Sam knelt beside him, shaking with the shock of what had just happened. Jack had been cut down by a spear thrown by one of the natives, and in retaliation and without thinking she had shot the man dead.
"Now, get me up!" he ordered her. Sam helped him to stand up, and with his right arm across her shoulders, they somehow managed to get back to the cave.
"Now," Jack told her as he sat propped up against the cave wall, "you've got to pull this thing outa me."
Sam began to shake her head negatively. "No, I can't do that, Sir. Don't ask me to!" Even after she had broken off a long section, there was still about twelve inches of the thing sticking out of him, and she couldn't be certain how much of the shaft had gone into his shoulder. But of one thing she was certain, there was a spear point inside his shoulder that was at least two inches across at the base and probably twice as long from top to bottom.
"Captain, you can do this. First we're gonna get my clothes out of the way. You'll have to cut 'em with your knife." Setting her lips in a tight line, she took her knife out of her boot, where Jack had taught her to carry it. Jack had already unzipped his jacket, and once Sam had cut a hole in it large enough for the shaft to easily slip through, they were able to remove it, one arm at a time. Gritting his teeth he leaned forward and Sam pulled the coat from around him, tossing it aside.
Under it he wore the usual long-sleeved, buttoned shirt and black t-shirt. While Sam watched, he began to unbutton the shirt.
"Faster if you help," he said breathlessly, and Sam did as he suggested, her hands trembling slightly as she worked on loosening the buttons. Their hands bumped together once or twice before Jack gave up and let her finish. Next she did the same thing to it as she had done with his jacket, and soon it too was off and thrown aside. Then he released the buckle of his belt, followed by the snap at the waist of his green trousers. Ineffectively he began tugging on his black t-shirt, while Sam just sat there and watched. Jack wasn't sure if she was terrified she'd hurt him, or simply put off at the thought of having to touch him. But right now he didn't give a rat's ass; he just needed to get this damned spear out of him!
"Captain, I could really use your help here," he rasped irritably. He was finding it difficult to move, let alone pull his shirt out of his pants! Shaking herself mentally, Sam finally took hold of his t-shirt and pulled the bottom out of his BDUs. Then she carefully ran the tip of the sharp knife under the thin fabric, quickly slitting the front up to the wound. She gingerly pulled the piece of black cotton away from the spear, but when it got stuck in his blood and he grimaced, she stopped.
"I'll need to wet the area," she said turning to pick up his canteen. When she had first seen the spear sticking out of him, the truth of their situation had hit her full force and she had gone into a state of shock. But now Sam was beginning to think more clearly, and she knew what she needed to do...although she certainly didn't feel very confident about it.
The blood had dried and the shirt was stuck in it. Sam poured a little water over the wound and cringed at Jack's pained expression. Then she took a deep breath and continued to pull the torn shirt free, until his chest was bare and the t-shirt was hanging from just his arms. She quickly and efficiently slit the sleeves and tugged the torn and tattered shirt the rest of the way off, saving several clean pieces while throwing the bloody sections into the dying fire.
Before getting back to work on Jack's injury, Sam threw some logs onto the fire from the pile they had collected earlier that day. After taking several long, calming breaths, she took off her jacket, got the first aid kit from her back pack and a couple of things from his. When she was ready, she knelt down next to Jack whose face was as white as death and covered in a thin sheen of sweat.
"You will need to lay flat on your back for this, Sir," she told him, and she waited while he scooted forward on the ground, leaving enough room to accommodate his upper body. She placed his long-sleeved shirt on the ground behind him, her breasts softly brushing his shoulder as she worked to spread it out. Her scent did not turn him on this time; it was just extremely comforting.
After she had arranged a place for him to lie down, she leaned forward, her hand supporting the back of his neck as she helped lower him onto his back. He didn't make a sound, but she guessed that moving about so much must be causing him a lot of pain. So when Sam looked into his eyes, she was relieved to see he was still with her. If he passed out now, she wasn't sure what she'd do! With trembling hands Sam opened the small flask he always carried in his pack, and poured some of the scotch over the wound.
"Hey, don't waste so much of that!" he complained in a raspy voice. "In fact, gimme some," he said, and Sam leaned over him once again, placing her hand under his neck to lift his head a bit. She poured an ounce of liquor over his dry lips, and then did something totally unexpected; she followed the liquor with a kiss.
"Wow! What was that for?" he asked, grabbing her arm to keep her from moving away.
"For luck, 'cause with me doing this, you're gonna need it!" she said, trying to lighten the mood. She was a nervous as hell, and she figured he might as well know it.
"I was hoping that you did it because you love me," Jack said softly, staring at her with his dark chocolate eyes. Sam smiled at him before responding.
"When I saw you go down out there, I swear my heart stopped. I don't know what I would have done if... I do love you, Ss...Jack. I think I have since the first time I saw you...even though you did come across as a bit of a..."
"What? A male chauvinist? Remember, I told you I like women, Carter."
"I know that, Sir. You also feel protective of women. You told me, remember?"
"Yah, I do. Can't help it; I was raised that way. But I really did try to treat you like one of the guys, you know?"
"I believe you. Now let's get that spear point out of you."
"First say it again," he urged, a smug smirk on his pale, damp face. Sam leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips once again, before saying the words he wanted to hear.
"I love you, Jack."
"Sweet!" he replied, his eyes reflecting the firelight.
A half hour later...
It had taken Sam twenty minutes just to finally work up enough courage to pull the flint, spear point out of Jack's shoulder, and she had been extremely relieved when blood did not come gushing out. The wound bled, but she was able to stem the flow easily, by packing the hole with pieces of his t-shirt. Once the bleeding stopped, she removed the packing, put some antibiotic on the wound and followed that with a bandage. When she was finished, she was glad to see that Jack was still conscious. She gave him a pill for the pain, which she knew would knock him out, and another to prevent infection, and then she began cleaning up the area, tossing the bloody scraps of t-shirt into the fire.
After Sam helped him move to his sleeping bag, he was very happy and relieved to see her moving hers over next to him. Then Sam got out a clean t-shirt from his pack and helped him put it on. Once Jack was laying down she untied his boots and removed them, wrinkling her nose at the smell of his feet. Jack saw her expression and couldn't help but comment.
"After three days without a bath or a change of socks, I bet yours don't smell much better," he told her. She smacked his calf playfully, and then she removed his dirty socks and tucked his feet inside the bag before zipping the bag shut.
"Want 'em zipped together," he said with a yawn. Sam knew the pain med was already making him sleepy.
"I'd like that too, Jack. But not yet. Wait till your wound has a chance to heal first."
"And then I'm gonna fuck you, Captain," he said softly, staring at her from under half-closed lids. Then his eyes shut completely, and Sam knew he was falling asleep.
"I can't wait, Jack," she replied, before leaning down to kiss his lips. Sam lingered there a bit, nuzzling his lips and jaw with her nose. Jack's lips were warm and soft, and his two-day-old growth scratched a bit, but she didn't mind. She took the opportunity to study his face, unlined and untroubled in sleep. Examining him like this was something she rarely had a chance to do, and she liked it. She also enjoyed being able to kiss him without worrying about who might be watching. It was easy here, light years away from Earth, to forget all about the regs that normally controlled their lives.
Sam reclined on her sleeping bag and just stared at him, feeling happier than she'd felt since her mother had been killed by a drunk driver when she was fourteen. Oh, sure, she'd had some pretty terrific things happen in her life since then, but she'd never had the love that she missed so desperately...until now. She knew that Jack had gone through some rough times too...that he had been alone now for years since his son's death and his subsequent divorce. 'Maybe,' she thought, 'I can give him back what he lost.'
Knowing that the pain medication would keep him out for a while, Sam decided to give in to her nervous exhaustion and get some much needed rest. She zipped up her sleeping bag and turned on her side facing Jack, and in just a few seconds she was sound asleep.
TBC