Title: There's No Place Like Home

Rating: K

Category: General

Season: Wherever you need it to fit

Episode: Any

Summary: My dear reader, have you been the victim of missing content warnings, have you been traumatised by a sadistic author, or heartbroken by an unacceptable ending in fanfiction? Please, come join us here in this safe space. Put on your ruby slippers and click your heels three times while saying 'There's no place like home'. It's all about to be over. Sam is rescued from a stasis pod and the nightmarish virtual reality she was stuck in.

Pairing: Sam/Jack

Beta: None

Content warning: Whatever content warning was missing from the fic that sent you here

SJ*SJ*SJ*SJ*SJ*SJ*SJ

The team was silent as Jack pulled Sam from the stasis pod she'd been connected to just moments ago. Cradling her body in his arms, he moved away from the platform and carried her outside, towards the Stargate.

"Carter?" he said, gently, as he heard the glyphs of the DHD being pressed. "Carter, wake up."

Her eyes fluttered open, and a short, sharp sob escaped her lips. Her gaze focused and she locked eyes with O'Neill. Her arms wrapped around his neck so fast that he had to quickly readjust his feet, and his hold on her, to avoid losing his balance. She clung to him as she struggled to get her breathing under control.

A palm landed on the centre button of the DHD and the wormhole sprang to life.

"Let's get you home." Jack said as he moved forward.

Sam nodded against his shoulder, still safe in his arms. She wasn't sure exactly what was going on. The horror of her life, now apparently just a nightmare that she'd been rescued from, was fading away as reality returned. She thanked her lucky stars that she'd been woken from that Hell.

As the team stepped onto the ramp in the 'gate room of the SGC, the medical team rushed forward to take Samantha Carter to the infirmary. They tried to get her onto the gurney, but her arms refused to let go of the man carrying her.

"I've got it." Jack said, and moved towards the open blast doors, heading for the elevator. The medical team trailed behind him.

Once inside the infirmary, a nurse directed them to a bed. He gently placed her down, but still she held on. Not wanting to hinder the medical staff any longer, he extricated himself from her arms.

"It's okay Carter, I'm right here. The doc just needs to check you out, okay?"

She nodded briefly and kept her eyes on him as much as possible while the infirmary staff examined her. Still not quite trusting the events of the last of the last half hour, she was afraid that she would be returned to that cursed existence. She felt the prick of the needle in the crook of her elbow and relaxed a little. The pain grounded her, made the world feel more real. Not as much as being in Jack's arms did, but it was all she had for now. The pen light in her eyes, the reflex tests, and the other standard post mission evaluations felt familiar too. She answered their questions as briefly as possible, and eventually she was informed that they would be keeping her overnight for observation and would have an appointment with the base psychiatrist in the morning.

Once alone with Sam, Jack came to stand by her bedside. He wanted nothing more than to gather her up into his arms and hold her for the rest of the night, the rest of forever. But now that the initial adrenalin had worn off, he couldn't professionally justify doing so.

"How are you feeling? He asked.

"Exhausted." she replied. It was so much more complicated than that, but she wasn't ready to open that can of worms just yet.

He nodded, comprehending the underlying meaning of her statement.

Just then, an orderly came in with scrubs for Sam, handing them to her before going on his way.

"Well, I'll just let you -" he was cut off before he could finish.

"Please don't go!" she asked hastily. "I don't want to be alone."

"Tell you what, how about I go see if I can rustle up some cake and Jello while you change. I'll be right back, okay?" His eyes were full of compassion and concern.

"Now that you mention it, I'm starving." she smiled.

SJ*SJ*SJ*SJ*SJ*SJ*SJ

The next day, Sam debriefed the General and SG-1 about her experience in the stasis pod and the basic outline of what she had experienced in the virtual reality. Next followed her appointment with the shrink. By 15:00 hours she was allowed to go to her lab. She logged on to her laptop and checked her notes and logs, trying to figure out where she had been up to. The time lapse in reality compared to the time lapse in the virtual world didn't align and it really messed with her head. Normally, working in the lab would allow her to escape her troubles but today, it was just making things worse. She felt cold and on edge.

She couldn't distract herself from thinking about how horrendous that other life had been. Sure, she'd lived through some pretty hairy experiences in real life, but that this was a whole new level of cruelty. Mentally, she knew that it wasn't real, but it made her ill to think that someone had chosen that story for her life. Someone had wanted to put her in that vile situation. Had wanted her to suffer. They may never know who it was, but one thing was for sure, they were one sick and twisted individual. What could they have possibly hoped to gain from it all?

She was startled out of her ruminating by a knock on the open blast door. She smiled, and instantly felt safe and warm as Jack stepped into her lab.

"Hey, just wanted to stop by and see how your appointment went." he asked, his eyes briefly scrutinizing her.

"Okay." she responded, truthfully. She'd been given some mental exercises that would help her sort out her fake memories from her real ones. She likely had a long road ahead of her, but it was somewhat like waking up from a dream. The details were getting fuzzy. Eventually, her apprehension would fade too. And with him around, getting through this would be easier than going it alone.

"When can you go home?"

"Tonight actually. They said there's no reason to hold me."

"That's great! So, I'm thinking pizza and beer. My place or yours?" he quirked his eyebrows to punctuate the question.

Sam blinked and stared at him. Was he...

"Team night!" he clarified. "Thought we'd get the whole gang together. Just wanted to see what would be easier for you before I told the others."

"Oh. Right. Um, Yours, I guess. I have no idea what state my house is in right now."

"Ya sure, you betcha!" he smiled. "My place it is. 19:00. See you then."

She watched him walk away, mildly disappointed that it wouldn't be just the two of them. But that wasn't a good idea right now, as if any time was a good idea. She was still feeling vulnerable from her experience and would be too easy to take comfort in him. Just one look, one tender 'com'ere' from his lips, and she'd be lost in him. Did he have any idea what he did to her?

SJ*SJ*SJ*SJ*SJ*SJ*SJ

She'd fallen asleep on his couch and the others had left by the time she'd stirred. He was sitting in the recliner, reading a book, she couldn't tell what from the angle.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to nod off." she apologised.

"No sweat, Carter." he looked up from his page. "You're recovering. Not entirely unexpected."

"I should probably go." she said as she sat up.

He looked like he was about to protest, to tell her that she should stay. But he too knew that they couldn't go down that road. At least, not yet, not right now. With a sigh, he rose from his chair.

"Let me see you out."

She gathered her purse and he walked her to the door.

"Thank you sir."

"For what?" he queried.

"For getting me out of that stasis pod, for bringing me home."

"Ah, yes." He smiled. "Always, Carter. You know what they say."

"What's that, sir?"

"There's no place like home."

"Very true, sir." She smiled at him as she walked out the door and down the stairs to her car. She started the engine and gave him a final wave before pulling out of the drive.

Sam opened her front door and sighed, she wasn't okay right now, but she was home. And she knew with time she would put this all behind her, especially with Jack in her corner. They might not be a couple, but she knew he was there for her, no matter what. And she'd rather have him as a friend while she worked through this, than risk screwing everything up. She wasn't going to make any major life decisions any time soon. She wasn't going to succumb to a knee-jerk reaction. But she could hope for the future. She had her life back.

There truly was no place like home.