Day 3
The next morning she woke up stiff and cold, the rocky ground did nothing for her back and the dampness they'd brought in from the rain never really dissipated. It did little for her disposition in the wake of knowing the DHD was down and they were stranded for god knew how long on this planet with no one but each other for company.
It wasn't that she didn't like him, she did. But the colonel could be like a boy sometimes, and sometimes that boy could be rather annoying. And one never knew when they were going to get annoying little Jack and she was due to start her period any time and she really, reallydidn't want to be stranded.
She rolled over to find she wasn't the only one awake, though. He was inventorying his pack, hers was still propped neatly against the shelter wall, likely waiting for her to wake up and do it herself. She smiled inwardly. He was well within his rights to do the inventory on her pack as well, but apparently he felt like she still deserved a little privacy. She appreciated the thought, considering she didn't really want him encountering her dirty underwear, even if she did pack like an obsessive compulsive and wrap everything up neatly so Daniel, who had a penchant for going through her pack to get whatever he might need, wouldn't encounter her underthings.
"Morning, sir," she said, her voice sounding loud in the small, rocky space.
"Morning, Carter." He gave her a few minutes to get up and around before he nodded in the direction of her pack. "We need an inventory. We've got what we've got."
"Yes, sir." Silently she went through her pack. She didn't have any clean clothes, but she had enough clothing that if they found water she could at least wash and still have something to wear. Thank all that was holy, she had a package of tampons and a small bottle of ibuprofen. They'd both be glad she had that around about day three when the cramps got so bad she'd become nearly useless without the painkillers.
She scored when she dug a little deeper, having already forgotten what she'd done. "We've got several days of powerbars if we're careful, sir. I threw two handfuls into the bottom of my pack before we left."
He looked impressed and scratched at his stubbly cheek. "That's... awfully damned convenient."
She couldn't help but smile at him. "Yes, sir. Rather fortuitous. Though in all fairness, I tend to do that if we're going to be off world for more than a couple of days because Daniel snacks. A lot. But he remembered to grab some this time, too, so he didn't dig into my supply."
"Still."
"Yeah..."
She went back to her pack, but there wasn't much else besides a first aid kit, a tube of sunscreen, some chapstick and her canteens.
She relayed her contents to him and he showed her that he didn't have much of use, either, less of use than she had, really, as at least she had something they could eat, and they settled in against one of the rock walls to contemplate the next steps.
"We need a better shelter," he said to her over a breakfast of power bars and water.
"What's wrong with this one?"
"We have to build the fire outside in the elements. We need to be able to protect a fire but not smoke ourselves out."
She knew that, of course, but he'd been kind of quiet all morning - true Colonel O'Neill in thinking mode - and it was nice to keep him talking.
"We've seen all the caves several kilometers in each direction along the base," she reminded him. "None of them jump out as ideal shelters." The caves had definitely not once been shelter to humans based on the research Daniel – and the poking around that the colonel and Teal'c – had done. They were simply too shallow and not enough protection from the elements. They were more like little alcoves in the rocky outcroppings of the mountain formations than they were like actual caves.
"We'll have to look again. If we can find a well ventilated one we might be able to do without building something."
"I don't want to go too far from the gate," she said.
"You really think you're going to be able to fix it?"
No, she didn't think that. But what else was she supposed to do with her time? Learn to make cloth from indigenous fibers? She refused to believe they were stranded forty thousand light years from Earth. "I can try," she said and shoved her power bar wrapper back into her pack.
It took only a few hours. They found an alcove somewhat smaller but with natural flues that would draw the smoke up out of the living area. Without a fire burning, the area was a little drafty but nothing that would be a problem unless the weather turned unexpectedly cold.
"We'll need to lay in some supplies. And we'll need fresh water."
"Where there are mountains there must be some fresh water," she mused.
"I'm going to go see what I can find. You want to fiddle around with the DHD for a little while?"
"Yes, sir." She was grateful to not be on the hunt for water, and he was probably grateful for a little time alone. It had been a four day mission and now another day on their own already and he liked his downtime. He'd probably find the search for water somewhat relaxing.
"If I'm not back by dark, send the search party," he joked, then he was on his way.
She turned her attention to the DHD but didn't put her hands on it right away. It was still gaping open the way she'd left it the night before and it looked so... problematic. Usually she'd dive right in, but after last night's failure and the feeling of foreboding that was slowly taking over, she really had no idea where to start. She was glad to be alone through the feelings. She didn't want to have to fess up to them. Or name them, really, which is what she would have had to do if the colonel was present.
Slowly, she took each crystal out of the housing and laid it aside in the dirt, the unfamiliar striations that were a result of the lightning strike stood out in stark relief. She sighed. It was clear what she needed but short of the appearance of more Goa'uld technology she had no clue how to get it. And fixing the DHD without more crystals was beyond her current level of comprehension when it came to the alien technology. Perhaps if she had some sort of Earth technology she could interface with the DHD but they hadn't even come that far... yet.
She sat back on her haunches and let the feelings of hopelessness wash over her while she was alone and didn't have to put on her super-captain face for the colonel. She knew, once he was back, she was going to have to put on her "we're going to get out of this" front and figure out some way to either get them home or get them through to getting home – not that he wouldn't do his part. He'd keep them alive, but the science would be up to her, there was no doubt about that. So if there was a way off this rock, she was going to have to find it.
She let the tears well up in her eyes, let the sheer fear and frustration break forth for just a moment. They were stuck, trapped, stranded on an alien planet. Even if the SGC could dial back through to them, which apparently they couldn't or they'd have done so already, they couldn't send help back through the gate because there was no way to get the help and Sam and the colonel back home. They could wait for the Tok'ra. But who knew how long long it would take to first get a message to them, then to have a ship become free to save them, then get the ship to them? She tried to do the math in her head, but she realized she couldn't do it without knowing the speed of the particular ship the Tok'ra might send and whether or not hyperspace was an option.
She looked back at the crystals and the stretches of opaque lines webbing through them. She ran her fingers over the once smooth surfaces and felt the minute yet tell-tale microscopic cracks. The crystals were dead, there was no saving them. There were two small ones that seemed to have survived the strike, but if Sam had her druthers, and in a perfect world, she'd replace those too.
She heaved one last gigantic sigh and crouched down on her hands and knees and stuck her head into what was left of the DHD housing. The very least she could do is get things cleaned up so if by some miracle she was able to do something about the crystals she'd have somewhere worth putting them back into.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Jack left her with the DHD. He figured there was no way she could fix it, but her analytical brain would appreciate trying a lot more than it would appreciate the fishing he was planning to do, assuming he found the water he figured there was somewhere up the side of that mountain. A shame, really. He thought she might enjoy fishing if she'd give it a chance.
He wanted to put his money on Carter fixing the DHD, but with limited tools and no contact from the SGC, he was starting to suspect they might be in for an extended stay. Jack knew he'd take being stranded a helluva lot easier than she would. Not that he wanted to be stranded. But, if there was a food source, it wasn't the worst place they'd been – barring the pesky UV radiation problem – and he didn't have any complaints about who he was stranded with.
It wasn't just that she was easier on the eyes than one of the guys, but she was smart. Damned smart. And resourceful. And had survival training. No, if he had to be stranded with only one other quarter of the team, he was stranded with the right quarter. Of course, having no true idea just what was out there on this planet, he did sort of wish for Teal'c a little. The man was almost preternatural in his ability to detect... things.
Jack half walked half climbed for the better part an hour before he heard the sound of water. He followed his ears and a worn yet overgrown path to a stream that was obviously more than just a source of water but also a source of food – the fish were visible in the clear water. He took some time to fill the three canteens he carried with him, the fourth he'd left with Carter, and drop in purification tablets. Sure, the water looked as crystal clear as any he'd ever seen, but parasites were tiny little buggers and they couldn't afford to run the risk of either of them getting sick. But, eventually, he noted, they'd run out of purification tablets. What then? He shrugged. Until then...
Jack located a long, willowy stick and fixed it up with the non-regulation fishing line and hooks he usually carried. He'd found several uses for them over the years, not the least of which had been alien fishing when he found himself with some downtime while the scientists scienced.
He dug around a little and found something that resembled an earthworm. He wasn't sure what alien fish ate, but it seemed as good a bait as any. After a couple hours of easy fishing he'd felt more than a few nibbles and it made him feel better about their prospects. He figured he'd fish for real when it became necessary that they catch dinner, but the power bars would do for the night, and he wanted to find some way to cook the fish anyway, some sort of waxy leaf to wrap them in or some green sticks to impale them on for roasting.
As the sun got high in the sky he moved down to the stream and found a small pool where he took the opportunity to wash his clothes. He stripped down to his skivvies and waded into the water. He began by giving himself a thorough, if soapless, scrubbing. After that, there was a rock in a convenient place to wash his clothes. He scrubbed until he felt like maybe he'd washed out the worst of the sweat and dust from the previous days and then laid them out to dry on a flat rock on the bank. He applied sunscreen all over his body, all the places he could reach, anyway, then laid back in the grass in the shade of a scrubby tree and let his feet dip into the cool water.
Once his clothing had dried, and it didn't take more than a few hours in the blazing sun, he redressed. On his way back down to the stargate he found some suitable leaves for fish cooking and he collected them for the next day, and enough for the next and likely the next, too. He stowed those as well as some firewood in the little alcove then built a ring of stones for their evening fire. After that, he went in search of his scientist. He found Carter half in and half out of the DHD cursing up a blue streak.
"If you don't talk nice to it, it's never going to work."
She scooted out and sat back on her heels. "No, sir, I'm pretty sure it's never going to work anyway."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
She'd futzed and fussed with the DHD until dusk hoping something new would jump out at her. And it was nice to be around in case the SGC was suddenly able to make contact. Which was, in hindsight, probably the reason he'd left her with the gate in the first place rather than believing she might be able to do anything with the fried DHD.
She'd heard him coming long before he spoke. And his sentiments aside, her thoughts remained the same – the DHD was D. E. A. D. Dead.
He continued talking as if she hadn't just proclaimed them stranded. "Plenty of fresh water to be had just an hour's walk from here." She scrambled out of the DHD and looked up at him.
It still seemed like a long way to her, especially if they were going to be stuck on the planet for any length of time.
"If we can't get this thing working, we'll move," he said, sympatico as always. It might have been the look on her face. She figured they'd be moving on the next day, then, but didn't say so right away.
If the water was just an hour's walk away, though, she wondered how he'd spent his day.
"The fishing might be good, too," he'd said before leading her back to the cavern. Inside she found a collection of firewood, a ring of stones and the rest of their canteens, presumably filled with water.
Sam pulled a couple of power bars out of her pack and handed one to him. "Do you look... cleaner?"
He ripped the cellophane open and took a bite of the bar as he nodded. "Yep," he said around a mouthful. "Found a bit of a pool. Washed my clothes. Gave myself a onceover. Should have taken my soap with me."
She chuckled. "Next time."
"Yeah. Figured you might want to go up tomorrow, wash your things, get a bath?"
"Is that a hint?"
He flashed her a grin. "I'd never say anything..."
"But..." She grinned back at him though they let the subject drop. His eyes sparkled in the last rays of light that were filtering into the little alcove. He had nice eyes, she decided, and not for the first time. They were in turns kind, mischievous, hard, and calculating. She liked the evolution from this man she was sitting with to the colonel she oft saw scan a horizon with his MP5 held aloft.
In truth, she felt like she could use a bath. In the days they'd been on the planet she'd cleaned up with wet-wipes, same as the guys had and it helped keep things under control, but there was nothing like coming into contact with water – even if it was brisk mountain water. She'd take her little bar of military issue soap up to the place he'd direct her to and she'd get a bath and wash her clothes and she'd feel better about everything, she just knew she would. Stranded would look better with clean hair. It just had to.
The colonel took the last bite of his power bar and then crumpled up the wrapper and shoved it into his pocket. "It's not really cool enough for a fire," he hedged.
"But the light would be nice." The sun was steadily going down and it would be nice to sit around a fire with him, even if it would get rather warm in their little space. But the fire was nice, and familiar, and comforting.
"Yeah," he said. And he went about building it.
Soon enough he had a small fire going and the light was dancing off the walls of the cave and the planes of his face. It made the silver at his temples somehow more prominent even as it made the deep brown richer. His skin, already sun burnished, looked almost decadent in firelight and... geez, Sam, she thought to herself, get a grip. So he was good looking. He was literally the only man on the planet. She thought she was probably keying into him a little for that fact as well as the period thing, too.
They sat up for a while talking about the fishing until he started to yawn and she realized he'd hiked probably pretty far and half of that up a mountain. When they bedded down it was into warm, dry bedrolls, thankfully, and she was glad the weather'd held up that day. She wasn't sure she'd have been able to take stranded and deluged upon all in the same day.
As she drifted off to sleep she tried to focus on the more immediate thoughts of getting through the next day and the next rather than the long term prospect of what it meant to be isolated on the planet for the long term. If she just thought about it in terms of tomorrow, she thought maybe she could handle it. She could handle it. She could.