Something was wrong.
Something was definitely wrong.
Jack found himself on what would have been the bottom of the ramp. Only problem being no ramp—Nothing but the cold concrete under him; his entire body tingled as he slowly opened his eyes.
Something was definitely, incredibly wrong.
He groaned and creaked as he sat up, his head pounding like a drum.
The first thing he noticed—No gate—
"What the hell?" A wave of dizziness crashed over him as he slowly got to his feet.
"Where is everyone?" Warm blood ran down the side of his face and he touched the bleeding gash in his temple.
"Okay—I was in the gate room--" He started as the last thing the remembered came back to him.
The klaxons going off, the red flashing lights as the gate started turning, the chevrons beginning to lock into place.
He narrowed his eyes, letting the memory play out in his mind.
Chaos—utter chaos as the blast doors opened and in ran Carter; Daniel and Teal'c were behind her carrying a reactor; a Naqahdah reactor in their hands as they began to slowly walk up the ramp. Jack had been there watching them, glancing up at the control room windows.
"Sir we need to get that damn gate open!"
"We're working on it Colonel!" Came Hammond's retort as the last chevron locked into place.
"Chevron Seven locked!"
"Get that damn thing through the gate before we're all toast!" Jack shouted to Carter, who nodded grimly. The reactor whirred, the high pitch whine making all those in the gate room cringe.
"Daniel! Teal'c! Send it through! Hurry!" Carter shouted to the two men, slapping her hands over her ears; cringing as the two men passed her.
"We're going as fast as we can!" Daniel gritted his teeth as he and Teal'c made it to the top of the ramp, sending the reactor through the wormhole, the water fluttering.
And that's when it happened—
Jack watched the ripples, the puddle suddenly growing bright. He wasn't sure what was happening but that didn't stop his legs from carrying him up the stairs towards the open gate.
"Get down!" He shouted as the light grew brighter and he shielded his face from it.
"So where is everyone?" Whispering, he walked through the open blast door, looking around.
"Carter! Daniel! Teal'c!" He called out, hearing his echo carrying down the hall bouncing off the grey concrete walls.
"Jack--" His name seemed to echo in his head, the words so loud and strong he swayed, thumping against the wall as he covered his ears. The walls were spinning all around him and he squeezed his eyes shut feeling unconsciousness start to drift through him. He fought it with every fiber of his being until finally he could feel his knees again. Panting, Jack straightened up; the voice that he had heard belonged to Gillian.
"Gill?" Running down the hall he pushed the button for the elevator, waiting for it to descend. Finally with a whir the metal doors parted and he pressed the button for the 23rd floor.
"Someone's got to be there--" Jack mumbled to himself as the elevator went up; the sensation making his stomach go down into his boots. Finally the box slowed to a stop and the doors parted, he expected to see someone, anyone—
"Gillian?" He rounded the corner and slipped into the infirmary; the sight of it made him gasp loudly as revulsion hit him straight in the midsection.
The room was covered in blood—everywhere he looked.
The walls.
The floor.
The beds.
The sheets dripping with it, the smell of burnt flesh so heavy in the air Jack thought he might lose his lunch or hit the floor.
"Oh my God--" He backed up, his butt hitting a tray and he whipped around seeing it covered with blood soaked gauze.
"Jack--" The name, again, echoing in his mind, like a sharp needle being jabbed straight into his skull. He cringed in pain as he slapped his hands over his ears, his knees weakening.
"Stop it! Just stop it!" His legs no longer supporting him, Jack ended up on the floor curled up in a ball. Finally the voice faded and with it the pain, he opened his eyes and slowly got back up.
"Gill? Gill where are you?" He hugged himself, his stomach feeling as it did in the elevator; seemingly disconnected from the rest of his body.
"What is happening here? Where the hell is everybody?" Jack bent over, trying to fight the pain that only seemed to be growing worse as the seconds ticked by. He felt a warm sensation beginning to seep through his shirt and straightened back up seeing a crimson stain spreading through the olive drab.
Tugging at the ends of the shirt, he sent buttons flying as he parted it and quickly pulled up his t-shirt seeing a bloody wound in his stomach.
"Oh man--"
He looked around for something to press against it; the only clean cloth nearby was a pillow case and he pulled it off, waded it up and slapped it onto his midsection; cringing and gritting his teeth as he applied pressure.
"Jack--" A voice called out to him and he spun around, his dark eyes widening when he saw Daniel. The archaeologist covered in blood from head to foot, the only thing bright about him was the sparkle of his white teeth.
"Daniel?" Jack approached him slowly, astonished at his appearance; even his hair dripped with blood. "What happened?"
"It was the bomb Jack--"
"Where is everyone?"
"They're here, can't you see them?" Daniel gazed around the room as if listening to people speaking to him.
"No, I don't see anyone--" He turned around, still seeing only the blood but not one person.
"What about Gillian?"
"She's here too."
"Then why can't I see her?" Frustrated Jack faced Daniel once more, a scowl painted on his pale face.
"Because you're not letting yourself see her Jack, it's that simple--" He walked towards Jack, his boots squishing against the floor as he did so and he left a trail of crimson footprints behind him.
Jack swallowed hard as he gazed at his friend. "Did the bomb do that to you Daniel? Did the bomb hurt you?"
"It hurt us all--" He reached out and touched Jack's hand. "I need you to stop fighting what's happening to you, just let it go."
"Nothing's happening to me Daniel, what are you talki--"
"Jack--" Louder than ever before, Jack cringed as Gillian's voice returned to his mind. The pain in his stomach increased ten fold and he cried out, his knees causing him to sink to the floor.
"You have to stop fighting it Jack! Let it go!" Daniel sank down with him, his grip still firmly locked on his friend's hand.
Jack's eyes were squeezed shut, the blackness outlining his vision. "It hurts Daniel—oh God it hurts!" He leaned back against the floor his eyes beginning to open and close.
"What's happening to me?" His pain filled gaze reached Daniel's bloody face.
"You're fighting--" Daniel stated, laying Jack's head in his lap.
"I'm—fighting--- death?" Jack's jaw worked a little as he forced his eyes to stay open.
"No Jack, you're fighting life--" He saw Jack's eyes widen and nodded. "Yes—its true. That's why you have to stop fighting and let it go, let the unconsciousness take you."
His eyelids opened again, they slowly closed and finally, Jack's head lolled to one side as his last breath left his body. Daniel saw him and nodded; he too closed his eyes and keeled over.
"Jack?"
A sweet, familiar voice reached Jack's ear and he slowly opened his eyes seeing Gillian standing over him; a look of pure relief on her face. Smiling, she reached out and picked up his hand, raised it to her lips and gave it a kiss, touching her forehead to it.
"I've been so worried Jack--" She whispered, her voice clogged with tears.
Jack looked around the infirmary, seeing people lying in beds; he saw Daniel on the far side of the room and swallowed hard, confused.
"Gill," his voice low, barely above a whisper. "I need you to tell me what happened."
Gillian nodded and moved the chair beside the bed closer, sitting down. She took a deep shuddering breath.
"You all were lucky Jack—damn lucky. That bomb was in the process of molecular disintegration when it detonated; the bomb's energy got sent back through the wormhole--" Stopping she turned around and looked at the beds. "You, Sam, Teal'c and Daniel got the brunt of it and the three of them would have been dead if you hadn't gotten them all down."
The deep inhaling and exhaling of a respirator came from the other side of the room, from the bed that Sam lay in and she had an oxygen mask over her face. Daniel lay beside her, thick bandages covering his face and neck.
Shifting in his bed Jack winced, his hand slid down his white gown and he felt the square gauze taped over his stomach. "What is this?"
Her shaking hand stroked over the wounded area gently. "That's a piece of the bomb; the metal flew through the gate like darts. It got you in the stomach, Sam took a good blast of energy that sent her flying; she's got a skull fracture and Daniel got peppered with metal slivers—He was covered in bleeding wounds, thank God the ones on his face are superficial, but he had a piece stuck in his chest that was much more life threatening. We had to rush him to the OR to save his life."
"Teal'c?" Jack asked, licking his cracked lips.
"He got turned into a pin cushion too and thrown down the ramp but Junior is taking care of him."
Closing his eyes, Jack leaned back against the bed. He thought of the place he had been and the fact Daniel had been there right beside him.
You're fighting life Jack—
So was the place halfway to Heaven? Or halfway to Hell?
Gillian saw her patient's bemused expression and squeezed his hand. "Are you all right?"
"I don't know—guess I'm just in shock over what happened--" His eyes didn't meet hers, he knew that one stare into his eyes would be like opening a book, Gillian would be able to read him that easily.
"Things have been rough for you the past couple of days Jack, you faded in and out of consciousness, sometimes it seemed as if you were responding to your name and sometimes it didn't. There were a few times--" She trailed off, her head dropping. The sudden stop in mid sentence made Jack finally look at her, seeing her shaking shoulders.
"What Gill?"
She shook her head, her long hair spilling forward, framing her face like a curtain. Jack reached out and touched her glossy hair, tucking a finger under her chin and lifting it. "I thought you were going to die Jack—you came that close a couple of times."
He could see the emotion swimming in her eyes and the exhaustion in her pale face; shaking his head slowly he cupped the back of her neck.
"It'd take more than one little firecracker to separate us Gill--" Jack pulled her towards him, drawing her head to his chest. He dropped his head and burrowed into her hair sighing into it.
Wrapping her arms around him, Gillian sighed; a few stray tears rolling down her face.
"It better--" She threatened, hearing him laugh in her ear.
"Jack?" A voice called from other side of the room, Gillian got up and quickly wiped her wet cheeks. She turned and saw Daniel squinting.
"Daniel? You all right?" Gillian left Jack's side and went over to him, reaching out she touched the dressings around his face carefully.
"I'm fine—I guess--" He winced a little, squinting at the doctor in front of him. "My glasses?"
"Damaged by the blast Daniel--" She opened the bedside table and pulled out the wire frames, the ear pieces twisted and broken; both lenses were gone. "You're lucky they didn't cut your eyes when they broke. Don't worry we're having new ones made for you at the base optometrist, should be ready tomorrow."
"Yeah thanks--" He took the mutilated frame from her and sighed before setting it down on his bedside table. "Everyone all right?"
"Yeah they will be--" Turning around she gazed briefly at Jack. "How did you know Jack was awake?"
"I don't know--" Running his hand over his hospital gown, he felt the gauze through it and looked at Gillian. "What happened?"
"The bomb—A chunk of metal hit you in the chest--" She stated, dropping her head a moment as the memory of running into the gate room returned to her. Seeing him and Jack, both of them covered in blood; so much blood her white coat had turned red by the time everyone got rushed into the infirmary and the terrifying moments that followed.
Daniel watched her, her face pale and haggard; the ordeal she had been through clear. "Gill?" He reached out and touched her arm startling her.
"I'm sorry Daniel its just been a rough two days--" A small smile came to her lips as she patted his hand. "You need to get some rest."
"I will, but can I talk to Jack first?"
"Well—all right, but make it fast--" Gillian took a hold of both of his arms. "Okay don't do anything, let me be the one to get you up, all right?"
"Okay--"
Gillian gripped Daniel's arms firmly and sat him up, the action pulled on his chest and he gritted his teeth as she quickly slid his legs over the side of the bed.
"I know that hurt and I'm sorry--" She cupped the back of his neck, stroking his hair soothingly. Finally Daniel raised his head, shaking it. "It's not your fault."
"Let me get a wheelchair and then I'll leave you and Jack alone--" Disappearing for a moment and then reappearing pushing a wheelchair, Gill parked it directly in front of Daniel and locked the brakes.
"Do you need help getting down from the bed?"
"No, I think I can do it--" He planted one hand on the bed and the other on the side table. Taking a deep breath he stepped down onto the cold cement floor and quickly sat down in the chair rubbing his chest.
"Good Daniel, you did really good--" Gillian unlocked the wheelchair and rolled it across the room to Jack's bedside and locked the wheels. Rounding the bed she gave Jack a smile, reaching out to squeeze his hand.
"I'm going to go grab some coffee, I'll be back--" She started to walk away, only to have Jack tug her back over to him.
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
"I am?" Tilting her head to one side she studied Jack a moment seeing the glimmer in his eyes. She shifted her gaze briefly to Daniel, raising an eyebrow.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah--" Jack squeezed her hand again, pulling her even closer. Normally, they kept their relationship on the mountain strictly professional but considering what had happened and Daniel's gentle grin—Gillian leaned over Jack stroking his face; seeing the need clearly reflecting in his eyes. Without saying a word she dropped her head and pressed her lips to his, her mouth taking his slowly.
Jack whimpered, his hand sliding up her neck and into her hair. He returned the kiss eagerly, suddenly forgetting they were in mixed company. However Gillian did remember and broke the kiss, leaning back to see her fiancé's disappointment.
"When you're better, I'll be more than happy to make a house call--" She winked at him before slipping her hands into the pocket of her screen scrubs. "I'll be back--"
Daniel snickered at that remark dropping his head to avoid Jack's terminator gaze; waiting until Gillian had gone to meet Jack's eyes again.
"Oh don't look at me like that Jack, it's not like your relationship with her is a big secret; the whole mountain knows you're engaged to her."
"But not the whole mountain gets to see me kiss her, consider yourself privileged--" Jack fumbled with his gown, a clear sign of his avoidance of the subject at hand.
"You know why I wanted to talk to you Jack--" Daniel started, seeing him shrug his shoulders.
"Maybe."
"No maybes about it Jack, you and I were both there—We both saw this place covered with blood and deserted."
Sighing, Jack finally met his eyes, his expression one of annoyance. "All right so maybe we did, what does that mean? That we were both caught in some sort of--"
"Limbo?"
Jack's lips tightened into a thin line and he licked them. "I don't know what to call it."
"We were halfway between life and death Jack, what else can we call it?"
"A dream—A reaction to getting hurt or some kind of super drug that they gave us--"
"You're grasping at straws--" Daniel went to cross his arms over his chest and cringed as he got a reminder of his injury.
"Fine—but you tell me what's more plausible. A drug induced dream or you and me taking a trip to Oz?" Cocking an eyebrow, Jack waited for an answer. Daniel chuffed a few times, opening and closing his mouth. Finally he shrugged his shoulders and sighed.
"To be honest Jack I don't know what happened to us but I'd like to keep an open mind about it--" He chewed on his lip a moment taking a quick glanced at the infirmary door. "Are you going to tell Gillian about it?"
"I don't know—maybe--" Jack rubbed his hand over his face. "I'm not good at keeping secrets from her; she can always get them out of me--" He cleared his throat, working his jaw a moment. "For what it's worth Daniel—whether that place was real or not—You helped me get out of there and I'm—grateful to you for that."
Daniel smiled, both surprised and touched. "You're welcome."
"You two all right?"
The conversation came to an abrupt end as Gillian strolled back in the room, a cup of coffee in her hands.
"We're fine--" Daniel spoke up first as he unlocked his wheelchair. "I think I'm ready to go back to bed and rest for awhile."
Gillian set her cup down on the table beside Jack's bed and pushed Daniel back to his bed; helping him climb into it. Once settled back in, she gave him his next dose of medication and in no time at all he was fast asleep.
"He's going to be fine Jack--" Gill saw the concern on her fiancé's face when she sat down in the chair beside his bed.
"I know, Daniel's pretty tough--"
"By the time the gate room's repaired everyone will be back on their feet--" She reached out and took Jack's hand in hers. "The mountain's going to be closed down for a while; they're going to be repairing the gate and the iris for the next couple of weeks so we can go home, probably tonight."
Gillian had brought Jack home and put him to be. When he fell into a doze she changed out of her green scrubs, took a shower and slipped into her comfortable blue bathrobe. Returning to the bedroom, she saw Jack curled up on his side; his eyes open. She joined him in bed, planting a kiss on his shoulder.
"Jack?"
"Yeah?" He didn't roll over to face her and Gillian leaned her forehead against the side of his neck.
"You didn't sleep very long. Want to talk about what's bothering you?"
Jack tensed a little, licking his lips. "No."
"Is it what happened?" She inquired gently, spooning behind him; her fingers stroking through his hair.
"Part of it--" He finally admitted with a sigh as he put one hand on his stomach and carefully shifted, rolling over onto his back. A sudden flare up of pain gritted his teeth and he remained absolutely still as it settled back down and went away.
"What's the rest of it Jack?" Gill used her best gentle tone, knowing that at times like this gentility would win him over. The old adage of getting flies with honey would crumble that protective wall that Jack had instinctually put up around himself. He often did that when an incident had taken place that he needed to sort out; an old habit that he still refused to break despite the fact he didn't need to do that anymore. He wasn't alone anymore and whatever it was they could sort it out together.
He lolled his head to look at her; a distant fear reflecting in the depths of his dark eyes.
"I'm doing it again, aren't I?"
"Shutting me out? Yes?" Her finger traced up his cheek gently, over the bridge of his nose and across his forehead. "What happened Jack? Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?"
"In a way—I did--" He sighed, shaking his head. "When the blast hit—I don't remember hitting the ramp or anything. But the next time I opened my eyes I was lying on the floor in the gate room, except there was no gate or ramp—Nothing. I couldn't find you or anyone and when I got to the infirmary there was blood everywhere--" Pausing a moment, he rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. "I kept hearing my name and every time I did I felt like I was going to pass out and it hurt. I realized my gut was bleeding and that someone else was in the infirmary too."
"Who?"
Jack swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbling slightly. "Daniel—covered in blood. He was there and he kept telling me that everyone wasn't missing and that I should stop fighting the pain and just pass out. Finally I did and when I woke up again you were standing over me, calling my name."
Gillian nodded thoughtfully. "And when Daniel said he wanted to talk to you--"
"He wanted to know if we were really there and if that was a dream or what it was exactly--" He ran his fingers through his hair, mussing it.
"What did you both decide?"
"Nothing really—Daniel said he wanted to keep an open mind about it--" Jack took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You know how he is."
"Yes, Daniel is pretty philosophical about stuff like that--" Gillian lowered her head gently against Jack's shoulder.
"What do you think it was Gill?"
A small smile came to Gillian's face; she knew it would only be a matter of time before Jack asked for her own view of what had happen.
Raising her head, she locked gazes with him.
"I think you and Daniel both had near death experiences. There were times when the two of you had lower blood pressures and heart rates, labored breathing. I thought I was going to lose you both--" She closed her eyes briefly, sighing. A flash went off in her mind of Jack and Daniel, their faces pale-- their blood coating her gloves. "But you both were strong enough to hang on and fight--" Gillian pressed her forehead to the side of his face, her hand coming around to cup his cheek.
"I kept calling your name, talking to you; letting you know that I was there."
Jack's hand came up and gripped Gillian's wrist, turning his head so they were now forehead to forehead.
"I could hear you but the problem was I couldn't find you. That was the worst part of it—not knowing if you were alive or dead—or hurt--" He wrapped his arms around her in a hug sighing heavily. "I'm so damn tired Gill."
"Then go to sleep, I'll be here with you."
Jack watched her a moment seeing her gentle smile. "All right--"
He rolled onto his back, settling down with an exhale of breath. Gillian still hovered over him and she leaned over giving his lips a gentle kiss. The contact sent a flood of relief and comfort through him, one that he wasn't about to admit to—at least not easily. His eyes slowly closed and he gave Gill's hand another squeeze as he drifted off to sleep.
END.