PART 13
�Carter, I�m coming in,� he said through the door.
As he opened the door, she turned on the light. He stopped.
�It�s okay, sir,� she said softly, �I�m okay.�
Entering the room cautiously, he asked, �Are you sure? Sounded like a pretty nasty dream.�
�Was,� she said, wiping the tears from her face, �I-I was . . . I-I shot him, sir. . . Right there . . . he-he r-raped m-me . . . He�d showered . . . I thought . . . He was going to k-kill me . . . I-I had to do it.�
It was all she could get out before the tears flowed in earnest. He watched as she tried desperately not to let out the sobs that were trying to escape. Each time one did, he winced at her gasp, knowing how much it had to hurt.
�Hey, hey,� he said, stepping forward to sit on the bed across from her, �Sam . . . hey, it�s okay. . . you were totally justified,� he grabbed her hand as he continued, �. . . I know you�re upset, but your ribs are already taking a beating . . . Do you need something for the pain?�
She looked up at him, the tears in her eyes. He almost gasped at the intensity of pain in her gaze. The wetness of her tears darkened her lashes, only contrasting the blue pain-filled eyes even more.
Suddenly, Jack wanted to kiss her. He wanted to take her in his arms and kiss all the pain, fear and anger away. He wanted to help her forget all the nasty things that had happened since the day they stepped onto Edora. His heart wanted all these things. His body wanted them even more. But his brain told him to get the hell away.
�Be right back,� he said hastily.
Without waiting for her answer, he listened to his head and hustled out the door, heading for the meds he�d left on the kitchen table.
Breathing a sigh of . . . what? . . . relief? . . . tension? . . . gratefulness? . . . he wasn�t sure what, he picked up the two bottles to read the instructions. One was a heavy duty pain killer that he�d personally used on more occasions than he wanted to admit. Good stuff. The other was a gentle sleep aid that Doctor Frasier said Sam could use if needed. Well, Sam needed sleep. She needed a deep, dreamless, restorative sleep. The two pills combined were meant to do that. Dumping a pill from each bottle, he stepped to the sink for some water and then headed back to the guest room.
It was dark. She had turned out the light in the brief time that he�d been gone. He could hear her soft breathing and recognized it as the breath of sleep. Letting his eyes adjust to the darkness, he stepped into the room and put the pills and water on the nightstand.
He stood and watched her sleep for a moment. Then, gently brushing the hair from her face, he kissed her forehead and quietly backed out of the room before he followed his desire to crawl in bed with her to comfort her.
�Sleep well, Sam,� he whispered, hoping his wish would aid in her sleep.
Sam found herself walking on a beautiful warm beach with Jack. The sand was white and yet cool under their bare feet. The stars, points of light in the night sky, were not places they had been or could go, but instead were strangely unfamiliar constellations she�d never seen. She realized that they were on a planet she�d never seen before.
She felt the cool water tickle her toes as she and Jack walked in silence, hand in hand. Mutually, and without a word, they decided to take a swim. They�d stripped to their bathing suits and laughed and giggled as they�d splashed each other. He took her in his arms and was just about to kiss her when Jack suddenly turned into Jake.
Seeing her look of fear, he pulled back and put his hands on her shoulders.
�What�s wrong Samantha? Afraid? If you�re not, you should be. You killed me. I�m going to haunt you the rest of your life!�
�Let go,� she whispered, �I�m not afraid of you! You are not real!�
He pushed her under the water. She came up spluttering and coughing, the pain in her sides increasing.
�Let me go, dammit!� she yelled, �Just leave me the fuck alone!�
This time, he pushed her down and held her there, oblivious to her struggle. She felt helpless. Sam could feel her lungs burning as she held her breath. She needed to breathe and soon. Finally, in a desperate attempt for air, she kicked and punched out, hoping to hurt him into letting her go. She never connected with his body, but she felt her head break the surface. She instinctively inhaled deeply and simultaneously felt three excruciatingly sharp jabs in her chest and screamed at the pain.
The scream lasted long enough to wake her up before the pain overwhelmed her. She still couldn�t breathe. She knew she had to breathe slowly to get air, but she really just wanted one big breath to clear the nightmare�s terror. Sam knew she needed to focus on something else. She needed to slow her breath so it didn�t hurt so much.
She turned the light back on and reached for the framed picture she�d placed beside the bed, the one she�d grabbed from her bedroom. It always calmed her. It made her feel loved and comforted. She brushed a finger lovingly over the glass covered faces of her SG-1 family.