The three week journey to Earth was tense. Due to the small amount of space onboard the Tok'ra ship, avoiding someone was impossible but Daniel seemed to manage. He had requested that he share a room with Jack instead of Sam, who ended up sharing a room with her father. General Hammond had his own room since Teal'c was helping the Tok'ra pilot the ship through the different galaxy's in order to avoid any attack from the Goa'uld.
At this moment everyone was in their assigned rooms. Sam was engaged in a conversation with her father. "I really missed you dad." She said quietly as she leaned her back against the wall. "These last three years have really been...something." She let out a small laugh and looked down at her hand, tracing a finger over the scar.
Jacob Carter eyed his daughter, silently until she was finished speaking. "Sammy..." He began. "You went through something truly incredible. Horrible but incredible." He let out a sigh. "Do you love him, Sam?" He had to know for sure.
Sam looked up at her father slightly surprised by his question. "I...I don't know. I want to believe that I do. I want to believe that we would of gotten together if this hadn't of happened. But...I'm not sure."
Jacob felt bad for his daughter. He knew that she did have feelings for Jack O'Neill and would of probably been with him. But now she had feelings for Daniel and was confused about which route to take. Either man would be a good husband and father. But she WAS married to Daniel and due to have HIS baby. Maybe this was fates way of telling her that Daniel was the man that she belonged with. But Daniel wasn't acting like himself. He was denying that the baby was even his and it didn't make sense. Sam had told him that Daniel was excited beyond belief about the baby. They had began to pick out names. It all just didn't add up...unless. He sighed. Unless Daniel knew about Sam's feelings for Jack. The boy expected to be pushed aside so he did the pushing before it could happen. "Sam, have you tried to talk to Daniel?"
Swallowing, Sam nodded. "Yes. I've tried to talk to him numerous times but he refuses to see me. He doesn't come to meals. Colonel O'Neill said that he refuses to come out of the room so he takes him food. He's avoiding me, dad." She sounded frustrated.
Meanwhile Daniel and Jack were having a conversation of their own. "So Daniel...You and Cater?" Jack seemed to be amused at the idea of his two friends being an item.
Daniel looked up from his plate of rehydrated food and frowned. "No. Not really. Like I said on Kemet, we were forced into it by Ma'at. We had no option except to do what our Goddess commanded. Her word was law and by breaking the law you only got yourself into trouble." He shoved a piece of beef jerky into his mouth. It was the only thing on the plate that looked edible and didn't taste like chicken.
Jack sat down on his small cot. "Goddess? You do realize that this Ma'at is a Goa'uld and you don't have to refer to her as your Goddess anymore, don't you?" He eyed his friend for a few moments before beginning again. "I know you, Daniel. And I know that if you didn't want any of this to happen...it wouldn't of. You would of fought tooth and nail to make sure that you disobeyed that snake head at every turn. And I can believe that the whole marriage thing was forced but what about the baby? Did one of the Jaffa stand in the room and make sure that you and Carter...you know?" He tilted his head to the side.
"You don't understand Jack. Our Goddess...Ma'at wasn't like the others. She was actually decent. Yes, she was a Goa'uld. There was no doubt in mind that she wasn't. We were one giant community just like in Ancient Egypt. The lower class slaves were sent to the slave mines while others worked in the fields to provide food for everyone. The ones that were lucky were on Ma'at's personal staff. But everyone was treated fairly. Sam and I worked in the fields half the year and the other half was spent on her personal staff. She said that because of our value the slave mines would be out of the question. Hatcey, the First Prime of Ma'at even killed the bounty hunter that brought us in because he treated us like animals." Daniel sighed. No one would understand. No one except for Sam and he wasn't on speaking terms with her at the moment.
Again Jack eyed Daniel with a cool amusement. "You didn't answer my question Danny-boy. Were you forced into doing the boom boom with Carter?" He was pressing the issue now but he needed Daniel to be straight forward with him.
Tracing a finger over the bonding bracelet Daniel let out a dry laugh. "We were not forced into anything. Not physically forced. The whole purpose of the bonding ceremony is to create life. Ma'at knew her time was coming to an end and she wanted to make sure that a new generation of her people was being created so that they would live on until her return. She kept us after prayer one day and told us that we had to go through it. I couldn't believe it. I told Sam that a child couldn't be created if the love wasn't there. It wouldn't of been fair. But we got so caught up in preparation that it was kinda forgotten. That day is still a haze to me. We went through the ceremony then enjoyed the feast afterward. All I know is that we had a lot of spiced wine that night. I don't think there was a time through out that entire night that I didn't have a goblet of it in my hand." He licked his lips. "In the morning the deed had already been done. We never spoke about it and fell back into our daily routine, this time as bondmates. A month later Sam was sent to see the healers of Selket. She returned with news that she was with child." Daniel stood and began to pace. "Of course I acted happy. How else was I supposed to act? I had no options. If I had denied the bond then...Sam would of been taken away and dubbed unworthy of a mate. The child would of grown up as an outcast. Lower than the mine slaves. I couldn't let that happen. Keeping Sam with me was the only chance that we had to maybe find a way home." He stopped and looked at Jack. "Now do you understand?" He sat back down.
Jack blinked. "So you pretended to want this child? And you pretended to want Sam as your wife...eh...bondmate? I think that is the biggest load of crap that I've ever heard." He held his hand up to stop Daniel was speaking. "On Abydos you accepted a wife that you didn't even know. And you loved her until her dying day. I don't believe that you never had feelings for Carter. I don't believe that you were only playing the good guy because Daniel, you ARE a good guy. A good decent guy that is making a HUGE mistake. Just open your eyes and see that." He stood and exited the room. He needed to clear his head. The thought of Daniel and Carter being together was almost to much to handle but he'd manage. He had three years to get over his little crush that he had on Carter. He even married again. Janet O'Neill was a hero and he loved her deeply for her courage and drive to help others. A small smile played on his lips as he thought of his wife as he drifted through the Tok'ra ship.
By this time they were only a few hours away from Earth and yet there was no change in the tension that surrounded everyone onboard the Tok'ra vessel. Everyone seemed to take sides without realizing it. Jacob sided with his daughter over Daniel's actions while Jack seemed to take Daniel's side. Even after their little chat earlier. Jack actually slightly understood Daniels situation.
But Sam wasn't going to stand for it. She was two months pregnant to her husband who wanted nothing to do with her or the baby that she carried. She needed to make him see that he was hurting more than just her by doing this. So right now we find her entering the room that Daniel and Jack shared only to find, to her relief, that Jack wasn't there. "Daniel?" She searched the darkness for her estranged husband. "I know your in here. Dammit Daniel. You can't hide forever." She let out a sigh of frustration and ran her hand through her hair. "Please." She was getting desperate do to the fact that time was running out. If they got back to Earth before things were sorted out, Daniel could up and disappear do to his civilian status within the SGC.
Daniel eyed Sam from the corner where he stood. Jack had left hours ago to do his own thing leaving Daniel alone. He was sure that Sam had given up on trying to talk to him but it appears that he was wrong. "What do you want, Sam?" He exited from the shadows to stand in the soft light that the panel on the wall was producing. "Trying to get me to change my mind? It isn't going to happen. You'll see. This is for the best." He chewed on his bottom lip which only happened when he was nervous.
Sam spun around to face Daniel. "For the best? How is this for the best, Daniel?" She spit his name out like it was venom on her tongue. "This is OUR child growing inside of me." She placed a hand over her abdomen. "I lost my mother when I was a teenager. You lost your parents when you were a kid. How can our child growing up without a father be for the best? You told me of the many foster homes that you were placed in. Remember? It was on the ship when we had no idea what our fate was. You said that you would of given everything that you had just to have your parents. To feel their love. Or was that a lie?"
"A lie? No Sam. That wasn't a lie. That was the truth. But want to know what else was the truth? I thought we were going to die. But being Daniel I couldn't say anything. I had to protect the other members of the team which was you, Sam. We were friends. No. We were best friends and that line shouldn't of been crossed." Daniel was looking at the floor by now.
"A line that shouldn't of been crossed? How dare you, Daniel? How dare you try to make yourself look like the good guy? Yes. We were very close friends but you can't tell me that you had NO feelings for me. I could see it in your eyes. I could see the love. But you wish to deny our bond. Why?" Sam was shaking in suppressed rage. She needed answers.
"BECAUSE I AM NOT THE MAN THAT YOU LOVED!" Daniel screamed as he backed himself back into the corner. Back into the darkness. "Because I knew that I was only a replacement. The second best." He said quietly. Taking a deep breath he continues. "You think I didn't notice. Hell, I'm sure Teal'c even noticed the way that you and Jack looked at each other. The way that you two interacted so...perfect together. And I hated it. But could I say anything? No. I couldn't. Why? Because I was a friend. You two never thought about your little secret effected more than just you." He pushed out of the corner again and circled her. "I would sit, sometimes, in the dark of my office and wonder why I was even still apart of SG-1 or the SGC for that matter? I was happy on Abydos. I had a wife that loved me. A people that I actually felt apart of. But all of that was taken away from me the minute the Stargate sprang to life. After that everything snowballed. And yet Jack O'Neill still seemed like his old self. His life was oh so perfect compared to mine. SG-1 should of just been made up of you and Jack because that's what it FELT LIKE." He placed his hand on his forehead, it was beginning to throb. "I cared for you, yes. But you were Jack's and everyone knew it. Everyone still knows it. Everything was perfect on Kemet. I had everything that I dreamed of. Then Jack came and reality came crashing down once again. My little blissful dream was crushed into dust. My bondmate wouldn't be mine anymore. She'd go back to her little fantasy world and live happily ever after with Jack. I've been hurt enough to know when to cut my losses. That is why I will deny the bond. I will deny it FIRST." He suddenly turned from her. "Please leave now that you've got your answers." His face was contorted in pain and he leaning heavily against a nearby bulkhead before he collapsed.
Sam only stared, open mouthed, as Daniel ranted. She never really thought about her feelings for Jack being obvious. Sure they cared for each other but they knew that a relationship wouldn't work nor was it allowed. She never thought in a million years that Daniel would feel excluded from being apart of SG-1. They were a team but more than that. They were a close family that everyone knew about. She closed her eyes as the tears began to form. Daniel thought that she was going to push him aside for Jack. He was acting like a scared little boy but maybe that's all he was emotionally. A scared little boy wanting to belong and feeling betrayed by people that he trusted. "Daniel..." She was beginning to speak when she watched in horror as he collapsed onto the floor. "DANIEL!" She rushed to his side and kneeled down. "HELP!" She yelled out and hoped that someone would hear her. Daniel was very pale and his breathing very swallow. "Please no." She shook her head as Jacob and Jack rushed in to see what the problem was. Jacob wrapped her in a tight hug as Jack tended to Daniel. "Please no." She let the tears fall from the safety of her fathers arms. "Please." Sobs over took her body.