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GateWorld FanFic Presents
How Long is Forever? (Part 1 of 2)
by ChristianGateFan
Rating: Teens
Category: Action/Adventure, AlternateUniverse, Romance, Angst, Hurt/Comfort
Season: SG-1 Season Three, SG-1 Season Nine
Related SG-1 Episode(s): 101 Children of the Gods, 209 Secrets, 306 Point of View, 310 Forever In a Day, 521 Meridian, 718 Heroes, Part 2, 817 Reckoning, Part 2, 818 Threads, 901 Avalon, Part 1, 902 Avalon, Part 2, 903 Origin, 904 The Ties That Bind, 905 The Powers That Be, 906 Beachhead
Featured Character(s): Daniel Jackson
Pairing(s): Daniel/Share
Summary: Amaunet captures and tortures Daniel, planning to kill him. How will he survive and escape? What is his older self doing here? And will either get another chance to see Sha're herself again before it's too late?
Author Notes: This is not my first fic, but is my first Stargate fanfic, so please be nice! Though I don't think it will be bad or anything. I did quite a lot of other writing before this. I would "love" to get feedback, any fedback! Tell me what you loved, what I could improve, how a scene made you feel, or whatever. I'm just a young writer hungry to know what all of you think! E-mail me or send me a message here on GateWorld. ChristianGateFan is my forum name too. This story takes place in both seasons three and nine, and involves quite a bit of time-travel and alternate-universe theory stuff, but I do my best to explain everything that happens, via the characters. Also, you probably saw the mention of torture in the description, so yes, it is a bit violent and there is plenty of Danny Whumping. I am a Christian, however, so nothing gruesome or anything, and no language or, uhm, other things, you know. There is no 'permanent' character death, I should say. The story does involve alternate universes, but is not AU in itself. This story is meant to keep the continuity of the series. So, anyway, please read and enjoy the story. Part 2 is in progress, and if you all like this and want to read Part 2, let me know! Have a blessed day! --Kaitlyn Wooley
How Long is Forever?
Daniel Jackson was trapped. He was trapped on an alien world, brought here against his
will, by a means he didn't yet understand. He was trapped in a Goa'uld facility belonging
to Apophis, the one person-or thing, or whatever-he hated most in the entire universe. He
was trapped in the grip of the two serpent guards that held him between them, wouldn't
allow him to move even an inch.
Not that he would have been able to move much if they weren't holding him so tightly
that his arms hurt. Because not only was he caught between them, but Daniel was trapped
in the clutches of a Goa'uld hand device trained on his aching forehead. Pain racked his
entire body so harshly that by all rights he should have been trembling violently, but he
couldn't move. He couldn't struggle. His knees had given out long ago from the torture,
but the two jaffa still held him halfway up, and by now his arms felt as if they didn't let
go soon, they would tear from their sockets.
This wasn't right. This wasn't where he was supposed to be. The Goa'uld had been
defeated. Except for Baal, they weren't a threat anymore. The Ori were the problem now.
There shouldn't have been a Goa'uld trying to kill him, or get information from him, or
whatever it was this one was trying to do. Daniel couldn't really remember anymore. This
had been going on for too long; his mind was too blurred. But he knew this had happened
before, in a way...
But that wasn't it. No, the worst part of it all was that Daniel was trapped in a nightmare
that refused to end. Because the face that loomed before him, not quite in focus anymore
because of his blurring vision, was too familiar, too precious to him to be the cause of the
agony he was feeling.
But it was reality. He knew his eyes weren't lying, hadn't been lying to him since he had
been brought here. And the knowledge brought with it an even more unbearable agony,
one that tore at his heart relentlessly, one that showed on his face more clearly than
anything else as he stared helplessly up at his tormentor, forcing back one of the loud
groans of pain that had issued from his mouth so often in recent hours.
Instead the stricken young archaeologist forced himself to speak, even though it only
made the pain worse.
"Sha're..." Daniel gasped once.
But of course she did not reply. Amaunet only frowned and increased the intensity of the
orange beam leaping from the ribbon device to his forehead, and Daniel shouted, his face
twisting in agony as the pain increased exponentially. He hadn't even thought that was
possible. *Obviously I was wrong*, he thought helplessly as his vision began to darken
quickly. About more than just that...
And Daniel Jackson's world abruptly went black.
------------------------------------------------------
Three Days Earlier
(Or six years previously, from his point of view...)
"Hey Sam, wait up!" Daniel's voice called from down the hallway.
Samantha Carter slowed her slightly urgent pace enough to glance over her shoulder at
Jackson, coming up behind her. Then she did a double take on him.
*I've got to stop doing that*, she scolded herself as she stopped to comply with his request.
She was still getting used to the shorter hair thing.
Seconds later, an out of breath Daniel Jackson caught up to her, and both continued
together, their pace a bit slower than either's had been a moment before.
"Thanks," Daniel said, catching his breath. "I thought I was gonna be late-glad to see I'm
not the only one running close." He was referring to the mission briefing they were both
on their way to.
Sam looked over at him and smiled. "Same here," she admitted good-naturedly.
Daniel nodded. "Yeah...So, where are we off to this time?"
"Um...P5R-316," Carter replied after a pause in thought. "They just sent the M.A.L.P.
through, so we should be able to see some of the telemetry after the briefing.
A moment later, the two of them were climbing the stairs to their destination. When they
arrived, Daniel glanced self-consciously at the clock on the wall. He was relieved to see
that General Hammond, Colonel O'Neill, and Teal'c, who were already present, were
simply early. The two doctors were not late, but right on time. That surreptitiously
assessed, Jackson and Carter took their places around the table, and the general began the
briefing.
-------------------------------------------------
After the briefing, SG-1 sat gathered around one of the computers in the control room
that looked out over the Stargate, studying the telemetry the M.A.L.P. probe had sent
back about P5R-316.
It seemed like a normal enough world, nothing unusual. From what the probe had been
able to see, the Stargate on the planet was surrounded by trees when one reached the edge
of the small clearing it sat in. There was no sign of civilization, but then again there could
be anything beyond those trees, Jackson reminded them, and they should still look. Teal'c
didn't recognize anything in the area, so the team prepared for a run-of-the-mill
reconnaissance mission, though still, as always, unsure of exactly what they would find
on the other side.
Late that afternoon they parted, all headed for their respective homes to rest before they
headed out at 0900 the next morning.
--------------------------------------------------------
What the probe did *not* pick up was the jaffa patrol that watched the Stargate on the
planet in question. They were too well hidden, and for good reason.
The moment the M.A.L.P. came through the familiar blue vortex, bounced down the
stone steps and stopped several feet from the Gate, the serpent guards sprung into action,
though still staying out of sight of the camera that they knew would be atop the device.
Almost immediately the message of the arriving Tau'ri machine was sent quickly to their
master, Apophis. He, in turn, relayed the information to his queen, who was more than
delighted to hear it.
----------------------------------------------------------
In space around the planet, several large ships surrounded two even larger ones, hu'tack
class vessels. Apophis stood with Amaunet on the bridge of one of the two Goa'uld
mother ships.
The alien false god turned to the woman beside him. "I must leave on my own business
now, my queen, but I wish you well in your quest."
Amaunet bowed her head. "I will not fail you again, my lord. Before I return to you this
time, the human will be dead, and I assure you it will be the worst one possible." At the
last part, there was a hint of an evil, anticipating smile on the impassive, beautiful face as
it rose again.
Apophis smiled and nodded once in satisfaction. "I hope as much."
And then, with a final stroke of her cheek, he left. Moments later he had ringed to his
own ship, and the fleet separated. The majority of it jumped almost immediately into
hyperspace with Apophis's ship, but two or three remained with their queen. Not long
after Apophis had gone, Amaunet gave the order that sent her own ships into hyperspace,
but in the opposite direction.
-----------------------------------------------
She was *there*. Sha're was *there*. Over two years he'd waited, begged silently for the
chance to rescue her, to bring her back into his life as the wonderful woman she was, not
as the evil thing that the parasite that had taken over her body was. He had had her once,
a few months before, but she had slipped through his fingers again.
But now she was here. She was standing right in front of him, once again dressed in the
simple, brown robes of her home planet Abydos, the planet he had adopted as his own.
Once again she smiled warmly, and her eyes looked at him softly, lovingly, not glowing.
Her arms were open wide, welcoming him.
For a moment Daniel didn't know what to do. It was too good to be true. But then joy
overran his uncertainties, and he ran toward her. But as he drew closer, Sha're began to
change. Before he could stop his advance, the brown robes had melted away to reveal the
colorful robes of an Egyptian goddess, her warm eyes and smile had disappeared, to be
replaced by the cold, impassive stare he had come to hate so much. Worst of all, her arms
were no longer open to him. A Goa'uld ribbon device had appeared on her left hand.
Daniel's eyes barely had time to widen in shock and horror, before she thrust out with the
hand device, and he felt himself pushed off the ground, blown back across the room he
couldn't identify. He landed hard, cried out in pain. And then she was on him, the ribbon
device still active. He felt smothered, suffocated, and she was no longer smiling, not even
still impassive. That was bad enough. But no, she was...she was laughing at him.
He tried to say something, plead with her, get through to his wife, but it was no use. He
knew death was close. If only he had been able to tell her he loved her one last time...
"Sha're!" Daniel shouted, bolting upright in his bed.
Breathing heavily, he looked around. He was still in his own bed. He was still alive. It
was the middle of the night, and this was his apartment, not his dream. Oh, that dream...
Daniel buried his face in his hands, trying to return his breathing to normal.
*Sha're*...he thought in despair. It had been months since he'd even seen her, more than
two years since she had been taken from him, invaded by the Goa'uld Amaunet, taken
over.
Daniel hadn't cried since just after his last encounter with her, since seeing her and not
being able to save her. But the dream had awakened so many of the feelings that he
always had to keep buried in order to keep himself functioning normally.
And now, Daniel cried. He collapsed back against his pillows and sobbed into them. *I
promised her we would be together forever. I couldn't keep that promise. Will I ever get
her back?*
Chapter 2
*Daniel smiled softly as his wife snuggled against him in the early hours of the morning on
Abydos, which were actually a bit cool. It had only been two months since Jack O'Neill
and the other two survivors of the Abydos mission from earth, Kawalsky and Ferretti, had
gone back, and he had chosen to remain. Two months spent with his new wife and his
new people, her people, 'their' people--months he would never forget.
"Dan'iel?" Sha're said softly, pronouncing his name with her Abydonian accent.
"Mmm?" he replied.
"You won't ever leave me, will you, my husband??" she asked innocently. "Will you
someday go back to your planet without me?"
"Of course not," he assured her, wrapping his arms more tightly around her. "We'll be
together forever."
In the darkness, her lips formed around the new English word. "Forever? Dan'iel, how
long is 'forever'?"
Daniel's smile only widened, as much at her innocent question and the sound of her voice
as at his own thoughts of their future together.
"Forever is a 'long' time, Sha're," he assured her quietly, comfortingly. "I'm not going
anywhere. I love you," he said sincerely, leaning down to kiss her.
"I love you too, Dan'iel," Sha're replied when they pulled back from the kiss. Then once
again she rested her head on his chest, and both fell back into a peaceful sleep.*
----------------------------------------------------------
The memory both saddened Daniel and made him smile through his tears. For several
minutes he stared at the ceiling, thinking of her, remembering his favorite times from
their life on Abydos before she had been taken, even if it had only lasted one brief year.
Finally he realized that he should really try to get back to sleep, if he wanted to be fresh
for the mission in the morning. He closed his eyes and tried, but something kept nagging
at his mind. Something told him that something was wrong, or something would go
wrong. Daniel tried to ignore whatever it was, but no matter how hard he tried, sleep
eluded him for the rest of the night.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Amaunet stepped out of the rings as they deactivated, depositing her and an honor guard
of jaffa on a small planet in the middle of nowhere, a hidden base underground base only
accessible by rings, or the Stargate that loomed as the center of attention at one end of the
main room. The room was huge, the rings at the other end, surrounded by crates of
supplies, weapons, and other things. More serpent guards awaited her arrival. As soon as
the light of the ring transporter ceased, the goddess pointed her attention to the jaffa most
obviously in charge at this facility.
"My Queen," he bowed deeply. "The machine is still alone the planet, but the Tau'ri will
undoubtedly send a team through soon, just as you suspected."
"Indeed, and more than likely it will be the infamous SG-1, part of which is the man we
want," she replied, nodded. "Very good. Is the virus ready to be sent to earth?"
There the man hesitated. "A version of it ready, My Lady, but it still has a few
flaws....Our scientists are still working-and quickly-to produce a better draft for you."
"There is no time," Amaunet stated quickly. "It must be sent before the humans come
through the gate. If we miss them, we may not get another chance for a long while."
"But, My Lady," the jaffa faltered. "It is not entirely ready. In its present state, it might
not work properly. It is prone to malfunction..."
"I said, *send it*!" Amaunet said loudly, her eyes flaring with the glow of the Goa'uld.
The man backed away hesitantly, bowing low. "Yes, my Queen." He turned to his men
"*Jaffa, Kree*!" At the command, all turned to him, and he issued the order for the Stargate
to be dialed.
-------------------------------------------------------
A young lieutenant stuck on the graveyard shift in the control room looked up in alarm
when suddenly the "Unscheduled Off-world Activation" signal went off. Who would be
coming unscheduled in the middle of the night?
Seconds later, the gate activated, but the iris was already activated. The young man
waited tensely, but nothing happened-no audio, video, or even text messages, and no
impact sounds from the other side of the sealed metal barrier. By the time General
Hammond arrived on the site, it had shut down again. The gate had only been active for a
few seconds.
Nothing seemed to be wrong. It had just opened and closed again. What they didn't notice
because of the lack of presence of more expertise, was the discrete signal that had been
sent into their computer system from the Goa'uld base currently commanded by
Amaunet. The unnoticeable virus that was to sit dormant until the next morning, when it
would be needed.
------------------------------------------------------
O'Neill and Carter noticed immediately that Daniel looked tired the next morning when
they gathered in the Gate room for departure. It took Teal'c a minute or so longer.
"Something wrong, Daniel?" Jack asked as the gate began to spin.
"Chevron One, encoded."
For a moment Jackson didn't reply, somewhat spaced out. Then he realized what O'Neill
had asked him. "Huh? Oh. No, I'm fine."
"You sure about that?" Carter prodded. "You don't look so great."
"You do indeed look tired, Daniel Jackson. Are you certain you acquired enough rest last
night?"
This time Daniel sighed. "No, Teal'c, I guess I didn't," he admitted. "I kind of hardly slept
at all..."
"Chevron Five, encoded," came the voice from the control room.
"Should we scrub this and wait until tomorrow? Carter's right, you don't look so hot,"
O'Neill said sincerely.
Jackson shook his head. "No, it's all right, Jack. Let's go; I'll be fine."
"Chevron Seven, locked!" With those words, the Stargate whooshed open, spewing its
deadly wave of particles as the wormhole formed, then collapsed back in on itself,
leaving a shimmering, watery blue surface inside the huge gray ring of naquida.
Jack O'Neill look at open Gate, thought for a moment, then look back at Daniel and the
rest of his team. "All right. If you say so, Daniel. Let's move out, campers."
Chapter 3
Daniel was about to step through the event horizon after O'Neill and Teal'c, but Carter's
hand on his arm stopped him. When he turned to look at her, he realized that she had
planned this from the moment she had seen him that morning-letting the others go
through first to leave the two of them alone.
"Daniel...you sure you don't want to tell me why you couldn't sleep last night?" she
asked with genuine concern.
The young archeologist looked at her for a moment. He knew he wouldn't have been able
to say much about it to Jack or Teal'c, but maybe he could to Sam...After all, she had
always understood him a bit better than the other two...
Finally he broke her gaze and looked away, sighing heavily. "It was just...nightmares."
Her face asked him to keep going. "I was dreaming about her..." he added quietly.
Immediately Carter's face softened even more in understanding. "Sha're?" Daniel nodded.
The major put her hand on his shoulder and moved it to pat his arm comfortingly. "Hey,
it's all right. We'll find her again."
"Yeah. I know she's out there somewhere..." His voice trailed off, stopped altogether. A
moment later it came back, and it sounded suddenly for all the world as if the
conversation they'd just had hadn't happened, like he'd pushed it to the back of his mind
to get on with the mission.
"Well, we'd better get going," Daniel said, his voice no longer soft but at normal volume-
maybe even a bit louder.
Sighing, Carter nodded in agreement, and the two of them stepped through.
-----------------------------------------------------
Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c's journey was not interrupted. Safely they stepped out of the
gate onto P5R-316. The virus had not awoken fast enough. They were allowed to pass to
their destination normally. However, it had come to full attention by the time Major
Samantha Carter and Dr. Daniel Jackson had stepped into the wormhole. Surreptitiously,
so as not to alert anyone at Stargate Command, as it had been programmed, it altered
their course.
It wasn't so un-noticeable to the two travelers it affected, though. Both noticed the severe
jolt, even in their dematerialized state, and when they stepped through the Stargate on the
other side, both realized immediately that something had, in fact, gone wrong.
-----------------------------------------------------
As expected, less than a second after stepping through the Earth Gate, Jack stepped
through the gate on P5R-316, Teal'c right on his heels. He took a deep breath of fresh air
and let it out with a sound of satisfaction.
"Well, kids, seems nice enough here. I wonder how friendly the locals...are..."
O'Neill's voice trailed off when he saw that the only 'kid' present behind him was Teal'c.
The others weren't there.
At the look on his commander's face, Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "You should not worry,
O'Neill. More than likely, Major Carter and Daniel Jackson were simply later than we
were in going through the Stargate."
Realizing that the larger man was probably right, Jack nodded. "Right, just a little slower.
We just have to wait." But something annoying at the back of his mind was telling him
that maybe that 'wasn't' correct. He'd heard about the off-world activation last night.
Maybe something was wrong...But no, just wait, he told himself. They'll be through in a
minute. After all, the gate was still active, which meant passengers were still in transit,
right?
A couple of minutes later, the Gate shut off.
"Uh..." Jack started. "Hey T...You got an explanation for that one?"
The eyebrow went up again, but this time seemed more urgent, if an eyebrow could look
urgent. But of course, O'Neill had become accustomed to Teal'c's expressions, and this
one was definitely more worried.
"I do not," he said, which didn't make Jack feel any better.
"Okay...Well, maybe something went wrong and they had to shut it down before they
could go through. That's probably it. They'll dial again and send them through in a few
minutes. Let's just...wait here for now," the colonel said uncertainly.
Nodding, Teal'c sat down on the stone steps before the Stargate, sure to stay out of the
path an opening wormhole would cover, vaporizing anything it its path. Jack sat down
next to him, and they waited.
----------------------------------------------------------
The first thing Daniel noticed when he and Sam exited the Stargate was that there were
no trees, and everything was the wrong color-not green, but gold.
"Uh...this doesn't look a heck of a lot like P5R-316, does it?" he said in confusion.
Sam shook her head, just as baffled. "No, it doesn't. And where are Teal'c and the
colonel?" she said, raising her weapon in caution.
When she said that, Jackson looked around and realized that she was right. Their
teammates were nowhere to be found, and neither was the M.A.L.P or the rolling,
mechanized cart that had carried all of their extra supplies, which had gone through first,
before Jack and Teal'c.
What Daniel noticed next forced him to suppress a gasp. The walls were gold, the writing
that covered them was familiar, there was a set of rings at the other end of the room, and
many boxes and crates with familiar-looking designs.
"Uh, Sam...I don't know where they are, but I can give you a good guess, because I think
we're in a Goa'uld facility." He couldn't have expected the answer he got.
"Your first guess is wrong, Doctor Jackson. Your friends are not here. It seems they
managed to arrive at their destination safely. However, your second guess was correct.
This base is, in fact, Goa'uld."
Carter whipped her head around in the direction the voice had come from. Daniel started
as well, also turning immediately to seek the source. The voice had been clearly Goa'uld,
but there was also something familiar about it...
What they saw was a contingent of jaffa entering the room from a large door to the side.
They surrounded the one who had spoken.
The moment he saw the beautifully dressed woman in the center, Daniel Jackson's breath
caught in his throat, and suddenly he felt suffocated, almost as he had in his dream the
night before.
There was so much he should have said, wanted to say...but in the end Daniel was only
able to force out one breathless word.
"Sha're."
Chapter 4
Samantha Carter looked back and forth between them, not sure of what to do. Daniel
simply stood frozen.
The corner of Sha're's mouth curled upward in a half smile. "No, I'm afraid not," said the
deep, duel voice of the Goa'uld inside her. Daniel realized then that it was not his wife.
Amaunet was in control, she was speaking. The hopes that had risen when he first saw
her came crashing down, but didn't disappear entirely. Sha're was still in
there...somewhere...
Jackson gulped hard. "What do you want? What's going on?"
What happened next happened quickly. Amaunet did not answer, but partly turned to one
of the jaffa, giving a silent command. The serpent guard raised his staff weapon, and
instinctively Daniel jumped in front of Carter, pulling out his zat and preparing to shoot
the man with a stun beam, but he didn't get a chance to before the staff blast took him in
the midsection. The young scientist shouted in pain and surprise and collapsed.
"Daniel!" Carter cried, catching him under the arms before he could hit the floor. Gently
she lowered him the rest of the way to the ground, wincing involuntarily at the bleeding
wound in his stomach. Daniel groaned in pain as she set him down. Major Carter
momentarily re-directed her attention from her injured friend to the Goa'uld in front of
her.
"What was that!" she said angrily.
"*That* was not meant for him," Amaunet said, equally perturbed. "Jaffa!"
Carter's eyes widened when she realized what the alien meant. But she had no time to
move before another staff blast cut her down, pushing her backwards.
"No!" Daniel shouted, trying to pull himself into a sitting position. He failed as the
searing pain from the wound pushed him down again. Carter crashed to the ground two or
three feet back from him, her chest smoking. It was obvious the she was hurt much worse
than he was. But she couldn't be...
"Sam!" he cried. No answer. "SAM!" A terrible fear suddenly gripped Daniel, and he all
but forgot about his overcome wife and the contingent of jaffa that stood only feet away.
Gasping in pain, he pulled himself to her side.
"Sam? Sam, can you hear me? Come on, Sam!" he called desperately. The wound looked
horrible, and she lay unmoving, her eyes closed. He held a hand over her mouth, but felt
no breath coming from it. He checked her pulse on both her wrist and neck, but found
nothing.
Daniel's throat constricted. *No...*he thought. *She can't be...*
He pushed away from her, but was too weak to do anything but roll onto his back and
stare up, still gasping. But now the gasps sounded almost like sobs, and tears stung his
eyes as his breath became shorter. He felt unconsciousness closing in on him. *Sam...*
Daniel's last thoughts before the darkness swallowed him were his desperate attempts to
understand why Sha're would have someone killed, and the last thing he saw was her
very unhappy-looking face staring down at him.
--------------------------------------------------------
Daniel Jackson's eyes snapped open. He sat up quickly, looking around. He suppressed a
groan when he realized he was in a sarcophagus. *I really don't like these things, but then
again, I'd probably be dead if they hadn't used it...*
Expanding the area he scanned with his eyes, he searched the immediate area. He sucked
in a breath when he saw was who was standing just a few feet from the sarcophagus,
waiting.
"Sha're?" he asked hesitantly.
The smirk she gave him dashed his hopes again. "I am Amaunet, Queen of Apophis, and
you are nothing but a human."
Daniel's eyes narrowed at the mention of Apophis. "But he's dead," the archeologist
informed her. And he was glad of it, too.
Her smile changed. Now it seemed to be saying *I know something you don't know*. But all
she said was. "It does not matter. What matters is that you are here." Daniel was still
suspicious of her, but he ventured another look around as he climbed warily out of the
sarcophagus to stand in front of her.
"Where is here?" he asked. He had to force himself not to run to her, take hold of her,
force Sha're to fight the alien being inside of her, take control back. But he knew that,
right now, Amaunet was in control. There was nothing he could do.
She replied to his question. "I had to have you brought to my ship in orbit, where the
sarcophagus is kept, in order to revive you. You will be brought back to the surface
shortly."
Daniel eyebrows went up, surprised she had actually given him a good answer. She
noticed the reaction, and knew what he was thinking.
"Dead men tell no tales, Doctor Jackson," she said simply.
Daniel gulped. "Uh...last time I checked I was alive."
"Not for long."
"Then why did you revive me?"
That Goa'uld smirk that Daniel hated appeared on her face again. "You never died.
Besides, I never wanted your death to be that merciful."
Daniel pulled in a quick breath. "And...what's that supposed to mean?" he asked shakily.
"I brought you here to kill you, Daniel Jackson."
Daniel suddenly felt as if he'd stopped breathing, hearing those words come from his
wife's mouth. He had to remind himself that it wasn't her. Sha're didn't want him dead.
Amaunet did. But why? She answered his silent question a moment later.
"Your very existence is a nuisance to me. My host wants freedom-all of them do-but
mine causes me much more difficulty than is normal. And it's all because of you-most
specifically because of our recent encounter. She struggles. Of course she fails, but it's
uncomfortable for me. I intend to show my host that the reason she wants the most to
escape, the man she wants to return too, is a mere nothing."
*Sha're? She's talking about Sha're! She's fighting. I knew she would. Maybe Amaunet's
trying to hide it, but she's winning. I know she is. Why else would she bring me here, do
something this drastic? I knew Sha're wouldn't give up. I knew she was strong...*
His thoughts were cut off as Amaunet edged closer to him, and Daniel felt his breath
quickening at her words. "Your death will be as slow and painful as I can manage. You'll
*wish* I had let you die back in the gate room. And who knows? I might even do it more
than once. We have a sarcophagus, after all..."
Her voice trailed off, and she moved away. Daniel felt a chill run up his spine, and he
shivered, gulping again. Trying to calm himself, he glanced around again.
That was when he spotted what lay on the floor on the other side of the room. It was
Samantha Carter's body, dropped carelessly on the ground like so much garbage.
"Sam!" he said. He tried to move in that direction, but two serpent guards stepped up to
him and took hold of his arms, holding him in place. "Let me go!" he cried, struggling.
But then Amaunet was in front of him again, much closer this time--close enough to use
her hand device. There was a flash of orange light, blinding because it was so near his
eyes, and then a beam of energy from the ribbon device had captured him.
Daniel gasped. He tried to keep his feet, but sudden pain from the energy flooded his
body, causing him to cry out, and then suddenly he began to feel exhausted. He drooped,
and the blackness began to close in again.
The only thing he heard before it engulfed him for the second time that day was
Amaunet's voice, something about 'take him to a holding cell in the complex'...
-----------------------------------------------------------
About half an hour after coming through the gate, Carter and Jackson still weren't there,
and O'Neill began to get worried. Okay, so he was already worried, but now he was
significantly *more* worried. He stood and looked to his companion.
"Come on, Teal'c, we're going back. I'm getting tired of this."
The eyebrow went up. "Are you certain we should not wait longer, O'Neill?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. Dial it up. I've got the GDO."
Teal'c nodded and stood as well, moving to the DHD to open a wormhole to earth. In the
correct order he pushed the seven symbols of the Stargate address for Jack's home planet,
and then pressed the large red dome in the center of the round, tilted control panel they
called the Dial Home Device. Jack sent the iris code through, and within minutes they
were back at the SGC. Everyone there, to their surprise, seemed shocked to seem them.
General Hammond approached them as they stepped off the metal ramp.
"Colonel, why are you back so soon? What happened to Doctor Jackson and Major
Carter?" he asked pointedly.
O'Neill frowned. "They're not here, sir?"
"Here?" the general asked in confusion. "Why would they be here? They left through the
'gate with you and Teal'c."
"But...General, they never showed up on the other side. Are you sure they went
through?" Jack said. He could feel himself starting to panic, and he didn't like it.
"Jack, we all saw them go," Hammond replied. Now there was worry on the older man's
face as well.
Jack looked around. Surely if Carter or Daniel were here, they would have been in the
gate room by now, but sure enough, neither of them were to be found. He groaned.
"This could be a problem..."
Chapter 5
In the seconds before the staff blast had hit her, Samantha Carter had known she would
be killed. What she hadn't known was that it wouldn't be the end of her. Only moments
after Daniel had been taken from the room, she opened her eyes, and glanced around to
find herself in the same sarcophagus.
Sam sat up quickly, and looked for anyone familiar. But Amaunet had gone, Daniel was
nowhere in sight--only a few jaffa and serpent guards with their helmets up were in the
room. *Why am I alive?* She wondered.
Two of the un-helmeted jaffa pulled her from the sarcophagus. When she was on her feet,
she pulled away from them. They allowed her to remain free, but herded her toward the
nearest door. She went with them, knowing by now that it was useless to ask questions,
because she wouldn't get any answers. She also hoped that, if Daniel was still alive, she
would be led to him.
The two guards took Carter to a set of rings, and used them. Then she was led through a
series of corridors that all looked the same. They were similar to what she would expect
to find on a Goa'uld ship, but different enough to keep her confused. Finally her patience
and hopes were rewarded when they took her to a holding cell.
The door opened, and the first thing Sam noticed as they pushed her in was Daniel's
unconscious form lying on one of the familiar, wide benches sticking out from one of the
walls of the all-too-familiar holding room. As the door shut behind her she went to his
side, bent down beside the bench, and attempted to rouse him.
"Daniel? Can you hear me?" When he didn't answer she began to shake him gently.
"Come on, Daniel, wake up. It's me." After a moment her efforts were rewarded when her
friend groaned, and his eyes slowly opened. When Daniel saw her, they quickly widened.
"Sam!" he said, sitting up.
"In the flesh," she said, smiling as she sat beside him.
Daniel leaned to hug her. "Thank goodness you're alive. I-I thought..."
She grimaced to herself as she returned the embrace, remembering what he was referring
to. "Yeah, I know. I was."
Daniel released her and sat back, looking at her, relief still evident on his face. "But...I
don't understand. Amaunet told me she had you killed because she didn't need you. She
wanted me. Why did she revive you?"
Carter shook her head. "I don't know. I haven't seen her. She wasn't there when I woke
up, and no one else has volunteered any information," she said, inclining her head in the
direction of the jaffa outside the door.
"Yeah...but what they will or won't tell us is the least of my worries right now."
Sam turned back to him when she heard the emotion in his voice. He wasn't looking at
her anymore; he was staring down at his hands.
She gulped. "Daniel, I'm sorry. I know this must be hard for you..."
Daniel shrugged. His effort to keep his emotions in check now that he actually had time
to think about what was happening was outwardly obvious. Then, to her surprise, what
appeared to be a half smile curled his mouth upward.
"Daniel? What is it?"
Finally he looked up at her again. "I was just thinking. Maybe the fact that you're still
alive proves that that monster isn't completely in control of her. I mean, remember what
happened just before she left Abydos with Apophis a few months ago? She looked
straight at us but didn't give us away."
"Wrong again, Doctor Jackson."
The scientist's head snapped up at the sound of her voice, and Carter spun, both of them
standing. The door to the cell was opening; Amaunet stood on the other side, several
serpent guards behind her. When the opening was clear, she took a few steps into the
room.
Daniel moved in front of her. "Why did you revive Sam? I'm not complaining, but...you
said you killed her because she was useless to you. Why did you change your mind?
What's going on?"
"My jaffa already had orders to kill anyone else that came through the gate besides you,
because we only needed you. But..." She frowned, and it was the first time either SG-1
member had heard a Goa'uld pause in uncertainty. "After more careful consideration it
was decided that Samantha Carter was more valuable alive."
Daniel's smile returned, but this time it was to mock the creature that controlled his wife's
body. "You made a mistake."
He didn't see the hand coming before the back of it slapped the left side of his face so
hard he stumbled backwards and fell to the floor, crying out.
"Hey!" Carter yelped, moving to Daniel's side. She tried to help him up, but he waved her
off and stood on his own. The entire left side of his head throbbed, and he glared at the
woman in front of him. She glared right back, her stare even more fierce than his own.
One of the jaffa behind her, obviously the highest ranking, stepped forward to bark at the
human. "Don't speak to the queen in such a way. Our lady Amaunet is a goddess; she
cannot make mistakes. Speak of such blasphemy again and I will kill you where you
stand."
Daniel spoke through clenched teeth, and Sam watched on, fearing for his life as she
looked back and forth between them. "She's not a god," he said, never taking his eyes
from his wife. "Amaunet is a parasite that has taken control of a human body-my wife's
human body. She's just as prone to make mistakes as any of us. She just admitted to one!"
His frown deepened. "And the biggest mistake she ever made was choosing that body."
The jaffa brought his staff weapon up angrily, perfectly willing to blast this insolent
human into oblivion, and Daniel stared him down. But Carter could see the tears that
gathered in his eyes.
"Kree Jaffa!" Amaunet said before he could do anything with it, calling him off. At
another silent nod from his queen, he opened his zat'ni'katel instead, and promptly fired.
Daniel shouted in pain when the electric-like beam from the zat hit him, sending pain
through every last nerve in his body. He collapsed again, shivering. Carter knelt beside
him as he gasped, struggling to regain control of his trembling body. Finally, after what
seemed an eternity but was really only a several seconds, the pain faded to a dull, residual
ache, and he could move again. But by the time he got to his knees and looked up, he and
Carter were alone in the cell again.
"Daniel, are you alright?" Sam asked in concern.
He nodded, now rubbing his still stinging cheek. "Physically, anyway-I think. I can't say
the same emotionally..." He trailed off, sighing heavily and blinking back tears. It
seemed that the resolve he had shown toward Amaunet only a moment before had left
with her. She didn't blame him.
Carter rubbed his back comfortingly. "Hey, at least we know where she is. Now all we
have to do is get out of here and make sure we bring her with us, right?"
"Yeah, right." Daniel winced, and she could see that a good-sized bruise was forming on
the side of his face. "Note to self-it *really* hurts to get hit when they have a ribbon device
on their hand. Not to mention the fact that Goa'ulds are strong anyway...owww." She
could tell that the humorous comment's only purpose had been to keep himself from
crying.
Sighing again, he stood, moved to the bench in the corner of the room, and sat down
again. Sam followed.
"Now what?" he asked, too distraught to really consider it himself.
"Well...I could try to hot-wire the door, but that hasn't worked so great in the past. We're
just not familiar enough with Goa'uld technology." Carter offered.
"Yeah, I know," Daniel said. He leaned back against the wall, hiding his red-rimmed eyes
in the shadow at the edge of the room "I'm sorry, I'm just not going to be much help right
now. I need...time...I just-I can't..."
Sam put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "I know. It's all right. Why don't you
just...tell me what happened before they brought me in here. Did I miss anything? Do
you know why Amaunet wants you here?"
Daniel gulped. "Yeah. She wants me dead."
"What? But then why..."
"She didn't want it to be that quick."
Carter's eyes widened. She'd known that seeing Sha're under the control of Amaunet
again must have been hard for him, but now she understood why he looked so shaken.
"Oh, Daniel, I had no idea..."
"It's okay Sam. There's nothing you can do about it," Daniel said quietly.
Carter looked at him for another moment or so, concern still on her face, but then she
sighed and sat back against the wall herself, hoping that some kind of idea would come to
her.
Chapter 6
"Are you sure you're *absolutely* sure, general?"
General George Hammond sighed. "Yes, Jack, I'm as sure as I could possibly be. I've
checked numerous times. *Nothing* has been reported coming through the second gate. I'm
sorry, colonel, but we'll just have to look elsewhere."
O'Neill sighed. "Yeah, but where is *elsewhere*?"
"They could be on any world between Earth and P5R-316, O'Neill," Teal'c said. "You
should remember that this has happened before."
"I try not to," Jack grumbled. "But that was simple-sort of. We were on earth. We have
no idea where Carter and Daniel are."
"Indeed, O'Neill, but we must attempt to find them."
"I'm not arguing with *that*, Teal'c. Of curse we have to find them. But I just don't get it.
Not that I get what happened last time, but, doesn't there have to be some kind of energy
surge thingy for this to happen? I didn't notice anything weird during gate travel, so why
did it 'skip', or whatever? Assuming that really what happened."
"We have to assume that's what happened, colonel, no matter how unlikely it seems.
Because unless I see proof of the alternative, I'm not going to accept it," Hammond said
resolutely. "Daniel Jackson and Samantha Carter are out there somewhere, and we're
going to do all we can to find them."
O'Neill stood, and Teal'c followed suit.
"Permission to join the off-world search teams, general?" Jack said. "I'm going to find my
people."
"Permission granted, colonel."
---------------------------------------------------------
Only hours after they had been left alone, the door to the Goa'uld holding cell opened
again, and two jaffa entered. The two ever-present guards still stood outside. Carter was
the first to rise to her feet, and Daniel followed, slowly.
"What do you want now?" she said.
None of the aliens said anything, but the two who had come in moved immediately in
Daniel's direction. One of them grabbed his shoulder and shoved him toward the
entrance, shouting "Kree!" in his ear. The young scientist winced and did as he was
obviously being told.
"What are you doing?" Carter demanded.
"It's okay, Sam," Daniel said, following the jaffa out of the cell.
"No, it's not. I heard what you said..." she protested.
"Sam, try to stop them and they'll hurt you. So just don't, okay?"
"But-" she began, but she could get no further, as at that moment the door slid shut in her
face, and the serpent guards herded Daniel around the corner, out of her sight. She sighed
in frustration. And sat down again, hard.
-----------------------------------------------------
Daniel Jackson gulped as he was led down the corridor of the Goa'uld facility. He was
almost certain he knew what came next, and even more certain that he wouldn't like it if
he was correct. True to his fears, a moments later he was pushed into another room,
larger than the one he had been confined in the past few hours. Amaunet and two more
jaffa awaited him and the two that had come with him.
Daniel heard the door close behind them. Then, before he could catch his breath at the
site of his wife staring at him coldly, he felt the familiar, though unwelcome sensation of
the butt of a staff weapon being rammed into the back of his legs, forcing his knees to
give out. He grunted and fell, crying out when his knees slammed painfully onto the cold,
hard floor.
Still wincing, Daniel looked up at her, hoping to be able to say something to her, but he
didn't get the chance, before once again the hand device was focused on his forehead. But
this time she was not trying to render him unconscious, and the ribbon of energy from the
device sent paralyzing waves of pain through his body. For several minutes he struggled
with it, gasping.
"No..." he choked, tears forming in his eyes again. It couldn't end now. It was too soon.
He had just found her again. He couldn't die yet...
Amaunet smiled. "No need to worry, Dr. Jackson. I won't kill you now. Not this time.
No, this is going to last a long, long time."
Chapter 7
Daniel gasped when the ribbon device finally shut off, and the hand that it adorned
withdrew. Unable to shake off the pain and disorientation quickly, he swayed, moaning,
and fell to the floor, struggling to catch his breath.
Amaunet stepped back, out of his way. "Jaffa, Kree! Get him up!" Seconds later two
rough pairs of hands clamped around Daniel's arms. The two jaffa hauled him to his feet,
and then their queen nodded towards the wall. The young scientist didn't know what she
meant until the men dragged him to it and closed chains around his wrists, binding him to
the fall, facing away from it on his knees.
Daniel's foggy mind fought to understand what was happening as his mind slowly
returned to normal after the painful, paralyzing effects of the Goa'uld technology. He
didn't know how long he had been under the hand device. It could have been minutes, or
it could have been hours. All he had been aware of was the pain, and Sha're's face above
him...until finally it had stopped. But now what did she plan to do?
After another moment or so, he felt almost normal again, except for being completely
exhausted. He looked around, pulling futilely on the chains. Amaunet, standing only a
few feet away, stared condescendingly at him.
"You can't get out of them."
Daniel looked at her, tears forming in his eyes again. "I don't understand. Why are you
doing this?" he asked quietly, not only too tired to speak any louder, but not trusting
himself too.
"I have already explained that to you. You're a nuisance. You must be eliminated." The
corner of her mouth turned upwards. "But no one said I couldn't enjoy it."
Daniel gulped. "Sha're, please, fight it-ah!" He got no farther than that, crying out when
the nearest jaffa stuck him-hard.
"Do NOT address the queen in such a manner!" the guard said angrily. "She is not her
host; nothing of the host survives."
Obviously this one hadn't been in the room when Amaunet had explained exactly why she
wanted him dead. Daniel glared at the jaffa through a wince of pain. "That's what they
want you to think."
The archaeologist grunted loudly as another sharp blow to the same side of his face sent
pain exploding through his head. The third and fourth blows only worsened it, and he
shouted both times. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw the man pulling back for yet
another strike, and he grimaced, ducking, but Amaunet stopped him.
"Enough!" she said, drawing him off with her words. The man backed off, and Daniel
slumped against the wall, gasping, following the jaffa with his eyes. He seemed to derive
pleasure from seeing his victim spitting blood, and that didn't surprise Daniel in the
slightest.
"There is no need for that," Amaunet said. "Now we can continue." When her attention
turned towards the door, Daniel followed her gaze, and his breath caught in his throat
when he saw what she was smiling at now.
Daniel hadn't realized that one of the jaffa in the room had left until now, because he was
returning with something in his hand. It was one of the Goa'uld energy torture sticks they
had seen in the alternate universe. At least that's where he remembered them from most-
he was sure they had encountered them elsewhere, but couldn't think of where at the
moment. It didn't matter because none of them had actually been subjected to one before,
and he had hoped he never would be. But suddenly it appeared as if that was one wish
that wouldn't come true, and when Daniel realized it, his stomach tightened, a chill ran up
his spine, and his breath unstuck and quickened all at the same time.
Amaunet looked back to him as the guard holding the torture device moved in his
direction and handed it to the same jaffa who had tried to beat him up only a moment
ago. *Oh, great, just add insult to injury why don't you,* Daniel thought bitterly. He gulped
as the man who apparently didn't like him dangled the piece of Goa'uld technology in
front of him.
Daniel's mouth gaped open and closed several times before he could say anything.
"Uh..." he began shakily, then stopped, gulped, and cleared his throat loudly."You...you
don't have to do that..." he said clumsily.
His eyes flicked toward where his wife stood. But of course it wasn't Sha're. She wouldn't
let them hurt him. But she couldn't do anything. He was on his own, and Amaunet,
standing with her arms crossed and a half-smile, seemed to be enjoying this, watching
Daniel stumble over himself trying in vain in to talk himself out of what was about to
happen. His eyes pleaded with her to fight, but he didn't say anything to her, knowing that
at this point trying to get to Sha're would only make things worse for him. It had already
happened once.
With great effort, Daniel calmed his breathing, and spoke to Amaunet. "You're
not...really..." he said hopefully, shaking his head slightly and trying to conjure an
amused smile. He only halfway succeeded, but then the Goa'uld cut him off, smashing his
attempt at hope or humor.
"-And why not? These devices leave no permanent damage," she said, motioning to it,
"and yet they cause the victim a great deal of pain. I have no reason to refrain from
having it used on you. Aside from the hand device, it is one of most successful smaller
inventions of Goa'uld technology."
She was baiting him, trying scare him, and Daniel knew it, but that didn't keep it from
working. Jack probably could have come back with some snarky reply in a heartbeat, but
he wasn't Jack O'Neill, and neither was he military trained like O'Neill and Carter were.
The smile on Amaunet's face then disappeared, and she backed away a bit more, barking
an order to the man in front of Daniel. "Enough games. Begin."
Daniel pulled against the chains again, now with a little more strength because it had
been a few minutes more since he had come out from under the ribbon device. "Wait-!"
But he was interrupted again when the jaffa holding the torture stick flicked it on. He
heard the energy spike of the power-up, and turned his head just in time to see the active
point of the device touch the end of the chain that bound his right hand. From there, the
energy traveled almost instantaneously through the chains and into his body through his
wrists, and Daniel screamed in agony.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Present
"Jackson!"
Daniel snapped gratefully out of his nightmarish daydream of the past when his name
was called-loudly, and right in his ear.
He jumped, nearly knocking the plate and sandwich that sat on the commissary table in
front of him to the floor. Samantha Carter reached across the table and caught it before it
could fall.
"Thanks," he said, and she nodded, giving him a knowing smile. Then Daniel directed his
attention to the man sitting beside him, the one who had shouted his name. "What was
that for?" he asked in annoyance, lightly rubbing his offended ear.
Cameron Mitchell shrugged. "Jackson, you've been spaced out since we left the briefing
room this morning. General Landry tells us we're going to some old abandoned Goa'uld
base you guys have been to before because now we have intelligence that suggests the
snakeheads might have left behind some nifty experimental time/space device thingy, and
all of a sudden Carter gets tense, Teal'c does the eyebrow thing, and you act like you've
been punched in the gut. Now come on, Daniel, what's up?"
Teal'c raised an eyebrow as he, Sam, and Daniel glanced at each other uncomfortably.
Finally Carter winced and broke the silence.
"Cameron..."
"No, Sam, it's okay," Daniel interrupted. He could see she was going the way of
*Cameron, lay off. If he doesn't want to talk about it, he doesn't want to talk about it.* And
he didn't think that was fair. Mitchell was the new member of SG-1 in Jack's absence
because of his promotion, its new commander of sorts, and he deserved to know what
was bothering him just like Sam and Teal'c knew. Besides, it wasn't as if it was a secret.
Carter gave him a look that asked if he was really comfortable talking about it, and he
returned one that assured her he would be fine.
Daniel sighed, and Mitchell gave him his full attention. "Cameron, it's just...what
happened there the first time. I mean, if you've seen one Goa'uld facility you've seen
them all, but this one Sam and I kind of...stumbled across. We were brought there
against our will, by some sort of virus that was sent into Stargate Command's computer.
We were on our way to P5R-316, but ended up there...and it was Amaunet who had
ordered it."
Cameron sat up. "Amaunet? But wasn't her host...?"
Daniel nodded. "My wife, yes."
"Yikes. So...what happened?"
"Uh..." Daniel grimaced. "Well, let's just say it didn't go so well."
"But why would she want you and Carter?" Mitchell said curiously.
"She only wanted me, actually."
When Daniel didn't reply to the other man's still inquiring gaze, Carter filled in a bit. "She
wanted him dead."
"Ouch."
"Yeah..." Sam trailed. Then she abruptly stood. "You know, we should probably be
checking our supplies and stuff for tomorrow."
Teal'c nodded and joined her. "I agree."
Daniel stood with them. "Good idea."
Cameron stood as well. "Okay, good. You guys do that. I have other things to get done
before we leave. Later." With that, Mitchell turned and left, picking up the styrofoam
plate that held the scattered remains of his lunch and dumping it in a trash can on the way
out. The rest of SG-1 left through the door on the other side of the room.
"Nice save back, there, Sam," Daniel confided to his blonde teammate.
"Indeed," Teal'c agreed, a small smile appearing.
Carter shrugged and smiled. "What are friends for. I saw that you'd gone as far as you
were willing to go on the subject for the moment. I just had to find a truthful way to get
him off your back without offending Cameron-or you."
Daniel smiled. "I appreciate it." Then he stopped, bringing all three to a halt. "Wait...you
said *truthful*. Does that mean we really have to check the supplies?"
"It has to be done. Might as well be sooner rather than later."
"Darn it."
Chapter 8
Past
Colonel Jack O'Neill and his team stepped through the Stargate to P7X-324, a nearby yet
unexplored world in the infamous gate system. This team consisted only of himself,
Teal'c, and Dr. Janet Fraiser, who had opted to join them rather than sitting around
Stargate Command waiting for her missing friends to be found. General Hammond had
gladly given his permission.
Almost immediately O'Neill noticed a strange stench, and took a few steps forward,
wrinkling his nose. A second later, when he glanced downward, he jumped back several
feet as the gate closed behind them.
"Whoa!" he said, looking at what lay beyond the large stone platform the gate stood on.
"The M.A.L.P. didn't show *that*. Yikes!"
"I believe that is an extremely valid statement, O'Neill," Teal'c offered.
"You can say *that* again," Fraiser added.
Once the stone ended, the ground was nothing but gray, extremely mushy-looking, deep,
bubbling, *mud*. There were plenty of healthy-looking strange trees sticking up from it,
which, at first glance, had made this planet seem not too much out of the ordinary, but he
would definitely have to mention to the technicians back home that they should really
think about giving the surveillance cameras more maneuverability. For example, it would
be really helpful, in this case anyway, if they could look *down*.
"Okay, somebody please tell me that they're not here, because I'd *really* like to save us all
the unpleasantness of having to slog through any of that," Jack said.
Janet nodded. "As a doctor, I think I can safely say that, colonel. I don't think they could
survive here for very long, and if they could, they wouldn't have gotten very far from the
gate by now. We'd be able to see them if they were here."
Teal'c nodded. "And if, for some reason, they were here, yet unable to dial earth, they
would have had no reason to venture out into this. Doctor Fraiser is correct."
The colonel sighed. "Yep. I think so too. All, right, let's dial home and get back. No use
wasting more time here." O'Neill glanced over at Fraiser, who he knew didn't get off-
world much. "Doctor, if you would like to do the honors?"
Janet smiled and stepped up to the DHD. "Thank you, colonel, I'd be happy to."
-----------------------------------------------------
Samantha Carter had begun to worry when Daniel had been gone for over an hour, but
now it had been more than two, and part of her mind feared the worst. But surely
Amaunet wouldn't have killed him already?
Carter jumped when the door opened and three figures entered. She sighed in relief when
she saw that the one in the middle was Daniel, but at the same time her stomach tightened
in concern for him when she realized that the two jaffa on either side of him were
practically dragging the younger man. They dumped the weakened human on the floor
and left, the door slamming down behind them. As soon as they were gone, the major
jumped up and ran to kneel down beside her gasping friend.
"Daniel?" she said, rolling him from his side to his back. "Are you all right?"
Daniel groaned and opened his closed eyes, speaking between gasped intakes of breath.
"No...not okay...but I'll...live. Uhhhhh...." He moaned.
Carter winced and slipped an arm under his back, helping him to slowly sit up. Once in a
sitting position beside her, Daniel's head dropped to her shoulder and rested there, and his
chest still heaved with heavy breaths. She kept her arm around his shoulders both for
comfort and to keep him in a stable position. After another few minutes his breathing
slowed somewhat, and she ventured to speak to him again.
"Daniel, what happened?" she asked quietly. "What did they do to you?"
"Oh, they just used the hand device, and one of those Goa'uld torture sticks--you know,
the usual," Daniel said, gulping as he lifted his head from her shoulder and attempted to
hold it up himself.
"She had you *tortured*?" Carter said with concern.
Daniel nodded weakly, and then suddenly his head seemed too heavy again and he let it
drop into his hands. Sam rubbed him back gently, wishing there were more she could do.
She knew it must have been horrible for him-to be tortured like that, and at his own wife's
command. No, not Sha're-it was Amaunet, the being that controlled her body. But she
also knew that didn't change the fact that it 'was' her body, her face looking at
him...Carter shuddered, and sighed.
"It's all right, Daniel," she comforted him quietly. "You'll find a way to get through to
her, and we'll get out of this."
"I just hope I can do it before it's too late," he answered.
Carter nodded, then stood and offered him her hand. Daniel looked up and took it, and
Sam gently helped him up. On the way up he winced, assessing the damage. Thankfully
there didn't seem to be too much of it. Both the hand device and the torture stick had
simply left him exhausted and sore. The only real damage was from the blows to the face
he'd taken, and the general rough handling. His knees still ached from hitting the floor so
hard, and his wrists felt raw from the chains. Sam saw him rubbing them and frowned.
"What is it?" she asked with concern.
Daniel lowered himself onto the nearest bench, and held up one of his reddened, scraped,
and slightly bleeding wrists. "What, this?" Carter placed her hands on her hips as if to say
*Of course* that, *Daniel, what else would I be talking about?* And she was right. He sighed.
"That would be from the chains that kept me bound to the wall while they used the torture
stick," he said, letting his arm drop again. He leaned back against the wall, and Carter sat
beside him, worry still on her face. She sighed at his response.
"Is there anything else you haven't told me?"
"Nope, that...that's pretty much all that happened."
Sam looked at him, and somehow Daniel knew that she was staring straight at the fresh
bruises on his face. He grimaced.
"Okay, okay, so one of the jaffa got a little angry at me. It wasn't that bad, Sam. Really.
I'm all right. I promise."
Carter sighed yet again, and nodded. "Okay. Sorry. I'm just concerned, you know."
"I know," Daniel answered. Then he looked around, as if the answer to his next question
were in the air. "How long was I gone? I...uh...couldn't really tell..."
The tone and almost imperceptible wince that accompanied the last statement made it
easy to realize the implications of it, and Sam winced again as she glanced at her watch.
"Um, about two hours..."
Daniel's eyebrows rose at that, and he looked down at his own watch, which he seemed to
have just remembered was there. "Oh...Oh, well, I guess it was...Yikes."
"Do you think they'll come back?" Carter asked quietly.
Daniel's lips pursed into a fine, uncomfortable line. "My impression was that they
would."
"Perfect. So what are we going to do?"
"Hope they wait at *least* two hours before they do."
------------------------------------------------------------
"Colonel, why are you back so soon? You and your team didn't leave any longer than ten
minutes ago."
Jack nodded as he, Teal'c, and Janet stopped at the bottom of the Gate ramp. "I know, sir,
but the doc says there's no way they could be on that planet, so there was no reason to
waste any time."
General Hammond looked to doctor Frasier next. "Why wouldn't they be there, doctor?"
"It's all mud, sir, very unfriendly mud. I doubt they would be there. You could see for
miles, and they certainly wouldn't have gotten any farther than that by now. I can't see
why anyone would go out into that in the first place."
Hammond nodded. "All right. I can agree with that. De-brief in ten minutes." The
General started to turn and walk away, but O'Neill stopped him.
"Uh, sir, actually, if you don't mind, I'd like to get going again immediately. There's not
much more to the de-brief than what you've heard, and it can be done later. Just have
Walter dial the next address on the list, please."
Hammond eyed his subordinate. "And what about protocol, *colonel*?" he said, putting
some emphasis on the rank.
"With all due respect, general, most of it went out the window the moment two of my
people went missing," Jack said, trying to keep as straight a face as possible.
But George Hammond broke into a smile and nodded. "I understand, colonel. Permission
to re-embark immediately granted." With that, the general looked up towards the window
to the control room, and nodded to Walter Harriman, who began to dial a new Gate
address.
"Chevron one, encoded."
Jack nodded to Hammond. "Thank you sir."
"You're welcome, colonel. Now get going. Find *our* people."
Chapter 9
Samantha Carter fought hard to resist the urge to continuously look across the room at
Daniel, who was resting on the opposite bench, his jacket off and balled up under his
head to create the illusion of a comfortable position. He seemed to be asleep, even though
he moaned occasionally, but still...
She sighed, her brow creasing in worry. As Daniel had hoped, the Goa'uld had waited at
least two hours before returning for him, but not much longer. They had taken him away
again, and he had returned over an hour and a half later, even more exhausted and the
worse for wear than the first time, though at least there hadn't been anymore new bruises.
Now, it had been almost two hours since *then*. It was late afternoon, and Sam was silently
praying that the jaffa wouldn't come for Daniel a third time-at least not today.
Carter suddenly felt her hopes waver when she heard footsteps in the corridor. Jumping
up, she moved to site next to Daniel, and shook him gently. "Daniel, wake up."
"Huh, what?" he said groggily, lifting tired eyes to look at her.
Sam frowned, "Someone's coming."
Daniel ears perked up when he heard the sound, and he quickly sat up, carefully masked
fear on his face. Sam rested a hand on his shoulder, hoping it would help some. But all of
her hoped shattered yet again when the two jaffa came into view, and one of the already
present guards opened the door.
"Great," Carter muttered, and she could almost hear Daniel's own inward groan. Her hand
tightened on his arm as the two newcomers stepped into the cell. Daniel, however,
brushed it off and stood slowly, knowing he would only be pulled to his feet anyway if he
didn't. He tried to keep a passive expression-probably just as much for his sake as for
hers, but she could see that already his face was at least a couple of shades paler.
"Daniel..."
"Sam, don't try anything. I don't want anything to happen to you," he said quietly.
"Daniel, for crying out loud they've already taken you twice today-"
As the jaffa grabbed him and began to push him toward the door, Daniel shot her a
withering look that quieted her. Sam growled low in her throat when they had led him
away. She knew he was only concerned for her, but she wished he wouldn't go with them
so quietly, when he knew what awaited him. Even if it got both of them zatted or
something, it would be worth it if they would just leave him alone...Sighing, she sank to
the bench again.
----------------------------------------------------
Daniel released a final cry as the jaffa guard pulled the torture stick away, leaving him to
collapse back against the wall, gasping desperately for air. But his world hadn't even
begun to assert itself again when, through the blur of lingering pain, he saw Amaunet
raise her ribbon device. His breath quickened even more instead of slowing down, which
at the moment was dangerous.
"No, Sha're, please..." he pleaded to his wife, hoping to reach her. Just maybe...Daniel's
hopes rose when she frowned and pulled her hand back, but plummeted again at her
words.
"You were warned not to call me that again," Amaunet said coldly.
"What..." But she didn't say anything else, only cast a glance toward the jaffa nearest
him-the same one who had just finished torturing him, and the one who had tried to beat
him up earlier.
Before Daniel knew what was happening, the man was on him, fists coming down hard.,
and soon the other jaffa in the room joined him, one or two using fists, another kicking
him. Their victim was chained to the wall, unable to block any of it, and shouting
helplessly in pain.
Amaunet did nothing as Daniel was beaten, standing away across the room, watching.
The young archaeologist pulled against his chains despite the extra pain it caused his
wrists; he cried futilely to her when he could, but it made no difference. After several
minutes, a final, well-placed blow caught his jaw, knocking him into oblivion, and it
didn't matter anymore.
-----------------------------------------
Outside, on this world that was *not* P5R-316, the sky had become dark. The few sensors
it had shut down for the night, or switched to passive mode, only making light general
sweeps of a small area around the small compound. Most of the jaffa serpent guards
retired, leaving only a few to play sentry through the night. After all, this was a small,
insignificant, back-water planet. It was worthy to house a Goa'uld facility only because of
its secrecy. If no now knew it existed, they didn't need to waste resources on large
security systems--or so they believed.
The sensors no longer scanning space did not detect the single, incoming enemy mother
ship taking orbit around the planet, and no one saw the troops being deployed, hiding
away from the base in the forest and elsewhere, waiting until morning, waiting for their
chance to strike...
-------------------------------------------------
Sam Carter shot to her feet when the two serpent guards dropped the unconscious Daniel
Jackson on the floor and left. She hurried to him, and stifled a gasp when she saw how
much worse he looked than either of the times before. His wrists were rubbed raw and
bloody; his face was covered in fresh bruises and had several cuts and abrasions, and
without his jacket, on his exposed arms she could see more bruises.
Gulping, Sam slipped a hand under his shoulders, starting to lift him from the floor,
hoping to move him to the bench and that it would be more comfortable than the floor
when he woke up. She stopped, however, jumping in surprise, when suddenly Daniel
came to, crying out in pain from the movement and grabbing her arm.
"No, Sam, wait-!" he gasped.
"Whoa!" Carter yelped, putting him down again and nearly dropping him, which only
caused him to shout again. "Sorry! Daniel...sorry," she apologized, wincing in sympathy.
"No...it's okay...just...wait a minute...." Daniel said, grimacing and still trying to catch
his breath.
"What is it?"
"I just...really don't feel like being moved just yet," he answered, his heavy breathing
slowly starting to taper off.
"All right...what happened?" Carter asked.
Daniel sighed. "They got considerably more aggressive this time, that's what happened."
"In other words, she didn't stop them from beating you this time," Sam re-phrased,
frowning.
Daniel flinched. "Uh...yeah. I got pummeled." Groaning, he rolled onto his side,
obviously finding lying on his back uncomfortable. That set him short of breath again,
and brought one arm around his stomach protectively. He moaned again, and Sam sighed,
trying to move it away.
"Let me see?" Daniel nodded weakly, allowing her to gently push his arm aside and lift
his shirt.
Carter had to stifle a gasp of worry at what she saw. Daniel's his entire middle was black
and blue, even with minor bleeding in places, and when she rose up on her knees to
glance over at his back, she saw it was almost as bad there. She would probably find
bruises all over his legs, too, if she were to look, Sam thought sourly.
"Gosh, Daniel. They really did a number on you, didn't they?" she gulped, glancing at
him. He nodded, grimacing. "Do you think anything's broken? Any cracked ribs?" Carter
asked quietly, carefully feeling him over. Daniel cried out softly when she hit a
particularly sore spot, and Sam winced herself. "Sorry."
He shook his head, but now he was gasping again. " 's okay. No, don't...think anything's
broken...Cracked rib or two maybe. Ohhhhh...." Daniel moaned.
"Where?" Sam asked in concern. He indicated an area to one side that seemed
particularly bruised, and gently she began to probe the area, to her friend's grunts of pain.
"Sorry, but we need to know how bad it is. I'm being as careful as I can, I promise..."
Suddenly Sam stopped when she found the damaged ribs and Daniel yelled loudly. She
pulled her hands away quickly and gripped his shoulder with one of them.
"Oh! Sorry!" she apologized fervently. Then she sighed. "No wonder that hurt so much.
It's cracked all right-lucky it didn't break. A couple more around it might have minor
cracks, and it's pretty obvious a lot of them are badly bruised."
"Oh...guess that explains it," Daniel gulped, trying to catch his breath yet again.
"You all right? I didn't mean to hurt you."
Jackson nodded his head slowly. "You're fine. I'll be okay."
"Are you cold? Do you want your jacket? Glasses? You left them here too."
"I want to get off this floor; that's what I want," Daniel replied, attempting to keep the
pain off his face as he pushed himself up on his elbows.
"Are you sure?" Carter frowned.
Daniel nodded. "I'm sure," he grunted, pushing himself up farther, trying to straighten his
arms under himself. For a moment it seemed as if pain would win, collapsing his bruised,
hurting arms and sending the young scientist crashing painfully back to the ground, but
before he had a chance to find out if it would Sam moved next to him, allowing him to
drape an arm around her shoulders. The major, in turn, wrapped an arm around Daniel.
Once in position, Sam glanced at Jackson. When he nodded that he was ready, she
nodded in return and then began to stand slowly, carefully pulling her comrade up with
her. Daniel cried out, but helped her with his own legs as much as he could. His grip on
Carter's shoulders tightened, and her free hand came up to grip his, giving him something
a bit easier to hold onto and pull up on.
Thankfully, once he was up Daniel found that, though it was still painful to stand, move,
or much less walk, it wasn't nearly as bad as getting to his feet in the first place. Carter
seemed to realize this as well, and seemed relieved for him, but was still as gentle as
possible as she helped him to the bench he had rested on earlier. But as careful as she
was, she couldn't keep him from hurting enough to groan as they went, and when she
lowered him to his seat she saw the pain on his face and wished there were more she
could do.
Daniel pulled in a slow, deep breath, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes for a
moment as he caught his breath.
"Daniel...?" Carter asked. After another moment his eyes opened again and he nodded.
"I'm fine, Sam," he said hoarsely. Her lips pressing into a thin line, she offered him his
glasses, but he shook his head, pushing them away. "No thanks. I think I'm just going to
try and get some sleep."
Sam put the glasses down. "That's probably a good idea. It's late, and I know you could
use it," she said quietly.
"Yeah..." Daniel trailed tiredly. Grimacing, he lowered himself to his side and rested his
head on the balled-up green BDU jacket that still lay in the corner. Lying on his side
seemed to be the only comfortable position be could find--or rather, the least painful
position for the moment. Nothing was very comfortable in his present state, but the
moment he was lying down, and his head hit his improvised pillow, his exhaustion caught
up with him and he felt himself drifting of.
Daniel felt Sam's hand on his shoulder again, this time in a purely sympathetic gesture,
and looked up to see the comforting smile she offered him. He mustered the best he could
find to give back to her before he allowed his eyes to drift shut. The beaten archaeologist
fell asleep almost immediately, oblivious to the added danger outside the compound.
Chapter 10
Daniel Jackson woke with a start, crying out in pain when someone suddenly shook him.
"Sam! What are you-" he yelped, but stopped when he saw that it was not Samantha
Carter, but a serpent guard who stood over him, another right behind him. "W-what do
you want?" he gulped, still wincing. He got his answer when the two jaffa grabbed his
arms and pulled him to his feet.
"Ah! OW! Okay, okay, I'm up!" he shouted, the rough movement sending waves of
terrible pain through Daniel's bruised body. Without answering, the two men dragged
him towards the door. A moment later, he heard Carter's groggy, but quickly awakening
voice behind them.
"Hey! What are you doing! It's the middle of the night!-" Daniel didn't catch much of
what she said after that, her voice drowned out by distance and his own grunts and groans
of pain. The jaffa didn't seem to care what condition he was in-not that he had ever
expected them to. In three years, Teal'c and Bra'tac were still the only two jaffa he had
come to trust, and he knew they were different from most. As for what time it was; he
managed to verify that by catching a glance of his watch. It was, in fact, the middle of the
night, or extremely early in the morning, depending on one's point of view. What did they
want with him at this hour?
Moments later, after taking the route Daniel had become accustomed to and learned to
fear, they arrived at the same room he had been taken to before. Again Amaunet was
waiting, and yet again they dropped him at her feet-though this time it didn't take any
persuading to get him down, and it caused him considerably more pain. After catching his
breath-not an easy task-the confused scientist looked up at her, his breath still a bit heavy.
"What...What's going on? It's the middle of the night...I don't...I don't understand..."
His voice trailed off as Amaunet smirked. "It doesn't matter, for us. We don't need the
sleep that you weak humans require to function. Night, day, it is all the same to us,
though granted, some things are more easily done in daylight when planet-side."
"Then why won't you let us sleep?" Daniel asked heatedly. The Goa'uld's cockiness was
getting to him easily, as tired as he was. "Any *sane* person would be asleep right
now...Ah!" He yelped when she struck him, ducking downward and nearly cracking his
forehead on the floor.
"Silence!" Amaunet shouted, her eyes glowing briefly.
Daniel gulped as he sat up again, painfully, rubbing his cheek where she'd hit him with
the hand that was covered with the hand device again. "What do you want from me?" he
pleaded quietly.
"Before, nothing. I was merely flexing my muscles in what I was doing to you. But now,
there are things I want from you," Amaunet answered honestly-surprising for a Goa'uld.
Jackson's eyes narrowed. "What kinds of things?"
She smiled. "You must know that our intelligence on the Tau'ri has been lacking, as of
late. I intend to change that." She leaned closer, "And you are going to help me do that.
I'll make it easy for you...The code for the devices you have which open that iris of yours
on the Earth Stargate would be a good start."
Daniel frowned. "Nice try. I may not be military, but I have just as much responsibility to
protect my planet as anyone else. I don't care if you're in my wife's body or not; you
won't get anything from me."
Amaunet frowned in return and straightened. "Very well. You should know by now that
we have other methods of persuasion..." she said, extending her hand above his face. *No,
not that again...*was Daniel's desperate thought before the orange energy beam of the
ribbon device activated, trapping him in its clutches. The archaeologist cried out.
The energy pierced his skull, sending paralyzing waves of pain through his body. It began
almost subtly, but grew over time as she asked him questions about Earth-about the
Tau'ri, as they called the humans and their planet-and he refused to answer. Eventually, to
his relief, she became tired of the endless questions being met with no answers, and shut
off the hand device, withdrawing her arm. Daniel collapsed, groaning loudly both from
the lingering pain of the hand device and from the pain of the impact of his bruised body
with the ground.
"Why do you not answer?" she demanded. "You know I cannot let you live, but if you
give me what I want I will consider making your death less painful."
Despite himself, Daniel laughed weakly from the floor. "Too late for that..." He
immediately regretted it when pain flared in his chest from the sharp movement. He
regretted it even more a moment later when Amaunet nodded to one of the jaffa, who
gave him a swift kick in the ribs-the same ones that were cracked. Daniel shrieked in
agony and doubled over which, being on the ground, pulled him into a fetal position.
Amaunet spoke again, and Daniel tried to listen even as he gasped painfully for the air
that had been knocked out of him.
"So be it. If you will not tell me anything yet, then perhaps your friend will." With that,
the Goa'uld motioned for two of the four jaffa in the room to follow her, and headed for
the door.
"What?!" Daniel cried in alarm, grimacing as he pushed himself up on one elbow,
ignoring the pain for the moment. "Y-you can't do that!"
But Amaunet ignored him. She did, however, turn to the two remaining jaffa in the room
before she left. "Continue to interrogate him. I will be questioning the other prisoner."
"No!" Daniel shouted after her as she left. "Leave Sam alone! Sha're!-" He had more to
say, but he was forced to break off abruptly when he received another sharp kick from
one of the serpent guards at the last word. That sent more pain just as sharp tearing
through his torso, and he wasn't even given time to recover before they grabbed his arms
and dragged him to the chains on the side wall, only making his middle hurt worse, and
he groaned loudly.
But what was worse was that Daniel felt sick; now Amaunet was going to interrogate
Sam. He knew she wouldn't say anything either, which meant that, more than likely, soon
she, too, would be caught in the grip of the ribbon device, and he didn't want that. He
tried not to think about what else the Goa'uld might do to her, as well. *Please,* he pleaded
to no one in particular. *Please, let Sam be okay, please...*
Daniel was pulled rudely out of his thoughts when a sudden new pain was called to his
attention. He quickly looked in that direction to see one of the jaffa taking hold of his arm
and opening one of the chains with the intention of putting it around his wrist as they had
done before. But by now both of his wrists were so raw and hurting that he knew it
wouldn't feel very good at all for them to be chained again.
"Do you have to do that...?" he implored hopefully, but was cut off again when the man
snapped the cuff roughly closed, eliciting a yelp from Daniel. The scientist winced,
"Okay, I guess you do...Ah!" He cried out again when the other jaffa closed the other
one. "You know, you could try being a little less brutal for a change..." Daniel tried, but
was only rewarded with another harsh blow to the face. "Guess not..."
---------------------------------------------------------
Samantha Carter looked up when she heard footsteps in the corridor, hoping that whoever
was there was bringing Daniel. It had been over an hour. It could be him...
A moment later Amaunet came into view, and two jaffa...but no Daniel. Carter stood
once the door had opened and the they had entered. "What do you want? Where's
Daniel?"
"Doctor Jackson is still being interrogated."
"Interrogated!" Sam cried in alarm. "You never said anything about wanting any
information! What are you doing to him!"
Amaunet smiled. "That is none of your concern. You should be concerned for yourself.
Your friend is not revealing any information, but things will be easier for both of you if
*you* do."
Carter glared at her, standing her ground. "I don't think so."
The Goa'uld nodded to the two serpent guards with her. "Your mistake," she said simply.
The jaffa moved forward and took firm hold on Carter's arms, holding her in place.
"Let me go!" the major demanded. She pulled and twisted, but it was no use. Amaunet
closed the distance between them, and activated her hand device. The orange beam
caught Carter's forehead, and she gasped, her head snapping backwards for a moment.
"This isn't going to help you any," Sam growled through clenched teeth despite the pain
that now flooded her body.
Amaunet only smirked and increased the intensity of the beam, drawing a moan from
Carter. "We shall see, Major Carter. We shall see."
---------------------------------------------------------
By now, the only thing keeping Daniel Jackson conscious was the excruciating pain that
permeated his body as he was dragged along the corridor, leaving a steady stream of
moans, gasps, and cries in his wake. The two jaffa he was suspended between still didn't
care how much pain their jostling caused him as they brought him back to the holding
cell. At least, he thought tiredly, after what must have been another hour or more of
interrogation, they had finally decided that it was enough for the moment.
There was something he should be remembering...something very important...but
through the haze of pain that had settled over his mind, it was hard to think. What was
it...? Daniel cried out again at a sudden bump, and his train of thought was derailed as he
sank into the murky mist.
A few minutes later, Daniel was jarred to full consciousness again when he felt himself
being dropped face down onto the floor of the holding cell. He shouted and rolled to his
side, holding his injured ribs. But then he realized that his shout wasn't the only sound of
pain in the room. Another sound of...moaning...was it feminine? His senses were still
muted, his mind still murky. Gasping, he squinted as his vision slowly cleared-or cleared
as much as it could without his glasses-and his ears slowly returned to normal. *I think this
is what I needed to remember...*
After another few moments, the blurred sounds and hazy blobs of color he was seeing
asserted themselves, and he found himself staring in horror at the scene before him.
Amaunet had Carter on her knees, caught in the ribbon device, and from the brightness
and thickness of the beam, the major's pained expression, and the cries that were
escaping, it was obvious that the Goa'uld was being rather aggressive with it. Daniel eyes
widened. *Sam!*
"Stop it..." he whispered weakly, but knew immediately that it hadn't been loud enough.
"Stop..." he tried again, his voice above a whisper now, but not much louder. One of the
jaffa glanced momentarily in his direction, bit then ignored him. Clenching his teeth
against the pain, Daniel pushed himself up on one elbow, and gathered his strength. "Stop
it!" he yelled as loudly as he could.
That got her attention, but instead of stopping, she only turned to look at him.
"Please, don't," Daniel pleaded, still breathing heavily. "She's...she's not the one
you...you wanted here. I am. Just...stop it, please..."
Amaunet smiled. "You're right; she isn't. I wanted you...and information. Give me the
information I desire, and I will stop."
Daniel stared at her, and looked at Sam, knew how much pain she was in. He could see
streaks on her face where unbidden tears of pain had fallen, and almost considered it as
he suddenly felt overwhelming anger at the Goa'uld for harming his friend.
"Daniel, don't-" Sam gasped, but was instantly cut off in a scream when Amaunet
frowned and intensified the beam.
"No!" Daniel cried, pushing up farther. He looked at his wife desperately, hoping she was
in there watching, somewhere, hoping she could help them. "I can't tell you anything now
more than I could two hours ago, but please, just leave Sam alone! You can do what you
want to me, but don't hurt her!"
"No Daniel!-AHH!" Carter screamed, trying again to dissuade him, but again only being
rewarded with more pain.
Suddenly, Daniel could take no more of it. In an adrenaline rush that gave him more
energy than he would have ever thought he had left, he leapt to his feet and lunged
toward Amaunet. He didn't want to hurt Sha're, only knock her away from Sam, and get
that hand device turned off...
But she re-directed the beam--snapping it away from Carter, widening it, and aiming it in
his direction--faster than he'd have ever thought a Goa'uld was capable of. The energy
wave slammed into Daniel's body and threw him backwards into the wall in a fashion
remarkably reminiscent of his first encounter with Apophis--only this time, as injured as
he already was, it hurt considerably more.
Carter collapsed, and Daniel howled in agony upon impact with the hard surface, then
sank to the floor, gasping in heavy breaths that sounded almost like sobs. Amaunet only
smirked, and strode from the cell, the door closing behind her. Once they were gone,
Daniel pushed himself forward onto his hand and knees and crawled slowly toward his
friend, unable to even think about standing again at the moment. He could barely move as
it was without sharps knives of pain piercing his ribs, and if he hadn't been worried about
Sam, he wouldn't have even been able to force himself to go that far.
Daniel suppressed another groan as he stopped in front of Carter. He took a moment to
catch his breath--somewhat--before speaking, but it didn't help much. "Sam, you...you
okay?" he asked with concern, grimacing as he help her sit up.
Carter nodded weakly, but her eyes were red-rimmed, and before she could stop them
new tears began to fall. Crying softly, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and after a
moment of hesitation Daniel put his arms around her in return, offering what comfort he
could. Saying nothing at first, he held her gently, trying to ignore the uncomfortable
nature of the situation--and the physical pain coming from most of his body--because he
knew that Sam needed a friend right now. He did too, after something like this, so he let
her cry, her tears falling on his shoulder, where her head rested. But that didn't mean he
knew exactly what to do.
"It's okay, Sam..." he said clumsily.
After a moment or two, Carter's tears subsided, and she gave a weak laugh. "Daniel,
you're really bad at this," she said, pulling back and looking at him as she swept an arm
across her face to dry it with the sleeve of her long-sleeved black shirt.
Daniel smiled despite himself. "Yeah, I guess I am...Are you okay?"
Sam nodded. "Yeah...killer headache, but I'll be fine. And...thanks."
"For what? Being stupid?"
Carter laughed again, louder this time, and it made him feel better to know that she was
feeling better. "No, Daniel, for what you did. And just..." she shrugged. "For being here."
"I knew it," Daniel complained good-naturedly. "You're better at this than I am."
Sam looked confused for a moment. "What?"
Daniel shook his head. "I...I haven't thanked you....You've been here the whole
time...and..." But he stopped there, not knowing what else to say.
Carter smiled at him softly. "It's all right; I know. And don't worry about it. What are
friends for, right?"
"Right...."
Daniel sighed, but that proved to be a mistake when fresh stabs of pain gripped his chest,
doubling him over with a gasp--but the additional sharp intake of breath didn't help any,
and he cried out.
"Daniel!" Carter yelped in alarm, catching him. He slumped in her arms, moaning; his
strength was giving out, the extra energy expenditure of a few minutes before taking its
toll, and the pain from his injuries was surging in full force.
"Hold on, Daniel," Carter soothed, gently lowering him to the ground. "Just lay down..."
He was gasping in pain, and she winced in sympathy, wishing there were more she could
do for him. "Just a minute..." With that, the major jumped up and grabbed Daniel's jacket
from the far corner of the room, then knelt beside him again. "Here you go," she said
quietly, lifting his head and placing the crumpled jacket under it. "You'll be all right."
Daniel smiled at her through a grimace.
"Thanks Sam..." he gasped, and Carter put a hand on his shoulder.
"You're welcome. Now try to get some more sleep, okay?" He nodded weakly, not
needing any more prompting to close his eyes.
Sighing, Carter pulled back, not sure where to sleep. Should she go back to where she
had been sleeping earlier, or stay on the floor near Daniel? The latter would certainly be
more considerate...
Making her decision, she snatched her own jacket from the bench beside her and stuffed
in under her head as she lied down a few feet from her friend. Carter stayed awake until
Daniel's moaning faded away, his breathing evened out, and she was sure he was asleep.
At least that way he couldn't feel any pain--physical anyway. She wasn't sure about
emotional, though, because even in sleep, she heard him muttering his wife's name.
Chapter 11
Jack O'Neill sighed in frustration as he and what was left of his team lowered themselves
into chairs in the briefing room. Jack was tired. He hadn't gotten much sleep the night
before, he hadn't left the base to do it, and he, Teal'c and Janet Fraiser had all agreed to
wake up early to begin searching again. They had just returned from the first planet of the
day.
"Planet number twenty-one; bust number twenty-one," Jack grumbled.
"Actually, colonel, two of the other teams that left this morning made it back before you
did, so that would planet number twenty-three," general Hammond corrected as he took
his own seat.
"All right, planet twenty-three," Janet said with a bit of guarded annoyance. "That doesn't
change the fact that we haven't found them yet."
"I know that, doctor," Hammond agreed, his tone level.
Teal'c looked around at them all. "We do not seem to making much progress searching in
this manner," the jaffa stated bluntly.
"Thank you, Teal'c, I think I figured that out about twenty-*four* hours ago. And nobody
tell me I got that number wrong," O'Neill replied snarkily.
Despite herself, Fraiser smiled; Hammond felt a ghost of one pass fleetingly over his lips.
Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "I simply mean that I believe we should consider other
options."
"What other options, Teal'c?" Hammond asked, clearly actually interested in the larger
man's reply.
"I believe we should seek assistance."
"From who?" Janet inquired.
"Our only off-world allies who have the resources and willingness to help us in our
search..."
All three other occupants of the table registered immediate recognition of who he was
referring too, but O'Neill didn't look the least bit happy about it.
"Aww, Teal'c, don't say it-"
"...the Tok'ra."
Jack shook his head and put it in his hands. "I *told* you not to say it..."
"Teal'c has a point, colonel," Hammond said. "If we can contact them, they may very
well be able to give us substantial help with our search. They may even have other
options. Besides, I think Jacob would want to know about this. Don't you agree.
Jack looked at the general and winced. "That part-yes. The rest-sorry sir, but no."
"I'm sorry, Jack, but that doesn't matter. We're going to contact them whether you like it
or not." Teal'c nodded in agreement with the general, and O'Neill glared at him. Fraiser
seemed indifferent to the idea.
With that statement, General Hammond rose and headed in the direction of the control
room, Janet not far behind. O'Neill and Teal'c rose to follow, the latter reluctantly.
Teal'c finally chose to take notice of his commander's sour expression, and spoke. "I am
sorry, O'Neill, but I only wish to find our friends as much as you do."
"Yeah, okay," Jack relented. "But next time I tell you not to say something-don't say it."
The corner of Teal'c mouth tilted upward. "I cannot promise anything, O'Neill."
Jack sighed. "Yeah, I thought you'd say something like that."
-----------------------------------------------
Morning had come; the order was given. The ground forces of the enemy moved, but
there were no death gliders. As small as the outpost was, it had been assumed they would
not be needed-Goa'uld arrogance at its best-even though the objective in itself was a large
one--capture the base, kill Apophis's queen, and thus gain the service of the forces she
controlled for their master, Heru-er.
------------------------------------------------------
Daniel shouted in pain as he was kicked harshly in the gut yet again from his prone
position on the floor, unable to get up. The force of the blow sent him rolling hard into
the wall of the interrogation room, and upon impact the world abruptly blinked out.
When everything snapped on again Jackson found himself screaming, his back arching in
agony as the Goa'uld torture stick dug into his neck for lack of chains. The jaffa who held
the device pulled it away after a few moments, and Daniel went limp, gasping but trying
not to do it too hard so as not to cause any more extra pain than necessary to his cracked
ribs. At the moment they were burning quite severely, and controlling his intake of air in
any form to keep from making them hurt worse was becoming harder and harder as time
went on. Funny--he would have thought it would have been the other way around...
Daniel's thoughts trailed away again, dissolving in pain that seared through his body and
mind when two of the serpent guards that had been beating him pulled him up onto his
knees at their queen's command. The young scientist was too exhausted to do much more
than moan.
Amaunet approached him, her left hand-the one adorned by the ribbon device-lifted, and
Daniel bit back a sob. *No, Sha're don't...please...not again. Not that again. I can't take
anymore. Amaunet's killing me. Stop her. You have to stop her. Please, please, Sha're,
fight it...Come back to me...Stop this and come back to me...*
But none of the words left his mouth before the hand device activated, paralyzing him in
agony yet again. Speaking them would only make thing worse, and right now, worse
could finish him. He couldn't die yet. He had to find another way to get through to her, or
a way to talk to her without any vengeful jaffa nearby. He had to live to save her...
But there was a difference this time in the way the Goa'uld wielded the device, a certain
intensity of the pain that again and again ripped tortured groans from his throat, and
suddenly Daniel realized that the beam was no longer meant only to torment him.
Amaunet really was trying to kill him; she really was ready to finish him here and now.
Now he tried to speak, to dissuade her, but it was too late. He was too far gone, held too
tightly in the deadly beam, too weak.
*NO! Not like this! It can't end like this! No, Sha're, not like this...I love you...not like
this...notlikethisnotlikethisnotlikethis...*Daniel thought desperately, his eyes glistening
with tears that threatened to escape.
They might have, but suddenly Amaunet was interrupted by the sound of staff blasts in
the background. The hand device snapped off as an alarmed jaffa ran into the room.
Daniel collapsed, barely conscious and struggling to breath, and he almost didn't hear the
man's report.
"Lady Amaunet! The compound is under attack from Heru-er's forces!"
The Goa'uld spun to stare at her subordinate. "What! That is impossible! The location of
this base is not known to our enemies!"
The jaffa shook his head nervously, fearful of the wrath of his god. "They have
discovered it, somehow, My Lady. The ground forces broke through our defenses and
were in inside the compound so quickly, they are headed this way, and now we are
detecting one enemy hu'tack in orbit." Already the other four jaffa in the room were
picking up their staff weapons and leaving to join the fight down the corridor, but
Amaunet continued to glare at the bearer of the news.
"But we have three vessels. Surely we have sufficiently more forces enough to defeat
them easily," she said, her eyes narrowing.
"Yes, My Queen. They took us by surprise initially, but we will soon have eradicated the
threat. Still, as a precaution, we should evacuate you to your ship for safety."
Daniel heard the sounds of the firefight between serpent and horus guards coming closer
and closer-too close. But Amaunet glanced in his direction and then back at the jaffa.
"No. I am not finished here. I am confident they can be quickly dealt with. I will be fine."
The jaffa nodded quickly. "Yes, My Lady."
Amaunet smiled slightly. "Good." And then, before Daniel knew what was happening,
she had taken two large strides, closing the distance between herself and the jaffa, and
had turned the ribbon device on him. Within seconds he was dead, and slumped to the
floor. Daniel stared in horror at the jaffa's body, knowing that now she would come after
him again, that soon that would also be him...
The battle was even closer to them now. It sounded as if it was right on top of them; in
fact, through the open doorway of the small room, he could see blast bolts and blue arcs
of energy coming from around the corner. But Amaunet paid no attention to them, her
focus on her next target. With no more jaffa present to pull him up, she leaned over and
roughly hooked her right hand in the front of the collar of his black t-shirt, pulling him
upright to his groans of pain.
"Sha're, no," Daniel rasped weakly as her left hand rose to his forehead, eyeing the hand
device fearfully. "Fight her, Sha're, fight her!"
Amaunet ignored him. Sha're either couldn't hear him, or just as before, failed to break
out. But before she could activate the device, a stray blast bolt from the firefight just
down the corridor found its way through the door, and took her in the leg.
"Sha're!" Daniel cried, catching her as she cried out and crashed to the ground. But
almost immediately the Goa'uld within her snarled at him and pushed away.
"Do not worry yourself about me, human," Amaunet hissed, her voice even more gravely
than that of a normal Goa'uld because of her injury, if that was possible.
Reacting more than acting, not thinking as his instincts took over, Daniel pushed himself
to his feet, took her by the arms, then swung, pushed her into the nearest corner and
crouched in front of her, covering her with his own body, shielding her from anymore
stray or purposeful shots that might come their way even though his injured body
screamed in protest.
"What are you doing?!" Amaunet cried from where she now sat in front of him, pressed
into the wall.
Daniel scowled at her at the same time that he was trying to asses the severity of her
wound. "Look," he said, his voice low and weak, yet steady and determined at the same
time, "I don't care about you. I don't care what *happens* to you. But I do care about my
wife-very much-and I *am* going to protect her." Then he sighed, and his voice softened.
"The wound isn't bad. You'll be fine."
"Of course I will be fine. With our superior technology, your human bodies are-"
"-easy to repair. Yeah, I got that. Now would you please be quiet so we won't draw
attention to ourselves. I'd rather not get both of us killed. Besides, you should be
conserving energy."
Amaunet scowled. Even though the wound was not substantial, she was still losing blood.
She was getting weaker and she knew it, so grudgingly, she shut her mouth, but her eyes
flared at him for a moment-a short moment. Suddenly the glow died away and her eyes
closed, her head rearing back. Daniel's eyes widened, unsure of what was happening or
what he should do.
"No-!" the Goa'uld yelped, but for some reason was cut off. A moment later she pulled in
a breath, but somehow...it sounded human. Her eyes opened seconds later, and she
looked at him with new eyes. Or rather, not new eyes, but eyes that he hadn't seen in so
long he had almost forgotten how they took his breath away with their softness and
simplistic beauty...
"Dan'iel?" Sha're whispered.
Daniel released a breath he hadn't known he was holding. "Sha're?" he said in disbelief.
Sha're gripped the arms that held her back against the wall, gulping. "Dan'iel, I'm sorry-!"
"Don't," Daniel interrupted her, the tears that had gathered in his eyes starting to fall as he
released the grip he'd had on her arms and brought one hand up to touch her face. The
other took her hand. "It's all right. It wasn't you." Before he could stop it, a sob escaped
his throat as he pulled her to him, embracing her gently. "Sha're, I love you. I love you so
much..."
"I love you too, Dan'iel," she whispered back softly as she returned his embrace,
snuggling into his chest. Staying upright, holding her, it all only made everything hurt
worse, but Daniel didn't care. He had Sha're now, and everything would be all right...
Suddenly something slammed into Daniel's back, and he shouted in agony as searing pain
ripped through his torso.
"Dan'iel!" Sha're cried in alarm. Only then did Daniel realize he'd been hit. He gasped
and sank in her arms, his eyes widening in shock, unable to stay up on his knees
anymore. Already he felt his consciousness fading. Sha're's grip on his arms tightened,
trying to hold him up, keep him from falling to the floor. She saw how bad the wound
was, knew what it probably meant, and he did too. "Dan'iel, no!" she cried, tears forming
in her eyes.
Behind them the firefight wound to a close, the serpent guards finally overpowering the
horuses, but neither noticed.
"Sh-Sha're..." Daniel gasped, struggling to stay awake. But he was fighting a losing
battle.
"Dan'iel, hold on," Sha're answered tearfully. But then she gasped, flinging her head
backward as she had moments before. When her eyes opened, they flared orange with the
glow of the Goa'uld again. Amaunet had re-taken control.
"No, Sha're-!" Daniel rasped, but before he could continue the Goa'uld snorted in disgust
as tossed him away from her. He cried out in pain and hit the floor a few feet away. He
watched as she stood, favoring her injured leg and leaning against the wall.
"Stay away from me, human," she snapped, glowering at him.
Daniel felt his heart breaking all over again. He'd had her back, had Sha're back for a
moment, but just as suddenly as she had been taken the first time, she had been stolen
from him again. "No..." Daniel gasped even as he felt himself growing weaker and
weaker, blackness closing in around the edges of his vision. "Sha're, come back..." But
that was as far as he got before the darkness claimed him.
Chapter 12
Samantha Carter looked up tiredly when she heard the door to the cell open, and relief
crossed her face when she saw that they were returning Daniel. When she'd heard the
sounds of a firefight, and the yelled reports and realized what was happening, she had
been worried for him. Now, she didn't say anything when the jaffa dropped him
facedown onto the floor; she only stood, wincing, glad that he didn't seem to be
conscious to feel it. As the guards backed out of the cell, she took another step or two
toward Daniel, but suddenly stopped and gasped when she saw the nasty staff blast
wound on his back.
"Oh my--what happened?!" she cried, running to his side and crouching down beside
him. She didn't expect an answer, much less from whom she got it from.
"Stray staff blast from the attack," Amaunet answered bluntly. Sam glanced up to see her
passing the cell, supported by two jaffa because Sha're's leg was injured as well. It didn't
seem life-threatening, but it was bad enough that the Goa'uld could not heal it quickly
enough to walk on her own. Her face twisted. "The fault is all his own. He chose to shield
me."
Carter almost smiled at that; of course he would have. But then she frowned. "Why are
you bringing him back here? He could...he could die. You have to do something..."
As she spoke, Daniel suddenly gasped, coming to, but even once he'd awoke, his breath
came in short, pained huffs that he seemed to have to struggle for, and his eyes didn't
open. Sam's throat tightened, realizing how much pain he must have been in. She wasn't
even sure he was aware of what was happening around him yet. Then her attention was
drawn back to the Goa'uld.
Amaunet's eyes flared, and she smirked. "I do not 'have' to do anything. I could simply let
him die. But then I would not have the satisfaction of killing him myself. So he will be
healed, but not now. I must use the sarcophagus first, and then there are other, more
important things that need to be taken care of before attending to wounded prisoners."
Carter gulped. "B-but you can't just leave him like this! He's suffering!"
"Then he will have to suffer until there is time to bring him to the sarcophagus," Amaunet
replied coldly. She turned to go, and Sam shouted at her back as she went, horror sticking
in her throat and making it hard to speak.
"Wait! You can't do this! Don't!...Don't do this to him, Sha're, come back!"
"Sam..." Daniel's voice gasped from beside her knees.
Gulping again before taking her eyes off the retreating Goa'uld, Sam looked down at her
friend, unable to hold back a grimace at the sight of the staff blast wound. "Daniel, are
you all right?" It was a stupid question; of course he wasn't all right. His *life* was in
immediate danger at the moment for goodness sakes.
And Daniel shook his head, his eyes still not open, clenched shut in agony as he gasped
out his fractured reply. "No...C-can't...breath...help...roll off...stomach."
Carter's eyes widened as she forced her pure worry to slack off a bit in order to allow her
to think, and comprehended that the reason he was gasping like fish out of water was
because he was laying on his injured ribs. Nodding quickly, she gently rolled him onto
his side, careful to avoid the fresh wound. When he had been positioned better, his
breathing seemed to slowly be less of a chore, and Sam allowed herself to relax a bit.
"That help some?" she asked, just to make sure.
Daniel nodded weakly. "Some..." he whispered hoarsely.
"So, did you hear..." she inquired carefully.
"Yeah, I heard what she said," Daniel answered quietly. His voice wasn't comprised of
strangled gasps anymore, but it was still thin, weak, and scratchy, with an occasional light
gasp of pain--not surprising, when he'd just taken a staff blast full in the back. It was a
wonder he wasn't dead already. The shot must have somehow missed all of the important
things, leaving him crippled and in excruciating pain. Usually he would have tried to, but
there was no way that Daniel could have hidden the fact of how much he was hurting at
the moment, and it showed fully on his face as he spoke, along with the dread of having
to endure it until Amaunet's jaffa returned for him.
Sam grimaced again and rubbed his shoulder. "It's all right. I'll be here."
Daniel only nodded weakly, but she didn't blame him for not feeling like talking
anymore. Opening his eyes and glancing up, across the floor, Daniel stopped his jacket
still lying on the ground few feet away. He groped for it, but it wasn't close enough, and
trying to stretch only hurt more. Sam leaned over, caught the edge of it with her fingers,
and pulled it closer to him. Daniel nodded in thanks and took hold of it, pulling it under
his head, though when it was it position supporting his head he still gripped balls of the
fabric tightly in both hands. His eyes clenched shut again before she'd gotten much of a
chance to see them, fighting the pain.
Sam gripped his shoulder again, more firmly this time. "Daniel?"
He gulped. "It's okay, Sam. I can...I can handle it until they come back--provided it
doesn't kill me first." The corner of his mouth curled up almost into a momentary half-
smile at the last statement, and she wondered how he could do that when he knew he was
dying. Even though the Goa'uld had promised Daniel would be put in the sarcophagus
later, that still bothered her. What if he couldn't hold on until they returned? What would
happen then? But she immediately pushed the though away, not wanting to dwell on it.
"Are you sure?" she asked in concern.
"I don't have a choice, do I?"
"Uhm...no, I...I guess not," Carter sighed.
An uncomfortable moment of silence passed, the only sound Daniel's labored breathing,
until Daniel finally looked up at her, opening his red rimmed, tear filled, and exhausted
eyes again. The bright blue of his irises only made the deep, dark circles under his eyes
stand out more. Sam had to resist the urge to shudder at how much more pain her friend's
eyes betrayed then the rest of his face, and not all of it was physical.
"Sam...I saw her," Daniel breathed.
At first she just looked at him, and then her own eyes widened. "Sha're? She-"
Daniel nodded slowly. "After she got hit, I covered her, but...Amaunet was weakened by
the wound, I guess, and Sha're broke out...for a minute. But then I got hit, and..." He was
blinking rapidly now, pushing back the tears that wanted to fall. "And then she was...she
was gone...again." Something between another gasp of pain and a sob escaped his throat,
and Sam's heart went out to him. "...again," he whispered.
----------------------------------------------------------
The response from the Tok'ra came thankfully quicker than they had expected, and as
General Hammond ordered the iris to be opened to let through the Tok'ra representative
they were sending, Jack O'Neill found himself thankful they had actually hadn't wasted
time, but still hoping that the Tok'ra coming wasn't one of the really annoying ones...
O'Neill's worries halted when Jacob Carter stepped through the Stargate onto the ramp,
and he let out a breath he hadn't noticed he was holding. Then he headed from the control
room, following Hammond.
"Jacob! It's good to see you," Hammond said, greeting his friend warmly at the door to
the 'gate room with a smile and a handshake.
"Good to be home, George," Jacob smiled back. "Jack," he said, nodding toward O'Neill,
who nodded in return. "Selmak says hi, too, but you'll probably get to talk to him later
anyway," the older man grinned. "Now what's this about, George?" Then he started to
look around for his daughter. "And...where's Sam?"
Hammond sighed, Jack frowned, and that was all Jacob need to know something was
wrong. His smile faded. "What wrong?"
"I'm afraid that's what this is about, Jacob. Major Carter and Doctor Jackson are missing."
"Sam and Daniel? What happened?" Jacob asked in concern as Hammond started to herd
him and O'Neill toward the briefing room.
"We're not entirely sure, but we have a theory. The only problem is that our search plan is
taking too long. Did Major Carter ever tell you how we found the second 'gate on Earth
in Antarctica?"
Jacob nodded, frowning. "Yes, I remember something about. You don't think the same
thing happened again, do you?"
"That's the only feasible answer we have right now. Nothing's come through the second
'gate here, but there any number of planets it could have jumped to between here and
P5R-316."
"So basically, we have no idea," O'Neill offered.
Hammond nodded as the three of them sat down. "Can the Tok'ra help us, Jacob?"
Jacob looked thoughtful for a moment more, then bowed his head to look at his hands
folded on the table for a moment. When his head lifted, it was the symbiote, Selmak, who
spoke.
"Our resources are always stretched somewhat thing, and right now is no exception, but I
believe we could spare a ship or two to help your search, though I will have to speak to
the council on that matter, and we will certainly relay any intelligence we may come
across concerning your missing people."
Hammond nodded again, this time in thanks. "Thank you, Selmak. We'll be glad for all
the help we can get locating them." But even as he spoke, a chill that he could never stop
ran up his spine at the voice of the Tok'ra, which was identical to that of a Goa'uld. He
liked Selmak, and Jacob was one of the best friends he'd ever had, but it still spooked him
a bit. He could see it did the same to O'Neill, who shifted uncomfortably even as he
looked happy at the news.
Jacob's head bowed again, then lifted and Jacob spoke. "And we'll offer as much as we
can, George. We'll find my daughter--we'll find both of them."
----------------------------------------------
Present
Daniel Jackson woke with a start, his head jerking upward, and he found himself staring
down at his folded arms, set on top of his desk. His glasses lay a few inches away, on top
of an open reference book, and he picked them up, groggily sliding them onto his face.
What...? he wondered absently, looking around, and then remembered that he had stayed
on base because he hadn't thought he'd be able to sleep before the mission the next day.
Not to mention he hadn't really wanted to sleep; he'd known it would bring the kind of
terrible dreams he'd been having.
Daniel shuddered at the memories-turned-nightmares, and not for the first time that day.
Of all the places to go after he'd finally gotten rid of Vala, why did it have to be there?
Having Vala MalDoran around for several weeks and having no choice but to remain
near her at all times had been bad enough; now he was being forced to relive an even
more potent nightmare from his past.
Sighing heavily, Daniel picked up the text he'd been trying to translate before he'd drifted
off at his desk and attempted to continue. But just as before, he didn't have much luck
pushing thoughts of Sha're and what had happened on that planet--now designated P5R-
322--from his mind. He was almost grateful for the interruption when Cameron Mitchell's
voice echoed from the doorway.
"Hey, Jackson, what are you still doing here? It's after midnight."
Daniel glanced at the clock and that it was, in fact, almost two o'clock in the morning,
and shrugged. "I could ask you the same question."
"Good point," Mitchell conceded. "Can I come in?"
Now Daniel actually looked in his direction. "Huh? Oh, yeah, sure." He motioned to
another chair that sat beside the table near his desk, and the colonel sauntered into the
office and lowered himself into the rolling chair, spinning a couple of times on the
mechanism before stopping to face Jackson.
"Couldn't sleep?" At Daniel expression, Cameron shrugged. "Yeah, me either."
Daniel snorted. "You're just excited about what we might find there. I'm just..." He
trailed off, grimacing, and Mitchell peered at him.
"You know, Daniel, if this is really bothering you that much, you're welcome to sit this
one out."
The archaeologist shook his head. "No, you'll need me to read anything in Goa'uld we
come across, and there's likely to be a lot of it, considering it was a Goa'uld base. I'll...I'll
be fine."
"You sure? 'Cause I can even ask General Landry to assign this mission to another team
if I need to...." Mitchell offered generously. "I mean, I know Carter's having a little
trouble with this too..."
"Sam? No, she'll be all right," Daniel said, giving a half smile. But it quickly faded and
he looked away, not saying anything else about himself.
Mitchell eyed him. "You know, maybe talking about it would help..."
Daniel shook his head slowly. "No...I don't think so. I'd rather not right now," he said
quietly, plucking up a pencil, and twirling it between his fingers, hoping that if he took
his attention away from Mitchell that he would just go away...
But Mitchell didn't give up so easily. "I don't mind listening, Daniel, and if something's
going to affect the performance of my team, I need to know."
Daniel blew air through his teeth. "It's not going to affect anything, Cameron, okay? I
told you, I'll be fine," he said forcefully, the edge in his voice clearly telling the colonel to
back off, bordering on the irritated. His grip on the pencil tightened, and it stopped
spinning.
"Daniel, I'm your commander. I know we haven't known each other all that long but
still... If you can't talk to me, who can you talk to? Come on-"
The pencil in Daniel's hand snapped, and so did his patience, stopping Cameron Mitchell
in his proverbial tracks. "Look, colonel, when I say I don't want to talk about something,
there's usually a really good reason. I was tortured within an inch of my life on that
planet, and the entire time I had to look at my wife's face, sneering down at me under the
control of the Goa'uld who had taken over her body. It was one of the worst experiences
of my life, and I just don't want to say any more than that, all right?!"
Mitchell gulped, raising his hands in the air as he gave up, suddenly knowing he'd gone
too far. "All right, all right. Sorry. I wasn't tryin' to upset anybody..."
Daniel slumped, sighing heavily and resting his forehead in his hands on the desk. After a
moment he spoke again. "No...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have blown up like that.
You're...you're right. I should be able to talk to you. But..." He trailed off and looked at
Mitchell. Cameron saw pain reflected in Jackson's eyes that had been under the surface
for a long time, that he only allowed to surface for a moment before burying it again.
"But I can't," Daniel finished softly. "Not about that."
Mitchell stood slowly. "Yeah...sorry, Daniel."
The scientist flashed him one of his famous smiles, if not one that was a bit smaller than
usual, before turning back to his work. "It's okay."
Cameron nodded. "Right. Yeah, I think I'll get going now, see if I can get some sleep.
You should too..."
But Daniel didn't even look up, engrossed in his work again--or was it his thoughts?
Mitchell sighed and moved off, mumbling to himself. "Or, you could just stay up all
night. Knock yourself out."
-------------------------------------------------
Chapter 13
Past
Sam Carter sat with her back against the edge of the bench, rubbing her temples as she
kept a watchful eye on her friend. Daniel's pained, labored breathing seemed to drill into
her skull at the exact moments the monstrous headache she'd developed pulsed in her
head. She hoped someone would return for him soon for both their sakes. She hated to
see him suffering. They should soon anyway--it had already been hours.
Unable to sit still anymore and wanting to get her mind away from the thudding pain, she
moved closer to Jackson again and touched his shoulder.
"Hey, Daniel, how you doing?"
His eyes opened and looked up at her slowly. "Well, I'm still alive," he said with a
grimace. But then Daniel coughed, and the simple grimace turned to an expression of
agony. "Ohhhhh, they'd better get here soon," he moaned.
"I wish there was something I could do..." she said softly, voicing the thought for once.
"I know you do. And believe me-so do I." He came up short of breath, and his eyes
clenched shut again as he struggled to get enough air in, and deal with the pain it caused.
He thought he'd have gotten used to doing that by now, but unfortunately that wa |