Trust Goes Both Ways
By Arrietty
Chapter Two
The first sun had already set and the second one was fast on its way. The sun's rays were not reaching them and it was getting colder. O'Neill had twisted around and was leaning up against the side of the creature, while Sam was propped up against O'Neill. Her movements were sluggish and she was beginning to have trouble breathing. O'Neill had pulled out the emergency blanket and wrapped it around Sam and himself. His radio was impossibly out of reach and Sam's radio was lying smashed beyond repair, beside him.
A gasp came from Sam. "I can't breathe! Sir! Help me, I can't bre…"
Jack immediately laid Sam down and checked her pulse. There was a faint heartbeat. He then tried CPR. Nothing was happening. Though not breathing, Sam was still conscious and she looked up at him with frightened eyes. The marbled yellow colour was beginning to creep up her neck towards her face. Jack couldn't understand why Sam hadn't passed out by now with the lack of oxygen. Each time he looked at her the 'poison' lacking any other word to describe it, had crept up further onto her face. Jack re-checked her pulse; it was getting slower and fainter. Jack looked into her eyes. They were staring blankly up at him.
In disbelief Jack called out, "No! Don't give up now, Sam."
He then checked her pulse again. Nothing. He started to try to get her heart beating again, but there was no response. Nothing. He kept this up for a while. Jack didn't even realise that tears were rolling down his face. He wasn't going to give up. As it began to get darker, he looked one last time into Sam's face and all he saw were the once startling grey/blue eyes, dulled now by death. He carefully closed her eyes. He then fell back against the creature that had caused his distress. He pulled Sam closer across his chest, automatically tucking the blanket around them both. He couldn't control his emotions, as he let his heart spill out. He told Sam all that he felt about her, even though he knew it was too late. The anguish and rage he felt was released by the words that he could never have told her if she was alive. Eventually he drifted into a troubled sleep, occasionally interrupted by a muffled sob.
"Teal'c, do you think they are all right?" asked Daniel.
He and Teal'c were sitting by the DHD underneath the Stargate. Both the suns had set several hours ago. Daniel and Teal'c had been trying to reach Jack and Sam all day. They had noticed that their compasses hadn't been working most of the day, but just before sunset the compasses had started working again. They had decided to wait until morning to start a search for their missing team-mates. Daniel and Teal'c had travelled back to the Stargate early, as they had lost contact with Jack and Sam soon after they had gone their separate ways. The ruins had turned out to be just large deposits of sand, baked hard by the sun. Daniel was confused, as he couldn't work out what they were. Men definitely hadn't made them. The only thing that Daniel could remotely think they could be was spoor from a very large animal, but as they hadn't seen anything that large on this planet yet, he couldn't think what else they could be. He had taken some samples for analysis, so as soon as they got back to the SGC, maybe then he would have a better idea.
As they travelled they had seen a few medium sized creatures that were deer like in body, but their legs were sturdy and had feet like camels. Neither Teal'c nor Daniel could work out what they lived off. They thought there must be an oasis further away from here. As their compasses weren't functioning and their fellow team-mates were missing, they were loath to search for any further signs of life.
Teal'c's reply didn't put Daniel's fears at ease. "No, I do not, DanielJackson. As O'Neill would say, I have a bad feeling."
After a few moments of silence, Daniel said, "I think we should go back to the SGC and get help. Who knows, the compasses may go haywire as soon as the suns come up again tomorrow and we could get lost too."
"I do not agree, DanielJackson. I wish to wait until morning and then we will decide. We will search tomorrow at first light and we will not get lost, as we will not move too far from the Stargate. We will stay in sight of it at all times," Teal'c answered in his distinctive measured tones.
Daniel didn't answer, just nodded quietly to himself in the dark and settled down for the morning to come.
As the first sun rose over the horizon, Teal'c and Daniel helped each other buckle their packs onto their backs. As Teal'c bent to lift his staff weapon off the ground he directed Daniel to go the way Sam and Jack had travelled the previous day. Teal'c went off at a right angle to Daniel.
"DanielJackson, do not forget to stay in sight of the Stargate or I may not find you," Teal'c firmly told Daniel.
"No I won't, Teal'c. Let's see if the radios are working."
When Daniel tried his radio, he found it was working. "Jack, Sam, come in."
Teal'c heard the message on his radio, but there were no answering voices from Jack or Sam. This did not ease the niggling feeling in Teal'c's belly, which had nothing to do with his symbiote. All it managed to do was heighten the feeling that something bad had happened to his two friends.
"We will contact each other every ten minutes by radio," Teal'c called across to Daniel.
They both started to walk off in their respective directions, every so often turning back to check that they could see the Stargate clearly. Soon Teal'c and Daniel had lost sight of each other. Fortunately, the Stargate was up very high, even when they had to go down the dunes, they could still see the apex of the Stargate shining in the sunlight.
Teal'c had been walking for about twenty minutes, when his sharp eyes noticed something reflecting in the sunlight. He was still able to see the Stargate, but not as clearly as he would have liked. He pulled out his binoculars and trained them onto the shiny object; it was very small and was glinting in the sunlight. Teal'c turned around and looking through his binoculars checked out the Stargate. With relief he noticed that he could still see the Stargate large as life and he could carry on a lot further towards his goal. Teal'c quickly radioed Daniel to tell him of his find. By then Daniel had travelled as far as he could go without losing sight of the Stargate. So he started to walk back towards the Stargate, looking to either side of him in the hope of catching any sign of his lost team-mates.
As Teal'c moved closer to the shiny object, he noticed that it was on top of a black boulder shape, no not boulder shape – backpack shape. He quickly scanned the area, but couldn't see any sign of Jack or Sam. He warily moved up to the pack with his staff weapon poised, watching for any movement. The shiny reflective object was none other than an unopened MRE, sitting on top of an open pack. Teal'c lifted his eyes off Sam's pack and looked directly ahead and then down.
"Daniel Jackson, I have found them," Teal'c spoke into his radio before racing down the slope to Jack and Sam.
Teal'c cautiously skirted around the creature, he was pretty sure it was dead, but did not want to take any chances. Jack was still asleep and he was leaning up against the side of the monster. There was no sign of Sam, except for a tuft of blond hair sticking out from under the blanket that was wrapped around both of them. It was cold in the hollow. The two suns were not yet high enough in the sky to reach them. Teal'c carefully felt for Jack's pulse, it was strong and steady. He then pulled the blanket off Sam and was startled by what he saw. Sam by now had a fluorescent yellow, fully marbled effect on her face. Teal'c checked her pulse but found nothing. He pulled the blanket down further and listened for a heartbeat, but again found nothing. He should have known. One look at Jack's tear streaked face would have told him. Immediately, Teal'c felt his eyes begin to water, as he stood there silently for a moment. Taking control of his emotions he bent down to speak to O'Neill.
"O'Neill! O'Neill. It is I, Teal'c. What happened here?"
Hearing Teal'c's voice, Jack without a thought wiped his arm across his face effectively removing any trace of his night of despair. He looked up at Teal'c and said with a dry raspy voice, "She's dead, Sam's dead, she saved my life, she gave her life for me." Teal'c looked at Jack, though his face showed no expression, Jack could see what Teal'c was feeling by just looking into his eyes.
Without saying anything, Teal'c handed his water bottle to Jack and then went over to investigate his trapped foot. It had only taken two blasts of the staff weapon to break up the claw and he was then able to free Jack's boot and leg from the monsters grip. Jack gently laid Sam down on the blanket and pulled himself up, studied his leg and then carefully tried to see if he could put any weight on his damaged ankle. Just a few bruises and a few scratches as far as he could see and his ankle seemed to be able to take his weight without too much pain.
Jack O'Neill immediately bent down and lifted Sam up into his arms, carefully making sure her head was supported on his shoulder. Teal'c stood in front of Jack, dug his staff weapon into the sand and then offered to carry Sam. Jack just shook his head at Teal'c and limped off across the base of the hollow. Through all of this time not one word was spoken between them.
There was a shout from above.
"Jack? Sam?"
Daniel had arrived, but what met his eyes was not a sight he wanted to see. Jack was struggling up the side of the hollow. In his arms was the body of Sam, he was obviously not succeeding in getting up the side of the hollow, as he began to fall and slide back down to the bottom. Jack with a determined look on his face started to get up, but before he could lift Sam up again, Teal'c bent down to Jack and said just one word.
"O'Neill!"
He picked up Sam in fireman's lift and started to climb up the side of the slope. Jack slumped his shoulders for a short while in defeat, he then followed leaning heavily on Teal'c's staff weapon. It hadn't taken Daniel long to work out what had happened to Sam, as he took one look at Jack's face, which was devoid of all emotion. He bent down and retrieved Sam's pack and with tears unashamedly rolling down his face, Daniel started walking back towards the Stargate.
What should have taken SG-1, thirty to forty-five minutes to walk to the Stargate, took them nearly 2 hours. Once after Jack had struggled his way up to the top of the hollow, he then insisted on carrying Sam. It was slow. The second time he tripped wasn't so bad as he didn't drop Sam's body on the ground, as he just fell to his knees. Silently Daniel bent down helped Jack up and they carried on. The first time Jack had tripped over, Sam's body had been flung to the ground and had landed heavily. The skin on the back of Sam's hands, were scraped. Jack contemplated for a while whether he should relinquish her to Teal'c, but decided that no, he would just be more careful. This would be the last time he would ever be able to hold her.
Back at the SGC, General Hammond was beginning to get concerned. SG-1 were well over due. It was a second visit to the planet and there had been no signs of life, he couldn't see what could have gone wrong. But knowing SG-1, anything could have happened. General Hammond stood in the control room contemplating whether to send a search party out or not, when the technician by his side announced, "unscheduled incoming wormhole, sir." 'Oh, here we go.' Thought the General. As the last chevron locked into its position and the event horizon settled into place, the General asked, "Whose code is it, Sergeant?"
"SG-1, sir," came the firm reply.
General Hammond let out a silent sigh of relief. He was wondering which team member of SG-1 would need Doctor Fraiser this time and immediately contacted the infirmary.
All four members of the SG-1 came through the Stargate together. Colonel O'Neill was in the centre of the group carrying Major Carter and Teal'c on one side of the colonel and Daniel Jackson on the other. They just stood there, not moving, Sam's strange marbling effect of bright yellow, had begun to turn into a dull yellow, making her skin look sallow and dirty. The only brightness about the team were the three pairs of eyes that stared into the general's face. The general knew at that moment that Doctor Fraiser would not be able to do anything. "How on earth am I going to be able to tell Jacob?" Hammond muttered under his breath.
Jack staggered down the ramp and placed Sam gently onto the gurney, he looked straight into Janet eyes, which were already filling with tears and said. "It's poison." In a voice devoid of any emotion. Then everything went black, as he collapsed thankfully into unconsciousness.
The following day, Doctor Fraiser and General Hammond were talking in the cool store of the infirmary. This was where all the medicines and blood were stored; basically where everything that had to be kept below a certain temperature was kept. The object of their discussion was not medicines, but Major Carter. Her body lay on a gurney and Janet had pulled back the sheet from her face.
"The discolouration has nearly gone, General."
The General let out a big sigh. "It's almost as though Major Carter is just asleep isn't it, Doctor?"
"Yes," came the quiet, but sad, reply. "I wish it was so."
"Jacob Carter should be here soon. We contacted the Tok'ra yesterday and they said considering the circumstances, they would pull him back from his mission." With another sigh, the general left the room wondering how he was going to break the news to his old friend, that his daughter was no longer alive.
Janet carefully pulled the sheet back over Sam's face and quietly left the room. If she had taken the time to look, Janet would have noticed that she hadn't quite covered her face and that one side of her face was exposed and if she had looked even closer she would have seen one lone tear had trickled down from the corner of Sam's eye and soaked into her still dirty blond hair.