The Black Widow's Curse
The Black Widow's Curse
by Wendy G.
Title: The Black Widow's Curse
Author: Wendy G.
Email: x-philes@worldnet.att.net
Category: Action/Adventure, Angst, Hurt/Comfort
Episode related: 105 First Commandment, 405 Divide and Conquer, 503 Ascension, 509 Between Two Fires
Season: Season 5
Pairing: Sam/Jack
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: none
Summary: The events of the past year are beginning to catch up with Sam.
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).
The Black Widow's Curse
Daniel joined Jack and Teal'c at there usual commisary table, and began to eat his lunch, without really glancing up.
"Well," Jack pushed.
"Umpgh, well what?"
"Daniel, you know what I mean."
"Yeah, I guess I do."
"Well, Then, Where is she?"
"In her lab, the same place she's been for the past month. Too busy, or so she says. Well, that's not fair, I mean she does have stacks of work, but I hear she's been volunteering for it."
"You said you could get her here."
"Well. I couldn't! Not that you've had any better luck. Short of having Teal'c carry her, I don't know what else we can do."
"Where ya goin buddy," O'Neill asked as the big man arose.
"To carry her here as DanielJackson suggested."
"Uh, well, I don't think that would be a good idea Teal'c," Daniel mumbled, red-faced "She's a bit mad right now."
"Daniel, what did you do?"
"Err, I, well, I accidently messed up one of her projects. I mean it was an accident, but considering how much we've been pushing her to eat with us, I'm not sure she believes that."
"Great, Daniel. This isn't gonna help."
"Well, Jack. What will?"
" I wish I knew Daniel, wish I knew," Jack mumbled as his thoughts turned inward to the recent behavior of his 2IC.
It all really started after the recent death of Narim. No, that wasn't quiet right, it had started much earlier than that, but it came to a head after Narim's death. It probably started with the death of Martouf, then there was the Entity encounter, and the bit with Orlin. All in all it had been a crappy year, and it was finally starting to take it's toll on Sam.
He wanted to help her, but every time he came near her she just seemed to pull further into her shell. He knew from watching that she was working even harder than she used to, and going home even less. It wasn't healthy, but no one could seem to get through to her. She performed flawlessly on missions, always hyper-alert, quiet, and efficient. So why did he feel so much like she wasn't there anymore. He was losing her, and it was tearing him apart inside.
Samantha Carter stretched up from her hunched over position in her lab. She had several uninterrupted hours of work after Daniel's last attempt at getting her to join the team for lunch. She wanted to be alone, she needed to work, why couldn't they understand how busy she was these days. Didn't they see the amount of work that stood in her labs. Oh well, not much more she could do about it now. It was late, her most recent project at a good holding point, and the commissary was about to close. Maybe she should get something to eat now. It would be quiet, and give her time to eat, and think about the next phase of her work.
Sam made her way through the nearly deserted corridors of the SGC, and was glad to find the commissary nearly the same. Selecting her food, she made her way to a quiet table in the corner.She sat with her back to the doors, and her shoulders hunched over her tray and the stack of papers she carried with her. Needless to say she was surprised at the voices she heard start up behind her.
"So Sue, how did Mark do on his trip with SG-1?"
"Fine, Jen. He said it was relatively uneventful."
"Why wouldn't it have been Jen," the third voice asked thoughtfully.
"Come on Marge, surely you have heard about the curse?"
"What in the world are you on about Jen? There isn't a curse at the SGC, besides all that, curses are a bunch of nonsense."
"You wouldn't think so if you were one of the ones close to her. I don't think she's done anything on purpose, but you've got to admit, there are an awful lot of her 'friends' dead."
"Of course there are Jen, we work in the military for pete's sake."
"Well Marge, there is something to it. I mean Mark isn't usually the superstitious sort, but he carried a rabbit's foot, and a crucifix with him on that last mission with SG-1," Sue said softly.
"Yeah Marge, people are calling it the Black Widow's curse, and.."
"Just cut it out Jen," Marge interrupted, " this is ridiculous. We are in the military, people die. You know yourself that Carter is a good bird, and she's having a tough time. You need to stop this crazy talk, before Colonel O'Neill hears it and tears you limb from limb. Now come on, we've got work to do."
The three ladies left, still talking among themselves. None of them having noticed the silent figure at the table in the corner. The silent hunched figure, that had just had her worst nightmare confirmed. She wasn't sure what of the talk that she just heard bothered her the most, but it was definitely disturbing to hear that people would carry luck charms to ward off the curse they thought she carried.
She wasn't at all sure that time could heal all wounds when it came to these, she wasn't sure that time hadn't made these wounds worse. It had certainly added to the body count. She couldn't let her friends be next, she would protect them from her, even if it meant leaving the SGC.
Sam jerked awake with a pounding heart, once again trembling in fear and soaked with sweat. She had never been one for nightmare's, but the ones that haunted her lately were vivid and persistent in their pursuit. She couldn't remember the last time she had had a good nights sleep, and things only seemed to be getting worse. The horrible tricks her subconscious played on her were bad enough, but now she carried the whispered have truths of gossip into her nights.
It wasn't just the talk she had heard in the commissary earlier, but the whispers that had been going around for the last several weeks. The worst one was that she was not only a black widow, but that she held some horrible spell over the guys. That they would stay with her until their deaths. It mattered little that in there line of work that risk had more to do with the Go'uald then some silly curse.
Deep down inside Sam knew it was all silly, but her heart seemed to be controlling that part of her senses. The heart that reminded her in the wee hours of the morning of the death of her mother,of Jonas, Martouf, Olin, Narim, hell, even Jolinar figured into the equation, having died for her. It hurt, and it made her feel vulnerable in a way that both terrified, and angered her. She was strong, she was an Air Force officer, but she just couldn't take it all in stride.
That is when the other fear surfaced, the one that told her she was cursed, and that Jack could be next. Sam knew also that no death since her mother had the power to break her like that one could. She didn't want to think about it, or even to acknowledge that,curse or no, it was a real possibility every time they walked through that gate. Maybe that's what bothered her the most about all of this. These deaths that haunted her, and followed her around the galaxy, maybe they where meant to tell her something, or prepare her.
NO!! NO!!! "God Sam, don't go there," she told herself aloud in the stillness of the room. "You know you want let anything happen to him, you'd die first."
There it was, words hanging in the quiet of the room. She couldn't leave, she couldn't let him die if perhaps she could go in his place.
SG-1 had split up somewhat as they followed the barely visible path. Teal'c and Sam ahead of Daniel and Jack, and far enough ahead for there words not to carry.
"Okay Jack, what the hell was that all about," Daniel hissed.
"What Daniel," Jack replied in what he hoped was an innocent voice.
"You know what, either that or you have your head shoved even further up your ass than I thought. Why in the hell would you pull a stunt like that, you've heard the rumors!"
"Yes, Daniel, I have, and no 'my head is not up my ass', as you put it. Daniel, don't you see, if we pussy foot around all the rumors and shit floatin' around the SGC, she'll think we believe them. We have to make a joke out of it, make her realize we think it's garbage."
Daniel looked ahead at his team-mate, ever sharp, as usual, but missing the spring in her step, and her shoulder's just a little too stiff.
"Yeah Jack, I 'get' you, but I don't think Sam does. We aren't dealing with the usual here, and I'm not sure your sarcasm and wit will fix this one, it can't fix everything Jack."
Jack stared ahead at his team-mates on the trail, and felt the lump in his stomach tie into a knot. He didn't know how to answer Daniel, and he was starting to get a very bad feeling about this mission.
Little else got said as the team made there way towards the village. It was most likely deserted as the MALP had picked up little in the way of movement. Deserted or inhabitated it would make Daniel just as happy, and they would learn something either way, even if it wasn't something especially useful.
Sam Carter scanned the horizon again for what felt like the millionth time since the start of this mission. She felt a prickling sense of unease that only seemed to grow as they got further away from the gate. It didn't help that none of the others seemed to be on guard more than usual, and that she could not see anything out of the ordinary. It was her frequent looks around that caused her to be the first to note the ominous dark clouds rolling in from the south.
"Sir," she called out coming to a stop.
"Yes Carter?"
"It looks like we've got an active weather front moving in from the south."
O'Neill turned to regard the clouds Carter was indicating, "Looks like a dousey. We'll folks, lets keep our eyes open for some cover. I don't think we're gonna want to get caught in that thing."
"O'Neill, that line of stone may hold cover of some sort," Teal'c said while indicating a line of mountain high rocks to the east.
"Okay campers, lets move out, and stay sharp."
It was about thirty minutes later when SG-1, who had split to cover the most of the shear rock wall, finally got lucky.
"Jack," Daniel called over the radio, "Teal'c and I found a cave, we're about a mile north of you."
"Roger that, Carter and I will meet you there," Jack responded as the heavens opened and the deluge started. It was like walking into a shear wall of water, and it was amazing that Sam heard the rumble over the sound of the storm.
Sam Carter felt her gut clench as she saw the tumble of rocks as they bounced down the mountainside, they were heading staight for Coloonel O'Neill. Sam made her decision in a split second that felt like an eternity, she had no time to call out before she launched herself at the back of her commanding officer.
Jack felt the weight of his 2IC as she knocked him out of the way, before he heard the rumble of falling rock. Recovering his balance he whirled in time to see a number of good size rocks partially bury Sam, and his gut clenched at the site of the very still figure among those rocks.
"Damn," Jack cursed as he knelt to check a pulse, grabbing for his radio at the same time, "Daniel, Teal'c, I need you now** Sam's hurt." O'Neill dropped his vest back into position as he began to take stock of the situation. The rain continued to bucket down, and the ground beneath the rocks was rapidly turning to mud that threatened to seep into Sam's mouth.
"God Sam," he muttered to the still unconscious figure, "I hope I don't make it worse, but we've got to get you unburied before the mud and rain drown you."
Jack rapidly began to shift rocks off the still figure of Samantha Carter, knowing that while fairly good size, and heavy, they weren't the boulders that could have crushed her instantly. He was surprised that he almost had her unburied by the time Teal'c slid to a stop beside him, Daniel several paces behind. It didn't take him and Teal'c long to dispense with the rest of the rocks, while Daniel held his jacket over Sam's head, and kept her mouth and nose clear of the mud that threatened to suffocate his friend.
"What happened Jack," Daniel asked once all the rocks were moved.
"Rockslide Daniel, Sam heard it, I didn't, she shoved me out of the way before I knew what was going on. Now Daniel, help me, we need to roll her, and figure out what we're dealing with."
The three teammates carefully set about log rolling Sam onto her back, while keeping neck and back as straight as possible. It looked like much of the damage was to her right leg and side, but they didn't want to take unnecessary risks until she woke, and could help with the assessment. Jack had begun a systematic exam when he first heard the moan.
"Jack, I think she's coming to," Daniel said from his protective position by her head. "Sam, can you hear me, it's me, Daniel."
"Carter, wake up," Jack ordered as he moved to lean over her face.
"Sir, umm, what happened," she mumbled.
"You've been playing hero again Carter, always gets you in trouble. No Carter, keep your eyes open," he ordered as he noticed the lashes flutter shut. "Unless you want to spend a lot of time in this rain, I need you to tell me where you hurt."
"How 'bout everywhere, can I sleep now."
"No Carter, wake up," he said, lightly patting her cheek.
"Slave driver ," she muttered.
"Yep, that's me," he responded, immensely relieved that she was trying to joke with him. "Now where do you hurt, ahh-ahh, the most," he said, cutting off what was sure to be another smart-ass response.
"Right leg, I think it's broken, right hip, ribs, and my head hurts."
"Neck, back," he asked.
"No," she replied.
"Okay, then Carter, you know the drill, tell me if any of this hurts," he instructed as he placed a hand on either side of her face and began to gently move her head left, right, and then to the center.
"No sir, it's okay," she responded, eyes fluttering closed again. Jack was sure she had passed out again when he heard her whispered, "Sir, cold, hurts."
"Okay guys," Jack said, addressing Teal'c and Daniel, we need to get to that shelter. "Teal'c, I need you to carry her, so I can work on keeping that leg straight, Daniel, you stay by her head, and keep playing umbrella."
The team worked as quickly and as gently as possible to move Sam back to the cave they had found. None of it was gentle enough to prevent the moans of pain they got from Sam along the way.
Jack was relieved to finally reach the relative safety of the cave. The winds and rain of the storm had slowly but surely been picking up intensity since it had started nearly an hour before. Teal'c lowered Sam gently to the caves floor, while Daniel set about setting up what would be their camp, and Jack dealt with the field aid, which would include setting the leg.
Jack sat back, and thought through the last hour or more of his treatment of Sam. He and Teal'c had managed to get her into dry field cammies, set her leg, and basically determine they had no life-threatening injuries they could detect. He knew her belly was soft, and she had not complained of any specific tenderness when he'd mashed, so he'd felt comfortable giving her some Morphine for pain, and tucking her securely in a sleeping bag. Now he was left to deal with the gut-wrenching experience this had been, and to decide how to best salvage this mission. That's when Daniel decided to drop his little bomb from the entrance to the cave.
"Uhh, Jack, umm, I'm no weatherman, but I think this storm is hitting some hurricane force winds," he said, pointing to the trees that were being either uprooted, or blown nearly horizontal by the winds.
Jack stood at the mouth of the cave that he and the rest of SG-1 were taking refuge in, and glared at the continuing winds and rain. It had shown no signs of even lessening in intensity, and the team was well and truly trapped. Carter had slept most of the time, but over the last thirty minutes her sleep had become more restless,and he knew it was only a matter of time before she woke. He knew she would be in pain, and that lead to yet another problem, supplies.
This had been supposed to be a short mission, thus their med-kit, and rations had been packed accordingly. They carried enough Morphine for 5 doses, which would last just less than a day at one dose every four hours. Food supplies were better, and with the rain, and purification tablets, they could stretch the water indefinitely. Jack scowled again as he once more heard the restless movements of his 2IC, followed by a slight moan. He would need to make a decision about how to give the remaining four doses of Morphine.
"Daniel, can you come here a minute," Jack called to his friend who was currently keeping vigil over Sam.
"What's up Jack. Is the storm changing?"
"No Daniel, and it's bugging me. What do you know about storms? Teal'c, be sure to hop in if you can help," O'Neill added to the Jaffa as he approached from the back of the cave.
"Gee Jack, weather's not my thing. I'm just surprised to see it last this long."
"No kidding," O'Neill grumbled. "I figured it would at least be showing signs of letting up some. I mean most hurricanes die out, or move past quicker than this."
"Yeah Jack, on Earth. We aren't there though," Daniel replied, stating the obvious.
"Oh ya noticed huh," Jack snapped. "I'm sorry Daniel," he corrected quickly.
"It's okay Jack, I'm worried to. What do you think we should do?"
"Well, the sun is starting to go down, so I guess we ride it out until morning. I'm just not sure if I should start using half doses of Morphine to try to stretch it out. If we get through tonight and the storm hasn't let up, we could be stuck here without anything to even give Sam for pain."
"Will half a dose work Jack?"
"Not as well, but it could be better than nothing. I'm just afraid that that sky looks more like a Nor'easter than just a quick storm, if it acts like one we could be here up to two or three days."
"Yeah, and given we don't know squat about the meteorological properties of the atmosphere we could be here longer. Do you think Sam will be okay?"
"I don't think we missed any life-threatening injuries, but she'll be in a lot of pain. We'll see what tomorrow brings, if we have to we'll decide if anyone should make a run for the gate, but we can't do that now."
Sam awoke with a start, aware of the all consuming pain that licked down her side. She only had a vague memory of the rock-slide, but she did know she had kept Jack O'Neill from getting hurt, that did more to help bolster her courage than anything. Slowly Sam tried to move to take stack of her surroundings, only to stop with a whimper when the pain threatened to send her back to oblivion.
"Sir," she called when she finally encountered the backs of her team-mates at the cave entrance. She finally had what she thought was a fairly clear picture of what was going on, she remembered Daniel telling them about the cave.
"Carter, how ya' doin' ," he asked as he crouched beside Sam on the ground.
"Hurts sir, but okay I guess."
"Yeah, I'm not surprised, but I didn't find anything horrible. You'll be fine just as soon as we get you to Fraiser."
"Good, when do we leave, I actually wouldn't mind seeing the infirmary about now."
"Ohh, Sam, you must be hurting worse than I thought if you want to go to the infirmary, Doc's such a pain with those needles."
"Yes, sir, but she gives good drugs," Sam replied, biting a lip against the pain, as she tried to shift enough to drink the water O'Neill offered. She managed a few sips before her eyes fluttered closed. She tried to force them open again to look at the face of her C.O, but it was no use as blackness claimed her yet again. 'I saved him this time,' were the last thoughts running in her mind as she was swallowed by the blackness.
Sam awoke to pain and the ever present sounds of wind and rain.There was no other noise, and she could see that all but Teal'c had bedded down for the night. Teal'c stood as a solitary guardian against the unknown of the night, and his presence was immensely comforting, but it did nothing for the pain that consumed her at the moment.
Sam didn't want to wake Daniel or the Colonel, and she knew their supply of Morphine was limited. It would be best if she could stick it out until morning. She had heard the Colonel and Daniel's hushed conversation earlier that evening, and knew that they would entertain having someone get to the gate if they thought they needed to, she wouldn't let that happen. She wouldn't let any of them risk their life for her, she couldn't. She would rather die than be their Black Widow.
Sam bit her lip and tried to shift position, it wouldn't help her leg, but it could relieve the ache in her back. She barely managed to bite back her groan of pain. Her leg wouldn't allow her to move, not without screaming, and screaming would defiantly wake her teammates. Sam clenched her eyes shut and tried to will herself to relax, ignoring the tears of pain that tracked down her face, she could do this, she had to.
Jack woke to the continued sounds of heavy wind and rain. He had hoped the storm would die out during the night, it obviously hadn't.
"Morning Daniel," he murmured to his friend as he approached the entrance to the cave where Daniel stood entranced.
"Hey Jack, it's no better."
"Yeah, so I can see. I didn't hear you moving around much, you must be getting quieter, or the storm was louder than I thought."
"Not much to move around for."
"You mean Sam slept through your watch?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Cause she slept through mine, and obviously Teal'c's too, he'd have gotten me up. She can't have gone that long without the Morphine, Oh God, we'd better check on her," Jack muttered as he scurried towards his 2IC. Numerous fears of missed injuries scattering through his head.
"Sam," he called gently as he reached to check the pulse in the arm she had slung over her face. Her pulse was very fast, her breathing rapid and shallow, skin clammy. He reached quickly to check her abdomen, afraid he had missed some internal bleeding, relieved to find it soft . "Sam, come on," he called again, finally getting a response as glazed eyes turned to regard him.
"Is it morning, cause it hurts," Sam muttered disjointedly.
"Yes Sam, it's morning, and this will help the pain," Jack soothed as he prepared the vial of morphine. His gut clenched as he injected the whole dose, she must have heard them talking last night, cause she was obviously hesitant to ask for pain relief.
"Daniel, grab my sleeping bag, we need to warm her up, she's in shock. Sam, can you stay awake a minute, you need to drink some water."
"No, sleep," she muttered.
"Come on Sam," he instructed as he lifted her enough to get the canteen to her lips. She swallowed what water was poured into her mouth, even while her eyes slid shut.
Jack used the sleeping bags they had to position Sam comfortably and tucked her in under extra layers to ward off shock. It was as much as he could do while stuck in the middle of nowhere.
"Jack, is she okay," Daniel asked urgently.
"I think Daniel, but I think she's worried about supplies, that's why she didn't ask for the Morphine. I just hope the storm doesn't last much longer."
"I will go for the gate O'Neill," Teal'c stated firmly.
"NO," Sam shouted suddenly, struggling to push herself up, "you won't. I won't let you."
"Whoa, Carter, easy," Jack responded, "besides, the decision is mine, it does still say Colonel on my uniform."
"I don't care sir, he can't go because of me, I won't let him, it isn't worth the risk, not for this, not for me," she shouted, her tone frantic, not at all the controlled Carter they had all come to know.
"Carter, slow down, " Jack responded, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder.
Carter struggled out from under his hand, "No, I won't slow down, not until you promise me, not until you swear you won't let him go! Please, Colonel, you can't let him go," she all but sobbed as she flopped back on her sleeping bag, fighting the pain free sleep the Morphine offered.
"It's okay Carter, nobody's going anywhere. We'll all be right here, you can rest."
"Promise?"
"Yes Carter, I promise."
Jack, Daniel and Teal'c moved to the front of the cave once Sam was relaxed and asleep.
"Daniel, was that what I think it was?"
"Yeah Jack, she believes it, she believes she's cursed."
"Ahh, damn," Jack cursed as he watched the storm continue to rage unabated, suddenly realizing it was just part of their problem.
Jack barely controlled his overwhelming desire to expend his frustration on the rock walls of the cave. He knew that it would serve no useful purpose, except an outlet for the sick feeling balled in the pit of his stomach. Give him some Jaffa, or other visible foe and he could handle it, approach it all with tactical skill and sense, but this, this was ...well, different.
He didn't know how to fix a problem of the heart. His failed marriage to Sarah proved that, but he knew he would have to do something. Failure to fix this would be too big a loss, as big, no bigger, than losing Sarah. It wasn't that he hadn't loved Sarah, he had, part of him still did, but he didn't rely on her for his next breath, his next heartbeat. He wasn't sure when Sam had become so important to him, only that she had, and it scared him. It wasn't something he allowed himself to think about often, he had left it in that room, as she had said, but at times like this it came out, and it took over. He became Jack the man, and the man had no better clue than the Colonel how to fix the problems they faced.
"Damnit Daniel, she's a theoretical astrophysicist for god's sake, how can she believe this shit, how can she think she's cursed, and what am I supposed to do about it?"
"She's not thinking with her head Jack, she's feeling with her heart, and the heart doesn't have to make sense."
"Well that's just great Daniel, but how does that help?"
"It helps Jack, it helps us remember that for once we have to talk to Samantha, not Major, or Doctor, or even Carter. We have to talk to the woman inside that hurts, the one that feels like she is losing everyone that gets close to her. God Jack, I do know how she feels, I know how I felt after Sha're, and then Sarah, and those loses were much further apart. It doesn't help that Sam convinces herself she should show no emotion because of her rank. Jack, we have to remind her that she has been close to several people for five years, and that we are okay."
"How do I do that Daniel?"
"First off you remember that it is we, not just you. We are all close Jack, obviously not in the same way, but we are all close. We will have to work as a team, it is the only way we can stand strong."
"You're right Daniel, I know that, but..."
"But it doesn't make you feel any better."
"Daniel, have you been hanging out with Mackenzie? I was going say it'll have to wait until we can get out of here. I don't think a cave in the middle of a hurricane is the place for emotional revelations."
"Oh, yeah."
Sam woke a few hours later, the pain bad , but not as severe as it had been that morning. She noticed her team-mates gathered around the cave, Teal'c at the entrance, Daniel by the fire, and the Colonel beside her.
"Carter, how are ya doin'," Jack asked, striving for a tone that spoke of calm and normalcy.
"Okay sir, what's happening with the weather?"
"It's still raging."
"Oh, any sign of a let up?"
"No......Do ya want the full report Carter, or are you trying to avoid talking about earlier?"
"Err.......both."
"Okay, I can accept that. Weather wise, things are not improving, and the temperature has dropped significantly from what it was last night. This weather makes no sense, at least from our standards."
"Ohh, not good."
"No, not good, but we're okay for now. Tomorrow we'll have to make some decisions, and depending on the weather that could involve the usual SG-1 luck."
"You mean lack of sir."
"No, I mean Luck. We may have had some bad stuff happen to us, but as a team we have always pulled through. We have to work together and stay together. It's when we try to go it alone we get in trouble."
"I don't think I can talk about this Colonel."
"No, we're not gonna, at least not yet, but we will."
"Yeah, okay."
"We're gonna talk Carter, not send you to a firing squad."
Sam grinned briefly at his words, as she tried to shift position. "Understood sir."
"Good. Now how are you doing."
"I'm uncomfortable, okay for now though, but...err....I need."
"Gotcha Carter," Jack grinned as he set about assisting his 2IC.
The team gathered around the fire for their planning session. Sam had accepted half a dose of Morphine after handling her earlier 'business', and was 'relatively' comfortable as the team discussed options.
"We'll kids, I'm no more a meteorologist than Danny, but this storm doesn't look to be dieing out. I think we are gonna have to move out tomorrow. The temperature is still dropping, and I don't think we can assume that everything will just die out. Any input?"
"I will go to the gate for help O'Neill."
"Teal'c I know you're willing, but I don't think it is in our best interests to split up. I think we need to go as a team. Carter, I know it won't be easy, but I think it's safest in the long run."
"I might slow you down too much, you could leave me here, come back later."
"Nothing doing Carter, you know better. We'll make it together, understood. We are better as a team Carter, surely five years have proven that."
" Yes sir, understood sir. I'll do my best."
"Okay folks, lets huddle up, we don't know how cold it's gonna get."
The team settled down for the night, Daniel taking first watch. Teal'c entered Kel-no-reem from his place by the fire, leaving Jack to curl up with Sam to ward off the increasing chill in the air.
"Carter, relax, it will be okay," he whispered to the tense woman he held in his arms.
"You don't know that sir."
"Yes I do, as long as we're together it will be alright, trust me."
"I'd like to sir," she whispered softly, "I'd like to."
Jack had third and final watch for the night. He had left Daniel near Sam for warmth, and Sam sleeping peacefully thanks to another half dose of Morphine. That left two doses to use on the way back to the stargate, a hike that would take them better part of the day thanks to current weather conditions. There was no longer any doubt that the team would need to move out as a whole, not given the fact that the previous down pour of rain had turned into an equally heavy down pour of snow. This mission had well and truly turned to crap, but then, a surprising number of them usually did. He was contemplating the trees around them when he heard the unmistakable footsteps of Teal'c behind him.
"Morning Teal'c, lovely weather we're having, wouldn't you say."
"I would not say O'Neill."
"No, didn't reckon you would."
Teal'c remained silent. He no longer felt the need to comment on the tauri's unusual habit of asking a question they already had the answer to, or making statements that were so obviously false.
"How shall we proceed," he asked instead.
"We're gonna have to find something along the lines of some straight branches to make a stretcher out of, no way Carter can walk. I think you and I will have to carry the stretcher. I would suggest a travois but I think the landscape and snow would make that unwise. It's gonna be cold enough for Carter without dragging her through the snow."
"I concur O'Neill. I shall endeavor to locate the needed branches."
"Okay Teal'c, but stick close. If you don't find anything we'll come up with another solution."
Teal'c left the relative safety of the cave as Jack turned back to survey their equipment. Everything they had to have would need to be divided into one decent pack, and two smaller for him and Teal'c. It would be imperative to lighten the strain so they could make good time to the gate.
"Jack, what's the matter," Daniel asked upon waking and observing the look on the Colonel's face.
"Snow, Daniel, snow."
"You have got to be kidding."
"Wish I was Daniel, wish I was. Teal'c has gone to find something we can use to make a stretcher. Teal'c and I will carry Carter and you'll be the trailblazer."
"Jack we can take turns, I can help carry."
"Danny, you aren't getting off light, trailblazing in this won't be easy. I think this is the best division of labor."
"Okay Jack," Daniel responded as he set about helping pack up.
Sam woke nearly an hour later to the sight of Teal'c and Jack making a stretcher out of a sleeping bag and two relatively straight branches.
"Sir, what's happening?"
"We're fixin' to move out Carter, and your chariot awaits."
"Sir, I'm just going to slow you down."
"Carter, Sam, we are not having this discussion. We are moving out as a team, and you are gonna get our version of an airlift out of here. Now don't think you are getting off scott free, with the temperature outside below freezing now it's gonna be a hard trip for you. We can't use more than one sleeping bag to wrap you in, too heavy for our branches. You are going to have to stay awake and communicate as best you can so we can stop for a warm up break if we have to. You got that."
"Yes sir," she responded as she worried the lip held between her teeth.
"It will be okay Carter, trust me. Tonight you will be safe and sound in the infirmary, and we'll be there to keep you company."
"Do I get a chess game and cookies?"
"Yes Carter, but I'm not gonna promise to let you win."
"Like you've ever. I beat you fair and square sir, and you know it."
Jack grinned at his 2IC as he and Teal'c moved the stretcher over beside her. They carefully placed her on the stretcher and zipped up the sleeping bag almost to her chin, the top part folded back so as not to cover the face.
" Okay Sam, you let us know if the pain or cold are getting to be too much."
"Yes sir," she responded as her CO and Teal'c lifted her off the ground.
Sam lay huddled in the sleeping bag as she watched the landscape pass by in a blur of misery. She was dreadfully cold, her teeth long since past the chattering stage, and her leg throbbed atrociously even after her half dose of Morphine. The stretcher they had rigged lacked a firm base of support and thus made the trip more painful as she dipped and bent with the steps of her team-mates.
Teal'c and the Colonel were working hard to keep her level and at an even pace, so as not to jostle her more than necessary, but it was only partially successful. Sam hoped that getting four smaller doses of Morphine would help more in the long run than two larger ones, and hopefully kept her team-mates from knowing how truly miserable she felt. If they knew how bad she felt they would rush too much, and that opened them up to accident and injury. She couldn't risk them being hurt because of her, and she couldn't shake the feeling that things could still get worse.
Jack O'Neill marched forward through the increasing snow very mindful of his precious cargo. He was once again amazed at the way Sam was handling this trip. He was no fool, he knew she was cold and in pain, but she kept a tight seal on her misery, mindful of how hard the team was working. Jack also knew they were making good time, but that didn't decrease his feeling of foreboding. The atmosphere around him seemed almost surreal, and he couldn't shake the feeling that there were eyes watching his every move.
The temperature had finally seemed to level off and the snow was now coming in a light but steady fall. He hoped that the significant accumulation they had experienced over night and into the morning would also level out. They couldn't afford for the snow to get any deeper or they wouldn't make the stargate by dark, no matter what kind of time they had made in the early hours.
Jack dropped his eyes to regard Sam, just as Teal'c came to an unexpected stop. Sam moaned aloud in pain as Jack took that step too close to Teal'c's unmoving back.
"What's the matter Teal'c," Jack asked as he scanned the area around them.
"There is someone out there O'Neill."
"I don't see anyone Teal'c, but I have felt like we are being watched," Jack responded, taking a step back to return Sam to a more comfortable position on the makeshift stretcher.
"They are there O'Neill, but I do not see them directly, I do believe we are surrounded."
"Suggestions," Jack asked as Daniel returned to stand beside them.
"Keep going," Daniel asked hopefully.
"I don't think so Daniel," Jack responded in an odd tight tone, "Look," he finished, nodding to the figures that seemed to emerge from the very snow itself.
"Oh boy," Daniel mumbled.
"This is sooo not good," Jack muttered as the figures seemed to close ranks around them.
"Sir, what is it," Carter asked, her vision blocked by the three figures that now stood as close to her as was possible given the current set up.
"Not an it, Carter, a them, a whole lot of thems, and they don't look real friendly."
"At least they aren't using their weapons Jack," Daniel pointed out, trying as usual to put a positive spin on things.
"Yet, Daniel, yet," Jack responded as he watched the figures move closer around him. There was very little they could do with both he and Teal'c holding on to Carter's stretcher, and he just wasn't willing to drop her in the snow.
"Sir, drop me, free up your hands," Sam urged, as if reading his thoughts.
"Nothing doing Carter, and quit being a backseat soldier, just lay still and don't call attention to yourself."
"Yes sir," she responded miserably, once again people she cared about were in trouble because they were watching out for her.
Daniel tried to take inventory of the indigenous people that surrounded them, but that was difficult considering the fact that they were defiantly not human. They were humanoid in nature, that is to say bipedal, but their arms were longer and they were covered in fur. Their bodies resembled that of the gorilla in a loose association, but there faces appeared closer to that of the human. The group carried weapons, and certainly appeared to have opposable thumbs, but no clue had yet to be given as to a type of language base. Assuming, of course, they had a language base.
"You are not this world," one black furred creature spoke suddenly.
Well they have a language base, Daniel thought to himself before responding," No, we have traveled a great distance to visit your world."
"Not this world, may not be here, you take, but do not share back," the being responded in his broken English.
"We are sorry if we have caused harm, we would like to be friends with your people," Daniel responded soothingly.
"You can not be friends with this world, you are not this world."
"Fine, we'll just be on our way," Jack threw in, "We'll leave now, bit cold for me anyway."
"Can not allow departure, others must not know of the world."
None of SG-1 would ever be able to explain what happened next, it was difficult to explain what you didn't understand. It seemed, for lack of a better description, that the snow and ground around them rose up and, ....picked them up. The snow and ground pressing in on them soon made them dizzy, and they knew no more.
Jack O'Neill regained consciousness in the same cave they had departed that morning, only now there were differences. It seemed that trees grew at the entrance, close enough together as to form bars. He looked around the interior of their prison in confusion. It defiantly appeared to be the same cave, the size and walls were the same, and their discarded stuff lay just as they had left it that morning.
"Oh man, I do not get this," he muttered as he leaned over to shake Daniel. "Wake up Daniel," he called before turning to check Sam.
"Carter, you with us," he asked as he placed his fingers to her pulse point, she was even paler than she had been earlier.
"Yes sir, what happened?"
"Not sure I can say Carter, don't think I understood it. How are you doing?"
"Hurts allot sir, but I'll manage."
"Daniel, by any chance do we have our stuff?"
"Yeah Jack," Daniel responded, bringing the med kit over to Jack. Jack administered another half dose of Morphine, knowing for certain now that they would run out of Morphine long before they ran out of problems.
Sam surveyed the cave around her, and tried to stop thinking about what may happen to the rest of her team. She felt worse than useless on this mission, she felt like a liability. One thing they could never afford on an alien planet was a liability, so now she tried desperately to think of how to rectify the problem before her curse of being a black widow got the rest of her team killed.
She could see the three men kneeling at the entrance to the cave talking quietly, under the mistaken impression that perhaps she was asleep. It was time to join her team. Sam struggled her way into a sitting position, biting back the gasp of pain the movement wrung forth as waves of agony flared up her leg and side. Once seated securely she looked around the cave carefully for the first time since their involuntary return. The entrance had changed most dramatically, trees grew at the entrance to serve as a barrier, but it wasn't the most alarming change. Indeed, what was most alarming was that the cave ceiling was lower. Teal'c's head barely clearing, unlike the room he had had before.
"Sir," she called out, still gazing with rapt stupetification at the ceiling.
"Yeah Carter, you okay," O'Neill asked as he made his way to her side.
"Okay sir. Sir, have you noticed the ceiling?"
"Apparently not what you have," he responded as he watched his 2IC stare at the ceiling.
"The cave height is different, and obviously the entrance, but I've never heard of terra-forming occurring like this. It's as if the planet were alive."
"Alive Carter, as in let me introduce myself, my name is planet."
"Sounds silly when you put it that way sir."
"But it isn't silly Sam, it makes perfect sense," Daniel piped up excitedly.
"It does?" Jack asked, clearly doubtful.
"Yeah Jack. Sam you're brilliant, it was staring me in the face but I didn't see it."
"Probably the Morphine," Sam responded, "the only things that make sense to me on this stuff are the really weird things."
"Well Daniel, you are gonna have to explain it to those of us not on drugs."
"Think about it Jack. The odd speech patterns, the not this world comments. They never said not of this world, but not this world."
"Couldn't that just be their poor understanding of our language."
"Anything's possible Jack, but that doesn't explain how they just sort of appeared out of the ground, or how we got here, or the changes in the cave itself. It's like the planet is alive, and responding to the needs of the aliens."
"Does this theory make sense to you Teal'c?"
"Indeed O'Neill, there is legend among the Jaffa of the planet that lives."
"You're joking, right."
"I am not. The legend speaks of a planet that lives, and that has a defense mechanism that can bring forth life, and alter the very landscape itself. It is off limit too the Go'auld. No one has ever returned form the place of legend."
"Oh that's uplifting. Well, we will return. We've gotten out of worse scrapes than this."
"When Jack?"
"Daniel, don't ask questions."
"If you folks are listening we aren't Go'auld. We aren't here to hurt you," Jack spoke to the walls of the cave.
"You have already hurt the world," a native responded as he stepped out of the very rock itself. "You have cut tree, and burned tree. How is this not hurting the world?"
"We were simply trying to take care of our own. One of us was injured when rock from your cliff fell on her. The wood was necessary to provide heat against the elements your world threw at us. We could not allow her to be injured and cold. This would have threatened her life. Your planet took the first hostile step. All we ask is that we be allowed to return home," Daniel jumped, leaving Jack's mouth hanging open around his aborted sentence.
"Don't even say good-bye," Jack muttered as the alien backed into the cave wall, and disappeared. "Well that went well."
"Yeah, just great Jack. I guess we wait and see."
"Alright kids, might as well make ourselves comfortable. So, Daniel, think we'll get a fire tonight?"
The team of SG-1 was just starting to settle down for the night when they heard a gasp from Sam, a sound that held as much fear as pain. It was terror that gripped the hearts of her team-mates though as they turned to look at her. Dismayed to see that the floor of the cave had risen to wrap 'arms' of rock around their team-mate. It first looked as if she was being drawn beneath the surface, but all movement had stopped, and she was held in the unbreakable grip of the planet.
Jack knew that it would be impossible to break the 'grip' of the planet even as he sank to his knees to try, but he had to do something. Apparently so did Daniel and Teal'c as their eager hands joined his in the fight against an opponent that was everywhere, and nowhere. None of it did any good, and they were forced to watch as Sam's struggle's ceased, and her eyes rolled back as she became limp. Jack reached out shaky hands to touch the pulse point in her neck.
"Jack, is she...?"
"She's alive Daniel, thank God she's alive. I just wish I knew what they were doing to her," Jack whispered. The three men had no choice but to watch as Sam shuttered periodically in her rock prison, an occasional moan breaking the uneasy silence.
"God Daniel, what could they be doing to her?"
"I don't know Jack," Daniel responded.
The unusual vigil ended three hours later, stopping as suddenly as it had started, and leaving Sam clutching her head as she tried to rid herself of the pounding in her skull. She heard the voices of her team through the haze and roar of pain that seemed to consume all her attention.
"Carter," Jack called, "Come on Carter, answer me,....... Sam, please, we need to know if you're okay."
"Sir," she whispered, "Hurts, can't .........think.............don't know, Oh God! it hurts, make it stop!!"
Jack did the only thing he could do as he injected the last full dose of Morphine into the withering woman before him. It was final in his estimation, this mission well and truly sucked.
"Well Daniel, any ideas what just happened here," Jack asked when he realized Sam was asleep thanks to the Morphine.
"No, but they might," Daniel responded, pointing to the aliens that had suddenly appeared before them.
"We know your direction now," the alien began. "We read it form the mind of the one who has walked with evil. The remains of evil soak her, yet her fears hold no truth. The evil touched her, soaked her, but it did not consume her, you are not here to hurt planet."
"Gee Daniel, where have we heard that before," Jack muttered sarcastically. "Oh yeah, we said that."
Daniel waved a shushing hand at Jack as he stepped forward, "What do you mean 'her fears hold no truth'."
"You must understand the meaning of these words for yourself. The weather will improve, you are free to go, but know that your return would not go unpunished. The planet will reside alone."
"If you mean don't come back, don't worry, we weren't planning to," Jack said as the figures once more disappeared into the rock walls of the cave.
The earth around them trembled as their surroundings took on it's original form. The snow stopped, and clouds rolled away, sunshine beaming in what promised to be a glorious sunset.
"Well guys, I think if we hold steady until morning we should have a fairly easy trip to the gate. This time tomorrow we'll be home; warm, fed, and Carter happily drugged."
"That's good Jack," Daniel responded distractedly as he gazed at the sleeping figure of Sam.
"Then why don't you appear thrilled Daniel?"
"Her fears hold no truth, Jack, that means something, something important, we've got to figure out what."
"So I don't get happily ever after yet."
"Not yet Jack, not yet."
Sam blinked her eyes reluctantly, afraid she would ruin the dream that had her warm, comfortable, and relatively pain free.
"Sam, can you hear me. I need you to wake up for me."
"I'm awake Janet. How long have we been back," Sam asked as she squinted her eyes against the glare of the infirmary lights.
"About 12 hours. We've got your leg in a cast, and all the x-rays and scans done. You're going to be just fine."
"How bad?"
"Right leg broken, extensive bruising of your right hip and two broken ribs. I did an MRI after what the Colonel described from yesterday evening. It was normal, how do you feel?"
"All the pain is down to a dull roar, I'm guessing I can thank you for that, and I only have a slight headache."
"Good, well, do you feel up to some dinner, because I have three gentlemen who insisted on bringing us dinner from town. Well, they wanted to bring you dinner, my dinner was the bribe," Janet grinned as she replaced the clip board at the end of the bed.
"Sounds great, I'm hungry. Will you help me sit up Janet."
Janet had just settled her patient into a relatively upright position when the rest of SG-1 entered the infirmary caring enough food for the entire base.
"Gee sir, did you get enough," Sam asked cheekily.
"Funny Carter, but we knew we had to feed you the Doc and Teal'c, Danny and I were just hoping to get the scraps," Jack responded, relieved that she was up and smiling. "How ya feelin' Sam."
"Better than I have in a while sir, much better," she responded, looking him squarely in the eye.
Jack O'Neill breathed an internal sigh of relief, he had gotten her message, and it was a good one.
" Sam," Daniel asked hesitantly, " can you explain what happened back there?"
"Yeah, Daniel. The planet taught me something about the nature of evil, it's in the intentions, not the outcome."
"Err, break that down for those of us without PhD's Carter."
"I guess I was beginning to fear that somehow I caused all the bad things that have happened to people that are important to me. I was afraid that somehow that evil that we have fought tainted me. We have all had to do some distasteful things over the years. I realized on the planet that I've done what I had to to fight the Go'uald. I wasn't becoming evil, I was fighting it, but sometimes bad things happen to good people when we fight this kind of war. I just have to learn to live with that, and thanks to all of you, I don't have to do that alone."
"Jack, I think this is that happy ending you were looking for," Daniel grinned.
"Yep Daniel it sure is!"
The End!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to Wendy G.
Heliopolis Main Archive
A Stargate: SG-1 Fanfiction Site
Black Widow's Curse, The
by Wendy GilliattSite Navigation
Support Heliopolis