NOTE from the Phoenix: I felt so bad for leaving you guys where I did that I spent the night getting you guys another chapter. Don't say I never did nothing fer ya! Giggle. This is not the last chapter, but we are getting close. Enjoy!!

Chapter twenty-nine

Jack sighed heavily and looked down at Sam who was quietly muttering in her sleep. He'd been sitting with his back against the wooden bars for so long that they were digging into his flesh. Unconcerned with the discomfort Jack reached up and stroked Sam's damp hair to try and settle her nightmares. Sitting up as well, resting her back against his chest, she looked oddly comfortable.

The same could not be said for Tai. Jack looked out of the bars at the dragon bathed in moonlight. It was hard to tell in the cold blue light of the moon if Tai had regained his usual fire colour or not. He woke on occasion and moaned as he tried to get to his feet. He always failed and passed out again after a brief fight with his restraints.

Jackknew that he and Sam should be dead, and that it was only serendipity that had staved off the execution. The drab green dragon had sharped his knifes in their view. He did not seem to do so out of cruelty, it just needed to be done. It was like a farmer sharpening his ax in the chicken yard. When he was done he had fetched a rifle to make a cleaner kill.

"Kak! Kak, far'is!" Jack had cried while shielding Sam as best he could. "No, please, far'is, please..."

The olive dragon had paused at hearing Jack's plea in his own language. He lowered the gun for a moment and stared at the pair thoughtfully. Sam had been close to delusional from fever at the time but she added a quiet plea for mercy as well. The dragon had shaken his head and raised his weapon again. Jack held onto Sam tightly enough to cause her to whimper in pain while he waited for the killing shot. The only thing that kept the reptile from firing was the slaughter of another forest creature.

A hunting party had returned with three large deer like animals. With enough meat for the evening it was wiser to keep the pair alive to keep their own flesh from going to spoil. Jack and Sam had even been offered a small portion of the roasted deer which they had refused to eat. Although Jack had insisted that Sam drink the water they were offered.

Sam's fever had spiked sharply near sunset and was still burning her skin hours later. Unable to do anything else Jack took a deep breath and blew cool breath over her sweat soaked skin. He didn't understand why she was suddenly so ill. Over the past few hours he'd watched her deteriorate at a rapid pace and there was nothing that could be done to stop it.

"I'm sorry I was so hopeless." Jack whispered to the sleeping Sam. "I knew you needed me to be strong, but I just couldn't, I'm sorry. Whatever this is, fight it and I swear I'll get us out of this....somehow."

Sam jerked convulsively in her light sleep. Jack closed his eyes and held her closer to keep her from hurting herself. He tried his hardest to take whatever this pain was on himself, but of course there was no way he could carry the burden for her. She radiated an unnatural heat and was starting to pant heavily for breath. It was different from when she'd been dying of starvation, then she had just been slipping away, here she was violently struggling against something.

"I've got you," Jack said softly "you're safe."

It was a lie, but he figured she couldn't hear him anyway and it made him feel better to pretend to be useful. Sam suddenly gasped awake and fought with the arms that were restraining her. Jack released her and she pitched forward. The sound of Sam violently dry heaving startled Tai awake. His emerald eyes caught the dim moonlight and blazed a fiery green for a moment before they rolled back into his head. Sam finished her retching with a choked sob.

"I'm sorry..." Sam whimpered.

"Don't apologize. It isn't your fault."

"Yes it is...I should have told you."

"Told me?"

Sam didn't elaborate she just growled through her clenched teeth as her heavy breathing raced out of control. Terrified Jack reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. Sam recoiled from his touch as far as she could in the small enclosure. Curled up in a tight ball with her arms wrapped over her stomach Sam broke into tears. Jack's blood chilled and his stomach knotted tightly enough that he feared he was going to be sick as well.

"Samantha..."

"I'm losing our baby."

Jack was too shocked to respond. Sam threw her head back and wailed against the agony of the murderous labour. Jack had thought that he had run out of tears to shed, but they streamed down his face now. Seeing how terrified she was he didn't want to force her into an embrace, but he was desperate to help in some way. Jack held out his hand without touching her. Sam had weld her eyes shut and didn't see the offer for support.

"Take my hand, Samantha."

Sam forced her eyes open. She looked at Jack's hand as if it was a snake that was going to bite her. Afraid that he was adding to her stress Jack went to pull his offer away. Horror filled Sam's eyes and she quickly sreached out and grabbed his hand firmly. Jack tried to hide his reaction to the hot sticky blood that covered her hand. She was drenched in blood and sweat but he still drew her closer.

When Sam tried to move towards Jack she was wracked with another strong contraction. Jack acted quickly to keep her from falling forward. He collected her into his arms and lifted her up into his lap. Cradled in his arms she grabbed a fist full of his shirt to hang on. He worked his fingers into her free hand and she squeezed them tightly. Trying to stay quiet she whimpered and moaned between her tears.

Jack's heart felt like someone was twisting a knife into it. Trying to be brave he whispered meaningless words of reassurance as Sam buried her face into his shirt and continued to cry. She shivered and gasped for breath through complicated miscarriage. Sam tensed as another stab of pain increased the speed of the blood loss. Jack swallowed the bile that rose to his lips as he felt Sam's hot blood seeping through his clothing.

"I'm so sorry, Jack." Sam gasped through her tears.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." Jack said firmly.

"I've murdered our child."

"Samantha, you have been to the brink of death and back more times that I care to count recently. You're thirty pounds lighter than you should be, you've been walking for days, knocked unconscious, and threatened with death at the hands of a butcher. How could anyone expect you to carry a child through this?"

"I should have known sooner," Sam insisted vacently "I should have told you days ago when I suspected..."

"Stop. Nothing could have prevented this. It's not murder, it's nature."

Sam nodded half heartedly and buried her face deeper into Jack's embrace. He rocked her gently and rubbed her lower back with his free hand knowing that she would have a great deal of pain there. Sam squeezed the hand that she held captive tight enough to cause pain, but Jack didn't complain. Her fever was breaking and along with the release from the heat came a greater awareness of what was happening.

"Tai?"

"He's alive." Jack assured. "Don't worry about him right now."

Nodding again Sam suddenly struggled to escape Jack's grip. He let her go and she started retching again. With nothing in her stomach it was mostly an unproductive act, but one she couldn't control. In the blue light of the moon the blood that stained her light coloured clothing looked almost black. The amount of blood was alarming and when Sam glanced down at herself she gasped violently.

"I'm going to bleed to death before I have a chance to be shot by hungry lizards."

"You're going to be just fine, and we are going to get out of here."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Sam turned her aqua eyes on Jack and to his surprise she managed a genuine smile. It quickly faded as she began trembling, but at least it had shown that the woman he loved was still with him. Jack held his arms open and she made herself as comfortable as she could in his lap. Still panting, but no longer crying Sam rested her head on his chest and tried to breath through the ordeal.

"I love you." Jack said tenderly.

"I love you back."

Jack smiled sadly and kissed the top of her head. As the moon made its way across the night sky Jack rubbed at Sam's arms and back to try and help her in any way he could. The worst seemed to be over, however she continued to hemorrhage. Sam reasoned that the continual bleeding was probably a good thing since a complete miscarriage wouldn't require any further medical attention. By the time the sun was starting to peek through the trees Sam was tired and shaken, but no longer in the extreme pain she'd suffered through during the night.

Past most of the physical pain tears slipped down Sam's cheeks once more as the emotional realization of what had happened struck her. Although exhausted Jack noticed her renewed tears and he reached up to brush them away. She looked up and locked eyes with him and he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss.

"How are you doing?"

"I should feel relieved, but I don't." Sam admitted. "I'm miserable, my heart hurts so much."

"The loss of a child, no matter if they have been born or not, is always difficult."

"I should be grateful that I haven't condemned another life to this world."

"You feel whatever emotion you are feeling, end of story. No 'shoulds'. Don't hold on to any guilt for anything you're going through."

"I feel...I feel like I've lost someone close to my heart."

"So do I." Jack admitted and hugged Sam closer. "We'll try again, next time it will be different. We'll be home..."

"You really still think we're going to make it?"

"Hey, I made a promise, didn't I?"

"You did."

"What kind of mate would I be if I didn't see that promise through?"

"Live or die you'll still be the greatest mate I could ever ask for."

Jack chuckled quietly and nuzzled Sam affectionately. They were both soaked in drying blood, but neither one cared. She was still bleeding and probably would for several days, but the blood loss had dramatically reduced. Sam rubbed at her sore stomach, but assured Jack that she was feeling better. A quiet purr caused Jack to look up and through the bars.

Tai had woken and had found enough strength to get to his feet. He held the rope that kept him tethered tightly in his hands and used it for some support. Tai was staring at them, seemingly oblivious to the blood, only seeing their interaction. Sam reached through the bars even though Tai was too far away to touch.

"Tai, hang in there...sorry, poor choice of words."

"Saman'tha, Ja'ck, good friends, I will be missing you. I are sorry I not take you home."

"We're not dead yet, Tai." Jack said confidently. "Just give me a minute to figu..."

"Zingiha!!" A sudden shrill cry sliced through the tranquil morning.

A strikingly white dragon had come out to check on Tai but had frozen in place at the sight of Sam and Jack. His eyes were wide with shock and his whole frame was trembling. He took a step closer and then retreated two steps back.

"Zingiha!!" He screamed again.

"Tai, what does 'zingiha' mean?" Jack asked.

"Is name of leader...they afraid of you, of so much blood not bringing death."

"Never trust anything that bleeds for three days and doesn't die." Jack muttered to himself.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Nothing." Jack said innocently.

The red dragon from the previous day came out of the largest tent. He did not look like he was impressed by being woken early. Zingiha started to yell at the white dragon, but the pearl scaled alien just pointed at Jack and Sam. Turning his head to look at the pair his jaw dropped. Unlike the snow dragon Zingiha raced up to the cage and fell to his knees in front of them.

"Est Telgatos?" He asked in awe.

"Dak, dak!" Tai replied desperately. "A kangi est lin'gu, a es Tral'en."

Whatever Tai had told him Zingiha instantly believed it. He started barking orders and personally unlocked the cage. The white dragon ran and got the others, all of which cried out in shock when they saw their captives. Tai was cut down and released. He stumbled over to where Jack and Sam were and fell to his knees.

As soon as Jack crawled out of the cage he helped Sam to her feet and then did the same for Tai. When he took Tai's hand to assist him the crowd gasped collectively. Everyone except Zingiha took at least ten steps back, although no one fled. Jack put his arms around Sam protectively and glared at the red dragon. Tai used the top of the cage to keep himself steady on his weak legs.

"Tai, what the hell is going on?"

"They hold it true that you are...uh...Telgatos...um..." Tai searched for the right word. He pointed to his heart and then up at the sun. "Telgatos...of nature...from above...."

"Gods." Sam supplied. "They think we're gods?"

"Yes...gods. Gods of Bloodshed."

"Telgatos es Julanis!" Zingiha cried ecstatically and bowed to the ground. "Far'is, jihana a delrio. Far'is."

"Uhhh." Jack looked to Tai.

"They wish you to bless their War."

"Tell them to forget it!" Jack snarled without thinking.

Still on his knees Zingiha started to chatter to Tai in a pleading, frightened tone. It was clear that the leader knew that Tai was some sort of 'translator to the gods'. Tai listened attentively and turned to Jack.

"Zingiha begs for your mercy." Tai translated. "Zingiha wishes to know how to speak 'soorry' for captivity of Gods of Blood. Will do anything...anything."

"Anything you say?"

"Anything." Tai confirmed.

Jack stared down at the dragon fawning at his feet. It turned his stomach to see the creature adoring him like this, no matter what the circumstances. Sam was starting to depend on him more and more to keep her on her feet. Zingiha crept up and dared to lick at Jack's foot like a beaten dog. Jack still felt that at any moment the dragon was going to spring up and tear them both apart, however he tried to remain calm.

"Sir?"

"Carter, I know we've spent the past six years or so of our lives trying to dispel people's belief in false gods, but..."

"We could use a little divine intervention."

"My thoughts exactly."