Goodnight Thoughts

Jack sat silently against the wall in the dim light that seemed to come from nowhere. Now that it was eerily silent, the Colonel could hear the low purring of some sort of machinery far beneath his feet. Like a motor of some sort. It was a little comforting; the sound reminded him of the quiet noise that different machines made back in the SGC. Like the air conditioning or the lights that lined the ceiling. Even though he hated those boring grey walls without any windows, he now yearned for the familiar corridors and would literally do anything to get his team back home there.

He was seated beside the door to their small cell, his hand holding a small pointy rock that he had managed to crack from a weak spot in the wall. It wasn't much, but it would be enough to knock a man out or cut through skin. That would be the only distraction they needed to escape. Jack's eyes drifted over to the two precious life-forms he was protecting. They were both sitting on the opposite wall, huddled against each other and wrapped in separate blankets to sustain warmth. They were both sleeping, by the sound of their deep and calm breathing and the peaceful expression they had on their faces. The only time either of them was truly relaxed and not having some technical or architectural jumble going through their brains was when they were sleeping. But then again Jack didn't know what they dreamt about.

Sam had her head resting on Daniel's shoulder and his head rested lightly upon hers. Jack smiled slightly at the sight and resisted the urge to throw something at Daniel's mouth which was slightly open. He didn't think Daniel would appreciate that very much. He wondered if he could go over there and grab one of the blankets and let them share one. It was actually getting rather cold inside the cell, especially since he had been sitting still for quite some time.

Getting up, he paced the width of the small cell a couple of times, regaining body heat and warming up his aching muscles. It would be mean to take one of their blankets and so he decided against it. He would get one anyway when his shift was up. When was his shift up anyway? He had no idea what time it was or how long until daybreak. There were after all no windows in the cell. He decided that in a little while he would wake up Carter, even though he enjoyed watching her sleep. But if he stared at her too much or for too long, she would probably wake up. She had that strange way of knowing when someone or something was watching her.

Feeling something sticky on his side, he glanced down to see that some blood had bled through the make-shift bandage that Carter had made. There was still no pain, it was as though the nerves had been numbed right there. Earlier he had tried poking it to see if there was any reaction. He hadn't been able to feel anything. Sam had warned him that he should still be careful since it was even more dangerous to be too active now since he wouldn't be able to feel when his wound couldn't take any more. Before he went to sleep he should probably change the bandage.

He glanced around the room once more, studying the three metal slabs which gave off a soft glow in the darkness. They looked so cold and menacing, something about them gave off the feeling that they belonged in a torture chamber. They were not very good beds, Jack knew that from experience. Especially if you had blood oozing out of your side. Daniel and Carter looked quite content on the ground with each other and a small part of him (the part that wasn't following any rules or regulations) was rather jealous of the blue-eyed archeologist. He knew that the Major wouldn't cuddle up to him like she did to Daniel; military rules and training had taught them to avoid situations like that.

"Sir, I think it's my shift now." Jack glanced over from the metal tables to Sam who was watching him with tired but aware eyes. She had made no move to change position and Jack waited a while before nodding. How long had she been awake? Long enough to know that he had been watching her? He really needed to stop doing that. Slowly, Sam slid out from Daniel's side and stood up with her blanket. Walking over to the Colonel, she handed it to him and gave him a reassuring smile and a nod.

"Thanks Carter," Jack said quietly as he took the blanket, handed her the sharp rock, and walked over to the wall. Making sure not to get too close to Daniel in case he would be claimed by his snuggling grasp, Jack slid down and wrapped the blanket around him, studying Sam for a moment longer before closing his eyes and surrendering to sleep. The thought that he was supposed to change his bandage passed through his mind but he dismissed it quickly as sleep started to overcome him. He could do that tomorrow, there would be no harm done.

Sam stood for a moment in the center of the room with the pointy rock in her grasp, glancing around to see what position would be the best to keep an eye on her team-mates and be ready if anyone, or anything, happened to appear. Deciding to follow her commanding officer's example, she walked over to the wall and slid down beside the door. She exhaled a breath of air and shifted the rock between her hands. Guard shifts were always fun and exciting, filled with lot's of time to think and come up with the worst case scenarios of what could happen if they didn't get out of the situation at hand. Oh goody.

But on the other hand it gave her an excuse to watch her team-mates; they were both so adorable when they were asleep. She noted that Daniel's mouth was hanging open and a soft snore was beginning to come from the sleeping man and the Colonel was huddled up underneath his blanket which was drawn up to his nose. She couldn't help but smile softly at the sight, wondering if O'Neill had actually managed to fall asleep so quickly. But then again it didn't surprise her, he was after all injured and even though he couldn't feel any pain, his body was still using up energy to heal the wound.

Her mind drifted toward the last missing member of SG-1 and she let herself dwell on that for a while. Teal'c was probably going crazy back at the SGC knowing that there was nothing he could do. Well, he would be crazy in his own Teal'c way… Teal'c always handled situations with the utmost calm attitude. And he always saw things as they were, and he didn't stray from the truth and only spoke with words that he deemed correct. Sam wondered why they hadn't heard from him or the SGC. Why hadn't they heard from anyone? Earth could have at least tried contacting the Tok'ra or the Asgaards. Her father was going to explode if he found out that she was trapped on some unknown planet. And then he would do all in his power to get her back. Hopefully.

Why had they been sent to this planet anyway? The coordinates were correct when she had entered them into the computer earlier that day, but the gate seemed to have somehow re-directed them someplace else. A gate malfunction? A computer error? Her fingers itched to get back to the SGC and figure out what was wrong. There was just a little spark of dread in her when she realized that her fate, along with the Colonel's and Daniel's, rested with the gate technicians at home. Oh boy. They better get Rodney or someone in there to help out. Even if she did hate his guts, he might be their best bet.

Without thinking about it, her hand reached up and felt her right arm where the small bump from the metal star was. Would that be there forever? It seemed risky to remove it, especially since the muscles and tissue had regenerated around it. It was most likely stuck there. If she pushed down hard enough on her skin, would the metal tip cause it to break? She decided not to test that as it sounded extremely painful and she would rather not start bleeding again and go into shock or something similar.

Leaning her head back against the wall, Sam let her body relax as she waited for her shift to be over. She predicted that the Colonel had been awake for at least four hours, much longer then she had estimated to be asleep. She wanted him to get a lot of rest so that his wound could have a chance to heal. Had he changed his bandage? She hoped so, because she wasn't about to go and check if he had. It would most likely result in him attacking her. Military training did that to you.

*** Some Time Later ***

Major Carter got up from the floor and dusted off her pants, a shiver running down her back in the process. Why did the cell have to be made out of stone? It was always so cold, especially since it was very dark in here. Nothing exciting had happened during her watch, the only thing that might be even slightly eventful would be the increasing swaying motion. It was as though they were on a boat during a stormy night.

Steadying herself against the wall, Sam took a moment to get used to the motion before making her way over to Daniel and the Colonel who still seemed to be asleep. Placing her hand gently on Daniel's shoulder, she shook it lightly, causing two confused and tired eyes to look up at her.

"My shift?" Daniel mumbled, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes to clear them from sleep.

"Yeah," Sam said softly, helping him stand. He wobbled for a moment and Sam once again put her hand on his shoulder to steady him.

"Is it just me or is the whole room moving," Daniel asked with a hint of worry in his voice. Sam smiled at him in sympathy and patted him on the back lightly.

"The whole room is actually moving. I think we actually might be on a boat and its getting kind of stormy out there." She paused as Daniel sighed. "So don't worry, you're not going crazy." Daniel rolled his eyes but smiled at her anyway, unwrapping himself from the blanket and then handing it to her. "Would you like me to take your shift for you?" As much as she wanted to get more sleep, Sam knew that Daniel easily got seasick with motions like these. You would think that after all these years of space travel, Daniel would have gotten used to the motions. But then again being on a boat was different then a space ship.

"No Sam, you need sleep. And I'm getting better with the whole motion sickness thing." He paused to smile reassuringly. "I'm sure I won't puke all over the place. And if I do, I'll make sure to aim it at the guards." Sam shook her head in amusement and took the blanket, wrapping it around herself. It was still slightly warm and it smelled a lot like Daniel, something that was comforting in this cold dark cell. Daniel took the rock and walked over to the exact same spot where both Sam and Jack had been sitting.

Sam watched him for a split second before sitting down beside the Colonel. She glanced at Jack and paused for a moment before she carefully leaned toward him, resting her head on his left shoulder. She sighed quietly with content ness and closed her eyes, letting sleep claim her. Daniel watched the two of them for a moment with a smile on his face.