CHAPTER THREE

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Sorry it took me so long to get the next post up. I've been out doing stuff with my cousins from interstate so I couldn't really get on the computer. Anyways, on with the show…

SPOILER WARNING: Divide and Conquer, Window of Opportunity, Into the Fire and Solitudes (Nothing big for the last two, just references)

"I have no idea, sir," Sam said, standing up to look out the bars.

Well they weren't really bars, more laser barricades, preventing them leaving the room. Jack was pacing up and down the cell, trying to think of some way to bust out of the place. But they both knew that there was no way to do so, without backup.

"You woke up. Knocked out the guy, and made a run for it?" he asked, kicking at the solid rock wall. "Ow! For crying out loud!"

"That's all I remember, yes," Sam said, sitting back down. "How long was I gone?"

"A week or so," Jack replied, trying to rub his foot to make it feel better. "Damn Goa'ulds."

"And you really thought I was dead?" Sam asked.

"Well SG-13 had a pretty convincing story, don't ya reckon?" Jack retorted. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you."

"It's OK," Sam said.

"It's just that I haven't slept since you 'disappeared'," Jack replied. "I couldn't help but think that you were gone, that made me feel empty. And you know I can't sleep on an empty stomach."

Sam smiled. "Yes, sir."

There was a short silence. Jack walked towards the bars again and looked out. There were no guards in view, the one's that had been there had been called away hours before hand. He suddenly smiled and turned around.

"Remember when you bit my hand after that light thing blew up and knocked us out?" Jack asked, walking over to her and sitting down on her other side.

"Yes," Sam replied, wondering where he was going.

"That's kinda funny now," he said.

"Yes," Sam repeated.

There was another silence.

"You know…" he looked at her. "Never mind."

"What?" she asked. "I'm curious now, go on."

"Truth or dare?" he asked.

Sam was rather taken aback by the game she hadn't played since she was a teenager. "Uh, truth."

"Umm…about the Zatarc thing - "Jack started.

"Oh," Sam said, pretending that she suddenly found her shoes and the dirt beneath extremely entertaining. "What about it?"

"Well, how did you, uh, know that that's what we were holding back?" Jack asked, also deciding that Carter's shoes and the dirt were more interesting.

"I was thinking and I remembered the, um, way you protested when I told you to leave me," Sam said, looking at the wall on the other side of her. "I just knew…"

"You're too smart," Jack smiled. "Hey when do you think dinner is around here?"

"My turn," Sam said. "Truth or dare?"

"Usually I'd go for dare, but today I'm guessing there's not many dare's you can do in a Goa'uld cell, so I'm going to choose truth," Jack said.

"You know how when you came out of the timeloop and Daniel asked you if you'd ever been tempted to do anything that would be erased the next day?" Sam started.

Oh oh, Jack thought. This can't be good.

"Yeah," he said aloud.

"Well you didn't answer him, you just smiled and…you just smiled, what did you do that you wouldn't tell Daniel?" Sam asked. "Remember you have to tell, that's the rules of the game."

"I…" Jack started, they're eyes meeting.

There was a sudden sound of loud stomping outside the cell. They both turned their heads in the direction of the sound; Jack jumped off the table.

"Who's there?" he asked, thanking the Goa'ulds that this one time their timing had been just right.

"The woman comes with us," a Jaffa said, appearing around the corner.

"Oh no she doesn't, I go where she goes," Jack said.

He'd already lost her once, he wasn't planning on doing so again. He looked in her direction. She had that pleading look in her eyes again, the one he couldn't resist abiding by. He sighed and dropped his gaze.

"As you wish, Carter," he said. "Just remember, you won't find out the answer unless you come back, so you'd better come back."

"I will sir, I promise," Sam replied, following the Jaffa out of the cell.

Jack sighed and headed back to his seat. She'd better come back, he thought. I'm not gonna loose her again.

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"Well they obviously didn't enter through the back of the neck, or someone would have noticed," Janet said, looking around the briefing table. "Unless the Goa'uld have discovered some way to conceal the wound, they must have entered through the throat like the Tok'ra do."

"What about Jack and Sam?" Daniel asked. "How are we going to get them back?"

"I'll send you and Teal'c to go and find them. Right now I can't spare anymore than that and we need Dr Frasier here. We've sent the SG teams that remained on base after SG-13 to bring them back here, I only hope they haven't left that planet," Hammond informed them. "I've…"

OFFWORLD ACTIVATION the alarm started screeching.

"…called the Tok'ra to come and help remove the Goa'uld symbionts from SG-13," Hammond finished. "That should be them now."

They all stood up and ran to the control room. Sure enough Anise/Freya and two other Tok'ra guards stepped through the gate. The wormhole closed behind them. Daniel rolled his eyes at Anise's clothing, they were always the talk of the SGC when she was around. They didn't look like clothes, a lot of them resembled underwear.

"General Hammond," Anise said, nodding her head. "Selmac will be joining us within half an hour, he just had some business to clear up back home. We have heard the news that Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter have been captured by Goa'uld forces again. Do not send anyone to help them, we have our operatives there, they'll rescue them, don't you worry about it. Now General, about SG-13…"

Daniel knew that her speech was directed at Teal'c and himself. Many times SG-1 had gone off to save someone, or prevent something and accidentally killed Tok'ra operatives in the process. Anise disliked this, as did many of the other Tok'ra; yet they remained friends with Earth.

"If it is against the Tok'ra's wishes, we will remain here on Earth," Teal'c said, turning to Daniel.

"I guess we'll have to," Daniel sighed.

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"Kneel before me," said a familiar voice.

Sam's head spun around. "Apophis. I should've known it would be you."

"Do not speak unless spoken to," Apophis ordered. "Why have you come here?"

"You tell me, someone brought me here, I woke up in the facility," Sam replied. "My friends merely came to rescue me."

"Rescue you? Did Colonel Jack O'Neill really think he could escape this facility without being caught by your guards?" Apophis laughed evilly. "Never. But he was blinded by love for his dear, sweet Samantha Carter."

"What are you planning to do with us?" Sam asked, ignoring the comment.

"Leave you here so you're friends will be lured in, that way we can have all of your team and I will make you watched them all suffer and die before I turn you into a host and you will be my new wife, in the place of Amonette," Apophis jeered.

"What about Colonel O'Neill?" Sam asked, starting to get worried.

"I will leave him for last. You are closest to him, you will feel his death the most," Apophis smiled sinisterly again. "Jaffa, Kree."

The Jaffa nodded and grabbed Sam roughly by the arm. "Follow me."

You don't give me much choice, do you? Sam thought to herself, following the Jaffa's footsteps.

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"Where is she?" Jack asked, getting impatiently.

The Jaffa guard stationed outside his cell ignored him. Jack kicked at the ground, not daring to touch the bars incase they were real lasers.

"Jaffa Kree," Jack tried.

The Jaffa turned its head towards him. "Human, if you will not be quiet you will give me away."

"Bra'tac?" Jack asked in awe. "You always turn up at the right time. Where's Carter?"

"I cannot answer that question," Bra'tac replied. "Now keep your mouth shut, human."

Jack decided it was better to let Bra'tac be Bra'tac. He returned to his seat and kicked the dirt beneath him. After a while he found himself making the shape of a love heart with his feet in the dirt. He stared at it for a moment and the scuffed his foot across it, destroying the evidence. It suddenly occurred to him that there was dirt beneath him.

"Hey Bra'tac," Jack said. "Could we possibly dig our way out of this cell?"

"Human, if I have to tell you one more time to be quiet I'll…" Bra'tac stopped and flicked his helmet lid up. "Dig? I never thought of that. I'll have to talk with the Tok'ra operatives before I agree to anything. But we can try."

He turned around and walked a little bit up the hall then started to shout something in Jaffa that Jack couldn't understand. He only managed to pick up the words 'Jaffa' and 'Kree'. Suddenly two more Jaffa appeared around the corner, pulling Sam between them. She looked fine to him, they hadn't even tortured her.

"Sam are you alright?" Jack asked as they tossed her back into the cell.

"I'm fine," she said. "But we've got to get out of here, they're planning to lure Daniel and Teal'c here and then murder them in front of my eyes, then you…"

She choked on her words and he could tell she was about to cry. "Then he's going to make me a host, his new queen."

"Who?" Jack asked. "Who's he?"

"Apophis," Sam whispered.

Jack reached out to her, she was still sitting on the dirt, and put his arms around her. He leaned his mouth close to her ear and for a moment she thought he was going to do something romantic. But then he came out with:

"Bra'tac's here, he's gonna get us out. We might have to dig, but it's a way," Jack whispered.

She expected him to move away from her at that point, but instead he kept holding her. She swallowed her tears and hugged him back.

"I won't loose you, not again," Jack said. "I can't."