You can't save them all - can you? pt 3
You can't save them all - can you? pt 3
by whisper99
Summary: A slow night at the SGC brings the team a mystery.
Category: Alternate Universe, Mystery
Episode Related: 701 Fallen
Season: any Season
Pairing: none
Rating: 13+
Warnings: minor language
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: 2004-11-06
Stargate & SG-1 belong to lots of other people and entities. Jess was my idea. Thank goodness for late night visits from the Muse.
***At the infirmary***
Jack comes into the room to find Jess pushing around the contents of her breakfast with her fork. "'Morning." He says mock-cheerfully as Teal'c comes in behind him.
Jess looks up, staring at Jack suspiciously, but does not say anything. Jack gestures for the nurse inside the room to leave. He pulls up a chair to sit next to Jess. Teal'c stands to one side of him.
Jess raises an eyebrow slightly, glancing over as the nurse leaves the room, then over to Teal'c. "Hi." She says quietly.
"How're you feeling?' Jack asks.
"Like I got run over by something kinda heavy." She pushes the tray away from her.
"Not hungry?" he asks, noticing the tray looks untouched.
She shakes her head, saying, "Not really." She fingers the cast on her left arm, wincing slightly as she extends the fingers on it.
"Well, my friends and I want to be able to help you, but in order to do that, we need to ask you some questions."
She shrugs slightly, leaning farther back into the bed saying, "What is it with you people and all your questions?"
"Well, we can't exactly help you if we don't know how you got here."
Jess seems to consider this for a moment, saying, "Ok...so you've got a point there."
Shifting uncomfortably on her bed, she adds, "But what I'm thinking is that maybe I hit the ramp a bit too hard with my head and this is all just a weird dream. Y'know, maybe I'm in a coma or something."
Jack purses his lips considering that for a moment before saying, "Ok...so you've got a point there."
Teal'c says, "This is not a dream, Jess O'Neill. We are in fact real and you are awake and talking to us."
Looking up at Teal'c, Jess offers him a small smile, saying, "Thanks Teal'c...you always did know how to make me feel better. I believe you."
Jack cocks his head, "You believe him?"
She nods, saying, "Yeah...Teal'c never, ever talks in my dreams. He just stands around looking...I dunno...dangerous, I guess."
O'Neill nods, agreeing, "Yeah...he does that in real life too, sometimes. Ok...well, Jess...ah...Jess...is that short for Jessie? Jessica?"
She shakes her head, answering, "Na...it's short for Jessmin."
"That's different." He says.
Jess shrugs, "Yeah...I guess it is. Mom picked it out."
O'Neill cocks a brow, asking, "Mom?"
Teal'c interrupts the conversation, "O'Neill, should we not instead be focusing on the task at hand?"
O'Neill nods, "Right...yes, sorry about that. Got a bit sidetracked. Um...ok, so, what happened?'
Jess frowns slightly, trying to stick her fingers inside the cast to scratch an itch as she says, "I'm a member of SG12. We were on P3X-398, doing a routine archeological survey of what looked to be an abandoned trinium mine that doubled as some sort of shelter for an as of yet unidentified race of beings." She gives Jack a side-long glance, asking, "Can you tell I rehearsed this?" He nods, and she continues, "We had seven days to get as much information as we could then we had to go home. And so seven uneventful days later, we headed back to the gate." She starts to try to dig her fingers into the cast.
O'Neill tells her, "Leave that alone."
"It itches." She complains, but moves her hand. She sits on her good hand to keep from scratching as she continues, "Anyway, I fell behind because I dropped my pack. The rest of the team went up ahead of me to the gate. I ran to catch up, but they had already gone through. Just when I got to the event horizon, the gate shut off." She looks at Jack closely, asking with a hint of hope in her voice, "They're not...here...are they?"
Jack asks, "Who? The rest of your team?" She nods her head even as he shakes his, answering, "No. Only you came in through the gate."
Jess starts to finger her sore ribs as she continues, `So, I dialed the gate, and it wouldn't lock. I must've tried for an hour and I couldn't get the damn thing to work."
Jack and Teal'c exchange glances, Jack asking, "Did you try another gate address?"
Eyes downcast, Jess says quickly, "I um...well...no, actually...it ah...didn't occur to me."
Nodding, Jack says, "Do you remember seeing any kind of mirror device, maybe?" at that Jess shakes her head, and Jack continues, "Ok, so, how did you get the gate to work then?"
Answering a bit defensively, she says, "I dunno...I got tired of waiting so I tried again and it worked and I stepped through and whoosh, here I am."
Jack says, "Well, obviously something happened...wrong. Why do you think the gate didn't lock when you tried it the first time?"
"How the hell should I know?!" she answers exasperated, trying to sit up and failing miserably. "Ow, ow, ow." She says, holding her side.
"Hey, careful there. You don't need to go getting upset." Jack stands, trying to help Jess adjust a pillow so she can sit back down.
"I hate this." She mumbles under her breath.
"Yeah, I know kiddo." Jack says sympathetically. "I'll have the nurse come in and give you something for the pain, ok?
Lower lip pouting slightly, Jess looks up at Jack. Her eyes tearing, she says, `"You know, I've been gone what, one...two days now? This is going to kill my dad."
"Just hang in there, ok?" Jack says sympathetically as he reaches over to the stand to pull some tissues for her.
"All will be well, Jess O'Neill. We will find a way to return you to your father." Teal'c says reassuringly.
Wiping her nose, Jess nods. She settles into the bed as one of the nurses prepares a shot for her.
***Early afternoon***
Jess is sleeping soundly as Daniel enters the room. He puts a finger to his lips, making shushing motions at the nurse as she turns to watch him. He takes the small teddy bear they found in Jess' pack and places it in the crook of her arm. He smiles, looking down at the sleeping girl, reaching out to brush the hair from her eyes. He blinks, looking at her then glances about the room, as he hears soft crying in the distance. Shaking himself out of the thought, he leaves the room as quietly as he entered it.
***At the same time***
Jack approaches Sam in her lab, asking, "Carter."
Sam looks up, smiling as she says, "Colonel. How did the interview go?"
After Jack fills her in on the details Sam asks, "Do you believe her?"
Jack shrugs slightly, saying, "It's all soo...so boring. There isn't any reason _not_ to believe her. I'd expect something much more elaborate from a Goa'uld. For crying out loud, all she wants is to go home." He clears his throat, changing the subject by asking, "What about you? Find anything scientifically noteworthy?"
Sam nods, looking tired but excited, "Yes sir...actually, I was about to call you and the others to see. Here is video footage of the gate when Jess arrived."
They can see the gate activating, power fluctuating through it and then can see Jess being launched out the other end. "See this?" she points to a graphical representation of the wormhole. "We use this to identify incoming matter through the wormhole. Normally, this is what it looks like." She outlines the flow of motion with her finger. "This graph shows something we haven't really seen before. The first one I just showed you was Jess coming through the gate. But this one...this one was a few seconds before she came through."
Jack asks, "What? You saying something came through the gate before she did?"
Sam nods, running a hand through her hair, "Yes sir. That's what it looks like."
Jack asks, "Well, what is it? A Re'tu?"
Sam shakes her head, "No sir, I don't think so. I'm still doing some tests on the video, to see if we can maybe pick something up. As a matter of fact, I was just about to run a full spectrum analysis on this video." She punches up some keys on the keyboard, and the screen shows the security video again of the gate opening just before Jess's arrival. The video is infrared mode. Sam remarks "Look at the sparks of energy coming off the gate. That's incredible."
Leaning closer to the screen, Jack asks, "Is that what I think it is?"
"Uh...yes sir. Wow...uh...I think we better have Daniel come and look at this." Sam says as she rewinds the video.
*To be continued - Feedback will be appreciated!!*
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