Story Summary: Selmak did not die of "old age" and Martouf and Lantash were never za'tarcs. What really happened after the replicators and most of the Goa'uld were finally defeated?

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: Sam/Martouf/Lantash

"Italics" - Symbiote-Host communication

Reality Series - Story II

Hiding from the Truth

Jacob sat in the briefing room and stared at the wall. He was not happy about his little girl and the problems she was having. He did not care what she said; she was not happy with this Pete guy.

"If she is not happy with him, then why is she marrying him?" Selmak cut to the center of the problem with laser clarity.

"I am not sure, Sel, but I think she might believe she is in love with Jack O'Neill. Knowing, or believing, that she can't have him, I think she has talked herself into believing she loves this Pete-guy."

"You, however, do not believe she does so."

"No. No, I do not. I think he has a sense of humor and can make her laugh. I believe she feels comfortable around him; she doesn't feel threatened by him. She thinks that if she marries this Pete-guy, she won't have anything to worry about. She will be able to talk and think rings around him. He will never challenge her. At least, I think that is what she believes. Personally, I consider the fact that he ran a background check on her, and followed her on a covert op, to be the actions of a more controlling kind of guy than she realizes. He was stalking her for heaven's sake. Those are not the actions of an easygoing person. I will have to talk to her, but first I have to talk to Jack. He has to know where we all stand."

"I do not believe he will take kindly to your interference in his personal life."

"That's as may be, but I am going to interfere anyway. He can lump it if he does not like it."

"I will stand behind your opinion and your actions, Jacob. I am feeling much better as you know."

"Yeah, I do know. I still cannot believe that Thoran thought he could poison us and get away with it."

"He almost did, Jacob. Fortunately, even the council has been brought to realize that his actions would have caused the destruction of the entire galaxy had we failed to stop the replicators. I am glad that they executed him. I am sorry for his host, however. He was very distraught when he realized what Thoran managed to keep from him. It will take him quite some time to recover." Selmak sighed, as he thought of the host who Thoran had traumatized so thoroughly. He hoped that his choosing to remain with the Tok'Ra would help him to recover. They would certainly do everything they could for him. Thoran had caused so very many, so much misery and pain; not perhaps, least of all Samantha Carter, if she was correct and Martouf and Lantash could have been saved, if they had only mounted a rescue right away. Thoran swayed the younger symbiotes to vote against going for them, convincing them that he was already dead. Selmak honestly did not believe they were…at that point in time. He still regretted that he had not listened to Jacob and Samantha and gone over the council's head to Per'sus, or better yet, simply gone himself to see if he could save them. He could not have, of course and he and Jacob would probably have died trying. Leaving his own thoughts, he tuned back into what Jacob was saying.

"I know, and I feel bad about that, too, but Thoran could not be trusted. No one did any tampering with his mind, Sel. He simply did not want the Tau'ri-Tok'Ra alliance, and he worked for its destruction from the day he turned Korra into a za'tarc and tried to halt the original treaty from being signed."

Jacob bit out his words as he continued, "Thank God, Lantash and Martouf were out of his range at the time, or he would have used them instead of Korra. Much though I hate that Korra was the one that he used, it would have been very much worse for Sam, if it had been Martouf and Lantash that she had to kill. It was hard enough on her when the Tok'Ra listed them as MIA and then as having died during a mission. Hell, they had only been seeing one another for less than a year. She has never forgiven the Tok'Ra for not mounting an immediate search and rescue as the Tau'ri would have done, I know that. She will not talk about it and when she found out about Thoran, she was very bitter. It is the only time she has spoken of them since they disappeared."

"I agree, Jacob; however, we should be thinking of leaving. Regretting the past will get us nowhere, nor will it help Samantha. There is little point of staying here, now. Malek, Anise, and Janet managed to find not only the poison being used on us, but also the antidote and we can now return to the tunnels. Do you not wish to do so? We have met Pete. There is nothing left here for us to do."

"That is where you are wrong, Sel. As I said, it is time I had a chat with Jack O'Neill. Past time, actually. Someone needs to kick him in the ass, and it may as well be us."

Selmak chortled. "If you say so, Jacob, but I do not think it will benefit either us or Samantha in any way."

"Like they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained."

Selmak sighed as he capitulated. "As you wish, Jacob. Furthermore, as I stated before, I will stand by your side, or behind you, and give you all the support that I can, I assure you."

Jacob nodded decisively. "All right. Let's do this, Sel."

Standing, Jacob Carter made his way to General Jack O'Neill's office. He knocked and heard Jack tell him to enter. Taking a deep breath, he did so.

"Morning , Jack."

"Jacob. You're out and about early today."

"Yeah, I am. Sel and I are returning to the Tok'Ra either today or tomorrow."

Jack O'Neill frowned. "Are you sure that's a wise move on your part, Jacob? Aren't you concerned that there may be others out there targeting you in order to break up the alliance again?"

Jacob shrugged. "It doesn't matter if there are. They need Selmak and I back there more than ever now. The voice of reason, so to speak; although I have to admit that Garshaw has always been on the side of the alliance, as have Ma'ashat and Per'sus. That is why it was such a shock to have the council so divided over the break-up of the alliance. That Thoran managed to bring that many of the younger symbiotes over to his side was appalling. We have to see it doesn't happen again, and that all of the Tok'Ra understand the alliance, why we need it, and what it stands for."

He paused, staring at the floor for a moment, before looking back up at Jack. "That is not why I am here, though, Jack. I am here on a personal matter. Something I think should be brought out into the open and taken care of before I leave to return to the tunnels."

Jack frowned harder, if that was possible. He had no idea what personal matter Jacob could want to talk to him about, but he was pretty darn sure he was not going to like it. However, if there was one thing that Jack O'Neill did not lack it was courage. He nodded. "In that case, have a seat, Jacob, and tell me what I can do for you."

Jacob nodded once, briefly, and sat down. Folding his hands in his lap, he held one hand with his other, to keep them from distracting Jack's attention, he told himself, but he did not believe it. Moreover, truth to tell, if worse came to worst, then Selmak would take over and keep him from doing anything stupid. Alternatively, Jack would take everything well, and he would not do anything stupid. He hoped.

Moving his eyes from the point on the far wall he was now staring at, he brought them to look directly into Jack's, before saying quietly, "I want you to leave my daughter alone, Jack. You have no business thinking about her in any way, other than a friend and comrade in arms. You are her commanding officer, direct chain of command."

He continued, his voice firm and steady, "You have had more than enough chances when you could have changed your position, moved her to another team, retired, done any number of things, if you were serious about her. Let her go, and make it clear to her that you do not love her. It is time both of you moved on and got over your little infatuation. Your flirting has come close to the line, at times, and you have lucked out that someone did not bring you both up on charges of fraternization. Life is too short to live a lie, Jack, but that's what both of you are doing."

Still speaking in the same calm, quiet voice, he added, "I won't have my daughter's career ruined because you need a safely net, a heart-guard to get between you and any chance of a real, honest, emotional attachment. It is time you looked around you and allowed yourself to feel for another woman, but that woman won't be my daughter."

Jack's face flushed a crimson color before paling. "Where do you get off with these remarks, Jacob? Are you threatening me? Because you will find no evidence of fraternization. None."

Jacob shook his head, and sighed. "I get off making these remarks because she is my daughter, and I know she doesn't love you regardless what she may believe. I am not threatening you; I am telling you. You have led her on and allowed her to believe there is more to the looks and the remarks, the touches and the team nights than is really there. I think she believes that you are waiting for her to decide to do something with her career, to make a change so that you can be together."

"So far, her love of what she does has won out. It may not always do that, and then you are both going to be in for a rough time. Unfortunately, she is the one that will be hurt the most because she will have given up what she loves for nothing. Before that happens, I'm telling you, now, that I know there is nothing there, and all you are going to do is hurt her in the end."

Jack's lips thinned and his temper rose. "Those are lies, Jacob. You don't know how I feel about her. You don't know whether I'll retire for her or not. For all you know, I would retire and follow her anywhere she wants to go."

Jacob retaliated. "Come on, Jack, I know you are lying, if not to me and to her, then to yourself. Daniel and Teal'c are always there, always a buffer between you. You have never taken her for a weekend get away as you have the two of them, just the two of you. You can't because you don't want that fraternization label to hit you. Moreover, it would if you ever did that. It would hit her, too, though, and it would hit her a lot harder than it would you. Yeah, you might both end up being charged, but her career would be over; your career would be put on temporary hold and you know it. However, that is not the point. The point, no the truth, is that you use the frat rules as an excuse not to be with her one on one; you know that not only would it not work, but if you did spend time one on one, then you would have to admit that there were no deep feelings there, and you would lose your shield."

"Even when she is in the infirmary, and you are sitting with her, you never bring the chair to the edge of the bed like Daniel and Teal'c do. You don't want to be closer, because that might shine a light on your true feelings for her. You once said that you care about Sam, more than you are supposed to. That was a true statement. You do care more than a commanding officer should. But then, you feel the same way about Daniel and Teal'c. That is the part you did not tell her. Her answer was the same. She cares more than she is supposed to as well, but she does not love you. Not in the way that she cares about some other men in her life. You can't hide from it forever, Jack…and neither can she."

"You are wrong for her, Jack, and you know it. The sad thing is that, even though you know you are wrong for her, you are using her and the feelings she believes she has for you, to hide behind, so you will not have to find a real relationship. I have seen it in you for a long time. I think Sam knows it, too, but she sees you as a safe bet, too, so she can hide from the truth of her feelings, just as you can. Both of you need to do something. Preferably, something that will make both of you take a long hard look at the feelings you do not have for each other in the bright light of day."

"The truth, Jack, is that you would make my little girl miserable, and she would drive you out of your mind. You have nothing—absolutely nothing—in common. She is meant to be with someone else. Not you."

Jack relaxed as he allowed Jacob's words to reverberate through him. He knew he was right, but he couldn't just agree to it. What was he going to do? He rubbed his face, saying tiredly, "Aren't you forgetting something, Jacob? Sam is engaged to marry Pete Shannahan. That should tell you that at least part of your rant is just that…a rant."

"I have seen my daughter when she is in love, Jack. She never admitted it aloud, and you probably never saw the way she looked at them, but she loved Martouf and Lantash. More than she will ever admit at this point, but it was there; I saw it. I saw it when they went missing, as well, and it was a very painful thing to see. No, she does not love Pete Shannahan and, in the end, I do not think she will marry him. On the other hand, she does not love you, either. There are only two men that I know of that Sam could marry and be happy. Neither of them are you or Pete."

Jack's eyebrows climbed toward his hairline. "So, you think you know your daughter so well you know who she loves before she does? Yeah, sure, you bet'cha."

"Yes, I do. If they were still alive, she would be with Martouf and Lantash today. Since they are not, I believe that Daniel could make her happy. Happier than you ever could, no matter how hard you tried."

"Just what is it that you believe is so wrong with me that she wouldn't be happy with me, Jacob?"

"Come on, Jack. Face reality. You can't even allow her to finish a sentence if it has any words longer than one syllable in it. You live and breathe the Simpsons, hockey, and beer. She has astrophysics in her blood. You are a very intelligent man, Jack, but you know, as well as I do, that you are not in her league, and she would be bored out of her skull in less than a week. Both Daniel and Martouf and Lantash could carry on a conversation with her, and both of them were, or in Daniel's case, are, physically attractive to her. Let her go, Jack. You can't live in the bedroom, much as you would like to pretend that you can."

Jacob watched as Jack flushed again. He could tell that what Jack really wanted to do was punch him out, but he also knew that Jack knew that he was telling the truth and making him face it, as well. It was time for him to let go and allow her to find her own place in the world again. It had been long enough.

How in the hell did Jacob know all of this stuff? How had he seen through Jack's camouflage to the very heart of him? Damn it, the man was right. He loved Carter, not Sam, or Samantha. He loved Carter as a sister, maybe even a daughter; certainly, he was proud of her, as a mentor was a protégée. But, he didn't love her in the way a man was supposed to love a woman. Jacob was right about the other stuff, too. He and Carter had nothing in common other than a somewhat limited amount of physical attractiveness to one another, and they were soldiers. That was it. Game Over.

He sighed and nodded, but put up one last fight. "That is fine and dandy, and maybe you can convince me, but I doubt you will be able to convince Carter. She thinks she loves this Pete guy. What is more, if she doesn't, then she would probably be wasting her time thinking she loves me. So, where does that leave us, Jacob? What now? You only have one half convinced, and you know how stubborn she can be."

"Yup, I know. I also know that she can see logic and reason. She may have to think about what I will tell her, but in the end, she will see it, and I think she will feel fine with it. Not everything is instant, you know. It might take a while, but she will see it, especially if you distance yourself from her."

"I guess you're right, and it won't hurt to try anyway." He might know Jacob was right; he didn't have to like it.

The klaxons began blaring an off-world activation. Jack frowned, scowling in the direction of the control room, as he came to his feet. "We don't have any teams off-world today," he murmured, as he began his sprint to the control room. He arrived in time to see Chief Harriman's hand open the iris.

"It was a Tok'Ra IDC, sir, but it was a really old one. I, uh, well, since no one was here to tell me, I ordered the SF's in and took the chance and opened it. It was, well, it was the one we used when Martouf and Lantash went missing," he stated quietly.

Jack nodded as he looked down at him. "I'd probably have made the same call, Chief. An old Tok'Ra IDC, especially that one, I would have opened, too."

"Yes, sir, er, sir," he whispered as he stared out the control room window. The shock on his face was plain to read.

Jack jerked his head up from where he had been watching the Chief, to look out the window himself, as he heard Jacob exclaim, "Oh, dear God. We did leave him behind. As he left the control room at a run, he called back over his shoulder, "Chief, get Colonel Carter to the gate room a.s.a.p." Martouf stood on the ramp, swaying slightly, obviously barely remaining upright.

His head bowed and when he lifted it, the tones of the Tok'Ra could be heard. "Would you mind calling off your guards, Colonel O'Neill? I cannot remain standing for very much longer, I am afraid."

Jack's "Stand down," reached them as Jacob pushed his way through and caught the man in his arms as they collapsed. "We need a medic to the gate room," was the last thing Lantash and Martouf heard before they became unconscious.

Selmak embraced Jacob and tried to sooth him, but he could not. This was a nightmare. The man had been missing for a long time. That it was Lantash and Martouf; they had no doubt, although they were sure the Tau'ri would want to verify that.

Jacob wondered if they had even bothered to try to find the Tok'Ra, or if they had simply come to the one place they knew would not have moved. He would bet on the second scenario. Looking down at the very thin, obviously mal-nourished, and dehydrated man, Jacob wondered what Sam would have to say, and how this would this affect her relationship with Pete? He was fairly sure that was a foregone conclusion, and she would terminate her relationship to Pete. He did not doubt that for a second.

What was more important, though, was how she would react to the fact that Martouf and Lantash were, indeed, as she had insisted for so very long, still alive. Alive. They should have listened to Sam. God, he wanted to kill Thoran all over again. If it had not been for him, they very well might have listened to Sam and gone after them.

As she knelt beside him, Jacob looked up into the blue eyes of his daughter. She reached out a trembling hand and caressed Martouf's face as she shifted her gaze from her father to Martouf and Lantash. She took in his physical condition in one comprehensive sweep of her eyes. Her jaw firmed and her eyes flashed with anger.

"She has every right to feel anger, Jacob, and we are both very aware of that fact," Selmak assured him that he understood both his and Samantha's feelings about the situation. It would be a very long time before Jacob and Samantha would be capable of being civil to the council members that had vetoed going after them. He did not blame either of them for their rancor; in fact, he shared their feelings, and as he had heard Jacob say, it would be a cold day in hell, before he allowed any of them to have a final say in anything. He was the eldest and most respected of the Tok'Ra still, regardless what Delek said. His losing favor was a figment of Delek's imagination, his wishful thinking, or a delusion he was living under, he was not sure which. It did not matter; it was perhaps time he began to "throw his weight around", as Jacob would say. In fact, there were two or three symbiotes who might find that they were no longer council members after this.

She stood to make room for the medics as her father released them as well. This would finish a problem she was having recently. More and more she had begun to believe that her feelings for Pete were not as strong as they should be. She had almost convinced herself that she was in love with General O'Neill instead. Now, she knew for a fact that she was wrong about her feelings for both of them. She did not love either of them the way a woman should love the man she marries.

Following the gurney as it raced toward the medical bays, she faced what she had known all along. Something she had forgotten, or perhaps buried, long ago. The man she loved was there in front of her, but he might never know her true feelings. All she could do was wait for them to wake up. Now that they were back, whether they made it or not, it was time to stop hiding from the truth. She knew now that it was Martouf and Lantash that she loved. There was no turning back. A small smile played around her lips. At last, she knew exactly where she wanted and needed to be.

Martouf and Lantash slept for two days, while they were cared for and cosseted by the nursing staff. Janet assured her that they truly were sleeping; they were not actually unconscious, now, although they had slipped into unconsciousness when they first arrived at the SGC. Sam seldom left their side and when she was not there, Jacob and Selmak were. Only once did she leave the SGC, and that was to explain to Pete why she was breaking their engagement. He was not happy about it, but he was not completely surprised. They parted ways and, if it was not exactly amicably, neither was it in a viciously hostile manner.

When Martouf and Lantash finally opened their eyes, their Samantha was the first thing they saw. Her blue eyes were shining with unshed tears, and her lips curved in a tremulous smile. She was holding their hand.

"Samantha?" Their voice was raspy and their lips were dry.

She gave them some ice chips and then a sip of water, as she told them, "I am here." She looked at them steadily as she continued, "I hope you will want me to always be beside you."

"It is what we have wished for since the day we met, Samantha. Your face was the one thing that kept us from giving up and dying. You are the reason we survived. We swore that if we lived and managed to return that we would tell you how much you mean to us, how very much we love you."

The tears slipped over the edge and made their way down her face. "I love you, too. Both of you. When you disappeared, we were working on our relationship. Your disappearance made me realize just how very much you both mean to me. I am never letting you go. Before your last mission, you asked me to be your mate, and I asked for time. Well, I had way more time than I needed. If you still want it, then my answer is yes. No more separate missions. I don't think I could survive another separation like this. I know I could not survive if anything happened to you again."

Martouf smiled as he listened to Lantash. "Tell her at once that she is ours. Never again will we willingly leave her side."

Looking at her with love in his eyes as he gently pulled her towards them, he said softly, "Lantash has requested that I make our feelings and intentions clear to you once and for all time. Never again will we willingly leave your side, our Samantha. We love you more than our own life. Forever."

As their lips met to begin a soft sweet kiss that was long overdue, Sam whispered softly in return, "You are both mine. I will never let you go again. I love you both. Forever."

The End