Author's Note: I've loaded this chapter before but there were no paragraph breaks. Let's see what happens this time!
Chapter Four: Lift Off
The next day, after another disappointing trek to the gate and back, Sam and Daniel had lunch in the shade by the river and then set to work. By early evening they had the top surface of the ship completely uncovered and they discovered that it was a Tel'tak, which was a smaller Goa'uld cargo ship.
That night, while they were looking at the stars, he asked, "Do you know where we are compared to our allies?"
"I think so." She took him by the hand and led him down to the water where the light from the fire wouldn't interfere with their stargazing. His hand was warm and she reluctantly let go to point out where she thought earth was, even though it wasn't visible from where they were. Then she pointed to another spot in the sky and said, "That one is where P3X-797 is. And I think we should go there by gate first and see if we can ask for some supplies. I'm sure they'll help us out. They might even have news of earth."
He smiled. "It will be nice to see Tuplo again."
The moonlight was bright enough for her to see the blue of his eyes and the grin on his face. She felt a bit like teasing when she said, "Oh, really? Are you sure that it's not his daughter you want to see? What was her name again?" Melocia, wasn't it?"
Daniel was suddenly embarrassed at the memory of his encounter with the young woman. He never knew he had it in him to act like a Neanderthal (literally) and was horrified when he'd been told by his friends how he'd been behaving. "Yes, go ahead and tease. I recall you've had some alien crushes. Let's see, there was Abu."
Sam laughed at the memory. "Oh please, he was just a boy. Besides, he only wanted to trade me for the rival chief's daughter."
He picked up a stone, threw it into the water and said, "Oh Yes, Turghan's daughter, Nya." He turned back towards her and said, "And as I recall, Turghan had quite a thing for you, too." He grinned as Sam laughed.
"Only because he considered me his property. He was beyond belief!" She smiled as she idly threw small sticks into the water. He nodded. "That's how the Shavadai culture works. The men are hunters and fierce warriors. The women are there to cook, clean and have babies. In some earth cultures, it's still very much the same."
"I would have found a way out eventually."
"I know." He smiled at her and thought, 'I bet you could, too.'
She headed back towards the fire and said, "Okay, since we're keeping score-"
He raised his eyebrows and said, "Are we keeping score?"
She laughed and said, "Yes! Who's turn is it?"
"Mine, I think," he said as he lowered himself to the ground and sat back against a log.
"No, mine. You brought up Turghan," Sam said.
"Right."
"Okay, let me think. What about Lya?" She smiled at the thought of the petite woman with the crazy hair.
"No." He shook his head. "She's just a friend."
She gave him a glance and said, "Yeah, but I think she likes you."
He shrugged and said, "Maybe. But she likes everyone."
"Yeah, but I think you're special to her."
"Only as a friend. It could never be anything more than that." He looked at her and his eyes narrowed. "Nareem."
Sam smiled as she remembered her Tollan friend. "He was such a nice guy."
He nodded said, "Yeah, he seemed decent enough."
She looked at him and decided to say it." Sha're."
"Definitely." He grew quiet while thinking about his late wife. Would he get upset? And yet, it was so obvious that to leave her out would be a bigger faux pas. Sam watched his face and then regretted that they had started this thread of conversation.
He saw the pained look in her eyes and said, "Don't. I know what you're thinking so I'm telling you right now, don't." The intensity of his gaze made her falter.
She looked down and said, "Okay." 'Why? Why did I bring her name up?'
But Daniel continued with his enthusiastic response and said, "Sha're was wonderful and I never imagined that I could be married to someone like her. But I did have her for a year before she was taken and I will never forget that." He paused a moment and then went on. "She's been dead a long time, and I've moved on. I don't have that awful ache inside when I think about her now."
"I'm glad." Her relief was palpable as she rubbed his shoulder in relief.
"Me too," he said with a smile. "Me too."
0o0
Daybreak found both of them at the dig site where Sam was eventually able to get the door of the ship open. The faint but unmistakable odor of human decay wafted out of the ship so Sam said it would be a good idea to let it air out for a while. An hour later, they went inside and after a short search, they found the bodies of six Jaffa who had been long dead. Daniel examined them and said, "They probably died on impact." He pointed to one body in the chair. "See how this one is slumped over the controls?" He turned to indicate others on the floor. "And these two were probably standing back by the wall. The three in the cargo-hold probably never knew what hit them."
They carefully carried the desiccated remains outside and buried them, giving them as much dignity as they could. Daniel still believed that the Jaffa were falsely indoctrinated and was glad that so many had rebelled against the false gods that had oppressed them and turned towards forging their own nation.
When they were finished, Sam looked at the controls and said, "I'm not even going to try to start this thing until I've given it a once over. It might take a bit so if it's okay, you can stow our gear in the compartments along the wall."
Daniel nodded and loaded all their things onto the M.A.L.P. and maneuvered it into the cargo-hold. He explored the inside of the ship and found a small kitchen and a bathroom. He went through cupboards and threw out most of the contents. Then he used a wet rag to wipe down all the surfaces. He looked over at the front console and saw Sam's feet sticking out from beneath it. A tool box that she'd taken from the M.A.L.P. was open and various tools were on the floor within reach of her hands. He could hear her muttering and smiled. She seemed just like all the mechanics he'd ever met. She could probably fix anything that she came across with a stick of gum, duct tape and a car battery- his very own McGyver to the rescue. After storing their meager belongings away, he went to the small room where there were bunks and put his and Sam's things away. Then he returned to the flight deck.
He heard her disembodied voice yell out, "I'm sure I can get this thing started. I want you to stand clear outside so that I can shut the door and then I'm going to try to lift it out of this hole and set it on the ground over by the trees."
He stepped outside and stood back to watch as the engines hummed to life. The ground under his feet started to vibrate and the ship started to lift out of the hole. Sand and small clumps of dirt danced across the top and sides as Sam slowly set it down about fifty feet away. The door opened and she stepped out and greeted him with a hug and a big smile. He stood next to her with his arm around her shoulder and looked at this big ugly thing that would be their home for a while. After cleaning up their campsite and putting out the fire, he squared his shoulders; followed her inside and shut the door.
0o0
The first thing they did was head for the nearest large body of water and fill the water tanks. This ship had been equipped so that it could carry plenty of drinking water and it had a filtration system to keep the water clean.
While the pumps were working, he asked, "How long do you think it's going to take to get home?" Daniel looked around him and remembered his trip with Jacob Carter when they'd returned from the Goa'uld summit in which Daniel had posed as Lord Yu's Lotar. It saddened him that Jacob was gone but he remembered the long talks they'd had and he learned a lot about Sam in the process.
Sam was sitting on the floor just inside the flight deck typing on the computer keyboard. "According to the computer-"
Daniel watched as her face looked troubled. "Sam? Tell me the truth."
She sighed then said, "We'll have to stop along the way and replenish supplies, though I haven't figured out exactly where yet. I know of some allies that will probably be willing to help us." He crouched down in front of her, forcing her to turn to look at him. "I was hoping that the computer was wrong. I mean, we have to take into consideration the route we'll take and the planets we need to avoid. And that's if we don't run into anyone who's out to get us. But, if we don't have too many distractions-" She stopped to look at his hands as his thumb was making little circles on the top of her hand. Then she looked up and said. "I think it will take about a year. And that's with the hyperdrive engines."
He stared into her eyes for a moment and then nodded his head. "Okay."
"I'm sorry," she said. He gave her an incredulous look and said, "Whatever for? You haven't done anything wrong!"
"I can't think of anything else to do. I've recalculated the numbers over and over and no matter what I try, I still can't get us home any quicker."
He smiled and said, "I'm sure you've done everything you can. Hey, what's to worry about? Can we fly cloaked?"
"Yes, providing the cloak works. We have to check it and I hope it does 'cause I'd feel much safer."
"So, we have a ship that can fly at hyperspeed, plenty of space to move around in, which we wouldn't have had with a jumper. Food, water and good company. Who could ask for more?"
She smiled back. "Well- when you put it that way-."
"We're gonna be fine, Sam." She sighed and said, "I know. It's just so much to take in." "I know."
He squeezed her hand and said, "Day at a time, Sam. Day at a time."
0o0
They left the lake and within a few minutes they landed near the gate. Daniel dialed home with the same results so he dialed it up again and within a few seconds, they were on P3X-797. Daniel dialed earth again from Tuplo's planet. He was anxious to hear Sgt. Harriman's voice but there was no signal from the SGC. So, they headed towards the plaza and within a few minutes, groups of people were headed their way, most of them smiling as they recognized Daniel and Sam.
Tuplo stepped forward, bowed and said, "Welcome! It is such a nice surprise to see you." He peered past them and then looked at Daniel and said, "Are not General O'Neill and Teal'c with you?"
Daniel bowed and said, "Umm- no they're not. They're back on our planet, we hope. We believe that there's something wrong on Earth but we can't use the gate to get home. There seems to be some sort of malfunction."
"Oh dear," Tuplo said. "I do hope that everything is all right on your world."
"So do we," Daniel said. "We have a favor to ask."
"Anything you ask is yours, Doctor Jackson. You have helped us out tremendously by lifting the curse and bringing our people home. We owe you a great debt."
Sam said, "No, you really don't owe us anything. We have a ship on the planet we were on but we need supplies to make the journey home. Food mostly."
"Oh yes! We would be honored to provide you with whatever you need. I will tell the temple steward and he will make sure that you have whatever you would like."
Daniel bowed his head politely and said, "Thank you, Tuplo. That is most kind of you."
They were each given a private room with warm water pools to bathe in and their clothes were taken away to be washed and dried. After cleaning up, they dressed in robes and were allowed to rest. After dinner, Daniel and Sam visited with Tuplo and his wife Leedora, Melocia and her husband and their daughter, and many others who had been helped by Doctor Fraiser and the people from the SGC.
In the morning, they were escorted back to the Stargate. Sam said her goodbyes and stepped through. Tuplo's people helped pass cartons through the gate to her where she set them aside and waited for him to come through.
When everything was through the gate, Daniel grasped Tuplo's hand and said, "I hope to visit with you again sometime."
"As do I, Doctor Jackson." They both bowed to each other and then Daniel left.
When he stepped through the gate, he saw all that Tuplo's people had given them and was almost speechless. "I didn't realize it was this much! They were handing it through while I was talking to Tuplo." He scanned the cartons and said, "Wow! They've thought of everything. Even toilet paper!"
Sam laughed and said, "It's amazing, isn't it? Do you remember the debriefing we had after that mission? Teal'c said they were pretty angry when he asked them for a sample of their blood. Poor Teal'c. He hadn't been with us very long and here he was being asked to step in and get blood samples from a culture that the Goa'uld would have easily enslaved and he would have been in charge of enslaving them. How Janet got him to do it, I'll never know."
Daniel sat down on a boulder and wiped his brow with a handkerchief. "I know. I was there, at first, remember? Janet was desperate and she wasn't taking 'No' for an answer. General Hammond was ready to set the self-destruct if we couldn't find a cure. I can't imagine having that decision to make."
Sam sat down next to him and said, "Thank God it all worked out. Teal'c came back with the blood samples but from what I heard, he was horrified that he'd lost you on the dark side."
"All because of my stupid sense of chivalry." Daniel looked away and sighed.
"Hey," Sam patted his shoulder. "You weren't wrong to try to help Melocia. You couldn't have known that it was a trap."
"I should'a listened to Teal'c and just left her there. We would have gotten the samples and gone home. Because of me, he might have been taken prisoner, too. And then he wouldn't have gotten the blood samples and you'd have all been dead. And, I would have been stuck on that planet behaving like a cave-man!"
Daniel looked upset and she rubbed his back as he scowled. "But, that's not what happened! You were pretty amazing. When we came through the gate and saw that you were sitting next to Melocia, protecting her- I think, from the others." Sam saw him blush and said, "You didn't do anything wrong, Daniel! Somewhere, deep inside, you were trying to do the right thing by helping her."
Daniel looked at her in horror. "Do you really believe that? Good god! I was probably thinking of raping her! I had no morals, Sam. There were no good intentions in my head, believe me!"
"I don't believe that!" Sam got up and walked a few feet away. "You're not like other men, Daniel. You're good and decent. I've seen all kinds and believe me, you're different from all the rest. What do you remember about it?"
He didn't know what to say. He barely remembered anything of the incident and she wanted details? "I don't remember. Not really. I have vague impressions of violence but that's about it."
"That's it? Nothing else?"
He sat quietly for a moment and then said, "I do remember that after they attacked me, I was dragged back to their camp and kicked around a bit. One guy in particular kept trying to hit me with a big stick. They wouldn't let him, though." He looked away and took a deep breath.
"Have you ever talked about this with anyone?"
"McKenzie. He tried to tell me that I had issues. No kidding. I don't need a shrink to tell me that."
Sam nodded and then said, "What else?"
Daniel ran his hand through his hair and sighed again. "I tried to get away but every time I tried, they beat me."
Sam sat down next to him and said, "I remember that Janet kept you in the infirmary for a few days, just to make sure you were okay. One day, you were sitting on the bed with your back to me. There were bruises. It looked... painful."
Daniel nodded and took her hand. "You were recovering from that knife wound, too."
"It was minor compared to what you went through." They both were silent for a bit and then she said, "Let's get this stowed away. I want to get out of here." He nodded and they both spent the afternoon figuring out where everything should go. Then, they left.