After dinner was completed and cleared away the tables were pushed aside. The crowd gathered in around Jack who had taken up position in front of one of the massive fireplaces. "Bring in the prisoners," he ordered.

Ailin and his men were brought in bound and forced to kneel in front of Jack. A shiver of sympathy ran down Sam's back. While Jack wasn't pretending to be a god, he did hold these men's lives in his hands and Sam had definitely been in their position before.

Jack towered above them his expression icy and angry. He gestured Sam forward. "Are these the men that kidnapped you?"

"Yes," she glanced over the men as they kneeled before her, stoic and accepting of whatever punishment their leader decided to meet out.

Jack pulled his dagger out of it's sheath and toyed with it as he casually walked down the line of his prisoners casting his disapproving gaze at them. They seemed to wither a little under his disapproval. He stopped in front of Ailin. "You, Ailin, my own brother, defied one of my strictest laws by abducting this woman. You do realize that, don't you?"

"Aye, my lord."

"You took her from her friends, her family, and her husband. You are a brother and husband. Did you not think what pain you would cause the people who care for her and what retribution they might bring on us?"

"No, my lord."

"You could have been bringing a Goa'uld into our midst, but luckily she isn't. She is a warrior of the Tauri and you have prevented her from doing her duty and fighting a war to save this galaxy from great evil." Jack turned to Sam then and handed his dagger to her. "They were intent on taking your life from you. Their life is in your hands."

Disbelieving Sam met his eyes. Sure he had been a little theatrical up until now, but how could he ask her to order their deaths? She was of course angry, but she was also grateful to them for reuniting her with Colonel O'Neill. He met her gaze unflinchingly. She realized that he didn't want them dead any more than she did but he could not afford to be perceived as weak or accused of favoritism. "I don't believe a few months away from home is worth their deaths."

Jack nodded and she could see the approval in his eyes. "As you wish." He focused his attention back on the men before him. "You're lucky the lady has a merciful heart, but I can't allow this to go unpunished." He paused as if thinking of a suitable punishment but Sam was sure he made his mind up long before now. "Ailin, you and your men will be confined to the castle as long as Carter is forced to remain on this world and you will be her personal escort whenever she decides to go into the town. If anything happens to her or you disobey me again, you will die. Do you understand?"

"Aye, my lord."

"Release them," he said to the guards. Sam tried to give his dagger back, but he refused, "Keep it. You might still decide you want Ailin's balls for this after all," he said casting a feral grin over her shoulder at the man in question.

After the little matter of justice had been settled, the entertainment for the night began. Everyone gathered in front of the fire and a succession men came forward to regale them of tales of great heroism and mostly tragic love. Most of the stories were told in Gaelic and Sam sat next to Jack as he whispered the translations in her ear. She tried to ignore and dismiss the shivers that ran down her spine at the feel of his warm breath on her skin.

At some point during the night Sean had snuck from his bed and sleepily sat in his father's lap listening to the tales. After a while the bards ceased their stories and several men began playing slow quiet music. Sam watched Jack gently cradling his sleeping son. His eyes were distant and unfocussed and she was curious about what he was thinking about. She wondered where he would have been if he hadn't gotten captured and lost. Would he have retired by now or would he have died at the hands of some power mad Goa'uld? Would he have found someone to share his life with and had a child that he loved as much as he clearly loved Sean? She wondered if he was truly happy here or did he long to return back to Earth. She wondered how different her life would have been if he had remained part of it.