"They should be back by now." Elliot heaved.

"They'll be back soon, don't worry." Sam heard more cave ends coming and used her body to cover Lt Elliots. He felt like it was going to freeze as he breathed in her scent and touched her pale skin. "How are you feeling?" Sam asked sincerely.

"Its strange," he bagan, "it's like suddenly I know everything about someone else's life. Two other people actually. Hear his thoughts every now and then, but he's using all his strength to save me." Elliot silently prayed that there would be another cave end, just so he could touch her again. He heard the bombings come from above.

"Looks like they're coming for another round." She said, trying to distract him from his impulsion's. She covered his body with his and his hands felt like they were going to freeze as he touched her.

I thought I was supposed to feel warm. Lt Elliot asked Lantash. It did with Hayley.

Humans feel affection like fire. But you are human no longer my dear friend.

"What a joke." He said disgusted at both himself and his symbiote.

"What?" Carter asked. Elliot fumbled for something to say as he caught the double meaning in his words. How could he possibly explain that he now had a crush on a Superior Officer. The feeling made him choke.

"I can't believe that I'm going to die on my first mission," He decided on saying.

"No you're not." Sam looked at Elliot sternly. Despite her reluctance, Elliot was the last thing remaining of Martouf. She wasn't ready to let him go, not yet.

"C'mon Major, even if the Tok'ra can fix the damage, we are never getting out of here." Elliot said, on the verge of losing all hope.

"Sure we are. You've read our mission files. We go through the gate, we get into trouble, get out of it we go home."

"Tell that to Major Mansfield." Elliot stated tiredly and stubbornly.

Sam mentally shook her head and faced reality. "Okay, forget the pep talk." Elliot looked up at her. "You knew what you were signing up for." The feelings that Sam felt from Jolinar's remains were giving out to her tough solider side.

"Yeah," Elliot said, not quite ready to give up, just yet.

"You got this assignment because you were strong both physically and mentally. Now give the symbiote inside you a chance." It was Major Carter's way of trying to give the young boy hope. Okay, maybe he wasn't a boy, but Major Carter had been at this much longer then he had, and to her, he was a boy – inexperienced, naïve, but skilled and talented. Soon the whole world was going to know exactly how much. "Don't let-" she began again, only to have more rocks tumble on top of them. Elliot's skin once again felt like ice at her touch. It felt better than being near fire, but that feeling was soon lost at the cave end that had blocked their exit. They both looked at each other at a loss as to what they should do, as the fear of impending doom fell on them, quite literally, like a ton of bricks.

Lt Elliot watched as Sam slaved away at removing the rubble out of the way. Watching her, made his heart flutter. It was a feeling that he wasn't expecting to have. She was a young women, yes, but he was younger still and she had become his saving grace and his angel without wings.

Tell her, Lantash spoke, Tell her I love her.

I can't say that to a superior officer, Elliot choked, It's against regulations.

Please, Lantash pleaded, she is the only reason why I am fighting to live. It is taking up all my strength to heal you. I know not if you or I will survive. If you do not say it now, you may not get the chance again. Elliot swallowed bile that foamed in his mouth. He couldn't tell if it was because he was feeling nauseous from the injuries or because Lantash's feelings had molded into his own. You know you love her as much as I do. Elliot coughed.

"He love's you, Major. That's one of the reasons he's fighting to live." Feelings expressed from one officer to another was highly irregular, but Elliot figured that as long as he had a symbiote he was a security risk to the SGC. If he survived, he would be forced to join the Tok'ra. Flashes of memories crossed his mind. He drew in a breath. "He just wanted you to know."

Sam wasn't sure if she should've felt flattered or like he was stepping over the boundaries. She was the higher ranking officer and it was her job to ensure that all personnel under her command kept the rules. Having been host to a Tok'ra herself, she knew better than anyone that feelings did transfer from host to symbiote and vice versa. She knew what Elliot was really trying to say – even if he didn't. She stopped moving the rocks. "The symbiote I carried was Martouf's mate. Martouf and I became close friends because of it."

More then close I am betting. Times of when Samantha nearly kissed Martouf came to the forefront of Elliot's memory.

Indeed, Lantash laughed.

"I'm telling you he loves you," Elliot repeated. "As much as he once loved Jolinar." Sam almost broke down crying. They weren't just close friends, oh no, they were much more than that. Martouf loved her. "He regrets what happened. The host ultimately died. And he doesn't want you to feel responsible."

"It's okay." She lied. The truth hit her so hard that she had lost him and any real chance of having a life with him. Samantha briefly thought about what it would be like to be with Elliot. A younger man granted, but no less honorable surely, and having an old Tok'ra symbiote in his head has to add on some age. Technically, he's already experienced over a 1000 life times. She quickly brushed that thought aside as she realized the place and time.

"It's getting hard to breathe."

And not just due to the lack of oxygen. Elliot thought.

Indeed, Lantash repeated.

"Yeah," Sam agreed also. "Hang on."

Elliot kept watching Sam confusedly. The slight nervousness in his heart that was caused by Hayley's presence was completely dulled and numbed out by the gut-wrenching pain he now felt being away from Carter. He continued to watch her, not unstalker-like, as her Commanding Officer radioed her.

"Carter, Carter, if you hear me respond." The colonel ordered.

"Sir, We're here." To hear her CO's voice was a relief. It was the happiest news that she had heard since the nightmare began. "The tunnel collapsed we're trapped."

"Yeah, we noticed that," the colonel said in his very sarcastic way. "Listen," he asked. "how do we use these crystals to move the walls."

Sam racked her brains to find the answer, which usually wasn't difficult for her, but searching the memories of a dead tok'ra symbiote that was in her head was proving very much a challenge. For once in her life, Major Carter was at a loss. She turned to face the dying man, who recalled, not because of Lantash, but because of a lecture Eldwin had given that day. They were all suddenly very thankful that the Young Elliot took an interest in Tok'ra engineering. "Each crystal is designed to create a different section of tunnel. The small square one's will create small short openings."

Carter immediately radioed her other team mates. "Sir, use a small square one if you've got it."

"Rodger that." She heard as his reply.

Sam rushed over to Elliot to keep him company. As Sam placed a hand on him to check his pulse, he felt the rush of the ocean beat in the centre of his chest. "If they choose the wrong one, the whole tunnel could collapse."

"Sir, make sure you use the right crystal." She cautioned, "Its perfectly square." Elliot and Sam knew that Teal'c and O'Neill had chosen the right crystals, when a small short opening appeared. Sam picked Elliot up by slinging his arm over her shoulder. Although Elliot was only lucid, his skin once again felt cold. He longed for Sam to cure him of his hypothermia, but lacked both the courage and strength to do so.

Does she even know what she does to me? He mused.

"Thank-you," Sam said hoisting Elliot up further.

"You bet, any time." The colonel shrugged.

"Did you find a tok'ra communicator?" She asked.

"no, no, we didn't."

"Many Jaffa troops search the tunnels." Teal'c said matter-of-factly. "They will be here soon."

As the conversation continued between SG1, the only thing Elliot was focusing on was how Carter's hair smelled like strawberries and dirt. The smell was mesmerizing, it was stronger than any drug that any goa'uld could concoct. It wrapped around him like frost. His head lolled to the side, to get a better smell.

"Use a long rectangle." Elliot instructed.

Teal'c frantically searched through his jacket for the pocket that kept the crystals. He broke the one he assumed was a long rectangle and waited as the structure melted to reveal a tunnel.

"Nice!" O'Neill smiled.

"You should seal the tunnel behind us." It was irregular to have a Lt order a Colonel or Major around, but these circumstances were far from normal. Teal'c followed behind the three, and pointed his staff weapon to the ceiling. He shot naught but two blasts and moved quickly before the entire newly built structure collapsed on top of him.

Elliot's thoughts were absent of all but Sam.

Teal'c had offered to carry Elliot and despite her protests, Sam relinquished him over. Elliot was much taller and much heavier then she had ever thought of and although he was still a boy to her he was more like a man and if he was to continue to live, he needed the aid of another.

"How many more of those things do we have?"

"Six." Teal'c replied without counting.

"We can't stay down here forever. We're out of water."

"Jaffa will not rest until they have found us."

"Why do you say that?" O'Neill was playing dumb and everyone knew it.

Then Elliot coughed. Sam's gaze turned to him out of concern. "If their intent was to simply kill the tok'ra they have weapons that could destroy this facility,-" Elliot coughed again, "-from space. The fact that they used ground troops suggests that they are looking for something." Elliot continued to cough. Each breath he took was painful for him. Not so much as it was when the tunnels collapsed on him. Lantash had healed him rapidly, but Elliot was far from perfect health.

"The poison." Sam pivoted on her feet and faced the rest of her team mates.

"We can't let them have it!" It took a lot of strength out of Elliot to say those words loud enough for everyone in his company to hear him. "If it comes down to it, we'll have to destroy the crystal that contains the formula."

"C'mon," Jack retorted, "they've got to stop looking for us eventually."

"Even if they do stop searching they will never leave the gate unguarded."

"Well, Jacob and Daniel will be back sooner or later."

"The tok'ra will have broadcasted an alert telling them to stay away. They will assume that we will have died along with the other Tok'ra."

"Maybe," Jack said, as stubborn as always.

"well without any way of communicating with them how will they find us?" Sam asked ever the logical one.

For lack of a better reply Jack just took a few steps forward. "Lets keep moving."

Sam rubbed the back of Elliot's neck subconsciously as she poured water in his mouth. Elliot hated the feeling of helplessness, but he relished in the attention. It was conceited and selfish, which made him feel somewhat guilty, but he loved it all the same.

"There does not appear to be any Jaffa currently pursuing us."

"Good," Jack responded, " we haven't heard bombers in a while. Let's try the surface."

Sam looked at the boy she was hovering over. He could feel her touch his face with her hands and a jolt was sent through him "Elliot," she asked, "Elliot, can you hear me? How do we use the crystals to tunnel up to the surface?"

"Surface?" He asked in a half daze.

"Yeah," She looked up at her CO, not sure what to say, "we want to get up there and get some water."

"Diamond."

Two of the three men of SG1 fumbled around for a crystal that looked like a diamond. Teal'c brought the remaining six out from his pockets and looked at them all, confused and befuddled.

"You said that the Tok'ra were sending an alert to warn others away?"

Elliot swallowed. It wasn't just his ailments that were making him feel uneasy, it was his new found attraction to his Commanding Officer. "Long range censors can detect incoming ships. Transmit signals through deep space."

Carter absentmindedly stroked Elliots neck with her thumb. He breathed heavily under her tender touch. "Can we reprogram one to send a message to my dad and Daniel?"

Can they? Elliot asked the Tok'ra symbiote in his head.

It's possible.

"It's possible." He said out loud.

"Where are they?"

"There are four of them," Elliot told them, "About 25 miles from the gate. North, South, East and West."

Colonel O'Neill looked down at his watch, "I figure we're about three miles from the gate."

"Give or take," Sam supplied. She took Elliot's hand and once again slung him over her shoulder. The touch made him shiver. "Either way, we have to get to one of those censors." Teal'c smashed another crystal on the stone structure and watched as it formed a tunnel leading straight to the surface.

"Let's go." O'Neill ordered.

Sam ran to get water from the little supply that she had found. The first sip out of her own bottle she gave to the dying Elliot. She didn't care what it took, she was going to keep him alive, if it was the last she she'd ever do.

"There are gliders patrolling the area."

"Figured we got at least 20 miles in that direction."

"I figured we can make a mile every 15 minutes." Sam did not look up at the Colonel at all, her mind entirely focused on Elliot. She couldn't lose Martouf. "That should hopefully put us at the censors in over 9 hours."

She continued putting water into his mouth, and Elliot thought that putting his lips where Carter's had been was embarrassingly pleasurable. He almost choked on the water, for thinking so.

The three members of SG1 currently residing on the former Tok'ra homeworld had placed Elliot on a make shift stretcher. Sam took point as the two men carried Elliot. Tell her how to reprogram the censors, I don't know how long I can keep this up.

Elliot felt Lantash's exhaustion. "Major?"

"Hold up," she said to the boys, "yeah?" she asked him tenderly.

Sam strectched her hand towards him, and once again stroked his neck. She was almost beginning to like giving the affection as much as he liked receiving it. "I had better tell you how to reprogram the censors."

He might as well have been admitting to everyone that he was going to give up and die. The looks he received from O'Neill were less than approving but in an odd way, Elliot knew O'Neill would be happy to have him out of the way. It might have been a loss to him, but everyone could see how O'Neill looked at Carter. Having Elliot dead was one less guy that O'Neill had to kill to take Carter for himself.

Give him more credit than that.

Everyone in the whole galaxy knows how they feel about each other, Elliot thought scornfully

If he truly loves her, he would do whats best for her. We are no different.

Elliot chose to ignore the last part.

They trekked through the wild and Sam found one of the censors. "Colonel." She called out, uncovering the overgrowth.

"Nice."

They placed Elliot on the ground, semi-conscious. Out of the corner of his eye he watched as Sam worked.

"I'm done."

"How do we know if its working?"

"I guess if someone comes to rescue us."

The rescue party did not take long; Teal'c pointed to the sky and Elliot heard him mutter something as he was coming out of a daze.

"Stay with Elliot." Jack tapped Sam on the shoulder. No protests came from her or Elliot. She was pleasanter company then all the men. Sam ran over to him in a haste and continued to stroke his neck and once again the cold rushed through his body like frostbite.

Five minutes passed, and Jacob arrived. Sam left her temporary post and hugged her father. "dad, are you okay?"

"Yeah, looks worse then it is," he shrugged. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but Elliot is in pretty rough shape. He was injured in a cave-in. Lantash jumped into him to try and save him, but its not working."

"There's a chance that we might be able to salvage the cargo ship, but not before this area is swarming with Jaffa." Jacob shook his head. "Those gliders definitely made our position."

"We cannot escape through the stargate."

"We still have this." Daniel said holding up the vial with the poison inside.

"As much area as that will cover, I don't think the chemical will spread from here to the stargate."

"Well we can't release it here. It will kill you, Elliot and Teal'c."

"Then I guess I gotta figure out a way to get it to the gate." Sam looked at him in horror. She knew that his black ops training would make him the most successful of candidates, but it would still be a fruitless sacrifice nonetheless. He couldn't risk it.

Jacob spoke the words at the tip of Samantha's tounge. "It will be suicide. You're assuming the jaffa won't shoot you on sight."

"Given the lack of cover and size of the jaffa army, I do not believe that even I could make it to the stargate undetected."

"Leave it here with me." Sam walked up to him, concern written on her face.

"what goods that gonna do?" Jack asked.

"Leave here and hide. The jaffa will find me. I'll tell him I know the formula. He'll take me to the gate."

"He is correct. He will be taken to the base camp to the stargate before boarded aboard the mothership."

"Won't they search him first?"

"Then I'll set off the weapon." Elliot wheezed. "Take out as many as I can."

Let me, I wish to speak. Elliot relinquished his rights to his body and allowed the Tok'ra to speak. "Please," came the deep voice of Lantash, "we are both going to die. I cannot save us." Lantash's gaze through Elliots eyes drifted towards Sam. "But there is a chance, that we could save you."

If no one else, save Sam.

"What about Elliot?"

"Does make sense. No point in you trying to risk you're lives to try and save me. Give me the device." Jack shook his head, but saw no way out of what was going to follow. He dispised the idea of leaving one of his own behind. It went against his very core of being as an Airmen but in a sick twisted way, he was glad for it. His jealousy was getting the best of him and he knew it and he took pleasure in in the feeling. Daniel gave the device to Elliot who took it with his good hand which wasn't much better than his bad hand. He winced at the effort.

"Now," he began, "now go. They'll be here soon." Sam stroked his face unabashedly, she couldn't have cared less at who was watching.

Elliot gave her the widest smiled he could manage. "He's happy now." He said, excitedly, in spite of the circumstances, "he just wanted you to know how he felt."

"I do. And I'll never forget him, or you." All turned their heads towards the skies and watched as gliders descended from above.

"Ground forces will not be far behind."

Jacob took his daughter by both shoulders. "Sam, we gotta go."

Elliot heard the horns and marches of the jaffa approaching. A sense of impending doom loomed above his head and he was frightened.

Lantash?

Yes, my dear young friend?

Are you afraid of dying?

I am a 2000 year old tok'ra symbiote. My time has come. But you my friend, sadly you're life has just begun and yet, here you are to die.

Elliot chuckled, it doesn't matter. The major is going to live. That's all that matters. I never noticed how beautiful she was.

Yes, might I offer you a suggestion that will help ease the pain?

Anything, old friend.

Think of the strawberries her hair smelled like. How it drugged us.

Think of how rosha, Hayley and Sam all look a like.

With sandy hair-

-And sea blue eyes.

As the two were taken to the gate, Lantash who was in command of the body pushed down on the release valves and the two chemicals spread like wildfire. And even though Lt Elliot knew there was no need, he held his breath.