The Walkthrough – Chapter 7

A/N – found some new spoilers for this. Spoilers for Grace and Point of View.

Remember to review. Sorry about the lack of updates on this. I hopefully will finish it soon.

Jack was sitting on the porch of his log cabin watching the sun slowly going down behind the tall pine trees to signal the end of the day. His fishing rod lay at his side and the net had no fish it. He was slightly dozing off when he suddenly felt something cold on his cheek. He jumped up with the shock only to realise that the cold item was in fact a can of beer in the hand of a beautiful woman. Jack sat back down in his deck chair and reached up seemingly for the can but instead grabbed the woman, pulling her down on to him.

"Jack, stop it," she giggled.

"You started it, Sam."

"True."

"I can't believe I finally got you here."

"It only took seven years," she joked.

"Yeah, and it only took seven months for us to get married."

"What can I say I wanted to take things slow!" They both laughed. Jack pulled her closer to him and kissed her. It was soft and gentle but still full of passion and love. They were relaxed together, completely at ease with one another. It had been everything Jack had dreamed of.

"What?" Sam said as Jack was staring at her.

"Just enjoying how perfect this moment is." Sam stared at him in a sort of 'what you talking about' glare. "Beer in one had, bird in the other!" Jack joked. Sam playfully hit him.

"Jack!" she complained, though she was laughing.

"Careful, you'll spill the beer," Jack cautioned her.

"What? Like this?" and she grabbed the can off him and poured the contents over him. She jumped off his lap to avoid getting and giggled at the sight in front of her. Jack remained perfectly still for a moment with beer dripping down his silver hair and running down his face.

"Oh, you're so going to get it now!" and he leapt up and chased after Sam who ran towards the cabin. She ducked inside to avoid him, so he followed her inside. However, as he entered he was no longer at his cabin in Minnesota, but in Sam's house in Colorado Springs. He was standing in her hallway with the stairs at one side and her living room on the other.

"I'm definitely not in Kansas anymore," he quipped.

He was unsure what to do as there was also no sign of Sam. Jack knew the layout of Sam's house well, as well as he knew the rest of his team mates houses, so started to systematically search the rooms for any sign of her. He walked into the kitchen first. As he entered, he could smell the relaxing and elegant scent of vanilla, which was coming from the two lit candles on the made table. The table was laid out as if for a romantic meal for two, with candles, and glasses of white wine already poured. There was a delicious smell coming from the oven, and Jack opened it to reveal a gorgeous roast dinner, almost ready to be eaten. He out the oven tray on top of the oven and continued his search for Sam. He searched the living room, the back room, even the garden. There was no sign of her. He backed out of the front door again, hoping to magically return to his cabin, but only found himself staring at the front of Sam's house with her sliver car parked by the curb.

He stepped back inside the house and continued his search. Bathroom, office were all empty. They looked lived in, there was even condensation on the bathroom window and mirror from someone using the shower. Jack could smell her scent in the steam that hung about in the air. He closed his eyes as the aroma of her engulfed him. She was here, he knew it. There was only one more place to check: her bedroom.

He slowly opened the door, calling out as he did. By the indication of the bathroom, she could have just stepped out the shower and be naked in there, so he had to be careful. He heard no reply, so fully opened the door. As he entered the room seemed strangely familiar to him. He had never been in her room until she took him in there in the walkthrough. It was a pretty room. Plainly decorated - although Sam had often said she wished she had time to actually do something with it – but still had the feel of Sam to it with Astrophysics books dotted around the room. There were several crystals and rocks on top of her cabinets. It was a well known fact among the team that Sam had a thing about geology, so they would buy her different types of rocks and crystals. They would also bring her back things from other planets too. In the centre of her collection was this rather large white crystal type rock. Jack smiled. He had given her that. While she was doing her science club stuff on a planet one time, Jack had found this rock in the local town. It was great. When you whistle it glows, and the more melodic the tune, the brighter it glows. Jack could remember her face when he gave her it. She loved it. It was a 2 in 1 present as firstly it was pretty and added to her collection, and secondly it was a toy as Sam would spend hours trying to figure out what made it glow.

Jack looked around and something caught his eye, and gave him the impression of De-ja-vu. The chest of drawers. The top drawer where Sam put the black box in the walkthrough was calling him. He walked over to the drawers and placed him hands on the knobs.

"Worth a shot," he told himself knowing it wouldn't be in there, but there was still some irresistible urge to check. He pulled the drawer open slowly and smoothly. To his surprise. There, sitting in the middle of the drawer was the little black box. Carefully he picked it up, like by simply touching it would cause it to disappear like a mirage. He put in on top of the chest of drawers. He slowly started to open it, but it was suddenly snapped shut by another hand. Jack looked up. It was Sam.

"What's in the box?"

"Nothing," she lied.

"Sam..." Jack said in a tone of voice that would make any woman's knees buckle, including Sam's.

"Something I must protect," she said. "Even in here." And she replaced the box back into the chest of drawers.

When the top drawer banged closed, Jack woke up to find himself in Sam's bed, exactly where he must have collapsed from exhaustion the previous night. It had all been a dream. Jack ran his hand through his hair then rubbed his face. He felt the cold of a metal object in his temple and for a moment he was suddenly terrified something had happened to him. However, as he fully woke up he realised all it was, was the memory recall device that he had put in before and must have fallen asleep with it in.

However, Jack got a thought. What if that wasn't a dream, but part of Sam's mind? Jack checked the time. He had been asleep for five hours. He jumped up and ran down the stairs as fast as his knees could handle. What could have happened to her in that time? She could have woken up by now, or something terrible could have happened. And he's been asleep up stairs! With this huge fear in his heart he entered the living room where he was greeted by the sight of Sam sitting exactly where he had left her, still in a comatose state.

With a sigh of relief he sat down opposite her and looked at her beautiful face. He had spent so long trying to protect her not to let something happened when he was asleep. That train of thought gave him an idea, and suddenly everything became clear to him. He picked up the release button and gentle squeezed the button. He was instantly transported into Sam's mind. But it was not the scene Jack was expecting. He was standing looking at himself again, in the Za'tarc screening. 'Has she been going through this over and over again all night?' Jack pondered. The thought terrified him. He had to do something. But had he left it too long? Was she now stuck in this unstoppable cycle of memories? He turned to face Sam in the memory.

"Sam, please listen to me," Jack pleaded with her. "You can't do this to yourself."

"Do what?"

"This! It is not your fault that these things have happened. It was out of your control."

"But it shouldn't be."

"Sam, just because some bad things happen doesn't mean you cant protect them," Jack said as the scene changed to Sam in the cemetery but was the older Sam, not the one that was there. This was out of order. He had got to her. "This was not your fault. It was an accident."

"It was my fault, I should have stopped her driving that day but I didn't."

"There was nothing you could do, you were just a little girl, just like here," and he changed the scene to at the schoolyard. Sam was still standing in the same position, arms folded comforting herself. "You were too young Sam. You would not have been able to help your brother, no matter how much you would want to. He would have only resented it too. His little baby sister fighting his fights, trust me, he would not have appreciated it," Jack told her.

"You would have me stand by and watch?" Sam said accusingly.

"Yes. But that doesn't mean that you haven't saved his life before. Every time one of your brilliant ideas saves the planet, you protect your brother and everyone else you care about. For crying out, you asked for you own dad to be allowed access to go through the gate to have a symbiote implanted. You protected him. You made sure that Jakey-boy's life was safe and living a life he couldn't be happier in. You allowed him to be implanted to protect him. You can protect people."

"But what about Janet?" Sam said.

"You are not to blame for that," Jack said seriously. "If you're going to blame anyone, blame the Goa'uld, not yourself."

"I should have been there for her," Sam said crying.

"You don't think I don't go over that day in my mind trying to figure out what I could have done differently? If I should have sent a team or somebody to her aid to bring her back to the gate, when she asked for more time? If I should have been more careful, knowing fine well it looked like a trap? Even though I go over it in my mind, I know there was nothing I could have done to protect her anymore than I did. You're not the only one to feel her death, Sam. You protected her the best you could, no-one could ask you for more than that," he told her.

"She was my best friend Jack and I couldn't protect her. It doesn't matter that nothing could have been done, I should have tried," she cried.

"And got yourself killed at the same time. I don't think Cassie would have been able to handle both you and Janet dying, she's found it hard enough already." The scene flicked to the elevator with a crying Sam in the elevator and Jack and Sam standing watching it.

"I can't protect Cassie either," Sam mused.

"You can, you're the only one that can. Only you know how to bring that barrier down. You can protect her," he told her.

"I can't, I tried to protect her and I failed. There's no point in me trying to protect her now, she's dead anyways." she wined.

"She's not dead, and you can save her now. OK, so before you couldn't but you weren't exactly in brilliant shape yourself. You had a broken arm remember. Cassie is a strong young woman, she doesn't need you to protect her, just be there for her when she needs it."

"What's the point, she will only end up dead like the rest of them," she said stubbornly.

"You know, you are just like your dad," Jack quipped. "The point is because Cassie needs you not to protect her as such, but to save her. You are the only one who can bring that barrier down and without you, she will die. Do you really want that to happen?" Jack asked.

"No," Sam said.

"Then come and help, you can save her," Jack said. Jack was now fully in control of her mind and changed the images to the Za'tarc scene.

"This is different. The rest I understand. They are all about protection. You couldn't protect your brother from the bullies, your mother from the car crash, Cassie from blowing up – even though that never happened. This I don't get. Sam, why is this here?" Jack asked.

"Because... because I have to protect myself... from you," she stuttered turning to him.

"Why? Sam, I'm not going to hurt you."

"I can't protect the people I love, and if I love you, and something happens to you...I... I don't think I could handle that," she rambled. "So I have to protect myself to stop myself from loving you."

"Sam, nothing is going to happen to me," Jack tried to reassure her.

"How do you know? You don't do you. So I locked away all my feelings for you so I can guarantee that you could not hurt me."

"Sam, I would never hurt you, I promise. And just because bad things have happened to the people you love doesn't mean it was because you loved them and couldn't protect them. It was because of life. People in your life who you care about, will die, but that doesn't mean it was your fault for not protecting them. Sam," and he changed the scene to the little black box. "you don't have to lock away your feelings for me, because nothing is going to happen to me. Whatever is in that little box doesn't need to be protected anymore. You don't have to hide it away so you won't get hurt by whatever is inside. I love you Sam." The tears running down Sam's face were raging torrents and she collapsed to the floor. Jack ran over to her and put his arms around her. She lifted her head up to look Jack in the face.

"But what about the regs?" she asked.

"I think we've saved the world enough times to gain a little leeway with the regs don't you think?" he said. She laughed and snuggled back down into his arms.

"Sam," Jack said. "Lets go save Cassie ass," he said. And with a little smile on her face, they were transported back to Sam's living room and reality.

They both sat there for a moment in silence. Jack would not have known Sam was out of her mind if it wasn't for the fact that she was now blinking. Suddenly, Sam started to cry hard and Jack leaped up from his seat opposite her and cradled her in his arms.

For several minutes they remained in this position unwilling to move and it was Sam who was the first to move.

"Jack?" she struggled to say between sobs.

"Sshh, it's OK Sam."

"Jack, I have something to show you," she said wiping the tears from her face. She took him by the hand and led him upstairs. She lead him into her bedroom and to the chest of drawers.

She opened the top drawer in the same way Jack had done in his dream. She placed it on top of the chest and stepped away.

Jack stepped forward and opened the box up. Lying inside the red satin interior of the box was a single item: a photograph. Jack was certainly not expecting that something like that would arose such a protective manner in Sam. He carefully picked up the photograph and examined it. It was one he had seen before.

It was a picture of himself and Sam together. They were both laughing and he had his arms wrapped round he waist. It was their wedding day and Sam was wearing the most beautiful dress Jack had ever seen. It seemed like such a perfect day. Jack knew it was the picture Dr Samantha Carter from the Alternate Universe had brought through with her.

"I didn't realise she had left this behind," he finally said.

"She didn't." He looked at Sam. "I asked her for a copy."

"That would have shocked her. She thought I felt nothing for you," he said remembering the conversation he had with her.

"She knew. While we were working on the generator she showed me the photograph and she soon realised."

"And you've kept this all these years?" Jack asked. Sam simply nodded and took the picture out of his hand and looked at it.

"We look so happy. I thought by keeping it locked away, it would always remain happy. Never be tainted by the sad reality that we call life."

"But by locking it away, you'll never give yourself that chance to be happy," Jack said taking her in his arms.

"I know I was just..."

"Scared."

"Yeah."

"Well, you don't have to be scared anymore. I'm not going to hurt you."

"But what about Cassie?" she said, tears welling up in her eyes again.

"Lets go and save her."

"But I can..."

"Ahh!" he said stopping her. "As I said before, Cassie is a reaourceful young woman, you've taught her well. She doesn't need you to protect her. Just help her out sometimes," Jack explained.

"So what I am supposed to do?"

"Be there for her. If she needs help she'll ask for it. Firstly, you have to get that barrier back down doing you techno thing that you do so well."

"No, that's not first," she said.

"Then what?"

"This," and Sam walked over to him and kissed him passionately. It took a while for Jack's mind to register what was happening. But when he did, he wrapped his arms tightly round Sam's waist and squeezed her tight. Seven years of sexual and emotional frustration was released. Jack's hands found their way under Sam's shirt to the bare skin. His touch was like fire to Sam. Every part of her body wished to feel his touch. Her hands ran through his hair feeling the soft silver hair run through her fingers. She wanted to be closer to him, much closer. Much closer. She started to unbutton his shirt, but Jack stopped her.

"As much as I'm enjoying this, we have to help Cassie," Jack reminded her.

"I can wait."

"You've waited seven years, what's seven hours?" Jack quipped. Sam laughed. They quickly kissed and sorted out their attire, which was rather dishevelled. They drove back to the base in Sam's car, with Jack driving. He would hold her hand while driving and smile at her whenever he could. He just loved to see her face smiling back to him.

They told no-one of her awakening, so General Hammond and Jacob were extremely happy to see her walk into Hammonds office.

"Sam!" Jacob said glad to see his daughter again. He gave her a big hug.

"Welcome back Major Carter," Hammond greeted her.

"Thank you Sir. But I couldn't have got through it if it wasn't for the Colonel," she replied.

"Thank you Jack," Jacob thanked him. Jack smiled at him in acknowledgement.

"Er, sir? Permission to rescue Cassie, Sir?" Jack asked.

"Of course Colonel. Get your team ready to embark," the General ordered.

"Yes sir."

"Thank you Sir," Sam replied and they both left the office to get ready for the rescue attempt.

"Well it worked," Jacob said relieved that his daughter was well.

"In more ways than one." Hammond said to his friend. "They were caught on security cameras in the parking lot holding hands."