TITLE: Forget Me Not
AUTHOR: Sanny
E-Mail: Sanny_c24@hotmail.com
STATUS: Complete
RATING: R
SPOILERS: Stargate Motion Picture, Children of the Gods, Cold Lazarus, A Matter of Time, The Nox, The Broca Divide, Beneath the Surface, Upgrades.
CONTENT WARNING: Drama, Hurt/comfort, Graphic medical situations, mention of torture, rape and sexual content.
DISCLAMER: I do not own SG-1, though I wish I had, this story is for enjoyment purposes only, no money was exchanged, the Stargate characters are owned by MGM, GEKKO and ShowTime, any other characters and the story belong to the author.
AUTHOR NOTES: Please read and review, reviews mean a lot to me so please don't be shy and leave one.
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Forget Me Not –Chapter three
Years 5-16 where mostly uneventful, so, by the end of that week Jack had total recall of his life up till age 16.
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"Hey Jack, are you coming?" Erik called his friend from the doorway as Jack gathered his books and left the classroom. On their way home Erik looked at Jack. "Hey man, what's up with you?"
"Nothing"
"You can't fool me, I've known you since kindergarten, what's wrong?"
"Lisa broke up with me"
"All right" Jack's rage flared at his friend's reaction "sorry man, but you know I never really liked Lisa, Jack she's all wrong for you, I just never said anything cause you were so into her… so I guess you're not coming to the prom?"
"Probably not"
"Oh man our senior prom" Erik was disappointed "maybe you can ask Lauren, I don't think she has a date yet"
"Lauren? She hates my guts, no way man, I don't like events like that anyway. I'll just sit on my roof"
"Yeah and I really believe you'll be stargazing" Erik smiled mischievously "more like neighbor gazing"
"Believe what you will but I like the stars, I believe the future is there"
"Yeah and you're gonna be an Astronaut when you grow up"
"Maybe" Jack wanted to defy his friend's comment.
"Not with your grades your not" Erik chimed in again, Jack really wanted to beat up his best friend but he took a deep breath and said nothing. Needless to say, Jack spent his prom night on the roof of his house literally gazing into space, he actually wasn't sorry he didn't go because if he had a young mother and her three month old baby would have died.
His parents were out and he was alone, it seemed the entire block was devoid of people that night every one is probably at the dance Jack though to himself, staring through his telescope. That's when he heard a deafening scream and the crash impact of glass and metal being squashed. He looked down to the street corner where he saw a small car, or so it seemed since he could only see the tail end of it, most of the car was imbedded into a brick wall. He quickly jumped to his feet, climbing down the ladder as fast as he could, he run out into the street. As he came near he slowed down his pace, the smell of gasoline was strong and he hesitated in coming closer. That's when he heard the faint cry of a baby and his step became more determined. As he looked inside the broken rear window, the rear seat was empty; he squeezed through the opening of the wall created by the car and peered inside yet another broken window. He saw a baby's car seat and the numerous glass fragments upon a light blue blanket, he leaned inside the car and lifted the blanket, a tiny baby was secure in the seat. There was no visible blood and Jack tried to lift the car seat, it didn't move, then he saw the seatbelt securing the infant's seat in place, he tried to release the latch but it was stuck. A second passed by as he was trying to think what else to do when he remembered and fished into his back jeans pocket taking out his Swiss Army Knife, the one his father gave him a few summers back when they went fishing together, he extended the blade and cut the seatbelt releasing the car seat, he lifted it and pulled it out of the car placing it gently on the ground, then he looked over to the driver's side, he saw the young woman, her head was turned away from him, he could see blood, he leaned further into the car, his entire body was in that car except his feet sticking out of the window, he checked for a pulse, there was one and he could see her ragged breathing, the heat in the car was growing, he could see the flames covering what used to be the front of the car's engine, the flames where coming under the car at the feet, there was no time, Jack made the decision, he cut her seatbelt and pulled her by the arm through the window. It was mere seconds from the time he cleared the woman and her baby away from the wreck that it was engulfed in flames. That was when he first heard the Sirens, apparently someone saw the wreck and flames and called the fire department, Jack spent the rest of the night in the ER being treated for minor burns to his arms, and some smoke inhalation.
When the nurse came in to take his vital signs he removed his oxygen mask and asked her.
"The woman and baby are they OK?" he caught as she smiled at him, the entire ER knew of this young man's heroics
"The baby is fine, he's in pediatrics now, and they are taking good care of him"
"And the woman?"
"In surgery but she will be fine, thanks to you, you made a tough decision to remove her from the car, not to mention risking your own life" she finished taking his blood pressure, she wrote it down in his chart and left him alone. Later a middle-aged man came into his room, he wore a white coat and introduced himself as Dr. Jacobs, listening to Jack's lungs and heart, and then checking the burns on his arms, he smiled.
"So young man, any plans on what to do when you grow up?" Jack looked at him shaking his head
"Nothing definite, Sir"
"Is there anything you like doing?"
"Look at the stars and fly" he quickly answered
"Well then it seems you're thinking of becoming an Astronaut"
"I can't with my grades" Jack said in a low voice, a little embarrassed to admit his friend was right.
"You can do anything you want to if you put your mind to it. Besides you can always join the Air Force, you can get almost anywhere in those uniforms: Pilot, Parachutist even get into NASA" Jack looked up at the smiling man and contemplated what he said as the doctor bandaged his arms and looked at him
"You're free to go now, Jack" he looked at the chart, "you'll need to change the bandages twice a day and put this cream on, it will help reduce the burning feeling, fortunately I don't think you'll have scars. Now, do you have someone here that can take you home? Or do you want us to call someone?"
"No, no one" he whispered.
"OK, you get dressed and I'll see to it you'll get a ride home" the doctor left the room, leaving Jack alone to get dressed. When he finished dressing he stepped out to the hall and walked to the nurse's station, Dr. Jacobs was walking towards him with two police officers walking behind.
"Jack, these police officers will take you home" Jack said nothing, he nodded his head and followed the officers to their car, one went to the driver's side, the other opened the door to the passenger side
"You want to seat up front?" he offered to Jack as he nodded in acceptance, smiled and got inside.
By next Monday everyone heard of Jack's adventure on Saturday night, when he went to school everyone came up to him asking what really happened and how he was feeling, Jack didn't like all this attention.
"So Jack, Saturday night wasn't boring after all was it?" Erik strode in from behind some bushes and joined his friend
"No I guess it wasn't" Jack answered quietly, the entire weekend he was thinking about what Dr. Jacobs said, Air Force? Maybe…
On his graduation three months later Jack was faced with a young woman and her 6-month-old baby. Smiling at him and awarding him a civilian medal of honor for his courage to save others while risking his own life. He was red with embarrassment as the woman handed him a plaque and his diploma giving him a warm embrace and wishing him luck on his path of choice, 2 months after that he `celebrated` his 19th birthday at boot camp.
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He felt very good in these uniform, he felt important. He caught the glimpse of women looking at him as he went by, he felt empowered and he knew he made a good choice making the military his career, he advanced very fast since his boot camp days, he got his Parachutist wings and went on several successful missions. As a first lieutenant he received his first command, on a Special Forces unit in the `black operations` in the United States Air Force. He liked the special operations he took part in, especially when they succeeded which was more often then not. 9 years into his military career he was already a captain and he took part in the operation to release the American hostages in Iran in 1980.
He went out with some of his Black Ops. Friends to celebrate his 28th birthday in the bar in town, where he saw the beautiful young blond bombshell that was waiting on their table; she kept on smiling at Jack whenever she came over.
"Well? Go for it Jack, look at her she's into you can't you see?" Robert kept nudging at his side under the table,
"Let it go man, she probably smiles at all her customers, it's a way to get big tips".
"Yeah but look at her, if you don't make a move. I will" He jabbed his elbow so hard into Jack's ribs that he jumped from his seat and bumped into her when she passed behind them with a tray of drinks which was now broken all over the floor.
"Oh gees, I'm sorry" he started apologizing as he bent to help her with the broken glasses and promised to pay for the damages...
"Hi" he stepped from behind a car when she walked outside of the bar, it was 4am, and she was startled for a brief second and then smiled.
"Oh it's you" she walked passed him continuing on her way
"Can I offer you a ride home?"
"No thanks I live near by"
"Than can I walk you home?" he asked again. She stopped and turned to face him, she eyed him top to bottom, he was tall, handsome, she lingered at the medals pined to his chest, then looked at his rank and name tag, she continued down admiring his physique, then looked at his face again and smiled. They walked side by side.
"I wanted to apologize again for the mess; I hope you didn't get into trouble"
"Don't worry about it" she dismissed his apology as they walked on.
"I'm Jack" he introduced himself
"I know" she smiled "I'm Sarah". From that moment Jack and Sarah were an item.
It was almost a year later that he took her out to dinner to a fancy restaurant to celebrate her birthday.
"I'm going to ask to transfer out of my unit" he began.
"Why? Jack you love it there" she didn't know most of the things he did since they where top secret but she knew he really loved what he was doing, even though it took him away from her days at a time.
"Yeah, but missions sometimes take a long time and if I want to ask you to marry me, I need to be close by", her bottom lip dropped at the sudden proposal
"Did you just ask me to marry you?"
"Yeah, I think I did. So will you?"
"Oh Jack, yes, yes I'll marry you, I love you so much" she hugged him as he leaned over the table and placed a gentle yet passionate kiss on her lips while everyone at the restaurant within earshot were smiling and clapping for the young couple.
Their wedding was a simple quiet wedding with only their closest friends and relatives. Jack had some friends from his outfit as well as his commander, his parents died when he was 22 in a car accident and he had no other living relatives, Robert was his best men seeing he was the reason they met. Sarah's father was there, as well as some of her friends from work. She is so beautiful thought Jack as she walked down the isle. She wore a simple white dress that accentuated her curved waist line and thighs, her hair was held back with long blond curls framing her face, she smiled at him through her veil as she and her father approached and her hand was placed in his.
They spent their honeymoon in a quiet little inn in the Colorado Mountains and as soon as they came back Jack put in a request for transfer out of Black Ops. He wasn't so lucky though because he was sent on another mission before the transfer came through.
"It's the last one honey; the transfer will come through any day now",
"It's the forth mission since we got back, Jack, I have seen you a total of 5 hours since we came back from our honeymoon"
"I know, sweetheart and I'm sorry. General Woodward promised me this would be my last mission". She sighed deeply "you waiting for me is what makes me keep going when I'm out there" he waved his arm "you just have to wait a little while longer" she sighed again and nodded kissing him passionately on his lips.
"I have a surprise for you" she whispered.
"Oh yeah?" he smiled "what is it?"
"Ah-ah, I'll tell you when you come back from this last mission" she emphasized the word last as he engulfed her in a bear hug and kissed her again. When she woke up the next morning he was already gone, she found a single yellow and a single red roses on the kitchen table with a note `I love you so much, I didn't have the heart to wake you, you looked so beautiful and peaceful sleeping. I will dream of you every night that we are apart until I return, with all my love, your husband, Jack` she smiled and pulled the roses to her nose inhaling their intoxicating smell.
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The team parachuted off and silently moved closer to their target, their mission was to blow an Iraqi missile compound in Basra. Major Frank Cromwell was in charge of the unit. They followed each other in, as stealth as can be. Each of the team members had a mission. Stuart's mission was to place explosives in the intake pipe, Barret and Simon's mission was the missile silo, Cromwell and Samuel's was the elevator shaft and Jack's mission was to blow the exhaust outlet pipe, they were all to rendezvous in 15 minutes at the back, near the big boulders. Major Cromwell and Samuel's where the first, followed by Stuart, they waited anxiously for the rest of their team. As Jack was running towards their hideaway he heard the blasts around the compound
"Damn, they're early" he cursed as he kept on running. The Iraqi soldiers spotted him and started firing. He was hit in the back by a force that drove him to fall forward, he saw Barret and Simon change course and run toward him. About 50 yards away he heard the Major call them back `no` he screamed in his mind as he could see them running away from him. The next time he woke up he found himself in a smelly cell, his right shoulder was throbbing, he couldn't move without feeling a piercing pain run through his body all the way to his head. He closed his eyes to concentrate on his breathing, but was forced to open them again as he was kicked. First in the leg and then the ribs, he wanted to crouch into his stomach as he was kicked but the sudden movement caused another searing pain to run through his back. They wouldn't let him eat or drink for days; they would wake him up each time he fell asleep questioning him.
"Jack O'Neill, Major, USAF, serial number 568247" his voice was hoarse and he was thirsty, he lost track of time, all he knew was that it has been a while, since he now had a short beard and his wound stopped bleeding. He was already thinking of ways to escape; now all he needed was the opportunity and his own strength to return. Sarah gave him much of the strength he needed, he kept thinking about her, the way she talked, the way his name rang between her rosy lips, the way she looked on their wedding day, she was the one that kept him going.
It was a moonless night when he felt strong enough; he quietly sneaked to the barred door, where his guard was sleeping leaning against the bars. Jack silently stood behind him and reached his hands through the bars, with one motion he broke the man's neck, he took the keys from his pocket before pushing the body away from the door. He opened the cell door and sneaked out. The rest of the complex was easy, he cleared the facility within half an hour, the facility was located in Basra and Jack knew it was close to the Kuwait border. He cleared the Iraqi border within 6 hours into Kuwait. He walked all night, no one knows how he managed but he reached an American military base, he arrived at the gate barley walking, said his name rank and serial number and passed out.
When he woke up he was lying in a bed, and he could here English being spoken. He turned his head and slowly opened his eyes, two blurry images a few feet away, he could make out one was a man the other a woman, he raised his hand and tried to get their attention.
"Hey" he shouted but it came out a barely audible whisper, the man noticed him and walked over.
"It's good to have you back Major O'Neill"
"Where am I?"
"You're in an American military base in Dahmano Kuwait, we are going to fly you back home on a cargo airplane later this afternoon, if you feel up to it, but I strongly hope you do since the next flight is in 3 weeks"
"Yes please"
"OK then, you rest now, we have already notified your commanding officer"
"Wait" Jack stopped him before he could walk away "how long?" he asked, the other man didn't need to ask what he meant
"4 months" Jack's eyes closed in disbelief, the man squeezed Jack's shoulder and left, leaving him shaking at the knowledge of the length of time that has passed.
Early the next morning he was in a military hospital. His commanding officer came to see him and all he wanted was for them to call his wife and bring her in.
Sarah went into his room like a blizzard but at the look of him froze.
"Oh my god" she covered her mouth with her hand, she slowly came closer and gently wrapped her arms around his neck, lying light kisses all over his battered face "they said you where dead but I didn't believe them, I missed you so much" she whispered
"I missed you more" he said "now I know what your surprise was" he said, he could see as she walked in the small round midsection of her body, she smiled
"It was going to be a surprise; I just never expected it to take this long to tell you"
"I wish you had told me then" he whispered as she kissed him again.
"Me too Jack, me too". Two weeks later he was discharged from the hospital and transferred out of Black Ops.
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Jack was pacing restlessly in the waiting area, he was asked to wait outside while they examined his wife. Wearing his dress uniforms and his hat switching hands back and forth he was finally allowed into the delivery room, holding Sarah's hand, supporting her back and encouraging her as she pushed, the nurses couldn't take their eyes off him, he was so handsome especially in his uniforms.
"I love you so much honey" he kept on whispering words of encouragement as she pushed. The loud scream he suddenly heard made his heart stop and then make a beating loop, he saw the tiny creature flailing its arms as he watched them take the baby to the table, clean and wrapped with a blanket as the nurse placed the infant in it's mother's arms.
"Congratulations both, you have a beautiful baby boy"
"Boy?" Jack's eyes glowed with delight as he kissed his wife and his newborn baby. "Hi Charlie" he whispered "I'm your dad, it's nice to finally meet you" the baby looked at him with wondering eyes as they looked at each other and their son with smiles.
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Charlie was both Jack and Sarah's cherry on top of a very lovable whipped cream, they loved him very much and he made them very proud.
"Dad? Can we play catch?" Jack was sitting outside in the yard; it was a Sunday late morning and Jack was finally able to seat down and read the Sunday paper while letting the sun rays caress his face, it has been a long while since he has done that, his military duties kept him away on the weekends the last two months.
"d..a..a..a..d" Charlie whined,
"Later Charlie, let me read the paper first and we'll play catch later" Charlie was disappointed and after a while of trying to get his dad's attention went back into the house. Sarah came out to the yard and encircled her arms around her husband's neck; he smiled and looked up at her.
"Where's Charlie?" she asked looking around the yard
"He was here a minute ago!?"
The gunshot that resonated throughout the quiet Sunday skies had made their hearts stop as they both jumped, Jack yelled out
"Cha…r..lie" as he and Sarah run into the house, as if in slow motion, Jack took the stairs to the second floor three at a time, when he entered the study. First there was nothing out of place in plain sight until he walked slowly behind the desk; his gun was mere inches from his child's hand. Charlie was lying face down. When Jack turned him over there was a growing darkening red spot on his T-Shirt where his heart was, Jack was in shock, for a minute all he could do was hold his son in his arms, then he came to his senses and tried to feel for a pulse, he couldn't feel one and he started breathing into his son's lungs, as his eye's filled with tears. And Sarah's scream resonated in his ears as she fell to her knees. Charlie was brought to Colorado General Hospital but all they could do was call his death.
Jack's heart shutdown, he stopped smiling, talking unless he absolutely had too, laughing was no longer in his vocabulary. The funeral was quiet and bleak and he couldn't wait for everyone to leave.
Numerous times after the funeral he would seat in Charlie's room holding the dreaded gun in his hand and contemplating suicide, he would seat on his son's bed and think about how he could have been so stupid in leaving a loaded gun in the house with a 10 year old running around, he couldn't rationalize that Charlie broke into his locked drawer in order to retrieve that gun, Now Charlie was dead so nothing mattered anymore, nothing.
Another afternoon as many in the last month that he sat on his child's bed, he decided this is the time. The gun was armed and his finger was lightly pressing the trigger; that afternoon he was stopped. The knock on the door, he slipped his gun under the pillow, not turning to look at the door, he heard it squeak as it was pushed open "excuse me Col. O'Neill? We're from General West's office" there was an awkward pause "Sir…we're here to inform you that you've been reactivated".
That was the beginning of everything and the first time Jack met Dr. Catharine Langford and Dr. Daniel Jackson. He went on through to Abydos and returned to retire from the Air Force, find out his wife filed for divorce, and that she left their house. Their relationship went down the drain when Charlie died and Jack couldn't blame Sarah for doing that, he was barely able to live with himself, If only I agreed to play catch when he wanted to. The feelings of guilt overwhelmed him...
It was a clear night. He sat on his roof looking through his telescope at the stars. The Abydos mission over a year ago, and the weird Dr. Jackson surfaced in his memory as he heard a car pull up to his driveway and then the knock on his front door. He didn't move, he didn't care who it was. Then he heard the footsteps and the noise of someone climbing the ladder, and he still didn't turn to see who was there.
"Col. O'Neill?"
"Retired" he emphasized still not looking back
"I'm Major Samuels"
"Air Force?" Jack inquired,
"Yes Sir, I'm the General's executive officer"
"Want a little peace of advice, Major? Get re-asked to NASA, that's where all the action is gonna be, out there"
"I'm, I'm under orders to bring you see General Hammond, Sir"
"Never heard of him"
"He replaced General West, he say's its important has to do with the stargate" that was the first time that Jack finally looked over his shoulder thinking to himself oh boy, now what?
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TBC