Spoiler: Serpent's Lair part 2

Jack hefted the heavy ax over his shoulder and slammed it down, splitting another log for the fire. He struggled to get the sharp blade out of the stump but it wouldn't budge. Finally, he put all of his weight into it and yanked backwards hard. His feet slipped as the blade came free and he crashed to the ground with a soft thud. He stared down at his legs where the sharp blade had landed just between his feet and burrowed several inches into the snow. He could have cut off his foot! That was close.

He put the ax away and picked up the firewood he had managed to split, making several trips to carry it all to the house. They had needed a lot of firewood lately because David was too sick to leave the house and he needed to be warm all the time. It was Jack's responsibility to make sure the fire was always blazing.

David had been home from the hospital for a week now. Pop couldn't afford to leave him in the hospital, as it was, they were going to be in debt for years because of the expensive treatments David had needed. Food was hard to come by and Jack was left to fend for himself when it came to mealtime, though he couldn't begrudge giving everything they had to David.

As he looked at his brother, he knew David never should have left the hospital. He was having so much trouble breathing and he could barely move enough even to eat. Pop was gone during the day because he couldn't afford to lose his job, so that left Jack in charge of taking care of David. It was so nerve-wracking, because he knew that if there was an emergency and David needed to get to the hospital, there was nothing he could do. They didn't even have a telephone to call for help.

David was just waking up, in his bed which Pop had moved from the bedroom to the living room to be closer to the warmth of the fire, when Jack walked inside with an armful of firewood. "Hi, David. How do you feel?"

David muffled a rattling cough in his blanket and slowly sat up. "I'm fine."

Jack smiled at the lie, knowing it was meant to reassure him, as futile as that was. "Need anything? You thirsty?"

"I can get it."

"Don't you dare!" he ordered, dropping the firewood and running over to David and pushing him back down on the bed gently. "You're supposed to be resting."

"That's all I've been doing for a whole week. I never thought I'd be grateful for some physical exercise, but I'd give anything to go for a walk. I'd even let you teach me to skate."

"I don't know how you could go fourteen years in Minnesota and not know how to skate." Jack shook his head in feigned disappointment. "It's unnatural."

David chuckled at his younger brother, but it quickly deteriorated into a cough. "Some of us just aren't meant to fly," he said dreamily, lying back onto the bed. Jack had always said skating was like flying, though neither boy had ever been in a plane. "Jack?"

"David?"

David waved for his brother to join him on the bed, and Jack didn't hesitate to crawl in beside him. "Tell me about your mother," David requested.

"My mom? Why?"

"We never really talked about her. I know it's been hard for you, living here with Dad. He can be pretty insufferable at times. If you had a choice…"

"I'd be right here," Jack interjected before David could finish the question. "Pop's an ass, I could do without him quite nicely, thank you very much. But I kinda like having an older brother, so it's not so bad."

"You really mean that?" David asked, his voice trailing off to a whisper as though falling asleep.

"I really do. Mom, she was nice and I know she tried really hard to take care of me and I know she didn't really want to give me up. Everyday she'd tell me that she loved me, and that she didn't regret having me. She wanted to keep me with her, but she could barely take care of herself and she wanted me to have a better life." He almost laughed at the irony. Financially, he had been better off with his Mom than he was at this moment, and if it hadn't been for David his life with Pop would have sucked, big time.

"I love you too, Jack," David whispered, his voice so low Jack had to lean in closer to hear him. "I don't regret having you as my brother. You made me see things I never would have otherwise, and…I am so grateful I got to know you. I want you to promise me something."

"Don't talk like that," Jack whispered harshly. "Don't talk like you're leaving."

"I have to, Jack. We both know I'm dying."

"No!"

"Jack, please, listen to me. I know how hard you fight for me, but this is one battle you can't win. I want you to know that, no matter what Dad says, this is not your fault. I want you to promise me that you won't blame yourself. You remember when I told you, you were special?" David felt the blanket move as Jack nodded. "That hasn't changed. You'll always be my brother, and I am so proud of you. You're going to be an amazing man, Jack. I wish I could…be there to see it."

Jack felt warm tears cascade down his cheeks but he didn't try to stop them. He buried his face against David's shoulder, trying to breathe through the knot in his throat as he thought about a life without David. "I don't want you to go," he choked out through his tears.

There was no response from David.

"David?" He sat up and looked down at his brother, who had suddenly gone limp. "David!" he shouted, shaking the older boy's shoulder, but still, David didn't move. "No! No, no, you are not dying on me now. Do you hear?" He calmed down enough to look for the rise and fall of David's chest, and nearly cried out for joy when he saw it. "Oh God, David, you scared the life out of me."

His relief was short-lived when he realized that David's non-responsiveness was not a good sign. He had to do something, he had to get him to the hospital. He looked at the time and saw that Pop should be home in less than half an hour since he'd hitched a ride to work with a buddy and would be walking home, which meant that…

The car! The Chevy was still outside. If Jack could figure out how to drive it, he could get David to the hospital. He ran to Pop's bedroom and grabbed the spare key, then ran outside and started the car, turning up the heater all the way and opening the passenger side door. Then he ran back inside, wrapped David in his blanket, took a deep breath, and carefully he lifted the older boy in his arms. He staggered under the weight but refused to drop his burden as he made his way out the door down the path to the car. He grunted and cried out as he hefted David up, his arms burning at the weight as he crawled up and deposited David safely on the passenger seat. He slammed the door and ran around to the driver's side, sliding in behind the wheel. He reached over and tried to make David's position more secure and more comfortable, and he ended up with David's head nearly in his lap.

"Okay, okay, brake, clutch, gear, gas. First gear. I can do this. Hang on, David, I'm getting you to the hospital, just hang in there. I can do this."

The car jerked forward when he stepped on the gas and slammed them both back into the seat until he removed his foot from the pedal. Jack's eyes were wide with fear and determination as he man-handled the steering wheel and stepped on the gas pedal again, maneuvering the car onto the road. As he picked up speed he felt the gears grind and he pushed in the clutch and shifted to second, taking a deep breath and trying to remain calm. He could do this.

He slowed down as he neared the curve but he didn't turn soon enough and he only had time to throw his arm out to hold David in place as they slid off the road into the embankment. The car stopped abruptly, tossing both boys forward with the impact.

"Dang it!" Jack shouted as he shook his head and quickly looked over at David. "David!" he exclaimed when he saw that his brother's eyes were open. "David, can you hear me?"

"Jack?" David's voice was barely a whisper. His eyes slowly closed.

"Don't you dare leave me, David!" he cried out and placed his hand against his brother's chest.

He jerked back when he felt a warmth shoot through his arm, down to his palm the instant he made contact with David's chest. He stared down at his hand and was suddenly overtaken by a sense of calm and complete understanding.

There was no more fear as he pressed his hand against David's forehead and closed his eyes, concentrating. A warm, golden glow surrounded David's head and Jack could actually feel his brother's body healing. Every trace of the leukemia was ravaged, the immune system fortified, and just as he was dealing with the pneumonia…

"You son of a bitch! What the Hell do you think you're doing, boy? Are you trying to kill him?"

He was snatched out of the car by the back of his jacket and thrown down on the ground. He slid across the icy road several feet, looking up at the enraged face of his father.

"Don't you ever touch my son, again, Jack. I don't want to see your face around here anymore. You could have killed him, what were you thinking?"

"I was trying to help!" he shouted, getting back on his feet.

Pop slapped him hard on the face, then shoved him in the chest. "You're done helping him. Get out of here, Jack. You're no longer welcome here, we don't want you. When I get home I expect you to be gone."

As Jack tried to get back on his feet, struggling against the fatigue from what he had done for David, Pop slammed the door, kicked the car into reverse, barely avoiding running him over in the process, and sped off down the road.

Jack collapsed down to his knees in the middle of the road, staring at the retreating car that was taking his brother away from him. In his heart he knew his brother would live. He could just see David's face through the back window, peering over the seat, but the car never stopped. Their father kept driving away and David didn't stop him to go back to Jack.

So he ran. He ran and he ran and he didn't stop running until he was miles away from anywhere. When he finally slowed down to a walk he stared at his hands in numb disbelief. What he had done was impossible. He had saved a life.

It felt incredible.

The thrill was tinged with great sorrow that he might never see his brother again. He couldn't go back home.

David was alive, that was all that really mattered.

--

Thirty-five years later

Jack gazed up through the canopy of the Death Glider at his home planet. Apophis' ships had been destroyed and Earth was safe. "You know, Captain. This wasn't such a bad day after all."

Even when the shuttle Endeavor appeared and he knew he'd live he still felt the sadness, despite their amazing victory, for the sacrifice of his friend and teammate, Daniel Jackson.

It wasn't until SG-1 arrived in the Gate Room and was reunited with a living and breathing Daniel, as Jack embraced the younger man who was almost like a brother to him, he remembered that, sometimes, the people you care about don't leave you behind.

Sometimes they come back.