The Encounter
As Sam gazed into the black eyes of Baryon, she worked hard to suppress the shiver of fear that ran through her body. Meeting him like this was totally unexpected. She wasn't sure what he wanted from her but she did know that she would have to keep her wits about her.
"Major Carter. I have been hoping to speak with you since you arrived on our new planet," Baryon stated in a derisive tone of voice. "You always seem to be surrounded by the children of our village."
Sam worked to keep her voice strong and level. "The children and I are very close Baryon. We have been through a lot together."
"Yes, I know." He took a step closer to her, causing Sam to back up a step. Unfortunately, this caused her to back directly into the tall metal wagon, giving her no option for a rear retreat. Baryon smirked at her predicament; he knew she would not escape so easily. "The entire village looks upon you as a great savior. They hold you in very high regard. I believe they would be very distraught should something happen to you." And he lifted a finger and ran it lightly down her left cheek.
Sam pushed his hand away, more angry now than frightened. "What exactly do you want Baryon? You've been watching me for two days now. It hasn't gone unnoticed. If I am not back with Dr. Jackson in a few moments, he will come looking for me. If I fail to return to the village with him, many people will come looking for you!"
"AHH Samantha, such strong, brave words. Were you this brave when you rescued the children from our home planet? Were you feeling this strong when you took seven children away from the Jaffa and yet left 3 others to die with them?"
Sam flinched at his words. She had felt incredibly guilty upon hearing that there were three other children still in the village after she had first reached the children. But she knew she wouldn't have been able to get to Baryon's children: Kellan had mentioned that they were taken up by the rings long before she got there. She tried to explain this to Baryon.
"Baryon, I am truly sorry that I wasn't able to get your children out. But there was no way I could. They were most likely taken up to a Goa'uld ship before I had even reached the village. Believe me, if I could have gotten them out, I would have."
"It's funny Major Carter, but I do not believe you. I believe you just say such things in order to relieve yourself of any guilt. Alas, you will have to take responsibility for your part in leaving my children behind," he sneered.
Sam felt the threat inherent in his words. The cold finger of fear returned to run once again down her spine. Sam mentally shook the odd feeling she was getting by being so close to this man. It seemed to be similar to how she felt when close to Teal'c, only not nearly as strong. She made a quick decision. She didn't want to hurt Baryon, who was obviously suffering greatly from his grief, but she knew she needed to get away from him. Sam put both hands to his chest and forcefully pushed him away from her, trying to create the space she needed to swing her arms. She was ready to give him a right cross with her fist when he responded with a quickness that surprised her and momentarily made her lose her plan of action.
Baryon stepped close again and grabbed both of Sam's arms, just above her elbows, and pinned them to her sides. He pushed her up tight against the wagon and put his face just inches from her own. "You will pay for that Samantha. You have just escalated the plans that I have in store for you."
Before Sam could respond, she heard Daniel and the children calling for her as they made their way up the path. Baryon glanced behind him quickly, then turned to glare at her. He squeezed her arms tightly, causing her to wince in pain. "This is not the end. You and I still have unfinished business. If your team mates come after me, I will take out my anger on one of the children. I give you my promise on that." With those words, he pushed her away from him and swiftly went back into the forest.
Sam rubbed her arms where his hands had been. She could still feel the pressure that had been there. Her legs felt weak and shaky but she forced herself to go and meet Daniel and the children on the path. She didn't want any of them to guess that something was wrong.
Sam plastered a smile on her face as she met the group on the path. "Hey, I was just coming back with the vials. I thought you were going to wait for me."
"Teegan fell in the water so Dr. Jackson thought we should head back to the village. It was taking you a long time too, Major Sam," Jalia announced. The budding scientist had really been looking forward to collecting water samples today!
Daniel studied Sam's face carefully. He thought she looked a bit tense. "Yes, it was taking you a lot longer than you thought. Is everything OK Sam?"
"Um, yeah, Daniel. I'm fine." She answered distractedly. Sam was taking furtive glances into the woods surrounding them. She could still feel Baryon's presence and didn't dare speak to Daniel right now about what had happened.
"Sam?" Daniel wasn't convinced.
She finally looked at him. "I'm fine Daniel," she insisted. "Let's take the children back to the village. Teegan looks pretty wet and uncomfortable. Besides, it's almost time for dinner." She led the way back to the village, willing herself not to look back into the dark forest that surrounded them.
For his part, Baryon watched them leave from the safety of the trees. He absently rubbed the ruby amulet, which gave off a warm, comforting glow. He would carry out the rest of his plan tonight. The Tauri's last night on Raye Abbas.
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Jack noticed during the evening meal that Sam was unusually quiet and distant. She smiled and talked with the children but gave one syllable answers to most of the questions directed to her from the adults. She also seemed to glance into the shadows of the trees surrounding the clearing quite a bit. He wondered what was going on. When they had returned from the lake, everything had appeared to be fine. He had teased her about letting Teegan go swimming when she was supposed to be teaching him. She had smiled in return but now that he thought about it, she seemed distracted then too. He would have to talk to Daniel.
Jack got Daniel's attention and inclined his head to the outer ring of the fire that was blazing once again in the clearing. Daniel made his excuses to the villagers he was talking to and made his way over to Jack.
"What's up Jack?"
"Did you notice anything unusual about Carter when you came back from the lake?"
"Well, not until the end of our time there. Sam had gone back to the wagon for some more vials. She was gone a bit longer than I liked so I brought the kids up to meet her. She seemed distracted but said she was fine," Daniel replied, not admitting that he hadn't quite believed her at the time.
"You mean you left her on her own? What the hell did we talk about in the cottage last night Daniel?" Jack was extremely upset. Who knows what could have happened to her!
"Relax Jack; she was only on her own for about 10 minutes. There was no sign of Baryon anywhere. Besides, Sam is much better at protecting herself than I am and you know it!"
"That's beside the point. This Baryon guy could be unstable; we don't know what he could do. We all agreed not to leave her alone Daniel." Jack took off his cap and ran his fingers through his hair. He wasn't going to get anywhere taking his frustration out on Daniel. He changed his tone of voice slightly. "Are you sure nothing happened while she was alone?"
"I don't know for sure, but she didn't have a scratch on her as far as I could tell and there was no one in the area. She really was alone for only about 10 minutes Jack. Let's talk to her once the gathering breaks up. This is our last night here; we should let her enjoy her time with the kids."
"Yeah, all right," Jack sighed loudly. "But as soon as the party breaks up, we head to the cottage and talk to Carter."
They both went back to the fire and sat down on either side of Sam. Neither one of them was about to let her out of their sight for the rest of the evening. Teal'c noticed the increased cautious demeanor of his two friends as they returned to the group. He resumed his quiet, yet intent watch over the gathering.
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Treyem stood up and clapped his hands for attention. When the people gathered had ceased their talking, he began to speak. "This is the last evening that we will have the honor of having SG-1 as our guests. I for one would like to express the deep gratitude we feel toward you. You have not only proven yourselves as great humanitarians, you have also proven to be great friends. We hope you will continue to feel free to visit us at any time. After all you have done for us; we consider all four of you to be a part of our village."
There were cries of agreement from the other villagers as Treyem walked to the team and shook hands with each of the men and embraced Sam in a long hug. Others came to do the same, giving the team an emotional ending to the evening. The children also gathered around their new friends and gave hugs to all. Even Teal'c bent down to hug the younger children; he too had become quite fond of these remarkable children the more he came to know them.
Jack spoke to the crowd as well. "We are honored by your kind words Treyem and have enjoyed our time with you as well. We consider you to be good friends as well. We'll certainly be back to visit: I for one still have to see if there are any fish in your lake!"
The villagers laughed at his remark, then began to gather their children and dinner items. They would all be ready to see their guests off in the morning.
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Teal'c and Jack took the same precautions around the cottage as they had the previous night. Sam went to change out of her BDU's: they were smoky from the fire and muddy from their time by the lake. She returned wearing a pair of clean pants and a short sleeved shirt. The other members of the team were sitting in the living room, waiting for her. She could tell by the look on the Colonel's face that they were in for another discussion. She was guessing it had something to do with her behavior this evening. Her glance at Daniel confirmed her assumption. He was looking a bit on the guilty side. He must have talked to the Colonel about her solitary trek to the wagon this afternoon.
"Carter, Danny her tells me you were on you own for a while today. That true?"
"Yes, sir. I went back to the wagon to retrieve some vials so the children could take water samples."
"And did anything happen that we should know about?" Jack's tone of voice indicated that she had better tell him what happened.
Sam looked at Daniel, who gave her an encouraging nod. He too wanted to know what had happened. Something definitely was up that had caused her to become withdrawn. She looked back at Jack and sighed, "Yes, Sir. Something happened. When I turned around to head back, Baryon was in front of me." She shivered as she remembered some of his words to her.
In a gentler voice, Jack continued to question her. "Did he say anything to indicate why he was watching you so closely?'
"Yes," she responded quietly. "He blames me for not bringing his children back with the others. I tried to tell him that I didn't have the chance; his children were probably gone before I reached their village. He didn't believe me though. He said that it was my fault that his children were gone and that I would pay for it." Sam absently rubbed her arms where Baryon had grabbed her earlier today, thinking of all that occurred.
Jack watched her actions, then frowned as he looked closer at her arms. He got up and crossed the room to her, pulling her to her feet as he took hold of her wrists. "What the hell happened here Carter?" he asked, indicating the dark bruises that had appeared on her upper arms.
Sam looked down to her arms and winced. She hadn't wanted to mention that part of her encounter. 'Baryon grabbed me and pushed me against the wagon. When I tried to hit him so I could get away, he was able to get a tighter hold on me. The only reason he let me go was because he heard Daniel and the children coming up the path." She looked apologetically at Daniel.
"Geez Sam, why didn't you say something?" Daniel inquired. "I could have gone after him or done something!"
"No Daniel. He warned me that if I said anything or if any of you came after him, he would hurt one of the children. After what I saw and heard today, I don't doubt for a minute that he would."
"All the same, Carter, you shouldn't have kept this from us. We need to know what we're up against." Jack released her wrists and paced in the living room. "We're going to have to tell Treyem about this."
"Please sir, no! I swear he'll retaliate against one of the children...you didn't see the look in his eyes. It's almost like he's gone crazy or something."
"Carter," he walked back toward her and stopped in front of her. "What do you think might happen when we leave? With you gone, he still might turn his anger toward the children. The rest of the villagers have to know what's going on so they can protect themselves and the children."
"O'Neill is correct Major Carter. The people of Kortaul must know about Baryon's change in personality so they can protect themselves," added Teal'c.
Sam knew they were right. She would do the same thing in his position. She was just still in a bit of shock over the encounter. Sam looked up to her CO and nodded her acceptance of the plan of action. She moved over to the window and looked out into the darkness.
Jack followed her to the window. "Sam, we'll make sure the children are safe. Don't worry." He gently turned her around. "I need to know, is there anything else that happened that you haven't mentioned?"
Sam looked around the living room, thinking to herself. As she glanced in the direction of her room, she recalled her missing knife. With a bit of trepidation, she took a deep breath and replied, "Yes Sir. There is something that I meant to tell you this morning, but I didn't have the opportunity, then I forgot about it. When I went into my room last night, my pack had been moved. I also noticed that my utility knife was missing. None of you took it for something did you?" she asked hopefully.
At the negative shakes of their heads, she looked again to her CO. "Are you sure you had it with you Carter?"
"Yes Sir. I always keep it in one of the side pockets of my pack."
"OK, hopefully it's nothing, but I think to be safe, we'd better all make sure the windows and doors are locked up tight. Teal'c, you didn't notice anything amiss around the perimeter did you?"
"I did not O'Neill. Everything looked as it should," replied Teal'c.
"Good. I want everyone to leave their doors open tonight, just so we can hear each other. Carter, maybe you should bunk with me and Daniel can take your room," Jack suggested.
"I think I'll be fine Sir. With the windows and doors locked and your rooms open, I should be perfectly safe."
Jack looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded his head. "OK, but make sure that window is securely locked. We'll get up at 0600 so we can talk to Treyem before breakfast. Good night kids."
They went to their respective rooms, Teal'c taking one last look around the common rooms in the cottage. Sam entered her room and walked over to the window. It was a fairly large window that started from the area of her knees and reached well above her head. She looked out into the darkness, suppressing another shiver. She had to get a hold of herself, she thought in disgust. After all, she was not one to be afraid of the dark!
Sam checked to make sure the window was locked from the inside, turned off the light, and got into bed. Unfortunately, she didn't notice the small pieces of wood that was wedged between the outside of the window and the outer wall of the cottage. The piece of wood prevented the secure locking of the window in question.
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A/N: Thanks for the reviews so far and for hanging in there for the Cliffhangers (I know some of you hate them)! Next chapter promises to have lots of action!!