A HUGE thank you to those who've supported this story thus far! My apologies for the lengthy delay - writer's block has been a real bitch! I thought the plot needed a shake-up, so this chapter is a flash-forward! As always, feedback is welcome. Freya x

She cupped his near lifeless face in her dirt-stained hands.

"Don't you dare die on me, Sir!" she hissed through clenched teeth, "We've come too far for you to give up now!"

His eyelids fluttered open to reveal a sliver of deep brown pupil against a bloodshot background.

He could feel the life draining from his battle-worn body, but he rallied all his remaining strength and forced his eyes to focus on hers.

He'd spent years studying every expression on her face and he thought he'd seen them all - but there was something missing from her eyes. He'd been in near-death experiences before - and there was always a glimmer in Carter's pupils, a shimmer of hope that he'd survive. That light had gone. In that moment, he knew he had met his end. Her familiar sapphire gaze now appeared overcast - clouded by feelings of regret for a love unexplored.

His dry, pale lips fell open and he expelled a raspy whisper, "Sam..."

Salty discharge began to collect in Sam's left tear duct. She blinked hard and let it stream unashamedly down her cheek. The water began its journey down her soft, delicate cheekbones but was suddenly stopped in its path by the gentle, yet calloused touch of her superior officer.

The thumb on his quaking left hand brushed the moisture aside and the hand dropped, coming to rest on her braided leather bracelet.

"I-I-I-I…:" he stuttered.

Sam defiantly shook her head. "Please, Sir...try not to speak. You need to conserve your energy. Help is on the way."

"Not…this...time...Sam."

"No, Sir. Please don't say that. We need you... I need you," she whispered, "Please hang on, please…" She pressed her forehead into his and squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that some of her life force would seep into his frail form. She knew it wasn't feasible, but she was clinging to the idea like a life preserver.

His breath was coming out in short, shallow gasps. His hand dropped from her wrist and hit the cold, hard floor.

"Jack..?" She buried her dirt-tinged fingertips into his neck. She could feel his pulse pushing back - but it was fading fast.

In the distance, the twin suns were commencing their daily descent. The sky was stained in a palette of muted pinks and oranges and the distant mountains were scaring the landscape like a two-dimensional tattoo. A light breeze swept across the baron terrain and whistled through the great temple. It would have been refreshing - almost poetic, if it hadn't also taken Jack's last laboured breath away on its wings.

The front legs of his deck chair groaned as they reconnected with the wooden decking. His head jerked around stiffly as he took in his surroundings. He was at the lake. His lake. In Minnesota.

"What the…?!"

"Hello camper!" Came a voice from behind him.

He swivelled to face it.

"Who are you...and what the hell is going on?!"