She heard the heavy footsteps of the soldier who pursued her and struggled to breathe, feeling the sticky blood coating her cheek and neck as her leg screamed out with every step. Glancing down at the makeshift tourniquet, she tugged at it a little while still moving, trying to escape her pursuer. She knew he would never stop, not until she was dead and the upgraded power unit to their weapon in his hands to be taken to his master. Her hand closed around the small object in her pocket and kept walking, doing her best to stay as far away from the super soldier as possible.
The pain in her leg became too great, and she had to stop for a moment to readjust the bandage. As she did, she listened for anyone who would approach and thought back to the events that had led her to this point. She and her father had been working on the weapon that morning. He hadn't had his coffee – point in fact, he had given it up because Selmac didn't like it. The thought made her smile as she redressed the wound and wished Janet was there to dress it for her. Of course, if Janet had been at the Alpha Site in the first place, things would have been even messier.
The super soldiers had appeared through the Stargate without warning. No one knew how they had learned the secret location of their off-world base, and that wasn't the first thought on their minds as they scurried about, trying to destroy all evidence of their experiment from Anubis' foot soldiers. The father-daughter team had succeeded in doing that, but they had been separated trying to escape. The Stargate had been well guarded, preventing any attempt to leave the planet, so they had doubled back and Jacob had left her while he snuck back into the facility.
The next thing she knew, the buildings that had only been constructed mere months before exploded before her very eyes. Not knowing whether her father had been inside at the time of the explosion, Sam had no way of being sure he was alive or dead. But she had no time to debate the issue before a searing pain in her thigh made her acutely aware of the soldier bearing down on her position. She had no choice. Jumping up as fast as she could, adrenaline coursing through her veins and speeding her along, she limped quickly into to the woods and away from her attacker.
Shaking her head, she knew she needed to keep moving. It was only a matter of time before the soldier would find her if she stayed still for very long. If she kept up the cat and mouse game, there was a possibility whatever rescue General Hammond had sent would find her before the soldier filleted her for breakfast. Taking a deep breath, she pushed off the tree and once again began making her way through the woods, thoughts of home spurning her on through the pain.
Stepping through the event horizon, the doctor's eyes surveyed the field and the wreckage beyond. Apparently Jacob Carter with the help of several Jaffa had been able to lure the super soldiers away from the gate and into the complex before setting off the self-destruct, leaving only one to pursue a certain missing woman into the forest. Janet took a deep breath as she slowly descended the stairs and tried not to think about the possibility that the woman she loved could possibly be dead. Sam was resourceful; she would find a way to survive despite any threat.
For now, the chief medical officer of the SGC had wounded to attend to before she sent them back through the 'gate to earth to recuperate. Better to do it on this side, make the journey on stretchers less painful as they were bounced along to the infirmary. At least that's what she tried to focus on as she made her way from person to person, healing what injuries she could.
She spotted two very familiar faces in the crowd, talking to a certain injured man laid out on a stretcher. The doctor set out immediately and as soon as the conversation with Jacob had ended, she pulled Colonel O'Neill aside. She wasn't surprised when Teal'c followed them toward the tree line, his big weapon at the ready.
Jack nodded at the woman next to him and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "We'll find her, Doc. Don't worry."
"I'm worried about the shape she'll be in when you do," Janet replied, nervously glancing at the trees as if any minute a super soldier that had been overlooked was going to appear and crash their little party.
"I know," he replied, squeezing comfortingly and shaking his head. "I'm sure she's fine. You just do what you do best, and we'll go out there and do the same. We'll find her," he repeated for emphasis, his expression one of utter seriousness.
Janet nodded and looked back toward the injured she still needed to attend to. "Thank you, Jack," she whispered before smiling sadly up at him. "You'd better bring her back in one piece, doctor's orders."
He smiled a little and nodded again. "Yes, ma'am," he replied before motioning to Teal'c and leading the way into the woods. Janet sighed and watched them go. Turning back to her patients, she walked back toward them, her professional face slipping back before they had even noticed it was gone.
Sam didn't know how long she had been sleeping when a noise woke her with a start. "Janet?" she whispered before her mind reminded her where she was, in the middle of the woods running from a grotesque man covered in black body armor. Thankfully she had had the foresight to cover herself with branches before she dozed off or else she didn't know if she would have survived to wake at all.
Then she noticed what had roused her. A UAV was flying overhead, and it was definitely from the SGC. Immediately her brain went into soldier survival mode, and she tipped her watch face into the rays of the sun, watching as it reflected the light. But before long, the soldier she had been running from had also spotted the aircraft, and he shot it down without a second thought. Burying herself beneath the thick foliage, her mind raced with the burgeoning thoughts of a plan B.
She crept to the edge of the clearing, her eyes finding what she had been searching for immediately. The grounded remains of the UAV lay smoking right in the middle of the barren desert-like clearing. It was most likely a place used by Jaffa for training, what with the rocks set up around the place. That might work to her advantage, she thought, a flicker of hope flaring to life in her heart. "Janet, hold on, sweetie, I'm on my way," she muttered before she crept out into the open toward the broken piece of machinery.
When she reached her destination, she surveyed the damage. It was bad, but it didn't concern her as she lifted up an intact wing and her heart soared. The tiny missile attached to it was still in one piece, which meant she might have a way of killing that inhuman soldier after all. She quickly went to work on her plan, the pain almost forgotten in her excitement at the thought of returning home.
Almost finished, she pulled two remaining wires back, settling herself behind the pillar of rocks she had set the UAV on before. All she had to do was lure the soldier into the right spot, touch the wires together and hopefully that would be the end to her running. She was so very tired, and she was out of options, so this plan had better work, or she didn't know what else she would do.
She didn't have to wait very long to test her idea, for the loud thuds of her pursuer's footsteps were getting ever closer. Finally he was in range, but she waited for the perfect position before she fired. She knew she would only get one chance at this. He spotted her and began moving her way, firing his weapon all around her. Deciding it was close enough, she touched the wires together and ducked to avoid the debris she knew would be flying.
Once the noise subsided, she raised her head and saw nothing but rubble. Relief flooded her as she pushed herself up and went to kick the rubble defiantly, her attacker finally dead. She collapsed onto the side of an embankment and allowed her whole body to finally relax, her victory finally secured.
Or so she thought. Out of the rubble, impossibly, the super soldier re-emerged, dusty, but otherwise unharmed. Exhausted and utterly out of ideas, Sam raised her head to watch as he pulled himself into a standing position. She reasoned that the missile must have missed the target, hitting instead the ground at the soldier's feet.
Acceptance washed over her as she watched him raise his weapon at her once more, this time only a few feet from her. Unable to move, she closed her eyes and said her silent good-byes as she waited for the inevitable.
She heard the sound of shots being fired, but recognized instinctively that these shots were not from the weapon she had witnessed so many times that day. Her eyes flew open and her vision settled on the welcome sight of Teal'c, her friend making every effort to distract her attacker from his target. And amazingly it worked. The soldier turned toward her Jaffa friend, leaving her free to run back to the pillar of stones where she had taken refuge earlier.
Jack joined her there, a welcome sight for the fatigued woman. He had the experimental weapon, which meant that Jacob must have given it to him. Jacob! Her mind raced. This proved her father was alive! Jack took aim and fired the weapon, but Sam knew it had no effect. Her CO dropped down beside her, fixing her with a wary look.
"Ah, Carter, I need that-" Before he could finish, Sam was pressing the power unit into his hand. He nodded and snapped it into place before once again coming up and firing it on the soldier that was walking toward them. This time it worked, toppling their assailant to the ground. Jack shot again, and the soldier fell backward, no longer a threat. Teal'c ran over to make sure it was finally dead, then gave a quick nod in his teammates' direction.
"Is it?" Sam asked, not wanting to move from her current position.
"It's dead," Jack answered. "Do you want to get up?"
She shook her head. "I just want to sit for a while," she replied softly, not even having the energy to get to her feet.
He seemed to understand as he sat down next to her, watching her closely. After a few minutes he sighed and pulled his arm up, an invitation to her to slide over. "Come here," he said, and she gratefully leaned against him, thankful for his help and support.
"Janet," she whispered, knowing the woman would have been worried sick about her.
Jack nodded. "Told us to bring you back home safe and sound. And that's what I intend on doing." Sam smiled and nodded into his arm, reveling in the thought that she would soon be home.
Janet watched the tender good-bye between father and daughter, knowing it might be a while before Jacob and Sam were reunited, and decided to wait until they were finished before she attended to the patient she really wanted to. For now, she checked the vitals of one a few beds down, every now and again looking up to see if Jacob was still sitting on the hospital bed.
Sure enough, he left before long, and the doctor was immediately by Sam's bedside, being greeted with a grin that made the blonde's eyes sparkle. "Hey you," Sam whispered, her hand reaching out and grasping Janet's tightly. "Was wondering when you'd come along."
Shaking her head, Janet ignored her partner and checked all of the readouts instead, making sure the injured woman was resting comfortable. Still, there was the tell-tale sign of movement at the edges of the doctor's lips, signaling Sam that everything would be fine. After she was finished checking everything, Janet reached out and pulled the curtain around the bed, enclosing them inside a white wall of material.
Confused, Sam looked up at her and questioned softly, "What was that for?"
The doctor moved closer to the bed and brushed a few stray hairs away from her love's forehead, stroking her cheek as she lowered her hand. Leaning over, she placed a gentle kiss on Sam's lips, her hand never leaving the blonde's face. They parted momentarily, both women smiling, their hands entangled in each other's hair.
"Have I told you today how much I love you?" Janet whispered in Sam's ears, causing the woman on the bed to shiver and her eyes to slide closed.
"No," Sam whispered her reply, her blue eyes opening again to look up into her lover's shimmering brown ones. "Not today."
Nodding, the brunette climbed onto the bed next to her partner, Sam sliding over to give the woman room on the small infirmary bed. Taking the taller woman into her arms, Janet kissed Sam's forehead and sighed contentedly as they snuggled together in the limited space. "I. . ." she started, kissing the large cut on Sam's cheek tenderly, "Love," she continued, carefully lifting Sam's purple and blue hand to her lips and kissing it lightly, "You," she finished, leaning over to press her lips to Sam's.
Sam smiled and laid her head in the crook of Janet's neck, feeling the woman shiver at the feel of hot breath on her neck. Closing her eyes, she wrapped her arms around Janet's smaller body and pulled her closer, sensing the sleep that threatened to overtake her again. "And that," Sam whispered into her love's neck, "Is why I am here." She pressed her lips to Janet's neck. "Thoughts of you kept me going. You saved my life."
"Shh," Janet breathed in reply, running her fingers through Sam's errant hair. "Get some sleep, you need it."
Nodding, Sam replied softly, "Yes, doctor," causing the woman holding her to smile.