Amends -Chapter 9-

It felt like it had been hours since the Jaffa had taken Jack and the hole tome, Sam had been sitting there, nervously chewing on her lip. At one point, she'd accidentally opened the cut again.

She was so bored, that she dismissed the sound of footsteps, thinking that it was just her imagination. The door slid open and she jumped up in surprise. Two Jaffa were dragging a barely conscious O'Neill into the room.

Sam rushed over and helped him over to a seat. He had no visible injuries, which was a relief.

"You will come with us now."

Sam spun around at the sound of the Jaffa's gruff voice. She really had no choice, but to go with them. So she begrudgingly followed them out of the cell.

When Jack woke, the first thing he noticed was that Sam was missing. He barely remembered being dragged back to the cell, and Sam leaving after him. It could have been hours, or just minutes since that had happened, he didn't know.

Groggily, he sat up, and he instantly wished he hadn't. His whole body screamed in pain; a subtle reminder that he'd just been tortured. Jack groaned as he remembered the endless questions that Ba'al had asked him, and that stupid stick that he'd been prodded with. Yet Jack knew that it was nothing compared to what was coming. Ba'al was just warming up and it would get considerably worse when they got back to his fortress. He just hoped that they would be able to find a way off the ship before it came to that.

The door once again slid open and two Jaffa walked in. They weren't the usual Jaffa who had come to get him earlier, and this time one of them was holding a bowl of water, which he handed to Jack.

"Well, you're not the usual welcoming party."

"We are with the Tok'ra." One of them spoke quietly. The other left, to stand guard in the hallway.

"It's about time!" Jack said as relief washed over him. The odds of escaping had just improved considerably.

"I am sorry, we could not come to you until now. We can help you escape, but not until tomorrow. Ba'al is sending some Jaffa to the planet, and that will be the opportune time for you to escape."

"We have to wait another day?"

"I am sorry." The Jaffa nodded to the water. "Please, save some for your companion, we will not be able to bring you more. We will return tomorrow to free you."

He turned and left the cell as jack called out a "Thank you". He greedily drank the water, but had to forcibly stop himself so there was enough left for Sam.

So they had to wait another 24 hours before they could escape. That would give them enough time to rest, providing they weren't tortured again. Hopefully Ba'al will be too busy with whatever will be going on, on the planet.

The pain wouldn't end as Ba'al continually prodded her with the Goa'uld torture device. The questions were endless; "How do you open Earth's iris?" "Where is the Tok'ra homeworld?" but Sam kept her mouth shut. Her arms were chained to the roof which was the only thing left holding her upright. Slowly, Ba'al's words seemed to melt together as her body began slipping into unconsciousness, until a single sentence flated clearly into her mind.

"Where is Daniel Jackson? He did not accompany you onto the planet."

Sam's eyes focused on the Goa'uld before her, and she said with as much energy as she could muster, "Go to hell!"

Ba'al grinned and repeated his question, "Where is Daniel Jackosn?"

Sam closed her eyes and reverted back to silence.

"Where is Daniel Jackson!" Her captor yelled. When she didn't reply, Ba'al pushed the device to her stomach and she threw her head back, screaming in pain. Her whole body felt like a fire was raging inside.

When he pulled it away again, her head lulled forward and she slipped into darkness.

Sam was barely aware of being hauled back to the cell. She tried to open her eyes, but they were so heavy, and she didn't have the energy.

Water was pressed to her lips, and she greedily tried to swallow as much as she could. All too soon, the water was taken away. She felt herself beginning to fade away again as she felt a hand lightly stroking her forehead, and hushed words being spoken to her which she couldn't understand. She tried to listen, but her body objected as she fell unconscious once again.

"Jacob Carter, would you like me to fly this vessel so that you may rest?" Teal'c asked Jacob from the seat next to him.

"That's ok, Teal'c." He replied without shifting his vision.

"You have not rested since our departure. Should you not be well rested for when we arrive?"

"I'll be fine."

"Jacob Carter, you will be of no use to Major Carter or Colonel O'Neill if you are not at your best." Teal'c insisted.

Jacob finally looked at the Jaffa sitting next to him, and nodded in defeat. "Ok, but only for a little while." He stood and Teal'c took his seat.

In the Ring Room, Jonas was fast asleep in his sleeping bag on the floor. He even had a smile on his face when he was sleeping!

Truth was, Jacob was really tired, but he wasn't sure if he could sleep. He wanted to be driving the ship, despite his exhaustion. It felt like that if he slept, somehow they would be moving nowhere. It was crazy, he knew, but he felt like he was doing absolutely nothing to help his daughter.

Teal'c had been right though. He would be of no use to Sam if he was exhausted. Selmak had been trying to tell him that for several hours now, but Jacob had refused to listen to his symbiote.

Jacob settled down as Selmak reassured him that when he woke, they'd be closer to their destination.

"General Hammond, Sir, there's no sign of Alexis."

Hammond sighed as the Colonel's words echoed through the Control Room. He'd reassured Alexis that he would be ok, and now another person was missing. Although Alexis wasn't one of his men, he still felt like he'd failed one of his own.

"Would you like us to stay a little longer, Sir?"

"No, it's been several hours now, Colonel. I don't think he'll be coming back. Return through the 'gate."

"Yes, Sir."

"Open the iris, Sergeant." Hammond ordered Walter before he somberly left the Control Room."

When Sam finally woke, her whole body ached. She shifted her head to look for Jack, and found him seated by her head. He was asleep with his head rested on his shoulder which, she knew, would probably cause him a bit of a neck ache when he wakes up.

"Sir," her voice was raspy, and she instantly broke into a coughing fit.

The coughing broke Jack from his sleep, and he quickly grabbed the bowl of water. He ignored the painful crick in his neck as he lifted her head to help her swallow the remaining water.

Her coughing subsided, and she thanked him as she sat up. "I didn't tell him anything." She reassured him.

"I know." He hadn't expected anything else. "Some Tok'ra came while you were gone. They're going to get us out of here in about a few hours now."

Sam nodded wearily. The news was good, but she didn't have the energy to show it.

"So you'd better get your strength up." She nodded again. Jack frowned and tilted his head. "Come here." He put his arm around her and pulled her towards him.

Sam complied as she leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. Her eyes closed and her body relaxed. She slowly drifted into sleep once more.

Jack couldn't sleep. Not with Sam Carter asleep on her shoulder. He was more than tempted to rest his head on hers, but they were already way past his physical Sam boundaries.

Jack let his head fall back onto the wall. A faint sound in the distance echoed in his ears and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Not again! It was too early for the Rebel Jaffa to be coming for them, and there was only one other reason Jack could think of why someone was coming to their cell.

The door opening brought Sam out of her sleep. Jack got to his feet to face the guards. Three Jaffa pushed a young man into the cell with them.

The man's face lit up with pure relief at the sight of Jack. "Colonel O'Neill!"

Jack's eyes widened in shock as he looked at their new cell mate. "Alexis!"


A/N: Agh! So sorry this one took forever! I've been sick and I'll still sick! But hopefully this one was ok, next chapter should be longer. Reviews are greatly appreciated! Thanks everyone!