A/N: I'm posting this so quickly because my number of reviews relative to hits has suddenly increased to 1:10 ... roughly. Anywho, thank you lots, and I hope a lot more of you people who have this thing on alert (21 the last time I checked) will review this chapter to throw rotten fruit at me.

I know this is shorter than normal, but ... you'll see why.

To say that Alex was anxious for Bobby and Jack to get back with this Lya person was a gross understatement. She was in full-blown, pacing-can't-stay-still-I-spend-way-too-much-time-around-Bobby-Goren mode of anxiety by the time they got back. By the time they actually got back to the security room (Vala and Daniel preferring to wait it out form the bridge to make sure nothing went wrong on that end), Alex gave serious thought to jumping into Bobby's arms in relief.

"Lya, this is Alex," Jack introduced the two women, "Alex this is Lya. What's the situation, Hailey?"

Jennifer Hailey looked up from where she sat, typing up something on the computer screen, "Sir, Wallace just called again about two minutes ago informing us that she's willing to accept a trade: Detective Eames for Colonel Carter."

"No," Bobby said adamantly, "We have Lya, we can get Sam out that way."

Lya shook her head softly, "It will not be that simple, Bobby. I must be able to see the object I am trying to hide before I can succeed in hiding it."

The group fell into another silence, all knowing there was only one way to solve the problem, and none of them liking the solution at all. After a terse moment, Alex finally looked at them all determined, "I'll go."

"NO," Bobby nearly shouted. He couldn't let her do that. What if Nicole killed her? What if something happened?

Lya's calming hand was placed on Bobby's forearm, "Do not fear for her safety, Bobby. All will be well."

"How can you promise that?" the detective asked, his voice agitated and low. Alex also turned her attention to the alien woman, wanting to know the answer and to have that reassurance even though she already had agreed to the plan.

"How deep is the river, if you cannot see the bottom?" Lya asked the two detectives, her voice still calm and musical. "Believe, and it will be."

At long last, Bobby nodded, accepting that what would happen … would happen. He didn't like sending Alex in there by herself any more than he liked being on the same ship as Nicole in the first place. But he'd let her do what she thought she must to save her friend.

Nicole smiled menacingly as the phone began to ring again. She turned to Sam, "Now, who do you think that is? General O'Neill and Bobby couldn't possibly be back from their little trip, yet. I wonder if Alex really is going to sacrifice herself for you?"

Sam kept her face blank and said nothing as Nicole picked up the phone. She'd felt the ship decelerate from hyperspace about fifteen minutes before, and she knew that they were now in orbit of something – probably a planet with a Stargate. If that were the case … she just prayed to whatever real god was out there and listening that everything would turn out okay.

Nicole's smile only grew wider as she listened to what the other person on the phone was telling her. After a long stretch of silence she said, "Only Alex and Bobby are going to approach the door. I have a very good connection to the cameras in the hall – if anyone else but them approaches I'll blow up your dear Colonel Carter." She hung up and set about unblocking the door. It took only a few minutes for her to successfully get the door to open a few inches – just enough room for someone to slip a hand out.

When it was done, and the group in the security room called again to confirm Alex and Bobby were on their way down for the swap, Nicole pulled out her standard issue handgun and turned it on Sam. With a cool smile she said, "What a pity it isn't Jack pulling the trigger – again," and shot the prone woman once, through the heart.

The shot rang through the corridor as Bobby and Alex raced toward the room Nicole was holding Sam in, knowing that Lya would transport herself into the room as soon as they were close enough. At the sound of the shot, they sped up, praying that they weren't too late to save Sam's life.

When they approached the door, Alex took point, but unfortunately, neither one of them saw the gun until it was too late to dodge the bullet. It tore through Alex's body like a knife through butter – moments before Lya appeared and hid the gun, bomb and controls from the rest of the humans.

Moments more passed; security officers subdued Nicole – who was, at this point wondering how the hell the situation had gotten so out of hand, while being thrilled to no end that she had succeeded in killing her only rival for Bobby's affection.

What she wasn't expecting was that Bobby wasn't even looking at her in her moment of triumph – he was bent over the still form of his lithe partner, desperately trying to get her heart to start again, and to stem the staunch flow of blood that drained from her beautifully pale body.

As Nicole was led away, the men of the original SG-1 came arrived on the scene, Vala following close behind. They could hear Bobby muttering something that sounded like, "No, no, don't die. Don't be dead. You can't be dead. No. Not you, too. Don't leave me, Alex."

Jack averted his eyes, instead turning to the men working on getting the door open completely. Pendergast was the one who went in and found the lifeless body of Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter. His sorrowful face refused to meet Jack's worried eyes, telling the Major General all he needed to know.

In their sorrow, neither man noticed Lya – steady, faithful, beautiful Lya, as her hands slowly moved in the ancient rhythm of the Nox.

A/N: dodges rotten fruit That's not nice! Hey - No, no don't throw fruit at me! It is a known fact for all SG-1 fans that the Nox are able to raise the dead. It is also a known fact to all of those that read my SG-1 stories that I don't kill off characters without a fool-proof way of bringing them back.