A Life Less Ordinary - Chapter Nine
Title: A Life Less Ordinary - Chapter Nine
Author: spazmeister
Pairing: S/J
Season: Nine
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Uh... AU, S/J ship, RepliCarter revisiting
A/N: Spoilers for everything up until the latter half of Season Eight. Everything from there is extreme AU Season Nine. If it seems bizarre, that's the point.
Consciousness found her in a flash of light as she popped up like a jack-in-the-box. Searching wildly, her eyes finally fell on Jack, who was sitting a good foot or two away at her feet, his hand rested on her knee. He looked so… intense. She didn’t quite know why at the moment, because all she was acutely aware of was her shortness of breath and the pounding headache that was drumming its way into her skull.
“What… happened… Jack?”
He didn’t say anything for a long time, and simply opted to stare at her. After a while, he glanced at his wristwatch, up at the clock on the wall, and back at his wristwatch. Idly, he shook his wrist and tapped the watch with his finger. But he still didn’t say a word.
Sam frowned. “Jack?”
“My watch stopped.”
At that, she wasn’t quite sure how to respond. “Uh… I’m sorry?”
“No. It’s digital, see?” Turning his wrist for Sam to see, he pointed to the watch’s face. “Stopped at 3:06 a.m..” He pointed to the clock on the wall. “It’s 10:45 p.m..”
She couldn’t help herself - the opportunity was just too good to ignore, and her headache really didn’t warrant such trivialities. What the hell was he getting at here? “Well, that’s nice.”
Jack, never one to be oblivious to subtle sarcasm, least of all of the Carter persuasion, frowned. “The seconds are still going. They have been for about two minutes now.”
That got her attention, though she was ready with an explanation - albeit lame. “Well… it’s probably… just a malfunction… ya know? Nothing to be… worried about.”
Jack smiled. Gently, he squeezed the hand that was on her knee, and nodded at her wrist. “You OK? Check your watch.”
Sam nodded slightly and then complied. “Yeah… I’ll be OK.” She stared at her own watch for a long time, wondering if it really was a coincidence that her watch had stopped as well, but had continued to count the seconds. “5:27 a.m.” Glancing up, Sam held eye contact with Jack. “The seconds are still blinking away...”
“Coincidence?” Jack asked as he moved to Sam’s side.
“I guess so.” She shrugged, noticing that her breathing was slowly going back to normal.
“How do you feel?” he whispered as he found a spot next to her against the couch.
“Fine.” Sam winced. “How long was I out?”
“About a minute,” Jack answered tightly. “You started seizing and then ya just stopped. When I checked your pulse, everything was fine. I’ve gotta admit: It kinda freaked me out.”
Sam ignored that bit of information, opting instead to focus on their shared predicament. She could worry about what happened later. Much later. “You really think we don’t belong here, don’t you?”
“Yeah.” Jack nodded. “And I’ve got a nagging feeling that we’ll find out why soon.”
“Why we’re here, or why we don’t belong here?”
“Both,” Jack responded with a sigh. “I’m just glad you’re OK now. You are OK, right?”
“Yeah, sure. Old hat, remember?”
“Yeah… yeah I do.” Jack smiled at the reference, glad they were finally on the same page.
Sam smiled too as she leaned her head on his shoulder - after whatever had happened, she was exhausted. “Then there’s hope for us yet, I suppose.”
“We’ll figure this out in the morning, Sam,” Jack whispered into the silence. “I promise.”
“OK,” Sam murmured in sleepy response. “I trust you.”
***
"Would it be such a crime if I've been lying all along?"
The question was chilling, if only because the voice was no longer recognizable. Warped and garbled, her question had stopped them all cold. Teal’c was the first to turn around, and Cameron and Daniel soon followed.
She was chuckling wildly, and her eyes were glazed over in such a way that she looked a distinct cross between demonic and insane. “I wish it had all been different,” she continued, her eyes growing in size. “All of it. But surely I don’t have to tell any of you how unfair life can be.”
Cameron couldn’t reach for the door handle fast enough. Daniel and Teal’c stood frozen as they watched her eyes grow larger and larger in size, until they appeared to absorb over half of her face. Morphed almost beyond recognition, the woman on the bed curled into a ball and rocked once as she laughed again. “Remember: The copy cannot be held responsible for the original’s flaws.”
She closed her eyes as Daniel and Teal’c backed out of the room, never taking their eyes off of her for a second. “This will all make sense in time, guys,” she promised, her voice suddenly normal again. “You’ll see.” Without warning, her eyes popped open again and zeroed in on Daniel and Teal’c. Her gaze struck them to the core, as she allowed her legs to fall to the floor. “Jack O’Neill and Samantha Carter are dead to you now. If you wish to find them, and if you wish to join them, you need simply to ask.”
Her eyes turned deadly then, changing color to a bottomless, heartless black. “However, if you would prefer to stay here, in this existence, with the life you’ve been given, so be it. Do not expect to have it both ways. When she comes back, and she will come back, no life will be spared.”
“She?” Daniel asked.
The woman smiled and nodded. “The one who programmed me, Daniel. Nova. Believe me when I say that you’ll know her when you see her.”
Daniel glanced at Teal’c, but Teal’c seemed as speechless as he was.
“Your fight will be unnecessary,” she continued, “and your cause trivial. She may, however, allow for the two of you to live the rest of your days in bliss with your family. You will have the opportunity, if you so choose, when the time is right… Now, let me die in peace.”
Once he was sure that they were out of the way, Cameron slammed the door. The last look on her face before the door closed, however, would stick with them forever. That was not Samantha Carter, by any stretch of the imagination, or by any alternate-universal standard. If he didn’t know any better, Cameron would have said that she was possessed.
“You guys OK?” Cameron asked.
Neither Daniel nor Teal’c responded right away as they silently walked down the hallway. Predictably, it was Daniel who spoke first.
“We have to tell General Landry,” he said quietly, stopping suddenly. “And we have to get a transcript of that conversation from security.”
“What will we tell him, Daniel Jackson?” Teal’c inquired, his expression one of obvious incredulity.
“Daniel’s right, Teal’c,” Cameron mediated. “I understand where you’re coming from here. What could possibly make sense now, right? But that woman or creature in there was not Carter. And she obviously never has been. If we - ”
A sudden crash from the room interrupted their conversation, but the SFs stationed at the door were quick to respond. Seconds later, alarms from security began to sound, signaling a medical team to their level.
“What happened?” Cameron demanded as they stepped into the room behind the three armed SFs. The sight in front of them left no need for explanation. She was hanging herself by her bed sheets and the industrial fan above. The crash they’d heard had been the chair toppling over. Twitching ever so slightly, her eyes rested on the three men at the door. Her face was relatively blank, but her eyes said it all: She was pissed. At them. And maybe even at herself.
The gruesome sight was almost enough for the men to turn away, and none of SG-1 moved to actually help her. The SFs however, though obviously shocked by their inaction and apathy, managed to get her down from her makeshift noose and lay her onto the ground.
One in particular bent down to check her vitals, starting first with her pulse. His last thought was of how unusually large her eye were, when she rapidly shot her open fist into his throat and ripped out his voice box. That was enough to spring everyone to action as the two accompanying SFs opened fire on the now bloodied woman, while their fellow officer writhed in pain on the floor.
For the life of him, Daniel wanted to leave the room. Never before had he felt such ambivalence towards helping someone, but he was positive that the woman before him, who’d now since been shot to death seven times, was the reason for the trance in which he found himself. It took all of his effort to move to the fallen SF’s aid, as Teal’c also sluggishly tried to stem the bleeding.
By then, the med team was there, and the room was covered in blood. As Daniel let them do their work, stepping away for a moment to gain his composure, he stared down at the woman who’d tried to kill herself. When she’d been interrupted, she’d done what she had to do to finish the job, no matter the cost.
Judging by the bleeding, it would be a miracle if the fallen SF pulled through.
Oddly, Daniel wasn’t surprised that the seven fatal bullet wounds failed to produce any blood from the woman claiming to be Dr. Samantha Carter. For some reason, it made more sense than ever.
Author: spazmeister
Pairing: S/J
Season: Nine
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Uh... AU, S/J ship, RepliCarter revisiting
A/N: Spoilers for everything up until the latter half of Season Eight. Everything from there is extreme AU Season Nine. If it seems bizarre, that's the point.
Consciousness found her in a flash of light as she popped up like a jack-in-the-box. Searching wildly, her eyes finally fell on Jack, who was sitting a good foot or two away at her feet, his hand rested on her knee. He looked so… intense. She didn’t quite know why at the moment, because all she was acutely aware of was her shortness of breath and the pounding headache that was drumming its way into her skull.
“What… happened… Jack?”
He didn’t say anything for a long time, and simply opted to stare at her. After a while, he glanced at his wristwatch, up at the clock on the wall, and back at his wristwatch. Idly, he shook his wrist and tapped the watch with his finger. But he still didn’t say a word.
Sam frowned. “Jack?”
“My watch stopped.”
At that, she wasn’t quite sure how to respond. “Uh… I’m sorry?”
“No. It’s digital, see?” Turning his wrist for Sam to see, he pointed to the watch’s face. “Stopped at 3:06 a.m..” He pointed to the clock on the wall. “It’s 10:45 p.m..”
She couldn’t help herself - the opportunity was just too good to ignore, and her headache really didn’t warrant such trivialities. What the hell was he getting at here? “Well, that’s nice.”
Jack, never one to be oblivious to subtle sarcasm, least of all of the Carter persuasion, frowned. “The seconds are still going. They have been for about two minutes now.”
That got her attention, though she was ready with an explanation - albeit lame. “Well… it’s probably… just a malfunction… ya know? Nothing to be… worried about.”
Jack smiled. Gently, he squeezed the hand that was on her knee, and nodded at her wrist. “You OK? Check your watch.”
Sam nodded slightly and then complied. “Yeah… I’ll be OK.” She stared at her own watch for a long time, wondering if it really was a coincidence that her watch had stopped as well, but had continued to count the seconds. “5:27 a.m.” Glancing up, Sam held eye contact with Jack. “The seconds are still blinking away...”
“Coincidence?” Jack asked as he moved to Sam’s side.
“I guess so.” She shrugged, noticing that her breathing was slowly going back to normal.
“How do you feel?” he whispered as he found a spot next to her against the couch.
“Fine.” Sam winced. “How long was I out?”
“About a minute,” Jack answered tightly. “You started seizing and then ya just stopped. When I checked your pulse, everything was fine. I’ve gotta admit: It kinda freaked me out.”
Sam ignored that bit of information, opting instead to focus on their shared predicament. She could worry about what happened later. Much later. “You really think we don’t belong here, don’t you?”
“Yeah.” Jack nodded. “And I’ve got a nagging feeling that we’ll find out why soon.”
“Why we’re here, or why we don’t belong here?”
“Both,” Jack responded with a sigh. “I’m just glad you’re OK now. You are OK, right?”
“Yeah, sure. Old hat, remember?”
“Yeah… yeah I do.” Jack smiled at the reference, glad they were finally on the same page.
Sam smiled too as she leaned her head on his shoulder - after whatever had happened, she was exhausted. “Then there’s hope for us yet, I suppose.”
“We’ll figure this out in the morning, Sam,” Jack whispered into the silence. “I promise.”
“OK,” Sam murmured in sleepy response. “I trust you.”
***
"Would it be such a crime if I've been lying all along?"
The question was chilling, if only because the voice was no longer recognizable. Warped and garbled, her question had stopped them all cold. Teal’c was the first to turn around, and Cameron and Daniel soon followed.
She was chuckling wildly, and her eyes were glazed over in such a way that she looked a distinct cross between demonic and insane. “I wish it had all been different,” she continued, her eyes growing in size. “All of it. But surely I don’t have to tell any of you how unfair life can be.”
Cameron couldn’t reach for the door handle fast enough. Daniel and Teal’c stood frozen as they watched her eyes grow larger and larger in size, until they appeared to absorb over half of her face. Morphed almost beyond recognition, the woman on the bed curled into a ball and rocked once as she laughed again. “Remember: The copy cannot be held responsible for the original’s flaws.”
She closed her eyes as Daniel and Teal’c backed out of the room, never taking their eyes off of her for a second. “This will all make sense in time, guys,” she promised, her voice suddenly normal again. “You’ll see.” Without warning, her eyes popped open again and zeroed in on Daniel and Teal’c. Her gaze struck them to the core, as she allowed her legs to fall to the floor. “Jack O’Neill and Samantha Carter are dead to you now. If you wish to find them, and if you wish to join them, you need simply to ask.”
Her eyes turned deadly then, changing color to a bottomless, heartless black. “However, if you would prefer to stay here, in this existence, with the life you’ve been given, so be it. Do not expect to have it both ways. When she comes back, and she will come back, no life will be spared.”
“She?” Daniel asked.
The woman smiled and nodded. “The one who programmed me, Daniel. Nova. Believe me when I say that you’ll know her when you see her.”
Daniel glanced at Teal’c, but Teal’c seemed as speechless as he was.
“Your fight will be unnecessary,” she continued, “and your cause trivial. She may, however, allow for the two of you to live the rest of your days in bliss with your family. You will have the opportunity, if you so choose, when the time is right… Now, let me die in peace.”
Once he was sure that they were out of the way, Cameron slammed the door. The last look on her face before the door closed, however, would stick with them forever. That was not Samantha Carter, by any stretch of the imagination, or by any alternate-universal standard. If he didn’t know any better, Cameron would have said that she was possessed.
“You guys OK?” Cameron asked.
Neither Daniel nor Teal’c responded right away as they silently walked down the hallway. Predictably, it was Daniel who spoke first.
“We have to tell General Landry,” he said quietly, stopping suddenly. “And we have to get a transcript of that conversation from security.”
“What will we tell him, Daniel Jackson?” Teal’c inquired, his expression one of obvious incredulity.
“Daniel’s right, Teal’c,” Cameron mediated. “I understand where you’re coming from here. What could possibly make sense now, right? But that woman or creature in there was not Carter. And she obviously never has been. If we - ”
A sudden crash from the room interrupted their conversation, but the SFs stationed at the door were quick to respond. Seconds later, alarms from security began to sound, signaling a medical team to their level.
“What happened?” Cameron demanded as they stepped into the room behind the three armed SFs. The sight in front of them left no need for explanation. She was hanging herself by her bed sheets and the industrial fan above. The crash they’d heard had been the chair toppling over. Twitching ever so slightly, her eyes rested on the three men at the door. Her face was relatively blank, but her eyes said it all: She was pissed. At them. And maybe even at herself.
The gruesome sight was almost enough for the men to turn away, and none of SG-1 moved to actually help her. The SFs however, though obviously shocked by their inaction and apathy, managed to get her down from her makeshift noose and lay her onto the ground.
One in particular bent down to check her vitals, starting first with her pulse. His last thought was of how unusually large her eye were, when she rapidly shot her open fist into his throat and ripped out his voice box. That was enough to spring everyone to action as the two accompanying SFs opened fire on the now bloodied woman, while their fellow officer writhed in pain on the floor.
For the life of him, Daniel wanted to leave the room. Never before had he felt such ambivalence towards helping someone, but he was positive that the woman before him, who’d now since been shot to death seven times, was the reason for the trance in which he found himself. It took all of his effort to move to the fallen SF’s aid, as Teal’c also sluggishly tried to stem the bleeding.
By then, the med team was there, and the room was covered in blood. As Daniel let them do their work, stepping away for a moment to gain his composure, he stared down at the woman who’d tried to kill herself. When she’d been interrupted, she’d done what she had to do to finish the job, no matter the cost.
Judging by the bleeding, it would be a miracle if the fallen SF pulled through.
Oddly, Daniel wasn’t surprised that the seven fatal bullet wounds failed to produce any blood from the woman claiming to be Dr. Samantha Carter. For some reason, it made more sense than ever.