Chapter 16
The klaxons blared noisily across the base as Sergeant Siler verified the signal.
"It's SG-1 Sir!" Siler said happily.
"Right on time." General Hammond murmured sounding quite relieved..
It had been two weeks since the fateful trip to P2X-415 and SG-1 were just returning
from their first post-khan off-world mission. They had been gone for exactly 24
hours. General Hammond couldn't help but smile as he saw all four members of SG-
1 walk through the Stargate. Not a visible injury among them. Visible being the key
word here; they were quite muddy. Daniel was attempting to clean it off his glasses
but was failing miserably.
"Welcome home SG-1." Hammond said through a microphone from the Control
Room. "Try not to clog all the showers this time ok? Debriefing in 90 minutes."
Jack gave the General a sloppy salute and walked down the ramp.
"I believe it is the guys' turn to use the shower first Major." Jack said with a twinkle
in his eye.
"At least its just mud Sir." Sam replied trying to not think about the half pound of
the stuff currently dwelling in her trousers. "Enjoy your showers." And with that
Sam walked out of the embarkation room and towards her room. Jack frowned
slightly as he watched her go. He sure missed the old Carter sass. Hell, he missed a
lot of things that had been taken away since that damned mission to '415.
"Jack.." Daniel began as his eyes followed Sam as she slowly walked out of the
room.
"Not now Danny, ok?" Jack said with a sigh. He knew what his friend was going to
say- he was still worried about Sam. In all honesty, Jack really believed things were
getting better. The last two days at the cabin with Janet, Daniel and Cassie had
been really relaxing and Sam hadn't had a single nightmare since. Although she still
wasn't eating too well, it was most likely due to over-work and NOT psychological
reasons. Although wasn't working all the time a defense mechanism AGAINST
having to deal with psychological stuff? Jack's head hurt trying to make sense of all
the head mumbo-jumbo he'd read up on.
All he knew was that the two of them had actually had fun driving back from the
cabin and the last five days or so had been relatively uneventful. Sure, Sam was still
a little quieter than normal and more pensive, but she did seem to be dealing with
the events of '415. Not that she and Jack had talked a lot about it together. One of
these days they'd need too- Jack knew this- but for the time being, talking with
friends seemed to be helping. And Jack still believed things would be fine despite
the rather shaky mission they had come back from. Jack had a funny feeling he was
to blame for some of her apprehension, but he still believed he had made the right
call with the tents.
**FLASHBACK**
"Excuse me?" Daniel asked struggling with his tent poles. For the umpteenth time
he wished they could just bring a simple Northface tent and leave these damn
military ones at home.
"You heard me Daniel. Tonight it's you and Teal'c. Carter and I will share the
second tent."
Since he and Sam had gotten together, Jack always had Sam bunk up with either
Teal'c or Daniel. The team didn't use tents very often, but when they did Jack felt it
might be for the best if he and Sam didn't share an enclosed space. It would be too
easy to roll over and snuggle. Or heaven forbid- do something worse (better)! Sam
had understood this decision and though they laughed about it at home and even
made fun of it off-world, ("Hands off my girlfriend tonight Dr. Jackson.") both
understood the necessity of the decision. A decision that Jack was now altering
without first talking it over with his most significant other (not to mention 2IC).
He could feel Sam's eyes burrowing into the back of his skull but surprisingly she
held her tongue. Jack sighed again. The "old" Sam would have lit into him instantly.
"Carter, you have first watch- then Teal'c and Daniel. I'll take last." In the firelight
Jack saw Teal'c and Daniel nod. Sam just got up to pour herself a cup of coffee.
Yep- she had heard.
One by one the guys turned in for bed with Jack heading towards the tent last. Right
as he opened the flap of their tent Sam grabbed hold of his shoulder.
"Stop coddling me Jack." She whispered angrily.
"Jack, huh?" Sam just glared at him.
"I'm perfectly fine." She said through clenched teeth.
"I know you are." Jack said simply.
"So why the tent thing?" In the firelight Jack couldn't help but notice how thin Sam
still appeared. She hadn't lost any more weight, but she hadn't gained those last 4
pounds back either. She still forgot to eat while at work and working was the one
thing Major Samantha Carter seemed to be doing with gusto these days.
"Sam, this world appears uninhabited and we'll be hitting Daniel's temple first thing
in the morning. The guys know we sleep together and I didn't think it would kill us
to share a tent this one time." He didn't have to say the unspoken- it wasn't like
anything was going to happen- they hadn't had sex since P2X-415. Jack had
thought a lot about what Janet had said back at the cabin, but he just hadn't done
anything about it yet. And judging from Sam's mood, this wouldn't change anytime
soon.
"And the real reason Colonel?" Sam whispered angrily putting a hand on her hip.
Jack's eyes flared. "Dammit Sam, did you ever think for a moment maybe I did it for
me? This is my first off-world mission since that damn planet as well. Maybe I don't
want to wake up screaming in the middle of the night only to find a freaked out
Daniel by my side. Maybe Major Carter, I did it for me!" And with that Jack stepped
into the tent and closed the flap.
Sam felt horrible and blinked her eyes furiously in an attempt to hold back the tears.
Maybe Jack HAD switched tents for that very reason. Then again, maybe not. Either
way, he deserved an apology. Sam promised herself she would apologize first thing
in the morning. Sighing heavily she stood up and made her way back to her watch
spot. She felt much better 45 minutes later as she heard Jack's soft snoring coming
through the tent walls. He really wasn't waiting up for her. Or watching her back.
He trusted her to keep watch and that made her feel much better. Two hours later
Teal'c relieved her and she headed to bed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Daniel had sat through a rather boring two hours of watch. Boring being a very good
thing when off-world. He looked at his watch and then glanced at Jack and Sam's
tent. 'All quiet on the western front' he thought *Sorry Jack, domestic bliss is going
to end 'cause it's your turn to take watch*. Daniel stood up and stretched as he
made his way over to the tent to wake Jack. And that's when he heard it- faint
mumbling and the sound of someone thrashing about in a sleeping bag. Within
moments the voice became more distinct and Daniel could hear the terror and pain
in Sam's voice as she asked her ghostly terror not to come any closer. Suddenly she
screamed, something Daniel had only heard once or twice coming from Sam. He
hoped he would never hear it again.
Almost before the scream had left her throat Daniel heard Jack at her side. He could
tell that Jack must have been holding Sam tightly against his body as Sam's voice
became more muffled. Daniel swiped at his eyes as he quickly withdrew back
towards the fire. He really didn't want to know the details and was awfully glad Jack
had changed the tent assignments.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sam lay sobbing and shaking in Jack's arms trying to get out the words to describe
the horrible scene her subconscious had created for her. It was the first nightmare
in nearly two weeks and it surprised Sam in its intensity. Jack held her tightly and
stroked her hair as he tried to talk her way out of the dream. Murmuring words of
encouragement and love Jack was slowly able to get her back to sleep. He continued
to hold her for another 15 minutes before carefully unclenching her hands from his t-
shirt and wrapping her back up in the sleeping bag. As quietly as possible he got out
of the tent. On the horizon a vague pink glow could be seen.
"Thanks Daniel." Jack said gruffly pouring himself a cup of freshly brewed coffee.
"It's just coffee Jack."
"You know what I mean." They sat in silence for several minutes.
"Is she going to be ok Jack?"
"I think so Daniel. I really do." He could see that Daniel still looked a bit skeptical.
Jack turned to face his friend. "It's her first night back in the field Daniel. This was
bound to happen. My first night back in the service after Iraq was horrible." Jack
pointed a finger in Daniel's face. "And YOUR first night on a desert planet after
Sha're was taken wasn't a picnic either."
"Really?" Daniel asked with genuine confusion. "I don't remember. I mean, I
remember OTHER nights but…"
"Nope. And odds are Sam won't either. That's the way these things work. Betcha a
pitcher at O'Malleys she won't have one tomorrow." Jack gave his friend a gentle
cuff on his shoulder. "Go to sleep Daniel- there's still an hour and a half left."
Daniel laughed shakily. "As if I could sleep after that scream Jack." Jack nodded
knowingly. "At least try."
Jack had been right though. Sam had no memory of her nightmare although she
was curious as to why the tent was in such a state of disarray when she awoke the
next morning. She did however remember to apologize to Jack for being rude the
day before.
***END FLASHBACK**
Jack placed a hand on his friend's muddy shoulder. "Let's go get clean, shall we?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
tbc. I know there aren't a lot of details for this mission. Quite honestly, I didn't
want to be lynched before I got a chance to get to the GOOD stuff. Next up is a little
visit from Jacob….
The klaxons blared noisily across the base as Sergeant Siler verified the signal.
"It's SG-1 Sir!" Siler said happily.
"Right on time." General Hammond murmured sounding quite relieved..
It had been two weeks since the fateful trip to P2X-415 and SG-1 were just returning
from their first post-khan off-world mission. They had been gone for exactly 24
hours. General Hammond couldn't help but smile as he saw all four members of SG-
1 walk through the Stargate. Not a visible injury among them. Visible being the key
word here; they were quite muddy. Daniel was attempting to clean it off his glasses
but was failing miserably.
"Welcome home SG-1." Hammond said through a microphone from the Control
Room. "Try not to clog all the showers this time ok? Debriefing in 90 minutes."
Jack gave the General a sloppy salute and walked down the ramp.
"I believe it is the guys' turn to use the shower first Major." Jack said with a twinkle
in his eye.
"At least its just mud Sir." Sam replied trying to not think about the half pound of
the stuff currently dwelling in her trousers. "Enjoy your showers." And with that
Sam walked out of the embarkation room and towards her room. Jack frowned
slightly as he watched her go. He sure missed the old Carter sass. Hell, he missed a
lot of things that had been taken away since that damned mission to '415.
"Jack.." Daniel began as his eyes followed Sam as she slowly walked out of the
room.
"Not now Danny, ok?" Jack said with a sigh. He knew what his friend was going to
say- he was still worried about Sam. In all honesty, Jack really believed things were
getting better. The last two days at the cabin with Janet, Daniel and Cassie had
been really relaxing and Sam hadn't had a single nightmare since. Although she still
wasn't eating too well, it was most likely due to over-work and NOT psychological
reasons. Although wasn't working all the time a defense mechanism AGAINST
having to deal with psychological stuff? Jack's head hurt trying to make sense of all
the head mumbo-jumbo he'd read up on.
All he knew was that the two of them had actually had fun driving back from the
cabin and the last five days or so had been relatively uneventful. Sure, Sam was still
a little quieter than normal and more pensive, but she did seem to be dealing with
the events of '415. Not that she and Jack had talked a lot about it together. One of
these days they'd need too- Jack knew this- but for the time being, talking with
friends seemed to be helping. And Jack still believed things would be fine despite
the rather shaky mission they had come back from. Jack had a funny feeling he was
to blame for some of her apprehension, but he still believed he had made the right
call with the tents.
**FLASHBACK**
"Excuse me?" Daniel asked struggling with his tent poles. For the umpteenth time
he wished they could just bring a simple Northface tent and leave these damn
military ones at home.
"You heard me Daniel. Tonight it's you and Teal'c. Carter and I will share the
second tent."
Since he and Sam had gotten together, Jack always had Sam bunk up with either
Teal'c or Daniel. The team didn't use tents very often, but when they did Jack felt it
might be for the best if he and Sam didn't share an enclosed space. It would be too
easy to roll over and snuggle. Or heaven forbid- do something worse (better)! Sam
had understood this decision and though they laughed about it at home and even
made fun of it off-world, ("Hands off my girlfriend tonight Dr. Jackson.") both
understood the necessity of the decision. A decision that Jack was now altering
without first talking it over with his most significant other (not to mention 2IC).
He could feel Sam's eyes burrowing into the back of his skull but surprisingly she
held her tongue. Jack sighed again. The "old" Sam would have lit into him instantly.
"Carter, you have first watch- then Teal'c and Daniel. I'll take last." In the firelight
Jack saw Teal'c and Daniel nod. Sam just got up to pour herself a cup of coffee.
Yep- she had heard.
One by one the guys turned in for bed with Jack heading towards the tent last. Right
as he opened the flap of their tent Sam grabbed hold of his shoulder.
"Stop coddling me Jack." She whispered angrily.
"Jack, huh?" Sam just glared at him.
"I'm perfectly fine." She said through clenched teeth.
"I know you are." Jack said simply.
"So why the tent thing?" In the firelight Jack couldn't help but notice how thin Sam
still appeared. She hadn't lost any more weight, but she hadn't gained those last 4
pounds back either. She still forgot to eat while at work and working was the one
thing Major Samantha Carter seemed to be doing with gusto these days.
"Sam, this world appears uninhabited and we'll be hitting Daniel's temple first thing
in the morning. The guys know we sleep together and I didn't think it would kill us
to share a tent this one time." He didn't have to say the unspoken- it wasn't like
anything was going to happen- they hadn't had sex since P2X-415. Jack had
thought a lot about what Janet had said back at the cabin, but he just hadn't done
anything about it yet. And judging from Sam's mood, this wouldn't change anytime
soon.
"And the real reason Colonel?" Sam whispered angrily putting a hand on her hip.
Jack's eyes flared. "Dammit Sam, did you ever think for a moment maybe I did it for
me? This is my first off-world mission since that damn planet as well. Maybe I don't
want to wake up screaming in the middle of the night only to find a freaked out
Daniel by my side. Maybe Major Carter, I did it for me!" And with that Jack stepped
into the tent and closed the flap.
Sam felt horrible and blinked her eyes furiously in an attempt to hold back the tears.
Maybe Jack HAD switched tents for that very reason. Then again, maybe not. Either
way, he deserved an apology. Sam promised herself she would apologize first thing
in the morning. Sighing heavily she stood up and made her way back to her watch
spot. She felt much better 45 minutes later as she heard Jack's soft snoring coming
through the tent walls. He really wasn't waiting up for her. Or watching her back.
He trusted her to keep watch and that made her feel much better. Two hours later
Teal'c relieved her and she headed to bed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Daniel had sat through a rather boring two hours of watch. Boring being a very good
thing when off-world. He looked at his watch and then glanced at Jack and Sam's
tent. 'All quiet on the western front' he thought *Sorry Jack, domestic bliss is going
to end 'cause it's your turn to take watch*. Daniel stood up and stretched as he
made his way over to the tent to wake Jack. And that's when he heard it- faint
mumbling and the sound of someone thrashing about in a sleeping bag. Within
moments the voice became more distinct and Daniel could hear the terror and pain
in Sam's voice as she asked her ghostly terror not to come any closer. Suddenly she
screamed, something Daniel had only heard once or twice coming from Sam. He
hoped he would never hear it again.
Almost before the scream had left her throat Daniel heard Jack at her side. He could
tell that Jack must have been holding Sam tightly against his body as Sam's voice
became more muffled. Daniel swiped at his eyes as he quickly withdrew back
towards the fire. He really didn't want to know the details and was awfully glad Jack
had changed the tent assignments.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sam lay sobbing and shaking in Jack's arms trying to get out the words to describe
the horrible scene her subconscious had created for her. It was the first nightmare
in nearly two weeks and it surprised Sam in its intensity. Jack held her tightly and
stroked her hair as he tried to talk her way out of the dream. Murmuring words of
encouragement and love Jack was slowly able to get her back to sleep. He continued
to hold her for another 15 minutes before carefully unclenching her hands from his t-
shirt and wrapping her back up in the sleeping bag. As quietly as possible he got out
of the tent. On the horizon a vague pink glow could be seen.
"Thanks Daniel." Jack said gruffly pouring himself a cup of freshly brewed coffee.
"It's just coffee Jack."
"You know what I mean." They sat in silence for several minutes.
"Is she going to be ok Jack?"
"I think so Daniel. I really do." He could see that Daniel still looked a bit skeptical.
Jack turned to face his friend. "It's her first night back in the field Daniel. This was
bound to happen. My first night back in the service after Iraq was horrible." Jack
pointed a finger in Daniel's face. "And YOUR first night on a desert planet after
Sha're was taken wasn't a picnic either."
"Really?" Daniel asked with genuine confusion. "I don't remember. I mean, I
remember OTHER nights but…"
"Nope. And odds are Sam won't either. That's the way these things work. Betcha a
pitcher at O'Malleys she won't have one tomorrow." Jack gave his friend a gentle
cuff on his shoulder. "Go to sleep Daniel- there's still an hour and a half left."
Daniel laughed shakily. "As if I could sleep after that scream Jack." Jack nodded
knowingly. "At least try."
Jack had been right though. Sam had no memory of her nightmare although she
was curious as to why the tent was in such a state of disarray when she awoke the
next morning. She did however remember to apologize to Jack for being rude the
day before.
***END FLASHBACK**
Jack placed a hand on his friend's muddy shoulder. "Let's go get clean, shall we?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
tbc. I know there aren't a lot of details for this mission. Quite honestly, I didn't
want to be lynched before I got a chance to get to the GOOD stuff. Next up is a little
visit from Jacob….