CHAPTER 4

Although he tried to hide it, it was no secret that Jack wasn't exactly a happy camper over the situation of Dr. Carter's presence at the SGC and all the changes that came with it. He wasn't sure what it was about the astrophysicist, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about her. Maybe it was the fact that she seemed to come out of nowhere and had been recommended for the position by Maybourne. That in and of itself was fishy enough, but put that together with the fact that there was suspicion of growing rogue activity within the NID, and that was more than enough reason for pause. However, it seemed like he was in the minority of this opinion. Actually, more like he was alone in it. Everyone else on the base, including the rest of his team, seemed willing and eager to welcome the new liaison.

Of course, the scientists all flocked to her and practically never left her alone with questions trying to pick her brain to solve problems they've been stuck on for weeks. The women on the base didn't skip a beat to usher her into the sisterhood, which was no surprise in such a male dominated environment. Speaking of which, it did not go unnoticed by Jack that all the men seem to take a liking to her as well. He was pretty sure it had something to do with her long legs that seem to go on and on and...Ack, stop it! He would not let his mind go there.

And then there were the other three men on his team. They know that he's noticed how they have all been friendly towards her, dropping by her lab, chatting with her in the hall, and inviting her to eat with them in the commissary. It's almost as if they were doing it on purpose to spite him. He knew that wasn't the reason. Michael, Daniel, and Teal'c were some of the nicest guys in the universe, and it only made sense that as members of the flagship team—and therefore undeniable leaders on the base—that they would lead by example.

Still, regardless of everything, that unsettling feeling kept creeping back in Jack's head, and he was always inclined to be stubborn when he had one of those feelings. More times than not, his gut was right. Hell, there's no doubt he's still alive today by following that same gut. It's what told him it was ok to leave Daniel on Abydos after their first trip. It's what told him to try and reach out to Teal'c when they were about to be killed on Chulak. And it's what's telling him now that something is off about Samantha Carter's arrival.

He figured it would take several weeks, if not months, before any of her changes could really affect him and SG-1. Maybe by then, they'd make satisfactory progress to appease Washington enough where they will deem her position no longer necessary. However, it had only taken a matter of days before there was some doohickey that Dr. Carter just had to see, and SG-1 had been assigned to babysit. The annoyance was obvious on Jack's face as he navigated the hallways to Hammond's office. Everyone scurried to duck out of the way of the almost scowling colonel which only made him even more annoyed. He took a deep breath to recompose himself before knocking on the door.

"Come."

"General, sir. If I may have a word?"

"What's on your mind, Colonel?"

"About this mission to P5X-224. Do you really think it's necessary for Dr. Carter to tag along?"

"Well, considering I assigned her to join you on this mission, yes. Yes, I do."

"Right, of course, sir. I just meant that I think SG-1 can probably handle this. I'm sure Wong can figure out whatever that thing is that SG-11 found."

"It was actually Captain Wong who requested Dr. Carter's inclusion after reading the preliminary reports."

"Did he now," Jack stated more than asked.

"Jack, I know you're not the most excited by Dr. Carter's arrival, but please, give her a chance."

"I don't know what you're talking about sir. I adore her already," Jack replied with a sarcastic grin.

Chuckling, Hammond replied, "I've know Sam a long time, Colonel, and so has Catherine. So I'm asking you to trust us on this one."

"I do, sir."

"Then I suggest you let this one go and just try to make the best of the situation."

"Yes, sir."

"Very good. Dismissed."

Sam was packing her bag for her first off world trip. She was both excited and a little nervous, but mostly excited. She was glad that SG-1 would be accompanying her, but that's also what made her the most nervous. This would be a great opportunity to show Colonel O'Neill exactly what she brought to the table and hopefully get him to start at least acknowledging her existence. She's sure he thought he was being discreet about it, but she's noticed that he really doesn't seem to want to be around her or even in the same room as her. If anything, the lack of interaction was making it hard for her to get a read on him and that itself was a unsettling.

For some reason, whenever she found herself getting worked up about the colonel—and then getting annoyed at herself for getting so worked up about the colonel —messaging J seemed to always cheer her up and take her mind of it. She pulled out her phone and then remembered the real reason why she had been unsettled recently.

Saturday 16:45
"Oh it is so on. Bishop to A3."
"There are some really nice places a little further out, but Garden of the Gods is always a great spot!"
"I haven't been in awhile, but I've been thinking about going back out there again myself."

Sam reread the messages again for the hundredth time. Is he suggesting that we could go together? She asked herself for the hundredth and first time. She had no idea how to respond to him.

"You ok, Samantha?" came a voice from the door. Sam looked up to see Catherine standing there with a concerned look on her face.

"Catherine! Oh yes, I'm fine," she answered putting away her phone.

"You just looked very perplexed and worried."

"It's just a message. I'll respond later."

"I wanted to check in and see if everything was all set," Catherine said eyeing her intently.

"Uh, yeah, we're good to go. Do you think it's a good idea that SG-1's coming along? I mean Colonel O'Neill isn't exactly a fan and I think he's actually kind of suspicious of me."

"Don't worry about Jack. George and I will handle him. You just get what you need."

"But what about after? I don't want to jeopardize my position."

"It'll be ok. He'll warm up. You've got plenty of people in your corner," Catherine replied giving the young woman a reassuring smile and squeeze of the hand. "You'd better finish packing. You don't want to be late."

Sam entered the gate room dressed in green BDUs and her backpack. SG-1 was already waiting as the gate was dialing up. Sam almost couldn't contain her excitement as she watched the ring spin and took in the whole experience.

"Chevron five, encoded."

"Dr. Carter, you're late. Almost thought you weren't going to make it."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Colonel."

"Chevron six, encoded."

"You ready for this Sam?" asked Michael with a big smile.

"You have no idea," she replied returning the smile.

"Chevron seven...locked."

Sam jumped back just a little at the swoosh as the gate locked and the wormhole established. She marveled at the fluctuating puddle that formed in front of her. Subconsciously, she moved up the metal ramp until she stood before the event horizon. As she reached out and touched it, her lips curled into a huge smile at the ripples. It was more beautiful up close than she could have imagined.

Jack was doing his normal last minute checks when he saw her break off from the group and mindlessly wander up to the gate. He thought she was just so determined to do her own thing with no regard whatsoever to him as team leader. He followed her quickly but before he could make a snide remark, she stopped at the top. Her eyes were wide with wonder and the light from the gate made the blue in them sparkle. It might've been the pure joy radiating from the smile on her face, but in that moment, Jack couldn't help but notice just how beautiful she was and it caught him off guard that he was almost rendered speechless.

"I can't believe you do this almost every day," she said acknowledging his presence beside her but didn't take her eyes off the gate.

"Yeah, it's pretty amazing," he managed to reply. He cleared his throat as the rest of the team joined them. "Shall we?" He said motioning his head towards the gate in a "move out" gesture. He had the three other guys step through first, followed by Sam, before he brought up the rear.

When she reached the other side, Sam stumbled a little as she tried to regain her balance quickly. The colonel didn't miss a stride as he exited and joined the others who had slowly spanned out to do a quick perimeter check although the planet was uninhabited. It took her a minute longer than she would've liked, but eventually she oriented herself and started looking at her surroundings as she walked down the stone stairs onto the sand.

As reported by SG-11, the gate was located by an ocean. It might as well have been in the ocean because at night, the tides come up a good fifty yards past the gate effectively cutting it off from the rest of the planet. SG-11 was actually stranded an extra day because of it. They advised that SG-1 either gate back or set up on higher ground before nightfall.

It was early in the day, but the sun was still fierce. There was a nice breeze from the water that helped mitigate the heat. Sam looked up and estimated the positioning of the sun to calculate how much time they had until it started to set.

"What's the verdict, Doctor?"

Finishing the calculations, she estimated that they had about five hours before the tides would start being affected. However, even if they got cut off for the night, she wouldn't mind the extra time studying the device SG-11 found. Who knows how long I'll actually need to study this thing. Besides, he'll probably just take whatever time I give him and cut a couple of hours from it. We'll be on higher ground already so the worst that could happen is we spend the night on an alien planet. She reasoned to herself.

"Looks like it's just a little before midday. I estimate we have almost seven hours before sunset."

"Alright, let's call it five just to be safe. From the sounds of it, the tides can be pretty nasty."

"Sounds good," she replied with a silent smirk from reading him correctly. "Lead the way."

It was about a half an hour trek to the building where SG-11 had found a mysterious box that they couldn't get opened. It looked technologically advanced but the power source had been depleted. They took a second trip with a naquadah generator to see if that would open it. When they weren't able to generate enough energy, General Hammond wanted Wong to check it out.

Michael knew he could probably figure it out with time but he also knew Sam had been dying to go off world. So he recommended that she come along. He figured that things would go quicker with both of them working on it; and if he couldn't figure it out, he was sure she would be able to so at the very least it saved them a trip.

"So how was your first trip through the gate? Everything you thought it would be?" asked Wong.

"It's actually not my first time through. I was in one of the groups that went to the Alpha Site when Apophis tried to attack Earth. Of course, there wasn't much time to really enjoy it."

"Hopefully this time will be more enjoyable," commented Teal'c.

"It's already off to a good start. Not having to worry about the destruction of Earth and what not."

"Indeed."

There wasn't much talk the rest of the journey which was uphill at a steep incline. Looking around, it was evident that this building was the highest point on this part of the planet. When they got inside, Sam and Wong proceeded to unpack the equipment and get to work. Daniel headed towards another room with some markings to see if they gave any insight to the device's purpose while Jack and Teal'c went off to explore the rest of the building and surrounding area.

The box was situated in the middle of a back room. It was about the size of a sarcophagus. It would be a breakthrough discovery if its function was similar as well. However, Sam thought it was unlikely as there was nothing on the surface that suggested it opened big enough for a person to climb in.

They had been working for a couple of hours with little progress. They were running into the same issues as SG-11 did with producing enough energy to actually power the device. It flickered once for half a second before going completely dark again. Sam was fiddling with the generator while Wong was studying the box when Jack and Teal'c came to check in on them.

"So..." he started and stopped as both of them let out frustrated sighs warning him that he should probably tread lightly. "What's in the box?"

"Still working on it sir."

"Actually, I'm not entirely convinced it opens at all," Sam responded without stopping what she was doing.

"The what does it do?"

"I mean I still have no idea. I was just trying to temper expectations for what's inside." Her eyes never left the generator as she made a couple more adjustments. "Ok, try it now Michael."

Wong went over to the control panel on the wall and pressed the big button. There was a revving sound that turned into a buzz of electricity. It started to pick up some speed as the blue and green lights on the box flickered a few times before staying on. Sam and Michael looked at each other and smiled in their success until it abruptly slowed down and came to a complete halt; the lights going out with it.

"Damnit. Why won't it work?!" exclaimed Sam as she threw down her notepad in frustration.

"The naquadah should be producing more than enough energy. It makes no sense."

"Have you tried unplugging and plugging it back in?" asked Jack jokingly trying to lighten the mood.

"Wait a minute, you might be on to something. Maybe the problem is transferring the energy from the generator to the device."

"You mean I might be right?"

"It's the only thing we haven't tried yet," Michael replied to Sam not paying attention to Jack.

"Look at that Teal'c. I was right."

"Well, not exactly. More like you sparked an idea in Sam with what you said."

"Ok fine. Look Teal'c, I helped!"

"We're going to need something that can conduct a large amount of energy."

"Where are we going to find something like that here?"

"Didn't Captain Lewis from SG-11 say that they found a substance on this planet that they believed was similar to silver?"

"Actually probably even better than silver. You're a genius Teal'c!"

"How did you know that?"

"It was in the briefing report, O'Neill."

"Right. I knew that. Since I read it."

"Ok, they said it was down in the caves by the gate. I'll head down there if you want to start making modifications."

"I'll go Wong. You two stay here. It'll go faster."

"Do you know what you're looking for, sir?"

"Uh," Jack hesitated scanning everyone's faces for a hint. "Let me guess. That was also in the report."

"There were more details in their previous reports but yeah. It's fine, sir. It won't take long. Sam's got it covered here. I'm sure you'll be able to help her if she needs any assistance."

"Fine. Take Teal'c with you. Radio in when you're on the way back. We don't have much time left."

"Yes, sir. Let's go Teal'c."

When Wong and Teal'c got outside the building, it was a lot darker than expected. Looking to the sky, Wong could still make out the sun behind the dark clouds that were starting to form.

"There looks to be a storm coming."

"Yeah, we better get a move on it."

"Do you think it's wise to go to the caves in this weather condition?"

"The sun's setting a little faster than expected, but I think we have plenty of time. Plus the caves are well out of reach of the tides."

"We should inform O'Neill."

"We'll track the storm on our way down and go from there. If it's moving in too fast, we'll just radio for them to meet us at the gate. We've got to at least try Teal'c."

"Very well."

Back inside, Sam worked to make the modifications to the generator and started setting up a relay to the box for the conductor. Jack watched her work swiftly and with purpose. She did seem to be very good at this. Although it didn't seem like she noticed at all, he tried not to stare at her as he shifted back and forth on his heels.

"So...how's it going?" Jack winced a little because that question always irritated Wong especially when he knew that it was going exactly the same as it had been a minute ago when he asked. Sam didn't flinch. "I just meant, is there anything I can do to help?"

Again, she didn't move. It's like she didn't even hear him. He knew it was probably her just really focusing on what she was doing and not intentional disrespect, but this whole not acknowledging him thing was really starting to irritate him. She was his responsibility on this mission and he needed to know she'd be able to hear and listen to his orders.

"Dr. Carter!" he said loudly so that it couldn't be ignored. She finally looked up at him.

"Oh, right. Thanks, but I think I've got it," she answered quickly before going right back to work.

Ok, so she did hear me. "Uh, great, I'm going to go check on Daniel real quick. You going to be ok for a minute?"

Jack rolled his eyes and shook his head a little as he heard a faint "uh huh" from her general direction. Geez, she's worse than Daniel.

When Wong and Teal'c reached the caves, the storm hadn't changed much. It seemed to be slow forming so they decided to proceed inside. It was very dark and wet; and they could hardly see a few feet in front of them the deeper they went into the cave.

"I think this is it, Teal'c. We're going to have to use some C4 to break it off the sides."

"Do you think that's wise?" Teal'c replied with a raised eyebrow.

"It's the only way, T. Don't worry. I'm using a very small amount. Very small," Wong replied when Teal'c other eyebrow raised before he nodded in consent.

Wong proceeded to attach a small block of C4 to the wall of the cave before running back around the corner to where Teal'c had set up closer to the entrance.

"Hey Teal'c," he said as he looked outside the cave. "Was the Stargate already in the ocean when we got here?"

"It was not," Teal'c replied as he turned to look at what the young captain was staring at. Sure enough, the tide was already past the gate and was getting pretty close to where they were standing.

"We need to hurry," said Wong as he gave a nod to Teal'c to hit the detonator.

The explosion was a little bigger than expected, but didn't seem to cause any major safety concerns. Wong ran ahead of Teal'c back inside to gather the element. After collecting a sufficient amount, they turned to head back. The explosion had caused some rocks to fall from the side so Wong was running closer to the deep cavern on the opposite side. They could see the light from the exit when all of a sudden, Wong's foot slipped from underneath him and the next thing he knew he was falling. Then darkness.

"Daniel, please tell me you've figured out what that thing does," Jack pleaded.

"Um, not exactly. As far as I can tell this text only talks about something called a 'storm chaser.' But it doesn't make much sense because it talks about passing the storm chaser or chasing the storms through the Stargate."

"Maybe it chases storms away from the Stargate?" Jack said with a little smirk thinking maybe he could go two for two in helping the geniuses out today.

"No, it definitely says 'through.'"

"You sure?"

"Uh, yeah," Daniel said with a confused look on his face. Jack's face twisted in a little disappointment.

"Ok, well keep working on it. Hopefully Carter and Wong will have whatever that thing is working soon and it'll make more sense."

"O'Neill, do you read?"

"Yeah Teal'c. Go ahead."

"We have a problem. Captain Wong fell down a cavern. I believe he is unconscious. There is also a big storm approaching and the tide has already risen beyond the Stargate and approaches the caves."

"What?! It's not supposed to rise until after sunset. We still have a couple more hours!"

"Apparently not."

"Ok, I'm on my way. Keep trying to see if Wong wakes up."

"Understood."

Jack sprung into action and stormed out towards the back room. Daniel followed.

"Dr. Carter, I thought you said we had seven hours before we had to get back to the gate."

"I did." His tone caused Sam to stop working and look up this time. "We do."

"Then why has it only been four, but Teal'c is telling me that the tide is already passed the gate and is headed into the caves?"

"What? That's impossible," Sam said as she got up and rushed out of the building with Jack and Daniel following close behind.

When she reached outside, she saw the storm clouds building and searched for the sun. It was still there, but so was the moon. Something wasn't right.

"This doesn't make any sense. We had five hours to be safe when we got here. How were my calculations so off?" she muttered to herself as Jack brushed past her heading down towards the caves.

"Excuse me?" Jack abruptly stopped in his tracks and spun around taking a few steps back towards Sam. "Did you just say we had five hours when we got here? Why the hell did you tell me we had seven?!"

"Well, I figured you were going to subtract a couple hours so I stretched it a little so we'd have enough time with the device."

"So you lied to me?" Jack was livid. "And now Wong is lying unconscious in a cavern that's about to be flooded by the ocean?"

"I only did it because—"

"I don't care why you did it! You see, this is why I don't do scientists off world. You two get inside and stay there. I'll deal with this later."

"But—"

"That's an order!"

Wong could hear a voice in the distance. The throbbing pain in his head made it difficult to open his eyes without becoming nauseous. He slowly came to his full senses and could hear the Colonel's voice.

"Michael! Can you hear me?!"

"Yeah," his voice came out in a whisper. He cleared his throat. "Yeah! I'm down here!"

He slowly sat up and looked at his surroundings. He was laying in a small cavern and water was starting to slosh over the entrance above and fill in around him. There shouldn't be water here. He tried to remember what happened before and then a sharp pain shot up through his leg as he tried to move it.

"Mike! Are you hurt? If we throw you a rope, can you climb back up?"

"I'm not sure! I think I broke my leg!" He tried moving it again. "Nope, definitely broke my leg!"

"Ok, I'm coming down to get you!" Jack yelled down the hole.

He quickly put on his gear and hooked himself to the rope with Teal'c anchoring him. Slowly, he lowered himself down the side. He was about halfway down when there was a loud 'snap' followed by a 'thud' as he hit the ground next to Wong.

"Sir, are you ok?" Wong winced as he instinctively moved to check on Jack.

"Oof. My ass is going to hurt after that one but yeah I'm fine."

"O'Neill! Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, Teal'c!"

"I will attempt to throw the other rope down to you!"

"Negative! Teal'c, you're running out of time before the tide gets too high. I need you to get back to the building!"

"Understood. We will return as soon as the tide subsides."

"I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

"What? Of course not. None of this is your fault, Sam."

"Colonel O'Neill sure doesn't see it that way."

"He will once this all settles. He's just very protective," Daniel replied in his most reassuring tone. It didn't seem to help. "Look we can't focus on that now. Jack and Teal'c will get Michael back before the tide gets too high and we'll head home first thing in the morning."

Sam nodded not convinced. "I'm going to go back to work on the device. I just need a distraction right now."

Wong had passed out a few minutes after Teal'c left. Jack examined his 2IC for injuries and concluded, at least the best that he could, that at minimum Wong had a broken leg and one hell of a concussion. He tried shaking him awake until he finally stirred.

"How long was I out for?"

"Almost fifteen minutes."

"Damn. I'm pretty sure I have some internal bleeding somewhere."

"Hang in there Wong. We're going to get you out of here."

"Sir, if I don't make it—"

"Ack! I said we're going to get you home."

Wong ignored him. "There are letters in my locker. Can you make sure they get to everyone?"

Jack looked over at the young man that he had become so fond of the past few years. A lieutenant at the time, he had been so green and wide eyed with excitement when they first started. Now he was battle tested but never lost that drive that made him the fine officer he was today. Even the toll of fighting an intergalactic war couldn't take away the spirit of gratitude and optimism that Wong showed every day that made even Jack envious. He nodded solemnly as Michael's eyes started to drift close again.

Teal'c entered the building soaking wet from the rainfall that was starting to pour down. He hurried to the back room with the backpack filled with the element from the caves.

"Teal'c! Where are Colonel O'Neill and Michael?"

"They are still in the caves. O'Neill fell when he was attempting to scale down the cavern. He ordered me to come back with the material. He feared there would not be enough time before the tide rose too high and cut off the caves."

"Ok, well they should be alright for the night. The hole will actually protect them from being swept away in the tides."

"I think we may have a big problem," Daniel said as he walked into the room. "Teal'c, where are Jack and Michael?"

"They are still stuck in the caves. We will have to get them in the morning."

"Uh, we may not have until the morning."

"What are you talking about?"

"According to the texts, these storms were a common occurrence. At first, they weren't anything to worry about, but over time, they started increasing in frequency and intensity. It sounds like towards the end, they were comparable to tsunamis destroying cities and changing the landscape of the whole planet."

"What are you saying Daniel?"

"I think at one point, the gate was actually in the middle of the city."

"But now it's basically at the edge. And if the shoreline can change with a single storm, then it may engulf the Stargate completely this time."

"In which case, it is already too late."

"Not necessarily, Teal'c. The text goes on to say that they built something like a shield around the city."

"And you think that's what the device does."

"I'm pretty sure it is because it says they also had problems with maintaining power to the shield. Eventually they were only able to power it enough to encompass this building and tunnels through the caves leading to the Stargate."

"So it looks like I need to get to work."

"Indeed. We also need to locate the entrance to the tunnels within the building."

"Teal'c. Come in."

"Go ahead, O'Neill."

"Wong's in pretty rough shape. The cavern is starting to fill more and more. I'm not sure how much longer until we won't be able to just sit down here."

"Jack, we're working on an idea. Tell Mike to hang on a little longer."

Water had started to fill the cavern at a steadier pace over the last hour. Jack was able to sit Wong up so that the water came to halfway up his waist. There was also a strong wind which made the cave even colder. At this rate, if they didn't drown, there was a good chance they would die from hypothermia.

"The calculations were correct," mumbled Wong.

"What are you talking about?"

"Sam's calculations. They were right."

"How do you know?"

"I can do the math, sir. I am an engineer after all."

"Well it doesn't matter. She still lied."

"I'm just saying this—" Wong waved his hand around to signify their situation—"isn't her fault. Something must've happened to the moon. It's all wrong. The tide is twice as high. Whatever it is probably affected the orbit too. No way she could have known that."

"That's not the point Wong."

"No sir. The point is I don't blame her. And if I die—"

"I already told you; no one's dying today Captain."

"Sir, please," he said with a look pleading Jack to cut the bullshit. "If I die, I don't want you to either."

Jack looked back at Wong's stare intently. He knew it wasn't her fault but he was still angry and like hell he was still going to give her a piece of his mind later.

"So if you don't die, I can blame her?" Jack smirked which elicited a small chuckle from Wong as he shook his head at his CO.

Sam was working faster than she thought was possible even for her. Something about hearing the Colonel's words over the radio spurred her brain into overdrive. She had finished the modifications to the naquadah generator and just now needed to figure out how to connect it to the box using the element to enhance the conduction.

She had tried a couple of ways already and got it to power on a for a few minutes before sputtering out again. However, it was enough time for them to go outside and look down towards the gate. Sure enough, a shield had parted the ocean and formed a path leading out of the caves straight to the Stargate. As it shut down, the waves that had been crashing into the sides of the tunnel collapsed down immediately. She needed to make sure this sustained or else they would all be swept away if they were inside the tunnel and it turned off. Daniel and Teal'c discovered the entrance to the tunnels, part of which they found were not created by the shield.

"You and Teal'c should go ahead and start going as far as you can."

"We can't just leave you here, Sam."

"Daniel, you're going to need every minute you can get. I'm almost done here. I'll come as soon as I'm sure this thing will hold long enough."

"She's right, Daniel Jackson."

"Ok, fine. We'll keep you updated."

"Colonel, I want to thank you."

"For what?"

"You've been like a big brother to me for the past few years."

"I'm too old to be your brother."

"Fine, an uncle."

"Your really cool uncle."

"The coolest," Wong said with a small chuckle. "But really, thanks for taking a chance on me."

"Hate to break it to you, kid, but I didn't really have a say in the matter. Catherine basically forced you on me."

"Maybe not at first, but I'm sure you could've gotten rid of me at some point if you wanted to. I'm sure you weren't thrilled to have a 23-year old watching your six."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I was ecstatic," he said as he grinned. As he saw Michael drifting on again, his face fell. "You were a good kid. Smart. Tough. It was an easy decision."

"It was an honor, sir," he replied as his eyes closed and body went limp.

"Michael? Michael! Stay with me, bud. I need you to open your eyes."

Jack could hear faint voices echoing above.

"Jack!"

"Daniel!"

Suddenly Daniel and Teal'c appeared from the other side of the cave and pointed their flashlights down the cavern.

"Jack! Thanks goodness. How's Mike?"

"Not good! Hurry! He doesn't have much time!"

Teal'c proceeded to throw down the ends of a couple ropes. Jack secured one around Wong before draping half of his body over his shoulder to help relieve some of the weight. He guided the way as Teal'c and Daniel pulled them up. As they approached the top, a loud 'pop' followed by a low hum sounded. The sounds of the waves crashing and water rushing in ceased causing a deafening silence in comparison.

"What was that?"

"Sam must've gotten it to work."

"Gotten what to work?"

"The tunnel to the Stargate."

"Oh, nice."

"Daniel, I just activated the device. Did it work?"

"Yeah Sam. Looks like it did. We just got Michael and Jack out. Are we good to go?"

"Yeah it looks pretty stable so far. This is probably your best opportunity to get Michael through the gate."

"Copy that. You heading down now? It takes about fifteen minutes through the tunnels. One of us will wait for you here."

"No, go ahead and leave me here."

"What?!"

"We can't just leave this technology here. The possibilities are endless if we can perfect this shield technology. I'll be safe up here until the storm passes."

"Oh for crying out loud," Jack said exasperated. "You guys get Wong back ASAP. He needs medical attention."

"What are you going to do?"

"What does it look like Daniel? I'm going back to get her," he replied as he turned and starting running in the opposite direction.

Jack reached the end of the tunnel and ran to the back room where he found Sam monitoring the readings on her laptop.

"Alright time to pack it up Doctor. Let's go."

"Colonel, what are you doing here? I don't know how much longer the tunnel will hold."

"Which is why we should get a move on it."

"I'm not leaving. I can't."

"Nope, that's not an option."

"This is just the type of technology Earth needs. We could build shields around cities. Even build structures with it. This could be one of the breakthroughs we need for developing spaceships and interstellar travel!"

"I can't leave you here, Dr. Carter."

"Look, I know we don't see eye to eye and I know I messed up and you don't like me but—"

"This isn't about any of that!" he interrupted her as he made eye contact—intensity burning in his eyes. Then they softened. "Sam...it isn't worth it."

She stared right back in his eyes matching his intensity searching for some ulterior motive or hostility, but found none. For the first time, she felt like he was letting her see the real Jack O'Neill. The one who was so beloved at the SGC. The one who would do anything to protect his team. The one whose only motive right now was trying to protect her from herself. No other reason or hidden agenda.

"I need you to come with me," he said softly as he held out his hand. She nodded slowly and took it. As he pulled her up, they noticed water starting to seep in.

"C'mon, we need to hurry."

They ran as fast as they could through the tunnels. Jack had pushed Sam in front so he wouldn't lose her. Carefully, they passed the cavern Wong had fallen into and made it to the exit of the cave. They could see the gate still active. It was now or never. They dashed toward the gate. As she ran, Sam could see parts of the shield start to flicker. It was going to collapse. They needed to go faster.

When she reached the top of the steps, she couldn't help but turn around to look back at the building. At that moment, she could see a burst of bright lights from the generator exploding. Her eyes widened as she saw Jack flying at her as he tackled her through the gate just as the water started to collapse above them.