Warning: Major character death.
He laid his hand upon hers and intertwined their fingers. "Sam," he whispered softly in her ear.
His breath tickled the back of her neck and the passion and sorrow in his voice stung her bright blue eyes with crystal tears. She couldn't lose him. Not now, not then, not ever. She loved him too much.
"Jack, please," she pleaded. His head lay in her lap now with his eyes closed. "Please, Jack, don't give up. Don't leave me. Please." She brushed her soft hand lightly against his rough forehead and watched as his eyes twitched. A single stray watermark left a trail down his check.
"Sam, you have to let me go. I'm no use saving and we can't afford to lose you. Go…now. Please don't make me make that an order." He could barely get it out, but he needed her to know that she was so much more important than him. He coughed and he stuttered but he needed her to know the urgency of the situation they were in. If she didn't leave soon, the Jaffa would catch up and capture them. Then there'd be a hell of a lot more to worry about. And he wasn't worth it. He was old. Sure, he was a damn fine soldier but how many years were left? Two? Five? No one knew and she had so much time ahead of her. She was worth so much to so many people. He wouldn't have her tortured because of him.
"You can't make me go…"
"I can and I will. If you don't leave, there's more at stake than just a life. There's thousands, MILLIONS, of lives out there, Carter. You know that. And they're at stake. All of them."
She couldn't keep the tears back anymore. To hell with acting strong. How could she be when her strong tower was slowly crumbling?
She knew he was right. She hated him for it. He may be her everything, a fact she had recently come to finally admit to herself, but he wasn't everything.
Jack slowly sat up, groaning as the staff blast in his stomach reopened. He grabbed Sam and pulled her close to him in a strong embrace.
"Sam," he mumbled into her neck. He knew she could understand him. She always had.
He felt the violent trembles of her body as she sobbed.
"Sam, I love you. I always have. From the first moment I saw you, I knew. And that hasn't changed and never will. But you have to let me go. There comes a point when everything ends, and this just happens to be mine. But it's not ours, Carter, oh no. We'll see each other again, I promise." He gently kissed her cheek and lay back on the ground, closing his eyes once again. "Now go, please. They're near and it'll be soon before they find us."
Sam stood up, hearing the heavy footsteps of the Jaffa. She looked at Jack once more, memorizing every feature of his body. Not that she hadn't already. She knew every laugh line on his face. He looked at her again and whispered something she couldn't hear. But she didn't have time to think about it. She ran. She ran and ran and ran. She ran until her legs fell beneath her and she slumped to the ground. She was almost to the Stargate. Just a few more steps. She dialed up the gate and climbed up the stairs. She closed her eyes when she heard voices screaming and a staff blast. He was dead. They found him.
She stepped through the icy cool water and into the cold 'Gate room with an empty heart and numb soul.
Her resolve was broken. She fell to the ground in hysteria and shock and the last thing she can remember before passing out was the cold logic that it was her fault he was dead. All her fault. And she could do nothing to bring him back.
She didn't deserve to be back.
She deserved to be hated, just like she hated herself. But they wouldn't understand.
No one would understand.