Title: Distrust
Author: S.A and Phil
Rating: PG-13
Summary: What if things were different? What if they'd never met? Would love still prevail?
Disclaimer: S.A wants Jack, Phil wants Sam, and they can't even get each other so what chance do we have?
A.N 1:
This has been the longest, hardest fic I've written so far.
Thank you to Phil, who offered me the chance to give his story new life, and coached me through all the writer's blocks and missing muse panics, without ever getting annoyed or angry, for that I will always be grateful. Phil, just because you didn't write all this fic doesn't mean that it's not your baby, and I will always be thankful that you believed in me enough to give me the chance to help.
A great big Thank You must also go to SamC, who patiently waited while we discussed ideas, sometimes helping, but never complaining that we were spending more time discussing the fic than talking to her (we're all yours again now :) )
S.A
A.N 2:
This fic originated weeks ago after a chat on plot bunnies, I had this idea but didn't know what to do with it.
I started it but quickly got stuck, and it ended in a folder, quietly asleep.
Then SA's muse went sleepy too, and I offered her to finish this one.
The result is way beyond what it would have been if I had kept it.
She transformed it with her talent, her ideas, making the fic I wanted to read.
I hope you'll have as much pleasure reading it as I had.
SA, I know it's been a sometimes hard ride, you got stuck several times, but you always came up with new answers, new ideas, new twists, to keep it alive.
It's a good story, a must read.
You're a very talented writer,
And my friend.
With all my Love Phil Thanks to my Dearest SamC who came on board and brought her ideas to the project.
-----------------
"You wanted to see me sir?"
"Yes Captain, come in and close the door."
She obeyed; turning to face her superior officer, her blue eyes firmly planted in his.
She hated him, watched him like a hawk, but he had given her everything she'd wanted, she was chief of all NID scientific operations and that meant she was under his control.
"It's been a long time since you were last in the field Captain."
"Yes sir, I've not been in the field since you gave me the responsibility of research operations."
"About a year ago."
She nodded. "Yes Sir"
"Well I need you back in the field. One of our teams has learnt that the SGC has discovered a new device capable of stopping Jaffa weapon blasts."
"Yes sir, I've read the report." She held back a sigh, wishing that she had a commander who knew her well enough to know that she read the reports, all the reports, and probably knew what was going on better than he did.
"We want the device."
"It's going to be complicated Sir, SG teams are front line and the results of experiments are normally all we can get."
"I said 'I want it'. I don't want a report; I want the real thing, tangible evidence. Their mission is to protect the planet, so is ours Captain. How many results have we benefited from since the program started?"
"None Sir, only fundamental research." 'But you wouldn't know anything about that' she thought to herself, 'you never read my reports.'
"Exactly, it's time to act. We know the co-ordinates for the location of the device. You have complete freedom, take whoever and whatever you need, but bring the device back here."
"Yes Sir."
She turned and walked towards the door.
"Captain Carter."
She rolled her eyes, glad that he couldn't see her. "Yes Sir?"
"Have you heard of Colonel O'Neill?"
She turned back around. "Yes, he's the CO of SG-1, the flagship unit, ex special ops, gulf war. Once retired, came back when the program re-started. Fine officer, but, from what I've heard, a complete jackass."
"They have the same orders and mission as you. You'll have to be there first. They are very well trained Captain, be careful."
"We will Sir."
"And Captain, whatever happens, don't trust Colonel O'Neill. Appearances can be deceiving, he won't hesitate to use you to get what he wants."
She nodded. "Colonel Maybourne Sir." She turned and walked straight out of the room, half tempted to call up Colonel O'Neill and invite him to join them, just to annoy Maybourne.
She walked straight to her office, grabbing the phone and starting the preparations.
The faster she got it sorted, the sooner they would leave and the better the chance of bringing the device back.
She didn't like Maybourne, and was starting to hate what he made her do, but bringing the device back would hopefully boost her career, and maybe get rid of him from her life.
It took her less than twenty-four hours to get everything ready. They had to wait for confirmation, and it took less then 10 minutes for their agent at the SGC to give the signal.
They had a go.
----------------------------
The planet had been ravaged by a plague hundreds of years ago, but the remaining architecture showed the civilization to be very advanced. Easily advanced enough to develop technology to protect themselves from Goa'uld weaponry.
"Ok, let's move. The device is five clicks N.NW"
The eight-man team moved towards the location, unaware that they were being spied upon.
"O'Neill, they are leaving." Teal'c said.
"Yeah, I can see that. Let them go for now." He answered. "Daniel, do you know her?"
"Yes and No. She's an astrophysicist, Captain in the Air Force. She's the person that made Gate travel possible. Extremely brilliant, I met her once or twice when I was trying to decipher the glyphs. She was recruited by the NID just before the first mission through the gate."
He nodded, unable to keep his eyes off her until she moved out of sight, there was something about her; something he couldn't put his finger on what it was, but he instantly knew she was different to the others.
"They're after the device." The fourth member of Sg-1, Lt. Claire Tobias pointed out.
"This is sure O'Neill."
"Sg-5 you stay here, we'll follow them."
-----------------------------------------
An hour later the NID team had arrived at the device. They were unsuccessfully trying to remove it from the crate it was welded into, and Sam had just finished the last of her tests on it with the scientists she had brought along.
"It's in perfect working order Captain."
She nodded at the scientist, signaling for him to pack away the gear. Turning back to the device she slammed her hands on the crate. "Dammit! We have to find a way to take it out of this and fast, SG teams are going to arrive soon."
"Yes Captain, that's exactly why you're going to step away from it."
She turned to him in shock, then to one of the soldiers she had brought along for back up. "Douglas? What are you doing?"
"Move out! You guys too!" He gestured to two soldiers who responded immediately.
"They are with me to bring back the device, Colonel Maybourne wanted you to assess its state, and it's working."
"And?" She asked sarcastically.
"And now you die." She saw out of the corner of her eye as the scientists quickly hid behind one of the walls surrounding the device.
"Why?"
"We know we're under scrutiny, our methods don't satisfy everyone. You'll have been shot trying to steal alien technology. You'll become the black sheep; we'll be quiet."
"Sons of bitches."
"Nothing great comes without sacrifices Captain." He raised his gun.
She closed her eyes for a second, before opening them again, staring straight at him, somewhat relieved that she wouldn't have to do this anymore, she loved her job, but she couldn't stand cheating on her government.
--------------------------------
A voice called out from the tree line, "Hey! Hold it!"
Sg-1 moved out of the woods, guns pointed at Douglas and his mini-team.
"Colonel O'Neill, US Air Force, I want to see your hands, and I want to see them clearly, understand? Drop the guns, now!" He glanced briefly towards Captain Carter, their eyes locking for the briefest of moments before he turned back to the threat.
Douglas nodded to his companions and they opened fire.
"Take cover!" O'Neill shouted, throwing himself behind a boulder.
Glancing over the edge, he saw Douglas and one other go down, while Captain Carter, caught in the crossfire, received bullets from both sides and fell to the floor.
He hesitated a moment, before aiming his weapon at the remaining shooter, "Surrender! The gate's guarded, you can't go back."
Suddenly something caught his eye, the woman; she was still alive, crawling feebly on the floor out of the path of the bullets.
The remaining soldier dropped his gun, placing his hands quickly in the air.
Jack signaled for Teal'c to sort him out, moving quickly towards Carter as the other two members of SG-1 went to round up the scientists.
He froze as she finally collapsed, before running towards her.
Kneeling down beside her, he turned her over, relieved to find that she was still breathing.
"Captain Carter? Carter?" He sighed in relief when her eyes flickered open, a confused look on her O'Neill?"
He nodded, "Yep, hang in there, we'll get you back to the base and sorted out in no time."
She shook her head, "Can't.. NID, I'm NID."
He smiled slightly, "Not any more apparently."
She nodded, and he bent to pick her up, her arms snaking around his neck as he stood.
He turned to see Teal'c, holding the soldier roughly by the shoulder, his arms tied behind his back.
Daniel and Lt. Tobias stood next to him, the four scientists shaking slightly, clutching their gear close to them, and looking worriedly at Captain Carter.
"She'll be fine, you all will; except maybe him," He tilted his head towards the soldier. "We'll take you back to the SGC, then we'll see about where you all go from there."
He lead the way back to the Gate, shaking his head before Teal'c even had a chance to offer to carry her, needing to feel her breathing against him, to know she was alive.
--------------------------------
She passes out just as they pass through the Stargate, the combination of her injuries and the trip through the gate more than her body can cope with.
He placed her down carefully onto the stretcher; his eye's flicking to Janet's shocked face.
"Doc?"
"She's NID?"
"Not any more."
She nodded, forcing herself back to reality when a machine beeps, the nurses carrying on without her.
"We need to get her to the OR immediately, try and stop the internal bleeding."
Jack watched as they wheeled her out, only turning to face General Hammond when they had disappeared out of sight.
"Colonel?"
"Three of the soldiers tried to execute her."
"And?"
"And we stopped them, he's the only survivor. Captain Carter got caught in the crossfire."
Hammond nodded. "What about the scientists?"
Jack signaled Daniel, who finished his conversation with one of the scientists and moved to stand next to him.
"They say they're more than happy to join the SGC, they only joined the NID because they didn't think they'd get the chance to study that kind of thing anywhere else, most of them were rejected from the original Stargate program."
"Take them to the infirmary, get them checked out, we'll figure out what to do after that later."
Daniel nodded, leading the way out of the Gateroom, the scientists following quickly, looking around in fear at the SF's.
Lt. Tobias moved to stand next to him, her fingers playing with her watchstrap; something that she always did when nervous, and that annoyed him to no end.
"What?"
She looked up. "Colonel?"
"What's bothering you?"
"I found out just after I got the job here, that I only got it because Captain Carter turned it down."
He looked at her, surprised. "Who told you that?"
She opened her mouth, closing it and shaking her head before thinking for a few seconds. "They didn't need to, I could tell from how they would keep going on about how amazing she was; they would have done anything to get her but she wasn't interested so they ended up with me."
He smiled slightly. "I don't think that."
She blushed, walking quickly out of the room, leaving him to follow, and laughing slightly.
---------------------------------
She woke quickly; keeping her eyes closed and her breathing steady as she assessed her surroundings.
She could hear the machines beeping steadily, voices coming from close to her bed.
"Jack seems to think she should stay here."
"Indeed, O'Neill does seem to have formed some kind of a bond with this woman."
"You don't think it's a good idea?"
"We know nothing about her except that she is NID, which makes her the enemy, and she has shown no proof otherwise."
"Ever heard of the phrase innocent until proven guilty?"
"She has already proved herself to be guilty, however there is no proof of innocence."
She heard footsteps, someone moving to join the voices she recognized as members of SG-1.
"Hey guys, what's the prognosis?"
"Janet says that she'll be fine, they repaired all the damage; will be a while before she's fit for duty but she should wake up soon."
Sam moaned slightly, making a show of forcing her eyes open, finding all three men stood around her bed.
"Hey Carter, how you feeling?"
"Sore. How am I?"
"Janet said you'll be fine."
She smiled at Daniel, "My team?"
"The scientists are fine, most of them are already busy working in our labs...The odd one or two have been problems."
"How long have I been out?"
"Couple of days."
She nodded, thinking carefully before turning to look at Colonel O'Neill. "Jones?"
He creased his forehead, "The soldier?" She nodded. "He's in the brig with a few of the less co-operative scientists, we wanted to wait and see what happened to you first."
She lay back down on the pillow, closing her eyes before slowly opening them, appearing to be exhausted.
Janet came over, spotting Sam looking tired. "Visiting time's over, my patient needs sleep."
With a lot of mumbling and groaning she manages to get them out of the infirmary, before walking quickly back to her, pulling the curtains around them to give them a degree of privacy.
"Sam?"
"Janet?" She shot back, mimicking Janet's voice.
"You're NID?"
"Not any more apparently. I get the feeling almost being executed means they're trying to get rid of me."
She shook her head. "You could have told me instead of just disappearing."
"I didn't disappear, I told you I was leaving."
Janet looked at her in despair. "You're not the woman I used to call friend."
Sam smirked, "I wouldn't have survived three years in the NID without changing."
Janet nodded, "Do you even feel anything anymore?"
"Yes," Sam's face creased into pain. "When dad died, I fell apart, it was only my job that kept me together, made me wake up in the morning; so yes, I know how to feel." She wiped away at a tear that fell, the memory of her dad lying in the hospital bed, dying, while she could do nothing to save him, haunting her.
Janet moved over, pulling her carefully into a hug. "I'm sorry Sam, it's just, you seem so different to what I remember; and the NID? What were you thinking?"
"The SG program were having me transferred back to Washington; I figured that it meant that they didn't want me any more and I'd spend the rest of my life stuck behind a desk.
Someone approached me on the plane to Washington, told me that there was an unofficial government organization looking for people like me, that they could give me everything I wanted, they handed me a card.
First day in Washington was awful, no one liked me, or respected me, and I was 'the girl'. I called them up that night, just after I called you, told them that I'd join. I got transferred the very next day."
Janet smiled. " I called you back the next day, they told me you'd been transferred but no-one could tell me where, you'd just disappeared. When I joined the SGC, I almost expected you to be here, it was so odd when you weren't; eventually I just accepted that I was never going to see you again, mourned you like crazy, and now here you are."
"Two years too late, but I'm here."
Janet shook her head, slightly amused. "It's never to late. Oh, and General Hammond wants to talk to you, if you feel up to it."
"Of course."
-----------------------------
Jack watched as General Hammond took in their new guest, examining her with his eyes.
"So, I guess you want to know everything?" She asked, looking at all of them in turn, her voice betraying her nervousness over her calm exterior.
"Yes I would Captain, very much so."
She told them everything she had just told Janet, leaving out the phone call to her. "They blindfolded me, took me to a base somewhere. At first I was just a scientist, at least until they checked me out, made sure I wasn't a spy for anyone.
That lasted about two weeks, after that the commander told me that I'd been cleared and that the real reason I was here was to head up the science department. All I had to do was sign a secrecy form and have only a minimum of contact with the outside world. "
"They wouldn't let you out?"
"It's too dangerous, at the time I was told that it was national security. Of course it wasn't long until I found out that it was so the government didn't catch us. We never left the base, not that we needed to, it's completely self-sufficient, even has it's own little garden for if you want fresh air. Most of the people there are ones that have no ties to the outside world, or people that have become disillusioned with how the government works, the NID recruits them, puts their expertise to good use."
"I take it that's where most of the SGC rejects and drop outs are."
"Some of them yes. At first it was only a small place, not very many people, so it was quite easy to just have them disappear. But once the Stargate program started up, we realized that we'd need a more permanent solution."
"You killed them." Daniel gasped at Jack's statement, looking at him in shock. "Most of the people who left the Stargate program have been 'killed' or committed 'suicide', we always assumed it was government ensuring the secrecy of the SGC."
"Some of them yes, it's always been a battle between us and them over who gets to potentials first. We've lost a lot of good people to the government, they would have helped a lot."
" 'We'?"
"I'm sorry, it's just when you're there, it's the people in the base and then everyone else. You don't have contact with the outside world so it becomes them and us. I don't even realize I'm doing it."
Hammond nodded in understanding; "It is quite easy to be drawn into that."
Sam looked down at her hands, playing nervously with her fingers. "Can I stay here?" She asked in almost a whisper.
Hammond looked at the members of SG-1 before back to her. "I'm not so sure that's a good idea."
She looked up, her expression one of fear and desperation. "If I go out there they'll kill me. I have nothing, no home, no money, and no job. The NID was my life, my bank accounts are monitored and run by the NID, I lived on the base, I don't know anyone either. Please, I have no where else."
Jack watched as she broke down, sobbing quietly into her hands. "General, she's right. If we throw her out they'll kill her. And she is the one that created the dialing computer so could probably update it for us, hell she probably knows more about the Stargate then the rest of the scientists on this base put together."
"If I do Colonel, she will be your personal responsibility, anything, and I mean anything, and it wouldn't just be her ass on the line."
"Yes Sir."
Hammond left, Daniel giving Jack a wary look before leaving with Teal'c.
"You're willing to put your job on the line for me? Why?"
"Because...well I have no idea why, but I won't let them kill you."
"I already owe you my life, I want to repay that somehow."
"Don't let me down then."
She smiled slightly. "I won't, I promise."
-----------------------------------
He looked down at the file, re-reading it over and over, trying to spot any indication that she hadn't just be a victim of her own need to succeed.
She had a perfect track record, top of her classes in the academy, no problems, nothing; 'apart from the fact she joined the NID' his brain reminded him.
He sighed, running his hands through his hair. There was nothing, not a single reason why she was a threat, yet the fact she had been NID meant that Hammond wasn't even willing to give her a chance.
He'd had both Teal'c and Daniel trying to talk him out of it, but there was something about Captain Carter, something that made him trust her, he just wished he knew what it was.
A knocking on the door shocked him from his thoughts, and he looked up to see her leaning heavily against the doorframe.
"Hey."
"Should you be out of bed?"
She smiled, "Probably not."
He signaled for her to take a seat and she quickly collapsed into the chair, moaning slightly in pain.
"How did you get around the Doc?"
"She was busy with someone, Siler I think his name was, and the nurses were looking at pictures of something so I sneaked out."
"They'll come looking for you."
She sighed, "And you'll be in trouble already, I should go."
He shook his head. "I'll just tell them I ordered you here, wanted to review some reports."
She leaned over the desk slightly. "My personal file?"
He shrugged. "It's a report."
"Find anything interesting?"
"Nothing to explain why such a goody two shoes would join the NID."
"What if she thought she was serving her country?"
He nodded slightly, but she could tell he didn't believe her.
"You must have done some... lets say less than perfect things whilst you were Special Forces."
He leaned closer to her, his eyes angry. "That was different, I was serving my country."
She mimicked his pose exactly. "And I thought I was serving mine." She leaned back, changing her posture to one of respect. "By the time I figured out the truth I'd also figured out that they'd kill me if I tried to leave. You can't just hand in your resignation and walk out the door, the best you can hope for is to be killed in action."
He nodded, finding himself respecting her, although she did seem to find it a little too easy to talk back.
She leaned forward, taking a deep breath. "Carter?"
"I'm fine, the meds are just wearing off."
He stood up, moving around to help her out of the chair, "Time to get you back to the infirmary."
"Yes Sir."
--------------------------------------
She typed away quickly on the laptop, alternating between the report she was supposed to be writing up on NID scientific advances and trying to hack into the SGC database. Wanting to find out as much as possible about what this place was actually like, needing to know that it wasn't just another place full of talk like the NID, or if they actually had gained devices, technology, artifacts from peaceful exploration ...which Maybourne had said was impossible.
She quickly brought back up the report, typing away furiously as Colonel O'Neill entered the infirmary, giving her a friendly smile as he walked over.
"Carter."
"Colonel." She returned as a way of greeting, smiling slightly, and looking up from the report.
"They actually gave you one of them?"
"Doctor Fraiser felt that it would be easier for me to type rather than write, it's not connected to the SGC mainframe, and I don't have a password anyway."
He shook his head, amused. "I wasn't suggesting anything, they just don't have many of them, I'm rather impressed Hammond was willing to give up one so easily."
"I'm typing up everything the NID learnt from their experiments."
"Ah," he grinned at her, and she tilted her head, looking at him in confusion. "You said 'their', it's just nice not to hear you sound like a brainwashed NID soldier."
"Is that what you think I am?"
"No!" He sighed, sitting down on the chair next to her bed. "There have been long meetings, and I mean really long meetings over what to do with you. Basically no one's sure whether they can trust you; there have even been suggestions that the shooting was a set up to get you into the base. Not that anyone really believes that, at the moment the most popular theory is that you're brainwashed, they want to get people in to try and deprogram you."
"If it'll help, I'll do whatever I need to, to show that I'm here of my own free will, because I want to be, and that I'm not a spy."
"I believe you, it's just that not everyone does."
She nodded, turning back to the screen, unsure of what to say.
"When do you get out of this place?"
"Doctor Fraiser said that I should be able to walk around tomorrow, assuming that someone is with me at all times, officially to make sure I'm ok, unofficially to spy on me, and I have to spend the next few nights here."
"In that case, would you like to have lunch?"
"Colonel?"
"Commissary food isn't that bad. The infirmary stuff is just the leftovers, there they have real food, well as real as it's going to get around here."
She smiled, "That'd be nice, thank you Colonel."
He smiled back, lingering a moment longer than was probably appropriate before leaving.
Janet walked straight over, and Sam could tell from the look on her face that she'd heard everything.
"Don't start Janet, please."
"I was going to say that lunch sounds like a great idea, especially with the Colonel. He is highly respected around here, so it should stop some of the distrust."
"I hear a but coming."
"But you're both Military. The NID may not have cared about things like that, but you're back in the real world now, which means you're back to having to follow the rules."
"Janet, nothing is going on, he's just the only person here that didn't automatically assume I was bad."
"I'm sorry, it was just a shock to see you again, and then to find out you were NID...I guess I didn't react too well."
"I probably wouldn't have reacted very well if I was in your position." She smiled slightly, glad when Janet smiled back.
"You could join us for lunch, make sure that I'm eating foods that will help my recovery."
Janet laughed, "You'll be glad to know that they stock blue jello."
Sam's eyes lit up, "Really?"
"Yep, and I might just take you up on that offer. It'll be nice to socialize for once. But that means you need rest."
"Yes Ma'am."
Sam quickly saved the report, closing everything down and handing the laptop over to Janet before lying down, closing her eyes and waiting for sleep to come.
----------------------------------
Sam held her breath has she walked into the commissary, the Colonel's presence next to her providing some comfort, but she was anxious about what people's reactions would be.
Jack placed his hand carefully on her shoulder, pushing gently to make her walk to the table where the rest of Sg-1 and Janet were sat, his stomach complaining that he was not eating yet.
She carefully sat down next to Janet, looking down at the table, feeling everyone's gaze on her back.
"How are you feeling?"
She smiled slightly, "I'm ok."
Colonel O'Neill grabbed a bowl of fruit loops and some blue jello, the Doc mentioning that it was something Carter liked.
He placed the jello down in front of her, grinning at her surprised look.
"Thank you."
She shoveled a spoonful into her mouth greedily, keeping her eyes downcast so that she wouldn't have to meet any intrigued...or hateful eyes.
"Jack, I managed to translate that writing."
"And?"
"It talks about the civilization, they were really advanced, and I found a reference to something that translates as 'the kingdom of four', which means that it was probably from the time when the alliance was still active, they may even been related to one of the four races."
"Daniel Jackson, does it refer to the vial at all?"
Jack grinned, amused that Teal'c had become annoyed with Daniel earlier than he had, he'd been too busy watching Carter eating her jello, how she was listening intently to Daniel without appearing so.
"What? Oh, yeah. It's on one of the later pages; it refers to an instruction manual, known only as the 'tablet'. It was supposed to stay with the vial at all times, explain what it is and how to use it, and also warnings, but we only found the vial, which makes no sense."
"Is it possible that you missed the tablet?" Janet asked, pointing her fork at Daniel.
"No! I searched the whole area, three times. I spotted the mention of the tablet when I was translating some of it on the planet, but it was nowhere to be found. I just don't understand how it could have disappeared."
Tobias flicked through the pages of the report, absently eating an apple. "What if someone took the tablet, to prevent anyone from using the vial?"
"But that makes no sense. There is a passage that warns of the dangers of using whatever it is. The vial can be used without the tablet, we just don't know what it is, or what it is supposed to be used for."
"Daniel Jackson, could that not be a reason for destroying the tablet? The vial cannot be used now without the tablet, so is safe."
"So why not just destroy the vial?" Jack looked from one to the other, each returning with a blank look.
Sam raised her head slightly, taking a deep breath before joining in with the conversation. "If the vial is something important, something sacred to that civilization, then they wouldn't be willing to destroy it. They may have moved to another planet, set up a new life, and left the vial behind in case they ever needed it; removing the tablet to stop anyone else from being able to take it, possibly hoping that without the tablet, any explorers would just leave the vial."
They nodded, her theory making sense.
"So, what happened to them?" Janet asked.
Daniel shrugged. "It doesn't say, the writings stop after the whatever is in the vial was completed; the room was set up as a memorial to the scientists that lost their lives during it's creation, the writings their legacy."
"Maybe it's a weapon." Groans and eye rolls greeted Jack's comment. "What? If scientists were killed creating it then it must be powerful."
"You always think it's a weapon Jack."
Tobias placed the translation back onto the table, "If it was a weapon, they'd have taken it with them to where ever they went."
"What if it was some sort of biological weapon? If there had been accidents then that would result in deaths. They might have left the vial there if they had to evacuate, to destroy the enemy." Janet paused, suddenly realizing that she had actually agreed with Colonel O'Neill.
"Have any tests been done on it?" Sam asked, looking from the file to Daniel, silently asking permission to read it.
He nodded, and she grabbed it as Tobias spoke up. "We've been waiting for Daniel's translation, didn't want to open it in case it was something dangerous."
Sam laughed slightly.
"What?"
"The NID had no reservations. If people died then it was unfortunate, but they weren't going to bother waiting for a translation. The only times they did translations was when there was nothing to test on."
"So, what do we do now?" Daniel reached across, grabbing a piece of fruit from Teal'c's plate.
Tobias shook her head, "I have no idea, I don't think there is any way we can safely open that vial without knowing what is inside."
"You don't need to." They all looked at Sam, and she shifted uncomfortably under their gazes. "There will be traces of the substance on the outside of it, no matter how careful they were. Or if that doesn't work, you can take a piece of the plug, as that will have some of the substance on it, just make sure you don't take too much off so that you break the seal."
Tobias looked slightly worried; Jack knew she probably didn't want to try what Carter was suggesting. "Carter, you help Tobias sort it out, it's your idea so you should get a chance to see how it works."
Sam nodded, "And if it goes wrong I'm the one that gets injured." They all looked uncomfortable, so she smiled slightly, "I understand, I'm the outsider, you have no reason to trust me, and it's unfair if she gets hurt testing out one of my ideas."
Daniel nodded, collecting together all the sheets of paper that had spilled across the table in the course of the discussion. "I'm going to go and translate the final piece of the wall, see if it gives us anything new on the civilization."
He walked out; Janet being called soon after.
"If he's injured himself already it won't be his only problem."
They laughed, Janet warning Sam not to over do herself before leaving, muttering about not getting a break.
Sam looked at the three remaining people, Colonel O'Neill, who was still busily eating his fruit loops, completely absorbed in his task; Tobias, scanning through a report, muttering quietly to herself and making notes with a pencil. She looked finally towards Teal'c, meeting his gaze, a chill running down her spine at what she saw hidden behind his bright eyes.
She looked away, knowing that he didn't trust her; that as far as he was concerned, would probably always be concerned, she was a threat.
Thinking hard, she tried to piece together the little Goa'uld she could speak, wanting to try and connect.
"Will you not give me a chance to prove myself?"
The table went silent, Teal'c raising an eyebrow as O'Neill and Tobias looked at her in confusion.
"You deserve no chance. You chose to side with the enemy."
"O'Neill gave you a chance, yet you were sided with the enemy. I am no longer the enemy, yet I still have no chance?"
Jack looked at her, hearing his name. "Hey! Speak English for crying out loud, not all of us speak Goa'uld."
"Sorry Sir."
Tobias looked vaguely amused, her understanding of Goa'uld too limited to understand what was being said, but O'Neill's confusion was worth every foreign word. "We should probably get started on the experiment. Captain Carter?"
Sam smiled, slowly climbing to her feet, following Lt. Tobias out of the commissary, O'Neill following close behind.
--------------------------------
They worked quickly, easily settling into a comfortable partnership, their mutual love of science and abilities making the work progress quickly.
Jack had wandered in and out, checking up on them every half an hour or so, lasting at most five minutes before the technical jargon sent him racing back to his office.
They found no sample on the outside of the vial, so carefully sliced off a piece of the plug, Tobias watching from a safe distance as Sam slowly and gently pulled the slice out, sighing in relief when nothing appeared to happen.
They set up an experiment, placing the vial carefully back into storage before attempting anything.
"Carter, Tobias, how's it going?"
They both looked up at the Colonel; Tobias signaling with her head that Sam should take care of him this time.
"We've done the preliminary experiments, we're just starting on the first actual one now. We're going to test the sample to see if...."
"Ah! Carter, as long as everything is ok, and you have everything you need I don't need to know what is going on."
"Actually Sir there is something we, well I wouldn't mind looking at."
"Carter?"
"I was wondering if it would be possible for me to see some of the reports, so that I have a better understanding of what may affect the results."
"I'm going to have to stay with you while you have it, Hammond hasn't cleared you yet, assuming that I'm willing to let you see it."
"I just need one of the reports from the original mission, if that's ok Colonel?"
He nodded, "Tobias? You going to be ok for a few minutes?"
"Yes Sir."
They slowly walked out, making it half way down the corridor before a loud bang came from the lab they'd just left, followed by a cloud of smoke.
Turning around, he called into the smoke "Tobias?"
Sam put her hand on his shoulder, "If she was stood right next to the device...."
"We can't just leave her."
Sam looked from him to the corridor and then back to him, a plan forming.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
She kicked him in the leg, and he let out a yelp as his knee buckled, reaching out for her as she slipped past, running towards the lab.
He coughed, the smoke becoming thicker, before limping back, keeping his eyes on the barely visible door to the lab, willing her to come back out.
He felt a hand on his shoulder, turned to find Daniel, arm over his face to try and block some of the smoke. "Jack, we need to get off this level."
"No! They're still in there."
"Who?"
"Tobias was in the lab when it exploded, Carter went back for her."
Daniel shook his head. "They've got people getting kited up now, they'll stop the fire, find them."
Jack nodded his head, accepting Daniel's arm as they made their way to the stairs, just reaching the door when they heard a shout from behind.
"Colonel, I've got her, she's hurt badly though, Colonel?"
Daniel shoved Jack through the door, into the less polluted stairwell before moving back, helping Sam carry Tobias towards safety.
They placed her down carefully onto the landing, her face and hands badly burnt.
Sam collapsed next to her, coughing badly.
"That was a very stupid thing to do Captain."
"Yes sir."