CHAPTER 5:
Don't own any of it (maybe just the storyline??) Anyway everything belongs to MGM, Gekko, etc etc.
Spoilers: Everything up to and including Threads - Season 8 - AU after that (well of course it's AU, or rather Alternate timeline/reality because, technically speaking, we are changing the timeline aren't we?? - Temperal mechanics aside, I'm trying some angst, hope it's ok.
Jack awoke from a recurring nightmare. He had had the same one for more than a week now. As a heavily pregnant Sam slept by his side, he slipped out of bed and headed towards the kitchen for a glass of milk, being careful not to bump into anything in the dark.
"Goddamnit! Shit" he muttered to himself as he caught his toe on the doorframe.
He made it the rest of the way unscathed and when he opened the refrigerator door, he used the light to inspect his little toe. It didn't appear to be broken, but it sure was sore.
It was 3am and he new he had no chance of returning to sleep again that night, so he sat on the couch and turned the TV on, watching old re-runs of some show.
When Sam woke up just after 5.30 to find herself alone for the fourth morning in a row. She pondered once again what was wrong with her husband. She rose from bed and wrapped herself in Jack's robe as hers wouldn't reach around her rounded tummy anymore, and padded out to the lounge room where she found him once again, asleep on the couch.
"Jack" she whispered gently as she touched his foot. She knew better than to startle him awake, he was likely to wake up swinging his fists at her if she did that.
"Jack" she whispered a little louder when she got no response. She touched his foot again and even though she was gentle, he jerked awake and it took him a minute to comprehend his surroundings.
"Jack, why are you on the couch again? Am I disturbing your sleep that much?" she asked, concern cleaning showing in her voice
"No baby, I just had a bad dream and I didn't want to wake you by tossing and turning" he replied
"Is that all Jack, you're starting to worry me. This is the fourth night in a row you've had a bad dream"
"It's actually been more than a week Sam" he thought to himself
"Sam, I've been having bad dreams for years"
"But Jack, you haven't had any in months"
"Yeh, I know, I've had nothing to have a bad dream about"
"And you have now?" She questioned
"No, nothing bad has happened for ages, you've stopped going off world, so I don't have to worry about you. I don't understand it, I can't seem to stop having this same dream".
"It's the same dream every night?"
Doh he thought, he hadn't meant to tell her that "um, yeh".
"And?"
"And what"
"What's the dream about?"
"Sam baby, it's nothing, it's just a nightmare"
"Nightmare, you said bad dream, nightmares are not bad dreams. Jack what's this all about"
"Sam did I say night mare, I meant bad dream, nothing I can't deal with. Don't worry about it"
"Jack, I want you to promise to tell me if you have this bad dream again – OK. Promise me Jack"
"Ok baby, no problem"
5.30am next morning:
Sam awoke alone again, "Damn it" she muttered to herself.
"Jack?" she called out on her way down the hall.
As soon as she found the couch empty and the TV off, she began to get concerned. She checked the bathroom, empty, the back yard – no sign of Jack, she checked the driveway, both cars still their. She checked the bedroom to see if you had taken his mobile phone. It was still on the nightstand. Sam began to panic, Jack never went anywhere without his phone, even if he went jogging, he would've taken it with him.
"Stay calm Sam" she thought to herself. "He's probably gone for a walk and forget to take his phone" Sam quickly dressed and grabbed her coat and keys, she would go look for him. As she reversing out of the driveway, Daniel's black SUV pulled up behind her.
"Get in Sam"
"Do you know where Jack is?"
"Yeh, he's at the base"
"At this hour? How did he get there? His car's still in the drive"
"No idea, apparently, he turned up there at about 3.30 this morning and locked himself in his office. He won't open the door to anybody"
"Oh God. Is he Ok?"
"Well he appears to be from what they can see through the window. What's going on Sam?"
"Don't know Daniel, but he told me yesterday that's he's been having a recurring nightmare. He didn't tell me what about, I don't think he wanted to scare me"
"Ok then, lets get to the base and see what's going on"
Both were lost in their own thoughts during the drive to the base and it wasn't until Daniel turned the car off that Sam realised they had arrived.
Teal'c was standing by Jack's door awaiting their arrival and when he saw her he spoke "SamanthaO'Neill, I am pleased you have arrived"
"What's happened Teal'c?"
"I do not know. When I arrived he was sitting as he is now, he doesn't appear to have moved at all. He will not answer the telephone or open the door"
Sam had moved past Teal'c and began to rap on the door "Jack, it's Sam, can you let me in?"
He didn't move
"Jack, please let me in, you're scaring me"
He still didn't move or respond.
"Ok, let's break it down, Teal'c"
Without further adieu Teal'c had forced the door and Sam went into Jack's office first.
"Jack, is everything Ok?"
He did not respond
"Jack, please say something," she pleaded as she touched his shoulder.
Jack still did not respond. Sam was extremely worried as she gently touched her hand to his shoulder "Jack, sweetheart". Slowly Jack responded to her touch and turned to face her, his eyes red, his face blotchy from tears, he reached around behind her and pulled her to him, his faced buried into her stomach, muffled sobs reaching her ears and causing her to let go of her own emotion as her own tears fell.
"Oh Sam, I can't take it anymore, the nightmare, it's so real. I thought being with you would make everything better, make all the bad things go away, but they've returned and this time they are so much worse. Sam, I love you both so much, I couldn't live if anything were to happen to either of you," he sobbed
"Jack, nothing's going to happen"
"Sam, my nightmare, it's so real, don't you understand, it feels like I'm actually living through Charlie's death all over again, but this time, it's you and the baby"
"Oh God Jack, why didn't you tell me?" Nothing's going to happen to us, we're fine, you'll see".
Jack raised his face to look up into her teary eyes, "you promise, you'll never leave me"
"No Jack, we'll never leave you".
TBC...