Hiya! Sorry this update has been so long in coming! If you are interested, visit my site or yahoo group, addresses on my bio page, as I can't post them here…
Thanx to my reviewers, SGCFan4ever, EmmyH, Hot Girl Faith, and Mia, you guys are great!
Now, this is the last chapter. Does anyone want a sequel? If so, what would you like included in it? Whose point of view? When do you want it to start? If anyone ha any preferences, I will try to include them in the sequel, if I write it. Did any of that make sense? I swear, I confuse myself sometimes…
Enjoy! Pleeease Review!
As the Colonel had said, they didn't do things slowly on this planet. Within minutes, everything was covered in a thick blanket of snow. I can honestly say that I have never been so cold in my life. As the minutes passed, my thoughts became more and more depressed.
As the Colonel had listed his injuries, guilt had flooded through me. If it hadn't been for me, running so much more slowly than the rest, he would not have been hurt. I should never have come. I was pretty sure most of his injuries were from the tree, and it certainly hadn't helped that I had landed on him just minutes later. "God, sir, I'm so sorry!" I burst out, almost in tears. "For getting you hurt, for not being fast enough. If I hadn't been so slow, this would never have happened! I'm supposed to be a doctor, for cryin' out loud! First do no harm…"
A low, pain-filled chuckle came from the Colonel. "Careful Doctor…you're…picking up…bad habits!" "Sir, you're awake!" I dried my eyes as inconspicuously as possible "Can you sit up, Sir? I need to check your inju…" He interrupted me, his voice barely more than a whisper, "It's not…your…fault, Doc. You didn't…make…the…tree fall…or the lightning…strike…when it…did." "Well, no Sir, but if you hadn't saved me, you wouldn't be hurt…" "Doc…" he gasped, softly, struggling for breath, "This is my…job. Everyone has…one. Carter…is way…too smart. She fixes…everything and …gets us out of…a lot of…messes. Daniel…speaks to people. He's…our conscience. Our…voice. Teal'c…he's a...warrior. He knows stuff…about the…Snakehead's…and he…fights…like a whole…damn…army. My job…is to protect…everyone else. To…stop them…from getting…hurt. To take…their…pain. To die…for them…if necessary. That is…what…I do. It's who…I…am. And…I never…have any…regrets…about protecting…someone. Never. It's my…job. My…life." He stopped, gasping for breath, panting heavily in pain. The weight of guilt lessened. It wasn't my fault. I realised, as I had known all along, that this was who Jack O'Neill was. It was what he did. His job. He would have been much more unhappy if I had been hurt when he could have saved me.
"Thank you, Colonel," I whispered, giving him a gentle hug, mindful of his broken ribs. "You're…welcome," he said, grinning weakly. "Your job…by the way…is to…patch me…up…when I get…hurt. Which you can…do…any…time…now."
"Yes Sir!" I grinned. Without much light, I couldn't really see him, and I'd left my pack – with my medical supplies - at the site when we had been forced to run so suddenly. I had a few roles of bandages, though, with which I wrapped his broken ribs and wrist. As I finished, I felt him shiver. It was then that the cold hit me in full. My adrenalin rush was over, and now I was just cold and tired. Very, VERY cold.
My miserable thoughts were broken by the Colonel. "C'mon Doc, help me up," he ordered, his voice and breathing stronger now that his ribs were supported. "Sir, you shouldn't…" I protested, knowing from experience that it would make little difference. "Doc, my butt's frozen to the ground. It's not very comfy, I'm tellin' ya! He grunted. "'sides, we need to find some dry wood to make a fire. The storm seems to be dying down, now, but the General probably won't send a rescue team through for another coupl'a hours, until it's completely clear, and we need warmth, or there won't be much point in them finding us."
"Sir, what if they don't get here in time…"
"They will, Doc. That's their job."
So that's where I am now. Gathering wood, frozen to the bone. I can't believe that Sam and the Colonel survived for so long in Antarctica – it's only been about an hour, and already I'm numb, my fingers and toes already feeling like pincushions. I know that I'll be okay though. The Colonel's here, and he knows what to do, even if he is muttering something fairly rude about video recorder's the Simpson's. I can see what Sam meant. Even when injured, in a really bad situation, it's hard not to believe him when he says he'll get you home.
After all, it's his job.
FINIS.
Pleeeeease review! See author's notes at top of page for sequel…
