Title: In the Middle Pt 5
Spoilers: None really
Rating: R for implied thoughts
Summary: The team has to survive
Archive: SJD yes
Disclaimer: Not mine don't sue me!
AN: Sorry I took so long! I'm actually "taking a break" from homework… college sucks. And so does Folbre's "The Unproductive Housewife". I hope you all enjoy! Feedback craved!
"Damn it Daniel sit down!" Sam finally yelled. He was pacing between the two bunk beds, which didn't give him much room. Sam was sitting down on her bed, resting her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. And every time Daniel would pass, he'd bump her knee which would set off a chain reaction of her head falling and causing her spine to seizure.
"Sorry Sam! I'm just so… they should've been here by now! Something happened!" His hands flew all over the area. It almost looked like he was an ancient magician casting a spell to bring back his friends.
"I know Daniel. Trust me I know. But there isn't anything we can do about it right now." He plopped down next to her and sighed, taking the same position she was in a few minutes earlier.
"How can you be so calm about this?" he asked, taking in a breath and blowing it right back out.
"Training, and lots of it." She took a second to look at him, really look at him, for the first time that day.
"I can feel your eyes burning on me Sam," he drawled.
"How long have you felt sick?"
"Don't. I feel fine. Never felt better in my life."
"You should really leave the whole, 'I'm fine, on my Girl Scout honor!' thing to me Daniel, cause you really suck at lying."
"You were a Girl Scout? I can see you in the cute little green beret!"
"I didn't have the beret, thank you, and stop trying to change the subject." She was now using her 'don't talk back to me or I'll kick your butt' tone of voice with him. He let out a sigh before he retorted.
"A day or so."
"A day or so!? Why didn't you say anything Daniel!"
"Cause I didn't want you to freak out," he lead on.
"Freak out? I'm not freaking out! Why didn't you say something Daniel" She was standing next to him now, flapping her arms like a drowning bird.
"Please Sam, stop." She looked at him, hard.
"You don't look so great Daniel." She squatted next to him and spoke softly. She ran a hand through his hair and noticed how hard he was sweating.
"Thanks. Well, I didn't want to say anything either, but you should try some new make up." The sarcasm was forced. He was sick, and she knew it.
"Come on, you've got to try to get some sleep." She gently urged him to stand, and he climbed up into his bed. Making sure he was tightly tucked in, she took one last look at his appearance. He was sweaty, very pale, and almost looked in pain.
"Thanks Mom," he muttered.
"Maybe if you're nicer to me tomorrow, I'll let you watch ten more minutes of TV." After she was satisfied with him, she sat back down on her bed and began the torturous task of waiting for her comrades to come back to her.
There was some commotion going on when Sam looked up. Joining everyone else, she stood up and looked behind her, trying to see who was coming in. Being dragged in by two guards each were both of her fallen comrades, heads hanging.
"God, sir, Teal'c! What happened?" The guards threw them on the floor near their bed. Held automatically ran over to help her. He put Jack into his bed, while Sam put Teal'c in hers. There was no way he was going to be able to climb up to his.
"Guards thought it was a nice day for a hangin'," Jack muttered into his pillow. He was just laying there, face down, not moving. And much to her dismay, Teal'c was doing the same thing.
"What do you mean hanging?" The worried mother hen look in her eyes could not escape them.
"One of the guard's punishments is to take prisoners and hang them from their hands behind their back from about 15 feet above the ground for an undisclosed amount of time." Held stood and looked at Jack and Teal'c with sympathy.
"Sounds like you've had some experience yourself."
"Just a little," he said as he nodded, trying not to go back there in his mind.
"Just be happy they didn't kill you, sir."
"Yeah. Carter! What happened to the SG team that came through?" His voice rose with excitement.
"Those weren't your teams. They were mine." Held beamed.
"What?"
"My leader Khnum was trying to free us! He knows what we are forced to do in here, and he does not like it."
"Sure, it was your leader," Jack managed out before he passed into slumber.
God his body hurt! His arms felt like he had, well, they felt like he'd been hanging from his hands tied behind his back!
"Ugh…" he groaned out then next day. He fell asleep in the same position Held managed to lay his body down in.
"Teal'c!" he called out, seeing if his friend was ok.
"O'Neill, are you well?" came the baritone reply. He looked like he woke up only a few minutes before he did, and had just sat up.
"Yeah, just peachy. Feel like running a marathon." He didn't hold back any of the groans when he sat up. He noticed the sun was high in the sky.
"Shit! We aren't at the railroad tracks!" He nearly jumped out of his skin, not wanting to be late. He couldn't take another punishment again any time soon.
"Do not worry, O'Neill. Today the men had off." Held stood next to him, put his hand on his shoulder, and gently ushered him to sit down.
"Why do them men not have to work today?" Teal'c asked.
"I guess there's going to be a choosing soon."
"Ah, choosing? I guess that doesn't mean like choosing a dress that matches shoes or anything like that, does it?"
"No."
"Where's Carter?" His tone was harsh, his team had been messed with, and he'd be damned if they got compromised.
"She's a woman. She had to go to the choosing."
"What must they choose?" Teal'c asked.
"Juest is searching for a new house maid. It isn't a job Sam would likely enjoy." They just sat there for a moment, taking everything in.
"Like hell she's gonna get that job."
"Where is DanielJackson?" Jack burrowed his eyebrows. Where was Daniel?
"I'm up here," came his weak reply. Teal'c raised his eyebrow to Jack, and the two slowly stood up and took in Daniel's form.
"Daniel."
"Jack."
"So, guess playing out in the rain wasn't such a great idea."
"Guess not."
"Daniel, why didn't you say anything?" Jack was trying to act annoyed, but he couldn't help but let some worry into his voice. This was bad.
"I thought it wasn't anything too bad. And I feel better than yesterday, which is good. I have the rest of the day today to rest up and feel better. And, at the trains, I'll just let you pick up my slack," he said with a cocky smile.
"Yeah you won't. Just, sleep for now. We'll wake you up when there's something to eat." Jack pat Daniel's arm before he slunk back down onto his own bunk.
Teal'c was the first to see the women to start to come back. Many of the men were standing up, looking for their own. Teal'c watched for Sam, craning his neck around and above different people. Sam just walked past the other women to her group, looking less-than-amused.
"So? What happened? What's going on?" Jack assaulted her with questions as soon as she reached her bunk. She looked nervous, and like she could actually go for a marathon at that moment.
"Well we all lined up so Juest could 'see which one looked housey'. He just picked the girls that he thought were attractive. He only picked about ten of us out of the entire group. Then, he told us that we had to come back tonight and he would make his final decision." She started drumming her fingers on her leg.
"That's not good," Held said.
"Yeah, I know. I've heard."
"What's not good?"
"Just think about it sir. You've seen Schindler's List, hopefully. You know what kind of things go on for female house 'guests'." She couldn't resist doing the air parenthesis. He just silently mouthed "Oh" to her.
"What are you going to do?" Teal'c asked.
"I don't know. I don't plan on being picked, I can't get picked." She ran her hands through her hair and fluffed it.
"I do." The three looked at Held, who spoke with such confidence.
"What?"
"Well, just look what you did. Your hair. It's light, it's yellow. No one's hair is like that around here. Differences are bad. And your face, it's beautiful. He'll remember that. I can fix it. But we can't do it here." He started to walk out of the barracks, and they all followed except a sleeping Daniel.
"We have to WHAT?" Jack asked incredulously.
"Well, if you want the full effects to work you do."
"I won't do it. I can't do it."
"Nor will I."
"Then I will."
Without warning, Held punched Sam in the face, knocking her backwards. Jack and Teal'c automatically jumped forward to help her, but they knew it needed to be done. Held's theory was that if they gave her a few bruises and other stuff to make her less unattractive, Juest would just pass over her. Jack thought it might actually work. Sam let out a cry of surprise, and recovered just as quickly. As soon as she had her footing, Held landed a left hook to her jaw line. Sam held her fists down by her side, knowing she could hit back. He backhanded her mouth, and she took a second to regain her stance and wipe the blood off with the back of her hand. With one final blow to her right eye, Held stopped.
"That's enough. I'm sorry Sam, I really didn't want to." She only nodded at him. Yeah she was mad, but not at him.
"What else do we have to do?" she asked apprehensively.
"It isn't as bad. Let's go."
They walked to where they received water, and grabbed as much as they could. Then, they went outside to where the men worked. Held dumped the water and started mixing it to create mud.
"Here, lay down on the ground on your back." She did as requested. All three started to wash her hair in the mud.
"Are you laughing Carter?" Jack asked.
"I'm sorry sir! It's just that, well, I feel like I'm in a salon and you three are my hairdressers!" With that, her quite chuckles grew into full fledged belly laughs. Jack just smiled at her, and thought how nice it would be to wash her hair without the mud, or even just to run his hands through it….
'Nope! Not here!' he scolded himself.
"Well, you look, well, not so nice?" Jack offered. "Who are you kidding? I look horrible!" And she did. Her face was swollen and almost blue, and her hair looked a nasty shade of brown. She saw bits and pieces of what she looked like in the water, but it was no mirror.
"Was that not the desired effect, MajorCarter?" Teal'c asked.
"Yeah, it sure was. Well, wish me ugly thoughts!" she said cheerily. With a half smile, she turned away from her friends and went to face her captor.
TBC… Feedback loved!
AN: Sorry I took so long! I'm actually "taking a break" from homework… college sucks. And so does Folbre's "The Unproductive Housewife". I hope you all enjoy! Feedback craved!
"Damn it Daniel sit down!" Sam finally yelled. He was pacing between the two bunk beds, which didn't give him much room. Sam was sitting down on her bed, resting her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. And every time Daniel would pass, he'd bump her knee which would set off a chain reaction of her head falling and causing her spine to seizure.
"Sorry Sam! I'm just so… they should've been here by now! Something happened!" His hands flew all over the area. It almost looked like he was an ancient magician casting a spell to bring back his friends.
"I know Daniel. Trust me I know. But there isn't anything we can do about it right now." He plopped down next to her and sighed, taking the same position she was in a few minutes earlier.
"How can you be so calm about this?" he asked, taking in a breath and blowing it right back out.
"Training, and lots of it." She took a second to look at him, really look at him, for the first time that day.
"I can feel your eyes burning on me Sam," he drawled.
"How long have you felt sick?"
"Don't. I feel fine. Never felt better in my life."
"You should really leave the whole, 'I'm fine, on my Girl Scout honor!' thing to me Daniel, cause you really suck at lying."
"You were a Girl Scout? I can see you in the cute little green beret!"
"I didn't have the beret, thank you, and stop trying to change the subject." She was now using her 'don't talk back to me or I'll kick your butt' tone of voice with him. He let out a sigh before he retorted.
"A day or so."
"A day or so!? Why didn't you say anything Daniel!"
"Cause I didn't want you to freak out," he lead on.
"Freak out? I'm not freaking out! Why didn't you say something Daniel" She was standing next to him now, flapping her arms like a drowning bird.
"Please Sam, stop." She looked at him, hard.
"You don't look so great Daniel." She squatted next to him and spoke softly. She ran a hand through his hair and noticed how hard he was sweating.
"Thanks. Well, I didn't want to say anything either, but you should try some new make up." The sarcasm was forced. He was sick, and she knew it.
"Come on, you've got to try to get some sleep." She gently urged him to stand, and he climbed up into his bed. Making sure he was tightly tucked in, she took one last look at his appearance. He was sweaty, very pale, and almost looked in pain.
"Thanks Mom," he muttered.
"Maybe if you're nicer to me tomorrow, I'll let you watch ten more minutes of TV." After she was satisfied with him, she sat back down on her bed and began the torturous task of waiting for her comrades to come back to her.
There was some commotion going on when Sam looked up. Joining everyone else, she stood up and looked behind her, trying to see who was coming in. Being dragged in by two guards each were both of her fallen comrades, heads hanging.
"God, sir, Teal'c! What happened?" The guards threw them on the floor near their bed. Held automatically ran over to help her. He put Jack into his bed, while Sam put Teal'c in hers. There was no way he was going to be able to climb up to his.
"Guards thought it was a nice day for a hangin'," Jack muttered into his pillow. He was just laying there, face down, not moving. And much to her dismay, Teal'c was doing the same thing.
"What do you mean hanging?" The worried mother hen look in her eyes could not escape them.
"One of the guard's punishments is to take prisoners and hang them from their hands behind their back from about 15 feet above the ground for an undisclosed amount of time." Held stood and looked at Jack and Teal'c with sympathy.
"Sounds like you've had some experience yourself."
"Just a little," he said as he nodded, trying not to go back there in his mind.
"Just be happy they didn't kill you, sir."
"Yeah. Carter! What happened to the SG team that came through?" His voice rose with excitement.
"Those weren't your teams. They were mine." Held beamed.
"What?"
"My leader Khnum was trying to free us! He knows what we are forced to do in here, and he does not like it."
"Sure, it was your leader," Jack managed out before he passed into slumber.
God his body hurt! His arms felt like he had, well, they felt like he'd been hanging from his hands tied behind his back!
"Ugh…" he groaned out then next day. He fell asleep in the same position Held managed to lay his body down in.
"Teal'c!" he called out, seeing if his friend was ok.
"O'Neill, are you well?" came the baritone reply. He looked like he woke up only a few minutes before he did, and had just sat up.
"Yeah, just peachy. Feel like running a marathon." He didn't hold back any of the groans when he sat up. He noticed the sun was high in the sky.
"Shit! We aren't at the railroad tracks!" He nearly jumped out of his skin, not wanting to be late. He couldn't take another punishment again any time soon.
"Do not worry, O'Neill. Today the men had off." Held stood next to him, put his hand on his shoulder, and gently ushered him to sit down.
"Why do them men not have to work today?" Teal'c asked.
"I guess there's going to be a choosing soon."
"Ah, choosing? I guess that doesn't mean like choosing a dress that matches shoes or anything like that, does it?"
"No."
"Where's Carter?" His tone was harsh, his team had been messed with, and he'd be damned if they got compromised.
"She's a woman. She had to go to the choosing."
"What must they choose?" Teal'c asked.
"Juest is searching for a new house maid. It isn't a job Sam would likely enjoy." They just sat there for a moment, taking everything in.
"Like hell she's gonna get that job."
"Where is DanielJackson?" Jack burrowed his eyebrows. Where was Daniel?
"I'm up here," came his weak reply. Teal'c raised his eyebrow to Jack, and the two slowly stood up and took in Daniel's form.
"Daniel."
"Jack."
"So, guess playing out in the rain wasn't such a great idea."
"Guess not."
"Daniel, why didn't you say anything?" Jack was trying to act annoyed, but he couldn't help but let some worry into his voice. This was bad.
"I thought it wasn't anything too bad. And I feel better than yesterday, which is good. I have the rest of the day today to rest up and feel better. And, at the trains, I'll just let you pick up my slack," he said with a cocky smile.
"Yeah you won't. Just, sleep for now. We'll wake you up when there's something to eat." Jack pat Daniel's arm before he slunk back down onto his own bunk.
Teal'c was the first to see the women to start to come back. Many of the men were standing up, looking for their own. Teal'c watched for Sam, craning his neck around and above different people. Sam just walked past the other women to her group, looking less-than-amused.
"So? What happened? What's going on?" Jack assaulted her with questions as soon as she reached her bunk. She looked nervous, and like she could actually go for a marathon at that moment.
"Well we all lined up so Juest could 'see which one looked housey'. He just picked the girls that he thought were attractive. He only picked about ten of us out of the entire group. Then, he told us that we had to come back tonight and he would make his final decision." She started drumming her fingers on her leg.
"That's not good," Held said.
"Yeah, I know. I've heard."
"What's not good?"
"Just think about it sir. You've seen Schindler's List, hopefully. You know what kind of things go on for female house 'guests'." She couldn't resist doing the air parenthesis. He just silently mouthed "Oh" to her.
"What are you going to do?" Teal'c asked.
"I don't know. I don't plan on being picked, I can't get picked." She ran her hands through her hair and fluffed it.
"I do." The three looked at Held, who spoke with such confidence.
"What?"
"Well, just look what you did. Your hair. It's light, it's yellow. No one's hair is like that around here. Differences are bad. And your face, it's beautiful. He'll remember that. I can fix it. But we can't do it here." He started to walk out of the barracks, and they all followed except a sleeping Daniel.
"We have to WHAT?" Jack asked incredulously.
"Well, if you want the full effects to work you do."
"I won't do it. I can't do it."
"Nor will I."
"Then I will."
Without warning, Held punched Sam in the face, knocking her backwards. Jack and Teal'c automatically jumped forward to help her, but they knew it needed to be done. Held's theory was that if they gave her a few bruises and other stuff to make her less unattractive, Juest would just pass over her. Jack thought it might actually work. Sam let out a cry of surprise, and recovered just as quickly. As soon as she had her footing, Held landed a left hook to her jaw line. Sam held her fists down by her side, knowing she could hit back. He backhanded her mouth, and she took a second to regain her stance and wipe the blood off with the back of her hand. With one final blow to her right eye, Held stopped.
"That's enough. I'm sorry Sam, I really didn't want to." She only nodded at him. Yeah she was mad, but not at him.
"What else do we have to do?" she asked apprehensively.
"It isn't as bad. Let's go."
They walked to where they received water, and grabbed as much as they could. Then, they went outside to where the men worked. Held dumped the water and started mixing it to create mud.
"Here, lay down on the ground on your back." She did as requested. All three started to wash her hair in the mud.
"Are you laughing Carter?" Jack asked.
"I'm sorry sir! It's just that, well, I feel like I'm in a salon and you three are my hairdressers!" With that, her quite chuckles grew into full fledged belly laughs. Jack just smiled at her, and thought how nice it would be to wash her hair without the mud, or even just to run his hands through it….
'Nope! Not here!' he scolded himself.
"Well, you look, well, not so nice?" Jack offered. "Who are you kidding? I look horrible!" And she did. Her face was swollen and almost blue, and her hair looked a nasty shade of brown. She saw bits and pieces of what she looked like in the water, but it was no mirror.
"Was that not the desired effect, MajorCarter?" Teal'c asked.
"Yeah, it sure was. Well, wish me ugly thoughts!" she said cheerily. With a half smile, she turned away from her friends and went to face her captor.
TBC… Feedback loved!