No Pain, No Gain
Some secrets should never be revealed…or else.
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PROLOGUE
She stood in the bathroom, putting on her makeup. It had been three weeks since they had heard anything about him; three weeks since they had lost him to the Ori.
Everyone but her gave up. She refused.
She knew that he was out there, somewhere, struggling to stay alive. He would struggle, and she would fight.
She would never give up on him when she knew he had the chance to survive. He would come back to her, like he always did.
She turned to look at the toilet, at the wand sitting on its box.
She picked it up, looking at the small window. It was positive.
That meant life was changing, and she was unwilling to change it if it meant he was gone, so she continued to fight.
TWO MONTHS LATER
Jack O'Neill stepped back through the 'gate, stumbling.
"We need a med team in here!" Landry said.
Sam, Daniel, Vala and Teal'c ran into the 'gateroom.
"Jack, are you okay?" Daniel asked. He nodded.
Sam caught him as he fell to the ground. A strange sense of Déjà vu overwhelmed her for a moment, reminding her of their mission to Argos.
"Sir, can you hear me?" Sam asked, kneeling down by him.
She took off his sunglasses, lifting his eyelids. "Whoa." She said, pulling her hand back.
"What?" Daniel asked.
"His eyes, they're yellow." She said.
"Glowing Goa'uld yellow?" He asked.
"I do not sense the presence of a Goa'uld, DanielJackson." Teal'c said.
Sam shook her head. "I don't either." She said, moving out of the way as the med-team came through the door, Carolyn Lam leading them.
"Let's get him to the infirmary. The rest of you can follow, seeing as how you should already be there." She said mock accusingly.
The rest of SG1 followed suit, heading down to the Infirmary.
"Doctor, he's coming around." One of the nurses said.
"General, can you hear me?" She asked.
"Doc, you gotta let me go back." He panted, grimacing. "Sam." He said.
"Sir?" She asked, walking next to the gurney. "Get Hank to send me back. I can't stay here. I don't want to hurt yo-you." He said.
They all saw his physical transformation, saw the color of his eyes when they pulled his sunglasses off, witnessed what had taken him so long to return, what had been done to him.
His hands clenched into fists, shaking. His body tensed up, he cried out.
His clothes tore, silver fur replacing tan skin. He stood a few feet above the tallest nurse, his muscles flexing and tensing.
The narrow yellow eyes slid from one human to another, resting on Carter.
Vala stepped behind Teal'c.
"That's not natural." She said, glancing at Sam. "
Lycanthropy." Daniel said.
"Daniel, that's just a myth." Sam said. Daniel shook his head.
"Sam, there was evidence of something on than planet, something big." He said.
"A werewolf has bitten him, then. How do we cure him?" Teal'c asked, raising his eyebrow.
"There was never a cure for lycanthropy. The only documented information on 'werewolves' was how to kill them, a silver bullet or silver steak to the heart."
Sam said, recalling all those horror movie nights she had with Janet and some of their other girlfriends.
Jack had taken off across the base, unintentionally injuring several of the SF's that got in the way.
Sam had found him in her lab under the desk in his boxer briefs, sleeping restlessly. "
Carolyn, I found the General."
"Where is he?"
"In my lab, but he's asleep."
"Is he back in human form?"
"Yeah, I don't think he'll be awake for a while." She said.
"Okay, then we should leave him there. Don't hesitate to call me if he acts out." Sam nodded.
"Don't worry, I won't." She said, hanging up the phone. She sat down on the floor, Indian style, and watched him.
He twitched, his eyes snapping open.
"Sam." He said. She leaned closer.
"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked. He shook his head.
"I c-couldn't." He said, grimacing. She moved closer.
"Come here." She said, scooting under the desk. He laid his head on her chest, crying softly.
"It h-hurts, s-so much." He said, shaking.
"It's okay. I'm here. Jack, who did this to you?"
She asked. He shook, more from exhaustion than anything else.
"Adria." He whispered as his eyes slid closed.
They managed to make it to his quarters without running into anyone, and avoided the security cameras as well.
She told him to lie down, and picked up the phone.
"Cair, I got him to his quarters. We're hiding from the security cameras." She said, telling Dr. Lam to take the same route and explaining it in detail.
"Okay, I'm bringing some supplies; you'll need to take primary care of him for a while." She replied.
"Thanks." She said. She pulled down the covers of the bed, motioning for Jack to crawl in. He shook his head, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Jack, you need to get some sleep. I'm not going anywhere, I promise." She said, motioning to the bed again.
He complied, crawling in bed and relaxing a little.
She moved to stand up, but he grabbed her wrist.
His grasp was light, either to give her the option to pull away or from weakness.
"Stay with me." He said, pulling on her arm lightly.
She nodded, going to the other side of the bed.
She lay down with him, letting him get comfortable.
He hadn't realized how tired he was until Sam laid down next to him.
He nuzzled his face into her neck, trying to find a comfortable place.
"If I push you away in the middle of the night, it's because I don't want to hurt you."
He said, placing a tender kiss on her neck. She smiled, nodding her understanding.
"If you feel me get up in the middle of the night, it's because Dr. Lam is coming by to give me some supplies. Looks like you're stuck with me for a few days."
She said, playing with his hair. He nodded, slipping into a dreamless sleep.
Sam had just settled down, finally feeling like she could go to sleep, and Carolyn knocked on the door.
"Come in." She said.
She stepped in the door, smiling sweetly.
"Oh, he really is tired, isn't he?" She asked. Sam nodded.
She moved to get up, but Carolyn stopped her.
"Don't move, it'll just wake him up." She said, sitting the supplies on the table.
"A tranquilizer?" Sam asked. She nodded. "
There're two. It's only if he acts out, and it's enough to knock out an elephant. I don't know, it might not be enough, but it should be enough to calm him down." She said.
Sam nodded, narrowing her eyes as Jack shifted on the bed, scooting closer to her, if that was even possible.
"He gets any closer and he'll be on the other side." Carolyn said.
Sam nodded again, smiling.
"Well, if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask me." She said.
"I won't, believe me." Sam said, glancing down at the man sleeping next to her.
"Take good care of him." She said.
Sam smiled.