Thanks Naliza for being a great beta and friend! And a big thank you to all those who reviewed chapter 7. Wow, 17 reviews, a personal record for me!! All I needed to do to get so many reviews was kill off a regular character hmm, maybe I should try that every week (only kidding!!)
Nice to see some new reviewers as well as the ever-faithful group! But way to increase the pressure after reviews like that, not like I'm complaining I love getting reviews!!!
Ilovesg1, Cliff-Hanger Writing 101 was the best course I ever took (lol)!! What can I say, it keeps you lot coming back!! You never know maybe one day I'll write a fluffy one chapter fic (laughing cos it'll probably never happen!)
I haven't said it for a while so must say that SG-1 is still not owned by me and I'm not getting any thing financial out of this, if you don't believe me check out my bank balance!!
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"You think I don't know that Daniel? She's my only daughter and she's dead and I'm what …supposed to just accept that?"
"I don't know Jacob. We all cared for her deeply, getting angry won't help anything," Daniel pleaded.
"I know," Jacob said quietly, wiping a tear from his face.
"I just…I just don't know what I'm going to do without her," Jacob admitted, his voice cracking from the fierce emotions that were assaulting his heart.
"I know Jacob, I know what it's like," Jack said, barely managing to keep his own emotions in check.
Daniel adverted his gaze. He knew that Jack found it hard to talk about Charlie. Jacob turned his head and stared at Jack; both men had tears in their eyes.
"Of course, I'm sorry Jack."
Jack shook his head and put a supportive hand on the older man's shoulder. Jacob could see just how much Jack was hurting, the pain in his eyes was enough evidence. Rationally, Jacob knew Jack would never do anything to hurt Sam; he was aware that the Colonel cared deeply about his team and would give his life for any of them.
Jacob watched in silence as Jack gently arranged Sam's hair. He could see a depth of feeling than ran deeper than what was normally allowed between a CO and 2IC. There was something under the surface, buried so deep that maybe even Jack had not admitted it to himself yet but Jacob could see it, even without the help of Selmak's observations.
"So … Now what?" Jacob asked, breaking the silence.
"Now, we stop this thing," Daniel said emphatically.
"There has to be something we can do, this thing has gone on for long enough," Jack agreed. He was sure that he would not be able to handle anyone else dying.
"I want to spend some more time with Sam, if that's okay?"
"Of course Jacob," Jack agreed before leading Daniel and Teal'c out of the room, leaving Jacob alone with Sam again.
Jacob sat by Sam's side, taking her right hand in both of his. Her hand still felt warm, warmer than it did even under normal circumstances. He was having a hard time accepting she was gone; it was unnatural for parents to out live their children. He had no idea what he was going to tell Mark. His son had only just forgiven him for the death of his mother, all those years before, and now having to tell him Sam was dead was going to be extremely difficult.
Sitting where he was, Jacob could not see the subtle movements in Sam's left hand.
*~*
Jack walked slowly into the briefing room and stopped at the glass panel to stare out at the Stargate. Normally he looked at the imposing ring in awe, even after all these years, but today he stared at it with malice. The number of deaths that had occurred because of gate-travel just kept on increasing and Sam was just the latest and most painful addition. He knew that one Goa'uld or another would probably have destroyed Earth if the secrets of the gate had not been discovered but the logical did not help to ease the pain in his heart.
After a few minutes Jack walked into his office and picking up the red phone on the desk. He immediately began to update the President on the latest developments. Jack was slightly surprised at the compassion the President showed when informed of Major Carter's death.
The officer in charge of the situation outside the base did not show the same compassion. The man kept referring to Sam as the 'index case'. His insensitivity had Jack biting his lip to stop him from exploding in anger; eventually he found that he could no longer contain his rage.
"Look Major, she isn't just the index case. She's got a name, Samantha Carter, Sam. She's got a family and friends. She is…was a great person," he spat, bitterly before hanging up the phone.
Jack looked up to see Daniel standing in the doorway.
"You should have heard the jerk Daniel, the index case."
Daniel shook his head in disgust before falling heavily into the chair on the other side of the desk.
"Where have you been?"
"Checking on General Hammond, Janet and Cassie."
"I'd kinda forgotten about them," Jack admitted with considerable guilt.
"How are they?" Jack added quickly to his previous statement.
"Hammonds, holding on, they're talking about having to intubate him soon. Cassie's still fighting, amazingly enough she's pretty stable. Janet's another story, she's deteriorating rapidly. She should have stopped working hours before she did and Sam…Sam's death, it made her loose the will to fight."
"Jeez," Jack exhaled.
"Is Jacob still with Sam?" O'Neill asked.
"Yeah, I think so. I didn't want to disturb him. He didn't mean what he said before, you know that Jack. It was his grief talking."
"No Daniel, he was right. I'm in command, I'm supposed to protect my team and look what happened. Sam's dead Daniel, dead and not in a 'back to life by the end of the day' way. She's not coming back Daniel, she's gone and it's all my fault."
"It's not your fault Jack. You had no control over what happened. An alien mosquito and the naquadah in Sam's blood caused this. How is that your fault?"
"You don't understand Daniel, being in command means that I'm responsible for what happens to the members of my team. Sam's dead and it's my fault."
"You need to accept that you can't be blame or you'll never forgive yourself."
"Why should I forgive myself Daniel?"
The two friends looked at each other and lapsed into silence, whatever anyone said Jack would continue to blame himself for Sam's death. He considered Jacob's harsh statement to be right on the money, despite the fact that he knew it was fuelled by a father's grief.
*~*
Jacob was still sitting with Sam. He knew that he should be helping to find a cure for the disease but he could not leave his only daughter, not yet at least. He was talking to her, telling her things that he had meant to say to her before but never got around to do. He was trying to say goodbye to his daughter.
Sam had no idea where she was or what had happened to her, the last she remembered was arriving at work. She found that she could not open her eyes or speak at all, and what movement she had was limited to her left hand. She could hear her father talking to her, which reassured her. Even though she could not make out any of the words the familiar sound of Jacob's voice was having a calming affect on her.
Eventually she began to pick out individual words. Hearing her name she latched on to it and managed to distinguish a few more words. Once she could hear most of the words she tried to work out what her father was talking about, initially it made no sense. She heard him saying goodbye. At first she thought he was leaving but then the realisation that he thought she was dead hit her like a ton of bricks.
She tried to attract Jacob's attention. She tried to move or to scream to show that she was still alive but the most she managed was a slight twitch in her left hand.
Jacob was totally oblivious to Sam's attempts to gain his attention. Her breathing was so shallow and slow it was almost impossible to see, especially as Jacob was not looking for it.
Having said goodbye to Sam, Jacob left the room. He realised that Jack, Daniel and Teal'c also needed to say goodbye. He called Jack to offer him, and SG-1, the opportunity to see Sam. Afterward Jacob headed to the infirmary, to see George and offer the medical staff his help in stopping the disease.
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Jack was pleased when Jacob offered them the chance to say goodbye, it was something that he felt he needed to do.
He walked with Daniel in silence. They met up with Teal'c in the elevator; the Jaffa inclined his head but stayed silent. All three shared a look of grief outside the door where Sam's body was stored.
Jack opened the door and drew in a deep breath. Sam looked much as she had done before though much of the colour had drained out of her face and her lips had an unnatural blue tinge. The team took up places around the bed, staring sadly at their friend and fellow team-mate.
No one knew what to do, how to say goodbye to her. Eventually Jack spoke up.
"What are we going to do without you Sam? Who's gonna simplify all that techno-babble hey? What I guess I'm trying to say is that we're all going to miss you. You were the best 2IC I ever had."
"You proved yourself to be a most formidable warrior Major Carter and a true friend."
"A great friend, the sister I never had," Daniel said, barely keeping control on his emotional state.
After a few more minutes of silence, Daniel and Teal'c excused themselves, leaving Jack alone. Jack looked at Sam, there was so much that he wanted to say to her but now he would never get the chance and that thought was consuming him.
"You were more than a colleague to me, you know that right? I care about you, way more than I should," he said quietly.
Jack realised that this was the first time he had expressed his true feelings and that it was too late to do anything about them now.
Jack took Sam's hand in his, after a minute he looked down at her, shaking his head fiercely. He was sure he had felt her hand move.
"Get in here," he yelled.
"What is it Jack?" Daniel asked, opening the door.
"I just felt her hand move."
Daniel and Teal'c both looked sceptically at him.
"I felt it, just watch," he insisted, laying Sam's hand on her chest.
"There, her finger just moved," Jack said.
"I also saw Major Carter moving her hand," Teal'c commented.
"That can't be right can it?" Daniel asked. He desperately wanted to believe his friends but was too scared out of fear that their observations might have been wrong.
Jack took hold of Sam's hand, waiting for further movement.
"Come on Sam, please try and move your hand again," he pleaded.
No one dared to breath, waiting for a movement from Sam.
"Get a medical team here, now," Jack shouted as he felt Sam's fingers move within his gentle grip.
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So that was chapter 8, tell me what you think. Go on hit that little purple button, you know you want to!