Eight Weeks: Prologue - One Slippery Slope
Eight Weeks: Prologue - One Slippery Slope
by Jackie W.
Summary: One broken legs begins eight weeks of change for SG1
Category: Romance
Season: future Season
Pairing: Jack/Sam
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: none
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author(s).
Archived on: 03/15/04
Title: "Eight Weeks Series - Prologue: One Slippery Slope"
Author: Jackie W.
Email: jackiesfic@aol.com
Rating: PG-13 (a couple of bad words and possible sexual situations later)
Classification: SJ UST/Romance
Season: Season 7, immediately after Resurrection
Spoilers: One small one for Solitudes
Summary: Eight weeks, one broken leg, several new teammates, and a series of misadventures create a lot of upheaval for SG1.
Author's Notes: This fic idea actually sprung out of another one I was working on and Muse decided this one would be become a mini-series of fics and now refuses to work on anything else. Isn't it enough I have two stubborn teens and a husband and a boss to contend with?
It hadn't stopped raining for days. Sam shook her head to once again clear the water from eyes and sighed. This mission had started out so well. Their hike from the gate to the ruins four days ago had been beautiful. The Stargate was located in a valley with flora and fauna more lush than anything she had ever seen on Earth. Even the Colonel had whistled in appreciation when they first stepped through. Sam had stopped several times and had filled every sample bag and jar that she had with plants and soil. Then when they had reached the ruins in the foothills it had been Daniel's turn to get excited. The symbols on the outer walls were definitely Furling.
It was on the second day at the ruins, while Daniel was recording the writings Teal'c had found in the remains of one of the central buildings, that the rain had started. The sun had been shining brightly and remained out at the beginning of the downpour, so they expected a typical tropical storm that would pass quickly. Instead the sky had soon darkened and the steady hard rain had not let up for the last seventy hours. The spot where they had set up camp was relatively sheltered by the ruins, so at first they had simply waited it out giving Daniel extra time to record what he'd found.
Eventually they'd had to break camp and head back to the gate despite the rain. They were a two-day hike away from the valley taking into account the slower going in the rain and they only had three days of food left. Plus they were due back in thirty hours. They were hoping they would be close enough to the gate for their radios to work when Hammond opened it to check on them.
That part of the plan had worked well and O'Neill had been able to assure Hammond that they were safe several hours ago.
"Just a bit of a rain delay," the Colonel had reported.
'Rain delay my ass,' Sam thought as she once again shook the moisture from her eyes. Shortly after they had talked to the General the rain had turned into an all out monsoon. Since they were still in the more difficult terrain of the foothills their progress had slowed to a crawl. They had about another hour to go until they would reach the relative safety of the flatter land of the valley the Gate was in. Then the unthinkable occurred. The path they were walking on only qualified as a path because they hacked their way through the undergrowth on their way to the ruins. The ground rose gently to their right, and fell away slightly more steeply to their left as they followed their previously blazed trail. With the wind and the rain they did not even hear anything to give them a warning until a split second before disaster struck.
The Colonel had been in front leading and Teal'c was on their six. The mudslide swept between the two right across where Daniel and Sam were walking. Sam, a step ahead and to the left, had no chance to react. Daniel, had a split second longer and was within Teal'c's reach when he lunged desperately to hold onto his teammate who was able to maintain his balance. Sam however was knocked off her feet and started sliding down the slope to their left being carried along by the mud and debris.
After the initial shock passed she desperately tried to find something to break her fall. She had just about given up hope as the slope was getting steeper and she was picking up speed when she found what she was looking for. Unfortunately, she found it because her left foot slammed into it. Even as the pain shot through her body a small part of her brain screamed at her and she reached out instinctively grabbing for the object that had slowed her decent. It took two full minutes for the remainder of the mudslide to pass her by at which point Sam found herself clinging to the remains of a tree trunk with pretty much of a straight drop below her. The valley floor was about 200 feet further down and she tried very hard not to think about what would have happened to her if she hadn't found this lifeline. Unsure about the strength of the root structure in the rain soaked ground she reached around with her uninjured right foot to try to find a solid spot to take some of her weight. Luckily this particular spot seemed to be a bit more rocky, and she was soon able to even out her weight between the small outcrop her foot had found and the branch above her, giving her arms a bit of relief too. She slowly leaned her body into the slope so that she was fairly secure. Then she took stock of her situation.
The left leg was definitely broken. Probably the ankle too. From above she could hear someone shouting her name, and unable to reach her radio she called back as loudly as she dared, then closed her eyes and willed herself not to black out as pain shot through her head. Possible concussion too. She took long slow breaths until she felt her vision steady. Passing out was not an option.
Up above, her three teammates had jumped into action just moments after Sam had been swept away. Jack had moved forward well out of the path of the mud as soon as he'd ensured Teal'c had Daniel to safety and had started digging through his pack to find rope and the lightweight harness he knew were in there. By the time Daniel had dropped down onto his stomach to try to look over the edge and spot Sam he was already threading the rope through the belay device. A moment later Teal'c was at his side helping him into the gear.
"Do you see her Daniel?" Jack asked as he and Teal'c hunted for a solid spot to use as an anchor point.
"I think so, but it's hard to tell," Daniel responded. He tried raising Sam on the radio and then called out over the side of the hill. They were all relieved to hear a feint response. "Yeah, she's just over halfway down holding onto something. You'd better hurry," Daniel warned.
Jack was already easing himself over the side of the slippery slope, but he couldn't spot his 2IC. "Where the hell is she?" he cursed.
Daniel tried to give him a couple of reference points, but Jack was unable to distinguish the mud covered Major from the rest of the hill. "Keep her talking Daniel so I can follow her voice," he ordered as he nodded to Teal'c to start letting him down.
Sam knew someone was coming down to get her. Even though she couldn't reach her radio to respond Daniel was talking to her through it. Alternately she could hear him shouting to her occasionally obviously not sure if her radio was working or not. Now he was telling her to keep talking so that the Colonel could follow her voice. It was getting hard to stay alert so talking was probably a good idea. With no clear idea of what to say she started to ramble.
"Colonel? You are probably cursing right about now. I'm sorry, Sir. Just please hurry because I don't know how long I can stay conscious. My left leg is definitely broken, Sir. Lot of cuts and bruises, and a possible concussion, but other than that everything seems to be functioning," she rambled, repeating the situation a couple of times as he got closer.
Jack couldn't make out her words at first, but the sound of her voice reassured him as he made his way down as quickly as possible. When he was finally close enough to understand what she was saying he began to worry. He was going to have to get her back up with a broken leg, which would be tricky and painful. Plus she was repeating herself and getting less coherent with each repetition. Definite signs of shock setting in. He began talking to her hoping to keep her alert a bit longer.
"I'm almost there Carter. This is a nifty little shortcut you found but I think we'll stick to the original path if you don't mind," he told her.
"Fine by me, Sir,' she responded weakly.
"You know I'm going to have to splint that leg don't you? I've been waiting six years for this chance," he warned her.
"Glad I could make your day, Sir," Sam mumbled.
He was close enough to see her now and she was fading quickly. "Stay with me, Major. That's and order!" he demanded.
Sam raised pain filled eyes to meet his. "Yes, Sir," she acknowledged
Two minutes later he was at her position. He immediately secured her to him in case she passed out and then set about getting her into position to make the trip back up.
"Carter, which leg is broken, the left one?" he asked.
After getting a nod in response he figured the best position for them to ascend would be face to face with her right side and his left facing the hillside. That way her left leg would be protected and he would be able to use his left arm to keep them clear of any obstructions. He got himself into position then gave her directions.
"Carter, I'm going to hold onto you around your waist and I want you to reverse your hands on the branch and turn to your left until you are facing me. On the count of three. Ready?" he explained.
"Yeah," she replied moving her hands as he had told her.
"1, 2, 3!" he ordered.
He heard her gasp in pain as she made the maneuver into the new position. But she managed to stay conscious.
"Good job. Now I'm going to re-secure you and I'll have Daniel and Teal'c pull us up," he informed her.
She nodded weakly and waited for him to be done tying off the rope. Then she raised her arms and put them around his neck.
"Permission to pass out," she murmured. She was unconscious before he could agree.
After quickly checking her pulse Jack heaved a sigh of relief. Her pulse was strong and it was probably better that she be out of it for the next part anyway. He kept his right arm wrapped around her waist and reached for his radio with his left, signaling his teammates up top that he had her and they could start to pull them up. 'And they wonder why I have gray hair,' he thought sarcastically as he pulled the women in his arms close to him to keep her from flopping around too much.
It seemed to take hours for them to get back to where Teal'c and Daniel were steadily working to pull them up. In reality it took only twenty minutes. About two thirds of the way up Sam regained consciousness for a bit, obviously confused to find herself being held firmly in her CO's grasp. She raised questioning eyes to his.
"Hey," he said. "Don't move, you have a broken leg. You got swept down the hill and Daniel and Teal' are pulling us up. We should be at the top soon," he assured her.
He saw understanding dawn, but it was the quickly masked disappointment that surprised and secretly thrilled him. Maybe it was because he was still off balance from the fear that he would not make it to her in time, or maybe it was because he was just getting tired of hiding his feelings, but something made him open his mouth to honestly reassure her.
"Not that I'm not enjoying every moment of having you in my arms, Carter. I'd just prefer it if you were not in pain and mostly unconscious at the time," he confessed.
She looked up at him again in surprise, a look that quickly softened into something else. "Me too," she agreed, then she ducked her head back onto his shoulder with her face turned into his neck.
He swore he felt her lips pressed up against the skin there before a change in her breathing told him she had once again passed out. He checked her pulse and found it to still be steady and strong, so he concentrated on getting them up the rest of the way as safely and quickly as possible. They reached their teammates five minutes later and the three men instantly set to work again. Daniel helped Jack and Sam out of the ropes and harness then set about getting the first aid equipment out. While Jack checked Sam over and set her leg, Teal'c kept most of the rain off of her with a tarp, and Daniel packed up the climbing gear and got out the portable stretcher. Within a half an hour they were ready to continue the hike to the gate. Jack looked at his watch just before he lifted his end of the stretcher. The entire incident had taken just over an hour.
Little did he know that it would trigger a chain of events that would change all of their lives.
End Prologue
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