The Touched
Part 16
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A/N: I'd like to thank you all for your feedback, because it really does help me to further the story! The comments about the Jack/Martouf interaction were taken onboard. There was always to be a reason for it, but since it was brought up, I decided to bring it into this part. Another thing mentioned was why Jack figured out the telepathy before Sam...well to be honest he didn't figure it out, he only knew there was something wrong, he hadn't allowed himself to follow the thought to conclusion as Sam collapsed. But I took these comments on board and integrated them into the plot. I was planning on explaining them, but not too much, I realised from your comments that it required more than I intended to do, so I'll do more! So thanks to everyone who reviewed :-p As for the typos, I'm waiting for my beta Heliona to do the whole thing, but she'll likely wait until it's finished! :)
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Sam groaned and rolled over onto her side. Her morning sickness had subsided, as had Jack's - she still found it strange that he would be going through the pregnancy with her, but at the same time it was rather comforting. As much as she was glad they were no longer throwing up, her morning sickness had been replaced by insomnia. She felt dead on her feet, and considering how close she'd actually come to being dead, she considered herself a good judge on the matter. She had been walking through the halls of the SGC in a complete daze…well, she had been until Jack had practically dragged her to Janet and insisted that she be placed under house arrest until she'd slept. Well, it wasn't house arrest, but she certainly felt like that was what it was.
She heard him pottering around downstairs and stood up, deciding that if she couldn't sleep then she may as well head down and be in someone's company rather than alone. Even if that did mean that he would be telling her off for not being asleep. She wasn't sure what Jack was up to, but he was making a lot of noise. He'd been acting strangely lately. For a start, there was the way he and Martouf had been behaving. The Tok'Ra had remained on Earth while her father and Selmac had returned on business. Unfortunately, all he and Jack seemed to be doing was sniping at each other and it was driving her insane, they just weren't behaving like themselves.
What was even stranger was the way Jack was behaving in general around her. It was as if the closer they got, the more intelligent he got. It wasn't that Jack wasn't intelligent; he just wasn't intellectual, as he was always quick to remind her when she started to go on about her devices. He had been the first to figure out the telepathy and, although he denied it, she could have sworn she had seen him tinkering with the naquada reactor the other day, and what was more, he had fixed part of it.
No need to sound so surprised about that Sammy, I'm not stupid, you know…and I didn't do it
Sam smiled as his voice echoed in her head. You seem to be forgetting that I can read your mind, Sir. It had been strange to begin with but she quite liked having him there to talk to…
Glad to hear it.
…as long as she could block him out when she wanted to, and that was something she was working on.
I think I'm insulted!
She rolled her eyes as she entered the kitchen, but grinned when Jack turned towards her, smiling. He was wearing a large pink apron with lips on it that stated; "Kiss the Chef". She shook her head and took a seat at the table, resting her head on her hand.
God, she looks so tired"You don't look so hot yourself!" she retorted.
"Sorry," he mumbled. "Guess I was forgetting about the telepathy for a moment."
She sighed and gave him a weary smile. "That's okay, Sir, I think…"
"Jack,"
"Sorry?"
He smiled and took the seat next to her. "I thought we'd agreed on Jack,"
She smiled sheepishly and nodded. "Sorry, Jack."
He nodded and grinned. "Good, can't have my kid growing up to call me Sir, I won't have it!"
She raised her eyebrows. "What you'd rather she grew up calling you, Jack?" she asked smirking.
"You said she,"
Sam sat up a little straighter, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable. "Well, it's just a feeling…"
"I know, I've been thinking that too, but every now and then I think it'll be..."
"…Be a boy," she finished, smiling. "I guess it hasn't decided what it wants to be yet."
"Yup, must be. So, little bump," Jack said, crouching on the floor and talking to her stomach. She laughed as he continued. "What do you and your momma want to eat this morning?"
"I don't know about the bump," she said with raised eyebrows. "But momma would like some pancakes if chef can handle it."
Jack pretended to raise a hat from his head, bowing slightly. "Whatever me lady desires,"
If only you knew…Jack stopped and turned to look at her. "So tell me," he said softly and she jumped.
Damn telepathy!He smiled slightly. "It's a lot to take in, isn't it?"
She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "Just a bit," she said with a tired laugh.
"We'll make it through this, Samantha," Jack said sitting in the seat next to her. The use of her first name caught her attention, but it seemed too natural to question. "Whatever happens, you, me and the baby, we'll make it through this, together."
She nodded, not quite trusting herself to speak. She sensed that he was about to change the mood of the conversation and wondered what he was thinking as he stood and headed to the cooker. He had his back turned to her and he was obviously blocking her probing mind. She frowned and shook her head, picking up the paper, jumping when she heard his voice in her mind.
And whenever you want to explain your desires further, feel free to give me a yell.~x~x~x~x~x~
"So, you've translated more? You can tell me why they're behaving like complete idiots?" Sam asked, rubbing her eyes.
"Well, I've translated more," Daniel started, scratching his head. "I'm just not so sure it'll help."
"Why not?"
"Well, apparently you'll be able to read each others minds…"
Sam groaned. "Keep working on it." She sunk down into the comfy chair that Daniel had recently added to his office (she was sure he'd done it for her visits) and rubbed at her eyes again. She had finally convinced Jack to allow her to return to the base with him, although much to her dismay, she had had to agree to restrict herself to Daniel's office, his office, Janet's office and anywhere in either of their company. It was driving her insane, but what made matters worse was that Jack and Martouf's cave man mentality had returned with a vengeance. They were both skulking about the SGC and if you threw in; "Me Tarzan, Sam Jane" then she was pretty sure she was in her own primeval nightmare.
She sat up suddenly, sure that something was wrong but unable to pinpoint what it was. Her hand instinctively went to her stomach, but that wasn't it…
"Dr. Jackson, please tell me you've translated more of this book," Sam and Daniel both turned to face the General as he entered the room. The elder man appeared to be rather agitated. "My best man is running about acting like he's been living with the dinosaurs and I have a Tok'Ra who isn't acting much better. The fact that Lantesh seems to be affected as well, means we have three cavemen in two bodies,"
Sam groaned and lay further back in her chair. This wasn't what she needed. Her moment of panic had passed but she was still so tired she felt like she could sleep for a month, but the minute she closed her eyes, all she could see was Jack. Not that that wasn't usually a pleasant thought to go to sleep with, but he wasn't usually aware of it. The knowledge that he could read her mind was beginning to annoy her, and it wasn't helping with her daydreams either.
"Aha!" She jerked out of her thoughts and turned to Daniel who was holding the book up and triumph. "I think I may have something here,"
"Think, or know?" she asked, unable to keep the deadly threat out of her voice. She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take.
He read the page once more and nodded. "I know…but you might begin to wish I didn't…"
She groaned. "What now?"
Before Daniel could answer, there was a knock at the door, and Janet entered looking rather harried. "Dr. Jackson, I suggest you find out what's wrong with Colonel O'Neill and Martouf before they break their restraints."
"Restraints?" Sam asked incredulously. "Please tell me you didn't just say restraints,"
Janet sighed. "I'm afraid I did."
"What happened now, Doctor?" Hammond asked, looking as bewildered as Sam and Daniel.
"It seems that our favourite Flintstone's decided to start a fight in the mess hall. Might not have been so bad if they hadn't taken it into the kitchen."
"Oh God, are they all right?"
"Martouf burned himself, and yes I mean himself, on the cooker. He saw it sizzling and seemed to think it might be a good idea to pick it up and throw it at Jack. Not surprisingly he didn't get past the trying to pick it up."
"And Jack?" Daniel asked.
"The Colonel's pride is more wounded that anything, he was laughing so hard at Martouf that he knocked over some of the cooking mix, slipped on the floor and hit his head on the worktop. Everything seemed fine until Colonel O'Neill regained consciousness, now they're currently strapped to their beds cursing each other with words that wouldn't make prime time television. I knew Colonel O'Neill could be quite inventive, but I had no idea he could do it in so many different languages."
Sam groaned. "That was what was wrong," she said, more to herself than to anyone else, but at their looks she explained further. "I had the sudden feeling that something was wrong, I'd say it must have been Jack cracking his head and ending up unconscious," she sighed and turned to Daniel. "What did you find?"
Daniel frowned. "You won't like it."
"I haven't liked all that much recently, so tell me."
Daniel sighed. "It seems that Jack and Martouf are experiencing what is called 'Tayliyan" or Protection."
"Protection?" Janet asked with raised eyebrows. "They've been trying to kill each other for the last month!"
"Protection of Sam. The spirit is, as yet, not completely attached to Sam's child, it still has to place tasks around the couple, tests if you will, to try and see if it will be loved and welcomed."
"Are you saying that this spirit is conscious already?" Janet asked.
"Not so much conscious as aware. It needs to feel loved in order to come into being. That's why when Sam and Jack argue, she feels pain in her stomach, it's the spirit losing more of its hold on the child. Whenever she feels," Daniel looked at the book again and his face scrunched up in concentration. "Well, the book describes it as 'a feeling of strange' but I think I liked Jack's explanation better. The strange zappy thing, that means the spirit feels loved and it tightens its hold."
"This is all very interesting, Dr. Jackson and I sure the Colonel and Major would appreciate more details, but right now I think we'd like to know more about this Talin."
"Eh, Tayliyan," Daniel corrected, but he continued. "Yes, well, it seems that the most recent test is jealousy. There are two sprits chosen to protect the mother and the child. One is the father and the other is usually another male of consequence to the female…if such a person exists it'll will be another male that's in love with the female." Daniel stopped, suddenly feeling uncomfortable, but Sam simply nodded. He looked down at the book and began to translate. "As a test there will be another male linked into the bond, one with feelings for the woman – this is to test the worth of the man who is to father the child, to discover if he will protect the child, and to test the woman, to see if she can keep her love for the man alone. The other male is of little consequence," Daniel cleared his throat and frowned. "It, eh, it seems that there are usually people raised for that purpose alone – to test The Touched is their destiny, with Sam and Jack, I think the spirit had to improvise and when Sam went to visit Martouf, they sensed his feelings and Jolinar's memories."
"Instant Destiny checker," Janet said nodding.
Daniel nodded. "Exactly."
"What about the Colonel's intelligence?" Janet asked and instantly caught herself. "I mean, we know the Colonel is intelligent, but he seems to be…"
Daniel smiled. "I know what you mean. I'd say that's pretty simple," he placed the book on the desk, and Sam realised that what he was about to say was his own hypothesis. "Through the bond, you're both taking on each others thoughts. You said Jack figured out the telepathy, first?" Sam nodded and refused to let on how much that fact bothered her. "I think he heard you think it."
"But I wasn't thinking it." Sam said, confused.
"You were. Or at least a part of you was, Jack is the lucky recipient of your random thoughts. You have so many voices in your head already, what with your own thoughts and Jolinar's memories floating about and throw in Jack's and you're sure to be confused. He's simply tuning out everything but your own voice."
Sam nodded. "Okay," she sighed. "How do I make this stop? How can I stop them from killing each other… or themselves?"
"Right," Daniel looked at the book again. "Well, you're both being deprived of sleep so that your wits are at their worst, it's a test of endurance. The telepathy is meant to enhance things, and to help you get everything out into the open…and the remedy? Well, it's, eh, it's really quite simple."
"But?"
Daniel looked up from his book and smiled sadly at her. "Always a but isn't there?" she nodded and he sighed. "The only way to remedy it is to talk to both of them. You need to tell them the truth from your heart. You have to explain to one that you only see them as a friend, or whatever and you need to…" he trailed off.
"What?" she asked softly, very aware that all eyes were on her.
"You need to tell Jack how much you love him."
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Well, one more part done! Okay so this may be getting cheesier by the minute but nye, I don't care! I'm trying to find as many ways to make the characters uncomfortable as possible! ;-p
Well, what will happen? What will Sam tell Martouf? Will she confess all to Jack? Tune in next time to find out, kiddies!
Feedback is always appreciated :)