A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I don't pretend to know anything about Ancient Egyptian gods, so any wrong information I will apologise for in advance…
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
Chapter One
Sam walked up the steps of O'Malley's. She hadn't been there for almost nine years, since she'd been kicked out for beating up guys who'd picked on Daniel. She had a perfectly good excuse, she was under the influence of an alien device…but she decided telling that to O'Malley's staff wouldn't be so clever.
"Hey! Sam wait up!"
She turned around to see Dr Daniel Jackson shove money in the hand of a taxi driver, before jogging up the stairs to meet her.
"Hey Daniel," she said, giving him a big hug. "You didn't return my call…six months ago."
"Didn't I?" Daniel looked confused for a moment. "Oh…yes…I was in Egypt! I got back three weeks ago."
"You still hang around that place, huh?" Sam grinned at him as they headed into the restaurant.
"Well, I look at it slightly different to what I used to," Daniel admitted, then he turned to the waitress waiting for them to tell her their name. "I guess it'd be under…O'Neill?"
"Table six," the lady nodded to a six-person table in the corner.
"Thanks," Sam said, taking her jacket off and holding it in her arms.
"So how's things?" Daniel asked.
Sam smiled slightly. "They're…things…"
"Not good?" Daniel winced.
Sam shook her head. "The doctor's want to pull off life-support…they say he's brain dead."
"But there's a chance he can get out of it?" Daniel asked.
Sam looked at him. "Not much of one…" she sighed, sitting down at the chair next to the window. "So, you have much of an idea why we're here?"
"A bit," Daniel said. "Some cadets were mucking around in the old control room when Thor came through to contact us…Feretti found them, he was on lunch-break and headed down there for old-times sake…you can imagine how that went down."
Sam smiled. "Not good huh?"
"Lets just say those cadets won't be having a good future in the USAF," Daniel said.
"So Thor…" Sam said.
"Ah, yeah…a Goa'uld named Atum has created a small army from what was left of the Goa'uld forces, to join his large army that he had been building quietly in a small, uninhabited part of our galaxy," Daniel said. "When he heard of the defeat of the System Lords he decided to take his chance at taking over the galaxy…starting with the conquerors of the System Lords."
"Us," Sam said.
Daniel nodded.
"Anything else?" Sam asked.
"Well, all I know from Ancient Egyptian history is that Atum created himself from nothing…which is exactly what he seems to have done here," Daniel said. "Created himself from nothing and appeared suddenly out of nowhere."
"So, basically we're in big trouble?" Sam asked.
"You could say that again," Jack said sitting down next to her.
She avoided looking at him, instead she smiled at Teal'c who sat down next to Daniel.
"Hey! How's life with the peaceful Jaffa?" Sam asked.
"There is still much unrest among the Jaffa, but things are improving," Teal'c smiled. "And how is life with Pete Shanahan?"
Sam's smiled was instantly wiped off her face and she turned and looked out the window. She saw Daniel scribble something down on a napkin and hand it to Teal'c in the reflection.
"It's OK, Daniel," Sam said, turning back to face the others. "He was involved in a high speed car chase, their car went off the edge of the cliff…" she choked back tears. "He's been in a coma for the past year."
She felt Jack's worried eyes on her. She didn't want his sympathy, he'd turned her away five years ago, she didn't want him to be here, caring about what happened to her. He was a part of her life that she no longer wanted to know of.
"I am sorry," Teal'c nodded his head slightly.
"It's fine," Sam forced a smile and looked directly at her plate.
The pain of sitting there, next to Jack O'Neill, hurt just as much as the pain of sitting in the hospital, watching her husband lying unconscious in a bed. Her mind wandered back to the last proper conversation she'd had with Jack.
"So…it's over," Jack said.
"Yeah," Daniel agreed. "It's a strange feeling…"
"Sure is," Jack replied. "I guess I can retire now."
Sam swirled her beer around but didn't drink any of it, placing it down on the table. She felt his eyes on her, but she refused to look up at him. Her wedding with Pete had been planned for that weekend, but they'd had to postpone it due to the war with the Goa'uld hotting up. Pete had understood, he'd told her to give it six months.
She hadn't thought it would be enough, they'd been fighting the Goa'uld for eight years, as if they could defeat them within six months. But they had, much less than that actually.
"Everything's different now," Jack said.
"It's gonna be strange without Teal'c around," Daniel said, looking at Teal'c.
"I must return and be with Ry'ac," Teal'c said.
"And Ishta," Daniel added, smiling slightly.
Sam continued staring at her untouched beer as it sat on the table. She had decisions to make and they weren't going to be easy. Teal'c seemed to have everything figured out.
"And yourself DanielJackson, what have you got planned?" Teal'c asked.
"I guess, I'll head back into Egyptology, I have more knowledge than I can ever share about Ancient Egypt, but at least I can help shed some light on some things that will mystify other archaeologists," Daniel said. "Jack?"
"Fishing," Jack replied instantly. "Lots and lots of fishing…"
Yet again she felt his eyes on her, but she refused to look up.
"Sam?" Daniel asked.
"I don't know," she replied truthfully. "I never really thought about what happens when it ends…I guess I still have to figure that one out."
She looked up, stupidly making the mistake of looking directly at Jack. They were allowed to be together, they were no longer in each other's direct chain of command, in fact within a couple of days Jack wouldn't even be in the Air Force anymore.
But what about Pete? She couldn't just ditch him and their perfect life. She was afraid. What if things didn't work out between her and Jack even if they tried?
Of course they'll work out, she told herself.
"Actually I think I'll leave tomorrow morning," Jack said.
"Leave what?" Daniel asked.
"Leave to go fishing," Jack replied. "In fact, you're all invited."
Teal'c looked afraid. "I am busy."
"Ah yeah, me too," Daniel said, having heard Teal'c's fishing stories.
I'd love to go fishing, Sam thought. More than anything. And she could now, right?
"I have to go," she said, standing up and heading for the exit. "Goodnight guys."
She jogged up the stairs and to the door. She heard footsteps following her and stopped to look as she opened the door.
"Don't go," he said.
"Was it all an excuse? The Air Force? The regs…" Sam stopped. "Nevermind."
"I care," he said.
"You let me go," Sam said. "Why didn't you say something?"
"You never gave me the chance," he said, knowing it was a lie, she could tell he knew.
"I gave you plenty of chances, Jack," she said.
He faulted at the use of his first name. Then he didn't know what to say.
Say something, damnit! Sam thought.
"Well…have fun," he said.
She stared at him for a long moment and then turned around to leave. "Fine."
"Sam!" he called after her.
"Don't even think about turning up to the wedding," she called over her shoulder.
Maybe she'd been too harsh. She'd called him the next day to apologise. She knew he was home, because she'd been sitting outside in the car and watched him go out to the mailbox and back inside again. But she got the answer machine.
"Sir, I'm sorry about yesterday…I hope we can still be friends," she said.
He'd never rung her back. Never tried to contact her again. Not till her wedding. He'd turned up on the day and asked her not to marry him. He hadn't demanded it, it had been a simple request, and it had left her heartbroken as she took her turn to turn him away and walked down the aisle to meet Pete.
Over the years she'd blocked out the pain, her son had helped her overcome it. But it still haunted her every day. And here he was, sitting next to her in a restaurant, talking old times like nothing had ever happened.
"So, you just reassembling SG-1?" Daniel asked.
Jack shook his head. "Feretti, Reynolds, Haley, Jonas…couple of others."
"Jonas?" Sam asked, surprised. "You contacted him?"
"Yeah, actually he's supposed to be here," Jack said.
Just at that moment a figured sat down next to Teal'c. "I am…sorry I'm late."
"Good timing," Jack said.
"So what's the plan?" Daniel asked.
Sam smiled at Jonas who gave her a grand big smile back. It cheered her up slightly to be sitting here with old friends again.
"Blow it up," Jack said.
"How original of you, sir," Sam said.
She guessed she must have sounded pretty harsh because all four heads snapped around to look at her.
"You got a better plan, Carter?" he asked.
She stared at him but didn't reply.
He looked away, back at the others. "So I was thinking, we get out one of those old cargo ships we have lying around from our final battle and sneak aboard Atum's Mothership and blow it…"
"What about the Ancient weapon in Antarctica?" Daniel asked.
"It's useless," Jack said. "I used up all those things defeating Anubis's forces…"
"So how do we get back?" Jonas asked.
"We don't," Jack replied.
There was a long silence.
"So this is a suicide mission?" Daniel asked.
"Basically…" Jack replied.
"I can't go, sir," Sam said suddenly.
"Why not?" he asked, his tone condescending but the emotion playing in his eyes completely different.
"I have a son, sir…I can't just leave him," Sam said.
"Ah, that's right…Jonathan," Jack said.
Sam flinched, knowing he'd announced her son's name to the table openly on purpose. Daniel knew, but the other two had been oblivious to the fact that she even had a son, let alone that she'd name it after Jack.
"Yes," Sam replied, gritting her teeth.
"Carter…we need you," Jack said. "All that techno-babble stuff…"
"Jonas can do it," Sam replied.
Jack shook his head slightly. "We need you."
"You want me to die?" she asked.
"No," he replied, immediately. "Far from it."
"Then promise me we'll make it back alive," Sam said.
"I can't do that," Jack said.
"And I can't leave my son, he's the only thing I have left," she said, meeting his eyes.
She heard Daniel cough. But they both ignored him.
"Carter, if you want any chance of saving your son you'll come on this mission…we can't pull it off without you," Jack said.
It was true. She knew he spoke the truth, but she didn't wanna leave her son.
"I'll promise you…I promise you we'll try as hard as possible to get off that ship," Jack said.
Sam nodded slightly. "Yes, sir."
OoO
Maybe it was his fault they were like this. He didn't want her to die, what kind of harsh, cold person did she think he was?
It was his fault, it was all his fault. If it hadn't been for his stupidity it wouldn't have turned out this way.
He watched as she stepped off the last stair and headed towards her car. He jogged after her.
"Carter," he said.
She turned around, the cold look still in her eyes. "What?"
"If it still means anything to you…I'm sorry…" Jack said.
There was a flash of sadness in her eyes before it went back to the cold stare she'd been giving him all night.
"It's a bit late, sir," she turned around and unlocked her car.
She sighed and turned back to face him, the cold look was completely gone, the sadness had returned.
"You pushed me away," she said.
"I wanted you to be happy," Jack said. "I was trying to do the right thing…"
"So why did you turn up on my wedding day?" Sam asked.
"I guess I realised…what an idiot I'd been," Jack said, cringing slightly.
"Yeah, well it was a bit late," Sam muttered.
"If you could go back…would you change…"
"Everything," she said, quietly but surely.
"Me too," he said.
"It's too late now," she said, pulling her car door open. "This one last mission…if we survive, I go back to my life, you go back to yours."
"I don't have anything left, Sam," he said.
"I do," she said. "I don't have much, but I have Jonathan."
Jack nodded. "I understand."
A pang of guilt hit him. He'd let Charlie die, if he'd been a better father…maybe it was good that Sam hadn't married him. That she'd had Pete as a father to her child…
Had.
She closed the car door and drove off, the water the rain had deposited on the road flying up behind her car wheels.
The rain splattered on the ground beside his body. Creating more mud to mix with his blood that lay around him.
"Carter, GO!" he said.
"No, sir, not until I've dressed this wound," she said, pulling the bandage around his calf again.
"Carter, I'm not gonna make it, just get out of here," he shouted.
"No," she said. "I'm not leaving you."
"Please," Jack said.
She looked at him. "I'm not gonna lose you."
"I've already lost you," he said quietly.
"Not yet," she said, then she placed his arm around her shoulder. "Now stand up."
She helped him up, knowing he was in great amounts of pain. But he had to get out of there, if he didn't leave then she wouldn't, he didn't want her to die…not here…not now.
They hobbled to the edge of the forest and into a small cave which sheltered them from the rain, and from the view of the Goa'uld.
"We should be safe here, for now," Sam said, turning around to help Jack sit down.
Instead she found his hands gripping her arms tightly. His face was so close to hers, it was washed clean of blood due to the heavy rain, only a small trickle remained down the right side of his face.
His eyes searched hers. She leaned forward to kiss him. He pulled back.
"I can't," he said.
She knew he was right. They shouldn't.
"Pete wouldn't approve," Jack said.
He saw the look in her eyes as she helped him sit down. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, but what he'd just said seemed to hurt her in a way he could never know.
"Yes, sir," she said, sitting down opposite him, as far away as possible. "Now we wait."
As he watched her car drive away the memories came flooding back to him. He'd been such an idiot to let her go, she'd given him the chance…many of them…to say something, to ask her not to marry him. But he'd let her go, until it was too late.
He looked up at the grey clouds, above them he knew his end was waiting. He just hoped it wasn't hers as well.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
A/N: Eek, sorry I just had to get all the past history out so it's understood why Sam chose Pete and not Jack (stupid girl, I hope that doesn't happen in the show), but for the sake of my fan fic it happened. The story will get less angsty, I think…it should! Reviews would be…nice :D
