A Snowy Adventure

(Part 2)

Title: A Snowy Adventure (part 2)

Author: Suz W.

Feedback: Graciously accepted!

Spoilers: After Solitudes, and 1969 (episode tag)

Rating: PG-13

Category: S/J Friendship

Summary: Sam and Jack struggle to survive after a car accident.

Disclaimer: All publicity recognizable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret Productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended.

Copyright: The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. Copyrighted on November 4, 2003, by Suzanne R. Whitmarsh.

Author’s Notes: This story is the sequel to “A Snowy Adventure (part 1)”.

Dedication: For all those devoted to Sam and Jack! I hope the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday brings each of you great memories of family, friends, food, and fun. And may we all remember to give thanks for all we have!

The night air held an unforgiving, bitter cold, freezing the world it encompassed. Snow had begun to fall in heavy amounts, swirling madly with the wind that came whistling down from the mountaintops. All was quiet, as the surrounding towns and cities in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado slept peacefully. As the snow continued to fall, it covered the world in a blanket of renewed white, giving off a surreal peace as only it could give.

The forest itself was also quiet, except for the occasional call of an owl out on its nocturnal hunt for food. The Evergreen trees brushed softly in the wind, and a fox poked its way slowly through the forest floor, looking for a midnight snack. As it continued its search for the perfect morsel of food, the fox’s keen sense of smell picked up something it wasn’t familiar with. Always a curious but cautious creature, the red-haired fox padded its way through the snow, stopping at an enormous metal object that was lying motionless in the snow. Feeling brave, it inched closer to the object, its white-tipped nose twitching wildly. Suddenly, a slight movement inside of it startled the fox, forcing it to retreat quickly from the direction it had just come.

Jack’s truck was lying on its roof, crushed by the impact it had made with the ground. The wheels had stopped spinning, and were now still as snow began to accumulate on top of them. The windows were broken, blown out from the force of the hit. Glass lay shattered all around the truck, gleaming as it reflected the snow that was starting to cover it. Small amounts of steam escaped from the crumpled hood, evaporating quickly into the cold night air.

Utter blackness began changing into swirls of a dull gray, as Jack’s consciousness slowly began to register. He tried to move, but found himself restrained, reacting to a sharp, stabbing pain that went through his whole body. He found it hard to breathe as he tried to search his mind for the reasons as to why he was in such a state. Searching, reaching, trying to find any explanation. A deer; something about a deer. He kept going, his mind fingering it’s way through the shrouds of gray clouds that held the answers to his endless questions. And then suddenly, he remembered. An accident, the truck spinning wildly, crashing over the embankment.

‘Why can’t I move,’ Jack thought, his head hurting from trying to concentrate too much. He tried to move his right hand, but found that it held something. He squeezed harder, fingering the limp form of what felt like another hand in his.

‘Sam!’ he thought wildly, suddenly remembering grabbing her hand as the truck started to flip over. Trying to open his eyes, he squeezed again, hoping for any kind of response. Getting none, his adrenaline began to pump harder, forcing his eyes to open. He tried to focus, but found his vision blurred. As the seconds passed, his eyesight cleared up, and he found himself staring at the picture of an upside down steering wheel, and a crushed windshield. The roof of the truck was inches below him, his seatbelt having successfully held him in place, preventing his head from hitting the ground as the roof caved in under the weight of the truck. His chest hurt from the suspension of the seatbelt, but he was grateful it had kept him alive.

His vision restored, he turned his head carefully, searching through the darkness for her. At first, it was to dark to see anything, but then his eyes picked out Sam’s form, hanging lifelessly in her seatbelt. His heart began to race wildly as he tried to find out the extent of her injuries. He took in as deep of a breath as he could, hoping the cold air and his military training would revive him enough to keep the panic at bay. But it wasn’t working. He couldn’t handle not knowing. He cared for her too much.

“Sam! Sam! Can you hear me?” Jack’s voice only came in urgent whispers, but it’s echoes returned as loud vibrations to his ears. Not getting any response, he tried once more, his voice sounding even more desperate. “Carter! Wake up! You have to wake up!” Still not getting anything, he tried one more time, this time squeezing her hand as hard as he could. “Samantha, please, wake up!”

Without a response, the adrenaline coursing through his blood doubled, and he knew he had to get himself out of the restraints that held him. Not letting go of her hand, he lifted his other hand up, feeling along the curved shape of his body, as it was still strapped to the seat. Reaching into the outer pocket on his pants, he felt for his knife. After some difficulty, he managed to get it free from his pocket, the cold metal alerting his senses as it settled into his hand. Giving her hand a final squeeze, he gently let it go. Taking the knife in both hands, he opened it, and thought for a moment about the best place to start cutting. Finally deciding on the spot that wouldn’t send him straight down on his head, he twisted his hand enough to get the knife underneath the seatbelt and cut, his muscles responding in protest. After carefully cutting another section, he was able to release his legs, gently lowering his knees, hoping to avoid any glass or metal objects. Kneeling on the inside of the roof, he cut the strap restraining his chest, and a rush of air filled his lungs as they expanded with the release of the pressure.

Having finally freed himself, he found that he was now looking at the seat instead of the steering wheel. Reorienting himself, he immediately reached for Sam, feeling his way until he found her face. Her cheeks were cold as he traced his way down to her throat. Feeling for a pulse felt like endless seconds, afraid to even think of what he would do if he didn’t find her alive. Finally finding the carotid artery, he held his breath, hoping against hope for a pulse. When he found one, he let out a sigh of relief. It was weak, but steady. Her breathing came in short, strained breaths of air, and he knew that she was experiencing the same thing he had. Hoping that cutting the seatbelt restraint would revive her, he carefully cut her belt the same way he’d done his, and cradled her gently in his arms as he lowered her onto his lap.

Without much room to maneuver, he held her close as he called out her name once more. “Sam! It’s me, Jack! Open your eyes! Come on, I know you can do it!” As he talked to her, his hand ran up the side of her face to get a better grip. Suddenly, his fingers ran into a warm liquid that was pooled on the side of her temple. Knowing she must have hit her head, but not knowing how badly, he instincts took over. Trying to clear a path in the cab, he knew he had to get her out of there. Someplace, a cave, a hollow tree, anything, that would give them enough shelter in order for him to look over her injuries and hopefully get them through the night.

Kicking out the remaining glass in the small opening that use to be his driver’s side window, he slid himself out and reached back in, pulling Sam out gently. Careful to avoid the shattered glass that lay scattered about, he laid her in the snow long enough for him to stand up and get his bearings. His muscles ached in protest from the accident, but as he checked his reflexes and body for any injuries, he couldn’t see anything more than some cuts, and what he could feel as random bruises.

Looking around, his eyes fell on what was left of his truck. He must have been unconscious for at least 15 minutes, because the truck was now covered in a thin layer of snow, and was still accumulating it as the snow continued to fall heavily around them. In all directions, he saw nothing but darkness. Looking in the direction from which the truck had come, he quickly determined that going back up to the roadway was next to impossible. The embankment that they had traveled down was steeper than he’d originally thought, and that realization made him even more grateful that they were both still alive.

Bending down, he reached back inside his truck and pulled out a few blankets and a first aid kit that he always kept in the back seat of his truck. Luckily, when the truck had flipped over, the things he was looking for had put themselves in reach. Slinging one blanket over his shoulder, he laid the other one down on the ground. Picking Sam up as gently as he could, he laid her down on the blanket and wrapped her up as tight as he could get it. Taking one last look at their disaster, he nestled her into his chest as he picked her up, placing the first aid kit onto her stomach before doing so, knowing it’s impending importance.

With the adrenaline running on high, he carried her through the forest, making his way over fallen logs and rocks that were in his path. As he walked, he kept his eyes constantly searching for the first sign of shelter. Sam suddenly shivered in his arms, the first real movement she’d made since he’d freed her. Jack stopped and held his breath, hoping to see those blue eyes looking up at him. When he didn’t, he trudged forward with the same intensity, yet he felt some relief at finally feeling any type of response from her limp form.

After walking for what seemed like forever, Jack started feeling his strength leaving him, along with his hope. As he rounded the path he was on, he stopped short, and squinted his eyes, straining them in hopes that he wasn’t seeing things. His heart picked up a happy beat in the realization that they’d inadvertently stumbled across what appeared to be an abandoned cabin. He was so tired that he almost felt tears forming in his eyes as he approached their salvation. With the last of his effort and without hesitation, he kicked open the door, sending it flying into the cabin with a dull thud. As he made his way inside, it was evident that the place hadn’t been lived in for some time.

The one-room cabin consisted of nothing except a small fireplace, a broken bed, and a table that sat lazily in one corner of the room. As luck would have it, the broken bed frame still had a mattress on it. Jack laid Sam down carefully on the floor, and using what little light there was in the dark interior, he pulled the mattress off its frame and onto the floor, dragging it to where it would be close to the fireplace. He took his blanket and laid it out over the moldy mattress, and then carefully picked Sam up, and laid her down on top of it. Wanting nothing more than to just close his eyes, he knew he needed to get a fire going. Not seeing any immediate danger to her, he walked out of the cabin and began to collect pieces of wood that he could find to make a fire, never letting the cabin out of his sight.

Twenty minutes later, he had a fire going, and for the first time, could really see what Sam looked like. She had cuts and bruises the same as him, but the side of her head was bloodied from a large gash in it. She must have slammed her head into her window as the truck went over the guardrail. His heart ached to see her this way, wishing it had been him and not her. But self-pity took a backseat as he suddenly remembered how she had taken care of him when they had gotten stranded in Antarctica. She had refused to give up on him, fighting every step of the way to keep him alive, working for both of them to find a way home. And now it was his turn; he owed her that, and so much more.

Finding the basics of what he needed, he cleaned off her head wound as best he could and bandaged it. Not anything close to a doctor, he was satisfied with the job he’d done. And by the size of the bump that accompanied the gash, he was sure she had a concussion. Feeling helpless and not knowing what else he could do for her at that point, he rubbed his face with his hands. Exhaustion was overtaking him quickly, and knowing that it was still the middle of the night, he decided that it would be pointless to try and search for a way out now.

Looking down at Sam, he saw that she was still shivering in bursts of pent up energy. Like she had done for him, he laid down next to her on the mattress and pulled her close, wrapping them both in the blanket, and his arms around her as tightly as he could get them. Despite the fact that he was completely exhausted and very worried about her, he felt a strange peace fill him as he held her in his arms for survival. It was as if he’d held her his whole life, and it was the most natural thing in the world. Giving in to his heavy eyes, he drifted off to sleep with the realization that he was holding someone he never wanted to lose.

The morning sunlight streamed in heavily through the broken windowpanes, illuminating the room. Capturing Jack’s face, he groaned in protest as he opened his eyes and remembered where he was. His body was so sore he wasn’t sure he was going to be able to even lift his head. Glancing over at Sam, he saw that she was sweating profusely. Forcing his body to get up, he knelt down next to her and placed a hand on her forehead. She was hot to the touch, and obviously running a high fever. She moaned softly as she started moving her head from side to side.

“That’s it, Sam, come on, you can do it! Fight your way back! That’s an order!” When her thrashing only got worse, he knew he had to cool her down. Using his knife to cut a long piece of the blanket, he moved as fast as he could outside and gathered up as much of the snow as the strip of blanket could hold. Back inside, it didn’t take long for the snow to start to melt. He mopped her forehead with the cold cloth and stroked her hair at the same time, trying to calm her down. His touch seemed to do the trick, and she became quiet again, falling back into the dark recesses of her mind.

Not wanting to leave her, and knowing that he’d never find his way back to the truck without a few hours of endless circling, he wanted to kick himself for not searching harder at finding his cell phone. Undoubtedly, even if he could have found it, it most likely would have been damaged beyond use. One thing he was sure of was that when they didn’t show up for their meeting, Kinsey would be sure to let everyone know. For once, he was glad the man was such a jackass. Hope at being rescued was a real possibility. It wouldn’t take them long to figure out where the truck had gone off the road. And hopefully he would be able to hear them searching.

For the rest of the day, Jack worked to keep her fever at bay. He had managed to find some wild berries that were, he hoped, edible, and had found an old pot in the cabin that he used to cook down the snow into water. He had also fixed a homemade trap of sorts, crossing his fingers at the same time that it would capture something they could eat. He changed her dressing, checking the wound to make sure it wasn’t getting worse.

As evening took hold of their surroundings, Sam’s fever seemed to get worse, and in a delirious state, she started crying out. “Jack! Jack! Where are you?”

Rushing to her side, he placed a hand under her head and moved his thumb over her cheek, memorizing how remarkably soft it was. “Shhh. Sam, it’s okay, I’m right here. You’re going to be okay. Can you hear me?” Hoping in desperation, he waited for a response.

“We have to get back to the Gate! Back to our own time! Hurry!” Sam faded in and out of speech, obviously having memory flashes of their most recent mission that had sent them back to 1969. What he wouldn’t give to go back in time now and change what had happened almost a day ago. He felt responsible, wondering if he’d have steered differently, or had braked more lightly, would he have prevented this? He didn’t know, but the not knowing was going to haunt him for a long time, especially if she didn’t come out of this soon.

He continued to caress her cheek with his thumb, trying to calm her down, as he looked with concern onto the face of the woman he come to care so much about. When had it happened? How? And why did he allow himself to fall for someone who was within reach, yet off limits?

‘Hell! Get a grip, Jack!’ he thought to himself. ‘You don’t even know if she feels the same. And it doesn’t matter anyway. Nothing can come of it.’ He sighed heavily as his thoughts closed with this final, depressing realization.

As he continued to stare down at Sam, who was still sweating from the fever that she couldn’t seem to shake, her eyes suddenly opened. Wild and blue, she looked around, trying to focus on something of familiarity.

Jack’s heart jumped at the sight of those eyes he’d been longing to see, and he smiled down at her as she settled her gaze on him. “Hey there! I was beginning to think that you were going to sleep forever.”

Sam hesitated, and then gave him a smile. “What are you talking about? We just finished dinner! I haven’t been sleeping.”

Jack’s heart fell as he realized that she was still delusional, only this time, she was awake in her delusions. “Damn it, Carter! Snap out of it! We had an accident, remember? You hit your head. Don’t you remember?” Jack tried to calm himself down as he realized that she was giving him a look of confusion at his sudden change in tone.

After a moment of silence, Sam spoke. “Jack, I don’t know what you’re talking about! Now stop it! You’re beginning to scare me. Why don’t you just come to bed? I promise it’ll make you feel better!” She grinned up at him with her last statement.

Jack’s head snapped up at what she had just said, and he looked down at her in a state of shock. Not knowing how to respond to what she had just said, he continued to watch her as she lifted a hand to his face, cradling his cheek with a touch that was so soft, it almost didn’t feel real to him. His heart began to race as he realized that she was unknowingly trying to fulfill one of his wildest dreams.

‘Does this mean that she has feelings for me?’ Jack thought to himself, completely torn by what to do. ‘Hello, Jack, she’s delusional. She doesn’t know what she’s saying or doing. Don’t get your hopes up.’ His thoughts battled back and forth as she continued to smile up at him, a dreamy look in her eyes.

Trying to restrain himself to the best of his ability, he took his hand and wrapped it around hers, pulling her hand away from his cheek. “Sam, you don’t know what you’re doing, or talking about, for that matter. Why don’t you just go back to sleep?” Jack could hear that his voice was rough around the edges as he tried desperately to get control of his insides.

As he pushed her hand back down as gently as he could, she suddenly gripped it and pulled his hand down the rest of the way. “Do you need a little motivation?” she asked playfully.

“Sam, I don’t think…”

“Exactly, don’t think.” And with that, she reached up and placed her other hand around his neck, pulling him down to her. Without hesitation, her lips captured his, softly at first, and then with more intensity. Jack didn’t know what to do. His heart was pumping so hard that he thought his chest was going to explode. His body wanted so desperately to just give in, to really hold her, be with her. With his mind spinning wildly, he allowed himself a few precious seconds to enjoy the feeling that had washed over him like a tidal wave. Answering the intensity of her kiss, his lips moved over hers in a craving hunger, trying to mark in his memory what it felt like to have her kiss him like he was the only thing that mattered to her in the entire world.

Breaking apart for air, he breathlessly whispered her name. “Samantha.” Opening his eyes, he looked down at her face, inches away from his. Her blue eyes smiled up at him as they began to close. Her lips curved into a smile, and as she began to lose consciousness again, her head getting heavy against his hand that was still around his neck, she whispered his name. “Jack.”

For endless minutes, Jack just sat there watching her sleep, more peacefully than she had since contracting the fever. He was stunned; his body numb from not knowing what to think. Needing to work off his internal frustrations, he got up and walked outside. The early night air invaded his lungs in a cold rush, awakening his senses. He looked up at the sky, he eyes wandering over the constellations that were so apparent. Without the lights of the cities and towns, he could see almost all of them, each one sparkling down at him as if they were diamonds in the heavens, winking at him. The night sky had always brought him peace, but tonight, the usual effect it had on him wasn’t working.

‘What am I suppose to do?’ he asked himself, knowing full well the answers were not going to come easily. ‘It’s simple, Jack, just wait and see what happens when she gets better. Nothing can be decided now.’ The ever-present thought of regulations kept tugging at his mind, and he knew that as much as he wanted to ignore them, he couldn’t. But right now, he didn’t care. Sam had kissed him. Delusional or not, she did it, and he wasn’t the least bit sorry that she had. And fortunately for both of them, the fever took her back into a deep state of sleep. If it hadn’t, he didn’t want to think of what might have happened. Yet he began to think of what could have happened, and he knew that with the kiss she had just given him, he wouldn’t be sleeping peacefully anytime soon.

Morning revealed a new layer of snow on the ground. It sparkled in the sunlight of the early morning, dancing in tune to the birds as they sang from the trees. Jack woke up next to Sam and found that her color had returned, and that her fever had finally broken. Relief flooded his body at seeing her looking a little bit healthier. He got up slowly and walked over the to door to gather some more snow in the pot to melt for water. His stomach was in pain from how empty it was, complaining as it grumbled that berries weren’t going to suffice. And like fishing, his attempts at trapping an animal had failed. With a whole day past, he held out hope that they would be rescued soon. Search parties had to be looking by now, and if Sam could regain her strength, they could hike out together in search of civilization.

As he entered the cabin, he found Sam sitting up, holding her head gingerly as she tried to take in her surroundings. Looking in Jack’s direction, she smiled. “Hey, what happened? My body feels like it got run over by a truck.”

Jack quietly laughed at the irony in her statement. “Well, we kind of did. Do you remember the accident?”

Sam thought for a moment, as memory suddenly flashed across her face. Jack filled her in on how he had managed to miraculously find the abandoned cabin, and told her that she had contracted a high fever.

Sam, still trying to take everything in from the last day and a half, asked the question that Jack had been dreading. “Did I say or doing anything when I was so out of it?”

“You don’t remember?” Jack looked down at the ground as he said this, trying to hide his sudden disappointment.

“No, I’m sorry, I don’t. What did I say?” Sam looked questioningly at him for an answer.

Jack, taking a deep breath, looked up at her. “Well, I guess you could say that you….”

“Jack! Sam! Where are you?” Daniel’s voice broke the silence of their surroundings. Jack looked in the direction it had come, and knowing that it was more important right now to be found then discuss what she couldn’t remember, he turned around and opened the door. The search party was a few hundred feet up the hill, and Jack called out and flagged them down.

As the team of rescuers drew closer, Sam carefully got up and walked slowly over to where Jack was. As he looked at her, he smiled, but she could see a hidden sadness in his eyes. “Jack, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Nothing at all. I’m just glad to see that you managed to pull through. I’m really sorry for this whole mess I got us into. I just didn’t see the deer in time to…”

Sam placed a hand on his arm, stopping him. “Don’t try and blame yourself. You managed to keep us alive, and you saved my life. I can’t thank you enough for all you did.”

Jack smiled at her and shrugged. “Hey, what are friends for, right?”

Sam carefully watched him as he turned towards Daniel, who was quickly approaching, with Teal’c at his heals. She didn’t know what had happened, but something was different. And though their ordeal was coming to an end, she had a feeling that her quest for those answers was just beginning. But what she did know is that Jack had managed to save her once again. He was always there for her, always protecting her. And she found herself daring enough to secretly hope that one day, maybe he could be there for her in a way that only her dreams understood.

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