Title: Broken

Rating: M for torture and violence

Pairing: Sam/Daniel Friendship story. (Because they're adorable friends)

Season: Around season 8

Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Torture

Summary: They believed that they would never break. They thought nothing could get to them. But sometimes not even hope can keep you alive. But at least you have each other to the very end. Rated M for torture.

Authors Note: This story is something I've wanted to write for a while, because I just love putting these two into sticky situations where there is no possible kind of escape. :D (Yes, you may call me crazy and evil.) I must warn you that the characters might end up being out of character in this story, but I would be out of character if I was being tortured too. X3 I want to dedicate the story to my friend Bailey who finally saw the light and understood just how amazing Stargate is! Enjoy, and please do review! ^_^

Daniel could hear her breathing through the darkness. It was a strangely comforting thing; it reminded him that he wasn't alone. Although most of him wanted to be alone, he didn't want someone to be here with him; to go through the pain that he was going through now. But Sam was here. In this dark damp cell that smelled like a trapped autumn morning without all the nice red leaves and wonderful smiles and laughs. There was the dripping in the corner; that eerie dripping that always seemed to be associated with prison cells. There was also of course that significant and unwanted trail of water that constantly crawled down the wall and chilled him to his bones.

"They're going to come for us again." The voice was so quiet, yet seemed to tear through the silence and break through his skull with the hopelessness behind the words. They bounced through the walls and then settled into silence.

"Everything's going to be okay," he responded into the silence, not necessarily voicing his opinion about her choice of words. It hadn't been a question. More like a statement. They both knew that she was right. Silence settled over the cell again, only broken by the dripping of the water in the corner. His back had practically gone numb with the cold and the fact that he hadn't moved from his slumped position in hours. Or perhaps it had been minutes? Or maybe days? He couldn't be sure; he hadn't been keeping track of how many times the light that filtered in through the small bars above him had changed outside. He had however been paying attention to how many times he had been taken away to be beaten. Four. Three times for Sam. He had been in the sarcophagus once. Same with Sam. But that had been a while ago, after his first beating.

"How long have we been here," he asked, his words slurring as his vision took a dangerous dip into blackness. But luckily it returned.

"Three days," Sam answered immediately, her voice sounding a bit louder and stronger than before. Good, at least she still seemed to have energy. Deciding to do something about his back, he mustered strength into his legs and pushed himself into an upright position. The heavy chains linking his wrists dragged slightly and the noise jarred his ears. He tried not to moan as blood flowed back into his veins and reminded him why slumping was never a good idea. Daniel decided to move closer to the bars that separated him and his friend while he was shifting and soon he found himself pushed up beside the slick bars of his cell. He wasn't surprised to find that Sam was already sitting there and her head lolled to the side and met his blue eyes. He stared into her eyes for a moment and they softened.

"Hey," he rumbled, his voice turning into a deep cough and he had to lean to the side as blood made its way up his throat and out onto the stone floor. He rested his head back against the wall with heavy breaths, the coughing robbing him of valuable energy. "Damn, internal bleeding," he whispered softly, hating to admit that he was beaten up a little more badly than first thought.

"We're going to die here." The words grabbed Daniel by the throat and squeezed hard. What? It sounded so foreign coming from his friend. She never said that. Never had he heard Sam use those words. The soldier in her had always managed to find a way to stay positive. She always believed that there was a way out. Had she really been that broken?

"Sam-"

"No, Daniel. I can't feel my legs. I know I have a concussion, I probably have internal bleeding, and this cut on my arm is getting infected. I'm not getting out of here alive." Daniel closed his eyes against the realization of what she was saying. He had known about the concussion and cut on her arm, but not the internal bleeding and legs. That was an issue. He glanced at her and saw that she was still staring at him, but her eyes held a vacant feverish glow that he wasn't accustomed to. Cuts littered her face and tore through her beautiful features, making her look very vulnerable. He reached through the bars, dragging the chains attached to his wrist, and carefully grabbed her hand which was lying limply beside her.

He intertwined his fingers with hers and squeezed it lightly, and he was surprised when she gripped on tightly. He saw the fear and pain flash briefly in her eyes and Daniel tried to smile. It seemed to work because there was a spark of recognition in her eyes that brought a slight hope fluttering into Daniel's heart. She wasn't completely gone yet.

"We're going to get through this," he said softly, knowing that if he spoke any louder his aching throat would complain. "Don't give up on me. And don't give up on the SGC. They haven't given up on us and so we can't give up on them." Sam just continued staring at him with those large, lost blue eyes and Daniel found it slightly concerning to see her like this. Fighting against the chains and calling out any reserve strength, he lifted his hand and tried to touch her face, but the chain stopped him from going any further. His hand shook with the action and he had to drop it back down to the floor with a sigh of defeat.

He gave the chain a feeble tug once more and it protested against his actions. Oh how he wished the chains would just disappear. It wasn't like they were going to be able to escape anyway, not with his injuries and Sam's paralyzed legs. Panting now, he abandoned the quest for touching Sam's face comfortingly and just sat there trying to figure out what hurt the most. Small cold fingers snatched onto his again and he opened his hand as Sam clutched onto it with frightening strength. Finding her eyes, he saw that they were glistening with unshed tears.

"I don't want to die here," she whispered. Daniel made a sound that reminded her of a kicked puppy. He had never seen her so lost, so scared. Broken.

"Don't," he asked her, squeezing her hand reassuringly. She needed to know that he was here for her. He had always been there for her. She had always been there for him. That's how friendship worked, and what he and Sam shared was something special. It was love, true love. Not the kind of love that he and Sha're had shared, or the kind of love he felt toward Jack and Teal'c. It was different than that; it was almost like she was his soul-sister. Someone who you just connected with and shared a bond.

Footsteps were heard from outside their cells and soon a metal door was flung open and light flowed into the room. Daniel retrieved his hand in order to cover his eyes with it as the light illuminated the world which has been so dark and quiet moments ago.