Thanks for the comments guys; Keep 'em coming!

Specially for you Jennyvre – hope you're still hanging in there.

SLEEPING BEAUTY.

by LetitiaRichards

Previously:

The Master sat on his throne and watched the monitors lined up against the wall. Each one had a been connected to a camera and was recording the four team-members as they lay asleep or unconscious.

Chapter 4

Jack groaned as he roused from his unconscious state. It took a few moments to overcome the nausea in order to move, and when he did he almost regretted it. It hurt. His back, he acknowledged inwardly, must be a mass of bruises. His head hurt too. 'Boy, I must have hit that wall hard,' he grimaced. When he felt able, he rolled onto his knees, cursing at the tenderness throughout his body and gingerly climbed to his feet.

He leaned against the wall until the world stopped spinning, trying to take deep breaths, squeezing his eyes shut tight against the headache. After a few moments he opened them again as the room settled down to a slight blurry image. Blinking away the fog in his brain, the fuzzy images cleared and his mouth fell open in shocked awe when he took in the sight of Major Carter's inert form.

Somehow, she had changed. She now wore a long flowing gown of the prettiest blue he'd ever seen and knew it would match her eyes if they were open, and she was now lying elegantly supine on the bed, just as if she were asleep. He blinked again. He had never seen her look so lovely before. Yes, she was a beautiful woman, even dressed in BDUs and brandishing a P-90 she had an air of grace about her. Here, she looked just perfect.

He'd loved her for a long time from a distance; he couldn't allow himself to get any closer, not with the regulations standing between them. But to see her like this made his heart flutter and he felt totally overwhelmed by her beauty. He staggered a few steps intending to go to her, his back screaming in pain at him with every footstep. He tentatively approached the bed, wondering if the force field was still there preventing him from reaching her.

With his hand out in front seeking any unwelcome contact, his steps drew him closer to the lovely vision lying on the bed. He met no resistance on the way and now stood looking down on his 2IC in complete wonder.

"Carter!" he called softly, but there was no response, so he cleared his throat and tried again only louder this time.

He began to question what was happening to them. Why was she here like this? Who had changed her clothes? Who had lain her on the bed? Why had they prevented him from reaching her before? There were so many questions and far too few answers.

He pressed the button on his radio.

"Daniel?"

The radio hissed at him but no reply came back.

"Daniel!"

There was nothing but static again. He was growing more concerned now.

"Damnit Daniel! Answer me will ya!" he demanded practically shouting at his friend, but still there was no response. "Teal'c!"

Nothing.

He cursed as a feeling of helplessness came over him. He was hurting, Sam was unconscious and Daniel and Teal'c weren't answering their radios; all of which made him a very unhappy camper.

"Carter!" he tried again to wake her. He eased his stiffening body down to sit on the edge of the bed, but even this action failed to rouse her. Reaching out a hand he placed it on her shoulder and shook her gently. "Carter! Wake up!" His shaking of her became rougher, more desperate. "That's an order Carter!" he yelled. "Stand by your bed soldier!"

Still she slept on peacefully; undisturbed by his yells of concern and frustration.

He scrubbed a hand through his hair and over his face wondering what to do now. Perhaps seeing as this force field was down maybe the others were as well. He climbed painfully to his feet again, stretching the muscles in his back gently and walked back to the doorway. He tentatively poked the area in front of him and discovered that he was right. He could now leave the room. He picked up his pack from where he had dropped it on entering the room earlier and strapped it to his sore back. The weight from it alone made him wince but he couldn't afford to give in to the pain now. He had a job to do and his colleagues needed him.

Turning back one more time to look over at his subordinate he sighed with regret and then stepped out onto the stairway and began his descent. The crackle of the force field springing back into place behind him had him almost panicking. He reached out and could feel the air buzzing in front of him. He gently touched it and a myriad of bright sparks shattered under his touch, showing him he was now cut off from the Major. He cursed loudly again; he was now on his own, cut off from her, his friends and the Stargate. His only option now was to try and seek the answer to this very strange puzzle and hope that he could manage it before they all perished.

Every step down the spiral staircase was agony. Fire raced up his spine from the contact of foot to floor. He tried his best to ignore it but it was taking a great deal of effort just to keep going.

Down and down he went, round and round, until he eventually came to the bottom and he stood for a moment breathing slowly to quell his aching muscles and fight back the dizziness from so many turns on the way down. He snatched his pack from his back and delved into its interior seeking out the pain meds he carried for just such occasions. He swallowed a couple and downed them with a mouthful of water from his canteen, hoping to ease the headache and the pain in his back.

Securing his pack again he set off in search of the others.

He recalled the conversation with Daniel about it being a different tower, but he couldn't see any other towers in the middle of the castle, just the one he'd come from.

He searched high and low but couldn't find the missing members of his team anywhere. Deciding, after the umpteenth time of trying to get back to Carter and failing, that the best thing he could do was to go back to the Stargate and get some help.

He hurried off to the main gates of the castle but discovered to his detriment that the force field was still very firmly in place.

He picked himself up off the ground, feeling more tender spots on his anatomy than ever, and stood looking round for some indication as to where they could be.

Had he searched everywhere? He began to wonder. Was there anywhere that he'd missed? Questions and more questions crowded his mind but not one to prevaricate on his duty, he set off in search once more, hoping to find some answers.

The Master flicked a switch and changed the layout of the castle again, revealing new buildings and hiding some of the old ones. He was enjoying this game immensely. Seeing Jack O'Neill running round in circles was most amusing. Still, as much as he was loving to see the Tau'ri warrior at his wits end, he reluctantly left a little clue for him for when the Colonel would pass by the next time.

Jack couldn't believe his eyes. He rubbed at them and wondered if he had a concussion because he was so certain that the buildings in front of him had changed. He took a slow 360 degree turn and knew he was right.

Someone, somewhere was playing games with him and he wasn't amused.

TBC