Shade: Part Five
Shade: Part Five
by Gene Este
TITLE: Shade: Part Five
AUTHOR: Gene Este
EMAIL: t_girl21@mail.com
CATEGORY: Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama, Sam/Jack, Series
SPOILERS: None
SEASON / SEQUEL: 4; Part 5 of ?
RATING: PG-13
CONTENT WARNINGS: male/female relationship
SUMMARY: SG-1 leave the SGC to celebrate Christmas...Shade's world explained...
STATUS: Complete
ARCHIVE: Heliopolis
DISCLAIMER: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. We 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 authors. Not to be archived without permission of the authors.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Thanks, as always, to those of you who sent me feedback. I love you all dearly for it! Also, special thanks to Rubin of Heliopolis for the title and info correction on the last part. (I got it right this time!) Thanks for being so kind about it! Love ya'll, and let the games begin!
After dinner had been served and eaten, all of the relatives and friends, save Jack, Daniel, and Jacob, went to their respective homes to celebrate Christmas with their families. It was late before Mark and Sally's two kids finally got to bed, and even later before everyone had finished the cleaning and could sit down in the living room to rest. Sally's parents had retired with the children hours before, which left Mark, Sally, Jacob, Jack and Daniel sitting in uncomfortable silence nursing cups of coffee.
Sally stood up from her seat beside mark. "I'll be right back."
Mark looked up from his cup, curiosity in his eyes. "Where're you going?"
She just smiled an enigmatic smile. "I need something from our room. I'll only be a minute." Mark nodded, and returned his attention to his cup, trying to avoid the others. Not that any of them minded; they were all busy doing the same thing.
True to her word, Sally returned with a manila envelope in her hand, and sat back down in her seat.
She looked at Daniel and Jack. "Have I or Jacob ever told you what I do for a living?"
Jack shook his head. "I don't believe so, no."
Sally smiled. "Well, I'm a Photographer. I take pictures for magazines, newspapers, whoever want them. Sometimes I sell pictures I've already taken. It's a flexible job, allows me to take care of my children and brings in good money."
Jack exchanged looks with Daniel. He was wondering where she was taking this. He looked at Jacob to see if he knew what she was talking about, but it didn't seem as though he did either.
Catching the looks, Sally sighed. "I know you're wondering why I'm telling you this. Last year, when you and Sam," she nodded at Jacob, "Came to stay with us in San Diego for your vacation, I took some pictures." With that, she opened the envelope and took out various pictures of Sam, setting them on the coffee table in the middle of the living room. There were five, all black and white; one was with Sam sitting on the beach wearing her bathing suit under a white unbuttoned shirt, reading a book, oblivious that a picture was being taken of her. Her hair was in her face, her book resting on her bare knees. Her head was bent in concentration, and even though the sun on her hair was casting shadows across her face, he could see it clearly. She looked more relaxed there than Jack had ever seen her. Another was with Sam in Mark and Sally's house laughing with Jacob and Annie, who was sitting on Sam's lap. Again none of them knew they were being captured in a picture, and the effect was wonderful. The third she laid out was of Mark and Sam posing for the picture. Their arms were around each other, both wearing smiles on their faces. It looked as though it had been taken the same day as the one on the beach, for Sam was wearing her bathing suit and the unbuttoned white shirt, the only difference being that she was wearing a flowery tie-around skirt, and in the background was the ocean. The fourth Mark must have taken, because Sally and Sam were posing this time, and instead of smiles, they were laughing at the camera, looking as if they were sharing a joke that no one else would understand. The fifth was of Nicholas, their son, pencil in hand over textbooks on a table. Sam was sitting beside him pointing to something in the book, explaining a concept to him that he could now grasp.
There was silence in the room as everyone took in what they were seeing. Mark was the first to speak.
"I had forgotten about these."
Daniel picked up the one with Nicholas and Sam. "These are...beautiful."
Sally gave a small, teary smile. "I brought these out for all of you. I want each of you to pick one to keep. It's my Christmas present to you."
Jack shook his head. "No, we shouldn't. These are yours, you ought to keep them."
She shook her head just as forcefully. "No. There's enough for each of you to pick one. I've already picked mine out, now it's your turn."
Sighing, Jack relented. Sally took the one of herself and Sam, and as expected, Mark took the one of himself and Sam. When Jack looked over to Jacob, he found the man softly touching the picture of himself, Sam and Annie, sadness hanging over the man like a fog. He hesitated, and then spoke quietly. "Jacob?"
Not taking his eyes off the picture, Jacob shook his head. "I'll be fine." It was obvious what his choice was.
Daniel chose the one with Nicholas that he had previously picked up, a grin forming on his lips at the sight of the Sam they all had known.
All of the other pictures taken, Jack got the one he had secretly been pining for all along. The picture of Sam on the beach was just how he wanted to remember her if he never found her; never saw her again outside of the little world that pictured portrayed. He thought she would be happy with his choice.
He picked up the picture, and downed the rest of his coffee. Suddenly he felt extremely tired. He glanced at Daniel, who also seemed dead on his feet. He then turned his eyes to Sally, who picked up on their fatigue, and led them to the room they would have to share.
"I'm sorry it's not bigger, but Mark and I are staying in my old room, the kids in my brother's, and Jacob's staying in the other guest room. You'd be welcome to sleep on the couch, but my mother wouldn't have it."
Jack smiled at her. "Oh, it should be fine just as long as Daniel doesn't hog the covers." Sally laughed, and Daniel sent him a dirty look. "Goodnight Jack, Daniel."
They returned the goodnight, and set about getting ready for bed. Daniel took the bathroom first, then Jack. After several minutes, they were both ready to sleep. Taking one last look at his picture, Jack turned out the light and went to sleep.
"Your home? How is this possible?"
Shade smiled, then motioned for Sam to sit on the ground where moments ago she had been laying. She did, and he began.
"You're here because I brought you here. You already know I have telepathic abilities; is it so hard to believe that within that there is this?"
Sam was confused. "This is a part of your telepathic abilities?"
"Yes. This was the only way I could completely take away your pain, at least for a moment. I did this in a form of telepathic link. This can only be achieved with someone you are closed to because the sharing of mind. I have a telepathic link with my wife Allay, which allows me to be here, to see this through her mind. She has a telepathic link with everyone else in this village, and a few outside of it. This is all very real. It's a universe of connected minds, a sort of network that keeps the vision refreshed."
"Then how am I able to be here?"
"Through me. Come, let me show you."
He held out his hand, and led her down a dirt path that took them downhill under a canopy of tree limbs, past many different kinds of flowers and the river that supplied the waterfall. The feel of the sun was sensational after being so long in the cell.
She stopped suddenly, and then turned around. "Are we still in the cell?"
Shade's smile left his face. "Sadly, yes. When we leave here, we'll wake up back in our cell just as we were before. Nothing will have changed."
"How long do we have until we have to leave?"
His smile returned. "Time is relative here. You could spend days here and only a minute passes. A minute could pass and days have gone by. When it's time to go, we will know." With that, he walked past her down the path. "Come, Samantha. It's almost time for dinner." She blew out a breath, and walked after him.
The houses in the village were made of a kind of wood tied together and sealed with mud. They were in a row on both sides of a street leading down to a wide clearing that seemed to serve as a park for children to play. As far as Sam could tell behind each house was a small farm of sorts off of which each family would eat. The smells of onions were in the air; it drifted from the house where they finally stopped. Somehow she knew they were coming here.
Shade turned before he went in. "You know because you are meshed with my mind. When you see my wife, you will know her as if you have known her for years. My daughter will be your daughter. My friends your friends. And they will know you as I do."
Sam grinned. "Allay gave birth to a daughter? Shade, that's wonderful! Congratulations!"
He bowed is head. "Thank you."
The door to the house opened, revealing a beautiful Allay standing there. Her skin was dark, her hair black. Its style was not unlike that of earth, long and braided in small braids tied back. She was tall and intelligent-looking. Sam knew that she could be an imposing presence if need be. She was wearing a white dress that clung to her shoulders and chest but fit loosely over her stomach and hips and fell to her feet.
Allay smiled a huge smile and laughed. "I can bring your dinner out here if you two wish, but I doubt it will be as good." Sam could feel Shade's joy at seeing his wife, and she found herself happy to see her as well.
The woman turned to look directly at Sam. "Hello, Samantha. This is your house now, so come in!" The woman enveloped her in a hug, and Sam happily returned.
They entered the house to the sound of a baby crying. "Your daughter is calling, my husband. Go say hello." After he left, Allay turned back to Sam.
Sam smiled. "You named her Anij. That's a beautiful name."
Allay nodded. "Yes, Samantha. You're getting used to this quickly. That's good. Very good. Now, there's a bathtub in the back full of hot water. Why don't you go use it?"
"You read my mind..." Sam laughed at her words, as did Allay.
"Go on, Samantha, before it's time to eat."
Sam nodded, and made her way to the back room where the tub was discreetly hidden behind a wall. Beside the tub was a table where soap and clean white clothes lay for her to put on when she was finished. She peeled off her SGC uniform, and even though she knew that when she woke she would be back in it, she was happy to have the dirty clothes off for even a short while.
She lowered herself into the warm water and laid her head back. She closed her eyes and tried to think of home, though it seemed so far away that she couldn't even remember what home was like. She felt the tears come.
"It's alright, Samantha. If you never make it back to your home, you always have ours." She opened her eyes to find Shade standing next the wall, looking concerned at her. Had he been any other man she would have been angry, or even embarrassed. But it was Shade, and it didn't bother her at all that he was intruding upon her bath.
She smiled a sad smile at him. "Thank you, Shade. That makes me feel a bit better."
And it did. Shade nodded solemnly, and went back to his daughter.
If she never had her home again, at least she'll have theirs.
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