Chapter 9: Out of Mind, Part 1 & Into the Fire, Part 2

AN: So I remembered why I always used "XO" instead of a dash to break up the chapters and sections! Cuz on , the dashes disappear! Every. Time. And then my story looks like it was written by a crazy person. I'm jumping to the end of these two because I have another fic dedicated to the S/J moment in this episode: Of Snakes and Sunshine

Disclaimer: SG-1 isn't mine, etc.

XOXO

(Super quick summary from Stargate Wikipedia Page: O'Neill, Carter and Daniel awaken from stasis in what appears to be the SGC, almost 79 years in the future. They discover it is actually a Goa'uld hoax by Hathor. Meanwhile, Teal'c leaves the SGC to find SG-1. The SGC sends a rescue mission to Hathor's base to retrieve SG-1, and O'Neill kills Hathor. Using Tok'ra tunnels already present on the planet, SG-1 escapes and returns home.)

XOXO

Jack retreated to his on base room. Frasier had tried to keep him in the infirmary, but he had promised to go to his base room and stay there and sleep and do absolutely nothing strenuous whatsoever for the next twenty four hours. Which, normally would be fine, except he was slowly losing his damn mind in the darkness of his quarters. He tossed and turned in bed. He couldn't stop thinking of the ship, base, whatever the hell it had been. Those horrible moments. His team - dead. Seeing the guards, hearing them speak Gould. Finding Carter. Finding her. Alive. And naked. The trek through the corridors. Carter. That moment in the corridor when the recall device had activated and he'd pulled her back. She had clung to him. He had held her so tightly. Saving her from Hathor. Who had clung to whom. God frickin damnit. He seized his pillow and threw it across the room, knocking a painting off the wall. Oops.

Jack grunted and stood, clad only in his boxers and dog tags, sweat making him itch. He sighed and threw on his workout clothes and pulled on his sneakers. He snatched his door handle and jerked it open in frustration only to immediately cry out in surprise. Teal'c stood impassively before his door in parade rest.

"AH!" Jack exclaimed, clutching his chest. "Could you not... do- that!?"

Teal'c raised an eyebrow, clearly giving him a once over, taking in Jack's exercise attire.

"What?!" demanded Jack. He tried to stare down Teal'c, wondering if this would be a time that Teal'c helped him break doc's orders, or kept him on lockdown. "Listen, just don't tell the doc, okay?" Teal'c didn't say a word. "What? Listen, I gotta blow off some steam. I just- argh. Forget it."

Jack made to close the door and go back to his unsuccessful "rest", but Teal'c stepped aside without a word. Jack did a decent impression of Teal'c, raising his own eyebrow, but still the Jaffa didn't comment. He only fell into step alongside Jack who strode quickly and purposefully toward the stairs. Teal'c said nothing still as they made their way down to the gym.

"I promise I'm just gonna take an easy jog on the treadmill," Jack explained, feeling a need to explain, which was dumb. He wasn't usually one for words. "I just- couldn't sleep- it was too much. With- everything. I just needed to- argh. Never mind."

"You experienced a great deal of trauma, O'Neill," replied Teal'c softly as he paused and allowed Jack to pick their workout equipment. He did, indeed, make for the treadmills. "Believing yourself to be alone and forgotten, your teammates and everyone you knew, gone. The torture and implantation you suffered-"

"Ah!" Jack interrupted. He suddenly didn't want words anymore. He winced at the word 'implantation'. Not something he wanted to think about ever again. He turned on his machine and cranked it up to a five for his warm up. Teal'c bowed his head and followed suit. Jack cranked his machine up higher, and higher, increasing the difficulty, and the incline. He relished the burn in his muscles. Fatigue quickly began to pull at his muscles, though. Apparently, he wasn't twenty two anymore. He couldn't bounce back from torture as quickly. He didn't want to think about that. Not Iraq. Not Sarah. Not Charlie. Not- he tripped on the machine. He managed to yank the emergency cord on his way down, so he only rode the machine to its end where it slowed rapidly enough to thump him onto the floor. He heard Teal'c's machine slow too.

Jack hung his head as he gasped for air, feeling his eyes burn. He heard a door. He could only guess Teal'c had given the intruder his best Prime glare. Whoever it was beat a hasty retreat. Jack could feel Teal'c sit beside him on the end of his own treadmill. He didn't speak. Jack wiped the few tears from his eyes, even knowing Teal'c wouldn't say anything, or care. The guy was like a hundred years old; he had a much different view on a lot of things than Jack did. But it just wouldn't do for Jack's rep for rumors of him crying to spread on base. Exhaustion of every kind dragged on him; physically from the torture, mentally and emotionally from the trauma of losing his team, of finding them, of losing them again, of Carter almost dying- he sucked in a breath and looked up at Teal'c.

Teal'c was freaking meditating. Jack smiled despite himself. "Thanks, T," Jack said softly. Teal'c cracked an eye. Seeing Jack's smile, he nodded somberly in response. "I just... you were right. About all of it." Jack hesitated, knowing he could not say what he wanted most to say. "And thinking I had lost all of you. Everything. It- it sucked, T. It sucked big time." Jack felt a stubborn tear roll down his cheek and he nearly laughed. Exhaustion made his eyes feel like dirt and fatigue begged him to rest his weary muscles. His neck ached from where the snake had tried to- he shuddered.

Teal'c gently rested one of his enormous hands on Jack's shoulder, giving it a brief squeeze. "You should get some rest, O'Neill," Teal'c said softly. "Although, I believe the T.V. Guide said there is a Simpsons 'marathon' on channel 32 tonight, should rest elude you still."

Jack finally felt a real grin break out on his face. "That sounds pretty great, T, thanks," Jack replied, finally standing. "And thanks for-" Jack gestured around them. Teal'c, a very self satisfied smile on his face, bowed his head in reply. This guy. He always knew what Jack was saying, even when he didn't know himself.

They parted ways outside of Jack's door, Teal'c declining his offer to join in on a Simpsons marathon. Jack turned it on and let the show play out while taking a cold shower, thoughts running in a thousand directions. Frustration still plagued him over Carter. He could not notice she was a woman. She was his second in command and that position demanded respect. It was just so nice to have a woman around. They all valued her for that; her compassion, the love she showed for Teal'c and Daniel, the slightly insubordinate respect she gave him as her CO. He wished it could be more.

Jack hung his head as the cold water poured over him. Welp. He sighed heavily and shut off the water, wishing he could just go home and have beer. She deserved so much more than anything he had to offer. Still, every time he told a horrible joke and she laughed, it lifted his heart in ways he'd not felt in a long, long time. Oh boy, was he in trouble. Jack toweled off and dropped into bed without bothering to put on clothes and finally fell asleep some time later while The Simpsons played.