Title: Closer
Rating: PG
Author/Email: Jo. R (Jo@ram32.freeserve.co.uk)
Category: Post-ep/Missing scene for 'Lost City
pt.2', Angst, Thoughts, S/J UST
Spoilers/Season: Season 7-8 gap-filler, 'Lost City
pt.2', and sequel to 'Time'.
Summary: They're getting closer.
Disclaimer: Despite my attempts at getting
ownership of them, I don't yet own the rights to all the characters. This idea
and mini-series, however, does belong to me. By the way, the mini series now
has a name: Light and Dark. Not exactly the best title in the world but it
fits.
"The closer you
get, the better I feel
The closer you are, the more I see
Why everyone says that I look happier when you're around
The closer you get, the better I feel."
-
'Closer', Dido.
=*=
His eyes were glazed
over, his body in the exact same position as it had been when they left. Sam
Carter stifled a shudder and let her palm come to rest on the smooth surface of
the icy cavern enveloping him.
"I promised you
we'd be back," she told him softly, staring at him intently. Almost as if
the warmth of her gaze could melt through the walls between them.
"Major
Carter." The hand on her shoulder made her jump even though she
anticipated his voice when she sensed him move behind her. "The Asgard
need to have access to O'Neill."
It was his discreet way
of telling her to move, delivered in his own careful way.
"I know, I was
just
"
Just staring?
Hoping?
Waiting for him to
move?
"Are they
ready?" She asked eventually, the pause having lasted slightly longer than
was comfortable. "They're sure they can do it? Without hurting him?"
"Thor is confident
that they will be successful." Teal'c watched her remove her hand and
waited for her to move away. When she didn't, he reached out for her again and
put his hand on her arm, tugging gently. Leading her away. "Daniel Jackson
is waiting for us aboard the Asgard vessel."
She let him lead her
away but stopped just short of reaching the transport point. "I can't
leave him, Teal'c, not again." She lifted her head, her eyes locking with
his as the Asgard arrived. "I want to stay," she said louder, making
sure Thor heard.
It wasn't a request so
much as an order.
Wasn't an order so much
as a plea.
"You may stay,
Major Carter," Thor responded calmly. It came as no surprise to him that
the Tau'ri woman wished to stay with O'Neill just as it had come as no surprise
when she'd asked no, demanded their help in reviving him and relieving him
of the burden he carried.
The legacy of the
Ancients. Once again mistakenly placed in the head of Colonel O'Neill.
"It may be
beneficial to O'Neill if there is someone he recognises when he awakens,"
Thor continued, glancing at Major Carter and Teal'c as he got to work assembling
the technology he and Heimdall had brought with them.
"You can go,
Teal'c," Sam told him quietly, the sad smile on her face making it sound
less like an order. "Update Daniel and let the SGC know what's going on.
We'll contact you when it's over."
And it would be over,
in one way or another. Whether he survived or not.
Teal'c bowed his head
to her and reluctantly moved into position. He kept his gaze focused on her as
the beam embraced him and took him away.
They shared a look, a
common hope.
Praying the news would
be good.
She felt lonely when he
was gone, despite having Thor for company. And the Colonel, of course, but he
was in no position to make small talk. The Asgard continued doing what he was doing
her mind was too slow with exhaustion and anxiety to keep track and pretty
much ignored her in favour of concentrating on his task.
Sighing softly,
glancing at the Colonel again, Sam let her weary feet travel to the chair in
the centre of the room and tentatively sat down. Her legs were grateful for the
relief in pressure but her mind was awhirl with memories.
He'd known what to do
to make the chair appear.
He'd known how to work
it.
He'd sat in the exactly
the same place when he'd activated the power of the Ancient's.
He'd sat in the same
place and destroyed the Goa'uld.
Saved the planet.
Saved them.
Saved her.
He'd sat there and
known what would happen when he was finished.
He'd known it was
goodbye.
She forced her eyes
closed and tried to relax. It wasn't easy.
It wasn't easy at all.
=*=
Hours days? later,
she sensed movement near by and felt the smallest of pressure on her shoulder.
Her eyes snapped open and the memories came flooding back.
"Is he
?"
She couldn't finish the
sentence. Wouldn't allow herself to finish it mentally.
She just stared at
Thor, into his black eyes, wishing he were easier to read.
"We are almost
finished with the procedure," Thor assured her in his softly spoken
manner. "It may be advisable for you to be there when we revive O'Neill.
It will help if he sees a familiar face."
"If he remembers
me," she muttered, pushing herself to her feet when Thor moved away.
The fear was too real,
too heavy.
Her breath caught in
her throat as she stood just a few feet away. The wall separating him from the
rest of the room was thinner now. The Asgard had been busy and she wondered if
maybe she'd fallen asleep.
The light from the
Asgard device stopped suddenly.
Heimdall moved it away
and Thor moved closer to the prone form of the Colonel. Sam was frozen to the
spot, unable to help.
Unable to do anything
but watch as the two Asgard reached through the sheen of thin ice coating his
body and pulled him free, laying him carefully on the ground.
They covered him with a
silver blanket and moved away either to give him space or encourage her to
move closer.
She decided to think
they meant the latter option.
On legs that were still
unsteady, she moved closer.
Held her breath.
Her legs crumpled at the
knees and she found herself sitting beside him, cradling his head in her lap
although she couldn't for the life of her remember putting it there.
"Sir?" Her
voice trembled as much as the hand that gently stroked through his damp hair.
"Jack? I came back for you. We came back." The hand that wasn't
moving rhythmically through his hair rose to her cheek and wiped away the tear
that tried to escape. "Please wake up for me. We didn't do this so you
could die. We won. You won."
He didn't respond.
His eyelids didn't
flutter, his mouth didn't move.
She wasn't even sure he
was breathing.
"Please don't
leave me. Not now it's over. *Please*."
Nothing.
She didn't know how
long she sat there, didn't feel it when Thor placed another blanket around her
shoulders. She didn't hear Daniel and Teal'c come down from the Asgard vessel,
didn't notice when Heimdall waved something over the Colonel's body, taking
readings and showering him with a purple coloured light.
She didn't know
anything but the feel of his head in her lap, his hair under her fingertips.
The pain in her heart,
the tightening of her chest.
The moisture on her
cheeks.
Teal'c stood behind her
in solidarity, silently offering his support and strength. Taking comfort in
knowing he wasn't the only one to grieve.
Daniel stood still, and
then started pacing, then stood still again. His hair was mused, his eyes
bloodshot. He'd been so sure they'd make it in time.
So sure they could save
him.
"We have to update
the SGC," Teal'c spoke after several long tense moments. "They will
be waiting for us to apprise them of the situation."
Sam didn't move.
Daniel just looked at
him.
Teal'c fell silent once
more.
Thor and Heimdall left
and returned. Thor knelt beside O'Neill and held another device over the
unconscious form. The light it emitted focused on his head and stayed there for
quite a while.
"What are you
doing?" Daniel wanted to know. "Will that help?"
"I am removing the
knowledge of the Ancients from his brain. I believe it may be hindering his
progress," Thor explained, his calm tone giving nothing away.
How could you tell if
an Asgard was worried when their tone of voice always stayed the same?
It felt as though a
lifetime passed them by.
Eventually, they had to
go and update the SGC. They were over two hours overdue to make radio contact
and Sam couldn't ignore it anymore. With a sigh, Teal'c and Daniel headed
towards the transport point and Sam slowly started to ease the Colonel's head
from her lap.
His skin still felt
cold.
Icily cold.
A bitter reminder of
all that was lost.
She'd almost made it to
her feet when she heard it.
A muffled groan. It
sounded pained.
She was on her knees
again in a heartbeat, and a split second after that Daniel and Teal'c were kneeling
with her.
"Colonel?"
She gazed at his face, her hand moving to rest on his chest. "Jack?"
She repeated, her tone urgent.
Slowly, his eyelids
fluttered. Opened.
He stared up at her
with eyes that felt dry.
His gaze travelled from
her to Teal'c to Daniel and back to her.
His tongue moistened
his lips.
"Carter?" His
voice was dry, broken. But he was speaking and that was all that mattered.
"I'm here,
Sir." The smile that lit up her face helped melt away the ice that was
still wrapped around heart. "We're all here."
He nodded slightly,
closed his eyes. Opened them again and squinted up at her. "We win?"
"We won."
The smile widened,
brightened. Confirmed it was true.
"Good."
His eyes closed, his body relaxed.
His chest rose and fell.
He lived.
=*=
Fini