong with him, get over here." She rushed to his side. "What's wrong?"
"I'm sorry. I was just trying to help you both" he rasped out.
"Jack? What are you talking about?" Tears sprung to her eyes as she saw the agony on his face.
She could hear Janet yelling on the other end of the phone. Putting it to her ear she was about to tell her friend to hurry when Janet's words stopped her. "Sam! Can you hear me? Get away from him! It's not O'Neill!"
"What?" She replied, but moved away from him. As she reached the door, blue streaks of light ran over his body and he fell to the ground.
Sam turned and fled into the living room, shaking. "Janet?" She gasped. "What's going on?"
"We're almost there Sam but my cell phone is gunna cut out in a minute. Just hold tight and stay away from him." The line went dead and Sam threw the phone across the room.
It was then that the kitchen door swung open and O'Neill walked out. Sam instinctively took a step back. "Just stay away from me!"
"Please Sam, I won't have another episode for a few minutes. I've gotta talk to you. I have to explain."
"Explain what? How you could come in here and pretend to be someone else, make me confront my feelings and then let me watch you die? How could you be so cruel?" The tears started down Sam's cheeks but she brushed them angrily away.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to hurt you. I just wanted to help him and you. Why be apart when you can be together?" As he finished, his face scrunched up in pain. "It won't be long now, I've got to go back in there, I can't be near you when it happens. Don't try to come in, it would be harmful."
"Wait. You don't have to die. We can send you back through the Stargate, just like the other Entity crystal we encountered. That is what you are, isn't it?"
He nodded but his eyes remained sad. "I am a form of what you call the Entity crystal but the one you encountered before is different. We are derived from black crystal and we are capable of retaining all of the duplicate's memories. Sending me through the Stargate would not help and I wouldn't last the journey back. Please I must leave you now. Thankyou Sam, for showing me love." He turned and walked back into the kitchen. Sam sunk to the floor, burying her face in her hands.
A few minutes later Janet, Daniel and Teal'c came rushing through the front door. Janet saw Sam sitting on the floor and raced over to her. "Sam, are you okay? Where is he?"
"He's in the kitchen. He told me not to go in there, it would be harmful." Sam took a few deep breaths, trying to compose her self.
Janet patted her arm briefly. "There's a containment team on their way. They'll clean the place up as good as new."
Sam simply nodded in reply.
They sat there in silence until the containment team arrived, fully suited up, and went straight to the kitchen. A few minutes later they walked back out with a body bag. Janet got up from next to Sam and went to speak to the team leader. "What's the story Major?"
"The body's starting to decompose now. There doesn't seem to be any radiation emitted but we'll clean up in there anyway just to be sure."
"Thanks Major. Keep me informed."
The Major nodded and Janet started walking back to where Sam was seated. As she neared she saw Sam's face scrunch up in pain.
"Oh God. Janet..." Sam gasped as she clutched at her stomach.
"What's wrong?" Janet asked, rushing over to her friend's side.
"If he was decomposing then all his bodily fluids and that would break down too, right?"
"Yeah. Why... oh Sam you didn't?!"
Sam nodded, in too much pain to talk.
"Okay. Let's get you back to the base ASAP." She pointed to an Airman. "Get me a car now Airman! Teal'c come and carry the Major out to the car for me."
"What's wrong?" Daniel asked as he and Teal'c rushed over.
"I don't know yet Daniel. I've gotta get her back to the infirmary. Let's go Teal'c."
The Jaffa picked Sam up and followed the doctor outside.
~~o0o~~
By the time they got to the front gate Sam was unconscious. Janet had phoned ahead and there was a gurney waiting for them when the car stopped. Janet jumped out and started shouting orders as Sam was placed on the gurney. "I want a full blood test and a saline IV. Plus have the Ultra Sound set up immediately. Have theater prepared, just in case."
The gurney was rushed into the infirmary. Janet saw Jack waiting and told the orderlies to take her through. Jack rushed over to her. "Doc. What's going on? What's wrong with Sam?"
"Sam's had an adverse reaction to the Entity crystal."
"I don't understand. Sara didn't have a problem with the last one, why would this one be different?"
"Well... um... Sara didn't have quite the same contact with it as Sam did." Janet tried to look anywhere but at Jack.
"The same contact? What do you m... oh god. She slept with him?!" Janet's face gave him the answer. "Is she gunna be okay?" Jack asked, clearly in shock.
"To be quite honest, I don't know. I've gotta get in there and see what I can do."
~~o0o~~
Jack, Daniel, Teal'c and General Hammond had been waiting for nearly three hours when Janet finally emerged to inform them of Sam's condition. "The good news is that as the uh... semen broke down, it did not release any radiation. The bad news is it did release some sort of toxin which is now poisoning her. I've got people working on an anti-toxin now but I don't know whether we're gunna be in time." Janet fought hard to stop the tears from welling in her eyes. Sam was her best friend and it was impossible to stay detached.
"Are you saying she could die?" Jack almost whispered.
Janet laid a comforting hand on his arm. "I'm sorry Colonel. I'm just not sure at this stage. Maybe you'd like to sit with her for a while? I've got to get to the lab."
"Thankyou Doctor Fraser. Keep us informed." General Hammond turned and walked down the corridor. Everyone noticed the stricken look on his face. Sam was like a daughter to him.
Janet showed Jack to Sam's room and left him alone with her. He pulled up a chair, his heart breaking at the pale form before him. He tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, feeling the heat of her fever on his fingers. "Come on Sam. Just keep fighting until they can find a cure. It's not time for you to leave us yet. Just keep fighting."
~~o0o~~
It was hours later when Janet came rushing into the room, a huge smile on her face. "We've got it." She held up a small vial before taking a needle out of her coat pocket. After drawing the amount required she injected it into Sam's IV line.
"What now?" Jack asked.
"Now we wait. To be honest with you Colonel I'm not sure that we're in time. The poison has spread through every system in Sam's body. It's up to her now."
~~o0o~~
For two days Jack sat by Sam's bedside. He held her hand and talked to her about anything and everything. By the end of the second day he was exhausted, having only slept for a few hours. He was dozing when he heard a small moan and felt Sam's hand move within his. He jumped up and watched as Sam's eyes fluttered before opening. He couldn't contain the smile that lit up his features apon seeing her blue eyes. She started to smile almost automatically before she remembered what had happened. She turned from him with a mixture of fear and embarrassment. Jack reached out to stroke her arm but she cringed away from him. "It's alright Sam. It's really me. I'm not gunna hurt you."
Sam refused to look at him, the tears involuntarily running down her face. Again Jack tried to touch her, needing to comfort her. "Come on Sam. Let me help you."
She shook her head. "Please, just leave" she whispered.
"Sam..."
"I said get out!" She yelled, rolling over so her back was turned to him.
"Why don't you go and get some rest Colonel" Janet said from the door. "You haven't really slept in days." Jack nodded sadly, his eyes downcast. As he reached Janet she patted his arm. "Just give her some time. She's been through a lot. I'll have a talk to her. I suggest you get some rest and come back later when she's settled down."
"Thanks Doc. For everything." Janet nodded and walked into the room as Jack left.
"How are you feeling Sam?" She asked, trying to sound cheerful.
Sam rolled back onto her back. "Alright I guess. Pretty embarrassed. I guess the whole base knows what happened?"
Janet shook her head. "No. Just the General, your team and the medical staff. They won't say anything, part of the confidentiality rule." She shrugged. "Plus I threatened them with various procedures if anyone said a word."
Sam gave her a small smile. "Thanks."
"No problem. But I've got to ask. Why did you sleep with him Sam?"
"I didn't know he was an Entity crystal. I thought he was Jack... I mean Colonel O'Neill."
"My point exactly. You thought it was your CO but you still did it. Why?"
Sam sighed. "Janet, you should have heard him. He was so sweet and sincere. He made me feel like a woman. I haven't felt like that in such a long time." A single tear ran down her cheek. "God Janet, I've really screwed up this time. Do you think I can be court marshaled for sleeping with a duplicate of my commanding officer?"
Janet pulled her into a hug. "Come on, it'll be alright. I'm sure under the circumstances they won't court marshal you." She pulled back, looking at her friend. "You know you could always say he forced you."
Sam shook her head. "I couldn't lie like that. I think that last night was the best sex I've ever had. I've never felt so loved. Even when I was engaged to Jonis, it was always about satisfying him. I mean Janet, I think I actually screamed." She giggled despite her somber mood.
"Wow" Janet replied.
Sam's face turned serious. "So am I going to be alright? I mean was there any permanent damage?"
"You were lucky. The fact that you were almost due for your period meant that the large endometrial lining took the brunt of the damage. As far as I can tell there was no damage to the uterus itself."
"So I can still have kids?"
Janet squeezed Sam's hand. "Yeah, you can still have kids."
Sam breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god."
They sat in silence for a few minutes before Janet spoke again. "You're in love with him aren't you." It was more a statement than a question.
"I... Janet..." Sam sighed and decided to be honest. "Yeah I guess I am."
"He feels the same."
Sam looked up quickly. "What? How do you know that?"
"He refused to leave here ever since you came in. Besides there had to be a reason why the Entity crystal came to you."
"The crystal said something to me just before he... died. 'I just wanted to help him and you. Why be apart when you can be together'. But could we be together? It hurt to see him in so much pain, knowing that he was going to die. I don't know why, but I felt betrayed. And would he be able to forgive me for what I did?"
"Of course I can" came a voice from the doorway.
"Colonel, I thought I told you to get some rest" Janet said in an authoritative tone.
"I can't rest until I talk to Sam" he replied.
"It's alright Janet. I guess we do need to talk" Sam said.
Janet nodded and got up. "Just take it easy okay? You've been very ill." She nodded to them both before walking out of the room.
Jack walked over and sat down in the chair next to the bed. "In my opinion Sam, you did nothing wrong. You thought it was me. I just can't believe you'd ever want to... you know. You're such a smart, beautiful woman. Why would you settle for someone like me?"
Sam gave a small smile. "I wouldn't call it settling."
Jack saw her tense as he reached for her hand. "I'm not going to hurt you. I promise you that."
Sam sighed. "Jack you have to understand. The other day a guy, who I thought was you, came to my house and told me he wanted to be with me. After we spent the night together I got up to find him dying in my kitchen. He told me he didn't mean to hurt me but... he made me confront my feelings and then he left me. I don't think I could handle that twice."
"Sam, I'm not going anywhere. I understand that you're hurt and confused but I want you to know that I'm here." He smiled, trying to lighten the mood. "It's pretty hard to get rid of me, you should know that by now."
Sam couldn't help laughing. He had a knack of doing that to her. Whenever she felt down, Jack was always there to pick her up. Jack rose and kissed her on the forehead. "You better get some rest. First priority is you getting better. Everything else can wait. Just remember, I'll be here for you."
He turned to leave but Sam caught his hand. "Stay with me Jack. Just until I go to sleep."
He smiled and sat back in the chair. Grasping her hand, he watched her as she closed her eyes. He leant over and whispered into her ear. "I'll stay with you forever. You can count on that."
Jack closed his eyes and followed Sam into sleep. He knew that there were a lot of issues that they needed to sort through. They couldn't simply start a relationship after what the entity crystal had done, but he also knew that they would work through it together and being together was all that mattered.
THE END
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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 ]