CHAPTER 10
Jack and Sam again stood in front of Claudio who scanned Sam with his medical device.
"This is so degrading!" Sam said out loud before she even realized it.
"Silence slave!" Claudio shouted. Then he turned to Dra'coe and said "You will have to wait a while longer before you can have her." Then to the guards he said "Take them back to their quarters."
Lo'jess and the rest of SG1 were already in the compartment when Sam and Jack arrived.
"So, where have you two been?" Daniel asked casually.
"Don't ask!" Sam snapped.
"Ok. Well, then what's for dinner?"
"Rice. Lo'jess can make it." Sam sat on the floor in the corner and buried her head in her hands.
Lo'jess silently got the bag of rice down off the shelf and poured some into the cook pot. "What happened to the water bucket?" He asked innocently when he noticed it broken into bits.
"Sam had a bad day. Just take the other bucket and go get some water." Jack ordered.
"What the hell is going on here, Jack?" Daniel wanted to know.
Sam looked up, angry tears in her eyes, "We were forced to consummate our marriage." she snapped.
"Oh, uh, well, gee I'm sorry... I guess."
An uneasy silence settled about the compartment. Lo'jess returned with the water, cooked the rice and after dinner washed the dishes. Sam refused to eat and would not move from her place on the floor.
"I will take Major Carter's watch for her." Lo'jess offered.
Sam got up from where she was sitting and said softly, "No, that's alright Lo'jess. I'm fine. You go to bed."
When everyone was settled in their racks Jack came over to talk to Sam, but before he could even sit down beside her in front of the fire she said "Sir, I'm fine. You need to sleep."
"Carter..."
"Please, Jack" she pleaded "just let me be alone for awhile."
He put his hand lightly on her shoulder. "Ok, but if you need me..."
"I'm fine." she said again.
"Don't forget to wake me for my watch." She nodded, but he knew she had no intention of waking him.
When the rest of the members of the group had fallen asleep, Teal'c got out of his bed and came to sit by Sam on the floor.
"Major Carter, are you angry with Colonel O'Neill?"
"No, Teal'c. I'm angry with the situation."
"Colonel O'Neill believes that you are angry with him. He feels very bad. If you continue to shut him out like this your relationship will deteriorate until the two of you have great animosity for each other. That would be unwise."
Sam looked at Teal'c for awhile before asking "What do you want me to do, Teal'c?" in a tone that came out more sarcastically than she intended.
"O'Neill cares very deeply for you. He is hurting too. Realize that and do not shut him out. This is not just about you. It is about both of you."
"I just feel so useless here, Teal'c."
"On the contrary, it is you who saved Daniel and I from the over anxious females we have encountered here, it is you who found the way out of this mine and it is you who will design the tools that we need to make our escape. Your labors improve our day to day lives as we work to set ourselves free. Do not underestimate your contribution to our success here."
Sam looked at Teal'c, tears threatening to fall. "But, being forced to have sex with someone, even if you love them, is..." she suddenly realized that she just told Teal'c that she was in love with Jack. Somehow, she figured this was not a news flash to him.
"Is not the first sexual encounter with a new mate usually awkward and not the experience that is hoped for? Do you believe it would not have been so with O'Neill had the two of you chosen the time and place to experience your love for the first time?"
"I,...ah,...suppose you're right Teal'c."
"Then for your sake as well as Colonel O'Neill's do not shut him out. He is a victim as well. The two of you must work through this together."
"You're right Teal'c. Thank you."
Teal'c nodded and said "Good night, Major Carter."
Sam stared at the fire and thought about the things Teal'c had said to her. She also pondered the hand held medical device Claudio used. Before she knew it, her watch was up.
"Colonel." She touched his shoulder hesitantly. "Colonel, it's time for your watch."
"Ok, Carter." Came the groggy reply.
Sam went to sit in front of the fire again while Jack put his boots on. He looked over at her and knew she was lost in thought. He went to sit beside her on the floor.
The two sat shoulder to shoulder in silence for quite some time before Sam said "Sir..."
"Carter, don't."
"Don't what?"
"Don't tell me what a horrible experience this afternoon was for you."
"Some of it wasn't horrible."
"What are you saying, Carter?"
She smiled, keeping her eyes focused on the fire, "Well, for an old man with performance anxiety, you, well, made me ..." her voice trailed off. Then she turned her head to look him square in the eyes and with a grin said "Twice!"
He gave her his biggest 'I love you Carter' smile.
They continued to sit in silence for a time before Sam said "I've been thinking about that medical device that Claudio had."
"I knew you were thinking about somethin'!"
She ignored his comment and continued "It's not Goa'uld technology, it's Ancient technology."
"You mean Claudio..."
She nodded and completed his sentence "has the Ancient gene."
"Look, Sir," she continued on a roll now, "that medical device does whatever Claudio's mind tells it to do. He obviously has had no medical training or he would have picked up on the naquada in my blood as well as the birth control. That device was only looking for what Claudio told it to look for. So what was he looking for when he scanned me?"
Jack's eyes got wide with the realization "He was looking for sperm; semen!"
"Exactly. The first time he scanned me he didn't know we hadn't...made love, he was just guessing. We told him what he wanted to know!"
"That son of a..."
"But, Sir, I think we can use his arrogance and his lack of knowledge against him. Arrogance and stupidity are a deadly combination."
"Ok, what do you have in mind?"
"Well, he knows we aren't from this planet, what if we tell him that our physiology is different from the people on this planet, that when a woman from our planet gets pregnant a protein marker appears in her blood. Even if he doesn't believe it, his mind will be thinking 'protein marker' and the device should make it show up!
"Sam, you're brilliant! That's why I married you."
She chuckled. "I thought their marriage laws weren't binding."
"Yeah, well, it certainly wasn't the most romantic wedding I've ever attended."
"The honeymoon left something to be desired too." Sam said with a smile
"Hey! Under the circumstances I thought I did quite well."
"Oh, the male ego!" She said as she rolled her eyes.
"So, how long do we have to wait until you tell Claudio you think you're pregnant and want to be scanned for the protein marker?
"I don't know. He may buy the protein marker for awhile, but eventually he will want to scan me again. He may be stupid but he's not that stupid. I think we can fool him once but not twice. I would say we have to wait at least one of their lunar cycles."
Jack nodded as she continued, "If this works, once they believe I'm pregnant they will have to leave me alone. It would mean a lot to the Protectorate to get his hands on our child, so I'm willing to bet there's something in it for Claudio too."
"A promotion, a bonus, something like that?" Jack asked.
"Yeah, I think so." After a moment she continued, "You know, Sir, if we get this to work we can wait until the cargo ship gets here to attempt our escape. We won't have the risk of hiding out in the woods for 11 days. It improves our odds."
"Well, that's a good thing."
They sat in companionable silence for time before Jack said "Sam, you should get some sleep."
She nodded and pulled herself up off the floor. Before she walked away she said "Thank you, Sir."
He looked up at her quizzically, "For what, Carter?"
"For saving my life."