Chapter Two

Senator John Richmond scrutinised the scene he'd walked in on and was none too happy with his conclusions. His wife's skirt was crumpled and there was lipstick on Doctor Jackson's cheek. While Richmond didn't hold fidelity to be a high virtue in himself, he expected it in his wife. That was just the way things were. And she was looking very guilty right now. Her, and her long-time friend and colleague who John didn't recall being told was so good-looking. Something his wife deliberately didn't mention, most likely.

Beside him, Daniel could feel Samantha trembling. She was frightened. Previously he'd thought her self esteem was low from his womanising, which was a bad enough problem in itself, but to look at her now – he swallowed, feeling afraid for her. John Richmond was looking amicable enough, but Daniel had met enough politicians to know they could put on a good show.

His instinct was to draw Samantha close to him, to put himself between her and her husband. He knew that would only make things worse, so he restrained himself. " You must be Senator Richmond, " Daniel said as evenly as he could. Was he imagining things, or did he sound guilty?

He sounds guilty, Richmond thought. And so he should be, playing around with another man's wife. Richmond conveniently forgot all the wives he'd played around with – neglected housewives were always so grateful, they'd do anything. But that wasn't the point. Samantha Richmond was off limits.

" And you must be… I'm sorry, I forgot your name, " Richmond said smugly, reminded Daniel of the ladder of importance in Washington. Daniel might be wonder boy in the archaeology community, in Washington he was next to nobody, a minor celebrity, no-one important.

" Doctor Daniel Jackson, " Daniel said, stepping forward to offer hid hand.

Richmond didn't take it. " A doctor? " he asked. " I thought you dug stuff up. "

Daniel's cheeks flushed with anger. There were two things that really pissed him off about outsider's assumptions of his profession, and Richmond had just hit on them both. One was the assumption that he 'dug things up' like a kid in a sandpit, and the other was that an honorary doctorate wasn't the same as being a real doctor. It took a hell of a lot of work to get a doctorate, medical or not. " I have doctorates in Ancient Languages and Egyptology, " he said stiffly.

Beside him, Samantha cringed. She knew exactly what her husband was doing – he had done it to her plenty of times. He was condescending Daniel in a way that was brutal yet difficult to strike back from.

Richmond gave a condescending smile. " So you're not a real doctor, then? " he said.

" Not in the sense that I don't practise medicine, " Daniel said, even stiffer then before. It was a common enough assumption that people made in ignorance, but Richmond was seriously pushing his buttons. What had Samantha ever seen in him?

Richmond didn't say anything, but he stepped back from Daniel, satisfied he'd put the man in his place. " Samantha, " he said, his voice soft but commanding. " I finished up in New York early and I thought I'd drop by and see how things were going. " He made a slight gesture that Samantha knew meant he wanted her at his side – not Daniel's.

Daniel's thoughts were so strong she could almost hear them : Stay. You don't have to leave with him. I'll take care of you. But she couldn't throw in her life with John – and Jacob – because of a little chemistry she shared with an old lover.

Resolutely, she stepped to her husband's side. His arm snaked possessively around her, pressing painfully against the marks on her back his belt had left three days ago. He felt her flinch, and smiled to himself. She would get what she deserved for this little indiscretion.

" I see no reason to waste any more time here, " Richmond said haughtily, making it clear he considered Daniel miles beneath him. " Let's go home, Samantha. " It was an order, not a suggestion.

" It was good to see you again, Sam, " Daniel said, making direct eye contact with Samantha. She was visibly scared and his heart broke. But what could he do for her? She wouldn't leave him. " If you need anything – " he started.

" I'm sure I can provide it, " Richmond finished coolly. " I am, after all, her husband. I think I rank a little higher then an archaeologist. " And with that, he steered Samantha out the door, leaving Daniel to rage at the injustice of the situation.

He wondered how much Richmond had seen and chastised himself for not insisting Samantha stayed. He should have made up an excuse for needing her alone. Like what? Like he was going to let her leave his side, possessive bastard. What was good for the gander was obviously wasn't good for the goose.

Sam, I'm sorry, he mentally addressed her. I'm sorry I started anything, I'm sorry I couldn't help you. He hoped John would go easy on her. It wasn't her fault. He should have just kept his hands to himself. Hadn't she made her decision clear?

Trying to forget what had just transpired, Daniel left the office, left the building, planning to stay in the States for as little as possible. There was nothing here for him now – except Samantha, and she had made her decision, loud and clear. He wished there was more he could do to help her, but he couldn't. He only hoped she knew if she wanted him at all, even if just as a friend, she only had to find him. He would always be there for her – but she had to make that decision for herself.

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" You slut, you fucking whore, " Richmond screamed at his helpless wife. " I leave you alone for a few days come back to find you whoring around! "

" John… please… " Samantha begged. Her plea was cut off by a scream when her husband's belt hit her back, aggravating the healing wounds that were there from his previous assault. " Please don't do this. "

" Do what? " Richmond screamed, his face red with fury. " You humiliated me, Samantha. Do you know what could have happened if someone else had caught you? It could have made the papers – Senator's Wife Screwing Around. "

As opposed to the Senator screwing around, Samantha thought. She didn't dare voice her thoughts.

" We didn't do anything, " Samantha whimpered, regretting those few stolen moments with Daniel. In his arms, everything had been perfect. But there was a price for everything, and this was it.

" Only because I came along, " Richmond challenged. Samantha didn't say anything. It was true. If John hadn't come along she would have let Daniel take her on her desk – and she would have loved every minute of it. Even now, she felt a tingle through her body at the memory of Daniel's touch.

Richmond seemed to sense his wife's thoughts were with another man, and he brought his belt down harshly, making her scream again. Good, he thought maliciously. That will teach her to behave like my wife. It was a constantly source of irritation to Richmond that Samantha didn't act like the proper wife – she wasn't a terrific cook, she wasn't effortless graceful in an evening gown, and apart from Jacob, she hadn't born him any children.

Thinking resentfully about his only child, Richmond took great satisfaction in bringing down his belt again with great force. It was only a pity he couldn't divorce her, but that would look bad. He lashed his belt again.

Samantha wasn't screaming any more, only crying. He enjoyed breaking her ; she was too strong-willed. She needed to act more like a woman.

A few extra lashes of his belt, and Richmond discarded the object. He pulled Samantha to her feet and flung her against the wall. She collapsed. He lifted her up and slapped her heart, then punched her. He usually didn't mar her lovely face – that part of her body was so much harder to hide then her back and legs – but now she had really invoked his fury. Play around on him. No woman played around on him. He didn't take it from his mistresses, why should he take it from his wife?

A few minutes later, he looked at his wife's bruised, bleeding face with some degree of satisfaction. No man would look at her twice now.

He threw her on the bed and took great delight in her whimpers of protest. She knew what was coming. She knew he was going to prove he was her husband.

She no longer fought him, which John was pleased and a little disappointed by. It had been a challenge to hold her down while he had his way with her, but then, he did like to defeat his enemy. And when his wife held out on him, she was the enemy.

She shuddered when Richmond penetrated her. She was bone dry, and it created a lot of resistance. Richmond quite enjoyed the sensation. It made her feel tight, like a virgin. He wondered how many men his wife had been with, and thrust deeply – eliciting a groan of pain from her – enjoying the feeling of conquering his wife. She would never look twice at another man again.

When he was finished, he left without saying anything. He had nothing to say to her. He hoped he had learned her lesson. He smiled contemptuously to herself. No man would look at her twice now. Certainly not that pretty boy archaeologist of hers. Certainly not him. Richmond thought about his pretty young mistress in New York. He'd go back there to see her. She was certainly more exciting in bed then Samantha was.

Samantha had proven to be quite the disappointment. When he'd married her, he'd expected her to be a fertile wife, provide him with lots of sons to carry on his name. Just having Jacob didn't sit well with him, especially since he looked so much like Samantha.

And she'd proven to be a bad wife too. She didn't know how to network, didn't know how to be feminine. Al that military training had ruined her. Richmond had always thought women in the military was a bad idea. Samantha was proof of that.

Of course, divorce wasn't an option. The Richmonds didn't divorce, his parents and brother would be scandalised. Pity…

After John had left, Samantha sobbed hard for an hour. John had beaten her and raped her before, but never as brutally as this. And he had never touched her face – he knew the value of having a wife who appeared to be happy. Wife-beating didn't go down well in public circles.

Obviously, his feelings about her value to him were changing for the worse.

After an hour, Samantha got up and looked at herself in the mirror. She could barely see out of both eyes, but what she could see wasn't pretty. Her face was swollen and bruised hideously. Her lip was split in two places. She touched her face gingerly. Nothing seemed to be broken, just badly shaken up. She started to cry again. She looked awful. John had really had it in for her.

Obviously, he didn't anticipate needing her in the next few weeks. Samantha didn't know weather to be relieved or not.

Over and over a thought came back to her – John had never treated her so brutally before, and he hadn't never left wounds that couldn't be hidden by clothes. Obviously, he felt he didn't need her anymore. Maybe he felt he'd be better off with a younger, more fertile wife…

But the Richmonds didn't believe in divorce. Like Katherine of Aragon, he was stuck with her.

Or things would just escalate until he killed her.

Samantha's blood ran cold at the thought. But she knew John was capable of it. She knew things could quite easily get worse and worse until one day the blows were just too much. Hadn't things already progressed from a happy marriage to one full of infidelity to one where the only time her husband touched her was when he was beating her or raping her?

John Richmond could quite easily kill her, weather by accident or deliberately. And Samantha wouldn't put it past him to kill her if he was desperate.

Samantha thought about who she could go to. Not her family – her father, Jacob, had been dead for years, since before her marriage. Her brother Mark she was barely on speaking terms with. He wouldn't appreciate having this foistered on him.

John's family – an even worse idea. His brother, Peter, was almost as cruel and Chauvinistic as John was. And his mother, Adele, lived in a constant state of denial. The Richmonds were Old Money and they didn't Divorce. Adele was quite capable of seeing her daughter-in-law's battered face and see it as a clear, happy face.

Her friends – what friends? The true friends she'd had from her Stargate Command days had long since drifted away, unable to tolerate the pretensions of politics. And she had never bothered to make friends in the political scene. She found the wives of politicians airheaded and pretentious, and the female politicians as ruthless as their male counterparts. Much to John's chagrin, she had never networked in the way he had wanted her to. No, friends were out.

A woman's shelter? John would find her wherever she went, and kill her for bringing scandal to the Richmond name. In fact, anywhere she went in the United States John would find her. He had contacts everywhere. He would never let her leave, especially with their son.

Their son… Something that had remained at the back of Samantha's mind. Something she had constantly pushed to the back of her consciousness, but was coming to the forefront in full force.

Five years ago, when Jacob had been four, John had taken him to a family do to show off his strapping young son, even one that looked like a Carter. He had gotten thoroughly drunk, and crashed into a tree on the way home. The passenger's seat had taken the brunt of the crash, so while John had walked away with barely a scratch, Jacob had been in critical condition and needed a massive blood transfusion.

She and John were both AB blood types, so it stood to reason that Jacob should have been AB too. Samantha had told herself that for four years, put it on all his medical forms along with her and John's blood types, and convinced herself that it was true.

Until a doctor had corned her, rather embarrassed, and said there had been a mistake. Jacob was AO.

Until that moment Samantha was unaware of her acting abilities. She had given the doctor a puzzled smile and explained the mistake was that she was AO. Perhaps there had been a mistake with the family physician who had declared Jacob to be AB, but if he was AO, he had gotten it from his mother. The doctor had seemed satisfied with this answer, and left it at that.

Samantha Carter was AB. John Richmond was AB. There was no way they could have a son who was not AB.

Except Daniel Jackson, in keeping with his various health problems, was OO. She remembered Janet joking that it was typical of Daniel to have a blood type that could only receive from itself.

For Jacob to have a blood type of AO, he had to have a parent who had an A blood type, and a parent who had an O blood type.

The cold, scientific fact had made Samantha cold with fear. Statistically, it was highly probably that John was Jacob's father. She'd spent one night with Daniel and many nights with John. John had to be Jacob's father.

She'd done her best to push the episode from her mind, and mostly succeeded. But now, in her moment of desperation, it was coming back to her, reminding her of her best option.

Daniel would help her. Samantha knew Daniel would help her. She had walked away from him that afternoon, but in her heart she had faith that he would accept her when she needed him.

For the first time in years, she felt a smidgen of hope in her heart. Egypt was a long way from America, and Daniel had a lot of support there. Surely John wouldn't bother looking for her there.

All night, she lay awake thinking about it. It would be easy enough to leave, if she wasn't coming back. The only thing that had kept her from acting out before was knowing what John would do to her when he got her alone. But if she left when he went on one of his trips (no doubt to visit one of his many mistresses) she could be in North Africa for a week before he got back.

Money was the one thing that wasn't a problem. She had a decent amount of savings stashed away in a secret account, and she had access to the safe which kept her jewellery and a 'small' amount of money that John liked to have on hand – to the tune of a quarter of a million dollars, plus close to half a million dollars worth of jewellery. Samantha didn't feel a twinge of conscience in planning to take them. Now that she was planning her escape, she was already feeling more like her old self who wouldn't have taken this much crap from anyone. She was entitled to that money after what John had done to her, and she wouldn't ask for anything more in the divorce settlement. And the jewellery was hers, that he had given to her. She had earned it for all the political dinners she'd had to sit through. If she didn't take them, John would just give them to one of his mistresses, and damned if Samantha was going to let that happen.

As it happened, Samantha got her chance to leave much earlier then he anticipated. Two days after his latest attack, John left for New York, barely concealing his reason for going. " You leave this house and I'll kill you, " he growled. Samantha didn't doubt him. She wondered what was more worrying to him, that Samantha might go out and screw around on him, or that Samantha might go out and show Washington what Senator John Richmond, would-be President, did to his wife behind closed doors.

Not that it mattered. By the time John got back from his dalliance with his precious mistress, she would be gone.

Their passports were in order, thanks to John's love of summer if the South of France. Yeah, right. He probably has a mistress there, too. Samantha was much less bitter about it then she had been a few days ago. Then, she had been trying to save her marriage, had desperately wanted for John to give up his women. Now it didn't matter. John could have his women – he just wouldn't be having her as well.

An hour after John had left, Samantha started packing her and Jacob's bags. She packed as much as she could, knowing it would be her only opportunity, leaving all her evening gowns – John could give them to one of his mistresses for all she cared, she had hated every minute spent in one of them. What she wouldn't give to strut around again in cargo pants and combat boots.

" Where are we going, mommy? " Jacob asked plaintively. He was nine years old and knew there was serious trouble between his parents. He knew his father had done those terrible things to his mother. Make-up didn't do much to hide the cuts and bruises on her face, but they took the grotesqueness out of it.

" We're going to see an old friend of mine, " Samantha said. " We're going to Egypt – where it's nice and sunny. " That was another thing she wouldn't miss about life with John – the miserable Washington weather. The city had started out life as a swamp, and never rising much above that. Goodbye and good riddance, she thought.

She noticed Jacob didn't seem to sad about leaving Washington. He hated the weather too, and he had found making friends difficult. The state of his parent's marriage had made the little boy very introverted, and he often got teased for being shy. And he was always frightened his father would turn his anger on him. John had been very focal about his disappointment in Jacob's looks ; Jacob had always felt like he'd let his father down. Samantha had never noticed it before, and she chastised herself for it. Well, she would make it up to him.

" I know you're life hasn't been great so far, " Samantha admitted. " But you're daddy and I will make it up to you. " Jacob stared at her, not entirely sure he wanted to go back to his father. He supposed he loved John, didn't all sons love their fathers? But he had never felt loved, and had often been frightened by his father who was often away. While his father was away, his mother always seemed happier, and this time she seemed especially happy. Jacob wasn't sure he wanted his mother to be sad again, even for his parents to be together.

Samantha realised how Jacob had interpreted her words. " Forget I said that, Jake, " she said. She would have to take things slowly with Jacob. She didn't know how he felt about John. It would come as a shock to him, and Samantha wasn't sure how well he would take it. Better give him time to get to know Daniel first.

Getting on the plane was easy. Samantha was worried she might be stopped and asked about her injuries, or John or one of his friends might recognise her and try to detain her, or take Jacob away. But nothing happened, beyond the nightmare security that had been in place since September 11. She and Jacob soon got on the plane, and it took off, leaving behind the United States and her sorry marriage and miserable life – for good.

Daniel, she thought, relief washing over her and the plane rose higher and higher and the United States became smaller and smaller, I'm coming.

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Daniel stared moodily at an artefact he'd discovered two days before, the day after he'd gotten back to Egypt. It had Ancient Egyptian writing on it, pretty standard stuff from someone like Daniel, but he couldn't get past the first character – and he couldn't even crack that one.

He couldn't think about anything but Samantha.

What else could I have done? He asked himself over and over. Short of killing the bastard, absolutely nothing – and killing John Richmond, as satisfying as it would have been, wouldn't have done either of them any good. Well, it would have done Samantha good – she wouldn't have been married to the bastard anymore. But there had to be a better way then Daniel spending the next twenty years in jail…

He couldn't think of it. All he couldn't think about was what Richmond would have done to Samantha as punishment for catching her with another guy. Even if Richmond hadn't witnessed his wife with her skirt hitched up and her legs wrapped around another man's waist, they must have looked pretty damned guilty when John had walked in. It wasn't like Daniel had a lot of practice at making out with married women and then acting cool in front of their husband's.

No matter that he couldn't think of anything else he could have done, he still felt guilty for abandoning Samantha. She was obviously in trouble, and his kissing her and gotten her into more. Damn it. He should have kept things professional. That could have saved her a little grief.

Once more, he tried to focus on the artefact. The character swam in front of his eyes and it may as well have been a child's scrawl for all the sense it made to him. A child's scrawl – it made him think of Jacob. Eight years ago, after he heard of the belated news that John and Samantha Richmond had given birth to a son barely nine months after their extravagant wedding, he had discretely contacted her, wanting to know the obvious.

He didn't hold it against her that she had taken a while getting back to him. At that point in time, he still resented bitterly that she had chosen John over him, but he could understand that she didn't want John to know about their passionate rendezvous the night before the wedding. She had told him, without hesitation, that she had already perused that avenue and John was Jacob's father. Daniel had no reason to contact either her or her son.

He had been more disappointed then he had expected to be – after all, it had been a one-night stand, a mistake – she had proven that when she married Richmond – but had put it behind him. Or tried to. He kept up with Samantha, and every so often couldn't help but wishing Jacob had been his son. How different all their lives might have been then.

He sighed. The past was the past. Samantha had made her decision, and they'd both moved on, after a fashion. If he didn't get a move on with this artefact, he'd lose his wonderboy status. He tried to concentrate.

There was a discreet knock on the door of his caravan. It was Ashly, a beautiful young women who acted as an assistant and go-between on the digs. She was an intelligent woman who would soon graduate to working on the digs. She adored Daniel, and the two had been lovers on and off for three years. He knew she wanted more commitment from him, and he wished he could give it to her. Maybe in another year or two.

" There's someone hear to see you, Doctor Jackson. I told them to go away – " even some as 'geeky' as archaeology attracted its groupies, and someone as well-known and good-looking as Daniel attracted more then his fair share, although he had to integrity to turn them all away " – but she insisted you'd want to see her. "

Daniel's heart skipped a beat. " She? " Daniel questioned.

" A woman, about your age. Long blond hair. And she had a kid with her. Guess he's her son. Said her name was – "

" Samantha Carter? " Daniel offered, his heart catching in his throat. Why the hell would she be here? Egypt was uncivilised compared to Washington. Daniel grinned wryly at that thought. Well, maybe not.

Ashly nodded, and Daniel's heart soared. He had no idea what had driven Samantha to come all this way to him, but she had. " Ash, could you do me a favour and bring her over. Ask her if she wants her son occupied – you don't mind taking him on a tour, do you? You can get anyone excited about archaeology. "

Ashly smiled as magnanimously as she could. She had been trying to make Daniel notice her in the way she wanted him to for years, and now she knew it was a lost cause. " Of course. Oh, and Danny, just to warn you – she looks like she's in pretty bad shape. "

Pretty bad shape was something of an understatement. Samantha looked like death warmed up – and it was several days since Daniel had seen her in Washington. Richmond must have beaten her within an inch of her life.

Instinctively he took Samantha in his arms. The weight of her body collapsed against his. For the last two days she'd been sustaining herself on seeing Daniel ; now that he was here, she became aware of her exhaustion.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her and led her to his couch. Gone were the days when a dig was conducted out of tents ; he now had a caravan, and a pretty nice once at that. " It's OK, " he said soothingly. " I'm here. "

She wrapped her arms around his neck and cried. " He – after you saw you and I together – he – "

He stroked her hair gently. " I think I can fill in the blanks, " he said. " You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. "

Samantha didn't say anything else, although Daniel knew she'd want to talk in the future. He'd be here to listen, although he knew he wouldn't want to hear it. He felt sick to think about what Richmond had done to her. " Just one thing Sam – did he – did he rape you? "

Samantha was silent. " OK, I'll take that as a yes. " Daniel took a deep breath, trying to control the rage he felt building up inside him. He wanted to kill Richmond. To hell with the consequences, the man deserved to die for the way he'd treated Samantha. " I'm not going to press you if you don't want to talk about it, but I think it's a really good idea that you get yourself checked out. There are some great doctors here – Western doctors. Some of the women here got fed up with the attitudes of the Egyptians. So they won't treat you like you deserved it. "

Samantha pressed her cheek against Daniel's chest. She inhaled his scent. He smelled so masculine, so safe. Unconsciously she dug her fingers into the back of his skin. It hurt, but he didn't complain.

For a while he held her and she clung to him. He was mentally making plans for her, for them, when a thought occurred to him. " Sam, " he said hesitantly. " I don't know the guy very well, but I don't think Richmond's going to let you get away with this – even here. I don't think he's the kind of man who'll let you take his only child out of the country and be fine with that. "

" He won't come after me, " Samantha said, her voice muffled through his shirt.

" I think you're being a little optimistic, " Daniel said dryly. " I can imagine what his only child – " well, his only legitimate child at least " – means to a man like him. "

Samantha started crying again. " No, you don't understand, " she said. " After – after the note I left, John won't be interested in Jacob anymore. "

" What note? " Daniel asked, although that should have been obvious. " What could you possibly have said to make him not interested in his son. "

Samantha cried harder. " The truth. "

Daniel sighed. This was like pulling truth. " Which was… " he prompted.

Samantha looked up at him, her blue eyes filled with tears of shame and regret. She hadn't thought about how she was going to tell Daniel the truth, so she blurted it out.

" He's your son. "

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Senator John Richmond came home early, planning to surprise his wife. He wanted to see if she'd learned her lesson and was staying at home like a proper housewife should, or if she was meeting another lover somewhere. In which case, there'd be hell to pay…

She wasn't at home, and his fury mounted. He should have killed her the last time. Sluts like her didn't deserve to live.

Then he realised that her clothes were gone – except the most formal ones – everything she values was gone – she had emptied the contents of the safe – and his son was gone. Bitch! She would pay for that. Oh, she would pay for that dearly.

And the he found the note she had left.

Dear John,

By the time you get this I will be long gone. You are a bastard and a bully and your mistresses can have you. Don't bother trying to find us, I will never come back to you. You needn't waste your time looking for Jacob, either, because he's not your son. I had a one-night stand the night before our wedding and I'm relieved to know he's the rather because Jacob is the only tie you have to me, and now you don't have that.

Samantha.

John crumpled up the note, his fury rising until he felt like he would burst. Bitch! Slut! Whore! No wonder Jacob didn't look like him. She would pay for this. She would pay for humiliating him like this.

He would kill her, and that bastard she tried to palm off as his.