Of all the ways to go, this wasnt how he expected it to happen. He's survived so much pain, so much heartache, and what is going to get him in the end is something as simple as water. Cold water. Lots and lots of fucking cold water. What was it with them and the cold? First the ice cave, now this? He'd laugh if they werent so totally fucked. The doors had sealed to contain the breech, trapping them in this slowly filling coffin, and he could feel himself starting to panic. Feel the familiar tightening in his chest. Sam, he notices, is punching the control panel by the door, frantically entering sequence after sequence of codes, and that worries him even more than the ankle deep water. She is losing her cool, and that never happens.
"I'm sorry, Sir. I can't bypass the system locally" she says, sounding defeated, and for the first time in a long time, afraid.
He nods at her and places a hand on her shoulder to ground her " "Deep breaths Carter. Dont panic just yet, ok, you with me?"
Knee deep.
"Yes sir" she replies, trying unsuccessfully to slow her breathing rate down to something resembling normal.
"Jacob?"
The water has risen rapidly and is now waist high on him, a little higher on Carter.
"Jack, I'm going try to find a back door to the program."
"How long's that gonna take? I'm looking at some major shrinkage here."
He chances a tiny embarrassed grin at Carter, a coy head tilt and the corner of her lips twitch.
'Success' he thinks .The radio crackles and Jacobs voice fills the room again.
"I don't know, this is kind of a unique situation. Give me a few minutes."
"Hey Carter, How long do you figure it'll take for this thing to fill up?"
"A few more minutes, Sir"
"Yep, ok heres what we're gonna do. We need to take these", he pulls at his tac vest and P90, "off. Take anything off that'll weight you down."
The water is now at chest height for him, chin for her. She is bobbing up and down in the water, leaning down to undo her leg holster, unclipping straps, tac vest and weapons dropping slowly through the water to the ground below with a soft 'thud'
"Next time we crash our brand new mothership, what do you say we do it in the tropics?"
Stranded in the tropics with Carter wouldnt be the worst thing that could happen to him.
"Actually, Sir, it wouldn't make a difference. At this depth, all water is ice cold."
He smiles, even in peril, she can't help stating the facts. "Shallower water, then…shallower."
"Yes, Sir. I'll keep that in mind" she says, nodding
"Or we could just not crash at all. It would be nice to keep our nice new mothership more than a couple of hours"
"Yes, Sir."
He looks at her and feels a pang of guilt and regret. Guilt that hes never told her how he feels about her, because she deserves to know. Regret that he's never told her how important she is to him and taken the chance of being happy with her.
"Carter, Sam, if we don't make it out of this, just know that I've wanted to kick the door of that room down so many times..." he says through chattering teeth.
"I know Sir, me too, more times than I care to admit" she replies.
They're floating in the water, their heads in the space between the water and the ceiling.
Sam takes a deep breath as Jack shouts "Your dad's cutting it a little clo…" before they're both submerged fully in the water.
They claw at the ceiling, punching it, trying frantically to escape but nothing happens. Nothing. He curses Jacob, curses him for being her dad, curses him for probably reminding her of the frat regs one too many times. For being the stubborn airforce General he is. For not being able to help them. Damn him. Then he curses himself for not having had the courage to speak to Jacob about his feelings for his daughter. Selmak would have mellowed him, he would have understood, offered the guidance he so desperately needed. Jack feels light headed. He thinks of Charlie, of his mom, his dad, his sister, all gone before him and wonders idly, though hes never been a religious man, if there is a heaven. He silently hopes there is, which surprises him, and that they'll be waiting for him, when this water claims him. The thought gives him a modicum of comfort.
Her hand brushes against his abdomen and his focus is pulled back to her, her hair floating angelically in the water, her eyes full of terror.
In a split second, he knows what to do. He reaches for her, grabbing her hand and pulls her closer. He holds her face in his two hands and she graps his waist to keep them together. He leans into her and kisses her softly.
If shes taken aback, she doesnt show it and her fingers dig into his waist a little tighter, her eyes fluttering closed.
His hands move to her cheeks and around their lips and he creates a vacuum, then breathes the last remaining air in his lungs into her mouth. Her eyes open suddenly when she realises what hes done her head shakes frantically and she wraps her arms around his neck and holds him close, foreheads leaning on each other, when he releases her face and nods slowly at her.
He figures, if hes going to die, that this is the best way to go, in the arms of the woman he loves but cant have. They float motionless, staring at each other for what feels like minutes, but is, in reality, only several seconds. Bubbles rise from her mouth as she blows out the smallest amount of oxygen, both of them desperately fighting the urge to take a deep cleansing breath. She tries to lean into him, to replenish his lungs with what little she has left in hers, but he shakes his head stubbornly, and leans his torso back, out of her reach. They hear the muffled sound of Jacob saying "Sam..." and then his strangled "I'm sorry" and he knows there's no hope left. He pulls her close, places a kiss to her neck, holds her as tightly as he can, closes his eyes and as calmly as is possible, waits for the inevitable to happen.
But it doesnt.
Instead, theres a loud bang when the doors suddenly start to open, and the water starts draining from the room. They release each other and gasp for air when the water dips below their faces. She starts to cough loudly and he holds her above the water level until her feet can touch the ground.
"Sir..." she begins.
"Lets just add that to the ever growing room, ok?" He says still half gasping for air, in between words, reaching under the water for his vest while she does the same. "Now is not the time for this conversation."
"Ok", she says, sounding little less sure than him.
"Jack! Sam! Come in!" They hear Jacob shouting into the radio.
"Dad, this is Sam. We're okay!"
"Thank God, Sam, you really had me worried "
"Tell him I take back everything I was thinking when I was underwater." Jack says.
But not what I did, he thinks.
Never what I did