Chapter 7: Hide Your Love Away

Disclaimer and gang are attached to part one.

Author's note//

Ever had a chapter that wrote itself? Well this one certainly did! Jeez, this one's long! *g* Anywho, welcome to the climax.

Thanks to the reviewers. *g*

(I'll see what I can do about the happy ending, organized-chaos.)

Enjoy guys!

-S

***

"…So we gate in, rescue the Tok'ra, and then get our asses outta there before they even know what's hit 'em," Colonel O'Neill summed up.

"O'Neill, you are forgetting about the numerous Jaffa who will be guarding Nephthys and his prisoner."

Still have to teach Teal'c the subtleties of my humour, thought the Colonel, and for some reason, that made him smile. Out loud, he spoke, "Oh. Yeah. Them."

SG-1 plus General Hammond and Jacob Carter were in the briefing room staring at a map of the Goa'uld Nephthys' facility.

"How heavily guarded is the Gate?" asked Daniel.

Jacob answered, "Usually, according to Lateef, there is no one guarding the Stargate."

Jack's head shot up and he looked at Sam's dad questionably, "No guard? That sounds… easy?"

"Probably because they aren't expecting visitors…?" Daniel's voice trailed off.

Jacob Carter offered an easy answer, "It's more likely because the facility isn't Nephthys' usual hide-out. There is a minimum of Jaffa on hand."

"Sweet." Although, if the Colonel was a Goa'uld, guarding the Stargate would be vital. But he wasn't a snakehead, which was something to be grateful for, he supposed.

"But with the noise that the Stargate makes, won't that cause some attention?" Daniel spoke with his brow creased in concentration.

"The Stargate is in a garden well out of sight of the facility."

"So no one will know that we're coming?" confirmed Daniel.

"Yeah, that's the idea," answered Jacob.

"Too easy," Jack muttered under his breath.

It was the best plan Jack had had in a long time: gate in, set up a distraction, rescue the Tok'ra, and then get their asses outta there before they even knew what hit 'em (notice the obvious sarcastic tone of the sentence).

It didn't help that everyone kept looking at him like he was a bomb, counting down in Goa'uld, so no one knew when he was going to go off. Then again, if he was counting off in Goa'uld, then Daniel, Teal'c and anyone else who spoke Goa'uld would then theoretically know…

The Colonel's thoughts were interrupted by the General's voice, "SG-1, you have a go."

Oh, yeah, mission. Colonel O'Neill did a half spin towards where the General was watching and gave a sloppy salute. Then, turning towards the rest of his team… no, not team, just Teal'c and Daniel, said, "Let's go, Campers!"

See, look, I'm alright everyone. I'm my usual sarcastic self. Jack stepped through the Stargate and enjoyed the ride.

***

Major Sam Carter was in a black room. Either that or she had her eyes closed… the Major experimentally tried to open her eyes. Nope, that wasn't it. She was having the oddest feeling, surrounded by this darkness. It was almost like she was weightless.

Sam had to find her friends. She couldn't let the Entity hurt them. And, damn it, she wanted out of this room, this box, this prison.

Major Carter screamed. She yelled until she was gasping from lack of breath.

"I AM HERE! I AM HERE! I AM HERE!"

Kamilah's eyes opened wide. She sat up quickly and found herself momentarily overrun with dizziness. What the hell was that? Now I'm having dreams that I'm this woman… Major Carter, she thought with disgust. Kamilah probably would have continued pondering about the idiocy of her dreams, but then she noticed something strange.

Runihura was not in the bed. He'd certainly been there when she'd fallen asleep. It was the middle of the night and her husband couldn't be found.

Where is he?

Kamilah scanned the room. The bedroom door was open and Kamilah, if she strained her ears, could hear footsteps.

Quietly, she slipped off of the mattress and crept over to the door. There was Runihura, pulling on a robe. Kamilah breathed a sigh of relief, she'd thought… oh, she didn't know what she'd thought.

But it didn't seem like it was simply a case of insomnia plaguing Runihura. There was a definite purpose in his actions. He walked out of the joining room and into the hallway. Kamilah didn't know why, but she felt compelled to follow her husband. She trailed behind him at a distance, with a stealth that actually surprised her.

The hallways were like a maze, endless paths of twists and turns. Added with the veil of night, Kamilah soon lost all orientation. Runihura was leading her through places that she'd never seen before. Eventually, he came to a halt in front of a doorway. Runihura glanced around suspiciously as if sensing her presence intuitively. About ten meters away, Kamilah ducked behind a stone statue. Runihura opened the door and entered the room a few seconds later, satisfied that no one was there.

Kamilah patted the stone deity lightly, Looks like I finally found a purpose for these things. Runihura's wife crept closer towards the room; the door was slightly ajar, and as she approached, she could hear voices.

"…starting to remember, Runihura. She will completely recover her memories if we don't do something soon."

That's Mert's voice! What's going on? Are they talking about me?

"The Tok'ra. He knows her… or knows Major Carter. It is only a matter of time before Nephthys will find out. Then she will be taken away from me."

"But if it is Nephthys' will…" protested Mert meekly.

Runihura let out a dry laugh, "Whatever Nephthys wants, he gets? No, not this time. She's mine!"

Kamilah shuttered at his words… his possessive tone scared her.

Runihura continued, "Get rid of the guards that heard the ranting of the Tok'ra about my beloved. It might be necessary to kill the Tok'ra as well…"

"But Nephthys!"

"…will know nothing!" snapped Runihura, "Also, give my wife some more of that forgetting potion. We don't want Major Carter becoming a problem."

Her husband moved so that he was inches away from Mert. "Understood?" He scratched his fingernails over Mert's cheek.

Mert was shaking as she nodded 'yes'.

"Good," replied Runihura.

Kamilah dashed away from the crack at the door and ran into the closest room. She held her breath until she saw Runihura walk down the hall and turn a sharp corner. I'm going to throw up… Kamilah thought and felt her knees buckle. Her mind proceeded to try and process the information that had been given to her on a platter.

Her name was Major Sam Carter. That man… the Tok'ra knew her, the real her. Mert and Runihura had been lying to her, deceiving her, poisoning her!

Where am I really from? Do I have a family? Friends? Is Runihura even my husband?

The dreams, the Stargate. They held the answers.

Sam waited until the coast was clear and then began walking through the maze once more. She had to find the Tok'ra, Lateef.

But where the hell would he be?

***

Teal'c had already started the parameter check when the Colonel reached the other side of the Stargate. His P-90 was up and ready for the expected shoot-fest, only there was no one waiting to meet them.

'Jacob was right,' thought O'Neill, 'Weird.'

Daniel was the last one through and as soon as Jack saw that the archeologist was reasonably ready, he motioned for SG-1 to head out.

"O'Neill," whispered Teal'c, or at least as close as someone like Teal'c came to whispering, "There is no Dial Home Device."

The Colonel did a quick scan of the area. Teal'c was right, there was no DHD to be seen.

"Damn, I knew it," muttered Jack.

"Too easy," clarified Daniel, who had caught up on the Colonel's train of thought. Daniel continued, "Lateef probably knows how they work their Stargate. It could be controlled from somewhere in the facility, or maybe it's here and they've just hidden it somehow…"

Daniel's rambling, while somewhat useful, was not appreciated. Colonel O'Neill cut him off saying, "Okay, we find the Tok'ra, then deal with this crisis."

Teal'c and Daniel nodded in agreement.

SG-1 walked away from the broken Stargate, through the gardens of Abayomous. It was the middle of the night and the only indicator that they were not on their home planet was a second moon partially hidden by some clouds. When they reached the Goa'uld compound, Jack impatiently poked Daniel lightly on the shoulder. His message clear, stop evil Goa'uld first, scenery second.

They split up after they disposed of the two Jaffa guarding the entrance.

The plan was as follows: Jack provided the distraction, somehow, probably it involved blowing something up, and Teal'c and Daniel saved the captured Tok'ra.

Easy as pie.

***

Daniel and Teal'c wandered the halls of the fortress, eyes open, gun and staff-weapon raised.

It's too quiet, thought Dr. Jackson. The place seemed abandoned. There had been no sign of anyone other than the Jaffa at the entrance. There were no regular patrols…

Teal'c held up his hand and Daniel stopped.

"Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump."

Okay, maybe there were patrols.

Teal'c ducked into a branching hallway; Daniel was right on his heals. The small group of Jaffa pasted them with any complications. As soon as Teal'c and Daniel Jackson were sure that they were safe, they continued on their way, deeper into the labyrinth. Everything was good. Teal'c knew where they were going… at least, Daniel hoped Teal'c knew where they were going.

The archeologist didn't have to worry for long. A few minutes later, Teal'c glanced around cautiously, then spoke, "I believe that the Tok'ra is being held down these stairs."

Sure enough, right in front of them was a shallow staircase leading downward. I didn't know that the Goa'uld had stairs, thought Daniel fleetly. Once again, there were no guards. That was starting to irk him a bit.

"There will be Jaffa at the bottom of the stairs," added Teal'c.

Oh. Good to know. Daniel nodded his head to indicate that he understood. Together, they slowly ventured downwards.

A few zat shots later; the floor had two unconscious Jaffa on its hands. The "prison" was nothing special. The stairs had leaded them to yet another hallway. The prisoners were kept in adjoining rooms that branched off of the hall. Currently only one room was occupied.

Daniel peeped through a small window. Staring back at him was who Daniel believed could only be Lateef. The Tok'ra didn't seem very happy to see them.

Teal'c opened the door of the prison with a "key" he'd taken off one of the Jaffa.

"Daniel Jackson. Teal'c," said the Tok'ra, somewhat coldly, "The Tok'ra High Council sent you?"

Taken slightly back from the lack of gratitude, Daniel stuttered, "Yeah. We were sent to rescue you."

Lateef spoke angrily, "I would not have been in this situation if Major Carter hadn't alerted Nephthys that I was Tok'ra."

Sam? Sam was here? Sam is dead. What kind of game is he playing!

Daniel didn't know what to say. Thankfully, Teal'c took over, "That is not possible. Major Carter died over three months ago," Teal'c said bluntly.

Her body was never found.

"She is here, masquerading as the wife the High Minister Runihura," Lateef insisted.

No, no… Sam was dead. Daniel couldn't let himself be convinced by this feeble argument. It was just one, confused man… wait a second, did he say Runihura?

"Wait a second. Teal'c, when we were on P3X 972, the planet where Sam went missing, at the feast, there was another guest of honour… remember?"

"I do, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c picked up on what Daniel was thinking, "His name was Runihura. You believe that this man and the man that Lateef speaks of are one in the same?"

Daniel's mind spun into overdrive. "He disappeared right after Sam went missing," mused the doctor, "and now that I think of it, wasn't the woman who went missing with Sam his servant?" It all made sense! Why had it taken him this long to notice that?

"You believe that Major Carter may be alive, in this facility," stated Teal'c.

"Well, everything seems to be a bit a coincidental, huh?"

"Indeed."

"I suppose it is possible that Major Carter's been brainwashed into thinking that she's Runihura's wife. She claimed to know nothing of the Tok'ra or who she really was. She actually seemed quite frightened of me," added Lateef.

"Mind stamped?" Daniel asked. Not again.

Teal'c spoke, "It would explain why she didn't contact us."

"Yeah," agreed the doctor, "We have to find her."

"We should also let Colonel O'Neill know," added Teal'c. Daniel glanced at his watch; it was twenty minutes until Jack's "distraction". Daniel reached for his radio. How was he going to explain this one?

***

Sam's feet hurt, but she ignored the pain. The adrenaline rush that was due to the nightly revelations refused to wear off. Sam was going to find Lateef and she was going to find him soon. She had to find him soon… he might not be alive for much longer.

Hell, she might even be killed if she wasn't careful. Or brainwashed… again. She couldn't let that happen.

So Sam walked with a purpose, searching for the Tok'ra.

Someone was coming! She ducked behind a statue, her new favorite hiding place, and waited.

The footsteps were not that of the Jaffa. You could hear those from a mile away. No, these steps were soft, calculated. Sam shouldn't have been able to hear them at all; they were that quiet.

It was a man. A pale man with graying hair, which was covered by a military-issue cap. Sam couldn't hold back a gasp of shock. She knew without checking that his eyes were brown… and that, alerted by her noise, they were looking right at her.

It was the man from her dreams. Major Sam Carter stood up from her hiding spot and slowly walked towards him.

"Colonel?" she whispered.

***

Colonel O'Neill had done a damn good job with the C-4 this time. The entire third floor, what Jack figured was the kitchen, would soon be up in flames. He checked his watch, twenty-five minutes till show time. He only hoped that Daniel and Teal'c had done good and found the Tok'ra and finished the rescuing bit. Now if we can only figure out where the DHD's disappeared to…

The Colonel heard a noise; someone had breathed in a little too hard. Jack's P-90 came up with a mind of it's own. The hostile was behind a big rock statue-thing at four o'clock. The hostile was…

Oh my god.

Sam.

The woman he'd spent three months trying to forget stepped out in front of him… on an alien planet, dressed in strange clothes, her hair slightly grown out from it's short boy-cut, and looking lost and confused.

"Colonel?"

Somehow it didn't seem that weird. Jack found his legs moving forward without his permission. Sam walked a few steps shakily towards him. Jack's steady walk turned into a half jog and he grabbed her into a crushing embrace.

Oh, my god. It's Sam. She's alive. She's alive! Thank you, thank you, thank you…

Jack felt tears flow down his cheeks. Sam was returning the hug passionately. She was mummering soft words. "I know you, I know you, I know you…" she was repeating over and over.

Jack wasn't sure how long he held her for; it wasn't nearly long enough, but eventually, they broke apart. The Colonel held onto her hand, desperate to keep some kind of contact between them. Her first words caught him slightly off guard. Her voice was choked with emotion. "Who am I?"

It was then that realization dawned on Jack. It was Sam… but at the same time, it wasn't. It was like she'd lost her memory…

Oh, for crying out loud!

Before Jack could answer her question, he was interrupted with the familiar sound of his radio.

"Hey Jack, you there?" said Daniel Jackson into his ear.

"Yeah?" One-syllable answers were good.

"I know that this is going to sound kinda… odd. But Lateef, the Tok'ra says that…"

"Sam's alive," Jack interrupted. His voice slightly awed.

There was a moment of silence, then came Daniel's reply, "Yeah, that's what I was about to tell you."

"I found her."

"Oh. Oh?"

"She's lost her memory."

"Yeah, well, we kinda figured that something like that had happened."

The Colonel's mind kicked into gear. There was a mission to complete. "We've got to get her outta here. The C-4's set to go off in twenty minutes."

"We'll meet you at the gate?"

"Yeah…" replied Jack. Sam had put her index finger to her mouth and was pulling his arm into another corridor.

"Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump."

The guards approached with their impeccable timing.

"Daniel, Jaffa. We'll see you at the gate. O'Neill out."

Jack and Sam knelt, hidden in the shadows of the corridor. The statues seemed to provide little protection from prying eyes. If the Jaffa came down here… Jack lightly squeezed Sam's hand and even though it was childish, he held his breath as they waited for the guards to come. He hoped that his luck hadn't run out yet.

TBC

***

As always, luv to heard what you ppl think. I want to know what you guys liked, what you didn't, improvements, etc. *g*

I fully admit it. I'm addicted to this reviewing thing.

-S