This is it - the end. Thanks for all the reviews.
The Coldest of Hearts - Part Fourteen
The hours passed into days ... the days into weeks and still Colonel Jack O'Neill stubbornly clung to life. He continued to breathe unaided, lying pale and so very still that each visitor wondered at how he could possible be holding back death this long.
The visitors had begun to slow down, spending less time there, all except one ... Cassie.
She came by each afternoon after her last class and stayed until Janet picked her up.
The cold nights were drawing in, and the glaring lights in his room seemed harsh, so Cassie bought a lamp and kept its soft light glowing beside his bed.
"He'll hate the bright lights when he wakes up," she told her mom.
Janet agreed with her distractedly. She found her daughter's courage and determination worthy of much praise, but also it worried her greatly that the end when it came, and surely it would soon, would be hard on her.
The Colonel's team continued to visit when they could, but their duties were long and arduous and each time they returned from a prolonged mission they expected to be greeted with the news of his death.
The month rolled on agonisingly slowly
Houses were being decorated for the holidays. Everywhere you turned there were plastic Santas and masses of tinsel and a dazzling display of lights.
Cassie didn't take much interest in her mom's efforts for the holidays at home, but she did find a small tree. It stood at just over a foot high and she planted it in a small pot. She lovingly wrapped the pot in fancy foil paper and decorated the tree with tiny baubles and lights that ran on batteries.
Janet watched her daughter set the tree beside the Colonel's bed on the side table. Her daughter's chatter, telling him of the day's activities, what had happened in school, brought an ache to her heart. When she was there it was the most she heard Cassie speak; at home she was quiet, forlorn.
Cassie bent to kiss the Colonel's forehead. His cheeks were sunken from the weight loss, his lanky frame looking impossibly fragile, his pale skin almost translucent in the lamp light. The bandages had long ago shrunk to a dressing, his hair had grown back again from where it had been shaved for the operation, and Cassie teased the shorter patches, telling him it might go curly ... he'd better watch out.
"He needs a hair cut mom, then this patch wouldn't show at all," she complained.
Janet smiled at her daughter, promising that she'd look into it before calling goodnight to the Colonel as she usually did.
xoxoxoxoxo
Christmas Eve arrived and Janet had invited SG1 over to the house. She had hoped that everyone being there would help. She was well aware that they were all missing the Colonel. Daniel went about his work, but his usual enthusiasm had gone. Sam seemed pale and a little distant. Even Teal'c's face seemed devoid of his usual good humor and gentleness.
The tree in the house was surrounded by parcels and normally Cassie would be so excited about the holiday, badgering Janet to be allowed to open just one ... but this time her attention was on one little box that was wrapped up, devoid of bow or tinsel and label, it held her daughter's fascination.
Janet didn't need to ask who it was for. She didn't know what was in it. Cassie wasn't being open about it and for some reason she felt reluctant to ask.
Janet had prepared a meal for everyone and as soon as the table was cleared Cassie asked what time they were going to visit Jack.
"Not tonight, hon," called Janet as she put the last of the dishes in the dishwasher.
"Why?" demanded Cassie.
"We saw Jack yesterday," said Daniel quietly. He felt guilty at wishing his friend was dead, but anything was better than watching the remembrance of a man lingering on.
"But not today?" asked Cassie.
"Cassie, everyone's tired. You know they've just got back from a mission. Now let's have a nice quiet evening."
Cassie glared at her mother. "An evening where we sit and pretend everything's alright? That Jack's okay?"
Janet shook her head warningly at the girl. "You've been every single day and you know Jack will forgive you if just this once you have some time off."
"I want to be there. I don't want him to be alone."
Sam stood and moved to put an arm around her. "We know you do. We don't want him to be alone either, but ..."
"But you don't want to see him all the time either!" responded Cassie miserably. "He knows when you're there you know, he does!" she cried. "Please, it's Christmas Eve, I need to see him just for a little while."
Daniel gazed around the room at his friends. It hurt him so much to watch his friend lying there, knowing there was nothing he could do, but he also understood Cassie's need to be there, because it was what he really wanted too.
"I'll take you," he said quietly.
"And me," said Sam.
Teal'c inclined his head. "As will I."
"Okay, looks like we're all going," said Janet.
xoxoxoxoxo
They sat together in the hospital room, chattering quietly, if not a little awkwardly at first, but Cassie's calm and matter of fact way of including Jack in the conversation soon had them all at ease - well as much as was possible under the circumstances.
Cassie solemnly placed the little parcel under the tree and told Jack not to open it before Christmas Day. The soft twinkling lights lit the room gently.
Sam gazed at her CO. It almost seemed as if he was sleeping. His hair was a little grayer, the lights glinting off the silver in it, his tan had paled and his cheeks were drawn, but even like this, he was a remarkably handsome man. She realised she'd never seen him so still. He was always bursting with energy, his hands always busy twiddling with something ... or breaking it. The number of pens he had dismantled at briefings escaped her count and a brief smile lit her face as she thought of the boundless energy of the man.
It was Cassie herself who brought the evening to a close.
"Goodnight Jack, sleep well, but please wake in the morning," she whispered and bent to kiss his forehead. "Merry Christmas," she sniffled and turned away, wiping the tears that sprang from her eyes with her hand, before Daniel pressed a clean tissue into it. She left the others to say goodnight, waiting for them in the corridor.
The huge lump in their throats threatened them all as they each bid the Colonel a Merry Christmas.
Daniel was the last one out and he stood looking at his friend for a few seconds. "We are missing you Jack, stubborn jerk that you are, we're missing you."
He utilised the remaining tissue in his pocket before joining the others in the corridor and they made their way quietly to the car.
xoxoxoxoxo
Christmas came and went. Cassie's tree still stood there beside Jack, the present waiting for him.
Two days after New Year, Janet had been called into the SGC and SG1 were already off on a mission. Cassie sat on the chair beside Jack's bed. She was talking to him as usual, holding the present in her hands, begging him to wake.
She suddenly stopped talking, her gaze taking in the gauntness of his face. The reality of him never wakening suddenly leapt up at her and she ripped the parcel open. Taking the gift from the box, she held it to the light, begging him to open his eyes to see it. He didn't stir and Cassie's tears began to fall. Sobbing heavily she pushed the gift into Jack's hand and laid her head down on the bed and cried ... she wept for him, for herself, for the others...
Eventually her sobs began to lessen and she gave in to the overwhelming tiredness that shadowed her. Her head lay on the bed, her hand clutching his arm. The gift lay in his fingers loosely.
xoxoxoxoxo
The empty blackness began to recede. He felt as if he was floating through gray, tired ... he was so very tired...
He tried to open his eyes, he wanted to see where he was floating, but it was hard...
The warmth of the depths kept pulling at him, lulling him, but he didn't want to stay there, he needed to see what was going on ... where was everyone? Was everyone okay?
Opening his eyes was one of the hardest things he felt he'd ever achieved. The blurred mass that swam in front of him didn't reveal anything for a while until it settled and his eyes began to slowly focus. The bland colors of his surroundings began to seep into his vision and gradually he realised he was in a hospital room. There was a noise that drew his attention and he tilted his head slightly to the right to see the mass of hair over his arm. The snuffled breathing from the figure that was beside him was responsible for the noise and gradually he realised the figure was Cassie.
He flexed his hands. His right hand didn't seem to want to close much and until he realised there was actually something in his grasp, he was a little alarmed by it.
Jack was loathe to disturb the sleeping girl and he used his left hand to take what it was that his right hand had been holding and hold it up to his line of vision.
The snow globe glistened in the soft lights that bathed the room. As Jack's focus became sharper he could see the two tiny figures in the globe, a man and a child, skating ... the little trees in the background were full of snow and Jack gave the globe a slight shake and watched as the swirl of white took to the globe's skies, before descending once more on the scene.
xoxoxoxoxo
Mike Draper was tired. He'd just got back from the mission from hell and his first action was to call the hospital. He'd been given the usual spiel, but just had to call in and see Jack.
When he pushed open the door, he thought at first he was in the wrong room and was about to utter a brief apology, when he looked at the man in the bed properly.
Jack O'Neill put his shaking fingers to his lips, and in a faint raspy voice, told him not to wake the sleeping girl.
Mike managed to stagger in and sat down heavily in a chair before his legs gave way.
"Good God Jack, I thought you'd had it!" he managed to utter. "When did you ..."
The door opened and a nurse walked in and all but shrieked in excitement as she saw her patient awake.
"Guess it was just now?" said Mike with a huge grin.
xoxoxoxoxo
Epilogue
The weeks of physical therapy had paid off and Jack felt better than he had in a long while. The sharp clean air stung a little as he breathed deeply, but he was so glad to be alive that it didn't matter.
He stood, taking in the view from the lake. The ice was still there, would be for another month or so yet, spring thaw was late so high up.
He felt lonely as he stood there. The vastness of his surroundings chilled him a little, making him seem small and insignificant.
Daniel had offered to accompany him, but he had shaken him off gently. He wanted to come to think, to escape the well meaning flurry of concern from his team. He'd not seen much of the doc, she'd been quiet and only visited him with Cassie and then it wasn't frequent.
He'd been told how Cassie had visited him every day and that it was Cassie who had steadfastly refused to believe he wouldn't wake, but he was sad to think that he had lost not only the friendship of the doctor, but her respect and trust.
He'd briefly mentioned going skating again soon on one of Cassie's visits, but Cassie had changed the subject and had become a little subdued after that, so he never mentioned it again. The thought that her terrible experience had spoilt her love of skating, filled him with sadness.
Coming back to the present, he sat down on a snow covered stump to pull on his skates. Slowly and just a little painfully he stood up. He wasn't back to full fitness yet, that would take a while, but he was getting there.
He skated slowly to the middle of the lake and did a gentle spin to take in the view of the mountains in the distance. He wasn't sure how long he stood there, but gradually he became aware of a voice calling him from the memories he became lost in.
At first he thought he was hallucinating, hearing Charlie's voice from years ago, but as he tuned into the here and now he realised it was a girl's voice calling across the lake.
Jack turned slowly. Another vehicle had joined his and a figure was running down to the lake.
Jack skated slowly across the icy surface towards the racing figure.
As he reached the edge he realised the bundled up figure was Cassie, and before he knew it she was flinging herself into his arms.
He caught her and held her tightly, squeezing his eyes closed at the rush of emotion as he held her.
After a moment or two, Jack raised his head and opened his eyes. He locked eyes with the petite doctor who stood patiently, half way between the lake and the vehicles.
Janet smiled at him and nodded.
"Can we skate?" asked Cassie's muffled voice from where it was buried in his coat.
Jack looked down at her head, ruffling her hair with his hand. "We sure can." He looked up again to mouth a silent "Thank you," to Janet, who raised a hand in acknowledgement, before making her way back to the vehicle she'd arrived in.
"Mom's made hot chocolate and we've got chocolate cookies for later," said Cassie looking up at him with a gentle smile.
Jack grinned at her. The cold and loneliness that had crept around his heart lifted...
"Sweet," he said and ruffled her hair again.
xoxoxoxoxo
The end
Thanks for reading.
xoxoxoxoxo