Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I don't own Stargate, I don't own my house, I don't own my car, I don't own my pants. Where…are my pants? Where…is my car…? Oh shit..not again…VALA!!

Warning: Dark fic: Rape, Implied Rape, Torture, Violence and Sexual Content…I repeat graphic Sexual Content. There will be scenes and they will probably be graphic. Lemons and Limes are my kind of fruit, and if you ain't cool with that turn around now. Now on a different note, there is a little splash of torture, and a little dash of action, lot of blood, and a little gore zested on top for garnish. Read at your own risk

Aggressive Tendencies

Chapter 10: Withdrawal

Sam woke to the crackle of Jack's radio, and Vala's voice, bellowing from it. She was yelling, her voice etched in panic but she couldn't understand what she was saying through the haze of sleep. She bolted upright in the sleeping bag, feeling a shot of unwelcome pain jut through her. Something was wrong. Where did Jack go? He didn't go anywhere. He was right there. Laying on the floor of the cave. And not moving. Sam's eyes went wide at the sight of him laying there motionless. She fought back the sick feeling it bubbled inside her and grabbed the radio with a firm hand and forced herself to his side. She pressed the button with a shaky finger.

"Vala? Report." Sam let her voice fall back into the pattern. The Lt. Col. needed to handle this situation. Not the woman who loved that man on the floor.

The panicked voice came back, calmer but still not under control. "Daniel fell down, just collapsed and fell down."

"Where are you." She didn't question; she demanded. Knowing both Mitchell and Teal'c would be able to hear them she wondered why they had not responded to Vala's scared voice? Did they have their radios off? She glanced at the still General touching his face firmly. He wasn't warm anymore. He was burning up. Hot and covered in a layer of sweat. He was still but he wasn't peaceful. His breath came in shuddery gasps. She knew in her gut. Her mind worked quickly, connecting together the most likely of situation. They were under the influence of the drug, and because of that. They were going through withdrawal. They had been away from that stuff for so long they were suffering for it.

Vala's voice came out of the speaker again, but Sam wasn't completely listening, just absorbing the information around her as fast as she could. She felt relief course through her as she heard Mitchell's voice. Firm without any ill effect coming through the speaker. "We'll be right there."

"No." She barked, directly into the microphone before she had a second to think. She could see the expressions on their faces even if they weren't there. "Is there a hay field near you Col."

There wasn't an immediate answer and Carter snapped the question again. This wasn't a game she needed to know. "Yeah, it pretty far away though, we haven't had any problems yet."

"Stay there." She ordered firmly. "Jackson and the General aren't hurt. Their sick. If it is contagious you need to stay away, but more likely they have remained away from the field and away from the chemical in the hay. They are likely experiencing withdrawal, and if you leave the area, you'll experience it too." She knew that there was a delicate balance to maintain. If they stayed too long, there would be two uncontrollable men without backup, and if they left, they could end up incapacitated just as easily as Daniel and Jack. "I'll help Vala." She added, voice firm and sure. She stood, and turned to the front of the cave. She was shoeless and pantless but this wasn't the time to be concerned with that. She was more worried about the idea of leaving Jack alone and unprotected.

She had to get over it. She was going to need Vala's help, and Jack wasn't the only one in danger. She raced toward out the cave mouth and darted into the forest, she knew they were close.

They pulled Daniel's weight up between them and dragged him back into the safe haven of the cave. Setting him down on another sleeping bag, Sam touched his skin slowly. Her brain working hard as she noticed, he wasn't as hot. It didn't make any sense. . . He had been more effected by the drug then Jack. He had been less in control, yet he didn't seem nearly as sick. Why? She looked up at Vala, heart racing. "He isn't as hot as Jack. What did you do?"

Vala looked down, eyes searching for the answer in Daniel's slack face but there were none there. She only felt her heart hurt when she looked down at him. Then her eyes popped wide, eyes bright with the sudden realization "We went swimming in the river." She blurted out, and hardly had time to process before Sam's hands snatched up one of the canisters of water, screwed off the lid and splashed the harshly cold water all over Jack's face and chest.

Jack took a sharp intake of breath, sucking in air and getting lots of cold water mixed in with the fresh air. He sputtered and shivered as the world seem to crush in on him. It was freezing. Since when was he lounging naked in the Antarctic? It took his mind a second to catch up as he opened his eyes and looked up at Sam. Her face was worried. Really worried, and she couldn't hide it. He blinked hard and tried to move. But in that moment his body was far more worn then he had ever remembered it being before. He remembered sitting back and feeling a chill course over him. He looked down at him, he was so cold he was shivering, his shirt was soaking wet and clinging to his body, sucking away the heat like a leech on a wound. His brow furrowed as he looked up at the worrying woman.

"You have a fever." She said, voice strong, steady and calm. "We need to bring it down." She stopped her mouth there. She wouldn't want to accidentally say her fears out loud. She was absolutely terrified that there was no way for her to tell how hot he was. His face was deeply flushed and his breath came ragged. Could his fever be high enough to cause a seizer? Could his fever be high enough to make him boil from the inside out? They hadn't seen anyone outside the village and they hadn't heard any rumors of this planet. It was a very real possibility that there was no way to leave. That this withdrawal could be lethal.

She looked over at Daniel. He was slightly flushed but he was asleep. He looked peaceful, almost serine. He was warm, but not nearly as boiling hot as Jack was. She looked down into the man's deep brown eyes. He didn't quite look at her, but past her, into the edges of the dark cave wall. "Jack" She spoke with a firm and demanding tone. She chased away all the fear and said his name without thinking of saying anything more formal.

His eyes snapped to her. Hearing his name off her lips somehow felt like a pin dropping onto the surface of a pond. The surface tension enough to make the pin bounce on the water, but still sending it coiling and rippling through his mind and striking him as odd but familiar; lovely even. He opened his mouth to talk but ended up pulling in uneven breaths of air. He was so cold.

Sam took another canteen and poured it slowly over him. She cupped her hand and poured the cool liquid into her palm. She stroked his hair slowly, cooling his head with a tender touch. His eyes slowly closed again. But it was better that way. He couldn't fight this like mind control, his body had somehow become dependant in only hours, something so powerful would likely be extremely uncomfortable.

Vala was suddenly next to them. "How is he?" She asked, a soft whisper. Sam didn't look up. She repeated her motions, petting the man's face as he became unresponsive.

"He's still hot. I think he's cooling down, but it is difficult to tell." Sam brushed her hand down the man's bare arm, the warm flesh not kept as cool by any soaked fabric. "Daniel?"

Vala peeked back. "He's alright I think. Getting a little warmer though."

Sam nodded and handed her the half full canteen "We need to get him cooler." Vala took the container wordlessly. Looking at Sam as she watched Daniel. There was fear there. Fear for both of them, fear for her brothers in arms and fear for the men she knew and loved. Vala felt the slightest pang of jealousy. Sam knew Daniel better and far longer then Vala could ever hope to. The dark haired woman looked down at the General, the man who Daniel had such an obvious friendship. For a moment felt like an outsider again, Jack wasn't someone she knew very well, but knew him well enough sense his position in the team and the power he had there. How could this day get any worse? How could this trip be any more frustrating and terrible? She knew how it could. But Sam wouldn't let either of these men go without a fight.

Sam pulled herself away from Jack and placed her hand on Daniel's neck, three fingers pressing into his pulse point. His heart beat thumped regular, but fast, his skin warm under her touch. "We should keep him cool." She murmured, more thinking allowed then ordering Vala to take any action. She took the half empty container from the woman's limp hands and pulled off the top. She covered the opening with her fingers to lessen the flow and let the water sprinkle over Daniel's skin and dampen his shirt like thick rain.

When the water was gone Vala looked down at the two men, she glanced up at Sam's light blue gaze. They held there for a moment, the blonde's superior stare holding the brunette in her place. She shouldn't go alone. They also couldn't leave two feverish, unconscious men alone in the cave unprotected.

Vala knew that she didn't want to be alone under any circumstances but this wasn't anything she could control. She took one of the native's silent weapons from their pile of things and wordlessly left the cave for the river.

When Vala left, Sam felt like some of her energy left with her. She was alone. Two of her friends on the floor with hardly anything she could do for them. Fighting the fever wasn't going to make them better, it was only going to keep them from brain damage. She couldn't cure them. She couldn't save the world. Her PhD did her no good here. She felt the weakness setting in. The lack of sleep over the last day. The constant running. The fighting for her life still left in the trauma of her tired muscles. She was devoid of energy, of life. She sunk down and took a moment to breathe. Eyes closed. What was she supposed to do? She knew that Teal'c might be okay, but Cameron would defiantly go through the same thing when they went through the gate. At least he would have doctors. At least he would be better off. The woman sunk lower against the wall. She fought the tired tears. The pain the bubbled up in her head and told her she needed to lie down. She was the only one there to take care of them. She couldn't let them down after they risked everything to bring her back from the brink of death. Her body hurt. Her mind was tired. It didn't matter. She picked up the last canteen and sunk down next to Jack.

…---…

Vala hated running but she seemed to do so very much of it on this damn planet. She ran to the river, despite the loose barrowed boots on her feet she managed to keep her balance for a surprisingly large amount of the trip down to the river. She filled the canteens with the cold rush of water and ran back to the cave. She didn't want to be out alone. She didn't want to be trusted with getting the water back to Sam fast enough. But it didn't matter. She ran as hard as she could, pushing back her fatigue and letting the tree branches whip her across the face as she ran. Her feet ached by the time she was halfway back but she couldn't stop.

Vala returned with water to find Sam leaning against the wall eyes shuddered very close to closed, her focus shifting from one man to the other. The brunette approached breathless and sank next to her with a renewed sense of calm. They were okay. She could see Daniel breathing, he was alive, that should be enough. It calmed the panic at least a little, pushing it deep down in her gut to fester there. "How are they…?" She asked breathlessly. She checked her watch, idly wondering how long she had been gone. An hour. It had taken over an hour to run down to the river for two little canteens full of water.

Sam made a little smile and gently offered the breathless Vala one of the canteens. "It's okay. Their fever has broken. But we have a little problem."

"What's that?" Vala asked. Breath still a little straining, her heart sinking.

"We have to dry them off before they get hyperthermia." Sam said with a quirk of a smile. She didn't want Vala's run to be unnecessary, but it really was better that way.

Vala just laughed, a deep full laugh that echoed her appreciation for the irony of her situation.

…---…---…---…---…---…---…---…---…---…---…---…---…---…---…---…---…---…

Sam felt a little dirty, enjoying the sensation of peeling the wet clothes of Jack's body. He wasn't completely awake but he wasn't completely unconscious either. It seemed like sleepiness. A soft smile etched over his thin lips as the blonde's hands stroked him dry. Then she moved to his pants and damp boxers. She avoided her eyes at first. She didn't really think she should be sneaking a peak at his anatomy while he was in this state. Then she remembered him looking down her shirt and even with a blush across her face she glanced up anyways. He seemed perfectly shaped and sculpted, natural and beautiful as he lay, slightly flushed from head to toe, his naked body littered with the scars from years of military service. She let her eyes slip up across his tone abdomen and weave there way over the sparse hair of his chest, wondering for a moment what it would feel like between her fingers. She stopped herself suddenly, before she went to far, she had to remember she wasn't wearing any pants. She slid him into the soft fabric and realized she was just blushing even more. If she felt dirty before she felt worse now. She was achy and tired, and couldn't even think of leaving her bed for the next week and the only image she could conjure was him in bed with her.

God was he beautiful. How was she even expected to breathe with him naked like this? Sam gently maneuvered him but found herself getting flushed from the simple proximity of his body and pulled the blanket tightly around him. His finely sculpted muscles took made her mind spin and the gentle warmth of his skin sent a tingle down her spine that easily settled between her legs. No. This wasn't fair to admire him like this. And it certainly wasn't fair for him to be so gorgeous when he was feverish.

Sam was zipping Jack in when she looked up. Vala had her hand on Daniel's face, it looked like she was feeling for his temperature, but before long, her hand traveled down in a soft caress. An intimate touch that she didn't know was being witnessed. Sam averted her eyes and avoided the same contact with Jack. She just gently touched his cheek with the back of her hand. She remembered why it was inappropriate. She remembered why it was wrong. She was struggling to care.

Both women leaned back against the cave wall. Waiting. They didn't really know for what. Evening was approaching and there was still no contact from the SGC. There had to be a reason. There had to be a reasonable explanation why they haven't attempted to make contact. She didn't want to think that the reason was because they had tried and failed. That wasn't a good option. That wasn't an acceptable option.

The silence stretched and encroached on them. Sam finally broke it. "Thank you."

Vala's light eyes flickered to Sam, she looked tired. Very tired, as if staying awake was almost too difficult. "For what…I almost got you killed…"

"No." Sam said firmly. "I'll have more nightmares about what would have happened if you had run, then what happened actually happened to me back there." One look let Sam know the brunette felt the same way. Maybe Sam didn't really know how close to death she was. Or maybe she did know and it was just something she has accepted as part of the job from the begining. The soldier would take the beating. The soldier could be pounded on and torn apart and could pick herself up again. A soldier was trained to fight, trained to do what was necessary. But the woman in her was terrified of being broken. She left the woman at home. She had to. She had to leave that part of her far away from the General, far away from the damage of violence and death. "You know. You have this way. This way of worming your way from being annoying to being invaluable."

"Thanks!" She quipped knocking her shoulder against the taller blonde with a smile.

Sam's next words were darker, stronger, more a warning or order than a request. "Don't hurt him."

"What?" Vala responded, a little choke to her voice. A little surprised by the bluntness of Sam's statement, but when she turned to look at her, she could see why. Those eyes were tired. So tired that she didn't have the energy to beat around the bush for a while. The was serious.

"Daniel is an all of nothing kind of guy. You give him all. Or you give him nothing. He had plenty of woman chasing after him. I don't blame them. But if you can't love him. If you can't give it all to him. Then break his heart now before you shatter it into a million little pieces." There was a look in her eyes. The look that said everything she needed to know. If she hurt Daniel, she'd probably have Jack, Teal'c and Sam to answer to.

But Vala wasn't one to cave at threats, Vala wasn't one to back down or back pedal. In for a penny; in for a pound. "I wouldn't dream of it, I mean what could be worse for either of us than stringing him along for ten years, knowing he won't move on, but being too stubborn to sacrifice what I want, for what we need. And let there be no mistake Sam, he is what I need."

Sam lifted an eyebrow down at the other woman. Oh, she weaseled her way in where she didn't belong. Yet somehow, the agreement there. She loved him, Sam could tell because she knew the pain of that emotion all too well. Knew that feeling, that longing and that promise, that she couldn't bare to keep. Somehow Sam knew that the reasons where silly now. Gone. "Especially if it's about rules." The blonde returned with a smirk. "That would just be a shame, to waste that much time. Screw the regs."

Vala cracked a smile. "That's right. Screw um with a hammer!"

Sam couldn't correct the woman's mistake, she just laughed, she had to. She needed to. There was too much tension. And too much pain in her body to let her just sit there and calmly explain that a hammer drove nails and a screwdriver turned screws. No. This was a time to laugh like a bloody fool.

The sound of merriment was interrupted by a singular wonderful sound. The crackle of a radio. "SG-1, This is Stargate Command. Do you read. SG-1 This is Stargate Command. Do you read."