Thank you for the continued reviews! I'm glad people seem to be enjoying this little story. As promised ...
Jack O'Neill was lying on a clean white sheet on a raised bed in the middle of a rather plain, but clean and bright room. The loveliest thing in the room was a large window which almost completely filled one wall, and in front of which hung sheer white curtains that moved and swayed to the breeze coming from outside. Through the curtains one could see a beautiful vista of trees, flowers, and in the distance the shimmering blue of a lake or ocean.
Although plain, it was also a beautiful, relaxing room with soft sunlight bathing it in a warm glow. The man in the bed – the warrior and man, Jonathon "Jack" O'Neill was asleep and he was naked, with only a small sheet covering his groin. Over him hovered a machine, it's purpose unknown. It hovered, floating freely in the space above the bed. It hummed softly and cast out a warm, rosy light, which was added to the sunlight diffused throughout the room.
Jack continued to breath, his chest moving up and down slowly, regularly. But it was obvious he was still unwell, his face still disfigured, his body showing the results of years of misuse and trauma.
In the corner of the room was another bed – a small cot. On it slept Samantha Carter. She was fully clothed, but she too looked unwell. Not to the extent of O'Neill, but it was obvious that she had suffered.
The room was quiet, only the humming of the nameless machine, disturbing the still air. A moment later the door to the room opened – softly, almost silently – and in walked two beings. Neither of them spoke. They drifted towards the man in the bed – drifting being a more accurate description than walking, as they appeared to almost skim over the surface of the floor.
The two of them looked down at the ill-looking man. They didn't speak to one another, although it almost appeared as if they were somehow communicating. At one point, one of the beings placed his hand over O'Neill's chest. He held it there for a moment and then gave a short nod. His companion smiled, but still did not speak.
As one, the two turned towards Sam and regarded her closely. They did not approach her, but again one of them smiled and then turned back to O'Neill. A few more minutes and then they each moved back to the door and carefully regarded both of the sleeping people in the room.
The beings were tall and very slender. Their eyes were a striking blue color – so blue as to almost be eerie. Their features were sharp and elegant looking – with long thin noses, prominent cheekbones, and rather thin lips which turned up at the corners. Their eyes were almond shaped and also turned up at the corners, giving them a rather exotic look.
Their coloring was fair – their hair almost flaxen in nature. Both of them wore it long and pulled back with a tie. They wore shimmering white robes, with deep blue ties around the waist and blue ribbons woven around the neck, wrists and at the hem.
Overall, their appearance was stunning – elegant and aristocratic, but with a look that seemed to speak of gentleness and kindness. Their movements were slow and measured – their long fingers seemed to be made for soft touches rather than hard work.
The thing most strange about them was the complete quiet and stillness in which they moved and operated. Neither had spoken a word or made a sound since they entered the room, and yet they seemed to be in complete accord.
After once more taking a close look at the man on the bed, the two nodded and turned together and drifted back to the door. They opened it and left, as quietly as they had come, the click of the closing door the only sound in the room.
Sam stretched and took a deep breath, feeling better than she had in a long time. She lay quietly, enjoying the sweet floral smell in the air, as if the room were filled with an exotic and fragrant bouquet . She could feel the gentle breeze softly skimming her skin, and what sounded like birds and maybe the sound of waves coming in from outside.
For a few seconds she wondered if she were on vacation somewhere – enjoying a well-deserved rest away from work. She began to drift off again, when suddenly her eyes flew open.
"Jack!" What was she thinking? Her heart began to beat quickly as she realized she wasn't on vacation. She sat up quickly, swaying with dizziness for a few seconds. When she could see straight she looked around the room, recognizing she was somewhere she had never been before
"Jack!" she said again. This time she pushed herself off the small cot she was on and stumbled over to the man lying naked and alone in the center of the room.
"Oh God," she muttered, rubbing her hand through her hair. "Where the hell are we, Sir?" she asked. She looked at him carefully and grimaced when she saw how sick he still appeared.
She gave a second look and frowned. It might have been her imagination but she thought that maybe he was looking not quite as sick as before. He still looked incredibly ill, but there was something a little better in the way he appeared. Maybe it was his color. Rather than the pallid color he'd worn in the hospital, his skin had taken on a slightly more healthy, rosy glow.
"Could be the lights," she muttered. She looked up to see the machine above his bed. It was like nothing she'd seen before. It was made of a gleaming metal she couldn't quite identify – and it was beautiful. Unlike most utilitarian technology, this looked more like a work of art than a machine. It was made of fine filaments of the strange metal, woven together in an intricate pattern of swirls and designs.
A light filtered out from it and washed over O'Neill, but it was impossible to see the source of the light. It seemed to simply come from the metal itself. It did make a small noise, but that was so faint as to be almost non-existent.
Sam had no idea what it did or was doing and wasn't about to touch it. There was no other equipment around the comatose man – no tubes, wires or anything monitoring his health, or providing medicines or nutrients. But he seemed to be alive and breathing well so her only conclusion was that the machine was somehow helping him.
It was then that she realized she hadn't even looked at herself. She ran her hands over the clothing she was wearing – a long gown made of a soft material that felt incredibly comfortable and luxurious next to her skin.
There were no other marks on her and she felt fine – better than fine, if truth were to be told. The tiredness and anxiety of the last few weeks had seemed to disappear, although she could feel her stress level start to increase since she had realized she was not on vacation.
One thing she did know and that was she was clearly not in Kansas anymore – and that she had absolutely no idea where they were. She moved to the open window, pulling aside the thin curtains, and looked out.
It was beautiful. She could tell they were in some kind of building built on the side of a hill or mountain. The building itself was white but it was surrounded by lush plants and flowers. At the bottom of the hill were more plants and trees, but beyond those was a sparkling white beach bordering an ocean or sea. The water was deep blue but she could see small whitecaps and could hear and smell the sounds of the water.
"Well Sir," she said, turning back to the still silent Jack, "it looks like we've landed in paradise. I just wish I knew what paradise and where?" And why.
She moved towards Jack and stood looking down at him. She carefully reached out and moved his hair off of his brow. It had grown long, since he'd been in the hospital. She'd have to find a pair of scissors and trim it for him.
"I wish you were awake, Jack," she said softly. "I'm going to go do some exploring and find out where we are. You stay safe, okay? Don't get into any trouble while I'm gone."
She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead and then moved towards the door. With one last look, to make sure he was still okay, she reached down and grasped the handle, praying it would open.
A moment later she was in the corridor, the door shut carefully behind her.
The corridor was long, but there were windows high up, under the ceiling. The result was the space was warm and inviting. She looked both ways, but finally decided to go right, as it appeared as if there were more rooms that way.
She walked quietly, not wanting to be discovered until she had had a chance to check out the surroundings. She had no idea where she could be, although it almost appeared to be a resort. Could this be the long-term care facility Daniel had mentioned?
She was positive it couldn't be – mostly because the last thing she remembered was sitting beside Jack in the hospital. Although the lack of medical equipment was also a clue.
As she slowly walked down the corridor she saw nothing except more doors, so she decided to look more closely. Taking a deep breath – and wishing she had at least a Zat with her, she slowly opened one of those door.
Inside was – nothing. At least nothing except a few pieces of furniture and another window looking out to the gorgeous outdoors. With a sigh she closed the door and continued.
Three more doors revealed three more empty rooms. Most of the rooms had beds and what looked like dressers or wardrobes but other than that there was nothing to identify where she was.
She was nearing the end of the hallway and decided to open one more door. She pushed on it gently – and didn't know who was more surprised, her or the people in the room.
They all stood frozen, regarding one another in something akin to shock. Sam's first impression was that they were a remarkably good-looking and tall group of people. Her second was that they were not human – at least not human from Earth. They were certainly humanoid – but their features and physiques were just slightly different.
She was pretty sure then that she and the General were no longer on Earth but had been taken to another planet. She also thought back to her view from her room, and realized that, as beautiful as it was, there had been a different feel from paradise on Earth.
She thought back to the last thing she'd remembered when in Jack's hospital room - that soft tingling she'd felt. It had reminded her a bit of the Asgard transporter, but she knew it couldn't have been them. They were long gone.
"Who are you?" she finally asked.
There was no response – at least no verbal response, although one of the aliens tilted his or her head and regarded her closely. She tried again.
"Hi. My name is Samantha. I think you brought me here, along with my friend. Who are you?"
Again there was no reply although the aliens had looked at one another and back towards her. She had the strange feeling that they were communicating with one another, but without speech.
"Uh – it would be nice if you'd say something," she told them. That had exactly the same result as before and she was growing frustrated. Surely that had to be able to communicate in some way.
Just then, before she decided to get angry, one of the aliens walked towards her. She couldn't help but glance down, to see if the – being – had feet, since the way it was walking seemed more like gliding than stepping. Unfortunately the long gown it wore made it impossible to tell.
The being stopped in front of her and she moved back slightly. She didn't think they were threatening, but she wasn't going to let her guard down. The strange thing was, the closer the alien got, the less anxious she became.
The alien looked at her closely, then raised its hand slowly and moved it forward. Sam stopped breathing as it put its hand on her face, cupping it gently.
Sam felt the anxiety and fear drain out of her. Within moments she felt calm and relaxed and as if she were in the presence of a close friend. Part of her mind questioned her reaction, but she ignored it. For some reason, she felt that these people, whoever they were, posed no threat.
"Hello," she said again. The alien tilted its head and smiled and then withdrew its hand. It stood waiting, as if it wanted her to do or say something.
"Uh – my friend – Jack – what have you done to him?" Again the same reaction, which was pretty much nothing. She tried to think how to get through to these people. "My friend," she mimed someone lying down with eyes closed. They she pointed back down the hall. "My friend Jack. What are you doing to him."
The people looked at each other and something seemed to pass between them. The one who had touched her smiled and this time touched her arm, leading her gently to the door.
"No – I need to know," she objected. It was only when everyone began to follow that she subsided. They took her through the door and walked with her down the hall, back towards the room she'd been in with the General.
As they were walking, Sam took a closer look at the silent people. They looked very similar to one another, but she was starting to see the differences. Some were slightly taller than others, some slimmer. They all had blue eyes and pale hair, but there were variations in the shades. Also as one of them drew closer she could see a faint sprinkling of facial hair. That drew her eyes to their bodies, which were covered with the robes – but after a close look she saw differences there too. Three of the five aliens appeared to have breasts so she assumed they were female. The other two had facial hair so she decided they were male. She didn't know if those differences were the same as on Earth, but for ease of identification she decided to view them that way.
They arrived at her room and one of the females pushed open the door. They gestured for her to enter and then they all followed her inside.
Jack was in the same place and looked exactly as she had left him. He was breathing steadily and easily and seemed to be resting. She just wished he looked better.
The tallest of the group moved over to Jack's side and held his hand over the comatose man, not touching him. He stayed like that for almost a minute and then nodded at the others.
Her alien – the one who had touched her – turned to her and smiled. She then took Sam by the arm and gently pulled her forward. She took her hand and laid it on top of Jack's chest – right over his heart. She held it there and Sam closed her eyes, feeling the steady and strong beat of his heart.
She took a deep breath and nodded back at the alien woman. For some reason she felt relieved and hopeful. They were looking after him, for some reason. She had no idea who they were, but was now sure they meant no harm.
Maybe they had come in response to Teal'c's looking for help. She only wished they would speak to her or that she could find a way to communicate.
It was rather disconcerting to watch them when she spoke. They didn't seem the least interested in trying to figure out what she was saying, or to find common ground in communications. As she spoke it was if they were watching an interesting and exotic phenomenon. She was pretty sure that they didn't speak – or if they did it wasn't in the presence of strangers.
Four of the aliens began to move towards the door. As each one passed her, they reached out and gently touched her arm. At each touch she felt a positive presence – almost as if they were reassuring her. Maybe that was how they communicated. She smiled at them, and they each smiled back and then they left.
She was now alone with the woman alien. Rather than simply call her "she" Sam decided to give her a name. At least that way she could begin to differentiate each of them from one another.
"So – I wish I knew your real name," she muttered. "But since we can't seem to communicate very well, I'm going to call you – let's see – how about Marie? You seem like you may be a scientist or doctor – and one of our first female scientists was named Marie Curie. I hope you like that. If not, you can correct me any time."
"Are you telepathic?" she wondered. "Can you hear or are you just unable to speak. Or don't you want to speak?" She sighed. It was all so confusing.
Marie watched her, and when Sam had done speaking, she smiled and gestured for her to follow her.
"Now where are we going?" she asked. "And by the way – where do I find the bathroom or kitchen? Oh boy – this is going to be fun."
The two women, one from Earth, the other from an unknown planet, walked down the hall in the opposite direction Sam had first taken. They came to the end of the hall and Marie pushed open the door – and suddenly they were outside.
It was stunningly beautiful. The air smelled sweet and the breeze was soft and cool. The sun (or the alien equivalent) was shining and things were bright and colorful.
"Well, if I have to be kidnapped by aliens, I guess this is the place," she said.
She was led down a small path until they reached a small clearing. There was a small, raised platform and on it were a number of chairs and lounges. Marie gestured for her to go up and to sit down. She then swept her arm around, showing Sam the entire vista.
"It's gorgeous," she said with a smile. "I wish I knew the name of this place. But thank you – this is lovely."
She received another smile, and then Marie started walking away from the platform. Sam called after her, but she didn't turn around, making Sam wonder again whether these aliens could even hear.
"Well, I guess you want me to stay here!" she said. She collapsed into a lounge chair and watched the sun's reflection on the water. She estimated that she was about 100 meters from the beach. She hoped she'd be able to go there one day soon.
The warmth and the soft breeze lulled her into a sense of relaxation and soon she was dozing. She's missed all sorts of sleep since Jack had gotten sick, and it was all catching up to her.
As she slept, she didn't notice the alien woman "Marie" stop and turn to look at her. She watched Sam for a few minutes and then smiled and nodded and moved back into the building.