Notes: I'm not a real fan of this chapter as it just isn't as exciting to me as the rest. But, it had to be here so - enjoy if you can!
Chapter 8
Jack watched as Sam, Tiyu and Tan materialized on the bridge. All three of them were covered in blood and upright for all of 1.2 seconds.
"What the hell?" Jack cursed as he rushed forward to catch Sam. He winced at the sound of the other two bodies hitting the floor.
Dimly, Jack heard Caldwell call for a medical team to the bridge, but he could only hear the pounding of his own heart as Sam collapsed into his arms.
There was blood everywhere and Jack couldn't stop the fear that pressed against his gut that he'd found them too late. Glancing down Sam's torso, he noticed a long claw protruding from her hip, blood covering her chest and her eyes were glassy as they tried to focus on him.
"Sam?" He yanked out the claw and pressed the palm of his hand to the jagged gash in her hip. He couldn't take the chance that even dismembered from its owner that it wouldn't continue to pump poison into her body. "Stay with me. Help's on the way."
Sam's lips moved and she blinked back the tears or sweat, he couldn't be sure, that dripped into her eyes. Her face was damp and flushed and her breathing was erratic. When the pounding in his ears from his frantic heart beat lowered enough, he could hear her faint repeated whisper of his name.
The next few seconds ticked by so slowly that Jack nearly picked her up and carried her to the infirmary himself, weak knees be damned.
Just as he was about to do that, he was pushed aside as the medical team arrived to take over. Jack backed slowly away, hands covered in blood.
Sam's head lolled toward the doctor, eyes glassy with pain, and he could barely make out the breathless word.
"Anaphylaxis." Sam groaned when the medical team began to assess her injuries. When she took a few deep, deep breaths and then fell unconscious, Jack started forward. Only Daniel's hand sliding around his arm prevented him from interfering. "There's nothing you can do, Jack. Stay out of their way."
Jack's fingers tightened into fists and he wanted to yank his arm away and ignore Daniel's word of warning but the younger man was right. When Sam's body went rigid and she stopped breathing, panic seized his chest but Daniel continued to hold him back.
They watched as the doctor demanded a lot of cc's of something called epinephrine and injected it into Sam's body faster than Jack could blink.
The doctor quickly ripped Sam's shirt open and a flash of light on metal startled him. Jack watched helplessly as the medic quickly cut through the chain holding Sam's tags. . . and his ring. . . around her neck. All three fell to the floor, forgotten in a growing pool of blood the medics were trying frantically to stem.
Jack winced as the doctor tipped Sam's head back, opened her mouth and quickly slid in a tube he wished he didn't recognize. He'd spent far too much time in hospitals.
"What's goin' on, Doc?" Jack demanded.
"Whatever's wounded them," the doctor answered as he affixed a bag to the end of the tube and began to push air into her Sam's lungs, "it caused a kind of paralysis and anaphylaxis. Colonel Carter stopped breathing."
Jack resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Yeah, noticed that."
"I need to get her to the infirmary, stat." One hand pumping the bag rhythmically, causing Sam's chest to rise and fall each time, the doctor motioned to a few men Jack hadn't noticed standing behind him. They came forward, lowered the stretcher, carefully maneuvered Sam onto it and carried her away.
Jack and Daniel followed at their heels fear etched on their faces, leaving the entire bridge crew to watch their retreating backs with equally worried looks.
****
Jack paced outside the infirmary where the doctors were frantically working on their patients. He'd spent enough time in infirmaries to understand the tone of voice the doctors employed when they needed space to work. He hadn't fought too hard when he was ushered completely out of the room though it was probably because of Daniel's death grip on his arm that made it easier for the doctors to get him out of the way.
So – he paced, in a circle, a straight line, occasionally he would stop and see if he could overhear anything from the closed doors. Instead, all he could see was a lot of blood and a lot of people surrounding Sam's bed.
He could only assume the other two that had been beamed on board were equally as hurt, though he couldn't bring himself to spare more than a passing thought for them at the moment.
"Jack?"
He didn't want to talk right now but he knew Daniel was going to try and distract him. His pacing more than likely had finally irked Daniel into saying something.
"Not now, Daniel," he said as he pushed a hand though his already messy hair.
"General?"
Jack whirled around to see Caldwell standing a few feet away.
"What is it?"
"The Beta site checked in. They got three people through the gate along with a few – unexpected guests."
Jack opened his mouth to ask but Daniel beat him to it.
"What kind of guests?" Daniel asked.
"Some sort of creature; big as a man with long claws and really sharp teeth." Jack didn't miss the disgusted look that crossed Caldwell's face.
"The ones that did this to Carter and her crew?" Jack motioned jerkily toward the infirmary.
"It's a good guess. Edmonson's men killed them all, but not without sustaining a few injuries themselves. A Major Maxwell, Lieutenant Gibbs and Captain Lieu made it through the gate. Gibbs is critical, Maxwell isn't much better and Lieu stable."
"Thanks for the report, Colonel," Jack felt himself say but couldn't be bothered to care much more at the moment. He'd get more information as soon as he knew how Sam was doing.
"If you'd like a more detailed report, I've still got Edmondson on the horn."
"Tell him I'll call him back as soon as I get a report from the doc."
"Yes, Sir."
Out of the corner of his eye, Jack could see Caldwell hesitate and then hold out his hand.
Jack glanced down at the blood covered dogtags resting against Caldwell's palm and then up at the man's neutral expression. If the Colonel noticed, or cared, about the ring dangling from the chain, he gave no indication. Jack nodded wordlessly as he took the tags.
"Thanks."
"I'm sure she'll be grateful to have it back." A small smile curved one corner of Caldwell's mouth before he nodded and walked away.
Jack felt more than saw Daniel look down at the tags. "God, what the hell happened to her?"
"I dunno Danny," Jack took a step toward the infirmary doors. "But I hope she lives to tell us."
****
Jack made no attempt to hide his anxiety as he stood in front of the conference room viewscreen listening to Henry Hayes. His fingers flexed with agitation and he shifted his weight from one foot to the other so often the President had to have noticed.
Finally, Hayes paused long enough for Jack to interject. "Sir, with all due respect. . ." Jack trailed off when Hayes raised his hand.
"I know you want to get back to her, Jack, but I need a report." Hayes eyes were bright with concern and laced with excitement that the Hammond had been found and that just irritated Jack even more. "I instructed Colonel Caldwell to contact you if her situation changes."
Jack nodded slowly, grateful that at very least, Hayes had thought about how pissed he'd be to be dragged from Sam's side.
There were so many places, as head of Homeworld Security that Jack should be, so many people he should be talking with, but there was only one place he wanted to be and that wasn't here, talking with the President about things Jack felt could wait.
"We're a few days out, Henry, can I give you a detailed report then?"
"You know that'll be fine, Jack, I just needed a brief overview right now." Jack noticed Hayes flatten his hands on the table in front of him. "Believe it or not there are people to whom I have to answer over this incident."
"I understand, Sir," Jack couldn't help but hope that was the end of the conversation and the President would sign off and bug him later. Much. Much. Later.
"We'll talk more when you get back," Hayes said as he leaned forward and placed both elbows on his desk. "Needless to say everyone was ecstatic to learn you'd found the Hammond."
"No more than I was, Sir," Jack said, itching to terminate the call and get back to the infirmary.
"There are a lot of concerned folks here looking forward to reading that report," Hayes said as Jack watched him reach out and end the transmission.
****
The kiss became more heated the longer their lips remained fused together. She didn't care that she'd been straddling him for an undetermined amount of time or that her knees were pressed rather firmly into a hard metal hull. She only cared about the feel of his mouth beneath hers and his impossibly long fingers wrapping around her waist and pulling her closer.
She tipped her head back and allowed his mouth to blaze a heated path down the smooth, sensitive skin of her neck. In the back of her mind, she registered the unending hum of machinery all around them but she didn't care. Not right now. Now when she finally had what she wanted.
"Jack," Sam whispered when a long-fingered hand slid into her hair and tugged her mouth back to his.
Her skin tingled and she could feel the evidence of his growing arousal pinned between them as she wrapped her hands around his neck and deepened the kiss.
Amidst all the passion, her head throbbed and she couldn't shake the nagging feeling that she should be doing something else. With a reluctant sigh against his oh-so-sweet mouth, Sam leaned back and opened her eyes.
"Jack," Sam whispered her heart thudding sharply as he smiled warmly at her.
"Go save your ass."
The passionate vision of sitting on the floor of the Prometheus making out with her CO vanished and she was left alone on the abandoned starship.
As Sam slowly clawed her way out of unconsciousness, the first sensation she registered was the scent of a sterile environment, the second was that she could feel her extremities; even pain was a good sign at this point, and third, was the feeling that she was being watched.
She could feel her eyelids slowly obey her command and when they finally slid open, she groaned at the bright light shining down from above her. Almost immediately, a shadow intercepted that light and she turned her head to see the smiling face of Daniel Jackson.
He wasn't the first person she expected to see and she swallowed back the momentary disappointment before offering him a weak smile. Maybe she'd dreamed that Jack had been there to catch her.
"Hey, sleepyhead," Daniel squeezed her hand, mindful of the IV. "How are you feeling? Any pain?"
Sam swallowed and tried to speak. Her mouth was dry and so the words came out as a whisper. "Where – am I?"
"The Daedalus. Jack kinda, uh, commandeered it."
Sam blinked rapidly. Jack? So he was here? "What – do you – mean?"
"Told the President he was going to resign if they didn't give him a ship to come look for you." There was a proud smile on Daniel's face as if he was happy to have been the one to tell her all about it.
Sam felt a smile tug at her mouth. "Where – is he?" She shifted her eyes to look around the small room.
"Oh, talking with the President," Daniel waved his free hand absently toward the door. "You should have seen how pissed he was when Hayes called and he had to leave."
Sam smiled, easily imagining the fight Jack would have put up if ordered to leave her side. "I'll bet he – was."
"He told Caldwell to just drop the link. As if hanging up on the President was going to fly." Daniel rolled his eyes and Sam couldn't help but smile even more.
"How – long have I been - out?" Sam swallowed, her mouth dry, but her voice getting stronger by the minute.
"For about six hours."
"Longest of my life, too," Jack said as he walked in and pulled a chair up to the other side of Sam's bed.
"Liar," Sam whispered as he reached out and carefully slid her hand into his. She squeezed his fingers tightly.
The doctor chose that moment to walk in, a smile instantly spreading across his face when he noticed Sam's open eyes.
"Welcome back, Colonel."
Sam cleared her throat. "Thanks."
"Could she get some water, Doc?" Jack asked and was grateful when a cup complete with straw was produced almost immediately. He held it to her lips and she drank deeply until he pulled it away with a cluck of the tongue. "Drink slow."
Sam nodded and once she was done, asked, her voice steadier now, "My team?"
"Maxwell, Gibbs and Lieu made it through to the beta site," Jack answered.
"Tan and Tiyu are here in pretty much the same state as you," The doctor finished. "They woke up a few hours ago."
"At least almost all of us got off that dusty old sandball I would be hard-pressed to call a planet," Sam muttered. Only two hadn't made it and she was already thinking about the letters she would write to their families.
"We'll get your report when you're feeling up to it," Jack said and squeezed her hand again.
"Okay," Sam agreed, eyes drooping. She held his fingers, unwilling to release the lifeline to which she so desperately felt she needed to cling.
"Get some rest, I'll be right here." She heard him say before her eyes slid shut and she fell into the first relaxed sleep she'd had in a month.
****
"The IOA's gonna want to go back to that planet and pick up the pieces," Jack said with a snarl of disgust. His hands fiddled with a closed folder sitting in his lap, for a lack of anything else to do.
"I can only imagine the hell you've put them through in the last month," Sam said as she picked at the food on the plate in front of her. She couldn't imagine ever wanting to go back to that planet but she had an unsettling feeling she'd be the one leading that expedition.
"It's nothing they didn't deserve," Jack muttered as he leaned forward and sniffed her tray.
Sam grinned at him and held up her fork. "Hungry?"
She chuckled when he wrinkled his nose and leaned away. "Yeah, for pizza and a six pack."
"I'll be sure to requisition those direct from your office when we get back, Sir," Caldwell smirked as he walked in and stopped at the foot of Sam's bed.
"For this one, Caldwell, I'll make sure it's approved." Sam couldn't miss the appreciative tone in Jack's voice and turned her full attention to the Commander of the Daedalus.
"This is the best assignment this crew's had, General."
Sam was struck by the kindness in Caldwell's eyes as he looked down at her. His voice was even more tender than normal when he added, "Welcome back, Sam."
She couldn't help but smile. "Thanks. It's good to be-"
The ship shook as something impacted with the hull and the alarms began to echo throughout the ship. Sparks cascaded down over their heads as electrical systems blinked off and on when they were short circuited.
Caldwell tapped his headset and barked into it. "Bridge, what's going on?"
"Unidentified hostile, Sir! It came out of nowhere and just started firing on us!"
Sam exchanged a worried look with Jack. "That's exactly what happened to the Hammond."
Caldwell's eyes narrowed. "Raise shields and return fire. I'll be right there."
Caldwell turned to Sam, "Can you walk? We may be able to use your help."
Sam immediately swung her legs over the bed but they weren't strong enough to hold her weight and she slumped weakly against the bed. She let out a frustrated grunt and stubbornly pushed herself upright again, this time hissing in pain as stitches were pulled to their limits. Jack was at her side in an instant, attention split between her and Caldwell.
"I'll get her there, go!"
The ship shook again, this time feeling like a boat gently rocking on a lake. At least the shields had taken the brunt of the blast.
Jack helped her out of bed and together they moved out of the infirmary amidst a rather sharp protest from the doctor.
Crew rushed past them on their way to their assigned stations as Caldwell's voice came over the comm. "Battle stations, this is not a drill. I repeat. Battle stations."
"I really don't want a repeat of a month ago," Sam muttered as they hurried toward the bridge.
"If we've gotta go, I'd rather it be together," Jack said with a lopsided smirk.
Sam rolled her eyes. "So not what I wanted to hear right now, Jack."
TBC
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