Teal'c was gone. Daniel was gone. Half of SG1 was gone. The thoughts kept spinning in Sam's brain. The pain was constant. Not physical, not yet. Mentally she was screaming. They were gone and she was next.

They were gone.

She was next.

God help her she was scared.

She looked away from the calm face of Teal'c for a minute to the far more conflicted one of her CO. Whatever she was facing, she wouldn't swap with him for anything. She'd rather spend her whole life blind than out-live her team. Not just out-live, but kill them. How was he going to live with that?

"I don't know if I can do it Carter." The low despairing voice tore her from her thoughts.

"Do what sir?" Wow, her voice sounded nearly normal. Amazing what a double dose of grief and terror could do.

"I can't…I don't want to kill you Carter." It was hardly a whisper. The colonel was staring at Daniel again. No, not Daniel. Daniel isn't here anymore. Gone. God no.

"I don't want to die Sir." She replied, as steadily as she could. Trying to prevent the fear showing. Major Samantha Carter did not get scared. "But compared to the alternative, it's better."

He was shaking his head. "I've lost two of my team today, watched them being tortured. I don't ever want to do that again." If hearts could break, hers was right now. She had to do something, anything to relieve the agony in his voice. But all she could do was sit there, offer meaningless words of comfort till the pain came for her.

Wait.

There was something she could do.

Jack was woken from his semi-catatonic state of dread by a rustling from Carter's direction. Fearing the worst, he turned to look at his 2IC. He was too tired to register much surprise, but he vaguely acknowledged she was fiddling with something on her wrist. He was slightly more surprised when she handed it over to him. It was the GDO.

"Carter what's this?"

"The GDO sir, you'll need it."

"No Carter, WE'LL need it."

"Sir please, don't patronise me," her voice was soft, but firm, "We both know I'm not getting out of here."

"Carter…"

"And I need you to do something for me." She continued, adamantly. Stand down Major or I'll bust you down to Captain. Carter had put the GDO down now, in front of him.

And picked up the remaining vial.

"Carter?" Jack asked warily, afraid he knew only too well where this was going.

Her features were sad but resolute. "Sir, in a minute, it's going to start. And when that happens, it won't stop until you kill me." She really did like to state the obvious, and he didn't want to hear it.

"I don't want to go through that Sir. Now you've done it once before," she was holding out the syringe, her hand shaking only slightly. "When that alien was in me, you pulled the trigger for the good of Earth." God no, "I'm asking you to do it again, for me."

"You want me to kill you? Before the thing even starts?" Please, just say no.

"Yes Sir." A tear fell unnoticed from her eye. "I don't want to go through what they did." And more quietly still, "I don't want you to see it again."

Carter no…"Carter you are not doing this because of me."

"No sir I'm doing it for both of us." Hardly more than a whisper. Stronger now, "Sir you once said you'd rather die than lose me." Another tear, I can't take this, "I'm asking you to do something even harder, I'm asking you to kill me to save me from this." She held out the syringe again, shaking but determined. "And I'm asking you to live with it." Softly "Can you do that for me? Jack?"

He shut his eyes, forcing the tears back, then took the syringe from her and nodded.

Sam was fighting hard to stop the tears from falling, but wasn't completely successful. She didn't want him to think she was scared, to carry that with him his whole life. She shuffled over to Daniel and Teal'c, knowing it was weird, but she wanted her team near her right now. She gently kissed Daniel's cool forehead, and squeezed Teal'c's shoulder, a silent apology for being unable to save them. On an impulse, she settled herself between the bodies of her friends, it would make no difference, but it made her feel better knowing they were close. She could almost see Daniel's smile, Teal'c's raised eyebrow, they were so close now.

And in a minute she'd be with them.

The colonel knelt beside her, were those tears he was blinking away? Maybe he was getting sentimental in his old age. She ought to tease him about it when…never mind.

He looked awkwardly at the syringe, "Carter…"

She shut her eyes, "Just do it Sir." A slight pain in her arm, and a wave of drowsiness came over her. She blinked slowly. The colonel was looking down at her, tears still in his eyes. She should say goodbye.

"Sir…" Words were an effort now, but there was so much she wanted to say, to tell him, she wasn't ready to die yet, she should to send messages for Cassie, for Janet, for her dad…

"It's alright Carter." A hand held hers; the pressure couldn't keep her here though. She was floating. "Just go to sleep." Suddenly it wasn't important to talk. She smiled, or at least tried to, but the world was drifting away. "Get some rest Carter, that's an order."

She was so tired, rest sounded good. She tried to say goodbye, but the world was already gone.

And Colonel Jack O'Neill watched his second in command, his friend, and his rock on any world, breathe her last. Leave him to be with the rest of SG1 wherever they might be.

And he'd never been so alone.

No its not the end. Keep reviewing and I'll get the next chapter up ASAP.