Samantha
Carter swam through treacle, as she labored toward the light, following
Jack's orders. She heard voices that sounded familiar. Jack's and . . .
an Asgard? She felt Jack's familiar touch on her hand. So comforting. So
right.
She struggled to make out the words. 'Ernie? Naked?'
Her eyes snapped open. "Sir?" she croaked.
Jack's words
had been right on the money. She, no, he . . . they were naked and
holding hands. A whisper of cool air wafted across her bare breasts and
gave her the perkies. She couldn't help but wonder how it was affecting
the male body beside her. Resolutely, she kept her eyes from straying
sideways and . . . south.
'Holy Hannah! If Dad or the team hears about this . . .'
She wanted
to shout her thoughts, but her mind felt fuzzy, not right. She felt
Jack's grip loosen around her hand, but her fingers tightened, not
willing to relinquish the comforting touch as yet.
She closed
her eyes, a last ditch effort to avoid the inevitable surrender to the
harsh lights of the real world, a world where his touch was wrong, a
world where her feelings were wrong. Fraternization with a superior
officer, just the insinuation of it had ruined many a military career,
and she wasn't about to allow it to ruin his . . . or hers for that
matter. They had important jobs to do, as usual. As always.
"Carter?" The voice was male and unmistakably Jack's.
She wedged her
eyes open, and let his hand go, feeling bereft of comfort when his
fingers no longer touched her skin. Alone. Again. Nothing new
there.
"Samantha
Carter?" Ernie's gray face swam into her vision, and then back out
again. She closed her eyes once more. It was too overwhelming and
confusing. Vaguely she was aware of Jack's raised voice in the
background, demanding to know why he had things stuck into certain very
private parts of his anatomy, for crying out loud.
Sam tried
recapturing the earlier feeling of comfort and warmth and turned to a
trusted friend, an old tried and true formula.
'Newton's Laws of Motion. Number 1: Every object
persists in its state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line
unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed on it.
So far, so good, my Jack is certainly one hell of a compelling force
though. Number 2: The relationship between an object's mass m, its
acceleration a, and the applied force F is Fma. That's a safe bet. Now
for Number 3: For every action there is an equal and opposite
re-action.'
'Holy Hannah, this is not working at all. Nope, this
is definitely not a good idea, not when you're lying in the same bed
next to a stark naked General Jack O'Neill, thinking about
relationships, compelling forces, and reactions. Especially when your
reaction is part of the problem. Still . . . Jack and me . . . naked . .
. Together . . . Get your mind out of the gutter, Samantha Jean Carter!
He's your CO!'
Sam gave it up as a waste of time as her eyes
snapped open She figured if nothing else, it would probably be
entertaining . . . and diverting too. At this point a diversion just
might keep her from getting a court martial.
***
Jack had passed
the point of irritation and was nearing seriously pissed off. At times
like this, Ernie reminded him of a certain Napoleonic power-monger. God
rest her soul.
'No way I'm going
to put up with ANYONE messing around with me and my dick, at least not
without my wholehearted cooperation. Haven't I put up with enough
already? What is with these damned aliens and their fascination with me
and my reproductive organs? First it was the Techno-bitch from hell, and
now Ernie. A man's got a right to some privacy. Right? Damned right I
do!'
To get his point
across, Jack upped the whine factor. "But, Ernie. You know how I hate
those damned tubes! It's bad enough waking up naked, but I've had my
fill of aliens messing around with my equipment, so if you don't mind,
just bug off!" Jack's voice accelerated from whine to outrage as his
hands slipped down to conceal his groin, fiddling with the offending
catheter tube.
'Damned meddling aliens, always messing around with
my plumbing.'
Ernie response
was immediate. "For your information, Jack O'Neill, I put that catheter
in while I was trying to save your sorry ass, but you can yank it out
right now if it offends your dignity so damned much. In fact, if you
move your hands, I'll help you."
Ernie batted at
Jack's protective hands with his gray ones. The alien fingers felt soft
and leathery, and left behind a telltale hint of cinnamon.
Jack growled.
"Keep your hands away from me, you flat-assed skinny gray alien!"
Ernie withdrew
his hands and stepped back from the pod with a sigh. "Jack O'Neill, what
the hell is the matter with you? You're being unreasonable."
"Ernie?" Jack looked hopeful.
"Yes?" Ernie blinked.
"You're real?"
"What the hell do you mean by that?"
"I wasn't sure at first. Sorry."
Ernie cocked his head. "I'll never understand
you humans, Jack O'Neill."
Jack's eyes widened. "You said 'I'll'. Ernie,
buddy. You're using contractions. Sweet."
"It took you long enough to notice. Jeez, humans."
"Sir?" The feminine voice at his side drew
his attention away from Ernie.
"Did ya hear that, Carter? Ernie's using
contractions. Pretty cool, huh."
"I was talking about something else, Sir."
When Jack raised a questioning eyebrow, Samantha Carter continued.
"Ernie said he was trying to save our lives. Or yours, at least. But
seeing as how I've been fitted with some of the same . . . equipment as
you have . . ."
She gestured south.
Jack risked a quick glance to his side, his
eyes automatically tracked her moving hands, and then hastily averted
his eyes as he realized what she was referring to . . . and that she was
naked. Just like he was. 'Oy! I'd always figured
Carter was a natural blonde, now I really do know for sure.'
He decided that her blonde hair went well
with the blush that was creeping up her neck and into her face.
Jack kept his eyes trained away from Carter;
his mind was already filling in the blanks, so to speak. "Could we get
some pants or blankets here? We're going to catch our deaths."
"Not to mention what Samantha Carter will do
to you if she catches you peeking." Ernie handed over two blankets,
which were grabbed out of his hands by Jack.
He draped one over his lap as he slid the
other one over to Carter, a hard task to do without actually looking at
the intended target. Jack so didn't want to risk pissing her off though,
at least not while he was so . . . exposed. Not to mention
vulnerable.
Jack patted his blanket into place. "What was
this about saving our asses?" He turned when he heard Sam's feminine
sigh of exasperation beside him. "Hey, I was getting to it." He turned
his eyes back on Ernie who was fidgeting, never a good sign.
He tried propping his arm underneath him, in
preparation to sitting up. When pain spiked through his head, he let
himself slump back onto the bed. He shut his eyes for a moment, willing
the sudden dizziness to pass. When it didn't, he sighed in
frustration.
"Crap!" He rubbed one hand over his forehead
in a vain attempt to massage away the pain.
"Sir?" Jack said nothing, just winced, and then turned his head
slightly to acknowledge her concerned hand on his arm.
"Ernie?" Carter's voice sounded worried.
"That's part of what I need to talk to you
about." Seeing that he had their attention, he continued. "According to
my tests, masses of some type were placed inside your brains. Soon after
you were both beamed aboard, I discovered that you couldn't be separated
without going into cardiac failure, so I had a special medical pod made
that would accommodate both of you at the same time."
"Wait a minute, Ernie. Slow down. What are
you talking about?" Jack asked as he peeked out from under the arm he'd
thrown across his eyes.
"I had to place both of you inside the same
medical pod because those masses are emitting a radio signal, and when
anything interrupts it, you both go into convulsions. As if that weren't
bad enough, it causes erratic heartbeats. In short, when you're
separated, you die."
Jack looked at Carter and she shrugged. 'That would certainly
explain the weird connection I
have with Carter now. I have the feeling she can sense it too. And the
handholding bit, that was a little . . . unusual for us both. Well, Jack
O'Neill, this is just peachy. Here you are lying in bed beside Carter,
the stuff of your wildest wet dreams. Now Ernie says we're inseparable.
That we'll die if we get too far apart. No doubt about it, Bug Boy has a
really sick sense of humor. I'll bet he's laughing his ass off right
about now. Speaking of bugs, where are they?'
"You blew up those Bugs, didn't you?" Jack
asked changing the subject. When Ernie looked away, he asked again.
"Those bug people, you did disintegrate their mechanical little asses,
didn't you?"
"No, Jack. Fifth got away from us." Ernie looked apologetic.
"Fifth got away?" Sam looked at Jack and then
away again and shuddered. He noted she turned a little pale too.
"What about the others?" Jack was getting nervous. It showed when
the regular beeps from his heart monitor increased in frequency. Sam's
monitor echoed his, a mechanical duet of distress.
Ernie looked puzzled. "What others?"
Jack opened his mouth to talk, and then shut
it and shook his head. "It's a long story, Ernie."
"I think maybe I'd better get Thor on the
horn, sounds like he needs to hear this too." Ernie trotted over to his
master console.
"Yeah, sure." In an effort to calm himself,
Jack took a breath. As before, Sam mirrored his response. "That would be
a good idea. Sounds like we need to start comparing notes."
Ernie had already keyed the microphone. "Thor?"
Thor's face appeared on the view screen. "Yes?"
"My patients have some questions and some vital information to
impart. It would be most beneficial if you were here."
Ernie heard voices in the background. "Jack and Sam are awake? We
want to see them." It sounded like Daniel Jackson.
Ernie responded. "My patients are not yet
ready for visitors. I will only allow Thor."
Thor turned his head toward the unseen voices
and then looked straight at Ernie. "I will arrive shortly."
Jack closed his eyes. His head still hurt.
'Wait a minute, if Fifth wasn't destroyed, then
were we really rescued? How can I know for sure if this is really Ernie
or some sort of mechanical puppet dreamed up by Bug Boy?'
While Ernie didn't have the distinctive odor
he'd associated with his female companion, he did have one of his own.
Jack guessed that was one of the things that had attracted him to Ernie
in the first place. Every time he was around the little alien, he had
flashbacks to his Grandma's homemade apple pie. Thor's, on the other
hand reminded him more of sage . . . and Grandma's Thanksgiving
turkeys.
The recent memory of Ernie's leathery fingers
brushing against his hands brought to mind the accompanying scent of
cinnamon. That clue alone convinced O'Neill that Ernie and their rescue
was the real deal, not some illusion whipped up by Bug Boy and his merry
duo of Thing One and Thing Two.
Jack tested the air. 'That's cinnamon all right. So this must be the real
thing. For whatever reason, those bugs never got that part right when
they did their illusion bit. Probably because they don't get into eating
or how things smell like us flesh and blood types. Although when you
consider that for a bug the yummy main course consisted of bulkhead of
spaceship washed down with a WD-40 chaser, their disregard for these
senses was really understandable.'
Jack turned his head toward Carter and smiled reassuringly. "I think
they're real, at least they smell like the real thing."
Carter nodded and sighed. "Thanks, I was
wondering about that myself."
Thor chose that moment to appear in a white
flash of light. As soon as Jack caught sight of him, he tested his
hypothesis and sniffed. Yep, the pungent smell of sage.
"Thor, buddy. Good to see you again." Jack smiled.
Ernie shot an admonishing glare at the
Supreme Commander. "I must request that both Jack O'Neill and Samantha
Carter refrain from undue excitement, Thor. Their systems are not able
to handle additional stress at the moment."
"I understand, Eir." Thor nodded and then
shuffled over to stand beside the medical pod.
Thor wasted no time in getting to the point.
"What can you tell us of your captors?"
Jack turned to Sam and raised a questioning
eyebrow. Sam shrugged and then nodded her agreement.
"As you probably already guessed, it was
Fifth who shanghaied our asses and dragged us over to his little den of
inequity. What you don't know is that Fifth is no longer alone." Thor
and Ernie exchanged exasperated glances. "By that I mean that Fifth has
been playing around with his tinker toys and his latest creations are
more bug people who just happen to look like Carter and myself."
Jack's bombshell produced startled looks on
the faces of his Asgard audience.
'If you think you're
surprised, you should try waking up to see it like I did. Welcome to my
nightmare, folks.'
"Fifth produced Replicator versions of
yourself and Samantha Carter?" Thor stared impassively down at Jack.
"Yeah, sure yabetcha. If you think you're
surprised, you should try waking up to see a bug person who looks like
your evil twin. Very creepy. Right, Carter?" Jack turned his head to
look at her, trying to gauge her reaction to this whole mess. Judging by
the furrows on her forehead, she was deep in thought, a typical response
for her.
"What? Oh, sorry, Sir. I was thinking." She
gave him a frown in response to his knowing smirk. "Why do you suppose
Fifth let us go? According to what he told me, his primary motive was
revenge. I mean, Fifth could've taken us with him when he left. Right?"
Jack nodded. "So why didn't he?"
"I don't know." Jack looked back up to see
Ernie and Thor exchange looks. "There's something you haven't told us.
Right? So come on guys, spill it. What aren't you telling us?"
"It would be my guess that Fifth left you
behind because he'd gotten what he wanted." Ernie paused and then
continued when Jack and Sam nodded. "What I mean is that Fifth placed
masses inside both your brains that not only limit your ability to
function, they are also increasing in size."
"And?" Jack snapped impatiently.
"At their current rate of growth I estimate
that you will not live longer than five to seven days. I'm sorry."
The other shoe had dropped. Jack took some
time to consider the information he'd just been given, Fifth had
sentenced Carter and himself to a slow death. Crap. Still, when you
thought about it, the news really wasn't surprising.
"So, what now? Let's consider our options
here." Jack turned to Carter. "Give me your take on this."
"Sir? If you could give me a minute . . .
This took me by surprise. It's not everyday that you've been told that
you have only a week left to live." She shrugged and winced.
"What about surgery, Ernie? Is there any way
you can remove or disintegrate these doohickeys in our
heads?"
"Because of their placement, surgery is not
an option. It would kill you both. As for disintegrating them . . . I'd
considered that, but I'm not sure if that would work either. The devices
that are attached to your brain stems are placed in such a way so that
their removal will result in your immediate death. Ironically, the only
thing that is keeping you alive right now are those things inside your
heads." Ernie shook his head, clearly not happy with his verdict.
"I had wondered if the Ancients' device could
be modified to nullify the effects of the masses inside your heads.
However, it would seem that this was a false hope." Thor looked down at
Jack and then at Carter.
Ernie nodded. "It would be much too dangerous
to test this theory because if you fail, my patients would die."
Carter responded. "This all makes sense in a
twisted way, Sir. Fifth said he kidnapped us because he wanted revenge
for his betrayal. I guess now we know why they left us back there when
they made their escape. They didn't need us anymore because they knew we
wouldn't live much longer anyway."
Jack rubbed his eyes with both fists before
huffing out a breath in frustration. "I refuse to just roll over and die
on anybody, especially for those damned bug people. There's got to be
another way, something we can do to fight this thing."
"I'm open for suggestions." Ernie looked down
at his human friends and then at Thor.
Jack levered himself up into a sitting
position, the wince on his face telling of his headache. With one hand
he held the blanket in place around his midsection, and pinched the
bridge of his nose with the other.
"Sounds like we could use a brain storm
session to plan out some sort of strategy to beat this. So, how's about
you get us some clothes so we can join in on the party. Maybe there'll
be cake." He smiled. "Ernie? Some pants would be nice . . . Now?" He
turned to smirk at Carter and then shot her a genuine grin when he saw
that she was also sitting up.
He patted his groin, and then raised his eyebrow
as he looked at Ernie. "And another thing . . . Our plumbing works just
fine, so if you don't mind?"
***
An hour later found Jack O'Neill and Samantha
Carter joining the rest of their friends in the briefing room. The
reunion had been . . . emotional. Ernie was overjoyed and had taken
copious notes. He now had so much more information to add to his studies
of human communication.
After supplying his two patients with
clothing, Ernie had expected them to be more cooperative about his
concerns for their medical condition. He'd been reluctant to allow his
two human patients out of his Infirmary, but they had been quite vocally
insistent. Ernie now had an intimate knowledge of suggestions that
seemed anatomically impossible, courtesy of Jack O'Neill, and resolved
to test his theories at the soonest possible moment.
'Jack O'Neill's suggestion to 'screw you' and
'stick your head up your ass' seemed amusing, but I still haven't been
able to figure out how this would be accomplished. Computer simulations
might supply the answer, but I have my doubts about that. I admit this
might have to be added to the unanswered mysteries about humans and Jack
O'Neill. Perhaps someone from the Asgard Council might adopt this
project, as I will have no time to spare in the coming days, not when I
have to ride herd on Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter. They're as
difficult to manage as herding cats.'
'Although I have more experience in
deciphering the colorful human colloquialisms, and suspect those
suggestions were probably meant as metaphors, it might be a real hoot to
suggest that another member of the Council study these suggestions. Some
of the more stuffy members have indicated that they would be interested
in this sort of project. Oh, Ernie, you are evil to even think of such a
thing. Jack O'Neill would be so proud of you. You're beginning to sound
just like him, which is not so bad. Right?'
'I can't help but wonder about Jack O'Neill's
extreme reaction to the catheter though, along with his accusations
about aliens messing with him. Just what did happen to him? Will he even
tell me? Chances are good that I'll have to trick him into telling me
the truth. The combination of his need for privacy and his ingrained
reluctance to talk of any abuse he might have endured will make it
doubly hard for him to reveal what happened. Maybe Samantha Carter
knows, perhaps I could get some intel out of her.'
Food and beverages had been supplied and a
buffet style lunch had been set up in a corner of the briefing room.
Ernie had suggested this as the laboratory results had shown that his
two human patients hadn't eaten or drank anything since their
abduction.
With the help of Colonel Dixon, several items
to tempt the hungry palate had been rustled up. The father of five had
said he had experience in dealing with temperamental and finicky eaters
so had been put in charge of the meal. He'd rummaged through the
supplies provided by the SGC and even had a cake for Jack O'Neill,
chocolate with butter cream icing. Ernie had stuck his finger in the
frosting and found it delicious. An unfortunate side effect of the
frosting had him bouncing in place in his chair.
Monitors had been attached to both Jack
O'Neill and Samantha Carter while they were still in the Infirmary so
Ernie could spot any problems before they got too serious. He'd put his
foot down to any strenuous exercise for his patients due to their
continuing problems with an irregular heartbeat and had beamed them over
to the briefing room together. He sat next to them, watching as Daniel
Jackson and Teal'c served as waiters for their two friends.
Ernie had already quashed the idea of serving
coffee or any other stimulants to Jack O'Neill and had his doubts about
the chocolate cake, but decided that he'd allow them that. Samantha
Carter seemed overly interested in the chocolate and Ernie resolved to
corner her and ask about this need of hers at the next opportunity.
In fact all the male humans seemed quite
reluctant to disagree with her when she announced that she needed her
chocolate fix. Even now she was chewing a chocolate candy bar with a
look of sheer bliss on her face. As for Jack O'Neill, he was stuffing
cake and ice cream into his mouth as fast as he could.
Daniel Jackson was inhaling his ninth cup of
coffee and Teal'c was sitting down to a plate heaped with so many food
items that Ernie had his doubts about whether or not one person could
eat that much without exploding.
Thor sampled the cake. "I do believe that
this confection rivals my yellow triangles in taste."
Beside Jack O'Neill, Samantha Carter choked
on a piece of chocolate and began coughing. Ernie looked on as Jack
O'Neill smiled sympathetically and handed her a glass of water.
"Are you all right?" Thor looked worried.
Samantha Carter cleared her throat and
swallowed some water before answering. Her voice sounded hoarse. "Yes,
Thor. Sorry, it went down the wrong tube." She lifted her glass, drained
it, and gave the rest of the group an apologetic smile.
Thor opened the discussion. "We are meeting
to discuss our options concerning the immediate futures of Jack O'Neill
and Samantha Carter. As you all know, the Replicators placed devices
inside their brains that not only limits their movements, but as they
are also growing in size, they are at risk for dying. Eir has stated
that he is unable to remove them safely."
"While they are growing in size, their very
placement also results in keeping them alive. It is for this reason that
Jack O'Neill's suggestion that the bug zapper be used to disintegrate
the devices had to be ruled out. It is quite a conundrum, one I wish I
had never run into."
Jack O'Neill shook his head and drummed his
fingers on the table. "So what it boils down to is that we have two
options. Plan A would be to do nothing. The end result of that would be
that both Carter and I end up pushing up daisies inside a week and Fifth
gets his jollies knowing that he's gotten rid of us."
Teal'c opened his mouth to object and was silenced by Jack O'Neill's
raised hand. "Now wait a minute. There is still plan B."
"Plan B?" Daniel Jackson looked puzzled as his forehead furrowed.
"There's always a Plan B, it comes after Plan A." Jack O'Neill
smirked and turned to Samantha Carter who replied with
a grin of her own.
"What is Plan B?" Teal'c asked pointedly.
"Isn't it obvious? We go after Fifth. He put
these gadgets in our heads, he can take them out again."
"When the Replicator vessel entered the
hyperspace window, we were unable to track them. We no longer know their
location." Thor looked apologetic.
Samantha Carter frowned and raised one hand.
"Wait a minute. If Fifth put these things inside our heads, wouldn't he
want to keep track of us? He told me he wanted revenge. He wouldn't be
able to get any satisfaction if he had no way of knowing how it's
affecting us." She turned to Ernie. "Didn't you say that these devices
emit some sort of radio signal?"
"Yes, that's why you have to stick close to
Jack O'Neill's side." Ernie nodded his head.
Samantha Carter turned to Jack O'Neill.
"Don't you see, Sir? It all makes sense now. Fifth must be receiving
these signals too. There is no other way that he would be able to
monitor our conditions. It would take the fun out of it if he couldn't
somehow witness what happens to us."
"So if Bug Boy can use these signals to keep
track of us, can't we use those same signals to find him?"
Thor rubbed his chin and looked thoughtful.
"It is a possibility I had not considered."
"Do you have the means to check out Carter's
idea?" Jack kept his eyes on Thor while he used his spoon to draw
circles in the melted ice cream on his plate. Thor nodded.
"In the meantime, there's something else to
consider. Fifth and the evil bug twins have our memories. They know how
we think." He patted Samantha Carter on the shoulder as they exchanged
glances. She nodded her agreement. "For all intents and purposes, they
are US. Now, keeping that in mind, don't you think that they'd know we'd
figure this out and track them down?"
"I believe you are correct in your
assumption, O'Neill." Teal'c's dark eyes swept the room. "In addition,
we now know that current Asgard stealth technology is useless when
dealing with the Replicator threat. Witness the fact that they were able
to detect our presence prior to our arrival, thus enabling their own
escape from retribution."
Jack O'Neill slapped the table. "You're right
on the money, Teal'c. The bugs can spot our vessels, but they took off
when you showed up because they're still vulnerable to attack by the
Ancient's bug zapper I came up with. That give you any ideas, kids? We
don't call this a brain storm session for nothing."
Samantha Carter and Jack O'Neill
simultaneously grabbed the sides of their heads and moaned as their
faces turned white.
A drop of crimson ran out of Samantha
Carter's nose and dripped onto the plate in front to her. "God, no!" Her
eyes widened as she took in the implications.
"Crap!" Jack O'Neill watched as blood
spattered the melted ice cream on his plate. He looked up at the woman
sitting beside him, almost as if he were communicating silently with
her. As one, they turned to Ernie.
"Ernie we've got a problem here." Jack smiled
apologetically and then slumped in his chair, head tilted to the side as
his eyes rolled back in his head. Beside him, Samantha Carter's head was
already lying on the table.
Ernie was already reaching for his transporter controls. "Ya
think?"
A beam of white light surrounded Ernie and his
two human patients.
***
An hour later Sam was sitting propped up on
the double medical pod beside Jack. She watched in wonder as his fingers
wove in and out of the innards of a bug zapper. Though she hated to
admit it, she was impressed . . . and had no idea of what he was doing.
She'd tried to follow along as he patiently explained the changes he was
making to the device, but had finally given up.
'I never thought I'd see the day when Jack
O'Neill could out do me when it came to techno babble. This time he did.
Guess he's smarter than he acts.'
She wiggled as the heart monitor attached to
her chest pulled against her skin. Ernie had attached one to her and
Jack while they were still unconscious. He'd explained that their
nosebleeds had been the result an inter-cranial bleed brought about by
the growth of the masses inside their brains. In layman's terms, they'd
had a stroke. According to Ernie, as time went on, these events would
increase along with the accompanying headaches and irregular heartbeat.
It seemed impossible to contemplate, but they were slowly but surely
dying.
Ernie had brought them both up to date prior
to leaving them alone in the Infirmary. While they'd been gone, Thor had
continued the meeting with the other members of the SGC and had come up
with a tentative plan. That explained why Jack was working on the
hand-held bug zapper. He was adapting it so that anyone could use it.
Since Fifth would immediately confiscate anything that could be used
against them, that seemed like a good idea.
Thor had made some modifications to the
cloaking device also. As a result, the O'Neill II could approach the
Replicators without being detected. They had confirmed that a radio
pulse was being sent to Fifth and were in the process of tracking it
down.
Sam hoped they'd hurry, as they seemed to be
running out of time. As if sensing her thoughts, Jack stopped what he
was doing and put the zapper down on his lap. Then he captured both of
her hands in his own; his brown eyes gazed into hers with an intensity
that was frightening.
"We're going to make it, Carter. You've got to believe that."
Sam dragged her eyes away, not wanting him to
see her fear. "I don't know, Sir. When I think about the odds . . ."
She felt Jack's fingers touch her chin as he
directed her to look at him again. "I'll have none of that. Together
we're going to kick those bug's asses, like we always do."
Sam sighed and lowered her eyes. She jumped
when his fingers touched her cheek, caressed it.
"Sam, I wouldn't lie to you about this."
"Jack? They'll know what we're up to. And
after seeing what they did to you . . . How can you face them again
after that? Because . . . I don't know if I can."
She lowered her face again to avoid the
disappointment she knew would be on Jack's face. She'd let him down,
again.
"C'mere" He slid his arm around her shoulders
and pulled her closer to him. Sam's face burrowed desperately into his
chest, like a scared kitten scrambling for a hole to hide in. As tears
welled up in her eyes, she stifled a sob, hoping that he hadn't
heard.
"Shh." When his lips brushed the top of her
head, the dam burst, her emotions coming out in a burst of tears
scalding in their intensity as they tumbled in rivulets down her cheeks
to soak into his black t-shirt. Sam's whole body shuddered with her sobs
as she wrapped her arms around his chest, grabbing a fistful of his
t-shirt and holding on for dear life.
"I'm so sorry, Jack. Just hold me. Please, just hold me."
"I'm not going anywhere, Sam. Looks like
you're stuck with me for now" He kissed her hair and tightened his grip
on her shoulders, beginning a rocking motion.
Sam raised reddened eyes to look at Jack, but
his arms didn't loosen their hold. He looked down on her and smiled.
"I let you down, Jack. I should've been stronger back there. If I
had, I could've stopped them from hurting you."
Jack's chuckle startled her. "It's not your
fault, Sam. And there's nothing you could've done. If I remember
correctly, Techno-me had his hand stuck inside your head at the time.
Between Fifth, his evil twins and the bugs, we were a bit out-numbered.
Don't ya think?"
Sam nodded tearfully. "I just feel like I
should have known how to stop them from hurting you. You've always
depended on me to come up with a solution to an impossible situation, to
pull a rabbit out of the hat. I try so hard to not to let you down, but
this time I couldn't do anything, and I hate that." She pulled away from
his chest and leaned against his shoulder, craving the touch of Jack's
skin against hers.
"I'm scared Jack. And I hate myself for feeling this way. I'm
supposed to be tough, not bawling my eyes out like this."
"You think I don't feel the same way? That
I'm looking forward to handing ourselves over to Fifth and his tinker
toy twins?" Sam said nothing, just wiped the tears from her eyes and
shrugged. "Quite frankly, I'm scared shitless, but see no other
alternative.
That doesn't stop me from wishing that there was one though."
Jack's arm tightened around Sam's shoulder as
a shudder shook his body. "I'm scared too, and as for what that
Techno-bitch did to me . . ." His lips thinned into a deadly line. "I
want nothing more than to take that THING apart with my own two
hands."
Sam surprised them both when an incongruous giggle escaped her
lips.
Jack looked down at her in surprise. "No giggling, Carter."
"Sorry, Jack. I had this picture in my mind of you tearing apart my
evil twin . . . and I just couldn't help it. Bug parts were flying
everywhere." She giggled again and relaxed in his arms.
"Well, in that case, I'll excuse you. Just don't let it happen
again." Jack smiled into her hair. "We can't have giggling in the
ranks, now can we?" Sam sighed and then looked up at Jack.
"Sir? Shouldn't you get back to work on that thing?"
Jack's arm slipped from her shoulder as he
picked up the bug zapper on his lap. "You're right, as usual, Carter.
Time's a wasting and we've got some serious bug stomping ahead of
us."
***
Ernie sat in the briefing room and listened
to the strategy planning session. He alternated his attention from Thor
and the small view screen in front of him. On it were the figures of
Samantha Carter and Jack O'Neill.
Ernie watched with interest as Jack O'Neill
withdrew his arm from Samantha Carter's shoulder and picked up the bug
zapper. He was glad that he'd had the foresight to record every aspect
of his patient's treatment.
Their interactions would make an interesting
addition to his research into human mating rituals. Now he just had to
make sure that Jack O'Neill didn't discover what he was doing. Ernie
knew that if Jack O'Neill did, he was dead meat.
Thor tapped the surface of the table,
startling Ernie out of his thoughts. "My instruments detected the
presence of the radio signals and traced it back to its source. As the
transmission is two-way, it is highly probably that the Replicators' are
exchanging information with these implanted devices. Because of these
signals, we now know the location of the Replicators. Based on the
information I have gathered, I believe that their vessel will be within
transporter range within a matter of hours."
Thor looked at Ernie. "Eir, do you have any further information
concerning the physical well-being of O'Neill and Carter?"
"There are presently stable. However, as time
passes, and the masses increase in size, their conditions will
deteriorate. Therefore, I have placed devices on them in order to better
monitor their physical needs. Emotionally, they seem to have accepted
the fact that they will be recaptured by Fifth and are using their
strong bond of friendship as a way to cope."
Teal'c' clasped his hands together into a
single fist. "Their strong bond will enable them to face their coming
trials as warriors facing a common foe."
The Jaffa looked sternly at each face around
him. "From previous experience, we know that Fifth will be able to
access any memories from his captives by inserting his hand inside their
heads. Therefore, I believe that it would be in their best interests if
O'Neill and Colonel Carter are not privy to any plan we devise."
Colonel Dixon looked at Teal'c in disbelief.
"Let me get this straight. You said those bug people actually put their
hands inside your head?" He shuddered.
"Indeed. As improbable as it may sound, that
is exactly what they do. It was a most distasteful and . . . painful
experience. One that I would not willingly be subjected to again."
Teal'c eyes hardened and the muscles in his jaw rippled as his lips
compressed into a forbidding line. "O'Neill and Colonel Carter will need
to rely on their combined strength in order to prevail."
Thor nodded. "I agree with Teal'c's
assessment. O'Neill and Carter must not be aware of our intentions, as
Fifth will immediately access all their recent memories once he has them
within his control."
Ernie looked at the other humans sitting at
the table. Their faces looked grim and their eyes cold. Teal'c looked
deadly, like a black panther looking for its next meal.
"As much as I hate it, I have to agree with
you, Thor." Daniel Jackson shook his head and looked around the table.
"So what's the plan? How are we going to rescue Sam and Jack from Fifth
once he has them again?"
"With guile and cunning." Teal'c swept his eyes around the room, as
if daring anyone to dispute his verdict. None did.
Ernie sighed and nodded his agreement. "Yeah
sure yabetcha."
***
Tick.
'All was dark, no
light was needed. The Brethren were merged, as one, with no ending or
beginning. The alpha and the omega.'
Tock.
'Past and present had no meaning in the
merging. They were one and it was all.'
Tick.
'Memories . . . sifted and examined. Possibilities and
permutations . . . analyzed for viability and kept or rejected.'
Tock.
Time shifted
'Alarm. Fifth/Jay/Ess/Brethren/All examined the
change and mourned them who were/are/will be lost and could no longer
merge. More would/are/will be lost because of the destroyer. He, who
left us, betrayed us. O'Neill has the knowledge of the old ones.
Ancients? O'Neill would/did/will not share this. The blasphemy of
secrets was/is/will be repulsive.'
Tick.
'The destroyers come.'
The knowledge caused a disturbance in the merging, moving outward
like ripples in a pond. The Brethren groaned from within.
'More were/are/will be lost. The Destroyer must
cease to exist.'
Tock.
'What fools these Mortals were/are/will be.'
The Brethren sighed and shifted as they separated, regret and
longing in every movement.
Fifth smiled. "Let them come. We are ready."
Tick.
Tock.
Next
Original Header Information: