Author's note: This was inspired by a question Desert-Blosom-by-the-Sea asked me a while ago.

Warnings: Language, some mild violence.

Previously:

"Not for nothing, Dr. Jackson," Thor responded. "We needed to know exactly what we are facing. Now we do. I know where this Goa'uld will go. We must stop him."

Her hair was heavy and quite black and only curled at the tips; her eyes were greenish-grey, it's true, but they were big wonderful eyes, with long, black…'I promised him I would bear it…and I will. You have to bear things. Think what soldiers bear. Papa is a soldier…and he would never say a word – not one word'…The first night she spent in the attic was a thing Sara never forgot. During it's passing she lived through a wild, unchildlike woe of which she never shared with anyone…

The greatest gift Daniel had ever given Ella was a love of reading. Books that she loved she would read, over and over again, until she knew them by heart. When things got rough during her teen years, when Brian was scaring her, or something had gone wrong at her group home, Ella would sink into the stories in her head and the world around her would vanish.

She was trying to do that now. She didn't want to hear Sam and Loki talking about his weapon. She wanted to be somewhere, anywhere, else. But something was distracting her. The story's flow was shattering and her mind was jumping from scene to scene, phrase to phrase. What was distracting her? And then she felt it. Loki was playing with her hair.

The Goa'uld thing had seemingly taken a shine to her. He liked to have her sit by his chair as he spoke over her head to his men or Samantha Carter. It made her feel like a battered lapdog. Only Sam's words about how the women had to focus on keeping themselves alive had made Ella hold her tongue until now.

But this? No, this was too much. Only Alex touched her like this. Whenever they sat next to each other watching television or reading, Alex would often wind his fingers through Ella's curls. He rarely realized he was doing it. This freak was not allowed to touch her that way.

Without considering what she was doing, Ella jerked her head away from his hands. "Stop that," she ordered.

Instantly, his hand was back in her hair, pulling it painfully. He yanked her head back leaned into her face. "What did you say?"

Oh, how much she hated that weird, metallic voice. Neither Ella not Loki noticed Sam, who was also sitting on the floor surrounded by notes and technical drawings, tense up. They were too busy diving into battle. "I do not want you touching me like that," she said, fighting not to flinch when his eyes glowed.

"Is there some way that you would rather I touch you?" he leered.

"Not that I can think of."

Flinging her head forward, Loki released her. "Stand up."

"No."

"I said 'stand up.'" His voice had taken on the ringing tones of authority that would not be denied.

"And I said 'NO!'" she yelled back. "I am not your slave and I am not putting on a show for you."

"That's what you think." Loki leaped to his feet, grabbed Ella's wrists and dragged her up. "I think I want to see your tattoo."

"Which one?" she asked, trying to yank her wrists free. "The smiley face on my shoulder, or the 'Go Fuck Yourself' scrawled across my ass?" She had not realized how much stronger Loki was than Alex. It felt like her wrists were being crushed in cement.

He just smiled. "You know which one."

"You're hurting me."

"I can make it worse."

"You know what it looks like. I know you do."

"Yes, but Samantha hasn't seen it. And neither have my men."

"No," she replied, but her voice was loosing some of its strength.

Seeing his opening, Loki spun her to face the chair and forced her over the arm, her cheek pressed against the cushion. He kept one hand pressed between her shoulder blades, pinning her shoulders down, while his other hand reached for the waist of her pants.

Sam was on her feet. "Stop it!"

He whipped his head to look at the Colonel. "Unless you want this to end very badly I suggest you stay where you are." He gently tugged down one side of Ella's pants, revealing the delicate drawing that graced her left hip. Held within two hands was a broken heart with a dove flying from the break.

Ella closed her eyes tightly as she felt his fingers against her skin.

"It's lovely. When did you get it?"

"Years ago," she whispered.

"Speak up. And open your eyes," he told her, lightly. He continued to trace the lines, ignoring her shudders of disgust. "Tell Samantha the story."

She opened her eyes but couldn't meet Samantha's gaze. She had never felt so debased. She wanted to cry. "Daniel and I got tattoos together. He was…Dammit, you know this story! Why are you doing this?"

His fingers dug into her flesh. "Tell it."

"Daniel was upset. He had been very depressed about his wife and I thought this would be crazy and fun, something to distract him from everything. I wanted to make him feel better."

Loki leaned down and pressed his lips onto her exposed flesh. "So, dear wife, tell me. What else did you do that night to make him 'feel better?'"

"What do you mean?" Please don't do this to me.

"Did you fuck him?"

Had he hit her, Loki could not have hurt her worse than he just did. She took as deep a breath as she could, trying to block out all of the emotions that were rising in her chest. "Alex and Sam know that I was involved with Daniel. What is your point?"

"My point is that when you got your tattoos, wasn't Daniel's wife still alive?"

Oh Christ. I can't… "It was…we didn't…"

He persisted, loving her humiliation. "Daniel's wife was still alive the first time you fucked him and you knew it, didn't you? She didn't die until over a year later, did she?"

"…yes…she was still alive...as far as we knew..." So many years later, that stupid, stupid night still shamed her. Daniel, his long hair obscuring his face and the tears in his eyes, pulling away from her, subsumed by his guilt. It had been almost two months before she heard from him again. It had been longer than that before she forgave herself.

Loki's voice oozed sympathy. "Your husband didn't know that, did he?"

She shook her head slightly. "No, he didn't know. No one knew."

"He knows now," Loki hissed into her ear."I should tell you, he always wondered. There was something about that story that made him wonder. But he was too much of a gentleman to ask." He brushed her hair away from her face. "And now Alex knows and Samantha knows that while Daniel's wife was missing, who knows where, suffering who knows what, you were safe at home, fucking her husband."

"It wasn't like that," she whispered, even though, to her,it had always felt exactly like that.

"Of course, my dear. Of course. I am sure that your being a whore was the best thing you could do for Daniel that night." He patted her bottom and stood straight up, keeping one hand on her back. "Now, Samantha," he turned to the other woman in the room.

"What?" Sam's breathing was shallow and her teeth were clenched.

"Watch your temper, little girl. This could still end badly. You've been lying to me. You know how to fix my weapon and you will. Lie to me again, disobey me again, and there will be a price to pay." With that, he released Ella and stormed out of the bridge, signaling for two of his men to follow him.

Sam rushed over to Ella, but the redhead pulled away from her help. Burying her face in the seat cushion, Ella reached back and pulled her pants back over her hip. The she stood up, enraged.

"What the fuck was that?" Ella screamed out, ignoring the presence of the third guard who was smiling at her, smug-faced from the back of the room. "What was that? And why do I feel like it actually had nothing to do with me?" She heard the hysteria in her voice but was unable to calm down. That attack had shredded her.

"I'm so sorry," Sam fumbled an apology. She looked defeated. "He and I were talking about his weapon and how to repair it. I was lying. I was going to sabotage it. I don't know how he knew I was lying."

"But – why…" Ella threw her hands in the direction of the chair, unable to speak further.

Sam's eyes were full of furious misery. "Our first night here, he warned me that he would use you against me. Every time I…disobey him, he'll hurt you. I won't do it again. I promise."

Ella looked away from her friend's blue eyes. She couldn't bear to see the impotent rage that she knew was mirrored in her own eyes. Frantically looking around the room, Ella began to panic. She was trapped, she was hurt, and this nightmare was never going to end. There was going to be no escape for her, or for Sam, or for her husband. Gripping the sides of her head in her hands, Ella's rage exploded in a long , throat-tearing scream.

TBC

The book at the beginning of this chapter is A Little Princess, by Frances Hodges Bennet.