5
As soon as she recovered he gestured out the door with the gun and she headed to the bathroom, he went in with her and watched her as she did what she needed to, she was embarrassed but knew he would not take his eyes off her in there, too much she could use for weapons. She left her jeans on the bathroom floor but she reluctantly pulled her pants back up. "clean clothes?" she asked he shook his head and pointed her out of the door with the Zat.
She went out and straight to the bedroom, she couldn't risk him shooting her again, he motioned for her to lay on the bed. "Can I turn the mattress over?" she asked he looked at her, thinking, not once glancing at the bed. He nodded and she stripped the bed and turned the mattress over, it wouldn't stop the smell but it would be dry.
"Food?" she asked pointing to the sandwiches, they were 2 days old probably, but were better than nothing. He shook his head and gestured for her to lay down again, she was about to complain when he raised the gun, she saw his fingers tightening and lay down quickly.
He tied her up, having left the ropes with loops on so it could be done quickly, he did not tie her knees together yet, just the rope around her chest, her ankles and then one around her hands that went under the bed and over her stomach. He left her there and went out of the room.
He came back in less than 10 minutes with a packet of sandwiches, he threw them on the bed, with another bottle of water, and loosened her hands. She opened the bottle first and gratefully drank half, then opened the sandwiches, she grimaced at the taste, she hated tuna! Now was not the time to complain, she thought she saw him smile slightly, he knew she didn't like tuna! She forced it down and drank the rest of the water. She then lay still without complaint.
It had taken Daniel a week to recover from the sarcophagus, he had been… how long? 5 days? Maybe 6? He should be coming around some time soon, maybe that was why she was starting to get concessions.
He tied her hands and her knees together, she could have sworn she felt him caress her leg! He once again brushed her hair from her face and kissed her forehead, "It wont be long, we will get your dad in, he will remove the snake, hang in there Sam"
She closed her eyes "yes sir" she whispered back.
He left the room, at least he had not gagged her again. She lay for hours before she heard him leave.
Next day she did not see him. She was getting very thirsty again and was in danger of having to wet herself when she thought she saw someone in the corner of the room. She looked sharply but there was no one there, she shouted. No answer.
She lay there, again looking at her life, all this that she was going through was her fault anyway. If she had not persuaded him to take the snake he wouldn't have gone to Baal and been tortured to death. He would not have been resurrected over and over and he would not have been going through withdrawal. She couldn't blame him for any of this, he wasn't in control.
All through that day she got thirstier and thirstier, when she eventually let her bladder empty she could feel it burning as it left her, she was severely dehydrated, no shock there. The longer she waited the more often she thought she could see someone in the corner of the room. Someone in white. She must becoming delusional, maybe it was the ghost of her mother? She giggled slightly hysterical. The form in the corner moved.
"Hang in there Sam" a voice came out "Jack collapsed in the SGC while trying to get to the General, he's sedated at the moment, hopefully he will be coming around soon"
She lifted her head as much as possible and squinted, the form looked like Daniel! He wasn't all glowy as he had been the last time she had seen him, he was dressed in white trousers and a cream coloured jumper.
"Daniel" she tried to croak out, her mouth was that dry it hurt to try and talk.
"Yeah, I've been keeping an eye on you for Jack" he said, she looked at him questions piling up behind her eyes, unable to articulate them.
"I was the one who got him back here last time, I was trying to stop him getting into the SGC and killing General Hammond. As well as you needing a drink"
She moved her mouth but no words came out.
"Hold on Sam, not much longer, he's starting to come around… I'll be back" he disappeared. Well that was final proof, she had gone mad with thirst, she always thought you had to be in a dessert for that to happen.
After about an hour he was back! "Jack has told them where you are, someone is on the way, just hold on" Daniel stayed beside her until she heard vehicles pulling up outside, Major Carter!" she heard Teal'c shouting, she lay still, no energy to try and make a noise left. "In HERE!" he shouted and Janet was kneeling by the bed, she rigged up an IV line and got a bottle of water to Sams lips before even trying to get her untied.
Sam managed to swallow a small amount of water and Janet removed the rest, she knew it would make her ill if she drank a lot, but her body was telling her she needed it, she tried to follow the water as it was removed. Janet kept talking to her all the time, but she fell into a doze and remembered nothing else until she awoke in the infirmary 2 days later.
0o0o0o
She had a pounding headache! She stirred slightly, she couldn't feel the ropes any more… she remembered! She sat upright and immediately felt very sick, she threw her upper body over the side of the bed, luckily someone was watching her and stopped her from falling, she found a bowl under her face and managed to heave into it. Nothing but bile. Not surprising really, it had been days since she had eaten and all her fluids were coming into her via IV, she could feel the pull on her arm that told her she was still connected.
She lay back and a cool cloth was put on her forehead, she heard someone…him…saying 'shhh' over and over, and she drifted back off to sleep again.
Next time she woke she made sure she didn't move too quickly, she tried to open her eyes but the lights were too bright. She tried to wet her lips but her mouth was too dry. She felt a spoon at her mouth and ice chips were dropped in, she allowed them to melt, feeling the parched membranes on the inside of her mouth absorb the moisture. She again tried to open her eyes, whoever was at her side moved off and she could see the lights dim through her closed eyelids. She blinked a couple of times to get her eyes focusing and she saw the Colonel over by the light switch.
"Thank you sir" she said, he nodded and came back to her bedside. He sat on it at the side of her.
"Carter…" he couldn't look her in the eye, he was messing with something in his hand that was taking all his attention.
"That's ok sir, it wasn't your fault" she told him before he could continue
"How can you forgive me for it though! You almost died for Gods sake!" she raised a hand and put her fingers on his lips
"It wasn't your fault" she repeated. She wondered how much he remembered about it all. Did he remember talking to someone? Did he think he was seeing Daniel as she had? Was it Daniel? Did he remember kissing her forehead and telling her he loved her? She remembered her feelings of a life wasted, and how she had wished, when he was missing, for a chance to tell him how she felt. Was she going to throw all that insight away and go back to how they had been before?
She moved her fingers along his lips, then along his jaw until her hand was cupping the side of his face. He was looking at her as if she had lost her mind. His eyes flicked up to the cameras in the corners, but she already knew that they were in a blind spot because of a set of screens around the far side of her bed. Janet always tried to put the female staff in this bed, it gave them a bit more privacy, as most of the security staff who watched the monitors were men… 39 out of 40 of them actually.
He started to pull away from her and before he could she put her hand around the back of his head and drew him towards her, she lightly kissed his lips, and then she had exhausted her strength, she fell back onto the bed, allowing her hand to fall down his chest and rest on his upper thigh.
He coughed and moved off the bed. "I think you need some rest Carter" he said she nodded at him, a slight smile on her lips. "yes well…" he was backing away to the door "I'll leave you to it then" he said and left.
She rolled onto her side, pulling the IV slightly, but if they moved the screens she had her back to the cameras. She smiled to herself, he had always allowed her the first move, it was about time she made it!