Chapter 34. Ethon
Daniel sat on the dusty cell floor, his back pressed against the cold, stone wall, arms crossed over his chest. Jared Kane stood with his face pressed against the bars at the opposite end of their cage, staring out at the empty corridor. It seemed like the state of things on Tegalus had only deteriorated since the last time he had been here – and it was about to get worse.
"I'm sorry about Leda." Daniel said, if only to break the silence. Jared glanced at him over his shoulder, but didn't turn around.
"I can only be thankful that it was at least over quickly for her – she was gone within a couple of days. The sickness took many of the villagers. There was hardly anyone left to fight." Daniel nodded, though Jared couldn't see him. "I had hoped that the two of you would reconcile and live a long and happy life. I suppose that was foolish of me." Daniel sighed, staring down at the dirt-caked floor morosely.
Jared did turn then, leaning back against the bars to study Daniel. "We did. We were happy for a time, before she...before she took ill. As happy as one can be in the middle of a war, anyway." The ex-soldier cocked his head to the side, scrutinising the archaeologist. "Leda did tell me that you rejected her advances because there was another... Tell me, is it the woman who came to rescue you? Samantha Carter, I believe?"
Daniel couldn't help the smile that tugged at his mouth. "Yeah." He murmured wistfully, "Yeah, that's her. In fact, she's probably coming to rescue us right now." Daniel chuckled at the thought, knowing how Sam would blush if she ever heard this conversation.
He glanced up to see Jared wearing a wry smirk, "Good, we could do with some rescuing right about now."
Just then, the hallway door clanged open, and footsteps thudded down the stone steps. Jared spun to face the bars, his body tensing for a fight, and Daniel scrambled to his feet. Two soldiers dressed in the dull, grey uniforms of the Rand Protectorate stopped in front of their cell. "You two, come! President Nadal wants to talk to you." One grunted, as the other nosily unlocked the cell door. Jared and Daniel were shackled and chained, then unceremoniously shoved out the door and up the steps, the soldiers roughly guiding them to the Command Centre where Nadal awaited them. They entered the bunker, where grey-uniformed officers rushed in and out, or manned consoles with multiple blinking lights. The atmosphere in the room was tense, and Daniel could hear the sound of an alarm going off somewhere over the constant background chatter.
Without warning, his captor kicked in the back of his knees, sending Daniel crashing painfully to the ground. Jared joined him a second later.
Nadal paced back and forth in front of the main communication console, his face drawn in barely contained fury. "Please explain your brazen act of aggression against our nation." He demanded into the microphone attached to the console.
"Our actions have been misconstrued as hostile." The tinny voice of the Prometheus' captain, Colonel Pendergast, cut through the static. "We are here to investigate why an emissary we sent to your planet, Doctor Daniel Jackson, has ceased all communications with us." It looked like Sam really was coming to his rescue once again.
"And yet, your first act upon entering our planet's space was to fire on our defence satellite!" Nadal shouted, his teeth bared. Sweat trickled down Daniel's spine as cold dread settled deep in his stomach. The man was becoming increasingly agitated, which didn't bode well for anyone.
"We detected that your satellite was powering up and aiming at us, which we took to be the first act of aggression. We merely responded in kind. Now... we are no longer a threat to you! I have people aboard this vessel who are in need of medical attention, and I am venting atmosphere. Please, consider our request for surrender."
Daniel sucked in a sharp breath, panic squeezing his heart like a steel vice. He prayed that Sam wasn't one of those people. Nadal turned away from the console, stalking over to where Daniel knelt on the cold concrete instead.
"Your planet sent this ship to attack us. I have no desire to take more lives. You tell us what we want to know, I will accept their surrender." He stated coldly, much too calm for someone who, just moments ago, had been incised. It unnerved Daniel.
Commander Pernaux stepped to the President's side; his demeanour seemed much calmer, more reasonable. "Who else was involved in this attack? What other actions are the Caledonians planning?"
"We're not spies." Daniel responded, shifting his attention to the Commander. "I came here to convince your people to dismantle this weapon yourselves before any of this became necessary!"
"Why would we do that?" Nadal drawled; his smug, rounded face shiny with perspiration.
"I have tried to explain." Daniel ground out slowly. Pernaux turned to Jared. "Who helped you gain access to the Stargate?"
"I acted alone." Jared stared defiantly ahead.
Nadal's beady eyes narrowed at the rebel soldier. "You are lying. You are part of a spy network helping to supply the Caledonians with classified information!"
"Did you ever think that maybe the Caledonians are being leaked information because not everyone in your country agrees with what you're doing?" Daniel said quickly, trying to take some of the heat off his friend. Nadal glared at him, fury etched into his wobbling jowls, but Daniel was saved from incurring any further wrath by one of the technicians working at a console.
"The weapon is charged." The young man interrupted, and Daniel's heart dropped own into his shoes as Nadal turned to make his way to the command console.
"Wait! Please!" Daniel burst out, desperation lacing his voice. "Just listen to me before you go murdering defenceless people!"
Nadal whipped around to face him, his expression thunderous. "We are the ones defending ourselves! Your ship attacked us!" Nadal turned to his commander, his face set in determination. "We must not fail the gods. We must embrace our destiny. Fire the weapon!"
"WAIT!" Daniel screamed, his blood running cold in his veins. He lurched forward, trying to struggle to his feet; to do what, he didn't know, but the guards held him down regardless, and he could do nothing to stop it.
The red target on the command screen blinked a few more times before eventually disappearing altogether, and the young technician's rueful expression briefly flicked over Daniel, before turning to his President. "The Earth vessel has been destroyed."
Daniel crumpled, his heart falling out of his chest and his mind drawing in on itself as his body succumbed to shock. No. It couldn't be real. This couldn't be happening.
Daniel barely felt the guards pull him away, dragging him and Jared back to their cell to await their fate.
O – O – O – O – O
Daniel hunched in one corner of the cell, his knees curled up to his chest and his arms wrapped protectively around them. He was vaguely aware of Jared speaking to him, his tone soft and apologetic, but Daniel refused to hear it. Tears burned his eyes like acid, but he refused to let them fall. He couldn't cry, or that would make it real. If he cried, then that would mean that they were all gone. If he cried, then that would mean she was dead.
She couldn't be dead. He refused to believe it. Not after all this time. Not when they finally just found each other again – not when he was finally happy. Surely the universe wouldn't be so cruel as to take her away from him now? But the universe had never done him any favours before. Just the opposite, in fact.
A tear slipped silently down his cheek, and Daniel wiped at it angrily, then stared at the moisture on his fingertips, horrified. No. No, no, nonono, NO, NO! She was not dead. She was strong, she was brave, she was smarter than everyone else, she would figure a way out, she always did; she WAS NOT DEAD!
Daniel repeated his mantra, over and over and over again like a prayer, and he didn't realise until much later, when President Nadal dragged them back to the Command Centre and he finally heard her voice again, that he hadn't one hundred percent believed it.
"Daniel, this is Sam." Her voice was staticky over the radio, but he would have recognised it anywhere. Relief flooded him, making his knees weak and his head spin, and he struggled to stay upright.
"Hey Sam," he said into the microphone, willing his voice not to break. Now was not the time. "It's good to hear your voice."
"Yours too." She says softly, and he can almost hear her smile, before she is back to governing the negotiations, the confident commander in her taking control.
It wasn't until later, when Nadal was dead and what was left of the Prometheus' crew had been safely returned back home along with SG-1, that Daniel allowed the emotions from today's mission to seep through. Once the post-mission checks and the debriefings were finished, Daniel went to seek out Sam. He made a beeline from the infirmary straight to her lab, knowing that Dr Lam had already given her the all clear.
He hurried down the hall with barely contained urgency, and didn't bother stopping to knock. She was bent over her laptop screen, but looked up as he barrelled into the room, crossing the distance in three quick strides. "Daniel? Wha-mmph!" Her words were cut off as he swept her into his arms and crushed his lips to hers. He held her tightly, hands fisting in her shirt as his mouth moved over hers with desperate yearning. She responded to his need, her fingers clutching at the lapels of his jacket, pulling him down to her, her mouth opening to his probing tongue, allowing him to devour her, consume her with such intensity that his desire almost burned him alive.
When his lungs finally threatened to burst from lack of oxygen, he pulled back, just enough to rest his forehead against hers. His breath came hard and fast, his pants mingling with hers. He released one hand from her shirt to thread it through her hair, fingers curling possessively around the strands.
"I thought I'd lost you." He breathed against her skin, his voice breaking. She cupped his face in both hands, tilting her head so that their faces were pressed together from nose to brow. "You didn't, Daniel. You didn't lose me. I'm right here." They clung to each other so tightly that he wasn't sure who was holding up who anymore, but he needed her this close, needed to feel her, alive and breathing; her lips warm on his, and her pulse strong beneath his tongue when he lowered his mouth to her throat.
With a Herculean effort, Daniel reigned in his libido, pulling his mouth away from hers to look at her properly. Her hair was mussed, her cheeks flushed pink, and her lips red and bitten from his possessiveness; but her eyes shone, so bright and blue and full of love. Love for him.
"Sam, will you come with me? There's something I have to show you." Her brows cinched together in curiosity. "What is it?"
Daniel only smiled, his heart beating faster with anticipation. Their lives were chaotic and unpredictable, and every time they walked through that Stargate there was always a chance they wouldn't be returning home, so Daniel couldn't wait for the perfect time or for well-laid plans to fall into place. It had to be here, now, in this moment. But the least he could do was take her somewhere with better scenery first.
"Just trust me." He said instead.
He took her hand, her slender fingers filling the gaps between his, and he didn't let go of it until she said yes.