Title: Blue
Rating: Teens for some swearing
Archive: SJD yes, just ask if you want to!
Spoilers: Everything up to season 8
Season: After season 8, the four still are SG-1
Summary: The govt puts pressure on the SGC to find more ancient information, and the team must deal with the fallout. S&J
Disclaimer: Not mine don't sue me!
AN: Well it's been a while since I've started a new story! I trying to do this beta-less, but if you think I need one let me know! Feedback loved!
" I hate planets like this," complained Jack O'Neill.
"Funny, Jack. I thought it was planets with green trees you hated," Daniel quipped as he walked past him down the Stargate platform.
"Those too," Jack murmured in self defense, quickly looking around at Sam Carter and Teal'c. Teal'c walked past him to catch up with Daniel, and Carter kept in step with her commanding officer.
"I really do hate planets like this," he tried to explain to her.
"I understand sir," she said with a smile.
Maybe this planet wasn't going to be that bad after all, she hoped. Not that she liked places like this either. Sam's ideal planet would be a tropical paradise and no adventure. No unfriendly natives, no surprising Gould, not even a bee sting. Not artic-like climates where walking two inches too far could cost your life because of thin ice, or where an avalanche could kill them all, or appendages could get frost bitten and amputated.
Which is why Sam was less than thrilled when SG-1 was assigned to PX2-453, a planet in the middle of an ice age worse than one Earth ever went through. The SGC had been watching and recording the weather for over a year to determine when a team could go through. Daniel had found a reference to the planet while translating an Ancient text. Supposedly, there was once some type of Ancient lab or civilization, and the SGC felt it was important to investigate. Ever since Colonel O'Neill was able to use the Ancient outpost on Earth fight off the Gould, politicians have been pressuring the complex to find more concrete information and items from the dead civilization. And, since Jack was lucky enough to have the ancient gene, his team was assigned the "frozen rock of ice", as he lovingly referred to the planet as.
"Our testing was correct, sir. We came during a calm period. I'm not sure how long it will stay like this, but I would guess absolutely no longer than two days." Daniel and Teal'c stopped to listen to the report and Jack nodded.
"Alright. Daniel, which way is this frozen city we have to find?"
"My reports tell us to go south."
"Wouldn't it just be easier to say South Daniel?" Jack quipped, trying to annoy the archeologist. Daniel just ignored him, this time, and sat on the bottom step to attach the skis to his boots. Walking past him, Sam followed suit.
"Off day I guess," he muttered to himself again.
"Well, this was a bust," Jack complained and pulled his sunglasses onto the top of his head. They traveled south for eight hours and found no sign of anything. Except for white, and lots of it. And Jack felt that was reason enough to take a break.
"Perhaps we have not yet traveled far enough, O'Neill," Teal'c said.
"Teal'c is right Jack. We should probably keep going," Daniel said, like always. Daniel, the persistent archaeologist, was never willing to call it a bust. No matter what he was looking for or where he was he would always try to find something.
"Carter?" he asked.
"I agree, sir. It's quite possible we haven't traveled far enough yet. And with all the pressure we're under from the government, it wouldn't look great if we only traveled for one day and turned around to go home."
"Alright. Daniel, you and Teal'c keep going until nightfall and then set up camp. Carter, you and I are going to check in and see if we can get some Artic Cats or something to speed this up." After a round of nods and ok's, the group split up and went their separate ways.
"Wonderful place to spend a vacation," Jack joked after three hours of skiing.
"I don't know sir. I might get a little cold while tanning." The sun reflecting off of the white snow was still blinding while wearing sunglasses. Luckily enough, the sun started to set an hour after they set off.
"Think we'll make it back in time?" Jack asked of the impending nightfall.
"If we can't, there was hilly area about six clicks away we can find shelter in."
"True that." Sam whipped her head around so fast she almost threw herself off balance.
"True that?" she questioned incredulously.
"What's wrong with that?" She only answered him with a raised eyebrow. "Cut it out Carter. You're staring at me like…"
"You just said true that?" she finished for him with a smile. The first few flakes of snow started to fall on them.
After hearing him mutter something about a "goddamn off day", she let herself laugh. Things haven't been easy for the two of them since Thor saved Jack. The tension between them couldn't grow much more without it exploding in a very, very bad way. And after fallout, the awkwardness would sink in. They would start avoiding each other in the hallways, separate during missions, and fight dirty. Oh yes, Sam knew quite well what happens. She practically had the art down to a science.
"Weather's getting bad," Jack called out to Sam. Looking up, Sam saw dark, heavy clouds above them.
"We should be able to make it to those hills before it gets too bad," she called back. The snow was falling heavier, and the wind was picking up enough to the point they were almost yelling at each other from eight feet apart.
"Daniel, Teal'c, come it," came over the radio. After a few seconds of static, he tried again.
"Storm may be worse than what we thought sir!" Without another word, they both picked up the pace to make it to the hills faster.
As it became darker, Sam became edgier. It became so windy that she was working hard just moving forward. All in all, she didn't weigh that much, no where near what Jack weighs and that gave her less momentum. Feeling her fall back, Jack looked behind him.
"Carter!" he called back to her. It was easy to that she was struggling, but he knew she would never admit it.
"I'm doing ok sir!" she called back. He started to slow his pace to keep with her when he heard it.
It was the noise that would haunt his dreams for years. It was the noise that tried to take any inkling of his happiness away. It was the noise that made him realize exactly how he felt. It was ice cracking under Sam.
"CARTER!" he screamed into the wind. Forgetting about the skis attached to his boots, he tried to run to her but fell to the ground. Their eyes followed each other down, but his stopped at the ice as hers went under. Crawling forward, he reached the hole, but couldn't see her.
"Damnit Carter!" he grunted out as he pulled himself up to his knees.
The storm was so ferocious and bitter cold that a thin layer of ice already formed over the hole. Taking the butt of his gun, Jack smashed it over and over until he made the initial hole larger.
"Where are you?" he asked himself and he assessed the situation. He thanked God sometimes for his military training. Right now, all he could think about was getting his teammate out of danger, not the possible deadly consequences if he couldn't.
In a great swooping motion, he thrusted his right arm into the freezing water and tried to displace his weight with his left arm, not wanting to fall in himself. After he couldn't feel anything, he lowered himself as low as safely possible into the hole.
Reach…reach…reach… Jack played the mantra over and over in his head. He didn't know who he was trying to convince, himself or for her to reach for him in the water. With, what he suspected, a great amount of strength, he felt an icy hand grasp his.
"Carter! Come on!" he ordered her with determination.
"It's been too long, get her outta there!" he ordered himself this time.
Grunting and using all of his upper body strength Jack pulled her left arm that she grabbed him with out of the hole. Moving to his knees so he could use all of his body, he pulled her torso out, and grabbed her under her arms and dragged her with him as he scooted back from the hole. He knew how if-y thin ice could be, so he didn't try to rest until there were 20 yards away. Not wanting to waste time he pulled off her pack, and realized that was probably what was weighing her down!
"Damnit." Her lips already turned a shade of blue, and Jack had to shove away the inane sense to define the color as aquamarine. Straddling her, he used sharp, thrusting movements to jar the water out. She couldn't have been passed out too long, so Jack figured that it shouldn't be too hard to revive her.
"Breathe!" came the harsh order as he pumped on her chest a bit harder. He heard it before he felt her spit up water. Getting off of her torso, he moved behind her and supported her neck as she turned to her side to spit out the remaining water. With a ragged breath, she sunk back down unto his arms and let the impending darkness overwhelm her.
TBC! Reviews appreciated!