Chapter 4

Sam awoke a few hours before Zeus, which was unusual. He had a fairly accurate internal clock because of the symbiote. She glanced over at his still form. Loose shoulder-length hair created a soft brown curtain across his face. His expression was so peaceful and open that she ached to see him look at her in such a way. Even when they were alone, his face and eyes were guarded from her.

Rolling on her back, she took a moment—something she rarely had by herself anymore—to mull over the past six months and everything that had happened to her. Ever since she found out how much her "friends" had respected her memory by not even coming back for her body, the anger of hurt and betrayal had festered and grown slowly but steadily. At first, even she had been amazed at the intensity of her anger but now it was as familiar as the colonel and Daniel's bantering had once been.

Daniel.

The one friend she couldn't be angry with. He hadn't meant to get shot, just like she hadn't meant to either. Unluckily for Zeus, anger toward him for causing Daniel's death had festered and grown, too. Luckily for him, though, Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c were the recipients of the brunt of her fury.

She blinked back tears yet unshed for her lost friend. Ever since she had been with Zeus, she had hardened emotionally. She now understood, in some ways, the reason for Teal'c's stoicism.

A flash of sudden anger made her forget about Daniel for a minute. She had, at the very least, expected Teal'c to have done something to get her back. He of all people knew what Zeus could have done once he had brought her back to life. Why, then, had he left her? It hurt more than anything.

Finally, the most anger was reserved for the colonel. What happened to his "never leave a man behind" motto? If he truly believed it, then why did he leave her behind? The hypocrite.

She thought back to their first time they had met. He had said he had a problem with scientists. Taking a second to think about the notion, she immediately dismissed the very idea. He was fine with Daniel. But what about her? Was it because she had been The Girl? Did he think she was weak? If he did, he'd find it quite to the contrary when their paths crossed again. She couldn't help that she was The Girl, and Colonel O'Neill would see the error of his ways.

As a distraction, she thought of Zeus. He was very different from any other Goa'uld she'd heard about. Even though the Goa'uld were supposed to be evil and harsh, he was a much gentler lover than Jonas Hanson had ever been. If she'd laid eyes on him before joining the program, she wouldn't have hesitated to label Zeus as cute.

There was something else hovering in a secluded corner in her mind that she constantly failed to grasp. Though she couldn't place him, there was something distractingly familiar about him. It definitely wasn't from any of her memories, more like one of Jolinar's. If there was one thing she had learned in the past four years, it was to trust Jolinar's instincts and memories.

Zeus stirred next to her. She brushed his hair away from his face.

He grabbed her hand and began to trail soft kisses up her arm that never failed to make her shiver with desire.

Zeus's company was so much more pleasurable than Jonas's had ever been, decided Sam and not for the first time.

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It was several hours later when Zeus and "Maia" were standing in the bridge, watching Zeus's planet, Thebes, grow nearer and nearer on the screen.

Sam was nervous. This would be her first visit to Thebes. It wasn't anything unusual, just the same butterflies she always had in her stomach whenever she was "presented" at a different planet and didn't want to screw things up for Zeus. She swallowed around her heart, which seemed to have lodged itself in her throat, and tried to concentrate on other obscure things.

Today, she was wearing a long, rich, purple Grecian dress. Its straps were fastened each with a gold disk and a bolt of lightning engraved into them.

Zeus was wearing his usual; a toga, except this one was similar in color to Sam's instead of white.

That was another thing Sam found odd but never gave much thought to; the fact that he didn't care about wearing gold. He preferred more common colors. Every other Goa'uld Sam encountered loved to show off just how powerful they were through flashy clothes. Not Zeus.

They left the bridge and walked slowly to the ring platform, escorted by Kaelyn and Kaeleck; Acamas, Zeus's first prime; and a few other Jaffa guards. Naturally, they had their staff weapons and zats, while Sam and Zeus had hand devices. Sam also had a knife strapped to her leg, which Zeus didn't know about. What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

The rings activated and Sam found herself on a gorgeous planet. It was as if Ancient Greece had been restored perfectly. There was a white marble path leading to a large building that resembled what once could have been the Parthenon. Marble statues were erected—Zeus of course—and dozens of different kinds of trees, shrubs, and flowers were planted. There were also some people standing by, wearing typical Ancient Grecian clothing.

Sam didn't sense any symbiotes other than Zeus's and the Jaffas'.

One detail that failed to escape her was the look on the locals' faces. They held none of the hunted and frightened looks that people on other Goa'uld-ruled planets had. Instead, their faces held awe, reverence, and happiness. Just like the other locals on Zeus's other planets.

She shook her head slightly. That was another thing about Zeus. His people wanted to see him. They gave every sign that they willingly worshipped Zeus, not fear that they would die if they didn't.

They beheld Sam in similar reverence. At first—back on her first time seeing Zeus's people—their respect and open admiration of her unnerved her but she was used to it by now. It didn't mean that she had to like it. She still had the same negative feelings of being worshipped as a false deity.

As they walked by, the people kneeled. Another interesting thing. Once again, nothing appeared forced like with the other Goa'ulds. The growing crowd was doing it on their own free will. At least, that's what it appeared to be. Still, Sam couldn't but help remember how Kasuf was so cowed around Apophis, and he was the leader of the Abydonians for cryin' out loud! Her heart ached thinking about Abydos. It reminded her too much of Daniel and her "friends."

They stepped toward the Parthenon-like building. Sam almost smiled when she thought of how much Daniel would love to come to this planet and how ticked the colonel would be when Daniel would undoubtedly argue about spending a lot of time studying the land and buildings.

Sam scolded herself. She shouldn't be thinking about the Tau'ri. She had another life here. One she wasn't willing to leave very quickly.

A bead of sweat trickled down the side of her face. Why had Zeus needed to pick a planet in a binary system? Especially considering this planet was close enough to become hot in the summers and far enough away to become cold in the winters. She was quite pleased that she still bothered to keep up with her old job, not that it was hard. After all, she was a scientist first. Her location and status didn't change that.

Their slow, simple trek to the building became a torturous and excruciatingly hot journey. Sam berated herself for not realizing that the weather would be this hot. Even her light and airy dress felt like a ten pound comforter. The trees that began growing midway along the path seemed like a thousand light-years away. Even though they were probably about twenty yards away in actuality, they never appeared to be getting closer. It took major self control not to show her excruciating discomfort.

Finally, the sweet salvation of shade came. Sam breathed a silent sigh of relief. The slow walk thing seemed completely pointless to her but it was something Zeus insisted on, so she didn't have much of a say in the matter. Still, she thought wistfully, it would be a lot less excruciating if we just walked in at a normal pace. It was one of those times she envied Zeus having a symbiote; he didn't have to worry about temperature as much as Sam did. The back of her neck twinged.

Suddenly, the sound of a staff blast rang out. A second followed in rapid succession. One hit Zeus in the head and neck while the other struck his back. Out of instinct, Sam hurtled to the ground just as a third blast whizzed over her head had been seconds later. People had begun to cry in terror and flee. A few people stayed to try and protect Sam and Zeus.

She controlled her gag reflex at seeing Zeus's burnt, twisted, and bloody body crumpled next to her. It was obvious that both host and symbiote had died instantly. She quickly jumped up.

"Get down!" she shouted. She had just been barely able to detect a new symbiote before the tingly feeling vanished. So the strange feeling before wasn't from the heat. Her face burned with anger and shame.

The crowd that had remained immediately ducked to the ground. Using her hand device, Sam released a burst of energy in the direction she sensed the presence of a symbiote. The blast caught a person rushing away and sent him sprawling. Sam pelted toward him as he got up and continued his mad dash.

Luckily, she wasn't wearing prissy little high heels. Like the other Grecian people here (and Zeus) she was wearing sandals. The only disadvantage was the fact she ankles kept wanting to twist on the uneven ground. Sam and the other person continued running and jumping over decorative shrubs that happened to be in their way.

Finally, five months of very little physical workouts combined with tortuous heat caught up to her. Wheezing and puffing, she slowed to a stop. The other continued on without slowing down, further proof that it had a symbiote. Trembling from exhaustion was replaced by shakes of anger. Zeus was dead because of this person. Whoever he was, he would pay.

She began walking back. It was then that she realized Zeus had a sarcophagus on board his ship. A plan began to form in her mind. This would be seen as a sign of weakness by his people. If she got Zeus back to his ship, she could show the people that he had the power to conquer death.

With renewed vigor, she slowly jogged back to the Parthenon building, ignoring the streams of sweat that coated her body.

When she got back, she noted she had run almost two miles at a flat out run. It wasn't bad but it didn't beat her old records either.

"Get him back to the ship," she ordered Acamas. He was standing over Zeus's fallen body, looking as lost as a seasoned Jaffa was capable of.

"With respect, but to what end, my queen?" he asked.

Using her plan, and relying on the fact that Acamas didn't seem to know about a sarcophagus's healing qualities, she responded, "He had the power to bring me back to life. I know for a fact that he can come back. But he can't do it unless we get him back to the ship."

Zeus's body was already in Acamas's arms as soon as Sam said that she knew he could come back. Wordlessly, she led the way back to the ship at a brisk pace.

At the spot the rings would appear, she paused. "Do you know where the sarcophagus is?" she asked.

Acamas looked troubled. "I am afraid I do not know what you are speaking of," he said, desperation lacing his voice.

"Zeus never told you about the sarcophagus," said Sam in disbelief. Acamas nodded in agreement with her assessment. "Do you know the room Zeus took me to when I was...dead?"

Acamas nodded slowly. "I believe so."

"There's a sarcophagus in that room. Put Zeus in it. He'll be fine then. When you do that, leave and Zeus will come back out when he's ready," said Sam. She would have gone with Zeus but these people needed to be reassured their leader would come back as strong as before.

When Acamas and Zeus were ringed up, Sam turned and hurried away, ignoring how hot the sun was on her sweaty face, back, and arms. Her hair was plastered to her face. She wiped the sweat off of her face and brushed her hair back. She knew she looked "unbecoming" but this was more important than appearances.

Upon entering, Sam noted that a decently large group of people had returned.

At the far end of the building was a platform. Her stomach knotted as people moved out of her way, making the platform seem even closer. She wasn't looking forward to talking by herself. Naturally, she had given mini speeches on the other planets but those had been prewritten and she hadn't been alone.

She climbed the stairs and stepped onto the platform. Every head turned toward her, waiting expectantly.

Unsure of what to say, she shakily began, "Due to some...unwelcome company by his enemies, my Lord Zeus is injured. Through his power, he planned a way to defeat death when he anticipated an attack." Her voice strengthened. "At this very moment, Zeus is recuperating and may appear tonight. Tomorrow midday at the latest, if he so chooses."

She hurried—inconspicuously, of course—off the stage. As she headed back to the ship, she saw grateful and hopeful looks mingling throughout the crowd.

Followed by Kaelyn, Kaeleck, and the remaining Jaffa warriors, she went back to the ship and stood under the ring platform.

The rings came down and they were transported up. Sam went to the room with the sarcophagus and was relieved to see it activated. She sat down and waited for Zeus to emerge alive and well.

Sam leaned against the sarcophagus and breathed a sigh of relief. She knew she and Zeus had just jumped a tough hurdle and succeeded.


Okay, y'all seem like a bunch of smart cookies, but I'll say this anyway:

-oOoOoOo-

symbolizes a change in setting and point of view.

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symbolizes that in other words, a scene and certain amount of time has changed but maintains a single point of view.