Author's note: Wow, ask and I shall receive! Thanks for all of the lovely reviews. It made me feel much better. And as a thank you, another chapter!

Warning: This is definitely not the lightest chapter I have ever written. There is some violence and I found it very disturbing.

Previously:

"Wait!" Jack yelled before he could be transported again. "We wait for Mitchell and Teal'c. We are going as a team and we are not coming back until we have found Sam, Ella, and Alex. This ends now."

Ella huddled in the corner of the dark room she had been tossed into. Only the smallest trickle of light leaked in from the bottom of the doorway. She kept one hand resting on Samantha Carter's chest to make sure the unconscious woman continued to breathe. Ella's other hand was wedged firmly between her own teeth where she was biting the fleshy part of her palm. Only that pain was keeping her away from the complete hysteria that she had already succumbed to once. She knew that there was nothing else in the room. She knew that she and Sam were alone. But she was so scared. She just couldn't be here much longer.

Only Alex knew that Ella was claustrophobic. The fear embarrassed her so bad she was never able to even tell Daniel. She told herself that she wasn't afraid of the dark. She had worked through that many years ago. But with the small space and the dark combined, Ella's mind kept drifting to imagined fears, nightmares she had forgotten years ago were resurfacing…Here there be monsters…

No! She told herself, firmly. There are no monsters. Just people…just people. Hearing a whimper escape her lips, Ella bit down harder. She did not care if she bled, she just couldn't let her panic overwhelm her. If it happened again, she might never stop screaming.

Ella had been woken in the middle of the night by a gun in her face and a hand over her mouth.

"Get up," the voice ordered her. Ella could see nothing beyond the fathomless black pit of the gun barrel. "If you scream, it will be the last sound you ever make."

She stood up, reaching for her glasses out of years of habit. The gunman shoved her into the hallway. At her feet lay Pvt. Grains. Blood trickled from the hole in his forehead and flowed, thick and sluggish from the back of his skull. The smell made her gag. Sounds of a savage fight emanated from Samantha's room. After a final stunning crash, the door opened. Another armed man emerged, carrying Sam in a fireman's hold. He was bleeding from a cut above his eye.

"We ready?" Ella's gunman asked. The other nodded.

Ella had no idea what happened next. One moment, she was standing in Samantha's hallway. The next, she…wasn't. The hallway had seemingly dissolved in a flash of light and another one formed around her. She couldn't take in her new surroundings because, gunman or no, Ella started to scream. Her mind had split in two. There was no coming back and she knew it.

"Shut up!" The first man reached back to hit her, but the second one stopped him.

"No! Remember what he said. Just put them in the room."

Still screaming, Ella was dragged to a doorway. The door slid open, revealing nothing but darkness. She managed to form words. "No! No! I won't go in there! I won't!" She tried to yank herself free. Too late, she remembered Daniel's advice to throw her weight towards anyone who was grabbing her, and her captor was ready for her move. He tripped her and then tossed her into the darkness. Samantha was dumped next to her. The door slid closed.

She scrambled to her feet and slammed against the wall. "Let me out of here! Goddammit, please! Let me out of here!" Finally realizing it was useless, she turned and faced the darkness. Carefully, she felt her way around the space. It was about the size of a large closet. A closet. I am trapped in a totally dark closet. A moan escaped her. When visitors to her house asked why her closets had no doors and were instead covered with curtains, Ella would answer that she had seen the look on a television show and had liked it. As the bile rose in her throat, Ella resorted to something that she had not done in over a decade. Many years ago, Ella had discovered that pain was an effective way to curb panic attacks, but she was deeply ashamed of the behavior and had sworn that she would never do it again. But now she saw no alternative. She bit her hand.

Everything was piling in on her mind. She could see the dead soldier's eyes, glazed, staring through her. She wanted Alex; she wanted to feel his arms around her. She wanted all of this to end. Ella sank into a corner. Samantha was lying right next to her. She wanted to stop biting her hand. She wanted to be brave for her husband and her baby, but she couldn't.

After some time, Ella heard Sam shift and groan. "Samantha? Sam, are you awake?" She reached for Sam's hand and squeezed.

"Oh, ow. Yeah. I'm awake. Why is it so dark? Ella? Where are we?"

"I – don't – know!" Ella moaned through gritted teeth. She heard the whine in her voice but couldn't stop herself. "We were in your house and then…we weren't! We were here. And the guard in the hallway was dead and it's so dark and so small and I just don't know what I am d-doing!" Calm down! Ella bit hard on her knuckle.

Sam slowly sat up. She leaned against the wall and pulled Ella to her. "It's okay, Ella. I know that you're scared, but it's going to be okay. I just need you to tell me what you can about how we got here. We are going to be okay and we are going to get out of here but I need to know what I missed."

Ella drew some strength from Sam's calm demeanor. She tried to take a breath. "Okay. Okay, I'm sorry I'm freaking out here. I just don't like small spaces."

"Huh. Well, um, close your eyes."

"What!" Ella responded.

"Close your eyes. If you do, it won't matter how small or dark the room might be. You won't be able to see it."

It was a stupid idea, but Ella was so embarrassed by the way she was acting – she closed her eyes. It helped. The room wasn't dark, she just couldn't see. "Okay. All right. I'm sorry. I just get a little claustrophobic sometimes."

Sam gave her another squeeze. "Don't worry. You know Teal'c right? He has a similar reaction to clowns."

Knowing that Sam wanted her to, Ella gave a weak laugh. "Sure. Anyway, um, there was a light. We were standing in the hall and then this guy carried you out of your bedroom and then there was a light. And then we were here."

"In this room?"

"No. We were outside. The walls were weird. Dark gold and I think there was a pattern on them." Ella was surprised, she didn't realize that she had seen that much.

Both women jumped when they heard footsteps coming towards them. Sam cursed under her breath. "Ella, has Daniel ever told you what he does for a living?"

"No. Why?"

"Damn. I think you are about to learn."

The door slid open as Sam and Ella scrambled to their feet. "Sam, what-?" The two men from before stepped in and grabbed the women's arms.

"Come on, both of you," the one holding Ella's arm dragged her to the hallway. She felt that she was on stronger mental footing now, but she was scared out of her mind about what might happen next. What did any of this have to do with Daniel's job?

As soon as Sam was clear of the door, a third man came forward and bound her wrists.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Ella went to move towards her friend, but the man holding her yanked her back.

"Don't try to get brave now, Mrs. Portmanoy."

Reddening with anger and embarrassment, Ella was pushed forward. This time she was able to take in more of her surroundings. The pattern she had seen earlier was actually a series of strange symbols. A slight vibration was coming through he floor. She looked over at Sam.

"Where are we, Samantha?" She whispered.

"I think we're on an Al Kesh. It's a -" her explanation was cut off by a sharp jab from a gun.

"Enough talking."

The group entered a much larger room. Standing at a window, looking out at the night sky was…"Alex?"

Ella couldn't believe it, but her husband was standing right there. White button down shirt, jeans, barefoot. He looked just like he did when he was working from home. "Oh, my god, Alex.." She went to him.

Ella did not hear Sam's warning or her cry of pain. All she was aware of was her husband's arms, his scent and his taste as he pulled her in for a deep, slow kiss. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and gave a slight moan as he dipped her low, deepening the kiss. When the kiss finally ended, Ella reluctantly opened her eyes.

Alex's eyes were glowing.

Ella gasped.

"Hello, Ella." He spoke and his voice made her jerk away from him. She fell hard on her ass on the floor.

"What happened to you – to your voice?" She stammered.

"My voice is fine. However, your husband's voice is gone."

"What?"

"You don't know what I am, do you darling?" He smirked, eyes flashing again.

"Alex…" Ella did not know what to say.

"No. My name isn't Alex. I decided against that name." He crouched down next to her. "You may call me Loki."

"Loki? Who? What the fuck is going on here, Samantha?" She turned to her friend.

A sharp slap caught her attention. He pounced on her, straddling her hips and forcing her back on her elbows. Her face stung from where he had hit her. Alex hit me?

"Language like that is unbecoming in the mate of a god." Slight humor played around his mouth.

Ella was too scared to speak. She stared into Alex's familiar, storm colored eyes. She flinched when they glowed once more.

"It seems it is time for a lesson," the man continued talking. "I am what is called a Goa'uld. We take humans as hosts and live through them. I have taken your husband. I am not giving him back." He smiled. "And I know everything he knows. Everything." He ran his fingers through Ella's hair, pulling her head back until she fell all the way to the floor. "I know why you're afraid of small, dark spaces Ella." He kissed her lightly on the lips as she bit back a sob. His hands trailed down to her stomach. "And I know that you are carrying my child." He dug his fingers into her sides, painfully.

"Alex, please stop!" Ella sobbed, trying to pull his hands off of her.

He snatched her hands and pinned them to the floor under his knees. "I'm not Alex, you silly bitch. Catch up!"

"Leave her alone!" Sam shouted.

"Shut up! It's not your turn to talk." One of the guards shoved his gun into Sam's neck. Alex turned back to Ella. "My name is Loki. Say it with me. Lo-ki." He ground her hands into the floor with each syllable.

She cried out in agony. "Loki! Fine. Your name is Loki!"

He smiled again. "Ah, it's been far too long since I have heard a woman cry out my name like that. But enough of the fun." He jumped to his feet and pointed to the men in the room. "I'm done with this one. Take her back."

All three guards were focused on Sam. One of them spoke. "I don't think we should let her go."

Loki laughed. It was not a pretty sound. "Leave her hands tied. I'm sure she realizes if she tries anything too creative, only her friend will suffer for it."

Sam stayed still, visibly shaking with rage. The guards came over and roughly shoved Ella to her feet.

"Wait a minute," Ella begged, holding her injured hands to her chest. "Please tell me. What happened to my husband?"

Loki looked at her with a large measure of pity in his eyes. "Darling, I would love to explain it all to you, but, with your level of intelligence, it is obvious that you will never be able to grasp all that I really am. Leave the deep thinking to the smart people. You just keep growing that baby and behaving yourself. Take her to the closet."

"No!" Ella struggled with her guard, more out of fear than anger this time.

"Look, you've got us. We will do what you want." Sam said. "Just give her a light or something."

He considered this. Ella stilled as he caressed her face with his hand. "Would that help?"

She didn't know what to say. She just did not want him touching her. His hand pinched her cheek painfully. "Answer me."

"I don't know. Maybe," she stammered.

Her husband's mouth formed a smile, but Loki's glowing eyes drifted down to her wounded hands. He saw the bite marks. Looking back up, he met her humiliated eyes. "Tie her hands up behind her back. No light."

The guard had to almost lift her off the floor to get her to move. "No, no, NO!" She started to struggle. The second guard came up and wrenched her arms behind her and bound them together. Then they dragged her back down the hall.

The doorway beckoned, as dark as a fresh grave. Ella stole a look down the hallway. She glimpsed her husband's face, but then his eyes glowed. Here there be monsters. In a choice between the monster and the grave, Ella chose the grave.

The door slid shut behind her.

TBC