Part 2

The Stargate on Vorash opened with a whoosh, the displacement wave shooting out and then spiraling back, leaving a bright blue, watery light in its wake. The three people at the Stargate waited expectantly for something, or someone, to come through, trying to be as patient as possible, but not being entirely successful. Their waiting came to a quick end when almost as soon as the Stargate opened, five people came through. Jacob Carter/ Selmak led the way, followed closely by his daughter, Samantha, and Teal'c. Behind them were the two Tok'ra that had accompanied Jacob/Selmak through the Stargate to the Tau'ri home world.

"Have you learned anything more?" Jacob asked the Tok'ra waiting for them at the bottom of the Stargate.

One of them, the only female of the three stepped forward, her pale tunic billowing around her slim figure. "No, we have not. The Tok'ra Council is waiting to speak with you." She beckoned them forward, and they made their way to the hidden transport ring that would take them to the secret crystal tunnel base hidden deep underground.

As they walked through the crystal corridors, Sam became increasingly nervous. Something wasn't right. None of the Tok'ra would look at them; they all faced the ground as Sam, Teal'c, and Jacob passed them by. It was as if the Tok'ra were afraid to look at her and Teal'c.

Upon reaching the Council Chambers, two Tok'ra guards armed with zat guns allowed Jacob to pass, but blocked Sam's and Teal'c's entrance into the chamber beyond. Jacob turned to say something to the guards when they informed him of their orders before he could open his mouth.

"Only you are allowed to see the Council, Selmak. All non-Tok'ra are now forbidden, as a security precaution."

"Beren," Selmak tried to reason with the guard. "You know who these two are. They are not a security risk. I give you my guarantee. And beyond that, I'm sure there are many members of the Council who will as well."

The guard shook his head. "I have my orders, sir. They come from Garshaw herself. Now, if you please, Selmak, the Council is waiting for you."

Jacob turned to his daughter and her friend. Both of their faces mirrored his confusion. SG-1 had always been...well, maybe not exactly welcome in the Tok'ra Council Chambers, but most definitely allowed to argue their case. Why had things suddenly changed in the very short time since their last visit?"

Sam nodded, not really understanding, but she figured that the sooner her father spoke to the Council, the sooner they would all leave to rescue the Colonel and Daniel. She watched her father's retreating back, worry etched in her brow. She'd seen the puzzlement on her father's face as well. Sam was not stupid; she knew her father was just as confused over the Tok'ra's behavior as she was. She replayed everything that had happened since she, Teal'c, and her father were led from the Stargate to the Council Chambers. All of the Tok'ra they had passed had looked away. At first, Sam had thought it was due to fear. Fear over all that was happening between teh Goa'uld System Lords. But now she did not thing it was fear at all. They weren't afraid to look at us, so much as they were reluctant to, Sam thought to herself. They know something and did not want to give it away in their facial expressions. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks, and Sam immediately sat down on the cold floor with a t thud.

Teal'c looked over at his team member in concern. He heard Major Carter hit the floor and took in her slumped appearance. "Major Carter, are you ill?" he asked bluntly but quietly, so the guards wouldn't overhear their conversation.

"I don't know, Teal'c," she responded just as quietly for the same reason. "I'm getting a really sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I think I know what's going on here, and I don't like it one bit." She looked up at Teal'c, her eyes wet with unshed tears. "Did you notice how now one would look at us as we came here?"

Teal'c nodded. "Indeed. The Tok'ra appear to be more secretive that ususal."

Sam ran her fingers through her short blonde hair, a tell-tale sign that she was very nervous. "I don't think they're going to help us rescue Daniel and Colonel O'Neill, and they're not sure how to tell us because they don't want to hurt the alliance they have with us."

Teal'c tilted his head, giving Major Carter's theory some careful thought. She has a point, he said to himself. "The Tok'ra, most times, are reluctant to help us, only doing so out of sheer necessity, or all other options being discarded."

"Or to use us," Sam added bitterly, her mind suddenly flashing from their trip to Netu, and the arm band incident, and Daniel's infiltration of the Goa'uld summit, just to name a few.

Teal'c nodded in agreement. "They are going to tell JacobCarter their decision not to aide us in rescuing O'Neill and DanielJackson..."

"And hope that we take it better coming from him," Sam finished Teal'c's thought. She got up and began to pace back and forth, anger radiating from her. How many times have Colonel O'Neill and Daniel saved the Tok'ra? Too numerous to count. And this is how the Tok'ra repay them? Livid, Sam stopped pacing and seriously considered marching into the Council Chambers and giving the Tok'ra a piece of her mind. Then through her anger, a quick fleeting thought raced through her mind, calming her. She knew what she had to do to get Daniel back safe and sound.

"Screw the Tok'ra," Sam said, sounding suspiciously like O'Neill. She turned to her teammate. "C'mon, Teal'c. We've got better things to do that stand around here waiting for the Tok'ra to give us some sanctimonious bullshit about why they can't help us. I know somewhere else we can go to the get he help we need." She started to march her way to the ring transporter that would bring them back to the surface of Vorash, and then to the Stargate.

Jacob caught up to his daughter and Teal'c just as they were about to step on to the ring transport platform. "Sam," he called gently, hoping to break the news to her as easily as possible. He was completely unprepared for her response, and it shocked him to his very core.

"Save it, Selmak," Sam spit out. "I know the Tok'ra aren't going to lift a finger to help the Colonel and Daniel. And after all they've done for you..." Sam trailed off. She focused her blue gaze on her father, letting him see her disappointment and anger. "Next time you guys have a problem, don't come to us." With that, she and Teal'c stepped onto the platform, activating the rings, and they were transported to the surface.

Jacob closed his eyes and sighed in deep regret. Not only had the Tok'ra just lost their greatest allies in their fight against the Goa'uld, but he had a feeling that he had just lost his daughter as well. Turning slowly from the ring transporter, he tried to decide how to break the news to the Tok'ra council. Somehow, he thought, I don't hink this was the response they were expecting.

The first thing Jack was aware of when he woke up was how much it hurt his head. Again. The second was that he was lying face down on a soft pallet. The third was that his hands and feet were bound. And the fourth was that it was very, very cold wherever he was. Grunting with extreme effort, Jack managed to flip himself over on to his back, so he could get a better look around. The room was similar to the type of holding cell he and the rest of SG-1 had been held in on Zeus's mother ship, only much colder, and this time he had something soft to lie on. He could hear Daniel's wheezing to his right, and turned to check on the archeologist. Seeing not apparent injuries to his friend, and noting that he also had his hands and feet tied together, he attempted to wake him up.

"Daniel," he called. "Daniel, wake up."

Daniel groaned at the voice interrupting his dream. He was with Sam, on a beach somewhere. He was pulling her arm, threatening to toss her in the ocean to get her wet, and she was pulling away from him, wanting to just sit and read her book and stay dry. Both of them were laughing, happy as can be.

"DANIEL!" There was no mistaking the voice now, or the fact that what Daniel was experiencing was a dream.

"Jack, did you really have to do that? I was really enjoying my dream," Daniel said.

"You can dream about Carter all you want when we get out of here and back home," Jack admonished the younger man, watching him blush bright red. "But we have to get out of here."

"Uh, Jack," Daniel said, "how?" He held up his hands to indicate the heavy, metal handcuffs.

Jack thought for a moment then said, shrugging, "I got nuthin'. Go back to your dream."

Daniel blushed furiously. "It wasn't that kind of dream," he quickly informed his friend.

"Uh-huh," Jack replied knowingly, a sparkle in his eyes. He just loved teasing Daniel.

"Well, it wasn't," Daniel insisted.

"Was."

"Wasn't."

"Was."

"Wasn't!"

"Was!"

"You know, you're being a real ass!"

"Well, you're being a real...boogerhead."

"Boogerhead? That's the best you can come up with?"

"It's an off day."

"Oh."

Before Jack could elaborate, the door to their cell opened, and it was déjà vu all over again. Aphrodite was standing before them, with an escort of armed Jaffa. But this time, all of the Jaffa bore the mark of Anubis.

"What's going on?" Jack demanded. "I thought you were fighting against Anubis?"

Aphrodite shook her head. "You humans understand so little. My father was the one fighting against Anubis. However, my brother and I..." She shrugged her shoulders and smiled, as if to say, 'oh well'.

"What did Anubis offer you for your loyalty?" Daniel asked.

"My brother has now become Anubis' second in command. Ares rules in Anubis's absence."

"And you?"

Aphrodite smiled seductively. "You, Daniel Jackson. I get you."

Sam Carter didn't dial home on the Vorash DHD. What would have been the point? Just to tell Hammond that the Tok'ra had once again screwed over the Tau'ri? Besides, there was no one on Earth who could help them. And, if Teal'c and I do return home, there's no guarantee that we'll be able to rescue Daniel and the Colonel, Sam said to herself. The government may decide it's too great a risk. No, going home is pointless. However, Sam didn't hesitate to start pressing buttons on the DHD. She knew exactly where she was going. She dialed up P9X-771, also known as Krimm.

"Major Carter, to what purpose does returning to Krimm serve?"

Not looking up from the DHD Sam answered, "They created the Goa'uld, Teal'c, but the Goa'uld do not control them. And, the Krimm are highly advanced genetic engineers making biological weapons."

"I do not believe they will willingly create a biological weapon to use against the Goa'uld for us," Teal'c tried to reason with her.

Sam looked up, determination in her blue eyes, trying her very best to hid the fear she felt throughout her body. "Then we will make them." She pressed the final symbol, the point of origin of Vorash, then placed her palm on the orange orb in the center, triggering the activation of the wormhole. With Teal'c on her heels, she jumped through the wormhole to a planet she had sworn she'd never have anything to do with ever again.

Sam and Teal'c were greeted by the Krimm, energy weapons pointed in their direction, as they cam through the Stargate. Sam stopped and returned the friendly greeting, her P-90 facing the leaders of the group of Krimm. Teal'c, standing just behind her, was covering her with his staff weapon. No one moved. The Krimm faced the members of SG-1, anger and resentment on their faces.

"Why have you returned?" one of the Krimm demanded. Sam remembered his name was Charek, and he served as the Krimm's head military commander. "You and your kind are not welcome here." He stepped forward, his weapon still pointed at Sam and Teal'c.

Sam snorted in response. "We're not exactly thrilled to be back here, either. But you have something we want. A biological weapon to fight the Goa'uld."

"We possess no such weapon," Charek said quickly. Way too quickly for Sam's liking, confirming her suspicions.

"Yeah, and that would be a lie," Sam called his bluff. "Look, here's the deal. You give us a biological weapon to destroy the Goa'uld, and we won't tell anyone where the Goa'uld came from." She stared hard at Charek, her intense gaze boring in to him, letting him know exactly what her statement meant. Letting other worlds know where the Goa'uld came from, how they came about...they'd all come knocking at the Krimm's door, out for blood. It would be the end of the Krimm.

Sam watched as Charek took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling loudly. He closed his eyes and lowered his head, so that if his eyes were open they'd be staring at the ground. His back rounded, his shoulders slumped. It was the picture of a man defeated. "Why?" he asked quietly. "What could be so important to you to make you come back here for a weapon?"

"Anubis has Colonel O'Neill and Daniel as his prisoners. We intend to get them out," Sam stated matter of factly. "And you are going to help us by giving us what we need." Sam stepped off the platform leading down from the Stargate and made her way down to Charek. "You owe me," she said quietly, dangerously, making sure only Charek could hear. Making sure he knew that she knew he was the one who had tried to kill her.

Daniel could not think of a worse fate than what Aphrodite had planned for him. It made him grow cold with fear, his stomach queasy, his head ache, his breathing increase towards hyperventilation. He was shaking, from anger as well as fear. She couldn't possibly do this to him. It was inconceivable. He couldn't allow it. But, there he was, all tied up, with no way to stop her. And there Aphrodite stood over him, a Goa'uld in her hands, about to make Daniel her mate.

He tried to talk her out of it, saying he would make a terrible mate, that he wasn't nearly as good looking, or athletic, or strong as other men. He told her he'd fight the Goa'uld until they both died. Still, she did not change her mind. So then Daniel screamed. Long and loud, hoping someone, anyone, would come rescue him. Hoping Jack could get free and come get him. Hoping Sam and Teal'c had somehow infiltrated the mother ship, would hear him and come running. Sam, oh god, no, Daniel thought. What's this going to do to her? I have to get out of here. I can't let Aphrodite do this. But, fate was not on Daniel's side today. Aphrodite lowered the Goa'uld to his side and stepped back, watching with an evil smile on her face. The Goa'uld slithered up Daniel's arm, causing him to wince at its touch. It made it's way around behind his neck and there it penetrated at the brain stem. Daniel screamed in pain and fear, knowing that this was the end of Daniel Jackson, and the start of a new Goa'uld and host. Thankfully, it was over quickly. Ten minutes after the Goa'uld fist entered Daniel's neck, Daniel's eyes glowed brightly, and he sat up, no the Goa'uld Adonis.

"My love," Adonis said in the distinctive Goa'uld voce that sounded as if more than one person was speaking at once. "It is good to be back. And this new host..." He looked down, admiring Daniel's body, and smiling. "It is a good choice. He is young and strong. And handsome."

"And together," Aphrodite said, coming to stand beside Adonis, taking his hand and smiling up at him. "Together we will overthrow Anubis and rule in his place." With that, she reached up and kissed him passionately.

Jack O'Neill was angry. Very, very angry. His best friend had been taken to god knows where, with god knows what being done to him, and here Jack was, just sitting around, handcuffed, in a cold, dark room, not able to help him. Or protect him. I promised Carter I'd watch out for him, Jack thought, shaking his head. I'm totally letting her down. I just hope she doesn't kill me too painfully.

"Nah," Jack said out loud to the empty room. "She's sure to make it really hurt."

Jack lay back on the hard, cold floor, becoming lost in his thoughts. He really hoped Daniel was okay. He had been taken by Aphrodite almost an hour ago. Well, at least it seemed like an hour ago; Jack couldn't be sure. There was no way to tell time in this dark room. All he knew was that Aphrodite had been promised Daniel if she helped Anubis. For what, Jack wasn't sure, but he had a pretty good idea. A very good idea, and the very thought of it turned his whole body cold. She's going to make him a host, Jack thought. And there's nothing I can do to stop it. Daniel's going to become the one thing he fears the most. If we ever rescue him, I'm not sure he'll ever be able to get through the things he's sure to do as a Goa'uld. Jack shook his head and sighed. I wish Carter were here. She'd be able to figure a way out of here and plan to rescue Daniel. She wouldn't let anyone harm Daniel this way.

"Alright, think Jack," Jack ordered himself. "There has to be a way out of here and back to the SGC." Jack forced himself to leave behind thoughts of Daniel's fate and turn to thoughts of escape and getting back home.

First, Jack knew, he had to get these handcuffs off of him. He glanced around the cell, hoping to find something to force them open, or a way to grease up his wrists so his hands would just slide right through. No luck. There was nothing in the cell, no furniture, no metal instruments, not even a bucket of water for drinking. I could call for a guard, and then try to overpower him when he arrives, Jack thought, but dismissed the idea almost as quickly as it came to him. The Jaffa were more than likely to send more than one guard, making it more easy for them to overpower him than he to overpower them. The only solution Jack saw was to wait it out, hoping that an opportunity would present itself for him to escape. And if one didn't, he knew it would only be a matter of time before Carter and Teal'c came storming in. He knew Carter wasn't about to leave anyone behind, least of all Daniel.

Jack propped himself up against one of the cold, metal walls, and turned his thoughts to what he was going to do once he got back home. Have a barbeque, he decided quickly, nodding his head to himself. One giant barbeque. He'd invite his team, of course, and the doc and Cassie, Hammond and his family, maybe a few others from the SGC. He'd ask Teal'c to invite Rya'c and Bra'tac. Maybe, if he were in a particularly good mood, he'd invite Jacob. Burgers, I'd have lots of burgers, he thought to himself. Cheeseburgers, bacon, mushrooms, onions. And barbeque chicken. Maybe even a hot dog. Jack knew Cassie liked hot dogs at least as much as he did, maybe more.

As Jack added french fries and onion dip to a never-ending list of food, the door to his cell swung open and four armed Jaffa entered, their staff weapons pointed at the commander of SG-1. "On your feet, human," the Jaffa leader sneered. "Your presence is requested by our new god."

"What, so soon? She must not be very good at torture if she wants me so soon after taking Daniel. Or is it that I'm just to darned irresistible?" Jack tried to joke, batting his eyes coquettishly at the Jaffa. Unfortunately, the Jaffa didn't get the joke. Sighing, Jack awkwardly climbed to his feet, since his hands were of no use to push himself up, and followed the Jaffa out of the cell, two in front of him, two behind. They led him down a dark hallway, twisting and turning around corners as they made their way to what Jack figured was Aphrodite's chambers.

He entered a well lit room, but that was the only welcoming thing about it. It was steel gray in color and extremely cold. There was only one piece of furniture in the room, and ugly metal chair, reminiscent of a dentist's chair. Looking at that chair, Jack got a sick feeling in his stomach. That chair reminded him of a similar one from his days as a POW in Iraq. A torture chamber chair. Jack knew, with complete certainty, that he was going to be placed in that chair. He knew he could handle it, having handled torture before. He just prayed that Daniel had been able to handle it. There was a hissing sound from his right, and Jack turned, watching as another door opened and Aphrodite entered the room, bringing with her things...instruments...that made Jack shiver, but not due to the cold room. He knew what they were fore. Oh, poor Daniel, Jack thought sadly, getting a good look at what Aphrodite was bringing closer and closer to him. Where is he?

"Where's Daniel?" Jack demanded of Aphrodite. "What have you done with him?"

Aphrodite looked at him, giving a sly smile of satisfaction. "I have made him better," she informed Jack. "I have made him so much more. He is now fit to be my lover."

Daniel entered the room from the same door as Aphrodite. One glance at him and Jack knew he was no longer the shy, innocent archeologist that Jack had come to regard as a younger brother. He possessed a more confident walk, his head held high, his strides even and measured. He looked at Jack and Jack watched in horror as Daniel's eyes glowed. "Strap him in to the chair," Daniel ordered the Jaffa in his multi-toned Goa'uld voice.

Jack felt himself propelled forward and nearly fell flat on his face as two of the Jaffa shoved him in the direction of the metal chair. He regained his balance, not wanting to give them the satisfaction of seeing him falter. They forced him down into the chair and touched some crystals on the side, activating a locking mechanism. Jack felt metal bands encapsulate his arms, legs, chest, and forehead, hold him to the chair. He couldn't turn his head, but he watched Daniel out of the corner of his eye, and the Goa'uld in his friend perused the instruments Aphrodite had brought in. Short and long, blunt and sharp, electrical and manual, the Goa'uld in Daniel took his time deciding on the first instrument of torture. Smiling, he picked up one that looked to Jack like a scaled down version of a staff weapon. Probably something designed to give an electrical shock, Jack thought in his sarcastic tone. Sweeeeet.

"Now," the Goa'uld in Daniel said, eyes gleaming in happiness and anticipation, "the fun begins."

Teal'c had never seen Major Carter this driven before. Or this angry. At this moment, he was holding her back, arms wrapped around her, keeping her from lunging at the Krimm head scientist, Maltar, and ripping his head off quite forcibly, as she had already threatened to do on numerous occasions.

"Major Carter, calm down," Teal'c tried to reason with her. "This is not helping O'Neill or DanielJackson."

At the mention of DanielJackson, Teal'c felt Major Carter go limp in his arms, giving up all of the fight within her. She hung her head in both embarrassment and acknowledgement that he was right. "I know," she said softly. "But I can't help it. We don't have a lot of time, and the Krimm are working too slowly."

"Scientist Maltar and his team are working as quickly as they can," Teal'c said gently. "We must be patient."

Sam pulled away from him and turned to face him, smiling wryly. "You mean I must be patient." In response Teal'c only raised an eyebrow. "I know, I know," Sam said as much to let Teal'c know she agreed with him as to admonish herself. "It's just hard, all this waiting around. I just want them back. Now, before something happens to them and it's too late."

"The sooner you stop yelling at the Krimm scientists and let them get to work, the sooner they will have a weapon for us and the sooner we can rescue O'Neill and DanielJackson," Teal'c pointed out, not unkindly.

Sam nodded her head. "You're right, Teal'c." She turned to Maltar. "I am sorry I lost my head there. I'm just afraid for my friends. Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Maltar put a large hand on Sam's shoulder and squeezed gently. "I understand. But no, there is nothing you can do to help me, other than to leave me alone so I can get back to work. Perhaps I can arrange a tour of our city for you and Teal'c to pass the time?"

Sam shrugged and ran her fingers through her hair. "Sure. Anything's better than just waiting around."

Sam and Teal'c started to leave Maltar's lab. Just as they reached the door, the bioengineer called out to them. "I will create a biological weapon for you. I only hope it isn't too late to save your friends. I met Daniel Jackson on your last visit here. I liked him very much."

"Maltar, maybe there can be an alliance between our people," Sam said hopefully.

Sam stared at the streets of the Krimm's capital city Hashed, a city that reminded her of the New York City set from the movie The Fifth Element, complete with incredibly tall, futuristic looking buildings and levels upon levels upon levels of traffic, consisting of hovercrafts. She and Teal'c were currently in the Krimm equivalent to a taxi, making their way to Hashed's history museum, to try to get a feel for the history of the Krimm and their relationship with the Goa'uld.

Krimm was a planet with major cities scattered throughout its two continents. On the northern continent, each city was surrounded by mountains and cliffs, and on the southern, deserts. The Stargate was found outside the city of Hashed, at the base of the Morlian Cliffs. The place where Sam had nearly been killed. On their first visit to Krimm, SG-1 had not seen any of the cities, only the immediate area surrounding the Stargate. They had had no idea how advanced the Krimm really were. Now, as Sam stared out the hovercraft's window and took in the sights all around her, she realized that the Krimm were much more scientifically and technologically advanced than even the Tollans had been. An alliance was probably a good idea, even though they had tried to kill her. The benefits to Earth were much greater than her own personal demons surrounding this place.

"Teal'c," Sam said softly, still staring out the window. "What if we're too late to save them?"

"You must believe that we won't be," Teal'c stated picking up Sam's hand and giving it a squeeze.

"But what if we are?" Sam persisted, not really in the mood for Jaffa optimism. "I don't know if I can handle losing Daniel again."

"You are in love with DanielJackson." Teal'c made it a statement of fact, not a question.

"Yes," Sam replied without hesitation.

"Then you must trust in your love for him to bring him back."

Sam turned from the window and looked at Teal'c her eyes wet, tears threatening to fall. "I just hope his love for me is strong enough to keep him alive long enough for me to bring him back."

The alarm system at the SGC went off, alerting General Hammond to the control room. Someone was accessing the Stargate from off-world. Hoping desperately it was Major Carter and Teal'c, Hammond made his way to the control room as fast as he could. As he climbed the stars and stepped over to one of the monitoring stations, one of the techs on duty informed him that the signal was from the Tok'ra. Glad that it was a friend, but disappointed that it wasn't from SG-1, Hammond ordered the iris to be opened, and he went down to the Gateroom to greet their guests.

Hammond took his place behind the base's security personnel, their weapons pointed at the unshielded wormhole, just in case it was a trick and it wasn't the Tok'ra coming through. But, it was. Hammond watched with apprehension as Jacob and two other Tok'ra made their way down the ramp. Major Carter and Teal'c were not with them.

"George, it's good to see you," Jacob said amicably, extending his hand. Hammond did not take it.

"Jacob," he said, anger just below the surface of his words. "Maybe you can tell me why I have not been able to contact the Tok'ra for over two weeks and why my officers are not with you?"

Jacob narrowed his eyes in confusion and rubbed his balding head. "We were attacked by Anubis almost two weeks ago. We were busy setting up another base. And what do you mean, your officers? None of your people were with us."

"The hell they weren't. Seventeen days ago you took Major Carter and Teal'c back with you through the Stargate. I haven't seen or heard from them since," Hammond practically yelled at his friend.

"Sam's missing?" Jacob asked worriedly.

"Last I knew she and Teal'c were with you. What happened, Jacob?" Hammond demanded.

Sighing deeply Jacob said, "The Tok'ra Council denied your request to help find Jack and Daniel. Sam got angry and she and Teal'c left. I assumed they came back here."

"Well they most certainly did not."

"Then were did they go?"

Both men stared at the Stargate, hoping the answer would jump into their minds.

Jack had to be dragged back to his cell. He couldn't stand on his own two feet he was in such excruciating pain. He heard the cell door open and felt himself being shoved into the room, and falling flat on is face. The floor was hard and cold, but what else was new? Jack thought. He lay there, hoping the Jaffa would just leave him alone and go away. He was afraid that if he moved they would decide he was well enough for more. He definitely didn't want more.

After the Jaffa left, Jack counted to fifty, then attempted to roll himself over onto his back. It hurt, more than he had thought possible. Every muscle, every body part. He hurt in places he didn't even know he had. But what hurt him the most was the fact that it had been Daniel who had tortured him.

Well, not Daniel, really, Jack admitted to himself. The Goa'uld inside Daniel did this to me. Danny-boy's just an innocent victim in all of this. I hope, that if we ever do rescue him, he doesn't remember any of this. It will kill him. I'm just glad it's me and not Carter who's here.

Jack slowly stretched his arms up over his head, trying to determine how injured he was and how easily he could move about. After a few inches he had to stop, the pain shot down his arms so fast he cried out. Rolling onto his side, Jack curled into the fetal position, hoping to minimize the pain he had just caused himself. He lay there, on the floor, shaking slightly, soon drifting off to sleep.

"It's been three weeks! When are you going to have something for us to use against the Goa'uld?" Sam demanded of Maltar, anger barely kept in check.

"A few more days. One week, the longest," Maltar said gently. "You're a scientist as well, Sam. You know these things sometimes take time." Maltar tried to be as patient as possible. He knew that it must be hard for Sam to have to wait to rescue the man she loved. He could see the suffering in her eyes every time he saw her. He desperately wished that she could make this weapon for her faster so she could rescue Daniel Jackson and be happy.

Sam nodded reluctantly, backing off. "I know. I'm sorry if it seem like I'm rushing you, or don't appreciate what you're doing for me. I just...I miss him. And he could be hurt..."

Maltar left his worktable and came over to Sam. "Forty years ago, our world was in a civil war. My wife was taken prisoner. I didn't think I would ever see her again." Sam looked up at him and saw the understanding in his eyes. "She was held captive by the side I opposed for almost three years. When the war ended, she was released. It took a long time for her to come back to me, to be the woman I had fallen in love with and married. She never quite returned to the same woman as before she was captured, but I love her and she still loves me just the same." Sam looked down at the ground, tears threatening and she didn't want Maltar to see. Maltar gently took Sam's chin into his hand and lifted her face, to stare at her eyes. "Don't give up hope, Sam. You will find and get him back."

Before Sam could answer Charek entered Maltar's laboratory, searching for Major Carter. "Major Carter, may I have a work with you?"

Sam looked over at Charek and nodded. "Just a moment, Charek. We can talk outside." Turning back to Maltar, Sam said her goodbyes. "I should get going and leave you to your work. Thanks for being so patient and understanding with me."

"I promise, Sam, I will have this finished for you in one week. Perhaps, after you rescue your friends, you and Doctor Jackson would care to return and have dinner with me and my wife?" Maltar offered.

Sam nodded, smiling slightly. "I think both he and I would like that."

Outside of the laboratory Sam met up with Charek who was pacing back and forth, impatiently waiting for her. Upon seeing Sam, Charek ceased pacing and came to her, stopping right in front of her. "I understand you will be leaving soon to rescue your friends," he stated more than asked. Sam nodded, knowing there was more to his statement. "I would like to come with you." He brushed his dark brown hair out of his eyes, standing at attention in front of her. "I respectfully offer you my services, Major Carter."

"I'd be lucky to have you along, Charek. You are welcome to join us."

"Once you have the weapon Maltar is creating, where will you go? Do you even know where your friends are? Which Goa'uld has them?"

Sam shook her head dejectedly. "I'm not really sure. I have a good idea to who has them, but that's about it. I'm working on a plan, but it all comes down to luck and who's willing to help me. Now, if you don't mind, I need some time to fine tune my plan. I'm going to head over to your history museum and just walk the halls. It helps to keep me calm and focused. Can you let Teal'c know where I am if he comes looking for me?" Charek nodded. "Thanks. See you soon."

Sam took a taxi hovercraft across the city to the history museum. Once there, she walked the halls, looking at depictions of the way of life before the Goa'uld entered into the picture. Sam had no doubt that Maltar would come up with a biological weapon, some kind of contagion or something, that would work to kill the Goa'uld. The people of Krimm were so much farther advanced than the people of Earth. However, there was one problem that Sam faced, a problem she wasn't sure if she could find a solution to. Getting the weapon that would kill the Goa'uld and rescue Daniel and the Colonel was easy. Knowing whom they were with wasn't hard, but finding out where they were was going to be hard. She had no idea where Daniel and Colonel O'Neill were being held. There were literally millions of billions of planets out there, Sam knew; she had calculated the coordinates to many of them. The rest of SG-1 would be on any of them.

Sam saw the only way to find Daniel and the Colonel was to ask someone where they were. But who? Her one possibility kept running itself over and over in Sam's head. She wasn't quite sure if she was willing to accept it, but she knew she didn't have a lot of options. "To find a Goa'uld, you need a Goa'uld," Sam said to herself. "The Tok'ra won't help us, so that leaves the Goa'uld themselves." Sam stopped walking the halls of the museum and looked up at the exhibit she had come to. It depicted a long ago battle between Goa'uld System Lords, specifically between Anubis and Lord Yu. And then Sam knew it was a sign, a sign that her idea had been right from the beginning. "Lord Yu," she said out loud, slowly, the wheels turning in her head. "We ask Lord Yu, like I thought."

Adonis awoke and stretched his limber muscles as far as they would go. His love, Aphrodite, had chosen well with this new host. He was young and strong, in fine physical condition. The only drawback, however, was mental. The mind of the host would not give up. He fought hard every moment he could. But, Adonis was stronger; he would prevail, and the host would fade away. Noting of the host will survive.

He looked over to his left, watching his love still asleep in the bed. She really was the most beautiful woman Adonis had ever laid eyes on. Except for Sam. Narrowing his eyes, Adonis knew where that thought had come from. The host, this Daniel Jackson, was at it again, attempting to slowly chip away at the control Adonis kept over him. You're at it early today, I see, Adonis thought to his host.

Today, tomorrow, and forever, until I have my body back and my life back, Daniel thought back at the Goa'uld.

Then forever it is, Adonis answered mentally, before ignoring further comments form the host. He knew that in a matter of weeks, possibly even days, he would have full control over the host, and the annoying commentary from Daniel Jackson would be over. Deciding to try and hurt the host, Adonis let him know exactly what was planned for Jack O'Neill that day, letting Daniel see exactly what Adonis was going to do to Jack, using Daniel's body. Outraged, Daniel tried to fight back, to take control, but without success.

"You're lost in thought, my love," a warm, sensuous voice said at his side, distracting him from his mental conversation with his host. Turning to his left once again, Adonis now looked into the green eyes of his love, Aphrodite. He leaned over and kissed her long and hard on the lips, letting Daniel Jackson experience the kiss as well, knowing it would hurt him since his mind was filled with love for this Sam Carter.

"I am thinking about all of the wonderful things we can do to Jack O'Neill today," Adonis answered. "We have yet to use the memory recall device on him, and he has been a prisoner for over three weeks now. I think it is about time we start torturing him mentally as well as physically, don't you?"

Aphrodite smiled at him, a dark, evil smile, full of understanding and love for the man before her. "Time indeed," she agreed.

Charlie. All visions of Charlie. They were torturing him with Charlie, and it was working. Memories, wishes, dreams, all involving Charlie. Jack prayed it would end, either by the Goa'uld stopping or his death. He didn't care which. He just wanted it to end. It was th worse kind of torture. The physical he could tune out, he knew that kind of pain would eventually ease. But the mental pain? The feelings brought on by the death of his son, and his actions and responsibility towards it? That would never go away. It was something he had learned long ago that he could never escape from. Come with on a small scale, yes. But this was no small scale, being constantly bombarded with pictures of Charlie in his mind with no end in sight. No, Jack O'Neill prayed for a swift death.

He didn't know how long Adonis and Aphrodite kept this up. Time could no longer be measured. Jack barely remembered something Carter had once said, about time not really being constant but relative, but Jack was too tired to try to remember what Carter had said, or to really care. He just wanted it to end. And, when it finally did, he promptly fell asleep, more from his body's desire to deal with the stress of seeing Charlie than from actual exhaustion.

He didn't remember being taken from the chair, didn't remember being hauled to his cell or thrown to the ground. He didn't remember the Jaffa leaving and locking him back up. He didn't remember a thing about his experience in his sleep. Thankfully, he didn't dream about his torture. What he did dream about was a happy time in his life. In his dream it was hockey night, the first game of the Stanley Cup finals, they had just saved Teal'c from being brainwashed by Apophis, and Jack had invited the rest of SG-1 over to watch the game on his big screen TV. Daniel had brought over a couple of pizzas and Carter had come bearing beer, lots and lots of beer. They had all had a little too much to drink, except for Teal'c, and some of the childhood and teenage embarrassing stories had made it out into the open. Most of the pizza had been eaten, all of the beer been swallowed, and Jack had fallen asleep on his lounge chair. Teal'c had crashed on the floor. And somehow Daniel and Carter had managed to squeeze together and fall asleep on his small couch. It had been a good time, then, one of the few that SG-1 experienced.

Jack slept on, not wanting to wake up and leave the comforting haven of his dream. He had no idea that Adonis was standing in the doorway to his cell, observing him, planning his next torture with glowing eyes.

Lord Yu looked back and forth between his advisor and Major Samantha Carter of the Tau'ri, trying to decide which viewpoint he would take. His advisor was telling him to decline helping the Tau'ri and to kill them right here. Major Carter was asking for his help to rescue her friends and destroy Anubis. In fact, she was practically begging, and this gave him pause. He knew Major Carter; he knew all of SG-1, and had helped them against Anubis and Nirrti in the past. He knew them to be honorable, even admired Colonel Jack O'Neill a little. And Daniel Jackson. The archeologist had infiltrated Yu's inner sanctum and tricked everyone into believing he worked for Lord Yu in an attempt to kill all of the System Lords. In Yu's book, that took a lot of courage, something that should be learned from, not destroyed.

Holding up a hand to stop his advisor speaking to the Tau'ri commander, Lord Yu addressed her and her team. "Once you find where your friends are being held, how do you intend to retrieve them. For that matter, how do you intend to destroy Anubis?" He folded his arms across his chest, his red, black, and gold Chinese robes billowing around him.

Sam took a deep breath and ran her fingers through her hair, yet again displaying her nervousness. Well, this seems promising, she thought to herself. "I have a weapon, a biological contagion, that will attack Goa'ulds within hosts by disrupting their bonding process and killing the Goa'uld, leaving the host unharmed."

Yu's eyes widened. He had not known that there was anything that could disrupt the bond between host and Goa'uld. And for that matter, he definitely did not think the Tau'ri had access to that kind of weapon, or the advancement to create one themselves. "You would use that weapon on all Goa'uld. Why should I help you, if you will turn around and use that weapon on me?"

Sam shook her head. "I have no intention of using the contagion on you, Lord Yu. I only wish to rescue my friends. The contagion is for Anubis, and those Goa'uld who stand between me and my friends."

"If you help us destroy Anubis, then you would be the System Lord with the most power," Teal'c pointed out, trying to further their case with Lord Yu. He stepped up next to Major Carter. "That puts you in a position to rule the System Lords."

"I must admit, the idea is intriguing," Lord Yu admitted. "To destroy Anubis..." Yu stroked his goatee in thought. He didn't need to think for long. "I will agree to help you, if I have your assurance that you will not use this contagion against me."

Sam nodded, stepping forward, and then bowed to Lord Yu. "I believe we can make a deal. If you help us rescue Daniel and Colonel O'Neill, we will not use the contagion on you. However, be warned that if you attack Earth, the Tau'ri will use whatever means necessary to defend themselves." She looked deep into Yu's eyes, trying to get her point across. There can be peace between them, as long as neither attempts to harm or subjugate the other.

"As the ruler of the System Lords, I will do whatever I can to keep Earth a protected planet. I can not guarantee your safety on other planets," Lord Yu agreed.

Satisfied, Sam smiled. "I believe we have a deal, Lord Yu." She was proud of herself. With very little effort she had secured Yu's help in rescuing the rest of SG-1 and destroying Anubis, as well as ensuring Earth retained its protected planet status. As the Colonel would say, I'm on a roll.

That night, Sam, Teal'c, and Charek sat in their guest chambers, going over their plan to rescue Daniel and Colonel O'Neill. The more Sam discussed her plan with Teal'c, the more she thought it would never work. Too may things could go wrong resulting in, best case scenario, them being captured as well, worst case they get killed. Sam began to wonder if her feelings for Daniel were affecting her ability to think and plan straight. Sam was very afraid that something had happened to him, that she wouldn't get her Daniel back the same as before, if at all. That last thought hurt the most. Sam wasn't sure if she could deal with Daniel dying again. At least last time she'd had some small comfort in the fact that he had ascended had gone somewhere where he had been able to continue to help. But now? If he died, he died and there was no way for him to come back. I can't lose him again, Sam thought to herself. He's the most important person in my life, my best friend, the man I love. And I haven't told him these things yet. I need him alive so I can tell him.

"Major Carter?" Teal'c questioned softly. "Major Carter, are you paying attention?"

Sam looked up abruptly and faced Teal'c. "Huh? What?"

"Did you not hear Charek's last suggestion?" Teal'c asked her.

Sam shook her head. "I'm sorry, Teal'c. My mind was wandering for a moment here. What were you guys saying?"

Instead of answering Major Carter's question, Teal'c asked, "Were your thoughts of DanielJackson?" Major Carter nodded. "Do not worry. We will rescue him and O'Neill."

Sam sighed deeply. "Will we? Teal'c, I'm going over this plan and all I see are holes in its design, places where many things can go wrong. What if my feelings for Daniel are affecting my judgment, my ability to come up with a feasible play, my ability to lead..."

Teal'c put a comforting hand on Sam's shoulder. "I do not believe that is so, Major Carter. I do believe that your feelings are affecting your judgments, but not in the way you think. Requesting help from the Krimm, creating an alliance with Lord Yu...indeed, these are choices you would not have made had DanielJackson not been captured. Your feelings for him have greatly influenced your choices. However, I do believe they are the correct choices. They may be the only way to rescue DanielJackson and O'Neill." Sam looked up at Teal'c, saw him tilt his head and lift his eyebrow. "Besides, your plan has less...holes...in it than many of O'Neill's plans," he said.

Sam smiled at the Jaffa's attempt at a joke. "I guess you're right, Teal'c. I'm just really afraid that something is going to go wrong with my plan and I'm going to lose Daniel. Again."

"You must believe that we will not."

Sam nodded, coming back to herself. "Okay, this will work. We'll sneak on board Anubis's mothership while he is busy fighting Lord Yu. The boarding team will consist of me, you, Charek, and two of Charek's men. We can enter through the cargo bay disguised as a supply ship. One of Charek's men will stay with the ship while the rest of us make our way to where Daniel and the Colonel are being held, break them out, and get back. The trick is to not get caught."

"When will we use the contagion?" Teal'c asked her.

"I wasn't planning on actually using it at all. It was just for leverage."

Teal'c nodded in understanding, but Charek did not. "Leverage?" Charek asked, confused.

"I figured Lord Yu would be more inclined to help us if he thought his life was in danger if he did not. I never had any intention of fighting Anubis personally during our rescue," Sam informed him.

"Then why not just let Lord Yu think you could kill him with a contagion? Why go through all the trouble of going to Krimm and getting us to make a contagion?"

"If you're going to bluff, be prepared for the other side to call you on it," Sam explained. Charek looked even more confused than before. "Remind me to get Colonel O'Neill to teach you about poker, Charek. It's an old Earth military trick. You make your enemy think you're going to do something to get them to go the way you want them to go. But, just in case they don't fall for it, you better be prepared."

Charek nodded. "I think I get it now."

"I want the contagion in case we do run into Anubis, but I'm not going to go looking for him to use the contagion. Our first priority is to rescue Daniel and Colonel O'Neill." Sam turned to Teal'c. "Are the layouts of all the motherships basically the same?" Teal'c nodded an affirmative. "Good. Then we know the exact way to the holding cells where Daniel and the Colonel should be. Now, Lord Yu has agreed to engage Anubis in battle and will fight as long as he is able without taking too much damage, or until we're off Anubis's ship, whichever comes first. In the event that he has to retreat before we're finished, it is going to be much harder for us to get off the mothership. Once again, the contagion comes into play. We can always use that to secure our escape."

"What if Doctor Jackson and Colonel O'Neill are already dead?" Charek asked, voicing what was on all of their minds.

"Then we leave," Teal'c said matter of factly. "We would have no reason to remain on Anubis's ship."

"And what if they were made hosts to the Goa'uld?"

"Then we use the contagion on them to save them," Sam said, leaving no room for argument.

The Stargate hidden deep within the Cheyenne Mountain Complex came alive. Warning sirens echoed through the halls, and the Iris was closed. General Hammond and Jacob Carter/Selmak raced into the control room, hoping to receive confirmation that this was Major Carter and Teal'c, finally checking in after being gone one month.

"Receiving SG-1 IDC, Sir," Simmons said to General Hammond.

"Open the Iris!" Hammond shouted at Simmons angrily. Simmons complied, not saying anything. He knew the General wasn't angry with him; he was actually angry with Major Carter and Teal'c.

"Sir, I'm receiving a radio transmission."

"Let's hear it."

"General Hammond? This is Major Carter," the voice from the other side of the wormhole said.

"Major, what the HELL is going on? Where ARE you? Why have you not checked in in over a MONTH?" Hammond shouted at her.

Jacob could picture his daughter cringing on the other side. She was curling up into herself, suddenly becoming quiet and afraid. She had never handled being yelled at well. He put a hand on his friend's shoulder, attempting to calm him down. "Sam, what happened to you and Teal'c after you left Vorash?" he asked gently, trying to smooth the way.

"We went to Krimm," Sam stated.

"Krimm? Why?" General Hammond asked, now more curious than angry. Why would they go back to a place that didn't want them, that had tried to kill Major Carter?

"Because they had the biological weapon I need to rescue Daniel and Colonel O'Neill," Sam answered.

"So you're on Krimm now?" Hammond asked.

"No, Sir. We're not on Krimm. We're on Lord Yu's home planet," Sam said carefully.

"LORD YU?" Hammond bellowed. "How'd HE get into this?"

"We went there to ask for his help, Sir. He knew where to find Anubis, and is going to provide a battle distraction so Teal'c and I can sneak aboard Anubis's ship, with the help of a few of the Krimm."

"Major..." Hammond said warningly.

"Don't worry, Sir. We know what we're doing. We should be back soon with both Daniel and Colonel O'Neill."

"Major, when you do get back, we're going to have a long talk."

"Yes Sir. Carter out." The wormhole disengaged, and the Stargate was quiet.

Jacob turned to his friend. "Don't be too hard on her, George. She just wants to get her teammates back. Especially Jack."

Hammond looked over at Jacob, confusion in his blue eyes. "What do you mean, especially O'Neill?"

Jacob sighed. "I know it's really against regulations, but I figure you can handle it. Sam has feelings for Jack. I can tell. A father knows these kinds of things about his daughter."

For a split second Hammond didn't know how to react. Then he burst out laughing. Jacob looked at him as if he'd lost his head. "What's so funny, George?"

"You don't really know your daughter as well as you think you do, Jacob. It's not O'Neill she has feelings for. It's Doctor Jackson."

"You're kidding, right?" Jacob asked. Hammond shook his head. "Holy Hannah!"

Hammond laughed again, this time at Jacob's reaction. "C'mon, Jacob, let's go get something to eat in the commissary and I'll explain it all to you."

Jack didn't know how much more of this torture he could take. He had no idea how long he'd been a prisoner, how long this Adonis, in the body of Daniel, had been torturing him. He only knew that he was slowly losing the battle; he was almost ready to give up and give in. And Anubis had yet to make an appearance in the torture. Jack was dreading when he would show up. He knew what Adonis was capable of, now, but had no idea what Anubis was capable of, and that scared him.

The coldness of the floor was welcoming to his heated body. For hours, Adonis had mentally tortured him with memories of his team getting into trouble, with memories of his team getting hurt. When Jack had been nearly unconscious, Adonis had switched to the physical. Electric shock torture, designed to deliver increasing amounts of pain. Jack's skin felt like it was on fire and every muscle hurt just thinking about it. The cold floor helped.

Where's my rescue party? Jack thought to himself. It has to have been weeks, probably months. Where are they? Carter and Teal'c know my first rule: never leave a man behind. And there are two of us here, counting Daniel. And I know how much Carter loves Daniel; she won't leave hi here. So, where are they? And how are we going to help Daniel? He and I were just starting to get things back to the way they were well before he ascended, before I became jealous of his relationship with Carter. Joking with him when we were first captured, it felt like old times again.

Jack sighed and pulled himself into a ball to try and lessen the pain. The pain was more mental now, more about how he'd let Daniel down, lost his friend, than the physical pain coming from his body. Slowly, he drifted off into a restless sleep plagued with nightmares.

Lord Yu led the attack against Anubis's mothership, his smaller attack ships firing nonstop at Anubis's ship, hoping to breach the force shield and allow the infiltration team in. Lord Yu spared only a moment of thought for Major Carter and her team, wishing them luck, then turned back to directing his army against Anubis.

"There, right there. See it, Teal'c?" Sam asked, pointing to something on the monitor inside the small cargo ship they were flying.

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed.

"See what?" Charek asked from over Sam's shoulder, trying to understand what was on the monitor.

"It shows where there's a small hole in the force shield due to Lord Yu's forces. They were systematically firing at this one spot, while making it look random. His army is good, very good. With any luck, Anubis won't notice this and we can slip in and out," Sam explained, eyes flashing in hope, for the first time seeing a possibility that her plan for rescuing Daniel and the Colonel would work.

"Is it big enough for us to fly through?" one of the other Krimm, Peller, asked.

Sam nodded. "Just big enough, if Teal'c can hit it dead center."

Teal'c raised his eyebrow and turned to face Sam. "Do you doubt my abilities to fly this cargo ship?" he asked.

"Nah. Just trying to lighten the mood with sarcasm and a joke. Someone's gotta fill the Colonel's shoes," Sam joked.

"In that case, it's a piece of cake," Teal'c said, completely straight faced. Jaffa humor.

"Piece of cake?" Charek asked, confued.

Sam shook her head, smiling at her friend. "It's an Earth idiom meaning no problem. Teal'c was just trying to make a joke for me. Don't worry about it now. Once we're in, we make our way to where they're keeping Daniel and Colonel O'Neill, hopefully without being seen, and get them out." She ran her fingers through her hair. "Teal'c, how many Jaffa between the cargo bay and the holding cells?"

"There may be any number between twenty and one hundred," Teal'c replied automatically, never taking his eyes away from watching where he was flying.

"We've been over this fifty times," Peller pointed out frustrated.

"So we'll make it fifty-one," Sam stated gruffly, giving Peller a disgusted look. "Or as many times as I feel it will take before I know everything will go smoothly and we'll get my teammates back."

"Yes, Major Carter," Charek replied quickly, shushing Peller. "Going over the plan a few more times won't hurt."

"Fine. Charek, go over it with your men. I need to discuss something with Teal'c," Sam dismissed the Krimm. Once they had entered the cargo hold, leaving Sam and Teal'c alone at the controls, Sam slouched down in her seat and let out a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding

"What is on your mind, Major Carter?" Teal'c asked as he adjusted course to come closer to the hole in the shield.

"Teal'c, I need to ask you to do something for me, and I'm not sure you're going to like it," Sam started carefully.

"I may not, but I will listen to what it is," Teal'c replied in his calm, Jaffa manor.

"Whatever happens, I want you to promise me you'll get Daniel out an back home safely. No matter what happens." She turned to stare at her friend. "Please, Teal'c, promise me he'll be safe," she pleaded, her blue eyes wet with tears.

Teal'c turned from the monitor and the window to stare at his friend. He could see in her eyes how much this meant to her, how DanielJackson's safety was the only thing on her mind. He nodded. "I promise."

Sam reached out and squeezed Teal'c's arm. "Thanks, Teal'c. Knowing you've promised that makes it easier for me to go in there."

They remained silent for the next few minutes as Teal'c maneuvered the cargo ship through the small hole in the shields and down into the cargo bay of the gigantic mothership. Once they landed, Sam took a deep, calming breath, and stood up. "Okay, campers, let's go." She walked back to the cargo area to collect her weapons for the dangerous mission.

Teal'c, right behind her, couldn't help but admire the major. She had rally stepped into her leadership role with the absence of O'Neill, and was doing remarkably well. Not only was she acting like a leader, she was acting like O'Neill, who was, in Teal'c's opinion, a very superb leader. O'Neill will be very proud of Major Carter, Teal'c said to himself. She is showing the confidence and abilities of a natural leader, much like O'Neill does. She's strong in her decisions, looking at all the consequences before she chooses a course of action. I have no doubt that her plan will work.

Once Sam, Teal'c, Charek, Peller, and the other Krimm soldier, Darieum, were equipped, she motioned for Teal'c to open the hatch and let them onto the mothership. Teal'c took point, the first outside the ship, sweeping the surrounding cargo bay with his staff weapon. There was no one in the cargo bay, hopefully a sign that they had not been noticed. Charek followed Teal'c out, covering his back. Sam motioned for Peller to follow, then turned to Darieum.

"If we're not back in two hours, get out of here and meet up with Lord Yu, if you can. That's an order," Sam clarified, in case there was any doubt as to whom the leader of this mission was.

"Yes, Major Carter," Darieum responded.

Nodding, Sam left the cargo ship and joined her team in making their was down to the holding cells. Teal'c continued to take point, but Sam took up position right behind him, the spot Colonel O'Neill would normally have taken in this situation. The position reserved for the leader of the mission. Behind Sam came Peller, the one Sam wasn't sure she could trust. Bringing up the rear was Charek, in Sam's normal position, the one who looked out for everybody, the second in command.

They made their way down twisting corridors and levels toward the place where Daniel and Colonel O'Neill were being kept. They had to travel down nine levels and through half the ship, but he cargo bay they had entered was the least guarded and the one with the easiest access to the rest of the ship. The explosions against the shield and the hull of the ship occasionally rocked the mothership, making walking difficult at times, but the two members of SG-1 and the two Krimm soldiers managed to stay on their feet. They encountered no resistance on their way through the ship. This made Sam more worried than happy. She knew it worried Teal'c as well. They should have at least encountered routine patrol, or Jaffa hurrying to the glider bays. Yet, they saw no one.

Teal'c suddenly stopped holding up his arm and making a fist. A signal to halt and listen, that there may be danger ahead. Sam came up to stand next to Teal'c as they both peered around a turn. There was no one around the corner. Teal'c turned to face Sam and told her silently that he had hears something from ahead of them.

Then, from inside the walls, Jaffa came out, opening fire with their zat guns. Energy discharge blasted all around Sam and her team. They fired off a few shots with their weapons, but in all honesty they didn't have a chance; they were all hit with zat fire and knocked unconscious. Sam's last thought was of how she had failed Daniel and the Colonel.

Sam awoke to a gently slap on the cheek and someone calling out her name. "Carter, wake up." She slowly forced her eyes to open. Everything was blurry, and it was dark, but she could make out a dark shape leaning over her. Blinking rapidly a few times, she forced her eyes to focus on the dark shape, quickly discerning that it was Colonel O'Neill.

"Carter, you okay?" he asked, his brown eyes filled with worry.

Sam nodded, then instantly regretted it when a massive pain exploded in her head. She brought her right hand up to rub her temple. "Ow," she answered.

Jack smiled. Carter and Teal'c had come to rescue him, and they had brought friends. Too bad they were now all prisoners. "Well, now that you're awake, we can get this party started," he joked.

Sam smiled at the Colonel's joke, sat up with his help, and slowly looked around. The Colonel was with her, Teal'c was a few feet away, deep in conversation with Charek and Peller. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves.

Believing that Carter was about to ask about Daniel, Jack quickly tried to reassure her. "He's not dead, Carter. At least not technically."

"Sir?" she asked, her blue eyes staring at him in confusion.

Jack took a deep breath, ready to face Sam and her wrath. "Daniel. Aphrodite took him and made him a host for a Goa'uld named Adonis. Her lover. Daniel's a Goa'uld, Carter."

Steeling herself and her emotions, Sam climbed to her feet, swaying slightly at first but quickly regaining her composure. "Well, we have to get out of here and rescue him, too." She marked over to Teal'c and the two Krimm. "What's our situation?"

"Captured, Major Carter," Charek responded. "All of our weapons have been taken."

"As has the contagion darts Scientist Maltar had given us," Teal'c informed her.

Eyes lighting up, Sam reached down her shirt, seeming to be feeling around for something. "Uh, Carter, whatcha doin'," Jack asked, confused at her actions.

Not bothering to answer him, Sam pulled out a small, plastic case. "Still got them," she informed her teammates. She smiled brightly at Teal'c, Charek, and Peller.

"What is that?" Charek asked.

"Plan B," she said by way of explanation.

"Plan B, Carter?" Jack asked, wanting to gain access to the conversation. I mean, really, he thought, who's in charge? Me or Carter?

"Maltar gave me an oral form of the contagion as well," Sam informed them. She opened the plastic case and pulled out one pill, handing it to Teal'c. "For Daniel, in case..."

Teal'c nodded, taking the pill. "I understand."

"Understand what?" Jack asked, confused. "Carter, what the hell are you talking about?" He rubbed the back of his neck in frustration. "You come in her with two Krimm and start talking about darts and flashing around pills. What's going on? The Cliff's notes version will do."

"Okay, the Krimm created a contagion to use against the Goa'uld. It will attack the symbiote and kill it, but leave the host unharmed. Lord Yu is attacking Anubis, or was, to try to help us destroy Anubis and rescue you and Daniel. It seems the Jaffa confiscated our darts with the contagion, but overlooked the pills I carried," Sam spoke quickly.

Jack looked at Teal'c for a better explanation, but none came. The holding cell door swung open, and Aphrodite stood in its place.

"Ah, I see you have all awoken. I hope you find your accommodations most comforting," she said sarcastically. "You should plan on being here for a long time." She entered the cell and came over to stand before Sam, looking her up and down, sizing her up. "I don't really see what my lover's host sees in you, but he is fighting Adonis for control because of you." Aphrodite grabbed Sam's arm and began to pull her out of the cell. "My lover has plans for you, my dear."

"No!" Jack shouted. "Take me again!" But Aphrodite didn't even acknowledge that he'd spoken. She hauled Sam out of there before Sam could say anything to them, tell them everything would be okay, and the cell door closed behind them.

Teal'c walked over to the cell door, leaned down, and picked up the small plastic case with the contagion pill inside them. Major Carter had managed to drop the case, unseen, so that it would not be found by Aphrodite or Adonis.

"They're going to hurt her," Jack said quietly, distantly. "They're going to hurt her like they hurt me." He sat down and covered his face with his hands. "I'm just failing everybody this time around."

Teal'c looked over at O'Neill, confused. "You are not failing anyone, O'Neill," he told his friend. "We are involved in a particularly difficult mission at the moment. That is all."

Jack looked up at Teal'c and the Jaffa was surprised to see tears running down his friend's face. "Oh, really? Daniel and I got captured on my watch and Daniel was made a Goa'uld. Now you and Carter get captured trying to rescue us and they take Carter to torture her."

"O'Neill, you are a great leader," Teal'c told him.

"Some leader," Jack disparaged himself.

Teal'c knelt down in front of his closest friend, trying to look him in the eye. "You are a great leader, O'Neill. Over this past month I have seen it. In the devotion you have inspired from myself and Major Carter. In the way Major Carter has acted, the plan she has devised, some of the things she has said. She actually said 'screw the Tok'ra'."

Jack looked up abruptly at what Teal'c had just said. "Did she really say that?" Teal'c nodded. Jack smiled broadly. "Sweeeet."

"Every choice she made, she make after asking herself what you would do," Teal'c continued. "She devised this plan, questioned all the right people, voiced all the right things. She ever secured the ...approval...of General Hammond."

"How did she do this? Get the Krimm and Lord Yu to help?"

"Quite frankly, Colonel O'Neill, she blackmailed all of us," Charek said, speaking up for the first time.

Jack looked over at the two Krimm soldiers, scrunching up his nose in confusion. "Huh? Blackmail? That doesn't sound at all like Carter. She wouldn't do that. She's too...moral."

Charek laughed. "Well, that may be true, but she blackmailed us all the same. She basically told us she would alert all the enemies of the Goa'uld to the fact that the Krimm had created the Goa'uld, yet took no responsibility for this. Can you possibly imagine what would have happened to us if that secret were revealed? Our entire race would be hunted down and slaughtered. So, we had no choice but to agree to help her."

"Carter did that? She's the last person I'd picture doing something like that, except for Daniel."

"Indeed she did," Teal'c confirmed. "She also forced Lord Yu into an arrangement with us."

"How?"

"Sam blackmailed him as well. She basically told him she would use the contagion on him if he didn't help us," Charek said.

Jack shook his head in disbelief. Carter running around blackmailing people? That wasn't like her at all. Come to think of it, that was much more his style. Well, at least I taught Carter something, Jack thought.

"So, how'd she get you to come along?" Jack asked the two Krimm.

"I volunteered. I admire Sam a great deal," Charek replied. "I believe that she could pull this off. Plus, I feel that I needed to make amends for trying to kill her."

Anger flared in Jack's eyes as he jumped to his feet, staring hard at Charek. "You pushed her off that cliff?" he demanded angrily.

"Yes," Charek admitted, looking embarrassed and contrite. "And I now regret doing that, for had I succeeded in killing her I would have missed out on knowing one of the bravest, kind, loving people I could ever find. I feel privileged that she trusts me with her life, after what I have done."

"Well, yeah," Jack said, not really knowing how to respond to Charek, keeping his anger in check. If Carter could trust this guy, after what he had done, then Jack could certainly try. But, of course, not guarantees.

"They knew we were coming," Peller spoke up quietly.

"What did you say?" Jack asked him.

"I said they knew we were coming," Peller reiterated, louder this time. "That's the only explanation I can come up with. They lulled us into a false sense of security by making the way here seem deserted, then attacking from a hidden corridor."

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed with the Krimm soldier. "They did know we were coming."

"How?" Jack and Charek asked at the same time.

"Someone must have told Anubis we were coming. Lord Yu perhaps?" Peller accused.

"It was not Lord Yu," Teal'c told them.

"Then who?" Peller demanded. "I know it wasn't one of us or Darieum on the cargo ship."

Teal'c did not respond other than to raise his eyebrow.

"You know who it was," Jack said quietly. "Teal'c?"

"Indeed I do. It was Major Carter," Teal'c admitted. He watched shock, anger, and confusion war for dominance on all of their faces. This was difficult for them, he knew. It was difficult for himself as well, and even more so for Major Carter.

"Teal'c, why would she do that? If we were coming here to secretly rescue them, why would she tell them we were coming?" Charek asked.

"Because she already knew," Jack answered for him, finally realizing what was going on. What Plan B really was. Or was it Plan C? Continuing his theory, Jack said, "She knew Daniel was a Goa'uld. Maybe Yu told her, I don't know. But she knew, so she told Anubis that you guys were coming..." Jack trailed off and looked to Teal'c, fear in his brown eyes. "Oh, crap," he moaned. "She's gonna trade herself for Daniel."

"Indeed, that is Plan A. Plan B is for me to get Daniel back to Earth, regardless of everyone else, and to kill the symbiote with the contagion," Teal'c confirmed.

"Please tell me there's a Plan C," Jack groaned. He knew Carter was probably the smartest person on Earth, but right now, she was acting like the dumbest person, even lower than Jack himself. A voice inside Jack tried to tell him she wasn't acting stupidly, but rather like a woman in love. A woman who was willing to risk everything, including her own life, to secure the life and safety of the one she loved. I hope someday I find someone who'd do this for me, Jack thought.

"Why didn't I know about this?" Charek demanded angrily.

"Would you have come and not interfered?" Teal'c asked him. Charek shook his head. "Then that is why Major Carter did not fully disclose her plan to you. And no," he said, turning to O'Neill. "There is no Plan C."

"There's always a Plan C, Teal'c. Carter just didn't make one, so we will. Plan C will be to get out of here, rescue both Daniel and Carter and get back to Earth in one piece. And since I'm the commanding officer, I choose the plan. And I like Plan C."

Sam was roughly pushed into a room by two armed Jaffa. She looked around, taking in the dentist like chair in the center of the room, and the metal trays beside it with the torture instruments. And the man standing beside the instruments.

"Daniel?" Sam questioned the man. In response, he smiled at her, but it was not Daniel's normal, innocent little boy smile, or the bright watt smile when he was happy. It was one of pure evil. This was no longer Daniel.

"Ah, Samantha Carter," the Goa'uld voice from Daniel said. "Welcome, welcome! Let me introduce myself. I am Adonis, the Goa'uld who has taken control of your lover. This is going to be purely for his benefit, I promise."

Sam shuddered at he sound of the Goa'uld voice coming from her Daniel. It made her want to throw up. Daniel was lost somewhere inside, and Sam wasn't sure how to get him out, or even if she could. Not right this second, anyway. Which meant that she was going to be tortured by him. Not by Daniel, Sam told herself, but by the Goa'uld using Daniel's body. It won't really be Daniel at all.

The Jaffa muscled her down into the chair, strapping her in. Grinning like a chesire cat, Adonis/Daniel picked something up off the metal trays and touched it to Sam's shoulder, and Sam's world erupted in pain.

Daniel had no idea how long Adonis had kept this up, but he knew Sam wasn't going to be able to take much more today. That's the funny thing about Sam. She could break her arm on a mission and not say anything, but if she got a paper cut back home, she'd cry like a baby, like it was the most excruciating pain she'd ever experienced. She had, apparently, held out for a long time, longer than both Adonis and Daniel had expected, but Daniel knew Sam inside and out. She was breaking, heading toward unconsciousness. And when that happened, the mental torture would begin to be inflicted by the memory recall device. Daniel suspected that the mental torture for Sam, as it had been for Jack, would be much worse than the physical.

I have to stop this, Daniel said to himself. I have to get him to leave Sam alone. Hey! he called out to the Goa'uld. Stop it. Stop hurting her!

I will not, Adonis answered him.

You must! You're going to kill her!

So?

Stop it. Stopitstopitstopit! STOP IT! Daniel cried, attempting to gain control, crying inwardly. Crying for Sam.

Aphrodite saw Adonis's hand falter, and lower the shock prodder slightly. She stared at him, watching his face for signs. His eyes had glazed over, unfocused, as if he were seeing something that wasn't there. She knew he was fighting with the host, Daniel Jackson. Daniel was reacting to the torture of his love, fighting Adonis with everything he had. Of course, in the end, it wouldn't be enough, but right now, it was enough to disrupt Adonis's concentration.

"My love," Aphrodite said, siding up to Adonis and breaking into his internal struggle. "Why don't you stop for a while. You're going to kill her on the first time out, and what will that do? You won't have time to enjoy it, and less time hurting Daniel Jackson."

Adonis turned off the shock prodder and nodded in agreement. "You are right, my love. We should end for today and start again tomorrow." He turned to the Jaffa still in the room. "Take her to a private holding cell. I want the others to think she is dead. I want to hurt them as well."

Sam felt herself being dragged away, barely conscious. Only one thought kept running through her mind. I have to rescue Daniel, she thought. I have to get him to take a contagion pill. I promise, Daniel, I will get you free. She was thrown down onto the ground, and everything went black.

"Dammit!" Jack shouted loudly, punching the metal wall of the cell. "I can't stand this...standing around while that snake-head is hurting Carter." He flexed his hand, barely feeling the pain. I probably broke it, the thought.

"I agree, O'Neill, it is most difficult. But there is nothing we can do at the moment for Major Carter. We must effect our escape first," Teal'c tried to reason with him.

"It doesn't make me feel any better, Tee. I know what they're doing to her. I know. And it makes me very angry," Jack said quietly.

"Sam's a tough woman. I'm sure she'll escape first and come get us," Charek commented, trying to lift up O'Neill's spirits.

"Care to make a wager on that?" he joked. Then, face falling, he nodded. "I know. I've seen Carter take a lot, but some things even the toughest person can't take."

"You must believe Major Carter will prevail. She believe in you and DanielJackson, so now you must believe in her," Teal'c told him.

"I've been thinking," Peller spoke up. "I think I can work this panel away and get to the door mechanism and crosswire it so it opens."

"Your Carter equivalent?" Jack jokingly asked Charek as he watched Peller pry off the control board and begin to move round the crystals inside. Maybe things were looking up.

The physical torture had ended, but the mental was just beginning. Sam wasn't sure which was worse. Physical scars would eventually fade, the pain lessen as the torture stopped. But the mental? Adonis used the memory recall device to bring up much of Sam's past, more that even she was aware of. And once brought up, these painful memories did not go away. Sam lived through many childhood disappointments from her father, her mother's death, her life with Jonas Hanson and his death, Jolinar, Martouf and his death, Narim, the horrible trip to Netu, being imprisoned by Hathor, kidnapped and nearly killed by Adrian Conrad, nearly dying from Nirrti's experiments, and, of course, the worst memories of all. The ones where Daniel was missing, or hurt, or dying.

Once Adonis found the memories that hurt Sam the most, those related to Jolinar, Martouf, and Daniel, he replayed them over and over, forcing her to watch the most horrible memories she had. There was only so much of Daniel dying that Sam could watch before she felt she would go insane with the hurt and anguish. She screamed over and over, begging Adonis to stop. He only laughed and pressed harder, adding physical to the mental now. Finally, Sam's mind shut down to escape the pain, and she drifted into unconsciousness.

Please stop! Stop hurting Sam! Daniel pleaded with the Goa'uld.

Why do you insist on fighting me? Adonis asked Daniel. The more you fight, the more I will hurt your love.

Taking a deep breath, Daniel decided to make the ultimate sacrifice for Sam. I'll stop fighting you if you stop hurting Sam and let her and the others go.

We have a deal, Daniel Jackson. See that you keep it.

Crying inside, Daniel hoped that Sam would someday be able to forgive him for giving up. He hoped that someday she would see that he did this all for her because he loved her way too much to be the cause of her pain.

Sam woke up alone in her cold, dark cell. She began to shiver, more from fear than from the cold. She was afraid that the mental torture would begin again at any moment. Usually, one she woke up, the Jaffa would come for her and take her to Adonis and the chair. The chair. Sam hated that chair, the very thought of it make her go cold inside. She had no idea how long she had been separated from Colonel O'Neill, Teal'c, and the Krimm, how long she'd been tortured by Adonis in Daniel's body. All she knew was that she had to get out soon, or she wouldn't be able to, or be able to rescue Daniel. That was still her first priority.

Sitting up, Sam found she didn't hurt nearly as much as she usually did. Stretching slowly, she began to formulate a plan. First, she had to get out of this cell and find Teal'c with the pill. She had no doubt that he had seen her drop them as Aphrodite had taken her away. She couldn't risk them being found by the Goa'uld, their one and only chance to may be win. Once she had the pills in her possession, she'd force Adonis to take one. She wasn't sure how; she'd cross that bridge when she came to it. She knew that was her only chance of getting Daniel back, and the sooner she did it, the better their chances were to get off this ship alive.

Sam heard footsteps echoing down the hallway. Heavy metal boots. Jaffa were coming for her. Knowing now was probably the only time she'd ever have to escape, Sam forced her body into action. She hurt less that usual, and knew that next time she might not be so lucky. This was it. I'm coming to get you, Daniel, she thought, giving herself the needed force to do this. She stood up beside the cell door, awaiting the entrance of the Jaffa. No more than two Jaffa had come for her before, since she was supposed to be weak and tired, in too much pain to fight them. But not this time. This time she'd get them before they got her.

The door opened and two Jaffa entered the cell. Sam went into action, jumping behind them, grabbing one of their staff weapons as they whirled around, and shot them both as quick as she could. She wasn't quick enough, though. One of them shot her with their staff weapon. However, she was moving around so much that it did little damage, hitting her in the shoulder instead of a more deadly area, like her chest or stomach. With both Jaffa down, Sam raced out of the cell and carefully made her way down to where she knew Teal'c and the others were being held. Where the pills that could save Daniel were being hidden. She didn't notice the pain in her shoulder, or she didn't care. It wasn't important. What was important was getting those contagion pills from Teal'c so she could save Daniel. Her pain, her life, was below that.

Luck was on her side; she made it to the other holding cell without being seen. Taking a moment to thank whoever was looking out for her that there were no guards present, Sam quickly opened the cell door and stood in the doorway, half looking in and half looking down the hallway for Jaffa.

"Carter?" she heard O'Neill call out to her. "How the hell?"

"No time, Sir. We gotta move. By now Adonis knows I'm free. Teal'c, we need weapons, and I need those pills."

"There should be a weapons locker a few doors down from here, for the guards," Teal'c informed her, coming to stand next to her. She handed him the other staff weapon she had confiscated from the Jaffa who had come for her. "Major Carter, it is good to see you." Then he noticed her shoulder. "You are injured."

"It's not bad," Sam brushed him off.

Examining it closely, Jack added in a fake, British accent, "It's only a flesh wound." Sam looked at him and smiled broadly. "I don't think Teal'c knows that movie."

"Then we're going to have to force him to watch it when we get back," Jack stated. "Now, let's get back."

As Sam, Jack, Teal'c, Charek, and Peller made their way down to the weapons locker Sam outlined her plan to the Colonel. He approved, but only marginally. "I don't like the idea of you and Teal'c going alone to get Daniel. Not enough people, and no backup, and you're injured, Carter."

"We don't have a choice, Sir," Sam argued. "Someone needs to knock out the shield generators and steal a cargo ship so we can escape, or getting Daniel now will be pointless. You take Charek and Peller and do that. Trust Charek to watch your back, Sir. He will. And I need Teal'c. I don't know how those pills will work. If Daniel needs to be carried, Teal'c's the only one strong enough to do it."

"How are you going to get that snake-head to swallow that pill?" Jack asked as he strapped on a couple of zat guns and grabbed a charged staff weapon. He grabbed two radio headsets, handing one to Carter and tucking the other in his belt.

"I'm going to force it down his throat," Sam stated quietly. Too quietly. Jack became concerned. She was giving no thought to herself. Everything she had she was giving into rescuing Daniel. He just hoped she didn't collapse before it was all over and they were safely on their way back to Earth.

They split then, Sam and Teal'c going off in search of Adonis and Daniel, while Jack took the two Krimm down towards the shield generators. The shield generators were three levels down from the holding cell. Jack blazed his was down the corridors, blasting by every Jaffa search party they came to. He had no intention of being taken prisoner again and every intention of getting off this ship, with everyone else as well. No one was going to be left behind, dead or alive. Rounding a corner, energy blasts from staff weapons connected with the wall just above his head. Dropping to a crouch, he fired off, hitting three out of three with one shot each. As they came closer and closer to the shield generators, they encountered more and more resistance in the form of Jaffa. But no super soldiers. Jack knew that was significant, but couldn't afford the time to puzzle it out right now; he filed it in the back of his mind for thought later on. The Jaffa became harder and harder to overcome. More and more Jaffa seemed to come out of nowhere. They know where we're headed, Jack thought. They were expecting this. We gotta make a Plan B.

"Okay, campers, we're not going to make it to the shield generators. Is there any other way to get by those shields without destroying them from in here?" he asked the Krimm. It was hard to think, to do anything with the loud sounds of staff weapons hitting the wall they were hiding behind. He had had a headache from the torture, and this weapons fire wasn't helping. He hoped his instincts about Peller were correct, and he'd give him another option, much as Carter would have were she here, if only to get them somewhere quiet.

"I studied the technical schematics while on Yu's ship," Peller started. "I believe I can open up the shield from inside the cargo ship, but I shouldn't do it if they know where we are, or if we're not ready to leave. Otherwise, they could lock me out and our only other option would be to blow up the generators."

"Gotcha. Okay, we head for the cargo bays, find an unoccupied, unguarded ship, and lay low until Carter and Teal'c get there," Jack informed them, not at all pleased with Plan B, but not having time to come up with Plan C. Besides, this beats dying right now. He looked around, completely lost. "Well, I can't really stop someone and ask them for directions..."

"Cargo bays are that way," Peller said dryly, pointing down a corridor to their left.

"Lay on MacDuff. We'll call Carter and Teal'c when we know where we are."

"My name is not MacDuff," Peller said, annoyed.

"I know. If you were from Earth, you'd get it."

Sam and Teal'c fought their way down Jaffa infested hallways, heading as fast as they could to Adonis's chambers. The need in Sam to get Daniel was clouding everything she did, and she almost paid the price for it. She was focusing on the doorway ahead of them; the one that was being guarded buy twenty armed Jaffa. That doorway led to Adonis. Led to Daniel. Sam stood, shooting a staff weapon at the Jaffa, heedless to Teal'c's repeated shouts to get back, that there were too many Jaffa to defeat by a head on assault. Sam didn't hear him. Only one thought was running through her mind. She had to get to Daniel. I have to get to Daniel. She said to herself. He is beyond that door. I cannot let him down. I have to rescue him, to save him from the Goa'uld. I must not fail. I will not fail. I love him too much to fail him. Aim, fire, kill a Jaffa. Aim, fire, kill a Jaffa. Energy blasts whipped past Sam, thankfully none of them hit her. But twenty armed Jaffa were too many for her. Teal'c, becoming increasingly worried at Major Carter's actions, decided the had to do something to get her attention. So he leaped at Sam, pushing her to the ground just as two energy blasts hit the wall right behind where Sam had been standing. Had Teal'c not shoved her out of the way, she would have been killed. Looking up at him, thanking him silently, he nodded, and they hid around opposite corners, this time Sam paying more attention to her surrounding.

"Teal'c!" she shouted to him across the open hallway. "I think we're going to need a hostage to get out of here!"

"I agree, Major Carter!" Teal'c shouted back at her.

"On three we rush at them, blast by them, and take Adonis prisoner!" Sam told him the plan. She tossed aside her staff weapon and took out two zat guns, so she could have a weapon in both hands. Teal'c did the same, realizing that two weapons were better than one, though he much preferred the staff weapons. But in this case, two zatniketels would be the better choice.

"Indeed, I believe that may be your only course of action!"

"I'm glad you agree! Now, one, two, three!"

Sam and Teal'c ran at the Jaffa, dodging energy fire, somehow neither being hit. They took out all of the Jaffa between them and the doorway, barely registering that there were blasts coming from behind them as well. Racing through he door, Teal'c triggered it closed while Sam held both Adonis and Aphrodite at gunpoint with her zat guns.

"You will not win. You will not take this host away, and you will not get off of this ship alive," Adonis informed them calmly.

"I don't care what you think," Sam told him coldly. "I only care about what I know. And I know I'm going to take you with me. and I know I'm going to free Daniel from you."

"Right now there are armed Jaffa closing in on this room. You will not get out alive," Aphrodite said.

"Oh, we so don't have time for this," Sam said to no one in particular. Before anyone knew what had happened, Sam shot Aphrodite with one of her zat guns. "Now, you'll do as I say, or I shoot her again."

Eyes wide open, now fully registering what was happening, how determined this Tau'ri woman was to regain her friend, Adonis became afraid. He locked eyes with her, and saw right down to her very soul. This woman would stop at nothing to save the one she loved. She didn't care at all about her own life, only the life of his host. That made her dangerous, unpredictable. Adonis did not like dealing with the unpredictable.

"Teal'c, take him with you. Let's get out of here," Sam ordered, eyes still locked with Adonis.

As they left the room, they were bombarded by many armed Jaffa, too numerous to count. "Let us pass!" Sam shouted at them. "Harm us, fire upon us, and I'll kill him!" Sam warned them, pointing both of her zat guns at Adonis. Teal'c, one arm wrapped around Adonis, began dragging him through the crowd of Jaffa, the other holding a zat gun out at the ready, pointed ahead.

The Jaffa let them pass, not sure what to do. Adonis said nothing, just smiled and went willingly with Teal'c. Once past the Jaffa, he started to speak. "You won't get away with this. The shields are up; you won't get past them.

"We will if they're brought down," Sam told him pointedly.

"Ah, yes, Colonel O'Neill and the others. I figured they would try to disable the shield generators, so I sent a team down there to protect them. Your friends should be prisoners of the Jaffa by now."

Sam took a deep breath, praying that it wasn't true. If it was, then they had no hope of escape. She took out the radio headset that the Colonel had given her, and just as she was about to use it, a voice came over the set.

"Carter? Where are you? You got that snake-head out of Daniel yet?"

"Colonel? You okay?" she asked back, relieved to hear his voice.

"Yep. We got a ship, and Peller figures he can bring down the shield from here. We ran into a little trouble at the generators. What's your situation?"

It was like music to her ears. "Teal'c and I have Adonis in our possession. We're using him as a hostage. Where are you?"

"Cargo bay on level...where the hell are we, Peller?" O'Neill demanded.

"Four levels up from the shield generators," he said.

Sam looked to Teal'c for a direction. "Two levels below us," he told her.

Sam wiped the sweat off her forehead, surprised to see that it was streaked red. Blood. She must have injured her head when Teal'c pushed her out of the line of fire. Ignoring it for the moment, she responded to the Colonel. "We'll be there soon. Carter out."

Using Adonis as a hostage and shield, Teal'c and Sam passed by any Jaffa they came to, making their way down to the cargo bay O'Neill had told them he, Peller, and Charek were holed up in. Alerting the Colonel that they were outside the ship, the door opened and they rushed inside, Teal'c still dragging Adonis. The door shut behind them. Teal'c shoved Adonis down onto the floor where he pulled himself up to a wall and sat up. Sam stood over him, zat gun pointed at his head. Teal'c raced to the front of the ship, sliding into the pilot's seat. He knew O'Neill was capable of flying the cargo ship, but also knew that hey were going to need their best pilot to escape. Signaling to Peller that he was ready, Teal'c sat back in the seat and waited for his part.

Peller, sitting next to him, began fiddling with buttons and crystals, quickly getting the cargo bay doors open. "Take off right now. I'm going to drop the shields when we are right in front of them. That way, we're through before the Goa'uld have a chance to raise them again."

It was beautifully timed, beautifully executed. They were past the shields. Of course, the gliders were right behind them. "Can we go to hyperspeed?" O'Neill asked, hovering over Teal'c.

"In a moment," Peller replied. "I need to reconnect a few systems..." He got up out of his seat and made his way back towards Sam and their prisoner. He pulled open a panel and began rearranging crystals. "Major Carter, your assistance please? You probably know these systems better than I do."

Handing her zat guns to Charek, she went over to Peller and helped him get the hyperspeed engines pack on line. "I had to take them off in order to use the crystals to bypass the shield codes and get them down." Within minutes, they had hyperspeed at their disposal.

"All set, Teal'c!" Sam shouted up to him. A second later she felt the cargo ship lurch into hyperspeed. And they were away. Leaving Charek and Peller to keep watch over Adonis, Sam went back up to the front of the ship and stood next to Teal'c. "The pills," she said, holding out her hand.

Teal'c reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out the small plastic case. "How do you intend to get him to take the pill?"

"Like I said before, I'm going to force it down his throat," Sam said coldly, taking the case and removing one tiny pill. Grabbing a canteen of water she walked slowly back to where Adonis was sitting up against the wall. Jack turned and watched her, concerned. He knew this must be hard on her, to have the one she loved turned into a Goa'uld, and to have then tortured her, all the while looking like the one she loved. And here she was, injured, but not seeming to care. All that mattered to her was saving Daniel. Jack fervently hoped that Daniel would get through this when he was well, otherwise he was afraid they'd lose Carter as well. Oh, man, Daniel, better get through this, or life as we all know it will be over. Hopefully he won't shut us out, or at least not Carter so she can help him. He's going to need al the help he can get to get past this, and Carter may be the only one who can help him.

"Now," Sam said quietly, crouching down in front of Adonis, "I'm only going to give you one chance to do this the easy way." She held up the contagion pill. "Take this willingly."

Adonis shook his head. "I will not allow you to take back this host so easily."

"Very well." Sam motioned for the Krimm to come forward, each one taking a side of his body, holding Adonis immobile so he couldn't hurt her or turn away. "Then we do this the hard way." She grabbed him by the throat, forced his mouth open, and shoved the pill down into the back of his mouth. Then she poured water down his throat, forcing him to swallow. And the pill disappeared.

"You haven't won. You only think you have," Adonis taunted them before passing out. Sam knew that when he woke up he'd be Daniel, and only Daniel. She had complete faith in Maltar and his contagion. He had told her that he wasn't sure exactly what the reaction would be, whether the symbiote's death was immediate or would take place over time. When Adonis passed out and slumped over, Sam got up and retrieved a blanket and pillow. She was determined that Daniel would wake up somewhat comfortable. She sat next to him, her back against the wall, and placed the pillow in her lap. Lifting Daniel's head, she placed it on the pillow, then covered him with the blanket. She stroked his hair off his forehead, running her fingers down his cheek. She was determined to bet here for him when he woke up.

"I figure we'd take you back to Earth with us, then send you on to Krimm," Jack explained to Charek and Peller.

"I hope Darieum got out of there okay. When we first cam eon board, we told him to wait two hours, then to leave, whether we were back or not," Charek said, thinking of his friend and fellow soldier.

"I am confident that he is well," Teal'c said. "And I am unsure as to whether we should take this ship all the way back to Earth, of if we should stop at the nearest safe planet with a Stargate and return that way."

"The ship," Jack told him. "It will give Danny-boy more time to recuperate and come back to himself without being on display at the SGC." Jack looked back into the cargo hold and watched Carter stroking Daniel's face. He was still asleep, his head still pillowed on her lap. "The less people around when he wakes up and has to deal with this the better." Jack clapped a hand on Teal'c's shoulder. "Take your time, Teal'c. Maybe we'll even drop Charek and Peller off first then return to Earth." He left them at the front of the ship and walked back to Carter and Daniel. He slid down the wall next to Carter and sat on the floor, not saying anything, waiting for her to speak first.

After a while, she did. "He has a long road ahead of him, Sir, doesn't he?" Jack nodded, waiting for her to continue. "He may never get over this."

"He will, Carter. If you love him enough, he will. Just love him."

"He won't ever be the same. He'll be haunted with memories of hurting me. He'll hate himself for what happened to me. What if it's too painful for him to be around me? What if he won't let me help in?" She turned to Jack and he saw the tears streaming down her face. "I'm afraid I'm going to lose him anyway."

Jack put his arm around Carter and she rested her head on his shoulder. "You love him, Sam. That's what counts. Don't let him push you away. Don't let him pull back. And definitely don't let him doubt your love. Start out small if you have too. Give him all he'll take, and then give him some more. He'll probably tell you he hates you, that he doesn't love you, but he's only going to do that to push you away, afraid that if he's too close to you that he'll hurt you again. Don't give up on him, but also don't expect everything to go back to the way it was before. It won't, and he won't."

Sam nodded against his shoulder. "I'm sorry for what I said to you once before, Sir. About you not being able to handle emotional situations. I was wrong. You're pretty good at this."

Jack was about to say something witty and sarcastic, to lighten the mood, then he realized that would be the wrong thing to do. It would belittle her apology and probably make her angry. So he opted for being a grown up and telling the truth. "It's actually easy when you care about the people."

Sam nodded again against his shoulder. "I'm just so tired, Sir," she murmured.

"S'okay, Sam. Just rest. Lemme take a look at that shoulder and head while you sleep."

"Okay, Sir."

Jack took out the first aid kit and, peeling away Carter's ruined shirt, he began to bandage her up, steadying her every now and then as she started to fall over as she fell asleep. Smiling sadly, he hoped that his kids would be okay in the end. He knew they had along road ahead of them, but that with his and Teal'c's help, they'd get through it. He would make sure of that.