"Mens Mentis"
AN: I know, I'm slacking again, but I've just gotten a job and any free time I have is basically gone. Hopefully this long chapter will make up for the the huge gap between updates. This one may get a little confusing towards the end, but I hope you enjoy it.
Non Sam/Jack shippers may want to close their eyes through a lot of this.
Spoilers: Paradise Lost, 100 days, Window of Opportunity, some previous spoilers apply
-Chapter 10-
Airmen ran to the sides of the hallway as the facilities' general barreled towards the infirmary. He sped into the room and was rather surprised to see Daniel Jackson standing in the middle of the room next to Teal'c.
"Dr. Jackson, you're alright?" He looked around the room in confusion. "Is Major Carter alright?"
Daniel looked to Teal'c for a moment before replying, "We're both fine."
"I don't understand; why was I called for a medical emergency?"
Daniel looked to Teal'c for help. He didn't want his head ripped off.
"Colonel O'Neill activated the device."
Daniel winced. The Jaffa had no subtlety.
Hammond's face was filled with disbelief. "I'm sorry Teal'c; I must have heard you wrong, because as foolish as the Colonel can be at times, he couldn't be stupid enough to do that."
"I assure you, General Hammond," Teal'c replied. "Colonel O'Neill did indeed activate the device and has succumbed to its effects in an endeavor to help Daniel Jackson and Major Carter."
Daniel took an instinctive step away from the General, but was quick to explain. "Dr. Lee was certain that he couldn't reverse the effects unless he first saw and recorded how the device works."
"So, he decided to go right ahead and get infected too!"
"I wouldn't exactly call it 'getting infected'…" Daniel replied meekly.
"Dr. Jackson! My patience is running very thin with the pair of you!" Hammond's voice raised a couple of volumes.
"Well, the Colonel's symptoms are congruous with Dr. Jackson and Major Carter's symptoms when they first returned from the planet." Janet spoke, appearing amongst the group.
Saved by the doctor.
"He's in a deep sleep." Janet continued.
"Then he will remain unconscious for some time." Teal'c concluded.
"Have you heard anything from SG-13?" Janet asked of the General.
"They just got back. They found no sign that the Tok'ra had even been there, and the Asgard still haven't returned our attempts at communication. It looks like it's going to be up to us to figure this one out." Hammond sighed. "Let me know when Colonel O'Neill wakes, I want to speak to him."
Sam walked along the path, soaking in the warm sun and balmy breeze. The park was completely silent; not another person in sight. There was no movement in the houses that surrounded the park, and no cars in sight. Sam was truly alone, and that was how she wanted it.
Footsteps on the path behind her caught her attention. "What did Dr. Lee say?" She asked, stopping and turning around.
Standing just a few steps away, in a pair of jeans and a grey Air Force shirt, stood Jack. "Nice day for a walk in the park."
"Colonel?"
"Carter, he acknowledged her with a nod. "Nice place you've got going here." He looked around, recognizing the park as one he'd driven by many times on the way to Carter's house. Not that he goes there all the time.
When she didn't reply, Jack turned to face her quisitive face. He shrugged. "I kind of turned the device on."
"What?" Sam looked at him in disbelief. "Are you stupid?"
Jack raised his eyebrows. "Apparently,"
"Why did you do that?"
"Dr. Lee said that he wouldn't be able to do whatever it is he needs to do without recording something to do with activating the device…" Jack frowned thinking over what he'd just said, before nodding in confirmation. "Something like that."
Sam nodded. "That makes sense; I don't know why I didn't think of that. I can't believe that Hammond agreed to it, though."
"Yeah, me either." Jack shrugged, and they fell into an awkward silence.
There were now three gurneys occupying the Isolation Room. Jack and Sam were unconscious in two of them, and perched on the third was Daniel and Teal'c. They sat in a companionable silence, looking back and forth between their inert teammates.
"How about a game of poker?" Daniel suggested.
"Do you think that to be a wise idea, Daniel Jackson?"
Daniel remembered the last time he'd played against Teal'c and the loss of weight in his pockets after. "Right, fish then?"
"My experience of fishing with Colonel O'Neill was most unpleasant. Also, I do not believe that General Hammond will allow you to leave the base at this time."
"No, I meant the card game named 'fish'."
Teal'c thought about this for a moment, "Would mot your ability to read my mind defeat the purpose of the game, Daniel Jackson?"
"Snap then?"
A small smile spread across Teal'cs face. "Indeed."
Jack and Sam sat in silence. Both were sitting on a swing. Jack was making a hole in the dirt with his shoe while Sam stared out at the empty park.
"I've been worried."
Sam turned to look at him, her eyebrows raised. His brown eyes remained focused on the ground. She began to think she'd imagined his words when he stopped digging at the ground and turned to face her.
Jack admitted, "When Daniel woke up and you didn't, I was worried."
"Oh?" She wasn't sure what to say, what was there to say? "I'm sure you would've been just as worried if it were Daniel or Teal'c."
"Right, of course," Jack replied instantly, and returned to digging in the dirt.
Sam watched him for a moment, studying his profile. It was always strange to see him in civvies; she was so used to the standard BDUs. It always reminded her of how easy her CO was on the eyes.
She quickly looked away, embarrassed by the train of her thoughts. Awkward didn't even begin to explain how she felt at that current moment.
It suddenly grew very dark and Sam looked up to the sky to find that it had gone, and in its place stood a ceiling. She looked down to realize she was in the SGC locker room, sitting on the bench in the middle of the room next to Jack.
Jack looked around in shock. What had just happened?
The door opened, and Jack walked into the room wearing full gear, consternation written across his features.
"Whoa!" Jack jumped up from the bench in surprise. His double paid them no attention, walking straight to his locker and throwing his cap rather forcefully into it.
Teal'c entered moments later, and stood stoically behind the frustrated Colonel.
"I don't want to hear it." Jack said, glancing behind himself to see Teal'c. The Jaffa remained silent.
"Good, because I'm not in the mood." He lowered bowed his head for a moment before turning around, the silence getting to him. "Alright, what?"
"I know this!" Jack realized from beside Sam. "This was when you were stuck on Prometheus. We were going to every possible planet that the Prometheus could have stopped at. What exactly is going on?"
But Sam ignored him, intent on seeing the rest of the conversation before her.
"When Colonel Maybourne and yourself were stranded offworld," Teal'c began. "Major Carter felt a similar sense of frustration; she despaired at the thought of never seeing you again."
Sam felt her cheeks redden, and the room grew dark again. Jack and Teal'c disappeared. Sam stood, and she and Jack looked at each other. They were still in the locker room, but the lights were now off.
The sound of the door opening had them turning around again. Perched on the bench was Sam, sitting in the darkness. Appearing in the doorway once more was Teal'c.
"Major Carter?"
"Teal'c, this is the women's locker room."
Jack's heart constricted as he realized that she'd been crying, and probably still was.
"It appears that there is no one else here but you, and you are fully clothed."
"True."
Teal'c walked into the room and sat down beside her as she wiped tears from her cheeks.
"Are you alright, Major Carter?" For once, emotion passed Teal'c's emotionless mask, concern for his friend breaking through.
Sam nodded, barely holding back more tears. "I'm fine, yeah."
"Have you given up hope of finding O'Neill?" Teal'c asked, staring forward.
"Hope? No. I'm just starting to think that Dr. Lee is right. I don't think the doorway's the answer. It's been almost a month, Teal'c, if there was a way back…" The tears were falling freely now. "It's just … it feels like we just lost Daniel, and I don't know if I can…" She let out a sob, and Teal'c reached out to put his arm around her shoulders. Sam turned to him, wrapping her own arms around him.
Jack turned to the Sam standing next to him. "I had no idea…" he whispered.
"It wouldn't be the first time, would it?" Sam said before she'd even realized what she was saying.
"What do you mean by that?" Jack asked cautiously.
The locker room disappeared from around them, and Carter's lab appeared. Sam was sitting in her usual spot at her computer. Janet walked in with a fresh cup of coffee.
"You worked through the night again?"
"Yeah, I have a lot of work to do. Thank you." Sam said, taking the cup of coffee.
"Look, Sam, there's no doubt you're going to solve this, but you have to accept the fact it's going to take time."
"Yeah well, if I think that way it could take months."
Janet sighed. "Daniel says the Tollan could have a ship in the vicinity of Edora some time early next year."
"He shouldn't have to wait that long."
"You miss him." Janet stated.
"Yeah."
"Is this a problem?"
"No," Sam shook her head. "No, of course not."
Jack cringed as realization dawned on him and it became lighter, sunshine beaming down on them as they appeared on Edora.
"So when the third MALP sent back just a few seconds of Telemetry…" Sam was telling Jack, "We knew the 'gate was horizon-"But Jack walked right by her "-tal."
"Is he alright?" Sam asked Daniel.
"He's fine; I just don't think he was expecting to go home again."
Both Sams watched as Jack held a conversation Laira. Sam looked away, feeling that everything she'd worked for in the last months was for nothing.
"Well, I feel like an ass." Jack said quietly as the people around them disappeared. "You should've said something."
"Said what? That I worked for three months with barely any sleep, and you hardly even mumbled a 'thank you'?" Shook her head, "Never mind, it was 4 years ago now, it doesn't matter."
Sam sighed and turned around. "Let's just go back to the park." She walked over and sat down on the swing that reappeared with the park.
Jack stood, staring after her, mentally kicking himself. This was all just confusing the hell out of him.
He walked over and sat down in the swing next to her. To his disappointment, the hole he'd worked so hard on earlier had disappeared.
"Is that why you started dating Pete, because you thought I didn't care anymore?"
Sam froze; she hadn't been expecting her new boyfriend to enter the conversation. She turned to see Jack looking uncertainly at her. A flicker of anger ignited in her. Where was he to go and blame her for finding someone else when there seemed there was no hope left?
"Because I do…" Jack continued before Sam could get a word in. "Care about you that is. As much as I did three years ago.
"Because I care about her… a lot more than I'm supposed to."
Sam's eyes rested on the man who appeared between them in the middle of the park. His form was strapped to a chair and a Tok'ra recall device was attached to his temple.
Jack continued to stare across at Sam. "I haven't said anything since, and I should have. I realize that now. I understand that you've moved on, even though there may not have been anything to move on from. I can't blame you for that."
"Samantha, I'm a figment of your imagination, and you're going to call me 'Sir'?"
Jack turned around to find himself on the Prometheus. A concussed Major Carter was sitting across from himself.
"Sorry, old habit."
"When I was stuck on Prometheus I had hallucinations." Sam explained, stepping up beside him. "You, Daniel, Teal'c, and my father all appeared to me."
"One more thing."
Suddenly, their counterparts were embracing in a brief, but passionate kiss.
Jack couldn't help but smile. So, he wasn't the only one.
"Colonel, what are you doing out of uniform?" General Hammond question the colonel dressed in a bright yellow shirt and black beanie.
"Handing you my resignation." The klaxons were blaring throughout the Control Room.
Sam appeared from under one of the consoles. "Resigning? What for?"
"So I can do this." Jack pulled Sam to him, firmly planting a kiss on her lips.
"Time loop." Jack stated.
Sam looked to Jack. She realized they were now both clad in black clothing. Jack wore a beanie on his head. On the floor near their feet were the discarded, useless armbands. They were completely alone.
Jack reached out with his hand. In mid-air it collided with a force-shield. His hand dropped to his side.
They stared at each other in silence, realization dawning on them. It was when they'd both realized how they truly felt.
There was an explosion behind Sam, deep in the mountain, but neither of them so much as flinched.
The shield between them fell, but still, neither of them moved.
Jack took a hesitant step forward and placed his hand on her forearm.
Sam's heart sped up, her chin rising so her eyes could follow his.
Jack leaned in, ever so slightly, and Sam instinctively stepped closer, closing every millimeter of space left between them.
A/N: Ok, did all that make sense? Please let me know what you think!