Hey! Sorry, it took forever. Life got in the way. Anyhow, it is finally here.
Enjoy!
M
Chapter XLIV
February 24th, 2005
Underground Sanctuary
Nikola growled the moment he raised his eyes enough to catch a glimpse of Will entering his lab.
"Has she sent you to check up on me, protégé?" Tesla hissed.
"That bad, huh?" Will shook his head, knowing that the protégé was coming from Nikola's undealt feelings about seeing his daughter left for death strapped to a torture table.
Will sighed; he had to start somewhere. He knew for sure Helen, Ashley, and Tesla weren't sleeping, and all three of them were making a great deal of effort to hide from him. But where Helen and Ashley had plenty of excuses to walk away from him, Tesla was simply hiding from everyone in his lab and being twice as awful to people who tried to talk to him.
"I have no idea what you are talking about, lover boy," Tesla added pretending not to know what William was doing in his lab, 24hs after rescuing his daughter from torture hell.
"Look, Tesla," Will started finding a place to sit. "You can call me any names you can come up with, but that won't take away the fact that you are not dealing with it and that you are calling me names as a way to protect yourself."
"I'm doing no such thing," Nikola said and squinted his eyes.
"Sure. You know as well as I do that, we are way past name-calling. And believe it or not, I do have a position in the Sanctuary as a psychiatrist for a reason."
"The last time I checked you were a forensic psychiatrist, and as much as you would love to, I am not dead," Nikola deadpanned.
"And you well know that forensic is a specialization for psychiatry," Will rolled his eyes. "And no, I don't want you dead. Yes, you can be annoying as hell. But I believe you are hurting, and that's why you are trying to 'hurt' me too."
"Did she send you?" Tesla tried again.
"No."
"Then why exactly are you here?"
"It is my job to check the mental state of everyone in this Sanctuary."
"And pray tell how exactly that worked out with Helen?" Nikola asked.
"Well, if you weren't hiding in your lab; you would know she is dealing with it as best as she can."
"Overworking, duh," Nikola rolled his eyes. Then, unable to get away from Will's knowing eyes, something shifted in Tesla's demeanor. "Is she awake yet?"
"She wasn't when I came here. You should go visit her," Will pointed.
"What for? She isn't awake."
"Because deep inside, it is what you want, Tesla. She is your daughter, and despite how cold and detached you want to pretend to be, you love her more than you are willing to admit, even to yourself."
"I," Nikola tried but ended up clenching his jaw tightly.
"Well, I tried," Will said, standing and walking towards the door. "If you find that you do want to talk, you know where to find me."
"So that you can go and blurt whatever you believe is happening with me out to her?" Nikola asked, stopping Will before he could get out.
"No," Will shook his head. "I am a Doctor, Nikola. Whatever you tell me under Doctor-Patient confidentiality is for us to know. Just like whatever Helen tells me, or I say to her under Doctor-Patient confidentiality remains confidential," Will affirmed. Nikola eyed him for a while, and with a nod, William turned around to leave the room.
"It is good to know that, Dr. Zimmerman," Tesla said. Will nodded once just to acknowledge he had heard him and then he left.
He walked around to find his next target. Ashley was by far one of the most elusive people he knew, but she was at least easier than her mother. He stopped by the infirmary and taking advantage of the glass walls he was able to notice the empty bed and Helen standing inside the room. He knocked once.
"Is everything alright?" Will asked, gaining Helen's attention.
"Yes, dear. Samantha is just getting changed," the relieved smile on Helen's face told Will she was still in Doctor mode and wouldn't start to process the events until SG-1 and all the external guests were out of the door, and she was safely tucked inside of a place of comfort.
"I'll see you later?" Will asked hopefully, and he couldn't help but smooth an inexistent strand of hair behind her ear.
Magnus was tired, and he knew it. Helen wasn't going to let anyone else see that, but he noticed it. She looked at Will and read the worry in his face. She chewed her lower lip and nodded once, seconds before Sam walked out of the adjoining bathroom, fully dressed in her BDUs.
"Hey, Will!" Sam grinned. "Sorry for the scare; mom said it wasn't a pretty image."
"Yeah, you were pretty beaten up. Don't scare us like that again, okay?"
"I can't promise that, and you know it," Sam added sadly.
"I guess like mother, like daughter, huh? Are you guys heading back?" Will asked, and Sam nodded.
"Yup, we are getting back to the Stargate complex and then to some other planet before we gate back to the SGC. I am ready, mom."
"So, I see. Your friends are heading here. We might need to find Ashley, so the trip to the limits of the Sanctuary doesn't take that long."
"I'll bet Daniel will be thrilled by that," Sam grinned, knowing how Daniel hated being teleported by Ashley.
They heard hurrying steps and assumed they belonged to Daniel and Teal'c. Sam walked out of the room, smiling happily as her friends rushed towards her to check she was in fact, healed. Will and Helen lingered inside the room, giving SG1 time to get reacquainted.
"Helen," Will started.
"Yes?"
"Can you make sure Ashley doesn't go with you?" He asked, and Helen turned to watch him with a worried frown.
"I'm assuming she isn't coping with this?" Helen asked, knowing the answer before Will voiced it.
"No. I guess that is also a form of like mother, like daughter," Will said, smiling softly. Searching for one of her hands, he entwined their fingers and gave her hand a light, reassuring squeeze. "She will be alright, Helen. They both will be. Trust me; I'm more worried about you and Nikola than I am about those two girls."
"Hmm," Helen clenched her jaw several times.
"You trust my judgment in the psychological area, don't you?" He asked, and she raised her eyes to look at him surprised that he doubted something like that.
"Of course," Magnus affirmed.
"Then, trust me," Will smiled. Helen took a deep breath, and then she nodded once.
"I will make sure to send her back once she leaves us by the border," she agreed. "I'll let you know when we leave." Then, she took a step towards him. Will understood before she needed to ask for it, and embraced her, bringing her as close to him as he could. And once her hands had found purchase on his back, he kissed her softly.
"Go." He whispered, taking a step back and freeing her from his embrace.
"Thank you, Will," she smiled before she walked out of the room.
Once Helen announced to him that she was finally departing to the Stargate complex, he tried to search for Ashley, but he couldn't find her. Frustrated with the situation, he walked to his office only to find her there waiting for him.
"Hey! I was about to leave," Ashley grinned. "You are twenty-three minutes late to our allotted time."
"What?" Will frowned.
"It's on Thursday?" Ashley said. "You know? My regularly scheduled shrink visit so I'm sane, and everyone is happy I don't go on weird killing sprees," she grinned.
"Right," he said, checking his watch. "You are right, and I am late. Okay, so what you want to talk about today?"
"You are kidding, right?"
"Huh?"
"You are denser than regularly," she pointed. "I was under the impression you would want me to talk about the more recent events? Like, you know, finding my sister looking like a Picasso and left for dead."
"You want to talk about it?" Will asked in confusion.
"Will, I know this is weird. I know that before you would've had to push this information out of me. But honestly, all I want is to be under control. And I need to get rid of those images before they affect me. I tried to get them out of my mind; it didn't work."
"Okay, start from the beginning then."
"When we crossed over to the other planet, there were dozens of jaffas standing by the gate. Nikola and I killed most of them; mom tried to stun them. Will, I'm worried."
"About what?"
"How much I enjoyed killing them," Ashley whispered. "Does it make me a bad person?"
"You are not a bad person, Ash. You were doing what you needed to do, to protect your mother and bring back your sister."
"But I enjoyed it too much."
"Do you remember every step you did to get to that outcome?" Will asked, and Ashley nodded affirmatively. "Do you want to kill me?"
"No," Ashley said firmly.
"Do you want to kill your mother?"
"No."
"What about Tesla? Do you want to kill him?" She shook her head, no. "Henry? Kate? Erica? Daniel Jackson?" Will continued to offer her names until she was dizzy.
"What's the point of all these names?"
"You are in control, Ashley. Even if you liked killing the Jaffas, you have full control of yourself. You've told me you remember what you did, and I'm pretty sure you would do it again if it would bring the same result. And by the same result, I mean, bringing your mother and sister back from a dangerous situation."
"I guess I am in control," she grinned.
When their time came to an end, he extended it for another half an hour to complete the session, and then he let her go. Turned out that day still had some surprises for him, it was around ten pm when Will was finally ready to close his office and call it a day when there was a knock on his door.
"Come in," he called loudly. Will was sure it would be Helen's head popping inside to see if he had wrapped up his day. He was wrong.
"Doctor Zimmerman," Nikola said, entering the room. "I thought about your offer, and I'm coming to check if it is still available."
"Close the door and take a seat, Tesla. Let me grab a notebook, and I'll be with you."
February 25th, 2005
Underground Sanctuary
It was around 1 in the morning when Helen saw Will make his way in the dark towards the bathroom. She debated about getting out the warm cocoon she had made for herself and joining him or remaining there until he joined her. However, when she was about to move, she saw him step inside the room.
"What happened? Where were you?" Helen asked as Will slid into bed and embraced her tightly.
"I had a last-minute patient," Will said, rubbing his nose against her neck, making her giggle with the ticklish sensation.
"Should I be worried?"
"No."
"Did you find Ashley?"
"She found me actually," he said, and she turned around to see him.
"She did?"
"Yes. It turns out Ashley wasn't hiding like Nikola. She was keeping herself busy until our appointment."
"Huh, I know you can't tell me much about it. But will Ashley be okay?"
"Yes. All I can tell you is that Ash is invested in being herself; even if that means talking to me or any other shrink for the rest of her life. She is a good kid, Helen."
"I know," she smiled. Helen closed her eyes as Will placed a strand of hair behind her ear.
"What about you?" he whispered. Magnus hummed.
"I will be okay," she let out.
"Want to talk about it?" Will pressed, knowing it was the only way she would relent. Magnus shook her head no, and he chuckled.
"I haven't killed so many people in a long time, William."
"Killed?" he frowned. Both Nikola and Ashley had mentioned Helen stunning the jaffas.
"Yes. Oh, they mentioned I stunned them?" Helen asked and quickly waved her hand. "You don't need to answer that. The thing is, I didn't set my gun on stun. So, they might have looked like they were stunned, but they were dead."
"How do you feel about that?" He asked. She considered the question for a bit.
"I'm not sure yet. It's not like I hadn't killed before, as Nikola pointed out before he went to the other planet. We crossed that bridge a long time ago."
"What about finding Sam? I saw the footage, Helen. You got her image from Nikola and Jack's goggles."
"Yes," she inhaled. "For the briefest of the seconds, I thought we were too late. But before despair and fear could get a hold of my thoughts, I saw something in the footage. When they found her, there was an open wound three or four fingers long going up from her wrist towards her elbow. As we were rushing to them, and just before they turned the footage off, I saw the blood stopped dripping, and the cut was smaller. Once I finally reached her side, there was no wound."
"You knew she was alive."
"Yes and no. We don't know for sure if Samantha is more like Nikola or more like me on the how hard she is to kill aspect. I wasn't sure if the healing was a sign of her being alive or simply the remnants of energy her dying cells had."
"I see."
"Yes, well, it was one of those things I wouldn't want to repeat. And you know what is worse? I could place myself in the General's shoes so easily that it scared me. Especially when I knew my daughter was alive, but I was still seeing him mourning her."
"I'm not sure I'm following you," Will trailed. She kissed him softly.
"For a second or two before I could tell him she was alive, I could relate to him. Because I knew that what he was feeling would be exactly what I will feel when you are gone," she managed to say. "It was so confusing. For a moment I thought I lost my daughter and then when I wasn't, I was thinking of losing you."
"I'm not gone yet."
"Oh, but you will be, someday."
And for the first time since they were together, William thought about finding a way to prolong his own life, so she wouldn't have to lose him.
March 3rd, 2005
SGC
Jack eyed the red phone for the thousandth time since the events that lead him to ask the Sanctuary for help. The General was dealing with the whole thing as he usually did, and he was sure he was going to manage to overcome it at some point.
But he still had the image of non-breathing Sam burned in his brain.
He still rushed to her lab on several occasions only to check she was there and well, and yes, he had managed to sabotage SG-1's schedule to keep them grounded that week.
Jack also knew he wouldn't be able to keep holding them forever. He was apprehensive before, watching SG-1 go without him, but now, Jack dreaded the idea that his Sam could end up severely injured again, or that Daniel could die again and there wouldn't be anything he could do to prevent it. He wouldn't be there, and would never know how it happened. Not that he wouldn't manage to create several versions of what happened to torture himself as he was currently doing with Sam's image.
There was a knock on his door, and he tried to keep his face blank as he called out "Enter."
"Sir," Walter said, noticing there was something off with his General. "Colonel Carter just finished the last evaluation of the gate. You ordered me to let you know when that happened?"
Jack clenched his jaw at the mention of Carter and gate in the same sentence and nodded curtly.
"Thanks, Walter. I'm sure I will get a detailed report from the Colonel."
"Yes, sir. Would you want me to call Colonel's Reynolds and Carter to your office?" Walter asked, and Jack frowned. "To start sorting the schedule?"
"Ah, yes. Please," Jack said and then looked at the damned red phone again. "Call them both in an hour. That's all?"
"Yes, sir."
"Dismissed."
Jack waited for the door to close, counted to ten, and then, he looked at the red phone once more.
"Just do it," he muttered and picked it up. He pressed nine and waited for a few seconds until the line connected and then he said the name.
March 3rd, 2005
Underground Sanctuary
At the Sanctuary, rarities and oddities presented themselves daily mixed up with the regular weird environment, but when his phone rang, Will jumped up scared. Since he had "died," his phone had never ever rung before. He thought it didn't work, and it was just one of those things Helen kept around to remind them all of a previous life.
"Zimmerman?" Will answered. He frowned, it probably was Tesla pranking him.
"Doctor Zimmerman?"
"General O'Neill?" He asked, surprised, the sigh on the other end of the line wasn't what he expected. "They couldn't transfer you to Helen?"
"I asked to speak with you," Jack affirmed.
"Oh?" was all that Will managed to say. On the other side, Jack cleared his throat uncomfortably.
"This might have been a mistake," O'Neill said. "But I guess I already called so I might as well ask, right?"
"I don't know where Samantha is, but maybe Helen or Ashley can help you with that?" Will offered.
"She's here. Not here here, but here on the base somewhere. Her lab probably."
"Oh, okay. Then I'm completely lost," Will chuckled. "To what do I owe your call, General?"
"Well, if I recall correctly you were introduced as a psychiatrist, right?"
"Yeah, a forensic psychiatrist. But it's been ages since I've done the forensic part."
"But you still do the psychiatrist part?" Jack asked, and things started to clear up for Will.
"Yes. That's my main title here. However, all I can tell you is that Samantha is speaking with Helen about the last events, Helen is not a shrink as Ashley likes to call me, but she is very good at dealing with these kinds of situations."
"Oh, she is?"
"I believe so. Mother-daughter confidentiality, you know?"
"Good. Actually, I was calling for myself," Jack said, and there were a few seconds of silence. "I can't go to my usual shrink, he is a military one, but I can't exactly go and tell him about something that didn't happen."
"Ah, General, how many years have you been in therapy?"
"Sporadically through the years, depending on events and orders."
"Well, if that translates as you had to be ordered to go to your sessions, then General. I'm honored. However, I'm quite sure you don't really need a psychiatrist, but you probably do need a friend that is not related to the military, knows about this last episode and won't push you or judge you about your feelings."
"I might just need a shrink," Jack huffed.
"Well, we can try. You can decide when we meet if you need a shrink or a friend. When are you free, General?"
"I should be out of here in three hours."
"Your house?"
"Sure. Hum, Doc, one thing? "
"Yes? "
"Please don't mention this to anyone."
"Will do. See you in four hours at your house."
March 3rd, 2005
SGC
The scheduling meeting had lasted two hours already. Due to the number of folders Carter and Reynolds brought along, they had to move the meeting to the briefing room. Now, every ten or so minutes, there was a wormhole engaging in the background. Reynolds and Carter had come to him with two boxes of data, and now they needed to sort which planets would be the ones the different teams where going to go to and which ones they could postpone to the following weeks.
Sam had come up with the idea of re-dialing the planets that they had found interesting and sending probes to analyze them further. Of course, the spotting of some weird writings in a couple of worlds also brought Daniel to the table.
"Jack?" Daniel called, noticing that for the umpteenth time, Jack was distracted checking his watch.
"Yes, Daniel?"
"Is there something wrong?" the archeologist asked, looking at the General expectantly.
"No?" Jack answered, moving his wrist once more to check the time.
"You need to be somewhere else?" Daniel attempted again.
"Daniel, what are you implying?" the General asked, looking at the trio with a confused expression on his face and noticed that all three of them held equally worried expressions.
"I've been here for the past forty-five minutes, and you have checked your watch non-stop ever since. I know you are not a fan of my monologues and you'd rather listen to Sam techno-babble you to death than listening to me talking 'bout rocks. But this watch-checking is way over what you normally do. Unless, of course, you have somewhere to be," Daniel finished with a last push of his glasses.
"Actually," Jack started and checked his watch one last time. "Yes. I need to be somewhere else, why don't the three of you check all the planets. I'm pretty sure Carter, and you can come up to an agreement on which ones are the most urgent. And Reynolds, you can help with sorting the teams and of course, being a referee between those two and their scientific arguments. Do we all agree?"
"Yes, sir," both Colonels said, Daniel just nodded still too confused with Jack's answer.
"But Jack," he managed to say as the General stood up.
"Yes, Daniel?"
"Hum. Nope, I can't think of anything."
"If y'all need me, you guys know my cellphone number," he said, leaving them all perplexed.
Jack walked towards his office, and after closing some folders, he strolled out of the office and went to the changing rooms. He wasn't surprised when Daniel entered the room.
"If there were something wrong, you would tell me, right?" Daniel asked, eyeing Jack. "You wouldn't, of course. Is everything alright, Jack?"
"Yes, Daniel."
"So, this thing you have is not something we should worry about?"
"Nope," Jack said as calmly as he could. He didn't want to outright lie to Daniel, but he would rather not discuss with him how his fears were interfering with their work.
"Okay. I'll let it go, for now."
"That's all I need, Daniel. Now, I need to go."
Once again, he walked away, leaving Daniel confused. But Jack knew Daniel and was sure his friend was going to wait until he was ready to share.
Forty-five minutes later, O'Neill parked his truck in his driveway. There was an unmarked SUV outside, so he thought the Doctor would be inside, but when Jack opened his door, he noticed his house was empty. Entering, O'Neill kicked his door closed and walked towards the kitchen. The moment he grabbed a couple of beers out of his fridge, the doorbell rang. He closed the refrigerator, securing two bottles in his hand and walked to the door.
"Dr. Zimmerman," Jack said, opening the door.
"General O'Neill."
"Beer?" Jack offered, showing the bottles in his hands.
"Sure," Will picked one and followed Jack to the living room.
"Huh, for a minute I thought you would be a wine-guy."
"That would be Nikola. I'm more a coffee-guy, but I don't mind a beer or two," Will shrugged looking around unable to stop himself from getting to different conclusions with the information displayed in his living room.
"So, how do you want to do this, Doctor?" Jack asked, making himself comfortable.
"How about you stop calling me Doctor and start calling me Will?"
"How you do want to do this, Will."
"This will be fun," Will muttered to himself. "Can I call you, Jack?" the General nodded once. "Ok, so, how about you tell me what is bothering you? I guess that's a starting point."
"I'm not sure I can do it," Jack confessed after a couple of minutes of silence. Will took another sip of his beer.
"Would you be more comfortable sharing it if you called me Doctor?" Will asked, knowing the answer. So, when Jack shook his head no, he wasn't surprised. "Want me to give it a try?"
"Sure."
"You are in love with Sam. You saw her 'dead body,' and then, Helen told you she was alive. However, until she woke up and you saw her looking at you, you didn't believe Helen's words. Now, she is about to go on another mission, and that's triggering your superman complex."
"I don't have a superman complex," Jack defended himself, making Will chuckle.
"Sure, you don't. Aren't you pondering the events that could occur if you let them go without you again?" Will asked seriously. Jack squinted at him.
"Kinda," Jack answered.
"Then, you are feeling responsible for their wellbeing. And your position might suggest you are, but you aren't, Jack."
"They are under my command."
"Yes, but as far as I know, that only means you get to tell them where they go, and the general aspect of what is expected of them on a mission. Now, what happens out there is out of your control. You aren't responsible for their actions, Jack. The only thing you can do is trust they are good at doing what they were trained to do," Will said, and by O'Neill's reactions, he knew he was touching a chord.
"You don't understand. She," Jack sighed. "She wasn't breathing." Will gulped his beer and lowered the bottle on the coffee table.
"I believe you called me because I would understand better than anyone else, Jack. And you might be right, I mean, I've seen her whole family not breathing, including Helen. That's why I said you didn't need a shrink."
"So, what? Should I just sit and think about it until I don't think about it anymore?"
"Well, I'll say that what makes this difficult is that you can't actually tell her how you feel," Will went silent for a while. "Do you trust her?"
"Absolutely."
"Then, as a friend who has been there before can advise you to tell her it scared the shit out of you. But reassure her that you trust in her judgment."
"It is not you. It's me?" Jack chuckled.
"Well, it is the truth. Isn't it?" They both took another sip of their beers. "So, why didn't you talk to your friends? I noticed they both know about your feelings."
"They are not shrinks'?" Jack shrugged.
"Hmm, they won't judge you. Not as you think, at least. They probably would wonder why you don't trust them enough to protect her. But at the same time, they will understand it has to do with the last event. They can't argue with it." Will pointed.
"I guess my subconscious mind is way smarter than I am," Jack muttered.
"You can fool some people into believing you are not smart, Jack. You haven't fooled your friends, me or Helen."
"Sure, the Doctor thinks highly of me, William" Jack rolled his eyes as he stood up. Will frowned and understood that Jack had called him not only because he had seen death sleeps happening before, but because he knew Helen. And for some reason, the big bad General was worried about what Magnus thought of him.
"She calls me William when she is mad at me, or when I point out a truth," Will chuckled. "Helen respects you and your judgment."
"Yeah, sending her daughter to be almost killed should be on the top of her smart moves list." He took a sip of his beer only to find it empty. "More beer?" Will eyed him, then his bottle and nodded once. But as Jack walked away, he followed.
"Helen sends her daughter to dangerous situations every other day. Trust me; she respects you and your decisions. The fact that you called her when you knew it was beyond anything you could've done, placed you higher in her respect list. Your last call saved lives, Jack."
Jack watched the Doctor for a while; then he turned around and opening his fridge took out another couple of beers and passed one to Will.
March 4th, 2005
Underground Sanctuary
The old pendulum clock at the Office level chimed midnight as Will walked through the corridor towards Helen's office. Surprisingly, the light was off, and the office was empty. Closing the door behind him, Will walked to their room still feeling a bit guilty for what he had done.
Reaching their room, he opened the door and smiled. The seating area containing Helen's favorite books was illuminated by the light glow of the fire burning warmly in the fireplace, along with the soft light of her reading lamp. Helen was comfortably snuggled on a chaise-longue reading a book; she looked up as he entered and smiled softly at him.
"There you are," Helen whispered, marking her book before closing it as he strolled towards her.
"Hi," Will kissed her.
"Beer?" She chuckled as she tasted her lips after the kiss. "Where were you? I searched for you at your office, and you weren't there. Or in any place, I would usually find you." She finished untangling her legs from under herself and moving a bit to give him space to sit beside her.
"Were you worried about me?" Will wriggled his eyebrows before he took the offered place. Magnus placed her book on the side table and cuddled up to him.
"Always, but you are not answering my question," She sighed once she was comfortably seated between his arms.
"Would you be mad if I told you I was topside?"
"Topside? Why?" She frowned.
"I was having a drink with a friend," Will shrugged. Technically, he wasn't lying.
"That explains the beer," Helen grinned. "Now, what I would love to know is how your friend reacted after seeing a ghost? You've been dead for a while now," she joked.
"It's a somewhat new friend."
"Ah, I see. Well, I'm glad the General decided to call you. Should I be worried?" She asked, sitting up to watch him.
"No, nothing to worry there. Wait, how do you know it was the General who called me?" Will asked in confusion.
"I didn't. You just confirmed it," Magnus smirked, and Will frowned. "You are adorable when you are confused, Doctor Zimmerman," Helen chuckled. "Seeing someone in a death sleep tends to frighten people. The General is the only one who has the means to contact you directly, and there are just a handful of people you wouldn't tell me you contacted, or that they contacted you. It's rather easy to guess who your friend is," she grinned.
"Is there anything that you don't know?" Will squinted.
"Yes, many things. But I am a fast learner."
"That you are," he grinned. "What?" Will squinted looking at the glint in her eyes.
"Well, I'm glad he called."
"You knew he would call?" Will asked in dismay.
"No, but I was hoping he would. There aren't many people the General could go to and talk about what he experienced, Will. To be honest, I was more afraid he would try to fix himself alone. You are exactly the type of friend he needs right now."
"So, you know me pretty damn well, huh?" Will wriggled his eyebrows.
"You are a nutcase, William, and I love you," she pecked his lips once, "Come one, let's go to bed." For some reason, he froze. Helen looked at him and found a hint of guiltiness. "William, what did you do?"
"I," he sighed.
"What?"
"I might have used one of the many things at my disposal to help him come to terms with something."
"That's such a medical explanation," she rolled her eyes. "What did you do?"
"Remember that compound you isolated from that abnormal species of starfish?"
"Yes, the one that produces very realistic dreams. Oh, dear Lord, you used it on him?"
"Yes?" Will said, lowering his eyes. "It was a spur of the moment thing; I don't even know why I took it with me." She sighed
"Oh, well. What's done it is done, let's hope it helps." And standing up, she offered him her hand. "Come, we can't do anything about it anymore."
"You are not mad at me?" Will frowned.
There was no anti-compound, and it wasn't harmful. It only produced very realistic dreams, delightful dreams as they were always about desires and never about fears. Helen chewed her lower lip; the only option was to allow the General to sleep it off, and there was nothing she or Will could do about it, she took a deep breath.
"You have been a bad boy, Doctor Zimmerman," Helen grinned mischievously. "Maybe you need some punishment."
"Oh, I can hardly wait for it, Doctor Magnus," Will whispered, shuddering at the low and sexy tone she used. "Wait, aren't you forgetting to put out the fire?" He asked, looking at the fireplace. She raised her eyebrow, amused.
"I never do," she smirked and tugging his hand brought him close to her and kissed him senseless.
March 4th, 2005
Jack O'Neill's House
Jack opened his eyes slowly, his bed was oddly warm, and then they widened in surprise. There in his bed, by his side, was the one and only Samantha Carter, soundly asleep.
Jack took the chance to observe her sleep as he had many times off-world. Her blonde hair spiked in different directions, and the slow way in which her eyes moved under closed lids indicated she was dreaming. He lowered his eyes to parted lips that let her warm breath out and noticed her hand comfortably placed below her cheek.
There was something weird about her, and this Sam wasn't wearing the black military issued long sleeves she always wore when they shared tents. Not that he minded those, they covered her skin, but they were tight enough that seemed painted over her. Nope, this Sam's arms were uncovered, and as he lowered his eyes a bit lower, he saw more and more skin, until he reached his sheets.
"What the hell? What did he do to me?" Jack thought.
The last thing he remembered before he went to bed was closing his front door on Doctor William Zimmerman's back as he left his house. Then, turning all his lights off and dragging himself to bed, he felt utterly tired. He blamed it to the weight of the conversation and the three beers he had had as an excuse that would allow him to speak about his feelings to the previously almost stranger. He shook his head, to get back to the woman sleeping beside him.
"What the hell," he stretched his hand to touch her. He convinced himself that it had to be some dream and that by trying to reach her, he would go through her as if she was a ghost. But she blinked and opened her eyes slowly as his hand found the warmth of her skin.
"Jack?" she asked in that raspy voice he found oh so sexy. "Jack, what's going on?" Sam asked. She sat on the bed and looked at the bewildered Jack. He was grabbing the wrist of the hand that had just touched her as if it had burned him. "Jack, honey?"
"Carter? What are you doing here? How did you get here?" He blurted.
"Carter?" She giggled. "It's been a while since you called me that," she grinned mischievously, "sir." He flinched.
Sam crooked her head, and moved forward, trying to touch him. Surprisingly, he attempted to escape her touch. Only to stop moving when she let go of the sheet, and he noticed she wasn't wearing anything at all.
"Ca... Carter," he blushed. And then, her hand touched his forehead and Jonathan Jack O'Neill, USAF Brigadier General, melted under her touch.
"You aren't running a fever. Should I call my mom so she can check you?"
"Your mom?"
"Yeah," Sam frowned. "You know, your Doctor? Are you feeling alright?"
"Yes!" Then he made the mistake of looking at her. "No?"
"What's wrong, honey?"
"What's wrong? You are calling me honey! You are naked! Naked in my bed! And somehow, your mom knows about this thing I don't really understand? Carter, what's wrong with you?" He shouted, and she sat back on her knees.
"Jack, what's the last thing you remember?"
"William was here, and we were talking about," he trailed looking down, "you know, finding you dead on that backwater planet. And then he left, and I went to bed. And here we are now." Sam inhaled deeply; her expression changed to one of understanding.
"I've said to you that you shouldn't have agreed with dad. I've said: 'Jack, why don't you let mom take a look at this drug before you take it?' But, no; your strong-headed you agreed with dad and Selmak. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop since this morning. Thank God, I asked mom to take the kids underground with her."
"The kids?"
"That's it. I'm calling mom."
It took him a couple of hours to understand what was going on. Turned out Sam, his wife was right. Jack had agreed with Jacob Carter and Selmak to test a drug the Tok'ra had created. As a result, he had forgotten all about the past couple of years. Sam had shown him the recordings of their wedding, and the birth of their two kids. Holly Hannah! He and Sam had two kids!
Once, Helen had checked him and the drug, the good old Doc had decided the memory loss was temporary, she allowed him to see his kids. He marveled at how much little Taylor looked like him despite the bright blue eyes that were all Sam's. And how baby Parker looked exactly how he thought Sam would look like as a baby, complete with blonde hair sticking in odd places.
Everything was terrific and utterly odd. Jack could tell what was going on, but he couldn't recall how they had reached from their home to the Sanctuary. Or how he had moved from the infirmary to the yard and then back home. And it was even odder; he had found himself seated on his bed after blinking once, knowingly waiting for his wife to appear.
"What?" Sam asked as she entered their room. He still had that adorably confused expression he had been carrying the whole day.
"I can't believe we made it," he confessed. Sam walked to him and straddled him.
"We made it, Jack. You are my husband, we have two kids, and who knows? Maybe if you behave today, we might get another one," she wriggled her eyebrows. He was doomed.
Jack felt her warm, full lips over his and pressed her hard against his body. He relished in the feeling of Samantha Carter all over him, kissing him as he always wanted. Somehow, they had found a way to get rid of their clothes without moving. He couldn't care less about rationalizing how it had happened because he was becoming one with her.
"I love you," he whispered, and she smiled against his lips as they moved slowly and then found their rhythm. "I love you," he repeated over and over again until he felt her collapse in the throes of ecstasy, bringing him along with her. Still half panting, half asleep, he turned them around and brought her close, cuddling as if his life depended on it and then, finally, he fell asleep.
When he opened his eyes a couple of hours later, she was gone. His bed was cold as it was supposed to be, and there were no pictures of him, her or their kids scattered through the room. He groaned.
As Jack started his day, he decided he needed to talk with his new ex-friend about using drugs on him without his consent, no matter how pleasant the dreams it had produced were. Or maybe thank him, because try as he might, Jack couldn't stop the silly grin that took over his face every time he thought about Samantha Carter and how William had, in one single session, managed to make him forget the pain attached to her name since he had found her on that planet.
When he reached the SGC, he walked straight to her lab. The need to see the real Sam Carter was too strong by then. He smiled, somethings never changed, like the concentrated look she had as she was fiddling with some alien device.
"Sir?" Sam asked, turning around as she felt his eyes over her.
"Carter," he grinned.
"Sir, you look happy today. Your hot date was good, I'll take?" she offered with a smile.
"You've got no idea," he grinned. Somehow, he managed to remember that leering at Sam wasn't exactly part of his job description. "Carter, have you managed to come up with a schedule?"
"Yes, sir. We left it at your desk."
"Good, thanks. Uhm, I got to go."
"Sir? Everything okay?"
"Yup, perfect. Thanks. See you around, Carter."
As he walked away, Sam giggled. There was something very odd about his behavior that day, and yet, she couldn't complain about it, not after the way he had looked at her as if she was the most precious thing in the world.