He pulled her gently with him.
Gently back to their physical time and space.
And then his senses shut down and nothingness descended.
- - -
- - -
Ch 70: ADRIFT
- - -
Daniel, Teal'c, Dragon and Jennifer watched the eerie scene silently.
And then the images of Sam, Lya and Anteaus solidified and Jack slumped over Sam's chest.
"She is too weak for that," Lya warned and Teal'c stepped forward quickly and picked Jack up effortlessly and then carried him around and slipped him back into his biopod.
"Is she…?," Jennifer started to ask, but couldn't quite form an entire question.
Lya and Anteaus exchanged silent gazes with Thor and then turned back to the four humans, "Samantha's mind and consciousness have returned to this realm. However, she remains in critical condition. Both her mind and body are exhausted and traumatized."
"Will she be OK?" Jennifer managed.
Lya shook her head empathetically, "We can not know the answer to that yet," and the mood in the room dropped again. "There is however, hope," and the Nox tried to smile encouragingly.
Anteaus was studying the quiet figures in both biopods, "O'Neill brought her back," he commented thoughtfully and then glanced at first Lya and then Thor.
Lya nodded her agreement, "Their connection is strong."
"The biological effects accumulated over the past four months are still present in their systems," Thor added. "The unique enzymes, organic molecules and inorganic elements are still allowing them expanded and elevated access to the connection between them and its effects."
"Their connection may be the only possibility for Samantha's recovery," Lya voiced softly. "We were not able to recover her on our own."
Anteaus looked over at Thor, "Perhaps they should be together? The physical proximity could facilitate the healing process tremendously," and Lya nodded her assent.
"I can create one biopod that would accommodate both Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter," and with that the Asgard began industriously moving the control stones over his panel. The four humans exchanged questioning looks, but no one said anything.
Moments later an extra wide biopod appeared beside the two occupied pods. Next Jack's pod filled with a flash of white light and Jack disappeared to immediately reappear with another white flash inside the wider pod. With a repeat of the same sequence, Sam appeared in the wider pod, lying by his side. The two singe pods disappeared in a final burst of white light.
"Will this suffice?" Thor questioned.
Both Nox nodded thoughtfully while studying the two unconscious humans, so Thor turned his questioning gaze to the four humans.
"Uh, yeah, I guess it's allright," Daniel offered with a shrug and then a look at Teal'c, as both men remembered the emotions emanating from the two officers when they'd been at Jack's 'Metaphysical' Lake.
"I believe that both JackO'Neill and SamanthaCarter would be agreeable to these accommodations," and the Jaffa's serious tones made everything seem nothing but right and proper.
The two Nox smiled gently. "We will need to rest and regenerate," Anteaus spoke quietly. "Thor will monitor Samantha's biosigns and he will call us if there are any emergencies."
"It would be most helpful if one of you were to talk to Samantha. Her mind needs to heal and reconnect with this space-time. She may not hear your actual words, but your tone and friendship will provide her with additional support and connections," Lya suggested.
"Sure, no problem," Daniel answered and the others nodded their assent.
"Like they say helps some coma patients," Dragon commented musingly and Jennifer nodded again.
"After we rest, we will attempt to assist Samantha with her recovery," Lya finished.
"Thank you, for all you've done," Daniel offered sincerely.
"Yes. Please accept my thanks as well," Teal'c offered solemnly.
"Mine too," came from Dragon and "Yeah, thanks," from Jennifer.
The two Nox smiled gently and headed for their on board quarters.
- - - - - - - -
"How's Jack?" Daniel asked the quiet Asgard.
"O'Neill sleeps deeply," Thor replied. "His biosigns indicate that both his body and mind are resting and recovering."
"And Sam's biosigns?" the archeologist couldn't help asking.
"Samantha's biosigns are weaker and less stable," the Asgard synopsized qualitatively, sensing that the Tauri was not interested in a recitation of the console readings.
The four humans absorbed the information while studying their motionless comrades.
"I shall now retire as well," Thor spoke quietly as he stepped down off of the small, raised dais. "The automated systems will notify me if Samantha's condition worsens."
"Thor, thanks for… everything," Daniel acknowledged the Asgard's efforts.
"You are welcome, DanielJackson," Thor replied solemnly as he exited the room quietly.
"How about 2-hour shifts?" Daniel suggested and then clarified, "To talk to Sam?" and the other nodded their agreement thoughtfully.
- - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - -
Her mind swam sluggishly from unconsciousness to semi-consciousness.
The darkness and quiet depressingly familiar.
And his absence.
He was gone.
Again.
Her heart ached painfully.
And then she heard something.
So faint.
Words… she wasn't quite able to parse the words separately…
But someone was speaking…
Someone she knew.
She recognized the tone, timber and inflection.
It wasn't him… but it was… someone she knew… someone she loved…
He was… a source of comfort… a source of solace….
… a man of deep feelings… a man with a kind heart….
… he was a kindred spirit intellectually…
… he was like… a brother…
Her heart took comfort from his presence.
She was not alone.
- - - - - - - -
Daniel spent his two hour shift telling Sam about Cassie and then about some of their travels over the past four and a half months. He held her hand gently and watched his two friends carefully as the minutes ticked away.
- - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - -
Her mind swam towards awareness again.
But again, only made it to that mushy level just above semi-consciousness.
She searched for him.
Felt for that electrical fizzing.
But it wasn't there.
And the pain was just as deep as before.
How many times would she feel his loss?
And then she heard the words again.
Streams of words… not quite clear enough to understand…
And, again, she recognized the tone and timber.
Different than before…
But with an indescribable feeling of security…
Again, this was not him… this voice… was one of depth…
… from a man of true wisdom… a man of deep honor…
… he was a comrade and protector…
Just as before, names and other such tags eluded her clouded mind, but she identified and held onto her connection with that voice and its source.
Not alone.
Not alone.
- - - - - - - -
Teal'c shared age-old tales of Jaffa lore, his tones reminiscent of when he had spun stories for his son and his son's friends when they were young. The Jaffa watched both of his Tauri friends carefully as his two hours passed quietly.
- - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - -
This time the words were softer and of a higher, gentler timber.
Not quite as… familiar… as the previous tone…
…but a connection was there… a familiarity…
Something in her intellect resonated…
- - - - - - - -
Jennifer spoke softly but animatedly about the physics and mathematics that might be governing the phenomena inside the interdimensional realm that they had visited. And, she couldn't help suggesting that the orange-blue wormhole may have been the first wormhole that might have allowed two-way travel… as she had suggested in her paper back at the Academy…
- - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - -
Different again, her mind noted as the words washed over her.
Soft, gentle tones…. but full of humor and wit.
Friendly.
Enough to let her know that she was not alone.
It was hard to hold on in the darkness.
So hard to be alone with no points of reference.
She was struggling to hold on… to fight to hold onto what little she had.
There were only the voices for a tenuous anchor.
And she was tired… so… tired…
- - - - - - - -
Dragon spent her time relating tales of their explorations over the past four and a half months. She made sure that she included humorous anecdotes relating to the other three. She also spent a little time trying to describe the strength of friendship and devotion that she'd seen evidenced by Daniel and Teal'c for the two missing officers. Quietly, she also commented on Jennifer's fierce loyalty and resolve.
- - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - -
Alarms and lights suddenly broke the quiet of Daniel's second shift.
He stood up but then froze, unsure of what to do.
He stared at Jack and Sam, but both were still motionless.
Thor hurried swiftly into the room and stepped quickly up onto the small raised dais. A few short moments later, the alarms stopped and the Asgard spoke quickly, "Please step back, Doctor Jackson."
Glancing at Thor, the archeologist looked back down and then quickly stepped back, just as Teal'c, Dragon and Jennifer hurried into the room, questioning looks on their faces.
Sam's body jerked and convulsed, quickly answering their unvoiced questions. Daniel sucked in a breath as he watched his friend's body wracked with spasms again. As she quieted, he chanced a look at Jack, to see a faint shimmering in the air between the two officers, and he realized that Thor must have erected a force field to shield Jack from the 'Asgard CPR'.
His eyes were jerked back to Sam as her body shook with another set of convulsions.
- - - - -
TBC
- - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Author's Notes: I first encountered the idea of an extra wide Asgard biopod that could hold two in the fanfic 'What Fools These Mortals Be' by Dinkydow. This fanfic is in five parts and can be accessed at Gateworld's fanfic archive.
I first encountered the idea of Jack and Sam with 'glowing healing abilities' in Eridani Moon's fanfic 'There Without Her' – this epic fanfic/saga, chronicles an amazing Jack/Sam romance and then their marriage and family. I have taken the 'glowing' abilities in a different direction with the Stargate, but if you like a good long read, and well-written prose, I highly recommend "There Without Her" at I struggled to get my Sam and Jack to just kiss, but Eridani Moon should satisfy those who want more… :)… wwwdotfanfictiondotnet/u/463887/ (just replace the dots with periods)
As always, a Special Thanks to SG-1 Yahoo Transcripts
wwwdotmoon-catchindotnet/transcripts.htm (just replace the dots with periods)
Episode 419 "Prodigy", Transcript by AQ
And, credit also goes to the Episode Guide & Synopses at 's Stargate SG-1 website
- - - - -