Reposting because FanFic is picking on me again!!! It did mess stuff up. The first few sentences don't even make sense anymore! Why do they keep picking on me??? {Runs from the room sobbing hysterically}
Before Sam could react, she felt herself being hurled violently into one of the large boxes as the truck she was riding in swerved sharply, brakes squealing in protest. Sam struggled to cling to her precarious hold as the boxes shifted and for a moment of terror she feared she'd be thrown from the truck. The load shifted, and something snapped, and the last thing Sam saw before her world went black was a large box heading her way with alarming speed.
Chapter 52"Oomph" Jack grunted as Teal'c got a particularly strong punch through his defenses to his midriff. Jack bounced back, dancing out of the way of a second hit and ducking a third, lunging forward to deliver a blow to Teal'c's now unprotected abdomen.
Too late, Jack realized the "opening" had been a bluff, as he felt Teal'c grab his arm, neatly using Jack's momentum to propel him forward. Tired from the long and strenuous workout, Jack stumbled, and landed on the padded mat face down.
"Have you had enough O'Neill?" Teal'c's deep voice spoke from above him.
Jack mumbled his grudging ascent into the mat, and then rolled over, looking up at the towering Jaffa he counted as one of his closest and most trusted companions. "I almost had you that time Teal'c."
The large man merely raised an eyebrow as he reached down a hand to his prostrate friend.
Jack accepted the assistance. After the workout, he wasn't sure if his knee would thank him if he didn't. "Thanks," he said gruffly, as he gained his feet, the single word conveying more than just thanks for the hand up.
Teal'c inclined his head, understanding. "You are most welcome O'Neill. I have found this workout to be most beneficial." In the language of the warrior, Teal'c had just told his friend that he understood Jack's reasons for the workout, and had also felt a much-needed release of tension by, as O'Neill often called it, "beating the crap out of something."
Their eyes met briefly, as O'Neill unfastened the protective helmet and pulled off his gloves. Understanding passed between the two battle-hardened warriors.
"Lunch?" Jack asked.
Teal'c inclined his head. "Indeed."
"Let's get Danny-boy too, he's probably been living on coffee all day anyway." Jack headed off to the showers, Teal'c following.
Half an hour later, clean and more refreshed feeling than he had been the last few weeks, Jack stood in the doorway to Daniel Jackson's office, Teal'c pausing just behind him.
"Hey Danny, thought you might want to join me and Teal'c for lunch." Jack hid his smirk as the distracted archeologist practically jumped, and blinked up at him momentarily confused.
"Um, uh. What time is it?" The young man sat blinking, taking off his glasses and absently polishing them on his shirt.
Jack looked around Daniel's office; he hadn't been in since they'd gotten back from Pennsylvania. He was amazed at the sight laid out before him. The room had been transformed. Large glossy photos of enhanced and enlarged images of the alien device that had changed Carter were covering every available horizontal and vertical surface. Books in languages that Jack couldn't even identify, let alone name, littered every flat space. Stacks of notes and journals teetered precariously. Jack decided he better stay in the doorway, rather than risk tumbling one of the piles which Daniel no doubt had organized in a way only he would understand.
"It's after one Daniel. When is the last time you had something to eat?" Jack was using his best commanding officer tone. So what if Daniel wasn't military.
"Well, I uh..." Daniel frowned, and abruptly changed tactics. "Jack, I think I'm really close to solving the translation. SG-11 just brought back some artifacts from a neighboring system, and I think..."
"Ah ah ah." Jack interrupted. He wasn't about to let Daniel bury the subject in technical terms and a discussion on the nuances of ancient languages. When the wayward scientist attempted to speak again, Jack merely leveled his best glare, and spoke warningly, "Daniel. Food. Now. You can come back after."
"But Jack, I really need to try..." Daniel didn't want to leave just yet; he felt he was so close.
Jack was momentarily startled when Teal'c spoke before he could reply, or better yet, drag Daniel from his office. "Daniel Jackson, you will feel more refreshed after you have replenished your body's needs. Perhaps a break will allow you to find a new insight you may have missed while you are weary."
Daniel blinked. It was hard to argue with Teal'c's impenetrable logic. He sighed, looking over the organized chaos that was now his office. Teal'c and Jack were right. He could use a break; he hadn't realized how many hours had passed. He'd been working incessantly since their return. Daniel wasn't sure why he felt the need to throw himself into the translations.
He nodded to his friends, sighing one last time. "Ok guys, I'll stop for a little while."
Jack grinned, and Teal'c inclined his head. "Great. I hear they are serving pie today at the commissary!"
The three men soon had collected food and claimed a table. Gentle banter traded back and forth, as they skirted around any uncomfortable subject, but they couldn't hide the feeling that there was something missing.
Daniel brought it up first. "I miss Sam."
Jack and Teal'c quit discussing the merits and drawbacks of a particular move that Jack had attempted on Teal'c during their sparring match, and turned to look at their friend.
Daniel shifted, suddenly uncomfortable, as he stared down at his plate, pushing his food around with his fork. "Its just, I keep thinking she should be here, keep turning around to ask her about some technical detail in the translation or another. I know its silly but..."
"Indeed Daniel Jackson," Teal'c interrupted, "I too have missed Major Carter's presence and insight. I have caught myself on several occasions seeking her whereabouts to ask her opinion."
Daniel gave Teal'c a half smile, as Jack finally spoke up.
"Uh yeah, we all miss Carter. I went to her lab earlier thinking she'd be there. Got halfway there before I remembered. She'll be ok, Carter's tough, and she's had plenty of survival training. We just have to wait." Jack thought if he said it often enough, he might start to believe it. She had managed to escape from Arden's cages after all. And she'd looked ok on that camera. Still, he wanted to be out there doing... something.
"Perhaps Major Carter will find a way to contact us again." Teal'c had every confidence in his teammate's ability to protect and defend herself, but he too longed to be out there actively looking for her. He understood the logistics of trying to find one small animal, even one with the mind of a brilliant scientist, in the large area that she could be in. As confident as he was in her abilities, Teal'c still wanted to be doing something to aid in her speedy and safe return.
"Yeah, maybe she'll find another phone or something." Daniel realized he had been throwing himself into the translations for lack of anything else to do. He longed to be out looking for Sam too, but he knew how fruitless searching without an idea of where she was would be. Perhaps he'd have the translation cracked by the time Sam found her way back to them, and they could prevent the problem from happening again. Daniel believed the machine would reverse the transformation. It had to. He didn't want to face the possibility that despite everything Sam had gone through, that they wouldn't be able to reverse the change.
As if sensing his thoughts, Jack spoke. "She'll get back to us Danny. And you'll have that doohickey all figured out and ready to go when she gets here."
The group fell silent, and finished their meal, each lost in their own thoughts, all wondering what Sam Carter was up to, and each of them hoping that she was safely on her way home, while wishing in their own way, that they could bring her back right now.
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At that moment, not even Sam Carter knew where she was. She'd awakened, unsure as to how long she'd been unconscious, the vibrations of the truck confirming it was moving. A weight was settled across most of her body, leaving only her head and front legs free. Groggy, sore, and dazed, Sam had been unable to extricate herself. She'd tried to stay awake, worried about a concussion, but had eventually given into sleep.
She'd awakened again; the full darkness telling her it was night. Sam grew worried. It had been evening at the time of the accident and they'd been very close to Topeka. She had no idea how long she'd been unconscious, and for how long she'd slept afterwards, pinned under the box.
Still sore, and a little disoriented, Sam felt a little more refreshed from the sleep. Cautiously, she wriggled a little, and stretched, moving each of her legs and her tail. When each extremity responded, with just a little twinge from her back right leg, Sam gained confidence. Wriggling a little more, Sam breathed a sigh of relief when she was able to do so, and the box didn't shift. It must have moved a little while she'd slept, she surmised.
Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, and nor did she want the box to shift again making it impossible to extract herself, Sam searched in front of her for something to gain leverage. Spotting a floorboard just in front of her that stuck up a little bit, Sam twisted and stretched, digging her claws into the wood and pulling. Her back feet scrabbled for purchase, her claws again handy in gaining a good grip. Too bad humans didn't have claws, Sam thought distractedly. She pulled herself inch-by-inch, moving quickly forward and pulling her tail out hastily behind her, just in case. Glad to be free, Sam turned around to survey her former impromptu prison.
She'd gotten out not a moment too soon, in seemed, when she lurched suddenly to the side after the truck hit a particularly large bump. The box that was now in front of her shifted, and settled to the floor of the truck with a large thump. Sam blinked, staring in shock. Mere moments, and she could have been a cat pancake. She was amazed the box hadn't flattened her when it hit her.
Sam shook herself from her thoughts, taking a moment to again survey for any new injuries, stretching and arching her back and limbs. Aside from a few new aches and twinges from new bruises, she didn't think anything was broken. She'd been lucky, that box could have easily killed her from the look of it and the thump that betrayed how heavy it really was.
After taking stock of her situation, Sam looked about for a new vantage point. She needed to see the road signs and figure out how long she'd been unconscious. Moving cautiously between the stacks of machinery and boxes, Sam spotted a likely place, not far from her original vantage point.
Jumping lightly onto her chosen perch, Sam peered under the edge of the canvas. At least it had stopped raining, she noted to herself, as she peered into the darkness, searching for road signs. The sick feeling of dread built as she noted the lack of traffic, and the darkness of the hour. The first of the mile markers only added to the pit in her stomach, as it indicated she was on I-35, and heading south. South wasn't right, and she wasn't even sure where I-35 was.
After another ten or fifteen minutes, her worries were all confirmed, when she saw a sign that read "Oklahoma City, 75 miles". Sam realized suddenly, she wasn't in Kansas anymore.
A/N: I'm so mean to poor Sam aren't I?
PS, my kittens are turning into hoodlums, they drag my shoes and slippers out from under my bed, scatter my bills off my desk, knock everything down that they can, keep turning on the caps lock, and they've just discovered trashcan diving. Yesterday, they ripped the antenna wire from my stereo into ittle bitty pieces, and knocked a plant down. They pulled a lamp down a few days before, scaring themselves silly for an hour. They don't seem to like it when I sleep either, so they like to wake me by purring on my chest and licking my face or nibbling on my nose or hair. It was cute the first night, but I'm getting sleep deprived. Hey, anybody want some kittens lol. Free.