Title: Mis-Adventures of Jack and Sam (Seven Days)
Author: dcChic
Email: dietcokechic@hotmail.com
Notes: See? I'm not THAT mean. You only had to wait two days. And admit it- those cliffhangers were fun, right? (Ducking low to miss that thrown tomato) My prelude to chapter 9 kinda messed up the numbering- Sorry about that. But we're still only on chapter 10. I think we'll be done by 12, with a definite possibility for an epilogue. The cavalry is coming, have faith.
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Chapter 10
Day 4, P3x-277
1600 hours
Sam watched in horror as Jack's limp body fell from the rock face above. How far up was he? 15 feet? 20? Like a bad dream, everything moved in slow motion. Sam couldn't see his fingers slip from the rocks, but she could hear the whoosh the air made as his body moved through it. And she could hear a sickening thud as a part of his body struck a protruding rock on the way down. And then she saw the splash as Jack O'Neill's unconscious form struck the frigid underground lake and slowly sank beneath the surface.
"Colonel!!" Sam screamed as she urged her battered body to move faster towards the lake. Even with the adrenaline surge, it took nearly 30 seconds to reach the water and then another 10 or so to locate Jack's still form as he continued to sink face down into the bitter-cold lake. Under normal circumstance Jack O'Neill would have sunk like a stone, but choosing to climb in just pants and a shirt probably saved his life. That is if Carter could get him out of the water in time.
Reacting instinctively, Samantha Carter waded into the icy lake and grabbed the Colonel by his shirt. Slowly, grunting with exertion, and drenching herself in the process, Sam was able to drag him part of the way out of the water and onto the shore. She could feel her stitches tearing, the wounds reopening, and bit the inside of her cheek to hold back the agonizing cry that threatened to consume her. *Help is on its way. * Sam kept telling herself. *They know we're here. Help is on the way.*
She rolled Jack over on his back and held her ear to his chest in an effort to find a faint hearbeat. Nothing. He wasn't breathing either. The shock of hitting the icy water alone would probably have momentarily stopped his heart but having his head submerged for nearly a minute only exasperated the situation.
"Don't you DARE die on me Colonel!" Samantha screamed as she searched in vain for a pulse. She could see a vicious looking gash near his hairline and now out of the water it was beginning to bleed profusely. Sam listened again to the Colonel's chest and shook her head in an effort to rid her self of the tears she didn't have time to wipe away.
"You are NOT going to fucking die on me Jack!" Sam cried as she began pounding on his chest. She counted compressions and then tilted Jack's head back and breathed into his mouth. Again. 1..2..3..4..5 Breathe. Using a force she didn't know she had, Sam pounded on Jack's chest desperately trying to get his heart pumping again. Dimly she heard the crack of what must be a rib and hoped to god she wasn't bringing him back only to have him die of a punctured lung. Six times Sam went through the procedure and her motions became automatic even as fatigue shook her body. Several times she had to wipe away the blood that was pooling across Jack's face. The head wound could wait; he needed his heart first.
"Dammit Jack O'Neill, you cannot do this. Fight!" She said as she pounded brutally against his chest. Again she felt his ribs crack under her determined ministrations. Sam had just started the seventh round of compressions when Jack sputtered and spit up the water clogging his airway.
"S'top hitting me Carter." Jack whispered opening his eyes a fraction. Almost instantly he began to shake from the cold.
"Colonel!" Sam cried ecstatically as she again wiped the blood from his face. He was alive! He was alive. Now she needed to keep both of them that way for the next 16 hours.
"Colonel?" Sam tried again as she noticed Jack's ragged breathing evening out and his head start to lilt to one side.
"Sl'eep." Jack slurred closing his eyes.
"No! Colonel, you have a nasty head wound, mostly likely a concussion Sir. Don't sleep!" Sam lightly tapped the Colonel's face. He moaned slightly but didn't open his eyes.
"Jack! You need to wake up!" Nothing. He was out cold.
Cold. Shit! It was way too cold and here they were sitting in water. Sam might still have a fever, but she knew the cold could very well kill her as well. She needed to get them both on dry ground. Sam looked up at the muddy shore and wondered if she could honestly haul the Colonel's unconscious body up that far. She looked back down at the Colonel as if assessing how much he might weigh. Huh? What the hell was the Colonel doing without shoes on?!
Heedless of the warm trickle she felt running down her side, Sam pulled and pulled until the Colonel was finally out of the water. Hitching her loose pants up, Sam peered around in the darkness looking for their camp. She really was getting sick and tired of all this darkness... It took 3 trips for her to drag the blankets, medical supplies and sleeping bag over to where the Colonel still lay unmoving. Already she could feel herself shaking from fatigue and fear. Looking again at his feet, Sam stumbled back to the original camp and grabbed the discarded pair of socks Jack had thrown out of the pack before the climb. Why he hadn't been wearing them before was beyond her, but she was very thankful for the dry wool socks. Dimly she was aware of Daniel yelling at her through the radio. *Too busy. Can't talk now. *
Jacks feet looked like hell, but that was the least of her concerns at the moment. She covered his feet and then made an instantaneous decision that the wet clothes needed to go. They were not going to last 16 hours with Jack soaking wet. Shit! She was wet as well, wasn't she? God, they were going to have a field day with this one. Sam knew the rumor mill at the base was alive with several different 'Jack and Sam' scenarios. Hell, she had quite a few of those herself... This one would most definitely take the cake. But there really was little choice in the matter.
Using Jack's knife (thankfully still located in his cargo pants' pocket) Sam cut away both his shirt and his pants. She didn't have enough dexterity left in her fingertips to attempt to peel wet clothing off an unconscious man. She knew Jack would be mortified to discover himself lying naked save for a pair of soaked boxers and wool socks. She wondered if he felt as uncomfortable as she did 5 days ago. Sam rolled him over onto the rain tarp and then quickly wrapped him in the not so sweet smelling emergency blankets and draped the sleeping back on top of him.
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Daniel was going crazy with worry. One minute he was talking with Carter and everything was fine, and the next she was shouting at Jack and had obviously dropped the radio. She could hear him, (if the radio was still functioning) but until Sam made the move to push the talk button, Daniel didn't know what was going on. Sam had sounded petrified and Jack had been on a ledge 15 feet above the ground. Knowing Jack...
"Captain!" Daniel said running up ahead to where Henderson and the others were walking.
"Captain, we need to go get them." Daniel said pointing vaguely in another direction.
"Dr. Jackson, I know you are worried about them, but there is nothing we can do in the dark! We only have two more hours of daylight left and it's doubtful we'll even make the Stargate before then. They'll located nearly 20 miles from here!" Before Daniel could even open his mouth to protest the Captain continued.
"We don't have the equipment Dr. Jackson. We would need night vision goggles, ropes- hell! They're trapped in a cave injured; we need some docs out here as well."
Daniel knew the man was right but his gut told him Sam and Jack might not be able to hang on another night. He nodded at the career soldier and picked up his pace. He'd take it up with the General. With luck they could send a team back out sooner than sunrise tomorrow.
Day 4, P3x-277- The Cave
1700 hours
Sam did her best to stop the bleeding, but head wounds were notorious for being messy and Jack's was no exception. She wished the Colonel hadn't used so much of the gauze on her. She couldn't fault him though; what were the odds they would BOTH need compression bandages? Using the last of their supplies, Sam held a thick square of gauze over the wound and tied the bandana tightly around Jack's head. With luck that would slow the bleeding until help could arrive.
His pulse might be slow, but Jack O'Neill was alive and the realization of this fact hit Sam like a semi-truck. She began to shake more fiercely now. Not from cold but from delayed shock and fear. Had Jack lost too much blood? Would they survive the night? She desperately tried to control her hysteria, as hyperventilating was not an option. The adrenaline rush had left as suddenly as it had come, and Sam fought off the very strong desire to collapse and sleep. Soon. She took deep ragged breaths and concentrated on the task at hand. With a start, Sam realized that she had on wet clothing as well and that some of the shaking WAS coming from honest to goodness cold.
*Janet is going to love this. * Sam thought as she forced her clumsy fingers to unbutton her top. Logically she knew there was nothing wrong with cuddling to conserve heat. And no one expected them to remain in wet clothing for the duration of their stay in this god-forsaken hole. But finding she and the Colonel nearly naked together wasn't going to help squelch all those rumors. Whatever. Surviving the night was her number one priority and Samantha Carter couldn't care less what others might think.
Sam gasped as the cold air struck her bare chest. Biting her lip she snuck a glance down and confirmed her grim suspicion; she was bleeding again. And not just a little. The white bandages were rapidly becoming stained in deep red and small rivets of blood were beginning to run down her stomach. Sam felt woozy and light headed as she stared in shock at her bloody torso. Taking a deep breath, Sam quickly removed her pants and using the knife, tore off both sleeves of her shirt. She then folded one sleeve into fourths and pressed it firmly beneath her breast. Clenching her teeth against the pain Sam carefully held the homemade compress in place as she slid under the covers with the Colonel. It scarcely felt warmer than the outside air, but Sam hoped it would at least prevent them from freezing to death. They were going to become hypothermic, the question was how bad?
She moaned as her poorly bandaged torso came in contact with Jack's chilled back. She hugged him tighter hoping that the bandage would successfully stay in place while they slept. Vaguely Sam remembered that hypothermia actually helped mitigate blood loss, something both she and the Colonel could certainly use about now.
Moments before succumbing to the pull of sleep Sam realized that Daniel was still trying to reach her on the radio. She hadn't the strength to get up and find it. She barely had the strength to hold onto the Colonel.
*Hurry Daniel * Sam thought as she slipped into unconsciousness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I know, I know- I did it again with the cliffhanger. Poor Jack! And here you thought it was just going to be Sammie getting all the hurt/comfort...
Author: dcChic
Email: dietcokechic@hotmail.com
Notes: See? I'm not THAT mean. You only had to wait two days. And admit it- those cliffhangers were fun, right? (Ducking low to miss that thrown tomato) My prelude to chapter 9 kinda messed up the numbering- Sorry about that. But we're still only on chapter 10. I think we'll be done by 12, with a definite possibility for an epilogue. The cavalry is coming, have faith.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 10
Day 4, P3x-277
1600 hours
Sam watched in horror as Jack's limp body fell from the rock face above. How far up was he? 15 feet? 20? Like a bad dream, everything moved in slow motion. Sam couldn't see his fingers slip from the rocks, but she could hear the whoosh the air made as his body moved through it. And she could hear a sickening thud as a part of his body struck a protruding rock on the way down. And then she saw the splash as Jack O'Neill's unconscious form struck the frigid underground lake and slowly sank beneath the surface.
"Colonel!!" Sam screamed as she urged her battered body to move faster towards the lake. Even with the adrenaline surge, it took nearly 30 seconds to reach the water and then another 10 or so to locate Jack's still form as he continued to sink face down into the bitter-cold lake. Under normal circumstance Jack O'Neill would have sunk like a stone, but choosing to climb in just pants and a shirt probably saved his life. That is if Carter could get him out of the water in time.
Reacting instinctively, Samantha Carter waded into the icy lake and grabbed the Colonel by his shirt. Slowly, grunting with exertion, and drenching herself in the process, Sam was able to drag him part of the way out of the water and onto the shore. She could feel her stitches tearing, the wounds reopening, and bit the inside of her cheek to hold back the agonizing cry that threatened to consume her. *Help is on its way. * Sam kept telling herself. *They know we're here. Help is on the way.*
She rolled Jack over on his back and held her ear to his chest in an effort to find a faint hearbeat. Nothing. He wasn't breathing either. The shock of hitting the icy water alone would probably have momentarily stopped his heart but having his head submerged for nearly a minute only exasperated the situation.
"Don't you DARE die on me Colonel!" Samantha screamed as she searched in vain for a pulse. She could see a vicious looking gash near his hairline and now out of the water it was beginning to bleed profusely. Sam listened again to the Colonel's chest and shook her head in an effort to rid her self of the tears she didn't have time to wipe away.
"You are NOT going to fucking die on me Jack!" Sam cried as she began pounding on his chest. She counted compressions and then tilted Jack's head back and breathed into his mouth. Again. 1..2..3..4..5 Breathe. Using a force she didn't know she had, Sam pounded on Jack's chest desperately trying to get his heart pumping again. Dimly she heard the crack of what must be a rib and hoped to god she wasn't bringing him back only to have him die of a punctured lung. Six times Sam went through the procedure and her motions became automatic even as fatigue shook her body. Several times she had to wipe away the blood that was pooling across Jack's face. The head wound could wait; he needed his heart first.
"Dammit Jack O'Neill, you cannot do this. Fight!" She said as she pounded brutally against his chest. Again she felt his ribs crack under her determined ministrations. Sam had just started the seventh round of compressions when Jack sputtered and spit up the water clogging his airway.
"S'top hitting me Carter." Jack whispered opening his eyes a fraction. Almost instantly he began to shake from the cold.
"Colonel!" Sam cried ecstatically as she again wiped the blood from his face. He was alive! He was alive. Now she needed to keep both of them that way for the next 16 hours.
"Colonel?" Sam tried again as she noticed Jack's ragged breathing evening out and his head start to lilt to one side.
"Sl'eep." Jack slurred closing his eyes.
"No! Colonel, you have a nasty head wound, mostly likely a concussion Sir. Don't sleep!" Sam lightly tapped the Colonel's face. He moaned slightly but didn't open his eyes.
"Jack! You need to wake up!" Nothing. He was out cold.
Cold. Shit! It was way too cold and here they were sitting in water. Sam might still have a fever, but she knew the cold could very well kill her as well. She needed to get them both on dry ground. Sam looked up at the muddy shore and wondered if she could honestly haul the Colonel's unconscious body up that far. She looked back down at the Colonel as if assessing how much he might weigh. Huh? What the hell was the Colonel doing without shoes on?!
Heedless of the warm trickle she felt running down her side, Sam pulled and pulled until the Colonel was finally out of the water. Hitching her loose pants up, Sam peered around in the darkness looking for their camp. She really was getting sick and tired of all this darkness... It took 3 trips for her to drag the blankets, medical supplies and sleeping bag over to where the Colonel still lay unmoving. Already she could feel herself shaking from fatigue and fear. Looking again at his feet, Sam stumbled back to the original camp and grabbed the discarded pair of socks Jack had thrown out of the pack before the climb. Why he hadn't been wearing them before was beyond her, but she was very thankful for the dry wool socks. Dimly she was aware of Daniel yelling at her through the radio. *Too busy. Can't talk now. *
Jacks feet looked like hell, but that was the least of her concerns at the moment. She covered his feet and then made an instantaneous decision that the wet clothes needed to go. They were not going to last 16 hours with Jack soaking wet. Shit! She was wet as well, wasn't she? God, they were going to have a field day with this one. Sam knew the rumor mill at the base was alive with several different 'Jack and Sam' scenarios. Hell, she had quite a few of those herself... This one would most definitely take the cake. But there really was little choice in the matter.
Using Jack's knife (thankfully still located in his cargo pants' pocket) Sam cut away both his shirt and his pants. She didn't have enough dexterity left in her fingertips to attempt to peel wet clothing off an unconscious man. She knew Jack would be mortified to discover himself lying naked save for a pair of soaked boxers and wool socks. She wondered if he felt as uncomfortable as she did 5 days ago. Sam rolled him over onto the rain tarp and then quickly wrapped him in the not so sweet smelling emergency blankets and draped the sleeping back on top of him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Daniel was going crazy with worry. One minute he was talking with Carter and everything was fine, and the next she was shouting at Jack and had obviously dropped the radio. She could hear him, (if the radio was still functioning) but until Sam made the move to push the talk button, Daniel didn't know what was going on. Sam had sounded petrified and Jack had been on a ledge 15 feet above the ground. Knowing Jack...
"Captain!" Daniel said running up ahead to where Henderson and the others were walking.
"Captain, we need to go get them." Daniel said pointing vaguely in another direction.
"Dr. Jackson, I know you are worried about them, but there is nothing we can do in the dark! We only have two more hours of daylight left and it's doubtful we'll even make the Stargate before then. They'll located nearly 20 miles from here!" Before Daniel could even open his mouth to protest the Captain continued.
"We don't have the equipment Dr. Jackson. We would need night vision goggles, ropes- hell! They're trapped in a cave injured; we need some docs out here as well."
Daniel knew the man was right but his gut told him Sam and Jack might not be able to hang on another night. He nodded at the career soldier and picked up his pace. He'd take it up with the General. With luck they could send a team back out sooner than sunrise tomorrow.
Day 4, P3x-277- The Cave
1700 hours
Sam did her best to stop the bleeding, but head wounds were notorious for being messy and Jack's was no exception. She wished the Colonel hadn't used so much of the gauze on her. She couldn't fault him though; what were the odds they would BOTH need compression bandages? Using the last of their supplies, Sam held a thick square of gauze over the wound and tied the bandana tightly around Jack's head. With luck that would slow the bleeding until help could arrive.
His pulse might be slow, but Jack O'Neill was alive and the realization of this fact hit Sam like a semi-truck. She began to shake more fiercely now. Not from cold but from delayed shock and fear. Had Jack lost too much blood? Would they survive the night? She desperately tried to control her hysteria, as hyperventilating was not an option. The adrenaline rush had left as suddenly as it had come, and Sam fought off the very strong desire to collapse and sleep. Soon. She took deep ragged breaths and concentrated on the task at hand. With a start, Sam realized that she had on wet clothing as well and that some of the shaking WAS coming from honest to goodness cold.
*Janet is going to love this. * Sam thought as she forced her clumsy fingers to unbutton her top. Logically she knew there was nothing wrong with cuddling to conserve heat. And no one expected them to remain in wet clothing for the duration of their stay in this god-forsaken hole. But finding she and the Colonel nearly naked together wasn't going to help squelch all those rumors. Whatever. Surviving the night was her number one priority and Samantha Carter couldn't care less what others might think.
Sam gasped as the cold air struck her bare chest. Biting her lip she snuck a glance down and confirmed her grim suspicion; she was bleeding again. And not just a little. The white bandages were rapidly becoming stained in deep red and small rivets of blood were beginning to run down her stomach. Sam felt woozy and light headed as she stared in shock at her bloody torso. Taking a deep breath, Sam quickly removed her pants and using the knife, tore off both sleeves of her shirt. She then folded one sleeve into fourths and pressed it firmly beneath her breast. Clenching her teeth against the pain Sam carefully held the homemade compress in place as she slid under the covers with the Colonel. It scarcely felt warmer than the outside air, but Sam hoped it would at least prevent them from freezing to death. They were going to become hypothermic, the question was how bad?
She moaned as her poorly bandaged torso came in contact with Jack's chilled back. She hugged him tighter hoping that the bandage would successfully stay in place while they slept. Vaguely Sam remembered that hypothermia actually helped mitigate blood loss, something both she and the Colonel could certainly use about now.
Moments before succumbing to the pull of sleep Sam realized that Daniel was still trying to reach her on the radio. She hadn't the strength to get up and find it. She barely had the strength to hold onto the Colonel.
*Hurry Daniel * Sam thought as she slipped into unconsciousness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I know, I know- I did it again with the cliffhanger. Poor Jack! And here you thought it was just going to be Sammie getting all the hurt/comfort...