Heat Chapter 11

For one brief moment, Sam was elated that Jack recognized her and seemed to be waking up. But her joy turned to despair when he quickly lost consciousness, leaving her with a tough decision. Did she continue to poke and prod him, hoping to get him fully functioning before evacuating the plane? Or did she take the risk of extracting him now and then tending to his injuries?

What little sunlight they had was almost gone. The cockpit was becoming darker. If she didn't find a way to search the plane soon for an emergency kit it would be even more difficult as the black night swept over the crumpled plane. She needed room to assess the situation and find a solution. Jack was blocking what looked like a storage compartment in front of his legs. If she could free him and let gravity slide his body down to the base of her seat, she could then pull him out and look for supplies. She decided to take the risk.

With the left wings gone and the plane listing severely on its side, she was able to back out of the hatch and stand on the ground below thus affording her some leverage.

However, reaching in and stretching up to undo his harness re-awakened the pain in her upper arm with a vengeance. A wave of nausea swept over her followed by a sudden stab of pain in her stomach which forced her to her knees. She leaned against the side of the plane with eyes closed, determined not to pass out. Once the dizziness and pain subsided, she straightened herself and looked back into the cockpit.

A low moan from the rear of the plane startled and confused her.

"Jack?!" No, he was in the forward section of the plane.

And then she remembered.

"Karnak!" Omigod, Karnak had been flying them back from that desert outpost … there was a sudden storm.

Anxiously she peered into the aft hatch. What she saw made her shudder. The pilot lay at an awkward angle, his legs hidden under a large jagged piece of metal from the collapsed fuselage. Like Jack, he seemed unresponsive but was too far down in the plane for her to reach and check him.

Two unconscious men and a useless plane.

Sam steeled herself for the ordeal that lay ahead. She would have to remain strong enough to pull Jack from the plane, revive him and hope that he could assist her with Karnak.

She reached in once again and managed to unbuckle Jack's seatbelt, holding onto his shoulders to break his fall as he slid downward. She then grabbed the unconscious man under his arms and dragged him from the tangled wreckage. It was no easy task but the urgency of the situation and adrenaline coursing through her veins provided the needed energy.

As she checked his breathing and pulse, his eyes flickered open and he met her gaze.

"Carter? What, what's happening?" He tried to rise but she gently pushed him back.

"Steady, sir." Sam didn't even realize that she had slipped back into calling him 'sir' as she observed her former CO. He seemed more alert and questioned her with his eyes.

"We were in a plane crash. You've taken a rather bad blow to the back of your head. Can you see me clearly?" He nodded his assent as she carefully moved her hands about his neck and extremities, squeezing his fingertips and putting pressure on his legs. Intense pressure. The woman didn't know her own strength.

"Ouch! For God's sake, I'm not a pin cushion."

For the first time, Sam Carter found something to laugh about. She relaxed at his side and, for one brief moment, allowed herself to celebrate the fact that the man she loved was coming back from the fog of concussion and did not appear to be seriously injured.

Jack lay patiently as Sam examined him. Aside from a splitting headache, his mind was clearing and he wanted to reassure her that he was okay. After flexing his fingers and toes, he gingerly rolled to his side and grabbed her arm. He could see the worry in her face, interrupted by her weak attempt to smile. Their eyes met and held for what seemed an eternity, and then she tried to speak.

"Jack, I'm so glad you're …"

Alive! They were both alive. He drew her to himself and kissed her. Her sudden surprise and hesitation gave way to a joyful compliance. They had, indeed, somehow survived those last crazy minutes of falling from the sky.

As their lips parted, Sam touched his bruised face gently. "You'll probably have quite a shiner."

Jack winced but managed, "As long as you didn't do it."

All his memories were quickly returning - the plane, the pratfall stunt that Karnak pulled just before the storm … Karnak! Jack sat upright and looked around. Relief turned into trepidation as he saw the smashed plane in the waning daylight. Where was his friend?

Sam read his mind.

"He's still in the plane." Her voice broke, "I couldn't reach him."

Their respite had come to an end. Sam helped Jack up and both moved cautiously to the back of the cockpit. Her aching shoulder and Jack's lacerations were put on hold as they turned their attention to the crumpled figure who lay trapped in the wreckage.


Alayna paced anxiously back and forth as she watched the day's golden hues slowly turn into twilight's deeper shades of purple and blue. She continued to keep watch from her office window, praying that Karnak, Jack and Sam would soon be landing in the courtyard eager to tell her of their flight to the distant outpost. They were to have been back by now. Jack and Sam were supposed to depart for the Gate by nightfall. Where were they?

She could not rid herself of a growing fear that something was wrong even as she tried to reassure herself that Karnak, being Karnak, loved company and good conversation. She could picture him rambling on and showing off the outpost to Jack and Sam, probably losing all sense of time. Still, the biplane was designed for day trips; Karnak had never flown at night. Reaching for the transmitter on her desk, she dialed the code for XP001.

Miles away, the same storm which wreaked havoc with the plane and its travelers was now roaring through the environmental outpost, toppling towers and windmills.

Nothing but static appeared on Alayna's screen. She could not reach the outpost and suddenly felt quite helpless. She was angry too, angry at Karnak for not installing proper navigational instruments on the small plane and angry at herself for not insisting that he do so.

The baby kicked forcefully, momentarily distracting her. She walked to the window once more, leaned against the frame and rubbed her stomach gently.

"Your father better have a good excuse for this delay. And he will never ever take that plane up again without a communication device."