Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are not my property. No copyright infringement is intended.
Sam hurried down the corridor of Stargate Command. She stopped suddenly and put her hand against the wall to brace herself as a sharp pain ran through her pelvis.
'Oh, no, it's only been two weeks. This shouldn't be happening' she thought to herself as the pain slowly subsided. She pulled off her backpack and quickly knelt down on the floor to see if she had the necessary protection with her. Seeing that she did, she ran to the Gate room.
The blast doors opened as the three male members of the team turned to look at her and Jack smiled.
"Carter, glad you could join us."
"Sorry, sir."
Jack turned to look at General Hammond to let them know they were ready.
"Dial it up, sergeant."
The team stepped through the Gate and stopped to look around. Scattered here and there were several different kinds of trees and not too far off in the distance they could see old buildings.
Jack gripped his P-90. "Okay, kids, let's move, but be alert for anything that could jump out at us."
The team walked in silence, Jack and Sam side by side with Daniel and Teal'c following. The sun was beating down on them and the longer they walked, the hotter it became.
They came to the buildings and Teal'c glanced around as Daniel went up to the wall of one of the buildings and brushed away the dirt, discovering writings underneath.
Sam knelt down to take soil samples as Jack took a good look of the surrounding area.
Fifteen minutes later, Jack went to check on Daniel, he had gone around to the other side of the wall.
"Anything interesting?"
"Yes, but I need Teal'c back here. I think most of this is written in Goa'uld."
Teal'c came to stand beside him. "How may I be of assistance?"
"Right here, what does this say?" Daniel pointed as he wiped away more dirt.
Jack went back to wait with Sam. She was putting a label on one of the vials of soil.
He had just stopped beside her when she suddenly put her arm over her abdomen.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing" she said with a wince.
Jack put his hand on her arm. "Sam?"
"It's just . . ."
"Just what?"
"Cramps" she said with a grimace.
"Oh, okay." Jack realized what she meant. "Do you have something with you to take for the pain?"
She nodded her head and he let go of her arm. She took off her backpack and took two pills out of a bottle, then drank some water from her canteen to wash them down. She wiped the perspiration from her face. "I'll be fine."
"Why don't you go sit under those trees? It's pretty hot out here."
A few hours passed and it was just starting to get dark. Daniel asked Jack if they could spend the night because he wanted to do more translating of the language on the walls before heading home.
Jack glanced at Sam, sitting under a tree. She was writing in a notebook and would stop occasionally to fan herself with a folded piece of paper.
"Okay, we'll stay until tomorrow, but get it done at daybreak. None of us likes to be here in this heat."
"Thanks, Jack."
The air cooled as nighttime came and the team set up their tent and built a fire. So far, they had seen no signs of life on the planet.
After they had eaten, they sat around chatting for awhile. Teal'c told them he would prefer to stay outside for the night and he would keep watch.
Just before dawn, Sam shook Jack's shoulder.
"Jack."
He quickly set up, found his flashlight and turned it on.
Sam was kneeling with her arms across her abdomen as he noticed how pale she was.
"What's wrong?"
"Really bad pain" she whispered as she bit her lip.
"We need to get you back to the SGC."
Jack crawled over to Daniel and shook him awake.
"Daniel, get up. Sam's sick and we've got to get her home."
Daniel didn't ask questions. He grabbed his flashlight and hurriedly put on his boots.
Jack put on his boots, then helped Sam into hers.
While Jack was helping Sam, Daniel went outside to tell Teal'c they were leaving, then came back into the tent.
"What about our stuff, Jack?"
"Leave it. We'll come back later and get it. I don't think anyone will bother it since there doesn't seem to be anyone here."
The team quickly walked back the way they had come. Jack was on Sam's right, with his arm around her waist and his flashlight in his other hand. Daniel was on her left. Teal'c followed behind, keeping watch, as he swept his flashlight into the trees.
Sam began to sink to the ground and Jack eased her down slowly.
He put his hand to her cheek. "Sam . . . Sam. She's passed out. We've got to get her home now."
Teal'c handed Jack his flashlight and lifted Sam in his arms.
Jack was really worried. 'We should have gone home yesterday when she wasn't feeling well' he chided himself.
They were almost to the Gate so Daniel ran ahead to dial them home.
"Incoming traveler" Walter announced.
General Hammond came down the steps.
"Who is it?"
"SG-1's code, sir."
"Open the iris" the General ordered as he ran downstairs to meet the team. He watched as Teal'c came through the event horizon carrying Sam, with Jack and Daniel following.
"Something's wrong, sir" Jack said as he watched Teal'c take Sam to the infirmary.
"What happened?"
"She wasn't feeling well yesterday. She thought it was just cramps. You know, that time of the month."
Jack, Daniel and the General walked quickly to the infirmary.
A half hour passed as they waited for Janet to let them know what was happening.
"What's taking so long?" Jack asked no one in particular as he paced back and forth.
Daniel and Teal'c looked at each other, understanding on their faces. They had known for a long time that Sam and Jack loved each other. Teal'c had witnessed their confessions during the zatarc test and he had filled Daniel in when Daniel started to notice changes between them. Daniel and Teal'c noticed them staring at each other sometimes, the smiles and occasional touch between the two, that no one else would have noticed. There were times when the team was on a mission and Jack and Sam would end up with their sleeping bags close together with Jack's hand holding Sam's. Recently, Daniel had awakened one morning to find them lying in their sleeping bags facing each other as they looked into each other's eyes and talked quietly. Secretly, Teal'c and Daniel could not have been more pleased for their two friends.
Janet suddenly came through the door of the infirmary.
Jack stopped pacing. "How is she?"
"We're going to have to operate, sir. The ultrasound shows some kind of mass."
"Will she be okay?" Daniel asked.
"I hope so. I'll let you know as soon as we find out what we're dealing with. This could take awhile." She turned to go back inside.
Jack sat down in one of the chairs. Daniel stayed seated as Teal'c walked over to the infirmary door and stood in front of it, as if to guard his teammate.
Daniel and Teal'c knew that Jack would stay right where he was and they would not leave him to worry alone.
A few hours later, General Hammond returned to see that the team was still there. The General noticed the worried look on Jack's face. He knew of the shared feelings between his two favorite officers, although he had never discussed it with either one of them; he knew they would never jeopardize each other's career. But at the same time, he thought they were a perfect match and knew it might only be a matter of time before one, or both of them, left the SGC to follow their hearts so they could have a life together.
Janet came out of the infirmary and Teal'c stepped aside.
"How did it go?" Daniel asked.
"Not good."
Jack stood up and started to get a feeling of dread. "Janet?"
"A large cyst was wrapped around her ovaries and unfortunately we could not remove just the cyst. We had to remove both ovaries" she answered as she stared at the floor and tears came to her eyes.
Comprehension dawned on the men's faces as they realized that Sam would never be able to have children.
"Was it malignant?" the General asked.
"We're having it analyzed, sir."
Everyone turned to look at Jack as he sat down, put his elbows on his knees and covered his face with his hands.
TBC
