Title: Old Debts 6: Light

Author: MajelB

E-Mail: majelitab@lycos.com

Status: Complete

Category: action/adventure, h/c, angst, drama

Spoilers: Fair Game, Tok’ra                

Season: 3, after FIAD, but before A Hundred Days

Series: Old Debts

Rating: R

Content Warnings: lots of language, lots of violence, gratuitous Sam-whumping

Summary: Are you kidding? This is the finale! I can’t give anything away…

Author’s Notes: Phew! Wow, it’s finally finished! Honestly, I’ve never done anything this big before without getting a paycheck or a grade in return, though positive feedback is just as good. I want to thank all of those kind souls who have taken the time to drop me a line and tell me what they think. Your words have made all the difference in the world! I also want to say a special thanks to my friend Devra, who has unwaveringly given me her support and encouragement, for having the sweetest nagging voice I have ever heard. Finally, a huge thanks to Annie, my beta, for her patience and kind words all along the way.

Now, without further adieu, the story. I really hope the finale is everything you’ve been waiting for.

 

Sam braced herself subconsciously for the sudden drop in the crawlspace she had hit the last time she was there, but she didn't have the presence of mind to notify her teammates about it until she had managed to get all the way through. She brushed herself off and, as an afterthought, turned back toward the small opening.

“Hey, guys? Be careful, that last step is a-,”

And Daniel came rolling out, knocking them both into a tangled heap on the ground. Sam couldn’t help but let out a small whimper at Daniel’s weight on her skewed limbs.

“Ow… ugh. Sorry, Sam,” he mumbled, trying to move off of her.

“A doozy? Yeah, got that,” the Colonel said as he emerged from the opening, P-90 in hand and followed closely by Teal’c. The Colonel jumped down and moved to help Daniel up while Teal’c reached a hand down to Sam. She took it, gratefully, and stood, relieving Daniel of the rifle that he was now holding out to her.

By silent consent, the group sat down on the ground for a moment, to catch their breath. Sam leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes, just for a second, sighing deeply…

                    *                  *                  *                  *

“Jack,” said Daniel, very quietly, breaking Jack away from his attempt to clear his mind of all the shit that had been running through it since they first set foot on this God-forsaken ball of snake-ridden…

“What, Daniel?” Jack replied in a tired, breathy tone as he kneaded his eyes with the heels of both hands. His adrenaline high was fading fast. So much for clearing my mind.

“She must be tired.”

Jack looked up just in time to see Daniel gesture in Sam’s direction. He shifted his gaze to Carter, who was slumped bonelessly against the wall. Her eyes were closed, the lids barely discernible from the rest of her face. Her usually fair skin was still lightly coated in a layer of brown dust- remnant of the mud she had earlier smudged all over herself for camouflage. The same dust was still giving her hair a light brownish color, complimenting the rogue clumps of mud still clinging to a few unruly strands.

His eyes moved down her motionless body, taking it all in. The black tee-shirt bandage on her upper left arm had grown blacker since the last time he looked. Her wound must have reopened at some point. Her tee-shirt itself was practically in shreds… small tears all over it denoted close calls with tree branches and thorns. The bottom, while still falling well below her waistline, was frayed, and he tried not to imagine the burnt-away hole in the shirt’s back. Her olive drab cargo pants were beyond salvageable, even for the skilled laundry staff of the SGC. They were thickly coated with mud and blood… probably belonging to more people than just Carter.

At that moment, just sitting there watching her sleep, Jack had never respected her more.

                    *                  *                  *                  *

“Sam! Hey, wake up. Let’s go.” The haze in Sam’s head dissipated instantly and she jerked forward, tense and reaching out for Daniel.

“Hey, take it easy,” he told her, gripping her good arm. Bless him.

“Sorry. Sorry, I just… I didn’t think I was that tired. Surprised me a little,” she replied, a tad breathless. “How long?”

“Not long. Couple of minutes. You just dozed off, I think.” They stood up.

“Teal’c and the Colonel?”

“Oh, they just left. Won’t take long to catch up.”

“They left us?” she snapped, voice laced with the slightest twinge of panic. Sam didn’t like the sound of that at all. She didn’t think they should be separating, and she thought the Colonel would have agreed.

“Just for a second. They’re scouting the tunnel ahead. Relax,” he replied, smiling gently.

“Easier said than done, Daniel,” she said, smiling a little back.

“Didn’t seem that way a few minutes ago.”

Sam laughed lightly at the obviousness of her friend’s statement as the pair started to walk down the tunnel. “Yeah. When we get home, I’m gonna sleep for a week.”

Daniel remained silent. She looked over at him only to see that his eyes were glued to the ground. Her smile faded. “What?” she asked. He looks so tired…

“I just… uh… it’s been a long couple of days, you know?” Sam nodded. Daniel dropped his head again and they continued on in silence for another minute.

“We thought we lost you, Sam,” Daniel finally whispered, so softly she could barely hear him.

“Yeah, I know,” she whispered back.

“And then you show up tonight, looking like death warmed over-,”

Sam didn’t want to interrupt his train of thought, hoping that talking to her a little would help him to feel better, so she remained silent. She knew how she would feel if the roles were reversed.

“And then, when Jack…” He stopped, unable to complete the thought.

“Long couple of days, huh?” she supplied. He nodded.

“Yeah. Long couple of days. Sleeping for a week really does sound like a great idea,” Daniel said, a glint of humor returning to his eyes. Sam chuckled.

“Yeah, it really does, doesn’t it?” They continued on, silently enjoying each others’ company and the first moments of real peace they had had in what seemed like an eternity.

Sam was about to strike up another round of idle conversation with her friend, when her stomach started doing funny little unnatural twists, accompanied by the slightest of twinges in the back of her mind.

As her exhausted brain began to wrap itself around the sensation, Sam noticed that they were fast approaching a sharp turn in the tunnel. She couldn’t see what lay beyond, but she could feel it, she realized, as her brain finally got back to her with the results of its analysis. Goa’uld. And in the perfect position to mount an ambush. Dammit! If the Colonel and Teal’c had gone off ahead of them…

Shit. God-damn son of a bitch! Please, God. Not now. Please not now! Not after we’ve come so far. God, we’re so close! Almost there! For Christ’s sake, can’t you ever just give us a break? Sam reached out and grabbed Daniel’s arm, halting him with a jerk. He just gave her a questioning look, having the good sense to keep his mouth shut this time. She hefted her P-90 into a more comfortable firing position and he got the hint. They both moved so that their backs were against the wall near the corner.

Sam could hear them now. The breathing of the Jaffa. The occasional clank of armor. Maybe they don’t know we’re here. Maybe we still have a chance to take them by surprise—

“I can feel you, Samantha.”

Sam visibly paled, fighting tooth and nail, the urge to fall to her knees, sobbing. She just wanted all of this to end. Was that really too much to ask? Would it really be so hard for that psychopathic snakehead to just smile, say ‘It’s been fun,’ and let them all just go the hell home?

“You are responsible for the deaths of two of my most skilled Jaffa, Samantha. You did not really believe that I would allow you to leave without reimbursing me for their loss? Life for life, Samantha. Your debt to me needs to be repaid.”

Sam could almost hear Cronos smiling in self-satisfaction, overtly pleased with himself and the results of the clearly orchestrated course of recent events. Why else would their escape have been so easy? The fucking snakehead had been planning this all along, playing with their heads and waiting for them to walk right into his hands. Huh. Easy. Yeah, right.

Sam was seething, her emotions all muddled up into an unidentifiable mass of hate and anger, of frustration and fear and exhaustion. A cold shiver ran down her spine and she nearly jumped when Daniel laid a steadying hand on her shoulder. God, how she wished this was all just a bad dream…

                    *                  *                  *                  *

When Sam startled and looked up at him, Daniel was taken aback by what he saw. Sam… strong, stable, unwavering Sam… was lost. Undeniably. Inextricably. Her face clearly showed him, without question, the tumult of emotion raging in her head and heart. It scared him, and he fervently wished that he could wave his hand and make all of her troubles disappear, but unfortunately, he had left his magic wand sitting on his desk in his office.

“I am not an unreasonable being, Samantha,” Cronos continued. “Nor am I without honor. As such, I must respect you Tau’ri for your near worthiness as an adversary. So, I present you with a proposition. Since you are responsible for my Jaffa, I will be satisfied with taking your life, alone. Otherwise, I shall be forced to find other means of recompense. Two lives for two lives, Samantha. Colonel O’Neill? Please say hello to Major Carter.”

Silence.

“Shol’va? No? Well, Samantha, your friends seem to be rather out of tongue, but rest assured, they are here. On their knees, before me, in fact. All except that archaeologist of yours. Is he with you now, Samantha? Is he telling you to walk away? Either way, I will gain retribution. Decide quickly, Samantha. I may be a reasonable being, but I am not patient.”

Sam’s shoulder shuddered again beneath Daniel’s hand, but when he looked back down at her face, he saw that all the uncertainty of the moment before had melted away. Now, she was resolute. Somehow, Daniel found this new expression more frightening than the one before. It meant she had made her decision already.

Daniel clamped his fingers down hard around her shoulder, shaking his head no. Don’t go, Sam. He’ll kill you, you know that! There’s got to be another way! There’s another way, Sam, we just have to find it! Daniel hoped his eyes were able to convey all of the words floating around in his head. He hoped his silent shouts were somehow reaching her ears. They were. Sam’s eyes pleaded with him for understanding.

Her shoulder fell away from his hand as she turned to round the corner. As Daniel dropped his arm back to his side, his hand brushed something he had forgotten about entirely.

Daniel stepped forward and grabbed Sam’s arm again, twisting her around violently. She tried to pull away, but stopped when she saw what he was holding in front of her face. Her knife. Not the foul, golden-handled dagger of the Jaffa she had killed, but her own, trusty, leather-bound field knife. Daniel had found it with the other weapons and equipment in the armory and thought it might come in handy.

Sam’s eyes widened as she silently took the weapon from his hand and gave him her P-90 in return. She moved her hands behind her, tucking the weapon into her waistband at the small of her back, and Daniel nodded to her, trying to tell her that everything would be okay. He didn’t think she quite believed him, but she gave him a small, sad smile as she turned again, lifting her arms in surrender as she disappeared around the bend. Be careful, Sam.

                    *                  *                  *                  *

Jack’s heart sank when Carter came into view, hands high in the air, slowly walking toward her death. He had hoped she would have had enough sense in her to backtrack, to leave them and find another way out. He had hoped, but deep down he’d known she wasn’t capable of it. No one gets left behind…

Jack felt, rather than saw, Cronos stride between he and Teal’c, both of whom were kneeling on the ground, staff weapons aimed at their heads. The Goa’uld was in front of them, now, his back toward them, facing Carter.

Cronos stopped. Carter stopped.

“Kneel before your God.” Jesus, Carter, don’t do it. God, Sam, don’t do it! I can’t watch you die again! She was staring straight at him. He knew she could see the pained look on his face, the pleading in his eyes.

She knelt.

God, where the hell is Daniel? Why didn’t he stop this? What the hell was he thinking?!

Carter slowly drew her hands behind her back. In his mind’s eye, Jack could see Cronos smiling with delight at the complacent gesture. He extended his ribbon device-clad hand toward Carter’s forehead.

“Have you anything to say, Tau’ri?” Carter closed her eyes for a split second and took a deep breath. Jack barely noticed that he did the same.

“Yes, I do.”

Carter’s left arm flew out from behind her and she effectively knocked away Cronos’ outstretched hand. He was so surprised, that he didn’t even notice Carter’s right hand as it quickly pulled a piece of glinting metal into Jack’s view.

Cronos doubled over in pain as Carter thrust the knife into his stomach. At the same moment, Daniel rounded the corner of the tunnel, bringing Carter’s P-90 to bear on the nearest Jaffa. Jack and Teal’c, warriors that they were, took immediate advantage of the distraction, turning and knocking away the staff weapons formerly held at their heads as the Jaffa began to fire. The guards were knocked off balance, and their trajectories skewed, causing the bolts to hit nothing but wall or ceiling.

Jack wrestled with his guard adamantly, battling for control of the staff weapon they both gripped. Jack jerked the staff toward him with a surprisingly powerful yank on his opponent’s arms, causing him to loosen his grip slightly. That gave Jack the opportunity he needed to deftly twist the weapon away from the Jaffa. At first, he wielded it like a bow staff, ramming the shaft up and into his enemy’s jaw, then he crouched and spun, knocking the Jaffa’s legs from under him. He fell to the ground, unconscious. He spun the weapon in his grip, fingering the trigger so he could fire it. He turned to dispatch the guard that Teal’c was still struggling with.

“Jack!” Shit, Daniel! Jack suddenly noticed the conspicuous lack of flying bullets as he turned toward Daniel’s voice. All of the Jaffa, except Teal’c’s, were on the ground. Danny and his gun had seen to that. Daniel’s face was ashen, but he was still poised to fire his weapon at—

Jesus Christ! Carter was still kneeling on the ground, leaning awkwardly toward Cronos, her hand still stubbornly gripping the knife embedded in his gut. But Cronos was a Goa’uld, not to be stopped by a mere stab wound. His ribbon device was aimed at her head again, and it was most definitely active.

Carter’s face contorted in agony as Cronos let loose on her all of his own frustration and pain in the form of slow torture through the ribbon device. They were killing each other, and Jack honestly couldn’t see how Carter, strong as she was, could possibly win this battle of wills… Daniel, why the hell aren’t you firing?

“Jack! God, do something! I don’t want to hit Sam!” Christ, O’Neill! Wake up! The kid doesn’t have a shot. You do!

Jack activated his staff weapon and fired.

Cronos and Carter both fell to the ground as the ribbon device darkened abruptly, Carter's hand still hanging onto her knife for all she was worth.

                    *                  *                  *                  *

Through the throbbing pain in her head, she was aware of two things. Well, one, if you didn’t count the throbbing pain in her head.

Voices. She could hear voices, floating toward her from what seemed like miles and miles away. Wait… no… it was one voice, but it just kept on yelling to her like it didn’t know how much the sound made her head hurt. If she had had anything at all in her stomach, she was quite sure she would have been throwing up just then.

“Carter? Carter, come on, Sam. I know it hurts, but you have to wake up for us. They’re coming, Carter. We gotta go!” She wanted to answer him. Really she did, but she just couldn’t seem to make her mouth move the way she wanted it to. Instead, she did what she thought was a pretty good impression of a fish out of water.

“Teal’c? Here, help me, will ‘ya?”

Just a few seconds later, she felt herself being lifted away from her relatively comfortable prone position on the ground. She groaned quietly in protest. Aww, Colonel… Can’t you just let me stay here and sleep?

“Sorry, Carter. Sorry. I know it hurts, I know. Just stay with us okay? Just a little longer.”

Teal’c was on one side of her, the Colonel on the other, as they practically carried her at a brisk pace through what was left of the tunnel. Her head bobbed helplessly as she waged a mental war to stay at least semi-conscious.

What really woke her up was the thunderous sounds of Jaffa marching behind them, coming closer and closer.

                    *                  *                  *                  *

Teal’c shifted his grip on Major Carter as she stirred, sparing a glance toward O’Neill as he readjusted his own hold on her.

“S’okay, Sir. I‘c’n wa’k” Major Carter slurred weakly. Teal’c and O’Neill both looked at her face. Her eyes were wide open, though not entirely focused, and she seemed more or less alert.

“You sure?” asked O’Neill, uncertainly, as he looked back over his shoulder. Daniel Jackson nodded his head toward his friend, assuring him that he was capable of watching their backs.

“Yessir,” came the weak reply. O’Neill loosened his grip slightly and Teal’c followed suit.

“Okay, Carter, but we gotta make time, here.”

Major Carter stumbled a bit, and Teal’c and O’Neill both kept their hands on her arms to make sure she didn’t fall, but she managed to keep pace and it wasn’t long before Teal’c saw it.

Light. A brilliant, bright, beautiful circle of light just ahead of them. He actually allowed himself a sigh of relief.

He sighed too soon.

The Jaffa pursuing them had almost caught up. They were now close enough to fire and have a good chance of hitting someone. A staff blast flew past Teal’c’s head, leaving the foul stench of ozone in its wake.

Major Carter spun her head around to see what was going on when O’Neill let go of her arm, leaving her in Teal’c’s care alone. He did not intend to fail again.

Daniel Jackson and O’Neill had both crouched, seeking the relative safety of the walls of the tunnel, firing their respective weapons. The noise of the battle was intense, and Major Carter’s head began to lull uselessly to one side as she fought to remain conscious.

Teal’c was torn. He had a staff weapon in one hand. He could go to O’Neill and Daniel Jackson, assist them in firing upon their opponents and hopefully eradicate them, allowing the team access to the Stargate. In his other arm, he held Major Carter, who could barely even stand on her own.

Within seconds, his dilemma was resolved for him.

“Teal’c! Get outta here and dial up the ‘Gate! We’ll be right behind you!” O’Neill shouted over the melee. Without hesitation, Teal’c turned and moved quickly toward the small opening in the ground above. He hastily pushed Major Carter through the hole, before hoisting himself onto the surface.

                    *                  *                  *                  *

As Jack pulled himself up and out of the tunnel and looked toward the clearing and the Stargate, he had the strangest sense of déjà vu. It got even stronger when he became aware of staff blasts emanating not only from the tunnel, now, but from the forest as well.

Teal’c and Carter were still okay, and making respectable time, actually. But Daniel, who Jack had told to sprint to the DHD as soon as he hit the surface, was running his little heart out and had quickly overtaken them.

Jack himself was running now, too, legs pumping in harmony with adrenaline. A staff blast whizzed past his head.

Daniel had reached the DHD. Thank-you God! He was dialing, and Jack savored the sounds of each chevron locking. It was music to his ears, climaxing as the wormhole wooshed into existence.

He waved his team on, gesturing them to go through, but stubborn as they were, they ignored him and proceeded to take up defensive positions around the ‘Gate. Teal’c had laid Carter down by the ‘Gate and had begun firing his staff as Daniel crouched by the DHD, peppering the trees with bullets from his P-90.

Jack was almost there. Homestretch, Jack. Just a little further…

His thoughts were interrupted by a wrenching pain in his knee as he tripped over some unseen little obstacle in the grass. As he hit the ground, he caught a glimpse of a staff blast shattering the air above him, right where his chest had been. He rolled over to get a better look at the object that had just saved his life.

Well, I’ll be damned! He picked it up and quickly crawled to his knees and then to his feet, staying as low as he could. The Jaffa were even closer, now, their staff blasts hitting the ground all around them.

When Jack reached Carter and Teal’c, he nodded to Teal’c to keep firing as he reached down to pull Carter to her feet, half carrying her in one arm. He turned to look over at the DHD and Daniel.

“Daniel! Let’s go!” he shouted. Daniel spared him a glance, making sure he was okay, then fired a couple more shots for good measure. He stood, turned, and sprinted at the ‘Gate. Jack breathed a sigh of relief when he saw him disappear through the event horizon.

“C’mon, Major. Let’s blow this pop stand.”

“Yessir,” she managed to croak in response, as they hastily made their way onto the dais and through the Stargate.

A few dizzying, but very welcome seconds later, Jack and Carter stumbled through the wormhole, too tired to really focus on much other than Daniel, who had sat himself down at the bottom of the ramp. Jack readjusted his grip on his 21C and led them both to follow Daniel’s example. They plopped down breathlessly beside him as Jack heard a familiar tenor voice behind him order the iris to be closed. Teal’c.

Jack heard his footfalls on the ramp and wasn’t at all surprised when his friend sat down unsteadily beside him as the iris slid shut.

“Hey, Carter. Look what I found,” he said softly, leaning toward her ear. He was holding a small olive-drab bag- the object he had tripped over in the clearing.

“Hmmm?” she replied, sleepily.

He held the bag out to her, flipping open the lid to reveal a mess of sample bags and vials full of soil and plants… All of the samples she had gathered before they realized the danger they had been in… the reason why they had gone to that stupid planet in the first place. The irony was not lost on even the sleepy Carter still in his arms and he smiled as she let out a slight chuckle.

“Hey, Carter? Good job,” Jack said into her ear. She barely heard it and only nodded minutely in reply. ‘Night, Carter, he thought as the EMT’s rushed through the blast door.

The End

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