Title: Outside the Lines: Objects at Rest
Author: Annerb
Rating: Teens
Summary: How far would you go to make your world right again?
Classifications: Action/Adventure, Drama, Angst, S/J
Season: 4 (Alternative storyline for 'Chain Reaction')
Disclaimer: The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-1, the Goa'uld and all other characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. Partnership. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author.

Objects at Rest

The bench was hard beneath Sam's back, but the pain did not register. Nothing seemed to matter other than one brutal fact.

She had failed.

Samantha Carter doesn't fail. She always came through, no matter how bleak, no matter how improbable the situation. People looked to her and she came up with a brilliant fix.

It was a complete shock to her system to realize now, the time that it mattered most, that she had failed. She had no crazy solution, no daredevil antics. Just a silent cell phone and a hard wooden bench beneath her immobile form.

She had dialed every one of Daniel's numbers frantically, realizing that if the NID was on to her, then Daniel was in danger. She had heard nothing but endless ringing and the cheery sound of Daniel's voice on his message machine. Finally, in a fit of desperation she had called Janet.

"Sam? Sam, is that you? Where have you been? We've been trying to get a hold of you!"

Her uncharacteristically shrill tone tied Sam's stomach in knots. "What's happened?" Sam asked in barely more than a rasp.

"It's Daniel… He's disappeared. We've looked everywhere, but…"

Sam sank bonelessly into a nearby bench. Not Daniel…

"His apartment was trashed," Janet continued. "Jesus, Sam. Just tell me what the hell is going on."

Sam found that she had no tears, not a single ounce of emotion left as her world finally fell into nothing more than shattered pieces at her feet.

"Listen to me, Janet," she said in a low serious voice. "You need to forget about all of this. Stop asking questions and forget you ever knew us."

Sam heard a strangled sound of protest on the other end but ignored it. "I mean it, Janet. If you love Cassie…" Sam's voice broke and she took a deep breath. "You're her mother first. You have to do this to protect her."

There was a long silence and Sam could just imagine her friend's face as she struggled between her responsibility to her child and her friends. "God, Sam…How did it come to this?"

But Sam knew exactly how it had come to this.

Hammond, Jack, Maybourne. And now all evidence pointed to Daniel.

Sam pushed to her feet and began pacing down the winding paths of the city park. There was nothing left to fight for. No more moves to make. Part of her wanted to go back to that bench and wait for the NID to finally catch up to her.

Instead, she thrust her hands into her pockets and furiously strode down the paths. It was long minutes before she realized that her fingers were absently playing with the scrap of paper she had found in Maybourne's cell.

She pulled it out, gently smoothing out the crinkled paper. One word stood out starkly against the white sheet.

Kinsey.

The word was like a bolt of lightning for Sam, galvanizing her, filling her exhausted body with energy.

Suddenly Sam's head cleared. Maybe she couldn't fix what had been done. Maybe Jack and Daniel really were dead. Maybe they had lost and the NID was now in complete control of the SGC.

But there was still one last thing Sam could do. It was a long shot. It was crazy, dangerous and probably foolhardy.

Which was exactly why it was going to work.