Here it's the end of this story, one thank you to Lauriesf for all her work, she's great! :)
Until death reunites us : epilogue
Sam slowly opened her eyes. She was still a little bit groggy and it took some time for her to understand she was lying on one of the beds in the SGC's infirmary. Her muscles were sore and her mind confused. She painfully turned her head and saw her CO, sitting at her side, asleep. She glanced at the clock : it was 0400.
Everything seems quiet at the SGC, only the whir of medical equipment disturbing the silence. She frowned trying to gather her memories but she couldn't dispel the fog from her mind. She brushed the bandage she had around her waist with one hand and relived the moment when the wolf had jumped at her. She couldn't remember more.
Rocked by the ticking of the clock, she was going to get back to sleep when she heard Jack mumbling in his sleep.
She then wondered what he was doing there at such a late hour. She listened more closely and was disconcerted to hear him whispering :
_Fishing pole... Stay, Sam...
And suddenly, her memories resurfaced. The last seventy-two hours came back to her in the blink of an eye. She started to blush remembering the moments spent with her CO. It was at that precise moment he woke up. He watched her with a vacant, sleepy look. She smiled at him shyly.
_Good morning, General, she said softly.
Jack sat up, his eyes showing profound relief.
_You come back from the dead and all you have to say is hello, General ? he chided her.
She blushed even more but a broad smile spread on her face.
_I... thank you, Sir, thank you for everything.
He suddenly looked at her harshly.
_You'd better apologize, Carter, he retorted, coldly.
She was dumbfounded :
_I beg your pardon ?
_Are you crazy, scaring the hell out of us ? Making us believe you were dead was really not funny ! he chided her, in a deceptively angry voice.
He smiled at her like a kid and she sighed with relief understanding he was making fun of her, as always.
_Doctor Laam has tried to explain to me something about the toxin contained in the wolf's fangs acting on your breathing and blood system and lowering your heartbeat to a rate so low it was almost impossible to detect. When I heard her declare you were alive, I thought I had gone crazy, he said trying to smile.
_I thought this time this was it...
_I'd told you everything was going to be ok .
He looked up and met her sky blue eyes. They were both feeling uncomfortable, not knowing what to say or do, not wanting to talk about those special moments they had had, yet not being able to act as if nothing had happened. After being so close, they were back to square one, the barrier that had momentarily been broken through was up again. Nobody was in danger anymore, it was no more a matter of urgency to confess their feelings. This was the way it was supposed to be. Forced to touch, then separate, get closer, then flee.
After heavy minutes of silence, Jack bent towards Sam and brushed her forehead with a light kiss. He then stood up, leaving his 2IC speechless. He already had his hand on the doorknob when he heard a trembling voice behind him :
_Sir... Jack...I, she began to say.
He bent his head so she could not see the sad look on his face and glanced at her :
_Don't forget to change your password, Sam.
He left without looking back. Sick at heart, Sam let a tear drop on her cheek.
Two military people could not have a personal relationship. This was the rule and it would remain that way. Sam and Jack had learnt that the law was blind to heroes.
The End
I hope you liked this story, in any case, I wanted to thank you for the reviews and support! See you soon I hope!
