Well folks, I couldn't leave you in suspense for too long, so I've posted this earlier today for you. See, I'm kind like that! LOL! Enjoy; the best is yet to come.

Well, I have tried to post it off earlier, only the connection wouldn't let me do this before now! I've been trying for hours and it wasn't just me! My friend couldn't load hers up either.

A CHRISTMAS NIGHTMARE.

By Lingren.

Previously:-

"General?" Sam asked in puzzlement. Her frown of concern deepened when her CO's pause dragged on for too long. "Is there something wrong sir?"

"You could say that Colonel. It's about Jack...em...General O'Neill."

Chapter 7 - Revelations

"What about General O'Neill sir?" Sam asked, worry clouding her voice and dread filling her heart with lead. She would have leapt to her feet, except her knees had gone weak with his words.

Landry shrugged, biting his lip with consternation.

"Perhaps Colonel, you had better come with me so that we can talk about this in private."

Sam's eyes widened and her eyebrows shot upwards in surprise. Why was she being singled out like this, and why wasn't the General including the rest of the team? They were all friends of Jack's, so they should know what was going on too.

Landry hesitated at the door, turning to wait for her, seeing if she would follow. She did so and he nodded to her, leading the way to the viewing area which overlooked the ISO room where Jack lay recovering.

"General?" she asked, even as he gestured for her to take a seat. He sat down too with a heavy sigh, threading his fingers together and resting them on the table in front of him.

"He's fine Colonel," he said, taking her by surprise.

Sam looked away from him, studying the man in the bed below, she had expected him to tell her the worst. Now she looked closer, she could see nothing of the medical paraphernalia that would normally surround a person who had been shot at close range, let alone by several bullets. There was only one monitor, and she could see the regular bounce of a normal heartbeat as it beeped across the screen. Jack was sleeping, that much was evident, but he had no IV lines attached, nor was there any sign of the much needed transfusion of blood to make up the vast amount he'd lost. He had bled profusely down in that gate-room, and she was as perplexed by this as much as she could ever be. It just wasn't adding up to anything she understood. Perhaps Mike had worked yet another miracle on his brother.

"Sir?" she asked confused, hoping he would explain what was going on.

"In actual fact, he's better than fine!"

"What?" Sam's head spun round to gape at him in shock.

"We can't explain it Colonel. When he was rushed into surgery, his wounds were already healing. For all intents and purposes, he's asleep. Admittedly a really deep sleep, but just that."

Sam gasped, her mouth hanging open. Stunned couldn't sum up just what she was feeling right then.

"How...? Why?" she floundered at a loss to comprehend what she was hearing. "Did Mike...em...Maldek use the healing device already?"

"Actually, no. We were hoping you could shed some light as to why or how this was possible!" he sighed, gesturing to the sleeping General.

"Me?" she squeaked flabbergasted, her voice almost an octave higher than normal. "I...I don't..." she began helplessly, throwing her arms into the air with frustration.

"Dr. Lam told me that Jack recently touched some alien artefact that was in your lab," he accused, watching her closely for her reaction.

Sam slumped, dropping her head into her hands, elbows resting on the edge of the hard surface of the table. She groaned from the recollection.

"He did," she admitted. "I...We didn't know what it was. Daniel and I had gone over it time and again, but it didn't do anything. At least, not until Jack...General O'Neill touched it. It lit up and a beam of light seemed to, well, scan him from top to toe, but he was okay. We brought him to the infirmary to see Dr. Lam and she ran several tests on him. He was fine. He said he felt okay; that there was nothing wrong with him. I didn't think anything more of it."

"Do you think that this 'ability' to heal himself could be as a result of what happened back then?"

Sam shrugged. She didn't know any more than he did. It was purely speculation on their part.

"I really don't know sir," she sighed. "I guess it could be, though I've not heard of anything that could do that. But, then again we get to see a lot of strange things here sir...so anything's possible."

"But it could be that device?"

"Yes sir. I suppose it must have been."

She remembered Jack fingering the device. If it was Ancient in origin as Daniel had believed, then Jack possessing the Ancient gene, could have triggered something inside of it. Perhaps it was some sort of personal protection device and he had activated it without knowing it. If it was, then she could only be forever grateful to it for keeping Jack alive, and healing him.

She wanted nothing more to go down there and hug the stuffing out of him, but this wasn't the time nor the place for such an open display of emotions.

"Do you think this device would work for everyone who has the Ancient marker or was it just a one off incident?"

General Landry's question dragged her back to the here and now.

"I'm sorry sir...I don't really know General. It could be either, and until we test it on others with the same genetic marker, we won't be able to tell sir."

"I wonder if Jack realises just how damn lucky he was today?" Landry mused softly.

Sam knew he was incredibly lucky, especially if he hadn't fiddled with that alien technological gadget.

"Sir...where is Mike?"

"He's down in your lab examining that device," Landry informed her as if was a normal everyday occurrence. "I wanted to know if it worked on him too. Being an O'Neill, I thought he might possess the Ancient gene as well."

Dread filled her mind at the thought that someone might decide to test it to it's full potential by shooting Mike just to prove it was exactly what they believed it was. A personal shield.

"Sir...?" she cried out in consternation, worried about her friend, despite knowing his symbiote could heal him. But then, Maldek was most likely tired from having just healed Mike from a bullet wound and the effects from the CS gas.

Landry held his hand up to stop her from worrying.

"Don't worry Colonel. Nobody is going to shoot Mike. He's just trying to recreate Jack's actions. He should be reporting any..."

Landry's words were interrupted by the appearance of Mike at that particular moment. The Tok'ra entered with a broad grin at seeing Sam sitting there.

"Sam," he greeted her, and nodded to Landry. "General."

Landry smiled, looking up at the Tok'ra expectantly.

"And? So?" he asked, his eyebrows raised in question.

"It didn't work for me General. I guess it only works for one person. Well, either that or I don't possess the Ancient's gene. I always knew Jack was different. Sort of special...and he is. I just never realised how special," Mike sighed.

Landry had explained to him about Jack's sacrifice in saving Earth from Anubis; from his part in using the Ancient's weapon, to being frozen for months until Thor showed up to help restore him to health again. Then came Jack's promotion, which Mike thought was well deserved after that. He was so proud of his older brother.

Sam had been thinking over Mike's words, coming to her own conclusion.

"Sir. Perhaps the device only works once. Supposing that when the General activated it, he drained it's power? We have no way of knowing if it's still working or not, so maybe that's why it didn't work for you Mike," she explained. "Sir, the only way to know for sure is to get the General to try it again."

"You want to shoot him again?" Landry gasped in total surprise.

"No sir!" Sam was quick to refute that idea. "Just the activation part sir," she added hastily, breaking out into a grin when she spotted the smirk on Landry's lips. She sighed in relief when she realised she'd fallen for his ploy to lighten the mood. She shook her head in disbelief at just how easy she was. Jack would no doubt find it funny. He was always telling her to lighten up, saying she was far too serious on occasions.

"You okay now Sam?" Mike asked solicitously.

"I'm fine Mike," she replied with a fond smile. "Better now I know everyone else is okay," she sighed, looking back through the window at Jack's restful form.

Mike placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. He liked Sam and knew that Jack had loved her for a long, long time. His free hand went to his pocket where a little velvet box sat nestled in the folds of the BDU's he'd had to borrow while his Tok'ra outfit was being cleaned.

The doctor had found it in Jack's pocket when he'd been stripped of his contaminated and blood stained uniform. Knowing that Mike was Jack's relative, he had passed the precious item on to him for safe keeping. He would return it to its rightful owner just as soon as the said officer had woken up from his healing sleep.

Sam was torn between going downstairs to sit with Jack or returning to her team-mates to tell them that Jack was okay, but Landry had already anticipated her dilemma.

"Colonel, why don't you go sit with him for a while, I'm sure Mike is more than capable of telling Dr. Jackson and Teal'c the good news."

Sam nodded, already rising from her seat.

Mike leaned in and brushed a sweet brotherly kiss over her brow, smiling knowingly before leaving the room.

Sam wondered what that was all about, but was by no means annoyed by the tender gesture. Mike was already like one of her extended family that was part of the SGC. She thanked the General and made her way down to the ISO room where Jack lay.

Pulling a seat up to the bedside, she sat down, her gaze fixed onto the warm, pink features. Jack's relaxed expression was like a soothing balm to her previously frazzled nerves and she felt herself relax even further. Looking back up towards where she had been only moments before, she noted that the little room was now empty. Landry had left alone with Jack.

Taking hold of his hand, she held it between both of hers to caress it gently, then brought it to her lips to sweep a light kiss over his knuckles. The close contact with him once more; knowing he was fine, was the trigger that released the pent up emotions inside of her. Fat tears of relief and happiness trickled quickly down her cheeks, but she didn't care if anyone saw them.

Jack, her sole reason to live, and keeper of her heart and soul, was back amongst the living once more.

TBC