Denique

Author's note: This is it guys. Are you ready?

Samantha Carter raised her head when Hera spoke of her next invasion. Not enough to alert the parasite to her presence but enough to listen. She was weak and tired, disgusted at the acts her own hands had brought about but maybe now she had a chance to change that. She remembered how the hope at seeing Jack had allowed her to take control. Could she possibly make this work again? It would take much more strength but she believed that she could do it. The surge of new hope made the Goa'uld squirm and Sam restrained herself.

When Hera attacked tomorrow, she was only planning on taking over the SGC, the main threat to her. That meant there would be only a small percentage of her Jaffa there. If there was ever a time to regain control over her own body, this would be it.

Dawn found Hera pacing in front of her troops, deciding which to take through the Stargate with her.

"Today is a wonderful day. It will be the day when I crush the Tau'ri who have infuriated the gods for too long."

She selected the best two dozen of her Jaffa and smiled when Nil'ac tried to protest.

"My lady, will you not need more?"

"We have already wiped out the Tok'ra with only a dozen Jaffa. My host came from the Tau'ri. I know their strengths and weaknesses. We won't need more than this. You stay here and lead the others in my absence. I appreciate your concern but respect my orders."

"Of course. I apologise, my queen."

"I will lead the way through to the Tau'ri world. When you get there, kill everything that moves."

With the device on her arm, Hera opened the Stargate and the onslaught began.

Jack O' Neil sat in the control room, bored. He had received his questioning from Hammond about his behaviour and been lectured about "letting personal feelings get in the way of a crisis."

When the alarms blared, he jumped to his feet, fearing the worst. The iris came down but, sure enough, it strained back open again. Soldiers leapt into action and started firing as soon as Hera came through. As before, she waved them aside with her hand device and continued walking casually through the gate room. Chaos reigned as dozens of Jaffa poured through behind her, shooting at the soldiers struggling to get to their feet.

Even more alarms sounded as the whole of the SGC grabbed some weapons from the armoury and joined in the fray.

When Jack arrived, with weapons and armour, it was worse than he could have imagined. Colleagues, friends, lay on the floor bleeding and dying. Hera was laughing manically, covered in blood. It dripped down her face but she was relishing it, even tasting it. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw Teal'c fire a zat at the Goa'uld, only to see the energy fade uselessly once it reached her shield. Daniel and Jacob had joined in the fighting as well while Janet tried frantically to tend to the injured. Hammond was desperately trying to shout orders that went unheard in the chaos.

Jacob aimed the newly acquired hara'kesh at his daughter's body and flinched when she screamed in pain. It had apparently managed to penetrate the shield and was having the affect they had all hoped.

Her agonized screams destroyed Jack inside and he took his frustrations out on a passing Jaffa, killing him with a spray of well-placed bullets.

After a minute, Hera waved her arm wildly. The move reactivated the hand device and hurled Jacob through the glass in the control room where he disappeared from sight. A wild hope struck Jack; maybe the hara'kesh had weakened Hera's shield. He drew his pistol and moved towards the "goddess", avoiding staff blasts as he went. Carefully, he aimed for the palm of her right hand. If he could destroy the hand device, there was a chance they could win and save Sam.

The pain from the hara'kesh was blinding. It took Sam back to when she had been possessed by Jolinar and suddenly, she found some of the Tok'ra's strength. When she looked up, it was her that saw the destruction, not Hera. The joy that rose inside her gave her even more strength and battered down the fighting Goa'uld in her body. She had control, not the parasite. Sam saw her friends, all of them, fighting bravely. Daniel barely missed a staff blast, Teal'c had a serious burn to his shoulder but they werestill fighting. They were all fighting, maybe for an opening to free her.

Now she had full reign over her own body but she could feel the Goa'uld struggling against her. Sam panicked. She had no way to stop Hera from overcoming; the Goa'uld was just more powerful. Then she saw Jack coming towards her with a gun aimed at the hand device and the solution became incredibly simple.

Jack saw Sam look at him and he knew it was her, not Hera. Then she lowered her hand and deactivated the hand device but it was too late. He had fired the gun. As if in slow motion, the bullet traveled in the exact direction he had wanted it to go. But her hand wasn't there anymore. The tiny piece of metal that looked so harmless embedded itself directly in Sam's chest.

With Hera out of action, the tide was swiftly turned. The Jaffa were quickly killed and the iris resealed. Soldiers made their way to the infirmary with the medical staff close behind.

Daniel ran over to where Sam was laying and Teal'c quickly followed, both ignoring their own injuries. Jack stood frozen with the gun still raised. He couldn't quite believe what he had just done. He didn't mean to hurt her.

The bullet hadn't hurt when it hit her; it had just seemed like a dull thud. Now it burned deep within her chest and made it difficult for her to breathe. Although it took a lot of energy, she fought Hera, who was trying to heal her body. If the Goa'uld couldn't heal it, they would both die. She registered Daniel and Teal'c next to her and it soothed her. She wouldn't think about her father, he could be dead because of her.

Jack moved closer towards them, his lips moving uselessly. He was trying to apologise and, despite the circumstances, she smiled. Even when he had done the right thing, he still felt the need to ask for forgiveness.

His eyes were glued to the crimson liquid, staining the front of her gown. It was spreading at an impossible rate but she was smiling.

She spoke and he knelt at her side in order to hear her better.

"It's okay," she whispered, "You did what you had to."

"Sam," he said hoarsely, "I'm so sorry."

"Why? You saved the galaxy. Again."

"Medic!" Daniel screamed but everyone was occupied.

A cough racked her body and her smile flickered. A thin trail of blood oozed its way through her lips and down her chin.

"Oops," she laughed, "Isn't that a sign of internal bleeding?"

"Teal'c, go and find Jacob. Bring him here with the healing device."

The Jaffa bowed briefly and sped off with only a backwards glance at his fallen teammate.

"I think I killed him, sir."

"What? Kill Jacob? It would take a whole lot more than you to kill that old Tokra. I don't want to hear you being negative, okay?"

"Yes, sir."

Teal'c reappeared at Jack's shoulder. "General Carter is currently receiving medical treatment. Dr Frasier was very abrupt when I questioned as to his progress."

"Great," Jack muttered.

"I'm really, really sorry for…everything."

"Sam, don't be stupid. It wasn't you." Daniel said, desperately trying to reassure his friend.

"Yes, but I couldn't stop her."

"Come on Carter. Don't beat yourself up about it. It's a Goa'uld."

With that, her eyes opened in realization. "I have her memories! I know all kinds of things that can help. Daniel, get some paper."

"Jeez, Carter. Already trying to get back to work? It can wait until you're better."

She spit out a mouthful of blood. "What if I…"

"No Carter! Do not even finish that sentence!"

"Yes, sir."

Her eyelids fluttered, as if they were too heavy to hold up.

"Major Carter, I do believe you should remain awake."

She made more of an effort at Teal'c's words. "I'm just tired. That's all."

Jack knew they must make an odd sight. The flagship team of the SGC cradling the person who just tried to kill them all.

Samantha Carter was tired. More tired then she could ever remember being. It drained her just to speak or open her eyes. Through this exhaustion, she still felt a loss: and it made her smile.

"She's dead."

"What?" Daniel asked with quiet confusion.

"Hera. She's dead."

Although the demise of the parasite gave her an overwhelming sense of relief that her body was finally hers again, it also saddened her. The scientific part of her mind knew that with the damage of a bullet and without the healing powers of the Goa'uld, she would probably die. The moral part of her mind told her that she deserved to die. Painfully. She had killed, tortured and mutilated thousands of innocent people. But the bigger part of her didn't want to die.

Her teammates, no friends, were around her. Supporting her as always. Panic began to fill her bloodstream. She had so much to say, what if she never got the chance again?

"Jack…"

Jack breathed a sigh of relief as Janet Frasier made her way with a gurney to the blonde. He ignored what Sam was trying to say. It could wait until she was better. He tried to block out the part of his brain that was screaming, "What if she doesn't get better?"

The medical team moved swiftly and Carter was soon hidden beneath wires and machines.

As the gurney sped off, the three men stood up, all covered in blood, only some of it their own. Jack could hear frantic beeping, the type that came from a failing heart monitor but he told himself it was someone else's.

"She is going to be okay, right Jack?"

"Sure she is. It's Carter."

But he still couldn't get rid of the nagging voice in his head telling him that she was already dead.

Author's Note: My first fanfiction posted and completed. Please don't kill me! There is a sequel that I can post if anyone wants it but if this ends the story well and you don't a sequel, that's fine. Thank you so much to everyone that posted reviews, I wouldn't have finished this without you guys.