Disclaimer: The characters represented here are in no way my own intellectual works of my own, but of Gekko productions. The only thing that is mine is the plot.
Jack looked out his office, down the long, narrow corridor of Level 27. He heaved a heavy sigh and looked back to his paperwork. He saw the neat, orderly lines, the meticulously typed words and swallowed, batting it off his desk and onto the stone floor. He jumped up from his desk and kicked it, tipping it over. He stormed about the room for a full five minutes, tipping over shelves and punching filing cabinets. Daniel walked up to the door in the midst of Jack's frustrated rage. "Uh, Jack? Can I come in?" he asked, nervously looking about the destroyed room. Jack whipped around at the archaeologist and looked at him for a few moments, breathing heavily. His eyes began to water and his face contorted to an expression of sorrow. Daniel walked in, stood beside his friend, and put an arm around the grieving Colonel's shoulders. "I'm sorry, I know she meant a lot to you."
Jack looked over at the younger man, his eyes watery. "She's gone, Danny," he whispered, swallowing hard. "She shouldn't have died. It should've been me, damnit!" He collapsed onto the floor and began to cry freely. "I miss her already." He muttered, rolling onto his back and looking up the ceiling. "I need a shrink." He said, looking over at his friend. "I've got to get over her or I'll never be fit for duty." He stood up, looked around the ruined office, and chuckled a little. "I guess I got carried away." He pulled the desk back up and invited Daniel to take a seat, smiling. "Did Hammond say if anyone is joining SG-1?"
Daniel shook his head and stood up, sitting on Jack's slightly chipped desk. "Well, he said we need time to cope with…" he trailed off, looking around. He closed his eyes and removed his glasses, rubbing his eyes and sighing. "We'll be getting a replacement in about a month. Sam would have wanted us to keep going." He rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head, silently mourning the loss of his friend.
Jack got up and walked out of his office without a word, his hands thrust into the pockets of the olive green fatigues. 'Why her?' he thought to himself.
FlashbackJack hopped through the pulsating, blue ring and looked around, squinting through his sunglasses. "Well, kids. Welcome to P5X-R52. Daniel, take a look at those pillars." The younger man took off and started to examine the symbols on the ancient, stone pillars. Teal'C stepped away from the Stargate and looked around, his staff weapon at rest position. He walked off towards the rise of land of his own initiative and began to survey the surrounding area for signs of Jaffa. "Carter, with me. Lets go find us the owners of this establishment; I have a complaint about the facilities." The last member of SG-1, a young, blonde woman, stepped up behind O'Neill and fell in step with him. Jack smiled to himself, invisible to Major Carter, who was behind him. He always felt some sense of security when Sam was with him. He struck out on a beaten, dirt path leading from the stone steps of the ring and headed away from the rise and towards a valley. "So, Carter. What do you think we will find here? Think we'll find those damn Furlings… or whatever the hell they're called?" he asks conversationally, looking back to her.
Sam smiled at her commanding officer and walked up to his side. "Might be the missing link that lives here." She joked, moving slightly closer to him. Jack looked down at the lovely, young woman and blushed a little. He had had a crush on her for a very long time, and it seemed that she had noticed as of late, as she had been making subtle advances. Either that, or Jack was seeing things that were not really there. Sam looked up at him, for he was almost a head taller than her, and watched his cheeks redden slightly. "Colonel," she said, "are you getting sick?" She smiled as she teased him, for she also had a crush on him as well.
The forest they walked through got darker as they moved deeper. Jack fingered his P90 nervously and Sam just looked around in wonderment. A small squirrel-looking creature scampered across the path and Jack jumped, leveling his weapon at it. Sam laughed and placed a hand on top of it, pushing it down gently. "Sir, it's just a little animal, nothing to fire at." She said, hiding the smile behind a hand. Jack blushed even more and looked away, slinging his gun across his back and walking onward. They came to a clearing with a cluster of huts and stopped. People, fully formed ones, were milling about, doing chores and generally living small, village lives. Sam sighed slightly and leaned against a tree, watching them for a minute. "It's nice here, sir." She said quietly, closing her eyes and relaxing a bit. Jack nodded and tapped her on the arm, urging her onwards.
"Come on, Major, keep it together long enough to check this place out before you start thinking about romantic getaways." He stopped right after the last word then walked away quickly, realizing that was exactly what he was thinking about. Sam caught up and moved in step with him, watching him curse under his breath. She shrugged it off and smiled, walking along happily. Somehow, she felt like a kid again and had an insane urge to skip instead of walk. She pushed it aside and made it to the village, letting Jack have first contact.
A few hours later, night had fallen. Teal'C and Daniel had returned and they were sitting around and watching ritual dances. The people said that their 'god' was Apophis, but he had been long absent from his ritual selection of the strongest and fastest. Jack had smiled that whole way through and Daniel was busy interviewing the locals. Teal'C was in Kell-No-Reem, so it was just Jack and Sam by the fire with the dancers. Jack shuffled closer to Sam and put a hand beside her on the log they were sitting at. Sam looked at his hand and placed hers over it. "Sir… Jack, you've been watching me and blushing since we got here, is there something on your mind?" he asked, her mischievous smile hidden by the low light. Colonel O'Neill looked down at her hand and swallowed, a bright red creeping onto his cheeks and neck.
"You know it's against…" he mutters, moving closer to her. Sam watched and blushed; looking down and smiling shyly like a love-struck schoolgirl. She looked up at him, into his beautiful brown eyes, and smiled, closing hers and moving closer. It was at this point, it should be noted, that Daniel walked by and saw what they were doing. He simply looked away politely and went to go talk to Teal'C, who was less likely to be making advances on someone. Jack snaked an arm around Sam's back and pulled her into a tight embrace, his lips finding hers and kissing her passionately. Sam, surprised at this, moved away initially. She then pushed against him, feeling the warmth of his parted lips on hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and took in the taste of his mouth. They spent what felt like an eternity in each other's arms until a familiar and haunting sound reached their bliss-clouded ears, a Jaffa horn. They jumped apart and grabbed their guns, moving into positions behind huts, watching the path, cautious and worried. Daniel and the large, former Jaffa sprinted out of one of the huts and took up positions near Jack and Sam, Daniel also packing a P90, while Teal'C hefted his staff weapon. Five Serpent guards marched out of the trees, their armor clanking and banging. Their glowing red eyes pierced the cool night air, putting the team on edge. Jack made one, quick hand gesture and they all opened fire. All five guards dropped in a shower of sparks. More guards, this time both Serpent and Horus guards marched out, this time with staff weapons leveled at the team's hiding places. It had been a trap! All ten of the guards opened fire, filling the air with bright, yellow balls of energy. The team leaped away, splitting into twos, Jack and Daniel, Sam and Teal'C. They fired again, the guards dropping one by one, but more kept coming.
"By the way, Jack. I saw you and Sam sitting by the fire, I didn't know you two were seeing each other." He said, opening fire on a soldier who tried to sneak up on them. Jack simply shook his head and kept firing. After a few minutes of constant firing, and after all of their hands felt like they had been in a paint mixer, the guards seemed to have left. Jack stood from his firing position and slung up his weapon, shaking out his hands. He walked about the area, examining the bodies of the dead Jaffa.
"Carter, you and T all right?" he called, checking on the other two members of his team. He got an 'affirmative' and an 'indeed'. He nodded at this and walked over to the two, kneeling in front of Carter and dismissing Teal'C. "Are you sure you're all right Sam?" he whispers, placing a rough hand on her shoulder. She smiled and nodded, kissing him on the cheek and standing, pulling him up. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and looked up at him adoringly.
"Are you worried about me? I'm a big girl, I can hold my own in a fight." She said teasingly, kissing his stubbly chin. "I think we need to find somewhere more… private." She then muttered, looking over at the prying, young doctor spying on them. Daniel simply looked away and began to walk off, pretending to talk to his recorder. Sam chuckled and took Jack by the hand, leading him into the forest, into the darkness.
Once they were out of earshot of the village, Jack pulled Sam back, running his hands up and down her slender body, under the military uniform. Sam smiled up and him and unzipped his vest, sliding it off him and starting on his shirt buttons. Jack smiled as she did this, doing the same for her, popping the buttons and kissing the soft flesh of her neck. Sam finished first, sliding her commander's shirt off and tugging playfully at the hair on his chest. Jack closed his eyes and pulled her top off, looking down at the dainty bra. They spent the rest of the night on a bed of their clothes and finally doing what they always had wanted with the other.
The next morning, Jack and Sam emerged from the forest, looking entirely unlike a couple that had spent a long, sweaty night in each other's arms. They walked into the camp, packed up their gear, and announced that they needed to return home. Daniel, of course, was reluctant to go. He stated that there was so much to learn about their culture. Jack had shaken him off and started out back to the Gate, occasionally stealing glances at Sam, who was walking ahead. They got to the massive, stone circle and Sam started dialing. That was when it all fell apart.
A troop fifty-strong emerged from the trees, staffs leveled at the team. Sam slapped the large activator dome on the DHD and hid behind it, urging the others on. Daniel retreated through the Gate, firing wildly and scoring a few lucky hits before he crossed the Event Horizon. Teal'C was next, leaping through when a staff blast struck the step behind him. Jack had moved up and was firing with Carter. "You go now, I'll follow!" he shouted above the din, dropping a guard who approached the Gate. Sam shook her head and pushed at him. Jack swore and stood up, firing in short sweeps. Sam looked up, and then began a sprint to the Gate. A guard, excited to serve his god, took a shot, striking Sam squarely in the back. She cried out and fell onto the steps. Jack screamed her name and ran backwards, still firing. He grabbed Sam's shirt-collar and pulled her along, firing one-handed while pulling her through the blue, shimmering portal. They tumbled through the inky blackness of space before landing with a loud clang on the metal catwalk in the SGC. Jack crawled back and hovered over Sam, checking for her pulse. "Oh god, Sam. You can't die." He whispered. He put a warm hand on her clammy cheek and looked down into her blue, cloudy eyes. "Don't die on me, Major." He said, his eyes hard. The medics rushed in with a gurney and a worried doctor Fraiser. They hurriedly hoisted her onto the rolling bed and wheeled her out of the giant, concrete room. General Hammond stood in the control room, his face ashen.
"Colonel, my office, now." He said, the words catching in his throat. An hour later, Jack stepped out of the General's office on shaky legs. He wandered the halls, his head down and his eyes blank. He eventually made his way to the infirmary, where he sat at Sam's bedside, holding her slender hand with his large, quivering ones. "Carter, come on. You've gotta pull through." He whispered. The rest of the staff had left the moment O'Neill entered the room, giving him the respect of privacy. He looked down at her and smoothed her hair. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, a weak smile playing across her angelic features.
"Hey, sir." She whispered, squeezing his hands. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine." She knew she was lying, but she didn't want him to worry. Jack laughed and shook his head, hunching over and watching her like she was a precious item he didn't want to lose.
"Car-… Sam, you're not all right. Doc said you've got an hour at best. I wanted to stay here with you." He whispered, feeling like a fool for letting her get hit. As if she read his mind, she shook her head and smiled, leaning up to briefly kiss his lips.
"It's not your fault, sir. It was either you or me, and you are the higher rank. It was-" she was about to finish when Jack cut her off.
"I don't need to hear what the military protocol says you have to say. I love you and I shouldn't have avoided telling you. I don't give a damn about being court-marshaled any more, I just don't want you to go." He said, his eyes welling with tears. Sam felt her eyes watering too and she looked to his hands, kissing the back of one. Jack spent the whole hour sitting by her silently, looking into her eyes and crying a little. Sam fell asleep after a while and passed. Jack, despite telling himself he wouldn't, broke down and cried, wailed really, while draped across her lifeless form.
End FlashbackJack walked through the corridors, into Hammond's office. "I'm leaving, George." He said simply. He dropped a sheet of paper onto the older man's desk and saluted before walking away. Hammond walked around the desk and placed a hand on Jack's shoulder.
"Colonel, you're welcome back any time. We'll miss you, son." He said quietly. Jack turned around and nodded, shaking his former superior's hand before walking out. It took him all of half an hour to pack his belongings and be on the elevator to the surface. He hopped in his truck and was about to leave when Daniel stopped him, grabbing the door. "Jack, you can't leave. She would have want-" he cut himself off, realizing Jack wasn't listening and he wasn't going to. Daniel simply clapped his friend on the shoulder and solemnly watched him drove off.
Two weeks later, a lieutenant, fresh from the academy, arrived as one of the new members of SG-1 in Sam's place. He was as brilliant as her, and seemed to have a knack for wormhole physics. Daniel then realized why Jack left, he could never see someone in her place.