Tangled Alliances
Chapter 14
It took a while for Sam to find a comfortable position after her teammates had left. The cuts and welts inflicted by the whip made it impossible for her to lie on her back, so she ended up lying on her stomach, which brought back memories of the night before when she had played the seductress to get that promise from Daniel. She was a little embarrassed by her behavior, but the end results made it all worth it. She had enjoyed it just as much as Daniel did, but it was Daniel's admission that he really didn't love her "that way" that made her actions worthwhile. She had been so afraid he would be the one to suffer the most when this was all over.
She lay there in pain, feeling every last one of the cuts and bruises on her back, while at the same time, luxuriating in the feel of the clean sheet on her skin. The bedding had been changed by the time she was brought in, so she didn't get to see the incriminating evidence of her inability to produce a child. But all the guards were insistent that there was blood on the sheet. Sam couldn't help but wonder if they had lied just to see her be punished. She closed her eyes as she lay on her bed, wondering why anyone would want to lie about that, or put the blood on her sheet to incriminate her. The only person she could think of that could possibly be that mad at her was the woman in the kitchen who had burst out in tears the first day Sam got there. Was this something she did in retaliation?
It could be anyone, Sam realized, anyone with a grudge. She just wished she knew who it was. How can she fight back, if she didn't know who to defend herself against?
The adrenalin that had been racing through her veins from the moment she had been dragged up off her seat was finally wearing off, leaving Sam a little drowsy, too drowsy to deal with her fears and her anger at a certain Colonel who was a borderline control freak.
Okay. That was not a fair assessment, she thought with a sigh. Jack was only looking out for her best interests, but it still rankled that he had to choose that moment to "flex his muscles", to show her who's the boss. And ever the soldier, Sam Carter gave in. Between answering to the guards and giving into Jack O'Neill, Sam wondered if she was ever going to get her freedom back.
Better to not dwell on it, she thought, as she lay there in the quiet tent. The silence calmed her, and she was just nodding off when her escort from the day before showed up. "Get up," the young guard insisted. "Lord Reymes wants to know of your progress."
"Right," Sam said, as she gingerly sat up. The cuts on her back hurt as she did so, but not as badly as it could have been. The guards had whipped that other poor woman half to death. Sam was grateful to Daniel for his idea, even if it was the most humiliating experience of her life. She shuddered, causing more pain, as she remembered the feel of the overseer's fingers digging deep inside of her in his overeager attempt to find blood. It was a vivid memory that just wouldn't leave her alone. She remembered how he had stared into her eyes as he slid his hand across her flesh, and Sam couldn't help but think that he had the most beautiful eyes, even as she hated him for the intrusion of his fingers. The conflicting thoughts made things easier, as she had then been able to distance herself as she wondered what in the world had she been thinking. The man was an overseer, which made him an enemy, especially when he had taken his time in his search. She should hate him, not admire his eyes.
But she was not able to completely distance herself from the invasion. She had watched his expression when he had put his hand into her pants, and she had tensed up when his fingers pushed their way into her core. She had jerked away from his touch at that point, involuntarily pulling away from the intrusion, and still his expression showed no feeling. It was if he was just doing his job, nothing more. This bothered Sam. She had expected him to grin wickedly at her, but his expression made him seem less evil.
The feel of his fingers as they probed deep within her was still fresh in her mind when she had washed herself right after her team had left. There were several basins sitting on a table, set up specifically for the slaves to use when they awoke in the morning and Sam made use of one of them, scrubbing herself diligently in an effort to erase the feel of the overseer's fingers.
And now she was faced with the possibility of another assault with another guard, at least that's what it seemed like. The guard that was now standing at the end of her bed stared at her in a way that was totally inappropriate, as far as she was concerned. He was practically leering at her, which caused Sam to push herself up off the bed in an effort to ward off his thoughts. "I'm ready," she said, as she walked past him to lead the way. She could only hope that Jack would see that she had no choice in the matter of disobeying his order. She thought that maybe he would, especially since she was with a guard.
The guard followed her out, but came up to walk beside her as they made their way to the main building. She looked over at the yard in front of the children's ward, shrugging her shoulders slightly when Jack looked over at her, hoping to tell him that this wasn't her fault. She couldn't tell what his thoughts were on her predicament, but she couldn't go over to do any explaining either. So she continued to head off toward her makeshift lab, all the while wondering if she could convince her escort to allow her to have a little talk with Jack later on. This way she could explain why she wasn't resting and still make an attempt to heal the rift between him and Daniel.
"Hurry," the guard demanded. He grabbed her arm and pulled her along, causing her to cry out in pain. She glared at the young guard, who was now giving her an apologetic look, but still continued to pull her along. "Lord Reymes wants a status report now. We must not keep him waiting."
Seeing Reymes was not at the top of Sam's list of things she wanted, but she followed the guard, picking up her pace to keep him from pulling on her arm again. They stopped at the entrance so that he could go through the ritual all the guards went through. Sam couldn't help but wonder if Teal'c did the same when he had to enter the building. She decided against asking, although she was just as curious as to why the slaves weren't expected to do so.
But it was time to face the piper. They walked down the hallway, while Sam dreaded the meeting with every step she took. She had put more effort into the radio than she had with the fan, and now she was going to have to convince Reymes that she needed more time. She could only hope that he wouldn't think she needed another punishment. Her guard had told her what Reymes could do and she didn't want to have to deal with that. She wasn't sure she believed the part about Reymes hurting people by thought alone, but then again the man that had been writhing on the floor didn't show any signs of physical abuse either.
Sam stood in front of Reymes, watching as he sat back in his chair, while he lazily took inventory of her appearance. His eyes raked her from head to toe, before coming back up to settle on her face, giving Sam the impression that this man knew more than she gave him credit for. His overseers must report to him on an hourly basis, she thought, as she waited to be acknowledged.
"Are you breeding?" he asked, surprising Sam. She had thought she was there because of the fan.
"I am not sure, my Lord," she said, proud of herself for being able to keep up the pretense. What she really wanted to do was tell him where to shove it. "I hope that I am."
"It is your sworn duty to produce another slave to add to my kingdom," he told her. She didn't know what to say to that, so she kept her silence. He seemed to accept her silence, as he continued to watch her, although his gaze was starting to make her nervous. She wished she knew what he was thinking.
"Where is this device that you promised me?" he suddenly asked. This was more like it, Sam thought, as she geared up to give him her excuses. At least he was no longer thinking of her in terms of a breeder.
"I'm almost finished with it. I just need to do a little more work on building the motor, then divert the power from the alternative source I found in the…ow!" she yelped, as she turned her glare onto the young guard who had jabbed his stick into her ribs. He gave her a pointed look, and Sam realized that she had gone off on a tangent again. She scowled at him once more, then turned her attention to Reymes. "I should have it ready for you by midday, my Lord."
Reymes grinned at their antics, then nodded his head. "Bring it to me when it is finished. I wish to see for myself that you were not lying to me." His eyes had darkened, as he stared at her, giving her the impression that he was angry with her. She stood there wondering what she should apologize for, then breathed a sigh of relief when he waved his hand to indicate that they should leave. Her head was starting to hurt, and she just wanted to get out of that place.
The sky had darkened when Sam was finally free to leave the building later that afternoon. She had presented Reymes with the fan, which pleased him so much that he had demanded she build him something else to make his life more comfortable. Sam had to do some fast thinking to come up with another "invention". He was intrigued with her idea of building a pump that would bring water into his palace, and he had decreed that she should start on it right away, much to the chagrin of her guard. It was apparent that he didn't want to have to spend any more time with her than he had to. Sitting around watching her work was way too boring, or so he said when he complained to the overseer.
The overseer didn't seem to care what the young guard thought. Both Sam and the guard had to clear her new duties with the overseer and Sam tried not to show any weaknesses in front of the man who had violated her privacy so thoroughly. He didn't sneer at her, in fact, it appeared as if he was as embarrassed as she was, but Sam knew better than to let down her guard. He'd already shown her that he would not hesitate to beat the crap out of her. He would turn on her in a heartbeat if the situation arose, and she was not about to give him a reason to do so.
So she stood there quietly, trying not to show her anger at what he had done to her, while her escort, practically begged to be given another job. "I could stand guard at the gate," he insisted. "You were pleased with my performance…"
"Perhaps you could stand guard in the kitchen," the overseer threatened, causing the young guard to turn pale.
"I'll stay with Sam," the young guard said hastily. Sam could relate to that response. She hated working in the hot, sweaty kitchen, as well.
The overseer nodded, apparently expecting that response. He then turned to Sam to ask, "What do you require to build this pump?"
Sam straightened her spine, defiantly refusing to let any weaknesses show through her expression. "I will need some type of casing in which to house the rotor, as well as some rubber to construct a diaphragm. I think a diaphragm pump would probably be the simplest and the most efficient way to go, especially since I will be working with a limited power source." Both men were staring at her with concern, and Sam figured she should go into more detail to help them understand. "You see, a diaphragm pump usually has a compartment with enough air compression to force the inner mechanism to pump the water out through…"
"Do we have what you need in the maintenance room?" the overseer asked, apparently not even remotely interested in the mechanics of a diaphragm pump. Sam shook her head to answer his question, while at the same time, wondering why she even tried to explain this stuff to people. Most people always just cut her off at the pass.
"I can use some of the parts stored in the maintenance room, but I will have to do some scavenging to find the casing and some rubber or a similar material to make the diaphragm," she said, a little miffed at him for his interruption. "I was hoping that I would be allowed to look around the compound to see if I can find what I need."
"Compound?" the overseer asked, anger moving in. "This is Lord Reymes' kingdom. You would do well to remember that."
Wonderful, Sam thought, so much for keeping her guard up. "You are right," she hurried to apologize. "I won't forget again."
The overseer stared at her for a moment, and Sam hoped he would believe her. Apparently he did, as he nodded his head to indicate that they should leave. "See to it that she finds what she needs," he demanded.
Sam's guard nodded, albeit a little reluctantly, then turned to leave. She moved to follow him, but stopped and turned toward the overseer. He gave her a questioning look, while Sam stood there debating on whether she should ask him if she could go talk to Jack. She wanted nothing more than to make Jack understand just what was going on between the three of them, and to help heal the rift between him and Daniel, but she wasn't sure how to find the time to talk to him privately. The young guard wasn't going to give her the opportunity to ask anything, because he immediately grabbed her arm to pull her along. Agony raced across Sam's back, causing her to cry out. She pulled away, while glaring at her tormentor, who didn't seem to care.
"You will come away with me now!" he demanded, reminding her with his attitude that she was just a slave and she would be better off doing as she was told. She nodded at him, knowing that his attitude was brought on mainly to impress the overseer, but she still wanted to slap him into the next galaxy anyway.
"All right," she told him, then decided to just take a chance. She turned to the overseer and posed the question before her courage left her for good. "May I visit with Jack sometime today?"
The overseer gaped, while the young guard hissed at her. Okay, this was not good. She was just about to apologize and beat a hasty retreat, figuring it really wasn't that important, when the overseer nodded his head, shocking both Sam and her guard, whose eyes nearly bugged out. Sam had been convinced that she was about to be killed for her impetuous question, so she was fully prepared to apologize all over the man. But he had agreed and her shock turned into pleasure. She tried to hide her smile as she bowed her head in gratitude, hoping to keep from antagonizing the man into changing his mind. "Thank you."
"You deserve it after what you went through today."
It was Sam's turn to gape, as she tried to figure out what he was telling her. Surely he was not apologizing for what he had done. He was an overseer. It was his job to make sure the slaves did as they were told, when they were told. Apologizing was not something an overseer would do, yet his statement definitely sound like one to Sam. Something was definitely not right in Reymes 'kingdom' and Sam wondered, for what seemed like the thousandth time, just what was going on.
"Thank you," she said again, still too stunned to think of anything else to say, but not willing to let him change his mind. She really did want to talk to Jack.
The overseer turned at that point and left them both standing there. The young guard waited until the man was out of range, then started in on her. "You were lucky," he scolded. "What were you thinking? I am surprised he didn't put you back up on that crossbeam."
"I guess I wasn't thinking about the consequences," she told him, hoping to pacify him long enough to get him to back off. "Let's go look for something to put the pump in. What did you say your name was?"
Sam got her opportunity to talk with Jack later that afternoon. She had found some metal containers that held some possibility toward becoming a pump, and she and Lucan, her young guard, took it back to the maintenance room to set it up. By the time she had found something to convert into a makeshift welding torch, Lucan announced that he was thoroughly bored and wanted to go out to get some air.
Sam wholeheartedly agreed with him and followed him out to the yard, then worried that he would insist on staying with her while she visited with Jack. Relief set in when he told her to stay in the children's yard until he got back, then took off toward the other side of the compound to talk with a female guard. Sam grinned when she saw who he was heading toward. The guard apparently figured to go after someone near his own age.
Sam turned toward the children's yard, but as she walked toward Jack, she noticed that he wasn't alone. Another woman sat with him on the grass, causing Sam to wonder whether she should talk to him about Daniel now. She wasn't sure she could trust the woman, although Jack seemed to be at ease with her. He was smiling at her, leaving Sam to wonder just what was going on between the two.
But she couldn't back down now. There was no better time than the present, she told herself. She smiled at Jack when he looked up, hoping to ease the way into her explanations as to why she was not resting as he had commanded. He nodded his head in greeting, but didn't return the smile.
"Hi Jack," she said. "Am I interrupting anything?"
"No. Please join us," the woman responded instead. She was sitting next to Jack with a baby on her lap and two more sleeping on the ground next to her. She was nursing the baby, which left Sam a little uncomfortable. The woman apparently didn't mind people watching her as she nursed the child.
"Have a seat," Jack invited, waving his hand to indicate the ground next to him. Sam glanced at the woman once more, than sat down next to Jack on the grass. "This is Elda. She was telling me about the animals that live on the planet where she is from." Elda smiled at her, and Sam warmed up to her. She seemed like a nice person, judging by the smile Jack sent her way. If he liked Elda, Sam figured she had to be okay.
"Hello Sam," Elda said, surprising Sam a little. Jack hadn't introduced them, but apparently he didn't have to. "Janna speaks very highly of you," Elda explained. Sam nodded. Janna was one of the women who shared the tent she and Daniel slept in, and in fact, was the one who told her about the potion that the guards drank down. Sam grinned a little when she remembered Daniel's remark that Jack should be glad he was babysitting.
"How are you feeling?" Jack asked, his voice carrying a hint of anger, which prompted Sam to go on the defensive.
"I'm feeling much better. I tried to rest, but Lord Reymes had other ideas." She tried looking into his eyes to see if he understood her message, but he turned to stare out at the kids who were plucking at pieces of grass. "I can't defy my master, can I?" she added, with a trace of anger in her voice.
He turned suddenly and stared at her, almost as if he was trying to determine something. She smiled at him, a little confused at what it was he wanted, but he didn't push it. He turned to stare out at the children again, while Sam sat there, wanting to ask what was going on, but not willing to trust Elda just yet.
Elda took the hint, at least it seemed that way when she pulled the baby away from her breast and laid him down on the grass next to the others, then proceeded to straighten her shirt as she stood up. "I'll just leave you two alone to talk," she said. Sam smiled at her, while Elda turned to Jack. "I'll be back to help bring the children in when it starts to rain." Jack nodded at her, then turned his attention toward Sam.
"I didn't have a choice, Jack," Sam insisted, before he got the chance to say anything.
"I know that. I saw the way that kid yanked your arm to get you to follow him."
She gave him a relieved smile, glad that he understood. "That hurt," she complained good-naturedly.
"I wanted to go over there and kick his ass." Sam's smile grew wider at his grumbling. At least he wasn't mad at her anymore.
"It's a good thing you didn't. I don't want you to die on my account."
He stared at her in surprise, but then hid his expression behind his words. "The guards aren't allowed to kill the slaves. Didn't you know that?"
"Really? They sure had me fooled."
"Really," he confirmed, as he turned to watch the children pull up the blades of grass. The wind had picked up along with the threat of rain, and Sam watched as it rifled through his hair, teasing the short strands along his forehead. He was so handsome, yet so distant and sadness filled her soul as she sat there staring at him. How she hated the fact that she was not allowed to tell him her feelings.
"Will you get in trouble for being here with me?" he asked.
Sam shook her head to not only answer his question, but to ward off the melancholy that had been creeping up on her. "I got permission to come visit with you."
"Oh yeah? How'd you manage that?"
"I asked."
He nodded vaguely at her as he processed that response. "You asked." Sam grinned at his disbelief. It was obvious that he wasn't buying her story. She nodded and he gave in. "Why?"
"Why what?" The man could be so confusing sometimes.
"Why did you want to come visit me?"
"Because we need to talk," she said in an effort to keep her cool. Why wouldn't she want to visit with him?
"Nothing to talk about Carter," he responded.
"I want to talk to you about Daniel." She had been right. He was still mad at Daniel. The look on his face turned as stormy as the clouds that hovered over their heads, and Sam worried that he was going to start yelling at her.
"What about him?" he growled. Sam decided to tread carefully from that point on. She knew from first hand experience what this man was capable of when he was angry. But he was a master at hiding his emotions, and it hadn't taken him long to hide everything away, acting as if nothing was wrong. This was worse than the angry expression. At least she knew what she was up against when she could tell what his thoughts were by the look on his face.
"He's not at fault here," she said, as she watched him warily. "He's only doing what needs to be done to keep me safe."
"I know. And I'm glad. Hey you two. Cut that out!" Sam looked over at the two children who had captured Jack's attention. A little boy had been pulling on the hair of another child, but Jack's voice had stopped him in the act. Unfortunately, the other child started to cry, which had Jack rolling his eyes at Sam in frustration.
"Babysitting," he grouched, causing Sam to smile. She watched as the child came over to sit next to Jack, who pulled the child into a hug, calming the tears and stopping any screams that could bring guards to set things straight. Jack was a natural with children, a fact that Sam had learned a long time ago. Both Cassandra and Charlie, the Re'tu boy, had been prime examples of the loyalty Jack garnered from the children he encountered. The overseer had chosen the right job for Jack, even if Jack did resent his position.
Sam smiled at the little boy as he peeked up at her with tear filled eyes. He was a cute kid, much more expressive than Joseph, who watched from his seat in front of them. Joseph was pulling up grass along with the rest of the children, quietly minding his own business. Joseph was a beautiful child, Sam realized. With his wide gray eyes and light brown hair, his somber expression reminded Sam of the tragedies he must have lived through. She turned her smile onto Joseph, who got up and came over to sit in her lap. To say she was surprised at this turn of events was an understatement at best. Joseph usually clung to Jack.
She looked over at Jack, giving him a helpless look, then smiled back at him when he grinned at her. He gave the little boy in his lap one last hug, then turned to Sam. "You're a natural with kids," he told her. Her smile turned to a look of surprise at that statement. What made him think that? She looked down at Joseph, then shook her head to negate Jack's beliefs.
"Not really," she admitted. "I mean just because I get along with Cassie and my brother's kids, doesn't mean that I'm good with them. And you can't count Marin," she told him when she saw that he didn't believe her. "She and I shared a love of physics and laser technology…" She stopped then, realizing that she was rambling in her embarrassment at being complimented, then shook her head with a laugh. "I like kids sometimes, even thought about having some of my own in the future…" Okay Sam, she thought, as she realized she was still rambling, stop while you are ahead. Jack was sitting there quietly, letting her ramble, and she realized that she had gotten off the subject she really wanted to talk about. She had her suspicions that this is what Jack wanted, but she could be stubborn when she wanted to be. "Sorry about that. Now can we talk about Daniel and you?"
"There's nothing to talk about, Sam. As long as you don't let your relationship interfere with your performance as a Major, I don't have a problem." Sam stared at him for a minute, debating on whether she should just slap him and be done with it. She'd much rather face a court martial than to have to deal with his little innuendoes. Her performance as a Major hadn't been an issue when she and Jack had been dealing with their 'non-relationship'.
"There's nothing going on between Daniel and I," she gritted out, anger rising up at his accusations. How dare he question her ability as an officer! "We talked about it last night and realized that we will always remain friends."
"Friends?" he asked, his own anger showing through. "You're sleeping with him. You do that with all your friends? Maybe I should…" He stopped then, his face registering his horror and his shame, then hurriedly tried to apologize. "God Sam, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."
Sam didn't answer right away. She sat there and stared at him, stunned to the core that he would say something so harsh. "We don't have a choice," she said, pain chipping away at her heart. His words hurt just as much as the whip. Oh what's the use? It was apparent that he was going to hang on to his own pain, and Sam decided to let him get on with it. "I guess I should be going," she snapped.
"No!" he said, stopping her from lifting Joseph up off her lap so that she could leave Jack to his self-pity. She stopped and waited for him to say something, but he was now at a loss for words. Typical of him, she thought angrily. She smiled at Joseph through her anger, and made to get up. Jack had other ideas though, as he reached over to stop her by putting his hand on her arm. "Don't go just yet," he said. "Please."
Sam sat there, stiff and unyielding, trying desperately to hide the hurt that had manifested in her heart. He had no right to insinuate that she was a whore. She knew it was anger making him say those things, but the words had hurt her badly.
"Look, I'm sorry," he told her again. "I thought I was over it, but I guess…" He turned to face her head on, his fingers reaching up to touch her cheek, but Sam was now leery of his intentions. She pulled back from his touch, waiting to hear what he was going to say before letting her guard down. He gave a dejected nod at her refusal to let him near, then tried to smile. "Do you remember those feelings I told you about when we were sitting by ourselves in Administrator Caulder's underground world?" Sam nodded, a small smile escaping her as she remembered his feeble attempts to tell her that he cared more for her than she had thought. Although they had spent a few stolen hours consummating their relationship during the weeks they were living there, it wasn't until he had told her of his feelings from a "previous life" that she really understood how much she loved him. His words had made her feel better about their brief encounters of love making, and she had told him so at the time.
"I still have those feelings," he continued, as he stared into her eyes. Sam wanted to cry, but she nodded at him instead, knowing his words to be true. He had always tried to hide those feelings from her and the rest of the world, but Sam knew his secret, just as he knew hers.
Silence fell between them. Sam couldn't speak over the lump in her throat, so she looked out toward the main building, wishing they could act out on their feelings. She was glad that she had that time with Daniel, loving him with her body while forging a bond of friendship that would never be broken, but the situation had forced her to come to terms with her inner feelings of love for her commanding officer. She loved him and she would never have him, but worse still was the fact that she was faced with pretending they were just teammates for God knew how many years to come. Sam wasn't sure if she would be able to keep up the pretenses for much longer.
"This last week has been hard on me," Jack said, apparently thinking she hadn't forgiven him for his cruel words. "I tried to pretend, but I guess this was just too much for me to put behind me." Sam waited, wondering where this conversation was leading. Was he going to confess to his feelings again? "I hate it that it's my friend you're sleeping with," he admitted, his voice laced with sadness.
"I know," Sam said, as she stared into his eyes. He was sincere in his words; she knew that, just as she knew how hard it was for him to talk to her about his feelings. But she still had a mission to accomplish. "This is just as hard on Daniel," she told him, wondering if he had even thought about that. Apparently, he hadn't, judging by the look of surprise on his face. Typical, she thought angrily. "Any point on the triangle could be considered the middle, meaning Daniel is dealing with just as much pain and anger as we are." He now had a thoughtful look on his face, but Sam wanted to make sure he understood. "Daniel told me that we are like family to him, yet here he is forced to do something to tear that family apart. This is destroying him, Jack, and it's destroying me to know that our friendships don't really mean a thing."
"Then we don't let it," Jack said. Sam stared at him, wondering if things really could be that simple. He would have to let go of his jealousy, as well as forgive both her and Daniel, and Sam wondered if he really was willing to do that. "We make a great team," he added with a smile. "And since it's obvious that I still have those feelings for you, I can now tell you that I don't want anything to destroy you." Sam was blushing now, and he laughed at her reaction. "You're adorable when you blush like that." She grinned at that remark, knowing that he was just teasing her. But more importantly, for the first time since Reymes decreed that she and Daniel produce a future slave, Sam really believed that things could go back to normal between the members of SG-1, especially between the three of them. Now all she had to do was to keep the peace between them until they could escape.
"My name is Sam too," a little girl said, as she plucked up a handful of grass. Sam stared at the child, who was smiling at her as she worked. "Jack calls me that," the child explained.
"Really?" Sam asked, as she turned to look at Jack. He gave her a guilty grin while he shrugged his shoulders and Sam gave him an encouraging look.
"She reminds me of you, okay?" Jack said innocently. Sam was now curious. She went back to staring at the child to see if she could find a resemblance. The little girl had brown eyes and curly red hair, almost the complete opposite of Sam, who gave up and looked over at Jack with a questioning look in her eyes. "She likes to beat up on kids that are bigger than her," he said, as if that was all he needed to say. Sam kept staring at him, waiting for the rest, but he grinned and put up his fists in front of his face, then moved his shoulders back and forth while waving his fists about as if he was waiting to throw a punch. It was all she could do to keep from laughing at his antics.
"I do not like to beat up on kids," she insisted with a grin. He grinned back at her, but Sam's attention was drawn to a low rumbling sound that reverberated through the air. It was a familiar sound, and she looked up toward the sky hoping that she was right. Jack jumped up to do his own searching and Sam struggled to get up to stand next to him. The noise grew louder, but Sam couldn't see anything past the dark clouds that hovered over him. "Do you see it?" she asked, her heart racing with the implications of what she was hearing.
"No," Jack said, his gaze moving off to the distance.
"What is it?" Elda asked, as she came over to stand next to Sam. Sam looked over at her, noticing for the first time that people all over the compound had stopped to see what was going on. Even the children were following Jack's gaze and were looking up to find whatever it was Jack was looking for.
"There!" he shouted, causing Sam to look up just in time to see a UAV flying overhead, its silver body a bright contrast to the dark gray clouds that had filled the sky. "Yesss!" he yelled, his voice filled with enough excitement to keep Sam's heart going for a month. Sam smiled at his enthusiasm, as she watched the UAV fly off into the distance, then turned to smile at her commanding officer.
But her smile dimmed as she saw the look on his face. He was no longer smiling as he stared at Elda and Joseph. His expression now showed sadness and defeat. Sam's brow wrinkled in confusion as she wondered what he was thinking. They were about to be saved, why would he be staring at Elda like that?
Elda was also at a total loss, Sam realized, as she took in the other woman's expression. Elda was looking back at Jack with a confused smile on her face, obviously sharing in the joy he had experienced, but not sure why. "What is it?" Elda asked.
Sam didn't respond. She stood there watching as Jack closed down on his feelings. It was fascinating to watch, one second he was experiencing extreme defeat and despair, then the next he was acting as if nothing was going on. His expression was bland, as he gave Elda a weak smile, then told her, "Just an unidentified flying object. Pretty cool, don't you think?"
Elda nodded, although Sam could tell she was still at a loss as to what was going on. But Sam had finally figured it out. Jack had realized just what the presence of the UAV meant. Sure, it meant that SG-1 was just another step closer to being rescued, but it also meant there was a possibility that he would be leaving Elda and Joseph behind. Sam could understand his feelings toward the boy who had practically adopted Jack, but now she was left to wondering just what really was going on between Jack and Elda.
She worked on getting past the jealousy that tried to flare up, then smiled at Elda. "Men and their toys," she said with a roll of her eyes. Elda nodded in agreement, as she smiled at Jack. Apparently, the men of her culture were the same way. Jack grunted at the remark, but didn't reply. He just started rounding up the kids to help take them into the children's ward to get them out of the rain.
"I'll see you later, Sam," he said, as huge drops of rain fell from the sky. Elda picked up one of the sleeping babies, while Jack struggled to pick up the other two. "Hopefully, Daniel got through to Hammond," he told her, with a smile. She nodded at that, then went over to help him by taking one of the babies from him. She had noticed that he was still favoring his left arm, and she was determined to keep him from making things worse.
"I can help," she insisted when he looked at her with surprise. He shrugged, as he turned away, while Sam followed him toward the building. She watched as he reached over to help Elda, smiling at her when she thanked him and Sam felt another tug of jealousy, which she studiously tried to squelch.
Apparently, the triangle had turned into a square.