Ice
Ice
by Cags
Summary: Post Lost City. What might have happened.
Category: Missing Scene/Epilogue
Episode Related: 721 Lost City
Season: Season 7
Pairing: Jack/Sam
Rating: FAM
Warnings: none
Author's Notes: The end of Lost City was so surprisingly emotional that I was
compelled to finish it off in my head. It's been sat on my broken laptop for
almost 2
years now. Better late than never. Thanks to Magnavox for the beta job.
Please feedback to Majikthize@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story was created for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author(s).
Archived on: 03/30/06
Cold.
This and the sound of her breathing were the only sensations she had to guide her. To provide her with the much needed proof that she was still alive. Darkness shrouded her in her tiny bunk beneath who knew how many aeons of ice. She opened her eyes to the slightly greyish blackness and watched clouds of condensation from her breath puff briefly to bring life into the darkness. Her skin prickled with the cold despite her layers of clothes and her thermal blankets.
Ice.
Built as a palace of ice, the sheen and slick walls faintly glistened and she realised numbly that in the cold darkness she could imagine patterns in the ice.
Faces.
His face.
His eyes dead and yet so full of soul, captured unblinking as they gazed at her in his final moments of lucidity.
Did he see her still?
Was there anything left of the man he had once been?
She sighed, pushing the pointless speculation away and rolled over, curling into herself. In the still cold darkness another sensation became apparent. She could hear her heart. She wondered if she were quiet enough she might press her ear to his icy tomb and hear his heart beating in unison.
With a frown she dismissed her sudden fanciful longings and cursed the forbidden emotions that embodied them. She had, she supposed, moved on from that path, with regret but with acknowledgement of its necessity. Still she cared too much for him, she acknowledged miserably. She cared enough to be lying here in the still cold darkness unable to seek solace in sleep.
Unlike he, who slept soundlessly and so very still.
With another sigh she silently stole from her bunk, not bothering to slip boots over her thick socks, nor to shed the blankets from her frame. She padded quietly into the eerie dark and sought him out.
She approached cautiously half expecting him the blink and offer her that tight little crinkle-eyed smile that he often bestowed on her like a special prize. Instead he remained, as always, locked in an expression of sad longing and she was reminded painfully that his gaze had been upon her when he froze. The thought sparked a moment of warmth deep within her.
She stood slightly to the left of him, so that his gaze once again fell upon her. Standing toes touching the clear barrier encasing him she pushed her face as close to his as she could, her hand reaching out to touch the ice over his heart. Holding her breath she pressed her ear to the spot just below her hand and waited, expecting to hear something.
Silence.
Not quite silence.
A random distant thunder, barely audible within the structure, rolled around them. Ice groaning under the weight of its years. The others who lay sleeping muttering and snoring. Why had she not noticed those sounds before? Was it that she was so still and silent herself now? She pulled her head away and stared into his face again. Memorising his features in case she should ever forget them.
The cold crept up her legs as she stood there, slowly turning her veins to ice. Numbness clawed at her body but she couldn't or wouldn't move away just yet. For an absurd moment she was reminded of the tale of the Laurel tree and how the fair maiden, Daphne, had begged to be turned into one to escape the fierce love of Apollo, and she wondered if the very thing was happening to her in reverse. If her fierce dedication to him would root her to the spot and in the morning the others would wake and find her stood toe to toe just as frozen and he. She wished it could happen so that she might not spend another moment nursing the ache within her as she yearned just to hear his voice even if only to utter an exasperated curse.
Suddenly she was gripped with an urge to break the unbearable silence with its mournful ice wails and to speak. Just the talk to him, hear his name on her lips and the words she had waned to utter but that had been denied release. She opened her mouth to formulate a sentence but her throat stuck and all that came out was a harsh sigh. She closed her eyes and blinked back tears of frustration. Even like this when he could not possibly hear she could not express herself openly and honestly. She cursed the part of her that sequestered her feelings to tightly within her walls.
"You still here?"
Daniel.
She was startled at the sudden noise and wondered how long she'd really been there. She looked up to see him standing slightly behind her.
She smirked "Still?"
He shrugged and looked slightly embarrassed. "Yeah I, er...I heard you get up. Saw you walk past. Then I kind of drifted back to sleep for a while and then...well here you still are."
"Here I am." She sighed.
Carry on like this and people will think...actually she didn't care what people thought. If they couldn't find a way to bring him back, preferably as he was before the Ancient knowledge overtook his brain, then it really didn't matter. The whole goddamn world could be gossiping about how a certain USAF major seemed to be pining a little for her CO and might be spending far too long hanging out in front of an ice sculpture of a man who was, in every sense, a hero. Now she was damn well writing his obituary in her head. He wasn't dead yet dammit. He wasn't dead at all if she could do anything about it.
"You should get some sleep." He added with a concerned frown.
She shook her head. "Not tired."
"C'mon Sam."
She turned around to see his concerned compassionate expression and acquiesced. He held out a hand towards her and she took it, relishing the warmth of his fingers rubbing at her chilled skin.
"You know they're nearly finished cataloguing this place now?" Daniel mused conversationally.
"Mmm." She responded.
"So I think they're gonna recall us. General Hammond has used up more than his fair share of favours to allow us to even hang about this long. I mean it's not as if we're contributing much that the science team can't cope with."
"We're expressing professional interest, Daniel."
"Oh is that what it is?" He cast a sly sideways glance as her, which she caught and looked away embarrassed.
"We did save the planet." She added wryly, with a backward glance into the ice chamber and it's lonely frozen resident. "Well, he did."
Daniel answered her with a silent question.
"Oh come on you want to...to..." She groped for the right expression for her feelings "...get him back as much as I do!"
"Yeah but I don't think freezing our nuts off down here is gonna help somehow."
"Yeah, I have an idea."
"As always."
Sam nodded. "Just got to convince Weir that this is a good idea."
"Yeah." Daniel started walking again. "Well if you and I can't convince her I'm sure Teal'c will win her over with his charm."
Sam stopped and tilted her head at him in a puzzled smile.
"Uh, sorry. Think I'm over compensating for the lack of...uh..." He chucked a thumb back towards Jack.
Sam smiled affectionately and nodded, feeling more confident that she's get to hear the Colonel making similar raspy voiced cracks himself in the very near future.
"But right now you need sleep Sam." He yawned for emphasis and Sam found herself yawning as well. "C'mon, I'll tuck you in."
She smiled sleepily and followed him back out to their sleeping area.
~End~
And now you're sleeping peacefully, I lie awake and pray That you'll be strong tomorrow and we live to see the day and we will Praise him and love the light that shines across your face.
~Hold on, by Sarah Mclachlan.
If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to Cags
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Ice
by CagsStory Bemerkung:
The end of Lost City was so surprisingly emotional that I was compelled to finish it off in my head. It's been sat on my broken laptop for almost 2 years now. Better late than never. Thanks to Magnavox for the beta job. Please feedback to Majikthize@hotmail.com
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