Some of you expressed doubt that Carter would stay in this situation, but let me remind you that otherwise, strong capable women do it everyday. And not only women, men are also victims of abuse. Why? Lots of reasons I'd guess - fear, love, desperation, who knows. It doesn't matter, in the end - what matters is that they finally free themselves and live to tell about it.
I've read and appreciate each review. Learning about you and myself in the process - they help more than you realize. Thanks so much for your interest.
A note to "Gray": Maybe you should re-read the story - you're just not getting it.
Okay, guys or ladies (as the case probably is) going a little darkside now, but only a little..
...on with the story.
Tangled Web 9 Signs of the Spider
She stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her then dried her hair with another. She looked in the mirror at the purple splotches and lines that covered her body. She was sickened by her appearance. She'd had lots of bruises before, some worse than this, but they had been battle scars inflicted upon her by the enemy, not by someone who was supposed to love her. Looking around she realized she had only the clothes she'd worn today and pulling the towel tighter she opened the door and yelled for Jack. He came quickly to her, almost running, "Yeah, what is it?"
"Is Daniel back with my things?"
"Un, no, sorry, not yet. He should be here soon though. What do you need?"
"Something to wear…sweats, tee shirt?" She watched as his eyes trailed down her neck to her shoulders and paused at the bright purple bruise that he had seen a portion of earlier. It started mid-way between her elbow and shoulder continuing on toward her collarbone and disappearing beneath the towel as well as down her back. He grimaced at the pain she must have endured as his eyes memorized the damage to her pale skin. He realized he was leaning toward her wanting to hold her again, soothe the pain she must still feel.
Seeing the look on his face as he studied her skin she raised a hand to cover the bruises and called out to him softly. "Jack? I'm ok. Really." His eyes came up to meet hers again and she saw her own pain reflected there. "Clothes?" She asked softly.
"Uh, yeah. But my sweats will fall right off you, Sam."
"It's only till Daniel gets back."
He smiled, "Right, I'll find something." He turned away and headed to his closet returning momentarily with several items for her. He held them out to her and as she grasped them he held on.
"Sam?" She looked up to meet his eyes. "You're hurt. I need to see how bad it is."
"I'm ok. It looks worse than it is."
"It looks pretty bad, Sam. If you came back from a mission like that I'd send you to the infirmary." He held out a pair of shorts to her. "Put these on first and let me have a look at you. We may need to take you to see Doc."
"Jack…"
"Don't argue. That's an order, Colonel."
"Yes, Sir." She took the clothes he offered and closed the door to get dressed.
Jack stood in his bedroom waiting, his anger welling up in him again. How any man could do that to a woman he'd never understand. Unwillingly a picture of Pete beating Sam with a nightstick slammed into Jack's brain and he nearly fell from the force of it crashing into his mind. He could hear her screams in his head; see the stick striking her pale skin and the welts rising instantly from the contact. He closed his eyes, but the vision didn't go away. Suddenly he heard Sam's voice behind him and the scene flickered and disappeared as he turned to face her. She was wearing the shorts and tee shirt and he thought how small and vulnerable she looked in his oversized clothes.
"We can wait till Danny and T get back if you want."
"No, I trust you. I don't want them to see…I'd rather none of you see but…"
"I'm sorry, Sam. I need to know how badly you're hurt."
Silently she turned her back to him, placed her arms across her chest and let her chin fall forward. He approached her slowly dreading the reality of her pain as his hands slowly lifted the shirt up her back. He grimaced involuntarily as his eyes fell on her battered skin. Not just bruises, but open wounds in places where the force of his blows had actually ruptured her tender skin. "That bastard!" He spoke aloud without realizing it and Sam squeezed her eyes shut a little tighter, hot tears trickling down her face.
Dark purple lines criss-crossed her body where each blow had found its mark and Jack found himself wanting to look away as his stomach churned at the sight of her battered body. His hands gently pressed across the marks searching for any broken bone or swelling that she was either unaware of or hadn't told him about. "What about your ribs, Sam? Do they hurt, do you think anything's broken?"
"No, just sore. Not like before."
"Well, you need some cream on those cuts at the very least. Lie down, I'll be right back."
She did as she was told and in a moment he reappeared with the cream and started to apply it to her back. She jumped at the coldness of it and then sucked in a sharp breath as the cold turned to burning pain. "Sorry, I'm not very good at this, are you ok?"
"I'm ok."
'When are you ever not?' he thought. But she continued to winch at the slightest pressure and as his eyes traveled down her body to her legs he saw that they were as bad, if not worse than her back. She was bruised as far as he could see, all the way down to her ankles. "God, Sam. I can't believe he did this to you! Did you lose consciousness?"
"I don't think so."
"But you're not sure?" Sam shook her head slowly."You need to see a doctor, Sam, whether you think you do or not. Someone other than me needs to see what that bastard did to you and make sure you're ok. I want it documented. I'd like to kill the son of a bitch myself!"
"No, I told you I'm all right."
"No arguments, Colonel. You're going." He leaned over and kissed the top of her shoulder and she jumped slightly in surprise. "Come on, I'll help you."
A few minutes later they were in his truck headed for the SGC. He picked up his phone and called Daniel. "Daniel, we're on our way to the mountain." He heard panic rising in Daniel's voice as he spoke.
"What happened, Jack? Is Sam ok?"
"She's okay. We're just going to pay Doc a little visit to be sure. Let yourself in, we'll be back as soon as we can."
"Yeah, ok." Daniel stopped short, not knowing what else to say.
"Oh and Daniel…"
"Yes, Jack?"
"Stay alert."
"Right!"
---------------------------
A few hours later they were back at Jack's house. He opened the truck door for Sam and followed her to the porch of his house. His eyes glanced constantly from side to side, seeking out any abnormality, anything unusual that might be around them. He was glad to notice nothing unusual and hoped they would all get a good night's sleep. He stepped in front of her to unlock the door and felt Sam just behind him, lightly touching him, glancing continuously over her shoulder as she waited to go inside.
"Hey, guys!"
"Hey, Daniel."
"Everything ok?" He looked at each of them with his voice full of concern and noted Jack's hand resting protectively on Sam's back as they came down the short hall into the living room. Jack looked tired and haggard, older than he had yesterday. His eyes were darker than usual and the lines around them deeper, his shoulders slumped a little in exhaustion - probably from the anger he'd been trying to control.
Sam tried to smile, but Daniel could see the stiffness in her as she moved slowly into the house. Her eyes were dull and she seemed tense, staying as close to Jack as possible.
"Nice outfit, Sam!" He grinned over the rims of his glasses and was glad to see her break into a full smile.
"Thanks, Daniel. It's all the rage, you know. But then you guys only see me in my uniform."
Daniel laughed and reached out to hug her, glad that she was able to laugh and relax with them again even if only a little.
Jack watched and was absolutely envious of the easy way Daniel could touch her, being a civilian sometimes had it's advantages. Then suddenly Jack realized Daniel was about to squeeze Sam in his strong arms, not realizing how badly she'd been beaten and he quickly reached out to stop him. Catching Daniel's arm at the wrist he held it securely and safely away from Sam. Daniel turned a surprised face to Jack and saw the concern deep in his eyes as he shook his head from side to side slowly.
"Easy, Daniel." He warned, still holding Daniel's arm securely in his grasp. Daniel stood frozen for a moment, not understanding, but trusting Jack he changed his strategy to a quick kiss on the cheek and as he did so, felt Jack release his hold on him.
"It's all right, Daniel. I'm not that fragile." Daniel smiled and looked back to Jack, the warning still significantly present in his eyes.
"You guys hungry? I could make you a sandwich."
"Sure." And they all moved to the kitchen to eat a late meal.
They all sat around the table laughing and talking, trying to relax and for the most part it worked. They seemed to be connecting again; returning to old habits, past relationships, although Daniel noted there was a new, strange bit of tension between Sam and Jack. He could only wonder about that for the moment...he'd talk to Jack later. Maybe Jack had calmed down enough to realize some of the things he'd said to Sam earlier and was trying to reestablish their professional relationship, trying to put back in place that invisible line they never crossed.
Their conversation lagged and Sam stood up slowly, a grimace covering her face as she rose on stiff legs. "I hate to be a party pooper, guys but I'm kind of tired and I have to get up early."
Daniel opened his mouth to object but Jack raised a hand to silence him. "You take my bed, Sam. I'll take the couch." Sam smiled at him and didn't object as he stood to follow her down the hall to his room. Her bag was sitting on his bed and she started rummaging through it looking for her pajamas while Jack pulled his own pajamas from the dresser.
"Got everything you need?"
"I think so." She smiled up at him warmly. "Thanks for taking care of me today."
"Anytime, Sam. You gonna be ok in here?" He asked waving his hand around to indicate his room and smiling a silly grin at her. "I know it's not very feminine, but that's because I'm a guy."
She smiled and then laughed aloud. "I'll be fine." Her voice sounded calm and normal, but her eyes held a small doubt that he could read as easily as a book.
"You sure? Don't worry about him coming here, even Pete's not that stupid!"
She grunted a laugh as she looked up at Jack. "We both know how hard it is to stop a single man with a mission. That's what terrorist count on - if they're willing to give up their own life..."
"He's not, Sam. He's a manipulating coward. He can't stand up to a fair fight."
"He's a cop, Jack!"
"Yeah. That doesn't change anything."
"I really thought he'd change. I wanted it to work. I thought I could be what he wanted me to be, but I was cheating on him, even if it was only in my mind."
"Sam, even if you were...even if we'd done everything he thinks we did - he had no right to hit you. You know that." She looked up again into his tender warm eyes and shook her head. "You don't have to protect us, Sam. The best way for all of us to be safe is to know what's going on and be prepared for it. I'm not going to live in fear that some jerk is coming after us and neither are you! God help him if he runs into any of us again!" He put both hands on her arms and pulled her gently to him. He hugged her against him softly and placed a long kiss on her forehead. "Don't set the alarm, you won't be going in tomorrow."
"But, Jack…"
"No arguments, just get some sleep and call if you need me. I won't be far away. None of us will be."
She smiled and headed into the bathroom to change clothes. Jack watched until she closed the door and then returned to the living room.
"She settled in?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"What happened, Jack? Why'd you go to the base?"
"That bastard did a hell of a job on her, Daniel. I wanted to make sure she was ok. You know how she is; she's always "fine". Never complains, but when I saw…I just needed to be sure and I wanted someone else to seebesides us."
"She showed you?"
"Not exactly, I insisted on checking her back after I saw the bruises on her shoulder. I am still her CO. She's almost ashamed of it, as if she thinks she deserved it or something. I don't think she fought back at all. She's bruised from her shoulders to her ankles and there's a few open wounds that needed treatment."
"When did this happen?"
"Last night. He started in on her while she was sleeping, she couldn't get away from him."
"Colonel Carter is a formidable warrior. Why would she allow this man to treat her in such a manner?"
"She couldn't help it, Teal'c. She was sleeping and every time she tried to get up, he'd hit her again – with his nightstick! It's a wonder she can walk from the look of it."
"So…was there some crazy reason for this? Or is he just a sick SOB?"
"Definitely that, but it seems he also thought that Carter and I were…" Jack paused, stumbling over the words and directing his gaze at the floor. "…having a…you know...an affair."
Daniel raised his eyebrows severly and crossed his arms as his mouth formed a silent "O."
"He's been hitting her, off and on, for a while. From what she said I guess she was able to keep him from hurting her too badly the other times. Hell, she may have even hurt him, I don't know - she didn't say but I'm guessing that's why he went after her while she was sleeping." Jack looked up at his two friends who were watching him intently, obviously upset that Sam had been in such an environment and hadn't come to them for help.
"How long?"
"Remember a month or so ago when she went to the infirmary the day after the mission." Daniel's head snapped up to meet Jack's eyes. "She had broken ribs and a bruise on her head…" Jack's hand went to his own face indicating his temple.
"He did that?"
"Yeah. She told me she injured herself on the mission and then fell on the steps after she'd gone home. I believed her. I guess the Doc did, too."
"So did I…" Daniel let his voice trail away and shook his head in disbelief. "She's so strong, it's hard to imagine." He paused again letting his thoughts run freely through his mind and then continued as if he were thinking out loud. "So…every time we went on a mission…"
And Jack completed the sentence for him as he paused. "He thought she was with me. Some piece of work, huh? Carter's busting her butt saving the damn planet every other week and Pete rewards her with a beating because he's a jealous idiot! He didn't want her anywhere near me. That's the reason for the 'condition'…that's why she was quitting. I hate to think what would have happened if she'd actually resigned. I'm glad you insisted on us fighting this out, Daniel."
"Yeah, me too. What are you going to do, Jack?"
"File charges on him, first thing tomorrow .The Doc gave her some medicine so she could get a good night's sleep. She's hurting even if she won't admit it, slight concussion, too. I think he hit her head first - she seems a little fuzzy on the details."
"Yeah, I'd think so."
Jack looked across at Teal'c who'd been even quieter than usual today. "Teal'c?"
"I only wish that we were on Chulak, O'Neill. There I could punish him as he deserves."
"Oh, he'll be punished, buddy, I'll make sure of it."
A few hours later Jack was walking around the house checking to make sure that everything was secure. He was fairly certain that Pete was out of town, but you couldn't be too careful. Anyone who would beat someone the way he'd beaten Sam was capable of almost anything. He knocked quietly on the guest room door and entered. Daniel was already in bed and Teal'c sat in the floor with candles all around him.
"You'll be awake, Teal'c?"
"I will indeed, O'Neill. I will wake you if I require sleep."
"Ok. Stay alert." Teal'c nodded his head in response. "Night guys." Jack turned back toward his own bedroom and silently opened the door just enough to see Sam's slender form sleeping in his bed. He allowed a small smile to cross his face and quietly pulled the door closed. He almost wished they were off-world so that he could sleep beside her on the ground with Daniel and Teal'c close by. At least there he could be sure that Pete Shanahan couldn't get to her. Quietly he moved back along the hallway and into the living room. He turned out the lights, took one last look outside and lay down on the couch to try and sleep.