~I am hanging on every word you say
And even if you don’t want to speak tonight
That’s alright, alright with me
‘Cause I want nothing more than to sit
Outside Heaven’s door and listen to you breathing
Is where I want to be~
Breathing- Lifehouse
Sam had been avoiding the colonel since the moment the discussion had closed. He had been interrupted by Karrigan the first time, for which she was rather grateful, for once, but she knew him well enough to know that when he had something on his mind, he wouldn’t drop it so easily.
Idan and other Woodmen had offered them some food before night fell, so that they could begin planning everything as soon as the sun went down. Sam had immediately sought Daniel and Teal’c’s company, anything to keep her from talking to the colonel. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk to him, well…it was, but it was mostly that she was afraid of what might come out of it if they did talk.
“Mind if I sit?” His voice made Sam jump slightly, but soon she moved on the bench, making him some room. He sat with a sigh, his shoulder and thigh brushing hers for a short second, making her stiffen with a mix of anticipation and panic. A part of her wanted to put it all out in the open and be done with it, but the other part of her, the nasty one that controlled her actions, was telling her that it was better to leave things unsaid. This way no one would get hurt. But the fact was, she couldn’t deny the way her body seemed to respond to his slightest touch, and that was scary enough to make her want to run -...
“So what do you think of all this?” He asked after a few seconds, placing his plate on the table in front of him and preparing the perfect bite with his fork.
Sam thought about if for a moment. What did she think about Idan’s plan? She honestly didn’t know what to think of it. Idan seemed to wish nothing but good things for his people and Sam respected that, but somewhere inside of her she had the feeling that they were interfering with something that went way, way, way over their heads. After all it was none of their business…
“I think…we should be careful.” She replied at last, looking at him for the first time. His mouth was full with food and, with his cap off, his hair was pointing in all directions. The impulse to ruffle it crossed her mind but she fought it and shook the thought away quickly.
“About what?”
“About what we’re willing to do to help them. I’m sure Idan’s intentions are good, but I’m not sure we have the right to interfere. Especially considering what happened the first time we were here.”
He stopped chewing and glanced at her with a frown. “Whaddya mean?”
Trying to hide a smile at his childish expression, she tried to concentrate on her explanation. “Well, all forgetting that DuVallois actually threatened to blow our heads off, we had rather good relations with these people. Daniel made friends with the alchemists, met Amalia, who has a lot of relations here, we met the King and no one was ever hostile in any way…Except, well, DuVallois. And we both know that in every war the guilty are not the only ones to suffer.”
“So you don’t agree with what we’re about to do.” He summed up with a frown.
“I guess I don’t.” She replied honestly.
He sighed and threw his napkin on the table. “Carter, why the hell didn’t you say so?” His voice raised and Sam tensed. This was why they couldn’t have a relationship even if they wanted to, Sam thought, he could become her commanding officer way too easily.
“Damn it Carter, I asked you directly what you thought, and you said it was my call, how am I supposed to guess what you think if you don’t tell me anything!”
“Look I’m sorry sir, I just didn’t think my personal opinions would have changed anything.” She admitted defensively. He seemed to relax so Sam decided to risk a little question. “Would it have?”
He threw her a quick sideway look before taking his fork again. “I don’t know. Maybe. But, I wasn’t asking for your personal opinions, Carter. I was asking for your professional opinion. That would have changed something.”
He was disappointed, Sam realized as she glared at him as he resumed eating. He was disappointed because she hadn’t been able to distinguish personal from professional and that told him that she’d do the same with their relationship. But he had it all wrong! She was perfectly able to draw the line between their professional and personal relationship! Wasn’t she? It was just that, in this particular case, her professional and personal opinions happened to collide, there was nothing wrong with her, was there?
She returned her eyes to her plate but suddenly she wasn’t hungry anymore. As she pushed her plate away, there seemed to be a commotion coming from Idan’s cabin. She turned to see what was going on and saw Idan and Amalia coming out of the house, Idan shouting erratically at the other Woodmen and ordering them around. He really seemed panicked, and that didn’t do anything to make Sam feel better. Apparently the colonel felt the same. He stood slowly, giving a quick lick to his fingers and always keeping his eyes on Idan.
“What the hell…?” Was all he said before Sam understood what was going on. An arrow landed in the middle of the place with a whistling sound and Sam’s eyes widened as more came.
“Sir I think we better get out of here!” She shouted over the growing panic of Woodmen hurrying about in search of their weapons. She stood quickly and turned to go but a strong grip grabbed her arm.
“Carter!” The colonel shouted as she turned to look at him, “we stick together!” His eyes searched her face erratically and Sam realized that he was really scared to get separated. She could do nothing but agree with him.
“Yes sir! But we need to get Daniel and Teal’c!” Sam pointed in the direction Teal’c and Daniel were. They’d been waiting for their meals on the ground in the clearing and Sam could see them standing, not exactly understanding what was suddenly happening. She saw Teal’c reaching for his staff weapon and quickly sending them a look.
“Let’s go!” The colonel said as they made their way down the rope ladder, moving as quickly as possible. It seemed to take forever until they finally touched the ground and Sam looked around. The arrows were still coming fast - and in greater number, and the whistling sound they made filled her blood with adrenaline and fear. Quickly she looked over at Daniel and Teal’c, and saw that Daniel had found Amalia and Idan, who was waving at them to hurry. Sam ran and saw the colonel do the same at her side, and soon they had joined the small group and started running further into the woods.
“What the hell’s going on Idan?” The colonel yelled as they ran.
“We’ve been discovered!” He replied as he avoided low branches.
“By whom?” Daniel asked, sounding slightly breathless.
“I know not,” he breathed, “the King’s army I would suppose.”
Sam was starting to feel her legs tire when the whistling sound of the arrows finally stopped. They ran again for a little more, to be sure they were deep enough in woods and then Idan decided to take a break.
While they tried to catch their breath, Sam looked at her surroundings. They were deep enough in woods that the ground wasn’t covered in snow and even the sun probably wasn’t able to pass through the thick branches above them. The night gave the trees a scary look and she felt herself shiver with the cold. Sam felt the colonel’s eyes on her but didn’t dare look in his direction, so she was surprised when he spoke.
“I suppose it wouldn’t be safe to make a fire, right?”
Idan looked around and up, then came to a decision. “I think we could be safe. The woods here are thick and the smoke or light wouldn’t go through the branches. I will go find wood.”
“Take Teal’c with you, we’ll hold the forth.”
*****
They were in big trouble.
Jack sourly regretted staying. Instead of watching the game quietly while sipping a cold one, he was stuck in the woods, cold, and with revolutionaries. And they were in big trouble.
Jack dropped himself on the ground and stretched his legs with a small moan. Those knees were getting seriously too old for all this! A few seconds later, Daniel did the same and leaned his back on a tree with a sigh.
“I’d give anything for a hot coffee right now.” He said as his head rested on the tree and he closed his eyes. Amalia looked at Daniel and smiled fondly, which made Jack look away uncomfortably. He threw a look at Carter, but she was standing, leaning on a tree and deep in thoughts. If only she watched him that way…No, if only she COULD watch him that way… He shook the thought away when Amalia decided to join Daniel on the ground. She sat beside him, and when he didn’t open his eyes, she shifted closer and leaned her head on his shoulder, seeking his warmth.
Jack felt the usual pang of jealousy strike him, filling him with bittersweet remorse. He’d always been amazed at how easily Daniel and Amalia could express their affection towards each other. He watched as Daniel overcame his bad mood and smiled when Amalia put her arm across his stomach. Jack, on the other hand, had never been good at expressing his feelings and sometimes he envied Daniel for that. Maybe if he’d said the right things she wouldn’t have run away…?
He looked away from the couple and his eyes moved up of their own, then made their way to Carter. To his surprise, she was watching Daniel and Amalia with a deep frown, the one that meant she was dealing with a difficult problem. Then, sensing his eyes on her, she turned to Jack and smiled slightly, making his heart pump erratically in his chest.
A few seconds later, she moved and Jack watched her as she settled herself at his side. “Daniel can really sleep anywhere.” She whispered so as not to wake the others.
“That he can.” Jack replied, not really knowing how to respond to her attempt at conversation. After all, if she’d settled against him the way Amalia had leaned against Daniel, he thought he could sleep anywhere too.
“May I ask what your intentions are, sir?”
Jack glanced at her sideways as his fingers found a small wood stick to play with. “What about?”
“About this!” She replied, waving her arms around her.
“Oh that…” He said as if he thought she’d been talking about something else. He didn’t want to push her to talk, but he couldn’t help leaving the possibility open. “I don’t know yet. I think it’d be safer to wait till morning. Besides, Idan probably has some kind of plan B.” He finished as he threw his little branch away. “What do you think?”
She smiled. “Personally or professionally?”
Jack smiled, unable to contain the delight he felt at finally being able to tease and actually talk to her. “Both.”
“Alright,” she said, giving it some thought, “professionally, I think you’re right.”
Jack nodded. “Personally?”
She looked down and smiled wider. “Personally…” she said, “I’d rather leave this damn planet, go home and take a huge hot chocolate in a warm bubble bath, where the most important problem to solve is whether I should use lavender or vanilla.” Her eyes moved up to his. “But of course, my personal opinions don’t change anything.” She added with a playful twinkle in the eye.
“Damn right.” He agreed with a lopsided grin. “You definitely should take vanilla, though.”
Her eyes widened but she didn’t back away as Jack had feared. “Vanilla? You sure?”
Jack was taken by surprise and he didn’t know if he should push it and tell her the truth, or if he should find an answer that wouldn’t mean anything. He opted for the latter. “Sure…it’s relaxing, and comforting and it’s… you.”
She nodded slowly, her eyes closely observing him. “Okay, then vanilla it is!”
“Good!”
“Good.”
At that moment Idan and Teal’c came back, arms filled with wood sticks. As Teal’c built the fire, Idan sat at Jack’s side, rubbing his hands together and tightening his cape around him.
“So Idan, I’ve been meaning to ask you something.” Jack asked as the man blew into his hands to warm them up. “How do you think they found your hideaway?”
“The legend of the Woodmen has been circulating for years, but no one could really tell if it were true or false. That was until a few years ago, when the legend confirmed itself.”
“Okay, but why attack you now? Could they know about your plans?”
Idan shook his head. “I would not think so. No one would betray us.”
Jack nodded, unconvinced. “Hey what about Karrigan? She wasn’t there for supper…”
Idan shook his head at the implication. “Lady Karrigan would not do that. I have complete trust in her discretion.”
“Oh so it was just a coincidence that arrows flew just when she happened to be nowhere in sight…” Jack trailed off at Idan’s smug grin.
“It was a coincidence. Karrigan wants something, otherwise she would not be helping me. And until she gets what she wants, she is trustworthy.”
“What does she want?” Carter asked with sudden worry.
“I do not know.”
Jack gulped, really, really hoping it wasn’t he she wanted… “I’ll take the first watch.” He decided as he moved closer to the now burning fire.
******
Idan was troubled. Of course he would not admit it to those who asked, but the fact that he had been discovered troubled him. He was certain Karrigan would not have betrayed him but then how could they have known?
As he walked ahead of the group, he tried to figure out who could be responsible. Of course the King might have known for a long time that he was hiding there, and maybe he hadn’t even heard of Idan’s plan and this was just a pathetic coincidence. But somehow Idan doubted it. The King was more clever than he let it know. Idan knew him personnally and he knew that, as gracious as he tried to be, the king would fight against anything that could jeopardize his authority. No matter who was leading the rebellion.
“I think I recognize this place.” He heard Daniel Jackson say a few feet behind him.
Idan turned with a smile. “Yes, on our left is the closest town to the Stargate. I do believe you stopped here once or twice.” He smiled as he saw SG-1 exchange looks.
“Oh yeah, lovely place.” O’Neill muttered and Idan’s grin grew wider. He liked people with humor.
“We should reach the manor in a few hours if we keep a good pace.” He added as he resumed walking. DuVallois’ house was long abandoned, but Idan and his friends had decided to make it their second hideaway. Hopefully, none of them had been caught and they would meet there all again when night fell.
“Idan,” Major Carter began with curiosity in her voice, “what happened to DuVallois?”
He was about to answer when O’Neill addressed her. “Why do you wanna know?” Idan frowned curiously at their exchange. O’Neill sounded almost…jealous, and that was enough to amuse him. They had been awkward around one another since the morning, since Major Carter had awaken to find that her head was resting against O’Neill’s shoulder. It had been amusing to see their embarrassed reaction and their quick apologies.
“I’m just curious sir.” Major Carter replied. “Don’t you wanna know what happened to him?”
O’Neill shrugged. “Not really.” Then he looked at Idan again. “Tell us anyway.” Idan smiled and looked ahead of him again.
“When he forced Karrigan to get married…”
“Married?” O’Neill interrupted. “Karrigan’s married?” He sounded disbelieving and relieved at once. "Well that's…that's wonderful news." He added, still trying to recover from the shock this news seemed to give him.
"Yes…" Idan continued, "when DuVallois forced her to get married, there was a big fight because she wanted to marry a man of her choice."
"DuVallois agreed with her on that when we were here. What changed?" Carter asked, but Idan shook his head.
"I do not know. But it is my feeling that DeLaroche made a proposition DuVallois could not refuse."
"Oh."
"So what happened?" O'Neill asked again, this time not hiding his curiosity.
"They fought, she married DeLaroche but turned against her father and joined my party. DeLaroche is very rich, but he is an idiot, and he would do anything for Karrigan. She has the strength to use that to our advantage."
"And DuVallois?" Jackson asked.
"His house was burnt, so he sought the king's strong security and moved into the city."
"Ouch." O'Neill said with false empathy.
"Oh yeah…"Jackson agreed with a nod.
"He must be a little pissed." O'Neill added and Major Carter smiled for the first time since the morning.
"Ya think?" She muttered but ignored O'Neill when he raised an eyebrow. Those two were most entertaining…
********
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