Title: Meryshen Ahau
Author: Angel Leviathan
Season: 8, after 'Its Good to Be King'
Spoilers: Anything, everything.
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1, characters, concept, etc, aren't mine
Notes: Yes, I know, another fic to add to the unfinished ones I'm working on. Just humour me. Blame exams and the hours of studying Ancient Egypt. Title means 'Beloved of Eternity, Time' in Ancient Egyptian. AU if it has to be, Janet's alive.
"I didn't say I didn't trust you to fly this, Sir, I just said-"
"You said I could 'do with the practice'…"
"Exactly."
"Carter, to a guy, that means 'you're crap'."
Sam sighed and slouched in her chair, thinking about affecting a sulk, "Fine then, Sir, you want to know the truth?"
"I'm going to be offended aren't I?" Jack glanced sideways at her, losing concentration for a moment, wincing when the puddle jumper jerked awkwardly to the right.
She exhaled slowly, wondering whether she should admit she feared for her life, "With all due respect, Sir, you suck at this."
"I don't see you flying the Ancient ship," the General shot back, eyes narrowed as he tried to keep the ship in a straight line.
"Because I can't…"
"Ah yes, but I can…"
"Genetics, Sir, its all genetics. I've been let down," Sam tried a smile.
"Carter, if you really didn't want to come along on this trip-"
"Training," she corrected him.
"-Then why did you? I heard you arguing with Daniel as to who drew the short straw this time. I would've been fine on my own," he insisted, "Not that your company is unwelcome, you know, somebody clearly has to mock me…" he grinned.
Sam looked away for a moment, before she stared at her feet, "…Somebody had to make sure you came back safely…" she said quietly.
He frowned, "…You can't fly the ship…"
"And if something else went wrong, Sir? I'd rather be the one out here trying to solve the problems in vain than worry about somebody else trying to," she tried to change the subject, "Besides, if we lost you, who'd run the SGC with such…flippant grace," she joked.
"I never knew you cared," Jack offered her a half smile, toning it quickly down to an expression of concentration as he returning his attention to his flight path. With the awkward silence that ensued, he figured he could only make it worse, "…How's Pete?"
Sam shifted uncomfortably in her chair, "…Actually…I broke off the engagement…"
The ship lurched again, leaving her companion trying to make out that her statement had absolutely nothing to do with the sudden jolt. He coughed loudly, "…I, erm, I'm sorry, Carter. Thought we'd got you married off there."
She sighed softly, "…So did I…"
He tried to ignore than comment, along with the part of his mind that was wondering why exactly she'd left the guy. He never even named him in his mind, only aloud and when speaking to her, and even though he felt rather disgusted with himself for just thinking of him as 'the other guy' he was quite happy with that. Naming him meant he was there to stay. Though he supposed he would eventually have had to. That, or label him 'Carter's husband'. All that time. All those years of knowing there was something between them and never daring to admit it aloud beyond awkward phrases uttered under duress. What if he had admitted he was in love with her years ago? He had toyed with the idea of just packing everything in and giving it all up just for the chance of happiness. But then, where would that have left them? Or the galaxy? If he was honest, he couldn't even remember when exactly he had fallen in love with her. The feeling had been there so long it was as if it was an integral part of him. Jack decided to silence that section of his mind and concentrate on flying the damned ship that was determined to prove him an incapable pilot. At least, that was what he planned in the few moments before life decided to give him another kick in the head.
The console before him suddenly blazed brighter, making him blink rapidly in sudden pain, not liking the sudden whine he could hear in the background. If it wasn't in his head…
"What's going on?" Sam sat upright in her seat, leaning toward the console, as if she could do something about it.
"I don't know!" Jack snapped, jumping back as if burnt.
She glanced back, "…Oh shi-"
An ear piercing wail, bright light that overloaded his senses, and a loud noise that sounded suspiciously like an explosion was all he remembered when he woke up, blood caked on his temples, lying prone across the front consoles.
Jack twitched his toes and fingers, trying to make sure they were intact, before he decided to move. He glanced out of the front window in bemusement, ignoring the feeling of dread that overtook him, trying not to associate it with the smell of various burnt plastic materials. Couldn't be. He shook his head and at the same moment discovered Sam in an unconscious heap at the foot of her chair. He scrambled across to her, telling himself that the blood running from her head and mouth couldn't mean too much damage… "…Carter…?" he checked her pulse, "Sam…? Sam, wake up…come on, no time for games…wake up…" Jack started to panic, "…Come on, Sam…okay, okay, I admit it, I can't fly this thing properly, you win, wake up…"
She finally exhaled audibly, a slight smile gracing her features, "…No…you can't…Sir…"
Relief that she still lived warred for dominance with the panic he refused to show. He sat up to look outside again. Some nice yellow sand out there. Lots and lots of it… lots and lots and…well, lots.
A shame that, even if they'd crashed in the highly advanced ship, they wouldn't have survived…
An even greater shame that, even if they had plummeted to Earth from orbit…they would have hit the water…not a desert…