AN: A huge thank you to everyone who sent a review and/or followed this story. I know I owe some notes and I will send them soon. I appreciate your kind worlds and support. Enjoy.
Tearing his eyes away from the slowly changing numbers of the elevator, Daniel swallowed hard at the agitation evident in Sam's demeanor. He winced at the thought of the bruises she was causing due to the white knuckle grip she had on Jack's arm. Moving his gaze to Jack's features, he was not surprised to see no indication of the pain she had to be causing him. "We're almost there, Sam," he intoned softly, trying to calm her.
"I just need to get outside," Sam breathed, running a shaking hand through her hair.
As the numbers ticked to one, Daniel nodded at Teal'c as they prepared to step out first to ensure the SF's had received the message to let them pass. Moving quickly as the door opened, they were unprepared for Sam to dart between them.
"Carter!" Jack yelled shoving his way through the men on the other side of the door. Darting to the external doorway that was already starting to close, he barely saw her retreating form as she ran around the corner toward the path leading up the hillside. "Damn it Carter, hold up!" he yelled, running after her.
Behind Jack, Teal'c and Daniel were trying to catch the pair. "She's going to the summit," Daniel yelled, angling off to the second path that lead there to ensure she didn't cut back.
Pounding up the hill, Daniel ignored the pull in his chest telling him to slow down. Slipping, he caught himself from falling. From a distance he could hear the sound of the others climbing intermingled with occasional curses, yelps and calls to slow down. Somehow he had the feeling it wasn't doing any good.
Pulling up on the plateau where the two paths met, he leaned forward to catch his breath. As they weren't there, he figured they had detoured to a small meadow a short ways back. Starting at a much slower pace back down the main path, Daniel couldn't help but think back to Jack's vicious, feral protection of Sam and her tangible fear, bordering on hysteria after they had come through the gate. Although they had yet to hear more than the little they had just heard in the conference room about what happened to them, the ripped clothing, busted knuckles, cuts, and bruises told a story in of themselves. The black strips of bruising around Sam's wrists, ankles and neck alone made him shutter every time he saw them. He could only imagine how hard she had to be struggling against the restraints to cause that type of damage and what other damage might lie under her clothing. He had a pretty good sense of the damage to Jack's body as he had been in the observation room when Janet had treated him.
Getting closer to the others, his pace picked back up as Sam's sobbing pierced the air. Sliding to a halt as the rest of his team came into view, Daniel's throat clenched at the sight of her on her hands and knees crying so hard her whole body was trembling. Between the sobs, anguished, broken words choked out. Instinctively, he started to move closer to comfort her but was pulled up short by Jack dropping to his knees in front of her.
"My fault... made you kill... oh, God... please don't hate me... please don't send... me away... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry Jack."
"Carter," Jack called, pulling on her arms to get her upright. Straining to hear, he barely made out her garbled litanies of "I'm sorry" and "don't hate me" that continued to fall from her lips with the sobs before crushing her to his chest. "God Sam," he breathed, her pleas ripping his tattered soul even more. "It's not your fault." Nudging closer to pull her tighter against his entire body, he pressed his head against hers and began rocking, oblivious of the tears that had dripped from his own eyes.
The sight brought tears to Daniel's eyes. As Teal'c moved closer to him, he saw a similar sadness and brightness in the Jaffa's eyes. In silent agreement, the two moved a short distance away. "Damn it, Teal'c," Daniel finally breathed. "How do they come back from this?"
***SG1***SG1***
Hearing the click of the radio, Daniel's head snapped up from the piece of ground he had been staring unseeingly at for some time.
"This is Teal'c," the Jaffa acknowledged the call, his voice low.
"Teal'c, I'm close," Janet called back. "I have two SF's with me with the items you requested."
"I shall meet you," Teal'c answered, his features telling Daniel that he should stay with Jack and Sam.
"Roger," Janet answered, looking back at the men behind her. "Teal'c and I can take this. I need one of you to take the samples back and the other may return to the bottom and keep anyone else from coming up here," she ordered.
"Yes, Ma'am," they acknowledged, setting down the packs before one left.
Watching them briefly, she turned back to see the large man approaching. "How are they?" Janet asked, returning the nod she had received in greeting.
Settling one pack on his back, before picking up two others, Teal'c replied, "MajorCarter has been asleep for several hours. O'Neill continues to keep watch."
"Well, that's a beginning I guess," Janet breathed, shifting the small pack on her own back before following the Jaffa back up the hill. Neither had slept more than an hour at a time since they had returned. "Wait here," she ordered the SF.
Coming into the meadow, Janet ran assessing eyes over the other occupants. Daniel nodded to her as he moved to help Teal'c pull the sleeping bags and camping equipment from the bags. Turning, she eyed Jack who was leaning against the stone facing on the back part of the area with Sam curled into his side. A hitched breath escaped her lips at the haggard, haunted look on his features. As if sensing her scrutiny or hearing her reaction, his face morphed into a flat mask as his eyes settled on her.
Taking a few steps closer, she shrugged off the pack on her back. "Colonel, I need to draw blood from you and Major Carter to see if your hormone levels are continuing to drop. Your body can't stand this much longer and if they aren't dropping, I will need to try something else," she explained.
She assumed it must be okay as he shifted his eyes toward Sam and brought one hand up to her head. "Carter," she heard him murmur as she pulled out her supplies.
"Doc's here. Wants blood," Jack said as he felt Sam begin to move. Nodding slightly, she moved one arm across Jack's body to give Janet access before closing her eyes again.
Wrapping a tourniquet around Sam's upper arm, she ran assessing eyes over her. "Sam, as happy as I am that you are finally trying to sleep, can you stay awake for a minute for me?" Seeing one eye open in answer, a smile pulled on Janet's feature. "How are you feeling?"
"Tired," Sam breathed, turning her face to rub it sleepily against Jack's side.
"How's the pain?" A shrug told her it was still there. Releasing the tourniquet, Janet let the vial fill before pulling the needle and pressing a cotton ball to the small puncture wound. "You've got some fresh blood on your hand," she observed, shifting her eyes from Sam's hand to her face as she finished putting on the band aid to keep the cotton ball in place.
Frowning, Sam sat up a little to look at her own hand. "Must be from when we climbed up," she surmised showing Janet the small tear on her palm. "It's fine," she shrugged, leaning back against Jack.
Pulling some antiseptic from her kit, she raised an eyebrow at Sam and held out her hand for the injured limb. "Any others?" she asked cleaning the tear.
Feeling Jack nudge her to sit up, Sam frowned at him as she did. "What?"
"Let Doc take a look at you. I've gotta go," he replied, tipping his head towards the woods to explain what he needed.
Sitting back to allow Jack to get up and leave, the doctor warned him she expected him to come right back. "I need your blood too, Sir." Catching the hand wave thrown back in acknowledgement, she turned her focus back to Sam. "How you doing?"
Her question caused Sam to avert her gaze and clench her jaw. After a few moments, she hesitantly licked her lips. "I don't know," she finally answered quietly. "Hurting, confused, numb." Snorting, she shook her head. "At least I'm not scared out of my own skin any more." Flickering her eyes toward Janet to judge her reaction, she looked away and winced at the sympathy there. "Please don't."
"Don't what?"
"Look at me like that; like I'm some sort of victim," Carter breathed out, her eyes closing at the implications of the word.
"Sam..." Janet began, only to be cut off.
"I'm tired. If you're done, I'm going to go lay down," Sam interrupted, nodding toward the sleeping bags laid out by the small fire.
"Fine. Do you need anything for the pain or to help you sleep?" Janet countered, pulling back to engage her purely professional mode.
"To be here, outside," Sam said before slowly rising and moving toward Daniel and Teal'c.
Watching her approach, Daniel ran assessing eyes over the obviously exhausted and pained woman. Once Sam had made it to a soft weeping, Jack had maneuvered both of them back where he could lean on the rock facing. It had taken a while but he had managed to calm her enough where she finally fell asleep. It had not been nearly enough.
"Hey," he called softly as she passed him. He nodded slightly at the small smile thrown his way in greeting. It was the first time in days he had seen something other than fear, pain and uncertainty on her features. "Janet had them bring up some sandwiches and fruit," he said, gesturing to the small cooler beside him.
"Water?" Sam replied, easing herself onto a sleeping bag.
Handing her a bottle, Teal'c held onto it until she looked at him. "You should eat," he nudged.
Nodding, Sam looked over Teal'c's shoulder toward the tree line. "I will when he comes back," she said before focusing on removing the bottle cap.
Silently pulling back, the big man kept his eyes on the woman before him. While she was no longer flinching and retreating from them, her demeanor was not that of the woman he admired and cared about. This one was wounded, timid and unsure. When her eyes trailed back to the woods, he spoke quietly. "O'Neill will return."
"Why would he?" she said flatly. "He could loose everything because of me."
"Jack doesn't blame you Sam," Daniel interjected gently, cutting off her self-derision.
"Maybe he should."
The anguished whisper snapped Daniel's head up toward Teal'c and Janet. Glancing down at her watch, Janet raised her eyebrows in silent question. The Colonel had been gone for more than ten minutes.
"I will let him know it is time for him to rest," Teal'c stated, gaining his feet.
***SG1***SG1***