Rating: FR-M
Spoilers: Abyss, Reckoning pt2, Ex Deus Machina
Summary: Part 5: He thought he was so damned smart. Well, Ba'al wasn't going to take down Samantha Carter without a serious fight.
Author Notes: Sam/Baal pairing. I took the premise of Ba'al being on Earth from Ex Deus Machina and my muse is responsible for the rest. You've been forewarned about the pairing, too, so don't shout at me! (hides under bed) My first prime will deal with any flames, so don't waste your time.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognised characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Dedication: For Sarah, always.
Dichotomy pt5
Copyright (c) August 2006, Ruth
O
Ba'al looked at the sleeping female with a mixture of distaste and fascination.
On the one hand, she was Tau'ri; his sworn enemy and an inferior being, an insolent one at that. However, since he'd first been forced to work with her on the planet Dakara, something had remained in the back of his mind, which was proving to be a great distraction and not something which he could get rid of.
More alarmingly, it was something that he did not want to get rid of; some part of him which was drawn to this female, despite her origins and actions against his fellow Goa'uld. He supposed she was not beautiful in the traditional sense, but he was deeply attracted to her none the same. Those eyes… a shiver coursed through his body and he closed his eyes, waiting for the sensation to pass. It was most undignified for a System Lord of his stature…for a System Lord of any stature, for that matter. Such an outward display of emotion, a particular kind of emotion; no, this was something which he had to check and he had to do it quickly.
He also despised her; that insolent tongue which she had no doubt learned from her commander, O'Neill. He sneered at the memory of the man, the most formidable warrior of the Tau'ri; whom he had come so close to crushing… He banged his fist hard on the end of the bed and got up, his robe swirling about his lean figure as he paced angrily.
What to do with her?
What to do with himself?
He couldn't well leave her, send her back to Stargate command; she'd give him away and his entire operation on Earth would be instantly, fatally compromised. No, the safety of his work was worth more than the life of this female, no matter how…intrigued…he was with her. She would remain his captive whilst he decided on a more permanent solution; fortunately it would be another week before her friends and colleagues even noticed that she was missing, so time was on his side.
He stopped his pacing and looked back to the unconscious figure on his bed; she was still out cold, no doubt suffering from the effects of the ribbon device. Ignoring the throbbing pain in his hand from his earlier outburst, he moved towards her again and sat down on the end of the bed.
It was her own fault, he reasoned, taking in the bruise beneath her right eye; she had been persistently impertinent since he had captured her, but also after his specific warning against behaving like this - there was no other way for him to retain and assert his absolute control over her. Still, it was a shame that he had to mark such flawless skin in such a way…
Wistfully, he stroked his fingers over the bruise, his gaze lingering on her face as she slept. Her breathing was still quick and shallow from the way in which he had tortured her. With that, he rose and left her to sleep. She would no doubt be awake again soon and causing him more problems. He straightened the sleeves of his robe and looked at himself in the mirror before leaving, satisfied with what he saw reflected there. Then, he was gone, the door shutting softly behind him.
O
Okay, this time, let's try not pissing him off, Carter's brain suggested when she awoke.
Good idea, brain, she thought, although how exactly do I go about doing that?
Well, I thought the hot-tub comment was pushing it a little
Oh please; it was the interfering and blowing up outburst that really got him
I believe it was probably the cumulative effect of your behaviour throughout the day
The day? How long have I been here? Sam wondered, pausing for a moment in her internal conversation. Talking to yourself, Carter, she smiled wryly, is the first sign of madness. However, madness was more than understandable considering the last couple of days that she'd had.
She no longer had any meaningful concept of time; the room had no windows and was artificially lit, with small, round lights set into the ceiling. Done to confuse and disorientate her, she reasoned. It was certainly working.
With a groan, she stretched out her arms and rubbed at her eyes…
Rubbed at her eyes? She was no longer tied to the bed. She sat up quickly; too quickly, as the blood rushed to her head and she had to lie back down again for a moment. Then, slower this time, she raised herself from the bed and rolled her shoulders, working the cramp from them. Her ankles had also been untied.
Gingerly, she swung her legs off of the bed and touched her feet to the floor. Her legs instantly became cramped and instead of standing, as she had planned, she nearly ended up in a heap on the floor. However, before she fell, a pair of strong arms grabbed her around the waist and held her up.
"Careful, my love," he said softly in her ear, "We wouldn't want you to…damage yourself."
No, you can manage that all on your own, she thought, but contained it just in time.
"I trust you slept well," he continued, without relinquishing his hold on her.
"Yes," she answered carefully.
"Excellent. Now, you must be hungry my love, you have not eaten in many hours." His hand flattened out over her belly as he chuckled low in her ear, "Wouldn't want you getting thin."
Then, as suddenly as he had caught her, he pushed her away from him again, with such force that she stumbled back and fell onto the bed, sitting up again quickly before he could take advantage. Again. Her skin prickled with the heat of where his hands had been, but she raised her eyes to meet his in a gesture of defiance.
"Come now, follow me," he said smoothly, taking a long glance at himself in the long mirror beside the door as he left. Sam rolled her eyes at the unbelievable arrogance of the man, before deciding that it would probably be better to follow him willingly than to be dragged.
O
They arrived at a large, open dining room after a short walk through some very dull and plain corridors; again with no windows so as to remove any risk of Sam finding out where she was and attempting escape. She stopped short when she saw a long table laid for two, complete with wine and somewhat luxurious looking food. Against all of her effort, her stomach rumbled loudly at the sight.
Ba'al laughed, his suspicions confirmed, she was in need of nourishment more than she had led him to believe. Whilst she was taking in the large room, he moved to the table and slipped his hand into the pocket of his robe. Casting a glance back at her, he drew out a small vial of liquid and poured a little into Sam's wine glass. With a small smile, safe in the knowledge that she would be no trouble for him tonight, he called her over, slipping the vial back into his pocket.
But she had seen him.
Pretending to look in admiration at the large fireplace at the centre of the room, she had kept one eye on him in his reflection, on a painting which was hung high on the wall. Surely he wouldn't be so bold as to drug her wine whilst she was just a few feet away from him?
Yeah, he was that bold alright. With a wry smile, she began to formulate a plan of sorts; Ba'al wasn't going to take down Samantha Carter without a serious fight. She pretended to look at the painting until he called her over to him, and as she drew closer she shot him what she hoped was a seductive smile.
He fell for it. Hook, line, and sinker - he was gone.
She was standing just a few inches away from him as he reached his hand into her hair, running it back through the golden strands with a look of deep satisfaction. He pulled her closer to him, his head dipping low. He's going to kiss me, she thought, this is my only chance.
Backing away slowly, she deliberately crashed into the table, with a gasp as the wood hit her back and legs. Ba'al chuckled, under the impression that he was reeling her in, slowly but surely.
How wrong he was.
He came close again, taking her chin in his hand and tilting her head up, his dark eyes boring into hers. This time, as he leaned in to kiss her, she didn't stop him; instead she returned the kiss with equal fervour. She felt him smirk against her lips and a surge of anger swept through her again.
Arrogant bastard. He thought he had her…he thought he'd done it. Well, he was in for a shock. As one of his hands moved around her waist, pulling her against him, her own hand slipped around him, with the pretence of holding him to her. However, he was suitably distracted as he placed a line of kisses down her neck and shoulder. She slipped her hand into the pocket of his robe and withdrew the vial, carefully popping the lid with one hand. Then, as surreptitiously as she could, she bent her arm behind her and emptied the contents into the wine glass which sat at his place. This being done, she slipped the vial up the sleeve of her top and waited for him to finish.
He eventually broke away from her, his lips curved in a smile which was at once infuriating and seductive. She hated his ability to arouse such long-buried feelings in her, but found comfort in the fact that he was about to be seriously done over; by a female of the Tau'ri, and he had no idea.
"Come, my dear, we must eat - gather our strength," he said suggestively.
Oh please, she thought, inwardly rolling her eyes but also silently praying that her gamble would pay off.
She sat down, her heart pounding in her chest as she picked up her glass of wine. His gaze was fixed on her as she brought it closer to her lips.
"A toast?" she suggested, raising her glass.
"To what are we toasting?" he replied, raising his own in response.
"To love," Sam smiled, running her tongue over her lower lip in a way she felt sure would captivate him, "and power."
O
She put the cup to her lips and drank deeply; his eyes never left hers as she did so. It was definitely drugged, she could tell from the taste. A twang of something sweet, which shouldn't have been there. She wondered how long it would be before it started to take effect. She lowered the glass, having consumed half of its contents.
With a smug look, Ba'al raised his own glass to his lips and, in a fit of arrogant superiority, drained its contents in one go. Sam smiled sweetly at him as he did this, fighting a desperate battle with her inner self which was creased up with manic, vengeful laughter.
Now is not the time! She chastised herself mentally; this is far from over, after all.
The drug, in fact, began to take effect in a matter of seconds. She felt her heart begin to race, and a blush spread across her cheeks. Still, his gaze was locked on hers. Her brain went into overdrive; why wasn't it happening to him? Then, it dawned on her, the symbiote. It would probably dull the effect of the drug and perhaps even remove it altogether.
Shit.
She put her hand to her head as her vision began to swim before her eyes, only dimly aware of him as he rose from his seat and moved to her side.
"You son of a bitch," she complained, as she felt her legs give way beneath her. He made no move to catch her; instead he smirked and watched her on the floor as the last waves of consciousness left her body. When she was out cold, he stooped and pulled her into his arms, leaving the room with a swagger and a low laugh.
As he neared his chamber, he began to wonder about the heaviness of his limbs. He had carried her before; she was far from hefty and it couldn't have been her weight. He felt a little pain beginning to develop between his eyes, but thought little of it as he laid her down on his bed. As he stood up, however, the pain worsened and his head swam a little.
What was going on?
He tried to straighten up, but felt his legs begin to weaken. He stumbled, catching hold of the end of the bed to stop himself from falling. Eyes wide, he reached into the pocket of his robe…
Empty.
As his limbs finally succumbed to the drug which she had so expertly snuck into his wine, his brain struggled to process what had actually taken place. She must have used the remainder of the vial in order to produce such an effect in him. It was potent stuff - he was only just beginning to realise how potent.
It appeared that, once again, he had seriously underestimated her.
"Clever girl," he smiled ruefully, before he slumped to the floor, unconscious.
O
To be Continued…
O
Author's Note: Hee-hee. I thought it was time for a little comeuppance. Hope you enjoyed the chapter; please click on my name to leave feedback. See you next chapter!
