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Chapter 5

In the seconds before the staff blast had hit her, Samantha Carter had known she would be killed. What she hadn't known was that it wouldn't be the end of her. Only moments after Daniel had been taken from the room, she opened her eyes, and glanced around to find herself in the same sarcophagus.

Sam sat up quickly, and looked for anyone familiar. But Amaunet had gone, Daniel was nowhere in sight--only a few jaffa and serpent guards with their helmets up were in the room. Why am I alive? She wondered.

Two of the un-helmeted jaffa pulled her from the sarcophagus. When she was on her feet, she pulled away from them. They allowed her to remain free, but herded her toward the nearest door. She went with them, knowing by now that it was useless to ask questions, because she wouldn't get any answers. She also hoped that, if Daniel was still alive, she would be led to him.

The two guards took Carter to a set of rings, and used them. Then she was led through a series of corridors that all looked the same. They were similar to what she would expect to find on a Goa'uld ship, but different enough to keep her confused. Finally her patience and hopes were rewarded when they took her to a holding cell.

The door opened, and the first thing Sam noticed as they pushed her in was Daniel's unconscious form lying on one of the familiar, wide benches sticking out from one of the walls of the all-too-familiar holding room. As the door shut behind her she went to his side, bent down beside the bench, and attempted to rouse him.

"Daniel? Can you hear me?" When he didn't answer she began to shake him gently. "Come on, Daniel, wake up. It's me." After a moment her efforts were rewarded when her friend groaned, and his eyes slowly opened. When Daniel saw her, they quickly widened.

"Sam!" he said, sitting up.

"In the flesh," she said, smiling as she stood to sit beside him.

Daniel leaned to hug her. "Thank goodness you're alive. I-I thought…"

She grimaced to herself as she returned the embrace, remembering what he was referring to. "Yeah, I know. I was."

Daniel released her and sat back, looking at her, relief still evident on his face. "But…I don't understand. Amaunet told me she had you killed because she didn't need you. She wanted me. Why did she revive you?"

Carter shook her head. "I don't know. I haven't seen her. She wasn't there when I woke up, and no one else has volunteered any information," she said, inclining her head in the direction of the jaffa outside the door.

"Yeah…but what they will or won't tell us is the least of my worries right now."

Sam turned back to him when she heard the emotion in his voice. He wasn't looking at her anymore; he was staring down at his hands.

She gulped. "Daniel, I'm sorry. I know this must be hard for you…"

Daniel shrugged. His effort to keep his emotions in check now that he actually had time to think about what was happening was outwardly obvious. Then, to her surprise, what appeared to be a half smile curled his mouth upward.

"Daniel? What is it?"

Finally he looked up at her again. "I was just thinking. Maybe the fact that you're still alive proves that that monster isn't completely in control of her. I mean, remember what happened just before she left Abydos with Apophis a few months ago? She looked straight at us but didn't give us away."

"Wrong again, Doctor Jackson."

The scientist's head snapped up at the sound of her voice, and Carter spun, both of them standing. The door to the cell was opening; Amaunet stood on the other side, several serpent guards behind her. When the opening was clear, she took a few steps into the room.

Daniel moved in front of her. "Why did you revive Sam? I'm not complaining, but…you said you killed her because she was useless to you. Why did you change your mind? What's going on?"

"My jaffa already had orders to kill anyone else that came through the gate besides you, because we only needed you. But…" She frowned, and it was the first time either SG-1 member had heard a Goa'uld pause in uncertainty. "After more careful consideration it was decided that Samantha Carter was more valuable alive."

Daniel's smile returned, but this time it was to mock the creature that controlled his wife's body. "You made a mistake."

He didn't see the hand coming before the back of it slapped the left side of his face so hard he stumbled backwards and fell to the floor, crying out.

"Hey!" Carter yelped, moving to Daniel's side. She tried to help him up, but he waved her off and stood on his own. The entire left side of his head throbbed, and he glared at the woman in front of him. She glared right back, her stare even more fierce than his own.

One of the jaffa behind her, obviously the highest ranking, stepped forward to bark at the human. "Don't speak to the queen in such a way. Our lady Amaunet is a goddess; she cannot make mistakes. Speak of such blasphemy again and I will kill you where you stand."

Daniel spoke through clenched teeth, and Sam watched on, fearing for his life as she looked back and forth between them. "She's not a god," he said, never taking his eyes from his wife. "Amaunet is a parasite that has taken control of a human body-my wife's human body. She's just as prone to make mistakes as any of us. She just admitted to one!" His frown deepened. "And the biggest mistake she ever made was choosing that body."

The jaffa brought his staff weapon up angrily, perfectly willing to blast this insolent human into oblivion, and Daniel stared him down. But Carter could see the tears that gathered in his eyes.

"Kree Jaffa!" Amaunet said before he could do anything with it, calling him off. At another silent nod from his queen, he opened his zat'ni'katel instead, and promptly fired.

Daniel shouted in pain when the electric-like beam from the zat hit him, sending pain through every last nerve in his body. He collapsed again, shivering. Carter knelt beside him as he gasped, struggling to regain control of his trembling body. Finally, after what seemed an eternity but was really only a few seconds, the pain faded to a dull, residual ache, and he could move again. But by the time he got to his knees and looked up, he and Carter were alone in the cell again.

"Daniel, are you alright?" Sam asked in concern.

He nodded, now rubbing his still stinging cheek. "Physically, anyway-I think. I can't say the same emotionally…" He trailed off, sighing heavily and blinking back tears. It seemed that the resolve he had shown toward Amaunet only a moment before had left with her. She didn't blame him.

Carter rubbed his back comfortingly. "Hey, at least we know where she is. Now all we have to do is get out of here and make sure we bring her with us, right?"

"Yeah, right." Daniel winced, and she could see that a good-sized bruise was forming on the side of his face. "Note to self-it really hurts to get hit when they have a ribbon device on their hand. Not to mention the fact that Goa'ulds are strong anyway…owww." She could tell that the humorous comment's only purpose had been to keep himself from crying.

Sighing again, he stood, moved to the bench in the corner of the room, and sat down again. Sam followed.

"Now what?" he asked, too distraught to really consider it himself.

"Well…I could try to hot-wire the door, but that hasn't worked so great in the past. We're just not familiar enough with Goa'uld technology." Carter offered.

"Yeah, I know," Daniel said. He leaned back against the wall, hiding his red-rimmed eyes in the shadow at the edge of the room "I'm sorry, I'm just not going to be much help right now. I need…time…I just-I can't…"

Sam put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "I know. It's all right. Why don't you just…tell me what happened before they brought me in here. Did I miss anything? Do you know why Amaunet wants you here?"

Daniel gulped. "Yeah. She wants me dead."

"What? But then why…"

"She didn't want it to be that quick."

Carter's eyes widened. She'd known that seeing Sha're under the control of Amaunet again must have been hard for him, but now she understood why he looked so shaken.

"Oh, Daniel, I had no idea…"

"It's okay Sam. There's nothing you can do about it," Daniel said quietly.

Carter looked at him for another moment or so, concern still on her face, but then she sighed and sat back against the wall herself, hoping that some kind of idea would come to her.