Title: Dream World
Author: Carhop
Email: PG-13, adult situations, angst
Pairing: Sam/Jack
Archive: SJD, yes; Heliopolis, yes; others please ask.
Summary: After escaping an alternate universe that's being destroyed, SG-1 takes a few days on a resort planet but get much, much more than they bargained for.
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the authors. Not to be archived without permission of the authors.
Spoilers: Redemption
Status: Sequel to "It's a Small World – And Getting Smaller"
Author's Notes: Technically, this story stands alone, but some reference to incidents in the first story may be confusing. Feedback would be much appreciated. If you want these to get any better, you gotta help. Thanks go to my excellent beta readers Eleri, Zoe and StarShadowHE. Any remaining mistakes are my own.
SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1
Part 1
She woke up in her favorite position – arms and legs draped over her sleeping husband. He'd been gone for almost a week and last night was his first night home. Hugging him tightly and then burying her face in his neck for a few soft teasing kisses woke him.
"Mornin' gorgeous," he said sleepily and tenderly returned her kiss. "I don't know what I ever did to deserve you, but I love you."
Sam gazed at her husband with all the love in her heart. "I love you too, Jack. Welcome home."
She could hear their twins running, screaming through the house and thought briefly about getting up to get their breakfast. He must have known what she was thinking, because he whispered, "Let the nanny take care of them. You're mine for a while longer."
Three hours later the pair was watching their two hellions racing, screeching through the park chasing falling leaves. The day was one of the last beautiful days of fall before winter set in. The trees were spectacular, bursting forth in colors from the palest gold to the darkest shade of russet. The aspen had dropped their leaves early, carpeting the park with golden circles, crunching under the uncaring little feet of the youngest O'Neills.
Sitting on a park bench side by side, Sam O'Neill and her husband watched their progeny chasing the nanny in some game known only to their three-year-old minds. Laying her head on Jack's shoulder, Sam sighed with contentment and closed her eyes briefly to enjoy the sounds of happy children, her children, their children.
In the short moment of peace, thoughts of work intruded, reminding her of the numerous experiments waiting for her return. SG-6 had brought back three new devices for her to identify and, assuming they were of interest to Earth, backward-engineer the main components. If she couldn't figure out what they were, it was off to Area 51 for the engineers there to work on. Her improved naquadah reactor was still waiting to be debugged. It stubbornly refused to produce power at the rate she felt it should. Plus, her team, SG-7, had...
'Stop it! How often do we get the chance to spend a day like this?' Suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed her brain and she thought, 'I never get days like this, except in my wildest dreams. I don't have children or a husband. What's going on? Is this a dream?' The scene before her shifted and wavered for a fraction of a second, almost seeming to replay the past few seconds, then steadied. Sam sighed with contentment and closed her eyes briefly to enjoy the sound of her children.
SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1
Gazing down at the young female lying on the dreaming bed, the technician glanced briefly at his superior. "That was close, Master Thuw. Her mind is very strong. She almost woke, but I was able to send her back into their fantasy in time and cover the momentary lapse."
"Very good Technician Fros. Keep a close eye on our newest guests. We've not had their like in many years and may need to recalibrate a few times before their dream is seamless. Never let it be said this world does not give good value to our customers," Master Thuw ordered, then spun on his heel to walk past the three other beds.
Technician Fros adjusted the bands around his charges for their comfort and fiddled with the knobs on his control board, then settled down to observe and monitor their fantasies. Their lives would be under his control from now on.
SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1
Jack reached down and pulled his wife to her feet, wrapping his arms around her, sinking his face into her neck to breath in the scent of her. Just then, their twins swept up like a pair of giggling miniature tornadoes and threw their arms around the legs of their parents. The nanny jogged up a few seconds later, panting hard.
"Come on Darcy; don't tell me these two midgets have run you into the ground already." Jack watched the 19-year-old nanny bend down to place her hands on her knees, easing the stitch in her side.
Sam snickered into his shoulder and interjected before the two could get into another verbal slugfest, "Look who's talking, Dad. They ran your legs off two weeks ago at the birthday party. Be nice. Now, let's get these munchkins home for lunch before they start gnawing on us." She reached down to sweep little Megan up into her arms and the injury to her hip which had ended her military career after a Gulf War accident sent a twinge through the muscles of her back. As always, Sam ignored it. "Hungry sweetie?"
Simultaneously, the two dynamos yelled, "Yeah!" Jack leaned over and picked up his son to carry him under his arm like a sack of potatoes. Bouncing along, Mikey giggled shrilly all the way back to the car.
'Life just doesn't get any better than this,' thought Jack, his other arm around his wife and daughter.
SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1
Dr. Daniel Jackson ran up the ramp toward the blue swirl that would take him home for the downtime General Hammond granted SG-1. A whole week home with his wife, Sha're, absolute heaven. Teal'c and SG-9 followed behind, off on their own journeys. Teal'c was destined for Chulak to see his wife and son. SG-9 was off on their latest mission. To conserve power - and thereby the taxpayer's money - multiple trips would be combined into one outgoing wormhole. Teal'c and Daniel would accompany SG-9 to P2J-445 and then leave through that Stargate to their own destinations.
The wormhole expelled the six men and two women into a beautiful late afternoon. However, Daniel had eyes for nothing but the DHD, the key to getting home. He dialed quickly, then waved goodbye to Teal'c and the members of SG-9. "See you in a week, Teal'c. Bye, guys."
"Please tell Sha're Tek-ma-tay, DanielJackson," called Teal'c as Daniel ran up the steps to the Stargate.
Daniel turned quickly to answer Teal'c before slipping through the event horizon to home, "Thanks, Teal'c. Give my love to Drey'ac and Ry'ak."
Teal'c dialed the address for Chulak as soon as the wormhole to Abydos disengaged and was on his way within minutes. He was anxious to get home to his family. Now that Apophis was dead, the people of Chulak had welcomed them home with open arms.
SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1
The nanny was off until noon tomorrow, the twins were at the Frasier's for the night and their parents were enjoying a rare evening to themselves - a leisurely walk through the park, dinner on the deck, and then stargazing and a little cuddling on the roof deck. Sam shivered a little in the growing chill and snuggled closer to Jack, who wrapped his arms around her. He planted a kiss on the top of her head. "Ready to go inside? It's getting late and the clouds are beginning to hide the stars."
"Yeah, I suppose we should go in," Sam answered reluctantly, not wanting to leave the circle of his arms. Amused, Jack bent to kiss her neck and then slipped his cold hand under her sweater. Sam squealed in surprise and swatted his hand away. Jack laughed and nimbly avoided her swipes at his head. Laughing herself, she chased him down the stairs to the lower deck and in through the French doors.
"That was a dirty way to get me inside, Jack O'Neill," she pretended to be mad and he grabbed her around the middle with both arms. Throwing her over his shoulder, Jack walked into their bedroom, plopped his laughing wife on their bed and threw himself down on his side next to her. Propping his head on his hand, Jack stared lovingly down at Sam for a few seconds, thinking, 'She's so beautiful and makes me so happy. This seems almost too good to be true.' A sharp pain shot through his left temple and his wife seemed to ripple in front of him like a line through a television set. 'Whoa! What was that?'
SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1
Technician Fros made another adjustment, hoping to wipe out all memory of the anomaly. After two more corrections to the program, he succeeded. Almost.
SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1
Jack shook his head and Sam asked, "Are you okay, sweetheart? You look like your head hurts."
"My eyes just went unfocused for a second. Maybe I need to get them checked. But not right now. Hmm, where were we?"
"I think you had lecherous intentions toward me," Sam smiled evilly and pulled his head down for a kiss.
SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1
One week later, their downtime over, Sam and Jack drove into the base together chatting about their plans for the day. SG-1 had a briefing for a possible mission where Sam was presenting her proposal for a trip to a newly discovered world, P4J-299.
"Initial reconnaissance shows an uninhabited planet for as far as the UAV could scan. Samples from the MALP hint at mineral riches in the area near the gate. Since the address for 299 wasn't on the cartouche wall on Abydos, it might make a suitable beta site," Sam concluded her presentation. With the recent change in presidential administrations as well as the political party controlling Congress, the military funding flowed like water. The search for a beta site was again a priority.
General Hammond glanced at Colonel O'Neill for his thoughts on the mission. Seeing agreement with his opinion, he said, "You have a go for the mission. If SG-1 finds no evidence of natives or Goa'uld, Dr. O'Neill, your scientific team will continue the survey while SG-9 performs a more extensive exploration of the planet. If this planet proves suitable for the beta site, we may have our first permanent off-world base for families. A real Earth colony. Good luck. Dismissed."
Daniel Jackson walked over to Sam. "Congratulations, Sam. You might have found what we've been looking for; a world safe from the Goa'uld."
"Thanks, Daniel. Bring me back good news, okay? Oh, and bring my husband back in one piece, too," Sam teased Jack as he walked up behind Daniel.
"Come on, Doctor. I'll walk you to your lab." Colonel O'Neill took her arm with a mock stern look and guided her toward the conference room door.
She traded amused looks with Daniel as she walked. For just a second, Sam saw not the General's conference room, but a white ceiling, and smelled a chemical tang similar to the infirmary. A wave of dizziness passed through her, causing Sam to lurch against Jack.
SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1
Fors frantically made adjustments and added more sedative to the nutrient mixture for the woman. She quickly settled down and closed her eyes. The technician sighed in relief and briefly considered calling his superior.
SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1
Continued in Part 2
