In the Face of Danger

Baryon breathed heavily as he neared the top of the hill. The climb was steeper than he had thought at first. The added weight of Major Carter made it all the more difficult. She was beginning to stir in his arms. He needed to reach his destination quickly and secure his acquisition.

Sweat was running down his back as he reached the plateau of the hill. A wide, flat area was surrounded by large boulders that formed a semi-circle around the outermost edges of the area. A few scraggly trees made their home on the apex of this hill, along with several varieties of plants and sundry bushes. Baryon made his way to the far edge of the clearing, next to the boulders. He set his captive on the ground and rolled her onto her side. He stood up and stretched his back muscles; sore from carrying his burden up the steep hill. He looked upon the woman again as she stirred once more. Baryon reached into his pouch and pulled out a rope, which he then secured around the wrists that were pulled behind her back. He contemplated using some more of the solution in the vials on her but decided against it. He wanted her conscious. Baryon left her lying there and walked around the clearing, taking the ruby amulet back out of his shirt and rubbing his fingers over its smooth surface.

Josef, who had been following the pair up the steep incline, ducked behind some of the more dense bushes and watched the proceedings. Anger boiled up in him as he saw Baryon pull Major Sam's arms behind her and secure them with a rope. He wanted to charge in at that moment and knock Baryon down, free Major Sam and take off down the hill. He knew it wasn't feasible however; Baryon was much stronger and larger than he was. Josef would have to bide his time and wait for Kellan to return with the men of SG-1. But just in case, he picked up a few large stones that would work as projectiles against Baryon.

Sam slowly opened her eyes, her mind cloudy and confused. She had remembered locking the window and going to bed. She seemed to recall a vague dream in which Baryon's face was directly in front of her. Sam tried to wipe the fog from her eyes but found that she couldn't move her hands. This brought her out of her stupor as she struggled slightly with the ropes that bound her. She surveyed her surroundings and saw the large boulders that she was facing. Struggling, she turned her body around on the ground and saw Baryon a few feet from her; regarding her thoughtfully.

"You are much stronger than I thought Major Carter. Most people would still be unconscious from breathing in the potion that I mixed up. I wonder how you will fare against the other means I have to control you."

Sam pushed herself up so that she was leaning against one of the large boulders. With her hands behind her back, she worked at loosening the knots, mindful that Baryon's eyes were intently watching her. She had to keep him talking in order to distract him from her slight movements.

"You can't expect to get away with anything Baryon. My friends will notice that I am missing and come looking for me."

"I suppose they will Samantha," he stated as he came closer to her. "But I don't think they will notice that you are missing for quite a while. The sun will not rise for another six hours, by then I will have accomplished some of my plan regarding you."

"What exactly is it that you want from me Baryon? I have told you that I didn't have the chance to rescue your children, they were already gone. You have to believe me when I tell you that had I been able to, I would have brought them back with the others." Sam continued to work on the ropes as she talked to him. The knots were tight and she was having trouble getting any kind of grip on the slippery rope that was used.

Baryon crouched in front of her, pulling the knife out his pouch. Her knife, she noticed, and she flinched. Seeing her reaction, Baryon gently ran his fingers down her cheek as he smiled. "My children meant everything to me Samantha. They were all that I had left. I do believe that you would have brought them back, but you did not and now I have nothing. Have you ever lost something dear to you Samantha?" And he took the knife and trailed it under her chin and along her neck, stopping when he came to the top of her shirt.

Sam sucked in a breath as she felt the tip of the knife cut her skin. She felt a small trickle of blood follow the path of the knife, thankful at least that he stopped before he got to her shirt.

"Yes, Baryon, I have lost someone very dear to me," she continued in a strong voice. She couldn't let him know that he was affecting her. "I lost my mother when I was no older than your children. She was killed by a careless man who I hated for a long time. Eventually, my family and I forgave him. We had to move on with our lives."

Baryon regarded her attentively as she spoke these words. He had not considered that she might have experienced something that he had. He shook his head to dispel the images ...this was not the same. She was to blame for his loss!

Baryon grabbed the back of her head and bent her head back, pressing the knife to the base of her throat. "It is not the same!" he growled at her. "You still had family left, I have nothing!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Sam saw Josef rise up from behind some bushes. He was holding two large rocks and looked ready to throw them. With an imperceptible shake of her head, she told him no. She would be able to use his presence to get away, but not yet. Baryon was too dangerous right now. Josef, seeing her motion at him, slowly lowered himself back into the bushes. He would wait for her signal; he trusted her with his life and knew she would signal him when ready.

"You do have something left Baryon," she gasped. "You have the entire village. They care about you."

He loosened his grip slightly on her hair, allowing her to raise her head back and ease the pain in her neck. "They do not care for me. They care only for the work I can do. They care much more about you. Calling you the andolana and honoring you at every turn. They should not honor you; they should honor one such as me!" He released her abruptly and stood up, cradling the amulet in his hands. "I will have power over all of them soon. Once they have seen that I can conquer the great andolana, they will revere me with their words and actions."

Sam stared in fascination at the ruby red amulet in his hands. It seemed to give off a glow as he caressed it. She got that funny feeling in the pit of her stomach as she looked at the jewel. It seemed very familiar to her, but she couldn't place it. Was it in some way controlling Baryon? She wasn't sure, but knew that now was the time to make her move; now while he was distracted by the amulet.

In a loud voice, Sam said, "I know I am not a true Andolana, but I won't let anything happen to the children!" At the same time that she made this loud statement, she kicked at Baryon's legs, knocking him to the ground. He hit the ground hard, and was dazed momentarily, then got to his feet with hatred in his eyes.

"You will pay for that Major Carter!" He hauled her to her feet and raised his hand to strike her. As he was ready to strike, a rock came sailing out of nowhere and hit him on the back of the shoulder. Baryon spun around and saw the figure of a young boy come out of the shadows. Baryon roared with anger, turned back to Sam and struck her hard across the face, causing her to fall back and hit her head on the boulder behind her. Sam fell like a limp rag doll to the ground, not moving or making a sound.

Baryon advanced on Josef, knife held high and eyes filled with a deadly purpose. Josef took careful aim and threw his second stone. It struck Baryon in the right arm, causing him to drop the knife and cry out in pain. "Josef, son of Treyem, you will join my children and Major Carter in the ever-after!" he yelled. Josef skirted around Baryon and backed his way over to Major Carter. He would protect her with his last breath if he had to!

Jack, Daniel and Teal'c heard the angry roar of Baryon as they were climbing the hill. They began to run up the remainder of hill, tripping on the stones that littered the path, yet still progressing steadily upward. Jack ducked behind the bushes at the top of the clearing, wanting to assess the situation before running in. Teal'c, Daniel and Kellan did the same. They saw Baryon get back up off the ground, pick up his knife, and turn toward Josef, who was standing protectively over Sam.

Jack indicated to Daniel and Teal'c to flank the edges of the clearing. He quietly told Kellan to stay put, then stood up and left the bushes, calling out to Baryon as he did so.

"Baryon, stop! Put the knife down and step away from Josef. No one else needs to get hurt here tonight."

Baryon spun around and looked at Jack, then at the other two men who were slowly surrounding him. "She needs to pay for what she has taken from me, as does the boy who interfered with my plan. You will not stop me from accomplishing my goal!" With those words, he turned and lunged toward Josef, knife pointed directly at the boy's heart.

"Baryon don't!" Daniel cried, stepping forward with his hand outstretched in supplication. Teal'c took aim with his Zat and fired once, knocking the deranged man to the ground. Daniel reached out and took the knife from where it had fallen on the ground, placing it in the knife holder attached to his leg. Teal'c went and stood over Baryon, his Zat pointed at the downed man, just in case.

Jack rushed over to where Josef and Sam were leaning against the large boulders. The boy had sunk down on the ground next to Sam after Baryon had been shot. All the adrenaline had left his body and he was quite shaky.

"Josef, you all right?" Jack asked quietly.

At the nod of the boy's head, he turned his attention on Sam. "Good God, what the hell did he do to her?" he asked no one in particular. She had a line of blood running down the side of her neck, the corner of her mouth was bloody and bruised, and he felt blood on the fingers that held the back of her head gently. With his other hand, he felt for a pulse in her neck, sighing in relief when he felt the strong steady beat beneath his fingers.

"Is she OK Jack?" Daniel asked as he came over to where Sam lay on the ground. She looked awfully pale to him and he could see the blood on her face and head. Kellan walked over from where he had been hiding, tears in his eyes as he saw Major Sam lying motionless and injured.

"She's unconscious. Looks like she hit her head against the rocks here. The cut on her neck isn't too bad but I'm worried about the one on the back of her head. She's got a pretty good sized bump back there as well. We need to get her back to the cottage."

"What of this one O'Neill?" asked Teal'c, still guarding the downed man. "We should return him to the village as well."

"We will Teal'c. Here, take this rope and tie his hands together." Jack handed him the rope that he had taken off of Sam's wrists. She had been able to loosen it considerably but not enough to free herself completely. "Daniel, press your bandana against the back of her head. We need to get the bleeding to slow down."

Daniel did as he was instructed. The two boys looked on in silence, willing their favorite SG member to open her eyes and smile at them. Jack glanced at the two boys next to him and gave them a small smile. "She's going to be OK guys. Your Major Sam is pretty tough. You know, you guys probably saved her life tonight. She's going to be so proud of you...we're all very proud of you!" He paused and continued on, "I'm going to need you to do one more thing for us OK? I want you to walk with Daniel down the hill and shine those flashlights for us OK? I'd hate to drop Major Sam after all she's been through already!" He smiled gently, just so they'd know he was teasing about dropping Carter.

The boys nodded and got up, watching carefully as Jack picked Sam up in his arms, cradling her gently. Daniel readjusted the bandana under her head so that it was held in place by Jack's shoulder. Then he led the boys to the front of the clearing, putting an arm around each one's shoulder.

"Teal'c, are you OK carrying Baryon down the hill?" Jack inquired as he came up to his friend.

"Indeed I am O'Neill. He will not be a burden to transport down the hill," Teal'c replied. He then proceeded to pick up the unconscious man and sling him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The man's strength never ceased to amaze Jack.

"All right, let's head back. Light the way boys!" he ordered.

Jack alternated between watching the path and keeping his eye on Sam. She didn't stir as she was carried carefully down the path. Every so often, Jack thought about what could have transpired up on the hill, and his heart skipped a few beats. Thank God that the boys had been out that night, and they had gotten to her in time. He couldn't begin to imagine what might have happened had they not noticed her missing until morning.

A/N: Ok, no more nasty cliffhangers! Just a small one! I had fun writing these last two chapters - hope you liked them! A few more to go I think!