The Gift
Chapter 5
"I'm sure it was quite difficult, O'Neill."
He peeked from beneath his forearm. "Thor?"
"Yes, O'Neill. It is good to see you again." He was gliding his slender fingers across a control board, peering closely at what he saw there.
"Anyone care to explain things a bit more thoroughly?"
"Certainly, O'Neill." He worked on the control board a bit more, then turned and walked to O'Neill's bedside. He moved some type of stone at the head of the bed and the IVs and monitors attached to O'Neill disappeared.
"Several days ago I brought the Carter into orbit around Earth. I thought you all might wish to see it."
O'Neill glanced at Carter, who was grinning like a fool.
"I brought all of you up for a tour. But as soon as you came aboard, O'Neill, you collapsed."
"At first we weren't sure what was wrong," Carter interjected. "You seemed to be experiencing normal sleep, but we couldn't wake you up."
"Correct," Thor said. "After we monitored you for a period of time we realized you were experiencing some very unusual REM cycles, followed by longer periods of deep, dreamless sleep."
"Felt real," O'Neill said. He grimaced. "Too real."
"After running through all of the information from the Ancients we downloaded from you, we realized there was a connection. A sort of program left in your brain had activated when you came back into contact with the Ancients," Thor said.
"You were . . . messing around with some of the controls," Daniel said.
"Oops," O'Neill said.
"Dr. Jackson and I worked to decipher the information relating to this program that was running in your brain. We could not translate all of it, but we understood enough to know that you awaken eventually."
"And that they called the . . . program . . . The Gift."
"And what did this Gift do to me, exactly?"
"Apparently, the Ancients had opened a sort of portal for you," Daniel said. "From what we could decipher of the text, you were being allowed to visit parallel universes, alternate realities, through the dream state."
O'Neill grunted.
"What exactly did you see, Jack?" Daniel asked.
"Oh, just . . . stuff," he said, gesturing vaguely. "About us, about . . . all of us."
"Really? Good or bad?" Carter asked.
"Some . . . really, really bad," O'Neill said, remembering. "And some really, really, REALLY good." He glanced at her quickly, eyes taking in the curve of her hip.
"Aw, come on, Jack! You're not going to give us any more detail than that?" Daniel asked.
"Not now, Daniel. Maybe later." He looked at Thor. "Is this program done? Am I okay now? I'd like to go home. Stupid Ancients."
"Yes, O'Neill, I believe the program has run its course," Thor said. "But you are weakened; I would like for you to rest a while before returning to Earth."
"Sure, fine, whatever," he said. "You're the doc."
Thor bowed his head and returned to his readouts.
O'Neill looked at Carter and Daniel. "Why don't you guys get us ready to beam out of here? I wanna rest a bit, get cleaned up."
"Of course, sir," Carter said. "Teal'c is on the surface, anxious to see you. Apparently you've become a father while you were out."
He stared at her. "Excuse me?"
"Your fish," Daniel said, laughing. "Teal'c's been hovering over them like a hen."
"Oh! Well, it'll be nice to see the kids when I get back."
They smiled, and left to get their gear ready for departure.
O'Neill waited until they were gone, then turned to Thor.
"Thor, can I talk to you about all this?"
"Certainly, O'Neill." He moved back to O'Neill's bedside. "What is your concern?"
"Well, all of these . . . dreams," he said. "Every one of them had to do with Carter and me."
"Really?" Thor asked. "I would have assumed they would have been more general than that."
"No, they were pretty . . . specific," O'Neill said. "We were either lovers, or married, or one of us was dying, or she was married to someone else, or our babies were being born . . ."
"I understand, O'Neill."
"Well, does it mean anything?"
"The program was called the Gift," Thor said. "Perhaps you were being given the opportunity to explore your relationship with Colonel Carter in the other realities so that you might better decide how you wish to proceed in this one. Of course, I can only speculate, but since the dreams were so specific . . ."
O'Neill lay back, staring at the ceiling. "It all felt so real. Even after I understood I'd be jumping to a new version, it still felt like my life. OUR lives. Even the ugly versions."
"O'Neill, those WERE your lives," Thor said. "Even though you experienced them through dreams, they were not simply visions. What you saw is actually happening on another timeline."
O'Neill's gut twisted. "WHAT? You're telling me all of that is actually HAPPENING?" He was hit with visions of Carter bathed in blood, carrying his child . . .
"Yes, O'Neill -"
"Fuck!"
He was out of the bed, fumbling against the wall for support. "Carter!" he yelled, unsteadily making his way down the corridor she and Daniel had entered earlier.
"O'Neill!" Thor called. "You really must rest!"
He ignored him. "Carter!" he cried again, stumbling slightly.
He wobbled, vision fading to black for a moment, then slid to his knees. "Goddammit!" he muttered. "Carter!"
She came running around a turn in the corridor, Daniel right behind her. "Sir, what . . . sir!"
She ran toward him, kneeling down to help him stand. Once he was on his feet he grabbed her and fell back against the wall for support, clutching her tightly, pressing her face against chest.
"Sir!" she whispered, arms sliding around him to hold him up. "Your heart rate's way up, we need to get you back –"
"No! No," he said, burying his face in her hair. "Just . . . stop. Don't move. Please."
She looked at him for a moment, about to protest, but something in his face stopped her. She stilled, relaxing into him even as she held him tighter.
Daniel watched a moment, wondering what to do. He'd never seen them this way. He tilted his head, considering them, then nodded. Yes, this was right. Had been right all along. The Gift.
He slipped silently away.
O'Neill drew a great shuddering breath and Carter looked up at him, shocked to see he was crying. "Oh, Jack," she murmured. "God, what did they do to you? We had no idea it would be so awful . . ." She brushed her hand across his face.
He pulled her back into his embrace, saying nothing. Pressing her ear to his chest, she listened as hid heartbeat slowed and his ragged breathing evened out.
After a long while he loosened his grip on her, allowing her to lean back and look at him. "You okay?"
He nodded, still holding her.
"Jack," she whispered. "What happened?"
He sighed heavily, leaning his head back against the wall of the corridor.
"I'd like to tell you . . ." He stopped, considering. Should she know? They were her realities as much as his . . .
"Can you come by tonight?" he asked.
She studied his face, confused and concerned. "Well, okay, sure."
"Good. Now can you help me back to Thor? I think he's having a fit. Do the Asgard have fits? At any rate I'm sure he's very unhappy with me - "
"O'Neill!" Thor called.
"– right now."
TBC