* * * Just Passing Time * * *
Jack threw the line out into the lake. There were fish there and they would come to him in time. They always did.
It was like Edora.
Only worse.
Instead of being pastoral, it was...eerie. Damned eerie.
But the feeling of isolation was the same. The sense of being so far away from everything he knew, everyone he cared about.
On Edora there'd been the locals. And Laira. Mustn't forget Laira.
And here there was Maybourne.
All things considered, he'd rather have been back on Edora with Laira.
All things considered, he'd rather have been stuck here with one of his team.
All things considered, he'd rather not have been stuck here at all.
Carter would have figured a way home by now.
And she would have been someone he could trust.
Jack wasn't sure what he was doing in the end. Waiting for rescue? Watching time pass instead of passing time?
Fishing?
Like a string of pearls, the memories beaded themselves out one by one... The fine, strong feel of the line between his fingers as his grandfather taught him how to throw it out into the lake with no fish. The cool of the water around his legs and the muddy squelching between his toes as he ignored his mother's yells from inside the cabin. The intensity of a dozen gazes as he showed his classmates how to fish for nothing at all. The amused disdain of his wife towards his 'holiday activity' on their honeymoon. The quiet solemnity of Charlie watching him bait and throw the hook out, then mimicking it with his own small line. The peace and quiet of the lake after the noise and hectic schedule of the SGC. The slap-slap of Teal'c's steady decimation of the insect life around the cabin.
That last invitation, refused as they always were.
*You could come with.*
He wished she had come with. Both during that other trip that was firstly delayed by the crisis with the other-dimension bugs and then ended with his imprisonment for Kinsey's non-murder, and here.
He hoped she was okay after Maybourne shot her. Zat blasts were risky - especially at close range.
It was...peaceful here in Paradise. But lonely.
Maybourne wasn't much of a conversationalist at the best of times. And right now was not the best of times.
Heck, Jack would even have preferred to listen to Jonas rambling on about fascinating architecture, or the significance of the circles in the 'book' Jack had found. Or not. While Carter found Jonas' enthusiasm amusing, Jack found it tiring. He'd been through it all already, and it was a pain in the ass the first time. But Jonas would have been more welcome company than Maybourne.
Teal'c... Now Teal'c would have been good companionship in this place. They could have gone exploring, done the travelling around thing. They'd probably have gone hunting or something - Jack had seen some wildlife around and while fish was supposed to be good for the body, sometimes you just wanted a little red meat.
Daniel - had he not been a glowy pain-in-the-ass - would have been a plain old pain-in-the-ass. It would have been more annoying than Jonas' prattle, because Daniel would have argued with Jack when something came up that he disagreed with. At least Jonas knew when to shut the heck up; sometimes Daniel needed a smack in the head to know when he'd crossed the line. But it would have been someone other than Maybourne.
Carter would probably have been trying to work out how to get the hell home. Or maybe she'd have shot Maybourne in return for stealing her zat - she had a temper when she wasn't in the chain of command. And she'd have annoyed Jack, too, with her theories of how they got here, what conduit they used, how it worked, the kind of power it would have required...
But at least he could have ordered her to shut up. And he could have trusted her to back him up against Maybourne.
And he would finally have gotten her fishing.
He trawled the line in slowly.
A part of him was wondering why the heck he hadn't done anything to see if they could get home. Another part of him pragmatically pointed out that there was nothing they *could* do. It was like Edora - but without the villagers or the need to look after anyone but himself.
Maybourne didn't count.
The other man had been getting edgy lately. Hearing things. Seeing things.
Personally, Jack thought all that time on the lam had gotten to the rat. It could do that to you; make you see and hear things that weren't there. Maybourne had been a little on the paranoid side to begin with, anyway.
There wasn't a lot Jack could do - had he even wanted to do much for the sneaky bastard. It still stung that he'd been such a patsy where Maybourne was concerned. Stick out the bait while hiding the hook, and you catch yourself a whopper.
Still, you couldn't change what you'd done. Jack could never take back Iraq, or the death of John Michaels. He could never reverse what he'd done to a thousand lives in the name of the United States of America, nor revoke the moment when he pondered locking his gun up and decided that it would be safe enough in the drawer. He could never take back those months of guilt, or the harsh words he'd said to those around him, the decisions that had turned out to be wrong, and the judgements that had been fatal for others.
So, since he couldn't change what he'd done, and he couldn't really do anything that might help Carter find him from this end of the line, Jack was quite content to sit and fish and survive and wait for rescue. Because it would come. Someday. Exactly when, he didn't know. But he wouldn't make the mistake of Edora, thinking nobody would be coming for him.
Carter was both smart and stubborn - she'd work out where he was. And she'd come for him eventually.
If nothing else, he could count on that.
* The End *
Feed me! Oh feeeeed me!
Story Notes: SPOILERS: 'Cold Lazarus', 'Gamekeeper', '100 Days', 'The Curse', '48 Hours', 'Meridian', 'Sight Unseen', 'Smoke and Mirrors', 'Paradise Lost',
SEASON/SEQUEL INFO: Season Six
STATUS: complete
DATE: 9th February, 2003
ARCHIVED: Gateworld, Jackfic, SJD
AUTHOR'S NOTES: 'Paradise Lost' intrigued me with it's echoes of '100 Days' and the difference (or possibly similarity) in Jack's behaviour then and now. It also held other interesting undertones regarding differences in philosophy between Jack and Harry and how that manifested between them. Much thanks to the betas, especially shanilka, who provided the title when my title-producing machine broke.
SEASON/SEQUEL INFO: Season Six
STATUS: complete
DATE: 9th February, 2003
ARCHIVED: Gateworld, Jackfic, SJD
AUTHOR'S NOTES: 'Paradise Lost' intrigued me with it's echoes of '100 Days' and the difference (or possibly similarity) in Jack's behaviour then and now. It also held other interesting undertones regarding differences in philosophy between Jack and Harry and how that manifested between them. Much thanks to the betas, especially shanilka, who provided the title when my title-producing machine broke.
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 ]