Sam sat in the hard, plastic chair by the side of Jack's bed, watching without much interest as the clock ticked it's way through the day. Idly, she noted that she'd been in here for at least three hours. Stifling a sob, she crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and began to think.
*Life would be so much easier if he wasn't so damned attractive.* A smile flickered across her lips as she remembered the twinkle in Jack's eyes as he teased her. A little voice spoke in her head saying,
*So what, exactly, is the problem Carter?*
*The problem is that I like him too much, and he's my CO.*
*So? You know he likes you, you've seen him watching you when he doesn't think you're looking.
*He does not!*
*Huh!*
*Ok, so maybe he does…that doesn't change the fact that he's my CO. Remember the reg's?*
*I bet if you smiled sweetly, the General would make an exception.*
*Well…*
*So? What's your problem? You know how you feel.*
*Do I? How do I feel?*
*You love him, stupid, you just haven't admitted it to yourself yet. Everyone else know about it though.*
*What!?!? Assuming, for a moment, that I do love him, how does everyone else know?*
*Oh, come on, Sam. There's so much chemistry there you'd have to be blind not to notice.*
*Ok, ok, enough already! I'll admit it. I love Jack O'Neill. Now what?*
*Tell him, silly.* Sam's eyes snapped open as she heard Janet open the door. Sam blushed slightly as she caught Janet's eye. Janet just grinned, knowing what was going through the Major's head.
*And it's about time too…I wondered how long it would take them.* She glanced at Jack, who opened his eyes. He looked at the door as General Hammond came in, followed by Teal'c, and Daniel, who was allowed out of bed for a short time, because it was necessary.

Janet ran her eyes over the graph at the foot of the bed before saying
"Well, Colonel, it seems like we've found a possible cure for you." His face broke into a grin, but it froze as Hammond said,
"But there are some risks, son. If Doctor Jackson's right, you could quite possibly not survive the cure. Or, it might not work at all." Jack closed his eyes for a moment, thinking. When he opened them again, he said,
"I'll do it." He glanced at Carter. Seeing the look in her eyes, he continued,
"Can I speak with the Major alone first please?" The General placed a fatherly hand on Jack's shoulder, murmuring,
"Of course you can, Colonel." He left the room, taking the others with him. Jack watched as the door closed behind them and waited a second or so before facing Sam. She took his hand in hers, giving him a brave half-smile as he sighed. As he drew breath to say something, Sam cut him off.
"Jack, there's something I need to tell you, before you say anything." Startled somewhat, Jack let the breath he had drawn out, nodding to her to continue.
"You know that you mightn't survive this, don't you?" Again, Jack nodded, his throat closing slightly as he choked back tears.
"Well, I just wanted you to know that I…" She swallowed, gathering her courage.
"I know you're my commanding officer and all, and you probably still care about Sarah, but I wanted you to know that I love you…If anything goes wrong." Sam blinked the tears out of her eyes, looking down into Jack's.
"It can take something like this to make us realize how much someone means to us, and then, it's usually too late. I want you to know…Jack" Jack gazed up into her red-rimmed eyes, his heart hammering in his chest.
"You know I've been attracted to the lunatic fringe, but I fell for you before I knew you were out there. When I looked into your eyes at our first briefing , I saw pain, and a steel wall, and I saw hope. As I learnt more about you, I saw the hope flare, and the walls come down. You fascinated me. I wanted to get inside you, find out what made you tick, and when I got there, I didn't want to leave. I I feel like I'm a part of you, and I don't want to lose you."
"Sam," She closed her eyes, her heart clenching within her. There was a silence for several seconds. When Sam opened her eyes, she saw Jack still looking at her, a small grin forming.
"I wish you'd told me sooner…" Sam leant down, brushing her lips against his, wishing that he could take her into his arms and tell her that it was all right, but he couldn't. Jack drew a shuddering breath before meeting Sam's gaze again.
"I love you too, you know." She was about to respond, when he continued.
"But there's more…" Seeing the confusion cross her face, he said,
"If this doesn't work, and that thing is still inside of me, I don't want to live like this." Sam cried out,
"Jack, no! I couldn't do that to you!" Calming himself, he said,
"Sam, please…I couldn't bear living like that…never knowing what I will do next, strapped down, and drugged senseless. It would be kinder for me to die. Please Sam, do this for me…" Her heart shriveling inside her, Sam laid her head down next to Jack's and sobbed into his hair. Tears pouring down her cheeks, she choked back another sob, saying,
"I will, only if there's no other choice...none." Jack swallowed tears of his own, placing a tender kiss on Sam's temple. Sam lay on the bed for several minutes, her shaking subsiding. Eventually, she brushed some hair away from Jack's forehead, running her fingers through his graying locks.
"I'd better get Daniel in here." She stood up, looking at him for a moment before going to the door. Wiping her eyes, she opened it, signaling for Daniel to come in.

Daniel came into the room wheeling a tray laden with items, saying to Sam,
"Well, I've got everything I need… The Rites say that his can only be done with three people present, and, since I know that you won't leave him, it's up to us Sam." Jack faced Daniel, his eyes calm.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing Daniel?" Daniel swallowed before saying,
"Um, I'm as sure as I can be Jack." He glanced at some notes he had taken outside. Moving quickly, he set up twelve candles around the bed, lighting each one in turn. He had glued all of the broken pieces of the stone cask together, leaving the two halves separate. Placing one half on either side of Jack's head, he stepped back. He glanced at Sam.
"I need you to make sure that none of the candles go out, Sam. If one does, light it again as quickly as possible." He went over to the light switch, flicked it off, and faced Jack in the half-light.
"I'm about to begin, Jack. The Shadow Lord will try to take you over again. You must fight it. If you let it beat you, it will have complete control over you, forever." Daniel read over his notes one more time before he placed them on the tray and stepped back. He drew a deep breath and began reciting the Rites of Light in a deep, sonorous voice.

"Ego Pontifex Luxus sum, Dominus Umbras, vocoque adhic locus." He spread his hands in the air above over Jack's body, trembling as he struggled silently.
"In nomini Luxos, te iubeo hic corpus exii." He closed his hands slowly, as if gripping something. A dark shadow pooled around the body as Jack opened his eyes. Swirling darkness, they focused on Daniel in hate and rage. A hoarse cry came from his lips, grating on Sam and Daniel's ears as Jack writhed against the bonds holding him down.
"Id non faciebo!" The heart rate monitor double it's pace, Jack's body twitching in time to the frantic beat. Daniel's face hardened as he continued, sweating as he concentrated.
"Facebas! Exii hic corpus, habitateque in hanc arcula. Adhunc habitate longam, poste aeternam. Hic te iubeo, Dominus Umbras de Nomeniis Deorum Luxos! Abii!" The candle flames lengthened and stilled, standing like glowing sentinels around the bed. Daniel spread his hands apart, clenching them into fists. His jaw tightened as Jack howled in agony. Shaking, he said,
"Fiat Lux!" A soft, pale glow formed around his fists, covering them like gloves. He opened his hands and lowered the towards the blackness now hovering inches above Jack, who now lay quiet, agony still written on his face. Sinking his hands into the shadow, Daniel gripped the seemingly insubstantial shade which twisted in pain, it's shriek now so high pitched that it was almost unheard. Struggling against the shade, Daniel moved his hands up to Jack's head. Bunching the darkness into a tight ball, he said,
"Clause!" A faint gust of wind whispered across the room, it's touch bearing with it the smell of decay, an absence of hope. One candle wavered, then died. Sam jumped out of her seat so quickly that it fell to the floor. Picking up the box of matches, she struck one and touched the flame to the smoldering candle wick. A long, drawn out 'beeeeep' echoed through the room, Jack's body stilling. The halves of the box one either side of Jack's head lifted into the air, turning so that they faced each other. Thin beams of light came out of the edges, heading to the other half of the cask. As they neared the balled shadow, they slowed, almost stopping. The shadow began to grow, forcing the beams of light back. Finally, the candle caught again. As the flame spread upwards once more, the shadow contracted, recoiling from the light. Now enclosed behind bars of light, the shadow shrunk further as the halves of the box came together. Just before the edges touched, a faint wailing came from inside, growing softer as the cask closed. A flash of intense white light came from it as the edges touched. Blinking rapidly to clear the fading purple after-image, Daniel glanced at the candles. As their light stretched towards the ceiling, all twelve of the flames spread out, forming a golden ring around Daniel and Jack . It contracted, rising over Daniel's head and settled on Jack's chest. It flowed over him like a sheet, molding to him. It flared once, before fading.

Sam immediately felt for a pulse in Jack's neck. Tears falling down her cheeks, she placed her hands on his chest, starting CPR. Sobbing with each compression, Sam said,
"Live, damn you! Live! Don't leave me, Jack, please!" Jack opened his eyes and coughed. Immediately, Sam took his face in her hands and kissed him fiercely, her hands undoing the ties that held him down. His arms wrapped around her as she buried her face in his neck, hugging him so tightly he felt like his ribs would crack, but he didn't mind. Raising his eyes to Daniel, he mouthed the words
"Thank you." Daniel smiled wearily at the couple on the bed before heading tiredly outside to the waiting people at the door.

Daniel and Sam stood facing each other in front of the opened Stargate, their hands touching the cold metal of the new cask. Jack held it in his hands, gazing into the event horizon. They had taken the cask and placed it into a box made from solid trinium, and welded the lid on. On the outside of the metal surface, they had engraved the Rites of Light, as well as a warning to all who saw it not to touch it. Finally, after many weeks searching, they had located a barren world, devoid of life, and whose local 'Gate would only accept incoming objects. Now, they were about to send the Shadow Lord there, hopefully for eternity. Jack drew a breath, his face creasing into a grin as he lifted the box and threw it at the event horizon. A sigh of satisfaction escaped his lips as the 'Gate disengaged, sealing the Shadow Lord on his desolate world. They headed up to the surface of the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, all happier that there was no chance of the shadow coming back. When they reached the car park, Daniel headed over to his car, leaving Sam and Jack standing alone, Jack's arm draped casually around Sam's waist. He turned her to face him and kissed her lingeringly. When they broke apart, Jack took Sam's left hand in his own and kissed the golden ring on her finger. Grinning happily, he looked into her face and said
"See you at the altar, Mrs. Carter-O'Neill…" Finis!