She stared at the road as she drove down the highway. She couldn't face him. Not now anyway. She cursed herself for being so stupid. How could she have let Maybourne do that! All her military training had told her not to trust him, not to let her guard down. And what had she done? Exactly that. She tried to brush the embarrassment of the last few weeks out of her head. Teal'c who had always respected her as a warrior and important intellectual member of the team had seen her cry. It was ashaming for her. Then the embarrassment of having to admit that it was her fault O'Neill had not returned with them. Brushing a stray tear off her face she once again concentrated on the road.
"O'Neill it is good to see you." Teal'c bowed his head slowly as jack came through the gate.
"Good to be back Teal'c!"He replied looking around the gate room. He gazed around mechanically responding to the comments made by well-wishers in the gate room.
"Colonel? Colonel?" General Hammond was standing directly in front of him with a quizzical look on his face. "Are you looking for someone?"
"No sir." Jack could admit that he was looking for Carter. Not after the Zanex-thingy incident.
"Perhaps you'd like to relax, go to the infirmary and then we'll debrief?"
"Yea sure." Everyone slowly filtered out of the gate room. Once he was out of earshot he asked Jonas where Carter was.
"Don't have a clue! Sorry!" that stupid grin on Jonas's face was starting to really annoy him. "Last time I saw her she was packing some things up in her lab. She must have gone home."
Slightly disappointed with Carters non-appearance he preceded to the infirmary for what he didn't doubt would be a stab-fest. Janet had probably been saving up all of the needles he'd missed having for when he got back.
She had been driving for hours when she pulled off onto the forecourt of a diner. Isolated but as welcoming as these places ever were. Stretching as she got out of the car she absently brushed a stray lock of blond hair out of her face. Sighing and cursing herself for wondering what he was doing, she strode purposefully toward the diner, unaware she was being watched.
Cheyenne Mountain was quiet. Jack pulled in to the car park relieved after being asked for his ID more times than he could remember. He looked around the car park for any sign of Carters car. It was no-where to be seen so he assumed Jonas the grinning idiot was right. Two hours later after having been to her lab, phoned her home and mobile both with no answer, Jonas's room, the commissary and the infirmary he was beginning to get nervous about her whereabouts. More often than not if she went home at all she would be in before anyone else. Apprehensively he went to the briefing room reassuring himself that she was simply late.
The sun was starting to glare as she strode back to her car after a sleep deprived night in a motel. Insomnia was a bitch. Once in her car and once again back on the road she noticed a sudden movement in a lay-by just ahead. Assuming it was simply a figment of her very tired imagination she thought nothing of it. Just as she passed the lay-by, a dust covered car came shooting out and pulled up beside her. The car scraped along the side of hers and pushed her into the armcoat. As the car pulled out to get a fresh blow in, Sam swung the wheel, violently smashing the passenger door of the mysterious black car. This stunned the driver into slowing down. Sam heaved a sigh of relief allowing herself a minute to regain her equilibrium and asses the damage to her car. It wasn't good. The engine had begun to tick and rattle furiously and the black car was still there sitting almost on her now smashed up bumper. Frantically she jammed her foot down on the accelerator as a means to lose or at least put some space between her and her attacker. At that instant the car was silent. The engine
ticked and rattled to a stop.
"So you have absolutely no idea where Major Carter is Colonel?" General Hammond looked in wonder at Jack who was now spinning a pen around his fingers.
"Er no sir I haven't seen her since I got transported to that er…moon place with Maybourne." The general could see Jack was half annoyed that his favorite team member and friend hadn't turned up to the gate room to meet him or to the debrief. Hammond watched in amazement as the pen flew out of Jacks hand and across the room. Jack just sat there. The general knew something was wrong when Jack simply sat there without so much as a cheeky boyish grin. Hammond knew this wouldn't happen seeing as the team member the cheeky grin was usually aimed at was absent. He'd do anything to make her laugh or smile in his direction. Hammond smiled at this thought then his smile turned to a grimace as he thought of what their mutual favourite officer may be going through. He knew the sort of people who would want to 'meet' with the major.
She was beginning to panic as her attacker neared. She tried furiously to start the car. Over and over again it turned over once then stopped. She thought of her several options. She knew she would have to think quickly as the space she had put between herself and her pursuer narrowed rapidly. She chose her only option and climbed out of the passenger side of her car, seeing as her side was bashed in so much that it no longer opened. She climbed out and ran she didn't know where she was headed but she knew she had to get away. Just to run, to get away. In her mind she was running from her attackers but she knew this was the same as the situation with Jack. Running every time some situation got out of hand or difficult. She sighed and focused on running and not falling headfirst down some rabbit hole or such like.
Jack had been unbearable all day. Bugging everyone by playing with anything and everything in sight. Janet had sent for him at one point for just sitting in Carters lab playing with her doohickeys. Damn the security system down here. He just couldn't concentrate. He had to know where she was. He'd tried every official and unofficial contact he had. There was only one thing left to do. He knew that SGC jurisdiction didn't extend above the surface and General Hammond had effectively given up. Major Samantha Carter was officially AWOL as far as the air force was concerned. He couldn't do that. He couldn't cope without her both as a soldier, friend and, in his head, something more. With purpose in his stride he marched up to Hammond's office. He hung his head sadly as he crept in, place his letter resignation on his desk and left a speechless General behind him. This was the only way to find her. He knew it.
She could hear pounding feet on the dry ground behind her, or was it her heart pounding in her ears, she couldn't tell any more. Then she heard a shot and felt a sharp pain pierce through her right knee. She immediately dropped to the ground unable to get up. The world swam before her eyes and the world went black.
She woke to strange voices and a bright light shining directly onto her face. She tried to move but soon discovered she was tied down with no possible way of escape. Suddenly an image of Jacks face presented itself in her head. What if she'd simply stayed, and faced him and the wrath which inevitably accompanied his return and coped with the look don't touch principle which had haunted them since the zatarc incident. She decided she was better off dead than another god knows how many years of that!
He'd been searching for her all day. He'd been everywhere. His last hope was to find her latest bank statement and follow her tracks. He had to find her. He raced to her house and used his many years of black op's training to break into her house without alerting the neighbours. He quickly rooted through her mail until he found what he was searching for. This had to be it. His hunch was correct, she'd taken off and left him a paper trail. For the first time in weeks, Jack smiled.
She woke up to water dripping onto her forehead and running into the corner of her eye disturbing her pain induced sleep. Her face contorted in pain as her brain rejoined with the rest of her nervous system. She rolled over onto her back her spine grating against the cold concrete which surrounded her. The water continued to drip onto her face keeping her from slipping into unconsciousness once again. She struggled to stand or at least prop herself up against the wall. Pain shot through her leg. She managed to stand and clamber around the walls. Until she reached the solid steel door. Its cold metal was soothing against her hot fevered skin. She tried the door, locked as she had expected. She crumpled to floor, she would allow herself a bit more sleep to save her strength for her escape.
Jack had been driving for hours. Following the places she had been. Asking in every shop along the way. Suddenly he noticed scraps of metal and skid marks on the road which led out into the desert. Following the tracks he came to a clearing where there was the burnt out shell of a car. On closer examination he found, to his dismay, it was hers. His heart dropped and he felt faint. He took a deep breath and began to carefully sift through the wreckage for any sign of her. He was partially relieved to find there were no bodies. His heart dropped when he saw a small pool of blood by the cars bonnet and smeared footprints next to it. He looked out into the bleak landscape before him, he felt powerless.
She looked around her cell. Blank, cold walls and a large steel door. Not even a window. She had kept awake the last two days to try and see a pattern in her captors' routine which would allow her a faint chance of escaping. While she still had that small glimmer of hope, of escape, she wouldn't give up. She lay wondering what her captors wanted with her and what Jack would be doing. She doubted he would look for her this far afield, she knew SGC jurisdiction didn't extend to here. She sighed sadly, what had she done! She heard the slow determined footsteps she had become accustomed to over the past who knew how long, it felt like a lifetime until they finally got to the door of her prison.
She slowly got up and mustered all the strength she had to hide along the side of the doorway, waiting. As her jailor opened the door she held her breath and prepared herself. As he stepped into the light she pounced on him flattening him. She pounded him with punches until it was clear he was unconscious then stepped out into the brightly lit corridor. Nothing but corridors either way, where she was she couldn't be sure, there was nothing to place her. Quickly she shook her head and fought off the urge to sit down and sleep. Now was her chance. She ran right, a gut instinct maybe, she knew her assailant had come from the other direction. As she ran she heard a feint murmur of voices behind her then the distinct sound of a zat being opened. She forced her feet to move faster but she knew what was coming. Pain surged over her body as she fell to the floor, her injuries seeming to re-open all at once. Then nothing, the world was dark.
Jacks phone suddenly bleeped. He didn't know how long he'd been standing there just staring.
"O'Neill."
"Hey Colonel, its Jonas…..I heard about what you did, I mean resigning."
"And? What's your point Jonas? I wanted to do more fishing."
"Oh, well just in case you were looking for Sam I did a bit of research on a website Dr Jackson mentioned in his notes when Sam was taken by Adrian Conrad."
"OK. You got my attention. What did you find?"
"Well lots of it was rubbish. There's been a series of communications lately concerning a purchase of some kind."
"Does it say where she was taken or by who?"
"No. but I'm sure I could find out. You see on the internet you can" Jonas was cut short by a very impatient Jack.
"Just do it and let me know what you find."
At that he hung up. He suddenly noticed footmarks on the opposite side of the road.
She woke up in a bright room sat on a metal chair. She tried to move and realized she was handcuffed. She muttered a curse.
"Right Major. We'll get straight to the point. Where is Colonel Maybourne?"
"I don't know" she stared straight into the cold eyes of the man in the black suit sitting across from her.
"So you know who I am, who are you?" his fist rapidly made contact with her cheekbone. Pain seared through her face and skull.
"I think I'll ask the questions Major, I ask you once more. Where is colonel Maybourne?"
"As far as I know he's dead." Smack, again his fist pounded into her face. This time the blow was enough to know the chair over. She cried out as he kicked her in the ribs. "Maybe you'll feel more like talking later."
Jack traced the footsteps in the dirt. There was nothing at the end of the track. He had no idea what he was expecting but it was more than this. Then his eye caught on a small piece of paper. Scrawled in pencil "If you want to see her again go to 29 Cherrydown Row. Come alone or she dies". Clichéd, but he knew they meant business. Anyone who could take Carter down meant business. He looked around to see if anyone could have seen him and planted the note for him to find. Nothing but empty space, he took another look at the note and ran for his car.
Again she heard the footsteps and realized it was that time again. This had gone on for hours. They took her out, asked her the same questions, then let her recover from the beating then repeated it all over again. She didn't know how much more she could go through. Her breathing was labored and she had begun to cough up blood, she knew her face was battered and bruised and from the way in hurt she suspected she had multiple facial fractures. She felt herself being lifted off the floor and dragged to the room she had become unfortunately familiar with. They went through the same routine. This time however as they unhand cuffed her. Another, unfamiliar man rushed into the room and whispered to her jailor. He gruffly told his assistant to leave her where she was. In an instant she heard shouting, zat blasts and bumps as bodies fell to the floor outside. She closed her eyes and prayed it was all over.
As soon as the agents outside saw him approach they disappeared. He knew this was his chance, Teal'c and Jonas slipped inside the foyer and waited for the men to exit the room. From inside he heard clinking of metal against metal. As soon as the men came out of the room they watched as the ringleader moved across to O'Neill. Then they struck, in a matter of seconds all 4 men lay stunned on the ground. Teal'c and Jonas moved in to disarm them and tie them up. They had been so sure that he wouldn't try and bring a team in after the threat towards his Major. All of their security had been bypassed. One mistake they made, never underestimate two aliens and a very pissed Colonel.
"Good job guys" Jonas grinned at the unusual praise from his leader.
O'Neill quickly tried to pick the lock of the door the men had come out of. He found this was not possible. He listened at the door, suspecting they had pre-empted his attack and blockaded the door having more men waiting for them to come after her. From inside he heard nothing, then as he listened closer a feint mumbling. It was her. Without hesitation he rammed through the door. He saw her laying there and his breath caught in his chest. This he was not expecting. There she was, just lying there. Her eyes were closed and the left was swollen and red. Her nose and lips were bleeding. Then he looked at the table. On the top was a Zat', cattle prod and a stun gun. They obviously wanted something from her. He knelt down beside her and gently tried for a pulse, hoping to feel one but not expecting. As his cold hands touched her neck she flinched and her eyes fluttered.
"Hey, hey, it's okay Sam." He reassured her, he hated to see her so vulnerable and scared of everything including him. She looked at him and for a moment there was no recognition, then he saw the panic fade and a wave of relief wash over her battered face. "Jesus Sam, what they do to you?" he undid her restraints and helped her to sit up, wrapping his arms around her. One arm wrapped around her waist gently but firmly and the other stroked her hair and across her cheek. She hadn't got the energy or will to do anything but relax into them as sleep claimed her once again.
She woke to a bright light and a strong smell of disinfectant. Her eyes shot open and tried to take in her surroundings. She felt a hand gently tighten its grasp on her hand. Jack had obviously been sleeping by her side and had been woken by her sudden panic. "You're ok now. Just relax." He spoke to her so softly. "Its gonna b okay." Jack stood, stretching his cramped muscles and turned to Janet, "hey doc! Sam's awake."
"Good that means you can go and get some sleep now. Don't make me make it an order Colonel." She gave him one of her infamous stern looks, knowing when it came to Sam she could chase him round with the biggest needle she had and he still wouldn't leave.
"Doc, I'm fine, I've slept." Yawning, he chuckled. "Honest Doc"
"Listen Jack, when all this starts to come back to her she's going to need you more than ever. You need to sleep your no good to her tired out….please, go get some sleep."
"Ok. But only an hour. You look after her for me doc." He slowly walked back to join Sam. "Hey, listen I"
"I know, I heard, you do need to get some sleep. And contrary to what Janet thinks I'm fine. Sleep well sir, and thanks." Contrary to what she said he could see written all over her face she was far from fine. But he would have to let her tell him in her own time.
"Anytime, anywhere Carter." He smiled sadly as he walked to his quarters. He tossed and turned, wondering how she was. Finally he dropped off, having nightmares of his own.
"Colonel! Colonel!" Janet shook him frantically, panic written all over her face.
"What? What's happened?" he sat bolt upright in bed, immediately alert. Without another word he leapt off of his bed and ran as fast as he could to the infirmary. Then he saw what Janet was so worried about. Sam was writhing and screaming in her sleep. Janet's had been unable to wake her up and she had been calling out for Jack in her nightmare.
He paused in the doorway. Astounded by the awful sight he saw in front of him. He quickly ran over to her bed and sat beside her, he held her hand and spoke to her gently. Janet quickly ushered the nurses out of the room to give them some privacy.
"Carter? Sam?" she stopped thrashing and began to cry softly. Her grip on his hand tightened letting him know she was awake.
"I thought you were gone." It was hardly loud enough for him to hear.
"I'm back now. Janet sent me away remember." She was shocked by the softness in his voice as he spoke to her and gently stroked her hair.
"No, I mean gone…..like, dead." At this she began to cry softly again. "I couldn't cope with losing you, not again." He slipped his arms under her and slowly pulled her into his arms.
"Oh Sam. I couldn't lose you either." She pulled away from him and looked straight into his eyes, sensing there was something else he wanted to say. He gazed at her tearstained face, noticing how beautiful she looked even with bruises and red eyes from crying. "I don't know how to say this Sam so I'm just going to come out with it. When I saw you lying there I thought you were dead. After everything that's happened I never thought I'd be able to feel this way again Sam. You gave me something I hadn't had for a long time." He paused, tears filling his hazel eyes. She looked at him questioningly. "You gave me a reason to live.. What I trying to say is, not very well or to the point…… I love you. I have for years."
Her face lit up and then dropped. She pulled away from him, looking hurt. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to spring all this on you now." She silenced him by putting her finger over his lips.
"Jack, you have no idea how much I've wanted you to tell me that. I love you too. But you know we can't do anything about it. That's what tears me apart about it all. I'm not sure how much longer I can go on doing the 'good soldier' routine." She looked down at her hands in despair. He put his finger under her chin and lifted her face until her sky blue eyes looked into his. For once letting his guard down. He moved in and softly placed his lips to hers. They stayed like this for what seemed like hours to the small collection of those they knew as family waiting outside the infirmary doors, getting more and more entwined in each others arms. Deepening the kiss, letting free the feelings they had kept hidden for years. As they reluctantly parted Jack looked deep into her eyes and pulled her close again.
"I don't care what it takes Sam, we'll find a way. Even if it means I quit the Air Force." He looked down to find her breathing had deepened and she had slipped into a peaceful sleep still clinging to him. He lay her gently down and climbed onto the bed beside her. She automatically curled up to him, her body moulding perfectly to his. In a few minutes he too had drifted into a peaceful sleep.
Behind the door there were quiet cheers from Janet and Jonas. Even Teal'c looked happy despite his usual stoic expression.
General Hammond sat at his over piled desk looking at a single piece of paper. On one hand this showed something unstable in the man, but on the other it was commendable and hell he knew what Carter meant to him. If he tore the colonels resignation up then he was breaching regulations. Then a small smile crossed his face as he picked it up off of the desk. They would break the rules for him. He was sure he owed Jack a favour by now. With that he tore the paper up and slipped the pieces into his pocket.
"What's going on doctor?" General Hammond whispered. "Actually, I don't think I want to know." Then he turned to Janet and smiled. "Just tell them I'll turn a blind eye as long as they keep it off duty." With that he walked off, grinning to himself, leaving 3 astonished members of their little family behind him. Walking purposefully back to his office he planned what to say to the president. He would most certainly want to know of this latest development between his two favourite officers. Especially when both had been of the opinion for a while now that they'd been holding back and alone for far too long.
As he retreated he turned, "Oh, and Janet, when they surface, will you give Jack this for me." With a look of bewilderment she took the tore up bits of paper off of him and put them in her lab coat pocket.