Sam was in trouble. The pain that she'd been feeling almost non-stop since she'd been goaded into wakefulness wasn't fading as she'd assumed it would. The back pains had grown steadily worse. So much so that she was having trouble collecting her thoughts or paying attention to what was being said around her. She could hear Ian talking – and swearing – but she couldn't concentrate enough on what was being said to tell him to stop annoying the Goa'uld. Something was definitely not right – inside and out – but she could only think about the inside just then. The outside she'd have to leave to Ian for now, because she couldn't handle both and she just couldn't ignore the inside.

The pains – and for the first time, the word contraction came into her mind with startling and terrifying clarity – weren't just in her back anymore. They were still there, too, but now they'd moved around towards her lower abdomen, and try as she might, she couldn't get them to stop.

She couldn't be in labor, she told herself – although she didn't say anything aloud and was trying as hard as she could to hide her distress. It was too soon. She wasn't due until May. But the aches were regular, and Sam had read up on the symptoms of labor so she'd know what to expect, and it certainly seemed like it might be what she was feeling. Her throat and mouth were dry with fear.

"Here, Sam…"

A canteen was held against her lips, and she turned her head, afraid that the Goa'uld was trying to give her something to make her talk or worse.

"Sam…" She saw Ian holding the container, his dark eyes worried and holding just a hint of barely controlled panic. "Take a drink. It's safe. He won't do anything to hurt you, I promise."

She took a drink. She needed the moisture in her mouth and knew she'd just have to trust him. As she sipped it, she felt something warm coming around her and realized it was a blanket. How had he managed to convince a Goa'uld to give her a blanket?

"Is it the baby?" He asked her, placing his hand lightly on her stomach – something he'd never done before.

She looked over and saw that Cato was pushing buttons against the panel near the ramp, obviously trying to make the controls work and having no luck, and nodded, slightly.

Oh, fuck. Ian glanced over at Cato, and saw he wasn't paying attention, and then looked back at Sam, fighting down panic – again. Was she in labor? She wasn't due for months still – a couple of them, anyways. Or was there something wrong with the baby? Something caused by the explosion that had knocked her out…?

There was a way he could find out. The memories were really coming to him, now, and while he wasn't an Ancient, he knew what they knew – somewhat – and he knew how to do things that they'd been able to do.

He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on the life he could feel under his palm. Amazingly, he could feel the baby there, and felt the way the baby was moving, readying himself for delivery. He wasn't in distress, not really – he was just ready to come out, the early delivery triggered by the rough treatment Sam had experienced and stress of the situation.

Still searching, Ian checked Sam out as well as the baby, and found that there was really very little wrong with her. He couldn't do anything about the contractions – that was natural pain and nothing he could help – but he did find the sore spot inside her from the slight concussion she'd received, and he eased that ache, helping her clear her head a little. It wasn't much, but it was all he could do – and even that made him feel tired, because he knew healing energy he was giving her was being taken from him. But it wasn't something he'd deny her if she needed it.

He opened his eyes and looked at her again, noticing that the lines of pain were still there, but that she was watching him, her blue eyes frightened, but questioning as well.

"We've got to get out of here…" He told her, softly, his hand sliding along her leg for her boot, his actions hidden from Cato by his own body kneeling near her and by the voluminous blanket that she was wrapped in. "Just hold on, okay?"

She nodded, and hoped he wasn't going to do anything stupid, even as she felt him take the small knife out of the hidden sheath in her boot. The knife Jack had insisted she take along, even though there wasn't any way she'd ever be able to reach down for it in the event of an emergency. Before she could warn him against just that, though, there was another pain – a sharp one that actually forced a gasp of distress from her.

Cato looked over at the noise and frowned. What was wrong with her? He knew she was pregnant – Jacob Carter had talked of almost nothing but the baby she was carrying – but he'd been under the impression that she wasn't due to deliver the child for quite a while still. That was one of the reasons he'd put his plan into motion so quickly, because he'd been told she was the one person who might be able to fix the alien technology – if they could convince her to come.

The boy came over to him, his expression no longer arrogant – which made Cato worry that something serious was wrong with the woman. Ironic that he wanted to see the arrogant sneer now, when before he'd wanted nothing more than to wipe it off his face.

"What is wrong with her?" He demanded when the boy approached.

"She's in pain," Ian said, bringing his left hand up to wipe the blood he could feel drying on the side of his head – it was tickling his ear. "You and your buddies were too rough with her and it's affecting the baby…"

Despite himself, the Goa'uld's gaze followed the hand Ian lifted to wipe his head, which was exactly what Ian had intended. It was a trick Bra'tac had taught him; a means of distracting anyone – because no one could help but look and see what was being wiped off.

"They were gentle with her," Cato retorted. "It is the weakness of the Tau'ri fe-"

The last word ended in a gurgle as Ian launched his attack and brought his other hand up, the dagger flat against his palm until the last possible second, and then it was in his hand, the razor sharp edge slicing through Cato's unprotected neck. Blood gushed – an amazing amount of blood – and Ian hurriedly shoved the Goa'uld out the back of the ship, the already dead corpse tumbling off the side of the ramp and to the floor.

With one bloody hand, Ian slapped the control on the panel, closing the ramp and activating the shields of the Gateship before the stunned Jaffa could even realize what had happened and react. The ramp came up, sealing Ian and Sam inside, and he hobbled quickly back to the control area, to slide into the pilot's seat.

Even as he approached once more, the ship came to life around him, reacting to his needs almost before he could think of them. A heads-up display appeared in front of him and Sam, the scanners of the Gateship already taking in the area and bringing him up a 3-D representation of what was around them.

Ian hadn't realized they were in a ship. He'd thought they were on the ground in a cavern or a large building or something.

"Shit."

Sam looked over at him, stunned as well by the blood all over him and the urgency in his voice.

"What?"

"We're going to have to fly out of here…"

She looked at the heads-up display as well, the shock overriding the pain she'd been feeling and forcing back her own fears.

"We're on a ship…"

"We're on a ship on a ship," Ian said, reaching for the controls and hoping the ship would be able to help him.

"What are-"

They could see the wall falling lower as the ship rose in the air, and Ian took a deep breath, palming the firing controls and looking at the heads-up display once more. He knew the weaponry on the Gateship – somewhat – but he didn't know anything about the Goa'uld ship they were in the belly of and he didn't know what it was made out of. He didn't know if he could blow their way out of there or not, and he'd just taken a huge risk with a life he had no business endangering.

"Hold on, Sam…"

God, he hated flying…

Toggling the fire controls, and ignoring the thumps that were caused by the Jaffa shooting their staff weapons against the shielded Gateship, Ian gave the main weapon time to energize, and pressed the firing button.