The Times That Weren't - Chapter 7

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Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate: SG-1, I am only playing in the world.

Previously: Ch1 | Ch 2  | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5 | Ch 6

The Times That Weren't - Chapter 7

Petersen AFB Medical Center, Colorado, June 2004

Sam was startled as the door to the room she was in opened suddenly. She hurriedly wiped at her tear-stained cheeks, turning the chair she was sitting in a little further from the door to buy herself some time. She was having a very tough time seeing Cameron Mitchell lying in that hospital bed, his legs immobilised, most of the rest of him covered in bandages, a brace wrapped tightly around his neck, a breathing tube, hanging from his mouth and IV tubes trailing from his arms, and monitor leads going to several bits of humming, beeping machinery. Just about the only part of him that hadn't been seriously hurt in the crash in Antarctica was his head, only a few cuts marred his face, as well as some bruising. When she turned to see who had come in she saw an older couple, the man still powerful-looking despite standing on two crutches, his hair greying now with his advancing years. The woman was shorter than the man even as he was stooped on the crutches, her straight shoulder length blonde hair turning silver, a look of curiosity and concern overtaking her features. They must be Cam's parents come up from Kansas. She cleared her throat and stood up, looking towards Cam for a moment before facing the couple again. She should introduce herself, dressed in civilian clothes as she was they must surely be wondering who she was.

"Hello, I'm-"

"Samantha Carter," said the woman, "Cameron's talked about you so many times." Sam was surprised. "It's so good to finally meet you." She walked up to Sam and before she knew it she was engulfed in the woman's embrace. "Thank you for coming to see Cameron. He would be so happy about it, I know he would." She couldn't help but smile sadly.

"Wendy, let the Major breathe." The man walked forward steadily on his crutches and stuck his hand out to shake Sam's when Wendy released her. "I'm Frank Mitchell, this is my wife, Wendy. Thank you for coming to see my boy. Wendy's right, Cam told us a lot about you." Sam didn't know what to say, she blushed slightly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Colonel," she addressed him using his old Air Force rank, he waved that formality away, "and you, Mrs. Mitchell. Cam spoke often of you both, and of his grandmother." Frank snorted.

"He spoke of her macaroons, you mean." Wendy joked and Sam smiled, nodding.

"I should give you some time with Cameron-" she offered, pointing towards the door, but both the Mitchells shook their heads.

"No, please stay, I'm sure he'd want that." Wendy Mitchell said reaching a hand out to push some matted hair from her son's forehead. "They said it was such a bad accident," Frank's features darkened slightly as his wife spoke, "that his legs were crushed and-" She stopped, bringing a hand up to her mouth and Sam shifted uncomfortably, while Frank moved in closer and placed a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Can you tell us what happened? How did this-"

"Wendy." Frank warned, but Sam interrupted him.

"It's alright, Mr. Mitchell. We were conducting training exercises in Antarctica, cold weather testing for new combat aircraft. Cam's plane suffered catastrophic engine failure after taking some damage in flight. He had to ditch into the snowfield when his ejector release failed. Unfortunately, it was a few hours before Search and Rescue could get to him." Sam's own voice was constricting as she spoke, the lies she was telling them didn't save her from reliving the real memories herself. Hearing his voice over the radio had been such a surprise at the time. She let her head drop and Frank sidled a bit closer.

"What aren't you telling us, Major?" he asked softly and she sighed internally, she couldn't tell him the truth, but she knew an outright lie wouldn't work on him either.

"Cam," she began, "he was protecting me when... when his plane took the hit, it had been meant for me." she breathed, it wasn't entirely false. It was in fact mostly true. "It was a simulated battle, but Cam saved my life twice that day. The second time he..." His mayday call rang through her head again and she couldn't help the flood of emotions rising in her. She didn't notice when Frank walked past her and quietly closed the door to give them some privacy. She barely felt it when Wendy wrapped an arm around her again. She just found herself crying into the older woman's shoulder.

Seattle, Washington, August 2009 (alternate timeline)

Sam closed the trunk of her Prius and wheeled the empty shopping cart to the little collection area nearby. She needed to make one more stop for electronic components and she could head home. With the delivery Cam made to her mail drop yesterday of some very fine molybdenum wire she could finally start assembling the last pieces for the communicator. Then it was just a matter of getting together and... She never completed the thought as a rumbling could be heard from the sky accompanied by the high pitched whine of jet engines, two F-16Cs if her ears didn't deceive her. She looked up in the direction the sounds were coming from and her mind froze for an instant as the Al'kesh swooped low over the business district and sped away.

"Oh, for crying out loud! We were so close!" she cried, rubbing the front of her shirt and feeling her wedding ring against her chest. She reached into her bag and retrieved the phone given to her by her handler and pressed the speed dial. Damn you, Ba'al.

Praxyon, August 2009 (alternate timeline)

Sam's fingers flew over the control interfaces of Ba'al's satellite control console, she had three different searches running simultaneously as well as trying her damnedest to lock out the rings that were letting wave after wave of Jaffa into the complex. On the one hand she had to admire the ingenuity of this stellar activity satellite monitoring and control station. A time machine with no need to directly manipulate time. Just find a star with flare activity, let the super computer crunch the numbers and open a 'gate to a destination on the other side. Truly a wonderful bit of technology. On the other hand she'd shoot the bastard in the head the moment she saw him.

"Sam!" Daniel yelled out and she knew why, she reached into the back of her trousers and turned, tossing her gun to him. She quickly turned back to the console to find one of her searches had a hit, a star hovered above the blue globe on the console and boxes with data and calculation results popped up beside it in Goa'uld and Ancient, she quickly scanned them, not exactly liking what they showed her.

"I've found one, but you're not going to like it!" she yelled over her shoulder, already knowing they were going to take it anyway she started working on programming the dialling sequence.

"Why not?" Mitchell asked while shooting a Jaffa in the head from beside the central tower.

"It'll send us back to 1929!" she replied. Just great! They'd have to live through the Great Depression.

"That's ten years too soon!" yelled Colonel Obvious. She chuckled mirthlessly, at least they'd be together for those ten years, with any luck long after that too.

"Well, it'll have to do, because I'm just about out of bullets-" Daniel's voice cut off with an agonised moan and she whipped her head around just in time to see him slip off the side of the walkway he was on. She blinked several times, too shocked to move, but gritted her teeth in determination. They were going to reverse everything. This wasn't going to happen! Her fists clenched then she turned back to the console and finished off the program which would begin dialling the 'gate at the optimum time.

"Once I dial the Stargate, we'll have less than twenty seconds to get through!" she yelled and set the program to running, the dialling sequence should begin in about five to ten seconds. She went back to trying to lock out the rings, hoping to at least alleviate the pressure on them from Qetesh's Jaffa. Holy Hannah! They'd better never tell Vala that she killed Daniel.

"Dial it up and get your ass down here!" Cam called to her just as she felt a stab in her lower back, then it was like liquid fire being poured directly onto her spine and she screamed, her knees buckled and she collapsed, the force of the staff blast sent her forward into the console then sliding down it as her legs just gave way.

"Carter!" Cam cried out and she managed to turn her head to see him running towards her. No, no, no, he had to run for the 'gate it would open soon. He had her in his arms and she couldn't help gripping the front of his jacket with one hand, looking up into his face as the corners of her vision started going grey and foggy. "Sam, don't you dare do this." he whispered under his breath. He was caressing her cheek, it felt so good, his fingers, calloused and worn, but so gentle, she closed her eyes for a moment at the sensation. "No! Baby, stay with me!" She opened her eyes wide at the sound of his voice and managed to focus her gaze onto his, now the pain made its way back to her conscious mind and she cried out again. He had to get through the 'gate!

"Cam, take... my ring... 'round my neck... make sure to give it to me again... you promised." she gasped out between coughs and cries of agony, all the while his soothing fingers were running along her temple, her brow, her cheek and lips. The hand which was supporting her from behind gripped at her neck and stroked the wisps of hair at the nape which didn't run up into the ponytail she was wearing. "Cam! Please! Get through the 'gate!" she whispered sharply with all her strength. She saw him nodding, tears rolling down his cheeks, she felt his fingers pulling at the chain around her neck and it slipped off when he undid the clasp. "Love... you..." Her sight was failing, all she could see were his blue eyes shining with tears, she wanted to remember those eyes so she closed her own, letting the imprint of them burn into her mind while the feel of his lips against hers filled her with warmth as the darkness crept closer. She heard him say 'I love you too.' Or it could just have been a trick of her misfiring brain before there was nothing.

P7R-117, December 2009

SG-1 moved quietly along the path back to the Stargate of the Lucian Alliance controlled moon, decked out in their black BDUs to reduce their visibility. They'd been sent to scout the base on this Earth sized moon orbiting a gas giant. Tidal stresses between the moon and the purple coloured orb taking up fully half the night sky overhead caused the core of the moon to generate extreme heat. It would be a perfect place to set up a new base to try and dial Destiny if the Lucian Alliance's presence were easier to dislodge. As it was it certainly catapulted the moon high into the list of potential candidates.

The team was not far from the 'gate when Teal'c, who was on point, raised a closed fist. Cam and Sam, crouched immediately with their P90s raised, scanning the rocky outcroppings to either side, Daniel and Vala turned to cover their rear in a similar manner. It was too dark to see anything, although thanks to the giant planet in the sky, not pitch black.

"You know where they are, T?" asked Cam quietly. Before the Jaffa could answer in the affirmative a single shot rang out and struck Mitchell in the chest, knocking him flat onto his back. Teal'c immediately returned fire, moving towards cover.

"Cameron!" cried Sam as she ran towards him and grabbed his tac vest by the collar, dragging him behind a large boulder, all the while noting that he was still conscious and that she could see the blood seeping between the plates in the vest, reflecting the purple light.

"Augh! Mary and Joseph, Sam, that hurts!" He coughed and she noticed flecks of blood on his lip, whether from spatter or internal haemorrhaging she couldn't tell. She unzipped the front of his tac vest and jacket and ripped them open, putting a hand over the wound she pressed down hard causing him to cry out and curse. Looking up she saw Daniel and Vala had also found cover and were returning fire at what she now realised must be a patrol from the base they'd just finished scouting. Ignoring all that she reached into a pocket on her vest and pulled out a pressure bandage one-handed, taking the wrapper in her teeth she opened it, pulled it out and similarly pulled the backing off with her teeth. After pulling down the collar of Cameron's black t-shirt she slapped the bandage over the wound, just below his collar bone. It was then she noticed the light glinting purple off something which had pushed itself up to the base of his neck, a ring on a chain, stained now with his blood running into some familiar looking filigree.

"I have to turn you over, Cam, to see if it's a through and through." He grimaced and nodded and she ran a hand under his arm and lifted him, turning him and running the hand under his vest and jacket she felt no wetness, so she eased him back down. The armour plates in his vest must have bled off a lot of the power of the shot, the bullet was still inside him. "Don't move, you hear me? The bullet's still in there." Again her eyes were once more drawn to the ring hanging from a chain around his neck, it had slid off him onto the ground by her knee and she couldn't keep from picking it up with one hand while the other pressed down over the bandage again. Bullets ricocheting off the boulder they were hidden behind caused her to duck momentarily and when she opened her eyes she was staring right at the ring she was running her fingers over, the blood that had flowed over it bringing the filigree patterns into stark relief in the purple light. She gasped when it finally hit her where she'd seen it before. It wasn't this ring but one almost identical to it. One that was currently resting in a small jewellery box in her quarters back at the SGC. Her eyes widened and time seemed to slow down for several heart beats as she stared at the ring. "Cam, where did you get this?" she breathed. How could she have forgotten about that ring?

"Huh?" He tried to look down towards his chest unsuccessfully and winced in great pain, gasping. She cursed herself for asking a gunshot victim about something so trivial in the middle of a fire fight, but it didn't seem trivial to her at that moment. Cameron also seemed to realise what she was talking about. "I was gonna tell ya about that, I swear. I jus' wanted things between us to progress a bit more." He turned to look at her and his eyes were a bit hazy with pain, but he was lucid. She dropped the ring and reached into another pocket on her vest for a morphine injector and stabbed his neck with it. "Gah!" It seemed a wave of pain caught up to him as he convulsed under her hand, his muscles constricting. The morphine would take the edge off soon, he just had to hold on. Sam was getting desperate though, if he moved the wrong way the bullet could dislodge and cut into the inter-clavicular artery, which it didn't seem to have done yet. If it did, Cam would bleed out in minutes. She pressed down on him harder. When she spoke her voice was slightly high-pitched and scared.

"Just hold on, Cam! You have to hold on, you hear me? Hold on so I can put that ring on your finger! Please, just hold on!" Her eyes were brimming with tears, but she dared not wipe at them with her hands, she'd already wiped at her forehead with them and she could feel the warm, sticky wetness of his blood against the skin of her face. He turned to look at her with his brows furrowed, then a grin formed on his lips and his brows rose in amusement.

"Sam, did you just ask me to marry you?" His voice was hitching with the pain, but the mirth was unmistakable. She froze as the realisation hit her of what she'd just said and she flushed crimson immediately in embarrassment.

"I-I-I guess..." she stammered uneasily and he giggled and winced at the pain, still the smile never left his lips. "Maybe I just did..."

"Well, Hell! I'm gonna live then. Just decided." he declared and she pressed her forehead down onto the back of her hand against his chest wishing he'd just shut up for once. "Now this ain't how I'd imagined it happenin', certainly wasn't expectin' it in a fire fight." She raised the fingers of one hand to place on his lips hoping he'd take the hint, but his smile was infectious. She felt the absurdity of the situation hit her like a ton of bricks and she groaned. "I'm gonna live so we can go back home an' ya can do it again proper." He was trying hard not to laugh as tears escaped down the corners of his eyes. "Maybe you can get down on one knee an' say a few words, maybe ask my Mom for my hand like a proper gentlewoman."

"Shut up, you patronising ass!" she growled through gritted teeth as much from embarrassment and an urge to laugh as in hopes of keeping him from aggravating his wound. She pressed down some more on his chest and he cried out.

"Agh auh. Think yer doin' a bit more damage than the bullet wound right now, Sam." He grinned at her though his eyes were filled with pain.

"Sorry, sorry!" She let up a little on the pressure. "But let that be a lesson to you! Just lie back, shut the Hell up, don't move and live!"

"Yes, ma'am, I promise." He smiled though his eyes fluttered as he fought to stay conscious. "It'll be my turn to ask you next." he said weakly.

"Oh, no, Cam! Stay with me, you hear?" Just then she noticed that the night was silent again and she felt a hand on her shoulder. Jerking her head up she noticed Teal'c looking down at her and Mitchell in worry.

"All threats have been eliminated, Colonel Carter. How is Colonel Mitchell?" He asked the question, but he was experienced enough to see how bad it was for himself and she knew it.

"It's bad, Teal'c, we can't move him. Vala!" she yelled for the raven-haired smuggler who bounded over with worry etched across her face at the sight of Cameron lying on the ground. "Dial the 'gate right now!" The other woman ran off quickly for the DHD to dial home. "Teal'c, take Daniel and cover us until we can get reinforcements from the SGC." He nodded and motioned for Daniel to join him. Sam heard the kawoosh of the 'gate and flicked on her radio. "Stargate Command, this is SG-1! We are declaring a medical emergency! Mitchell's been shot and can't be moved. Need a medical team and combat escorts right now! Area surrounding the 'gate is currently secure, but expecting company soon."

"Copy that, Colonel Carter." came Landry's controlled voice over the radio. "Medics are going to want to know what to expect." She knew he was ordering at least two SG teams on combat alert to gear up to head through the 'gate as well as ordering a medical team as well.

"GSW to the upper chest, left side, just under the collar bone. Vest took out a lot of the punch so the bullet is still in situ. Possibility of internal bleeding, applied a pressure bandage, but it's soaked through." She listed what she could with her limited knowledge.

"Copy that, teams will be at your location asap. SGC out." She heard the 'gate disengage as Landry signed off and settled in for a wait. It didn't take long, the chevrons around the gate started lighting up soon after and when the wormhole connected two fire teams poured out of the 'gate almost immediately followed by stretcher bearers and a small team of combat medics heading her way as she raised up a hand from behind the boulder.

"Sam, hold onto the ring for me, it's not exactly regulation." Cameron whispered with a soft smile, he was looking very pale even in the purple-tinged light. "It's a lucky charm." She snorted.

"Lot of good it did you today!" she said sharply.

"Disagree... you saw it an' proposed." He grinned and she had to laugh. She nodded and turned the chain around his neck to undo the clasp and take it from him.

"I'll keep it safe, I promise. Then I'll have something to show you back at the base." she said softly as the medics arrived and muscled her gently out of the way, she saw him nodding and smiling at her before she found herself in Daniel's arms, nearly collapsing.

"He'll be fine, Sam, I know it. You did good keeping him alive." He looked at her trying to make sure she was alright and she nodded resolutely, slipping the ring and chain into her pocket she took hold of her P90 decisively and motioned for him to take up position alongside the medics as they worked. Teal'c and Vala joined them as they kept watch for any more incoming Lucian Alliance patrols. Ten minutes was all it took for the medics to be satisfied enough to be able to move him, Sam fingered her radio and ordered the fire team at the 'gate to dial home. Mitchell was gently maneuvered onto the stretcher and carefully lifted up, tubes leading to IVs sticking from his hand.

"Form up, guys, let's get him home." The remaining members of SG-1 came in close to the now moving medics to escort their fallen leader. No one else came for them while they headed back which was fortunate. Cam was rushed to the OR and spent several hours in surgery while the rest of SG-1 was ordered to get checked out themselves and freshen up, and not to mount a vigil until a quick debrief could be arranged with General Landry.

After the debriefing Sam rushed back to her quarters and went for the jewellery box in her desk drawer, opened it and found the small velvet bag, upending it to let the ring and chain within spill out onto her desk. She picked it up and fished out the bloodstained ring from her pocket and held them up side by side. Cam's ring was larger of course, but she could see that the patterns in the filigree on her ring bled and ran into the filigree on his when they lined up, forming the seven symbol gate address for Earth. She let her index finger slip into both rings so she could raise her other hand to cover her mouth in astonishment, tears sliding down her cheeks involuntarily. Her heart was thundering against her chest and her breathing was heavily laboured as she blinked her eyes several times and held Cam's ring up to the light so she could read the inscription. 'To Cam, my heart, who brought me back home...' She couldn't believe it! It all fell into place! The 'gate traveller who gave Catherine her ring in 1929 was the Cameron Mitchell who went back through time to stop Ba'al's plot to take over Earth and the galaxy. She threw both chains around her neck and dropped the rings under her shirt as she ran for the door and the infirmary.

The rest of SG-1 was already in the observation room above the operating theatre, silently observing their team leader's progress. Teal'c was standing by the back wall and he nodded slightly as she came in, Daniel was leaning forward in his seat, one hand pulling at his lip as Vala was clinging to his other arm as she sat beside him. Sam passed by Teal'c to fondly run her hand along his arm with a smile, he returned it. Then she moved to sit next to Vala who jumped in surprise.

"Oh, Samantha!" She surprised Sam by letting go of Daniel and wrapping her arms around Sam's neck. "He'll be alright I'm sure of it!" Sam relaxed slightly in the other woman's embrace and patted her back affectionately.

"I know, Vala, he promised me he'd live." she said.

"Forget about promises," the former smuggler pulled back and wrapped her arms around Daniel's again, "Mitchell is just too stupid to know when he's supposed to be dead." She leant her head against Daniel's shoulder and he grunted his agreement with her sentiment. Sam shook her head.

On to Chapter 8