Thank Yu for Sharing….

A/N: If Sam seems a little OOC, it's because she probably is. The Sam I used in this entire story is a cross between several, mostly the Sam in Heroes, Upgrades, behind the force shield, Line in the Sand, when she's lying in the bed, Death Knell, Grace, Solitudes and any others where she's almost given up, Singularity, in the elevator after leaving Cassie, and Divide and Conquer, in the Gate room with Martouf. Those last two are seen especially in this chapter.

Enjoy.


Chapter 7

The journey back to Earth on the Cargo ship took four days. It was a long trip, but it had been the most convenient way to get Sam and Jack off the base.

Sam had barely spoken since arriving on the ship. She mostly slept, or watched over Jack. The three other men had quickly become concerned for her.

"Sammie?" Jacob asked, standing at the doorway of the cargo bay she was resting in. Sam looked up and gave her father a slight nod.

"Hey Dad," She said, shifting over on the bench so he could sit beside her.

"Oh, so you can still speak, can you?" Jacob asked, semi-mockingly.

"Dad, be fair," Sam said. "I know, I've sort of neglected you lately, but with everything the way it is..."'

I know Sam, I do," Jacob replied. "You've been through a lot, but that's no reason to shut the rest of us out, okay? We just want to help."

"That's the thing Dad," Sam said getting agitated. "The worse that happened to me was that I got knocked unconscious. But Jack..."

"It's Jack now?" Jacob asked, momentarily stunned by the use of the younger man's first name. "Last time I spoke to you he was definitely the Colonel, or Colonel O'Neill. Has something happened I that I need to know about?"

"Dad, please, just drop it," Sam pleaded.

"Sam, I'm only speaking the truth. You deserve happiness." Jacob said, reaching out and gripping Sam's shoulder gently.

"Dad, now is not the time, okay?" Sam said sharply, pulling away from him. "My CO is nearly dead, I'm tired, haven't eaten properly in nearly a week, and every bone in my body hurts. I have a headache to rival any hang over you've ever had. So just drop it okay?"

"Okay, for now." Jacob said, slightly shocked by the way his daughter had spoken to him. Even when she was a teenager she had never spoken so sharply to him.

"No, Dad," Sam whispered. "Not for now. Forever. Whatever might have happened in that cell, whatever may or may not have been said, I just want it to go away. Please, leave it be..."

Jacob nodded, unable to process the sudden change in Sam.

She is tired, Jacob. Let her rest. Worry more about her later. Selmak said, and Jacob nodded internally.

- - -

Halfway through there trip back to Earth, Sam left the cargo bay and joined Daniel in the Tel'tak. Teal'c was kelno'reeming in the corner, and the only noise was the sound of the engines.

"Hey Daniel," Sam said softly. Daniel turned and smiled at her, before returning his focus to the HUD. "Where's Dad?"

"Other cargo bay. Reporting progress to the Tok'ra high council so they can inform Hammond." Daniel replied.

"What happened once you got back to Earth?" Sam asked It had been nagging her for some time.

"Well, we gated back to Vorash with Anise. Colonel Reynolds and his team were waiting for us at the 'Gate. We showed them the anti-virus, Anise tried to kill us-"

"Woah! What?" Sam had dropped the hot mug of coffee she was drinking, but she didn't notice.

"She was a Zatarc. She was after the crystal. Ironic, isn't it?" Daniel replied, passing Sam a tissue so she could wipe the coffee stain off her BDU pants. "Anyway, Reynolds escorted us back to the SGC where we found out that Ward had been stripped of his command. General Hammond has a lot of influence out there. As it turns out, Ward was hired by the NID, and was never actually a General. Kinsey planted the background information somehow. He's been imprisoned for treason. Hammond gave us the go ahead to plan your rescue, and here you are."

"A lot can happen in a few days, can't it?" Sam said, her gaze turning slightly to watch subspace flying past them. "Jack was killed at least twice when we were there. He knocked me unconscious so I would have to go through it."

"And left you to go through the pain of not knowing what was happening to him in the mean time." Daniel finished Sam's thought. 'He's afraid of losing you, Sam. More than anything. I know you guys like to play the whole 'Feelings? What feelings?' thing, but you have to have noticed..."

"He told me, Daniel. Before the guards got back, when he was ordering me to pretend to be unconscious." Sam whispered, looking behind her to be sure her father was still out of earshot. This wasn't the sort of thing she'd want to discuss with him listening. "Then he hit me in a pressure point, and I dropped like a stone. The last thing I heard from hi was his whisper of I'm sorry."

"He'll wake up soon, Sam. Then you can forgive him, and move on." Daniel said. "Either act, or don't."

"I wish it was that simple, Daniel." Sam replied.

"It is. You can make it that simple. You just have to be willing to face-"

"Major Carter!" Daniel was cut off by Teal'c call from inside the second cargo bay. Where Jack was lying unconscious.

Sam was on her feet in seconds, in the bay before the doors had even fully opened. Teal'c was crouched awkwardly beside a thrashing Jack. A muffled gasp twisted itself from Sam's shocked body as she hurtled herself towards him.

"Jack?" She called, desperately stroking his cheek. Her fingers slid down to his neck, feeling for a pulse. She barely found one.

Jacob burst into the room, woken by Teal'c's call and Sam's fearful sobs. The first thing he saw was his daughter knelt beside her CO, who was clearly in the middle of some sort of fit. A stray arm lashed out and hit Sam in the side of her chest, just below one of her bruised ribs, but aside from a slight wince, Sam didn't seem to notice. She just stayed staring at the man's face, calling out to him, trying to pull him back into consciousness.

Then Jack fell still.

For a second, there was silence. Then, a guttural scream pierced the air as the last strands of Jack's pulse faded away. Jacob, Daniel and Teal'c could only watch as Sam shook his lifeless body, still calling out his name at the top of her lungs.


Dun dun dun!!!!

Well, I might write another part yet, so not everything is set in stone, although I am definitely tempted to leave it as it currently stands... The story is now marked complete....

On another topic, I just found out that Claudia Black played someone named Claire in an old Aussie TV show. I don't know how I never knew that before, because I absolutely adore Claudia, but I didn't. You may not think that it's such a big deal, but when you find out that one of your favourite actresses played someone with your name, it makes you smile.

Please review, I really want to know if you want me to save Jack or not. I will leave him dead, if that's how the reviews pan out.