After all the whump I decided to go fluffy. Sorry! It's too close to the holidays now to do mean, angsty whumpy stuff. Hope you enjoy
In the end it was Teal'c who found a healing device. Sam had tried contacting the Tokra, but got no answer, until finally they heard from someone called Fe'lan. He simply informed them that they were 'occupied' and did not have a healing device available. When she asked about her father she was simply told that he was 'not there'. She wanted to scream and suddenly felt totally in agreement with the Colonel. The Tokra were fair-weather friends for sure. You couldn't trust them as far as you could spit!
Teal'c, on the other hand, was in luck. He spoke to Bratac, who put the word out that they needed a healing device, and quickly. Within hours one of the Jaffa had shown up with the device. Teal'c didn't ask where it had come from but simply thanked the young warrior and, with a quick goodbye to his erstwhile mentor, headed back to earth.
"Teal'c, any luck?" Daniel asked from control room, speaking into the mike.
"Indeed Daniel Jackson, I have it here." He held up the device but then immediately headed to the infirmary. Daniel asked Walter to call Sam over the intercom and have her make her way to the Infirmary.
"Here you go Major Carter", Teal'c handed the object to Sam as soon as she entered the room. She took it reluctantly, suddenly worried as to whether or not she could do this.
"You'll be fine", Daniel walked in at that moment. "Just relax and everything will be okay."
"But what if I -"
"Stop it Sam", Janet said from the door to the Iso room. "You know you can do this. Don't second guess yourself or think too much. Do what Daniel said and simply relax. It'll be okay."
"How is he Janet", Sam asked. Maybe he was okay enough so that she wouldn't have to do this – or she would just have to help a bit.
"He's hanging in there, but his leg is looking bad. The surgeon doesn't think we can operate – he feels there's too much damage and I tend to agree. The circulation has been severely compromised and I'm afraid of infection or even gangrene. I need you to try the healing device now."
"Okay", she answered quietly. Still, she was frightened. What if she couldn't do this? She had had limited success in the past and she'd never tried it on someone she – cared for.
She followed Janet into the room where Jack lay, hooked up to all sorts of machines. He looked so lost, so alone. She wanted to rush up to him and touch him, hold him. She felt the tears well up in her eyes and her heart felt like it was breaking.
"Sam?"
"What? Oh, sorry Janet." She approached the bed and looked down at him. This had to work. With a deep breath, and a small prayer she fit the device onto her hand. She then took a couple of steps, so that she was standing by his leg. It was covered with a cage so that the sheets wouldn't touch it. She looked up at Janet who nodded and then reached over to remove it.
Sam wanted to gasp when she saw the shape his leg was in. The open wounds were bandaged, but the leg was black, blue and purple and horribly swollen and misshapen. No wonder Janet had said there wasn't much they could do.
With another deep breath she held her hand out and closed her eyes. At first there were too many thoughts, too many worries, too many 'what ifs' rolling around in her mind. She couldn't focus couldn't concentrate. She started to panic, sure that she'd fail.
"Do not worry. You can heal him – he is your beloved."
The voice was strange so Sam slowly opened her eyes. Standing in front of her was a young girl. Her hair was blond and very messy looking. She had huge brown, soft eyes and a faint smile. Sam had no idea who she was, but could feel herself relax.
"Who are you?" she asked the girl.
"I am Anagolay", she replied simply, her smile growing. She bent her head and continued to look at Sam, in a very knowing, but kind way.
"But why are you here?" Sam finally asked. She looked around but everyone was standing, looking at the Colonel as if they couldn't see the girl. She turned to face Anagolay again. "I don't understand. Can't they see you?"
"No, for I am here for you alone. You are the one who lost that which was most precious to you, but you found him again. For that I am here to give you my blessing."
Sam was confused, although not frightened. Surely this couldn't really be the goddess of whom Daniel spoke! That was just – myth.
"No, I am not a myth", the girl answered, somehow seeming to read Sam's mind. "You came to my world, to my temple to find what you had lost. I am here to bless you and to tell you that never again will you lose that which is most precious. For your love and your sacrifice – for all you have given – know that you will remain together always, in this world and the next."
Sam couldn't help but let the words of the – apparition – affect her. She wanted to smile, to laugh – to hug the young girl – or goddess, or whatever she was. At the same time, she knew this was probably simply the wanderings of a mind and spirit tired and sore after the last few days.
"He will be well", the girl stated. "You will heal him. Do not forget, however, that you found your precious one and you cannot let him go."
Before she had a chance to answer or to even ask what Anagolay meant, the young girl was gone. She looked again and realized that no one had moved or spoken. They continued to stare at the Colonel. She shook herself gently and closed her eyes again. This time she felt relaxed and confident.
Almost instantly she was able to focus her mind, and her heart, and simply feel that she was healing him. She couldn't think of him as Colonel or O'Neill or even Sir – she had to think of him as Jack. This was Jack's leg she was healing, Jack's body, Jack's life. She could begin to feel the surge of energy flow through her to the hand device.
She lost track of time, unsure how long she stood there, the healing device doing its work. Eventually she could sense when it shut off and she collapsed against the side of the bed. She could feel Janet's arms around her, but was much too out of it to care or to think about what had happened.
"I'm okay", she said after a couple of minutes. "How is he?" She stood up straight, wanting to see and yet afraid to do so.
"I don't know", Janet replied. "Let me check him."
Sam looked down at the Colonel's leg and thought it looked better although couldn't be sure. She wanted to peek under the bandages but knew she had to let Janet check him out.
"It's looking good Sam", Janet said cautiously. "It looks like the open wounds have healed. There's still bruising, but I expect that will take some time to go away. I'm going to need to get the portable X-Ray machine to check out the bones, but from the look of his leg at least some of them are better."
Sam sagged in relief, although she needed for Janet to tell her he was okay before she would truly allow herself to collapse. She waited impatiently while one of the nurses brought the machine. She left the room while they X-Rayed him and then she had to wait while Janet and the orthopedic surgeon looked at the pictures.
She knew, when Janet came back with a big grin on her face that everything was going to be okay. "His leg looks great Sam. You did it!"
"So he won't -"
"Lose his leg? No, it'll be just fine. It will probably be slightly sore for a few days but other than that it looks fine."
"What about his other wounds?"
"Well, the healing device appears to have helped somewhat, although he's not completely better. I expect that most of the energy went to heal his leg. We – or I should say you – can try it again later if you want to do some more healing, although the injuries he has now will get better on their own – eventually."
"Thank you Janet", Sam sagged against the bed once again.
"Don't thank me. You're the one who did it and Teal'c is the one who found the damn thing. I think you'd better go rest now. That took a lot out of you and you look like you could use a long nap."
"I'd like to stay Janet. What if he wakes up?"
"Well, I can assure you that's not going to be for a while", her friend said. "I have him doped up pretty well. Look, I promise I'll have a nurse call you if he looks like he's going to wake up, although I suspect it'll be hours yet. You need your sleep."
In the end Sam agreed, knowing she was almost dead on her feet. She made her way slowly to a VIP room, trying to figure out what had just happened.
It must have been a dream, she decided. She was exhausted, stressed – it's no wonder she was imagining things. It had probably been a good thing, though. Whatever had happened it had allowed her to relax and concentrate – and to heal the Colonel.
With a smile she climbed on the bed and pulled the covers over herself. Things were going to be fine. Soon they'd be back to normal.
Floating. That was his first thought, that he was floating. Of course it wasn't long before he knew exactly what that feeling meant. He was in the Infirmary and he was high as a kite. They must have him on some pretty good pain killers for him to feel quite so – floaty! That thought made him frown – at least inside, he didn't think he could manage even a tiny facial movement at this point. If they had him on that many painkillers it usually meant that things were really bad. Janet knew how much he hated the damn things and tended to avoid giving him the really strong stuff unless absolutely necessary.
Okay then – what had happened and what was wrong with him? He tried, as hard as he could, to remember, to think back on his last mission and figure out what had gone wrong. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried he simply couldn't remember a thing. The last thing he did remember was watching Teal'c walk through the event horizon.
Now, why would he have watched Teal'c do that on his own? Why wasn't he with him – or the rest of the team for that matter? Where was Teal'c going all by himself?
Damn, he wished he could remember. Well, if he couldn't figure out how at least he could figure out what? He started to take an inventory of himself, but drifted off after starting with his head wound the bandages around his head.
When next he awoke he felt a bit less drugged up although he was still on painkillers. This time though he could open his eyes, although only for a second. He didn't see anyone, which kind of bothered him. What if something was wrong with his team? What if something had happened to them and he was the only one who made it back? God no, he thought.
"Colonel?"
He could feel the relief spread throughout his body. Sam – er Carter! She was alive and she was here. He must have just missed seeing her.
"Jack" Daniel's voice followed by a deep timbered 'O'Neill' assured him that all his team was present and accounted for. Now all he needed was to hear Doc -"
"Colonel", Frasier said gently. "Come on and open your eyes. You've got visitors."
Well of course he had visitors! They were Sg1 and they always looked after each other and stayed by one another. He didn't really have to open his eyes to know that. Anyway, he was still so tired.
"Colonel, come on. I need you to wake up for me."
"Wh- y" he managed to ask.
"Well, because you've slept a long time and everyone's beginning to think you're lazy!"
"L-zy? Me?"
"Yes you Colonel. Come on."
"No" he muttered. He knew exactly what she wanted and he wasn't about to give it to her. Sadist that she was!
"Colonel please." Sam's gentle voice asked.
Hell – he couldn't say no to Carter. He slowly opened his eyes but he was surprised at the 10 lb weights on each eyelid.
"That's it Sir". Janet again. Damn!
"You're going to be just fine. Do you remember what happened?"
"Uh –" he slowly shook his head, not a single memory sneaking through.
"You went with Sg8 on a mission and while you were there you fell into a 30 ft shaft and were missing for over 2 days. We found you and brought you back to the SGC."
He pondered her explanation, to see if any of it seemed familiar but eventually shook his head. "Nope" he whispered. He didn't remember a thing.
"Well don't worry about it Sir. That's very common and the memories may come back in time. In the meantime would you like to know what happened to you?"
He nodded his head, desperate for information. Normally Janet wouldn't have jumped right to this with any other patient. She knew Jack was different. He wanted – no needed – to be kept informed. There was nothing he hated more, or made him feel more vulnerable, than not having the truth.
"Okay, let's start at the top!" Janet couldn't help but notice his small grin at this and instantly felt a whole lot better. As groggy as he was, he was still in there.
She spent the next 10 minutes carefully explaining his injuries to him. Fortunately, none were life-threatening and would all heal without too much problem. Unless Sam tried the healing device again, it would simply be a matter of time before he was better. She was just glad she didn't even have to mention his legs. They were both fine.
As Janet and the rest of Sg1 watched him drift off, she knew she'd probably have to repeat everything to him again. She wasn't sure how much he had taken in.
"He's sleeping Janet", Sam whispered.
"I know. That's good – it's what he needs. He'll drift in and out as he continues to heal and as long as I have him on pain meds. I'll start weaning him off of them slowly."
"Joy!" Daniel said. He knew what Jack was like when he was in pain, but would refuse to admit it. He could be a total bear!
Still, it was a huge relief to know that he was going to be okay.
Over the next few days O'Neill began to heal and to be more lucid. He still slept a lot and didn't say much but he was clearly getting better quickly.
Sam had offered to use the healing device again, but he'd refused. He knew it took a lot out of her and he hated to use alien technology unless he absolutely had to. They'd finally told him that she'd used it once, to save his leg. He'd been grateful but uncomfortable.
For some reason, he didn't know why, he was feeling very uncomfortable around Carter. Maybe he was getting it from her. She seemed unable to look him in the eye and to fidget anytime she came to see him. He'd tried to find out what was bothering her but neither Teal'c nor Daniel had a clue. They figured it must have been that she'd been worried about him but he knew it was more than that.
There was just something – off – about her and he couldn't put his finger on it.
Another strange thing happened and that was when he received a visit from Tony Fredericks. His team had finally told him about the mission and that he'd been with Sg8. He still couldn't remember it at all, but when the Major walked into the room he could feel himself tense up. He couldn't figure out why he felt such anxiety as he barely knew the man.
"Fredericks" he acknowledged when the man asked if he could come in. "What can I do for you?"
"Colonel, it's good to see you looking better. The last time I saw you I didn't think you were going to make it."
"Well, I'm pretty tough. I understand you helped look for me so I owe you my thanks."
Surprisingly, Fredericks didn't respond. Instead he looked down and stood silently for a few seconds. After a while he straightened and took a deep breath. "Actually Colonel, I'm here to apologize."
"Apologize? What for?" O'Neill looked at him, puzzled. He hadn't heard anything bad from anyone and there didn't seem to be any question that what had happened to him was an accident.
"We – I – was a jerk. We treated you badly on the mission and I'm the reason you were hurt."
"What?"
"You were decent – made it plain you weren't trying to take over. I felt – I don't know – envious of the respect you get and how you're viewed when I've always seen you as someone who flouts the rules and does pretty much what you want. I was ignorant and stupid and as a result my team treated you like crap!"
O'Neill didn't quite know what to say. He couldn't remember anything so felt more surprised than angry. He had to laugh though at Frederick's belief that he didn't follow the rules. God, if the man only knew!
"Uh – well, all I can say is I don't remember anything. If I did I might want to kick your ass – but as it is, I guess we'll forget about it. The next time – if there is a next time – I go on a mission with you, I expect you'll treat me with more respect."
Fredericks nodded, but still didn't look happy. O'Neill knew there was something else, and he tensed, waiting for what he thought might be coming.
"There was something else", he said quietly. "I sent you ahead, on your own, which I never should have done. Not only that, when you went to check in my t – we ignored you. We checked in just a couple of minutes later but there was no response. That must have been when you fell in the hole. I'm going to tell General Hammond, but I wanted to tell you first and to apologize. I was unprofessional and put you in danger. There's no excuse for that and I can assure you, if I remain here I will never do anything like that again."
Jack could read between the lines and it was obvious that he'd started to say 'his team'. The fact that he hadn't and that he'd taken responsibility himself, made Jack respect the man even more. "Uh, I don't know what Hammond will say or do, but as long as you tell me it'll never happen again, I'm happy with that. I don't think it had anything to do with me getting trapped, although it was a damned fool thing to send me off alone. I can't believe I agreed!"
"I expect you wanted to get away from us. We were real jerks to you."
"Really? Wow, and here I can't remember! Probably a good thing."
"I think so Sir."
Jack suddenly grinned. "You know, although I can be unconventional and my mouth sometimes runs away from me – I do follow the rules – at least most of the time. I wouldn't be here if I didn't."
The Major finally let a small smile appear. "I guess it just seems that you don't. I'll make sure to not make judgments like that in the future."
"Yeah, probably a good idea."
"Anyway Colonel, I'm glad you're okay and I hope you're better real soon." He went to turn and leave when he stopped. "And by the way – you have an amazing team! They certainly would do anything for you. If you ever decide to retire, I'd love to have them on my team."
"I don't know about that. If you think I'm bad about obeying the rules, you should try Jackson. He thinks they're just 'suggestions'.
Fredericks laughed. "Yeah, I could see a bit of that. But then there's Major Carter. Wow, is she ever an amazing – officer. I had no idea. You're a lucky guy Sir."
"I am indeed Major", he replied. "And you keep your paws off of them – they're mine!" He grinned and waved Fredericks out. He didn't know what Hammond was going to do, but his respect for the man had definitely increased.
Of course the conversation left him thinking about his team. Each of them was amazing and he knew he was lucky to have them. No, he was more than lucky – he was blessed. He didn't often think in those terms and had left any kind of formal religion behind years ago – but he still knew that someone, somewhere had given him a gift greater than almost anything he'd ever received, except for maybe his son. This time, however, he was going to make sure he didn't do anything to destroy it.
Finally the day arrived when he was able to go home. Of course his nursemaids practically drove him insane with their worrying and obsession with every little detail. In reality, all he wanted to do was go home and sleep in his own bed and watch his own TV.
He was sitting all alone, the TV turned on low. It was evening and his team had left hours before. He slowly sipped a juice – he had been strictly barred from any alcohol – and thought about the past week. He'd wanted to miss the holidays, to not have to think about Christmas. Well, he'd managed that in a spectacular way. Still, he was feeling rather lonely, which was silly after he'd made a bit point of needing some space.
"Never happy, are you O'Neill", he muttered to himself. He'd only just realized that it was Dec. 31st and soon the New Year would be rung in – and he'd be all alone, toasting himself. He sighed, knowing he was growing maudlin, but he figured he deserved it and he might as well enjoy his little pity party.
Wouldn't you know it! Just at the precise moment he decided he was damn well going to feel sorry for himself, and sorry he'd been deserted, his doorbell rang. He stood up stiffly and made his way to the door. Who the hell could it be?
"Hi Jack", Daniel said casually as he moved past Jack and headed towards the living room. He was carrying something but before Jack could ask what it was, Teal'c had barreled past him as well. He was left standing and staring at Carter.
She was dressed this evening in the sexiest little outfit he'd ever seen. It was – tight and black and short – and he was pretty sure he would never be able to breathe again. Not only that, he was terrified that he was suddenly going to grab her, flip her over his shoulder and take her to his bedroom. He was pretty sure the Broca virus had come back. He'd have to check with Janet in the morning.
"Sir?" Sam asked.
He blinked, and tried to inhale. It was harder than he thought possible. "Uh". Well, that was coherent!
"Are you okay Sir?", she asked, looking worried.
"Uh yeah." God, was that his squeaky voice? He cleared his throat. "Yeah, I'm fine. You're – looking – nice Carter." Nice? God, what an idiot! "I mean you look – really – good." Okay, he was officially claiming post traumatic stress. He was not in his rational mind.
"Thank you Sir", she grinned and gave him a knowing look.
The minx, he thought. She knows exactly what she's doing to me. "Not that I mind Carter, but uh, what are you guys doing here? I thought you'd all gone home for the day."
"No Sir. We wanted to let you rest but we were always planning to come back. We brought some party food and we decided to come over for New Year's Eve. You can't celebrate by yourself you know. Who are you going to sing Auld Lang Syne with?"
He finally grinned and felt himself relax. Yeah – definitely blessed!
The four friends had fun that evening, playing cards and telling stories. There was a lot of laughter and a few tears – but good ones. At 11:30 they turned on the TV and watched the pre-New Year's show and then the countdown. At 11:59 they all stood up and when the clock hit 12:00 they hooted and hollered and hugged.
Daniel gave Sam a quick kiss and then Teal'c took his turn. After that Sam ended up in front of O'Neill. He looked down at her in her sexy outfit and saw her sparkling eyes and her lips turned up in a smile. Ah hell – it was New Year's!
He slowly grabbed her and pulled her towards him. The noise and the revelry in the room all faded as he concentrated on the woman in his arms. He bowed his head, intending to give her a small kiss, but instead she put her hands in his hair and pulled him towards her.
As a kiss it was – well – mind blowing. He forgot where he was and he forgot that Teal'c and Daniel were watching. Instead, he deepened the kiss and let it go on, and on, and on ….
Soon they both pulled back, if only slightly. Instead of stopping though their passionate kiss turned into nuzzling and gentle, soft kisses.
Jack pulled her closer, unable to get enough of the woman in his arms. He didn't know why, but suddenly he knew there was nowhere else he wanted to be – in fact, there was nowhere else he could be. This was not only right, it was necessary.
Sam felt exactly the same way, the only difference was that a small voice was telling her that this was her precious thing and she could no longer live without it. She'd found him and she was not letting him go.
It was later – much, much later – when they both came up for air and looked around.
"Where are Daniel and Teal'c?" Sam asked, a puzzled frown on her face.
"I don't know." He called out to his two friends but there was no answer. Just then he spotted a note on the table. He picked it up and read it.
Congratulations you two. It's about time! Jack, you were lost but not anymore. Don't mess it up!'
Daniel and Teal'c
"I think they left", he said sheepishly, holding out the note.
She read it and smiled and then put the note down. She walked back to Jack and opened her arms. "I don't plan to mess this up", she said. "In fact, finders keepers! I found you, so now you're mine!"
Jack would say, years later, that this was the best New Year's Eve he'd ever had – but that it was only the beginning of an even greater life!
The End (and they all lived happily ever after, because this is my story and that's the way I want it!)
Okay so sue me! I didn't mean for J/S – but I'm incorrigible. I also did this in response to some requests from other romance addicted readers. So, I blame you! Not my fault at all. Now … on to my other stories.