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8 Days of SG1 Valentines - Day 2

Most quiet need

by Anne Rose

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Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Death Knell
Summary: S/J, Reflections on their relationship at the end of Death Knell. (6k)
Archive: I would be honored if you want to link to my stories. Please let me know where so I can visit. I prefer to keep the copies on my site since I tend to update, modify, and make corrections without warning.
Author's Note: Thanks to Hubby, Jade, and Spiletta42 for beta reading this. Written for 8 Days of SG1 Valentines © February 14, 2004.
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters belong to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. No infringement intended.

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~*~*~
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
~*~*~

Sam crumpled against the rocks she'd used as a shield and stared at nothing in particular. Teal'c stood over the dead drone, watching for signs of life, or re-animation. Jack kept the new weapon trained on it.

She'd watched her life flash before her eyes for the umpteenth time when the drone had stood over her. A rocket blast to the chest hadn't stopped it, and all she had had was the power pack to the prototype weapon. Her dad had the gun, and they'd been separated hours earlier -- or was it days?

No, she hadn't slept, it was only hours. Hours of being stalked over rough terrain, up and down hills, bleeding and limping the whole way. And then, just when it was all about to end, he was there, holding out his hand to her.

She'd handed him the power pack before he could even ask.

Jack had killed the drone, saving her life, and now all she wanted was to....

She shook her head and her eyes glistened. What she wanted and needed most, she couldn't have. They had faced death together so many times she'd actually lost count. And each time they brushed it off as part of the job.

She was just so tired.

Jack was saying something. He wanted her to move.

She wanted to cry from the frustration and relief. Instead she said she needed a minute.

Jack looked at her as if not sure what to do. Then his expression crystallized. "Come here."

Before she realized what was happening he put his arm around her and pulled her against him. The other hand rested on his thigh in a tight fist, as if he was forcing it to remain still.

She should have resisted. Should have told him she was fine. She was a major after all and Jack never hugged Teal'c or Daniel after a 'hard day at the office'.

Those thoughts raced through her head as she sunk into his body and sighed.

Neither said a word. It wasn't the sort of thing they could express in words - only in deeds. When you care enough to send the very best, the card commercials say. For them there were no cards. Caring meant mounting a rescue mission, getting shot at, sharing the last of your water. Flowers seemed so passé after offering to have your brain dissected to save the one you....

She shifted slightly, starting to pull away, but Jack pulled her closer. She looked up at him.

His face was grim and closed, and he winced as he looked at her. He brought a finger up to trace gingerly along the gash on the side of her face, and he frowned.

"Don't get me wrong. I appreciate you killing the drone. But won't the rest of the rescue party be here soon?" she asked.

"I don't know what you mean, Carter." He gave her a half-smile and wrapped his other arm around her.

"Me either, Sir." She snuggled the uninjured side of her face into his chest and brought her left hand up to rest on his chest.

The rest was unsaid, but *this* was what was saving her life, his arms around her. When she'd reached the end of her endurance, there he was. For a moment she wondered if this was more of the hallucinations she'd had a few weeks earlier on the Prometheus.

No, this hurt way too much. The gashes on the side of her face and down her thigh stung even when she didn't move. After running for her life, she was surprised that she hadn't bled to death.

But she hadn't. She couldn't. If the power supply fell into Anubis' hands there would be no way to stop his super soldiers.

She groaned again as some previously unnoticed wound made its presence felt. She wasn't sure when or how she'd damaged her side but it ached now. If only she could keep it from moving, keep everything from moving, and just rest...just for a minute...

Her head drooped and her full weight settled against Jack.

He noticed her breathing evening out and slowing as she sunk into him. His heart was filled with so many conflicting emotions. She had almost died - wasn't out of the woods yet literally or figuratively. She was accepting his comfort, but there was still Pete. She hadn't mentioned him in the last week since he left the mountain, and of course, Jack hadn't asked.

Teal'c was still "guarding" the dead super soldier. He had been an ally for Jack in more than just the conflict with the Goa'uld. They had all been through so much together that to call them a team was such an understatement.

"Teal'c, I think Carter's ready to be moved. Gonna need a little help over here."

He heard Teal'c scramble around the rocks and then stop to survey the situation. "Is Major Carter unconscious?"

Jack looked at the sleeping woman in his arms. "No, I think she just needed some rest. Give me a hand here."

"Shall I take the weapon so you can carry her?" Teal'c held out his hand.

Jack thought about it for a moment. It would be wiser to have Teal'c carry her...he was stronger after all. "You may have to take her when we get to the gate." He looked down at Carter, and then back to Teal'c's eyes. "My knees, you know?"

"Indeed." Teal'c felt for his friend and not for the pain in his knees. He'd been present in "the room" when each had been forced to confess a deeper level of feeling than regulations allowed. Not that he couldn't have figured it out on his own, it was obvious enough to anyone spending time with them.

Jack lifted Sam and began carrying her back to the gate. Teal'c radioed ahead for assistance. General Hammond and Jacob were overjoyed to hear that Sam was alive, the drone dead, and they had the prototype.

They'd saved the world again.

It really shouldn't get old.

But somehow looking down at the sleeping woman in his arms, none of the rest mattered as much as it probably should.

~*~*~ THE END ~*~*~

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8 Days of J/C Valentines - A writing project from JCFicHaven and Jadie's Nexus.