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There was another argument, with Selmac and Sam interrupting every time it looked like it was about to get too heated. Jacob was adamant that no, Jack would not be going undercover with his daughter – under any covers, for that matter he managed to snap, rendering both his daughter and her Commanding Officer speechless for a moment. But Jack recovered quickly and was equally as adamant that he was going with her to the 'meeting of the snakeheads' or the whole mission was off.

Sam wondered if she'd find the conversation embarrassing or amusing when she looked back at it later and decided to settle on vaguely insulting for the time being.

"Perhaps we should involve Anise in the decision?" She interjected when they both took a moment to catch their breaths. She cringed at the thought; Anise wasn't one of her favourite people, either, but it sounded logical to her that the Tok'ra who'd set it all up would know if it was or wasn't acceptable for Jack to transfer to the agreed meeting point with her. "She should know what the others will expect."

Jack immediately glared at her. "You want Anise to make this decision?"

"No, I said she should be involved in it," Sam said as patiently as she could manage. "She'll know whether it'll look suspicious or not if I turn up with someone else."

"That is a good idea, Samantha," Selmac agreed before Jacob or Jack could protest.

Jack glared at the Tok'ra, unable to know whether it was Selmac agreeing with Sam or Jacob. "You still haven't told us how you expect Carter to pull this off. She doesn't have a snake."

"She was formerly host to Jolinar, as you are well aware, Jack." It was back to Jacob talking, and Sam recognised the exasperated tone of voice from her childhood and memories of her father and brother arguing. "The Goa'uld will sense the naquada in her."

"Yeah, but she can't do the flashy-eye thing or the robot voice. Do you think they'll buy that a snake lets her host do all the talking?" Jack challenged.

"Some Goa'uld's prefer to use their host's voice," Jacob said with a shrug, "but I did ask George to send along one of those voice simulators you use in training exercises. We're way ahead of you on this, Jack."

"Not on the eyes," Jack continued to protest, folding his arms across his chest. "She's not going to be able to do that trick."

"She can lower her head and close her eyes as many do," Selmac reassured him. The Tok'ra turned to Sam and relinquished control to Jacob. "Do you have any worries about being able to pull this off, Sam?"

Sam shrugged, hesitant to answer and end up appearing to side with either her father or her Commanding Officer. "It depends on what's been agreed by Anise, and what the discussions are likely to entail. If there's some kind of ceremony involving eating symbiotes like Daniel described, I can tell you now I won't be able to pull that off." Just the thought of it made her feel sick. "How long until we get there, Dad?"

Jacob turned back to the console. "We should be at the rendezvous point within the hour."

"Then we can get the details from her then and make a decision," Sam said decisively. "In the meantime, Sir, could I have a word?"

Jack's eyebrow rose and he glanced at her father to see Jacob seemingly engrossed in the console in front of him. "Sure, Carter."

She led the way to the back of the cargo ship and held her tongue until the door was closed between them and her father. She turned to face him, arms folded over her chest, and saw the moment he recognised her stand and realised he was in trouble.

"Look, Carter –"

"Is this thing between us going to mean we can't work together anymore?" She asked, getting straight to the point.

He looked befuddled and, under other circumstances, she might have found it cute. "What? No? No. Have we ever let it before?"

She tilted her head, considering. "No, but you've never been so adamant against me going on a mission on my own before. Do you suddenly think I'm incapable of looking after myself, Sir?"

"Of course not!" He blinked and appeared genuinely confused. "I have no doubt in your abilities, Carter; this isn't about that at all."

"Then what is it about?" She asked, knowing she was dangerously close to overstepping the boundaries and bordering on insubordination but needing the reassurance that whatever feelings they had for each other wouldn't get in the way of her ability to do her job.

He was silent for a moment, considering his words. "It's the Tok'ra," he said eventually, "and their expectation that we'll drop everything just because they say so. The way they think their lives mean more than ours because they've been doing this longer. We're not expendable, and I'm sick of them acting like we are. They did it with Daniel, they did it with your Dad when he stuck in Netu – with all of us, actually, if Teal'c hadn't stood up to them. I'm getting tired of it, Carter. Aren't you?"

"I..." She started to protest, to say no, but stopped herself. Wasn't this the crux of the doubt she'd experienced herself during her time aboard the Prometheus? Hadn't she admitted to herself then that she was tired of holding the line, maintaining the status quo and fighting day in, day out with nothing to show for it at the end of it all?

The Tok'ra hadn't played into her thoughts and feelings at the time but as she thought about it, as she thought about Jack's unexpected rant about Anise and all the Tok'ra's schemes had cost them, she realised that it all connected. She was tired of it. Oh, not her job. She still loved her job and believed in the work they did more than ever but...

SG-1 - and all personnel at the SGC for that mattered - had made so many sacrifices for the fight. She couldn't deny that the Tok'ra had made sacrifices, too - she knew better than anyone what Jolinar had given up for the cause - but Jack was right. There did seem to be a general attitude amongst the Tok'ra and some of their other allies that the life of a human was worth less than their own kind. She was tired of being told they were too young, of their efforts being passed off as good luck rather than them being good at what they did.

"Yes," she said eventually, a sigh escaping her. "I am tired, of a lot of things." Her shoulders slumped, the fight going out of her. "But can we just get through this and then deal with it? That's my father sitting in there, and he's a General in the US Air Force. If he so much as suspects that we've broken the regs or might do, he'll —"

"Probably be fine with it as long as you're happy," Jack finished for her, taking her by surprise. He shrugged when she stared at him. "All fathers want for their kids is for them to be safe and happy, Sam. Dad is no different."

She didn't ask him how he knew, knowing from the distant look in his eyes that he was thinking of Charlie. Her smile was soft, and she took a step closer. She'd never felt she could comfort him before but now she reached out and lay her hand on his arm in a silent gesture of comfort.

"Maybe I'll talk to him," she said instead of agreeing outright. As much as she'd like to believe her father would understand, she knew Jacob was Air Force through and through. "After this is over. We'll meet with Anise, find out more about the mission and we'll decide, as a team, what we're going to do then."

He covered her hand with his, squeezing her fingers before letting his fall away. They re-joined Jacob in the front of the ship, once again putting on a united front.

The trio travelled the rest of the way in a quiet that was most companionable, though the tension started to rise again as Jacob slowed the ship on the approach to a planet that looked nothing like Earth from space. The ship descended through the atmosphere, coming to land at the designated spot.

It was Selmac who turned to face them, the expression on Jacob's face solemn. "Anise will be waiting for us in a temple a short distance from here. It will be safer to leave the ship cloaked and travel there on foot."

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You can still vote on whether you think Jack should go with Sam or stay with Jacob - that's the part I'm writing next!