Title: Four Hours
Author: Justine
Rating: M
Warnings: language, graphic sex, character death(s)…maybe.
Pairing: Jack/Sam
Spoilers: Since I haven't seen episodes consecutively after season five, just assume that it takes place somewhere relatively around season five/six; references to many various episodes.
Summary: With only four hours left to live, Jack and Sam learn that the greatest enemy they would ever face is not the Goa'uld or the Replicators, but the paths that they choose to take during their lives.
Notes: Second SG-1 fic! I've actually had this idea ever since my days of writing for the X-Files. While I think the idea could have still worked with Mulder and Scully, I felt like it was much more compelling when portrayed through Jack and Sam. And while this is marked for a character death, just remember that in the Stargate universe, anything is possible.
Disclaimer: If they were mine, this wouldn't be fanfiction now, would it?
Four Hours
By Justine
"Fate only takes you so far; then it's up to you to make it happen." –unknown
- - - -
001
4:12:09
Somewhere in the background, somewhere far beyond his pounding temples and the sounds of his companion's slow breaths, he could hear a faint ticking. It haunted him. Each tick—each second slipping by—corresponded with a countdown of which he was not unfamiliar with. Neither was she. But the fact remained: unlike past encounters with this sort of situation, plan three hadn't been the solution, and for that matter, plan one and two failed them additionally. As far as any further numerically-branded tactics (such as plan four, five, six…two-hundred, etc.), well… Jack O'Neill lost his train of thought, but somewhere between succumbing to his intensifying migraine and said train derailing, he had concluded that if Carter hadn't mentioned another plan, there just didn't exist one in any reality.
He clamped his eyes shut, pinched the bridge of his nose, massaged his temples—anything to try to relieve the damn tension that began at the base of his neck and climbed painfully until it settled somewhere ambiguously behind his forehead. Having not bothered to take pain killers (they'd probably be dead by the time the migraine dissipated anyways), he assumed the pain would only escalate and prepared himself so.
Jack clenched his teeth and opened his eyes.
There she was, so fragile and yet so remarkably strong. She sat against the opposite wall but not quite directly across from him. She hugged her legs, her chin tucked against her knees while her face remained calm and unreadable. He hated that about her. He wanted to be able to read her—always—but it seemed that infiltrating the vulnerabilities of Samantha Carter fell short in comparison to catching a fish in his lake. It was those rare moments that he treasured when she would let down her barriers and ultimately open up, leaving her mentality naked before him for however short of a time that may be. It was those times he was also holding onto for dear life as his eyes absentmindedly wandered over to the device not ten feet away from them, it's ticking and decreasing red digits a menace to his sight.
As of that very moment, Jack relinquished without want, they had four hours left to live.
- - - -
One week earlier
There was, as usual, a briefing, followed by an assignment (as usual), followed—as usual—by four overdressed, underpaid, and not fully appreciated heroic figures gathering their resources and prepping for their next mission to P3X-somethingorother. Of course, along the way there were several witty remarks from one Colonel Jack O'Neill, excessive scientific chatter from one Major Samantha Carter, a protest in light of the good of humanity by one Dr. Daniel Jackson, and the raised eyebrows/cocked head duo from one Teal'c, all of these which were very characteristic and very, very usual.
Jack yawned. He leaned against his locker and stared at the major.
"You ever get the feeling we're stuck in a routine, Carter?"
The way her mouth remained open from a talking position and some indistinct noise resembling talking subsided throughout the room, he realized he must have interrupted her.
"Uh, I don't know, sir. What do you mean exactly?"
She paused from gearing up into the last of the necessary BDUs for the mission.
"You know, routine. Same old, same old; my life really needs a change; I'm living in a remake of Groundhog Day but not really; out with the old, in with the—"
"Right!" she said, smiling and nodding profusely. "Well, I don't know, sir. I think that while the initial excitement of the Stargate program wore off quite a while ago, it's still thrilling enough to keep me guessing," Sam replied with a grin. "What about you? I take it the feeling isn't exactly mutual, sir?"
"No, it's not that. It's just…ah. I wish something big would happen. We've saved the world so many times, I'm almost ready to do it again." He cringed. "Except, I could do without getting shot. Or zapped," he added. "Anyways, you get the drift, right Carter?"
She smiled and nodded. "Yes, sir, I think I do. Who knows? Maybe we'll find some interesting alien technology on P3X-574 or encounter a potential allied race. After all, initial readings from the MALP indicate that there are or once were terrestrial life signs."
"Yes. Good. Then, let's not keep them waiting." He shut his locker, grabbed his gear, and watched as she did the same. "After you, Major."
- - - -
Upon emerging from the event horizon and taking up immediate precautionary defense positions, the events of the day seemed to be going just as normal as ever, right up until the balmy, sunshine-y day became nighttime right before their eyes.
"Now, that is so not normal," Jack brilliantly concluded.
"Indeed," Teal'c agreed as he peered into the blanket of darkness before him, staff weapon gripped tightly within his hands and aimed in coincidence with his line of sight.
"Carter?" Jack called out blindly, his implicating questions obvious by his tone.
"Uh, yes sir, I'm not sure what just happened. It appears that our presence may have triggered some sort of gravitational shift of the planet entirely, perhaps a safety mechanism installed by the former or current inhabitants. Either that or this is all one big illusion," she explained.
"Teal'c, you ever encountered something like this before?" Jack asked, weapon secured within his hands.
"I have not, O'Neill. I do not believe this to be of Goa'uld technology," the Jaffa answered honestly.
"Alright then, Daniel—"
"No, Jack. I have no idea what is going on either, but my best guess is that—"
"Please lower your weapons."
There was a click, a whirring, and the slightest tremble that accompanied the unfamiliar female voice.
"Hi there!" Jack said into the darkness, not sure where exactly to divert his attention to. "I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill, and we are peaceful explorers from a planet we like to call Earth. We mean no harm to you or to your…friends."
"Good, then I ask that you comply with my request."
The voice seemed to resonate all around them, coming from nowhere in particular and yet projecting loud and clear.
"Alright. But could we get a little light, maybe?" he asked.
And much to SG-1's surprise, there was a flicker, and within seconds they found themselves in a large bright, white room. Jack glanced at his team members and nodded to them to lower their weapons as requested. Once the firearms were safely at their feet, a doorway slid open and a figure emerged.
"Hello, visitors. I apologize for the inconvenience you may have experienced, but you must understand that it was for your own good." A woman with blonde hair and green eyes, middle-aged and rather attractive, approached them. She held a genuine smile on her face.
"So actually, I was half-right about the illusion," Sam said, her tone laced with giddiness and curiosity, "but it wasn't the darkness that was the illusion and rather the transmissions our MALP sent back to us, as well as the place we saw when we first stepped through the gate."
"That is correct, Major Carter," the woman said with a nod.
"That's incredible," Sam mumbled under her breath. She paused then, and concern crept its way onto her face. "Wait a second, I didn't tell you my name."
"That is also correct, neither did the Jaffa Teal'c or Doctor Jackson. You see, I have been expecting you for a very long time. My name is Asa and I am from Earth as well. How I came to be here is of irrelevance at this time, but I promise you that if you succeed in the task I am about to give you, all will become clear very soon."
"What task are we talking about here…Asa?" Jack inquired.
"There's no time to explain. The knowledge that you require is contained in this crystal," Asa replied, disclosing an object from her robe. "You must dial the coordinates inscribed on the outside of the crystal, and from there your journey will begin to unfold."
"Hold on a second," Daniel intervened, raising his hands and giving the woman before them a very puzzled look. "How do we know we can trust you?"
"You don't," she replied, "but I hope that my word will be enough when I say that my intentions are solely good and for the benefit of mankind. Your trust in me is dire, please believe me on this." She knelt before them, bowing.
"Are we to believe that mankind is in some sort of danger?" Teal'c asked.
Asa lifted her head and stared at them, her face grave. "I'm sorry to be the harbinger of bad news, my friends, but the lives of you, everyone, and everything that you know is at stake." There was a clap of thunder, or something resembling it, and Asa arose from her position and motioned them towards the gate. "I have said too much already, wasted time. Please hurry, you must. The fate of man and men is, as of right now, in your hands."
Jack paused, hundreds of reasons why doing things like this were against the book running through his head. He clenched his jaw, unclenched it, and sighed.
"Sir?" Sam asked, coming up alongside of him. "I don't know why, but I think we should trust her. I sense…there's something about her, maybe something from Jolinar's memories. But she's not Goa'uld, I know that."
"Please, the time is now. It's—"
Asa stopped. They all stopped. The room around them had begun to disappear right before their eyes as if the matter itself that made up everything was nonexistent, and whatever it was that was causing the disappearing was coming towards them rather rapidly.
"Well, I guess that doesn't leave us with much of a choice. Carter, dial us to that address!" Jack shouted as Asa handed the major the crystal. "I sure hope this is the right choice."
The team, including Asa, ran towards the gate while Sam began to dial out. By the time the fifth chevron was engaged, the room surrounding them was half-gone.
"Are you coming with us?" Daniel asked Asa who, in turn, shook her head.
"No, Doctor Jackson, I cannot. This is up to the four of you and the four of you only. My time here is drawing to an end," she explained.
Just then, the familiar illusionary water plunged from the event horizon before plummeting back to where it came from and becoming part of the shimmering ripples once again.
"Let's get the hell out of here!" Jack ordered.
"Best of wishes, my friends," Asa said, tears glistening in her eyes. "Now hurry!"
Her body began to fade away, just like the rest of their surroundings, and SG-1 flung themselves through the gate as the remaining matter of the room was swallowed up into nothingness.