Disclaimer: I do not own the Stargate franchise. I'm just a fan writing fanfiction. ! Bold text at the beginning is quoted directly from the show.
"No. . . no . . ."
"Colonel, sir!"
"Skaara! . . . Skaara."
Jack ran as fast as his legs would take him down the damn sand hill. He wasn't the spring chicken he was back during the first mission through the Stargate. Though, he wasn't a damn spring chicken then either, but his legs worked a little better.
He really had to get back to the gym and lay off the beers when he got home.
Yeah. Right.
But his need for stronger muscles didn't stop his legs from moving forward. Running faster until he caught up to Skaara, who was just about to walk through the gate with the others who'd been chosen.
Jack couldn't lose another one.
He'd already lost the two most important people in his entire life. He wasn't about to lose another really important person, especially not to those damn snakeheads . . Goa'uld's . . . whatever. The damn alien assholes that weren't supposed to multiply after Ra's defeat, but disappear in that damn nuclear explosion.
For a moment the world stood still as Skaara approached him.
Jack's heart beat fast to the point of pain against his rib cage, and he allowed himself a moment of hope when the boy's lips curled upward into that smile. That smile which caused flashes of his own son to run through his mind.
Jack stared into the eyes of the boy he'd come to care for and inwardly prayed the kid wasn't gone.
Skaara would never replace his own kid . . .no.
No one could ever do that.
But the boy reminded him more of Charlie than any other kid he'd ever met.
Looking into Skaara's eyes was like looking into the eyes of Charlie.
— Remember how he was always saluting you? Kawalsky's words from earlier echoed in Jack's mind, as a flash of Skaara saluting him on Abydos played like a camcorder rerun of a damn good memory. The kind of memories that seemed to be created less and less with each damn day that had gone by without his own son.
— Yeah, my kid used to do that.
He could almost hear Charlie's laugh as Skaara's laugh from earlier with the moonshine rang in his ears.
He could almost see Charlie's face in the features of Skaara as he stood there, smiling.
His boy. Charlie .
Jack's heart ached every damn day at the reminder of Charlie.
There wasn't one moment that went by without thinking about his son.
But whenever Skaara was around the pain subsided. . . even if just for a little while.
It's why Jack couldn't lose him too. Couldn't let the Goa'uld's take him. He couldn't let another kid die on his watch.
Charlie died because of him, and the Ra copycats. . . well, it wasn't his fault directly they came back, but he was blaming himself for not protecting Skaara. He could've found a way.
Jack's world began to speed up again the moment Skaara's smile fell into a thin line. He could hear the shouting of the others behind him, but the sounds were muffled. Nothing else in that moment mattered. Nothing else but Skaara.
There was no more life behind the kid's eyes.
And then it happened. . .
His damn eyes glowed.
Jack's eyes widened slightly and his breath caught in the back of his throat. He was angry. But the shock of what was happening didn't allow the emotion to truly rise to the surface.
Skaara's hand rose quicker than Jack could reach for his weapon — not that he would shoot the kid.
Hell no.
He'd take the blow, take the blast, take whatever was coming before he did a thing like that.
Skaara may have been gone, but that was still his body.
The familiar light illuminated from the damn hand device Skaara wore, sending Jack flying backwards through the air.
Pow! It was the sound of his ass hitting the ground, but in his mind, Jack heard the sound of the gun shot. . . the one singular gun shot followed by Sarah's shout, Charlie. . . ? Charlie! . . .
And just like with Charlie. . .
He was too late.
The reality sank in as he stood up from the sand. His world was spinning, the only thing keeping him remotely grounded were the shouts from the others on his and Kawalsky's team, coming up from the rear. He didn't turn or acknowledge them though.
No. His eyes remained straight ahead.
The shock bled out from his pores and contorted his facial features, expressing itself through his stare as he watched another important person in his life disappear through the event horizon.
Teal'c was right.
Just like Charlie. . . Skaara was gone.