DISCLAIMER: I don't own Stargate or any of the characters and I'm not getting paid for this, so please don't sue me.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This chapter is a little longer than my usual, but I'm sure you won't mind. If I get down to work, I might get Chpater 10 up by next weekend but we'll have to see. Anway, read on, enjoy, and please review!
Anything between ~~ is flashbacks of Sams memory
*********
They were flung to the floor of the holding cell unceremoniously. Winded, they both lay there for a moment before the door clanged shut with a resounding, ominous boom.
Sam was the first to recover and crawled to Jack's side, a look of concern on her face. "Colonel? Sir?" She questioned quietly. "Are you okay?" A trace of worry was detectable in her voice.
For a moment, Jack could believe that this was his Carter, worried about his injuries. The realisation of the truth hit him with full force a few seconds later. "I'll be fine." He rasped, curtly. "No thanks to you."
Sam sat there for a moment, stunned by this reaction before anger overtook her again. "What did you say?" She asked, her voice dangerously low.
Before he answered, Jack slowly and painfully dragged himself to sit upright, his entire body protesting at each movement. It was a few seconds before he spoke again, as he recovered from the effort. "If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be in this mess." He said, closing his eyes and bowing his head slightly. "If you'd obeyed my orders like you were supposed to, we wouldn't have been caught."
Sam glared at him in response. "Who says that it wasn't your shouting that alerted them to our presence? It wouldn't surprise me if everyone on Earth heard you!"
Jack opened his eyes again. "Well, if you'd obeyed my orders in the first place, I wouldn't have been shouting!" He hissed. He turned away. "I knew I shouldn't have let you come on this mission."
"What?" Sam snapped, her voice cold and hard. Then with an air of realisation, "Oh, I know what this is. It's because I'm a woman isn't it?"
"Oh, for crying out loud!" Jack sighed, with the air of someone who has had this argument thrust in his face numerous times. He sat up and stared at her. "No, this is not because you are a woman! Nor is it because you are a scientist! It's because you think that you're the Commanding Officer around here and you won't accept orders! Which results in us being captured by the Jaffa!"
"Well, I'm not the smart ass who couldn't keep his mouth shut and so gets beaten up by the Jaffa because he has to have the last word!" Sam retorted angrily.
The pair fell into silence, the anger emanating off them in waves. The tension in the room was thick, and any Jaffa with sense that entered now would probably leave in hurry.
************
It was at least an hour before either of them spoke again, each sitting on opposite sides of the cell, lost in their own thoughts. The silence was deafening, with the only sound being that of their breathing, Sam's quiet and regular, Jack's harsh and slightly laboured.
It was Jack who first broke the silence between them after thinking it over, running it all through in his head as they sat there.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." Sam lifted her head from her knees to observe him. He continued. "It's not your fault. It's that damned snakehead."
"No, I'm sorry. You're right, if I'd only listened to you, we wouldn't be stuck here."
Jack smiled slightly and gave a small shake of his head. "We were both wrong. Let's just leave it at that."
Sam nodded before shuffling over to the opposite wall of the cell to sit next to him. "How are your ribs?" She asked.
"Probably cracked. But they don't hurt as much as they did earlier. I tried to bind them up a bit with my shirt." Sam nodded. She'd been watching him earlier, as he ripped the bottom part of his T-shirt off and wrapped it tightly around his chest. "No other injuries to report though. Couple of bruises maybe, but nothing major."
"That's good." She commented, glad to hear that his breathing had eased a bit now, and sounded less painful than it had an hour ago.
They fell into silence again for a while before Jack spoke up again. "How are the memories?"
Sam sighed and shrugged. "I don't know. I've been sitting here, trying to remember something, anything with you in it, but it's all Daniel, Teal'c, Simmons." Jack nodded there, an air of resignation to his entire demeanour as she paused, thinking. "It's weird, though."
"What do you mean?" Jack looked slightly confused.
"If I think about the details of certain events, I can't quite seem to remember them clearly. They're all fuzzy. Sort of like a TV that needs tuning. Yet, there are other things that I can remember with amazing clarity. Ask me about what projects I worked on last year, and I could tell you everything down to the last detail. Ask me who was retested as a Za'tarc with me, and what was said to prove our innocence and I can't be certain." Jack stiffened ever so slightly at the mention of that event. Sam didn't seem to notice and continued speaking, oblivious to his reaction. "It's like everything that I can remember seems plausible on the surface but if you start to dig too deep, there are little discrepancies, like pieces of the jigsaw that don't fit. And if I start to think too hard about it all, the less I seem to be able to remember. And then I begin to get a headache."
"Over thinking tends to do that to you." Jack commented. Sam smiled, ducking her head and giggling slightly. 'How does he do that? Manage to cheer me up when we're in this mess?'
"It's just…" More serious again, Sam gesticulated with her hands, trying to think of the words. "There are some things that obviously don't fit - thoughts, comments…." She paused, and cast a sidelong glance at the man sitting beside her. "…Feelings."
~~
"I remember feeling feelings."
"For me?"
"No, for Tor."
~~
Jack gave her a sharp look, unsure of how to react. His initial reaction was one of relief. Relief that there were some things that could not be completely erased from her mind, things that were deeper than mere memory.
The next reaction was from his head, the voice that reminded him of the regulations that separated them, telling him that this wasn't his Carter; this was still a stranger. Yet, there were some aspects to her that were still innately Sam, whether she remembered him or not. He felt her gaze upon him, studying him, waiting for a reaction or an answer.
"We said we were going to leave it in the room." He spoke, gruffly, his throat constricting slightly, finding it hard to say the words.
~~
"Sir, none of this has to leave this room."
"We're OK with that?"
"Yes, Sir."
~~
Sam nodded slowly, comprehension and understanding dawning on her as another fragment of an old conversation was brought to the forefront of her mind.
"Of course," she whispered, her face falling slightly. "I guess that's the way it has to be." Jack nodded slowly, lost in his own thoughts. Sam spoke again. "This helps, I think." He lifted his head to look at her again, the unspoken question visible in his eyes. "Just sitting here, talking, it brings back small memories. Nothing groundbreaking, unfortunately. Mainly small fragments of conversations. But it does help."
"Good." Jack smiled slightly at her. "Less work for the machine to do when we get out of here."
"If we get out of here." Sam replied, being the realist.
Jack dismissed her comment with a wave of his hand. "Please. Allow me to be the pessimist here." He surveyed the cell they were in properly for the first time. "We've been in worse situations than this."
The cell was very dark, only a small beam of light entered from the outside world, through a chink under the door. Once your eyes had accustomed to the darkness, you could only just make out your surroundings in the greyness.
The walls were made from stone, and slightly damp, and cold. Likewise, the floor was stone, worn with age. Both were smeared in dirt.
He stood and moved to the door, feeling around the edges, in an attempt to find out all he could that might help them. It was made from an unknown metal, and when he leaned against it to test its strength, it didn't give. After a while, he spoke up. "It was me, if you were wondering."
Sam looked up from where she was still sitting, a confused expression on her face. "What was?"
"The Za'tarc test. I was the one tested with you."
~~
"I'd rather die myself than lose Carter."
"Why?"
"Because I care about her. A lot more than I'm supposed to."
~~
As the memory of the confession returned to her, Sam smiled. "Thank you." She said softly. It was only another fragment of conversation, yet somehow this one gave her more comfort than the others.
Jack didn't appear to hear her, and continued with his search of the cell. "Don't worry, Carter. We'll get out of here." Sam smiled at the use of her surname, the first time he had used it since he had discovered her memory loss. Feeling heartened, she stood and began to help Jack with his search.
"Yes Sir, we will."
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This chapter is a little longer than my usual, but I'm sure you won't mind. If I get down to work, I might get Chpater 10 up by next weekend but we'll have to see. Anway, read on, enjoy, and please review!
Anything between ~~ is flashbacks of Sams memory
*********
They were flung to the floor of the holding cell unceremoniously. Winded, they both lay there for a moment before the door clanged shut with a resounding, ominous boom.
Sam was the first to recover and crawled to Jack's side, a look of concern on her face. "Colonel? Sir?" She questioned quietly. "Are you okay?" A trace of worry was detectable in her voice.
For a moment, Jack could believe that this was his Carter, worried about his injuries. The realisation of the truth hit him with full force a few seconds later. "I'll be fine." He rasped, curtly. "No thanks to you."
Sam sat there for a moment, stunned by this reaction before anger overtook her again. "What did you say?" She asked, her voice dangerously low.
Before he answered, Jack slowly and painfully dragged himself to sit upright, his entire body protesting at each movement. It was a few seconds before he spoke again, as he recovered from the effort. "If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be in this mess." He said, closing his eyes and bowing his head slightly. "If you'd obeyed my orders like you were supposed to, we wouldn't have been caught."
Sam glared at him in response. "Who says that it wasn't your shouting that alerted them to our presence? It wouldn't surprise me if everyone on Earth heard you!"
Jack opened his eyes again. "Well, if you'd obeyed my orders in the first place, I wouldn't have been shouting!" He hissed. He turned away. "I knew I shouldn't have let you come on this mission."
"What?" Sam snapped, her voice cold and hard. Then with an air of realisation, "Oh, I know what this is. It's because I'm a woman isn't it?"
"Oh, for crying out loud!" Jack sighed, with the air of someone who has had this argument thrust in his face numerous times. He sat up and stared at her. "No, this is not because you are a woman! Nor is it because you are a scientist! It's because you think that you're the Commanding Officer around here and you won't accept orders! Which results in us being captured by the Jaffa!"
"Well, I'm not the smart ass who couldn't keep his mouth shut and so gets beaten up by the Jaffa because he has to have the last word!" Sam retorted angrily.
The pair fell into silence, the anger emanating off them in waves. The tension in the room was thick, and any Jaffa with sense that entered now would probably leave in hurry.
************
It was at least an hour before either of them spoke again, each sitting on opposite sides of the cell, lost in their own thoughts. The silence was deafening, with the only sound being that of their breathing, Sam's quiet and regular, Jack's harsh and slightly laboured.
It was Jack who first broke the silence between them after thinking it over, running it all through in his head as they sat there.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." Sam lifted her head from her knees to observe him. He continued. "It's not your fault. It's that damned snakehead."
"No, I'm sorry. You're right, if I'd only listened to you, we wouldn't be stuck here."
Jack smiled slightly and gave a small shake of his head. "We were both wrong. Let's just leave it at that."
Sam nodded before shuffling over to the opposite wall of the cell to sit next to him. "How are your ribs?" She asked.
"Probably cracked. But they don't hurt as much as they did earlier. I tried to bind them up a bit with my shirt." Sam nodded. She'd been watching him earlier, as he ripped the bottom part of his T-shirt off and wrapped it tightly around his chest. "No other injuries to report though. Couple of bruises maybe, but nothing major."
"That's good." She commented, glad to hear that his breathing had eased a bit now, and sounded less painful than it had an hour ago.
They fell into silence again for a while before Jack spoke up again. "How are the memories?"
Sam sighed and shrugged. "I don't know. I've been sitting here, trying to remember something, anything with you in it, but it's all Daniel, Teal'c, Simmons." Jack nodded there, an air of resignation to his entire demeanour as she paused, thinking. "It's weird, though."
"What do you mean?" Jack looked slightly confused.
"If I think about the details of certain events, I can't quite seem to remember them clearly. They're all fuzzy. Sort of like a TV that needs tuning. Yet, there are other things that I can remember with amazing clarity. Ask me about what projects I worked on last year, and I could tell you everything down to the last detail. Ask me who was retested as a Za'tarc with me, and what was said to prove our innocence and I can't be certain." Jack stiffened ever so slightly at the mention of that event. Sam didn't seem to notice and continued speaking, oblivious to his reaction. "It's like everything that I can remember seems plausible on the surface but if you start to dig too deep, there are little discrepancies, like pieces of the jigsaw that don't fit. And if I start to think too hard about it all, the less I seem to be able to remember. And then I begin to get a headache."
"Over thinking tends to do that to you." Jack commented. Sam smiled, ducking her head and giggling slightly. 'How does he do that? Manage to cheer me up when we're in this mess?'
"It's just…" More serious again, Sam gesticulated with her hands, trying to think of the words. "There are some things that obviously don't fit - thoughts, comments…." She paused, and cast a sidelong glance at the man sitting beside her. "…Feelings."
~~
"I remember feeling feelings."
"For me?"
"No, for Tor."
~~
Jack gave her a sharp look, unsure of how to react. His initial reaction was one of relief. Relief that there were some things that could not be completely erased from her mind, things that were deeper than mere memory.
The next reaction was from his head, the voice that reminded him of the regulations that separated them, telling him that this wasn't his Carter; this was still a stranger. Yet, there were some aspects to her that were still innately Sam, whether she remembered him or not. He felt her gaze upon him, studying him, waiting for a reaction or an answer.
"We said we were going to leave it in the room." He spoke, gruffly, his throat constricting slightly, finding it hard to say the words.
~~
"Sir, none of this has to leave this room."
"We're OK with that?"
"Yes, Sir."
~~
Sam nodded slowly, comprehension and understanding dawning on her as another fragment of an old conversation was brought to the forefront of her mind.
"Of course," she whispered, her face falling slightly. "I guess that's the way it has to be." Jack nodded slowly, lost in his own thoughts. Sam spoke again. "This helps, I think." He lifted his head to look at her again, the unspoken question visible in his eyes. "Just sitting here, talking, it brings back small memories. Nothing groundbreaking, unfortunately. Mainly small fragments of conversations. But it does help."
"Good." Jack smiled slightly at her. "Less work for the machine to do when we get out of here."
"If we get out of here." Sam replied, being the realist.
Jack dismissed her comment with a wave of his hand. "Please. Allow me to be the pessimist here." He surveyed the cell they were in properly for the first time. "We've been in worse situations than this."
The cell was very dark, only a small beam of light entered from the outside world, through a chink under the door. Once your eyes had accustomed to the darkness, you could only just make out your surroundings in the greyness.
The walls were made from stone, and slightly damp, and cold. Likewise, the floor was stone, worn with age. Both were smeared in dirt.
He stood and moved to the door, feeling around the edges, in an attempt to find out all he could that might help them. It was made from an unknown metal, and when he leaned against it to test its strength, it didn't give. After a while, he spoke up. "It was me, if you were wondering."
Sam looked up from where she was still sitting, a confused expression on her face. "What was?"
"The Za'tarc test. I was the one tested with you."
~~
"I'd rather die myself than lose Carter."
"Why?"
"Because I care about her. A lot more than I'm supposed to."
~~
As the memory of the confession returned to her, Sam smiled. "Thank you." She said softly. It was only another fragment of conversation, yet somehow this one gave her more comfort than the others.
Jack didn't appear to hear her, and continued with his search of the cell. "Don't worry, Carter. We'll get out of here." Sam smiled at the use of her surname, the first time he had used it since he had discovered her memory loss. Feeling heartened, she stood and began to help Jack with his search.
"Yes Sir, we will."