In Another Life
In Another Life
by RJ
Title: In Another Life
Author: RJ
Email: joshing123@yahoo.com
Category: AlternateUniverse, Romance
Episode related: 001 Stargate - The Movie, 306 Point of View
Season: Season 3
Pairing: Sam/Jack
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: character death, minor language
Summary: My first fanfic. It's set in the AU established in Point of View.
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).
Dr. Samantha Carter peered through a microscope at the mineral sample. `Amazing,' she thought for the hundredth time as she peered at the quartz-material through her telescope. P4X-659 had proven to be a gold mine, so to speak. The possibilities of the mineral she was studying, called naquadah by the planet's natives, was incredible. The same material as the stargate, it appeared that it could be used as a powerful, yet clean burning energy source. Barely able to contain her enthusiasm, she glanced up from the make shift table, a large rock in actuality, where she had set up her equipment looking for someone to share her thoughts with. Several of the other scientists could be seen at the small cliff, scraping and storing samples of the mineral. Around them, air force personnel stood watch, obviously bored. Babysitting scientists was not an ideal assignment for any SG team, but each had to take their turn. It was part of why they were out there, to find new technologies and resources. Naquadah definitely qualified. The first examples they'd brought back to earth had shown an energy output that far exceeded anything on Earth. "Dr. Carter." Jones and Creshler, the two geologists working for the SGA approached her. "The UAV has picked up an opening. It could lead to a cave." Jones told her, an excited smile on his face. They had been working on the cliffs for over a day, unable to find any nearby entrance into the mountain. "Where?" she asked.
"About 5 miles east," Jones responded. She looked in the direction he was pointing. "And up," he added. "How up?"
"It's a pretty gradual incline. No mounting climbing experience necessary. We," he indicated Creshler and himself, "can make it with no problem." "Carter and I will go." The voice behind her caused Sam to jump. She hadn't heard Colonel O'Neill come up behind her. "You stay here and finish your... whatever." The Colonel was not the science type with the exception of an interest in astronomy and Sam had learned some time ago to bottom line things for him. Not that he wasn't intelligent, she had had enough dealings with him to know he was. She suspected it just bored him. Which is probably why he was volunteering himself to go. The hike would give him something to do. "If it turns out to lead somewhere and not just be an opening, we'll get more of you up there." O'Neill continued to the two crestfallen geologists. He looked at Sam. "Pack up." She watched him walk away towards Ferretti, his second in command. They spoke briefly then O'Neill turned and started putting items in a pack. "He still freaks me out," Jones commented. Sam gave a non-committal shrug, packing her equipment as the Colonel approached. "Let's go," he said.
They talked amiably for most of the trip. She went on about the naquadah and, although he understood little of what she said, O'Neill nodded appropriately and pretended to be interested, even interjecting the occasional joke. They were lame jokes, for the most part, but they still made Sam smile. He liked her smile. The trip took longer than expected, as the terrain was rocky and somewhat dangerous to navigate. Sam couldn't help but admire the colonel's ease as he found the best paths for them. It was still strange to see him so laid-back given their less then auspicious beginning. He had been so different when they'd first met over a year ago. She'd been walking down a hallway in the Cheyenne Mountain Complex where the artifact that later came to be known as the stargate was stored. They had yet to make it operational and she had been reading a report from an outside language expert, a Dr. Jackson, who had declined to join their group but had agreed to look at their translations. There were several key changes, which opened up new possibilities in her mind. Engrossed as she was, she didn't even see the two men coming around the corner until she knocked into one. "Damn," she said as she dropped the papers in her hand. "I'm sorry." She glanced up at the man she'd run into. She didn't recognize him, but the military personnel tended to change regularly. He was several inches taller then her, no small thing given her almost 6 feet. He appeared to be in his forties, handsome, with short brown hair and dark eyes. His uniform indicated a rank of Colonel and she couldn't help but notice that he appeared to be quite fit underneath it. Sam smiled at him in apology, but the smile faded quickly. The man just stood there, no emotion on his face, no feeling in his eyes. He seemed neither apologetic nor upset. Cold, was the word that came to her mind. It gave her the creeps. "You okay?" one of the airmen with him, Ortiz she remembered his name, asked as he bent to help her retrieve her papers. "Fine, thanks." She gave a slight nod towards the colonel who had started to walk on without his escort. "Who's that?" she asked. "He's the new C.O. under General West, Colonel Jack O'Neill," he replied leaning toward her conspiratorially, "He's a bit of a hard ass." "Great. Thanks," she told him as he handed her the rest of her load and ran back to his position escorting the new colonel. `Great' she thought again as she walked them turn the corridor.
On the other end of the corridor the new colonel heard Ortiz run to catch up with him. He had been briefed on his assignment and had been less than thrilled to hear that a group of civie scientists where running the show. That would change soon enough according to what General West had told him upon his arrival. The military was taking stronger control of the project. "Who's that?" he asked Ortiz as they rounded the corner. "Sam. Um, Dr. Carter." He paused until the colonel gave him a hard look telling him he wanted more information. "She's a physicist, one of the scientist team leads." O'Neill nodded, not really caring. He would learn the personnel soon enough. The civies wouldn't last long anyway. In the weeks that followed their initial encounter, Sam had grown to like the new colonel less and less. Rumored to be Special Ops, he was a cold man, rarely speaking to anyone and with an obvious disdain of the scientific group. Already several of the civilians had been replaced by military techs that didn't have the knowledge of those who had been removed. Although her boss, Dr. Catherine Langford, had told her this was General West's doing, she couldn't help but associate it with O'Neill's arrival. She did notice that he was the same with everyone, military and civilians alike. He often stood in corners observing and ignoring the no smoking signs plastered about. The only person who he ever said more than a few words to was Major Charles Kawalski who was a polar opposite of the Colonel - friendly and talkative. But even then, most of the conversation seemed to fall on Kawalski. Sam did her best to ignore O'Neill as well as the personnel changes. She had been on the team for two years now and nobody was going to distract her from her goal. Her enthusiasm and ability to focus, along with her intelligence and general knowledge of numerous areas of science were what had convinced Catherine to give her a supervisory position despite that she was just two years out of grad school and despite some protests from the more seasoned scientists. They knew, well they suspected, from their findings so far that it was a transportation device, but for all their work and study, they hadn't yet been able to get it to work. Catherine's own father had been the one to find the device in a dig in Giza some 60 years ago. She'd been working on the project for years, even after the military had originally shut down the project a half century before. She'd campaigned for it's reinstatement with each new government administration and had eventually gotten it. But the work had been slow. They'd finished what they could of a computer module to run the Stargate they year before, but without knowing how it worked, the equipment sat useless. One day, not more than three weeks after his arrival on the project, Colonel O'Neill once again stood in the observation room watching them work. He hated it there. He hated everything about this damn mountain. All he wanted was to go home to his wife Sara and their son Charlie. But he couldn't do that anymore. Once upon a time he'd been happy. Too happy, he had thought sometimes. Something had to go wrong. His years in Special Ops, the training, the things he'd seen. He knew it couldn't last. But he'd never expected what had happened. His son was gone, having shot himself with his father's personal gun. His guilt had driven a wedge between he and Sara so large, he didn't even know how to talk to her. He wanted to tell her, to make her understand, but the words just wouldn't come out. He'd spent a month, barely eating, drinking too much, but mostly just sitting in Charlie's room. Crying. Something he couldn't remember doing before. Made uncomfortable by his presence, the other scientists had made excuses to leave the room until only Sam remained. She ignored him for several minutes, but found she couldn't contain her curiosity any longer. "Colonel," she called to him.
He looked at her saying nothing.
"I was wondering if I could talk to you for a moment." O'Neill didn't feel like talking to her. He didn't feel like talking to anyone. He hesitated before responding. The doctor was pretty, he admitted to himself, very self-assured and extremely smart. Most of the time he had no idea what she was talking about in briefings. But then most of the time, he didn't care. He was here to do a job. That was it. He didn't want to know these people. "So talk," he finally responded.
She took a deep breath. "What do you have against us?" "Who?"
"The scientists working on this project." He regarded her for a moment. "Nothing." "Then why do you treat us like you do?" "And how do you think I treat you?"
"Well for one, you have absolutely no respect for any of us," she told him. "You stand around with this demeaning attitude, not bothering to get to know anyone. But then why should you. You've had half the staff moved out in just three weeks. Should the rest of us expect the same?" "I haven't transferred anyone," he said simply, his expression never changing. "Then what is it?"
He looked thoughtful for a moment and then stepped closer to her. "You people are dealing with something, you have no idea. None of us do. And what happens if you're successful? Who knows what's on the other side of that thing. And it will be the air force's responsibility to defend against anything you might find." "So you don't like us because of what we're doing?" He paused for a moment looking for the words. "It's not the work, it's who's doing it. Civilians get themselves hurt. They get other people hurt. They don't have the discipline or the skills for a military operation. You shouldn't be here." "You need us here. Unlike your military techs, we civilians," she stressed the last word, "have the knowledge to make a go of this." "Yeah, when will we see some progress on that?" With that he turned and left the room. "Asshole." Sam shook her head. She didn't think they could put up with him for long.
As it turned out, they didn't have to. A few days later sitting in the commissary eating her lunch, Sam figured it out. Six points in space and a point of origin. Sam chided herself for not seeing it before. She had reread Dr. Jackson's findings several times and his reference to a constellation marked by one of the symbols had turned out to be the push she needed. The opening of the gate was an amazing event. She and the others took readings of the event horizon and spent hours studying the data from the probe they'd sent through. The planet on the other side was habitable. Hot and dry, but it could support human life. It was what she had dreamed of since she'd first been told about the Stargate. Visiting another planet. Or so the plan had been.
No civilians were allowed to go on the first trip. Instead Colonel O'Neill led a team of 6 men through the gate to investigate. It was a very nerve-wracking 2 days awaiting their return and what they'd learned had been both frightening and fascinating. Humans on another world. Parasitical aliens who could take over human bodies and control them. It was during one of the debriefings that followed the mission that Sam first noticed the change in Colonel O'Neill. She had read the initial report of what had happened, at least the part that wasn't classified, so she knew he had gone through a lot. But it was as if there was a different man sitting before her. He didn't smoke a single cigarette through the entire debrief and he spoke of the people on Abydos, especially the boy Skaara, with obvious affection and respect. He was more animated and actually smiled at times. He even made several jokes, sarcastic, but still, they provoked an appreciative smile from her. It was that smile that caught his attention. The experience on Abydos, fighting along side the natives to defeat Ra who had enslaved them, had reawakened something in O'Neill. The guilt for his son, while not gone, no longer consumed him and he found himself watching Sam as she took in everything they said with such enthusiasm. She was young, he noted. Probably not much more than 30 with long blond hair and large blue eyes that shone with excitement. He had been rude to her before, he realized. She hadn't deserved that. At the end of the meeting that he followed her out into the hall. "Carter," he called to her. She stopped and looked at him. He'd never called her anything but doctor before. "I'm sorry about what I said before." He gave her a small smile before turning and walking in the other direction leaving a speechless Sam Carter behind.
There were several trips back to Abydos. They explored the area near the gate and the caves where they had found the story of Ra's abduction of humans to the planet. After a few weeks they found the map room, as it had become called. O'Neill and his team had escorted the various scientists to the site including Sam who had been thrilled to finally go through the gate. Oh if only her father could know about this. He was an air force general himself and had often pushed her into going into the military. He wanted NASA for her. It had been a great disappointment to him when she'd decided against the military, though she admitted making him happy might have been what led her to work for the air force. After several weeks, she and Catherine had come up with the theory that planetary drift was why they had been unable to dial up any other gates. Sam had worked tirelessly to develop a computer module to account for these drifts. Soon they were exploring several planets a week. The more amiable and civilian friendly General Hammond had replaced General West and O'Neill had been made CO of the primary reconnaissance team, SG-1. Sam had taken charge of the remaining civilian scientists after Catherine retired, having achieved her dream. For each new world they found, probes had been sent in followed by manned missions if the planet could support life, which most could. Over the months they had found numerous worlds inhabited by humans stolen from Earth. Their development was at different stages, none as advanced as Earth. But they had seen evidence of more advanced races. And of course, there was the Goa'uld. They were the parasitical aliens who took humans as hosts and controlled them. Enslaved them. It was they who had taken the humans from Earth and scattered them among the stars at slaves. There had been a number of encounters with them, none ending well. A number of SGA personnel had been killed. The apparent leader of the Goa'uld now that Ra was gone was one that had taken on the persona of the god Apophis from Earth mythology. His warriors, called Jaffa, controlled numerous planets in which they visited. Sam worried when SG-1 was sent out. She was concerned for all the people on the teams, but she reluctantly admitted to herself, she was mostly concerned for O'Neill. She was attracted to him, but it was more than that. She had found herself enjoying his company more and more and missing him when he was gone. But she also knew that O'Neill was a soldier. He wanted to see Apophis and the other Goa'uld taken down and would do anything to accomplish that. Even if it meant regular visits to the infirmary. He had gotten to know the base physician pretty well. "This is your medical file," Dr. Janet Fraiser had once told the colonel handing him a thick folder. "And this, is the second largest medical file." She held up a folder about 1/8th the size. "Yeah?" he feigned innocence.
Janet had just shaken her head.
But despite his love of the adventure, Jack was equally happy on the base, though he would never admit it. He often found himself drawn to Dr. Carter, occasionally strolling by her office to see what she was up to or sitting in the observation room of the lab while she worked. They had eaten lunch together a few times and gone out to dinner along with other personnel from the base. He found her enthusiasm infectious and her smile lit up the room. One day he had been in the observation room watching as Sam and Janet worked on some plant samples they had brought back from P2X-446 that had potential healing properties. While it had been his team that had brought back the sample, Jack had no real interest in it. Yet there he was, observing its examination and pretending to be interested as the two doctors called out information. "Having fun Colonel?" Major Kawalski, Jack's closest friend and head of SG-2, entered the room. "Just curious to see if anything comes of it," he casually replied. "Umm hmm."
"What's that supposed to mean?" The colonel looked up at his smiling friend. "Nothing. I just thought you might be here for something else." "Like what?"
Kawalski looked into the lab and nodded his head toward the two women. "I don't know, maybe the view." "Don't be ridiculous, Kawalski." Jack dismissed the observation. "Hey Dr. C, Dr. F!" Kawalksi waved to the women in the lab. The both smiled in return. "Nothing wrong with it. I mean it's a nice view," he glanced at his friend. "Besides," Kawalski continued, "I think she's good for you." The colonel just looked at him.
"I'm just saying that it's good to have you back to your old self. And if maybe someone helped you out with that, then maybe I should thank her. I missed my friend." Jack didn't look up as Kawalski left the room. "This is amazing," Jack heard Sam say from the lab. She looked up at him. "Colonel we could have a new morphine here." She gave Jack a broad smile before returning her attention to the plant. Jack couldn't help but smile back. Damn Kawalski. Jack hated when he was right.
Dr. Carter and Colonel O'Neill finally approached the opening in the cliffs indicated by the UAV. She smiled at him. "Looks like a cave to me." He followed her inside. It was a large cavern going up about 50 feet with smaller tunnels extending from two sides. Sam immediately began to unpack her equipment. "I'm going to see if I can get a preliminary reading on the amount of naquadah in the cave, " She told him. He nodded. "I'm going to check out the tunnels. Make sure there's no surprises waiting for us." "Lions and tigers and bears, oh my?" she joked. He smiled. "Yeah, something like that."
Several hours passed while Sam explored the cave, Jack having given the all clear. The visible veins of the mineral that ran through the tunnels encouraged Sam. "Wow." She was thrilled at the find. "There's more than enough here for not just analysis, but if it proves to be what we think, possibly mining." She smiled broadly at Jack who had quietly trailed behind. From their location inside the cavern they hadn't even noticed that it had begun to get dark. "What now?" Sam asked after they returned to opening to see the sun setting. "Now," the colonel replied giving her an `oops' look, "we set up camp. Ferretti," the colonel called on his radio to his second. "Go ahead," the major responded.
"We're still at the cave. The ground is too rocky to make it back in the dark. We're stuck for the night. You guys join us in the morning. " "Copy that. The little geeks are wetting their pants to get up there." Jack gave Sam an apologetic look for his second's comment, but she just smirked. "See you then." He looked at Sam. "Hungry?" She hadn't even noticed, but when he mentioned it she felt her stomach growl. "Starved." "Alright, let's see what gourmet food the air force has provided us with today." He pulled out several ration packets. "Turkey?" he offered. "Thank you," she replied. She wasn't sure if she'd ever get used to military rations, but Jack seemed to actually enjoy his. "Think it's safe to make a fire in here?" Jack asked after they finished eating. The sun had almost fully set and a chill had started to descend. "The mineral doesn't appear highly flammable." He nodded his head "I saw some wood before we came up. I'll go get it." As he went out the cavern entrance, Sam made herself busy unpacking their gear. Two trips later Jack had a nice little fire going. They sat on opposite sides of the fire in silence. "Getting tired?" he asked catching her in a yawn. "Not really. I figure it's only about 8:00 on Earth. A little early for bed." She blushed at the possible misinterpretation of that statement and hoped he didn't notice. He did.
"Well, I'm not one of your techno-babble buddies, but I can carry on a decent conversation, so I'm told." "Yes, you've gotten much better." She grimaced. She hadn't meant to say that. He looked at her for a moment. "I suppose I was a bit of a jerk when we first met." Sam said nothing. "Don't go disagreeing with me now or anything!" She shrugged. "I admit I thought you were..." "Yes?"
"I believe the word asshole may have come up. I'm sorry, I mean at the time I didn't realize." She stopped. "You didn't realize my son had just died," he finished for her. Shortly after the first mission she'd heard rumors about why he'd been so aloof. His son had died several months before the first trip through the gate and his wife had left him shortly after. She'd heard a variety of things on what had happened, but one thing was the same. O'Neill blamed himself for whatever had happened. "I'm sorry," she said again.
"It's okay." He looked as if he wanted to say something else. "You don't have to talk about it," she assured him. "I think I want to. Not talking is probably what caused me to turn away from everybody." He looked up at her, strengthened by the sincere concern in her face. "It's simple really," he told her, "My son Charlie, he was 10, he ahh, he was being a kid, you know. He wanted to be like his dad, a soldier. I had my gun locked it in a box in the closet. Loaded. And the key was in the nightstand. He found it and he shot himself." Tears welled up in his eyes at the memory. "It was stupid of me. I mean, I'm a military officer, what the hell was I thinking, leaving the key in such an obvious place. Leaving the gun loaded." His emotions overwhelming him, he stopped. Sam hesitated for a moment before moving next to him. She placed her a comforting arm over his shoulder. They sat in silence for several minutes before he continued. "I couldn't talk to my wife about it. I just shut her and everything else out. I drove her away." Several days after the Abydos mission, Jack had returned to an empty house and a note from his wife saying she couldn't take it anymore. He thought about finding her, telling her about how things had changed for him. But he didn't. He understood that as much as much as he loved her, this was something they couldn't get past. He would always blame himself and, try as she might not to, she would blame him as well. The constant reminder of each other would be too much. Instead he'd packed his belongings and taken one last look around his son's room before leaving that house for the last time. "Anyway," he said after a few minutes, "that's why I was such an ass." "I'm sorry," Sam repeated for the third time. She felt like shit for bringing it up. She felt bad for him. "Don't worry about it." He tried to brush off the heavy emotions that hung in the air. He quickly changed the subject to things that were more innocuous, asking about her family and other harmless topics until they grew tired. Sam returned to her side of the fire and lay down. Jack could see her shiver under her blanket. "Cold?" Jack looked at Sam over the remaining embers the slowly dying fire. "Freezing." .
Jack grabbed his blanket and stood up. He walked towards her. Her heart pounded as she watched him in fear or anticipation, she couldn't decide which. "Body heat is the best thing to keep warm. That and we combine blankets." He laid down behind her, pulling his blanket over the two of them. He maneuvered under her blanket and lay on his side inches from her. Her hear was pounding wondering if he would get any closer, but he didn't. He wanted to, he was so close he would barely need to reach out. "Goodnight," he said.
"Goodnight."
In the morning, Sam awoke slowly. She let out a yawn and small stretch, not wanting to disturb the figure beside her. Then she froze. It took her a moment to realize where she was. She turned her head slightly to look at the man behind her. Sometime during the night, they had closed the distance between their sleeping forms. Jack's body spooned her, his arm encircling her waist and his face nestled in her hair. She could feel his breath against her neck. She wasn't sure what to do, should she move and risk waking him? But she didn't want to move. It was nice, lying in his arms. He shifted slightly pulling her even closer. Sam laid her head back down and closed her eyes. `I'll just stay here for a little while' she told herself. She allowed herself to fall into a place between awake and asleep, enjoying the feel of Jack's body next to hers. A good half hour passed before she felt him begin to stir. Jack, still half asleep, made several soft noises as he nudged closer. Damn her hair smells good, he thought to himself before he realized what had happened. He hadn't meant to get so close; they were just trying to keep warm. But there he was, curled up with Dr. Carter. With Sam. He realized from her breathing that she was awake. `Damn' he thought, `she's going to think I did it on purpose.' Then he realized that even though she was awake, she hadn't moved away. Slowly he pulled away from her and sat up. She turned onto her back and looked at him. "Good morning." he tried to sound nonchalant. "Hi." She smiled slightly, embarrassed. Did he realize she was awake? "Sleep well?"
"Great, thanks."
He nodded his head. He glanced outside. It appeared to have been light for some time. "Well. The others should be here soon. I guess we should pick up a little." In truth he didn't want the others to notice the blankets, which could give away their sleeping position. They picked up their gear and stored them in the bags saying little. They had found a small grotto with a pool of fresh water the day before and decided to clean up. They brushed their teeth and washed up in silence. Sam finished and became distracted by some of the mineral veins in the cave. They were larger here than in the other areas they had checked. She ran her fingers along one, noting the texture. "Anything interesting?" Jack came up behind her. She stayed with her back to him as she answered. "The potential of the mineral. We could provide energy for homes, fuel for ships and cars." She glanced back at him. Jack was nodding his head, but not really paying attention. "Bombs," she added. He looked at her then. Catching her smile, he gave a sheepish grin and shrugged. He was a military man, after all. She gave a small laugh, looking back towards the cavern wall for a moment before turning around to face him. He was staring at her with an intensity that tore right through her. He was so close, how had he gotten so close? Neither of them had noticed themselves drifting toward each other, but there they were. Without even thinking Sam tilted her head up and to the side as Jack slowly lowered his mouth to hers. The kiss was gentle at first, but soon he pressed his mouth hard against hers, his tongue sliding between her lips, causing Sam to moan softly. Her hands slipped around his neck as his wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer. His hands moved to her face, drifting to her neck, her... "Colonel!"
Startled, their lips separated.
"Colonel O'Neill. You there?" Ferretti called from the entrance of the cave. Jack stepped away from Sam. The rise and fall of their chest a give away, they tried to compose themselves as they heard the rest of their group come nearer. "Yeah," Jack called out in not quite his voice. He hesitated then moved towards his second in command's voice while Sam turned back towards the wall as if nothing had happened. Soon Ferretti and the others joined them and the scientists went to work while their escorts stayed by the cavern entrance passing the time with jokes and a card game. Jack pretended to be interested, but his thoughts were on what had happened. What had he been doing? The ink on his divorce papers was barely dry and here he was on some foreign planet with another woman. It bothered him to feel what he did. It was more than desire. He hadn't felt that way about anyone but Sara in a long time. He blamed it on their proximity; he spent so much time with her. He was lonely. It made sense. And the planet, the whole traveling to other words thing was intoxicating. These feelings were a by-product of the environment. Jack continued throughout the day to try to convince himself, ignoring the fact that he worked with several other women more often than Sam and didn't feel this way about any of them. He found that he couldn't look at Sam or he would feel his resolve begin to crumble. He was too strong for this. He was Special Ops for crying out loud. He did his best to avoid her the rest of the trip, even to the point of ignoring her. Sam noticed. She kept glancing at Jack during the trip back, but he didn't look at her. Maybe he felt awkward, she thought.
After their return there was a short debrief and everyone went their separate ways to clean up. After her shower and change Sam went to Jack's office, finding it empty. She returned to her office to see if he might be waiting for her there, but he wasn't. She called the mountain entrance. He had left a half hour ago. She didn't know how to feel. She was both disappointed and relieved. What she had felt in the cave scared her. It obviously scared him as well. But she couldn't regret that it had happened. The memory left her feeling warm. Tired, Sam headed home. Her thoughts filled with Jack as she pulled into her driveway she didn't even notice the truck parked across the street. She got out of her car and walked towards her house. A sudden movement on her porch made her stop. She watched as Jack stepped out from the shadows. He didn't know what he was doing here. He'd thought about leaving a hundred times, but couldn't bring himself to move from the porch. He shouldn't even know where she lived, but some time ago he'd glanced at her personnel file. The address had apparently stuck with him and he had driven there without thinking. Her heart began to pound when she saw him. Hands in his pocket, head slightly lowered, he looked unsure, lost. Except for his eyes. They stared at her with that same intensity as in the cave, pulling her forward. Slowly she walked towards the porch and up the steps. They regarded each other for a moment. Silently, Sam turned to her door and unlocked it. She went inside just a few steps, dropping her keys on the hall table. His heart pounding, Jack followed, closing the door behind him. He stepped behind her and brushed her long hair from her shoulder. He lowered his mouth to her neck, his lips caressing the soft skin. He placed his arms around her waist; lifting her shirt just slightly allowing his hands to explore her stomach, slip just barely across the waistband of her jeans. She turned to face him, his arms never leaving her waist and put her lips to his. They kissed, a kiss full of emotion, full of longing. Hands moved about bodies caressing, touching, pulling at clothes. After a few moments, Sam quietly led Jack to the back of the house. To the bedroom.
Fourteen months later Sam awoke to a burning smell. She could hear pans clanging against the stove. Her Jack was a lot of things, but a gourmet cook wasn't one of them. That he even had cooking utensils in his house had surprised her. "Shit." She heard him say quietly, trying not to wake her. A few more bangs and he quietly came down the hall. "I woke you didn't I?" he asked seeing her awake on the bed. `God she's beautiful' he thought as took her in for the thousandth time. Her hair splayed out across the pillow and her legs just peeked out from underneath the sheets. "It's okay," she smiled. "So what's for breakfast?" "Pancakes. Very dark brown pancakes." She laughed. "Hmm, dark brown as in burnt?" He lowered his head in mock shame. "All your talents and you can't even make a pancake." "I really think we should reconsider this alternate Sunday breakfast thing," he said as he crawled on the bed next to her. "You're a much better cook than I am." "Not on your life. We had a deal. I stay over here, you cook." She casually attempted to straighten his short hair as she spoke. He had a tendency to let it fly in all directions, not really caring how he looked. "Is it so bad staying over here?" he tried to sound casual. "You know it's not." She meant it. "But I'm a woman. We have lots of stuff we need and it's all back at my place." "Well, maybe you should marry me and then you could have all your stuff here." He hadn't meant to say it. Like the first time he'd told her he'd loved her, it had just come out without thinking. He never knew what to say in emotional situations and so sometimes he just blurted things out. He hadn't even thought about getting married again, not really. Okay, yes he'd thought about having her there all the time, but he hadn't really equated the thought with marriage. But as surprised as he was at himself for saying the words, he realized he wanted her to say yes. He loved her. Sam had stopped breathing. She stared at the man laying next to her, not sure whether or not to believe what she'd heard. She'd been so wrapped up in her work for so long that even now she tended to put the personal to the side. Marriage was something for the future. And Jack. It had been just over a year since his divorce had been final. She couldn't believe that he truly meant it. But as she stared at his face she realized. He did. And she breathed.
And she smiled.
"Yes?" Jack asked with joyful expectation. "Yes," she replied softly.
A huge grin opened up on Jack's face as he closed the distance between them, his lips hovering over hers. "I love you." "I love you too."
And breakfast was forgotten.
Jack sat nervously picking at unseen things in his coffee. He was at a small caf not far from where he'd used to live sitting at one of the outside tables. He'd chosen this place because it was near her and he knew she came here often and was comfortable with the place. He still hadn't decided how to tell her. He went through the possible ways in his head, so engrossed he didn't even notice her approach. "Jack."
He looked up. "Sara. Hi." He rose slightly from his chair as she sat in the one across from him. "I was kind of surprised to hear from you," she said. A waiter approached and Sara ordered coffee. "To go please." Jack winced. He hadn't really talked to her since before she'd left him. The tension between them at the time had been so nerve-wracking that he couldn't blame her for trying to keep the meeting short. "So, what did you want?" she asked.
"To the point."
"Don't the military appreciate that?" It had been one of the few sore points in their marriage. She had tried to be understanding, but to have him disappear for days, even weeks at a time, not knowing where he was or what he'd been doing... She'd hated it. "Yeah, I guess so." Jack took a deep breath. "I'm getting married." The surprise on her face was evident. "Really," she said after a long moment. "So soon." The divorce had been final for over a year, but Sara still hadn't expected him to move on that quickly. "I didn't mean for it to happen, it's just, I don't know, we work together and um we started spending a lot of time together and I guess it just kind of grew into something more, you know, and we just..." Jack realized he was rambling. "It just happened," he finished. "You work together. I thought relationships weren't allowed." It was a question as much as a statement. "She's a civilian. Physicist, actually." Sara raised her eyebrows. Her former husband, she knew, was not much for science types. "I know," he said catching her look. "I don't understand half of what she says, but I do know that I love her." "Well then. I'm happy for you." She didn't quite feel it, but she felt she had to say it. The waiter returned with her coffee, but she didn't get up to leave right away. Instead they spoke for a few minutes, he asking after her family, she his job (trying not to ask about her). The conversation was friendly. But it would never be like before. Finally Sara made an excuse to leave and they rose from the table. She paused before leaving. . "Jack."
"Yeah."
"I really am glad for you. I just wish," she tried to find the right words. "I just wish that I had been the one who'd been able to bring you back." Jack lowered his head and nodded in understanding. She couldn't help him after Charlie's death. She couldn't make him the man he used to be and she had tried. Sam had done that. Sam and little thing called a Stargate. They'd given him a purpose again. A home. Sara leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek before turning and walking away, a little faster than necessary. Once she was out of sight Jack sighed and threw some money down at the table. Then he left the caf headed home. Home to Sam.
It was hard to believe a year had passed, Sam thought as she lit the candles on the dining room table. The wedding had been small, but beautiful, held at a small chapel just outside Colorado Springs. The guests were mostly SGA personnel (both of them being so wrapped up in work it hadn't come as much of a surprise that most of their friends were also their co-workers). General Hammond walked Sam down the aisle, her own father having died the year before from cancer. Sam had worn a simple white dress and flowers in her hair. Jack had worn his dress uniform. Kawalski served as best man and Janet as maid of honor. The ceremony was short, punctuated with flubbed lines and laughter. But that was okay. The reception lasted well into the night with dancing and drinks flowing. Several embarrassing toasts were made in their honor, often referring to their initial attempts to keep their relationship discrete. It hadn't worked and now was fodder for jokes at their expense. They didn't mind. They were both happier than they'd been in years. "Shit." She heard from the kitchen. A year and little had changed as the sound of a dropping pot reverberated through the house. He had gotten a little better at cooking with her guidance, but he still hadn't quite mastered it. "You okay?" she called out to him.
"Yeah, yeah, everything's good." He appeared at the adjoining doorway, an innocent smile on his face. "But, ah, maybe you should, you know, finish up." Sam just shook her head. She knew him to well. He had probably dropped half the food and thrown it away to cover his tracks. Classic Jack. He stood at the doorway between the two rooms and watched as she checked the food in the oven. "Almost there," she said. Turning to see him staring she added, "what?" "Nothing, just enjoying the view."
Sam stepped over to him and gave him a long kiss. "Go set the table." "Set the table?" he responded with fake incredulity. "That's women's work!" He ducked at the sponge she threw at him, and then laughing, went into the dining room. They were happy. Jack didn't know how he had gotten so lucky for second time in his life. He had vowed not to take it for granted. It had been a great year for them both. Though still focused on their work, he found that having her know his secrets and be a part of them helped. Plus, they got to spend a great deal of time together. What other couple got to take their honeymoon (okay working honeymoon) on an alien world. The universe was open to them and they were enjoying it. But not all was going well. The Goa'uld had become a serious threat. There had been more and more encounters with them and too many deaths had resulted. The SGA had managed to destroy one of their ships and several of their bases, but at a great cost. It was during these times that Sam found that working with your husband was not always a good thing. She knew what was going on, knew the danger he was putting himself in. But she couldn't ask him not to do it. She knew he needed to. She had always known that there was a darker side to him, a side that relished the fight. He was trained to handle the extreme. He would kill to defend Earth. He would die to defend Earth. That was the part that worried her. But the thing that scared her most was not his off world trips. It was knowing that the Goa'uld were coming. Coming to Earth. About 6 months ago they'd received a report from one of their teams, or more accurately, the sole survivor of one of their teams. The Goa'uld had launched a fleet to attack Earth. They couldn't get through the iris so they were coming in ships. They weren't sure how many and they weren't sure when. They didn't have an accurate assessment of how fast the ships could go, but believed it would take about a year. Sam and the others had been trying desperately to figure out a way to stop the attack, to stop the ships before they got to earth. Work on naquadah-powered weapons had become a priority. The SG teams were no longer spending time assessing the cultures they encountered. The gathering of weapons and technology had become their primary mission. There had even been several attempts to gain control of Goa'uld ships, but so far, they had no success. The Goa'uld always destroyed their systems during an attack and they had yet to figure out the technology to repair them. But now, on their year anniversary, they were just a normal couple. The phone rang.
"Hello." Sam picked up the kitchen extension. "Dr. Carter?"
"This is she."
"Dr. Carter, this is Major Davis. General Hammond needs you and Colonel O'Neill to return to the SGA immediately." "Is something wrong?" she asked ignoring Jack's questioning look from the doorway. He could hear the concern in her voice. "Yes," Major Davis paused. "Long range telemetry has picked up a number of ships entering our solar system. We've confirmed them to be Goa'uld." For a moment she couldn't breath. They were earlier than expected. Much earlier. "How many?" she finally asked. "Ten. Mother ships."
Ten, ten. Ten Goa'uld Mother ships. Her mind raced. She'd seen the some schematics of the ships, largely based on SG personnel memory. She knew one of those things could destroy a major city in less than an hour. "We'll be right there."
"What?" Jack asked for the fifth time, Sam not even having heard the previous four. "Ten mother ships just entered the solar system." That was all he needed to hear. Sam retreated into the kitchen and turned off the stove as Jack blew out the candles. They turned out the lights and grabbing their coats, walked out the door.
It had taken the ships almost a week to reach them at the slower speed they had gone to after reaching Earth's solar system. They were no doubt finalizing their attack plans, Jack thought. The president had called upon other nations for assistance, but it was futile. The combined military forces of the world had been unable to stop the more powerful gao'uld ships and missiles had no affect on the powerful crafts. The major cities had been hit from orbit. Military bases were the next targets. The SGA, hidden inside of the mountain, hadn't been noticed at first. They had been able to evacuate most of the alpha group; leaders, scientists and others deemed necessary for humanity's continuing survival, to an off world beta site. But eventually, the activity gave them away. The Goa'uld didn't directly attack the mountain with their weapons, however. Sam suspected they didn't want to accidentally destroy the stargate. Instead they came in smaller crafts, Ha'taks, landing near by and forcing their way into the mountain. It had been determined that their best chance was to cut the invaders off on level 11 where the elevator to the surface stopped, a cut across to a second elevator being required to reach the lower levels. Jack, of course, had led the team. There had been no words between he and Sam before he left the relative safety of the lower levels. They had simply hugged. He'd given her a small smile as if casually saying he'd be back. But they both knew he wouldn't. In order to block the level, they would have to destroy it. Destroy access to the second elevator and the two access shafts. There was no way back.
Sam, Major Kawalski and General Hammond had watched from the camera room on level 16. Kawalski's frustration was evident; he wanted to be there, helping. But Jack had given him the task of protecting Sam. He wouldn't let his best friend down. And so they watched as one by one the fourteen SGA personnel sent to carry out the mission where killed. But they had been successful. The Goa'uld could proceed no further down the mountain. It was then that Sam cried. They sat silently in the observation room for a long time, General Hammond holding Sam in a comforting hug. "There's movement," Kawalski noted looking at the monitors. The others looked up. Into the ruins came two figures familiar to them all, Apophis and his first prime, Teal'c. They were followed by several Jaffa. They surveyed the damage for a few moments and then barked out several orders and the Jaffa scurried away. After several minutes two returned dragging a limp figure behind them. "Jack!" Sam cried.
"Permission to go get the Colonel, sir!" Kawalski said reflexively. "Permission denied," the general responded with an incredible sadness in his voice. "But sir," Kawalski started.
"There's no way in there, Major. Not without letting them down here." Kawalski knew this, but he still wanted to try. He looked back to the monitors. The two Jaffa were holding a semi-conscious O'Neill on his knees. Apophis appeared to ask him several questions that they could not hear. Jack just shook his head. Teal'c hit Jack several times with his staff weapon to no avail. Finally they watched as Apophis leaned close to Jack's face, his eyes glowing in anger as he spoke. Jack started to laugh. The laugh of a man with nothing to lose, who knows he's going to die. They couldn't hear the words, but the form they took on his lips was recognizable. "Fuck you."
Even if he didn't understand the phrase, Apophis got the meaning. He stepped back and nodded to his first prime. The two Jaffa let go of Jack and stepped back as Teal'c aimed his staff weapon. Jack looked directly at Teal'c the laugh still on his lips. "No!" Kawalski took a step towards the monitors and Sam, making an effort to block her view. But she saw as the flash from the weapon entered the chest of her husband. He fell, dead before he hit the floor. Sam couldn't move. She couldn't speak. She could only stare and that's what she did until one of the Jaffa noticed the camera and blasted it.
The following day they had retreated to Level 28. Information was hard to retrieve, but from what they could gather from the radio chatter, the Goa'uld had landed a number of their ships and begun hording the remaining population into secured areas they had quickly erected. Slave camps. Those that didn't cooperate were killed on sight. There was still some fighting, but it was obvious, the Goa'uld had won. The Jaffa appeared to be making progress in their efforts to reach the lower levels of the mountain as well by cutting through the floors. Sam, Hammond, Kawalski and a couple dozen soldiers, most who were guarding the level were all that remained. Sam had refused to leave to the beta site with the earlier group and now it was too late. The Goa'uld had begun repeatedly dialing into the gate, leaving them no way to dial out and escape. "Ideas," the general requested, his voice tired. No one spoke for a few minutes. Then a thought occurred to Sam. "What about the quantum mirror? The one we found on P3X-233." "You mean the thing that supposedly sends you to other realities," Hammond said. He had always been skeptical of the artifact's ability. "Yes sir. We've experimented with it enough that we know how to use it. If we could find an alternate Earth, one that wasn't being attacked, maybe they could help us." "How?"
"I don't know, technology, personnel." "Sam," Kawalski tried to be a voice of reason, "there probably isn't time to bring reinforcements. And the likely hood that we could bring enough people from the other side to defend ourselves or that they would have the technology..." He shook his head. "But we could try."
"I'm sorry Sam," General Hammond said.
The base rocked from an explosion. The Jaffa had reached level 28. Had reached them. "It's time." Hammond said. He looked at Sam and Kawalski. "You two get to the control room. Keep trying to dial out. It's our only hope." "But general, the beta site has probably already buried their gate." Kawalsky said. "We're going elsewhere." He nodded at Sam. They had already discussed alternate coordinates. He walked towards her and pressed a gun in his hand. "Just in case." He said before walking out of the room. Sam went down the steps towards the control room, Kawalski following her. But she didn't stop. "Where are you going?" he asked.
"The mirror is in a storage area on this level." She proceeded down the hall. "But the general said..."
She stopped and looked at him. "I can't get the computer to speed up the dial out. We'll never establish a lock before they redial. This may be our only hope." He nodded and followed her.
The remote for the device sat casually on the quantum mirror. It briefly occurred to Sam what a security risk that was, but then if it hadn't been nearby, they would have been screwed. She turned on the mirror. "We need to find a reality close to ours, but that hasn't been invaded." She began to sort through the various realities while Kawalski kept watch. The approaching Jaffa could be heard more clearly now. "Any luck?" he called out after a minute Sam was becoming disheartened. So many of the other dimensions seemed to be in the same situation as them, damage was everywhere, Jaffa visible in some. Kawalski began firing. They'd been found.. Finally she came across several realities with no apparent bomb damage. She switched to one in which the other side was dark, but there was no time to keep looking. It was in the general area they needed and that would have to be good enough. A staff weapon's blast hit just outside the door. "Major come on!" she called out to Kawalski, ducking as he continued to fire, the bullets from his gun expending to the ground. "We've gotta go back for the General," he responded. "I can't shut it down," she called back, "I won't find this window again we have to go now." He knew she was right. Grabbing a grenade from his vest he threw it down the hall to cover their escape. Then he walked to the mirror and they both placed their hands to it. Suddenly, they were in the other room. The grenade on the other side, their side of the mirror exploded and the mirror shut down. "You sure this is the right place to go to?" Asked Kawalski. "Anywhere's better then the alternative." She answered, hoping she was right. An alarm began to sound.
"I guess we'll see about that," Kawalski said, raising his gun. Within seconds they were surrounded by men with guns, their red scope lights bright against the skin of their targets. But they were human. Now if only they could help.
Events of Point of View
Epilogue
Samantha Carter-O'Neill walked into her house for the first time in almost a month. The emptiness overwhelmed her immediately. She stood in the entry hall for several minutes, looking at the other rooms before finally bringing herself to move on. In the kitchen she found the remnants of their anniversary dinner, plates lying on the counter awaiting food, a bottle of champagne floating in what was now water in the ice bucket. She put away the plates, threw out the food from the oven and put away the candles from the dining room table. Staring at the now clean kitchen, she almost regretted picking up. She realized it was the last memory Jack had left in this house. Exhausted, she walked into the bedroom. It had been an unforgettable month. First the attack on the mountain, then he trip through the mirror, the Asgard coming to their rescue. They had worked out a treaty with the Asgard and Goa'uld giving the Earth protected status. The Goa'uld had really had no choice, given that the Asgard could destroy them. Then they'd had to retrieve the Alpha team from the Beta site and start the processing of rebuilding their world. Sam had refused to go home until Janet finally forced her. She'd been so busy she hadn't even noticed the fatigue that had washed over her. Sam took a picture from her pocket and placed it on the nightstand. She looked at it for a long minute. It was her and Jack on their wedding day. They'd been so happy. The picture was slightly tattered, having been in her pocket for the last month. She kicked off her shoes and took off her jacket, letting it fall to the floor, lying on the bed without bothering to remove the rest of her clothes. Staring at the picture, the tears no longer came to her eyes. She had been crying for so long. "I love you Jack," she spoke quietly to the picture, "I miss you." She placed her hands on her slightly swollen stomach and allowed herself a small smile. Closing her eyes, she fell into an exhausted sleep and dreamed of the child that grew in her.
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