Chapter 2 : New Beginnings

He was lying on his back. Every muscle in his body hurt and he couldn't decide what was the worst: his leg or his chest. Something in his throat was making it difficult to breath on his own. He wanted to cough to get the offending thing out but he only ended up nearly suffocating himself.

He quickly became aware of a beeping sound. A heart monitor! He was in the infirmary. He realized he was waking up but he didn't want to. His dream had been so much more comfortable than the pain he was now in. He tried fighting consciousness but a voice was making it hard for him to go back to that comfortable place of sleep.

"Sir? Sir?" A female's voice. Carter's voice. Suddenly he wasn't sure he wanted to go back to sleep. "Jack!" That did it. He opened his eyes and tried to gasp but the oxygen tube in his throat was suffocating him! He heard Sam calling for Janet and then she turned her eyes back on him.

"Easy sir, try to breathe through it. Nice deep breaths." The doc came running into the infirmary, a few nurses close on her heels.

"Easy colonel. Try to relax, I'm going to remove the tube." He nodded furiously, all too eager to get the thing out so he could breathe properly again. He started coughing and heaving when the object was finally out. "Try not to talk to much just yet, it'll hurt your throat." Janet explained and he nodded in comprehension.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions, just nod or shake your head." She went on. "Are you in any pain at the moment?" He didn't respond immediately, afraid that if he admitted it, she'd pump him full of drugs again and he'd be out before you could say 'off-world activation'. "I'll take that as a yes." She said with a small smile on her face. Damn!

"Follow my finger." He did as she asked and cooperated with a few more tests she wanted to conduct. Sam stayed quietly at his side, observing them with anticipation, afraid that Janet might still find something wrong with him, other than the obvious.

"Everything looks to be going well. I'll change your bandages in a little while." She said as she wrote something down on his chart. "Until then, I'll let Sam explain some things to you." She smiled. "It's good to have you back sir." The petite doctor turned around and walked away, leaving the two officers alone.

"Wahte." Jack tried to bring out but he wasn't succeeding entirely. Thankfully, Sam understood what he meant and offered him a drink. Before he could ask for anything else, she began to talk.

"You were hit by Jaffa on our last mission. You didn't move, we thought you were dead." A couple of tears welled up in her eyes but she quickly blinked them away. He took in her appearance. There were dark circles around her eyes which showed evidence of tears. He thought she looked a bit thinner but that was just because he knew she wouldn't have eaten much, instead choosing to sit by his bedside all day.

"We got you back to the SGC but you'd already lost a lot of blood. Janet immediately operated on you but you coded on the table." She was rambling it all off, probably afraid that when she stopped for a moment she would think about what she was saying and be overwhelmed by emotion.

"She was able to bring you back but you slipped into a coma. We all had turns keeping guard in case you'd wake up or…" 'Die' she meant to say. "It's been a week." She concluded. Jack nodded slightly. He was already beginning to feel the pull of sleep from the extra painkillers Janet gave him. He fought it, he didn't want to go back to sleep... not just yet.

"D'niel? T?" He asked hoarsely.

"They're fine. A few scrapes and bruises but nothing serious." She was quick to reply.

"You?" His voice was getting a little bit better.

"I'm good… now that you're awake." She added silently. Jack stared at her, wishing he could gather her in his arms to comfort her. She stared back and he noticed a lone tear running down her cheek before she wiped it away.

"You should get some sleep." She said. "You don't look too good." His eyelids were already drooping but he managed to get out a reply.

"Don't look so good yourself either." She chuckled at that and it was the last thing he heard before sleep overtook him again.

When he woke up again Daniel was there instead of Sam, a book on his lap and keeping vigil over him as he slept.

"Where's Sam?" He spoke and his friend immediately looked up.

"You're awake." The young man put his book down and walked over to the side of the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Like crap." Jack answered. "Where's Sam?" He inquired again. He didn't mean to offend Daniel but he really needed to talk to her before he lost his courage. The archaeologist just smiled.

"She went to get a shower and a bite to eat. She hasn't left your side you know. Teal'c and I tried to convince her to go to her quarters and sleep but she would have none of it. And really, what did you expect? It was you." There was no accusation in his voice, just mild amusement.

"I want to talk to her." If his friend guessed his motives, he didn't call him on it but just nodded, no questions asked because that's what friends do.

"I'll go get her." He walked towards the exit but turned around before leaving. "And Jack? I'm glad you made it." He smiled a little and disappeared around the corner. Good old Spacemonkey.

One of these days he was going to have to thank Daniel for saving his life but then again he was Jack O'Neill so it probably would come out as an insult anyway. Still, he vowed to let his long time friend know, maybe not in an explicit way like normal people but in his own special and on occasion eccentric one.

A couple of minutes passed until a shy looking Sam entered the infirmary, being escorted by Daniel.

"Here you go Jack, one Samantha Carter as ordered. Have fun!" He chuckled and left the room again for which Jack was infinitely grateful. This was going to be hard enough as it was without there being an audience.

"Hi sir. Daniel said you wanted to see me?" She walked closer to his bed until she was standing at the end near his feet.

"Yeah." He wasn't sure what to say next. He'd never thought about what he would say, too busy thinking about getting her alone. And get your mind out of the gutter!

"How are you feeling?" She asked trying to alleviate the tension.

"Pretty good." He answered. Yeah, pretty good despite the enormous snake chewing on his guts. Euw, bad choice of words. "Carter…" Nope, not good. "Sam…" He started. "Have you ever … experienced something … that you think didn't … really happen … like a vision of some sorts?" He asked hopeful.

"Yeah." She replied. "When I was on the Prometheus in that cloud." She elaborated when she saw his surprised look. "What about it?"

"I think it happened to me when I was … you know." He trailed off.

"I see." She said. "What happened in this vision?" Jack swallowed. He didn't want to utter his next words, didn't want to acknowledge how close he'd really come to dying but she had to know, he had to tell her.

"I met with Oma." He answered. Sam remained dead silent, taking in the meaning of those words.

"Did she… did she offer you ascension?" She asked, her tone of voice betraying that she almost did not want to know the answer.

"She said she could help me… you know if I wanted to but that it wasn't necessary yet." He told her the truth.

"What do you mean?" Her brows knitted together as she approached him a bit further.

"She said it wasn't my time yet." He felt stupid with what he was going to say next but he had to get it out. "She said I had to carry out my destiny first." His fingers were plucking at the blanket draped over him, his eyes following the movements their colleagues were making.

"Your destiny?" She repeated still a little confused. He nodded, not yet ready to look her in the eyes.

"You." He simply answered. He looked up to see her staring at him dumb folded. "I've seen it Sam." He stared desperately back in her amazing blue eyes.

"What?" Her voice was husky, he nearly didn't recognize it. He swallowed and continued. No going back now.

"How it could be if we were together." He explained. "She showed it to me. We were happy and call me selfish but I want that life. I want to be happy." He concluded. He saw Sam swallowing at the implication of his words and waited in anticipation for her answer.

"I want it too." Her voice was just above a whisper but he heard it as clearly as if she'd shouted it and he broke into a tentative smile that immediately grew. She joined him, her eyes twinkling with happiness as she leant forwards, carefully took his face in her hands and gave her a small peck on the lips, just like he'd seen in his vision.

"I love you Jack O'Neill." She whispered and he didn't think anyone in the world, heck even the whole galaxy, could be happier than he was right now. He could have a future with Sam and maybe even those two kids he saw in the garden with Oma.

"I love you too Samantha Carter." And he kissed her again, more passionate this time, taking his time to explore her mouth with his tongue.

They were interrupted by someone clearing his throat. They broke off and turned to see Daniel standing in the doorway, a tray of food in his hands and Teal'c standing behind him with a bowl of fruit, a knowing smile on both their faces.

"I thought you might like to eat something." The younger man shrugged. "We can come back later if you want." He pointed the tray towards the hallway, making clear that he wouldn't mind if that were the case.

"It's fine Daniel. Thanks, I'm starving." His friend walked up to them and placed the tray in front of Jack. It carried several food items and two of Jack's favourite dishes: pie and Jello.

"Daniel, you know I don't like blue Jello." Jack complained pointing at the offending colour as Teal'c settled himself in the chair next to the bed, conjuring up a fork from his pocket and digging into his fruit.

"Oh I know." Daniel replied. "That one's for Sam." He said, handing the woman in question her favourite dessert while grabbing a cup of green Jello for himself.

"Thanks Daniel." Sam said as she accepted the cup. Jack decided to help himself with a cup of good old red.

"No problem. So what do you guys think, a toast?" Daniel began, raising his cup for lack of champagne or some other drink people tended to use to give a toast.

"Sure."

"Why not."

"Indeed."

"To old times." Daniel hoisted his cup in the air and Jack and Teal'c followed his gesture.

"And new beginnings." Sam added, raising her own cup, gazing lovingly at Jack.

The End