RATING: PG-13

PAIRINGS: Sam/Jack – a bit of Sam/Other

SEASON: 6

WARNINGS: Character Death

SPOILERS: None

DISCLAIMER: No they're not mine…

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is for Kat – because she didn't think I had the heart to do it…neither did I…

Then I looked up and saw his face there, staring back at me. His expression said it all, revealed everything. All the pain and suffering from the past few years was reflected in his eyes, the longing they had both felt for so long, for so many years.

I felt I should look away, felt I should give one final glance of goodbye to Jonas or Teal'c, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from his. These were our last moments together, it would be our last chance to say anything. I opened my mouth to speak and the past few days seemed to flood back into my memory…

"Morning campers," Colonel Jack O'Neill said, entering the Gate room.

I looked up from fiddling with my pack and smiled. "Morning, sir."

"Good morning, Colonel," Jonas Quinn said.

"Good morning, O'Neill," Teal'c said at the same time.

I looked at the gate as I heard the whoosh of the wormhole opening, connected the gate simultaneously to another gate on a world on the opposite side of the galaxy.

"SG-1, you have a go," General Hammond announced from the control room on the level above them.

"We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard to oz," Colonel O'Neill sung as he walked up and ramped and jumped through the even horizon.

I smiled and followed him, knowing Jonas and Teal'c weren't far behind me. I stepped through the event horizon and a few seconds later materialised on the other side, only to find at least twenty guns pointing in our direction.

"Whoa," I said, stopping dead in my tracks.

"Whoa's a good word to describe it," the Colonel said to me as Jonas and Teal'c reappeared.

One of the uniformed men at the bottom of the ramp stepped forward. "Who are you?"

"We are from Earth," I said.

"You have a Jaffa with you," the man stated.

"He's good," Colonel O'Neill informed him. "You know, switched sides, he's not with the Goa'uld anymore."

Another man stepped forward. "These are the people of the Tau'ri…and I am guessing you are SG-1."

Colonel O'Neill's head snapped around to look at the man. "How do you know that?"

"You are famous throughout the universe, I have wanted to meet you for a long time now," the second man said. "I am Lucas Rosenberg."

"Colonel Jack O'Neill," the Colonel replied. "This is Major Samantha Carter, Jonas Quinn and Teal'c."

"I know who you are," Lucas said, walking up the ramp and holding out his hand to Colonel O'Neill. "I am glad to meet you."

"Pleasure," Colonel O'Neill smiled in his unsure way.

"Would we be able to, uh, get off the ramp?" I asked.

"Lucas, these people are safe?" the first man who had spoken asked.

"Yes Peter, they have defeated Goa'uld System Lords on multiple occasions," Lucas said, then he turned to face me, "Major Carter."

"Yes?" I replied.

"I have especially been looking forward to meeting you…I am also a scientist and would be extremely interested to discuss some things with you," Lucas said.

"OK, sounds good to me," I replied.

I felt Colonel O'Neill move slightly closer to me. "Me too."

"I was actually hoping to have a private conversation with Major Carter," Lucas said.

"Anything you can say to her you can say to me…" Colonel O'Neill started.

"Sir," I cut him off. "It's fine."

With that I followed Lucas down the ramp and out of the room, which looked suspiciously like the Gate Room back on Earth.

"You have an iris in front of your Stargate?" Lucas sounded surprised.

"Yea, that way the Goa'uld can't get through without our codes," I continued to explain.

"So that is how you have prevented attack?" Lucas said. "It makes sense. We have been attacked through the gate multiple times."

"We could help you build an iris of your own if you wished," I said.

"That would be greatly appreciated," Lucas said.

I smiled. "So this is some kind of military base?"

Lucas nodded. "The people of our planet do not know of the Stargate's existence."

"Just like ours," I muttered.

Just then Colonel O'Neill decided to round the corner and enter the commissary like place we were sitting in. "Carter."

"Yes, sir?" I replied.

"Jonas and I are going back to the SGC to discuss stuff with Hammond for about an hour," he said.

"Oh…can I go back? There's some things I need to discuss with the General," I requested.

He seemed to think about it for a minute. "I guess…I'll stay here."

I didn't know whether that was such a wise idea. Leaving the Colonel and Teal'c alone with an alien race, but I didn't really have a choice in the matter. I smiled a thank you to him and turned to Lucas, standing up in the process.

"I'll go and discuss it with General Hammond," I said, starting to walk away.

Suddenly I felt Lucas grab my hand. "Samantha…"

"Yes?" I asked, feeling sort of uncomfortable with him grabbing my hand – especially in front of Colonel O'Neill.

"When will you be back?" Lucas asked.

"Not long," I said.

He let go of my hand, thank goodness, and I walked towards Colonel O'Neill. Once we were out of earshot of Lucas, the Colonel stopped and looked at me.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"Nothing, sir," I said.

"Samantha?" he repeated.

"Sir, I don't know OK?" I said, looking up and meeting his eyes, then regretting it.

I wished I could read the thoughts going through his mind. Even though I couldn't, I knew what he was thinking. He didn't want to loose me to another man, especially an alien that he didn't trust.

"Just be careful, OK?" Jack said. "I don't want you getting hurt."

With that he turned around and walked quickly out of the hallway, leaving me standing by myself, a feeling of sadness sweeping over me. I knocked it away, along with any feelings I had for my CO, and turned in the direction of the Stargate, ready to head back to Earth.

"Can you find any reason not to trust these people?" Hammond asked.

"None at all," Jonas replied.

"They seem quite friendly, actually, sir," I continued.

"Also, they have offered us unlimited access to their Naquadah deposits in exchange for medical information," Jonas said.

"And these people are basically the same level of technology as us?" Hammond asked.

"About twenty years less, sir," I replied, instantly.

"I'm going to allow it," Hammond said. "Dismissed."

I jumped to my feet as Hammond left the room. "Back to the planet then?"

Jonas nodded.

We stepped back through the gate with all the equipment we needed to teach them how to prevent certain illnesses and build an iris for their Stargate. Surprise, surprise, Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c were waiting in the gate room of the other planet when we arrived. The two technicians met with Lucas and they immediately headed up to their control room to start learning about the iris. I continued with the nurse, Lt. Brown, to where the Colonel and Teal'c were standing.

"What's all this stuff?" Colonel O'Neill asked.

"Medical supplies," I replied.

He raised his eyebrows in a surprised look. "We agreed to that?"

I nodded.

"Oh," he said. "OK then. You go do your stuff."

I woke up a few hours later, without even realising I'd fallen asleep, and found Lucas staring at me across the lab table. I jolted upright and smiled at him.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi," I replied.

"Have a nice sleep?" he asked.

"Ah, yea…how long have you been there?" I asked, finding it rather disturbing that he'd been watching me sleep.

"About half an hour, I didn't want to wake you," he said.

"I see," I replied.

"Samantha, you are very beautiful when you sleep," he said.

Feeling uncomfortable again, I shifted in my seat. "Uh, thanks…"

I didn't know what the say. Lucas was starting to bug me. When I had first joined SG-1 I had tended to fall for some of the people they'd met on other planet. But then somewhere in my second or third year I had realised how much I cared for Colonel O'Neill…for Jack.

"I have to go," Lucas said suddenly, getting up and walking out.

Just as he walked out the door Colonel O'Neill walked in.

"Hey sleepy-head," he said.

"Oh great, did the whole world see me sleeping?" I snapped at him.

He seemed rather taken aback.

"I'm sorry, sir," I said.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," I lied.

I couldn't tell him what was really wrong. I couldn't tell him how much I wanted to just lean over and kiss him, or tell him how I felt. But I couldn't. I had to sit there and act like he was nothing more than my CO, nothing more than a friend.

But he was, he was so much more than that.

I sat there staring at him for a moment. He hadn't replied to bug me for more information, because he knew he wouldn't get it. He just sat there, searching my eyes, knowing what I was thinking, because he was thinking the same thing.

Suddenly an alarm started screeching. We were both pulled out of our moment and ran out into the corridor. A squadron of armed men were headed straight for them. Expecting them to run straight past us, we stepped out of their way. Instead they stopped right in front of us.

"Major Carter, come with us," the leading man said.

"What? Why?" I asked, surprised.

"The medication that you gave to Peter Moran has killed him, it was not medication, but poison," the man said. "You are under arrest."

"Whoa, hold on a minute, that's not Carter's fault," Colonel O'Neill said.

"She gave it to him," the man said.

"She didn't know it would hurt him," Colonel O'Neill defended me.

"You cannot tell me that Arsenic is not poisonous to the people of the Tau'ri?" the man accused.

"I never gave Arsenic to Peter Moran," I defended myself, a sudden wave of fear flowing over me.

Someone had murdered Peter and made it look like I had done it. The fear started to set deep inside of me. If they were arresting me it meant that it seriously looked like I had killed Peter. What if I had? What if I had actually killed someone by accident?

"She wouldn't do that," Colonel O'Neill stuck up for me again.

"Sir, it's OK," I said.

"No it's not," he said.

"The penalty for murder, is murder," the man said.

My throat seemed to drop into my stomach. Death was the punishment for murder on this planet. They were going to kill me.

"Whoa, what about a trial?" Colonel O'Neill asked.

"Colonel…" I said quietly.

"Carter, I'm not gonna let them take you away," he said.

I stopped and looked at him. There was hidden meaning behind those words. Or maybe there wasn't, maybe he'd meant it in the way she thought the hidden meaning was. That he wasn't going to let them take her away from him. Forever.

With that the guard handcuffed me and jerked me away from him.

I sat on the floor of the cell, staring at the wall. How had I managed to get myself in this position?

"Samantha," I heard the voice said.

I turned around to see Lucas standing on the other side of the bars.

"Hi Lucas," I said, returning my gaze to the wall.

"They can't find any evidence that it wasn't you," he informed me. "It all points to being you."

"It wasn't me," I defended myself.

"I know, but they won't believe me," Lucas said.

"How do you know I'm innocent?" I asked.

"I spent more time with you than the others did. I know you wouldn't do that," Lucas said.

I smiled. "Thank you, but that's not much help."

"I know," Lucas said.

I sat silently, still staring at the wall, till Lucas finally turned around and left. As he walked out I heard another, more familiar, pair of footsteps enter the room.

"Carter," the familiar voice said.

I didn't reply, just turned and looked at him.

"So…" he said.

"So this is it," I said. "My end."

"You're going to make it, Carter," he said. "We'll find a way outta this."

"No we won't. Sir there's no proof I didn't do this," I said. "They're going to…they're going to kill me."

"No they're not, we'll bust you out of here," he said.

"Sir, there's no proof I didn't do it," I replied.

"Sam, I'm not going to let them kill you," he said. "I won't let them take you away from. Not now, not ever."

"There's nothing either of us can do," I replied, standing up and walking to the bars where he was standing.

"They can take me," he said. "Let them take me instead. I've had my life, I had a family, I've had my turn…you haven't."

"They won't take you, sir," I said.

"Drop the sir," he said.

His hand was on the cell bar, right above mine, and he moved it down so it was holding mine. I felt the fear inside of me slowly increase. I would never have a chance to live out life with this man, never have the chance to feel loved, to get married, to have children, to lead a normal life.

"OK," I replied simply, meeting his eyes.

"You know…" he started.

"Major Carter," an unfamiliar voice said from the doorway. "It is time."

I didn't move, I just kept staring into Jack's eyes.

"I know…" I said.

Jack moved away as the guards came towards my cell. He knew I wasn't going to let him die for me, there was no way. I let the guards handcuff me again, all the time not letting my eyes off him. They led me away from my cell, away from him, towards the execution room. I closed my eyes and it almost seemed as if I could watch my life flash before my eyes. I could see everything from my first day at school, to my mum dying, then my first date, graduating from high school, joining the Air Force, finding out about the Stargate, walking into the briefing room that first day and meeting Jack, realising she loved him…

I opened my eyes suddenly.

I loved him and I'd never had the chance to tell him.

"No!" I said out loud, realising I was in the execution room.

I turned around and saw Jonas and Teal'c standing there.

Then I looked up and saw his face there, staring back at me. His expression said it all, revealed everything. All the pain and suffering from the past few years was reflected in his eyes, the longing they had both felt for so long, for so many years.

I felt I should look away, felt I should give one final glance of goodbye to Jonas or Teal'c, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from his. These were our last moments together, it would be our last chance to say anything. I opened my mouth to speak and the past few days seemed to flood back into my memory.

I could hear them getting the gun ready to my side, but nothing could bring me to look away from his eyes. I could see the love there, the pain that he would suffer if I died here and now.

"Wait," I said quietly.

I turned to see Lucas pointing the gun at me already.

"Just wait a minute," I said.

I turned to face Jack and slowly walked over to him. When I finally reached there I took his hand in mine.

"Jack…" I started, tears streaking down my face. "I just want you to know…I want you to know that I love you…more than I ever loved anyone else, more than I think I could love anyone else. And…and I just wanted you to know that."

He seemed to freeze, I could see the tears he was trying to push back, see that he didn't want to cry in front of me, wanted to show a brave face.

"God damnit, Sam, don't leave me, I've lost so much already, I can't loose you too…" he managed to spit out. "I love you too…"

I stared at him a moment and longer and then walked back towards my spot, letting my hand linger on his a moment longer than it should have. I stood in my spot and turned to face him. I could see a tear roll down his cheek, he couldn't hold it back. Through my own tears I could see Teal'c move closer to comfort him, and Jack moving away.

Lucas came up close behind me and pointed the gun to the side of my head.

"I'm sorry Samantha," he whispered. "I was the one who killed Peter…"

My last thoughts were of betrayal…

My last memory the blasting noise of a gun…

And the last picture printed on my mind was that of Jack breaking down and crying, screaming for them to kill him instead…