Sam had been recently released from the hospital. The General had ordered a two-week stand down for the team, in particular Sam. If there was an emergency, they would find a suitable replacement for her. Ordinarily, Carter would have bristled at the idea, but this was no ordinary situation.
Carter arose from her bed. Bed rest that's what the Doctor ordered. But she really needed to use the bathroom. Finishing the task at hand, Sam was washing her hands. She splashed some cold water on her face then stopped and stared at her reflection.
***
Jack and Daniel were in the park with Cassandra and her dog. Janet had been worried about how her adopted daughter was handling the situation with Sam. She seemed to trust both men, so they had offered to have a talk with her. They were sitting on a bench, Cassandra between them. Apollo, the dog, was sniffing at a nearby tree.
"Sam is so sad," said Cassie, "Why?"
"Well, she had to deal with a traumatic situation. She's just not feeling like herself right now," answered Daniel.
"When will she feel like herself again?" asked the little girl.
"Soon, I hope," answered Daniel looking to Jack for help.
"Well, you know, Cass, I think she's going to need all of us to help her," said Jack putting his arm around her, "And I think I have an idea that might help."
"Really?"
"Yeah, but you're going to have to keep a secret," said Jack.
"Is it a nice secret?" she asked excitedly.
"Yep," Jack whispered it in her ear.
"That is so great," Cassie smiled but then looked around, "Where's Apollo?"
"I don't know, if fact where's Daniel?"
"I'm over here," yelled Daniel where he was standing by a tree farther away, Apollo was growling, "He chased a cat up."
"Ah, another mission for Sg-1. Come on Cass, let's save the day," Jack laughed taking the little girl's hand and walking over to Daniel.
***
Sam lay curled up in the fetal position on her bed. She was so depressed, more depressed than she had ever been in her life. When the Goa'uld had first taken over, she had felt anger.
Then it had explained its intentions to her. It was a Goa'uld, yes, but it was different. But no one had believed him. This Sam should have come to expect. After all the team had gone through with the Goa'uld, she could understand the trepidation on their parts. She understood why, but she still felt betrayed somehow. When the Colonel had walked out on her, after she had begged him not to leave her. She had even called him Jack, something she never did. She needed him and he walked out on her. And Daniel... Daniel had not even come to see her until forced. Teal'c had been the only one to show even an ounce of compassion.
What was she doing? She couldn't blame them. They had lost so much to the Goa'uld. Daniel had lost his wife. Jack had lost the boy he thought of as his son. Teal'c's family had suffered greatly. They almost lost their whole world to the Goa'uld. It was not their faults that they could not believe. But yet she still felt betrayed.
She felt sad. Sad for the life that had been given up for her. She had come to know the Goa'uld inside her. It had been arrogant yes, but not like the others. It wanted to end the tyranny of the system lords. In most cases, the Tokra only took hosts with their permission. His last host had been one such volunteer and in turn, the Goa'uld had taken care of his family and allowed him to maintain control. The Goa'uld had even become very fond of his host's wife and had been concerned for Thalia's safety.
In the end Jolinar had told her that he would die for her. Reminded her that he died with hope, hope that the knowledge he had shared with her would be used to overthrow the system lords. "I have hope Samantha. You are strong; your people have the power. Use what I have taught you."
Then it had died. Somehow a part of Sam also died. She didn't understand it, couldn't understand it.
She didn't want to.
She didn't want this. She just wanted to be Samantha Carter again. A member of Sg-1. Yet how could she be a member of a team that didn't trust her, that had betrayed her.
Sam curled up tighter in her ball. Tears that refused to fall stung her eyes. In the morning, she would resign from the team. Then she would work on finding herself again.
With that thought, Sam's tears finally broke free.
***
"How are we going to get Sam over here, any way?" asked Daniel looking down from the ladder he was standing on.
"You leave Samantha to me," said Jack, "That needs to go a little to the left."
Finally the preparations had finished. Jack was on his way to Sam's apartment. He shook his head as he approached the door. All the lights were off. He knocked on the door, no answer.
"Come on Carter, open the door. I know you're home. Your car's in the parking lot."
After a few minutes, the door swung open. Sam was pale and it looked like she had been crying. She looked, Jack mused to himself, like hell.
"What?" she asked.
"Well, that's a great way to greet your commanding officer," said Jack, who brushed past her into the apartment, "Mind if I come in? Thanks."
"Colonel, look it's kind of late and I'm in no mood," began Carter.
"You know, you can call me Jack, we're off duty."
"Okay, Jack what do you want?"
"I'm here to kidnap you," he said straightfaced.
"Have you gone insane?"
"Nope, if need be I can put you under arrest, but you are leaving this apartment regardless. Now march into that bathroom, take a shower, and put something decent on. No offense, but you look like hell."
"Fine," she said and did as she was told.
She came out several minutes later. Jack was sitting on her couch, flipping through a magazine.
"Did you know that I'm rated as romantic as a tree slug in the latest Cosmo quiz?" he asked, putting the magazine down.
"I can see that," Sam said, ordinarily that kind of a crack would have warranted a laugh but she was in no mood, "Is this decent enough for you?"
She was wearing a black tee-shirt and a pair of jeans, "Sure, decent enough. Come on then, Captain."
***
They pulled up to Jack's house. It was dark as night.
"Why are we here?" Sam asked suspiciously.
"Just need to get something. Come on."
Sam and Jack walked in the front door. Jack flipped on the light.
"Surprise!"
"Wow," said Sam.
The group in Jack's living room included Daniel, Teal'c, General Hammond, Janet Frasier, and little Cassandra. A lot of the other people involved in the Stargate program was there, including Catherine and Ernest.
"We knew that you were having a hard time dealing with this, so we wanted to do a little something to let you know that you're not alone," said Jack.
"We all care about you, Sam," said Daniel, "I hope you know that."
Sam stood there, surrounded by all of these people who cared about her. What had ever made her doubt them?
Then as if on cue, Cassandra hit a button on the CD player. It was an old James Taylor song. As the song started and the lyrics started to sink in, Sam started to cry.
"When you're down and troubled
and you need a helping hand
and nothing, whoa nothing is going right.
Close your eyes and think of me
and soon I will be there
to brighten up even your darkest nights.
You just call out my name,
and you know wherever I am
I'll come running, oh yeah baby
to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall,
all you have to do is call
and I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You've got a friend."
"What's the matter, Sam?" asked Cassie.
"Nothing, Cassandra, I just," Sam started, "I'm so glad that I have all of you. I was having such a hard time dealing with this. I started to wonder who I was."
"So did you find out?" the little girl asked.
"Yes, I did Cassie. I'm Sam Carter and this is my family."
"Good," Cassie said hugging her, "I love you Sam."
"I love you too, Cassandra," Sam said hugging her tightly, "I'll be okay, just like you said."
Jack and Daniel exchanged satisfied smiles. Mission accomplished once again.
"Then let the festivities begin," said Jack.
The End
Story Notes: The lyrics to "You've got a Friend" were written by Carole King (I'm not sure who owns it currently).
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc, are the property of their respective owners. Any original characters and plots are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended. ... [ read more ]