Title: SG-3 (10/10)
Rating: R
Spoilers: None
Details: The last part! Nnnoooo! Angst, Sam/Daniel, Hurt/Comfort
Summary: Sam's gamble takes a dangerous turn
Disclaimer: None of the characters or places in this story belong to me, they are the property of MGM Worldwide, ShowTime, Gekko Film Corporation and Brad Wright. No copyright infringement intended - please don't sue me! I'm skint anyhow.
Author Notes: Enjoy, and please send feedback! Song lyrics belong to Evanescence - I had no part in writing them!
~SG-3 (10/10) ~
(c) Ruth, June 2003
**********
Sam fell out of the gate on the other side and instantly held her weapon at the ready. She relaxed when she ascertained that there was no threat in her surrounding area, and continued on through a thick forest.
**********
Robert was positively fuming.
"What the fuck does she think she's doing?" he yelled, slamming his fists down on the desk so hard that it rattled.
"Colonel Makepeace, please calm down!"
"General, does it not bother you that an inferior officer just disobeyed orders from your highest chain of command?"
"In what way is she inferior, Colonel?" Hammond asked.
Makepeace sighed and threw his fist at the table again. "Rank, dammit! I meant her rank!"
"Colonel, there is no doubt here that what Captain Carter did was wrong, but…"
"It's a court-martialable offence! Fuck, I knew she was rebellious, but this?"
"Colonel, calm down!"
"She's throwing away her career for the sake of one dopey archaeologist!"
General Hammond was angry. "Look here, Colonel Makepeace! Dr Jackson may be of an inferior rank to you, but he is a well-liked and respected member of this facility, and we wouldn't be here without him! You do not speak about my officers in that way - do you understand?"
"Yes, sir," he said, kicking his foot angrily against the table and storming out.
Jack blew out a breath of air and fought back the temptation to make a rude comment about Robert.
General Hammond sighed deeply and sat down.
"What am I going to do, Jack?"
Jack sat down beside Hammond and bit his lip thoughtfully.
"Sir, I know that what she's done is wrong, and quite frankly it's the stupid kind of thing I'd do, but I also think that she's very brave."
General Hammond was silent as he listened to Jack talking. He knew that the man regretted his misconceptions about Captain Carter, and began to wonder if he should have just made her stay on SG-1.
"She's risked her career and her life to bring Daniel home - the last thing she deserves is a court-martial."
"I understand how you feel, son, but the final decision lands with her commanding officer - and that's Colonel Makepeace."
Jack put his head in his hands. "He'll tear her apart."
"That's assuming she's still alive," said Hammond gravely.
***********
Sam was still very much alive. She was running through the forest area that surrounded the hieroglyphs that Daniel had been studying before he was captured. All of her senses were on full alert, anticipating an ambush at any second.
She suddenly slowed down as she came to the edge of the forest. Hiding behind a large firtree, she saw the ruins guarded by a large group of jaffa.
Her breathing began to quicken as she tried to think of a strategic way out. There was jaffa on every side of the ruins, and they were all heavily armed. Still, she had the advantage of speed over them - they were all wearing their heavy armour and carrying the heavy weapons.
With a shudder she thought about the weapon that had taken Major Kawalsky's life the day before. It could so easily be her unless she trod carefully.
**********
When Daniel opened his eyes he found himself in the middle of a room, suspended in a crucifixion shape. His wrists were bound and secured to two lengths of chain from each end of the room. He was shirtless, and the blood from his shoulder wound was running down his body.
He cast his eyes nervously upward as two people entered the room. Apophis and his loyal jaffa, Has'ha. He did not see the large whip that Has'ha held in his hand. In fact, he only heard the crack of the whip when it was too late for him to protest. Daniel let out a cry of pain as Has'ha spitefully whipped him, the thin material cutting wickedly into the skin of his back.
"What do you want?" he cried, gulping back tears at the second lash that sent blood running down his back.
**********
Sam tried to focus. What had Colonel Makepeace taught her?
"You can't always rely on your team to watch your arse. If you find yourself in a situation where you're surrounded, try and blast your way out! If that doesn't work, ah well. You'll have a proper Air Force Burial."
She frowned. Robert's advice hadn't always been that good. She turned her mind back to her time with Colonel O'Neill. She was sure he'd mentioned something about this type of situation…
"If you find yourself surrounded by a honkin' group of jaffa, don't just run in and blast the crap out of them, 'cos it'll piss them off. The idea is to distract them, take out a few and then run in and blast the crap out of the rest! Daniel! Daniel, you don't open it like that…oh, now look! You've got macaroni cheese everywhere!"
She allowed herself a brief smile at the memory of Daniel throwing their food everywhere. It had taken Jack a while to see the funny side, but after that he was ribbing Daniel about it for weeks…
She cautiously looked past the tree at the jaffa opposite her. There was a large group of about seven, with a smaller group of three to the left.
Very quietly, keeping low to the ground, Sam went over to the left-hand side of the ruins. She saw the three jaffa, all holding very large staff weapons. She swallowed and looked at the ground around her for something to distract them with. Her eyes fell on a large, smooth stone that was about the size of her palm. She picked it up and held it for a moment in her shaking hand. Then, she threw it with all of her strength at the ground in front of the jaffa.
**********
Jack walked into Sam's lab. He'd only seen it once before, but it still fascinated him. There were scientific instruments everywhere, stacks of books and papers, pens and the same trait as Daniel - used coffee mugs. He smiled at the thought of his friend, fairly safe in the knowledge that anyone who got in Captain Carter's way wouldn't be there for long.
He picked up the nearest device to him and fiddled with it for a moment. He cringed and put it down as he heard a small twang and a spring popped out.
His eyes fell on a photograph on her desk. It was of a beautiful woman, holding her daughter in her arms. The daughter was definitely Carter, with her eyes and smile, so he figured that the older woman was her mother. He smiled - now he knew where Carter got her looks from.
He was about to look at another highly expensive instrument when he heard a voice behind him.
"What are you doing in here?"
Jack turned around slowly to see Robert Makepeace.
"What are you doing in here?" he countered.
"I asked first," Makepeace replied with a smirk.
"Damn!" Jack cursed.
"Save it, Jack. I'll need your testimony at her court martial."
Jack's mouth fell open. "You're not going ahead with it?"
Robert folded his arms. "What did you expect me to do? Just give her a slap on the wrist and ask her not to do it again? Maybe that's the way things go with you, Colonel, but not on SG-3."
"You stupid bastard!" said Jack. "First, what makes ya think I'd want to help you in the first place and second, had it even occurred to you that she might already be dead?"
"Of course it had occurred to me, flyboy, but it's highly unlikely. She's been trained by the best, after all."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Pardon me, Robbie, but don't ya think that's a tad opinionated?"
"Think you could have done a better job?" Robert asked, a smile playing on his lips.
"Well, at least she hasn't turned out like you and your intellectually challenged friends."
Robert was getting more pissed off by the second. "You got something to say about James and John?"
"Ya, I think you'll find I just did!"
The argument grew in intensity.
**********
Daniel cried out at the fourth lash. His vision was blurring and he could feel his back getting warmer from the blood he'd lost.
"Where are the Tau'ri that came with you?" Apophis asked.
Daniel gasped, looking at Has'ha. "He sent them away!"
Apophis frowned. "I did not ask him to, he would not have done so. Where are they?"
"I'm telling you the truth! He sent them back through the gate!"
"Your insolence is becoming tiring, Doctor Jackson."
The whip lashed at him for the fifth time, sending him spiralling into unconsciousness.
Apophis spat at him in disgust, and then turned to Has'ha.
"Have him returned to his cell - if he deteriorates, take him to the sarcophagus."
"Yes, my lord."
"Has'ha - you did not send the other Tau'ri back through the gate, did you?"
"No, my lord."
"I did not think so."
**********
Sam saw the three jaffa running towards her and braced herself, holding her zat at the ready. As the first one stopped by the fallen stone, she aimed for him and fired. He fell to the ground with a grunt, the second jaffa stepping over him and looking right at Sam. With a cry of anger he aimed his staff weapon at her, but she had already fired the zat. He too fell to the floor. That left only one - and he soon stepped into her trap.
She zatted him and looked at the pile of jaffa ahead of her. It was then that she heard the sound of many footsteps approaching her, and as a staff blast shot by her, narrowly missing her ear, she realised that she was going to have to stop being nice about it. Dropping the zat, she pulled her M-16 in front of her and began to fire on the oncoming wave of jaffa. After a few seconds she was forced to run - the blasts were getting just a little too close.
She turned around and fired on the tide approaching her, taking down four of the seven men. She turned and began to run again, heading for the dense cover of the trees for some protection. After a while, she turned around again and managed to hit all of the men following her.
As the smoke from her gun blew away, she looked at the jaffa bodies on the ground and swallowed. She'd killed them all. She began to count them, making sure that they were all there.
"1,2,3,4…5,6,7,8,9…."
Her heart began to beat faster. Where was the tenth? She was sure that there had been ten jaffa, not nine!
Suddenly, she heard a branch crack from behind her. She whirled around to face a very large and very angry jaffa, who hit her over the head with his staff weapon. Her body crumpled to the ground and he scooped her up into his arms, carrying her towards a Tel'tak.
**********
Robert gave Jack a shove that sent him out of the door and into the corridor.
"Oh, so you want a fight now, marine man?" Jack asked, giving him a push that sent him back into the wall opposite him.
Makepeace then tackled him and pulled him to the ground. As Jack fell on his ass, he grabbed hold of Robert's legs and pulled him down as well.
Robert, being more athletic than Jack, was up on his feet quicker and soon launching another attack. He kicked Jack in the stomach, winding him.
"What's the matter, old man?" he asked.
Jack grunted in reply and pulled himself to his feet, pushing Robert back down to the floor with a blow to his jaw.
"Motherfucker!" Robert spat, blood coming from his mouth. He aimed for Jack again, but this time he dodged the attack.
By this time, a group of excited airman had gathered around, watching the display with interest.
"Older, but wiser," he told the younger marine, holding him away from himself as his anger grew.
"What are you - afraid to fight me?"
"No," said Jack, breathing out, "Just bored."
**********
Daniel opened his eyes to find himself back in his cell. His head span and he could feel the blood still running down his back. Every muscle in his body ached and throbbed with pain. He couldn't understand why Jack, Teal'c and Charlie weren't there with him. No-one gets left behind - that was Jack's motto. Yet, here he was, left behind on his own. He closed his eyes again as a sharp pain shot through his injured shoulder, praying that help would arrive soon.
**********
Sam woke up as she felt herself being thrown on the floor. She could feel a small trickle of blood flowing down her cheek from the blow to her scalp, and a pair of strong hands gripped her shoulders from behind. The metal of his armour began to cut into her shoulder, but she bit back a curse of pain and looked at the man standing before her.
"A female," he breathed, not taking his eyes off of her.
"Very observant," she replied, with a sarcastic smile, only to be kicked in the back.
"You are here to rescue your friend?" he asked.
Sam only wheezed in reply.
"You will not succeed. I will instead have the pleasure of torturing you both to death. Has'ha! Take her to the cell!"
"Yes, my lord!"
**********
Sam fell down on the floor before she noticed that she was not alone in the room. With a curse of annoyance she sat up, wiping the blood from her face with the back of her hand. It was then that her eyes fell on the weakened and bloodied form of Daniel.
"Daniel!" she cried in horror, scrambling over to him and gently touching his face.
"S…Sam?" he asked, his eyes weakly fluttering open.
"It's okay," she told him, "I'm here now."
Daniel shook his head. "Apophis will kill both of us."
"Hey," she whispered, taking his head gently in her hands, "No-one gets left behind. If you die - I'm going with you."
**********
"What the hell is going on here?" General Hammond asked, looking at his two most senior officers with horror.
Neither Jack nor Robert replied. Hammond looked at the group of airmen that were still surrounding them.
"Don't you airmen have jobs to do?" he asked.
They scattered away like cockroaches, leaving only the two Colonels behind.
"My office - now!" said Hammond angrily.
**********
Sam took off her jacket and put it gently around Daniel's shoulders. He winced as the material leant against his lash wounds.
"Daniel…I'm sorry," she whispered, tears forming in her eyes.
"You got here," Daniel croaked, "The others didn't."
"I'm sure they tried," she lied, gently wiping at the wound on his shoulder with her shirt. She decided not to tell him that Charlie was dead - it would only distress him further.
"Sam, if we're going to die, I want you to know something."
"What?" she asked, shifting closer to him as his voice became quieter.
"I…I love you."
"I love you too," she replied. Their eyes met, and for a moment a small tension flared. Then, she leant in and kissed him. She pulled him into her arms and soothed him as the pain got worse. She took his hand in hers, wincing as he gripped it tighter and tighter.
Just then, Has'ha entered the cell and smiled evilly at them.
"My lord requests your presence," he said.
Sam looked down at Daniel, and slowly removed him from her arms. Then, she stood up and followed the jaffa out of the room, feeling the cold metal of a staff weapon in her back.
"I see that you and Doctor Jackson have become close," he smiled.
"Go to hell!" she spat.
As she entered the room, Has'ha disappeared and left her alone with Apophis. His hands were empty, and the whip didn't appear to be in the room. Sam momentarily relaxed, but this ended when Apophis pulled her to her feet.
"You were not with Doctor Jackson when he first came through the gate," he said.
Sam remained silent.
"You must have come all of this way by yourself. Bit of a large effort to make for one man."
Sam still said nothing.
"I understand that you also took out nine of my loyal jaffa. Quite an achievement for a thin creature such as yourself."
Sam spat in his face.
He suddenly pulled a thin dagger from his cloak, and held it to her stomach.
"Insolence will not go well with me, as your friend Dr Jackson learned."
He moved the blade up her stomach and chest to rest at her throat.
"You will tell me all that I ask of you, and I will spare you." He paused, taking in her appearance more deeply.
"I may even make you host to my new queen."
Sam shuddered. "No way."
Apophis smiled and lowered the blade from her throat.
"Has'ha!"
The large jaffa entered, dragging Daniel behind him.
Apophis smirked as he saw the woman's resolve instantly shatter.
"I will ask you once. Will you help me?"
Sam glared at him. "No!"
Apophis sighed, nodding at Has'ha.
Has'ha removed a zat from his armour and fired it at Daniel.
"No!" Sam cried, looking at Apophis in desperation. "Leave him alone!"
"Tell me how to access the Tau'ri Stargate!"
"I…I…"
"Come now, my child, we do not have the time."
Her fists clenched in grief, Sam shook her head. Her eyes closed as she saw Apophis nod at Has'ha once more. He aimed the zat at Daniel and fired the fatal shot.
"No! Daniel, I'm so sorry!" Sam sobbed, sliding down the wall to the floor and curling up into a ball.
Apophis and Has'ha left, dragging Daniel behind them.
Sam collapsed into a heap of tears, her body shaking with sobs. Would he have done the same? No, he would have told him. You killed him! You killed Daniel! Sam's conscience screamed at her as the tears continued to roll down her face.
**********
"Put him into the sarcophagus."
"Yes, my lord."
**********
*how can you see into my eyes like open doors
leading you down into my core
where i've become so numb without a soul my spirit sleeping somewhere cold
until you find it there and lead it back home wake me up inside
wake me up inside
call my name and save me from the dark
bid my blood to run
before i come undone
save me from the nothing i've become
now that i know what i'm without
you can't just leave me
breathe into me and make me real
bring me to life
wake me up inside
wake me up inside
call my name and save me from the dark
bid my blood to run
before i come undone
save me from the nothing i've become
bring me to life
frozen inside without your touch
without your love darling only you are the life among the dead
all this time i can't believe i couldn't see
kept in the dark but you were there in front of me
i've been sleeping a thousand years it seems
got to open my eyes to everything
without a thought without a voice without a soul
don't let me die here
there must be something more
bring me to life*
(© Evanescence, 2003)
**********
Daniel sat up to find himself in a horribly familiar position. He was sitting in a sarcophagus. Looking down at himself, he saw that his wounds were gone, and his back no longer stung. That was good - but he still had no shirt…
His mind turned to more pressing things - like how he and Sam were going to get out of there. It wasn't going to be easy. He remembered the moment of his death very vividly - Sam crying as she refused to give him information. He vowed to get the two of them out of there - whatever it took.
**********
Two weeks later, General Hammond was forced to pronounce Sam and Daniel MIA. Jack seemed a lot more distressed about it than Robert. Little did he know, but Robert had already transferred Sam off of SG-3. He was allowing a new man to join the team, leaving Sam without a job.
It was the common thought now that both Captain Carter and Doctor Jackson were dead, but Jack hadn't quite given up hope. Every night he would sit by the gate for a while and watch, waiting for them to return. He finally realised that Sam was the perfect officer - she was brave, strong, and willing to sacrifice everything for a friend. He'd been a complete fool to take her off of SG-1 when he'd first met her.
**********
Daniel pulled Sam into his arms and ran out of the cell, past the smoking corpse of Has'ha. He had only a precious few seconds in which to escape - if he didn't manage it, he and Sam would be eternally screwed.
He picked up a discarded zat as Sam began to come round.
"Daniel?"
"Sam, honey, do you have your GDO?"
"Mmm…"
"We've got to go! Come on, stay with me!"
**********
General Hammond came and sat down beside him.
"Son, I don't want to say this, but…"
"You think they're dead."
"It looks that way, Jack."
"General, can I ask you a favour?"
"Go ahead."
"Can you transfer Carter's name onto the SG-1 team list?"
"Well, I can, but if she's dead…"
"Please."
"Of course."
Suddenly, the klaxons began to blare. "Offworld Activation!"
**********
Sam looked at Daniel.
"I'm sorry."
"It doesn't matter!"
"No, it does - you would have told him!"
"I'm alive," said Daniel, "It doesn't matter either way."
"I love you," she said.
"I love you too," he replied, pulling her into his arms and kissing her.
It was then that they both realised what was more important. Sam put in the GDO code for SG-3 and the two of them stepped into the gate.
**********
Jack and Hammond looked at each other for a long moment before getting up and going over to the technician.
"What's going on, sergeant?"
"We're receiving SG-3's iris code, sir!"
"Open it!" Hammond bellowed, as he and Jack ran down to the gate room.
The iris opened, and two figures fell onto the ramp.
General Hammond smiled as he instantly recognised his two officers.
"Captain Carter - Doctor Jackson. Welcome back!"
Jack went over to help them up. He pulled Sam into his arms and reassured her.
"Ya did good, Captain."
**********
Two weeks later, Sam sat in the briefing room with a huge smile on her face.
"Captain, welcome to SG-1."
THE END
Author's Note: It's all over, finished! Please send your feedback on the series to samcarterusaf@yahoo.co.uk
