Title:Against the Wall

Author: Coz

Email: madness_01_2000@yahoo.com

Rating: R

Summary: When Sam has a bad mission, Jack helps her through it!

Classifications: Angst, Drama and Romance

Spoilers: None I think but post S8 fic

Warnings: Contains non-graphic scene of attempted rape

Archive: SJD, yes

Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognised characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Authors Notes: Thanks to Naliza for betaing this for me. Feedback appreciated!!! :D

*~*~*

Chapter 1

The shrill sound of the alarm clock tore through the silence in the room. Jack O'Neill rolled over in bed, doing his best to stay in the warm clutches of sleep. He reached out and his fingers found the smooth, warm skin of the stomach of the woman lying next to him. Samantha Carter stretched out a hand and shut off the alarm clock. As she did Jack stretched his arm further across her stomach and pulled her close to him.

"Don't go," he mumbled, still half asleep.

"I have to," Sam replied.

"They don't need you today," he pleaded.

"You know I'm going off-world. So unless you want Daniel to go to an uninhabited planet with lots of ruins and without anyone being in charge..."

"You're right," he said quickly. He removed his arm from across her stomach but not before softly kissing her on the nape of her neck.

She pulled the covers back and walked slowly to the bathroom. She could feel Jack's eyes on her and with a mischievous smile on her face she turned and winked at him.

*~*

Sam was walking to the briefing room when she heard her name being called by a familiar voice.

"Hey Sam," Daniel Jackson called upon seeing his friend as he exited the elevator.

"Hey. You ready for the mission?" she asked, knowing perfectly well that he would be fully prepared.

"Yes Sam," he said with exasperation. "Have you started channelling Jack or something?" he added. It was something that Jack used to do before every mission they had been on and it was a habit that Sam seemed to have adopted.

"It's my job to make sure everything is ready for the mission," Sam rationalised but she realised that she had picked up one of Jack's habits, one that had annoyed her when he had been in command.

"I know. How's Jack by the way?"

"He's fine. Are you free for dinner tomorrow?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah sure."

"Great, how does 7 sound?"

"Fine, at yours or Jack's?"

"Jack's I guess," she replied. When Sam and Jack had become a couple almost two months before they decided to keep their own houses. That was despite the fact that they had not spent a night apart except when Sam was off world.

As Sam and Daniel arrived in the briefing room they saw that Teal'c and Lieutenant Harris, the latest addition to SG-1, were already there. Lieutenant Michael Harris seemed to be settling well into the SGC and had become a valuable member of SG-1. That was a pleasant surprise considering how close Sam, Daniel and Teal'c had become over the years.

They both agreed to come over to dinner the next day. Sam was doing her best to make Harris feel a part of the group. Jack had said that he thought that Harris was an 'acceptable' addition to SG-1 and coming from him that was high praise. This was only their tenth mission as a team since the assignment of Harris after the defeat of the Goa'uld.

They all looked over as Brigadier General Thomas Stone entered the room. General Stone was very similar to General Hammond and O'Neill in his command of the SGC. He gave Sam room to work and lead SG-1 as she wanted. He also recognised her experience in matters pertaining to the Stargate and seemed more than willing to take her advice.

"So, what can you tell me about P4Y-543?" General Stone asked as he took his seat at the head of the large table.

"The planet appears to be uninhabited, the long range survey by the UAV did show ruins approximately 2 kilometres from the gate. Daniel?" Sam said.

"Yes, these ruins here seem to be of an ancient Celtic construction. We have seen very little evidence of Celtic cultures on other worlds. Despite the apparent lack of a current civilisation there may be writings which detail how this civilisation came about."

Daniel was excited about the mission. He had spent time on digs in Wales, researching the Celtic culture, and the ruins shown on the screen seemed similar to the ones he had encountered there. He was looking forward to having the opportunity to study the culture again but was slightly disappointed that there appeared to be no civilisation for him to interact with.

*~*

The next day Jack was busy preparing dinner when he looked at his watch and realised that SG-1 was overdue. Sam had promised to call, as she did after every mission, to let him know that she was back on Earth. Jack knew how dangerous the galaxy could be, even without the Goa'uld there were still any number of hostile races out there.

He was not worried since there could be any number of reasons why they were not back yet and after all they were only an hour overdue. Daniel had probably got overexcited about the ruins they had found on the UAV survey and was refusing to leave. Sam did not quite have the same authority that Jack did; she found it harder to make Daniel leave a ruin.

General Stone stood in the briefing room, looking out through the glass towards the Stargate. He had also noticed that SG-1 was overdue but was more concerned about the team than Jack as he was still getting accustomed to the random events the galaxy could throw at you. He had only found out about the Stargate less than two months ago when he was offered command of the program.

SG-1 was now almost two hours overdue. They had not reported in to explain their failure to keep to the timetable. It was the first situation of that type he had been forced to deal with since he took command.

He turned to walk back into his office when he heard the Stargate chevrons start to engage. He walked quickly down to the control room. He watched as the gate opened and breathed a sigh of relief, SG-1 were the only team currently off world.

When nothing happened after almost thirty seconds, he looked down at Sergeant Davis.

"There's no iris code come through Sir," he said, checking the computer again.

Stone looked back at the gate before quickly checking on the monitors as a message appeared.

"We're now getting a transmission Sir," Davis announced.

"What kind of transmission?"

"Video Sir, from the MALP camera."

"Let's see then," Stone said as he looked at one of the monitors positioned above the window.

As the transmission appeared on the computer monitor Stone gasped. Lieutenant Colonel Carter was standing in front of the camera mounted on the MALP. An as yet unseen enemy was holding her P90 to her head. There was a nasty looking cut on her cheek and blood was dripping from the wound onto the collar of her jacket. The beginnings of a vicious bruise could be seen forming on her temple and another two on her jaw, her eyes were slightly unfocused but full of grit and determination.

"SGC, this is Carter, do you read?

"This is General Stone, we read you. What is your situation?"

"We have been captured, don't send a rescue team. They've said they will kill us if anyone comes through the gate. They will follow through on this, they have already killed Lieutenant Harris," Sam said calmly, there was very little emotion in her voice. Although she was speaking about Harris' death as a matter of fact Stone could see the shock in her eyes.

"What about Dr Jackson and Teal'c?" Stone asked, once he had absorbed the news of Lieutenant Harris' death.

"They're fine," she replied, Stone could see the relief in her eyes.

"What do they want Colonel?"

"Weapons and medical supplies."

"I want to talk to them? Are you listening? Return my officers immediately. This is not the way to get our help, this is a hostile act..." General Stone did not get to finish his sentence. The man holding the gun to Carter's head entered the shot. His face was painted blue and white which made him look incredibly menacing.

"We will get what we want or we will kill all three, just as we killed the other. If we do get what we need then we will release them. If you need an incentive, here is a taste of what we will do if you do not help us," he said.

Stone thought that he was going to have to watch Carter being executed because he mishandled the situation. The gun was passed out of shot after which the man holding Carter captive reached and took hold of her arm. Stone could see her fighting against him slightly but this stopped as a sickening crunch was heard as her arm was broken.

Sam suddenly looked physically sick. She bit down on her lip to stop from shouting out in pain. She dropped to her knees as the man released her, drawing her injured arm towards her chest.

"Remember, this is only a taste. It can and will get much worse if we do not get the weapons and medical supplies we need before the sun sets," he said, issuing an ultimatum.

"Four hours Sir," Sam informed him, her voice weak.

The man looked leeringly down at Carter and gently stroked her cheek. A look of pure revulsion and a trace of fear appeared on her face. She closed her eyes to try and block out the image of the man standing over her. Sam looked up at the camera, Stone saw a look he did not recognise or understand in her eyes.

"Remember, it can get very bad for her," he said calmly, staring straight into the camera.

"Call Jack," Sam whispered just before the video feed was cut off.

Chapter 2

"What did that mean?" Stone asked, looking down at Sergeant Davis.

"Colonel Carter and General O'Neill are a couple, Sir," Davis supplied the answer.

"Right," Stone said, slightly taken aback, it was the last thing he had expected to hear.

"Let me know if anything changes," he ordered before leaving the control room and heading back to his office.

The General walked slowly up to his office. He had never met O'Neill but had heard much about him from the officers who had been under his command. He was not particularly looking forward to making this phone call. He tracked down the necessary number and took a deep breath before he started to dial.

Jack was almost finished with the cooking and was beginning to worry slightly as the team was two and a half-hour overdue. He smiled as the phone rang and snatched the phone from the counter.

"Hello," he said in a relaxed tone.

"Jack O'Neill?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"This is General Stone, from the SGC."

"What happened? Is Sam okay?" Jack asked frantically, his mind racing.

"For now," Stone admitted.

"What do you mean 'for now', what happened?" Jack asked insistently.

"I can't really discuss it over the phone. Why don't you come over to the base, we can discuss it better here."

"I'll be there in a half hour," Jack said as he hung up the phone and turned off the oven.

Jack made it to Cheyenne Mountain in twenty minutes. He made the familiar journey down into the depths of the mountain to the SGC levels where he was met on level 27 by a man who he assumed to be General Stone. They shook hands quickly before walking to Stone's office. The last time Jack had been in the SGC was to clear out his office; it was strange for him to be back.

"Why don't you sit down?"

"No really, I'll stand," Jack said impatiently, wanting to know what was going on.

"Okay. We received a transmission from P4Y-543 almost thirty minutes ago."

"P4Y-543?" Jack asked. He always had a hard time remembering the designations given to planets.

"SG-1's destination," Stone said simply, he watched as Jack's face fell slightly.

Jack knew that there must be something seriously wrong for him to be called into the base.

"And?" He asked quietly.

"Why don't I show you the tape, I should warn you though it isn't pretty,"

"Show me," Jack replied shortly, he needed to know what was going on.

Stone lead the way through to the briefing room. Jack sat down next to the table and closely watched the screen. He stayed quiet throughout the viewing of the footage. His face gave nothing away until he saw the man break Sam's arm whereupon he looked sickened at what he had seen. This look changed to anger as he saw the man gently stroking Sam's face. Stone heard him swear under his breath as the video cut out and he could not blame him for that, it summed up his feelings pretty well.

It hurt Jack to see Sam in that situation, to see someone casually cause her pain like that. His blood boiled that the man was able to look at her in that way, to touch her so gently. Having to watch it on video, a half hour after the fact made it so much worse, he was powerless to help her, Daniel and Teal'c. He stared at the blank screen, hoping that it would show something more promising but no more images appeared.

"I thought the planet was uninhabited," Jack said calmly but anger was building up inside him.

"All indications showed that it was. You must have experienced a similar situation?"

"Yes but no one there captured us and demanded weapons for our release," Jack answered barely keeping the volume of his voice down, his calm hold on the situation was rapidly failing.

"So what are you going to do about this?" Jack added, once he had cooled off slightly.

"What else can I do but give them what they want?"

Jack shook his head; he knew that if they did that then SG-1's captors would surely kill them. Another thought came running into his mind and would not leave. What if they killed Daniel and Teal'c while keeping Sam around for a while?

"You can't negotiate with these people. They won't let SG-1 go no matter what you give them," Jack explained, doing his best to detach himself from the situation. He was finding that impossible though since it was not some nameless team out there. SG-1 was his friends, his family.

"Are you sure about this?" Stone asked.

"Completely. There's only one thing people like this understand and that's violence. I've been captured more than my fair share of times. I know when people are going to release you and when they're going to kill you in the end no matter what anyone does. Sam knows it too, you can see in her eyes," Jack explained.

He could read Sam almost perfectly. He was able to tell that she had been told what to say. Her only unscripted line had been her plea to call him which in itself told him a lot. She must have been frightened to ask for him to be called. She knew that diplomacy could not help them this time.

"So what do we do? They said they'll kill SG-1 if anyone goes in," Stone asked. He was appealing to Jack for help.

"What choice do we have? We must go and get them back," Jack implored. There was no way he could leave them to die.

*~*

General Stone, Jack, Major Griff and Colonel Reid were in the briefing room putting the finishing touches to their plan. Griff and Reid were going to lead SG-2 and SG-5 on the rescue mission. They had just under an hour before the deadline expired and it was decided that they must go in before that time. Jack kept checking his watch, willing the minutes to pass. He was finding it very difficult to wait. He did not know what was happening to SG-1 and the fact that he was not even sure whether they were still alive was eating at him.

After checking his watch again, Jack looked up towards the Stargate. He was surprised when it started to activate. The four men around the table shared similar looks.

"Who's off-world?" Jack asked.

"Just SG-1," Stone answered as he stood.

Jack, Griff and Reid followed him down the stairs to the control room. They arrived just as the wormhole engaged behind the closed iris. All eyes in the room were on the bank of computer monitors waiting for an iris code or any other incoming transmission.

"Receiving IDC Sir, it's SG-1," Sergeant Davis said, he was smiling slightly.

As soon as Jack heard this he bolted from the control room, rushing down to the gate room.

"Open the iris," Stone instructed Davis before using the PA system to order a defence team to the gate room. There was not really any way to know what would come through the gate since, according to the last information they had, SG-1 were being held captive.

Jack watched the gate closely, waiting for someone to come through. Teal'c was the first, blood dripped slowly from a large gash on his forehead. He was carrying Daniel in his arms, Jack could see the shoulder of the unconscious archaeologist's jacket was dark with blood.

He vaguely heard a call for a medical team but he was firmly concentrating on the shimmering event horizon. He exhaled as he saw another figure appear - it was Sam. She was holding her left arm close to her chest; her P90 clutched tightly by her right hand. She was weaving slightly, unsteady on her feet.

Jack rushed up the ramp to her side as the gate shut down. He tenderly wrapped an arm around her waist and felt her fall against him. He gently picked her up and carried her towards the medical team that had just arrived.

Chapter 3

As he put her down on the waiting gurney the medics swarmed around her, a similar scene was being played out a short distance away as Daniel was being tended to. One of the nurses was trying in vain to treat Teal'c, in the end he accepted a dressing which he held against the cut on his head. Jack crossed to Teal'c's side as Sam and Daniel were wheeled away.

"Are you alright?" Jack asked, looking closely at the Jaffa.

"I am," he replied simply.

"What happened back there Teal'c?" Jack continued to inquire. They saw General Stone walk down the stairs, Teal'c waited until the General was in ear shot before he started talking.

"We were captured at the ruins, Lieutenant Harris was killed in the initial attack. Colonel Carter was injured but escaped and freed Daniel Jackson and myself. He was shot on our journey back to the Stargate," Teal'c added in order to explain the reason for the Archaeologist's injury.

"Okay, report to the infirmary Teal'c, we can debrief at a later date," Stone said kindly.

Teal'c nodded slightly before walking towards the elevators with Jack right beside him.

They reached the infirmary just in time to see Daniel being rushed past them. His jacket and t-shirt had been removed, a thick dressing was being held firmly on his right shoulder but Jack could already see crimson blood staining the white material. The brief glimpse of his face showed that it was incredibly pale and had an unnatural grey tinge to it. None of the medical team paid any attention to Jack and Teal'c as they hurried past them.

As soon as they entered the room Teal'c was taken away for treatment leaving Jack standing alone. Looking round he saw one bed in the far corner with the curtains drawn. As he approached he saw that the curtains had been pulled in a hurry and a large gap existed. He stood quietly and looked at Sam. She too was pale but the bruises that were evident, even from that distance, contrasted sharply against the colour of her skin to make them seem even more colourful.

Looking at the level of activity of the medics surrounding Sam he could tell that she was not seriously injured. He exhaled deeply which alerted the doctor to his presence. After giving some hushed orders to the nurse the doctor stepped away from Sam's bed and pulled the curtains closed behind him, cutting off Jack's view of her.

"I'm sorry, you are?" The doctor asked Jack, looking suspiciously at the man wearing civilian clothes.

"Jack O'Neill, I used to command the base. I take it you're new."

"Yes Sir. I'm Dr Cooper." He recognised the name and was aware of the relationship that existed between him and Colonel Carter. Their relationship was still a topic of gossip in the SGC.

"How's S...Colonel Carter?"

"Her left wrist is broken, she may have a couple of broken ribs, we'll need to run some x-rays to be sure. I want to run a CAT scan just to check on her head injury but so far it doesn't appear too serious. Also there are no signs of internal injuries just some bruising. She should be fine Sir."

"What about Dr Jackson?"

"I believe he received a gunshot wound to his right shoulder? He was taken to surgery just now. I'm sorry but I don't know anything more than that," Dr Cooper said apologetically.

"Can I see her?" Jack asked.

"For a minute, we're waiting for the scanner to be prepared."

Jack walked quickly to the curtains which he pulled back quietly. Seeing him enter the nurse left but kept the curtains open. That way she could grant Jack some privacy while still being able to keep a close eye on her patient.

Jack sat on the side of the bed and gently stroked Sam's cheek, oblivious to the medical staff who was watching this open show of affection.

"See what happens when I'm not around," he said lightly but his heart was not in it.

He sat holding her hand until the doctor came to take her to X-ray. He watched as she was taken away. Once again he was left alone and not knowing what else to do he sat on the bed next to the one Sam had just vacated and waited for her to return.

After ten minutes Teal'c joined him, a square piece of gauze on his forehead. After inquiring about Sam and Daniel's conditions he went to report to General Stone on the mission.

Jack thought about what had happened on the planet. It was the first time Sam had run into trouble since he left the SGC. He had found it hard as General to sit back and watch good people come back injured and dead but he was finding it even harder now that he was on the outside looking in.

Seeing the video of Sam in that situation, and at that time not knowing what had happened to her, must have been one of the hardest things he ever had to experience. He still did not really know what had occurred back on the planet. He had seen the look the man had given her but had no idea what happened once the video cut out. The very thought of another man touching her made him feel physically sick.

Sam was still unconscious when she was returned to the infirmary. The doctor spoke to Jack quickly. He informed him that apart from a broken wrist, which had been manipulated and set, and two broken ribs she was not seriously injured.

"When will she wake up?" Jack asked, looking over at her unconscious form.

"When she's ready. I'm sorry I can't give you a better answer. Try talking to her, it might help," the doctor offered. He could see how eager Jack was to sit with Carter.

"Thanks. Have you heard anything about Dr Jackson?"

"No sorry, he's still in surgery. I'll make sure you know as soon as he's out of theatre."

"Thank you Doctor," Jack said sincerely.

As he approached Sam he could see that the bruising on her face was becoming a deeper shade of purple. The cut on her cheek had been stitched and covered by a dressing and her left forearm was encased in plaster.

He sat beside her and tenderly stroked her hair, quietly talking to her about anything and nothing.

*~*

It was two hours before the surgeon entered the infirmary. Jack recognised him immediately and walked towards him.

"It's good to see you again Sir," the surgeon said in greeting.

"Thanks. What about Daniel?" Jack asked impatiently.

"He's going to be just fine Sir. He was lucky..."

"He got shot, how is that lucky?"

"As I was saying, the bullet missed the brachial nerve, which was lucky because it came pretty close. It nicked the brachial artery but we stopped the bleeding in time. We had to put a couple of pins in the collarbone. We're going to have to watch closely for infection but he should be just fine. The first aid he got probably saved his life."

"Thanks," Jack said with audible relief.

He went back to Sam's side. As he sat on the edge of the bed he took Sam's hand in both of his.

"Sam, Daniel's going to be fine. You brought them home," he whispered to her.

A few minutes later he noticed that Sam's eyelids starting to move slightly. He affectionately stroked her cheek as her eyes opened fully.

"Hey," he said quietly.

"Jack," she replied with a distinct rasp in her voice.

"I'm here," he replied, his face breaking into a slight smile.

"Is Daniel okay? And Teal'c?" she asked weakly.

"He's going to be just fine, they're both fine" he said soothingly.

"I want to go home."

"Sam, you've been unconscious for hours. You need to stay here," Jack said as he looked down at her.

"I couldn't have said it better," Dr Cooper added as he approached, "I'm sorry Colonel but there's no way you're going home tonight. You've got a concussion, you're staying in at least overnight," he said firmly.

"Can I go home tomorrow then?" Sam asked hopefully.

"We'll see," the Doctor said, announcing the end of the discussion, "We can offer you quarters on the base Sir, if you want."

"I'm staying right here," Jack said just as firmly. The Doctor wisely decided not to question him.

"They called you," Sam said once the Doctor had left, after having given her a brief examination.

"Yeah. I saw the tape, I saw what he did to you," Jack said uncertainly, he was unsure how to address the issue.

"This, it's nothing. Give me a couple of weeks it'll be fine," Sam said slightly flippantly, raising her left arm slightly.

"I don't mean that. I saw the way he touched you. He didn't..." Jack started but he did not know where to go from here.

"No," Sam said quickly in a bid to alleviate his fears. She knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Thank God," Jack exhaled.

Sam shuffled slightly in a bid to get more comfortable in the bed, with her broken ribs that was not an easy task. Once she had found a comfortable position she quickly fell asleep, safe in the knowledge that Jack was there.

Chapter 4

Daniel was moved into the infirmary the next morning. The movement around the next bed woke Jack up. He did not immediately recognise his surroundings but with the all too familiar sounds and smells of the infirmary he soon realised where he was. He took his feet from Sam's bed before standing and stretched in a bid to ease the stiff muscles caused by spending too long in the uncomfortable plastic and chrome chair.

Daniel was still unconscious but the doctors were not worried about him. His body had shut down to deal with the blood loss he had suffered as a result of the gunshot wound.

Jack sat between the beds, looking at his two injured friends. Teal'c entered the infirmary shortly afterwards. Jack went to meet him at the door which provided him with the opportunity to talk to him without disturbing Sam or Daniel.

"Hey T. You okay?"

"I am fine O'Neill."

"That's good. When's the debrief?"

"Tomorrow at 0900. How are Colonel Carter and Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked. The doctors had ordered him to his quarters over night to rest properly.

"They're fine. The doctors might let Sam go home today but Daniel is still out of it though."

Teal'c nodded his head in understanding.

"What happened back there Teal'c?"

"We were investigating the ruins on P4Y-543. Lieutenant Harris and myself had set up the perimeter. Colonel Carter and Daniel Jackson were within the ruins. We heard gunfire; I went to investigate and found Lieutenant Harris dead, stab wound in the chest. I informed Colonel Carter. I was almost immediately afterwards struck with a blast from a zatnik'atel. When I regained consciousness Colonel Carter, Daniel Jackson and myself were in a small cell. We had been disarmed. Our captors asked about Earth defences and technology and became violent when we would not give them information. They took Colonel Carter away. I believe she was able to escape and then proceeded to free myself and Daniel Jackson."

"It was pretty rough back there huh?"

"Indeed."

*~*

Jack opened Sam's front door. She followed him in, walking slowly and stiffly. Jack led her to the couch, once she was settled he covered her with a quilt.

"You need anything?" he asked.

"Just sit with me," she said as she moved enough to allow Jack to take a seat on the couch beside her.

He quickly sat down as he recognised the slight look of pain on her face that she was unable to hide as she leant forward. She leant against him, her head resting against his chest. He gently put his arm around her, giving her a more comfortable place to rest her head.

"You okay?" He asked with a small amount of concern in his voice.

"I am now," she replied.

After forcing herself to eat something, despite the fact that she was not really hungry, she decided to head upstairs to bed. Despite her assurances to Jack that she would be fine she found that she could not take off the shirt she was wearing. The cast on her arm combined with the broken ribs and bruising on her body made it impossible for her to move enough.

Swallowing her pride she called out for Jack who rushed up the stairs and ran into the room looking concerned.

"I can't take my shirt off," Sam admitted dejectedly, she hated losing her independence.

"Here, let me," Jack said as he sat behind her.

He gently removed her shirt. He was shocked to see the extent of the bruising on her body. Her back and side were mottled with bruises, some were a pale yellow, others deep shades of purples and blue. Leaning around he saw that similar bruises painted her chest and stomach. He knew just how hard she would have had to been hit to produce bruises like this.

"Nobody said that it was this bad," he said as he lightly brushed his fingers across her back. Jack noticed that Sam tensed slightly as he touched her but he immediately put it down to the vicious bruising.

"It's fine Jack," Sam replied quietly.

"It's not fine Sam. You were used a punch bag, how is that fine?" Jack asked, his heart breaking.

"I'm going to be fine though. It could have been worse, they could have killed all of us."

"Do you want to talk about what happened?"

"Not right now."

"Do want me to come to the debrief tomorrow with you?" Jack asked.

"I can do this on my own, thank you. You've retired Jack, you don't need to be there," Sam spat, her voice was laced with anger.

"I'm sorry Sam. I know you can you can do this. I just want you to know I'm here for you," Jack said soothingly.

"I'm sorry I snapped, it's been a long couple of days," she replied much more calmly.

"I know," he agreed. He leant over and kissed her gently on the lips. She smiled weakly and squeezed his hand.

"Right lets get you into bed," he said as he stood and grabbed a large t-shirt and sweat pants from the dresser.

*~*

Jack drove Sam up to the base the next day. He could tell that she was nervous about having to recount what had happened on the planet. He was still in the dark about how she had managed to get away but he hoped that after the debriefing she would talk to him about what had happened.

Jack went to see Daniel while Sam was at the debriefing. There was no way the doctors would let the younger man out of the infirmary in the near future. Jack, knowing how restless his friend got when stuck in bed, planned to keep him amused for a while and maybe even tried to understand more of what happened on the mission.

Sam and Jack shared a brief kiss in the elevator before he got out at level 21 to head to the infirmary.

Daniel was awake but still slightly disorientated when he arrived, probably due to the pain medications he was undoubtedly on.

"Hey Danny, how're you feeling?"

"Not too bad, I suppose," he said wearily.

"That's good."

"What about Sam?"

"She's fine, she's at the debrief. She can't drive so I brought her in. So you've got my company for a while."

"Good. When they took her away, I really thought she wasn't coming back. They kept asking about Earth, the weapons we had, they got pretty rough when no one said anything. Sam took the brunt of it, I thought they'd taken her to kill her but she got away somehow."

"I know. So how did you end up with a bullet in you?"

"We were running back to the gate after Sam got us out of the cell. She fell which wasn't surprising considering how hard they hit her and with the effects of the zat as well. I went back to help her and as I stood, this happened. They think is was Harris' P-90," Daniel said. His face fell slightly as he mentioned Harris; this did not go unnoticed by Jack.

"Daniel?" Jack asked kindly.

"I'm feeling a bit tired. I'm going to sleep."

"Okay," Jack said distractedly. He realised that SG-1 had been through a significant ordeal on the planet. With the death of Harris and their torture, he knew that it could take some time for them to adjust to what had happened.

Chapter 5

Sam sat nervously in the briefing room, her left arm rested on her leg. She was sitting up straight in the chair, leaning back was too painful with the bruises on her back.

"How are you feeling today Colonel Carter?" Teal'c asked as he entered the room and sat at the table.

"Not too bad thanks Teal'c, you?"

"I am well."

They both turned as General Stone entered the room. Sam made an attempt to stand but Stone quickly motioned for her to remain seated.

"Are you sure you're well enough for this Colonel?"

"Yes Sir," Sam said, trying to make herself sound confident even though inwardly she was trembling.

"Well, if you are absolutely sure. Whenever you're ready Colonel."

"I am, Sir," Sam took a deep breath before continuing. "Everything was going according to plan until the morning of the second day. We had just returned to the ruins. Lieutenant Harris and Teal'c were monitoring the perimeter, I was in the interior of the ruins with Dr Jackson..."

*

Sam looked around the ruins. According to Daniel they were something special but to her they looked like all the other ruins they had encountered in the past. She had not mentioned anything though because her friend would be sure to bend her ear off about the different cultures.

Daniel was recording a section of carvings on one of the walls. He was so intensely engrossed in the task that Sam was sure a bomb could go off right next to him and he would not even notice.

She was proved wrong as he dropped the camera he was holding and pulled out his weapon at the sound of gunfire in close proximity. Sam recognised it as being from a P-90.

"Harris, report," she spoke into her radio. She received no answer. Daniel looked in her direction, his weapon still in his hand.

"Sam?" he said quickly. She held up a hand to silence him.

"Teal'c, what's happening out there?" She spoke again in an attempt to try and contact her Jaffa companion.

"I am investigating the shots Colonel Carter," Teal'c answered in a whispered tone through the radio.

"Come on Daniel," Sam said quietly. She had no idea what happened. For all she knew there could be hostiles in the area.

Daniel followed her without any arguments. Years of experience have taught him the necessity of leaving behind his equipment in times of emergencies. She led the Archaeologist towards the general direction where the shots had come from. She kept scanning the area for hostiles and noticed that Daniel was doing the same. 'Jack had taught him well,' she thought to herself with a slight smile.

Her smile quickly faded when the radio burst back into life.

"I have found Lieutenant Harris. He is dead," Teal'c announced.

Sam swore under her breath.

"How?" she inquired.

"He has been stabbed in the chest, the blade..."

Sam did not hear the rest of the sentence since the radio offered nothing more than loud static.

Sam and Daniel picked up their pace immediately. As they entered a small clearing in the woods they saw Lieutenant Harris and Teal'c both laying on the floor. Neither of them was moving.

Harris was obviously dead. He was laying on his back facing Sam and Daniel. His mouth was slightly open and his face contorted in shock and pain. Only the hilt of a blade was visible; it looked as though the weapon had gone right through his heart. A pool of blood had already started to form around the young man and it was rapidly spreading, staining the vivid green grass a deep red.

Teal'c was on his stomach with no visible injuries detectable. Sam thought that she could see him breathing very faintly. Daniel moved forwards to check on Teal'c, but before he could reach him a pulse of blue electricity engulfed him. The zat blast caused him to fell almost immediately to the floor and the same darts of electricity could be seen travelling the length of his body.

Sam raised her P-90. Even though she could not see their attackers she fired a burst into the tree line, towards the general direction she thought the zat blast had come from. She had no idea whether she hit anything or not. She also never saw the blast that came from behind, knocking her into unconsciousness. She fell to the floor, her face turned towards Lieutenant Michael Harris' lifeless eyes.

*~*

Sam grunted and forced her eyes open at the sound of her name being called.

"I really, really hate those things," she groaned.

As she began to take in her current situation she realised that her hands were bound behind her back. She tried to move but quickly realised that her bindings were attached to the wall behind her. Which would explain why she was standing up despite having only just regained consciousness.

"I concur Colonel Carter," Teal'c said in agreement to her earlier statement.

"Daniel. Come on Daniel wake up," Sam called, looking over at the Archaeologist who was still out cold.

"What?" he mumbled as he regained consciousness.

Looking round at the cell Sam wished that she had stayed unconscious. It was a small windowless room. A solid looking wooden door was the only feature breaking up the large stone blocks. A small amount of light was filtering in through a small window in the door. Teal'c and Daniel appeared to be restrained in a similar way to herself.

"You okay Daniel?"

"Peachy," he replied with sarcasm lacing his voice. Sam smiled slightly. If he was able to make sarcastic comments he would surely be all right.

"Did either of you actually see anyone back there?" Sam asked, trying to collect as much information as she could.

"No," Daniel replied.

"I did not," Teal'c concurred.

"And I take it that you're both attached to the wall pretty securely."

"Yes."

Without any visible way out, and with no information about whom had captured them or why, there was nothing to do but wait until their kidnappers decide to show their faces.

They did not have to wait for long. After a while the door creaked open and they could see a man standing in the doorway. His figure was silhouetted by the harsh light outside which now flooded into the dark room. The man entered the room but the door remained opened. From where Sam was she could see other figures standing outside.

The man was probably a couple of inches taller than Teal'c and more heavily built. His face was painted blue and white, which in the dim light made him take on an otherworldly appearance. A large knife hung off the belt around his waist. From what Sam could see it was of a similar design to the one that had been used to kill Lieutenant Harris.

"Which of you is in charge? I assume it to be you," he said as he crossed towards Teal'c, focusing on the one who he perceived to be the strongest warrior and therefore the leader.

"I'm in charge. Lieutenant-Colonel Samantha Carter," Sam said.

The man spun around and looked at Sam, critically evaluating her. Sam stared straight back at the man, her posture exuding confidence.

"You have a woman in charge? No wonder you were so easy to capture," he said with a false smile on his face.

"Colonel Carter is a formidable warrior," Teal'c quickly came to her defence. Sam could not help but smile at his comment.

"Well if you are the leader then you can tell me what you are doing here. You are not inhabitants of Godre'r Mynydd."

"No, we're peaceful explorers from Earth. We came through the Stargate," Daniel tried to explain.

"Stargate?"

"Yeah, big ring - you can't miss it," Sam supplied, with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

The man nodded, obviously recognising it from her description.

"So this Star-gate is what?"

"It's a transportation device," the Colonel answered, her patience wearing thin.

"Really, you will show me how it works," he said confidently.

"No, I don't think I will," Sam replied defiantly.

He quickly turned and landed a painful blow to Sam's ribs, she exhaled deeply as the punch landed but recovered quickly. She looked up to see her friends faces etched with concern.

"Are you sure?" he asked again.

"Yeah pretty," she said confidently.

She was rewarded with a small barrage of blows to her body.

"Sam?" Daniel called out once the blows had stopped. Sam could hear the concern in his voice.

"I'm okay," she said as soon as she caught her breath.

The man looked at her, realising that she was not going to give up the information easily. He pulled the knife from his belt and saw Sam's eyes widen slightly. He waved it in front of her face, the polished blade glinting in the light shining though the open door.

Sam gritted her teeth in preparation for what she thought he was going to do. He drew the knife across her cheek; she could feel the blood dripping down her cheek but could not feel any pain at first. A painful burning sensation then suddenly flashed across her face, she closed her eyes but refused to make a sound.

"Not bad for a woman," he said looking at Sam. He put the knife back into his belt after wiping the blood on the blade against her jacket.

"Thanks," Sam spat back.

"Well if you won't tell me about the Stargate, then maybe you can tell me about these," he said. He briefly left the room and returned carrying a P90 and a zat.

"We know that these are weapons. This one in particular seems to have interesting properties," he said holding up the zat. "The effects appear temporary but it is of a strange design and different to your other weapons."

"It's a zat'nikertel. The first shot stuns, the second kills," Daniel supplied, just to make sure that the man was aware just what the consequences of shooting someone were.

"Where did you get this?"

When none of them answered he gestured to the other men standing outside the room. One of them entered, his face was also painted but in green and red. He silently took the zat away.

"This too is interesting and it can cause extensive damage," he said, waiving the gun around.

Sam, Daniel and Teal'c shared looks. They were unsure where this conversation was heading and if they would still be alive at the end of it.

"You were carrying this weapon, not these others. You fired this weapon, did you not?" he said addressing Sam.

Sam simply nodded, watching the man closely. She could see a fire of anger in his eyes which made her nervous.

"You killed my brother," he spat at her, the fury was clearly audible in his voice.

"You killed one of my team and attacked us. I was defending myself," she replied, barely keeping her own anger in check.

"Well, lets see you defend yourself against this."

The man smile sickly before landing another couple of bruising blows to her body. He only stopped momentarily to pull the knife from his belt again and with one slice he cut the thick rope that attached her to the wall. With that done he continued to land one terrifying blow after another on her.

As soon as she was free she started to fight back. Her attacker was too strong and within thirty seconds Sam was on the floor but still the attack did not stop.

"Stop it," Daniel pleaded.

The attack finally stopped. The man stalked out of the room leaving Sam lying on the floor in a foetal position. The man with the green and red face re-entered the room and pulled Sam to her feet. As she was righted she vomited on the floor, which brought her a vicious punch to the face.

She barely reacted to the latest act of violence. Despite the fact that practically every one of the blows had been to her body and not her head she was starting to slide into unconsciousness. The periphery of her vision was beginning to grey out and she was taking a long time to process what was going on around her.

The next thing Sam was able to register again was being attached to the wall once more and that she and her friends were alone in the cell.

"Sam, Sam can you hear me?" Daniel shouted.

"Yeah," Sam said tiredly, trying to shake herself out of the semi- conscious state she found herself in.

"You alright?"

"I've been better Daniel," she replied, spitting in a bid to rid her mouth of the taste of vomit. "Seriously though, I'm okay."

"Daniel, what do you reckon about them?"

"Well, it seems like they have some connection with Wales, the ruins aside the language and the design of the blade seems to point that way."

"You were checking out the design on the blade?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Yes, it was better than watching what he was doing to you," Daniel admitted sheepishly.

"I'm fine Daniel," Sam stressed. "So, what does this actually tell us?"

"Nothing per se," the Archaeologist answered.

"I do not believe that they are willing to release us," Teal'c added.

"I agree, whatever happens, they aren't letting us go," Sam said resignedly.

"So what now?" Daniel asked, coming to terns with what he had just heard.

"We have to find a way out of here," Sam said simply.

*

Chapter 6

"Colonel, what made you think that they would not release you?" Stone asked, cutting of Sam's narrative of what had happened.

Sam took the opportunity to take a sip from the water glass in front of her.

"Intuition Sir. It's difficult to explain but you just know. They hadn't asked for anything really, just how to use the gate. They also hadn't said they would let us go if we helped, they turned to violence pretty quickly and the casual way that they killed Lieutenant Harris. It all adds up to the knowledge that you won't be going home if they have anything to say about it," Sam tried to explain. She found it difficult to put the feeling into words.

"I concur with Colonel Carter's assessment. These men were not willing to release us under any circumstances. Had we offered them what they wanted they would have killed us," Teal'c added.

Stone nodded, he was suddenly glad that he had called O'Neill to the base despite some initial misgivings. He had been ready to try and negotiate with the captors but knowing what this would have brought about was a sobering thought. He realised that he still had things to learn about the dangers and politics of intergalactic travel.

"So what happened next Colonel?"

"Well, we were left alone for at least a couple of hours. They must have worked out how the P90 worked during this time. We could hear them firing the weapon. Not long after that Blue came back."

"Blue?"

"The man with the blue and white face, he didn't give a name. We christened the other one Green."

"I see," Stone said.

"Anyway, when he came back he seemed pretty pleased with himself..."

*

"This is an interesting weapon, we would like more of these," Blue said pointing the P90 at each of them in turn.

"Sorry, I must have left my spare in my other jacket," Sam answered sarcastically. She realised that Jack must be having a bigger influence on her than she thought as he put the muzzle of the gun under her chin, his finger on the trigger.

"We don't have any more okay," she attempted to appease him.

"You can get more, through the Stargate," he said. Although it was phrased as a question it came out as a statement.

"They won't give you weapons," Sam said.

"They won't give you anything," Daniel added.

"And who are they exactly?"

"My superiors, on my planet. They control the Stargate and they will not negotiate with terrorists," Sam said definitely.

"They will negotiate with me. I have three reasons for them to negotiate and it would seem that you value the lives of those you fight with."

"We don't fight, we explore," Daniel tried to explain.

"You come armed and you use your weapons. You fight," Blue rationalised.

"Look, what exactly is it that you want?" Daniel asked in attempt to ascertain just what their plans were. He figured that if he could understand what they wanted then he might be able to negotiate with them. Despite what Sam and Teal'c had said he was at least willing to try and talk to them.

"Weapons like those you carry and medical supplies."

"The medical supplies might not be a problem, if you let us go, but the weapons..." Daniel concluded in an attempt to initiate a negotiation.

"Well we can see how your 'superiors' feel. You can get a message to them I presume."

Sam, Daniel and Teal'c chose to remain quiet. Instead they looked at each other.

"Sam?" Blue asked, turning to look her in the eyes.

"What?" she spat.

"You can deliver a message, you are the leader."

"What if I don't?" she asked, testing Blue.

"If you don't then I will personally kill this one and you will watch me cut out his heart," he said, crossing to Daniel, whose eyes widened in shock as Blue brought the knife to his throat.

"Okay," Sam said resigned to the fact that this would be the best way to keep Daniel and Teal'c alive. She was all too aware that she might not survive this but it was a risk that she was willing to take.

Green came into the room, a zat in his hand. Sam tried to prepare herself but as the blast hit her body and the pain spread through her, she lost consciousness.

*

"This is when you delivered the message through the MALP?" General Stone interrupted her with a question.

"Yes Sir. I was unconscious for most of the journey to the Stargate. Once I recovered Blue and Green told me what to say. They knew that I'd try to send a message through," Sam said, a small smile lined her lips before she continued, "but I had been planning to try and convey at least some kind of coded message though."

"General O'Neill thought as much," Stone stated.

Sam had to smile again at the mention of Jack's name. She stretched slightly. She was stiff from sitting in the same position for such a long time but as stretched her ribs protested loudly. Her wince was not missed.

"Are you alright Colonel? We can take a break," Stone offered.

"No I'm fine Sir, thank you," Sam assured him.

"What happened after you delivered the message?"

"Well, he let his guard down for a second..."

*

Sam realised that her capturer was not paying full attention and immediately grabbed the zat gun he had stuffed in his belt. She quickly shot him once. She brought the weapon up as Green fumbled with the mechanism on the P90 before dropping it to the floor. Sam shot him twice before he had a chance to bend down and pick it up. She crossed and picked up the P90. As she was about to leave the clearing where the Stargate was located she noticed that Blue was already starting to stir slightly. She stopped at his side, pulled the large knife from his belt before shooting him for the second time.

She tucked the zat into her belt. She cradled her left hand inside her jacket in a bid to support her wrist which was throbbing painfully. She went in search of Daniel and Teal'c, sweeping the area with her P90, appreciating its light composition.

It took her a while to locate the building where they were being held. The unfamiliar landscape served to get her lost on a number of occasions. Eventually when she found it, she discovered it to be heavily guarded.

She waited until the sun started to set before she made her move, making quick work of the guards, using the P90. She found the cell in the building. The key had been left in the lock thanks to the overconfidence of their capturers. Sam could not help but smile at their stupidity.

She swung open the door, Teal'c and Daniel both looked up as she entered.

"Sam?" Daniel asked, obviously surprised to see her there.

"Yes, come on lets get out of here," Sam replied with a smile.

"You got away then?" the Archaeologist inquired as she cut his bonds with the knife she had taken from Blue.

"Umm, yes. Not a lot gets past you does it?" she asked wryly.

"It's just they were so strong," Daniel added.

"Not too bright though," Sam replied smiling.

"It is good to see you Colonel Carter," Teal'c commented.

"Thanks Teal'c," she said as she handed him the zat from her belt.

"We need to find a GDO before we go," Sam addressed both of her companions.

"Good idea," Daniel agreed.

They searched the building without meeting any sort of resistance. Sam was beginning to think that it was slightly too easy. They rounded a corner and saw a pile of their equipment. Teal'c rushed forward and grabbed a GDO. He was about to take a couple of grenades, they had obviously not figured out their function, which was something to be thankful for, when a man suddenly came around the corner. Upon noticing Teal'c he pulled his knife and started approaching.

Without any sort of warning he immediately went for Teal'c. The Jaffa warrior was able to deflect the main force of the blow but the knife still swept up to slash him across the forehead. Teal'c somehow managed to get himself far enough away from the man and without hesitation shot him twice with the zat in his hand.

"You okay Teal'c?" Sam asked as he returned. Blood was flowing freely from the wound.

"I am," he said simply.

Daniel went back to their equipment and quickly pulled out a handful of medical supplies. He attached a dressing to Teal'c head before tucking the rest of the supplies into his pockets.

Teal'c took point with Sam watching their six, Daniel stayed in the middle because he was unarmed save from the knife that Sam had given him. Having known Daniel for many years Sam knew that he must be feeling slightly useless being without a serious weapon. Unfortunately at that moment there was nothing that she could do to change his situation.

Despite the fact that she had only one working arm and was feeling very stiff and in quite a lot of pain from her ribs, Sam figured that she could still shoot straighter than her friend could.

He had spent countless hours in the range with Jack when he joined the SGC. During that time he had learn to shoot properly but Sam knew that in her case she was an excellent marksman, or should that be markswoman, she thought idly. She shook her head vigorously in a bid to clear it; she had more important things to think about at the moment.

Sam knew that the Stargate would be close. She was about to tell Teal'c, who was on point, when she tripped over a root. She had not even seen it. Her periphery was greying out again. A combination of the most recent zat blast, the blow to her head she had received, which had given her a wicked headache, and the run to the gate, had sapped most of her energy.

She felt a strong hand helping her up. Looking up she saw it was Daniel, concern etched on his face.

"Come on Sam, we're nearly there. You can do it," he encouraged her.

Using the Archaeologist for support she pulled herself up again. Suddenly she felt Daniel fall against her a split second before she heard the loud sound of a P90 being fired.

"Daniel, Daniel?" she said frantically as she looked at the archaeologist, whose face was painted with shock.

She quickly turned and fired an indiscriminate shower of bullets into the trees behind them. She heard screams as some of the bullets found targets.

"Teal'c, Daniel's down," she shouted to the Jaffa who was already rushing back to their position.

Sam put down the P90 as Teal'c neared and took up a defensive posture, firing zat blasts into the trees. She quickly examined her friend, trying to find out where the blood was coming from. She breathed a sigh of relief as she realised that he had been shot in the shoulder, it could have been much worse.

She pulled some of the spare medical supplies from Daniel's pockets and administered first aid the best she could under the circumstance. She put as much pressure as she could on the wound but she knew that they could not afford to wait for long.

She picked up the P90 and took over the defence as Teal'c picked Daniel up and began to run towards the gate.

Sam dialled and sent the GDO signal through. Teal'c rushed through first with Daniel. Sam turned and saw the bodies of Blue and Green where she had left them. She turned back towards the gate and walked through.

*

Chapter 7

"Is there anything else either of you would like to add," Stone asked once Sam had finished her narrative.

"No Sir," Sam said.

Teal'c shook his head slightly; he felt that Colonel Carter had given General Stone all the required information.

"I've locked P4Y-543 out of the dialling computer," Stone informed them.

"Thank you Sir," Sam said.

"SG-1 is on downtime for 14 days. Teal'c, we can arrange for you to visit your son if you wish," Stone offered.

"Thank you General Stone," Teal'c replied, inclining his head.

"Colonel, you are off the mission list until that arm heals. Take two weeks off for now and then we can see about you returning to the labs."

"Yes Sir," Sam answered without any objection, looking over at the General.

"If there's nothing else, you are dismissed."

Sam stood. Her broken ribs sent a sharp wave of pain through her chest at the sudden action. After Stone had left she walked to the infirmary with Teal'c, who thankfully kept the pace slow.

Jack was still in the infirmary talking to Daniel, who was obviously in quite a lot of pain despite the painkillers he was being given through his IV line

Jack looked up as he saw Sam and Teal'c enter. He gave Sam his chair, which she gratefully took.

"How did it go?" Daniel queried. Tiredness was clearly audible in his voice.

"It was fine, how are you doing?" Sam replied.

"Not too bad really. What about you?" he inquired, looking over at his friend who was sitting stiffly in the chair by in his bed.

"I'm okay," Sam answered.

They talked for a few minutes until it became obvious that Daniel was fighting to stay awake.

"Look Danny, I'm gonna take Sam home now. I'll catch up with you soon okay?"

"Sure," Daniel replied, already half-asleep.

Jack ducked off to speak to the doctor quickly, who told him that Daniel would probably be released in a couple of days as he was healing well and thankfully there seemed to be no signs of infection.

"Sam?" Daniel called out as she walked towards Jack, who was waiting at the door.

"Yes," she said, turning back.

"Thanks for what you did back there," he said sincerely.

Sam gave a lopsided smile in return, the bruise on her jaw stopping her from smiling properly.

"Take care of yourself Daniel and I'll see you soon," she said kindly as she left.

*~*

Once the couple was back at Sam's house they took up a similar position on the couch as they had done the day before, with Sam using Jack for support.

Sam had felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders following the debriefing, having told the story of what had happened back of P4Y-543. She knew that Jack, the man she loved, also had a right to know but that seemed harder than telling General Stone.

"So, you've got two weeks off then?"

"Yeah. Teal'c's going to go and see Rya'c."

"Well, why don't we go up to the cabin for a bit? You still haven't been there after more than eight years. It's about time you at least get to see the place," Jack offered. He half expected her to say no as she had done to every other invitation to go fishing.

"That would be great Jack," she said with a smile.

"Really?" he asked, slightly taken aback.

"Yes, you're right I should see the place and it sounds great. Just what I need," she replied. It would a great environment for her to think about what had happened.

They shared a confused look as there was a knock at the door. Jack stood slowly, trying not to cause Sam any undue pain but with the injuries that Sam had sustained that was almost impossible.

Jack opened the door to find Jacob standing on the porch.

"Jacob, great to see you. I guess you want to see Sam,"

"Yeah, how's she doing Jack?" Jacob asked as he entered the house.

"I'm fine Dad," Sam replied, standing in the doorway to the living room. She was not particularly pleased that her father chose to ask Jack how she was instead of asking her directly.

"Sorry Sam," Jacob replied, obviously chastised.

"You look tired, are you sleeping alright?" Jacob added, looking at his daughter with concern.

"I've broken a couple of ribs, it's not exactly concordant with sleeping well," Sam explained.

"I guess, I'm probably just used to having Selmak's help with stuff like that," Jacob rationalised.

They sat and talked for a while. Sam gave Jacob an abbreviated version of what had happened back on the planet. Jack learnt more of what had happened but there were still a lot that he did not know. He figured that if Sam wanted to tell him she would and pressing her would only make it worse.

He knew from experience that it was not wise to push somebody to talk about something dramatic unless they were willing. When he was rescued from the hell-hole prison he was kept in, during his time in Iraq, the doctors, guys from his unit and Sara had all tried to get him to talk about what had happened to him.

The problem was that he had not been ready and so had ended up resenting them to some degree as a result. Now he realised that they were doing what they thought best at the time, he had forgiven them now but there were some things that he had kept to himself. These secrets still bothered him sometimes but he had learnt to live with them.

Jacob knew that being hurt off-world was more than an accepted risk of being part of an SGC field unit but it still hurt to see his daughter in that kind of condition. With the Goa'uld defeated he really hoped that Sam would be safer, which she was for a while, but the latest incident served to make her injuries an even bigger shock to him than in the past.

Sam yawned widely, temporarily forgetting the vicious purple bruise on her chin. She suddenly stopped and rubbed her sensitive jaw.

"I'm going to go to bed," she announced, standing slowly.

She gave Jacob a quick hug and kiss before she walked carefully upstairs, using the handrails for support.

"Jack," Jacob said in a serious tone as the younger man showed him to the front door, "look after my daughter, she means a lot to me."

"Always, she means a lot to me too," Jack replied, just as seriously.

"I can see that."

"Thanks Jake," Jack said as he closed the door behind Jacob.

*~*

Sam was looking forward to going to Jack's cabin although she knew that the drive would not be so much fun. It was a significant distance between Colorado Springs and wherever in Northern Minnesota the cabin was. With her ribs and the assorted bruising it would be a very long trip for her. She had the painkillers the doctor prescribed and Jack had planned a number of stops, including an overnight stop in a motel.

She was pleasantly surprised when they finally pulled up to the building. She had not been quite sure what to expect but the pleasant wooden building boasted a decent sized kitchen, not that she intended on doing any cooking, two good sized bedrooms, a nice bathroom and a living room furnished with worn but comfortable furniture and a large open fire place.

"It's great Jack," she said sincerely as she saw him looking slightly expectantly at her.

"Really?"

Sam nodded with a smile.

*~*

That evening Sam was lying on the couch, her feet resting on Jack's lap. He was idly rubbing the soles of her feet, much to her pleasure. The fire was burning healthily in the grate.

Sam felt more relaxed than she had in a long time, but while the memories of the last mission where weighing heavily on her mind, she would not be able to relax fully. She looked across at Jack.

"Jack, I know you want to know exactly what happened on P4Y-543," she said, coming straight to the point.

"No. Well...okay, maybe."

"That's okay, you deserve to know."

Sam began to tell the tale of what had happened. It was very similar to how it had been during the debriefing. Jack let her talk, figuring that it would be good catharsis for her. He could tell that she had been distracted and not just by her injuries.

Jack interrupted her when she told him of how she had taken the zat from Blue and escaped from him.

"Why did he lose his concentration all of a sudden?" he asked. From Sam's description Blue had seemed focused on what he was doing.

"I thought you might pick up on that, no-one else had," Sam said quietly.

"What exactly happened Sam?" Jack asked, with concern etched on his face.

Chapter 8

"He was asking who you were..." Sam continued.

*

"So who is Jack then?"

"No-one," Sam replied flatly.

"He must be someone if you want him contacted. Is he your mate?" Blue asked, looking leeringly at Sam again.

Sam did not answer and turned away from Blue. His hand traced a line down her cheek. A shiver of revulsion spread through her body as she tried to calm her already churning stomach.

"I'd say that was a yes. So this Jack, is he a warrior?"

"He'd kill you," Sam said, turning back to face Blue. She knew that was the truth. If Jack was ever to meet him he would kill him if given half the chance.

"Will he still want you when we're finished with you, I wonder?" Blue whispered in Sam's ear. His hot breath on her neck made her stomach revolt again.

She knew that it was not a good situation for her to be in. She was injured; her arm was throbbing painfully and was already swollen. His right hand travelled across her throat and he wrapped his strong arm around her neck, restricting her movement and air supply.

His other hand traced a line down her face and down towards her breasts. She shivered uncontrollably as his hand travelled unbidden across her body. She quickly blinked away the tears that came into her eyes. As the hand continued its exploration she was unable to stop the tears from falling. They traced hot tracks down her face.

Blue then roughly threw Sam to the floor. She landed hard and could not stop a short cry of pain from escaping from her lips. Blue looked down at her with a sickly smile.

He approached her and Sam knew just what was coming next if she did not act quickly. She saw her chance as he hovered over her, one hand on her throat, the other reaching out for her again. The look in his eyes was pure lust, he was not thinking rationally. She heard a cackle of laughter come from Green. She had temporarily forgotten about him while her attention had been focused on Blue.

She closed her eyes as Blue grabbed at her breast through her T- shirt. She forced herself to open her eyes again and grabbed the zat from his belt and kicked him hard in the groin to get him far enough away from her before shooting him. She reacted quickly and turned the weapon on Green.

*

"Oh Sam," Jack said gently, wiping away a stray tear from her face.

"You didn't tell General Stone any of this?" he inquired after a minute.

"No, Daniel and Teal'c don't know either."

"Why not?" Jack asked, without judgement.

"Because I didn't know how to say it. Oh yeah by the way, the guy was distracted because he was going to rape me," Sam said quickly as more tears leaked from her eyes.

Jack reached out and tenderly wiped the tears away with the pad of his thumb, Sam smiled weakly as he touched her. She reached up and took his hand into his and held it tight.

"You know what I was thinking back there?"

"No," Jack said quietly, shaking his head.

"That if I let him...if he...that you'd be disappointed in me. That you wouldn't want me again," she admitted as the tears started to fall in earnest.

"I'd always want you, whatever happened and you could never disappoint me. I love you Sam and I will love you no matter what," he said looking Sam directly in the eye.

"I love you too," Sam whispered. She acknowledged that Jack had never been one to discuss his feelings and therefore realised that it was a significant thing for him to say.

Sam felt significantly better once she had told Jack about what had happened. Rationally she knew that his opinion of her would not change but it had not stopped her worrying about his reaction.

Jack tentatively wrapped his arms around her, as she began to sob gently. The sobs caused waves of pain throughout her chest but there was nothing that Sam could do to stop them.

*~*

That night Jack was awoken by the chilling sound of Sam in the grips of a nightmare. She was moving around in the bed and was mumbling something that Jack could not decipher.

He decided to try and rouse her by gently calling her name. When she did not respond he shook her shoulder slightly.

Sam sat up slightly as she awoke, an expression of pain on her face before she sank back into the pillows

"Sam, it's okay, you're safe," Jack said gently while stroking her hair at the same time.

She turned her head away from him, Jack pulled his hand away. It was clear that she did not want to be touched.

"Do you want anything?" Jack asked, uncertainly.

"No," Sam replied quietly.

Not knowing what to do or say to help Jack rolled onto his back and lay staring at the ceiling, his mind racing until he finally fell asleep.

Sam also lay awake, she had thought that telling Jack would make her feel better but now she had opened the floodgates and they could not be closed. She had avoided any nightmares before tonight but she had been forced to relive what had happened.

As much as she drew comfort from Jack, she wanted to be left alone with her thoughts. Her thoughts were not pleasant though, every time she closed her eyes she saw Blue's face, staring leeringly at her, an evil sneer on his face. Eventually she fell asleep, but her slumbers were far from restful.

Jack woke up after only a few hours sleep, it was still dark outside and Sam was still sleeping. She shuffled slightly as he got out of bed but she did not stir. After making some coffee he went out and sat on the deck. Looking out over the calm water he watched the sun rise, thinking about what Sam had been through.

He had no idea how to deal with the situation, how to help Sam. There had been a couple of situations in the past where something like this had happened. Turghan was going to 'partake in his newest purchase' but SG-1 had stepped in and in Hadante prison Linea had stepped in and put Sam under her protection but it had gone further this time.

He had to admit that every time that SG-1 had been captured he worried about Sam's safety, he knew the risks as well as everyone but he never thought it would happen.

He turned as he heard Sam shuffle along the deck, a cup of coffee in her hand. She sat down next to Jack and stared out over the water.

"How are you this morning?" Jack asked after a minutes silence.

"I'm alright," she replied.

"Sam, I know when you're lying."

Sam smiled slightly, he always could read her well. He always knew when she was lying, just as she could tell when he was hiding something.

"I hadn't really expected that nightmare. I thought that if I told you then I would be able to move on, forget what happened but I feel worse now than I did before," Sam admitted quietly.

Jack reached out and took her hand.

"Look Sam, what you went through is not insignificant, it's a big deal. There's nothing wrong with being shaken up by it," Jack said kindly, squeezing her hand.

"I guess but I was doing alright before, I could deal with what happened."

"I'm glad you said something, that you told me what had happened. It would have eaten away at you if you hadn't said anything. You can't keep things like this to yourself, you have to know that."

"I know...I guess. I don't really know what I expected but I just wanted to get on with my life."

"You can now, or at least you can start getting back to normal."

"Maybe but right now...I almost wish I hadn't said anything," Sam admitted quietly, looking away from Jack and back over the water.

"Don't say that Sam, please don't say that," Jack whispered, getting out of his chair and kneeling in front of her.

She turned to look at Jack, tears stung her eyes as she stared into his eyes. She could see that what she had just said had hurt him deeply.

"I'm sorry Jack," Sam whispered back, shuffling out of her chair and joining Jack kneeling on the desk. She wrapped her right arm around his waist, folding herself in on him. He wrapped his arms around her, they held each other, each clinging to the other for support.

Chapter 9

Jack and Sam walked slowly through the open field. After a while he reached out and took hold of her hand. They had been walking for almost an hour when Jack noticed that Sam was beginning to get tired.

Jack stopped and they both sat down in the short grass, looking out towards the horizon. He proceeded to gently wrap his arms around her but she tensed up and pulled away as his arm crossed her neck. A shiver raced down her spine as she momentarily saw Blue's leering face. On realising what she had done Sam sighed deeply and ran a hand through her hair

"I'm sorry, Jack," she sighed, nervously fidgeting with her cast.

"What for?"

"For this. I know it's you but...but I keep seeing him."

"Oh Sam. I'm sorry too."

"What do you have to be sorry about?" she asked, almost in a whisper, looking over at him.

"I wasn't there to protect you. I didn't do anything to help you or the rest of the team."

"You still get guilty over things you can't change? You've retired Jack, there was nothing you could have done," Sam said with disbelief. She knew that as commander of both SG-1 and the SGC, Jack had felt guilty every time something bad had happened to those under his command.

"I care about you Sam and Daniel and Teal'c, just in a different way," he added with a slight smile. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you - any of you. I hate the fact that I know what's out there but can't do anything. I'll always feel like this. I can tell you one thing though. You have no reason to feel guilty about what happened to Harris. You couldn't have changed anything, just like you can't change what happened to you," Jack admitted.

"Harris was under my command, he's dead now and that's my fault. I didn't even bring his body back so he could have a proper funeral. He's just been left to rot on some godforsaken planet," Sam barely managed to prevent herself from shouting. She was close to tears but doing her best not to cry.

"Sam, you told me yourself there was no way that you could have gone back for Harris, you would have just got yourself killed. Now how would that have helped anybody? Besides you got Daniel and Teal'c out. You even 'took care' of Blue and Green. The way that I see it is that you did the best you could have given your circumstances at the time."

"When did you get so rational?" she asked quietly but with a trace of humour.

"You're obviously a good influence on me...or should that be a bad influence?" Jack joked in return.

He could see her relax slightly, which brought a smile to his face. He had been on edge ever since he had found out what happened. Seeing Sam relaxed, even if it was just for a second, was enough to calm him.

"Do you still regret telling me?" Jack asked, looking closely at her reaction.

"No...yes...a bit," Sam finally admitted. "I know that it is probably a good thing I told you, it just doesn't seem like that right now."

"It'll get better," he said, knowingly.

"I know but I hate feeling like this. I just don't feel in control right now."

"Control of what?"

"Of what I'm thinking, what I'm feeling. It's stupid; I've been in much worse situations. I've been tortured. I've died. I've seen people I love, people I care about, die and I can't cope when someone..." Sam trailed off, tears pricking the corners of her eyes.

"When someone tries to rape you," Jack supplied with the gravity the situation warranted. "It's not stupid, it's a big deal, you have to understand that. What happened back on that planet was really tough. I'm not just talking about the fact that the guy tried to rape you. Harris' death, what happened in that cell, it all adds up to a really bad mission. You must have noticed that Daniel's been pretty quiet and even Teal'c's not his usual, chatty self."

"Sure. Have you spoken to Daniel?" Sam asked, thinking of her injured friend. Internally she was cursing herself for temporarily forgetting about him and his wounds.

"Yeah, I called him this morning, he's finally escaped the infirmary. He's already bored. Considering how much practice he's had at being hurt you'd think he'd be used to it by now," Jack observed wryly in an attempt to introduce some levity into the conversation.

"He is okay though, right?" Sam asked seriously.

"He's fine. Except maybe missing having two working arms," Jack replied with a slight smile.

"I shouldn't have come out here, not with Daniel still injured."

"You needed to get away Sam. Daniel understands that. He's worried about you Sam and I really think you should tell him and Teal'c. It doesn't have to be official. You don't have to tell General Stone. This is about trusting Daniel and Teal'c to have your best interest at heart."

Jack knew that there were only some many times he could try and talk her into telling Daniel and Teal'c without pushing her away and that was the last thing that he wanted. He had decided that if Sam was still reluctant to tell them, he would drop the subject, temporarily at least.

"I really don't know what to say to them but I know how they'll react. Daniel will just get worried about me and won't understand why I didn't say anything before. Teal'c will just be Teal'c," she finished with the slightest indication of a smile.

"You should try them. What if we get Daniel up here for a couple of days? Stop him from going crazy at home," Jack offered, hoping that by making it seem beneficial to Daniel, Sam would be more likely to accept. In fact it was just as much for Sam as it was for Daniel.

"Yeah, why not. Who knows what he's getting up to without someone to keep an eye on him," she said with a small laugh.

"Great, I'll try to find a way to get him out here," he said. He knew it would not be the easiest journey to organise, especially with Daniel's injury.

"You ready to head back?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Jack replied. He stood and went to help Sam to her feet but she waved him away and slowly righted herself. A slight grimace flashed across her face as she stood. The expression of pain was not lost on Jack but he chose not to mention it.

*~*

Once back at the cabin Sam phoned Daniel and after a short conversation managed to persuade him to visit them in Minnesota. It took some convincing to assure Daniel that he would not be in the way.

Sam had decided that to tell Daniel what had happened and was planning to tell Teal'c as soon as he was back on Earth. She chose not to mention anything at that moment, it would just make them worry.

Once she had finished on the phone she sat next to Jack on the large couch.

"Daniel's said he'd come, he'll be here on Thursday."

"Great, that was a little easy though wasn't it?" Jack asked. He had expected to have to fight the Archaeologist to get him up there.

"Apparently, because he's only got one working arm you can't force him to fish all day," Sam admitted. She could not help but laugh at remembering what Daniel had said but she had wisely decided to give Jack the abbreviated version.

"Fishing...What a great idea Sam!" Jack said with obvious enthusiasm and a trace of mischief in his voice.

Sam held up her injured left arm in a bid to excuse herself from the whole fishing idea. She did not really understand Jack's fascination with it, not that she would ever tell him directly in his face.

"You'll be fine, we're not going shark fishing ya know," Jack observed, overruling any excuses she might have.

"Lets get set up then," Sam replied, trying to keep the resignation out of her voice. She figured that if she got really bored she could plead tiredness and head back inside.

*~*

Although she hated to admit it, Sam enjoyed the fishing. Obviously, they did not catch anything; he was pretty sure there was nothing in the lake to catch. Trust Jack to pick the only lake in Minnesota that does not actually have any fish. As he explained it, it was about the act of 'fishing'. Not that Sam really understood the logic of that particular argument.

Jack was in an especially good mood following their time fishing. He even offered to cook, which was a rarity for him. Although he could cook quite well he often chose to rely on takeaways. Sam had to admit that she did the same a lot of the time but the long hours she worked at the SGC and the fact that she really could not cook, gave her good reason.

As Jack started on dinner, Sam thought of how she would tell Daniel what had happened. She knew that it would not be an easy conversation but she hoped that it would be at least easier than telling Jack. She had a couple of days to think about it anyway.

*~*

Sam had fallen asleep on the couch but awoke as she heard a car pull up outside. She sat up slowly, her ribs were still painful but considerably less so than before. The bruises across her body were beginning to fade; though still vivid, lighter shades of purple and green had replaced the black and deep purples that had originally marred her pale skin.

Jack opened the door, carrying a large canvas bag, from the way he was carrying it, it appeared to be very heavy, obviously weighed down by the books that Daniel seemed to be unable to travel without. Daniel followed him in; his right arm immobilised in a sling. He smiled broadly at Sam, before sitting in the armchair by the fireplace. He looked around the room with an appreciative and slightly relieved look on his face. Just like Sam, he had been unsure about what to expect from the cabin.

"How are you Daniel?" Sam asked, with concern as she noted his pale features.

"I'm fine, a bit tired that's all. How are you doing?" he asked with equal concern. He knew that there had been something weighing heavily on her mind since their return, something that he knew nothing about.

"Okay," she replied quickly. How was the flight?" she asked in a bid to change the topic of conversation, if only briefly. She could imagine that it was the best journey he had ever had. Her own trip up here had been a difficult one and she was not including the looks she had received every time they had stopped on the way. She knew that she did not look at her best but those around her were used to seeing people with injuries, such was their work and therefore they tended not to look twice.

"Not too bad," Daniel replied but Sam could see that his statement was not wholly accurate.

"Um, do you want to have a sleep or anything?" Sam asked nervously. She was almost hoping for him to say yes, now that he was here, the task seemed much harder than it had before.

"No, I'm fine. Are you sure you're okay Sam?"

"I've got something to tell you Daniel and I just need you to listen, okay?" she started after taking a deep, shuddering breath.

"What's wrong, what's happened?" he asked slightly frantically.

"I never told you everything that happened back on P4Y-543," she began as Daniel looked intently at her.

Chapter 10

"Oh Sam, why didn't you say anything before?" Daniel asked once she had finished speaking. He reached out and squeezed her hand in support.

"I don't know. I'm sorry Daniel , I didn't really know what to say," Sam shrugged.

"That's okay, it's not the easiest thing to talk about," Daniel added sympathetically.

"You could say that," Sam replied quickly. At first she did not understand the knowledgeable tone that Daniel used, until she remembered what had happened between him and Hathor when she had tried to take over the SGC.

She looked her friend square in the face, their eyes met as they both recalled those events. Sam remembered the glazed look that had painted Daniel's face, sitting on the bed, staring into space. Daniel shuddered involuntarily at the memory, what had happened had haunted him for a long time.

"You got over it," Sam said quietly.

"Yeah, in time and with the help of my friends," he replied, pointedly.

"I am sorry Daniel. I just couldn't say anything before."

"It's okay Sam. I was never overly keen to talk about what happened to me, but I did eventually and believe me it helped."

"That's what Jack keeps saying. Ironic isn't it, him telling me to open up."

"How is Jack coping with all this?" Daniel asked after ascertaining that Jack was not within earshot.

"He seems to be dealing with it okay. I think he's feeling a bit guilty but that's nothing new. You know Jack, he tends to hide things for as long as he possibly can," Sam said. It was one of Jack's worst habits, he had opened up considerably more since they started their relationship but there was much that he continued to hide and Sam understood and accepted this.

"I had notice," Daniel agreed, with a slight smile.

"Look Daniel. I need you to do me a favour and not say anything about this back at the SGC. I still haven't decided whether to make this official and tell General Stone, I mean it doesn't change the outcome of the mission. And then there's the fact the whole base would probably end up knowing, you know how prolific the rumour mill at the SGC is."

"Of course I won't say anything," he said as they both stood and briefly hugged. It was an awkward gesture, with both of their injuries interfering with the action.

"You do know that Jack will probably get you fishing, even with one arm, he's dragged me out practically every day," Sam added with a mischievous smile.

"You said that I wouldn't have to fish," Daniel complained, suddenly worried.

"I just wanted to get you up here." she replied, mischievously.

"That's okay. I was going a bit crazy at home anyway. Company's always good, even if it is Jack on a fishing trip and me being nowhere near a proper coffee place."

"I thought you'd been ordered off coffee?"

"I have but when did any of us ever follow doctor's orders?" Daniel asked with a smile. SG-1 was famous for not following orders.

"True. Let's go find Jack, I think he wanted to give us some space and I really don't think he wanted to hear the story again, not that I'm overly keen on telling it," Sam stated solemnly.

They both walked outside, Jack was sitting on the dock. He turned as he heard them approach.

"Hey, you two find anything interesting to talk about?" Jack asked, not sure about whether Sam would have told Daniel yet.

"I've told him, Jack," Sam clarified.

"Right," Jack commented with a small nod.

He studied the expressions of his friends. Sam stood straight, wearing an expression of confidence; Jack could see that this did not necessarily reflect her internal emotions. She looked exhausted, her face pale and the dark circles under her eyes were obvious, even from this distance. An obvious reminder of the problems Sam had been having sleeping.

Daniel was also pale though this was more likely due to his injury than anything else. He was uncomfortable, fidgeting nervously and he was avoiding eye contact with both Sam and Jack, choosing to look at the surrounding landscape instead.

"You know it is actually quite beautiful up here," Daniel stated suddenly, breaking the slightly uncomfortable silence that had developed.

Jack laughed and Sam broke out into a wide smile.

"I owe you ten bucks," Jack said resignedly.

"What?" Daniel asked, confused.

"Nothing," Jack and Sam replied in unison.

"Seriously, what did I say?"

"Jack sorta mentioned that you'd be too engrossed in a book to notice the scenery," Sam replied innocently.

"Honestly, I can't believe you think I'm that bad."

"Are you seriously telling me that you didn't bring a load of books and some translations with you?" Jack asked, with friendly sarcasm.

"Well, no. I can't believe you made on bet on it anyway."

"Do I have to remind you when you two made a bet about whether I'd go to the planet with the opium den?" Sam asked in a slightly accusing tone but there was a definite trace of humour in her voice.

"We did say sorry about that, once we'd done with the withdrawal thing," Jack said, chastised.

Sam laughed slightly; she could wind Jack up so easily if she wanted.

"Look guys, I'm going to go crash for a bit, that flight really took it out of me."

"Sure, I've already put you bag in your room. It's just past the kitchen and on your right," Jack explained.

"Thanks," Daniel said as he turned and headed back inside the cabin.

Jack stood and went to stand with Sam; she wrapped an arm around his waist and leant into his shoulder. He carefully put an arm around her shoulders.

"How'd he take it?"

"Like I expected. I don't think he really understands why I didn't say anything before. He accepted it but he didn't understand why I didn't tell him and Teal'c at least."

Sam sighed deeply and closed her eyes, deeply breathing in Jack's unique scent. Wrapping his other arm around her, he gently stroked her hair as she rested her head against his shoulder.

*~*

Sam reached out and grabbed the glass with left arm, acknowledging the novelty of having her other arm back in commission. Looking around the table she smiled, it was like old times, just her, Jack, Teal'c and Daniel who was also relieved to have the use of both his arms again.

SG-1 were almost ready to head out into the field again, Sam was looking forward to it, as much as she enjoyed the time she spent in her lab working on all the experiments she never normally got time to do, she had spent a month in the same room and was happy to going through the gate again. She missed the variety of experiences she got off-world, which is why she enjoyed her missions, most of her missions anyway as long as she was being captured or shot at.

She knew that Jack missed it to, with his promotion to General, had come a desk job, even if it was in command of the SGC but he was a military man and a warrior, he was not made to fly a desk. She had anticipated his resignation once the Goa'uld had gone but she had almost expected him to move to Minnesota and fish all day.

Sam had been called to see General Stone earlier that day, he had wanted to discuss who would be the fourth member of the team but thankfully he had listened to her and agreed to let SG-1 go back to being a three person team, just as it had been under O'Neill's command. Daniel and Teal'c had been relieved to hear that, Daniel had been pretty strongly against getting a new member. Teal'c, being Teal'c had not particularly objected but Sam was pretty sure that he was happy with the dynamic they had as a three person team.

Teal'c had taken Sam's news well, or as well as she had expected. He did promise to exact Jaffa revenge on any man who even looked at her in the wrong way in the future but he accepted why she did not tell him before.

He did not treat her any differently than he had before, Jack and Daniel both had a habit of treating her like glass, like she would break if anything even remotely bad happened to her. Thankfully as her bruises faded and the last physical reminder of what had happened disappeared they began to treat her like normal but she still caught them looking at her with concern if she was quiet for too long. The nightmares she was still having did not help. Jack's concern every time she woke with a start was touching but it reminded her of what had happened and that was not something she needed.

Slowly she began to tune into the conversation again. Daniel was talking about a translation that one of the new linguists had asked him to approve. Apparently the poor man had mistranslated a number of words which had lead to some very unfortunate phrasing. It had given Daniel quite a laugh and therefore, in a hushed voice, he relayed what it had said, his friends burst out laughing.

Jack looked over at Sam as they laughed. She looked no different than she had before, she had lost some weight, her already slender frame markedly slighter but her appetite was returning. He was glad that she had agreed to come out to O'Malley's tonight since with everything that had happened she had been a bit hesitant at first. She had readily agreed to the quiet and intimate dinner the two of them had shared before meeting Daniel and Teal'c but he had seen the hesitation in her face at the suggestion of going to the packed bar.

Jack was pretty sure that she had been purposefully avoiding crowded or unfamiliar situations since she had retuned from P4Y-543. She looked slightly nervous though. She had chosen the seat against the wall, which looked out over the bar, meaning that no one could sneak up behind her. It was a position that Jack normally took but did not impede her choice of seat.

He leaned over in Sam's direction when he noticed that she was running her fingers through her hair, a sure sign that she was tired.

"You ready to go?" he whispered.

"Yeah, I think so," she replied softly.

"Guys, we're gonna head off now," Jack said, draining the glass in front of him.

"You ready to head back too Teal'c? I can drop you off on my way home," Daniel said looking across at the Jaffa.

"Indeed," Teal'c replied. Jack marvelled at just how much could be said by that one word.

The four of them pulled on their coats and headed to the exit, Sam braced herself as she stepped from the comfortable heat of the bar into the crisp but clean mountain air.

After seeing Daniel and Teal'c back to the Archaeologist's car Jack and Sam walked slowly back to where they had parked, outside the small Italian restaurant they visited earlier on the evening.

The streets became deserted once they got far enough away from the people pouring in and out of the local bars. Sam enjoyed the quietness of the streets; it made such a change from the noisy bar they had been in for the past few hours. The night was clear, meaning that the stars could clearly be seen; looking upwards she spotted familiar constellations, stars which were orbited by planets she had visited. Jack knew much more about the night sky than she did and probably ever would.

She span around quickly as she heard feet rapidly approaching them from behind, her thoughts about the universe quickly forgotten and a small knot of fear clenched her heart. It relaxed as a young man ran past them and continued on into the distance.

"Sam?" Jack asked, from the tone of his voice she figured that it was not the first time that he had spoken.

"Sorry, just a bit jumpy I guess," she replied, trying to sound flippant.

"Right," he replied quietly and then added, "You sure you're okay to drive?" He realized that the chances were good that he was over the limit and as Sam had been on soft drinks all night it would definitely be better if she drove.

"Yeah, of course."

They rounded a corner and approached the car, which was alone in the small parking lot behind the now closed restaurant. Sam reached into her purse and started looking for her keys. Jack, who was gently stroking her arm and cracking jokes, appeared more relaxed around her. That was partially due to the beer he had drunk earlier on. She was still searching as she heard footsteps behind her, forcing herself to not react to them she continued to scrabble around the interior of the bag for the missing keys.

Just as Sam felt the rough edge of her car keys with her fingers, she heard feet shuffle on the rough surface of the asphalt and the unmistakable sound of a pistol being cocked. Before either of them had a chance to react, they heard the same sound being repeated again. The knot of fear once again formed around Sam's heart as the cold metal of a 9mm pistol pressed against her temple. Sam felt the grip on her arm changed from a gentle, playful touch to a much firmer but reassuring one. Out of the corner of her eye she could see that Jack had an identical weapon next to his head.

Chapter 11

"Give me the keys," the owner of the gun pressed against Sam's head shouted into her ear.

Sam hesitated, her mind racing with the images of the last time she had found herself with a gun to her head. Her hands trembled as she held on to the keys with an iron grip, the uneven metal cutting into her palm.

Her hesitation caused a reaction from the man nearest to her, her roughly grabbed her upper arm and pulled her away from Jack's reassuring touch. She spun slightly and got her first look at the guys who were trying to rob them. They were both in their mid twenties and with short hair. The one holding the gun to Jack's head had a small tattoo of a spider web visible on his wrist, while the one with the gun on her had a nose stud.

With a shiver, she noted that they were both wearing wind breakers, one blue and one green, 'Blue' was the one holding the gun on her, 'Green' had his weapon on Jack.

"Give me the keys and your wallets," Blue shouted again.

Jack calmly reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He wished that he had a weapon on him or that at the very least he was in a more favourable tactical situation than a deserted parking lot with a gun to both his and Sam's heads.

He could see that Sam looked shaken; the tremors in her hands were clear, even from a distance. He remember the scene from the video, with the guy from the planet holding her P90 to her temple, therefore it was not a surprise to him that she was not reacting well to the very unfavourable situation.

He slowly handed over his wallet to the guy with the tattoo. Jack was still looking for a way to stop the robbery from happening at all but he knew that he would almost definitely need Sam's help. He managed to meet her eyes. He saw her visibly relax as he held her gaze, after a few seconds he saw her jaw set and her head nod slightly.

Her moment of composure was lost as Sam noticed that Blue was looking closely at her with his hand still clasped around her upper arm. His eyes went up and down her body, an action that brought the tremors back to Sam's hands and an intense feeling of anger to Jack.

"Look, just hand over the keys and your purse and I won't have to mess up that pretty face of yours," Blue said in a dangerous quiet tone while flexing his grip on the pistol slightly, it made Jack feel very nervous.

"What's wrong with you lady?" Green shouted angrily from Jack's side. "Look, if you don't hand over your stuff then your bloke here will end up with a bullet in his head."

As an act of encouragement, Jack received a vicious punch to his face; he recovered quickly and shook his head to Sam to indicate that he was okay.

With a deep breath, Sam gave over her keys and her purse. As she handed them over Blue took hold of her slightly shaking hand and started to gently trace circles on her skin. Sam closed her eyes in a bid to block out the flashback from P4Y-543, of the man touching her and the cold realisation of what was going to happen to her.

Trying to calm herself enough she opened her eyes and nodded slightly to Jack before swinging around and planting a solid punch squarely on Blue's face. Jack reacted a second afterwards with a punch of his own on the other guy's face.

'Tattoo', as Jack had dubbed him, was obviously not expecting the attack from Jack since he almost immediately dropped the pistol and Jack's wallet and ran off into the night. Jack started to give chase but quickly stopped as he realised that Sam was landing punch after punch on the guy he had christened 'Pierce', due to his nose stud.

He had also dropped the weapon and Sam's purse was laying on the ground, the contents spilling across the asphalt. Pierce looked shocked, he was trying to fight back but Sam was blocking his every move. Jack quickly grabbed both the stray weapons from the ground and, after putting the safety on, he tucked one in his belt while keeping the other in his hand. He realised that Pierce was not going to pose a threat but Sam was still continuing her attack.

Sam was not in the parking lot, in her mind she was still on P4Y-543, it was not a young man in a blue wind breaker and pierced nose she was attacking, instead it was a man with a blue and white painted face. She did not notice him stop resisting nor did she hear Jack shout her name.

It was only as he tackled her, his strong arms wrapping around her body, pining her flailing arms to her side that she realised where she was and what was really happening.

Blue fell to the floor beside the car, unconscious. Sam brought up her arms from her side as Jack relaxed his grip slightly, he assumed that she was about to wrap them around him for a reassuring hug but instead she put her palms on his chest and pushed him away with some force.

He released her and watched as she ran quickly across the parking lot. The sound of her retching reached across the quiet expanse to Jack. He switched his vision between Sam and the still unconscious man on the floor. He crossed to him and reached a hand inside his collar, felt for a pulse and checked his breathing, thankfully both seemed regular.

He grabbed Sam's cell phone which had fallen out of her purse when it had been dropped and called 911, requesting the police and an ambulance. He glanced in Sam's direction as he spoke. She was still bent double and coughing heavily. She quite obviously wanted to be alone and until the police arrived Jack felt there was no need to crowd her.

He opened the car and searched for a bottle of water, finding one behind the driver's seat. For a while he just sat quietly in the driver's seat, his feet scuffing on the asphalt. Eventually he pulled the gun from his belt and put it on the dashboard, the other he kept in his hand, turning it over. The adrenaline that had come with the situation was beginning to go and his cheekbone, where the punch that he had almost forgotten about had landed, was beginning to sting.

Sam walked over slowly as she saw the flashing lights of a police car pulling into the parking lot; she had managed to reign in her nausea but seeing the guy lying still on the ground brought more unpleasant memories back.

Jack did not say anything to her, he just sat her down in the car and handed her the now open bottle of water. She appreciated his decision to remain silent; his tense face that was at that moment observing her told her that he was disappointed and more than slightly shocked at her reaction to the situation.

The police car was quickly followed by an ambulance, the medics expertly started to work on the guy who had tried to rob them. Another police car followed the ambulance. One of the police officers stood and watched over the medics, while another came over to talk to Jack.

"Excuse me Sir?" the police officer said. Jack quickly brought his attention to the officer and away from Sam who was staring at the bottle of water clasped in her hands. She successfully ignored another cop, a woman, who was trying to ask her questions. The officer had obviously mistaken the cause of Sam's state of shock, assuming that the trauma of being held at gunpoint had caused her almost catatonic state.

"Sorry," Jack apologised.

"What's your name, Sir?"

"Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter," he supplied.

"So what happened here?" the officer asked.

Jack explained what had happened; he glossed over the majority of details pertaining to Sam's attack on the guy who had threatened her, which did not go unmissed by the officer.

"So what happened to this guy?" he said, indicating the guy who was currently being loaded into the back of the ambulance.

"I did it," Sam said quietly, finding her voice. She managed to tear herself away from the repeating visions from P4Y-543, the feeling of Blue's hands on her body, the fear she felt at a level that she had never felt before. The visions of Harris' lifeless, with the knife embedded in his chest, the crimson blood seeping over Daniel's BDUs after the bullet had torn through his shoulder.

"You, Ma'am?" the officer asked slightly incredulously. He looked critically at her; he had seen the not insignificant damage done to the man who had tried to rob them.

Jack laughed slightly at the disbelieving look that had appeared on the face of the young officer, who himself look like a stiff breeze would knock him over. People often underestimated just what Sam was capable of, whether it was on or off world.

"Yeah. Officer, I'm a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force, I know how to look after myself," Sam replied forcefully.

"Is that what you call looking after yourself? The guy looked pretty badly hurt," he asked with raised eyebrows.

"Look, he had a gun to my head, his 'friend' had already hit Jack and had gun to his head too. He was fighting back, I did what I had to do."

"Okay," he replied, still slightly suspiciously.

"He's gonna be okay, right?" Jack asked. He noticed Sam tensing up as he spoke.

"The EMT's seemed to think so. You should get a doctor to look at that eye, Sir."

"It's nothing, I've had much worse," Jack replied flippantly.

"Sir?" the officer asked.

"I recently retired from the Air Force," he offered.

"Sir, Ma'am, we need to take formal statements and get you to look at some mug shots."

"Do we have to do this tonight, it's been a really long day," Sam pleaded.

"I'm sorry Ma'am, it really should be tonight, best to get everything down when it's fresh in your mind."

"Okay, let's just get it over and done with then."

*~*

Sam sat in a small, harshly lit office. A lukewarm cup of thick institutional coffee nested in the chipped mug on the cold metal table in front of her. She thumbed through the large book of mug shots, absently marvelling at just how the photographer managed to make every one of the faces staring back at her look like a serial killer. Towards the back of the book she saw Green's face and pointed him out to the officer sitting across from her, who simply nodded in response.

"Thank you Ma'am. I'll go and see if my colleagues have finished with your friend," the detective said as he stood and took the book off the table and left Sam alone in the room.

She knew that she would have to face Jack, look into his eyes and see the disapproval that she had seen before. In her eyes, he had every right to be disgusted with her, she felt sick when she thought of what she had done, Blue was far from innocent but he had not been the one who had tried to rape her.

Picking up the cup she took a tentative sip, shuddering as she swallowed the thick, bitter liquid. This coffee was much worse than anything the SGC had to offer in the past. She was pretty sure that Daniel had used his influence to get some semi-decent coffee brought in to the base a few years ago and everyone had been grateful for that ever since.

"You're pretty lucky, you know that?" the detective said as he came back into the room, shaking Sam from her thoughts.

"Lucky?"

"You and your friend both picked out the same guy, he's wanted for murder, along with his friend who you put in the hospital. They killed a young couple during a car jacking not so long ago," the detective told Sam.

The news brought a shiver to Sam; the idea that she and Jack could have been killed was shocking and something that she had not anticipated. At first she thought that she was going to be charged with assault following her attack on Green but the police seemed satisfied that she was acting in self-defence.

"We're done for now Ma'am, we might need to speak with you again and we've got your details so we can contact you."

"Thanks," Sam replied quietly.

"Ma'am, are you sure that you're okay. You've been through a lot, you might want to get checked out by a doctor," the detective said, he was looking Sam over with concern.

"I'm fine, just tired, I arrived at work early this morning," Sam tried to introduce flippancy into her voice. The initial shock of the attack had worn off; facing Jack was worrying her now. His opinion of her meant a lot; it always had, even when they had both been bound by military ranks and regulations.

She slowly stood and followed the detective out into the corridor. Jack was sitting on a metal bench. He looked up from his shoes, which he had been studying closely, as she neared him and smiled slightly. Sam sighed deeply as she saw him, she was sure that she saw disappointment radiating from him as he stood and went to wrap his arms around her.

She accepted his gesture for a few seconds before she broke away from him.

"Thanks Detective," Jack said, reaching out and shaking the middle- aged man's hand.

He followed Sam out the concrete building and to where the car that was parked. Feeling more than sober enough to drive, Jack started the quiet ride home, neither of them spoke. Sam sat with her arms wrapped around herself, a posture that screamed 'stay away'.

Jack was eager to talk to her about what had happened, they had not shared a word since the attack. He chose to wait until they were in familiar surroundings before confronting her.

Anger had been slowly building up inside Sam during the ride home. What had started out as a gently simmering feeling in the pit of her stomach that she was easily able to ignore had quickly become a violently boiling, all consuming sensation.

She rushed into the house as soon as Jack stopped the engine. Locking the car as quickly as he could he followed her in.

"Look Sam, we need to talk about what happened tonigh-," Jack said calmly as he caught up with her as she flung the door open.

"I knew it," she shouted at him, before he even had a chance to finish his sentence.

"You knew what?"

"Don't play dumb, you're disappointed in me, you hate me for what I did."

"How can you say that Sam? I am not disappointed in you, I've told you before, I could never be disappointed in you," he said shocked that she could think that.

"Don't lie to me; don't treat me like a child. I can see it in your face," she yelled. Tears were stinging her eyes but she refused to let them fall.

"Sam, just listen to me, you've got this all wrong. I was shocked okay but I understand why you did it, you weren't thinking straight."

"Oh yeah, that's right, poor Sam, some guy tries to rape her and all of a sudden she's fragile, she needs to be looked after, she's not in her right mind."

"You know I don't think that and neither do Daniel and Teal'c. Will you just calm down for a second so we can discuss this."

"Will you just stop telling me what to do, I can't do this, I just can't," she shouted, blinking back the tears as hard as she could.

She turned and ran outside, throwing the door shut as hard as she could. The resonating thud putting a definitive end to the argument.

Chapter 12

Jack sunk into the couch and roughly ran a hand through his hair. The last thing that he had expected was for an argument to happen. To be, honest he had been waiting for her to break down or deny that anything was wrong.

He heard Sam's car start outside and quickly pull out of the driveway. Helping himself to a large scotch he sighed deeply. He hoped that Sam was calm enough to drive safely. He never really thought about following her, she would seek him out when she had calmed down, he knew that another argument would follow if he went after her.

Sam drove quickly out of Jack's driveway; the wheels spinning against the wet asphalt as she over revved the engine in her need to get away. She drove through the deserted streets at a speed that was much faster than she would under normal circumstances.

Her heart was racing, thumping rhythmically and painfully against her ribs. The anger in her heart had not decreased; Jack's attempts to placate her had only served to anger her further.

Pulling up outside her house, not caring at how haphazardly she had parked, she slammed the car door and rushed up to the front door. She rummaged around her purse, looking for her house keys, in her anger she did not remember that she had put them in the zipped section. Throwing her purse to the floor she collapsed heavily in the chair on the porch.

She remembered how she had come home to find Jack sitting in that very same chair, just before they had taken their relationship to another level, something she had convinced herself would never happen.

For a while she just sat in the cold night air and watched her breath drift away from her. The condensation clouds helped to take away some of the anger boiling inside her. After a few minutes she stood up and begun another less frantic search for her house keys. When she finally found them she let herself into her house and went straight for her bedroom, ignoring the pile of mail and the blinking light of the answering machine.

As she laid on the bed, still fully clothed, a pang of regret tore through her soul upon smelling Jack's scent on the sheets. Her last thought as she drifted into a light and restless sleep was of him.

She woke not even an hour later. Rolling over and stretching out over the bed she became fully conscious when she did not meet the expected resistance of Jack's body sleeping next to her. As her mind caught up with reality, the thought of her reactions, both to the events in the parking lot and what she had said to Jack at his house made her felt physically sick.

She knew that she could not leave the situation the way that she had. She needed to make amends and she needed to talk to Jack about what had happened, otherwise she had the feeling that it would eat her from the inside.

After quickly brushing her teeth and washing her face, which was flushed from sleep and embarrassment over her behaviour, she grabbed her keys and went back to her car.

She drove much more sedately to Jack's house, obeying speed limits and driving in her usual courteous manner. Not that there were many cars around at that time, the sun had just begun to rise, casting an eerily red glow through the streets.

She pulled up outside Jack's house and was very surprised to see that the lights were still on. With a deep breath she stepped out of the warm confines of her car and slowly approached the front door. She did not know whether Jack was still up or if he had left a light on should she decide to return.

As she opened the door and looked through to the living room she saw him sitting in the armchair by the fireplace, a short glass on the table beside him. He stood as she entered; he did not approach her but instead closely watched her reaction.

She shuffled uncomfortably and took a deep breath as she walked down the steps into the living room.

"I'm sorry Jack," she offered quietly.

"For what?"

She sighed, he was not going to make this easy on her and he had every right not to.

"For everything, for overreacting in the parking lot, for shouting at you. You didn't deserve that. I shouldn't have shouted at you."

"I know why you did what you did in the parking lot, as I tried to tell you before, I understand. More than you know," he said cryptically.

"Jack?" she asked, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"Why don't you sit down." As she sat on the couch, he retook his place in the armchair.

"Do you know that I spent four months in an Iraqi prison during the Gulf War?"

"I kinda figured," she replied, she had never been told specifically but from what she had heard around the base and been told explicitly, she had worked it out.

"To cut a long story short... It wasn't exactly Club Med, lets put it that way, eventually the place was liberated. When they came into my cell to get me out, I reacted...well, pretty much like you did. I put the guy who tried to help me in hospital for two weeks and I would have killed him if I hadn't been stopped. I didn't see him, I saw only the guys that had been torturing me for the past four months. I had to deal with the guilt of that on top of everything else."

"So, you really do know what happened back there?" Sam asked, introducing some well needed levity to the moment.

"Oh yeah. Sam, it's not an unusual reaction, it's nothing to be ashamed off but it is something we need to deal with properly."

"A shrink? MacKenzie?" she asked sceptically

"Well maybe not Mackenzie but maybe a specialised counsellor with the right clearance."

"There are counsellors with the right clearances?" she asked, with raised eyebrows. She was not aware of anyone else that might be aware of the program.

"Don't think so but you know that it can be sorted out."

"But that would mean telling General Stone, wouldn't it?" Sam asked nervously. She had avoided telling her commanding officer about what had happened and it was not something she would relish doing.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"I don't know, Jack," she answered quietly.

"Okay," he offered, not wanting to rush her into anything she was not ready to do. "But there is something else, why did you lose it with me?"

"Because I could see you were disappointed with me, with what I did," she whispered.

"That couldn't be further from the truth, I was shocked and it brought back some memories that I've tried really hard to forget but I'm not disappointed in you."

"Really?"

"You know for someone so smart..." he offered with a cheeky smile, leaving her to finish the sentence.

"I'm sorry Jack, I'm so sorry," she whispered as she stood.

Jack stood and wrapped his arms around her; she accepted the gesture and wrapped her arms around his waist in turn. She lent up and gently kissed him, as she reached her left hand up to his face she felt him tense. They broke apart and she looked at him, she sighed deeply as she realised why he had tensed.

"Oh my God, Jack I totally forgot about this," she admitted, with a guilty tone. She reached up and brushed a finger over his swollen cheekbone. It was already turning an interesting purple colour, with the promise of a more impressive colouration to come.

"It's nothing, Daniel can hit harder than that guy," he joked, he was rewarded with a giggle from Sam. "It seems that now I've retired, I have to worry about people trying to poke me full of holes instead of aliens."

"It's weird isn't it. I just assume sometimes that because we're on Earth, we're safe."

"You'd think that Earth owes us, I mean we have saved the planet once or twice. They should send a memo to the scumbags of the city."

"I'll mention it to the President next time I speak to him," Sam replied, joining in the jest.

"I'm serious," he replied but his tone was anything but serious.

"Right, you want some coffee?" she asked.

"Coffee? I was planning on getting some sleep and I think that you could do with some rest too," he said, breaking into a command tone.

"I've got to be at the SGC in a couple of hours, there's no point in sleeping," she rationalised.

"What do you have planned for today?"

"Paperwork mainly," she admitted, knowing where this conversation was headed.

"So nothing that can't wait until tomorrow."

"Jack," she started in as firm a tone as she could manage but she had to admit that she was pretty tired.

"Nothing that can't wait," he said firmly. "You've got to sleep and General Stone will understand why you're taking the day off. I think you could take the next year off and still have leave owing."

"Fine," she relented. Jack took it as a victory but he knew that in reality, if Sam had really wanted to go to the base, she would have.

After calling in to the SGC and briefly explaining the situation to General Stone, who was more than understanding and told her to take as much time as she needed, she went to bed. She laid close to Jack, her arm stretched across his chest and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

*~*

Jack was in the kitchen, searching in the fridge for the fish he was sure had been in there a minute ago. He had promised Sam that he would cook, giving him the chance to impress her with his culinary skills. Sam's kitchen was definitely less equipped than his but it had everything he needed, thanks to some tactical purchases by him.

He turned quickly as he heard the low hum of Sam's bike pull up outside, looking over at the clock; he realised that she was back early. He tried to look nonchalant as he heard the key in turn in the lock.

"Hey," Sam called out as she shoved open the door.

"Hey," he called back.

Sam dumped her helmet and leather jacket as she came through to the kitchen. She nervously approached Jack and wrapped her arms around him. He wrapped his left arm around her waist, while his right went up to her hair.

"How'd it go?" he asked, once she had pulled away from him.

"It was...I don't really know. The counsellor seemed nice, it just seemed strange to talk about this stuff with a stranger," she admitted and it was not an easy admission for her.

"You gonna keep going?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "General Stone said that he'll keep SG-1 on stand down until I'm ready to go back on active duty."

"He finally got his head round everything then?"

"Yeah, well at least I think so. He's still on a pretty steep learning curve," she sympathised.

He had been shocked when Sam had filled him in, as she had recounted the events he had almost looked more uncomfortable than she had. The events of P4Y-543 represented his first crisis as commander of the SGC and he was still trying to find his way through the variety of events the universe tended to throw at SG teams.

Sam had been made more apprehensive about telling General Stone as she knew that she had lied to her commanding officer and left out pertinent details from her official report. It was something that he had mentioned but not pursued, once he had realised her reasons behind her omissions.

Despite his initial shock, he had immediately organised for a specialised counsellor to be found to help Sam deal with what had happened. He had impressively managed to cut through some of the bureaucracy and the counsellor had been on base within 36 hours. The counsellor had also spoken to Daniel and Teal'c about the events, acknowledging that they had all been affected by what had happened to their friend.

"How about meeting Daniel and Teal'c at O'Malley's later?"

"If you're sure."

"It was my idea, Jack," she replied, her voice held the slightest hint of a warning. Telling him not to treat her as a fragile object.

"Sorry," he said earnestly. It was something he did without even realising it and was something that annoyed both him and Sam.

"It's okay or it will be," she whispered as she went to him for another hug. Their lips brushed together and dinner was quickly forgotten about.

The End