Season 10 Episode 12 – Line in the Sand

Episode summary: Sam has modified Merlin's phase-shifting device, and is ordered to test it off-world to cloak a village of people, to hide them from the Ori forces threatening them. However, the test goes wrong, the Ori attack, and Sam is shot by one of the deadly Ori staff weapons as she tries to correct the problem. Mitchell comes to her aid and with some instructions from Sam manages to get the device active, but it only conceals the room they are in. The Ori question the villagers about the disappearance of the room, Vala is taken to the Ori ship by Tomin, and Sam's condition worsens inside the phase-shifted room. Sam has an idea, and manages to talk Mitchell through powering the phase-shifting device with the crystal from the Ori staff weapon, and they succeed in extending the field to encompass the village just before the Ori ship opens fire on the village from orbit. Tomin lets Vala escape, but she rings down to the planet to find an apparent blast crater, until the phase-shifting field is lowered, and the village is revealed to be whole and safe. At the end, Sam is shown to be healing in the infirmary, and Cam brings her some home-baked macaroons – which she hates.

[DURING THE EPISODE – to replace the 'the password is fishing' scene]

"I'm dying." Sam said breathlessly, her tone one of utter surprise as she made the realisation.

Cam scowled at her. "Come on Sam, no talk like that. I am not going to let you die on me."

"No, Cam, I'm not giving up, I'm just …" She looked at him in confusion. "This is wrong, I'm not supposed to die here."

He looked a little mollified by that. "That's right – and you won't. No one's dying on this mission, you hear me?"

Sam's mind was foggy and muddled with pain and the morphine shot Cam had given her an hour earlier, but she knew two things: she was dying, and she wasn't supposed to be. What about 2034? What about Beth, and Jake … and Jack?

"I made a mistake." She whispered. "I must have … miscalculated …"

"Sam." Cam shook her shoulder a little, and she felt a measure of alertness snap back as she met his clear blue eyes. "You're not making any sense." He told her, not unkindly.

"I have to make it out of here." She told him earnestly.

"That's more like it." He grinned.

[AFTER THE EPISODE – but before the macaroons!]

When Sam came round in the infirmary, she mumbled 'Jack' without thinking, and Vala's face swam into view above her.

"He's not here, but he sends his love." Vala whispered to her, squeezing her hand.

"What happened?" She asked hoarsely.

Vala reached for the cup of water at Sam's bedside and held the straw to Sam's lips so she could wet her parched mouth and throat.

"You got shot by an Ori soldier and almost died." Vala told her shortly as Sam sipped at the straw.

"I remember that part." Sam said. "I meant, after …"

"You and Mitchell extended the out-of-phase gizmo to encompass the whole village, just as the Ori opened fire on you from their ship. They thought the village was destroyed, so they left." Vala shifted uncomfortably, and Sam suspected there was more to that story than Vala was telling. "After that, Teal'c and Mitchell carried you very quickly to the gate on a stretcher, and you were taken straight to surgery. Dr Lam says you're lucky to be alive."

"The equipment …?"

"Back in your lab, safe and sound." Vala said.

Sam let out a sigh of relief.

"Any word on Daniel while I was out?"

"No." Vala said, eyes downcast. Sam reached out and squeezed her hand.

"I should let someone know you're up." Vala said suddenly. "And I promised your husband I'd call him the second you woke up too."

"Where are Cam and Teal'c?"

"Off-world. Bra'tac needed them for something. They didn't want to go before you woke up, but … it seemed urgent."

Sam nodded tiredly.

"I'll just go fetch a doctor." Vala said, hopping to her feet and rushing away.

When Dr Lam had finished her examination of Sam's wound, Sam wrapped her long fingers around the doctor's wrist before she could leave.

"Doctor … I need to ask a favour."

Dr Lam raised her eyebrows. "What kind of favour?"

"Usually I'd go to a civilian gynaecologist about something about this, but given my somewhat unique blood-chemistry …" She trailed off, hoping Dr Lam would hear what she wasn't saying.

Dr Lam's eyes widened and she moved away to pull the privacy curtains closed around Sam's bed.

"What is it, Colonel?"

"Can you run some tests to check my … fertility?" She cringed a little at the embarrassment of asking for this in a military facility, but as she'd told the doctor, she didn't have the luxury of a private off-based gynaecologist for this.

"Of course I can." Dr Lam said. "I assume you'd like this kept confidential?"

"Is that ok?"

"As it's not something that would directly affect your fitness for duty, I can keep it between us." The doctor assured her.

Sam nodded. "Thanks."

Dr Lam smiled a little and patted her hand. "Not a problem."

The doctor left, and Sam let out a deep breath and let her head sink deeper into the pillow. She knew it was silly to worry, given that she knew in the future she had two kids, but the fact of the matter was that she and Jack had been trying for over six months with no luck. It could be explained away – they didn't see each other all that often, she'd been ill or injured several times, and neither of them were particularly young – but it was still worrying her. What if they needed some help? General Samantha Carter had never mentioned needing special measures to conceive her children, but then she'd been very tight-lipped about a great many things concerning their future, in order not to upset the timeline.

The bottom line was she couldn't take anything for granted. Including her own fertility.

The unpleasant taste of Cam's thoughtful gift of macaroons was still lingering on her tongue when Vala bounced in holding a cellphone.

"It's for you!" She announced, and pressed the phone to Sam's ear.

"Hello?" Sam asked warily.

"Hey you." It was Jack.

"Hey." She said back, smiling. She met Vala's eyes and mouthed 'Thank you'. The other woman beamed at her and withdrew, leaving Sam alone.

"So how bored are you on a scale of one to ten?" Jack asked teasingly.

"I have a laptop." Sam admitted sheepishly.

"What?" Jack sounded outraged. "Who allowed that?"

"Dr Lam said it was fine as long as I didn't push myself too hard."

"Fraiser would never have allowed you to work barely forty-eight hours after emergency surgery." Jack griped. "Are we sure Dr Lam knows what she's doing?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "She saved my life, so yeah, I'd say she does. And besides, I'm hardly 'working', I've just been keeping up to date, writing a report, checking some things … it's to keep me from going stir-crazy more than anything else."

"Hmm. Just don't overdo it."

"I'm fine." She assured him.

"I've heard you say that seconds before passing out from massive blood loss." Jack scoffed.

"Thank goodness I'm tucked in a nice comfy infirmary bed surrounded by doctors, then." Sam said brightly.

Jack harrumphed again, not buying it. "Are you sure you're going to be ok?"

"I'm sure." Sam said. "Plus, Vala's been helping the healing process along with the Goa'uld healing device. I'll be good as new in a few days."

"I wish I could have been there with you."

Sam wasn't sure if he meant on the mission, or in the infirmary with her in the aftermath, but appreciated the sentiment either way. "Me too. But I'll see you at the weekend, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Jack assured her.

"Hey, listen, if you've got a few minutes, there's something I want to talk to you about." Sam said.

"Oh?"

"I asked Dr Lam to run a few extra tests."

"What kind of tests?" Jack asked warily.

Sam took a deep breath. "Fertility tests."

Jack was silent for a few seconds. "You're worried about that?" He asked finally.

"I was, a little. It's been … a while."

"We're not twenty-five. It wasn't likely to happen on the first try." Jack pointed out reasonably.

"Still …"

"When do you get the results?"

"Actually I already got them. She's says there's nothing obviously wrong, so we should just keep trying."

"Does she know who the other half of 'we' is?" Jack asked.

"No." Sam hesitated, and then continued. "She also said that if I was worried, it might be a good idea for my partner to get tested too."

Jack let out an audible sigh. "Sam, we already know we're both fertile, we've seen – more than once, in my case – the kids we'll have in the future. There's no point in me filling a specimen cup for someone to poke around in."

Sam winced. "You're probably right. I just can't help but feel we're running out of time."

"You know, worrying about it so much probably isn't helping." Jack pointed out.

"I know." She fidgeted, playing with the edge of the blanket covers. "I miss you."

Jack sighed. "Me too."

"When I get pregnant …"

"I'll come home." He promised her. "I'll retire, or they'll let me work out of the SGC … we'll figure it out, but I'll come home."

"It's kinda funny that we've been married a year and a half and still have yet to move in together." She said, without a trace of humour.

"Well, let's put some more effort into getting you pregnant sooner rather than later, huh?" Jack suggested brightly.

Sam chuckled. "Yes sir."