Sam was dreaming of blue things; a sky blue parka she wore when she went skiing, a bottle of blue body wash that was currently sitting in her shower at home, blue Jell-O on the naked limbs and chest of her CO... Her CO! Holy Hannah!
Suddenly Sam sat up, taking her sleeping bag with her. She looked like a butterfly trying to emerge from its cocoon, only the damned thing wouldn't let her out. She wriggled and finally got her arms free, fingers searching for the zipper. After she managed to pull it half the way down the side, she relaxed, wondering why she had awakened with such a start.
Then she heard it...a high-pitched whine, like the engine of jet when it was revving up. Suddenly she heard Jack say one word, "ship". Sam grabbed her shoes from the floor at the end of her sleeping bag and pulled them on, as Jack struggled to sit up. Ignoring him, she got up and ran out of the cave and toward the edge of the rise above the stream bed. As she ran she kept her face lifted toward the sky, finally looking down only when she was in danger of barreling right over the edge. She planted her feet and looked up once again. She could still hear the sound, but the cloud cover was so thick and so close to the ground, that she could not see what was making it.
Suddenly Sam was aware of Jack standing close behind her. Even though he hadn't made any noise or said anything, she knew he was there. He stepped closer to her, his chest pressing against her back, his warm breath hitting the back of her neck as his hands gripped her biceps.
"It woke me up too."
"I can't see anything, can you?" she asked him.
"Wait! There! It is a ship!" he said, pointing to a wispy gray area where the clouds were less thick. And now she could see it too! It was definitely some sort of flying craft, but just exactly what kind or who it belonged to, she had no idea and neither did Jack.
Aboard the newest ship in the growing Tok'ra fleet, Selmac/Jacob sat behind the guidance control panel, his eyes focused on the colored images of the holographic display in front of him. They were scanning the planet for heat signatures, and had already located a large group of warm bodies clustered together exactly where they had been told, by Dr. Jackson, that the village was located. Now they were looking elsewhere, hoping to find just two warm bodies, Col. O'Neill's and Capt. Carter's.
Jacob/Selmac had started at the gate and was currently following along the base of the mountain, thinking that the two wouldn't have gone more than a few miles away from the stargate. They also theorized that the two might have sought out a warmer location, since the temperature reading on the mountain was currently five degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature in the valley directly below the mountain was twenty degrees warmer, and so that is where they were currently searching. Of course they realized that Jack and Sam might be iin/i the village. And if that were the case, only a trip down there would tell them for sure. Both Jacob and Selmac were hoping that trip wouldn't be necessary.
The other man on the bridge was much younger than Selmac or Jacob, but even so he had been treating Jacob/Selmac like a fledgling pilot, which was quickly becoming very annoying to both of them.
"We can't fly at this slow speed for long before the engines will overheat," Karush commented, looking with worry at the man next to him.
"Need I remind you that I helped design the engines, Karush?" Selmac asked.
"No, Selmac, you have told me many times how you worked on the design for years before your recent illness," he replied testily. Selmac and Jacob both knew the man was referring to the illness of Selmac's previous host, who had died the day Jacob had become her new host.
"Then you should keep your eyes on the display, and let me know when the engine temperature reaches critical." Suddenly the voice changed pitch, as Jacob Carter spoke.
"And if you are really here to help me find Col. O'Neill and my daughter, you will stop being such a pain in the ass and do your job!" Jacob said, and Selmac laughed loudly inside Jacob's head. This having another person inside his head was still a little hard to believe and even harder to deal with sometimes, but most of the time Jacob liked it just fine. The alternative stunk, of that he was quite certain!
Down on the planet Jack and Sam had decided to take a chance that the ship they had seen was not Goa'uld, but some other race that would help them get home. And so Sam and Jack had gathered as much dry wood and brush as they could find, and they had built a large fire out in front of the cave, figuring that a heat sensor was probably the only thing that could locate them from that far away. They had been correct, and in the next sweep of the area, they were located and beamed aboard, using the ship's demolecularization technology...a gift from their new allies the Asgard.
When the doors to the cargo compartment opened, and Sam saw her father standing in the doorway, she smiled but she couldn't run to him because Jack was leaning heavily on her. She walked a few steps with him toward the wall, and that was when Jack passed out. Sam went down with him, cradling his head in her arms as she spoke softly to him, telling him that they were safe on Jacob's ship. Jacob stood over them, his face red with anger.
"Sam! What the hell!" Sam's father could see the white bandage sticking out of the neckline of Jack's black t-shirt as well as his pale complexion, but Jack's injury wasn't what concerned him. It was his daughter's un-military-like behavior.
"He's been wounded, Dad. ...a spear in the shoulder. I got it out, but he lost some blood. I need to give him more antibiotics. Can you get my pack, Dad?" she asked, not looking up. When he didn't move to help, she gave him a meaningful glare. "Jack is hurt, Dad!"
Reluctantly he picked up the pack and brought it to her. Then he watched in disgust as she fed Jack a pill and gave him some water, talking to him the whole time in a low, affectionate tone of voice. Jacob shook his head and started to leave the room. Then he stopped in the doorway and turned to look at her.
"You know this is gonna ruin your career, Sam," he said sternly.
"What makes you think that I care, Dad?" she asked, her expression as cold as ice. Jacob turned and left, the door hissing shut behind him.
It was twelve long, uncomfortable days before Sam and Jack got back to the SGC. And now Jack was in the infirmary with a very concerned Dr. Janet Frasier standing over him. Sam, who had gone to take a shower and change clothes, walked up behind her, eager to hear how Jack was doing.
"Janet? How is he?" Sam asked quietly, coming to stand between Janet and the head of the Colonel's bed. Without thinking, Sam reached up and ran her fingers lovingly over the hair at his forehead.
"Sam, I think we should go in my office and talk," Janet suggested. Sam nodded consent and followed her. Janet waited for her to come inside, and then she shut the door and sat down, while Sam remained standing, facing Janet's desk.
"He has an infection, hasn't he? I just knew it!"
"He does have a slight infection, but it's nothing the antibiotic can't handle. Sam, that's not what I'm worried about," she admitted, her brow furrowing.
"What is it? What else could be wrong with him?" Sam asked, slumping into one of the visitors' chairs.
"There's nothing else wrong with the Colonel. It's you I'm worried about, Sam. I happen to know that your father had a talk with General Hammond." When Sam's eyebrows rose, Janet continued. "A certain little Sergeant, who shall remain nameless and who has a crush on me, told me he overheard them. He said he found it difficult not to hear, since your dad was yelling so loudly."
"What did he hear?" Sam asked, praying it wasn't about her feelings for Jack. She knew she had been careless in front of her father...more than careless, she had flaunted her feelings for Jack in front of him, and now she was afraid she was going to pay dearly.
"Your father wants Jack transferred out of the SGC ASAP. Actually, what I was told was that Jacob said the Colonel should be sent to where he'll 'never again see the light of day', or words similar to those." Janet watched as Sam's face turned a lighter shade of pale.
"This is my fault. I shouldn't have let him see how upset I was. And I said some things. And now Jack is going to have to pay for my stupidity!" Sam ragged on herself, tears filling her eyes and escaping over her bottom lids to cascade down her cheeks. Janet got up and came around to her. Sitting on the other visitors' chair, she took Sam's hands in hers and held them.
"Sam, maybe General Hammond won't do anything. After all, he can't just remove Jack from his assignment without a good reason. And don't forget, if he reported that the Colonel conducted himself inappropriately with someone under his command, he would also have to name the subordinate. Surely your father doesn't want that on your service record! And I'm positive General Hammond would never accuse you both without more proof than just your father's word!"
Sam knew that Janet was right, and so she dried her tears with the tissues Janet handed her and rose up out of her chair. She had made a decision, and she was going to go through with it, before she lost her nerve.
"Thanks for telling me, Janet. You're a good friend. Now I guess I've got to find out what General Hammond is going to do," Sam said quietly, her head down.
"But how are you going to do that without admitting anything?" Janet asked.
"Very carefully, Jan. Very carefully."
TBC