The building they were in was like a maze and they couldn't find their way out. There were doors everywhere and no matter which way they went they hit a dead end. Sam was exhausted and thirsty and she just wanted this all to end. She wanted to be back in the SGC luxuriating in a steaming hot shower. She wanted to be anywhere but this place, walled with doors and frustration.
"This looks like a nice place," Daniel said, as he was pulled into yet another room. Every door they had tried led them to utter disappointment. "Why don't you and Teal'c go find the way out while Sam and I stay here and rest?" he continued with a leer aimed at her.
The Colonel just yanked on the chain and pulled Daniel out of the room to go in search of the way out.
"C'mon Jack," Daniel continued. "It'll only take a few minutes. Or are you jealous because it's Sam that I want and not you?"
Sam was shocked at that statement while the Colonel stopped dead in his tracks, turning to glare at Daniel. The look on his face scared Sam half to death, but it didn't faze Daniel in the least. He just took advantage of this opportunity to gain his freedom by yanking hard on the chain to break loose from the Colonel's grasp and ran toward Sam. Oh God, she thought as she stood there frozen with wide eyes. Daniel grabbed her arm to pull her along and she finally reacted. She dug her heels in and put all her weight into getting him to let go. This pulled him backward and he lost his balance, causing him to fall on top of her. He quickly got his bearings though and turned over so that he was now lying face down on top of her, leering at her. The Colonel and Teal'c both came to her aid, as each grabbed an arm and pulled Daniel off, but not before she hit him in the face with her fist. She jumped up and hit him again when he was upright between the two men, putting all her anger and hatred into that punch.
"You ever try that again," she snarled at him, "I'll kill you, I swear I will." She was seething with anger as she turned and stalked off down the hall. She stopped after a few steps, breathing heavily, and turned to the Colonel and Teal'c, "Thank you," she said trying not to grin at the look on both of their faces as they stared at her in shock.
"You go, girl," the Colonel said in awe and with some pride, causing her to blush as she realized what she had done.
"Let's just find our way out of here," she said trying not to show her embarrassment. She led the way with Teal'c following her and the Colonel still dragging Daniel along. The next room they entered held a surprise for them and Sam couldn't hide her pleasure. Everything they had with them when they first came through the Stargate was piled up on a table situated at one side of the room. Sam was glad to see their canteens sitting among their clothes, weapons and equipment. She was so thirsty.
"Oh," she said softly. She headed straight for one of the canteens, pulled it out and drank greedily from it. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand when she'd had her fill, then turned to find Colonel O'Neill staring at her.
"You weren't thirsty, were you Carter?" he asked with a small smile. He was staring at her apprehensively and she wondered what was on his mind.
She realized what it was when he held out her clothes to her along with a first aid kit, still watching her. She stared back at him, her eyes wide, as she backed up a few steps. She had injuries in places she never wanted him to ever see again.
"Just your back, Carter," he soothed. " And maybe your arms. I noticed a lot of blood…"
"We don't have time for this right now," she interrupted him, cringing when she heard the desperation in her voice. "Shouldn't we find our way out of here first? There could be more of those people still running around."
He stared at her for a moment, then said, "Sit," as he pointed at a bench. "Teal'c will stand guard," he added, effectively cutting into her excuses.
"I'll be fine," she told him, backing up another step as he walked toward her. He stopped when he noticed her fear, but continued to watch her with determination. Oh great, he had that look in his eyes. The one that told her he was going to get his way no matter what she wanted. He could be so stubborn, she thought, as she remembered that day when he wouldn't leave her to die on that ship. That memory brought on another one of him telling Anise that he'd 'rather die than to lose Carter'. Well, Sam would rather die than to let him see her naked again.
"That's an order Major," the Colonel told her in a voice that matched the determination in his eyes. Sam couldn't help looking at the door before deciding to face her fear. She went over to the bench and sat down on it, waiting for the Colonel's next move. She watched as Teal'c used the keys he had brought with him to lock the end of Daniel's tether to a metal ring that was embedded in the wall on the other side of the room. He then came over to stand next to her to offer moral support. She knew that was what he was doing and Sam was grateful for her friends, even as she dealt with the anger she felt at what they did to her.
Teal'c held his staff weapon in his hands, ready and willing to blow away every single resident on the planet, while Colonel O'Neill came over and sat down next to Sam, trying to come up with the words to tell her what he needed her to do in order for him to assess her wounds. She stared at him warily, knowing what it was he wanted, but not quite able to help him out.
"There's a lot of blood on your back," he finally said, as he sat there looking extremely uncomfortable. "I'm going to have to lift up the shirt to get a better look at it. Um… It might be better if you'd…" He didn't finish what he was saying, but she knew what he wanted as he used his hands to gesture toward the tunic. He wanted her to take it off so that he could get a better look.
"No sir," she said vehemently. There was no way in hell. "It can wait until we reach the SGC."
"And when will that be?" he asked. "I assume you know where we are, because I sure don't. We can't even find our way out of this building. I don't remember how we got here or which route they took when they brought us here - I was totally out of it. One minute I was talking with Teal'c near the Gate and the next minute I woke up in my own personal jail cell half naked and freezing my ass off." He stopped then and gave her an apologetic look. "Look Carter," he continued, "There's no telling how far we have to go or what we will have to deal with in order to get to the Gate. I need you to be well enough to make it. If those wounds get infected or you become too sick to move…"
"I'll only slow you down, I know sir," she said dejectedly.
"Teal'c and I won't harm you again, Major," he said. "You know that, don't you?"
"I know," she said quietly as she stared into her commander's eyes. "I watched you fight the drug. You probably don't remember everything, but…"
"I remember every last detail," the Colonel snarled, his face registering intense anger. "I remember the horror I felt at what I was doing even as I couldn't wait to finish it. I remember every miserable thing I did and there is no excuse for not being able to fight it. None."
"Why fight it?" Daniel said from his perch before she could respond. "She enjoyed it with me. You should have heard her, moaning and begging me for more. It was music to my ears."
"Fucking liar," Sam growled. "See what I mean?" she asked as she turned toward the Colonel. "That is not Daniel. You know it as well as I do. Daniel would never have said something like that to me, just as the three of you would never have… would never have hurt me."
"C'mon Sam, you enjoyed it," Daniel continued. "You know you did. Come on over here and let's get down to business. You want it, I know…"
"Shut up Daniel," Colonel O'Neill shouted at the same time that Teal'c growled, "Be silent Daniel Jackson." Both men were on their feet, and Sam was afraid for Daniel with all the rage directed at him.
The drugs apparently made Daniel fearless, as well as heartless and cruel, because he just laughed at the two men before sneering at them with as much hate as he could muster. "I'm sure Sam wouldn't mind if you two join us. We could…"
"Gag him Teal'c," the Colonel cut in, as he dug into his bag and pulled out a cloth. Teal'c seemed to be more than happy to comply and went over to do the honors. Daniel had other ideas though and kicked out at the Jaffa who simply jumped out of the way before tackling the task of keeping Daniel quiet. Sam watched them struggle, not for a minute missing the irony of the situation. She had apparently taught Daniel a thing or two when she had fought him off the day before while her hands had been chained to the wall just as his were.
"Sam," the Colonel said quietly. He had sat down next to her and was holding out the first aid kit. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"
"Let me get my pants on first," she pleaded. At least she wouldn't be totally naked.
"After I take a look at your legs," he insisted.
Sam stared at him incredulously. She couldn't have heard him right. Most of the injuries on her legs where on her thighs and higher. She was not going to let him near that area, no matter what. The very thought of it had her trembling in fear again. "No," she said shakily. "Sir, I don't think I can do this."
"It'll be okay," he said softly, reaching out to wipe the tears from her cheek. "I promise to be careful and not get too personal. Please, try to trust me. Just this once."
She could do that, she could at least try. She nodded at him and watched him warily as he got up from the bench and knelt down in front of her. Teal'c had come back and was standing next to her, his staff weapon at the ready in case they were interrupted by unfriendly natives, telling her with his eyes that she had nothing to be afraid of. Oh Teal'c, she thought, if you only knew.
She trembled as the Colonel touched her knee and she found herself pushing the fabric of the tunic down between her legs to hide the area that was most traumatized. He accepted this and began his inspection of the bruises and a cut she didn't even know she had on her thigh. He cleaned the cut with an antiseptic, wiping the cloth down her thigh, causing her to shiver as the air hit the skin that had been dampened by the antiseptic. He stopped what he was doing when he saw her shiver and looked up into her face, silently asking for permission to continue. She nodded again and he began to inspect her other leg.
There were only bruises on that one and he smiled at her as he got up and grabbed her pants off of the bench and handed them to her. She took them gratefully and put them on hastily, making sure she didn't give them a peep show. Not that they hadn't seen everything anyway, she grimaced with shame.
"Now I need to look at your back," the Colonel said as he turned around to face Teal'c. "Take off the shirt Carter."
"Yes sir," she responded automatically, but made no move to obey. The Colonel had his back to her while Teal'c stared at the ground in front of her, both giving her the privacy she needed. Not Daniel, though. He was staring avidly at her, the gag in his mouth keeping him from verbally rooting her on. She glared at her friend, then stood up so that she was blocked from Daniel's view by the Colonel's body and took off the tunic. She wrapped it firmly around her breasts and sat back down, glaring at Daniel again.
"I'm ready," she said softly, fervently wishing to get this over with.
Teal'c brought his eyes back up to her and the Colonel turned around to get back to business. He stepped over the bench so that he was now behind her and she heard him issue a low growl when he got a good look at her injuries. She could only imagine what he was seeing, as she sat there waiting for him to confirm her suspicions.
"What the hell happened?" he asked her, as she felt his hand touch her shoulder. She flinched in pain and he hastily apologized. "Sorry," he mumbled.
"The wall behind me was rough," she explained quietly, flinching when he touched her back again with an antiseptic pad. "The roughness scraped the skin on my back pretty badly when I was forced up against it." She stopped speaking then, as the memories welled up and threatened to destroy her. She found herself staring at Teal'c wondering what he was thinking, as he stood there quietly watching the show.
"What about this bruise down here," the Colonel asked, as he gently touched the spot on her back that had caused her extreme agony each time she was pushed into the wooden shelf.
"There was a ledge in the wall behind me," she replied in a trembling voice - the bruise had hurt when he touched it. "It rammed into my back every time you guys pushed me up against it."
There was silence as all three of them reflected on their own memories that statement brought up. Sam wished she could just make it all go away, as if none of it ever happened, then yelped when the Colonel got a little rough in his handling of her.
"Sorry," he said gruffly, and she knew he was dealing with his anger at himself, which caused him to be a little too rough with her. He continued cleaning the wounds on her back, using much gentler touches, and she sat quietly while she dwelled on the fact that she really wasn't afraid of either of them.
A noise from the other side of the room brought her out of her musings and she watched as Daniel struggled to get out of the chains, pulling on the tether in an effort to free himself. The Colonel and Teal'c simply ignored him, but Sam continued to watch as Daniel gave up and resorted to glaring at her instead. He couldn't reach the gag to pull it out of his mouth, and for this she was thankful. He had been the most vocal of the three while under the influence of the alien drug, and his words could cut through steel, as far as she was concerned.
"Is that it?" the Colonel asked as he cleaned the last cut on her back. "Anything else I need to look at?"
"I can take care of the rest," Sam said, wanting to get this over with. She trembled when Teal'c came over to stand in front of her, watching warily as he knelt down and reached out to grab the top of the tunic she was holding in front of her. He stared into her eyes as he slowly pulled the material down. Sam knew what he was looking for and she tried to control the tremors as he looked down at the welt on her chest where he had bitten her in retaliation for kicking him when she was fighting him off. He stopped pulling at the fabric and looked back into her eyes.
The Colonel came around to see what Teal'c was doing and Sam watched as his expression changed from concern to showing nothing of what he was thinking. She hated it when he did that.
"Colonel," she began angrily. "Why do you do that? What's it going to hurt if someone knows what you're … Oh to hell with it," she raged unreasonably, "You do whatever you have to."
"What'd I do?" he asked, his face now showing complete bewilderment. He looked over at Teal'c, hoping to find the answer there and looked back at her when he didn't.
"Nothing," she said angrily. She knew her anger at him was unreasonable, but the anger was boiling inside her and she needed to let it out. "Just get this over with," she said to Teal'c.
Teal'c nodded his head at her, then cleaned the welt and the area around it with an antiseptic pad. She looked back at the Colonel, only to find that he had slipped back behind the stone mask.
Damn him, she thought angrily, as she turned her gaze to Daniel. He stared back at her with intense malice, his eyes promising dire retribution if he ever got free of the chains and her protectors. She glared back at him defiantly, her anger building as she sat there feeding on the guilt and the anger of her friends. Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c were drowning in their own guilt and she knew Daniel would be too when the drug finally left his system. She could feel the weight of their guilt washing over her, adding to the shame and the memories of what happened and she was afraid all of it would destroy her. She needed to get rid of some of the weight that was dragging her down, but she didn't know how without hurting the very people she had come to know and trust with her very life. And she really didn't want to hurt them; they were not directly responsible for their actions.
She winced as Teal'c scrubbed at the dried blood on the welt, but didn't say anything to him as he gave her an apologetic look. She just looked away, fighting the anger and the shame she was experiencing, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible. The Colonel handed her a canteen and some pills to ward off any infections and the pain she was dealing with, while Teal'c cleaned her wound, and Sam took them from him, knowing that she needed to keep well if she wanted to see her home again.
Teal'c stood up when he was finished and she got up to finish dressing. She turned her back on them as she struggled painfully to put her t-shirt on, pulling away angrily when the Colonel came over to help her.
"Let me help you Major," he said evenly.
"I can do it sir."
"Major…,"
"I can do it," she snapped at him, wishing he would just leave her alone.
He took the hint, doing a fine job of hiding the hurt look that flashed in his eyes, and went over to tackle the problem of getting Daniel's shirt on without unlocking the chains. He and Teal'c finally settled on having Teal'c stand behind Daniel with his arm around the archeologist's neck, while the Colonel unlocked the chains and helped him into his shirt and jacket. It was quite a struggle with Daniel fighting them every step of the way to gain his freedom, but Teal'c had a tight hold on Daniel's neck and he was soon back in the chains.
"I'm sure you are capable of putting your own boots on," the Colonel told Daniel, as he dropped the boots on the floor in front of him. He then went over to the table to grab his own clothes; getting dressed quickly while Sam struggled with her vest. She accepted Teal'c's help now that she was fully dressed and they were all armed and ready to go ten minutes later.
