Chapter 8:
It was dark; she could not see where she was. She must be back in her cell. The guards had found her. She could feel her heart rate increase at the thought of what was to come when Reynarc sent for her again.
"Samantha…"she heard his voice in the darkness.
Slowly the darkness began to fade and she began to realize she was not in her cell, she was already bound and hanging. Reynarc was standing in front of her with his knife, smiling. He stepped forward and kissed her lightly on the cheek and plunged the knife into her stomach.
She struggled to move to protect herself from him. Something was holding her down; she had to move, to get away. Pain coursed through her body. She screamed.
"Sam!" She heard her name shouted.
"It's okay," the voice said softly.
No, it was not okay. She could not answer his questions. She did not know anything. He was going to leave her here to die.
"Sam, you're safe," the voice implored, "you're safe."
She continued to fight. "No…don't know anything. Don't know. Don't…" Slowly the pain receded and she could feel herself being pulled back into the darkness.
Jacob sat by Sam's bed shocked at what he had just witnessed. He watched the video. He knew she had been through hell. He had experienced torture, yet this was different. This was Sam, his daughter, his little girl. He was her father; he was supposed to keep her safe from all the monsters that lurked in the dark.
"General, are you okay?" He heard Doctor Frasier ask.
Jacob looked up and nodded. "I gave Sam a sedative; she's going to be asleep for a few hours. Why don't you go get something to eat?"
"I have to go soon. I've been gone too long already," Jacob stated. "I wanted to be here, to talk to her, before I had to leave. Damn," he continued clearly frustrated with his situation.
"You can stay, General, but you can't save the universe if you're in the bed next to Sam," she said teasingly.
"Point taken, doctor." He conceded although he would gladly trade places with Sam to spare her what was coming.
He headed for the commissary although food was the last thing he wanted. It was just after the lunch rush, so the commissary was relatively empty. He eyed O'Neill as soon as he entered. Somehow he knew he would be here. Jacob worked his way through the line grabbing a soda and headed for O'Neill's table. He found him sitting alone poking at some blue jello.
"Jack," Jacob said as he approached the table and sat down.
"Jacob."
"You know, blue jello has always been Sam's favorite. I never understood why."
"I know," O'Neill replied shoveling a forkful into his mouth. "I hate the blue stuff. I'm more of a red man myself."
"I always told Sam she only liked the blue because it matched her eye color."
O'Neill smirked slightly at the comment and continued to stab at the gelatin. "How's she doing?" He asked quietly.
"Not so good. She just had a flashback or a nightmare. Doctor Frasier had to sedate her to keep from hurting herself more."
"I know." He had not been back to see her since she had first regained consciousness, but he knew. Jacob looked at him confused by his comment. O'Neill did not offer an explanation.
"Jack, I have to leave."
"When?" Questioning him although he was not surprised, the Tok'ra kept a tight reign on their Tau'ri liaison
"As soon as possible but I'm going to wait until Sam wakes up again. I need to see her, talk to her."
"Couldn't you just tell the council to shove it up their collective asses just this one time? This is your daughter were talking about."
"I know, Jack, and I would like nothing more than to stay and be here for her especially since…" O'Neill did not give him the chance to finish the words, supplying what he could not say.
"Your Tok'ra buddies conveniently chose not to tell you your daughter had been missing for the past six months. Oh, and she was tortured repeatedly and lets not forget she almost died," he spat slamming his fork on the table.
"Jack," Jacob warned, his eyes flashing white as his anger grew, "this is not about your distrust of the Tok'ra and don't you think for one minute I'm not angry about what they did. This is about Sam!" His voice bellowed throughout the commissary causing heads to turn.
"I know!" O'Neill yelled in return.
The two men stared at each other in silence for a few moments each trying to bring their emotions back in check. "Jack, I have to go. " Jacob sighed heavily clearly upset that he had to leave. "Take care of her."
It was dark; she could not see where she was. She must be back in her cell. The guards had found her. She could feel her heart rate increase at the thought of what was to come when Reynarc sent for her again.
"Samantha…" she heard his voice in the darkness.
Jacob sat by the bed watching helplessly as Sam struggled against the demons in her nightmares.
"Saamannthaa…" she heard his voice drawl her name again. "I'm coming…"
"No!" She jerked her eyes open and instantly tried to move away from the voice. Pain ripped through her body. She was disoriented, confused.
Jacob was immediately on his feet when Sam opened her eyes. He knew she was still in the grips of the nightmare. "Sam," he said calmly. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders to keep her from moving. "It's okay, Sam. You're safe. You're safe." He kept repeating the words until she finally started to relax.
"You're safe." She heard the words recognized the voice. It wasn't his voice. The heavy fog clouding her mind began to clear. She began to focus on the face in front of her. "Dad?" She asked almost whispering the words.
"Yeah, Sam, it's Dad," he said smiling down at her softly caressing her hair.
"What…"
"Don't try to talk, just listen."
"I watched the video. I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you and I'm sorry I will not be able to stay." He could tell she was still disoriented from the effects of the sedative and the nightmare when she looked at him with a furrowed brow.
"What?" She tried to ask again.
"Ah," he said cutting her off again. "I want you to promise me one thing. Please bury that stubborn streak you inherited from yours truly and don't try to go through this alone. Please let him help you through this."
She heard the words although it seemed like a dream. "I don't understand."
"You will," he replied kissing her on the forehead. "You're going to be okay, kiddo."
"I love you, Dad," she said with heavy eyes, fighting the pull of sleep.
"I love you too." He watched her drift back to sleep silently cursing the Tok'ra for their secrecy, the Volostrians for their ineptitude, the Midgren for their cruelty, and himself for failing her as a father. "I love you, Sam," he whispered again into her ear and gently kissed her on the cheek. With a heavy heart, he quietly left the infirmary.