SAM:
"Jack." I said softly into the darkness.
I turned, and my body pressed up against his hard one. I softly kissed his shoulder and my hand slid over his naked chest. "What are you thinking?"
I felt him turn towards me and his arm tightened around my waist. "I can't let you do this, Sam." He said.
"Jack." I said firmly. "I'm only leaving the Air Force, not the SGC. I want to be with you, Jack."
And I did. I couldn't imagine not spending the rest of my life with Jack. The last years had been hell as I had to watch him continually risk his life for Earth and SG-1, and not being able to even touch him.
"I just don't want you to do something you'll regret." Jack whispered.
"I'd regret not giving myself a chance to live the rest of my life with you, more than I'd ever regret leaving the Air Force." I said, my heart pouring out through my words.
"I love you Sam." He said softly.
I felt my heart swell in my chest. "I know." I whispered back. "I love you too, Jack."
Suddenly the room began to change as my memories crashed into one another. Darkness became light. I looked down in growing horror. Jack lay in my lap while the blood seeped out from beneath my hands that were tightly pressed against his chest. I felt as if someone had stabbed me through the heart.
He lay there, looking like the warrior he was, while his life spilled out from beneath my hands. "Hang on, Jack. Hang on." I said.
He smiled faintly. I love you Sam." He whispered.
"I love you too." But it was too late. He was gone.
Tears fell down my face as I stood up. I could hear the footsteps of the Jaffa coming nearer and nearer. With Jack's blood still on my hands, I curled my fist around the grip of my gun. Teal'c put a comforting hand on my shoulder. I looked at him and saw the pain reflected in his eyes.
"They are coming." He said.
I nodded and looked at Janet, who was crouched beside Daniel, tears streaming down her face. I felt another stab of pain go through my heart. Daniel was dead, too.
Janet nodded and looked sadly at the medical personnel lying dead around her. She looked at Daniel and finally let go of his hand. When she walked over to me, I handed her Jack's gun.
She looked at me and understood. Nothing mattered anymore. Only killing those bastards. The three of us moved into the corridor and saw the surprised look of the Jaffa patrol. We all opened fire, walking slowly and steadily towards them until they were all dead.
My sight blurred once more and with it came the memory of intense pain . . .
"Sam." Said a soft voice. "Sam."
My eyes flew open and I jerked into a sitting position. I blinked into the darkness and felt the sweat on my feverish skin. The blankets of my bed were a twisted mass beneath me and my heart was pounding. A faint light clicked on, and I squinted as I turned towards it. I recognised the room as my quarters within the SGC. I lived here now.
Reality crashed down on me once more and I felt the usual weight settle on my heart. I looked at Janet who had turned on the light. She was standing beside the bedside table, Teal'c slightly behind her. "Sam." She said again. "The General wants to see us."
I saw her frown and knew what she saw. My eyes were haunted and had deep purple shadows beneath them from lack of sleep. My body was more muscular than it had been and I had scars running down my arms and legs. My hair was also longer now. I hung almost down to my shoulders, and fell onto my face.
"What time is it?" I asked her.
"1600 hours." Janet said.
I nodded and swung my feet onto the cold concrete floor. I noticed my green combat pants and black singlet were rumpled, but I didn't care. I shoved my bare feet into my boots and ran a hand through my hair. Grabbing a jacket from the end of my bed, I turned to Janet and Teal'c. "Let's go." I said.
They both nodded, and I saw the haggard look on Janet's face, and knew she hadn't been sleeping either. She looked almost as bad as I did. Teal'c looked worse than usual as well, but he never acted like it. He just did whatever he had to do.
As we walked up the stairs to the briefing room, I tied my hair back in a ponytail to keep it off my face. But just before we reached the room, the alarms went off. The gate was opening. I frowned and looked at Teal'c. He looked confused as me. There were no teams due in for at least 12 hours.
We all headed for the control room. "We're receiving SG-1's GDO, sir." The Sergeant said.
General Hammond looked at me. "Open the Iris." He ordered.
The Iris opened as I nodded to the General, and I headed down to the gateroom, Teal'c and Janet not far behind me. As I entered the room, I saw a familiar figure step through the gate and my heart stopped beating. I was as if someone had reached inside my chest and squeezed my heart until it stopped.
Jack.
The word echoed through my head. He had stepped through the wormhole, followed by Daniel and two women. But my eyes were only for him. My fingers ached to trace over his familiar features, and my body ached to be held by him. I noticed he was leaner than I remembered and more muscular. He also had a jagged scar running down the left side of his face.
When he saw me, I watched in amazement as his cold brown eyes turned into something vulnerable and full of hope. He almost ran towards me and then I was in his arms and he was kissing me and that was all that mattered.
He crushed me to him and I held onto him just as tightly, never wanting to let go. My hands moved to fist in his hair, drawing him closer to me. I could feel the hard strength of his body against mine. His lips devoured mine like he was a dying man and I was the cure. He kissed me with such need and intense passion that I felt weak all over. I kissed him back with all my heart and poured all the longing, pain and passion I had felt over the past two years.
We finally broke apart to breathe, but Jack held me tight in his arms. I felt warm tears of joy slide down my cheeks as something in my heart healed and warmed. I looked up at Jack and saw tears running down his face, too, and a look of wonderment on his face. "Sam." He said.
"Jack." I whispered back.
"JANET!" Daniel yelled as he saw her.
I briefly heard his pounding footsteps behind me, before I turned and saw him pull Janet into a fierce kiss, tears streaming down his face. The expression in his eyes brought more tears to mine. It was just so full of joy.
Then I turned back to Jack as Teal'c came up to us. I stepped away, gently giving Teal'c space to greet his friend. The look of wonderment on the Jaffa's face was almost heartbreaking. He looked almost like a little child.
"O'Neill? Is that really you?" he asked softly, as if hardly daring to believe it.
"Yes, Teal'c." Jack said and I heard the unconcealed joy in his tone. "It's really me."
As I watched, Teal'c pulled Jack into a hug. A hug that Jack returned just as tightly. When he broke away, I stepped closer to him, needing to feel his presence near me. He flashed me a smile full of absolute happiness and slid his arm around my waist.
"Colonel O'Neill?" a voice said from behind us. "Dr. Jackson?"
Jack and I turned and saw General Hammond standing in the middle of the gateroom looking confused and amazed. "You're dead!"
I saw Jack look at him with an expression filled with pain and a sense of grief. "We were in a sense." He said. "We..." he broke off. "It's a long story."
"Teal'c!" Daniel called joyfully as he finally broke away from Janet.
I smiled as I saw him grab Teal'c into a large and boisterous hug. "I...I saw you..." he trailed off. "Man, it's just so good to see you again!"
General Hammond looked between Jack and Daniel. "You're alive." He whispered. "You're really alive."
"Oh, yeah." Jack said. "We're definitely alive."
He looked up at Jack. "So what happened? Teal'c and Major Carter saw you die over two years ago! Where have you been?"
Jack's expression turned serious. "To you, we did. We died." He paused for a second, as I felt the shock of his words sink through my giddy brain.
If he had died over two years ago like I had believed for so long, then how was he here?
"And to us, it was you that was dead." Jack continued. He turned to me. "I saw you die as I held you in my arms. I saw the light fade from you eyes and couldn't do anything to stop it."
I felt the tears well up in my eyes as his words brought back my memory of his death – as I saw him die as I held him in my arms and couldn't do anything to stop it. "Then how..?" I began.
"Like I said, it's a long story." He said. "But a story you need to hear."
"And a story we need to tell." Daniel added.
"Then let's hear it." General Hammond said.
"Jack." I said softly into the darkness.
I turned, and my body pressed up against his hard one. I softly kissed his shoulder and my hand slid over his naked chest. "What are you thinking?"
I felt him turn towards me and his arm tightened around my waist. "I can't let you do this, Sam." He said.
"Jack." I said firmly. "I'm only leaving the Air Force, not the SGC. I want to be with you, Jack."
And I did. I couldn't imagine not spending the rest of my life with Jack. The last years had been hell as I had to watch him continually risk his life for Earth and SG-1, and not being able to even touch him.
"I just don't want you to do something you'll regret." Jack whispered.
"I'd regret not giving myself a chance to live the rest of my life with you, more than I'd ever regret leaving the Air Force." I said, my heart pouring out through my words.
"I love you Sam." He said softly.
I felt my heart swell in my chest. "I know." I whispered back. "I love you too, Jack."
Suddenly the room began to change as my memories crashed into one another. Darkness became light. I looked down in growing horror. Jack lay in my lap while the blood seeped out from beneath my hands that were tightly pressed against his chest. I felt as if someone had stabbed me through the heart.
He lay there, looking like the warrior he was, while his life spilled out from beneath my hands. "Hang on, Jack. Hang on." I said.
He smiled faintly. I love you Sam." He whispered.
"I love you too." But it was too late. He was gone.
Tears fell down my face as I stood up. I could hear the footsteps of the Jaffa coming nearer and nearer. With Jack's blood still on my hands, I curled my fist around the grip of my gun. Teal'c put a comforting hand on my shoulder. I looked at him and saw the pain reflected in his eyes.
"They are coming." He said.
I nodded and looked at Janet, who was crouched beside Daniel, tears streaming down her face. I felt another stab of pain go through my heart. Daniel was dead, too.
Janet nodded and looked sadly at the medical personnel lying dead around her. She looked at Daniel and finally let go of his hand. When she walked over to me, I handed her Jack's gun.
She looked at me and understood. Nothing mattered anymore. Only killing those bastards. The three of us moved into the corridor and saw the surprised look of the Jaffa patrol. We all opened fire, walking slowly and steadily towards them until they were all dead.
My sight blurred once more and with it came the memory of intense pain . . .
"Sam." Said a soft voice. "Sam."
My eyes flew open and I jerked into a sitting position. I blinked into the darkness and felt the sweat on my feverish skin. The blankets of my bed were a twisted mass beneath me and my heart was pounding. A faint light clicked on, and I squinted as I turned towards it. I recognised the room as my quarters within the SGC. I lived here now.
Reality crashed down on me once more and I felt the usual weight settle on my heart. I looked at Janet who had turned on the light. She was standing beside the bedside table, Teal'c slightly behind her. "Sam." She said again. "The General wants to see us."
I saw her frown and knew what she saw. My eyes were haunted and had deep purple shadows beneath them from lack of sleep. My body was more muscular than it had been and I had scars running down my arms and legs. My hair was also longer now. I hung almost down to my shoulders, and fell onto my face.
"What time is it?" I asked her.
"1600 hours." Janet said.
I nodded and swung my feet onto the cold concrete floor. I noticed my green combat pants and black singlet were rumpled, but I didn't care. I shoved my bare feet into my boots and ran a hand through my hair. Grabbing a jacket from the end of my bed, I turned to Janet and Teal'c. "Let's go." I said.
They both nodded, and I saw the haggard look on Janet's face, and knew she hadn't been sleeping either. She looked almost as bad as I did. Teal'c looked worse than usual as well, but he never acted like it. He just did whatever he had to do.
As we walked up the stairs to the briefing room, I tied my hair back in a ponytail to keep it off my face. But just before we reached the room, the alarms went off. The gate was opening. I frowned and looked at Teal'c. He looked confused as me. There were no teams due in for at least 12 hours.
We all headed for the control room. "We're receiving SG-1's GDO, sir." The Sergeant said.
General Hammond looked at me. "Open the Iris." He ordered.
The Iris opened as I nodded to the General, and I headed down to the gateroom, Teal'c and Janet not far behind me. As I entered the room, I saw a familiar figure step through the gate and my heart stopped beating. I was as if someone had reached inside my chest and squeezed my heart until it stopped.
Jack.
The word echoed through my head. He had stepped through the wormhole, followed by Daniel and two women. But my eyes were only for him. My fingers ached to trace over his familiar features, and my body ached to be held by him. I noticed he was leaner than I remembered and more muscular. He also had a jagged scar running down the left side of his face.
When he saw me, I watched in amazement as his cold brown eyes turned into something vulnerable and full of hope. He almost ran towards me and then I was in his arms and he was kissing me and that was all that mattered.
He crushed me to him and I held onto him just as tightly, never wanting to let go. My hands moved to fist in his hair, drawing him closer to me. I could feel the hard strength of his body against mine. His lips devoured mine like he was a dying man and I was the cure. He kissed me with such need and intense passion that I felt weak all over. I kissed him back with all my heart and poured all the longing, pain and passion I had felt over the past two years.
We finally broke apart to breathe, but Jack held me tight in his arms. I felt warm tears of joy slide down my cheeks as something in my heart healed and warmed. I looked up at Jack and saw tears running down his face, too, and a look of wonderment on his face. "Sam." He said.
"Jack." I whispered back.
"JANET!" Daniel yelled as he saw her.
I briefly heard his pounding footsteps behind me, before I turned and saw him pull Janet into a fierce kiss, tears streaming down his face. The expression in his eyes brought more tears to mine. It was just so full of joy.
Then I turned back to Jack as Teal'c came up to us. I stepped away, gently giving Teal'c space to greet his friend. The look of wonderment on the Jaffa's face was almost heartbreaking. He looked almost like a little child.
"O'Neill? Is that really you?" he asked softly, as if hardly daring to believe it.
"Yes, Teal'c." Jack said and I heard the unconcealed joy in his tone. "It's really me."
As I watched, Teal'c pulled Jack into a hug. A hug that Jack returned just as tightly. When he broke away, I stepped closer to him, needing to feel his presence near me. He flashed me a smile full of absolute happiness and slid his arm around my waist.
"Colonel O'Neill?" a voice said from behind us. "Dr. Jackson?"
Jack and I turned and saw General Hammond standing in the middle of the gateroom looking confused and amazed. "You're dead!"
I saw Jack look at him with an expression filled with pain and a sense of grief. "We were in a sense." He said. "We..." he broke off. "It's a long story."
"Teal'c!" Daniel called joyfully as he finally broke away from Janet.
I smiled as I saw him grab Teal'c into a large and boisterous hug. "I...I saw you..." he trailed off. "Man, it's just so good to see you again!"
General Hammond looked between Jack and Daniel. "You're alive." He whispered. "You're really alive."
"Oh, yeah." Jack said. "We're definitely alive."
He looked up at Jack. "So what happened? Teal'c and Major Carter saw you die over two years ago! Where have you been?"
Jack's expression turned serious. "To you, we did. We died." He paused for a second, as I felt the shock of his words sink through my giddy brain.
If he had died over two years ago like I had believed for so long, then how was he here?
"And to us, it was you that was dead." Jack continued. He turned to me. "I saw you die as I held you in my arms. I saw the light fade from you eyes and couldn't do anything to stop it."
I felt the tears well up in my eyes as his words brought back my memory of his death – as I saw him die as I held him in my arms and couldn't do anything to stop it. "Then how..?" I began.
"Like I said, it's a long story." He said. "But a story you need to hear."
"And a story we need to tell." Daniel added.
"Then let's hear it." General Hammond said.