Category: Team/family angst
Spoilers: Direct for 6.21 Prophecy
Content Warnings: None
Summary: Needing to rescue another SG team from the clutches of a Goa'uld, Jack is forced to leave his ill son on Earth under Laira and Sam's watchful eyes.
Episode – 6.21 Prophecy
Entering the infirmary, Jack was both pleased and agitated at the sight before him. He was still agitated at the sight of his son lying, unconscious, on a bed there because no matter how poor his relationship was with the toddler, JJ was still Jack's son. As soon as Daniel had passed on the message that Laira had brought JJ to earth because of his illness, Jack had raced to the base. Thankfully, Doctor Fraiser had managed to stabilise the boy and he was out of danger, but still unconscious. JJ had awoken, to smile at his mother and then fell asleep again. The poor boy had suffered badly.
Laira looked up as Jack stood in the doorway and she beckoned him close. Carefully approaching them both, Jack smiled comfortingly at her and then gently touched his son's warm hand. When they had first arrived, JJ's skin had been on fire, red from the rashes, the scratching and from the incredibly high blood flow. Fraiser had managed to stabilise him with antibiotics, killing whatever was killing him. She had performed a few tests and could so far only say that it was not contagious, but that it was now in the boy's blood. Jack had not needed to be told how dangerous blood infections could be. It had taken a while for the full horror to sink in with Laira and Jack had refused to leave her side.
"How's he doing?"
"He has not awoken again, but his fever is lowering."
"That's good. I'm really pleased." There was so much that he suddenly found himself in need of saying to her, but it was still not the right time. A lot of bad blood ran between the two of them, but Jack knew that some things simply needed to be left in the past. "Look, I, uh," he started, ignoring that it was possibly not the right time, but Laira interrupted him.
"I hope that you do not mind me bringing him here. It seemed like a simple illness at first," she continued without looking up and without pause. "But then he could do nothing but scratch all over. By the time that he had lost consciousness, I had no other option but to come here."
"He's my son, too. Any time that you or he needs anything, you can come here."
"It's just that… I do not wish to cause any problems for you."
"General Hammond's fine with it, too. Although, I can't stay on down-time for much longer."
"I did not mean the general." She looked up and he could see a watery haze covering her eyes. "I will not begin to pretend that I will ever understand you, Jack, but I do know that Major Carter is of great importance to you and that my being here may, not only cause problems because of your daughter, but also with the major directly."
Gently, Jack touched her hand. In that moment, he knew that whilst they may never be friends, he and Laira were bonded together for life and could become amicable. "Sam completely understands this situation, Laira, you haven't caused any problems." There was still a niggling doubt in the back of his mind that perhaps Laira was lying, as she had done before, but he was willing to give her another chance and hope that she had moved on. As for Sam and their daughter, Jack had been more absent from home than usual, but Sam had not uttered a single word of annoyance. Jack did not think she could have been any more understanding than she had been, given that Sam had brought Daniella to work to visit with him. "I do have a bit of bad news though."
"What is it?" she asked with such a panicked tone that Jack genuinely felt for her.
"Nothing too bad," he reassured. "I have to head off-world because one of our teams needs some back up." SG-1 had been due to go to a planet technically under Ba'al's control, but due to their recent troubles and Jack's son, SG-15 had been sent instead, however, things had escalated and the planet needed freeing from Goa'uld control. Jack, Teal'c, Daniel and Lieutenant Nicola Carpenter were heading back with them to try and free the planet. "Sam said that she's happy to check in on you, if you're okay with it." Truly, she had offered, but Jack had felt such relief at knowing that the mother of his son was not going to be alone, that Jack did wonder if her offer was more for him.
"We are both mother to a child of yours. I am unaware of normal practice on Earth, but we may well need prolonged contact in the future."
"I'll let her know." He moved to walk away, but paused and turned back to her. "Fraiser said he's out of the woods already. He's strong." She nodded at him, her eyes on their son again. "If he wakes up before I get back, you're welcome to stay." Laira mumbled a thank you without looking up and Jack nodded to himself before leaving his son.
SG – SG – SG
As she stood outside of the door, Sam very hesitantly knocked on it gently. Trying to not hold her breath and keep her heartbeat steady and low, Sam could not help but feel the pressure of nerves building. It was only a few long moments before the door opened and Sam saw an equally nervous face looking back at her.
"Afternoon," she greeted Laira. "I hope I'm not disturbing you."
"Oh, no, no you're not. I used a spare moment to come back here and get washed. And to change my clothes." She gestured down at the base fatigues she wore and Sam smiled sympathetically at her.
"I'm used to them by now." Laira wore the green BDUs, but Sam was wearing the blue ones; she was grateful that they were not wearing the same colour. "I just wanted to let you know that if there's anything you needed whilst Colonel O'Neill's not here, you just need to ask."
"It must be very difficult for you."
"Excuse me?"
"Not being able to call him Jack." Sam still found herself wary of Laira, despite the fact that in some regards she barely knew the woman. It was still Laira that had set the past two years of her life down the path that she still found herself travelling. There was so much that Sam could blame the other woman for and so much to thank her for. Without Laira's surprise visit with JJ, Sam would never have found herself pregnant with Daniella. Suddenly Sam found herself staring at the woman she almost shared a life with. They were almost two sides of the same coin. "I mean no disrespect," Laira said as if worried by Sam's lack of response. "Please, come in?" Mutely nodding, Sam followed wondering if she should be concerned about walking into a trap or naively seeing this as her own territory where nothing could hurt her. Laira sat down on the bed and Sam perched slightly nervously against the regulation desk. The quarters were still bare, like most guest quarters always remained. "When Jack left me, both times, I believe I allowed myself to resent you for it. When he was first stranded on Edora, I saw the affection he held for something at home in his eyes constantly. Even then I knew that the affection was for you. That was clear to see before the accident stranding him with me."
Sam looked at the woman, who was speaking downwards into her lap, realising that neither of them had ever given the other a fair chance over the years.
Laira continued, "When he came to me after I begged him to, I knew that it was never for me. The affection in his eyes had gone, but it was replaced with a longing and I knew that he did not want me. I tried to convince myself that it was not purely for our son, I knew different, deep down in my soul. There was an anger in him which dissipated over the months he was with us, replaced with a very simple sadness." She took a long pause, which Sam opted to remain silent in. "I admit that I was not nice to him. It was my attempt at controlling him, mattering to him. If I could make him hate me and make him leave, it would at least be from my doing."
After another long pause, Sam chose to speak. "But you and the colonel are okay now?"
"When I discovered that you had given him a daughter, there was a bump in our path, but his reaction to his son's illness has proven that he cares for both children. He would never let either suffer, would he?"
"If there's one thing you can say about Colonel O'Neill, it's that his children come first in his life. Sometimes work muscles its way in, but for the most part, his children are his world. It hurts him having JJ so far away."
"We will work harder at their relationship," Laira promised and then stood up, meeting Sam's eyes. "I am still jealous of you, Major Carter."
"Please, call me Sam. Jealous? How?"
"I had Jack. He lived with me and there were no barriers forced upon us, but it could never work. With you, it works. You have what I could only ever have a pale imitation of."
"I don't have Jack," Sam said in a quiet voice. "I have a friend who lives with me. I have an amazing father for my child, but he can never be mine. You were allowed into the personal side of him that few ever see, and that I can never be a part of."
"Why?"
"Because we both put our daughter first, and we both put our careers first."
"Then more fool you. Both of you. I must get back to my son. And you are wrong," Laira added as she headed toward the door, "Jack O'Neill can never be anyone else's because he is yours."
SG – SG – SG
In the darkness, two small pin pricks of golden light appeared from nowhere, raising his levels of curiosity. Slowly and carefully, wary of the darkness surrounding him, he made his way towards the ovals of light. There was something in the air, surrounding him and choking its way down into his lungs.
It made his eyes sore, caused him to blink rapidly a few times and then normally again. The thickness in the air thinned slightly although his lungs still felt clogged as if with sponge or foam. It did not make his breathing harder except for when he used his nose, then the smell would make him gag and almost vomit.
The place reeked of death, of blood and acid, of a life slowly ebbing away. It burned away the hairs in his nostrils, along with all of his other defences.
Approaching the lights, they grew larger and became brighter until they were right in front of him. Gingerly, he reached out his hand to see if he could find a way out of the darkness into the small globes of light. His hands his something solid and smooth so he peered closer, his nose and eyes leaning in to touch the lights.
Nose hitting the cool surface in front of him, he peered into the light and stepped back with a fright. As if that simple action had found the light switch, the darkness began to dissipate and he realised what it was in front of him. Despite the increasing light all around him, he found himself alone with the mirror and his own reflection.
Attempting to let out a scream at the golden eyes staring lifelessly back at him, his mirrored mouth made no move to open and his silent scream echoed throughout his own mind.
His reflection started to smile, more like a snarl, at his own discomfort and then started to blur. Despite his fear and burning hatred for what he was staring at, he could not help but move closer to see through the blurring. The reflection appeared to be covered in wax, obscuring what his true eyes were seeing, but it appeared as if it were starting to melt, morphing into…
SG – SG – SG
Ba'al.
It was the first thought that ran through Jack's mind as he sat up, shaking off his unconscious state. Glancing around him, Jack could see Teal'c and all the members of SG-15 sitting within a standard, typical Goa'uld cell. He remembered Chazen and the Goa'uld Light Grenade blinding him and then… he was in this cell. He found himself hoping that it was simply Lord Mot's scout ship above them and that Ba'al was not going to make an appearance. Jack was not sure he was quite ready to deal with another Ba'al related imprisonment. After all of his years in Black Ops, along with over six years in the Stargate Programme itself, Jack could handle, or cope with, a certain amount of torture no matter what sadistic levels it could reach. However, the memory of Kanan's occupation, Ba'al's original torture for information Jack simply could not give up and the more recent Replicator psychological torture were all still too fresh in his mind.
A simple Goa'uld Lord, he could handle.
"O'Neill, are you well?" Teal'c asked and Jack nodded, focussing on the other prisoners.
"Anyone seen Daniel or Carpenter?" Neither of them were in the cell and that was never a good sign.
"I was first to awaken and I have seen nothing of either of them." Teal'c responded.
Jack turned at a noise and saw who he could only assume to be Lord Mot approaching with a group of Jaffa. Standing, Jack took a few steps towards the bars of their cell, trying his best to look defiant at the Lord. "Where are our friends?" he demanded.
"Do not fear, colonel," the booming voice of the Goa'uld said. "They will not be harmed until after I have seen to you first."
"I'll have you know, that if you don't let us go, the Tok'ra will go and let your lord Ba'al know. He won't be happy with all the Naquadah you've been hiding from him."
"I am fully aware of your relationship with the Tok'ra and with Ba'al." He grinned maliciously at Jack. "You will not bring Ba'al into your own proximity out of fear, Tau'ri. And even if you were to," he continued with glee, "then I shall have to kill him along with you and take his place in the galaxy."
"Anubis'll be pissed."
"Not when I present him the heads of SG-1. I must thank you, Colonel O'Neill, for stepping onto my planet."
Jack's shoulders sagged slightly at the Lord's words. He was going to need another one of those miracles.
SG – SG – SG
Relieved that the pain was minimal, Sam forced her eyes open to see the incredibly familiar sight of the infirmary ceiling above her. She had been working on the generator when power had spiked. Sam was not too sure what happened after that point, but her body ached. Ignoring her internal protests, Sam tried to sit up, but an immense pain ran up through her arm, making her grit her teeth in pain.
"Major Carter, be careful." Slowly turning her head, Sam saw Laira sitting by her bedside, leaning forward. "You were badly hurt."
"My arm?"
"Badly burned, but still there." She smiled in an attempt to be reassuring. "Your heart stopped. Doctor Fraiser said that you're going to be fine. I can get her for you, if you'd like."
"In a minute. How long was I unconscious?"
"Not long. It has only been one day since we last spoke in my quarters." Sam nodded, pleased that it meant Daniella was fine at home with Sasha. "I heard the doctor checking with General Hammond concerning your daughter. She is fine."
"Thank you."
"Major Carter, what I said to you yesterday, I'd like to clarify that I hope the two of us and Jack can acquire a friendly relationship. I believe it to be best for the three of us and our two children. If I am to allow Jack-Junior to stay with his father, I would prefer it to be in his house, with you and Daniella."
"I don't want to be his step-mother."
"You may be whatever you wish to be to him. I would simply like for us all to get to know each other better."
"I'd like that, too, but, please, call me Sam." They both smiled as Janet approached, a curious look on her face. "Janet."
"How's my patient?"
"It doesn't hurt as much as I thought."
"That'll be the pain killers I have you on." Janet's eyes quickly looked at Laira and then back at Sam, who took it to mean that Janet was questioning what they had been speaking about.
"I should get back to Jack-Junior." She looked at Sam. "I'm glad that you're okay, Sam."
"Me, too." As Laira walked off, Janet moved closer, her eyebrows raised.
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah, it is actually."
"So, she's…"
"Trying to be friendly. She wants JJ to be able to stay with us rather than in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. Well, not with us. I told her I don't want to be his step-mother."
"No because that would confuse things too much."
"Shut up, Janet," Sam smiled.
"Shall I take away your pain meds? Honestly, Sam, you guys seem to be stepping through more and more loops, tangling your lives up more and more all of the time. Something's going to give at some point."
Memories of their Christmas kiss flashed into her mind, which Sam ignored. "We're all going to be fine. As long as no more capacitors blow up."
"Yeah, your arm's going to be in a sling for a while. The colonel might have to help out a bit more at home." It still felt odd for Sam to hear Janet speak about Jack in the work place, but then it was not in a work related matter. Sam was well aware that sometimes Janet worried about her relationship status with Jack, but Sam was finally feeling comfortable with the status quo. Aside from a drunken kiss and some misunderstandings along the way, they had levelled out and were successfully raising their daughter and working together. After a long time of not being able to, Sam finally felt able to say that nothing felt wrong or about to fall apart.
SG – SG – SG
Groaning and reaching a hand up to his head, Daniel forced himself to sit up through the pain and disorientation. He did not recognise where he was, but Daniel decided that it was a safe bet to assume the dungeons of the Goa'uld facility on 237. Chaven had used a large Light Grenade to knock them all out and presumably had called Lord Mot to attend to the rebellion beginning.
Looking around him, Daniel realised that he was alone with no one else from either SG team and that he was not actually in a cell. Carefully getting to his feet, Daniel headed through the nearest archway, deciding it was the best direction in which to head. There were no weapons on his person and Daniel was fully aware that there were Goa'uld lurking around everywhere. All he could do was hope that he found the others and figure out why he had been separated and not even locked up.
It only took a few minutes before he saw a uniform clad body positioned randomly on the floor. Daniel approached slowly, aware that it may be a trap, but when realising that it was Nicola lying there, he ran the last few steps and rolled her over. "Nicola," he whispered harshly, hoping that it would be enough to awaken her.
Her eyes flickered before opening fully and she looked at Daniel in confusion. "Daniel, what happened?"
"The Goa'uld are here, but I don't know where the others are."
Immediately she pulled herself out of his arms and got to her feet, scanning the immediate area. "Why aren't we locked up?"
"I don't know. I just woke up, wandered around and found you."
"Let's go find Colonel O'Neill and the others. Perhaps they were able to fight back and we got forgotten by the Jaffa."
"Strangely, I prefer that to the theory that we're just not important enough to lock up." Despite the situation, Nicola smiled at him and they began quietly walking in the same direction Daniel had opted for before finding her. "Wait a minute," Daniel whispered, "What's over here?" She followed him and Daniel was the first to stop when bile rose into his throat at the sight that beheld him.
"Has he…?"
"Been brutally tortured? Yes." Reassuringly patting her on the shoulder, Daniel then bent down closer to the heavily mutilated body in front of them.
"Who would do that?"
"An unhappy Goa'uld."
"Isn't he… a Jaffa? Why would a Goa'uld do that to one of his own Jaffa?"
Studying the body, Daniel noticed a blood trail coming from the dead body's mouth and a nearby crushed Goa'uld snake. Cautiously and curiously, Daniel slowly moved the clothing around the dead body's midriff and did not see the pouch markings a Jaffa would have. "I think the question is what Goa'uld would do this to another Goa'uld."
A look of terror crossed Nicola's face and she suddenly turned and vomited. Standing back up, Daniel waited for Nicola to turn back to him before smiling hesitantly at her. "Sorry, it's just…" He nodded in understanding. She had still never spoken to him about her torture at the hands of the Replicators. "How can anyone do such a thing? I know they're not human, but to have such disregard for life… I don't understand that kind of betrayal."
Gently he touched her wrist and indicated that they should keep moving, for fear of whoever had killed one Goa'uld happening upon them. After a short while, Daniel turned to her and said, "We didn't betray them."
She stopped walking and he turned to her, their eyes meeting; hers burned with anger. "Maybe we didn't, but I did."
SG – SG – SG
Fighting the urge to punch the bars, Jack stood there hoping that his attempt to show no emotion whatsoever was working. This was what he had feared and, somehow, he had known it was going to happen. Somehow his unconscious mind had known that Ba'al was going to arrive on the planet.
"Colonel O'Neill, what a delight to see you again. And you're behind bars. Isn't that just perfect?"
Jack gritted his teeth together, unwilling to taunt the man who sometimes still haunted his dreams.
"Unfortunately, I do not have the time to … have fun with you today." He genuinely seemed disappointed and Jack raised an eyebrow in response. "Jaffa!" The nearest Jaffa turned and opened the door to the cell. "You will find a clear path to the Chaapa'ai, and all of your belongings at the base."
"Excuse me?" Jack asked, finally finding his tongue. "I think I heard ya wrong." He turned to Teal'c, "Am I losing my hearing in my old age?" Teal'c replied with the smallest of smiles.
"Whilst I may not have the time to play with you, colonel, I do have time to reclaim this planet. It is a battle that you cannot win so leave now. My kindness and orders will only last so long."
"Orders?" Jack questioned.
"Ba'al is in the service of Anubis now," Teal'c said with another smile upon his face. "He is now a slave as much as the Jaffa under his command." The Jaffa who had opened the cell raised his staff weapon up and got ready to fire.
"Colonel," Ba'al shouted forcefully, "be aware that the Sholva and inferior team of yours are not part of my orders. Leave now, or it will only be you that escapes with a slither of life."
Jack nodded at SG-15 and they started to file out of the cell. He was still concerned that this was a trap, but he could either keep them all there, risking death, or try and leave, risking death. Teal'c remained where he stood, asking Ba'al, "What of Daniel Jackson and Lieutenant Carpenter?"
"My Jaffa should have found them and given them the same orders as I give you. My patience is wearing thin." Nodding again, Jack allowed Teal'c to have the rear as they both followed after SG-15. Jack paused when Ba'al called forward to him. "I look forward to our next meeting, Colonel." Chills ran through his body.
SG – SG – SG
Stepping down the ramp, Jack was finally home and he instantly felt some of the Ba'al related weight being lifted from his shoulders. In his life and career, Jack had faced a lot and most of it he could compartmentalise and brush to a side, but there was something about the events of the past year that did not shift so easily. His mind had been invaded too much and to too great a depth, that it was not all about the physical torture at the hands of Ba'al. He welcomed the thought of returning home, spending time with his daughter and possibly spending time with his son before Laira took him home.
"Colonel," General Hammond greeted. "How did it go?"
"Oddly."
"Debrief in ten minutes. Dismissed." Jack remained standing at the base of the ramp as everyone filed out of the room apart from Carter who stood in front of him. He watched as Daniel and Carpenter were the last out of the room; Ba'al had not only been true to his words that he allowed them all to leave, but that Daniel and Carpenter would meet them at the 'gate.
Raising his eyebrows at Carter and her bandaged up arm, she smiled and answered, "I had a little accident."
"Little?"
"My heart only stopped for a moment. Or two."
"Carter…" he warned. They both turned to walk out of the 'gate room side by side. "How's JJ?"
"He and Laira are still here, but Janet gave them permission to go home. They're coming around for dinner tonight."
"Dinner, you say?" Apparently whilst he had been absent the mothers of his children had bonded.
"I thought you might like to cook."
Smiling, Jack had only one thought in his head: it was good to be home.
The End. Next Chapter: 6.22 Full Circle.
Okay, so have I redeemed Laira? There are more plans for her to come, but maybe not in this story. Next up is Full Circle which revolves mainly around an Ascended Daniel helping out. Okay, I see some problems…