A/N: So sorry for the long delay in this chapter, guys! Real life swamped me, and then I was working on my novel during November for Nanowrimo. But I'm back! Hopefully this'll be worth the wait. Thanks for reading. :)
It had begun to rain not long after Serah's husband, Roran, had stowed Sam in the dank cellar. Serah had left a blanket for her, but Sam's rear was cold on the hard dirt and her muscles complained from having to sit in such a cramped space. She sat up against a lumpy sack of something that smelled a lot like potatoes. Every now and then, a rustle or a soft squeak told her she wasn't the only one spending the night in the cellar. The other occupants were likely a good deal happier about the arrangement than Sam was, however.
Where are you Colonel? Sam sighed and closed her eyes. Serah and Roran, along with a couple of the nearby neighbors, had gone off to search for the missing colonel as soon as they had realized he was gone. Sam had no idea what had prompted him to take off like that, especially when it meant leaving her behind.
She sighed once more and shifted to get into a more comfortable position. Her makeshift backrest did nothing to ease the pain in her shoulder and the medicine Serah had given her earlier clearly had already worn off. It's going to be a long night.
The cellar door rattled. Sam squinted up at it, frowning. It rattled again, and she sat up, pulling the blanet tighter around her shoulders as she moved. Was it just the wind playing tricks with her, or was someone really up there?
The door cracked open, allowing in a sudden rush of muddy water. Small fingers gripped the wooden trim on the door and a dirty face appeared, peering curiously down at her. "Hey, you. C'mon. We gotta hurry. Momma's comin' back soon, and when she gets here... Oooh, she's not gonna be so happy."
Sam stared at the boy. Serah's son...?
The boy gave an impatient snort and jiggled the lantern he held in his free hand. "Well? I don't think he's gonna wait much more."
"Okay," Sam said. "I'm coming."
Grunting a little with the effort of getting her stiff muscles to cooperate, Sam got to her feet. The little boy held out his hand. When Sam hesitated, he waggled his fingers. "Grab on, I'll help ya up."
Sam wrapped her fingers around the boy's hand and reluctantly allowed him to tug her up. Mostly all he managed to do was knock her off balance as she clambered up the rickety ladder, but he seemed to enjoy thinking he was helping. As soon as she was up, he dropped to his rear in the mud and wiped a hand over his smudged face.
"Whew, you smell like 'taters."
Sam grimaced. "Uh, thanks."
The boy pushed himself to his feet and did a quick check of the area, his eyes wide. "We'd better go."
"Where exactly are we going?"
The boy shrugged his shoulders and held out his hand to Sam again. "I'll show you."
Sam pushed herself to her feet and took his hand. The boy took off at a quick trot, holding tight to Sam's hand as he tugged her towards the dark outline of the large barn. His head bobbed back and forth, dark eyes diligently scanning all around them. They splashed through the puddles to the barn door, which was cracked open several inches. The boy shoved it open, pulling Sam in after him.
The barn was warm and dry and smelled of old hay and cow manure. Sam wrinkled her nose, but was glad to be out of the rain. As her eyes adjusted to the dim yellow light from the lantern, she looked around the barn. There were six stalls, each with a large cow occupying the space. The cows turned their heads to look at Sam, but didn't stay interested for long, obviously dismissing her as harmless.
The boy tugged at her hand. "Back here."
Sam frowned and let him lead her on, straight past the cows in their stalls to the far end of the barn. The boy sat the lantern on the floor and dropped to his knees beside a dark pile of hay-covered blankets. Sam let her gaze wander the barn as he dug around in the hay. The loft above was loaded with hay bales and could have easily hidden someone.
"Took your time, Carter."
Sam jumped, jerking her head around. The boy had pulled the blankets back to reveal Colonel O'Neill. A little girl clambored over the rail in the neighboring stall and flashed Sam a grin, showing off her missing tooth. "We kidnapped him!"
"We've been planning it for weeks," the boy announced proudly. "Sis and I decided we'd help whoever got caught next get free."
"Gar's even got horses and everything!"
Sam looked from Gar to his sister, then at Colonel O'Neill. "They've had you out here the whole time?"
He lifted one shoulder in a feeble shrug. "Pretty much."
"Papa almost caught us, but we hid real good," Sis whispered. "An' then we got him out here. We were gonna put him in the loft, but he's real heavy and we couldn't lift him."
The colonel muttered something under his breath and Sam hid a smile.
Gar pulled out a wrapped package and held it out for Sam to take. "I got horses out back. You got to leave now, if you're gonna. Take off east; the horses know the way. They'll take you back to Gran, and she'll make sure you're taken care of from there."
The frown lines in Sam's forehead deepened as she took the package from Gar. The children seemed perfectly innocent, but what if it was a trap? Or, even worse--what would happen once Boridan discovered the two had escaped? Serah made it clear that her brother would not hesitate to harm the kids. SG-1 was not in the habit of endangering others just to make sure they themselves were safe.
"Come on!" Gar urged. "Just go on. We've got everything handled."
Sam dropped to her knees beside him. "What about your uncle?"
Gar placed his hand on her shoulder and gave it a pat. "Aw, he's nothin'. Don't worry. I've got a plan for that too." He winked.
Sis produced their jackets from the feed trough and brushed the damp chunks of hay off of them. "You'll prob'ly want these. It's gonna get chillin' tonight."
Sam let the girl help her into the jacket, ignoring the cow drool on the sleeve, and then helped the colonel get on his feet. Gar led the way with the lantern in hand. Sis pushed the narrow back door open and Sam led Colonel O'Neill through. The horses stood with their heads down a few feet from the rear of the barn.
Roran and two of his neighbors stood between the horses and Sam's little group.
"Gar, Sis," he snapped gruffly. "Get yourselves in the house."
Sis whimpered, but the two kids didn't move. Gar pressed his lips firmly together, his little fist gripping the lantern handle even tighter. "Papa, you can't let him take these guys too."
"Gar!" Roran bit out his son's name and pointed his finger at the family's home. "I said get in the house. I'll deal with your punishment later. These two are going straight to Boridan, and I won't hear any more of it."
The colonel pulled away from Sam and placed himself between the kids and their father. "Leave them out of this."
Roran shifted his angry gaze to Colonel O'Neill. "You're just full of trouble, aren't you? Well, I won't let you ruin my family. I've already sent word to Boridan. He'll be here in the morning to get both of you. If we're lucky, that'll satisfy him and he will leave my family in peace."
"You'll never have peace as long as you let him run over you," Sam spoke up.
Roran grit his teeth and lifted the shovel in his hand to point at her. "What do you know, hm? This isn't your home, so don't even think you know what's right for my family. I'll take care of mine, and that doesn't include you. You're going to Boridan, and that's final. Both of you can spend the night in the cellar, and then I'm through with you."
Gar pushed between Sam and the colonel and hefted the lantern high. "You can't do that, Papa!"
Roren took a step forward. "Get to the house, boy! I told you once, and--"
Gar threw the lantern. It crashed into the rear door of the barn, the fuel streaking down the door and dousing the hay at the bottom. The flames roared up in an instant. Gar and Sis grabbed Sam and the colonel's hands and tugged them along behind as they made a dash for the horses. One of the neighbors swung an arm out and grabbed Sis's hair. She shrieked.
Before Sam or the colonel could move to rescue her, a shovel smashed down on the man's wrist and he dropped the girl. "Amon!" Roren growled. "Let her go and go fetch the buckets! Quick! Gar, get your tail back here and help me!"
Gar looked up at Sam and gave her hand a squeeze. "Get going, you. Papa'll be mad later, but you've got your chance."
"But..."
He flashed her a grin. "Aw, we'll be fine. Promise."
He scampered off, slipping once in the mud. His father caught him by the coat and steadied him, then went to work with his two neighbors to douse the fire.
"Over here!" Sis called. She held the horses reigns in her hands. Mud streaked her face and dress, but she was smiling in spite of it. "It worked, it worked!"
The colonel sank to a crouch in front of her and rested his hand on her head. "You sure you'll be okay?"
She gave a firm nod. "Papa won't let nobody hurt us."
Sam and the colonel exchanged looks, and then she helped him up into the saddle of the first horse. He grunted, but managed to stay upright. Sam took the reigns from Sis and hooked her foot through the stirrup, pulling herself up into the saddle.
Sis waved. "Tell Gran I said hi!"
"We will," Sam promised. Be safe, she added silently as the two wheeled the horses around and urged them on. Sam looked back once and saw Sis still watching them, the flames in the barn behind her outlining her in the dark.