Same old, same old. I don't own these guys, this is the next chapter of the story you must have been reading to get to this page... hope you like it, there's more to come...

Ch 3

Half an hour later, Carter started coming to again. Jack was ready for it this time; as he used one of the auto-injectors full of morphine he said, "You're doing good, Carter. Teal'c and Daniel will be here any minute."

"Radio?" she asked groggily.

"They're not responding. It's possible they've gone back for help. Try not to..."

All of a sudden her eyes snapped open and she looked up at him in what could only be described as pure terror.

"Woa, take it easy, what..." he started, confused.

"Get the hell away from me," she hissed, struggling to scramble away from him. Worried about her head and ankle, he pinned her to the ground firmly.

"You've got a concussion, Carter, you're delirious," he said firmly, trying to look past the sudden terror and anger in her eyes, which all seemed to be directed straight at him. She struggled to sit up again but the movements made her dizzy and she lost consciousness yet again.

Jack released his hold on her and sat back, studying her. What the hell had that been about? She had seemed perfectly lucid only moments before... well, likely as not she had a major concussion. He supposed even Sam Carter was allowed to be a little hysterical under the circumstances.

As she felt herself coming to again, she could still sense the naquada in her CO. She had no idea what to do. Her head was killing her, her ankle was busted, they were twenty feet underground. He had obviously been infected with a Goa'uld. She had felt their presence in the water they had fallen into, and now she could feel it in him. So why hadn't he killed her yet? She started to squirm as she realized he was preparing to give her another dose of morphine, but couldn't muster the strength to do anything about it before everything started going all black again.

She lost track of how many times this happened. Finally, she managed to nick one of the injectors and palmed it.

The next time she came to, as he was leaning over her to dose her again, she used every bit of energy she had and jabbed it in his leg, through the wet fabric of his pants. He yelled in surprise and pain and she dimly registered that he was taking care not to fall over on top of her as he landed heavily beside her.

Breathing heavily for several seconds, she forced herself to sit up and was grateful to see that her pack was right next to her. Rifling through it, she bound his ankles together and then his hands, noticing as she did so that he had a large gash in his thigh. Probable the entry wound, she realized grimly, her face paling. She grabbed the torch and scooted several yards away from him, putting as much distance between them and the water as possible.

Only when she was certain he was secure did she start crying.

"Carter?" he asked groggily as the morphine wore off. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Don't try to get up," she warned. He found her in the dark shadows. She had the flashlight and the barrel of his sidearm trained on him.

"I won't," he assured her, wondering why the concussion was doing this to her. "But you're hurt. You're going to need help. I can't help you all tied up like this."

"I don't want you anywhere near me," she said firmly.

Jack could see that she had been crying. A lot. "So, what are you going to tell Daniel and Teal'c when they ask you why you've tied me up and are pointing a gun at me?"

"The truth. That you're a Goa'uld."

He actually laughed. It was so ridiculous. "Carter, I'm not a Goa'uld. You hit your head really hard, I'm sure..."

"I can sense the naquada in you, don't even try the old 'it's me, I swear,' routine," she interrupted.

"Carter, it IS me. I don't know why you sense naquada in me but I would KNOW if I had a snake in me. Come on. Why would I have set your leg if I was a Goa'uld? For that matter, why would I have dragged you out of the water in the first place?"

"Hoping I wouldn't figure it out and you could get back to the SGC." She had clearly already thought this through and somehow convinced herself it was true. He sighed, resigning himself to spending the rest of their time down here tied up.

Suddenly she swayed and fell over onto her side. She looked like she was going to throw up, but somehow she managed not to as she got back up into a sitting position, pointing the gun at him once more. "Carter... Sam... you need help. You've got a bad concussion, I need to be able to help you or the doc will kill both of us when we get home."

"If you think I'm letting them take you back to the SGC you're stupider than most of your lot."

Even though it was currently directed at him, he had to smile a little bit in admiration of her attitude. He sighed. He was worried about her health and needed to get her to let him go as fast as possible. That meant he was going to have to convince her of who he was the old-fashioned way.

"When you had Jolinar inside of you and we didn't know it was a Tok'ra, not a Goa'uld, do you remember when I came to visit you?" he asked quietly.

Tears sprang to her eyes but she glared at him stubbornly and refused to let them fall. "I'm not stupid. I know you have access to the host's memories. This isn't going to work."

"I felt the same way you do now... I was positive it was the real you when I left. It was the first time you ever called me Jack... actually come to think of it, was it the only time? I didn't want to leave you but I couldn't stand to see that thing using you to speak. Nobody believed me you were still in there. They were all ready to give up on you."

"You know the Tok'ra are not the same as you," she said evenly.

"That's true. But I'm not a Goa'uld either, Carter. I'm just me."

"You've got an entry wound on your thigh."

"That's just a cut. From hauling us up onto the rocks."

"Liar."

"Ask me something only I would know," he begged.

"I already told you, I know you have access to all of the Colonel's memories."

"Look at me," he said firmly.

She met his eyes defiantly, hating the familiar look she saw in them. The last time she had seen it he had been yelling at an alien archaeologist about losing his son.

"I'm me," he said firmly. "I know I am. And you know that if things were the other way around, I'd trust you."

He saw her resolve melt for a few moments, then she wrestled with herself, and finally said, "Sir, you may not be who you are."

She was about to cry again. He took a deep, calming breath and said, "If you weren't hurt, I would sit here quietly until Daniel and Teal'c came to sort this out so we didn't have to go through this. But I don't want to sit here with my hands and legs tied and watch something happen to you that I can't control. You have to believe me, Sam. I'm me."

She wavered again and said, "I believe you."

He sighed in relief.

"I believe I'm talking to Colonel O'Neill right now. But I also know that there's a Goa'uld inside of you. It could be lying in there quietly so that you don't even know it's there, and as soon as you convince me to let you go, it will take you over, in which case we're BOTH gone."

"Sam, you're wrong," he said gently. "I know it's a new experience for you, but you're wrong. There's nobody in here but me."

"I can SENSE the NAQUADA IN YOU!" she screamed suddenly in frustration. That was a big mistake. She winced at the sharp pain in her head and keeled over.

"CARTER?!" Jack barked, trying to get her to wake up again. He scooted over to her awkwardly and knocked the gun out of the way. He heard it clatter into the darkness and heard a small splash as it dropped into the water.

As the torch caught his wound, he had a fleeting thought: what if she was right? No, he decided firmly. He would KNOW if there was a snake in him, even if it was lying low.

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