Warning: Language

Previously:

"This is pointless. Kill me if you want, but I can't do what you are asking."

Dr. Gillson let out a deep sigh of regret and shook his head. "Such a pity. Killing you is not what I have in mind."

The invasion began. Biting, ripping. Destroying all that was before It. So long. It had been so long! The savage pleasure of taking, stealing, claiming. Penetrating.

The host would fight. They always did. But the host would lose.

They always did.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Ella lay flat on her back on the bed in the VIP room that she had been moved into. She was trying to meditate to stay calm, not her greatest skill. Teal'c had been called away by his superiors. Before he left her, he had shown her into this room. She hated it.

'VIP room', my fat ass, she thought to herself, opening her eyes once more. It was not small, but there were no windows. Every time she considered that, and just how far underground she seemed to be, her chest tightened. There was a television that she didn't want to watch, books she had no interest in reading and a door that had a guard with a gun perched right outside it. They could dress it up all they liked but Ella was in a jail cell. All of her good mood from that morning had faded away with the passage of time and the lack of any news. She needed fresh air, she needed to see Daniel, she needed to get off this base, and she needed to do something to find her missing husband! Her internal rant escalated. She had not asked to be brought here. How dare they keep her against her will? What gave them the right to keep a civilian locked up? It was just more of Daniel's typical 'he's so fucking smart, he knows better than anyone else.' Asshole.

She tried to calm herself. She knew that the stress she was under, combined with the fear and anger pulsing through her system was not healthy. Closing her eyes, Ella tried to count her breaths the way her yoga teacher had taught her. Inhale-2-3-4, Hold-2-3-4, Exhale-2-3-4-5-6-7. It was just so hard to ignore the impulse that wanted nothing more than to go pound on the jarhead standing outside her door and flee this cell.

Finally, she heard a welcome knock on her door. "Ella?" Daniel's head popped in. She sat up fast, hoping…but no. She could tell from the look in Daniel's eyes that he had not found Alex. She lay back in the bed, fighting off the despair that surged in her chest.

He came and sat next to her. "Ella, we have just started to look. I know you're scared, but please don't give up. You are not alone in this."

She continued to stare at the ceiling, blinking fiercely. "I want to go home." Her voice cracked on the last syllable.

"I know you do, but…you can't. Not yet." He picked up her hand and tried to rub some warmth into it.

"Why not?" She pleaded with him, meeting his eyes. "What difference does it make if I'm here or there? And Alex might call – or – or - he might come home."

"Ella – you're house - someone was in your house last night, after we left."

She sat up. "What?"

"They were looking for something. I am not sure what. Your house is a mess. It looked like they went through everything."

This violation of her privacy came as one more blow to her battered nerves. She leaned forward, groaning, raking her fingers through her hair. "Why is this happening?"

"That's what we are trying to figure out. Jack O'Neill is coming here in a few minutes. He thinks he has some information that might help."

Jack O'Neill? "Jack's coming? Why?" Then she realized;"This has something to do with you, doesn't it?"

Daniel met her accusation straight on. "I don't know," he answered softly.

"So it could." She searched his eyes wanting him to deny it, to say that Alex's disappearance had nothing to do with Daniel's secrets, but he said nothing. "You always said that if I knew too much I could get hurt. Did Alex disappear because of you and me?"

"Ella, I don't know. We don't know what happened yet. I know how badly you want this to make sense, but please don't do this."

She wasn't listening. Head buried in her hands, she was remembering a fight she had once had with Daniel. It was the only time she had ever been scared of him.

Leave, he had yelled at her. Get out of here! People like you get hurt. Just…please…get the hell out of my life!

But Ella, just as stubborn as he was, stood firm. No, she replied, confused and scared.

For one brief second she had though that Daniel was going to…but no…he spun around and slammed his fist into the wall behind him, splitting the skin on his knuckles.

Silently, anger spent but still not looking at her, Daniel sunk into the sofa. He allowed her to bandage his bleeding hand. After some time, she led him to bed. That night, he cried in his sleep, muttering the name 'Sarah,' over and over. Ella was awake for hours. They never mentioned the fight again.

Why hadn't she left? If not then, any of the other times he had warned her, refused to tell her something. Maybe if she had just listened to him, Alex would be okay. None of this would have happened. But Ella knew that she had stayed because it was Daniel and even at his angriest, Daniel would never hurt her. If Alex was missing because of her connection to Daniel than it wasn't his fault. It was hers. She had been warned.

It felt as though someone was coring out a significant part of Ella's heart. When she looked at her friend, Daniel's blue eyes reflected that he was trying to understand where she was coming from, but her words had hurt him as well. She didn't know what to say. "Can I talk with Jack?" she finally asked.

"We have a meeting in a few minutes. I'll come back afterwards and tell you what I can."

"What you can? It's my husband that's missing. I just want to know what happening."

"Ella, I don't know what Jack is going to say. Some of the meeting might be classified. I can't - "

"Classified?" she spit at him, cutting him off. She pushed him away and climbed off the bed. His words, combined with the weight of her guilt drove her straight to fury. "You can't fucking classify my fucking husband!"

She watched him suppress his own temper that was rising in response to hers. "Look, I need you to let me do my – our – job. I will tell you what I can, but you are safer staying here and staying out of it."

"Fuck safe! And you know what Daniel, fuck you. I am getting out of here and I am going to find Alex."

"You know, if you can't worry about your own safety, at least think about your baby, Ella," Daniel finally snapped at her.

Ella's head snapped back at his words. Some part of her mind, the part that wasn't going crazy from fear and anxiety knew that she was being unreasonable and was behaving horribly to the one person she could count on to get her through this, but that voice was being drowned out by the shrill, high, persistent shriek of panic. They glared at each other for a long, painful moment.

It was Daniel who broke the stand off. "I brought you something from your house." His hand was shaking a little as he reached for the duffel bag he had brought in the room with him. "Just some clothes and some books that I thought would make you more comfortable."

She took the bag from him and he headed towards the door. Hating herself for doing it, Ella fired one last parting shot. "So Daniel, when your wife disappeared, did you just sit back and stay safe while someone else looked for her?"

His back stiffened and he halted his step, but he did not look at her. He stepped out the door and pulled it closed behind him. She was locked in again.

Emitting a cry of rage, Ella flung the damn duffel bag at the door.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The assault continued. Poison spread, fiery pain scalding the helpless host from the inside. He tried to fight, to resist, but he didn't know how. The invader felt a vicious thrill. The pain was just beginning.

TBC