Temptation
By Shiaw Mei Mei
General Jack O’Neill drew a deep breath as he stepped out of the event horizon of the Stargate onto P3X-482 to face SG1. He missed going off world. This was a treat being able to join SG1 on this mission, not that the commander of SG1 looked happy about it. If anything, the look on Lt. Col. Samantha Carter’s face was as stoic as Teal’c’s. For Teal’c, that was a normal
“Colonel, how’s it going?” he greeted her cheerfully.
“Fine, sir. Thank you for coming.”
Jack tried to control the wince at her tone. It was never fine when a woman said fine. Oh, well, it’s not as if it was his fault that the natives refused to negotiate with a woman. They also refused to negotiate with Teal’c or Daniel once they realized that they worked for her. They wanted to deal directly with the man in charge. And that would be Jack. So, he had his excuse to sneak out of the SGC and through the Stargate once more. And even if it was a simple negotiation, he was grateful for the opportunity.
Jack was seriously unhappy with his decision to accept promotion and the position as head of the SGC. He knew it was the right decision but that didn’t mean he had to like it. His fifty-two year old body had been yelling at him for the constant abuse that he had put it through in the last seven years as head of SG1. He knew that eventually he would put his team in danger because of it. It’s not as if he hadn’t kept in shape over the years, but his knees and back could take only so much abuse. Working out only helped so far and then age took over.
Besides, it was Carter’s turn to lead. He wanted her to have that chance. He wanted it to be SG1 that she led. She earned the flagship team of the SGC and the only way to let her have it was to retire or take a promotion. He wasn’t ready for retirement, especially not now. Now that Carter had moved on with her life and the only thing left for him in retirement would be fishing in a lake that had no fish. Maybe if she hadn’t found someone else… maybe if she was still available.
His heart caught at the memory of the little black velvet box that she had showed him. He was surprised that he had been able to give it back to her without slamming it down on the desk. He could still hear his own voice calmly tell her that Pete could handle the dangers of her job, practically encouraging her to accept the proposal. He still didn’t know if she had. He hadn’t seen the ring since that night.
Jack swallowed hard against the rise of emotions that memory brought rushing into his mind. He took a deep breath and followed Carter as she led them to the villagers that refused to negotiate with a woman.
***
Lt. Col. Samantha Carter tried to control her ire at the villagers that had put her in this position. She had to maintain a calm appearance. General O’Neill was right behind her and although she knew that he had confidence in her ability to lead her team, she also knew that he was aware of her sentiments about cultures that looked down on women. She would remain calm. She kept repeating that over and over to herself as she led the way to the village.
***
“General O’Neill, this is Huang Liang, the leader of this village.” Sam’s voice was toneless as she turned to the villager to finish her introductions. “Huang Liang, this is General Jack O’Neill, our leader.”
Jack almost grimaced at the emphasis she put on the last word. She was definitely pissed. She stepped behind him and out of his line of sight after completing the introduction. It was where Daniel had very delicately said was her ‘place’ in this society. Instead, he smiled at the man in front of him. Daniel had told him that the natives were definitely of Chinese descent. The man in front of him was short but of a stocky, muscular build that indicated a powerful strength. He looked like someone that could probably inflict some serious damage in hand-to-hand fighting. He also wore a very sharp and dangerous looking sword that was long enough to cause damage at a serious distance.
“I am pleased to meet such an illustrious warrior,” Huang Liang said as the two very different looking men sized each other up.
“Likewise,” Jack said affably. “I hear that you want to talk about trade.”
“Yes. Your chyeh said that your people had many things to trade for the rocks that she wanted.”
Jack didn’t even want to know what that word meant. Jack thought he could feel his ‘chyeh’s’ eyes boring daggers between his shoulder blades. “Uh, well, yes, she is right about that. Those rocks are valuable to my people and we can help you with many things. Colonel Carter said that you have illness in your village that we may be able to help you out with.”
“Why do you send a woman to do men’s work? Do you have a shortage of warriors?” Huang Liang asked as he led them to a table in a nearby pavilion. He motioned for the men to sit. Jack watched as Sam moved to stand behind him.
“No, no shortage. Colonel Carter is a warrior. Our ways are, eh, different. Our women are allowed to do whatever work they want to do. The Colonel is very good at her job.” Jack was hoping to gain brownie points with that last statement. Maybe she’d be so kind as to stop the daggers.
Huang Liang snorted his skepticism. “Our women are wives, chyeh or servants. They have no other purpose.”
“Chyeh?” Jack asked, not really wanting the answer.
Daniel’s voice whispered the word he was afraid to hear. Or more correctly, afraid that Sam would hear. “Concubine…”
“Ah,” Jack said with a small smile. “Well, everybody has different ways. I’ve always thought it was best to concentrate on our similarities and not our differences. And one of our similarities is that we both have something that the other needs.”
“You are wise as well as a warrior.”
Jack beamed at being called wise. It helped to bolster him against the daggers that he knew were still pounding his back. “Well, I think the first thing we need to do is bring some of our doctors here to find out exactly what the problem is with your people. Once we have a diagnosis, we can start working on a cure.”
“Doctors?” Huang Liang’s tongue stumbled over the word.
“Healers, uh, yi jerh,” Daniel supplied.
“Ah, very well. What about the rocks that you want?”
“Hey, making sick people better is a priority. After that, we can talk about the rocks.”
Huang Liang looked rather surprised that they were more concerned for his people than the rocks they wanted but there was evident relief as well. “That is most gracious. Please, have your chyeh send for them.”
Daggers… He felt them again. “She’s not exactly…”
“Jack,” Daniel whispered. “Leave it alone.”
Jack hesitated. “Okay, I’ll have her go get them.”
Huang Liang motioned to one of the women that had been serving them food and drink. “Take them to guest rooms,” he said imperiously.
Jack could feel the daggers increase. He stood up and turned to Sam. Strangely enough, her look wasn’t as painful as he thought it would be. “Colonel, go fetch Dr. Carmichael and some of his staff.” He lowered his voice and added, “It might be a good idea to make sure the staff is, uh, male.” Okay, that look was painful but it was hidden from their host by his body. He tried to smile sympathetically but it didn’t help.
“Yes, sir, General,” was the only reply as she turned abruptly and headed back up the trail to the gate. Ouch, a ‘sir’ and his rank in one sentence. Jack shook his head as he watched her go. He felt that it was highly unfair that he was going to have to pay for a situation that wasn’t his fault.
***
Sam fumed all the way to the gate. She knew that it wasn’t the General’s fault but she felt like taking it out on him. She thought that after running into this several times before she would be used to it but she wasn’t. Every time they came across this kind of prejudice against women, she railed against the fate of the women knowing that, in most cases, there was nothing she could do about it.
She stormed through the event horizon with Teal’c close behind her. Daniel had stayed behind with the General. She hoped they had fun with all the testosterone running around that camp.
“Chyeh, my ass,” she mumbled as she handed her weapon to the SF that greeted her at the bottom of the ramp.
“Ma’am?” he asked, confused.
“Nothing, Sergeant,” she said brusquely as she stormed off to the infirmary.
Teal’c just shrugged at the poor man as he trotted to catch up to the irate Colonel. “Colonel Carter,” he said softly as he fell in beside her, his long legs easily keeping up with her irritated pace.
“Yes,” she said curtly.
“It is not General O’Neill’s fault that you were treated the way you were.”
Sam stopped and looked at her
“They may not look at their women as equals but they did not appear to mistreat them.”
“That’s not the point, Teal’c. They should have the right to do or be what they want. And concubines! That’s disgusting!”
“But not unusual from what I have read about the Chinese of this world. Since they have had no outside contact, they have maintained the only lifestyle that they know. Perhaps, by your example, you can make them understand that women can be warriors as well.”
Sam stopped dead in her tracks. She was smiling when she turned to face Teal’c. “When did you become so good at psychology? And I wasn’t acting like a very good example, was I? Pouting like a ten year old…”
Teal’c smiled one of his rare smiles. “I am much older than you and have observed human nature far longer than you have. I also have observed you for eight years. You are a good example for all of the people that we meet. Of course, O’Neill may need treatment for the sharp stares you were giving him.”
Sam laughed as she patted Teal’c’s arm and continued toward the infirmary. “Oh, he’ll live. It’s not the first time he’s had to survive my ‘sharp stares’!”
***
Sam went to her office to check her emails and messages while she waited for the med team to get their things together. She had three messages from Pete. She was supposed to be gone on this mission only over night. She should call him and let him know that it might last longer. She wasn’t sure she liked this ‘reporting in’ part of a relationship. She had been on her own for so long. There had not been anyone that she had to let know her whereabouts since Jonas Hanson and since she had been working at the Pentagon then, there hadn’t been much to report.
She sighed and pulled open the drawer that contained her engagement ring. She didn’t wear it on duty since she didn’t want anything to happen to it. She definitely didn’t wear it off world. She might lose it. On base, she could get it caught in whatever machine or gadget she was trying to work on. Of course, she wasn’t always working on something that required her hands stuck in machinery. A lot of the time, she was just working on her computer. But she still couldn’t bring herself to wear the ring on base.
She opened the black velvet box and looked at the ring that had changed her life so drastically. She was engaged to be married. The idea still surprised her. There were even times that she completely forgot about it. What did that mean about her feelings for Pete? Whenever it happened, she felt ashamed of herself. She had agreed to marry him and there were times that she forgot he existed. She knew that she couldn’t think about him twenty four seven but she found herself thinking less and less of wedding plans and more about work. She had barely gotten started trying to plan a wedding. Pete was getting into all the details that she couldn’t bring herself to think about.
Of course, there was nothing wrong with a long engagement. But then again, she wasn’t getting any younger. If she was serious about having children, she should start making plans for a wedding. Was she serious about having children? She sat staring at the ring, not realizing the time had flown away until Teal’c appeared in the doorway of her lab.
“Colonel Carter, the medical team is ready.”
Sam jumped and snapped the ring box closed. The sound brought back the memory of the General doing the same thing when she showed it to him. She shoved it back in the desk drawer and locked it.
“Sorry, Teal’c. I wasn’t paying attention.”
“We can go on ahead if you need more time.”
“No,” she shook her head as she started grabbing her things. “I don’t need more time.” She followed Teal’c out of the lab thinking that she should have at least stopped to call Pete. But she should only be gone for one more night. He would understand.
***
Dr. Carmichael was tired. He had been on duty since 0600 and he wasn’t accustomed to this much walking. He really needed to get in better shape. Working at the SGC could have some unusual requirements.
“Colonel,” he said to the rapidly moving woman in front of him. “Can we rest for a minute? My people are carrying a lot of equipment.”
Sam stopped and turned to look at the man. “Sorry, Doctor, I forget that most people don’t hike five or six k’s on a given day. We’ll take ten.”
The medical personnel started dropping their burdens and finding places to sit along the side of the trail.
“Colonel, do you know anything about the illness that the villagers have?” Dr. Carmichael was thinking about the little bit of information that they had been given.
“Other than what I already told you, a fever and a rash, nothing. They didn’t let me see anyone. They said that it spread quickly and all people that were infected were moved to a central location. Huang Liang did say that only people that had it before were able to treat the ones that were ill. So I would guess that once exposed you are immune to some degree.”
“Did he say whether it was fatal in any cases?”
“No, but he really didn’t want to talk to me. I am just a woman!” She snorted her disgust at the village leader.
“Well, more information would have been helpful, but I think that I have enough supplies to deal with anything we come across initially. It could just be the measles or chicken pox.”
Sam watched as the now agitated doctor paced back and forth on the trail. “I need to send someone back for some more supplies. If it is smallpox, there’s no cure. I’ll need I.V. fluids, antibiotics and a lot of acetaminophen, ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, and the like for fever. Shit… I’ll also need smallpox vaccines for all personnel that haven’t started to show symptoms. That includes the SGC personnel.”
“Uh, okay, Doctor. Calm down. The SGC personnel have only been here a couple of days and they haven’t had contact with anyone exhibiting symptoms. As I said, the natives isolate the people that show symptoms, so they have some idea of its communicability. Make a list of what you need.” Carter turned to Teal’c. “Teal’c, you’ll need to take one of the medics back to the gate. Which ever one can keep up with a fast pace.”
One of the medics, Harrison, spoke up then. “Ma’am, I’m a runner. I can make it back fast.”
“Okay, you’re chosen. Finish your list, Doctor, and let’s get moving.”
Sam nodded as she turned to Teal’c. “Get Sergeant Harriman to contact General Hammond. He should be able to get it expedited.”
***
Sam marched her wards into the village at a rapid pace. Dr. Carmichael was in a hurry now. The thought of dealing with an outbreak of smallpox had put a boost in his step that Sam had to admire. She knew that it was a tough march and the some of the medical personnel wasn’t in as good a shape as they needed to be for it.
Sam stopped a nearby woman to ask directions to where the General was. The woman pointed to a building in the middle of the village.
“Your nan ren is there, with his advisor. You are a most blessed chyeh. Your nan ren is most faithful to you. Why has he not made you one of his chee?”
“I don’t understand the meaning of some of your words,” Sam said softly. She didn’t want the doctor and the med team to hear the woman’s answer.
“Ah. I don’t know any other words for it.”
“What do you mean by ‘faithful’?” Sam asked quietly.
“Oh, our lord has offered him choice of his chyeh but he declined saying that he had no need of others. He said he was quite content with the one he had.”
Sam couldn’t help but grin at the woman’s words. She could just imagine Jack’s expression when he was offered a choice of women. She mused over the ‘quite content’ part though. They all thought that she was his chyeh.
“Thank you,” Sam said, toning down her grin before turning to the med team. “General O’Neill is over there. We should report in before we do anything else.”
Carmichael nodded and tiredly picked up his gear where he had dropped it. He fell into step next to Sam as they headed for the building.
“Colonel, I, eh, understand a little Chinese.”
“You do?” Sam asked in a flat tone.
“Eh, yeah. Nan ren means man, chyeh means,” he hesitated.
“I know what chyeh means,” Sam said abruptly.
“Oh, and, eh, chee means wife.”
Sam nodded slightly. “Well, Daniel said it was best to let them hang on to their assumptions about my relationship with the General. Since they look at women as property, he thought it was best if they thought that I belonged to someone.” Her voice was quiet as she filled the doctor in on the situation.
Carmichael just nodded as they approached the door. Sam wasn’t worried about any assumptions the doctor might have. She had spoken with him regarding her upcoming marriage because she wanted some answers to questions about her ability to have children. She still had the symbiote markers left behind from Jolinar’s implantation. She wanted to know if he thought there would be any problems getting pregnant.
Of course, the rest of the med team wouldn’t know that she was engaged. She hadn’t exactly yelled it from the rooftops. In a way, that bothered her. Most women that she knew that had been engaged did exactly that, showed off the ring, told anyone that would listen that they were getting married. Sam hadn’t. Daniel and Teal’c didn’t even know unless the General had told them. And she doubted that he would. Besides, the General didn’t know that she had said yes. They had never discussed it again after that night in her lab. The sound of the ring case snapping shut echoed in her memory.
The door opened abruptly, to reveal a strikingly beautiful woman, dressed in silky Oriental robes. She held it open for them to enter. Sam gave her a quick once over and wondered if this was one of the chyeh that had been offered to the General. She almost growled at the woman as she passed her. Sam stopped herself and forced a smile on her face. Why would that bother her so much? The General wasn’t hers to be jealous over.
Sam shook her head clear of those thoughts as she faced the General. He was seated at the head of a large table in the middle of the room with Daniel to his left. The décor was decidedly oriental. Elegant calligraphy adorned parchment wall hangings, finally embroidered silk tapestries hung in various places. There were several doors leading off the main room, presumably bedrooms. There were also several women, not as well dressed as the one that answered the door, serving food. The General looked a little uncomfortable at all the attention.
“Sir, Dr. Carmichael has a theory on the illness. He would like to see the patients as quickly as possible.”
“Theory, Doctor?” Jack asked as the doctor dropped his bags in the floor.
“Yes, sir,” he sighed. “I’m hoping it’s not what I think it is but the only way to eliminate it is to examine the infected.”
“What would that theory be?”
“Smallpox.”
Daniel paled visibly. Jack’s face grew very grim.
“There’s no cure for smallpox, is there?” Daniel asked.
“No, Dr. Jackson, there’s not. We’ve already sent someone back to arrange for vaccines to be flown into the SGC, just in case. But once infected, there is no cure. I would imagine that all of the SGC personnel have had a smallpox vaccine at least once in their life so there is probably no danger to them but I would still recommend boosters for those that come into contact with the sick. However, the villagers will need full-scale inoculations. Hopefully, the Center for Disease Control has enough to supply them with what they need.”
“Doctor, there are more people than just this village. According to our host, there are at least ten villages within a day’s travel of here. More that are further away. We may need to inoculate an entire planet.” Jack’s face was growing decidedly grimmer.
“Well, I need to examine the ones that are ill now to confirm the diagnosis. Colonel Carter’s description was from the natives and not direct examination so it may just be the measles or chicken pox. Either one is much simpler to treat and vaccinate.”
“Very well, Doctor.” Jack turned to the woman that had answered the door. “Xin-quin, would you please ask Huang Liang to join us? Or should we go to him?”
The woman gracefully bowed at Jack. “He would be most happy to join you. I will return quickly.” She backed her way to the door only turning to open it and exit.
The pleased smile disappeared off his face as he noticed Sam’s look. Ouch, the daggers were back. “So, Colonel… Ah, they have great Chinese food…”
Sam resisted the urge to smile at his feeble attempt to lighten her mood. She wanted to stay mad at someone and she figured he was the easiest target. She watched as the second smile slid off his face before she relented and smiled back. “Really,” she said as she slid into the seat on his right. “Maybe I’ll try some.”
Jack’s face lit back up again. He stopped a sigh of relief before it escaped. He didn’t get to be with his team much anymore and, in spite of the threat of disease, he wanted this outing to be as pleasant as possible.
Carmichael sat down next to Daniel and rested his head in his hands. There was a slight trembling showing in them before his head stilled them.
“Are you okay, Doctor?” Daniel asked.
Carmichael sighed before raising his head. “I don’t know. I haven’t had much experience with planet wide pandemics. I didn’t really sign on to the SGC for this sort of thing.”
Jack laughed slightly. “Doc, you have to expect the unexpected with this job. You’ll do all right. And if you need help, just tell me. I’ll have a team of specialists here as fast as I can. These people have an abundant supply of trinium and we need that. So anything we can do to help them, we will do.”
The conversation was cut short by the arrival of their host. He immediately escorted Dr. Carmichael and his team to the quarantined villagers.
***
Sam was a little miffed over the way that the local women fawned over the General and Daniel, especially the General. They acted as if he was some kind of king. It made her think about the mission to Maybourne’s world. Harry had a harem. The General didn’t give her a chance to give Harry a piece of her mind over that.
It never ceased to amaze her how presumably civilized, intelligent men could act like such little boys over women. The General was trying hard to be inconspicuous over all the attention but she could read him too well. He was in his own little piece of heaven at the moment. She’d let him enjoy it because she was going to give him hell about it later.
Even Pete was susceptible to it. She had forgiven him for his following her to the Osirus stakeout. He was a curious cop, a bad combination for her line of work. He finally admitted that he had her checked out by his FBI friend after she’d said yes to his marriage proposal. She didn’t want to forgive him for that but she’d already agreed to marry him. If she loved him enough to marry him, surely she should be able to forgive him for that. It was in his nature to investigate mysteries. Wasn’t it?
Sam’s line of thought was interrupted when Dr. Carmichael entered the room looking very upset. She guessed that his original fears had come true.
“General O’Neill, it is smallpox. The symptoms are quite conclusive. I will need more help, quickly, if we are to try to save as many as possible.”
Huang Liang was standing behind the doctor as he spoke. “This ‘smallpox’, you can cure it?”
The doctor turned to face the worried man. “No, I’m afraid not. We don’t have a cure but we can treat it so that those with it have a better chance of surviving. We also have a way to prevent it in people that don’t already have it.”
Huang Liang nodded slowly. “We will render you all assistance you require.”
Jack stood up and walked toward Huang Liang. His hand found the shorter man’s shoulder. “We will do everything we can,” he said quietly. He turned to Sam. “Colonel, get a list of everything the doctor needs and get back to the gate with it. Have them contact General Hammond and apprise him of the situation. Tell him that I consider this a priority mission.”
Sam stood quickly, leaving her unfinished meal on the table. “Yes, sir. Doctor, let’s make that list.”
Dr. Carmichael moved over to Sam as she pulled a pad out of her jacket pocket. Jack could hear their low voices talking urgently as he turned back to Huang Liang. “We’ll do everything we can.”
Huang Liang’s eyes shone with gratitude and something else. “My only son is ill. I have tried to steel my heart against his loss. If you can help him, anything you want is yours.”
Jack nodded. “I understand.” He swallowed hard against the memory of Charlie. “I lost my son… a long time ago.”
Huang Liang nodded with understanding. “Do you have other sons?”
“No, no other children.”
“Your chyeh appears quite healthy. Can she have no others?”
Jack saw Sam’s head snap up. She obviously had been listening to the conversation. He saw the sympathy mixed with something indefinable. “She wasn’t my son’s mother. And she has other obligations besides having children.”
***
Huang Liang saw the look that passed quickly between the man and his chyeh. A look of regret shadowed her eyes. He thought he understood. She wanted his children but she wasn’t allowed. Maybe that’s the way that their women warriors were. Maybe they weren’t allowed children. A tinge of admiration for the woman began to soften his prejudice against her. Their ways were different, yes, but the people weren’t that different.
***
Sam was maintaining a fast trot back to the gate. The doctor didn’t want anyone going back through the gate so Sam would have to radio the information. He wasn’t sure that the epidemic could be completely contained. He didn’t want to risk carrying the infection back through.
The list that Dr. Carmichael sent with her was long. Some of the things that he had mentioned on the way here, I.V. fluids, antibiotics, fever-reducing drugs, were already on their way. But there were at least 30 people in various stages of the illness. They would need much more than Teal’c and the medic would know to get. One of the villagers was accompanying her but since it was a man, he didn’t seem to feel the need to talk to her. She allowed her thoughts to block out the tiring run.
The look on Jack’s face when he mentioned Charlie hurt. She saw that same look that night in her lab when she showed him the ring, when she asked him what he would do if things had been different. She still didn’t know what his answer meant. He had left her lab immediately after that. Hell, she didn’t know what she was asking him! How the hell could she know what his answer meant?
In a way, she was asking what if he still had a family. What would he do? Then again, she wondered what he would do if she and he… She pushed those thoughts roughly out of her mind. There was no ‘she and he’. She had other obligations. She laughed sarcastically as her own thoughts mocked her with his words. She had Pete. She loved Pete but it wasn’t quite the same…
Her radio chattered in her ear, preventing her from finishing that traitorous thought. “Colonel Carter, come in. This is Teal’c.”
She slowed to a stop as she thumbed her mike. “This is Carter. Teal’c, we need more supplies. The doctor was correct. We are going to need more help and a lot more medicine.”
“Acknowledged. What do you need me to do?”
“I am on the way back to the gate with the list. Dial up the SGC so they can get started on it. After that, you need to continue to the village with the supplies and help you have. General O’Neill wants me to contact General Hammond so I’ll continue that direction.”
“Acknowledged.”
“Teal’c has returned with medicine and help. We’ll need more than what he was able to bring so we need to continue on to the Stargate,” she said to the villager while she waited for Teal’c to let her know when the gate was activated. He nodded his acknowledgement.
The villager just watched as she read the requirements into the mike. Once completed, she started out at a rapid pace once more.
***
Jack was helping bathe a fevered child in the makeshift infirmary when Teal’c showed up in the doorway. He had two SG teams with him and various medical personnel. “Come on in, folks. We need all the help we can get.”
The various bundles that they carried were taken over and deposited near the frazzled looking doctor. Jack continued to bathe the feverish boy that lay in the bed in front of him. He hadn’t broken out in the rash that comes with smallpox but that would be the next stage. He appeared to be around seven or eight. Dr. Carmichael said that his fever was near 104. Jack knew that was dangerously high. The doctor had given him some extra strength Tylenol to try to help with the fever. Jack kept trying to get the child to drink water to re-hydrate him but the boy was delirious. Jack didn’t even know his name.
“Let me get an IV started, sir,” a corpsman said softly over his shoulder. “It will help.”
Jack grimaced as he moved out of the way. He looked around the room for something else to do. Daniel was helping with another patient. Jack felt helpless in this type of situation. He knew enough field medicine to get by but this was... this was beyond his scope. He stood ineffectively in the middle of the room until he saw the doctor motioning him over.
“What can I do, Doc?”
“I hate to make you a clerk, sir, but we need someone to keep track of who has been given what type of medication. I also need to give you a smallpox vaccine. We had access to some at the hospital at the Academy. They had it in case of terrorist attack. I didn’t even know it was there.”
Jack nodded as he stripped off his fatigue jacket to allow the doctor access to his arm. He winced slightly as the needle punctured his skin. “Whatever I can do to help, Doc. I’m a little out of my league here.”
Carmichael nodded as he handed Jack a clipboard with paper. “Try to get names, if you can’t, a description of the patient.” He handed him a handful of plastic hospital bracelets. “Put these on each patient and keep track of the numbering. I have been leaving notes on the patients with each of their dosages; copy those notes to the charts. It’s very important to keep track of the treatment.”
Jack nodded as the doctor turned away abruptly to continue work on another patient. He saw Colonel Reynolds watching him, looking just as lost. “Colonel, I want you to take charge of the SG teams that aren’t helping in here. We need a perimeter set to keep the healthy away from here. I also want you to coordinate with Huang Liang to seek out the other villages that might be ill as well. We have a possible epidemic on our hands and we need containment.”
***
Huang Liang watched through the door as these strangers took charge of his people. They seemed very sure of what they were doing. He had been watching through the window as their leader had gently bathed his son. Huang Liang was afraid to enter the room and he was ashamed of that fear. His only son lay in there being treated by strangers while he was too afraid. He steeled his determination and started through the door.
“Whoa, Huang Liang, no! You haven’t been vaccinated yet. You don’t need to be in here!” Jack’s voice stopped his movement.
“Vaccinated?”
“Yeah, the medicine that the doctor told you about. It keeps you from getting sick. Once you have the shot, you can come in here but we don’t have enough of it right now. When we have more, you’ll be first to get one.”
Huang Liang nodded slightly and backed away from the door. Jack followed him out. “I know you want to be with your son but we are taking care of him. You getting sick won’t help him or us.”
Jack was careful not to touch the other man. The doctor had said that smallpox is not airborne, that it is carried through contact with infected people, or their bedding or clothing. “Look, I have to go back in now. Some of my people will be with you shortly to go over quarantine procedures. I also want to contact the other villages nearby, especially any that you have come into contact with in the last month. There may have been some that were infected or that got infected by being in contact with you.”
The shorter man nodded. “We will do as you ask, however, some of those villages are not friendly. They may have come into contact with us in battle.”
“Battle?” Jack lowered his head and sighed. One more thing to screw up this situation. “Okay, we’ll try to avoid those for now and just deal with the friendly ones. We don’t have enough people to try to approach a village that might not want us.”
“Agreed.”
“Let me get back in here. The doctor needs all the help he can get.”
Huang Liang returned to the window to watch as the great leader of these people went about doing work that should be relegated to a scribe or a woman. He shook his head in wonder. What kind of people were these?
***
Sam watched as the event horizon formed and people began to file through. She had a dozen more people, all volunteers and half of them women. She didn’t have much choice. The doctor needed help and she couldn’t find enough qualified people without including women. They had all been briefed about the customs of the people of 482.
Basically, the doctor had tons of chyeh… Sam snickered at the poor harried doctor having half a dozen wives foisted upon him without his knowledge. Oh, well, she had to live with the assumption that she was Jack’s concubine. The doctor would just have to suffer. Sam motioned for her ragtag team to move down the path and away from the Stargate.
***
Sam watched as Jack wandered around the makeshift hospital checking patients, making notes. He looked exhausted, haggard; his fatigue shirt was unbuttoned, hanging. She had only been gone for around five hours. He must have been in here the entire time. She motioned to one of the nurses that were waiting behind her. “Go relieve the General,” she said quietly. “The rest of you report to Dr. Carmichael,” she said a little louder to those behind her.
She moved inside the door and watched as the nurse spoke softly to the General. The relief on his face was evident as he peeled the latex gloves he was wearing off his hands. A slight smile crossed her face as she watched him scrub his face with his hands and then run his fingers through his hair. Her fingers itched to smooth his ruffled hair. His hair was so unruly and she loved it that way.
***
Jack looked up to see Sam standing near the door. The look on her face, her smile, it was almost tender but it disappeared as soon as he made eye contact. He couldn’t help but wonder what thoughts had put that gentle smile on her face.
“Colonel, glad you’re back,” he said as he walked up to her. “Did you get vaccinated?”
She just nodded in response to his question.
“Good,” he said, his tone indicating his exhaustion. “I need to sit down somewhere. Let’s go back to the guest rooms. I want to know what General Hammond said.”
“Yes, sir,” she said as she followed him out of the room.
***
Sam watched as Jack sat down at the table, his elbows on the table and his face in his hands. “So, what did George say?” he mumbled through his hands.
“He said he would do whatever it took to help. He called right before the team left the SGC to say that there was more vaccine on the way from the CDC in Atlanta. He was also rounding up medical personnel with the appropriate security clearances to assist. We brought tents to use as temporary quarters and additional hospital space. SG-11 is setting them up just beyond the existing quarantine area.”
“Good,” Jack sighed. “I’m not cut out to be a nurse. How do they deal with all that suffering all the time?” His voice was clearer since he had moved one hand to rub the back of his neck. “Man, my neck, my back, my knees, they’re killing me. There’s a big difference between hiking all day and standing around trying to keep track of sick people.”
Sam smiled at him, although he hadn’t looked up and couldn’t see it. She walked over behind his chair and hesitantly moved her hands to his neck. She felt him tense for a moment before he relaxed into the pressure of her hands. The muscles in his neck and shoulders were so tight it was no wonder he was hurting. She knew it was more than just standing all day. It was standing around watching people he couldn’t help, especially the children.
Her hands moved up the back of his neck, rubbing the tight muscles at the base of his skull. She kneaded there for a while before moving up the back of his head to massage his scalp. She let her hands enjoy the texture of his hair as her fingers applied pressure to his temples. His arms had fallen down by his side. His head was tilted back enough for her to see that his eyes were closed and his lips were slightly parted. The urge to run her finger down his cheek and across his lips was difficult to control. Instead, she continued gentle pressure as she moved back down to his neck.
Gently, trying not to startle him, she reached around to his unbuttoned fatigue shirt and pulled it slowly down his arms. She let it pool around his wrists, between him and the low backed chair, as she moved back to his shoulders, massaging the tense muscles through his t-shirt. She felt him sigh as he began to relax under her care. His body leaned forward slightly giving her better access to his upper back as she continued working the tight muscles.
Sam felt as if she was dreaming. She was touching Jack in a way that only happened in her dreams. A twinge of guilt caused her hands to falter briefly. She was just helping a friend. There was nothing sexual in what she was doing. He was in pain and she just wanted to make it go away. She wanted to help him, the way that friends helped each other. They were at least that…friends. Weren’t they? Her hands crept lower on his back, kneading his lower back and spine.
He pulled his hands free of his fatigue shirt and folded his arms on the table in front of him. His head slowly dropped on to his arms. She felt as well as heard the low moan that escaped his mouth as she put her weight behind her hands, pressing into his muscles. The sound sent tingles through her that had nothing to do with friendship. She felt as if she woke up, startled from a dream. She let her hands run up his back one more time before she stopped. The moment was lost in the sensuous sound of that low moan. The urge to hold him was too much. She had to move away from him.
Sam walked over to the fire and threw some more wood on it. The temperature in the room was dropping with the approaching darkness. She looked back over to see him with his head still on the table. She was afraid that he would fall asleep that way and all her work would be ruined.
“Sir, have you eaten?”
“No,” he said, so softly she almost didn’t hear him. “I’m not hungry, just tired.”
“Go lay down. You’ll just end up hurting more if you try to sleep like that. I’ll wake you if they need you.” She kept her face to the fire as she heard him move the chair away from the table and shuffle tiredly toward the bedroom. She hoped that the fire would conceal her flushed face.
***
Jack tried to glimpse her face before he turned toward the bedroom he had been assigned by their host. He didn’t know what had possessed her to give him a massage. He didn’t question her about it. He was too grateful for the relief from the aches and pain. All those nagging aches just reminded him why he had accepted the promotion. He was too old to deal with off-world missions. He felt a lump threaten to form in his throat. He was too old for a certain blonde Colonel, too.
He opened the door to the bedroom and then paused. He turned to see her watching him go. That tenderness was there again. It rapidly disappeared before he could try to decipher the meaning. “Thanks,” he said softly before entering the bedroom and shutting the door behind him.
With the door closed, he leaned his back against it with a sigh. Her hands were so… He closed his eyes, clenching his jaw against the things that he wanted to say to her. Contrary to what their hosts believed, she wasn’t his. She belonged to another man. But the feel of her hands caressing his head, massaging his neck, his shoulders… His eyes squeezed tightly shut against moisture that tried to find its way to the surface.
He needed to lie down. He was overly tired. He hadn’t slept well the night before. He never did when SG1 was off world, when Sam was off world. Now, his emotions were on the surface after watching those children suffer and then having Sam taking care of him that way. That way…so loving, so caring…
Jack let his head bang softly on the door before he headed over to the bed. He managed to get his boots off and stripped down to his boxers and t-shirt before he curled up under the thick blanket. Surprisingly, the turmoil in his mind couldn’t keep him from sleep but the touch of Sam’s hands followed him into his dreams.
***
Sam pulled Jack’s abandoned shirt from its place on the chair before she sat down. She held the shirt to her face and inhaled the scent of him. The smell of the man had never failed to elicit a response from her. Pine, musky sweat and coffee, these things all made her think of him. Her emotions were in complete turmoil. The feeling of Jack’s muscles under her hands remained vivid. Why had she done that? She shouldn’t be touching him like that! And that soft moan… The sound echoed in her mind. It had been all she could do to stop herself from wrapping her arms around him.
What about Pete? How could she feel like this when she was engaged? How could she be engaged when she still loved Jack? There…she had finally admitted it to herself. She still loved Jack. She loved Pete, too, but it wasn’t the same. Pete was a distraction. She enjoyed being with him, they had fun together, but the feeling she had for Jack was different. It was far deeper than anything she could ever feel for Pete. It was based on years of friendship, common experiences and a love that had developed over time. But Pete was something that Jack wasn’t. He was attainable.
Sam sighed as she buried her face in his shirt as she lowered her head to the table. She needed to talk to Pete. She had to give back the ring. Even if she could never have Jack, Pete wasn’t the answer.
***
Daniel and Teal’c entered the common room of Huang Liang’s house to find Sam asleep with her head on her arms on the table, a fatigue shirt cushioning her head. They looked at each other questioningly. They had been told that Jack had come back over here. The servants were on their way with the evening meal.
Daniel walked over to Sam and gently shook her shoulder. “Sam,” he said softly. “Wake up, Sam.”
He was startled to find her face tear stained as she looked up at him. She must have seen his surprise in his face because she immediately stood and rubbed her face with the heels of her hands.
“I must have fallen asleep.”
“Obviously,” Teal’c’s voice boomed behind Daniel. “You should go lie down. You cannot be getting sufficient rest at the table.”
“He’s right, Sam. Unless you are hungry. The natives are bringing in food.” Daniel watched as she shook her head. “Where’s Jack? We were told he came over here.”
Her head indicated the bedroom door. “He’s asleep,” she said.
Several native women bringing in food interrupted any further conversation. Huang Liang followed them in. “Where is O’Neill?” he asked.
Daniel nodded toward the door. “He’s asleep.”
“He should eat. He hasn’t eaten since early in the day. He was helping with the sick.” Huang Liang looked at Sam with a small smile. “You should wake him.”
Sam was obviously surprised at the smile, small though it was, and the fact that he had spoken to her directly without hesitation. She smiled back and nodded as she grabbed Jack’s fatigue shirt. Without thinking about it, she walked over to the bedroom door and with a slight knock, entered.
Daniel watched the subtle interplay between Huang Liang and Sam. The man evidently was softening his attitude toward Sam. It was good that these people understood that different people have different ways and could accept them.
***
Jack’s dreams were filled with Sam’s touch. Her hands on his neck, massaging his temples gently, shaking his shoulder…
Someone was shaking his shoulder. Jack turned over to find Sam looking down at him. “Sam? What’s up?” he asked softly. He sat up and rubbed his eyes.
“There’s food if you’re hungry.”
He took a deep breath and rubbed his face. “How long was I asleep?”
She checked her watch before answering. “A little more than an hour. How are you feeling?”
“Better, but still tired. But I am hungry and they do make fantastic Chinese food,” he smiled as he looked up at her. There was that look again. That tender, soft look…one he hadn’t seen on her face in a long time. Once again, it disappeared, but not as quickly as before.
He started to throw back the covers until he remembered that he had stripped down to his underwear. “Uh, I’ll be out in a minute…”
“Okay,” she said softly. She laid his fatigue shirt across the foot of the bed before she turned for the door. Jack watched her walk away with a quiet sigh. Something was different. He wondered what was going through her little genius brain.
***
Sam was helping the women set up the table. She figured it was expected of her but she was also grateful for something to keep her hands busy. She heard the door to the bedroom open behind her. She forced herself to continue with what she was doing and not look at him. It would be too obvious. She felt as if the change in her mood was palpable. She didn’t want to take a chance that he would notice.
She looked up to see Huang Liang watching her. He knew. Somehow, the stocky leader knew how Sam felt about Jack. But then, the man thought she was his lover so what would it matter. Sam smiled slightly at that thought and lowered her eyes to the task of setting the table.
Jack took the end of the table, opposite Huang Liang. Daniel was on Jack’s left with Teal’c next to Daniel. There was a conspicuous space to the right of Jack. Sam sighed softly as she moved to take the seat. She sat quietly toying with her food as the men discussed the situation with the neighboring villages.
Sam noticed Jack glancing at her several times. She just couldn’t contribute anything to the conversation. Her mind was in turmoil over her earlier actions. She should say something to him but she didn’t know what to say. She had to get her emotions under control. They would be here for at least three weeks according to Dr. Carmichael. He didn’t want anyone going back through the gate until there were no new signs of smallpox.
That brought her mind back to Pete. She needed to get a message back to him that she was delayed. She should have answered his messages while she had the chance. She could have just told him that she didn’t know when she would be back.
“Carter,” Jack’s voice cut through her thoughts.
“Sorry, sir,” she stammered. “You were saying?”
“I said, that since we can’t go back for at least three weeks, we need to send messages to families to let them know that this mission has been delayed. Any messages?”
“Uh, yes, sir, uh, no,” Sam shook her head slightly to try to clear it. It was as if he had read her thoughts.
She noticed the slightly confused look in his eyes. She knew that he was thinking of Pete. “No, sir,” she said softly as she lowered her eyes to her uneaten food. “No messages.” She couldn’t send a message through Jack. The real message she needed to send had to be delivered in person.
Sam listened as the conversation continued around her though she wasn’t really paying attention. She suddenly felt so tired. She had hiked nearly 30 klicks today. Add to the physical exhaustion, her realization that Pete wasn’t for her, her body just seemed to give out. She thought about excusing herself and finding her sleeping bag but she didn’t even know where she was supposed to bunk.
Jack’s voice interrupted her thoughts as if he had been reading them again. “Colonel, why don’t you turn in? You look as if you could use some sleep.”
His eyes were soft when she glanced up. She nodded slightly and glanced around at Huang Liang. “Where, sir?” she said quietly.
Jack bit his lower lip slightly before responding. “There,” he indicated his room with a slight nod of his head.
Sam was too tired to argue or even to consider the consequences of his suggestion. She stood up shakily and walked over to pick up her gear from the corner of the room. She felt as if all eyes were watching as she slipped through the door to Jack’s room and closed it behind her.
She looked around the room, her eyes pausing at the large bed. She couldn’t just curl up in his bed no matter what anyone thought about her status. She noticed a thick rug opposite the bed, the fireplace situated on the wall in between. One of the servants had stirred up the fire while they were eating and it looked comforting and warm. There was a door to a bathing area on the other side of the room. Sam pulled some clothes and her toiletries from her pack and went to clean up and change.
***
Jack wasn’t sure what he would find in his room but he made sure that his host didn’t see any hesitancy in his step as he entered it. Sam was in her sleeping bag in the floor opposite the bed with her back to it. He was afraid that would be her choice. He wanted her to take the bed. He knew she was exhausted after three trips to the gate in one day. She should have taken the bed and left him the floor.
He moved quietly as he got ready for bed. He lay close to the edge of the bed and watched the flames from the fire play off her hair. Even at a distance, her presence was enough to send tendrils of desire trailing through his body. Being this close made it even more intense. He knew that nothing would ever come of it but he longed for her as much now as he had four years ago when he first realized how much she meant to him.
Four years… Had it really been that long? What happened along the way? He had always hoped that some day the SGC wouldn’t need them anymore, that he could retire and have a life with her. But that some day wasn’t going to happen. She was engaged to another man. When had she decided to get a life? A pained smirk crossed his face as he remembered telling her once that she needed one.
Mumbling in her sleep, he watched as Sam rolled over on her back. The fire highlighted her lips as they moved slightly. His thoughts played over how soft they would feel against his. Twice, he had kissed those lips, once when she had been ‘touched’ and once in a time loop. His mind replayed that last kiss. Her hands had tightened on his head, her arms wrapped around him. She had been a willing participant, eagerly kissing him back once the initial shock of his actions had worn off. Then the loop reset.
He had been so lost in thought he didn’t notice that her eyes had opened. She…the look in her eyes, a look of sleepy longing. And it was gone. Her guard returned and closed off her eyes. Jack smiled half-heartedly before she turned back toward the wall. For a long time he just watched her sleep until his eyes refused to stay open. He took the vision of her in the firelight with him into his dreams.
***
Sam was awake but she was trying hard to feign sleep. She didn’t want him to know she was awake. The look on his face earlier had hurt. He still cared. She had thought… the last few years he had become distant. Their easy banter and comfortable teasing had disappeared. She took that to mean that he didn’t care about her the same way he had four years ago.
Her imaginary conversation with him on the Prometheus had somehow convinced her that her suspicions were true, that his feelings had changed. And that she was hanging on to a dream that wouldn’t happen but kept her safe from being hurt. By Jack or by others… When Pete showed up on her doorstep, she decided to take a chance. And now, look where it had gotten her. Engaged to a man that she didn’t love enough to marry and longing for a man she couldn’t have. She kept her breathing steady as a single tear managed to escape.
***
Nearly three weeks had gone by. The speed of that passing depended on who was telling the story. Sam felt as if it had been months. Every night she spent in Jack’s room lasted an eternity. Every day drug by as she was left with little to do. The infirmary was fully staffed and the number of patients had significantly decreased, so she wasn’t needed there. The natives still weren’t interested in working with a woman warrior so she really had nothing to do. She spent most of her time walking the perimeter of the village and the quarantine site and working out, hoping that she would wear herself out enough to sleep dreamlessly. It didn’t work.
She had dozed off and on last night as usual. She fell asleep only when her mind paused in its inane rants against life and fate to whatever god would listen. She would wake with a start as her brain delved into forbidden territories in her dreams. Over and over, she had visions of touching him, holding him, making love to him. His close proximity at night seemed to make the dreams more realistic, even attainable. She would wake, her body warm and damp with sweat, with wetness and an aching between her thighs.
Sometimes she would open her eyes only to find him watching her. He never said anything, never did anything. She wondered if he knew the thoughts that were running through her mind. Thoughts of getting up from her place near the fire and crawling into bed beside him. Thoughts of touching him in all the ways that ran through her dreams.
Most of the time she would turn her eyes away quickly but last night she couldn’t. Her eyes had locked with his. She had been sure that he could see the last vestiges of her dream as it dissipated into the night, visions of lips and tongues locked, naked limbs intertwined, bodies joined intimately. She had ached with unfulfilled desire. She had been so close to orgasm that the slightest pressure would finish it.