When the Asguard came to the SGC that morning with a plea for help, Colonel O'Neill thought it was the perfect opportunity to get his team back in action after Daniel's departure. Although if he had to admit it, he was most concerned with one team member in particular. Major Carter appeared to be taking Daniel's absence especially hard. Jack's concerns were confirmed when she approached him in the SGC hallway just after the Asguard left. It was clear to him that she was having trouble getting past the events of the last couple of days.
Of course his own attitude towards her through the following day's events spoke volumes as well on his own ability to deal with the situation. He just about bit her head off when she appeared to Teal'c and himself shortly after Thor freed them from their cell on board the Goa'uld ship. She was only trying to help when she told them to, "Try and stay out of sight. I'll be back as soon as I can."
Jack could see that Teal'c was as thrilled with that suggestion as he was. He really didn't want to go wandering around more of the ship looking for a control relay. But seeing as how they no longer had the C4 they didn't have a whole lot of options left to them.
"Come on Carter." Patience had never been one of Jack's strongest suits.
Carter stepped out of the wall, looking around her with concern. "Got it Sir. Go straight down this corridor and down two levels. I'll meet you there."
"Okay" he replied. Although it was not really okay. He was getting damned tired of creeping around the corridors, not knowing which way to turn. Having to rely on someone else to direct his moves. Especially considering how well that turned out the first go around. Jack had to admit he was still slightly pissed off at Carter for getting them trapped in the corridor earlier. Now he found himself cautiously peering around each corner they came to. As if he expected the Jaffa to jump out at them. Instead Jack and Teal'c rounded the next corner and found Carter standing in the middle of the corridor.
"Carter" Jack whispered urgently.
"There should be an access panel somewhere along here." Carter pointed to the opposite side of the corridor.
"Okay, next time I'm the hologram." Jack complained. For some reason he couldn't shake the feeling of anger he had towards her at the moment. A feeling that had been with him since she had tried to get him to talk to her about Daniel earlier that day. He now found that feeling driving his thoughts as they tried to take down the shields. `Great, now she wants us to search all over this wall for a hidden panel while our backs are exposed and we're unarmed.'
Fortunately Teal'c found the panel before Jack could voice his displeasure.
Carter took a look at the crystals displayed in front of Teal'c. "Okay now we just have to pick the right crystal."
"Which one?" Jack asked. Despite his earlier thoughts Jack had to admit that she usually knew her stuff when it came to crystals and Goa'uld ships.
However before she could reply her image blurred briefly and she appeared distracted.
"Carter?" Jack whispered impatiently, totally oblivious to the danger she was in.
"I thought I heard something!" Carter whispered back at him. Jack looked at her in confusion. He couldn't see what the problem was. But he felt his stomach tighten as his instincts read the fear in her voice. After five years of stargate travel, Sam did not scare easily.
`There's someone in here!" Before Jack had time to react she was engulfed in a flash of light. Sam cried out in pain as she disappeared from sight. Teal'c instinctively tried to reach out for her as she fell, forgetting momentarily that she was a hologram.
Jack frantically looked from the spot previously occupied by Sam to Teal'c. Looking for some clue as to what had just happened. Instead all he saw was the anguish in Teal'c's face at having failed to protect her. Jack found himself having to look away briefly in shame. He was responsible for insisting on this mission. He was to blame for letting her get caught.
Jack began to pace restlessly around the corridor as he tried to get his bearings back. He had to push away the waves of guilt and fear in order to focus on the task at hand. Teal'c knelt down to examine the crystals, determined to bring about a quick resolution.
As Jack paced he happened to glance around the corner and got a glimpse of approaching Jaffa. With a warning to Teal'c they moved out of sight waiting to strike.
The Jaffa never knew what hit them. Both Jack and Teal'c attacked the Jaffa with a ruthlessness seldom seen from either one of them. The pain of having lost Daniel and possibly Sam drove their reactions. Jack took one cold hard look at the Jaffa lying on the ground and fired his newly acquired zat gun at them. Unfortunately it did nothing to ease the pain he felt in his chest.
Jack rejoined Teal'c who had returned to his contemplation of the crystals. Jack stared at them for a few moments until he realized that he was waiting for Sam to tell him what to do next. Only she was gone.
"Perhaps we should take them all," Teal'c suggested.
Jack had a strong urge to do some serious damage. "Here's a thought." He took a few steps backwards, and positioned the staff weapon taken from one of the Jaffa. Teal'c quickly realized that Jack was about to fire and scrambled out of the way. Jack blew the crystals away with one shot. Not quite as satisfying as he had hoped although it had made a nice sound.
***
Jack and Teal'c found themselves waiting in the corridor. Carter said that Heimdall had the cargo ship prepped and ready to go. Now if he would just beam them out of there they could find out what happened to Sam. Heimdall was just going to have to deal with the fact that they weren't about to leave until they had gotten both Thor and Sam back. There was no way in hell he was going to lose her. And based on Teal's reactions of late Jack had all the backup he needed on that one. Besides, Jack still had some serious issues to work out with Sam, starting with an apology for his earlier behavior. Jack still felt that his intentions had been right but he realized what a bastard he must have been to her. He couldn't bear the thought that those spiteful words may have been the last conversation they ever had.
Jack's contemplations were interrupted by the beam from the ship. Jack and Teal'c arrived on the cargo ship only seconds before Sam and Thor were beamed in. As she was released from the beam, Sam collapsed to the ground . Jack rushed to her side as he yelled at Teal'c to get them out of there.
Jack hesitated for a moment as he reached out his hand to her neck to feel for a pulse. Jack felt his heart skip a beat as it took longer than he expected to find her pulse. "Come on Sam, don't do this to me," he pleaded. There, Jack found Sam's pulse, faint but there.
Heimdall called out to Jack from Thor's side, "Well done O'Neill."
Jack suddenly remember that Thor had been beamed up as well and glanced over at him. Jack asked "Is he alright?"
Thor responded but with words Jack did not expect to hear "O'Neill you cannot take me with you." As Thor launched into an explanation Jack turned back to Sam. He was holding on to her tightly, afraid that she would disappear again. He was not going to let her go anymore than he would leave Thor behind. "All right that doesn't work for me. It's not an option. Okay." He replied when Thor once again insisted on remaining behind.
Teal'c meanwhile was struggling to bring the ship out of the turbulent atmosphere as they were being attacked by Anubis' ship. Almost immediately after clearing the planet's atmosphere their ship received a fierce volley of fire and their shields went down.
"O'Neill, we are receiving a message"
"Your ship is defenseless. You cannot escape. Surrender Now!"
Jack so didn't have time for this. He didn't know what was wrong with Sam but he knew from experience that a shot from the zat gun shouldn't have had this effect on her. He was torn between his desire to focus on Sam and the rapidly deteriorating situation at hand. No matter how much he hated it at the moment he was in charge of the operation and that had to come first. This situation was exactly why he was so cold to Sam earlier in the day. You could not let your emotions get in the way of doing your job. Too much depended on it, on him.
Jack gently lowered Sam back to the floor of the cargo ship as he whispered to her, "Hang on Sam. Please just hang on." Then he moved to join Teal'c and Heimdall at the front of the ship.
"Any ideas?" he asked Heimdall, hoping that the Asguard had some backup plan he didn't know about.
"We cannot risk capture. We must destroy the ship ourselves."
Jack did not like that suggestion. "Any good ideas?" Jack replied back with a warning tone in his voice. Fortunately three Asguard ships suddenly appeared around them saving them from having to implement Heimdall's plan. Anubis' ship disappeared rather rapidly after that.
"Teal'c notify Freya that Major Carter and Thor are hurt and need immediate medical attention." Jack quickly returned to Sam's side.
***
After what seemed like an eternity, one of the Asguards came out of the room where Sam was being treated. Jack practically pounced on him, "How is she?"
"I am sorry Colonel O'Neill. There is little more we can do for her. She remains unconscious."
"What!" Jack exclaimed, his heart racing. "For crying out loud, you can bring people back from the dead. You've got to be able to help her."
"Major Carter received trauma to her neurological pathways. Even in a species such as yourselves there is a limit to our ability to repair damage of this type. We must simply wait and see if she recovers on her own."
Jack was devastated. What hope did she have if the Asguard couldn't do anything for her. Jack felt as if his world was coming crashing down on him. First Daniel and now Sam. "Can I go in and see her?" Jack asked quietly.
"Of course Colonel O'Neill."
Jack and Teal'c walked in to the room to find Sam lying on a bed covered by a sheet. If anything she looked paler than when he last saw her on the cargo ship. For a brief moment Jack panicked at the thought that she was already gone until he saw the slight rise and fall in the sheet covering her.
"O'Neill, Doctor Fraiser has told me that people in comas can often here those around them. Speak to her. I believe she will respond to you. I will wait outside." Teal'c, in an uncharacteristic move, touched Jack on the shoulder in a gesture of support then departed.
Jack sat down heavily on the stool the Asguard had provided by her bed. Jack ran a weary hand down his face as he tried to gather his thoughts. He could accept Daniel's departure because in his heart he knew Daniel wasn't really dead and he had made his choice to become an enlightened one whatever that meant. But Jack felt directly responsible for Sam`s predicament. He tentatively reached out to take her hand. Realizing that he was not in the SGC where someone could walk in and see him touch his 2IC in an inappropriate manner. Her hand felt cold to his touch so he rubbed her hand gently in his to warm her.
"Sam, I was never very good at talking about.feelings. Hell you know that from this morning. You wanted to talk and I was a complete bastard to you. Would it help if I said you know had my undivided attention?" Jack waited for a reply. "I suppose not."
"Sam just because I didn't want to talk about it doesn't mean that I don't care. I do care. Only I couldn't let it interfere with the job we have to do. And I was afraid.afraid that if I opened up now and admitted how much Daniel meant to me, how much you mean to me, then I'd never be able to act effectively in the field. Right now I need to be in the field with you even if it means keeping my distance. Because I cannot bear the thought of not being there to watch your back." Jack paused as he gently shifted some hair out of her face.
"I screwed up today, big time and you got hurt in the process. I let my anger cloud my judgment. I am so sorry, Sam. Look, I'll make you a promise. The day we've nailed Anubis I'll retire. We'll then be free to. talk if you're still interested. In the meantime I will make more of an effort to manage us.I mean this.Ah hell, you know what I mean." Jack struggled to find the right words.
Suddenly he had a brilliant idea, "I know just the thing, we can start by having a team dinner -Teal`c, you and me. But first I need you to wake up and tell me you're alright with this," Jack pleaded with her. "Please Sam, I need you to live. I can't do this without you. I won't do this without you."
Sam's heart was breaking. It would be so easy to just let go.let go of the pain of losing Daniel, of having to face Jack each day and be treated to his indifference, even knowing that it was all a façade. But the anguish she heard in Jack's voice tore at her soul. She still loved Jack and he needed her. Sam had no choice but to hold on to the promise Jack made for the future.
Sam slowly opened her eyes. The look of intense relief in Jack's eyes touched her deeply.
"Sam, you're going to be okay. You're on an Asguard ship."
"What about Thor?" she inquired.
Jack was embarrassed to realize that he hadn't even asked about Thor since their arrival on the ship. "Ah, he's being taken care of by his people."
"Good." Sam's eyes felt heavy and she found herself drifting back to sleep. However, before sleep totally overcame her she murmured, "Wake me up for dinner."
The End.
Feedback?
Story Notes: Email: drj_baim@yahoo.com
Status: Complete
Archive: Yes if you want. SJA, Heliopolis
Season/Sequel info: Season 5
Spoilers: Revelations, Meridian
Author's Warning: This is my first attempt at fan fiction. I have a Master's degree in Finance and play with numbers all day long - not much call for creative writing. I admit to taking the easy way out on my first one by adding thoughts to existing dialog, with a divergence at the end.
Status: Complete
Archive: Yes if you want. SJA, Heliopolis
Season/Sequel info: Season 5
Spoilers: Revelations, Meridian
Author's Warning: This is my first attempt at fan fiction. I have a Master's degree in Finance and play with numbers all day long - not much call for creative writing. I admit to taking the easy way out on my first one by adding thoughts to existing dialog, with a divergence at the end.
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 ]