Hello World
Summary: Jack pays the price when Sam tries to stop a rape off world, but is everything what it appears to be?
Timeline: AU
Pairings: Jack/ Sam, Daniel/ Janet
Author's Notes: This is a fictional account of a traumatic brain injury. I am not a doctor. Despite doing exhaustive research, there are no doubt inaccuracies. Please forgive me and enjoy this as the fictional account that it is.
A special thank you to ScruffyLovin (My dear Evil Brain Twin), TamsHarley (My crazy twin from another mother, and my genius beta Kalinysta. This story wouldn't have been written had it not been for the three of you and I could never truly thank you enough.
This story is dedicated to all those who are suffering from a traumatic brain injury, their families, and caregivers.
Chapter 1
Monday, June 10, 2002
The dark clouds gathered in the western sky and thunder rumbled in the distance as the wind picked up speed. Lightning crackled, illuminating the dark sky, and the static in the air built up in epic proportions as the storm hit full force. Darkness closed in, the rain poured and the wind blew and the air, thick with despair, smelled of death.
Jack saw himself curled into a fetal position in the lush grass, naked and unable to move. His mind was working but he felt like a mummy wrapped in invisible bindings; his body was battered and covered in blood. How had he gotten like this? Where was everybody? He tried his damnedest to yell out for help but his body would not obey. His eyes, however, flashed towards his feet as he noticed something moving and he found Sam coming closer to him. He felt sickened as he saw her hands grasping a club. Slowly raising it over her head, she brought the club down on him hard then vanished like a wisp of smoke in the wind, and as Jack began to submit to oblivion, a thunderous voice began to speak.
"There you go. Your life, as it is now."
Jack bolted upright in his bed, his heart racing. Sweat covered his face and his breath came in short heavy gasps. His eyes darted around the dim room, trying to reorient himself. A sense of relief washed over him when he finally realized that he was still in his own bed, his beautiful wife still asleep at his side. He looked at the clock on his bedside table: 5:00 am. It would still be another two hours before he and Sam would head off for the Mountain to work. With a huff, he fell back on his bed, taking a few deep breaths to try and calm himself. A smile formed on lips as he looked over at his Sam and rolled onto his side to spoon behind her. His nerves were still rattled as he drank in the scent and feel of her. Despite the ghastly image of her in the dream, she made him feel safe. Without realizing it, Jack fell back into a light sleep.
"Jack, honey, it's time to wake up, Andy's already having his breakfast, "Sam called out to him as she disappeared into the master bathroom. "Come on, sleepy head. We're gonna be late."
Jack yawned and sat up in the bed, the smell of fresh coffee filled his nostrils. With a good long stretch, he stood and made his way to the bathroom. After giving Sam a kiss, he turned on the shower to let the water warm up. Sam gave him a playful swat on his backside and scurried from the room.
"I'll get you back for that!" Jack called after her. Her only reply was a giggle.
After relieving himself, he shed his t-shirt and boxers and tossed them into the clothes hamper by the sink. He stepped into the shower and let the warm water run down his back, hoping that it would wash away the nervous tension caused by the nightmare. A few minutes and a thorough scrub-down later, he turned off the shower and stepped out. He grabbed a towel from the rack and dried himself off before wrapping the towel around his waist. After wiping the steam off of the mirror, he stared at his reflection for a few seconds before grabbing his shaving cream and razor. With a freshly shaved face and a clean body, he went back to his bedroom to dress.
It was seven-thirty by the time he sauntered down to the kitchen dressed in a long sleeved black shirt and khaki cargo pants to join his wife and son.
"Morning, Dad!" Andy shouted as he put his cereal bowl into the sink. "We're gonna be late cause you sleeped in again!"
"Sorry. Mom should have woken me sooner than she did," Jack replied as he tousled his son's light brown hair, Andy had requested that his hair be cut like Jack's after his adoption was finalized two years ago and it had remained that way since.
"Andy, do you have your stuff ready to go to Aunt Janet's?" Sam asked as she rushed around the living room, gathering her stuff to leave. "Remember you have to go there for a few days while Dad and I go away."
"Yes, Mom. I put it in Dad's truck already," Andy told her.
"What about your backpack?" Sam asked, grabbing her laptop from the table by the front door.
"That too," Andy replied.
Jack couldn't help but smile at the domestic scene that had become his life over the last three years. He never thought that he could have such a happy life again after Charlie's death. His lonely miserable life had taken a turn toward greatness when he and Sam had got married, then got even better when they had adopted Andy. The little boy was only five years old when SG-1 had visited P4G-992 and found him hiding in a bush just outside of his village. The young child took an instant liking to Jack and since no living relatives could be found, they had taken him back to Earth with them, Andy wouldn't let anyone near him but Jack and Sam, so with General Hammond's help and blessing, Sam and Jack married and began the long process of adopting Andy. After nine long months of paperwork, he officially became their son, Andrew O'Neill. Life couldn't get any better than this.
"Hey! Time to go, "Sam said, poking Jack in the ribs and snapping him out of his thoughts. "Andy, get your jacket on."
Jack sat his half-empty cup of coffee in the sink and went to get his boots from the closet. He plopped down on the couch to put them on. With the last boot lace tied, he grabbed his coat and keys then followed his wife and son toward the door. When he started to pull the front door closed behind him, a sudden urge to take one last look around his house hit him. He felt like it would be the last time he'd see it again. With a silent snort, he headed out to his truck; something didn't feel right to him, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
SG-1 SG-1 SG-1
"Is it done?" an older man's voice asked in an anxious hush.
The young man looked around before holding the phone back up to his mouth. "Yes. I told you that I could do it."
"You're sure that no one saw you?"
"Positive."
"And nobody will be able to tell?"
"No, sir. I'm very good at what I do," the young man replied, impatiently tapping his fingers on the desk.
"You had better be, and it had better work," the older man said, his tone quickly turning angry. The young man's cocky tone was starting to grate on his nerves.
"It will. Trust me."
"We'll have to see about that," the older man snapped then slammed the phone back onto its cradle. He leaned back in his posh leather chair and propped his feet up on the desk. He picked up a pen and began to twirl it between his wrinkled fingers. Anger and relief drilled into his mind. Yes, he was going to be rid of a thorn in his side very soon, but it pissed him off that he had to rely on that arrogant little punk to do it.
SG-1 SG-1 SG-1
It was a typically quiet Monday morning at the SGC, the calm before the storm of activity when everyone was on base for duty. After changing into blue BDUs, Jack shuffled down the corridor toward the commissary to join Sam for breakfast. After dropping Andy off at school, they arrived at the SGC almost an hour ahead of schedule so they went their separate ways to attend some last minute things before they officially went on duty. When he entered the commissary, he walked over to the serving line and got a cup of coffee before making his way to a table in the far corner of the room to wait for Sam. His thoughts reverted back to the dream while he sipped at his coffee. What had brought the nightmare on? What happened to him? Why couldn't he shake it off? But one question kept popping up and by far it was the hardest one: why had Sam hurt him? He'd had more than his fair share of nightmares in his lifetime, but up until now he could easily push them aside. He started to wonder what Dr. Freud would have said to this one.
SG-1 SG-1 SG-1
After a nice breakfast with Sam, Jack made his way to his seldom used office. There was one more bit of important business he had to tend to before the briefing. Mentally, he gave himself a shake and sat down at his desk to get to work. The fact that his fingers actually worked in sync with his thoughts made him chuckle. It was as if they realized that this was important and needed to be done and done right. A few minutes later, it was finished and he clicked on the print icon, leaning back to relax while he waited for the document to print. He never felt so sure about anything as he did now, so without a second thought he pulled the document from the printer and scrawled his signature on it. Jack pulled another letter from his pocket and put the two of them into an envelope. He no sooner sealed the envelope and there was a hesitant tap on his door.
"Come in," Jack called out nervously as he shoved the envelope under his keyboard.
The door slowly opened and a short young man stepped in.
"Sergeant Yesnik. What can I do for you this fine May morning?" Jack regretted that the moment the words escaped his lips. He wondered if he could possibly sound any more ridiculous.
"Sorry to bother you, Sir. I just wanted to give you the file for your mission briefing so you could give it a quick look before it starts," Sargeant Yesnik said quietly, his deep green eyes squinting to adjust to the dimness of the room.
"Thank you, Sergeant," Jack replied as he took the folder.
"Is there anything I can get you, Sir?" Yesnik asked timidly, nervously running his hand through his slick black hair.
"Uh, no I'm good, but thanks," Jack replied, silently wishing that the young man would just go away.
"Okay. If you need anything, let me know," Yesnik replied seemingly disappointed. He gave Jack a sharp salute and left, pulling the door closed behind him.
'O-kay. That was odd,' Jack thought. Though as he thought about it, it was pretty typical of him. Marine Sergeant Dean Yesnik had come to work at the SGC three months ago as a computer tech. From the start he seemed to take an instant liking to Jack and was always eager to please him. Daniel called it hero worship once. Sam thought it was "cute". Teal'c just raised an eyebrow every time Yesnik tried to make an impression on Jack, and Jack-he just thought that it was flat-out annoying. Jack didn't know much about the young man other than he was smart and damned good with computers.
About a month after Yesnik's arrival at the SGC, Hammond called Jack into his office and informed him in no uncertain terms that Washington was tired of Jack not getting his memos and his mission reports being late. So in their infinite wisdom, Washington ordered Hammond to assign Jack an assistant from the list of acceptable candidates they had sent along with the order. Sergeant Dean Yesnik was number four on the list and Hammond had selected him. Good old George thought that it would be a perfect match since Yesnik was a computer whiz and the young man had seemed to take a liking to a certain Colonel almost immediately. Something about that made Hammond snicker, but the humor of it totally escaped Jack. So for the past two months, if Jack got a memo, Yesnik was there; if there was a mission report to be written, Yesnik was there.
After Yesnik was gone Jack pulled the envelope out and scrawled General Hammond's name on the front. He propped it up against the computer screen before he stood to leave. His slender hand grasped the door handle and began to turn it when that 'take one last look, Jack' feeling came over him again. He wondered what the hell that was all about. Was he finally going over the deep end? Now he was irritated with himself and he felt a headache coming on.
SG-1 SG-1 SG-1
SG-1 along with General Hammond sat around the table in the briefing room going over SG-1's next mission to P4C-509. After the initial 'The next planet on the mission list..' from Hammond, Carter stood and told about the initial MALP data on the planet. Despite the flaring headache beginning to rage in his head, Jack watched and actually listened to her. A slight grin appeared on his lips when she launched into a speech about the planet's atmosphere being like that on Earth without the pollution, then tell about the planet's two suns that combined to make green sunlight and how it would be safe for them to go there. He tried hard to suppress the groan of dread from escaping his lips when Sam finished and Daniel stood to do his spiel on the archaeological aspects of the mission. Hammond glared at Jack and then nodded to Daniel to begin.
"The data from the MALP showed an altar-like structure near the gate on P4C-509. There are carvings on the altar that maybe be some sort of ancient writing. Now I can't tell for sure, but the carvings seem to be similar to the writings associated with the Ancients," Daniel said, trying hard to contain his excitement to visit the planet.
Jack yawned as Daniel prattled on. All his talk about 'possibly Latin this' and 'resembling Greek that' was beginning to make Jack's headache blossom to a whole new level. His mind drifted back to that dream. The uneasy feeling about it increased the more Daniel spoke. After twenty more minutes of listening to it, Jack had had enough.
"Daniel, will you be getting to a point any time soon?" Jack didn't try at all to hide the fact that he was irritated.
"Yes, Jack. I am," Daniel shot him an annoyed glare. "I think it would be beneficial to go to P4C-509 and see exactly what these writings are. There is a possibility that this is another world that the Ancients may have visited at some point."
"Is there any indigenous life there?" General Hammond asked.
"Yes, sir. According to the UAV there is a city about a mile away from the gate," Sam answered.
"Do you think they pose a threat?" Hammond's voice had an air of concern.
"I don't think so, Sir. According to the readout from the UAV there was no advanced technology detected and from what we could see from the aerial picture, the people aren't nearly as advanced as we are," Sam responded.
"Major O'Neill, did the MALP give any indication of what sort of mineral deposits were detected?" General Hammond asked without lifting his eyes from the paper that had the MALP report on it.
"According to the data the mineral has similar properties as naquadah with a slight variation. It appears that there is an abundance of it on the planet, Sir."
"Alright, you have a go. Since Washington has been on us about getting more materials for the amount of times we go through the gate, I'll give you three days. Be ready at 1300 to deploy. Dismissed," Hammond ordered. "Oh and people, I want a report every twenty-four hours."
Jack's uneasy feeling intensified when Hammond gave the order; he'd hoped that Hammond wouldn't approve the mission. Something told him that he should just go the hell home.
"O'Neill, are you not well?" Teal'c asked as he cocked his eyebrow.
"I'm fine, Teal'c," Jack replied as he snapped himself out of his thoughts. He didn't notice that Teal'c had stopped in the doorway to wait for him.
"You seem troubled, O'Neill."
"Eh. I just got a weird feeling about this mission is all."
"Do you not think that we should visit this planet ?"
"I don't know," Jack said as he shook his head dismissively. "Let's grab lunch."
Something told him that it was a bad idea to go on this mission. He knew that they had come to trust him on his hunches, but he couldn't let a bad dream get in the way of his job or theirs. Sam was too excited of the possibility of the amount of naquadah that there might be on the planet and old Danny boy was chomping at the bit to get a look at that altar type thingy by the gate. Besides, if he was questioning his sanity over this, what would they think?
SG-1 SG-1 SG-1
Jack poked at the remains of his turkey sandwich, not much in the mood for eating. Lost in thought, he took a sip of coffee and put the cup back down. He kept his eyes on the table, totally blocking out the conversation between his team mates about their upcoming mission.
Daniel's voice startled him back to reality, though. "Are you okay, Jack?"
"Huh?" Jack broke out of his thoughts and raised his head to see Daniel eying him with concern. "Yes, Daniel, I'm okay, "Jack replied.
"You don't seem okay, "Daniel said as he sat his fork down beside his plate.
"I was just thinking is all, "Jack told him. He contemplated telling them about his dream and the bad feeling it gave him, but, after yesterday,how could he look at his wife and tell her that she'd clubbed him to death in a dream? It was at that moment that he realized that he' d been avoiding her all day.
"Wow. You thinking? Kinda scary?" Daniel ribbed.
"Ha ha. So NOT funny, Daniel," Jack groused. "It's just that I-"
"Just that I what, Colonel?" Sam prodded then gave him a playful grin.
"I just have... Never mind," Really not wanting to continue this conversation and a bit miffed at himself for opening his big mouth, he glanced at his watch. "Alright, kids. Thirty minutes till we move out. Go get yourselves ready."
Before anyone had a chance to respond, Jack stood up and hurried out of the room.
"Jack! Wait!" Sam called after him.
Jack stopped dead in his tracks and waited for her to catch up.
"What were you going to say back there?" Sam puffed out when she finally caught up to him.
"Nothing important, "he responded in his best 'I'm so innocent' voice. He started walking with her by his side.
"Jack, what's wrong? You've haven't been acting right all morning."
"Nothing's wrong. I'm just a little tired. I had a VERY long night," he said before giving her the famous Jack O' Neill grin that could make any female's heart melt like butter.
Sam's cheeks turned a bright shade of crimson and she slapped him playfully on the arm. With a wink and another grin, he pressed a quick kiss to her lips and raced off to the locker room. After he had changed, he headed out toward the gateroom. He wanted to stop by the infirmary once more to give Janet a message to give to Andy when she went picked him up from school. A quick note to say that he loved him and would see him in three days with a P.S. to be a good boy for Janet and Cassie.
SG-1 SG-1 SG-1
"Chevron seven, locked," Walter's voice echoed throughout the gate room before the loud whoosh of the gate activation.
"Alright, kids. Let's get this over with," Jack said, dismayed that his uneasiness showed in his voice. Silently wishing that he could just stay put, Jack took point and SG-1 made their way up the ramp to the Stargate. In the control room, Sargeant Yesnik stood beside Hammond and nervously chewed on his lip as they watched SG-1 disappear through the event horizon.