Title: Home fires are burning.
Author: Tels
Fandom: Stargate SG1
Characters: Jacob/Selmak/Malek
Rating: R
Word count: 2,828
Prompt: #22 - Enemies
Summary: Jacob gets an unexpected homecoming.

Home fires are burning
By Tels

Jacob checked the padd. <That's it then Sel> he commented. <Must be the easiest mission Garshaw has ever sent us on.>

Selmak laughed. <Yeah right… Hike five miles from the gate in the first place and now carry all this five miles back the other way.>

<You'll manage> Jacob teased.

<Me??>

<Yeah … you can have a long hot soak when we get back> Jacob offered. <And maybe a massage?> he offered.

Selmak thought and then nodded. <Okay. But it's a bath and a massage> she insisted.

Jacob nodded. <Sure thing.> He smiled to himself. He'd enjoy the bath and massage just as much as Selmak would and he didn't have to carry the supplies back himself. It was a win win situation as far as he was concerned. He just sat back and let Selmak do all the hard work.

It took a good two hours to get back to the gate but then they were in no hurry and the bags were heavy or at least that was Selmak's excuse and she was sticking to it. She put the bags down and dialled the gate. Once the wormhole was established she picked up the bags. <So massage then bath or do we get one in the bath or…>

<Don't push it> Jacob laughed. <Do it in whatever order you want.>

Selmak laughed as she went though the gate. <That would be dinner, a long sleep then a bath then a shower and then…> she broke off as she exited the gate. The bags fell from her hand as she saw the scene of devastation in front of her. The guards lay slaughtered by the DHD. <Egeria preserve us> she whispered feeling Jacob's shock echoing hers.

She pulled the zat off her belt and activating it ran to the guards. She knew they were dead but checked anyway.

Then she made her way to the rings and entered the base. The tunnel walls were blacked with staff blasts and bodies littered the floor. It had been a massacre. The dead littered the floors wherever they searched. Selmak searched slowly, checking each body for any sign of life, but in each case there was none.

She made her way slowly towards her chamber, hoping that they had got out. The walls seemed blacker here and there were more bodies. Selmak could feel Jacob's stomach turn and worked to stop the nausea from rising. Her chamber was empty apart from a body on the floor. Jaffa . She moved over to it and turned it, her zat ready to fire. Serpent guard. Apophis. But where was the one they searched for? She gave control back to Jacob and he called her name desperately. There was no answer.

Jacob methodically searched the rest of the base but found no one alive. He finally made his way to the healing chambers. Here were more dead, the healers having died trying to protect the wounded. The first one he found was Elise. His heart seemed to stop for an instant as he turned her over. A burn covered part of her face. Jacob swallowed hard as he put a gentle hand to her neck.

Her eyes flickered and she opened them whispering his name.

He let out the breath he didn't realise he was holding. “Yeah… lie still, I'll get you out of here.”

She gripped at his jacket, her fingers burned and bloody. “Malek…”

“I'll find him. I'll be right back.”

Jacob loosened her grip on him and moved on further into the room. No one else was alive. This was the last place to look. Where were they? Maybe the jaffa took them as prisoner. After all a council member and base commander would be ideal for prisoners. <Where would they have taken them?>

<I do not know… Jacob we have to find them.>

<We will.>

Elsie tried to get up, finally pushing herself back into the wall and sitting up. “Jacob…”

Jacob turned and went back over to her. “You shouldn't move,” he told her gently. “Let me find a healing device…”

She shook her head. “I can deal with it… please find Mal…”

“Let me at least get you out of here,” he told her. “Get you to another base. Then I'll come back and find him, I promise.” He paused. “What about Garshaw… did you see her after the attack started?” He stood up and lifted her into his arms.

Elise closed her eyes, a small cry of pain escaping her. “No… they caught us by surprise. No time to evacuate. Mal came here… I saw him fall…”

Jacob looked at her. “I'll find him.” He laid her on the bed. “Rest,” he said. “I'll see if I can find him.”

She closed her eyes, retreating to deal with the many internal injuries she had.

Jacob watched her for a moment and then looked round the room. “Malek!” he shouted. He moved slowly through the room, turning bodies and checking for signs of life. Then he heard a faint groan from behind a pile of debris. “Malek!” he called.

“Here,” came the reply.

Jacob ran over to the debris and started pulling it to one side. “Are you alright?”

Malek's response was weak and his voice sounded strained. “Hurt… can't move…”

“That's because you have a lot of rock on top of you. Give me a minute here.” It actually took ten minutes before he had moved enough rocks to see Malek and a further five before he had moved enough to carefully pull Malek out. “Hey,” he smiled.

Malek looked at him. “Thank you.” He closed his eyes, assessing his injuries for a moment. “The others?” he asked.

“Dead,” Jacob told him sadly. “I can't find Garshaw anywhere…”

“They took her,” Malek said. “I tried… I tried to stop them but I could not…”

“It's alright,” Jacob told him. “You tried…”

Malek looked at him, unmasked pain and grief in his eyes. “All dead?” he asked.

Jacob nodded. “Yes,” he answered. “Bar one. Elise is hurt but alive.”

Malek's eyes glistened and he closed them. A shard of pain pierced his soul, echoing though Jared as neither of them heard what Jacob said properly. “What have I done…?” <Elise, Talia…> he mourned silently.

Jacob looked at him. “Let's get you out of here,” he said. “How badly hurt are you?”

Malek shook his head. “It's nothing,” he said. This in some respects was a lie. He knew his ankle was broken as was his left shoulder. There was a staff blast burn to his stomach which was causing problems and he had internal bleeding too but that was nothing as far as everything else went. His base had been attacked. The lives he was personally responsible for had been taken, erased… one hundred fifty lives gone. Three hundred if he included both hosts and symbiotes. And the one he cared about most of all. <Forgive me…>

Jacob helped Malek up, noting the grunt of pain as he did so. “Where does it hurt?” he asked again.

“I told you, it's nothing,” Malek replied through gritted teeth.

“And you're a lousy liar,” Jacob said. “Sit here a moment. And I'll go back for Elise.”

Malek let him sit him on the pile of rock in the tunnel and closed his eyes. He heard Jacob move away and gave into the grief flooding him for an instant.

Jacob crossed the room. “Elise…” he said.

Her eyes flickered open. “She's retreated,” Talia whispered. “Trying to heal us, mourning those that are no longer here.”

Jacob nodded. “I found Malek,” he said.

Talia jerked upright stifling the cry of pain that surged through her. “Where is he?”

Jacob put a hand on her arm. “He's badly hurt but won't admit it. He's over here,” He helped her to her feet.

Talia let him lead her, the vision in her damaged eye fading. “Malek!” she called.

Malek's head jerked upright, his eyes snapping open. “Talia?” he called. He stood up, regretting moving so fast but unable to believe what he was hearing. “Talia?”

Jacob led her over to him and watched as Malek stumbled towards them. He let go of Talia and watched as the two of them fell into each others arms.

Talia sobbed as she clung to her mate. “I thought you were dead,” she cried. “I saw you fall…”

Malek held her tightly. “And I you,” he whispered, tears perilously close to the surface but his dignity not letting them loose. Not yet, not til he was alone. He kissed her neck, his fingers winding through her hair, his lips finding hers.

Jacob turned away, giving them a few seconds of privacy. <Sel we have to get them out of here.>

<I know… if the emergency beacon was activated then help should come from another base.>

Jacob looked at Malek. “You two stay here, I'm going to check the rest of the base and then come back.”

Malek nodded.

Jacob nodded and set off down the tunnels, zat at the ready just in case.

Malek gingerly sat down and pulled Talia down too, keeping her in his arms. Then he withdrew to start repairs to his body. Jared looked at the woman in his arms. “My love?” he said.

Talia lifted her burned face to his. “Hi,” she whispered.

Jared gasped and ran a hand gently down the edge of the burns. “I'm sorry,” he said. “We weren't strong enough to protect you.”

“You did,” she said. “I'm alive… and if you hadn't pushed me out of the way I wouldn't be.”

Jared nodded, wincing slightly. “That wasn't one of my cleverest moves,” he said his hand going to his side. “But Mal's gonna work on it.”

Talia looked at him. “You saved my life,” she told him. “Thank you.”

He leaned forwards and kissed her gently. “We love you,” he told her. “We'd die for you, you know that.”

She nodded. “But not today,” she said kissing him.

Jacob moved through the tunnels finding nothing but dead bodies until he heard voices coming from Malek's office. He slowed down, bringing the zat up, his finger on the trigger. < Jaffa > he whispered.

Selmak nodded. <And not happy either.>

He peered round the corner. <Four… we can probably manage 3 before they realise…>

The rings activated and Jacob darted back into another chamber. He started slightly as he heard footsteps and a voice he recognised. <Apophis! Thought he was dead!>

<Guess not> Selmak sighed. <Some bad guys just do not know when to give in.>

<Do we?> Jacob quipped.

<That my friend is beside the point!> Selmak responded. <Now we'll never get out or take them.>

Apophis stormed past where Jacob was hiding and into Malek's office. “Well?!” he demanded.

“It is not here,” the jaffa replied. “We have turned the entire base upside down.”

Apophis glared at him. “It has to be… the woman said it was.” He turned to one of the other jaffa. “Bring her here.”

The jaffa nodded and left the room. Five minutes later he returned dragging Garshaw by her hair.

Jacob closed his eyes as she passed him. Her dress was torn and bloodied, her face blackened and her hair hung in rats tails. She limped hard trying to keep up with the jaffa. From the stiff way she held her body it was obvious she was badly hurt. He watched from his hiding place as the jaffa pushed her to her knees in front of Apophis.

“Where is it?!” Apophis demanded.

Garshaw looked at him defiantly. “Can you not find it?” she asked him through split lips. She twisted her head with the blow, the crack resounding round the chamber.

“Insolence!” Apophis yelled. “Where is it?”

She looked at him. “You will never find it!” she told him. She cried out as his foot connected with her stomach, doubling over.

Jacob readied the zat.

<What are you thinking… there are too many of them.>

<Then we go down fighting> he answered. He jumped as someone touched his sleeve and he swung round ready to shoot, realising at the last second it was Malek. “I almost shot you!” he hissed.

Malek raised an eyebrow. “What is one more injury?” he quipped. “We do this together. How many are there?”

“Seven… including Apophis.”

Malek's intake of breath was sharp as he fought a wave of pain. “There are three of us.”

Jacob looked at him. “Three?”

Elise appeared from behind Malek. “Did you think I was going to miss all the fun?” she asked. “I owe them Jacob.”

Jacob nodded. “Then we do this now and on three.”

Malek nodded. He knew what the odds were and they were not in their favour but they did have the element of surprise.

Jacob raised his hand and counted off on his fingers. Exactly on three he threw himself round the corner firing as he did so. Time seemed to slow as zat fire and staff blasts hung in the air, along with blue and orange light and smoke. He heard a scream that hung on the air, but he was not sure who it was.

Finally the smoke cleared and he looked round for the people he wanted to see.

Malek stood next to him, with Elise beside him.

“Garshaw?” he called looking round the room.

There was movement from the tunnel and he heard someone scream. Hefting the zat in his hand he ran into the tunnel and headed towards the rings, following the footsteps.

He barely heard Malek call his name and give chase down the tunnel after him. All he wanted to do was get to the rings and Garshaw before they left the base. He flew into the ring room and dove to one side avoiding the energy blast Apophis shot at him. He hit the wall and sat up, firing at Apophis.

The zat fire bounced harmlessly off the shield and Apophis laughed.

Jacob picked up a rock and threw it at Apophis.

It hit his hand disabling the ribbon just as he was about to activate the rings. Apophis scowled and pulled Garshaw towards him. “Are you willing to risk her life?” he asked, putting the ribbon to her throat.

Jacob looked at him and at Garshaw. His finger tightened on the trigger. He wanted to pull it, Selmak wanted to pull it. He looked at Garshaw, her eyes pleading with him to do it. But something was stopping him. “I can't… I'm sorry.”

Apophis laughed. “Put it down and activate the rings,” he said. “Or she dies.”

Malek appeared behind Jacob. “Let her go!” he ordered.

Apophis just laughed harder. “She will die,” he said.

Jacob looked at Malek. “Activate the rings,” he said brokenly. “At least this way she's alive.”

Malek looked at him, an unspoken phrase darting between them then he nodded. He crossed to the ring controls.

Jacob looked at Garshaw. “You know I love you,” he said.

Garshaw nodded. “I know you do.”

“And that no matter what happens the good guys win.”

She nodded.

Malek activated the rings.

At the same Jacob fired the zat at Apophis. He heard Garshaw and Apophis cry out and both fell to the floor. Then he heard Malek call his name as he dived into the path of the rings, pulling Garshaw to safety. Then there was pain, the feeling of something hitting his head and then nothing.

It was several hours later before he opened his eyes. At first he didn't recognise anything or anyone then he became aware of a healer from another base standing over him. “Try not to move,” she said. “Just keep still for me.”

“Tilja… where are the others?”

“They are fine, asking about you. You can see them in a while.” She ran the scanner over him. “You should rest a while longer.”

Jacob nodded, too tired to argue and fell asleep again. The next time he opened his eyes Malek was sitting there. “Hey…” he managed.

Malek smiled. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I got hit by a truck.”

“Actually it was the rings. Fortunately Elise ran in behind us and pulled you out of the way before it beamed your head up with Apophis.”

“Garshaw?”

Malek smiled. “Tilja practically had to chain her to the bed to get her to lie down. She wanted to be with you rather than be treated herself.”

Jacob pushed himself up. “I need to see her… ahhhh.”

Malek pushed him back down. “You need to rest,” he told him. “I'll bring her here.”

Jacob watched as Malek left and then came back a few minutes later with Garshaw. He hugged her tightly, all the pent up emotions of the last day pouring through him. “I though I had lost you,” he whispered.

Garshaw kissed him gently. “No my love. You didn't. We're safe and so are you two. Live to fight another day.”

Fin
© Tels Sept 2006.

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