Disclaimer: They aren't mine. And I'd add a sarcastic or witty comment in here, but I think I've just about used up my sarcasm reserve up on O' Neill.
A/N: This is the fourth in this story. I should have this story wrapped up within a chapter or so. Thanks for hanging in there! By the way, this chapter is kinda confusing…so flame me all you want!
Season: It's pretty much S7/S8 apart from the fact that Jack is not yet head of the base! Also small spoilers in this chapter for Beneath The Surface
HUGE thanks to Waddles52 for helping in this little 'project' and clearing up my Naquadria problems. Also Oneillroxmyworld and Bekki/Aingeal for their valued input!
Enjoy and keep those reviews coming in!
OoOo
Jack scrunched up his face. Sam would have laughed at him if she found out he let the Doc stand up to him…no, more like run over the top of. The petite CMO went as far as threatening to ban him from the infirmary if he so much as heard a peep about him being even 10 metre's in the vicinity of her medical area for five hours. Not to mention injection of unnecessary fluids via a huge needle. Fraiser went on to clarify that included adjacent levels as well, so that meant no going near level's 24 to 32. Damn.
He turned around a corner and went to nose around in Sam's lab. He had the slightest inkling that he would find something there not that he would necessarily be able to figure it out at first.
He paused at the automated doors before walking in, sucking in a deep breath. The colonel shook his head and walked into where it had all begun. The potato was under the HEPA, looking slightly mouldy; he sat down at her desk and started fiddling with various things.
Jack started to unbend all her paper clips, and then he realised what he was doing and tried to 're-bend' them so as not to die of a certain blonde Major's wrath. He flipped open her laptop. It had a security code…damn. Would she have an obvious code or something that was right under someone's nose?
He typed in 'Technobabble'. Nope, wasn't it?
'Daniel's Allergies' Beep…access denied.
'Jolinar'. Still no.
Jack looked around the room helplessly, motioning with his hands as if he were talking to someone. "I dunno…. Pink Elephant Doohickeys?" He typed it in and was rewarded with…ACCESS DENIED. The Colonel slapped the screen lightly, more than a bit annoyed, and then noticed the little question mark icon. He clicked on it and was rewarded with a clue to her password.
'My name after I get married'Jack scowled again, and relecuctantly typed in 'Samantha Shanahan.' Despite his previous futile attempts, Jack O'Neill had never been so glad to see the words 'ACCESS DENIED' in his life. He got up and did a little dance, and then spotted the CCTV camera in the corner, he promptly straightened up. Bah! He'd take care of that later.
He sat down again on the lab stool, shifting so his ass wasn't going to go numb. Then something occurred to him, mostly wishful thinking, but it was as if something had come over his fingers. 'Samantha Carter O'Neill.'
The screen went black, and he immediately raised his hands up in a defensive gesture, "I didn't do anything." Seconds later, he was rewarded with a flash and he let out a relieved sigh as he watched the computer load the desktop and programs.
He didn't know how he'd known. He had been tempted to put in 'Samantha O'Neill' but somehow he knew her too well to think that she'd take his name completely. She was that kind of woman. Unpredictable and unique and yet oh-so-predictable at the same time to those who knew her well.
And now that he knew that her feelings were true (and not just Jacob trying to mess with him), he felt more hopeful than ever. She'd pull through and the first thing he'd do would be to hand in his resignation. No more frat regs, no more excuses (had he ever had any), just holding her and never letting go.
Of course there was the slight problem of getting Sam to wake up again, but the once sizable mountain in his way now seemed like a basic problem. O'Neill reasoned that if she had been studying the device and knew as much about it as she seemed to, she'd have known about the protein strands of the venom. She would have tried to find an antidote. She might not have been the best they had in Astromedicinal Biology, but Jack knew she was too proud, curious and stubborn to give it up without even attempting to try and find a counter-agent.
He opened up her Home drive and looked at the properties panel… he rubbed his temples. This was going to take a while, and normally he wouldn't even bother, but he'd do it, for Sam. He started systematically looking at the Folder headings.
'Fanfiction'. Nope, no idea what that was. Sounded un-Carter though.
'Mission Reports'. Not going near there. Jack steered the cursor away from that particular folder.
'Diary Entries' Tempting, but no. Maybe later though.
There were a number of other folders around, but the one that caught his eye was 'Extra Curricular Research in Technobabble for 'Doohickeys'. Jack grinned…. yup, that was it. Long words…check. O'Neill-type words. Check, this was it. He was rubbing off on her.
He opened the folder and nearly sent the laptop flying. There were SO MANY Files! His eyes were getting blurry just looking at the screen and colour coded icons. Where the heck was Daniel's coffee when he needed it? Speaking of the Spacemonkey, who as that at the door? Jack looked up, and there was the archaeologist himself.
"Hey Jack." Daniel said shifting around, Teal'c just bowed his head quietly to acknowledge a greeting.
"Hey guys." Jack said, still trying to clear his mind of the swarming colour coded icons, " What are you doing?"
"We came to visit you, O'Neill. We also brought coffee and to see if you require our assistance?" Teal'c said, worried for his friend who was at this moment pinching the bridge of his nose.
Jack looked up. (Shush! I'm having a Jack moment here!) "You mean Janet sent you down here to check if I was anywhere near her medical equipment?" He said gesturing with his hands. Daniel handed him a cup of coffee, which he gladly accepted.
"Come on Jack. You know she means well," Daniel started in his ever-so-diplomatic, reasonable tone of voice. "She just doesn't want you to burn yourself out…"
"Daniel, at this point I don't really care as much to 'why'. I just want to know HOW I can fix this?" He turned the laptop screen around and showed them the screen full of icons, taking a sip of the hot beverage in his hand
"I can understand your frustration." Said Teal'c as he too was getting confused just looking at the screen.
Jack looked out from looking at the bottom of the already empty coffee cup, catching what appeared to be an eye rolling from his friend and raised an eyebrow, "Was that a joke T? A bit hard to get, but good."
Teal'c returned the eyebrow, but a hint of a smile played at his lips. "Indeed."
"Well, as you can see, I have heaps of work to do, so could you please…. shoo?" He made a few 'shoo' movements. Any ordinary person would have taken that as him being rude, but Daniel knew Jack enough to know that his little 'hand gesture' was actually a very polite version of what it could have been, and Jack wanted alone time, which as understandable.
"Are you sure you don't want us to help? I mean T and I could help you look at this if you want." Daniel offered, looking sideways at his alien friend who was looking quite ill at the thought of facing the computer screen full of icons. But it was gone in a second; Teal'c was as willing to help get Sam back as any other person on SG1.
"I appreciate your help and concern Daniel. Really I do, but I think I can handle this."
"But…" Daniel started to protest but Teal'c interrupted him.
"We will be here as soon as you call for our assistance, O'Neill. Come along Daniel Jackson. I believe they have pie available in the commissary."
"But…all right." He allowed himself to be steered to the door by Teal'c "Bye Jack." He called over his shoulder, and then they were gone.
"Oh, it's you again." He said at the computer screen and started to scroll through and see if anything could be crossed off the list.
0o0o0o0
COMMISARY
"Why'd you do that, Teal'c?" Grabbing the pies and sitting at the table they'd sat when Sam had gone into the infirmary. A few pieces of the remains of Daniel's carrot cake explosion still littered the surrounding floors.
"O'Neill requires some time to himself to recuperate. I believe he is right in believing that the Major Carter's current predicament lies in her computer."
"Is he NUTS? It's written in a language that only she and like the technicians on this base understand!" Daniel exclaimed before calming down, "Well, Janet wasn't exactly wrong when she said he'd work himself into the ground over this. Especially after he found out about Sam's working around the clock to get him back from Endora. "
"Indeed. But I'm afraid that was not the only time he found Major Carter to be overworking in her efforts to have him return to her."
"What are you talking about T?" Daniel frowned, "There were more times?"
"There was one time, when you were Ascended, Major Carter, Colonel Maybourne and O'Neill were on an off world mission to explore a cache of Ancient weapons. Unfortunately, Colonel Maybourne managed to secure Major Carter's weapon while she was occupied with the device. He zatted both O'Neill and Major Carter, before jumping through a porthole. O'Neill followed, and they got stranded on what was actually the moon of the planet." Teal'c paused to take a bite of his now cooling pie.
Daniel studied his friend's expression closely, and a great deal of emotion seemed to be lurking around. Also taking a bite of his food, he asked. "Where were you when this occurred Teal'c?"
For a moment, he saw guilt and sadness in his friend's eyes. "I was checking the perimeter. I should have known better than to leave Colonel Maybourne, but…"
"Hold it Teal'c. This isn't your fault." The archaeologist gestured for his friend to continue. He received a nod as Teal'c resumed their conversation
"Major Carter was convinced it was her fault they were taken by surprise and he got stranded. She worked non-stop for over 4 days, before we had to sedate her. Her full attention was spent on getting O'Neill back. I am told she was quite determined and vented her frustration onto Dr. Lee's technology field team. She was most angered when he told her that they could do no more and were needed on base. Major Carter worked herself harder than before, once almost fainting while Jonas Quinn and I were trying to decipher the inscriptions on the key device."
He and Daniel pushed aside their plates before he started to explain once more. " Approximately a month later, I detected her crying in the women's locker room…"
"Hold on, Teal'c. What the hell were you doing in the women's locker room?" He asked his friend. Daniel knew that he respected the regulations they had on earth, and knew he held an even higher respect for women who like himself, fought side by side with Allies to defeat the enemy. So what was he doing in THAT room?
"Major Carter and I were the only ones there, and she was fully clothed."
"Oh. Right." Daniel said, nodding.
"She had a similar reaction, but I knew she needed company. When I sat with her, she told me that loosing O'Neill felt like," He paused not sure how to put his words " she said that loosing O'Neill felt like loosing you all over again, and how she wasn't sure that she could handle that. However, I got the distinct impression that she meant that she wouldn't feel like living without O'Neill. She was pushed that far to the edge."
"Ohhh…." Was all Daniel could say as his brain tried to process the information and deal with a surge of emotions at the same time.
"How did Jack find out?" He asked after a while of silence.
"When we flew to the moon, to pick them up, at first, they had a most unemotional reunion. However, when I was escorting Colonel Maybourne they had a more joyous reaction. They embraced, and I left to give them privacy. But he knew that Major Carter would be concerned of his disappearance. He knew her reactions. Later, he asked me, how hard she worked to get him back him. I told him."
"Well, that's Sam for you. Never leave anyone behind, not if she has anything to do with it." Daniel said. "She and Jack are both alike in that way."
"Yes they are." A voice above them said.
Teal'c and Daniel looked up to see Jacob moving a chair over to sit with them. "Where is Jack anyway? I would have thought he'd be with Sam, but he hasn't been there for a while."
"He's in her lab. Janet kicked him out. He's been tapping away on her computer ever since." Daniel answered
"Her computer you say?" Jacob asked thoughtfully.
"Indeed. Most likely attempting to find a means to end her current situation."
"Probably." The Tok'ra agreed, although he was thinking other things. "I'll go visit him later. Now, what are the pies like today, boys?
"Well...actually, they're a bit on the sweet side, but like we would ever complain or..."
0o0o0o0
In Sam's lab, Jack rolled his eyes in an attempt to relieve the itchiness. He needed an appointment with the optometrist after this. He'd gone down about half the folder contents, and his eyes were getting very tired. He decided to explore the rest of her computer before returning to the page. Jack kept his eyes on the bright screen as he removed his jacket.
He clicked on Fanfiction and opened the first document. He skimmed through the first couple of pages, and decided he couldn't be bothered trying to understand what was going on. The whole folder consisted of a whole bunch of files and a folder.
'Mission Reports'. Jack reluctantly clicked on it; not really wanting to read what he'd 'read' (in the form of paper work) before. Again, the folder consisted of a stack of files and a single folder at the bottom of the screen labelled "Message", O'Neill clicked on it, only to be prompted by another set requests for a password. Only this one didn't have a hint so he shut it off.
However, Jack did not think it a bad idea to read her mission report on 'P3X-596', where the weird device had originated. And what do you know? It was the planet next to P3X-595, with all those weird substances. He found one file, which he brought up and minimized to task bar.
'Diary Entries' Jack didn't know whether he should dare enter her domain of thoughts. He weighted the pros and cons. On one hand, if he found something, that could save her, it would all be worth it. But on the other hand, he might not find anything of use and read something that he didn't want to know. He decided that opening it would be of greater benefit, so he did just that.
He tried to open the first file, only to find it was encrypted. He went to the next, and the next, and the next…they were all encrypted. He scrolled down the page, drawing his finger down the laptop mouse pad. He noticed a flash of yellow and noticed yet again a folder called 'Message'. He tried to open it, but again it was password encrypted.
By now, little red flags were going up in O'Neill's mind. Whatever was in there must be pretty important and secret. Or at least, classified so only Sam knew. He was pretty sure it wasn't a work file, especially if there were short cut links in every folder.
Jack decided he'd taken a long enough break. He opened up the mission report to 'P3X-596.' And read through it. It explained nothing more than the necessary details in a report. Outlining it had been a reconnaissance type mission, scouting for what had been a reportedly inhabitant free planet. How they'd found this device sitting on the edge of a rocky outcrop of rock. There had been several leads of Ancient technology, and it was considered a good place for a Gamma site.
However, it was when Carter had written that the device had been very intriguing and she would be carrying out further tests, that Jack's instincts had perked. There was a link that she provided for the file. Jack excitedly went to find it, and open it up. Inside were blueprints she had deciphered from the device and schematics for the alien device itself, as well as a possible a counteracting device.
It seemed that Sam had known there was an infector agent carried by the worm within the device to protect the contents. She believes that it was an Ancient device, which was the literally, the key to another weapon capable of defeating the Goa'uld. She'd gone on to explain exactly how the device had worked, its capabilities, its make up…so on. But then she'd gone on about the counteracting device, and Jack felt a new surge of hope.
He looked at what was on the page, some words like 'sub-space', 'energy', and module' he'd heard of and understood to some degree. But there were words completely beyond his comprehension like 'intermolecular Euclid theorem' or 'Transference of kinetic corruption'.
But he'd found the key, and now that Jack knew that there was a way to save his 2IC, fire and determination had returned to his eyes. He wasn't going to give up. He hastily looked around for a book, and started looking up words. He'd been working for 3 hours when he'd come across a particularly frustrating term.
"Intermolecular Euclid theorem is the occlusal recta- wait no, rectifier based rebound roent- uh—rottening—um—recom—recombiantou…" Jack said trying to read out loud.
"Oh for Crying out Loud! Could you explain something in plain ENGLISH! " He yelled as he threw the book on the ground as hard as he could at the floor. His patience was wearing thin. His 2IC and genius was unconscious and he hadn't had a coffee in at least 4 hours let alone a decent pee for a while, and nothing was going his way. You could say that the stress was getting to him.
"You're supposed to be a DICTIONARY! Dictionaries EXPLAIN things, not complicate them! If Sam dies because I can't decipher this I'm gunna sue your son-of –a-bitch ompany! THIS IS CARTER LANGUAGE!"
Nearby airmen must have heard the racket, and because one knocked the door and received a loud "ENTER!"
He bravely asked a rather pissed off Colonel Jack O'Neill, "Everything ok, sir?"
"No, it's not, Airman. Give me your sidearm please."
The airman looked at him dubiously, pondering the safety of the action. "Oh, for the love of everything Asguard, I'm not going to shoot my self. Carter's life is at risk here!"
Reluctantly, the SF handed over his Beretta. Not only did he have a great deal of respect for all of SG1 but he did sort of have a crush on Major Carter. He watched as the said major's CO clicked off the safety and pulled the trigger back a few times. Each time emitting a loud, sharp bang, which then resounded off the thick concrete walls?.
When everything was cleared, and all 15 pullets had been spent, the once in perfect condition 'Dictionary of Astrophysics' was now riddled in 14 bullet holes, the 15th was stuck in the CCTV camera. "Thank you Airman. I'll be sure to tell Hammond that you contributed to saving Major Carter. Dismissed."
"Thank you, sir." Was all the shocked SF could say. He was more concerned about how he was supposed to explain an empty clip! He exited the room and headed for the armoury.
Suddenly the phone on the wall rang. "Jack, what's going on?" Hammond barked into the phone. He was seriously concerned for the mental health of his 2IC.
"Well, I was just trying to save Major Carter, sir. I'm sorry. I have to go. Toddles, sir." And he hung up the phone.
Jack scratched his head, sliding down the wall he'd been leaning against to sit on the cold concrete with his forearms on his knees. He was going to get reprimanded for that comment, but he didn't really care right then, he had bigger fish to fry. Toodles…what kinda of word was that?
While his little shoot-up had relieved a whole lot of tension, it hadn't helped ease his emotions much. He didn't want to deal with losing his 2IC, and he didn't want to lose his soul mate. He leaned his elbows on the workbench and looked vacantly ahead. He remembered all the times when Sam had risked her life on a limb to save him, and he'd done the same.
Everything that they'd been through together, as a team had meant it shaped them into who they were today. By themselves, they had their failures, but together, in a united front, they were unbeatable. SG1 was the only team in the Stargate Program, which had been together from the start and were still going strong. They'd lost members temporarily, but they came back.
But that wasn't all. Jack could truthfully say that these nine years had been the hardest of his life. With loosing Daniel, Kawalski in their pursuit from a Threat Free Planet, he had turned to his team for stability. But it was also one of the happiest times of his life. Getting to work with a team of talented people side by side fighting snakeheads. And he remembered at first how he'd taken to a dislike to Captain Carter, but now, he seemed at a loss without her. Gradually, he'd gotten to trust his team with his life and so much more, not to mention falling in love with a certain Airforce scientist.
Jack couldn't pinpoint exactly when it had happened. He wished he could say that it had been love at first sight, but that wasn't what had happened. He had been the exact arrogant, pompous ass jerk that Carter worked so hard to prove herself to. But somewhere along the way, he knew he'd fallen for her hard. Whether it had been their refusal to leave the other in a situation where not only the other person's life was at stake, but theirs too, he didn't know.
At first, he tried to reason with his unprofessional thoughts for his friend and 2IC, but it wasn't working anymore. He couldn't keep convincing himself that trees were red and the Earth was flat. Because trees were green and the Earth was round and Jack O'Neill was in love with Samantha Carter.
The experiences they'd all been through together bonded them more than blood could bond ever bond a family. Regardless of biological standpoint, his family was the SGC, be it from Hammond to Siler. Maybe not Felger, he was like the long-lost cousin twice removed. And if he didn't find a way to save Samantha Carter soon, then it'd be like loosing Charlie all over again, only worse.
Their years together had taught them to use each other's strengths and look after their weaknesses. Jack's weakness wasn't as apparent to the casual onlooker as it seemed to be. Some people said he was too objective, too cold and that he didn't care, and they said that THAT was his weakness. Hah!
Jack's weakness wasn't that he didn't care enough. His weakness was that he cared too much. A man who had lost all he had, a son, a family, countless friends and colleagues, one would expect him to naturally stop caring at all. To present himself with the utmost professionalism, and honour. But how many countless times had he sacrificed himself for his team. For Samantha.
And yet he asked for nothing in return. Not even for the knowledge that they would instantly sacrifice the same things for him (although he knew it deep down somewhere). For saving the world, you think you'd get a little more than an military salary.
He would put everything on the line for them, because they were all he had left. At this point, he had nothing to loose but them. Of course, in contrast, they were what kept him going, what prevented him from giving up, so that also made it his strength.
Of course it was a bit different with his 2IC. He obviously didn't have the feelings for Teal'c as he did for Sam. While he was almost always sarcastic and snarky with his other family members, to hide his feelings, he softened up a great deal when it was Sam in question.
He'd let her get away with a whole lot more than he let even Daniel, hell, a whole lot more than he was supposed to as a CO. But again, he would sacrifice himself for her, as he had on numerous occasions, the Zar'tecs, the Armband incident…Only for her, Jack would sacrifice his own emotions and happiness, for her to be happy. That's what had made him not interfere with Pete the first time around.
But he couldn't do that a second time, now that the younger man had proposed. Samantha Carter was on the brink of death, and it was a very real possibility that she would never return again. And if she did return, Jack didn't want to see her with another man. Sure, it wasn't like it was the end of the world (well, it would have been the end of his world, if that makes sense), and they would see each other. But they would loose the bond that they both cherished so much. She would have her own life, and Pete would priority before him.
The klaxons sounded, pulling Jack from his mind-boggled state. "Diplomatic team and SG9 to the Control room." The message repeated again as Jack got up and stretched. He glanced at his watch, five hours of prohibitions from the infirmary ended in a little while. He figured he could do with a break and spend some quality time with Carter. He grabbed his discarded jacket and was out the door, whistling an off-key tune.
0o0o0o0o
An unobserved mysterious figure watched around the corner as the one named Jack O'Neill left. He waited for half a minute before slowly sliding out from the concrete wall he'd been using as a shield. He looked cautiously looked up at down the corridor, he faked a smile at a passing by airmen, as he deliberately walked past his destination.
Smiling was a rare occurrence for this man, these days. More often than not, he had no reasons to smile. Not for what he did or who he was, his past or what he saw. However, this man had observed the SGC time and time before, and knew it better than most people should, and knew how quickly scuttle butt could get around.
That was why he was so eager to stay in the shadows about this matter. Even with Major Carter out of action, it would only be so long, before Colonel O'Neill figured it out. Seeing no one in the hallway in front of him, he turned around to walk back to Major Carter's lab. He slipped in quietly and undetected past the biometric lock, easily and stealthily dealt with.
Once inside, he reached into his inner garment pocket and withdrew a small, perfect cube made out of what appeared to be flawless crystal. An explosive device, well sort of.
He hastily, but carefully put the device on top of the cold, shiny bench. He wasn't concerned about being detected, no one would even suspect him, but the sooner he was done with the business, the better.
Quickly, he activated the device by applying pressure to all-sides, except the surface upon which it rested, and watched as a strange glow took over it. Moments later, the glow was gone and the device was slid next to the laptop.
His job here was done, and it was time for him to leave. He turned to leave, and with one final glance at the innocent-looking device on the bench.
It was time for him to return to his people, in time, he was sure that he would hear of the effects of the device anyway. Nothing ever stayed quiet for long at Stargate Command…nothing except for the Stargate itself.
But at least now his people had a chance to win over their every present demons. By the time they realised what it was, it could be too late, and the entire dynamics of Stargate Command could changed forever.
Maybe for better, maybe for worse. But it was too late now, the trap was set and he was only following orders but; Samantha Carter and Jack O'Neill, now warriors of the Tau'ri should have pulled out eight years ago.
o0o0o0o0
How'd you like that? It was annoying of me to leave it there, I know. I'd suggest you bring a seatbelt and a cushion, you might be surprised at who it is, then again maybe not.
Please review…I love all of you who have so far, I really appreciate your comments!
This is Black Storm….out.
p.s It'd be really great if you also told me WHO you think the 'mysterious figure with the explosive device',is in your reviews, I'd like to see which is the most popular suspect. I'll put the results up in the next chapter.