Disclaimer: I don't know if you actually have to write one of these things, but everyone else seems to so I figured I should probably write one- I do not own anything to do with Stargate etc. (as much as I would like to, alas, it is not so)

SG-1 walked through the gate into the centre of an almost deserted marketplace. It was reminiscent of medieval London, but there was an almost eerie absence of people. The only creatures visible in the market were a couple of stray cats and dogs rummaging through piles of rubbish, and an abundance of rats scurrying in every direction. The market stalls that lined the edges of the square were boarded up, and some were falling into disrepair. The few people visible scurried along the walls of the plaza, travelling as fast as they could without running. Some of the people were watching the newcomers as they stepped down from the plinth the gate stood on, but they quickly resumed their business and scuttled away.

Instinctively, SG-1 moved closer together, their hands resting on their various preferred weapons.

'You've gotta love the welcoming party' Jack muttered, observing the now completely empty square. 'Daniel, any idea what the problem is?'

'I can't really tell…it might be some type of religious or cultural event, but those few people we saw looked…' Daniel struggled to find the right word.

'Unsettled,' Teal'c finished for him as he observed a person almost enter the square who, upon sighting the team, swiftly turned tail and scampered away. 'It is possible that they are being oppressed against their will.' Jack's hand tightened around the trigger of his P-90.

'Goa'uld?'

'I doubt it, Jack. Medieval isn't really their style, and we haven't seen any monuments or symbols to indicate that any Goa'uld has ever even set foot here.'

'Well, keep your eyes open anyway.'

'As always, sir.' Carter murmured as she and Jack took point.

The team started to walk down the promenade opposite them which was, again, devoid of any people. Most windows along the walls of the street were boarded up, and occasionally doors were chained and padlocked closed. The doors that were chained shut had large red crosses messily painted across them, with thin trails of paint marking where the paint had run.

'Something's not right…' Sam moved to one of the doors, examining the locks and the painted cross.

'What's the matter, Carter?'

'I've seen this somewhere before, somewhere on Earth…I can't remember where, though. I only remember it was related to something dangerous…'

A delicate shudder ran down Sam's spine, and she suddenly felt the need to be away from the marked door. She hastily returned to the centre of the street with her team, and they continued down the path. They had only gone a couple of meters, though, when a small boy raced out of an alleyway to their right. He wore ragged clothes, and by the looks of him, hadn't had a bath in months. His hair was matted and oily and he kept scratching it; he obviously had lice. He spied the team, and quickly approached them.

'Please, can you help me?' he desperately begged, tugging forcefully on Sam's hand. Instinctively she drew back her hand, but immediately regretted doing so. The boy could tell she was offended by his lack of hygiene, and made to leave them alone, mumbling an apology as he went.

'Wait,' she called after him, and he turned back to her with a look of hope, 'what do you need help with?'

'My father, miss, he's sick. I don't know what to do, and my ma's already sick and my father was caring for her, but now he's sick too and I…I…I need help' the boy seemed close to tears, and looked up at Sam with imploring eyes. She turned to Jack, who looked torn.

'Sir, we have to help.'

'Carter…'

'Sir, most likely its something that we have on Earth that has a common cure, but they haven't been able to cure here yet. If I don't recognise the illness when I get there, I'll leave immediately…' Jack deliberated internally for a moment, before gesturing down the alleyway.

'Be careful, Carter.'

The boy's face lit up, and he began to lead the team down the alley. It was very narrow, forcing the team to follow the child in single-file. They finally reached a door that, like many of its surrounding neighbours, was marked with the red cross. The only difference between this house and its neighbours was that the chains and padlock were nowhere to be seen. The boy pushed the door open, gesturing eagerly for the team to follow him. With Sam leading the way, they cautiously entered the house.

The room they walked into was cramped and small, made even more so by the appearance of four additional adults to what it normally held. Roughly hewn furniture was scattered around the room, and in one corner a makeshift bed of straw and clothes was piled messily. Atop the pile was a man in his late twenties, who did not appear to be conscious. Beside him was who Sam guessed to be his wife, who seemed even more lifeless than the man. The little boy had immediately moved to the bed of straw when he entered the house, seating himself between his parents. Sam hastily unclipped her P-90 and rested it on the kitchen table, and then slowly approached the small family on the straw.

Snapping on a pair of latex gloves, Sam approached the woman first, and gently took her wrist and searched for a pulse. When she could not find one there, she quickly checked the woman's neck before concluding that she was no longer alive. She looked up at Jack, subtly shaking her head, attempting to not have the child see. By the expression on the boy's face, she guessed he didn't, but the small nod she received in return from her CO confirmed that he understood. Sam then moved on to the father, moving around to be beside him.

She noticed he was sweating profusely, and as she neared him he let out a loud and sickening cough. She knelt down beside the man, and was about to take his pulse when his eyes shot open. His hand grabbed her wrist with surprising strength, his expression deadly serious.

'You need to leave, now!' he rasped, staring straight into her eyes.

'Wh…What?'

'You need to get out! Save yourself, while you still can!' The three men of SG-1 immediately became more alert, holding their weapons tightly and observing the scene with sharp eyes.

'I don't understand, what's the matter?' In response to Sam's question, the man slowly raised his other hand to the collar of his loose-fitting shirt. He yanked it down, exposing part of his chest and his armpit.

Sam pulled away with yelp, pushing herself as far from the man as she could get, bumping into furniture in her careless haste. Jack, Daniel and Teal'c all pointed their weapons at the man, but he had collapsed back on to the hay once more. But now that Sam had moved, they could see what had repulsed her so much. Large, purple-coloured and painful-looking buboes were protruding from the man's armpit, swelling out towards his chest. The man let out another, sickening cough, and they could all hear the liquid in his lungs. As if to join him, the small boy began to cough as well, in a sickening harmony to his father.

'Sir, we need to leave, right now!' Sam scrambled to her feet, peeling her gloves off as though they were burning her and hastily grabbing her gun off the table. The team didn't need to be told twice; they moved quickly out of the house and back into the street. Sam called an apology back towards the child as she exited, but was cut off when Jack firmly slammed the door after her.

'What the hell was that, Carter?'

'The plague, sir.'

'The what?'

'The plague. It's also called the black death.'

'Wait, wasn't that the thing that wiped out half of Europe in the Middle Ages?'

'Not quite half, Jack, but certainly a lot of them. It was carried by fleas on rats that were introduced from parts of Asia…' The team fell into silence for a moment, observing the large number of rats and mice scurrying along the street with mild horror, realising just how dangerous a situation they were in.

'Sir, I don't know much about it historically, but I was told in my medical training that certain varieties still don't have cures, even on earth, so we…' Jack cut her off.

'We need to get out of here?'

'As soon as possible, sir.'

Without needing any further prompting, the team hastily made for the gate, avoiding any animal life that they saw and desperately hoping that none of them had already been bitten by one of the deadly fleas. Daniel slammed the symbols into the DHD as quickly as he could, and Jack had the GDO poised in his hand, ready to send both the signal for SG-1 and the medical alert code. Teal'c stood, staff weapon raised, ready to shoot any rat that came too close, and Sam stood nervously beside the gate, waiting for it to activate and experiencing an inexplicable feeling of contamination. As soon as they had the go-ahead from the SGC, the team practically ran through the gate, back to the safety of Earth.

So there you go, Chapter One of my very first (published) Fan Fiction!! Woot.

Please Rate and Review, as I will value any feedback, but try to keep it relatively nice...after all, this is a first fic and i am only a teenager, not a best-selling novelist (yet). Any plot suggestions would be nice (someone is going to catch the plague but i don't know who, yet)I'm thinking of possibly introducing some Sam/Jack relationshipness, but if anyone doesn't think that would work (for a good reason, mind, not just because you don't like the pairing) i might reconsider...hmmm not sure

Thanks for reading!