Status: Complete
Author: MegTDJ
Email: master@gateview.ca
Category: Action/adventure; friendship
Rating: PG
Pairing: None; Sam/Daniel friendship
Spoilers: It's best to have knowledge of the show up to around mid-season 5.
Summary: Sam is on the run... can she escape her pursuer before it's too late?
Archive: Gateview; samanddaniel.com; Scientific Minds; Stargatefan; Fanfiction.net; anywhere else,
please ask permission
Feedback: Pretty please!
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended. I'm just a major fan of the show!
Author's notes: To be honest, I really have no clue where the idea for this story came from. It just popped into my head one day, and next thing I knew I'd written it! I just hope people enjoy reading it. :)
*Many thanks to my betas, Lady Anne and Gategrrl, for their wonderful help and advice; to Karen and the rest of the "night crew" (you know who you are) for the pep talks; and to Azar, for all of the S/D inspiration. :)
Sam's knees were close to buckling and she was panting so hard she felt her chest would
explode as she made her way through the dense forest. She felt as though she had been
running for days. Had it really been just a matter of hours since this endless chase had
begun?
She allowed herself to lean against the trunk of a tree for a brief moment in an attempt to catch her breath. 'The Stargate has to be around here somewhere,' she thought as she wiped the perspiration out of her eyes with her sleeve. 'If I can get to it before he does, I'll be home free.'
This thought gave her enough of a second wind to get her running again. She was sure she had gotten enough of a head start earlier to have remained ahead of her pursuer. At least, she hoped she had.
After only a few paces, she could finally make out the outline of the great stone circle through the trees. 'Yes!' she inwardly cheered. 'I made it! Finally!' Without thinking, she broke through the trees and shrubbery surrounding the clearing.
Boy was that a mistake. How he'd done it she didn't know, but Daniel had beaten her there.
Sam stopped dead in her tracks as soon as she saw him. He was standing confident and still, less than ten feet away from her, blocking her path to the Stargate. His handgun was aimed calmly at her chest. It was almost as if he had been waiting there for her all along.
"Tau'ri, kree!" he taunted her, his voice sounding despicably hollow, distorted, and metallic.
She saw him smirk in that victorious way that all Goa'ulds do as she quickly ducked back into the woods and began running back the way she had come. The sound of his laughter followed her for quite some distance afterwards, making it clear that he was not far behind.
Sam cursed under her breath as she ran. 'How could I have been so stupid?' she chided herself. She had been so close to freedom, but it was now apparent to her that there would be no easy way out of this. He had warned her before she had begun her flight that he knew her well enough to anticipate her every move, and that her every attempt at escape would be thwarted. She had underestimated him, and she had paid the price for it. Her window of opportunity for using the Stargate was gone. Her only hope now was to keep moving, and pray that he didn't find her before their rescue came.
Her legs burned with exhaustion as she ran. Even though the trees grew close together, she could see through the gaps in the treetops that the sun was high in the sky. She was hot, she was tired, and she wished with all of her might that this nightmare of a day would end.
Just as she felt that she couldn't take another step, she stumbled into a small clearing. She heard the sound of gently trickling water a second before she saw the small, clear stream flowing nearby. The sight of it made her realize how thirsty she was. Even though she knew that she should keep moving, her entire body was screaming for water and a moment's rest. Exhausted and gasping for breath, she sank down onto her knees by the edge of the stream, lowered her hand into the water, and raised it to her lips, taking a long, refreshing draft of the cold, sweet tasting liquid.
Suddenly, a twig snapped behind her. Sam froze, her hand stopping just inches away from the water's surface as she had been reaching out for a second drink. She closed her eyes for a moment in weariness and defeat.
"Surrender or die," said the eerily transformed, yet still all too familiar, voice of Daniel Jackson.
Sam slowly raised her hands and rose to her feet, turning around to face him. His gun was once again aimed at her chest, but a look of grim determination had replaced the smug grin he had worn on their previous encounter.
"You really expect me to just surrender?" she asked.
Their eyes locked for just a moment, and Sam could have sworn that she saw a glimmer of something akin to compassion flit across his features, and the hand holding the weapon seemed to shake.
Sam was slightly confused by this reaction. Why hadn't he shot her yet? He was a Goa'uld, and she was his prey - weren't Goa'ulds supposed to shoot first and ask questions later?
Deciding to take advantage of whatever opportunity she had just been presented, her eyes darted around the clearing, searching for any possible means of distraction or escape. Whether his hesitation was a result of exhaustion, overconfidence, or something else, it was still an advantage to her. If she could move fast enough to knock the weapon out of his hand...
Before she had a chance to jump into action, however, she heard a siren blare in the distance. Muttering something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like a curse, Daniel lowered his gun.
Sam gave a relieved sigh and slumped down onto a nearby rock.
"You okay?" Daniel asked as he reached inside his jacket to turn off the voice synthesizer and then deactivated his intar training weapon.
"Yeah, fine," Sam answered after taking a second drink from the stream. "You put up quite a chase, though. You almost had me there."
Daniel dropped down wearily onto the ground beside her, his mouth hanging open in indignation. "What do you mean, almost had you? You were as good as captured. Checkmate, Sam, you weren't going anywhere."
"Oh, please, I could still have escaped."
Daniel laughed in amazement. "Alone, unarmed, fit to collapse from exhaustion..." he counted on his fingers.
"You look pretty exhausted yourself," Sam pointed out.
"Ah yes, but I'm the guy with the gun."
"Not if I kicked it out of your hand."
"Which you wouldn't have been able to do if I'd shot you, which I was ready to do if you made any sudden moves."
Sam laughed. "You were not!"
"Excuse me?"
"You hesitated, Daniel. Your hand was shaking! There was no way you were going to shoot me."
"Yes, I would."
"No, you wouldn't."
"Yes, I would."
"Oh, you would not."
"I would so!"
"Come on, Daniel, you can't shoot a 'girl,'" Sam teased, rising to her feet. "It goes against every fiber of your being, and you know it."
"It does not!" Daniel got up and followed her as she began to make her way back toward "home base."
"Oh yes it does, and it's gotten you into a heap of trouble time and again."
Daniel spluttered a protest. "Hey, I could shoot a woman if I... wanted to..." His voice trailed off in confusion, seeming to find the words uncomfortable even as he said them.
"Uh huh," Sam said sarcastically, shooting him a knowing grin. "Right. I'm really scared."
"Yeah, well you should be. Just you wait until the next training scenario, Major Carter." Daniel poked her in the back for emphasis as he said her name, obviously struggling to contain his laughter.
"Ooooo, look, I'm shaking," Sam mocked, holding out her hands and exaggerating a nervous tremble. "Oh, no, wait... it was you that was shaking, not me."
"Will you drop that?! I admit - I may have hesitated slightly because I saw how exhausted you were and didn't want to inflict pain on you from an intar shot on top of it... not to mention the fact that if it had knocked you out, I would have had to carry you back to home base myself, and I just didn't feel like doing that..."
"Nice try, but I'm not buying it," Sam interrupted his self-defensive babbling.
"One thing's for sure, though - next time I won't be quite so lenient."
"Ha!" Sam laughed. "Face it, Daniel. You could never shoot me." She stuck her nose up in the air and swaggered arrogantly.
"Then again..." Daniel continued as though she hadn't spoken, "I still have the intar now, and no one would believe you if you told them I shot you after the siren call."
"You wouldn't dare!"
"Try me."
Sam's eyes widened as Daniel took out his intar and activated it again. "Daniel..." she half-warned, half-pleaded. She knew that he had been trying to toughen up a bit and become more "military" over the last few months, but he hadn't gone quite that far... had he?
"I'll give you a five second head start."
Sam noted that the intar had been turned onto its lowest setting, but still, she knew from experience that those things could really sting. "Be reasonable, Daniel..."
"One..." he counted as he inched slowly towards her, waving the weapon in front of her face.
"I was only joking!"
"Two... Better start running, Sam."
Sam began backing away, knowing from the playfully evil glint in his eyes that he was serious. "Can't we talk about this?" she asked, giving him what she hoped was her most sympathy-inducing puppy dog expression.
Daniel switched the voice synthesizer back on. "Three..."
"Oh boy."
Exhaustion or no exhaustion, Sam ran. The chase was on once more, only this time Sam's shrieks of laughter accompanied Daniel's Goa'uldish taunts along the way.