7

Author's Notes: Takes place after 0517 Last Stand, then goes totally AU. Anubis is not half-ascended. He is just a cunning goa'uld. Daniel didn't die. He and Teal'c were chasing after Jack and Sam. Occasionally, the episodes happen to other SG Teams with different results because things have totally changed. AU. Enjoy.

8/9/2021 – Minor editing, grammar, and spelling. No story changes.

SG-SG-SG-SG-SG-SG-SG-SG

Chapter 1: The Safe House

Sam explored the Safe House. It kept her mind off the impending conversation with Jack. She knew it was coming. But she honestly didn't know what to tell him. He would ask her why she had done it. The bare truth of it was; 'for him'. But it was also more complicated than that. It always was.

Sam had NEEDED to find him. To save him. BUT… She had also felt sorry for the goa'uld. Not just a 'oh, that's too bad' kind of sorry either. But an altogether 'Holy Hannah' kind of sorry. She had wanted to help the goa'uld because it was the RIGHT thing to do.

It was pure bonus that Sam got to help Jack too.

But how could Sam tell him that? Especially after Jolinar.

You will need to explain to him why you felt the need to help me, Shade said. I don't mean to intrude. But you are shouting again.

I'm sorry, Sam replied. It is very hard not to shout. He is being… very Jack right now.

He seems very against my kind. Is there a specific reason? Shade asked.

Many reasons, Sam answered. It started with Sha're and Skaara. They were his friends. Sha're was taken by Amaunet and Skaara by Klorel. Then there was Major Charles Kowalski. An unknown goa'uld took him and he died. Then Jolinar took me. The on-going war with the System Lords. Then Hathor tried to have another unknown goa'uld take Jack. He got lucky and the Tok'ra helped kill it before it fully blended. I'm not sure Jack even likes the Tok'ra. He seems to tolerate them for my sake, because of my father.

The former prisoners of the Tràill Slubhail talked about how he was angered when someone stole another's freedom, Shade said. I think he sees my kind as the ultimate thief. The Tok'ra don't seem to steal that freedom. But you say that Jolinar did steal yours?

Yeah, I can see that, Sam replied. He hated Jolinar for taking me over. So did I. I understand why she did it, but I had no say. I would have helped. I could have helped if I had a choice. She just thought she knew better.

It is a learning process. Even for my kind, Shade replied. You need to talk to him. This anger of his will fester and endanger us all. Even he knows this. That is why he has not pushed to leave.

You think so? Sam asked.

I know so, Shade replied.

Sam wandered out of the bedroom where she had been looking at the collection of clothing. She found Jack wandering the kitchen poking around in the cabinets. He still seemed angry.

"Hey, Shade says we need to talk," Sam said to him.

"Shade? Is that its name?" Jack asked sarcastically.

"No, actually it's not. She goes by the name of the host, but it feels weird to call her Sam. I asked if I could call her Shade. She consented," Sam said.

Sam moved to the area she liked to call the living room. It had comfy chairs. She needed comfy chairs. She flopped down and grabbed a pillow to hug.

Jack stomped into the living room. "And just what does SHADE think we need to talk about?" Jack said.

Sam huffed, "She mostly wants me to stop screaming in my head. She doesn't try to read my thoughts. She doesn't know my memories. But she can't help but hear me when I scream in my head. She ADVISED me to talk to you. She thinks you have anger issues. So do I, by the way," Sam said.

"ANGER ISSUES?" Jack shouted. Then he saw her look and tried to calm down. He only sort of succeeded. "You think I have anger issues? I want to know why YOU don't have anger issues?" Jack asked.

Sam considered the question, "Because I have more facts than you. WHICH IS WHY Shade thinks we need to talk. So you can get the rest of the facts."

"Facts," Jack said pointedly. "Fact one. My second in command has a goa'uld in her head. Fact two. She traded her freedom for my freedom. Fact three. We are not on Earth."

"I will agree with Fact one and three. But fact two is false. I never traded my freedom for your freedom. That is based on assumptions. Shade has never taken over my body. Ever. She has flashed my eyes at my request. She has modulated my voice at my request. But I was the one to do the talking," Sam said firmly. She hugged the pillow tighter.

"I doubt that," Jack said.

"Why? We have met so many evil goa'uld face-to-face. Do you doubt that I could fake one over the TV with a little theatrics? I have gotten to know Shade a little bit. She could NOT have pulled it off. She is just not BAD enough. Shade is… too nice," Sam said.

"Nice?" Jack asked skeptically.

"Nice, kind, modest. She went into hiding when I kissed you," Sam said with a blush.

Jack floundered a moment. "So that was all you?" he asked. He actually looked relieved.

"Yeah, I was so relieved to find you. I don't know what I was thinking. No… I wasn't thinking at all. I was reacting. I just… needed you," Sam said at a loss for words.

Jack lapsed into silence as he thought hard. Sam just let him think about everything. She was just trying not to think. Not to scream in her head. It was hard.

"Why did you do it?" Jack finally asked. He seemed much calmer now. He had stopped pacing and sat opposite of her.

"I needed help. I was alone on a hostile planet. I had not heard from Daniel or Teal'c in almost a week. I had just learned that you were already at the mine. The inescapable mine. Artair wanted to help. I just had to talk to someone else first," Sam told the story.

"Until that moment, I didn't know Artair was a host. Shade came forward and told me that she could give me the intel on the area, the mine, the layout, and it would all be internal. No evidence. All I had to do was hide her. I asked questions. Tok'ra? No, never heard of them. What if you were dead? She would help me determine your status, but she could not perform miracles. She would help free you, if possible.

"Then I asked why she was hiding. She told me that centuries ago she ran away from Ra. Ra had tried to find her. She refused to endanger someone else without their knowledge. She asked that I keep her safe from discovery until it was time to pass her to a new host. That host must willingly accept her and the risk," Sam narrated.

"She doesn't remember her original name?" Jack asked.

"She has used the name of her host for centuries. She says that she doesn't want to remember it. It is likely she can search her memories if she wanted to. But right now, she doesn't want to," Sam said sadly.

"I can get that. It ties into a bad times and bad memories," Jack said simply.

"Yeah, I think so too. Shade has been living among humans for centuries. Hiding. She has avoided other goa'uld. It has changed the way she sees the world. She thinks differently than the ones we have encountered," Sam said.

"Can I talk to her?" Jack asked.

"I'll ask," Sam said. What do you think Shade? Do you want to come out and talk?

I think it is for the best, Sam, Shade said.

Sam put the pillow down and took a deep breath then her posture changed and her eyes flashed, but her voice stayed the same, "Jack, you wanted to talk to me?" Shade asked.

"Shade?" Jack asked.

"Yes, Sam said I was her shadow. I liked that shade didn't have the negative feelings that shadow did. It felt better," Shade said.

"Uh huh," Jack commented. "I want you to leave Sam and never go back into her."

"I see. What do you propose in trade?" Shade asked.

"Me. I can keep you safer than Sam. I have combat experience. I can disappear into any background with no one knowing I was there. I can blend better than Sam can. Nobody looks twice at me," Jack stated evenly.

"You know that she will not leave you, just as you would not leave her," Shade told him.

"But I will have all the risk. I need her safe. I need her free," Jack said.

"Very well. I accept your offer," Shade said with a nod.

Jack practically leapt forward to kneel in front of Sam. He grasped her head and kissed her hard and longing before opening his mouth to accept the symbiote.

Sam was stunned. She had watched the entire process and couldn't even shout in her head. Shock. Jack's hands were still on her face as Shade slipped from her throat and into Jack's mouth. She was still kissing him as Shade disappeared down his throat. Her hands went to his face as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he started to fall. He was unconscious.

Sam grasped Jack by the shoulders and gently laid him down on the ground. She was still in shock. They were talking. He had clamed down. He was less angry. WTF.

Why had Jack taken Shade?

SG-SG-SG-SG-SG-SG-SG-SG

Sam watched Jack as he lay on the floor unconscious for ten minutes. Then she had to move. She wandered to the bedroom and cleaned it. She put fresh linens on the bed. Then she wandered into the bathroom and did the same. It didn't need much work. The kitchen was the same. The living room was dusty, but it was also where Jack was laying. She didn't think she could stare at him for long.

Sam would wander back to check on Jack. She eventually made herself something to eat and then cleaned the kitchen again. It was something to do.

Hours later Jack finally stirred.

"Jack!" Sam exclaimed and ran over to his side.

"Sam?" Jack asked softly. His head was pounding.

"How are you feeling?" Sam asked him.

"Like I got hit in the head. What happened?" Jack asked.

Sam huffed, "You took Shade and then passed out."

Jack cracked his eyes a bit more to see here worried look. "Oh, yeah. She's here. She says she is sorry about the passing out. She didn't expect… What? I AM NOT AN ALIEN," Jack shouted to the air.

"Alien?" Sam asked.

"She says I'm an alien. I am not," Jack huffed. I am totally human. Earth human.

Well, your DNA is totally different than every other human I have encountered, Shade said. Earth likely has an alien group living on it.

That doesn't make me an alien, Jack exclaimed.

Well, you have an amount of alien data in your head, Shade said pointedly.

THAT was put there by an alien device, Jack told her. And what do you mean it is still there. Thor told me it was gone. That little alien lied to me?

Another alien? You are a mix of aliens. Alien this and alien that… Shade quipped.

When did you get so snarky? I thought you were nice, Jack said morosely.

Unfortunately, your alien DNA has sort of… mixed our connections, Shade said with hesitation.

What? Jack exclaimed.

I think that is why you fell unconscious. I did too. I can usually control my connections. Limit how deep the connection is. With Sam, I kept it very light. I am afraid our connection is much deeper, Shade stated.

How much deeper? Jack asked with dread.

Much deeper, Shade said. Memories, yours and mine. Languages. Knowledge. Morals. Personality. It is not a connection easily severed.

Great, Jack said. So now I'm a queen. Fucking Fabulous.

Perhaps I can try to remove the alien data from your mind. We already share memories. If I overwrite my genetic memories into that space, it may remove them, Shade said.

Go for it, Jack said. They almost killed me the last time they unspooled. The Asgard SAID they took them out.

You are still alive. They must have had some success, Shade pointed out.

I'll accept that, Jack said. But I don't like being lied to. "And I don't care what you say, I am not an alien!"

"What?" Sam asked.

"Doesn't matter. I am not an alien," Jack told Sam firmly.

"Okay… Why is that even an argument?" Sam asked.

"Lethō says that my alien DNA suckered her into a deeper connection than she wanted," Jack said.

"Who?" Sam asked.

"Lethō. The goa'uld queen in my head," Jack said.

"You know her name?" Sam asked.

"Comes with the deeper connection part," Jack said. "And she is not nice… snarky as hell."

Sam snorted, "Deeper connection? Like the Tok'ra? They usually blend deeper. The snark may be you bleeding through… I wonder if you will be nicer…"

"Hey… I'll have you know I am plenty nice… to people who matter," Jack stated.

"So, who was she?" Sam asked.

"Lethō? I have no idea," Jack said.

"The name doesn't ring any bells. Not Egyptian. I think I have most of those memorized by now. This is where I miss Daniel the most," Sam said with a sigh.

Jack gave her a sympathetic look, "For his off-the-cuff knowledge of crap no one else knows? Yeah. I miss him too."

"So what do we do?" Sam asked.

"Hide. Make plans. Lethō brought us here. It's a temporary safe house. I don't think we should stay too long," Jack said.

"Yeah. Good point," Sam said.

Using my real name is a risk, Shade said. It may be best to avoid that risk.

You want to go back to Shade? Jack asked.

I think it is better. I have hidden for far too long, Shade said.

"Shade wants us to keep using Shade. She is worried about the risk associated with her real name," Jack said.

"I can do that. I am more familiar with her as Shade anyway," Sam replied. "A snarky Shade would be more fun though."

"Says you," Jack replied.

"Oh yes," Sam smirked. "Um… I think we should also lose the ranks and formalities." Sam said with a serious look. "I left Earth compromised. They know that. You are now compromised. To hide effectively, we have to be Jack and Sam."

"Sam…" Jack started.

"Jack, I need you. I followed you because you would have followed me. But I realized on that mission that I NEEDED you alive. I needed you to survive. I could face anything WITH you. I would gladly blow up another sun WITH you. But I NEED you," Sam said as she took his hands.

"Sam… I feel the same as I did a year ago. I would rather die than live without you," Jack said quietly.

Jack pulled Sam towards him and kissed her. It was all his feeling and passion as his arms wrapped around her. They finally broke apart breathing heavily, foreheads pressed together.

"Just Jack and Sam against the world," Sam said with a smile.

"I can do that. It'll be easy," Jack said with grin.

Sam led him back to the bedroom to show him how much she needed him.

SG-SG-SG-SG-SG-SG-SG-SG