You told me to update sooner, so here it is! For some reason I'm bouncing between POVs in this one, but it's still pretty easy to follow. Hope you like it :)

Chapter 7

She turned sharply, a shadow creeping just beyond the corner of her eye. The first time it had happened she'd blamed it on lack of sleep and an over-active imagination, but now she knew for certain that something was wrong. Closing her eyes for a second, she heard it again, the noises now unmistakable. Sam Carter was never one to get spooked easily, so when her senses screamed to her, she usually listened. Shifting in the seat, she rose slowly, not looking directly out the window.

"What's up, Sam?" Charlie asked.

"Nothing, just thought I heard something."

"That would be the sound of your crushing defeat."

"Hey, I'm not out of the game just yet."

"I've killed you six times."

"Well... this programming is defective, and the graphics are ridiculous. There's no logical way this woman's breasts can be that large without her spine collapsing. Where does your father keep his gun?"

"Wha-huh?"

"I don't want to freak you out or anything, but there's someone outside your house."

"Oh, well as long as you're not trying to freak me out or anything!" He grumbled, scrambling off the floor where he'd been laying, "Who is it?"

"No idea, but there's more than one of them I'd guess. Professionals. Armed, maybe."

"Whoa...you can tell all of that without even seeing them? What color socks are they wearing?"

"I'm not messing around here, Charlie."

"Sorry. I get a little hyper when faced with imminent murder... or when I've had too much sugar."

"Don't worry about it," she smiled, despite her own anxiousness, "Your dad would disembowel anyone who so much as sneezed on you. Beneath that I-don't-care attitude, he's got a stifling over-protectiveness."

"My dad, the onion."

"Gun, Charlie."

"I have no idea Sam. Didn't even know he kept one here..."

Sam released a short sigh. Jack was a soldier, his sidearm was practically an extension of his own body... but there was no time to go looking for it.

"Okay, listen up. I want you to stay here. Whatever happens, keep your head down and don't move."

"What if someone starts shooting at me?"

"Then you have permission to move."

"But what if—"

"Shhh!" Sam hissed as the lights cut out.

Anticipating what would follow, she managed to shove Charlie down as several crashes accompanied a stream of bullets, raining just above their heads. Didn't take a genius to realize they'd misfired on purpose, obviously a warning more than anything else.

The fact didn't offer much comfort.

Diving across the floor, Sam managed to tackle the first intruder behind the knees, twisting his arms behind his back before slamming his head into the ground. That had been easy enough, since she'd been ready for him.

She just hadn't been ready for eight more of his closest friends.

"Who are you!" she growled, soon finding herself shoved up against one of the walls by three men in suits. The point of a gun pressed firmly into the nape of her neck. She'd considered turning one of their own weapons against them, but she hadn't wanted to risk a firefight, not with O'Neill's boy in the house.

"Agent Malcolm Barrett, NID. I should probably be asking you the same question, shouldn't I? Tell me, do you work for Apophis or was your infiltration of the SGC merely for personal gain?"

Sam screwed her eyes shut as the gun bit in more snugly, just below the base of her skull. Frantically, she tried deciphering what he was saying.

"NID? As in civilian oversight? Agent, I don't know who you're getting your intelligence from, but you've obviously been misinformed. My name's Colonel Samantha Carter, US Air Force, designation alpha 32K1—"

"We know who your host is. She happens to be very valuable to the program."

"Well... I'm oddly touched by that. Now I'm going to do you boys a favor here before you embarrass yourselves further, so listen up: I'm not a Goa'uld," she said slowly, even as her hands were cuffed behind her back.

"Sir- Sir, there's a boy here!" Another agent called.

"Sam, you okay? What's with the penguins?" Charlie asked, more angry than frightened, trying to wrench himself away from the man who had him by the scruff of the neck. Having his father's exceptional ability to make a bad situation worse, he decided to fight back, biting the agent in the arm. He managed to illicit a howl of pain, but it did little more than earn him a clout to the head.

"Hey! Would you leave him out of this?" Sam snapped, "Charlie, don't struggle, just do what they say. There's been a little misunderstanding," she continued calmly, noting the tiny bump on the boy's forehead. O'Neill was going to kill her.

"Subject contained. Sweep in progress, extraction phase one complete," Barrett's clipped voice said into his collar.

"Agent, if you don't want to believe me, would you at least call the SGC? I had a full examination before leaving the infirmary- they can verify my identity."

"Is that so? Well then maybe you can explain this to us."

Barrett motioned towards another agent, who pulled out an envelope and spilled the contents onto the low lying table.

"We intercepted the results of your MRI. It's a good thing the personnel on duty didn't know what they were looking at, or else we'd have had a containment issue."

Sam's eyes widened at the documents splashed together before her. For a moment, she thought the whole thing was one giant practical joke, but the look on Barrett's face told her otherwise. The images showed clearly the structure of a snake-like creature wrapped around human cervical vertebrae. Her own name and designation number were printed neatly in the corner of each copy.

"This h-has to be a mistake," she said, bewildered, "I don't—"

"Hey there, kids! Making yourselves at home I see," A voice from the hallway interrupted the commotion; all eyes turned to the man, who was flanked by several armed airmen.

Sam couldn't help but utter a sigh of pure relief as she recognized the voice. She'd never admit it out loud, but if she'd ever needed a knight in shining combat boots...

"Who the hell are you, and how did you get past our security!" Agent Barrett barked out, in surprise.

"Colonel Jack O'Neill, SGC, home owner," the man said lazily, swatting away the weapons pointed at him like they were little more than toys, "As for your security, you might want to check the back door next time. Now if I've answered all your questions, I'd like everyone who's pointing a gun at my son to stand down. Unless they want their sidearms shoved up someplace very uncomfortable that is." His words were candid, but his deadly serious tone left no room for objection.

"Do it, he's clean," Barrett nodded to his team, belatedly recognizing O'Neill's ID, "My apologies for the intrusion, Colonel, but we had to act quickly. I assume you've been made aware of the situation..."

Jack ignored him, and moved instead to Charlie's side.

"Hey soldier, you okay? Are you hurt anywhere else?" Jack asked crouching down and running his fingers across the small bruise forming on Charlie's forehead.

"No- Dad, I'm fine," the boy replied, swatting Jack's hands away, almost in embarrassment, "...but would you mind telling me what's going on? What the heck is a Goold? I mean one minute I'm on level six, then there's shooting, and the men-in-black extras bust in, so Sam knocked me out the-"

"God, Charlie, I'm sorry for leaving you with her, but I swear I didn't know," Jack whispered earnestly, "I can't answer your questions right now— I have to take care of a few things here. There's a guy outside waiting for you. Geeky, wears glasses, goes by the name of Daniel. He's going to keep an eye on you for a little while, and make sure you get to the medics, okay?" Jack ruffled his son's short brown hair, much to the boy's chagrin.

Too wrapped up in his own rampant emotions, the relief of finding his son safe and alive, Jack missed the concerned look Charlie had thrown to Sam. She sent him a quick smile as he was escorted out of the house by an USAF airman.

"O'Neill... you have no idea how glad I am to see you! A little help this way, please?" Sam called as they attempted to drag her off. She managed to hold her ground, barely.

"Tell your men to stop," Jack ordered Barrett, who nodded in reply.

"Thank you!" Sam exclaimed, "Listen, assuming the MRI was even remotely accurate, and I have been compromised by a Goa'uld symbiote, then something must have gone wrong when it entered me. I can't explain it, but I'm definitely still myself," Sam continued, straining. She barely noticed Jack closing in on her.

"...So if you can get me back to SGC, I might be able to run some tests to-- ahhgh!"

Sam hadn't seen the fist coming until the last moment, and felt the full brunt of the impact as her head snapped to the side, sending her body reeling.

"Colonel-!" Agent Barrett snapped barely preventing Sam's tumble to the ground.

"Stay out of this," Jack warned him, shaking the pain out of his aching fist. It had been a long time since he'd hit anyone that hard. He wanted to do more. A lot more. The thought would have scared him had he stopped to consider it, but he was about ready to erupt in emotion, and consideration was the last thing on his mind.

"Now you listen to me," he said slowly, a darkness creeping into his voice, "You may think you're a fucking genius for fooling us, but we're onto you. God help me— if I find out you did anything to my son, there will be hell to pay. As for what you've done to Carter I can't even BEGIN to describe all the things I want to do to you..."

He trailed off, clenching his jaw, trying to bite back the anger and focus on what he was saying.

"There's no way in hell we're losing her, not like this," Jack murmured under his breath, "The SGC doesn't care what happens to you; we'll let the NID do whatever they hell they want. If they can't get the job done, then I swear I'll rip you out of her myself, but we will have her back. Do we have an understanding?"

Still too stunned, Sam barely registered his words. O'Neill, the sonofabitch, hadn't even pulled his punch. She could have sworn he'd broken his fingers on her jaw, but even if he had, he'd be too far gone to notice. Through her own blurred vision, she saw his eyes well up in a mixture of fear and fury—emotion she hadn't thought him capable of.

She shook her head. All this for what? He thought she was a Goa'uld? Sam had never been one to argue with cold facts... and unless this was a cruel hoax, the facts told her that she had been taken as a host, at least in a physiological sense. That would certainly explain the persistent headaches... but for reasons she couldn't comprehend at the moment, she was still herself. Unfortunately, nobody would believe her right now, not even her own people.

She released a short and derisive laugh at the situation, then stopped abruptly when she realized her mistake.

The warm brown eyes that usually wore an adorable expression of puzzlement were now chilling pools of black.

"Use that tranquilizer. Now, before it starts struggling again," Jack said to Barrett, his eyes unwavering from hers, "Don't underestimate its ability to overpower your men, and don't lose those 'cuffs. The SGC will be in contact regarding Carter's condition, but the Goa'uld cannot be allowed near the Stargate. Do what you whatever is necessary to find out what it knows."

Sam barely grasped what she was hearing. She wasn't sure she wanted to.

"Oh, this isn't happening..." she faltered in disbelief, "O'Neill! Dammit- c'mon, you can't just let them take me! I'm me, I swear I am! I don't know what's going on here, but I'll never be able to figure it out if I don't get back to the SGC...cuff me, drug me, do whatever the hell you want, but let me go back with you…! O'Neill..."

He didn't even flinch at her words as he stalked from his home.

She heard a door slam shut, just as a sharp prick at her neck broke skin, releasing dizzying chemicals into her blood stream. For a moment, she thought she was falling.

The first thing Daniel saw as he entered the infirmary was several nurses cleaning up the mess from an overturned supply cart. He didn't need to ask who was responsible.

"Jack..."

"What."

"How are... things?" He asked carefully, handing his friend a coffee.

"Peachy," the colonel replied shortly, accepting the hot styrofoam cup with a nod.

"I heard you've been terrorizing the local equipment."

"I had a moment. It's over now, I'm fine."

Daniel studied his friend for a long interval. He didn't look like he was anywhere near being fine, but the archaeologist knew how to pick his battles. Arguing with him while his son lay unconscious in bed three feet away just wasn't a good idea.

"Janet said Charlie's okay— nothing happened to him," Daniel said cautiously.

Jack shook his head, leaning back in the uncomfortable seat.

"It's what could have happened Daniel. It's got me feeling sick whenever I think of it. You know they actually had to perform a scan on him too, just to make sure that thing hadn't jumped hosts? God- I left him alone with a... a snakehead." Jack all but shuddered.

"You couldn't have known."

"I was supposed to be looking out for him. Instead I bring my work home with me, and he ends up getting trapped in the middle of it. Sometimes I wonder why Sara let's me see him at all."

"He needs you."

"He needs a father. I was never quite right for the job."

"Believe me, he doesn't care. He'll take what he can get," Daniel said softly.

"He deserves better. I don't even know how this happened!"

"We haven't heard his side of the story yet, Jack... maybe he can give us more information about Sam."

"Fuck. I can't even think of her right now," Jack muttered, hanging his head, and rubbing his hands over his eyes tiredly.

"But if Charlie wasn't hurt badly, maybe Sam was still in there, somewhere. Maybe she was fighting it?" Daniel suggested.

"You heard what Teal'c said. As far as he knows, nothing of the host survives."

"Now that's most likely a lie propagated by the Goa'uld to instill fear in people. I'd bet anything that her consciousness is just...suppressed."

Jack grew visibly paler.

"Well that's great, isn't it! Carter's trapped inside her own body, while that snake has her under it's control. Dammit, Daniel, what if she's hurting? What if it's putting her through hell right now?" Jack stopped short, forcing himself to catch his breath, though it was a whole lot more painful than he'd anticipated. "It never should have been her. Maybe if I'd done it differently. Maybe if I hadn't impaled myself on my own bayonet, I could have been watching her back. I could have prevented this."

"Maybe you could have," Daniel sighed in resignation.

"What!" Jack all but yelled.

"Huh?"

"You're supposed to be telling me this isn't my fault, Daniel."

"Oh! Uh... this isn't your fault Jack."

"Some help you are. Why are you here anyway? Don't you have a rock to translate?"

"See, now you're just projecting your anger."

"Do you want me to project my fist instead?"

"What, like when you hit Sam?"

"Don't even go there," Jack warned, the ache in his hand suddenly more acute, forcing the memory of her shocked face to return fresh to his mind. He'd turned away before her bruise had started to form... couldn't stomach seeing her that way, not when his eyes were telling him he'd just hit Samantha Carter and not a stinkin' alien snakehead.

"It wasn't her Daniel. She's a Goa'uld. We'll never be able to trust anything coming out of her mouth."

"Well it's not like you bothered to listen in the first place."

"If you've got something to say, then say it."

"I can't seem to shake the feeling that we're making a huge mistake here! It just doesn't add up."

"You SAW the snake wrapped around her neck- what more proof do you need?"

Daniel sighed, resting his head in his hands.

"Right... I realize that. It's probably just wishful thinking, I'm sorry," he said softly.

"We'll get her back, Daniel," Jack said with confidence. "The alternative isn't acceptable.".

"Dad..." a shallow voice interrupted them.

"Hey! Look who's up. Feeling better, soldier?" Jack asked, quickly getting to his feet and moving to his son's side.

He looked weary, and nauseous, but he forced himself upright in the bed, held steady by a firm arm.

"Are you kidding? I was fine when I walked in!" He groaned, "Then the short woman gave me all these shots that... oh... I think I'm gonna... yes, definitely going to throw up again..."

Jack scrambled for a nearby basin, sticking it below his son's head before he was treated to a lovely view of partially digested pizza.

"Well, at least I know for sure now that you're not doing drugs at school," Jack grinned, handing his son a glass of water to rinse out his mouth, "Otherwise you'd have handled that a lot better."

"What was in that stuff they gave me?" Charlie groaned.

"Mild sedative. We needed you relaxed so we could do a few other tests," Jack explained, knowing the phrase by heart since he'd heard it so many times himself.

"Great. I'm relaxed. Can I go now? And what happened to Sam?"

"Don't worry, she's gone now."

"Gone? Where?"

"We can talk about that later. Right now I need you to tell me exactly what happened tonight. I'm sorry to have to do this right now, but I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important," Jack said regretfully, seeing the worn look on his son's face.

"Why is it so urgent?"

"Humor me; and be specific."

"O-kay...Well, when you left, Sam and I talked over pizza."

"What did she say?"

"Uhm, She told me her Father was also in the Air Force, and that he was just as crappy at being a father as you are... though I have to say, excellent work ordering those suits around. Very cool."

"I have my super-dad moments. Go on."

"She explained to me that the both of you were just working together, and that someone would probably end up dead if the two of you started dating. Then we classified each other as siblings, bonded in our dislike of you, then I had to explain to her that an Xbox wasn't porn, after which I kicked her ass in Jade Empire II. I just got the game last week! The graphics are sweet, but if you ask me, the role play could use a little—"

"Focus Charlie."

"Uh right, sorry. Well... later on, she heard something outside... told me to keep my head down. Then she pushed me out of the way when the front door broke in. I blacked out for a minute, and when I came too, she was up against the wall cuffed by those idiots in suits. Oh! Then I bit the guy holding the gun to me."

"BIT...? Please tell me that's a teenage word for 'I did everything he told me to'?"

"Uh... no. He was pushing me around, so I bit him. There were teeth marks and everything."

"Charles O'Neill, for crying out loud! You don't go around biting NID agents! You could catch something!"

"No kidding. So then the guy gave me this lovely little bruise... damn, it's fading already, isn't it? Think it'll be there on Monday? Todd and Andy are gonna be so jealous when I tell them—"

"Wait, an NID agent did this?"

"Yeah."

"Which one?"

"How the hell should I know? They all looked alike."

"You're telling me that it wasn't... Are you sure it wasn't Sam?" Jack asked perplexed.

"Huh?"

"Sam, Charlie. What did she do to you? You can tell me the truth, I'm not mad at you."

"Why would you be mad at me?"

"I don't know... I just mean, well, you didn't do anything wrong, none of this was your fault. I realize this whole thing may have been a little traumatic, but I'm here for you."

"Thank you, this Dr. Phil moment has been quite disturbing."

"Dr. Phil. I don't know him. Is he new?" Jack frowned.

"Dad! What exactly are we talking about here?" Charlie asked, frustrated.

"Sam. I'm talking about Sam. Didn't she act strange at all? Threaten you or get really angry? You mentioned before that she knocked you out..." Jack asked.

"Right. She knocked me out... of the way. If it wasn't for her I'd have probably gotten swiss cheesed by all those bullets coming at us."

"Charlie, I need you to think again... that can't be right...?"

"Dad- I don't know what you're getting at! Sam was cool—did I mention she let me have the entire pizza to myself? Actually, you probably saw evidence of that already..."

"What?"

"Sorry, I'll rephrase. Sam good. Really nice actually, I swear if I were ten years older..."

"Ah! Don't finish that sentence," Jack cringed.

"I tell it like it is. Now what's this really about? Did something happen to her?"

Jack was surprised by the question— but even more surprised by the tinge of fear in his son's voice. Not fear of her, fear for her.

"No Charlie, she's fine, I promise." Jack assured him, lying through his teeth.

"Good... tell her I say hi, and that I owe her a rematch. Just so you know, I think I might pass out again."

"Go ahead, I'll be here when you wake up."

"Jack?" Daniel asked a moment later, once Charlie had slipped back to sleep.

"Go, we'll be fine." Jack assured his friend.

"I know, but well... I heard what Charlie said about Sam. That might mean—"

"It doesn't mean anything. The Goa'uld obviously kept up its charade with Charlie too. It's fooled us all, Daniel. Don't forget what it is," Jack said with finality.

Daniel sighed and nodded, "At least he's taking it well."

"He's a tough kid," Jack nodded in agreement. "...Hey Daniel?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. For being around."

"Any time," Daniel murmured turning to leave. He momentarily wondered if anyone was going to be around for Sam.

The ride in the black van was less than comfortable, and her headache's were getting steadily worse as the sedative wore off. She had no idea what it all meant. Was the Goa'uld trying to take over her body? Surely, if there was a struggle for control going on, then she'd be... struggling? At the moment she felt completely in control. Ill, but in control.

"Agent Barney?"

"Barrett."

"Whatever. Can you tell me where we're going?"

"We're taking you to a secure location where you will be placed in a holding cell overnight."

"Thank you. Very specific. What's in store for tomorrow then?"

"The NID is assembling an investigative medical team as we speak; they're flying in from all over the country. Once we have determined the extent of the damage you have caused Colonel Carter, we will negotiate for the release of her body. In the event that negotiations fail, you will be interrogated, then forcibly removed."

"Does the SGC know where I am?"

"That's none of your concern."

"Great. Thanks, you're a big help. Huge."

She comforted herself with the thought that she'd be sending everyone on an immense guilt trip once this was all over. O'Neill especially. She experimentally opened her jaw, and winced. Definitely bruised. Resigning herself to the fact that there was nothing she could do right now, she leaned back against the inside of the van, allowing it to rock her back into a restless unconsciousness.

"General! You started the party without me?" Jack asked, ducking into the briefing room where Kawalsky and Daniel sat with Hammond.

" You're late Colonel. Sit," the General ordered.

"Sorry sir, I had to drop my kid off. What's this about?"

"There's something I think you need to hear."

"That sounds ominous."

"It gets worse," Kawalsly muttered.

"At approximately 0500 this morning, there was an unscheduled off world activation. We received a transmission from un unknown planet," the General stated.

"What, the Goa'uld started sending Jaffa through the gate again?"

"No Jack, these weren't the Goa'uld... they call themselves the Tok'ra." Daniel explained.

"Okay... how do you know all of this?" Jack frowned.

"Doctor Jackson was the one who suggested we send a delegation to meet with them," Kawalsky said with false enthusiasm.

"Oh he did, did he?" Jack sent his friend a withering look, "Forgive my skepticism, but how do we know this isn't some type of Goa'uld tactic to get us to open up the iris?"

"Well, they seemed nice," Daniel cleared his throat.

"They seemed nice? Oh, well in that case, never mind then!" Jack said aggravated.

"Colonel, I've already assigned SG2 to the mission. They're prepping as we speak. Major Kawalsky has orders to escort no more than one of these Tok'ra in a return trip to Earth. Hopefully this representative will be willing to share information with us. " The General informed.

"Excuse me?" Jack asked, not quite believing his ears, "I take one day off, and suddenly we're okay with letting Goa'u'd through the 'Gate?"

"See, that's what I said," Kawalsky grunted, "I don't see we should trust these Tokey guys."

"Tok'ra," Daniel corrected.

"Do we even have any intelligence on them?" Jack asked.

"I've heard many stories of their race." Daniel stated confidently.

"I said intelligence."

"Hear Dr. Jackson out, Jack," the General ordered the Colonel who had no choice but to grunt and nod.

"The inscriptions I found in the chambers on Abydos spoke of these Tok'ra who were sentenced to death by the Goa'ud. Apparently they're of the same race as them, but the amazing difference is that they do not take unwilling humans as their hosts. I've confirmed this with Teal'c, and he says the rebel Jaffa have encountered these Tok'ra before, but have never officially—"

"Enough! I get the point. They're potential allies." Jack sighed.

"Not just that. They may have the knowledge that could help Sam," Daniel said urgently.

That made Jack sit up and pay attention.

"Request permission to join the team?" the Colonel asked.

"You're in no shape to lead a team through the Gate, Jack. In fact, I'm ordering you to get some sleep. Dr. Jackson is welcome to join SG2 on the mission though."

"Oh- yes please!" Daniel said practically bouncing off the walls, not catching the scathing look Jack tossed him.

"I could use Teal'c on this one too, Sir," Kawalsky added as an afterthought.

"Fortunately, that won't be a problem. I hate to put it this way, but now that the NID have their own Goa'uld, they're less interested in a Jaffa," General Hammond scowled.

"Fine. Then I'm going back to Carter," Jack stated, adamantly.

Daniel frowned, "I thought she was just staying in some sort of a detainment facility."

"Detainment facility? Daniel, she didn't skip out on her parking tickets. She's got the greatest threat mankind's ever known wrapped around her neck. Excuse the dramatics." Jack snorted.

"Nothing dramatic about it. Who knows what those bastards got in store for her, that's why we need to act quickly," Kawalsky growled in agreement.

"What are you saying? You think they're planning to do something to her?" Daniel asked, growing slightly pale.

"Interrogation. Drugs, most likely, inflicted directly to the snake. They'll start with the simple stuff, and work their way up," Jack explained neutrally. That was why he wanted to keep an eye on her in the first place.

"The NID gave us their word they'd treat Colonel Carter with the utmost respect," the General said tightly, "But I agree. It may be prudent to have someone from the SGC on the inside. Just remember who you're dealing with, Jack."

"Not a problem sir," Jack assured. It was painfully clear in his mind that he wouldn't be talking to the woman he knew, no matter how much it sounded like her. He'd gotten a bitter taste of it already, hearing her begging him not to let the NID take her. Then again, last night he'd had anger fueling him, allowing him to effectively ignore her. He only hoped he had the sense to do it again.

"Good. Major Kawalsky, you have a go. Brief your team at the 'Gate, we're on the clock with this one. Dismissed."

"Can I please speak to General Hammond?" Sam asked for what seemed like the hundredth time. "Okay, I'll take that as a no. What about Daniel Jackson? Dr. Fraiser? ...My lawyer?"

The guard on the other side of the door ignored her.

She sighed frustratedly, throwing herself back down into the ridged metallic chair. For someone who made a career out of her ability to rationalize, she was remarkably uncertain of herself right now. It had always been that way. Revolutionizing the concepts of astrophysics was simple when compared to deciphering something personal. That might explain why she was sitting here, in maximum security confinement, with no hope of talking her way out of this one.

Strangely enough, the NID had stopped their interrogation within the first few hours; she'd been alone since. Well, not completely. She knew she was still being watched through the one-way window, but she preferred not to think about it.Obviously they were trying to wait her out... which certainly wasn't going to work. She could give answers to questions she knew nothing about. It was driving her slowly insane. Doing nothing. The waiting. She looked down at her bound hands infront of her... they'd taken O'Neill's words to heart, and hadn't bothered removing them.Groaning, she dropped onto the table before her, tucking her head awkwardly in her arms, and closing her eyes.

To say she was pissed would be a gross understatement. The SGC had completely thrown her to the sharks on this one, without even giving her the benefit of the doubt. They had their reasons of course— the thing wrapped around her spine being one of them. At least the scar burned across the back of her neck was no more of a mystery. There was a good chance that it had entered her that way, but she had no way of being certain. She'd had a LOT of time to think about the situation, and had left herself with two possible explanations. Whatever was inside her was either injured, or waiting for the right moment to rear its ugly head. The latter didn't seem to make any sense. There's nothing a single Goa'uld could gain, tagging a ride back to Earth on an unsuspecting human and maintaining 'radio silence' as it were.

Either way, the NID certainly weren't going to help her. Even the SGC had limited knowledge of the biological Goa'uld-host relationship. Any hope she had was through the Stargate... and that was certainly beyond her limits.

Out the corner of her eye, she glanced again at the one-way window that took up a large part of the opposite wall. It made her skin crawl, wondering who was on the other side, watching her.

"You know, we do have her under 24 hour surveillance."

Jack didn't bother to look up at the suit that had just walked into the room, but remained transfixed on the sight before him.

Once he'd been given clearence to enter the facility, he hadn't left. Studying her through the glass, she'd seemed completely worn down. Her frustration now was almost tangible as she peered sightlessly at the window separating them. With an inward groan, he forced himself to stop thinking of her along those lines. He just hadn't expected it to be this difficult.

"I don't trust your people," he finally answered.

"We're not all like Maybourne, Colonel. I'm on your side here, and I really don't want to lose someone like her this way," Barrett said plainly, loosening his tie and settling into a seat beside Jack.

"Don't give me that bullshit. She's little more than a commodity to your organization, and you know it."

"Perhaps... but what does it matter? The fact remains that as our foremost expert on the Stargate, her loss would be detrimental. I don't think you understand what that means."

"She's an egg-head. Like all the other geeks at the SGC."

Barrett shook his head, "No, Colonel. The Air Force placed too much confidence in one individual while getting the SGC on it's feet, and now we're faced with the fact that Sam Carter may be the only one on the planet who can deal with a potential crisis involving the Stargate. I don't know what the hell General Hammond was thinking, putting someone like her on the frontlines. She's the one person this shouldn't have happened to."

"Well at least we agree on that," Jack murmured tiredly, taking in this new information. Like he wasn't feeling guilty enough already. "I'm going to talk to her... it. Whatever" Jack stated, his seat screeching across the metal floors as he stood.

"I'll have to clear it with my superiors first. Then we'll send you to decontamination and brief you on the proper security measures to— hey, where do you think you're going!"

"Look, she's still under the command of the SGC, and she's our responsibility. The only reason she's stuck here is in case she tries to make a run for it through the 'Gate." Jack explained slowly. "If I can make a deal with it, then I can spare Carter from having to go through any of those medical procedures I'm sure are in the works."

Barrett sighed, a shadow of guilt passing over his features.

"Give me your gun then," he insisted, holding out his hand.

"I don't plan on shooting her," Jack argued.

"No, but you do plan on hurting her. I'd rather not let you have a gun in your hands while you do."

Reluctantly, Jack handed over his sidearm, and Barrett motioned for security to allow him into the cell.

Carter – the Goa'uld, rather – leaned over the table, her head resting on her bound arms. She glanced up briefly when she heard the cell doors open.

"Well, hi there O'Neill. Nice of you to drop by like this."

"You're welcome, snakehead. Like the accomodations?"

Sam sighed, her head lightly bouncing off the metallic table in front of her in the classic, 'I'm surrounded my idiots' motion.

"Hey! Go easy on the merchandise. We want Carter back in fully operational condition," he warned. "Now I'm here to make you a deal."

"I'm all ears. Can't be any worse than being taken hostage by the NID– thanks for all the help with that by the way."

"Leave her."

"Leave her? That's the deal? Someone needs to brush up on Negotiation 101."

"Leave her... and we'll set you up in a nice fish tank and send you on your way through the Gate, back to Chulak... or anywhere else you want to go. Just... leave her."

"That's the best you've got? Honestly O'Neill, even if I was a Goa'uld I'd never fall for something like that. This thing in me obviously has free access to sensitive information regarding the SGC. The only chance it has of going through the Gate is if it's being carried in a body bag. Or a symbiote sized equivalent."

"Fine, then take me instead," he said in all seriousness, "My head's a lot more roomy; I've made an effort over the years to retain as little information as possible."

"Now that's very heroic... just not very helpful."

"What the hell do you want then!" He growled, leaning over the table separating them.

"What I want is for someone to trust me, and start treating me like a Colonel in the USAF, and not a goddamn Goa'uld," Sam shot back, her voice reverberating through the cell.

Jack shook his head, "Well don't say I didn't try the nice approach first."

"That was your nice approach? You gentleman you."

"STOP talking like her!" Jack threatened, "If you're trying to buy a little sympathy, think again."

"What do I have to do to make you hear me? I'm telling you– I AM Samantha Carter! I was born in San Diego, raised in Washington, graduated three years ahead of anyone in my class. The Air Force recruited me as soon as was legal, and my sole purpose in life up until a few years ago, was to see space through something other than a telescope. My personal life has been one huge mistake. I got married too early, divorced too late– my family still hasn't forgiven me for that, and I like diet Pepsi. Flat."

"Fine... Sam. So you claim you're not a Goa'uld," He said detached, getting up and circling around her.

"No. I mean, yes... obviously, I have a Gao'uld symbiote in me, but I'm telling you it's not controlling me and– what the hell are you doing?" she snapped, eyeing him warily as he placed his hands on the back of her chair and leaned in, practically breathing down her neck. .

"What's wrong Carter? Don't you trust me? You've asked me to trust you, I only think it's fair that your return the favor," he whispered in her ear.

"Well see, I tried that last night but you were less than willing to listen! Last I recall, you punched me. A girl doesn't forget something like that."

She stiffened is surprise as his hand caressed the dark purple region of her jaw.

"Oh, I wouldn't want you to forget it. Believe me, I can do much worse."

"Threatening someone in handcuffs, very brave. Well done. For what it's worth, I figure I'm safe with you."

The hand dropped away.

"You've read my file. Think again. I can do whatever the hell I want to you, and it will never make it onto official record," he began lightly, "Believe me, I've had experience at it. I'm the person the Air Force calls to do their dirty work... and you would be considered dirty work," he continued, hooking a finger in her cuffs and tugging gently.

"Is this an interrogation, or are you making an amature adult video?" Sam snorted, "Now we both know you're not going to hurt me, so you might as well stop this."

"Why are you so certain I won't?" He asked, a frustrated note creeping into his voice.

"Because I— Samantha Carter— saved your life on Chulak. I could have left you to die but I didn't. You owe me."

"Between you and me, I don't know Carter that well anyway. If she goes down with you, then so be it. It's her fault for being stupid enough to get close to a dying Jaffa."

Sam's jaw dropped slightly, and Jack saw an opportunity.

"I don't know why a Goa'uld would choose someone like her as a host in the first place. She was weak. Sloppy. Couldn't even help a wounded soldier to the Gate. Kawalsky would have gotten me back. Thanks to her we were stranded there for over 24 hours while I was in pain."

Jack stopped his ranting for a moment. He wasn't sure where he was going with this, but Teal'c had once mentioned that snakeheads had really big egos. Insulting Carter may be the only way to get the Goa'uld to reveal it's true identity.

"Well.. it hurts me that you would say that, but that's okay, because I know you don't mean it," was her only reply.

"Don't I? Why do you think the Pentagon was so eager to recruit me into the SGCt? Carter never would have given them what they wanted. She only reached the rank of Colonel so soon was because the USAF needed her to patch up the Stargate. Like a good little soldier, she got the job done. The fact that they put her on SG1 was simply a professional courtesy that should have expired a long time ago. Now do you really want to keep pretending to be someone like her?"

His words racing past her ear must have had some impact on her, because she shuddered involuntarily.

"Nicely done O'Neill. Take a person's biggest insecurity and throw it in their face. If you're not going to believe me, then I don't see the point of continuing this conversation."

She tried to get up, but a firm pressure on her shoulder shoved her back into the seat. His hand smoothed through her short hair, fisting it lightly between his fingers and tugging her head to the side.

"Tell me, Colonel, if you're so sure you're not a Goa'uld, then why do you have this...?"

She cringed as a cool finger touched the burning scar on the back of her neck, dragging leisurely along the tear in the skin.

"Would you STOP it already!" She yelled, pushing her chair back and getting to her feet. She faltered, still unsteady on her own legs.

"Stop what?" He asked mockingly, approaching her at the same rate she was backing away.

"Whatever it is you're trying to do here! I'm not one of your prisoners, and even if I was a Goa'uld, I'd still be given certain rights down here on Earth."

"Rights...?" He all but growled, "You forfeited any such rights when you took someone under my command, and used her as a host."

"God, I'm talking to a brick wall here! Where's Daniel? Tell him I need to speak with him."

"You think he wants to see you? Nobody at the SGC wants anything to do with a Goa'uld, why do you think I'm the only one who came? Hammond ordered me to do it. I had no choice."

"Then by all means, please leave! I won't tell on you. Promise."

"I'd love to, but I have my orders. I want you out of Carter. Now."

"I don't have much say in it."

"Then you'll end up dead. Both of you."

"They won't do that. Excuse the ego petting, but I'm too valuable to the SGC."

"You think anyone cares how much physics Carter knows? There are tons of geeks willing to take her place. She's expendable."

"Expendable! What the hell are they going to do, wait until I die?"

"Ah... I take it you've ever been in prison before? No? Well the honeymoon period is almost over. The NID will start off slow, of course. A few random tests, medication in your food and water... you'll know because you'll black out and wake up with an armful of injections. They'll put you in different cells, keep you awake one moment, then hit you with sedatives the next, anything they can think of to throw you off balance, get you talking. Then when they're tired of playing it safe, they'll put you under the knife. Some medical research team will toy with you, looking to make a discovery, and not particularly concerned about whether you live or die. Then one day you just won't wake up."

He watched her eyes fall closed, as if willing herself to stay in control.

"Should have just listened to dad and joined NASA," she said humorlessly, "I could be sitting in a nice little cubicle running test flight simulations instead taking this shit. Now if you're not going to help me, then leave. I've already heard these threats and accusations from the NID, I don't need to hear it from my own people too."

Jack was taken aback by her dispassionate response. He'd be lying if he claimed that this whole messed up situation wasn't making him ache on the inside, every time he looked at her. For one wild moment, he considered the possibility that there was some truth in what she was claiming. What if there was just a fraction of her left that he was able to communicate with?

"I said get out," she told him again, her voice slightly more choked this time.

Ignoring her, he gripped her arm firmly, whirling her around so her body collided lightly against his. Falling into the swirling emotion of her eyes, he fought desperately to find some truth. All he saw was sullen anger, and the sole shred of helplessness she was trying so hard to hide from him. It made him hope, just for a moment, that he was glimpsing the real Sam.

"Carter..." he whispered uncertainly, searching her features, "If you're in there, and you can hear me... I want you to know that I'm not giving up on you."

He released his iron grip on her arm, allowing her the option of retreating if she wished.

She didn't.

Not giving himself time to rethink the idea, he turned his back to the window and tilted himself down to her. Gently brushing the soft corner of her mouth with his own, he felt her gasp against his skin as if willingly parting her lips for him. The thought wasn't something he wanted to dwell on, not until he was sure she was herself again.

"Fight it, Carter. That's an order," he whispered fiercely into the spot where her shoulder met her neck.

Not giving her time to respond, he withdrew, and turned away to leave. He didn't notice the incredulous look Sam Carter wore as she stared after him.

Poor whumped Sam... it's just going to get a teeny bit more angsty, then I promise it'll lighten up again. I should also make a warning sign for the numerous and colorful plot holes in this story... but I mean really, Carter's a Colonel, so it's pretty obvious that real-world logic isn't too high on this fic's list of priorities. Just don't tell anyone I said that.