Chapter 7

Sam woke with a start and sat up, pulling the sleeping bag up to cover her bare chest. She looked over at the empty space Jack had occupied the night before. Well, some of the night before. For the better part of their time together last night they had pretty much occupied the same space, a thought that brought a small smile to her face.

"Good morning, sleepy head." His voice attracted her attention to the corner of the room, where he was pulling a T-shirt over his head. The faint light outside told her it was nearly dawn.

"You're up early," she said, her voice still rough with sleep.

"Yeah, well, I couldn't sleep. Thought I'd get an early start to the day. Despite a rather active night, I feel…strangely energized," he smiled. He picked up various articles of her clothing from the floor as he walked toward her. When he reached the edge of the bed, he paused and his expression turned serious. He sat down next to her and studied her for a moment. "So. Regrets?"

She reached out and ran a finger along his jaw line. Her voice was soft. "I'm the one who came on to you, remember?"

He placed his hand over hers, kissed it, and moved it to the bed, intertwining their fingers. He looked up at her from where their hands rested together, and sighed. "Well, I think that one's up for debate. Still – and I can't believe I'm going to say this – I think we may need to talk."

The wince that accompanied his last sentence made her laugh out loud. She flopped back on the bed, pulling the covers up over her head. "OK, but do we have to talk now? How about a little later – say, sometime when we're not being terrorized by disembodied voices and disappearing weaponry?"

"Fair enough," he replied, sounding amused and more than just a little relieved.

"Now, before Daniel barges in here and I have to explain why I'm naked in your bed, can you hand me my clothes?"

"Oh, I'd much prefer if you come and get them!" And with that, he pulled the covers off of her and ran across the room waving her T-shirt.

Once she was mostly clothed – a task that took somewhat longer than expected, given their impromptu game of chase – Sam peeked out of Jack's door to check the hallway. Seeing that the coast was clear, she quietly made her way across the hall to her own room.

She opened her door slowly and slipped into the dim space, trying not to make a sound. She knew if she were caught sneaking back into her room at the crack of dawn, Daniel wouldn't stop questioning her until he got a full confession. And as much as she loved and trusted Daniel, she wasn't sure she was ready to share the intimate details of her love life with him. Especially when those details involved her Commanding Officer.

Breathing a sigh of relief that the door seemed to be well oiled despite its age, she slowly shut it behind her and turned toward the room. As her eyes began to adjust to the light, she realized something was wrong. Squinting, she looked at her bed – and let out a scream.

Jack was at her side more quickly than Sam would have thought possible, with Loren then Daniel close behind. Jack grabbed her arm, but she just stared straight ahead, tears streaming down her face. Jack followed her gaze to her bed and inhaled sharply as he took in the bloody mess and tried to figure out exactly what he was looking at.

"Jesus!" he exclaimed, as realization dawned.

"What is that?" asked Daniel.

Sam let out a sob. "I think it's the cat."

Loren turned and ran out of the room, immediately getting sick in the hall. The remaining three stared at the dismembered carcass of the cat. Its entrails had methodically been distributed over the surface of the bed, with its head, two pairs of legs, and tail placed on the four corners of the mattress.

Jack rubbed his hands through his hair. "Okay, this really isn't funny anymore."

"Guys, there's writing on the wall." Daniel pointed to the wall above the bed. Sure enough, scrawled in the cat's blood was a single Goa'uld symbol.

Sam's voice was just above a whisper. "Daniel, what does it say?"

Daniel hesitated, looking uncomfortable. "Well," he started, "it has several different meanings, actually, all derogatory.…"

"Daniel!" Jack yelled.

"It, um…it's a slang word for 'prostitute.' It means 'slut' or 'whore.'"

"Oh, God," Sam sobbed as she buried her face in her hands.

Jack's features immediately hardened. "Son of a bitch!" He rubbed his hands over his face and immediately resumed his military bearing. "Okay, we've clearly got a psychopath on our hands here. One who has access to our rooms, has taken some of our things, including weapons, and is able to remain well hidden. What else do we know?"

"Um, I hate to ask this…." If possible, Daniel appeared even more uncomfortable than before.

"Spit it out, Daniel!" Jack had clearly lost what little patience he had left.

"Sam," he looked at her apologetically, "how is it that you didn't see or hear any of this happen?"

Sam flushed and stared at Daniel with wide eyes. But before she could respond, Jack answered for her, his voice soft now. "She stayed in my room last night, Daniel."

Daniel nodded, as though he expected that answer. Sam wasn't sure if she was embarrassed or relieved. He paused before his next statement and looked at Jack. "Then it's possible that this…thing, whatever it is, may have done this in retaliation for her decision to spend the night with you."

Jack took a deep breath and amended his previous assessment. "So, not only is this guy a sick fuck, he – or it – has some sort of twisted obsession with Carter."

At this, all color drained from Sam's face. "That's just great," she muttered. Jack reached out and touched her arm in an uncharacteristically comforting gesture, but she remained tense.

Jack dropped his hand and got down to business. "Look, this guy must be getting around the palace, into our rooms, through some means other than the hallway." Jack sighed. "You know how much I hate clichés, but I'm wondering if there's not some sort of secret passageway around here."

Sam's eyes went wide. "Yes, that would explain the footsteps and other sounds Loren and I heard coming from the wall."

Jack immediately turned and walked over to examine the wall. Like most of the palace, it was partially covered in ornate Goa'uld hieroglyphs. He began pressing on some of the symbols. Sam and Daniel quickly began imitating his actions. Before long, one of the symbols Sam pressed gave way and she heard a click. The three of them looked toward the source of the sound, and a crack appeared in a large, floor-to-ceiling panel to the right of her bed.

"Which one did you push?" Jack asked.

"It was a bird." she pointed to a symbol near the window. "Here."

"Make a note of it. It may be the same in the other rooms."

Jack walked over to panel and pushed it slightly. It rotated ninety degrees, opening into a small, dark space.

A/N - with apologies to my fellow cat lovers. :(