Hey I'm back, the mocks are over (yay!), its back to school on Monday (d'oh!) and my fingers are itching to type.

It would seem that you've all already guessed who the mystery man is and yes I know it is ooc for him but he seemed to just slot into the role brilliantly.  I've tried to make it believable and I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 7

            'It's … Jacob Carter.'

            A heavy silence rang out through the thicket.  All eyes fell on Sam as they watched to see how she would take the news.  Shock drained the colour from her face but it soon came flooding back in anger.

            'What do you mean?' she demanded in a tight voice.

            'I didn't want to believe it at first, either.'  Trinity looked up, a single tear shining in the corner of her eye.  'I was seven, he was one of my closest friends.  I thought it was a cruel game someone was playing but then I saw you crying and I knew it was true.'

            Sam held her silence, but the battle between anger, disbelief and despair was evident in her eyes.  Trinity let the tear fall, praying that Sam would take it better than she had when Trinity had been seven.

            'No,' she said finally 'I don't believe you.  You can't just go around accusing people like that!  Where's your proof?'

            Trinity reached into one of her numerous pockets and withdrew a small envelope.  She held it out for Sam, who snatched it up and tore it open.  A small circular disk fell onto the ground and glinted in the midday sun.

            'That contains a record of everything we've discovered about the Sha'ra, from their formation to the present day.  Including the name of their leader.' Trinity told her.

            'He wouldn't' Sam insisted stubbornly.

            'The Jacob Carter you know wouldn't, but he changed.  I can't explain how or why, all I know is that he did.  He became a completely different person.'

            'Why are you telling me this?'

            'Because ignorance may be bliss but if I hadn't told you and you bumped into him down there, you would be totally unprepared and he would hurt you again.  We almost lost you before, I never want to have to live through that again.'

            Sam stared at the tiny disk.  Did it really contain her future?  Could it prove beyond a shadow of a doubt what her father would become?

            'Please, you've got to believe me.  I wouldn't make something like this up.'

            'Lieutenant O'Neill may be telling the truth,' Teal'c announced.  'What she has told us suggests that the world has changed a great deal.  Is it not possible that the people have changed also?'

            'What if the rest is lies?'

            'Carter, see reason.'

            'Don't stand up for her because she's your daughter!'

            Jack frowned at Sam.  'Look, what she says makes sense.  We've seen people change in the heat of the moment, hell we've done it.'

            'But not my father –'

            'Just because he's your father does that make him immune to corruption and incapable of deceit?'

            Sam opened her mouth to protest but knew he was right.  More surprising than that were the words he had used, she was rubbing off on him.

            'Now' Jack said, sensing victory 'as much as I enjoy sitting on my ass, I think we have somewhere else to be.'

            He smiled coyly and scrambled to his feet, Teal'c and Trinity followed suit but Sam remained seated.

            'I didn't want to hurt you,' Trinity said desperately, 'I only wanted to prepare you.'

            Sam sighed. 'I guess I just wasn't ready to hear it.'

            Trinity smiled knowingly. 'Don't worry, your future isn't all doom and gloom, there are some things that you can actually look forward to.'

            Sam managed a small smile and reluctantly stood up.

~

            'Dad, please!'  Colonel Carter tried in vain to get through to her father.  Over the years he seemed to have built a wall around his mind locking out all emotions, only leaving room for scheming and desire.

            His daughter too had been locked out, all compassion was gone but Sam refused to give up hope.  The pain and suffering he caused was vast but there had always been hope.  Hope that that would be the day when he would stop and just be her dad again.  Even now she thought if she could just find a small hole in the wall, a blind spot in his defences, then she might be able to snap him out of it.

            Her mind never let go of that shining ray of hope.  It had been with her, had eased the pain, through thirteen years of suffering and it was with her still.  And, though both reason and Jack told her to set it free, it was her prisoner.

            'Dad!'

            'Call me what you like, child; I have grown weary of your cries.  They were amusing at first but have become quite an annoyance.'

            No matter what he told himself or what mental blocks he put up, Jacob still felt for his daughter.  He acknowledged it as a weakness and it was that weakness that allowed her to remain unchained.  Neither could he bring himself to inflict any injuries by his own hand.  He had seen how, in the beginning, this had fuelled her hope and so he took it out on Jack.  After all this was Jack's fault really.  So many times he had stood at the edge of death, and had he died Sam would be free and needn't have come to any harm.  But he always lived.

            Jack he treated much differently to Sam.  Both suffered but Jack was looking the worse for wear.  Aside from the water that was necessary to prolong his suffering, he had consumed nothing and heavy shackles held his wrists and ankles.

            In comparison, Sam's situation was much more comfortable.  She was allowed a meagre meal every other day and the only thing that kept her in the room was a large door.

            A cry of pain was followed by a sharp intake of breath and Sam bit her lip to brace for the next impact.  She had long since stopped fighting her attackers and she lacked the strength to retaliate now.

            Jacob held out his hand.  The guard unballed his fist and left the room with a small bow.

            'Come Sam, stop fighting it.  Join me and –'

            'Never!' Sam cried.

            'Very well.' he turned his back on her. 'The child will die whether I have you by my side or not.'

            'But why?  Why does she have to die?'

            A leer crept onto his face. 'You know perfectly well why she must die.  The infant she carries will destroy us all.'

            'The baby's innocent.'

            'No, it's destiny is already written.'

            'People make their own destiny.'

            'Not this one.  But enough, we have had this conversation before.  She will be here soon; she is too much her father's daughter to stay away.  Then she shall meet her fate.'