SG-1 ficlet: Now the Sun has Come to Earth
Title: Now the Sun has Come to Earth
Characters: Sam Carter, Teal'c
Rating/Warning: PG, apocadeathfic (but not really dark)
Word Count: 793
Author's Note: This image popped into my head months ago during surreallis's pornocopia and finally turned into words today. Thanks to beanpot for giving it a look and aurora_novarum for helping me poke at a line of Teal'c dialogue.
It seems appropriate that Teal'c, who has always been the stable force beside her as everyone else slipped in and out of her life, is here with her now, at the end.
The sand is wet and cold between her toes, but she doesn't let the chill bother her. It will be gone soon enough. Teal'c is warmth pressed against her side and surrounding her hand as they watch the waves chase each other to shore. "Tell me we're doing the right thing," Sam whispers, shivering as an evening breeze brushes uneven strands of hair against the back of her neck.
"You know that we have no other choice," he reminds her, but his assuredness doesn't ease the clenching in her gut. This is the kind of decision Daniel could make with a swift look at the situation and a crazy plan he has complete confidence in. Or a decision Colonel O'Neill could have made, looking at the cold, hard reality and deciding what had to be done. It is the sort of permanent decision Sam has never liked, the kind she wants to second-guess and re-analyze and change fluidly until someone forces her to lock in.
It has been years in coming - a slow resistance chipping away, plotting, planting, infiltrating, and carefully piecing together all the elements to a puzzle so intricate she can only picture it when she closes her eyes and breathes slowly. They've had too many losses, too many hurried memorial services on the side of a road, running from what was past or toward what is next. Occasionally they even had a body to bury. And finally, the last piece is set and all that remains is Sam and Teal'c and millions of nameless souls who hadn't been prepared when aliens fell from the sky and don't know the fast ebbing of their final hour.
At the crinkle of mylar Sam looks down to find a Hershey bar in Teal'c's hand - the kind that she used to finish in three bites, but usually never bothered with - sub-par chocolate not worth the extra calories. "Where did you...?" she starts to ask, but Teal'c raises an eyebrow and she watches quietly as he uses a thumbnail to separate the wrapper at the seams.
In front of them the ocean is swallowing up a red sun inch by inch and the light turning the waves into blood feels like a judgment on what they are about to do. They can only hope that the sacrifice of Earth is enough to save the galaxy.
"I never wanted to play god," Sam says, watching the bright glow of Venus appear overhead, soon to be followed by stars she will never see again. She reaches a finger to it, blocking out an entire planet with the tip of her nail. "I just wanted to see the universe. I never wanted the responsibility of so many lives around my neck."
"And yet, you have shouldered the responsibility admirably," Teal'c tells her.
Sam releases his hand and steps out until the waves kiss her toes, slowly eroding away the sand beneath her feet. At a cold gust of wind she wraps her arms around herself. She wants to ask Teal'c if he believes in an afterlife, if any god that does exist would judge them mercifully for what they are about to do, for the chain reaction they've set that is much too late to stop, for the balancing of importance and choosing the weight of the galaxy over the weight of a planet. She isn't sure she can stand to hear any answer he may give.
As the last sliver of sun disappears beyond the horizon Teal'c steps up and slips a piece of chocolate into her mouth. The pad of his finger drags against her chapped skin as he pulls it out and then reaches down to once again enclose her hand in his own. He squeezes her fingers and she leans against him, letting the sweetness melt slowly on her tongue, absorbing the last moments of heat and connection.
The flash behind them illuminates the sand around Sam's toes brighter than daylight, every facet of quartz reflecting light in myriad directions. She holds tight to Teal'c's hand and tries not to flinch at the concussive rumble that slowly grows. It has all been calculated to the last decimal, every charge carefully set with enough power to make sure the Earth implodes in on itself with no time for any ships to escape the gravity well being formed.
Teal'c at her side, Sam closes her eyes, lets the last speck of chocolate dissolve, and takes a step forward so the water tugs at her ankles. They don't look back.
Characters: Sam Carter, Teal'c
Rating/Warning: PG, apocadeathfic (but not really dark)
Word Count: 793
Author's Note: This image popped into my head months ago during surreallis's pornocopia and finally turned into words today. Thanks to beanpot for giving it a look and aurora_novarum for helping me poke at a line of Teal'c dialogue.
It seems appropriate that Teal'c, who has always been the stable force beside her as everyone else slipped in and out of her life, is here with her now, at the end.
The sand is wet and cold between her toes, but she doesn't let the chill bother her. It will be gone soon enough. Teal'c is warmth pressed against her side and surrounding her hand as they watch the waves chase each other to shore. "Tell me we're doing the right thing," Sam whispers, shivering as an evening breeze brushes uneven strands of hair against the back of her neck.
"You know that we have no other choice," he reminds her, but his assuredness doesn't ease the clenching in her gut. This is the kind of decision Daniel could make with a swift look at the situation and a crazy plan he has complete confidence in. Or a decision Colonel O'Neill could have made, looking at the cold, hard reality and deciding what had to be done. It is the sort of permanent decision Sam has never liked, the kind she wants to second-guess and re-analyze and change fluidly until someone forces her to lock in.
It has been years in coming - a slow resistance chipping away, plotting, planting, infiltrating, and carefully piecing together all the elements to a puzzle so intricate she can only picture it when she closes her eyes and breathes slowly. They've had too many losses, too many hurried memorial services on the side of a road, running from what was past or toward what is next. Occasionally they even had a body to bury. And finally, the last piece is set and all that remains is Sam and Teal'c and millions of nameless souls who hadn't been prepared when aliens fell from the sky and don't know the fast ebbing of their final hour.
At the crinkle of mylar Sam looks down to find a Hershey bar in Teal'c's hand - the kind that she used to finish in three bites, but usually never bothered with - sub-par chocolate not worth the extra calories. "Where did you...?" she starts to ask, but Teal'c raises an eyebrow and she watches quietly as he uses a thumbnail to separate the wrapper at the seams.
In front of them the ocean is swallowing up a red sun inch by inch and the light turning the waves into blood feels like a judgment on what they are about to do. They can only hope that the sacrifice of Earth is enough to save the galaxy.
"I never wanted to play god," Sam says, watching the bright glow of Venus appear overhead, soon to be followed by stars she will never see again. She reaches a finger to it, blocking out an entire planet with the tip of her nail. "I just wanted to see the universe. I never wanted the responsibility of so many lives around my neck."
"And yet, you have shouldered the responsibility admirably," Teal'c tells her.
Sam releases his hand and steps out until the waves kiss her toes, slowly eroding away the sand beneath her feet. At a cold gust of wind she wraps her arms around herself. She wants to ask Teal'c if he believes in an afterlife, if any god that does exist would judge them mercifully for what they are about to do, for the chain reaction they've set that is much too late to stop, for the balancing of importance and choosing the weight of the galaxy over the weight of a planet. She isn't sure she can stand to hear any answer he may give.
As the last sliver of sun disappears beyond the horizon Teal'c steps up and slips a piece of chocolate into her mouth. The pad of his finger drags against her chapped skin as he pulls it out and then reaches down to once again enclose her hand in his own. He squeezes her fingers and she leans against him, letting the sweetness melt slowly on her tongue, absorbing the last moments of heat and connection.
The flash behind them illuminates the sand around Sam's toes brighter than daylight, every facet of quartz reflecting light in myriad directions. She holds tight to Teal'c's hand and tries not to flinch at the concussive rumble that slowly grows. It has all been calculated to the last decimal, every charge carefully set with enough power to make sure the Earth implodes in on itself with no time for any ships to escape the gravity well being formed.
Teal'c at her side, Sam closes her eyes, lets the last speck of chocolate dissolve, and takes a step forward so the water tugs at her ankles. They don't look back.