Title: Past Legacy
Author: Albi
Disclaimer: None of it's mine - I am a merciless borrower of the characters belonging to Gekko and MGM
Spoilers: Not really, certaintly nothing past season 7
Summary: This is part two - SG1 is on a mission in the past to ensure the very existence of their programme
Rating: PG-13 I think... dunno US ratings
Thank you again to Karibou who, despite illness striking her entire family and an insanely busy schedule of her own, took the time to go through this and give me invaluable feedback!
Chapter 2
Gateroom, SGC
"Chevron 4 encoded!" The sergeant's voice boomed through the loudspeaker system.
SG1 was assembled at the base of the gate ramp with the younger Elodie Chabrol, who was leaning slightly on Daniel's shoulder. O'Neill looked across to the French woman, grimacing as he thought of the mission ahead. They had very few details that could be useful for their adventure; the elderly Elodie had not regained consciousness since the two women were struck by seizures. If he didn't know better, O'Neill would even think she had taken the brunt of whatever malaise had overcome them both to allow her younger self to depart with more ease.
He looked over to Teal'c, who looked decidedly uncomfortable in the 1930s clothing. Not that the big man had ever felt comfortable in his SGC uniform – the man was simply so big – but he looked vaguely humiliated wearing the beige suit that had been given to him. With a sigh O'Neill looked down to his own clothes. Suits had never been his favourite type of clothes – he was much happier in casual clothes or fatigues – but in the thirties they had just been so damned uncomfortable! Stiff matierial that scratched at the skin, stupid thin ties. At least he didn't have to wear what Carter did. He looked over to her, and again had to stifle a grin: she was at least able to wear pants and not a dress, but the cut was possibly the most unflattering ever designed for a woman… funny how she still looked amazing.
Carter turned towards her commanding officer, surprised to see his eyes trained on hers as if he were memorising every detail if her body. She raised an eyebrow, challenging him to comment on her ridiculous outfit, and was satisfied to see his face go red in embarrassment before averting his eyes.
"Chevron 7 locked!" The stargate burst into activity.
"Good luck to you all SG1," General Hammond spoke into the microphone in the control room. "And well done again Major Carter – the speed of your calculations have probably saved both Madame Chabrols."
Carter and O'Neill saluted the general in recognition and turned towards the gate. Sam had indeed been lucky to successfully predict the exact time and destination required to end up in Élodie Chabrol's time. There was of course a chance they would be off by a couple of hours, but then they had a rather large window of time to get the stargate into north-east France – or western Germany if possible.
"Major Carter!" The elder Élodie appeared at the entrance to the gateroom. "A word before you go?"
Motioning at the others to depart without her, Carter quickly retreated to the doorway to listen to the woman. The latter leaned in closely.
"Just a word of advice from an old woman who knows many things," the lady whispered into Carter's ear, "don't let love pass you by – he feels the same way you do."
Carter was frozen still, gaping at the old woman; she was all-but pushed through the stargate by Mme Chabrol, and arrived on the other side in such a state of shock that O'Neill rushed to her side.
Unknown warehouse
"Carter? You ok? What did she say?"
Carter's mouth opened and shut mechanically without any sound coming out. O'Neill recognised the action and grinned slightly with comprehension. His eyes twinkled as he took Carter by the hand and led her down the small ramp that was on the other side of the gate.
"So she gave you 'that' message did she?" His mouth formed an enormous smile at the horror that replaced shock on her face. "Relax Carter, she told me to get busy too… we'll just have to see what happens, eh?"
Nodding numbly Carter nonetheless withdrew her hand from O'Neill's, wary of crossing the line forbidden to them by their collective career choices. She directed her attention to her surroundings and was rather stunned to see that there was no-one guarding the gate from this end.
"Élodie," she stood and took a couple of steps into the large space, "I thought you said the gate was well guarded at this end."
"It was," the French woman was approaching a line of windows at the far end, "I don't understand. Maybe something important is happening outside – are you sure you got the correct date?"
At that moment Teal'c and Daniel appeared from behind some large crates stacked up next to the stargate.
"It appears we may have a problem, Major Carter," Teal'c spoke with predictable calm. "The DHD is nowhere to be found."
Carter swung around and realised with a sigh that Teal'c was right, it had been separated from the stargate. Although the DHD was found separately to the stargate, it was even further east than the gate had been in 1945. It could be left to chance that it would be found there, but SG1 still faced the problem of hooking enough power up to the stargate to make it function.
"I'm sorry Sam but that's not all." Daniel spoke up this time, a look of resignation on his face. "I managed to get a radio signal; I think we're in Spain proper – and if I understood the broadcast correctly, it's now November 1937."
Élodie gasped at this piece of news; her knees became shaky and Carter had to rush over to stop her from falling.
"C'est pas vrai, c'est pas vrai," she whimpered to herself. "Ils ont gagné – tout est perdu. La démocratie n'est plus – la France n'est plus!"
Élodie collapsed to the ground, body heaving with her anguish. Carter tried to reassure her in vain.
"Carter?" O'Neill looked to her for a translation
"She thinks all is lost sir," Carter turned to her superior while still comforting Élodie, "she's assuming that France has already lost the 'war against fascism.'" Turning back to the trembling woman she reassured her. "Je suis sûre que tout va bien, I'm sure it's ok – war doesn't begin between France and Germany until 1939, and Spain remains neutral." The team had decided to tell Élodie as little as possible about her future, primarily for fear that she would collapse.
The woman stopped suddenly, her eyes wide with shock, disbelief, and a sense of betrayal. She couldn't understand why people hadn't told her about the war – with prior knowledge of this sort she could prevent the carnage that is supposed to follow.
"Donc vous saviez tout le temps? So you knew all along?" Sparks of anger began to flash into her eyes. "I can't believe this! My country is going to be embroiled in a war against the worst of all fascists and you thought you'd just keep this from me!"
"Of course not," soothed Carter. "We were going to have to tell you. Our plan for the stargate insists that we do so… we just had to get through the stargate as soon as possible – you wouldn't have survived otherwise."
Carter looked from the distraught French woman to Daniel, who nodded, and then to her superior officer. Her eyes implored him, willing him to understand that they had to tell Élodie of the plan, and of her future, if nothing else, to ensure her survival throughout the bloody conflict.
O'Neill looked at Carter, torn as to what he should do. He didn't want to change the course of history unnecessarily but seeing the pain in Élodie's eyes he had to agree with the silent communication coming from Carter. He always understood her looks completely, as she did his. In knowing this, he gave her a small nod and pulled away to explore their surroundings, motioning to Teal'c to follow.
Carter let out a sigh and sat more comfortably on the ground next to Élodie. Daniel joined them and they began to fill the French woman in. After they had finished their recital of events, it took a great deal of time for Élodie to speak. Daniel looked to Sam, concern in his eyes; perhaps they had overdone it in telling the young woman of the fate that waited her people.
Carter had tears in her eyes as she looked back to Daniel. War had always upset her. She wasn't one of those people who could watch a big Hollywood war movie – she could never get past the fact that although the images depicted actors in the field, the events had more or less actually occurred, and millions were dead as a result. Anger began to rise within her as she thought of the pure evil that was behind in particular the Second World War – as much as she would like to search out Hitler and beat him to a pulp before pulling the trigger, she knew that this would irreparably change history, for better or worse. It was the 'worse' part that she dreaded – who's to say that someone else wouldn't take his place and lead the German army into battle with even more dire consequences than were to occur?
"Élodie?" She tentatively touched her arm in an effort to bring her back from within herself. "Are you ok?"
"I.. can't.. believe.. you're.. going.. to.. let.. this.. happen." The French woman spat the words out with disgust. "To kill so many just for their religion; to enslave the French people within the doctrines of fascism…" She could no longer speak, heart-wrenching sobs taking over her body.
"I know Élodie," Daniel interjected, moving closer to her and taking her in his arms. "Knowing as we do the consequences of this war to come, I know Sam and I both would love to use this mission to rid the world of the danger that approaches." He continued as Élodie's sobs subsided slightly, listening to what he had to say. "The problem is, we don't know what would happen in that altered future. It's possible it may be better, but the crisis in international politics is so great in your time, we can't be sure that our actions would prevent the genocide – we just don't know." The woman in his arms stiffened in disagreement. "What we do know is that in our future, we have to fight the Goa'uld – and we would have no chance of winning without the knowledge and technology that we have gained through the stargate."
He paused and looked to Carter for help, just as anguished as she was at the thought of letting the war happen. As a civilian his pain was possibly greater, as he didn't share the same duty-bound philosophy as the Air Force major did. He saw all war as being disgusting – albeit necessary against the true evil of the Goa'uld.
"He's right, as difficult as it may be." Her voice was shaky with distress. "We have seen into alternate realities, and as far as we can tell, ours is only one of a few where Earth is winning the war against the Goa'uld. Elsewhere the people of Earth are either enslaved or dead. As much as the death of the 6 million Jews and countless others pains me, I have to think of my present, where we're trying to save 6 BILLION." She let those words sink into Élodie before continuing. "Can you understand? We will help all we can to ensure your safety and that of as many French people – you can encourage an evacuation towards the non-occupied south before the war begins. But we can't alter the overall course of history; and we can't allow the stargate to remain in French hands." Carter almost smiled at the indignant response this last comment warranted. "I'm sure you'd do a great job if it were up to you to control the stargate, however we can't change our future – it's too dangerous."
At that moment Teal'c came running towards them, O'Neill not far behind him. Fear was emanating from both their expressions, and soon Daniel and Carter saw the cause: there were as many as 20 men chasing them, wearing gas masks.
"We need to get out of here, NOW!" O'Neill screamed at the others motioning to the door on the other side of the warehouse. At that moment, however, a grenade exploded between the two halves of SG1 and a thick gas spread out, overcoming the five people until they were unconscious.
Unknown room 1
Élodie opened her eyes and looked around her in vain; the room was so dark she couldn't even make out any vague shapes.
"Samantha? Daniel?" She had trouble speaking, her throat dry and coarse. "Colonel? Teal'c?" She almost hoped the Jaffa wasn't there – although she knew he was her friend, it was hard to trust the overbearing alien.
There was no answer from anyone. Conducting a quick search of the space, arms outstretched, she ascertained that she was alone. Her captors must have recognized her and thus separated her from her saviours. Overcome with the hopelessness of her situation, she collapsed in the corner and wept silently.
Unknown room 2
Teal'c was the first to regain consciousness, and sat up abruptly, pausing to listen at his surroundings for a sign of danger. His training as a Jaffa warrior had taught him to pay attention to all his senses, and not rely on his sight was much as his other team members. Hearing the sounds of one person breathing deeply, as if asleep, he shuffled slowly in that direction across the floor. Holding his hand out, he reached to their face and felt glasses.
"Daniel Jackson," he spoke sharply in order to wake the archaeologist. "Are you alright?"
Daniel grabbed his head as the Jaffa's words wrenched him into consciousness.
"Arghh! My head." He tried to lift himself into a seated position but was forced to lie down by the pounding in his skull.
"I am sorry if you are feeling pain, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c lowered his voice somewhat in an attempt not to further cause Daniel pain. "It appears as if we have been separated from the others while unconscious."
Daniel sat up and retched with the wave of nausea that overcame him. He looked towards where he thought Teal'c was, not being able to actually see him. Realising they were at the mercy of his captors, he shuffled back against the wall – soon to be joined by Teal'c – and waited.
Unknown room 3
Carter shifted uncomfortably on the hard, uneven ground she was lying on. Instinctively placing her hand on her head she groaned with the pain, wondering where on Earth she was. Opening her eyes with difficulty she saw nothing, the darkness denying her of conducting an assessment of the containment space. Just as she was about to lift herself off the ground to explore, she stiffened and froze; there was a hand placed on her breast. Reaching across with a shaking hand, she touched a coarse face, stubble sprouting, strong features, short bristly hair. She relaxed slightly, relieved that she knew the owner of the errant hand. She chuckled to herself in realisation of her situation and cleared her parched throat.
"Uh, sir?" She whispered, not wanting to exacerbate the headache O'Neill probably had. She felt his fingers move slightly and shivered unconsciously at the sensation.
"Hmmph." O'Neill's response was typical.
"Sir, I don't know what Madame Chabrol told you back in the SGC, but I think it's a bit presumptuous of you to have your hand where it is."
She felt an abrupt movement of the Colonel raising his head off the ground, accompanied by a growl of discomfort.
"Shit. Sorry Carter, he pulled his hand away. "Although I will plead that I was unconscious, and am obviously suffering from one hell of a head injury at the moment. What the hell happened?"
"Well apparently sir," she emphasised the last word, more as a reminder to herself than anything else, "we were gassed and then separated – you and me locked in this dank room. What did you and Teal'c find before the attack?"
Groaning as he sat upright, despite the protestations of his headache, O'Neill turned towards Carter's voice.
"Not a lot. We got to the door and saw a bunch of militia guys standing outside. One of them saw me and they all came a-running." He paused, remembering the French woman. "How did you and Daniel go talking to Élodie? She ready to kill us?"
"She was understandably upset but I think she'll understand that we're doing the only thing we can." Carter tried to lift herself up, but gasped at a shooting pain that appeared in her side.
O'Neill heard her gasp and instantly moved closer to help her, knocking his hand against her head in the darkness.
"You ok? Did they hurt you?" He felt his way to where her hand was, clutching at her side. "Let me feel." He paused. "That came out kinda dodgy, but let me do it anyway; you might have sustained a broken rib or two."
Carter giggled at her commanding officer's touchy-feely demand.
"Don't make me laugh sir," she gasped again as she breathed in, the pain shooting up her side. "I think it's just bruising but it still hurts." She lifted her top slightly and felt the warm gooeyness of blood. "Ah damn, I'm bleeding somehow."
O'Neill ran his fingers along her skin and felt the cut.
"It's not a deep cut, but the pain is probably from bruising – you must have fallen awkwardly when we were KO'd. You're really in the wars these couple of days huh?" He manoeuvred himself closer to her, leaning her head on his leg. He got a handkerchief out of his pocket and placed it on the wound to stop the bleeding.
"You carry a handkerchief sir?" Carter smiled at this. "I wouldn't have thought you'd be so – traditional."
O'Neill sensed the playfulness in her voice and chuckled himself, glad to see that Carter was obviously not that seriously injured.
"What can I say Sam," he emphasised her first name, tongue-in-cheek, "I'm just an old-fashioned guy."
He fished an adhesive bandage out of one of his many pockets and placed it over the cut. Chancing the glare he knew he'd get from Carter, but thankfully would not be able to see, he placed a light kiss on the bandage once in place.
"There you go," his grin was audible in his voice. "All better!"
Carter rolled her eyes. Then, aware that he couldn't see this action, spoke out in what she hoped was a reproachful tone.
"Sir, there's no need to mollycoddle me – I'm a big girl now."
"That you are Carter," came the reply, "that you are. Now rest while I try to think of a way outta here."
Carter relaxed, her head comfortable on its O'Neill pillow.
Rebel military base, north-west Spain, outside
Élodie was on her knees, her hands on her head, at the mercy of her captors. Her eyes darted around her, trying to recognise her surroundings in vain. The man in front of her, his gun trained to her head, spoke in heavily accented French.
"Answer me!" He growled, advancing on her with a menacing glare. "How did you get in contact with the Americans!"
Élodie trembled on the spot, unable to speak, even if she had wanted to reveal anything of the only people who could help her. The man approached yet closer to her until the barrel of his gun was pressing against her temple, his stinking breath bearing down on her face.
"ANSWER ME!" He roared. "I will have them all shot unless you tell me of their purpose!"
Thinking quickly, Élodie decided to play dumb.
"I… I don't know where they came from!" She quavered. "I escaped from you and tried to get to Paris for help only to be captured by them. They knew all about the st-, the great ring, and forced me to take them to it."
"So how did they know we were at San Sebastiàn!" the man's eyes were bulging, the veins in his neck sticking out. "We were in Biarritz when you escaped!"
Élodie cursed to herself, she had forgotten about the time that had elapsed since her departure; at least now she knew their location.
"I have no idea," she pleaded, her eyes wide with fear. "When the device wasn't in Biarritz, they used some strange machines to track it – I've never seen such gadgets." The statement wasn't entirely untrue, when she thought about it.
Triumph flashed over the man's expression, he released the grip on his gun slightly and took a more relaxed stance.
"Then they knew of the device." He pressed the barrel of the gun harder into her head as she refused to acknowledge his words. "They know how it functions!" Excitement showed in his eyes.
Élodie glanced up to the man, unable to hide the expression from her face, betraying her wishes to reveal nothing. In that expression the militia man knew he had hit on the truth. Triumphant, he motioned to one of his lackeys to approach and addressed him in Spanish.
"Take her into the mountains and dispose of her! Prepare the Americans for transport to the main base; we leave immediately!"
With that he spat at the ground in front of Élodie and began to laugh manically.
"The day will soon come when the red danger is eliminated, unfortunately you will not live to see it. Goodbye."
Spain, unknown highway
Carter fumed quietly, forced to sit still between the two terrorists clasping her arms so tightly she could feel her blood pounding, already forming bruises. Her hands and feet were bound, and she was gagged with a dirty handkerchief that brought on persistent waves of nausea. The heat in the van was stifling and the two men had obviously not washed in the recent past, making the nausea increasingly difficult to bear. They were laughing together, speaking volumes of what she assumed to be Spanish, while looking constantly towards their captive.
Each syllable, no matter how incomprehensible, only fuelled her rage. Her fists were clenched so tightly that her knuckles were white, and she felt as if her fingernails would break the skin and cause her hands to start bleeding. She would have welcomed the injury as a way of distracting herself from the intense rage that was boiling within her, causing her chest to ache and threatening to force tears down her cheeks.
There was a shuffling sound behind the three people in the van. If it was even possible, Carter's rage mounted to an unprecedented level. O'Neill was bound and gagged in the back of the truck, obviously rolling around with the erratic driving of their captors. She hated to think of the state she would find him in when they reached their destination – if she even saw him again. Her rage subsided slightly as pain and apprehension took over; her heart was positively throbbing inside her chest at the thought of not seeing her commanding officer again. This time there was no stopping a lone tear from rolling down her cheek, a detail that did not escape the barbarians squashing her between them. She heard them leer at her, saying something about being 'very sad' in Spanish before they both leant in towards her, breathing unevenly.
Unable to contain herself, Carter screamed out in frustration through her wretched gag of a handkerchief and strained against everything binding her in place. She heard a similar scream emanating from the back of the truck, which may or may not have been a stifled "Sam!" from O'Neill. She stopped her resistance upon hearing this noise, there was no point in worrying him when he couldn't see what was happening. She would just have to clamp down in her current position and not give anything to her captors. Resigned to the injustice of the situation, Carter sank back into her position, steeling herself for whatever they could throw her way – her outburst would have to wait until she could do them some serious bodily harm.
In order to distract herself, Carter concentrated on her surroundings. Being the only woman may have made her a target for these terrorists, but riding up front between two potential assailants gave away many clues as to where they were going. As far as she could tell, they were in northern Spain, still very close to the border, in Basque country. From the road signs, she surmised they were headed towards Pamplona, a city inland but still near the foot of the Pyrenées; the mountain range that separated France from Spain. The van she was in was, in fact, following another, identical vehicle. Carter prayed the others were in there. As for the stargate, she could not see how they would be transporting it at the same time, there was no other truck ahead of or behind them; it would perhaps be necessary to return to fetch it afterwards.
The transport of the stargate was going to be the paramount problem; had they still been in France it wouldn't have been too difficult for Élodie to persuade some of her contacts in the government to provide them with army transport vehicles. In Spain, however, the situation was remarkably more complicated. Even if they managed to secure aid from the embattled Spanish Popular Front government, the north-west of Spain was by no means under government control. Carter sighed inwardly and bristled in her cramped space.
The difficulty of the situation weighed on her as she was tossed from side to side by the constant bouncing of the van in various potholes. Hearing a muffled 'thump' accompanied by a groan from the back of the van, she forced herself to believe – SG1 had escaped much more dire circumstances in one piece. She damned well wasn't going to break that record now.
Lower Pyrenéen mountains, Basque Country
Élodie trudged dejectedly in front of the soldier charged with her 'disposal'. They had been walking for almost an hour now and she couldn't fathom why he wouldn't just kill her. Every now and then she looked back to him, considering making a run for it. But what would she do? She had none of the gadgets that Daniel had given her – the communicating device, the weapons – they had all been taken. She didn't even know where the rebels were taking her would-be saviours.
They reached a fast-moving deep creek, at which point her executioner motioned for her to stop. He put his finger to his lips and craned his neck in all directions, listening for something. He didn't seem to hear anything and, relieved at this, fired three shots over Élodie's head. He then took her hand in his and sliced a shallow cut in the palm; just enough to make it bleed. He held her hand over the edge of the creek, letting the blood fall both in the water and on the shore.
Élodie's mouth gaped as she watched him work quickly and efficiently, retrieving both her radio and gun out of his pockets and handing them to her. She didn't know what to say or do, unwilling to believe that someone may actually be helping her. In halting French the soldier finally spoke.
"We did not know where you had gone, Madame Chabrol. We feared you had been killed. The Frente Popular hopes your friends will be able to help our cause; the best we can do to help this far north is keep abreast of the activities of the insurgents, and free those held hostage. "
Tears of relief ran down Élodie's cheeks, the soldier was an agent for the Spanish Government. The war was not yet over. All was not yet lost.
"My colleague will try to free your friends, they are being taken to Pamplona. I fear you must not wait for them, but continue into the mountains back into France, it is the wise thing to do."
Élodie nodded dumbly, not wanting to incur disapproval in her saviour by insisting on returning to the stargate. She would have to wait a day or so before moving anyway, otherwise she would surely be caught.
"The men will come looking for your body to ensure I have done my job. I will lead them to this spot and they will assume your body has washed away. Do not be here when we come."
The soldier turned away from her and trudged down the hill through the trees. Before long, the only sound Élodie could hear was that of the rushing water behind her. Snapping out of her stunned condition, she moved upstream along the creek to find a hiding place.
Containment cell, main militia base, Pamplona
O'Neill brushed his fingers along Carter's cheek, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu. Yet again she was unconscious and injured, her body propped up on his own for support. Her injuries didn't look too serious, but she had definitely been knocked around by the animals who had transported them the day before. Not that he was in a particularly fit state either; he didn't think his body had ever had quite this many bruises – he resolved to never again travel in a car without putting his seatbelt on first.
The room they were being kept in was gloomy, and yet not completely without light. There was a small window in the rustic clay walls, up way too high for O'Neill tor each; maybe if Carter was awake they could reach it together. He looked back to the woman cradled in his arms, his chest aching at the thought of what could have happened to her. He had seen the hungry look in the eyes of the men who took her away before locking him in the back of the van. At one point he'd heard her scream and hadn't been able to contain a holler of his own in protest. Every pothole on the badly-maintained road may have inflicted another bruise on him, but he couldn't feel them, so intent was he on trying to listen to the events taking place in the front. His steely resolve had been increasingly enraged by the thought of those men even breathing in Carter's direction.
When the militia had placed them both in the cell and removed their blindfolds, O'Neill had immediately moved towards Carter. Seeing that she was unconscious, he yelled an assortment of expletives at their captors before doing a preliminary examination of his colleague. Her clothes were ruffled in a way that caused dread to rise up within him.
Carter moved slightly as she lay on his lap. Her eyes flew open and before he could reassure her she leaped up and pressed herself against the far wall, shouting at him to get away.
"Sam it's ok." O'Neill didn't move, for fear of startling her further. "They're gone, they can't hurt you now. It's just you and me."
He heard her breathing calm somewhat and edged towards her, stopping when he was directly in front of her, although still a metre away
"Are you ok?" He reached out tentatively and touched her foot, a small form of contact to test her state of nerves. She flinched but didn't recoil further.
Looking into her clear eyes, O'Neill tried with all his might to transmit his feelings of concern and reassurance all at once. He saw her expression change from raw fear to relief as her whole body seemed to collapse into itself. Quickly he moved to her side and took her in his arms.
"Hey, good to see you're back with us." She was clinging to him now, tears brimming in her eyes. "I swear we'll get them for what they've done, I won't let up 'til they've paid for it – dearly. I'm so sorry I couldn't stop them – I saw the way they were looking at you-" he broke off, wincing with the pain it caused him to think of anyone taking advantage of Carter like that.
Carter raised her head, somewhat surprised. She searched his eyes and realised what he was assuming. Almost giddy with embarrassment she straightened herself up.
"It's ok sir." Her voice was not yet sounding clear, but it was comprehensible all the same. "They didn't do that… they were violent – I thought they might – but they didn't."
"Then what-?" O'Neill began
"I… I…" Carter looked into her superior officer's eyes. "They told me you had died in the back of the van on our trip here." She looked into his eyes, willing herself to believe he was really there. "They said you, Teal'c, Daniel and Elodie were all dead… that they wanted to give me a last chance to live, but when I wouldn't reveal who we were or what we were doing at the stargate, they…" she winced, remembering the pain, "they beat me unconscious. I thought you were dead, Jack."
Carter let her head drop between her knees, almost sick with the shock that she had just got. She felt his hand reach out and touch her cheek, catching the tear that was slowly progressing downwards. He cupped her chin and directed her face towards him.
"Are you ok?" He felt her try to retreat from him, but didn't let her, cupping her face now with both hands. "Sam? Are you?"
"I'm fine sir," she struggled to control the pitch of her voice.
O'Neill let an exasperated breath out, still with the 'sir's
"Hey it's ok, you can drop the 'sir'" he smiled at her warmly. "I think given that we can't do anything for the moment, we can just be ourselves, yeah? Now come 'ere – god knows I'd want to hold you and never let go if I the situation were reversed."
Sam hesitated, she knew what the older Élodie had said, but she was still wary of crossing that line. Before she knew it he had gently pulled her towards him and enveloped her in his arms. She felt his lips brush against her forehead and looked up, her nose almost touching his, their eyes locked. He closed the distance between them and kissed her lightly before pulling away slightly to gauge her reaction.
"I.. I don't think this is a good idea." She whispered, struggling to hold her composure. "Apart from anything else, our mission-"
"Yeah – it'd be nice if just for once things went according to plan wouldn't it?" He grinned and rested his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"
"No sir – I mean Jack – it's ok," she fumbled for words. "I… I… I don't know…" the next sentence came out before she could stop it. "What did Élodie tell you back at the SGC?"
She looked into his brown eyes, afraid of how he might reply. She saw him consider his options; afraid he wasn't going to talk about it. She opened her mouth to take back the question when he spoke.
"She told me not to deny my feelings." His voice was almost at a whisper, he pulled away from her slightly and averted his eyes. "She… she told me that difficult does not mean impossible." His voice was now barely audible. "She told me you feel the same way."
Carter realised she had been holding her breath and exhaled slowly. She looked at O'Neill and realised he still wouldn't look at her. She reached up and directed his head to look directly at her.
"She told me the same thing." Their eyes were locked, their faced just inches apart, frozen in a silent conversation. "And she was right."
This time it was Sam who closed the distance between them; this time their lips met and remained together in a slow, heartfelt kiss. Eventually she nestled her head in his chest and felt his chin settle in her hair.
"So she was right…" O'Neill smiled and looked down at Sam before settling again in their neat embrace.
"Maybe we should wait until we've saved our future, 'sir?'" She grinned even though he couldn't see her face.
"Party pooper," came the curt reply.
The two of them relaxed, leaning against the wall; both their minds again considering the mammoth task ahead of them.
Main militia base, Pamplona
"MOVE!" Four men had their guns trained on Teal'c and Daniel, who were reluctantly following orders.
Daniel looked to Teal'c, who characteristically raised an eyebrow before continuing towards the clay hut ahead of them. Their movement puzzled him. So far he had led their captors to believe that he didn't understand Spanish, but even knowing what they had said he was still at a loss. At least he knew Jack and Sam were ok, but the exchange had still been hard to follow: "Antonio wants them kept together, he wants to interrogate them all as a group, alone," One soldier had said. The other had seemed vehemently opposed to this: "I don't know. Have you noticed him acting strangely? I think we should keep them apart – we don't want them to be able to plot against us." The first soldier had become angry at this spoke to fast that Daniel couldn't understand, the gist of it indicated the second soldier was being reminded of his responsibilities and loyalty. This window into the internal politics of the Spanish resistance puzzled him. The best explanation he could fathom gave him hope – tensions within the movement could play to SG1's advantage.
With another shove in their backs, Teal'c and Daniel were forced into the hut, the door slamming behind them. Letting their eyes adjust to the gloomy space, their gaze fell upon the two other members of SG1, who appeared to be asleep in a rather compromising position. Teal'c looked to Daniel, eyebrow approaching the top of his head. Daniel looked back to him and started giggling.
"What is so amusing Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c looked from the sleeping pair to Daniel, failing to see the connection.
Daniel gasped for breath, unable to stop laughing long enough to speak. He sank to the floor, almost giddy with his inappropriate outburst. Finally composing himself, he turned to Teal'c
"Nothing's really funny." He was speaking with an irregular rhythm, still fighting off the giggles. "Here we were thinking they're dead, injured, lost, god knows what – and they're quietly sleeping in each others' arms, as if they're on some retreat! They've known each other for over five years and they wait until NOW to get together!"
At this point both Carter and O'Neill began to stir. Sam sighed contentedly as she woke up, sensing the strong arms keeping her warm. She felt Jack place a light kiss on her ear, and smiled to herself – they should have done this a long time ago, it made being incarcerated a lot easier to deal with.
They registered the fact that they were no longer alone in their cell at the same time. Slowly opening their eyes, they then quickly disentangled themselves and shot apart at such speed that Daniel could no longer contain his amusement and began laughing again. Even Teal'c appeared to be genuinely amused by the scene before him.
"Relax guys," Daniel spluttered the word in between giggles. "We've already been here a couple of minutes – you make a cute couple."
At a loss for words, Daniel looked to Teal'c for help.
"Indeed O'Neill, Major Carter, it gives both myself and Daniel Jackson great pleasure to see you safe and well." His words brought Daniel down to Earth.
"Yeah, we had no idea if you guys were ok!" Seeing the still shocked looks on the soldiers' faces, he hurried to reassure them. "Hey, guys, whatever's going on, we're happy for you, k?" He looked at them earnestly, willing them to finally accept their feelings for each other.
Sam looked to her commanding officer, letting him make the decision – she was afraid to speak for both of them, should he have changed his mind. She knew she wasn't really ready to admit her feelings to other people considering she hadn't really admitted them to herself, let alone the man now sitting next to her.
"Hey Daniel!" O'Neill was characteristically upbeat, ignoring what had just happened. "The evil army-men told Carter you were dead." He looked to Sam. "Your guys really had their facts wrong eh? We're all fine – this mission's looking up!"
"Umm Jack?" Daniel interrupted, trying in vain to bring the situation into order. "We have no idea where Élodie is at the moment, and no idea where we are or where the stargate is."
"Ah." Jack blinked towards the rest of the team. "Well… maybe not then."
At this moment one Antonio Martinez entered the cell, flanked by yet two more anonymous militia soldier. He was tall, his hair almost black and his skin tanned only like a native Mediterranean's skin could be. He looked to the Americans inside and sighed. How on earth did people expect him to counter-act against the military insurgency from within if they didn't alert him of their plans? To release the prisoners risked to compromise his position…
The four of them had frozen upon his appearance in the doorway, more from the shock in reaction to the sunlight now streaming into the room than anything else. They instinctively moved closer together, the large one with the strange marking on his head remaining on his feet, as if he were protecting the others.
"Do you speak Spanish? French?" he asked in halting English
"Two of us speak French," Daniel replied in that language. "We can translate for the others."
Antonio turned towards the guards who had accompanied and motioned for them to leave, growling in discontent when they hesitated. With them gone her crouched on the ground in front of the prisoners and looked at them, unable to believe what he was about to do.
"I don't know how you came to be here, or even where you really come from – are you really American? My men in San Sebastiàn found some very intriguing gadgets on your persons." He paused, gauging their reaction. To their credit there was none. "My name is Antonio Martinez, known to your friend Élodie as Antoine. I work on the behalf of Léon Blum and others who abhor fascism."
Carter's mouth dropped open – they were being held by a friendly force! She looked to O'Neill and saw he had no idea of the significance of this revelation.
"Colonel," she had returned to referring to him by rank, now in business mode. "Léon Blum was the Premier of Popular Front France. If he's who he says he is, then we're on the same side."
"Well great!" He turned towards Antonio. "So give us our stuff, lead us to Élodie and let us all go on our merry, merry way."
O'Neill began to get up off the ground, brushing the dust of his clothes, almost businesslike in his demeanour.
"No!" Antonio reached out to stop Jack from moving. "It is not that simple. Almost all the men in this facility are loyal to Franco. I have convinced them of my loyalty and do all I can to thwart their intentions. Your arrival puts me in a VERY awkward position!"
"Ah… right." O'Neill leaned back against the wall, having Antonio's words translated. "Well we've still got a problem then."
Antonio sighed heavily and sat on the ground opposite the Americans. He knew he was not going to please them with what he had to say next.
"About Élodie…" he braced himself, the pain audible in this voice. "She was not transferred here. I have some officers loyal to the true cause of democracy at San Sebastiàn, but I can't be sure of her fate. In all likelihood she is dead."
Daniel closed his eyes, his heart sinking. He heard Jack let out a long breath as Sam told him what Antonio had said. They looked to each other, the despair evident in their eyes.
"If Élodie Chabrol no longer lives, then we have already failed, O'Neill." Teal'c kept his eyes on Antonio, always ready to react at the sign of danger.
"Mr Martinez," Daniel addressed their captor. "We are here on a very important mission, so urgent that there wasn't time to inform yourself of its purpose. The st-, the great ring that was taken from Élodie must be returned to France and transported to the German border." His eyes pleaded the tall man standing in front of him. "It is our last chance."
Not wanting to alarm the Spanish man, Daniel left out the exact details of their mission. Should he know the gate actually needed to be found by an all-powerful Nazi force that would essentially enslave the French people for 4 years, they would certainly not be able to count on receiving his support. He daren't take his eyes off Antonio, willing him to help.
"I… I fear I cannot give you the great ring." Antonio's eyes darted from Daniel to Carter, considering his options. "It would expose me for what I am and that would put our cause into peril." He paused to gather his thoughts. "It is possible that I can ensure your escape, and organise for a truck to be left abandoned. It will be difficult, but there is no more that I can do – although I will send word to my most trusted aide in San Sebastiàn, Juan. Your fate thereafter will be out of my control."
O'Neill considered this offer, unsure as to whether he should trust the foreign man sitting in front of him. He looked to Carter for support.
"Well," she said quietly, "even if he's setting us up for something it's our best chance – we'd just be trying to escape anyway."
"I concur with Major Carter's analysis, O'Neill." The latter's head snapped up to look at Teal'c. "If we are to complete this mission we must accept this man's offer."
Finally O'Neill looked to Daniel, who nodded curtly in his direction. Then, turning to Antonio he nodded and smiled with thanks.
"So tell us what we need to do."
To be continued…