Summary: Sam’s life hangs by a thread, and she is torn, having to choose one of two different paths. One leads to loneliness and continued struggle. The other one holds unconditional love. Ascended Daniel is there, trying to help her choose. Which path will she take?
Rated: PG13
Genres: Action & Adventure, Angst, Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, UST/Friendship
Original Archive Date: None
Warnings: None
Series: Relationships
Chapters: 16 | Word count: 16419 | Completed: Yes | Published: Jan 19, 2012 | Updated: Jan 19, 2012 | Read: 98992

Category: Drama/Action/Romance

Relevant
Episodes: Ascension, Meridian, Revelations (S5)

Season: Six (Right after “Descent”)

Pairings: Sam and Jack

Rating: T

Warnings: Strong Language, Sexual Innuendo

Summary: Sam’s life hangs by a thread, and she is torn, having to choose one of two different paths. One leads to loneliness and continued struggle. The other one holds unconditional love. Ascended Daniel is there, trying to help her choose. Which path will she take?

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for the enjoyment of Stargate SG-1 fans all over the world. No copyright infringement is intended and no monetary gain is expected.




Chapter One

“Okay, Major! You lead the way!” Jack ordered, putting on his dark glasses and stretching his back as he stepped down from the Stargate platform. He shivered a little, getting rid of the last vestiges of “gatelag”, as he had chosen to call the bone-deep chill he always experienced after traveling through the wormhole. Sometimes this took a few minutes, but he was pretty sure that the warmth of this particular planet would help him recover much quicker.

“Yes, Sir,” the tall blonde walking behind him responded absentmindedly. “I just need a few minutes to check the MALP readings and transfer the data to my portable.”

Jack nodded and stopped, waiting for Carter to finish fussing with the MALP. “All right! We can send it back now!” he heard after a few minutes, during which he had scanned the area with his binoculars and observed Jonas and Teal’c do a quick perimeter check by foot.

They were now standing some distance from the Stargate, chatting and waiting. They turned to watch Sam send the MALP back to the SGC, which only took another couple of minutes.

“The energy readings came from that direction, Sir. And that is where the U.A.V. went down, about twenty clicks from here,” she informed her C.O., who winced at the distance. That was a long way to walk, especially when it was to pick up trash.

“Any luck figuring out what killed the U.A.V.?” he asked, keeping up with her as she approached the other two team members.

“No, Sir. The MALP recorded an unusually high energy reading when the probe was hit, but nothing else. We’ll have to investigate the old fashioned way. I’ll try to figure it out back at the lab after we recover the remains.”

“I insist it was just lightning,” he replied, his boredom obvious in his tone of voice.

“On a perfectly clear, sunny day?” she asked, a half smile on her beautiful face.

Jack looked at her, realizing she was challenging him to a scientific discussion, but he refused to be baited.

“Stranger things have happened in these alien planets, Carter,” he replied simply.

“Yeah! But most of them obey the laws of physics,” she argued, not letting it go.

“If you think you’re going to pull me into one of your never ending, mind boggling discussions full of techno-babble, you are sorely mistaken. I’m not Daniel.”

The uncomfortable silence that followed reminded Jack that Sam was still grieving for their departed friend, and that she was still upset with Jack’s unwillingness to mourn him. It remained a sore point between them, and he had definitely put his foot in his mouth by mentioning the archeologist’s name.

Sam silently picked up her pace and caught up with Teal’c and Jonas, just a few meters down the hill, leaving her CO behind.

Jack mentally kicked himself for his slip. Just when things seemed to be getting back to normal! She had even given him some of her old smiles here and there during the last few weeks. And he had to admit that he had missed those smiles sorely despite the proper distance he carefully maintained with this 2IC. He watched her pair up with their new team member, Jonas, as he sighed. He then joined the taciturn Teal’c in their trek across the low hills.

*****

Miles away, She sensed them as they approached. She could almost watch their every move, hear their every step, and smell their alien bodies as they came closer and closer.

She had waited a long, long time for this, so She could wait a little longer. She knew they were coming and that they would find her, no doubt in her mind at all about that. She would lure them further if necessary.

Freedom was near. She could almost taste it. Finally!

Chapter Two

That night, during Jack’s watch, he observed Carter as she tossed and turned in her sleep. She had been unusually quiet all day, and she had responded with the expected “Yes, Sir” or “No, Sir” every time he had addressed her.

She had not been particularly chatty with her teammates, either. Teal’c and Jonas had caught on to her mood and had maintained a respectful silence most of the time. They realized she was still grieving for her friend. She had good days and bad days. Today it had been a bad one.

“She will heal in due time, O’Neill,” Teal’c said in a soft voice from his spot against the small tree he had chosen, only a few feet from Jack.

“I thought you were kelnoreeming,” Jack answered just as quietly, trying to switch the subject.

“She misses Daniel Jackson. She loved him as a brother, and she is having a difficult time dealing with his loss,” Teal’c continued, undeterred.

“We all do, Teal’c. But why does she act like Daniel’s loss is somehow my fault?” he asked bitterly.

“I do not perceive this to be the case, O’Neill. She does not blame anyone for what happened, not even Jonas Quinn,” he argued quietly. “But she does not realize that Daniel Jackson is not really dead. She can not understand the difference between ascension and death, like you and I do,” he added.

“I’m not sure I understand it either, Teal’c,” Jack admitted. “If I really did, I would have tried to make her see…” he refrained from finishing his thought.

Talking about Sam Carter was not something he normally allowed himself to do. It was too dangerous. Especially when he talked to someone close; someone that knew how he felt about her.

“Just rest, big guy. It’ll be your turn soon,” he prodded. Teal’c understood Jack’s reluctance to discuss his Major and just nodded. He then closed his eyes and relaxed against the tree again.

A sudden whimper could be heard in the night, and Jack’s eyes were drawn to Carter’s restless form across the fire. She was sleeping on her side, with her back to him, but he could see her shoulders shaking.

He debated for a few seconds about what he should do, but when he heard a second whimper, he quietly moved to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. She was asleep, but her face was scrunched up as she cried, unaware of his presence. Her fingers were fisted on her blanket, pulling it almost completely off her. Jack reached over and pulled the blanket back to cover her again, then his hand trailed from her shoulder down to her elbow in a soothing caress, trying to calm her without waking her. He did this a few times, until she seemed to relax.

*****

From the other side of the fire, Teal’c watched as Jack’s concerned eyes held the face of his Major, silently stroking her arm until she stopped squirming and slept peacefully again.

The former First Prime marveled, once again, at the deep feelings between his two friends and at the incredible restraint that both of them displayed.

He closed his eyes shut as Jack returned to his spot and hoped, for the millionth time, that someday these two people would be able to be together as they deserved.

Chapter Three

By noon the next day, the foursome made it to the site of the crash. The U.A.V. was spread over hundreds of meters and recovering the device was taking a long time. They were at the foot of a steep mountain, and some of the pieces were uphill, wedged among rocks and trees. They climbed slowly and carefully, retrieving every single piece until Sam was satisfied.

“Sir,” she called down to Jack, “I’m picking up an increase in energy readings. They come from uphill,” she pointed toward the middle of the rocky face, where they could see some caves almost completely covered by vegetation. “We should investigate. We’ve made it this far,” she suggested.

They were taking a breather, eating their lunch and drinking from their water bottles. The climb had been difficult and they were tired, but Jack agreed with Sam. They were too close to just ignore the phenomenon that they had initially sent the U.A.V. to investigate.

As soon as they were finished with lunch, they resumed their climb, leaving the large bag containing the U.A.V. to be picked up on their way back. Three hours later, they were facing a large, dark cave. “It almost looks artificial,” Jonas commented. “It’s… too round,” he added, gesturing with his hands in bafflement.

“I believe you are correct, Jonas Quinn. This cave is not natural,” Teal’c agreed.

“The energy readings are definitely coming from inside,” Sam informed Jack, looking at him for direction.

“Okay, campers. It looks like we’re spending the night, anyway, so let’s make camp here and we’ll investigate tomorrow morning. We won’t be able to spend too much time here, though. We’re due back the day after tomorrow and we have a long walk ahead of us.”

Jack noticed that Sam wanted to say something, probably try to convince him to start investigating right away, but she held her tongue and got busy setting camp. He dropped his backpack against the rock face at the entrance of the cave, wishing she had gone ahead and argued with him. Anything! Just to have her talk to him would have been nice.

Minutes later, the team had settled for the night unaware that She continued to watch them, patiently waiting for the right time to act.

*****

Something woke Sam in the middle of the night. It was Jonas’ watch, and he immediately looked at her, silently asking her if everything was all right.

She shook her head, trying to become fully awake and figure out what was bothering her. Then she realized that her whole body seemed charged with electricity. “Do you feel that?” she asked Jonas.

“What?” he asked quietly.

“Feels like electrostatic,” she answered just as quietly, trying not to wake the others.

“Now that you mention it, it does feel kind of weird!” Jonas replied softly.

Sam dug into her pack and retrieved the sensor, turning it on to catch some readings. Jonas came to sit next to her and look at the machine in her hands. As he sat down, he brushed her arm and they were both shocked painfully by a burst of electricity.

“OW!” they cried at the same time, making Jack and Teal’c opened their eyes. Both men were on their feet within fractions of a second.

*****

“What is it?” Jack demanded, his weapon already in his hands as he shook the remnants of sleep away.

“Nothing! Sorry, Sir! We just shocked each other, that’s all,” Sam apologized.

“What are you guys doing?” he asked, approaching them curiously. Jonas was just as bad as Daniel, always encouraging Sam.

“We’re taking some readings. They’re quite elevated, and the cave feels charged. Can’t you tell?” she asked as she pressed controls on the sensor. “They’re really high!”

“Okay, campers, time to get out of here.” Jack ordered as he started to pick up his roll immediately. He was getting that gut wrenching feeling that always warned him of impending danger.

“It would be dangerous to attempt to descend while it is still dark, O’Neill,” Teal’c observed. “This planet has no moons.”

“We’ll just put some distance between us and the cave. We can still come back up in the morning to investigate if Carter insists,” he explained.

Although she already looked almost ready to go, she argued, “I would really like to investigate now, Sir. Just a few minutes of readings should do it. It’s not like we’ll have any more light deeper into the cave in the morning. Maybe we can finish and get out of here by dawn and get completely away from the cave sooner.” She quickly finished packing as she continued to glance at him as if hoping for him to change his mind.

Jack hesitated, but finally agreed. “All right, just for a few minutes. I’d rather have the Science Team follow up on this. We don’t need to figure out all the answers. Our job is to do preliminary exploration on this one. Are your doohickeys working okay?” he asked.

“Strangely, they are. If they start to fail, we’ll just have to call it a mission and go back,” she answered.

“All right, since you have the sensor, you lead. Teal’c, watch our six,” Jack ordered as he turned on his flashlight and followed Sam into the cave, followed by Jonas and then the Jaffa.

They had walked for only twenty meters into the darkness when Sam suddenly disappeared, just as if she had stepped into nothingness.

“Carter!” Jack shouted, running to the spot a few feet ahead where she had disappeared and running smack into a wall.

“Sam!” Jonas called, leaning on the invisible wall, touching it tentatively as if trying to find an opening.

Jack started to pound on it, calling her name. Nothing happened. Sam was just gone.

Chapter Four

Sam Carter woke up to her own groans of pain, and as she became aware of her dire situation, she tried to lift herself from the sandy floor where she had been lying for hours.

Her whole body ached miserably. It reminded her of how she felt after being zatted, but much, much worse. She could not help but cry in pain as she forced herself to move further, using her hands to push her body up into a sitting position. Her middle ached horribly.

She was thirsty, cold, in pain, and very much alone. She also realized that she had been stripped down to her underwear, black panties and sports bra, therefore the cold. Her uniform and equipment were nowhere to be seen or felt in the darkness.

Sam could not hear a single sound coming from anywhere. She tried to look into the dense shadows around her, but it was pitch black. She painfully got to her feet holding her stomach in pain, and tentatively reached out with her hands trying to find something as she took a step in the darkness. It felt like any other cave, except that this one was not really a cave, but some kind of room.

She remembered when she had stepped into the room earlier, following the energy readings. She had been walking deeper into the alien cave, her team right behind her, when unexpectedly she found herself in the strange chamber, oddly and suddenly aglow with a green light. She had immediately turned to her teammates and found that she was alone.

Her team had been behind her one moment and the next they had been gone. She had tried to retrace her steps to look for them, but she had been unable to walk through the same path that had brought her here. There was a wall there now, blocking her way out.

She remembered that she had been able to hear them, shouting for her as they pounded on rock walls. She had even heard the muffled sounds of Teal’c’s staff weapon. She had shouted back, but to no avail. Then she had felt the electricity in the air increase.

Her hair had stood on end and she had watched her sensor go wild, the readings providing the only illumination besides the strange green glow in the room. Then she had been suddenly hit by a blast of electricity that had sent her flying against one of the walls, and she had dropped to the floor painfully, barely hanging on to consciousness.

She was not sure, but the last thing she thought she remembered before everything had gone black was the sound of her own laughter.

*****

Jack was still angry. He marched next to Carter in silence, his annoyance at her attitude keeping him quiet for fear of making a scene in front of Teal’c and Jonas.

He remembered the recent events in the cave, running through them over and over in his mind. Something was off. Something felt wrong, but he could not determine just what, and this added to his bad humor. But the blonde at his side seemed completely unaware and uncaring of his testiness, very unlike Carter. She was even humming!

“Carter! Are you humming?” he asked grouchily.

“Yes, Sir!” she responded, turning to him with a brilliant smile.

Jack was even more confused by her sudden perkiness, considering her gloominess the day before. She was acting very strangely, starting with her eagerness to cease their investigation of the cave and head back to the Stargate.

She had disappeared for endless minutes, and then reappeared as if nothing had happened. It was as if she had stepped out of a black curtain. When he had asked her — not quite calmly — where the hell she had been, she had just shrugged her shoulders and answered that she was not sure. She had mentioned a strange room, and that it had taken her a while to find her way back, but did not seem too bothered by the experience.

He could not hold it in any longer, so he asked her, “Can you explain to me why you were so eager to return? I normally have to drag you away from things like this!”

Carter lost her smile and looked away for a second, then responded in a careless tone. “Well, I did get kind of scared when I lost you guys. I was lucky to find my way back. And I figure we got enough readings for the Science Team to work with.”

Jack just stared at her and nodded, still bothered. “You wouldn’t have a hot date waiting for you back home, would you?” he attempted to joke. She smiled brightly again and turned flirtatious eyes to him.

“Would that bother you, Sir?” she asked, holding his stunned eyes.

“No! Of course not! I was just joking,” he stammered. “Why? Do you?” he asked curiously, now a little worried.

Sam smiled at him teasingly just and looked away, not answering. She chuckled a little and quickened her pace, leaving a baffled CO behind.

Jack just shook his head, thrown by the unexpected, flirtatious glance she threw over her shoulder as she caught up with her other two teammates, who carried the heavy bag between them.

Jack decided it was going to be a long day!

Chapter Five

Sam had found the way back out of the strange room, but not before she had passed out again. She eventually and painfully made her way to the entrance of the cave, leaning heavily on the rock walls and feeling dizzy and weak.

By the time she was able to look out of the large opening in the mountainside, she guessed it was early afternoon. Her team was nowhere to be seen, which momentarily made her heart race with panic. But she swallowed hard and took hold of herself. There was always an explanation, and she knew that they would never leave her behind.

She took a few unsteady steps out of the cave, her head pounding agonizingly, and approached a ledge that allowed her to scan the valley they had crossed to reach their destination. Her heart plummeted when she was able to discern, in the distance, four people trekking across the valley, carrying a large black bag between them. Four people!

“Jaaack!” she screamed, falling to her knees with the effort. But her voice did not reach them, the wind carelessly carrying it away from them. “Oh, my God! What’s going on?” she whispered, then sank to the ground senseless.

*****

“Nothing is wrong with her, Sir. Everything checked out fine,” Janet reported to Jack, as requested. “I’d even say she is better than ever. Not even a little bit anemic!”

Jack nodded thoughtfully as he chewed. He had asked Janet to join him for lunch and let him know how Carter’s medical check up had turned out. “That’s good, I guess,” he replied absentmindedly.

“Did you expect something to be wrong?” Janet asked curiously, picking at her salad.

“No, not really,” he answered. “She’s just acting a little strange. Didn’t you notice?” he asked the doctor.

“Well, aside from reneging on previous plans with Cassie for tomorrow, no.” She chewed and swallowed, then took a sip of water and added, “I have to admit I was a little bothered by it. It’s not like her to blow Cassie off, especially when she had promised that she’d spend the afternoon with her at the zoo. Cassie had been looking forward to it for a couple of weeks now. But it is her Saturday, and she said she was tired. She has a right to rest.”

“That’s definitely not like Carter,” he agreed. “She loves Cassie like a daughter, and I’ve seen her play with her when she can barely stay awake on her feet. Don’t you find that… strange?” he insisted.

“Well, kind of, but not enough to give her another physical,” Dr. Fraiser replied, shrugging her shoulders. “Let’s give her until Monday and see how she’s doing.”

Jack nodded, but decided he would not be waiting that long. Something strange was up.

*****

She was positively elated! She was no longer a prisoner. No longer alone. No longer angry and frustrated. She was free! And this machine of theirs suited her mood beautifully, allowing her to feel the air in her new, blond hair, the feeling of utter freedom singing through her brand new body. She dared say that this body was even better than her original one. It was taller and stronger, and definitely more attractive.

Samantha Carter’s silver Volvo flew down the road from the mountain in the late afternoon. She blew her horn a few times just for the fun of it, and laughed out loud as the drivers she passed on the road gaped at her in alarm.

She had been cooped up in that awful planet too long to care what others may think or do. She had her life back, and she meant to enjoy it! They had tried to keep her incarcerated forever, but she had always known she would eventually escape. She had always been patient, and her patience had paid off.

There was an annoyingly loud sound approaching from behind her and she checked her rearview mirror in annoyance. A patrolman. His job was to enforce the law.

She knew everything Sam Carter knew. She had stolen her mind, as well as her body. The only difference was that she still kept her own memories and emotions. Sam’s emotions were not necessary, so she had discarded them.

She slowed down and stopped, as it was expected of her. This would be fun, something new to experience. She amusedly watched as a tall, young uniformed man approached her car and leaned closer to her window to talk to her. “May I see your license and registration, Ma’am?” he asked respectfully.

She noticed that he was a beautiful specimen of a man. Strong, lean, blond and blue eyed, just as she now was. It was just fitting!

“Sure, officer,” she smiled, and produced the required documents. The young patrolman never knew what hit him.

Chapter Six

Jack slowly walked up to Sam’s porch. He knew she was home. Her car was parked on the curb and the lights of her bedroom were on, but he still hesitated before he knocked. He really didn’t have a good reason to be here, just this unexplainable feeling that something was wrong with Carter, but he proceeded ring her doorbell, anyway. He had already decided he would figure out what was wrong with Carter today, not tomorrow or the day after, so he wasn’t about to chicken out now.

He patiently waited for the door to open. He waited, and waited. He rang the doorbell again, now impatient and getting definitely aggravated.

He finally heard sounds on the other side of the door and readied himself to face a puzzled Major Carter, but he was not prepared for the sight that greeted him once the door opened.

Sam stood in the doorway, clearly very naked under a bright blue silk kimono. She was barefoot and her hair was tousled, her face flushed and slightly damp with sweat, and her welcoming smile was almost predatory.

Jack was stunned into silence as she just stood there, smiling brightly at him, her eyes shining with what he would have normally describe as hungry anticipation.

“Carter… uhm… Am I… interrupting something?” he finally got out.

She just smiled wider as a male voice called out to her from a few feet away. “Samantha? Are you coming back?”

Jack’s mouth went dry and his heart sped up in sudden anger as a young, blond man suddenly appeared behind Sam and possessively wrapped his naked arms around her waist.

“Who is it?” the young man asked, glancing at Jack with an annoyed air.

“It’s my boss,” she answered calmly, still smiling and wantonly leaning against the man’s half naked body. It was very obvious that they had just jumped out of bed.

“Jack, this is… Dave?” she checked, looking up at the muscular young man, who just smiled and nodded.

“Yes! This is Dave! Dave, this is Jack O’Neill, my CO.”

Jack said nothing, mute with anger and jealousy. He glared at the naked arms around his Major’s waist for a moment, then dropped his gaze and stepped back. He finally was able to articulate words as he started to leave. “I’ll talk to you some other time, Carter.”

“No, no, no, no, no! Don’t go! You can join us! Right, Dave?” she asked the young man, taking hold of Jack’s arm in the porch and attempting to pull him inside the house.

The young man looked a little surprised, but then smiled and responded. “Sure! Whatever you like!” Then he chuckled and made a funny face at Jack, who felt like striking him.

“See? No problem,” Sam smiled brightly, her eyes twinkling under the porch light.

“Forget it!” Jack snapped, roughly pulling his arm out of her grip and turning around to leave. He had only taken two steps down the stairs when Carter grabbed his arm again, only half smiling now.

“All right! You win! If you’re here, it must be something important, right? Besides, Dave and I were already finished!” she said perkily. “Good bye, Dave!” she added in a firm tone of voice, despite the smile she gave the younger man.

“Uhhh… okay,” the suddenly crestfallen man responded. He turned around and walked into the house, reappearing within moments with his pants and t-shirt on and his tennis shoes in his hands.

He dropped a sloppy kiss on Carter’s mouth and was out the door in seconds. “I’ll call you,” he threw over his shoulder as he left, smiling smugly at Jack, who just stared after him, completely flabbergasted.

Carter was tugging at Jack’s arm, trying to snap him out of it. “Come on! Let’s get inside. It’s a little chilly out here.”

Jack was seriously concerned now. It was not normal for Sam to pick up strangers. Something was extremely wrong, so he let her pull him inside the house and lead him toward the kitchen.

He immediately noticed two empty bottles of wine, a third one recently opened, and two used goblets sitting on the countertop. Besides the kitchen, the rest of the house was in darkness. Only a faint glow came from Sam’s bedroom.

“Would you like something to drink?” she asked as if nothing was amiss.

“No.” Jack was in no mood for games. “Carter, what’s going on with you? Have you lost your mind?” he asked in a raised tone of voice.

She turned innocent eyes on him, serving herself yet another glass of wine from the third bottle. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, what was THAT?!” he asked, pointing at the front door. “WHO was that?”

“Dave,” she answered simply, sipping her glass and watching him with amused blue eyes.

“And when did you meet Dave? You hardly remembered his name!” he accused.

“I met him today. He kindly gave me a ticket this afternoon for speeding. But we got to talking and… things developed,” she explained as she sat on the stool by her kitchen counter. “Why do you care?”

“Carter,” he just said, not knowing how to approach her. “This isn’t like you, picking up strangers off the street. What’s wrong with you?” he asked, his concern mounting by the second.

“Nothing is wrong with me, Jack. I just needed to have a little fun tonight,” she answered as she sipped her wine again, sexily crossing her long legs and making the kimono fall open to reveal more bare skin, making Jack swallow hard and avert his eyes.

“I want you to come with me and see Dr. Fraiser. You’re not being yourself!” he said, finally approaching her and grabbing her arm. He had seen enough!

Sam let him pull her to her feet without a struggle, but instead of following him, she leaned on him, her full breasts pressing against his chest. Her arms came around his body, the wine spilling out of her goblet, and she rubbed herself against him enticingly. “I don’t think that’s what you really want, Jack,” she seductively stated.

“And…” he gulped, not unfazed by the feel of her breasts against him, “Since when do you call me Jack? You always call me Sir,” he tried to drive his point home.

“And you always ask me to call you Jack when we’re off duty!” she argued with a little chuckle. “Are you changing your mind now?”

“But you never do. Why now?” he asked as he tried to remove her arms from around his waist. Despite his concern for her, he was not unaffected by her nearness, by her scent, and by her eager eyes on his mouth.

“I’ve decided it is time,” she responded, suddenly serious. She carelessly placed her goblet back on the countertop, and stood on the tips of her toes to bring her mouth closer to his. “I’ve decided we should act on our feelings, Jack. I’m tired of this waiting. I’m sick and tired of waiting for us to be together. I want you now!”

Her mouth was almost on his, her breasts firmly pressed against his chest and her arms around his neck, pulling him softly down. When her lips grazed his, he lost it! Something snapped inside him and he let her pull his head the rest of the way to meet his mouth with hers. Her lips opened and her tongue boldly invaded his mouth, tasting greedily, seeking his in response.

All that Jack could think was that he was kissing Carter, that he was tasting those lips he had fantasized about so many times, and he finally growled in surrender, digging his fingers into her tousled hair and devouring her mouth with desperate need.

Jack tasted her, tasted the wine on her tongue, and growled softly again, crushing her almost naked body against his. His hands started to explore, lowering to her buttocks and feeling her naked under the kimono. His mouth moved to her neck in almost desperation and he filled his nostrils with her unique scent, now stronger after her previous activities.

This thought brought him up short and he abruptly pulled away, fully realizing what he was doing.

“Wait!” he cried, roughly disentangling her limbs from around his neck. “Wait a minute! You want me so much that you were screwing a complete stranger only minutes ago?”

Sam licked her recently kissed lips and smiled at him patiently, still stalking him despite Jack’s efforts to back off. “That was meaningless, Jack. You’re the one I really want, you know that!”

“What about the regs?” he asked, watching her reaction carefully.

“Screw the fucking regs, Jack! Jeez! How long are we going to let the military rule our lives? Besides, nobody but us need to know!” she snapped at him, finally sounding impatient.

“That’s it! You’re coming with me!” he shouted, grabbing her arm forcefully. He just knew that the alien planet had done something to her, and he intended to find out exactly what.

“Get your hands off me! If you don’t want to fuck, then get the hell out! I have better things to do with my time!” she suddenly yelled at him, shaking off his hands. “Get out!” she commanded, her eyes now throwing sparks. She then turned and headed to her bedroom.

“Something is very wrong with you, Carter! You need to be checked out! You have to come with me!” he insisted, following her down the hallway.

She ignored him and continued to walk away.

“Major! I’ll make it an order if I have to!” he loudly warned.

She turned on her heel and just slammed her bedroom door on his face and locked it. And Jack lost it.

He took two steps back and kicked the offending barrier with all his might. The lock broke and the door splintered, and he was inside like an avenging fury.

Sam’s wide blue eyes were suddenly scared, but still defiant. “I told you to get out! You’re supposed to get out if I ask you!” she argued, seemingly confused by his behavior.

Jack was done talking. He just grabbed her by the waist and started to drag her out of the bedroom, her legs kicking in the air.

“Let go of me, you asshole!” she screamed furiously.

Now Jack knew for sure that he was doing the right thing.

Chapter Seven

As she uselessly fought the superior strength of the man dragging her toward the front hall of her house, She wished she had picked a male body to steal instead of this weak female one. But She had been enticed by the beauty of this one and had chosen wrong! She could not escape the iron grip around her waist, and O’Neill was determined to take her with him.

She desperately grabbed the edge of her bedroom’s doorway with weak fingers and tried to hold on, but he just gave another firm tug and She lost her grip. Moments later, as She was being dragged through the house, She grabbed the vase on the little hallway table and tried to swing it at his head.

Jack saw the object coming and grasped her wrist, squeezing hard until She whimpered and dropped the would-be weapon. She, however, felt the grip around her waist loosen up, and took her chance. She used one of the maneuvers this body came equipped with and was suddenly on her feet, running down the hallway and toward the front door, away from him.

*****

Jack could not believe what was happening. It was almost surreal. Here he was, in Carter’s house, physically abusing her in an effort to kidnap her and take her back to the SGC. At least, that’s what he was technically doing, but he did not hesitate.

He ran after her and tackled her before she could get to the door. He painfully landed on top of her and quickly subdued her, locking her arm behind her back and making her scream with pain.

God! What was he doing? And how was he going to explain this to General Hammond?

*****

“Jack, please! You’re hurting me!” She begged, using every weapon She could think of. She even managed to produce a sob, and it worked.

Jack’s grip softened and he leaned closer to her ear to speak to her calmly, as if trying to soothe her. “I just want you to come to the infirmary with me and see Doc for a few minutes, Carter. I promise you, if she says that you’re okay, you can kick my ass later.”

“You’re hurting me!” she insisted, real tears falling down her cheeks now. She should have known this was the best way to deal with him all along. She could sense his inner turmoil. “I love you, Jack. I just wanted to make love to you. But you don’t want me. How do you expect me to react?”

His eyes closed in clear regret, and he let his forehead fall against her head, but he was more determined than She had anticipated. “I love you too, Carter, but this is not the way. Something is wrong. Just come with me, please,” he begged softly.

She realized he would not give up, and decided to change her tactic. She sniffed and relented. “Okay. I’ll come with you. Just let me go, please.”

He warily stood up and let go of her, clearly hoping that the struggle was over.

She made sure she looked subdued as She stood up shakily, rubbing her wrist. She wiped her tear-streaked cheeks, noticing that he was struggling to remain unmoved, and She started to move past him, but he grasped her arm again.

“I’m just going to get dressed,” She explained meekly.

*****

Jack nodded and let her pass, but kept a conspicuous eye on her. He followed her to her bedroom and watched her as She pulled out some jeans and a t-shirt. He uncomfortably averted his eyes when she dropped her kimono and stood completely naked before him.

Yeah! Something was definitely wacko here!

She proceeded to get dressed while he stood at her bedroom door, nonchalantly inspecting the items on her dresser. Moments later, he was puzzled when she started to fix up her rumpled bed.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I hate leaving a mess behind,” she explained simply, walking over to the other side to pull on the sheets.

Jack stepped closer without her noticing, and as she turned to him with a handgun in her hand, he was ready for her.

He easily grasped her wrist before she had finished turning around and he connected a careful punch to her jaw.

She collapsed on the bed like a rag doll as he winced at what he had had to do. She was out cold.

Jack then proceeded to pick her up and carry her limp body to his truck.

Yeah! Definitely wacko!

Chapter Eight

“Sam! Sam! You need to wake up!” she faintly heard. She moaned in pain, trying to open her eyes without success.

“Sam, please, you have to wake up!” she heard the familiar voice say again. She managed to crack open her eyes to find it was still daylight.

Her skin hurt, probably burnt where the sun had been beating on it. She groaned miserably, her insides throbbing painfully, but managed to turn herself over. There was someone sitting a few feet from her. He was wearing a white top and pants.

Sam blinked to clear her blurry eyesight, and her heart almost stopped.

“Daniel!” she whispered. “Am I dead?” she asked softly, still lying on the ground face up. Despite her misery she smiled at the sight of her much-missed friend.

“If you were dead, you wouldn’t be hurting so much,” he answered sympathetically. “You have to get up, Sam. You have to make it back to the Stargate.”

“Daniel,” she responded, convinced that her friend was a hallucination, but happy to see him nonetheless. “I can barely move. How am I going to make it to the Gate?”

“You have to,” he responded firmly. “If you stay here, you will die before they find you.”

“Why did they leave me, Daniel?” She was more concerned with understanding why she was in this predicament than with her eventual survival. She felt half dead already and she didn’t think she could do what her hallucination was suggesting.

“They didn’t know they were leaving you, Sam. The being you guys stumbled across in this cave took your identity. It was able to copy your body and your mind. She made them believe it was you returning with them. She’s back on Earth right now, living your life. Are you going to let her get away with that?”

Sam struggled to sit up and managed to slowly do so, the whole time watching Daniel’s apparition warily. “Are you serious?” she asked, holding her ribs painfully. She felt weak and dizzy, but the pain in her middle was definitely the worst problem.

“Deadly serious, Sam. If you don’t get out of here, you will die,” he warned. “Get up!”

Sam didn’t know and didn’t really care if Daniel was real or not. She knew he was right. She had to make it down the mountain and across the valley if she wanted to survive. She had to dial Earth. Even without the GDO, if she dialed the Stargate enough times, they’d have to come and investigate. It was the only way to get out of here. Or was it?

“Daniel? Are you real… or are you in my head?” she asked, panting with her efforts to get to her feet.

“I’m very real, Sam. And no, I’m not dead. I’m just… in a different realm,” he tried to explain. “But I had to come to you and help you. I couldn’t let you die here alone.”

“Can’t you get me out of here?” she asked hopefully.

“I’m sorry, Sam. I wish I could, but I’m not allowed. This is the best I can do,” he answered regretfully.

“Okay, just checking,” she whispered, still believing he was in her head. She was on her feet now, but doubted she’d make it too far.

“There is water down that path, to your left. A little mountain stream runs down that side, and it is easier to go down that way anyway,” Daniel pointed.

Sam looked in the direction he was indicating and hesitantly took a few steps on her bare feet. She found that, if she held her left arm against her side, she didn’t hurt as much, and she knew what that meant. She had broken ribs. But her head wasn’t hurting as much as before.

She dismissed her hallucination and went down the side of the mountain, one step at a time, hoping that it was right and that it would follow her wherever she went. If she fell flat on her face and died on this alien planet, she hoped she’d at least have Daniel’s image to keep her company until then.

Her vision of Daniel had been right on, she found. She stumbled across the stream he had mentioned and sat on the ground to drink greedily. Maybe he hadn’t been a hallucination after all.

She turned around looking for him, but he was no longer with her. Feeling lonely and abandoned again, she decided to follow the stream as far as she could without losing her bearings so that she could drink whenever she wanted to.

Daniel had disappeared too soon, but that didn’t surprise her. What surprised her was that she was still upright and walking. With her arm holding her side firmly, she concentrated on putting one bare foot in front of the other.

Hours later, Sam had to stop. She was in the middle of the valley, and she had left the stream behind a while ago. It was almost completely dark and she could not see much. She spotted some large trees and made her way there, looking for shelter.

Completely spent, she dropped to the ground by the trunk of a large pine-like tree and buried herself in pine needles, trying to ward off the chill of the night. She could feel them scratching her skin, but they did offer some warmth.

She missed Daniel. Thinking of her friend, she fell asleep almost immediately and did not wake up once during the long night.

Chapter Nine

“I really hope you’re right, Colonel, for your own sake!” Doc Fraiser was reprimanding Colonel O’Neill sternly. “What were you thinking?”

Janet couldn’t believe what he had done! He had knocked Sam out and brought her unconscious to the SGC just because he believed she had been acting strange. Not only that, he had called Janet and demanded that she meet him there by the time he arrived. He didn’t want anyone else taking care of Carter.

“I’m telling you something is very wrong with her! I don’t want to get into details, but she’s is not acting like the Carter we know al all! Something happened in that planet!” he insisted, following the doctor into the infirmary.

They had just had a conference call with Hammond, who had not taken it lightly to be awakened in the middle of a Friday night, especially when Jack had explained to him what he had done.

“She could charge you with assault, kidnapping, and I don’t know what else! Do you realize that?” she asked the Colonel, her fists on her hips. They were now inside the infirmary and Jack pointed at something behind her instead of responding, making her turn around.

Sam was awake and watching them with hard eyes. She looked almost… evil.

“Does she look like Carter to you right now?” the Colonel whispered in the doctor’s ear.

Janet looked at her friend and had to agree with Jack. The malevolent look on Sam’s eyes was not one she had ever seen before. She, however, plastered a smile on her face and calmly approached the Major’s bed. “Hi, Sam! How are you doing? Do you have a nasty hangover?”

Sam’s alcohol level had been quite beyond the legal limit, but other than that, they had found no anomalies. Janet was still inclined to believe that her friend had just acted out because she had had too much to drink.

The blonde just continued to stare at them as if she hated them, and then said through clenched teeth, “If you don’t let me go, you’re all going to be sorry!”

“Sam… you are free to go whenever you like, but I would prefer that you stay with me just a little longer,” Janet replied carefully, beginning to understand Jack’s concern. Sam’s voice had elicited an instant frisson of concern.

Her friend replied by pulling off her blanket and jumping out of the bed. She stalked out of the room in a huff and without saying a word. Jack started to follow her, but Janet stopped him with a hand on his chest. “Let me,” she whispered, following her friend out of the infirmary and down the hallway.

“Why are you following me?” Sam asked petulantly, walking on bare feet and wearing nothing but her hospital gown.

“I’m just concerned about you, Sam. You’re walking half-naked throughout the SGC, something you would normally avoid at all cost,” she tried to joke.

“Yeah, well… I’m in a hurry. I’ll get some clothes out of my locker and get the hell out of here!” she responded, entering the locker room with Janet on her heels.

“Sure, Sam! I’ll drive you home if you want. Your car is not here,” she offered.

“Whatever!” she threw over her shoulder dismissively.

Janet’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. Sam was one of the kindest people she had ever known and she had rarely ever heard her use that tone with anyone, much less her best female friend.

The doctor let Sam walk away from her but kept her eyes on her tall friend as Sam opened her locker and angrily tore off the gown she had been wearing, dropping it carelessly on the floor.

“You’re not going to make a big deal out of this, are you? I mean, are you going to file a complaint against Colonel O’Neill?” Janet asked, more to keep her talking than out of concern for Jack.

“I don’t give a fuck about Colonel O’Neill!” Sam snapped, baring her teeth with anger and making Janet’s eyes grow wide. She couldn’t believe the foul language coming out of her normally prim and proper friend.

Sam then ignored her, rummaging inside her locker for clothes. She was furiously muttering to herself, and Janet slowly came closer to listen.

“He can drop dead for all I care! I just want to go home and not have to see him until Monday. I don’t know what I was thinking… choosing him over the other one. The young one was much more fun! I don’t know what she ever saw in that over-the-hill barbarian!” Sam kept rambling on to herself as she put on her clothes, clearly unaware that Janet had inched closer and was listening to every word.

“She?” Janet asked suspiciously.

“What?” Sam asked, now fully dressed and turning back to the doctor.

“You said you didn’t know what ‘she’ ever saw in him,” she repeated, ice in her voice. “Who are you talking about?”

“You must have heard wrong,” Sam countered, trying to walk around the doctor to reach the locker room door, but Janet grabbed her arm and made her stop.

“No, I didn’t!” the doctor countered loudly.

The blonde angrily shook off Janet’s hand and just continued to walk toward the door.

“Who are you?” Janet loudly demanded. She knew Sam was not Goa’uld. That had been the first thing she had checked. But they had had experiences with alien possessions before, and her friend was definitely acting possessed.

Sam stopped dead in her tracks and froze by the door. She then slowly turned to the petite doctor and walked back toward her with a dangerous look in her eyes. “You better stop while you’re ahead, ‘Doctor’,” she clearly enunciated, her words dripping with menace. “All I want is to get out of here.”

“You aren’t going anywhere! You’re going to stay here until we find out who you really are!” Janet responded firmly, even though she was now really afraid.

“No, I’m not!” Sam snapped at her. “Just try to stop me!” She then smiled at the doctor with contempt and turned to open the door, only to find herself face-to-face with Colonel O’Neill.

“Get out of my way!” she yelled at him in an exasperated tone.

“Don’t let her pass, Colonel! You were right!” Janet shouted to Jack.

Sam did not wait for his response and jumped at the Colonel with a scream of frustration, clearly intending to do damage, but he easily avoided her attack and pulled out a zat gun, pointing it right at her face. “If I remember right, Carter, you hate getting zatted.”

“Carter is not coming back, you idiot! You might as well accept that!” the blonde screamed at them both, hate pouring out of her eyes.

Janet felt like she had been sucker punched, and she watched Colonel O’Neill’s face go pale. His eyes strayed to her, but she was currently covering her mouth with both hands in utter consternation.

The false Sam suddenly screamed as she attacked him while he was momentarily distractedt, but he was too fast. He pulled the trigger without even looking at her and Sam collapsed in a heap at his feet.

“Crap!” Janet heard him say as he brought up a hand to cover his eyes.

She walked over and stood over the once again unconscious body of her friend. No. Not her friend. She had no idea who this woman really was.

Chapter Ten

Dawn was approaching on P3X-823 while Sam dwelled in a world of pain, coldness and despair. She stirred, hearing voices again, then wanted to sink back into oblivion to escape the agony permeating her whole body.

“Wake up, Sam! You have to keep going!”

“Daniel,” she barely whispered, her eyes still closed.

“Yes, it’s me, Sam. Please, get up. You can’t stay here. You don’t have much time,” he insisted, urgency in his voice.

“I can’t, Daniel. I hurt,” she whispered again.

“I know, darling, but you have to do it. You’ll die if you don’t. You’re bleeding internally, and you don’t have much time left. They’re not coming for you yet. You have to make it to the Stargate on your own,” he kept prodding, his voice loud and clear.

“She doesn’t have to,” another familiar male voice countered, also very close by.

Sam frowned and tried to open her eyes, curious about this other voice from her past.

“Stay out of this,” Daniel rebuked the other one, not unkindly but firmly. “She’s not ready. They need her too much.”

“That is not for you to decide. It is for her to decide,” the other man replied calmly.

Sam remembered that voice, sweet and soothing. It brought tender memories back.

“Orlin,” she smiled, then forced her eyes wide open and focused on the white figure sitting next to Daniel, only steps away from where she still lay buried in pine needles.

“Hello, Sam. I’ve missed you,” he smiled back at her.

“I’ve missed you, too,” she sincerely replied, still smiling even though she thought that she was probably close to dying and her mind was playing tricks on her. She was glad to see him. She had, indeed, missed him very much.

“You’re not dying yet, Sam. But you will if you don’t get up,” Daniel insisted.

“Or you can join us, Sam. We can be together forever. It’s up to you,” Orlin proposed, eliciting a frown from Daniel.

Sam was puzzled by this new development and struggled to sit up, pushing up with her right arm and holding her left one painfully to her side. She managed to lean against the trunk of the tree and looked at the two beautiful men sitting on the ground before her. “What do you mean I can join you and not die?” she asked, her mind helplessly intrigued.

“Just say the word, Sam, and I’ll help you ascend. We can be together forever. No more pain, or struggle, or loneliness. You know I love you, and I know you loved me,” he enticed softly, his blue eyes caressing her features with longing.

“Sam, you’re not ready for this. You have too much to do. Earth needs you, and you know he does, too,” Daniel argued gently.

“Who needs me, Daniel? Nobody needs me. I’m alone. I’ll always be alone,” Sam argued weakly, shaking her head.

“No, Sam. You’re not alone. You’ve never been alone. Not from the beginning. He’s always been there for you, and he still is.”

Daniel did not have to say his name. Sam knew whom he meant.

“We can’t be together,” she argued, tears of pain and sadness coming to her eyes. “You know that,” she smiled, finding it very funny that she was having an argument with herself in her head.

“But you and I can be,” Orlin said, not giving up and ignoring Daniel’s frustrated frown.

Sam was tempted. Orlin looked so beautiful, so peaceful, and she was so tired! If he was real, she would just let it happen, she could be with him, and she wouldn’t be alone any more.

She held fond memories of her time with him. She had loved him, in a way. Not the way she loved Jack, but she had loved him nonetheless. He had given her a measure of happiness during the short time they had been together.

“He loves you, Sam. If you die because he left you behind, it will destroy him in a way Charlie’s death did not manage to do it,” Daniel said, drawing her gaze to him.

Sam nodded, knowing that Daniel was righ and that she could not leave Jack. Not yet. Not before they had had a chance at happiness. And she didn’t want to hurt him. She didn’t want to be the cause of his misery.

She turned her eyes to Orlin as she gathered all her strength, holding on to the tree trunk to get up. “I’m sorry, Orlin. I can’t!” she said, coming to her feet with a groan. Then she started walking again.

Chapter Eleven

Jack watched Sam’s possessed body pacing the room below through the glass of the observation window. He didn’t know what to do. He had been unable to make her talk.

Dr. Fraiser stood by his side with General Hammond, both discussing the situation and trying to come up with options.

“We could get a team of interrogators here and see what they can do,” Hammond was suggesting.

“What if they hurt her, Sir? Sam’s body has been through a lot already,” Janet argued.

“No. We don’t have to touch her,” Jack said softly. “Leave it up to me,” he requested cryptically.

“She’s your team member, Colonel,” Hammond acceded with a sigh, then he quickly left the room, making Jack wonder if he was afraid to witness what his second-in-command was willing to do to get answers out of the woman below.

“What are you going to do?” Janet asked him once they were alone, clearly aprehensive.

“I’m going to motivate her to talk,” he answered. Then he turned on the microphone.

“Hope you like it there, whoever you are,” he taunted.

The false Sam stopped pacing and looked up at them, hate and frustration emanating from her in waves.

“You’re going to be there for a long, long time,” Jack warned.

“You can’t keep me here! I have rights! I’m a Major in the U.S. Air Force! You…”

“We have already established that you’re not Sam Carter, so cut the crap! You seem to know everything she knows, so you also know that I can keep you here until you rot if I want to. And that’s exactly what I’ll do,” he said. Then he turned off the microphone and walked out of the observation room, followed by a circumspect Dr. Fraiser.

*****

The false Sam remained alone, with only water in the room, for six hours before Jack returned. This time, he stepped into the room with her while Janet watched from the observation room along with Jonas and Teal’c.

Jack stood before her and crossed his arms, his hard stare on her familiar features. “Are you ready to talk?”

The false Sam was sitting in the only chair in the room. Aside from that piece of furniture, there was nothing else but a little table in one corner with a paper cup full of water sitting on it. She had not touched it.

“You know I mean business, don’t you?” he asked calmly.

The blonde just looked at him with contempt and snarled at him, “It’s too late. You can’t get her back.”

Jack tried to ignore the dread churning in his gut and again asked her calmly. “If you make me understand why that is, I may let you eat something at some point,” he offered.

She smiled at him with disdain. “You forget I know you, Jack O’Neill. I know you won’t let this body starve, no matter what. You love her!”

Jack’s eyes involuntarily shifted to the people watching them from above, but refused to be baited. “We all love her. That’s not the point. I won’t let you die, that’s true. But I can make life very uncomfortable for you, and very, very boring.”

The woman looked at him warily, plainly knowing that he meant what he had said.

“What’s the point of possessing her body if you can’t enjoy it?” he asked.

He watched her face, the familiar gestures telling him everything he needed to know. He had gotten to her.

“Tell me who you are,” he softly commanded.

“I’m Major Samantha Carter, of the…”

“Wrong answer!” he abruptly yelled, then he stomped out of the room and slammed the door shut behind him.

*****

She was now seriously concerned. She looked up to see the other three people leave the observation room again, and She wondered how long she’d be waiting for them to come back.

She was also hungry and tired, but She almost relished the long forgotten feelings, feelings that made her feel alive. But, as the Colonel had said, what was the point of being alive if she couldn’t enjoy it?

The much more familiar feelings of anger, hate and frustration overpowered her again. She hated that man! He was ruining everything!

*****

Jack stomped down the hallway toward the locker room. His team members, followed by a petite brunette, caught up with him as he ordered over his shoulder, “Get ready. We’re going back. We’ve waited enough.”

“You’re going back to the planet? What for?!” Dr. Fraiser asked as she practically ran behind them.

“Maybe we can find some clues in the planet while this impostor stews alone for a few hours. I just can’t sit on my hands and do nothing in the meantime.”

Chapter Twelve

On the desolate surface of P3X-823, Sam continued to put one bloody foot in front of another, not knowing that the pretense was over and that SG-1 was coming. She was still a long distance away from the Stargate, but she had managed to make it half way there already.

She felt extremely dizzy, weak, and nauseous. She had lost whatever little contents her stomach had had already. Her feet, knees and hands were bleeding from many cuts and scrapes, a result of many falls and stumbles across the rough terrain. Her skin was red from the sun, and her insides hurt horribly.

Every time she had fallen, believing that she could not get up again, Daniel had been there, urging her on. He would not let her be, and Orlin had always been there as well, silent but ever-present.

Her options were still open. She could give up and be with Orlin, or she could keep going and hope to see Jack again. She always managed to get back to her feet and continue her lonely journey.

The thought of Jack finding her dead was unbearable. She had to live, for him if not for herself.

The days were short in this planet, and sunset was fast approaching. She had not eaten anything for too many hours, and she knew that she might not last long enough to make it back to the Gate, but she stubbornly kept walking, now looking for shelter to spend the night.

She found an outcrop surrounded by small bushes not too far away, and she headed there hoping some wild animal didn’t already occupy it.

It was empty, and she sank to the ground gratefully, curling into a fetal position to try to alleviate the pain consuming her from inside.

She was asleep within seconds, unaware that Daniel and Orlin were close by, watching over her as she slept.

*****

Janet had to try. Jack had warned her that the impostor would not break so soon, but she just could not sit and wait doing nothing while SG-1 searched the planet for clues that probably didn’t exist.

She headed to the observation room, knowing she did not dare to be anywhere near the alien being for fear of losing the integrity of her neck.

As she entered the room, the blonde looked up with something close to excitement when she saw her through the glass. She watched Janet expectantly, standing in the middle of the empty room.

“They have left for your planet. That was your planet, wasn’t it?” Janet started, watching closely for her reaction.

What she saw was Sam’s beautiful mouth curl up into a disdainful smile.

“Are there any more like you there?” Janet insisted, afraid that what had happened to Sam could happen to the rest of her team. She had warned Jack about this, and he had shrugged, saying that it was a risk they had to take.

The blonde crossed her arms stubbornly and just stared at her through the glass.

Janet sighed, realizing that Jack was right. This woman would not talk. She dejectedly stood up and started to leave, but then Sam’s voice stopped her. “That wasn’t my planet, and no, there are no others.”

Janet returned to her spot behind the glass and sat down, encouraged by the belated response. “Explain,” she demanded.

The impostor just stood there with her arms crossed, watching her with that very foreign malicious smile.

Janet waited for a minute, not asking again. Then got up, intending to leave again.

The woman spoke again. “It’s too late for her. She’s dead by now.” She then smiled cruelly at Janet’s horrified reaction.

“What do you mean?” the doctor anxiously asked.

“This body is mine. This life is mine. There is no other Sam Carter now. You gain nothing by keeping me here.”

Janet struggled to understand. Was Sam possessed, or was this a replica of her body? “What do you mean she’s dead? Is she within you?”

The impostor sighed, rolling her eyes. She started to pace the room again. “You’re all so boring! So uptight!” she complained.

To Janet she sounded like a bratty teenager. She was probably crawling out of her skin after the many hours she had spent locked up with only bare walls to look at, and she guessed she was talking to her just so that she wouldn’t leave her alone again.

“Tell me about yourself. Who are you?” Janet feigned interest when what she really wanted to know was whether this was Sam’s body or not.

“You want to know who I am?” Sam’s voice taunted playfully, but then it instantly turned bitter. “I was someone important, someone that commanded respect! I was born a ruler, but I was betrayed and imprisoned in that empty husk of a planet! I was left behind… all alone! I used to have everything! Now… now I only have this alien body… and its life here in this planet.” She then looked up at Janet in defiance. “And I intend to keep it.”

Janet asked again, hoping the woman would slip and tell her what she needed to know. “How did you escape? How did you manage to invade Sam’s body?”

The woman smiled maliciously again, almost gloating. “At least I’m not talking to that hateful old man, O’Neill. You’re much easier to talk to,” she commented.

“So, will you tell me?” Janet prodded.

“No,” the alien being replied simply. Then she cruelly laughed at Janet’s silent disappointment.

“Where is she?” Janet asked, her voice breaking.

“You mean her body or her soul?” the tall blonde asked, a taunting smile on her lips as she playfully paced the room below.

“Both!” Janet shouted. Her fingers curled up into white fists when the alien being laughed at her despair again. She was clearly amused and entertained, but Janet knew that keeping her that way was the only way to obtain information.

“How should I know where your souls go when you’re dead?” she mocked. “Her body, however, is probably rotting already.”

“You killed her?” Janet dismally asked, almost in a whisper.

“Well, not exactly. When I copied her body and mind, I wasn’t left with much time or energy to finish her off. But she probably died shortly after we left the…”

Janet never heard the rest. Before the odious being could finish her sentence, the doctor was running out of the observation room.

She could hear the thief howling in frustration as she rushed toward the Control Room.

Chapter Thirteen

Dawn had broken when Jack stepped back onto P3X-823. Everything looked exactly the same. Not that many weather variations in this planet, apparently. It was still sunny, rather warm, and very dry.

“Teal’c, watch our six. We’re heading straight to the cave,” he threw over his shoulder, starting the long hike and wasting no time.

They had been walking for almost an half an hour when his radio came alive. “Colonel O’Neill, do you copy?” It was Janet’s voice, and alarm bells instantly went off in his head.

“Copy, Doc!” he replied anxiously.

“Colonel! She’s a copy of Sam! The real Sam is still somewhere on the planet, probably seriously injured! You have to find her fast!”

The doctor sounded breathless, as if she had been running, and running was what Jack immediately started to do as he loudly replied, “Copy that! Send a medical team through the Gate. We’ll be in touch!”

*****

While Jack, Teal’c and Jonas ran toward the cave where the alien being had been imprisoned, Daniel continued to struggle with Sam, but she could not move.

Although he could communicate with her, mind to mind, and Sam could hear him loud and clear, she just could not make her body obey. She knew she was dying.

“Sam, please! Try to open your eyes for me, please!” he begged.

Sam struggled to do as her friend asked and managed to blink her eyes slightly open. She was in the shade of the outcrop, still curled up in a fetal position.

“Sam! They’re here! They’re looking for you, but they’ll miss you if you stay hidden here. You have to get out in the open!” he insisted.

Sam nodded and tried to focus her blurry eyesight. Daniel was there, kneeling on the ground a little distance away. Orlin was also there, sitting next to her friend, his sad eyes on her face.

“Be with me, Sam. Just say the word!” he prodded once more.

“Be quiet!” Daniel snapped at him. “Aren’t you in enough trouble with the Others already? Go away!”

“You think you’re not? You’re not supposed to be here, either,” Orlin replied calmly. They both turned to Sam when they heard a painful chuckle come from her.

“Stop fighting, you guys,” she said slowly, dragging her words. “I’ll be dead soon, and nothing will matter after that,” she added with a supreme effort.

“No, Sam! I know you still have it in you to crawl out of there. Please, do it for me! Do it for Jack!” he urged.

Tears came to Sam’s eyes, tears of regret, frustration, and pain, but she summoned the little energy she had left to try to do as Daniel asked, as Jack would have asked as well. Her hand reached out and grabbed a rock protruding from the ground. She pulled on it, desperately trying to drag her body out of the hole.

She did not know how long she pulled on the rock, but finally she was in the open. The bushes surrounding the outcrop, however, still concealed her body from her friends, and she had nothing left to give.

She could hear Daniel growing even more desperate, begging her to keep moving, but she was done. She couldn’t move another muscle, and she closed her eyes and prepared to die.

One moment Daniel was there, urging her on, and the next he was silent, which made Sam crack her eyelids open again.

Only Orlin sat there, watching her quietly, sadness written all over his body.

“My beloved Samantha,” he softly said. “You love him very much. As much as I love you,” he added.

“I’m sorry, Orlin,” she whispered, her cheek on the warm ground. She could feel little rocks digging into her soft skin. “I’m sorry!”

“Don’t be. Love is not something you have to be sorry for. I’ll always be waiting for you, Sam. I hope you find the happiness you crave within your lifetime,” he said with feeling, and then he disappeared.

***

Hundreds of meters away, Daniel hovered invisibly over his former team. He could not push his luck. He could not speak to them directly. The others would stop him, he knew.

They would not interfere while he talked to someone so close to death, but they would never allow him to interact with the men who desperately ran across the valley.

He, however, could do something else.

*****

Teal’c kept up with O’Neill’s pace effortlessly. Jonas followed a little further behind. The Jaffa kept watching for signs of their lost teammate, scanning the ground left and right as he ran.

He had briefly turned his head to keep an eye on the Kelownan when suddenly he tripped and fell hard on the ground.

He fell! This had never happened before! And to top it all, he could not see what he had tripped over! This was most intriguing! It had felt as if someone had actually grabbed his boot.

*****

Jack heard Teal’c fall and he stopped running, more surprised by the Jaffa’s fall than annoyed with the delay. He watched Jonas catch up with his fallen teammate and offer his hand to help him up, but noticed that Teal’c was looking at the ground with intense interest.

Jack followed his gaze and saw what had caught Teal’c’s attention.

“What is that?” he asked his friend breathlessly.

“Blood,” Teal’c replied, getting to his feet unaided.

“Could it be Sam’s?!” Jonas worriedly asked, catching up to them and sounding almost completely out of breath.

Teal’c was already following the bloody tracks. There were smears here and there, already dry. They would have completely missed them if Teal’c had not fallen.

Jack was beside him in seconds and they moved east together, led by the unmistakable footprints on the ground. Jonas trailed behind.

They walked for a while, intent on not losing the trail and their silent concern increasing as the time passed.

“O’Neill!” Teal’c suddenly shouted as he pointed to a dark spot on the ground about one hundred meters away, barely visible between dried up bushes. The three men instantly broke into a run and were kneeling by Carter’s body within seconds.

“Carter! Sam, can you hear me?” Jack shouted as he pulled out his canteen. “Sam! Come on!” he begged, pouring a few drops of water on her dried, blistered lips.

Jonas was pulling out the medical kit, and Teal’c was busy on the radio. Sam, however, did not stir.

“Her pulse is extremely fast and weak, Colonel,” Jonas informed, touching Sam’s neck gently. “Her respiration is shallow and rapid, and her skin is cold and clammy. By the way she’s lying and holding her middle, I’d say she could be bleeding internally.”

Jack looked at him in surprise, but he didn’t comment on the encyclopedic knowledge the younger man displayed. Only months ago, he had had no idea how to give CPR, but now he was a first-aid expert. Jack, however, didn’t think he knew enough to help Sam.

“Report to the medical team and ask them what to do,” he ordered the Kelownan.

Teal’c had already been able to contact the medical team and was giving them directions so that they could meet them on their way back to the Stargate, as well as reporting on Jonas’ findings.

“We have to get her out of here!” Jack replied, still trying to make her drink some water. “Get the stretcher ready,” he ordered, his left hand softly stroking Sam’s hair while the other held the canteen to her lips.

He smiled when she suddenly coughed and her lips moved, instinctively trying to gather more drops of water. “That’s it! Wake up, Carter! Come on, Sam. Let me see those baby blues!” he encouraged, and her eyes slowly drifted open in response.

“Jack,” she croaked almost inaudibly, her lips barely moving.

“Yeah! It’s me, Sam. We’ve got you! You’re gonna be fine!” he tenderly assured her, still stroking her hair.

“Yes, Sir,” she smiled, but then her eyes drifted close again.

Chapter Fourteen

Jack waited restlessly in Doctor Fraiser’s office. Teal’c and Jonas waited with him, concern for both their team mates — the injured one and the one waiting — written on their faces.

Sam’s condition was critical. She had been slowly bleeding internally for a long time, and Janet had warned them that they might have gotten to her too late. She was still in surgery, and the doctor had asked them to wait in her office, if they were going to wait, anyway. That had been one hour ago.

“I’ll kill her with my bare hands,” Jack suddenly said. Neither man needed clarification of whom he was referring to.

Teal’c, however, commented, “I doubt you would be able to do so, O’Neill. She looks too much like Samantha Carter for you to be able to do such a thing.”

“If she dies, I’ll do it,” Jack responded.

“I vote for sending her back to P3X-823 and leaving her there,” Jonas contributed. “If what she wanted was an interesting life, being alone forever in that planet should be enough punishment,” he added.

“It is most strange for a being to be alone in a planet under any circumstances. Doctor Fraiser said there were no others like her there, and that she had been imprisoned and abandoned,” Teal’c expressed out loud.

“She’s getting no sympathy from me. She probably deserved it,” Jack coldly opined, finally sinking onto one of the chairs in the room.

Teal’c remained standing by the door, and Jonas just switched positions in his own seat.

A minute later, the door opened abruptly and a tired looking Dr. Fraiser walked in. “You can see her now, but she’s not conscious. With a little luck, I think she’s going to be fine,” she smiled encouragingly.

Jack barely let her finish speaking before he bolted from the office. Jonas exchanged a knowing look with Janet, and she added, “Let’s give them a few minutes alone.”

Teal’c nodded and settled to wait some more.

Jack was by Sam’s side in seconds, his poker face in place but his trembling hand giving away his anxiety to anyone paying attention. He reached for her hand, pale and covered in cuts, until his fingers enveloped her slim ones.

She looked terrible. Her skin was red and puffy where she was sunburned, her lips were white and broken, and she looked frail as a waif lying there in sleep.

‘I left her there,’ he thought. ‘I knew something was off, but I just left her there.’ He did not know what he would have done if she had died, broken and alone in an alien planet.

*****

Sam was oblivious to Jack’s presence. She floated in a world of mist seeking something, but she could not remember what.

“He’s there, next to you, Sam.” It was Daniel’s voice again.

She could not see him, but she could feel him. “He won’t leave your side. You know the drill,” he added.

“Where are you, Daniel?” she asked, still trying to see through the mist.

“Someplace else, but always with you,” he answered. “Thank you for living, Sam. Thank you for staying.”

“Daniel?” she called, but there was no response.

*****

“Carter!” Jack snapped completely awake, straightening in his chair. He had fallen asleep waiting for her to awaken, his hand still holding hers.

Sam moaned softly, repeating their friend’s name, “Daniel,” in a barely heard whisper.

Jack closed his eyes, feeling guilty for the emotions another man’s name in her lips could make him feel. Despite the fact that he knew Daniel had been like a brother to her, he could not help but feel jealous and possessive of her, and wished she had called out his name and not Daniel’s.

He still held her hand, and softly called out to her again, “Sam, it’s me, Jack.”

“Jack,” she whispered, still not opening her eyes.

“Yes, it’s me. I’m right here, next to you,” he stood now, his face only inches from hers. “You made it, Carter. You saved your own butt,” he joked quietly.

“You know… I’m fond… of my butt… Sir,” she mumbled, trying to smile, and her eyes cracked open slightly.

“And a nice one it is, Carter!” he smiled widely now, encouraged by her response. “I’ll let Jonas and Teal’c know that you’re awake! They were here for a long time waiting for you.” He started to remove his hand from hers, but she held on to his fingers.

“Don’t go… please. Stay,” she begged, her eyes trying to focus on his.

“Okay. I’ll stay. I’m not going anywhere if you don’t want me to,” he assured her, sitting down again and still holding her hand. “You’re one tough, stubborn little soldier, Major,” he teased.

“I didn’t… want… to leave you,” she whispered, her eyes drifting closed again.

Jack was stunned, his heart like lead and the import of her words registering. She had stayed alive for him, because of him.

She had drifted off again, so no one witnessed Jack’s tears and soft kiss on Sam’s injured hand, thankfully.

Chapter Fifteen

She walked toward the cave, putting one foot in front of another automatically, taking her closer and closer to the mountain. Tears ran down her face and she almost wished she could just die. Almost.

They had brought her back to this miserable planet and left her here, alone again. She knew she’d never be able to survive in this body for long. She’d starve or die of boredom, so she headed back to her prison, where she could go back to being pure energy and slumber for weeks at a time. Until another opportunity for escape presented itself.

She just had to be patient, and she knew how to be patient when she really tried.

*****

Back at SGC, Janet debriefed General Hammond and SG-1 minus a still convalescent Major Carter.

Jack was satisfied now that they had gotten rid of the false Sam and he preferred to forget all about her, but he listened to what the doctor had to say, anyway.

“She was a prisoner. She never told me what her crimes were. She just told me she had been a ruler, and that she had been betrayed and abandoned. It sounded like she had been sentenced to remain alone in that planet forever. Once she found out that the game was up and we had gotten Sam back, she told me a little more. It seems her people have the technology to remove a person’s consciousness and convert it, along with their physical bodies, to pure energy. They then place this energy in a special chamber for safe-keeping. If the energy leaves the chamber, it dissipates. She was only able to escape by taking human form again, using Sam’s body as a… a mold, for lack of a better word. Not that they’re really human, I don’t think. She called Sam’s body ‘alien’. They probably look completely different from us, but I do think she had been female.”

“Where are they from?” General Hammond asked.

”She couldn’t or wouldn’t say. She said they lived in large ships, in space, like nomads. They just pick a planet on their way to gather supplies when they need them and get rid of undesirables like her. I guess they don’t want to have to keep people they don’t want on board.”

“That’s one harsh sentence! To live forever alone,” Jonas observed, not being able to withhold certain amount of sympathy for the alien being. “No wonder she was a little crazed,” he added.

“We do not know what she did to deserve such punishment,” Teal’c observed.

“She certainly didn’t seem to have any scruples. All she cared about was herself. She left Carter to die and was happy about it!” Colonel O’Neill argued, not feeling the slightest bit of sympathy for the being they had sent back to P3X-823.

“I have to agree,” Janet said. “The way she talked… it gave me the chills! She was a sociopath.”

“Now… how did you make her talk anyway?” Jack asked, puzzled.

“I think she just got bored, Sir. She wanted company, more than anything. As long as she had my full attention and felt she could push my buttons, she was happy talking,” she answered.

“Well, we will lock out the coordinates to the world after we post a warning by the Stargate. We don’t want this to happen to anyone else. How is Major Carter today?” General Hammond asked, closing the subject.

“She’s doing better. I should be able to release her in a few days. Then she’ll have to stay home and recuperate for at least a couple of weeks. Then light duty after that. No Gate travel for a while.”

Doctor Fraiser was accepting no arguments on the subject, so both the General and the Colonel just nodded with relieved expressions on their faces. Jack felt outright elated now that Sam was back home, so not even the memory of that awful being and her actions could upset him now.

“Very well. Jonas and Teal’c can concentrate on their studies, Colonel, I need you to do some training,” General Hammond warned, making Jack wince. “We have gotten approval for another SG team, and I need you to pick new recruits. Dismissed!” General Hammond pronounced, then exited the briefing room and went directly to his phone.

Jack was out next, headed for the infirmary.

*****

Janet amusedly watched the Colonel leave in a hurry as she gathered her papers. She then quietly addressed Teal’c and Jonas. “How’s he doing now?”

Jonas looked at Teal’c, who just nodded for him to proceed, and responded, “I guess he’s still feeling guilty for leaving her on the planet to begin with, but he gets better as she gets better. I’d say that he’s… relieved! She told him that she understood why she was left behind, and that she doesn’t blame any of us. In fact, she’s grateful that he followed up on his gut feeling and was able to find out what was going on so soon.”

“I have to agree. That thing fooled all of us but him,” Janet said. “He was like a dog with a bone. He would not let it go! I’m sure we all would have eventually realized it was not Sam in that body, but timing in this case saved her life.”

Teal’c and Jonas nodded as they followed Janet out of the briefing room. They soon arrived at the infirmary to find Sam chuckling at something Jack had said, and they did not miss their hands as they suddenly let go of each other, the two officers realizing they were no longer alone.

*****

“Hi, guys,” Sam greeted with one of her brilliant smiles. She still felt exhausted, but quite content now that she was back home and having some private time with her CO. His guilt over leaving her behind had somehow made him disregard their former professional distance and he had been nothing but sweet and tender ever since she had woken up. But holding hands was not something they could do in public, so she reluctantly let go.

“Hello, there!” Janet greeted. “Finally awake, I see.”

“Yeah, they woke me up for breakfast,” she answered, wrinkling her nose.

“That good, huh?” Jonas commented.

“I would believe any sustenance would taste good after starving for two days, Major Carter,” Teal’c commented with a half smile.

“She’s not you, Teal’c. I bet the lack of food was the least of her concerns. It’s not like she eats much as it is,” Jack teased, looking at Sam affectionately.

“You’re right about that. I was too thirsty to feel hungry,” she agreed.

“Well, you eat what you please, Sam. Just ask your friends to bring you your favorite Chinese take out if you want. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have other patients I have to check on.” Having said this, Janet left.

“Yeah, we better go, too. Teal’c promised to teach me to play basketball today. And I need the workout after last night’s dinner. We ate something called pizza, and it was…” Jonas rolled his eyes, “Out of this world!”

Sam smiled happily as her two friends left, and then she glanced at her CO. “He had not eaten pizza yet?”

“Nope! I thought it was time to break him in. That boy can eat!” he commented with raised eyebrows.

Sam just chuckled as she warmly gazed at him from her pillow.

“What?” he asked softly, taking her hand again and rubbing his thumb against her wrist.

Sam squeezed his fingers, grateful for the human contact. She wondered whether she should tell Jack about her visions of Daniel and Orlin. She had not told anyone yet.

“Nothing,” she finally answered. “I’m just glad to be here… with you,” she added hesitantly.

Jack slowly lost his smile, looking down at their intertwined fingers. “Sam, about that…” he started.

“You don’t have to say anything, Sir,” she interrupted. “I know,” she finished, looking sad. She knew that, no matter how they felt for each other, things could not change yet.

*****

“Sam, you don’t know the half of it!” he responded, his eyes now on her face, and remembering how he had caved and almost made love to that other Sam.

At her disconcerted frown, he just shook his head. “I wish…” he started, but he could not finish. What could he say? That he wished he could love her openly, make love to her and marry her? And then what? Once he let that cat out of the bag, it would be impossible to continue working together as they had been. No one would be able to close the door to that room after that.

“What?” she asked, her eyes sad.

He knew that she knew exactly what he was thinking, so he just said, “Sam, I’ll always be here for you. As long as you need me to be.”

“Yeah!” she smiled sadly, “Someone reminded me of that recently.”

“Really? Who did?” he asked curiously.

“A dear friend,” she replied cryptically, looking away uncomfortably.

Jack looked at her thoughtfully, but asked no more questions. He just nodded, accepting her silence on the matter.

She suddenly changed the subject, as if not wanting to let the uncomfortable silence continue. “What did she do while she took my place here? Did she compromise the SGC in any way?”

“Not really, but…” he answered, stalling for time to figure out how to best tell her what position the other Sam had left her in.

“What? Please tell me…” she begged, her eyes wide with alarm.

“Well, let me tell you from the beginning. You may hear from a guy called Dave,” he started.

As he continued his story, Sam just closed her eyes and leaned back on her pillow, muttering here and there, “Oh God!”

Chapter Sixteen

A week later, Sam rested comfortably on her couch watching the hockey game and sipping freshly brewed coffee. Jack was sprawled next to her, his feet on her coffee table as he cursed at his floundering team. Teal’c and Jonas occupied the other two seats in the room.

The Kelownan was on his third helping of chocolate ice cream and the Jaffa kept asking questions about the game. They all looked at each other in surprise when the doorbell rang. They were not expecting anyone else.

Sam got up and looked through the peephole, then turned to them and shrugged her shoulders, letting them know that she did not know whom the person at the door was.

She opened the door to face a tall, good looking blond man broadly smiling at her as if he knew her.

Sam couldn’t help but smile back. “Can I help you?” she politely asked.

“I’m hoping you can, sweetheart,” he replied with a wink, stepping into the house and wrapping his arms around her waist.

Sam was taken aback and placed a firm hand on his chest, which made him look surprised by her reaction. “What do you think you’re doing?” she loudly asked in alarm.

Her teammates had clearly heard the exchange and were standing behind her in a flash.

“Sorry, hon! I didn’t realize you already had company,” the blond man said apologetically and looking a little concerned over the looks he was getting from the three men standing behind her.

“Hello, Dave!” Jack suddenly greeted him cheerfully, clearly recognizing the patrolman.

Sam closed her eyes in mortification, then she turned to Jack, silently begging for assistance.

Teal’c raised his eyebrows and went back to his seat, evidently satisfied that Jack would handle the matter. Jonas threw the guy a look full of pity and followed Teal’c’s example.

“Sam, this is Dave,” Jack introduced them. Dave just smiled as if trying to catch the joke. He clearly remembered Jack, but by Sam’s uncomfortable silence he could probably tell that something was wrong, so he asked for an explanation.

“What’s going on?” He looked at both Jack and Sam expectantly, and when Sam glared at her CO, almost wanting to punch him when she realized that he was having fun at her expense, he took pity on her and related the story they had agreed on.

“Dave, you’ve never really met Sam before. You met, literally, her evil twin. You met Sandra, who thank goodness already left town.”

Jack delivered the story flawlessly, and Sam looked at the off-duty policeman hoping he would buy it.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! Come on! If you don’t want to see me again, just say so!” the man replied, his eyes hard on Sam and his good humor gone.

“It’s true!” Sam tried to convince him. “My name is Samantha, and I just came out of the hospital. My sister was house-sitting, and she likes to play practical jokes on my friends. Colonel O’Neill told me what happened here a few days ago, and I’m sorry if she did anything to offend you.” She looked straight at the young man, who took in her weakened, pale body and the still raw marks on her hands and face.

“You are not joking! You are not the same woman, are you?” he accepted in dismay.

“No. I’m afraid Sandra lives in Boston. And after what she did to you and Jack, she won’t be visiting any time soon. I’m sorry!” The sincere tone in Sam’s voice was the clincher, and the dejected patrolman finally nodded, backing out of the house.

“I guess I’ll be leaving then,” he said. As he turned to leave, he seemed to think of something and turned to them again. “Could I have her phone number?”

Jack smiled, shaking his head. “We would never do that to you, my friend. You have no idea who you’d be dealing with.” And he was not lying, Sam thought.

“Okay, I get it”, the man answered. “Sorry to have bothered you,” he apologized, quickly walking away. He soon had jumped into his car and left.

Sam covered her face with both her hands and groaned, leaning against the now closed front door.

“I guess ignoring his phone calls was not the best idea,” she said from behind her fingers.

“You tried. But I knew it would come down to this, sooner or later,” Jack replied, pulling at her hands and holding them between them. “But now it’s over.”

“I guess I should be thankful that it was only one man, a speeding ticket and three bottles of wine. It could have been worse!” she smiled at him.

“She could have decided she wanted to give us a strip-tease over at the SGC,” he teasingly agreed, nodding his head and raising his eyebrows suggestively.

At Sam’s horrified expression, he chuckled, pulling her away from the wall and leading her back to the couch still holding her hand. “Now that I say that, I’m sorry it didn’t occur to her,” he teased.

“Maybe I’ll do a private one for you someday, Sir,” she teased back.

At his stunned expression, she smiled wickedly at him and left him standing on the hallway, gaping at her.

Let him stew on that one!


The End