Chapter 14 - Struggles
Daniel straightened the loose robe one last time, then looked to Teal'c. "You ready?"
"I am indeed," said Teal'c, lowering his head.
"Dial it up, then," said Daniel. He and Teal'c descended to the gate room, alone except for the techs. Jack and Hammond were already in or near Washington by now, Dixon was on leave, and Mckay was in some deep dark corner of the base fiddling with a device that might (but probably wouldn't, so he said) destroy the whole world. It didn't really matter to Daniel.
After the kawoosh, Daniel and Teal'c stepped through to the Abydos gate room. Kasuf was waiting, as Daniel knew he would be.
"Good father," Daniel said, coming forward with hands clasped in a humble position. He bowed, and indicated Teal'c. "Do not be afraid, this is Teal'c."
Kasuf did not appear surprised, and shared a few words with Teal'c, before turning back to Daniel. He was surprisingly unquestioning.
"Good father," said Daniel finally, "I must ask your forgiveness for not returning with your daughter."
"So I see," said Kasuf, again without surprise or disappointment.
"I fear that I will be searching for many more seasons," finished Daniel.
Kasuf nodded once, then beckoned to them both. "Come."
Daniel frowned, wondering at all this strangeness but following without question. Teal'c showed no emotion on his face, not indicating if he could read Daniel's, but probably prepared all the same. There was a short walk that Daniel remembered quite clearly, through the gorgeous sand and homey village. Everyone knew why he was there, but though no one approached him they all looked up as he passed with friendly faces. He missed this.
They finally reached Kasuf's tent.
"Here," said Kasuf, pulling aside the door and letting Daniel and Teal'c enter first.
Frowning still, Daniel ducked his head and stepped in. Looking up, eyes trying to adjust to the dimmer light, it took him a moment to take things in.
"Hello, Daniel," said Sam a small smile on her face.
Daniel jumped back in shock, and only a second passed before Teal'c fired his zat. Sam was standing on the opposite side of the tent in simple light tan, but the zat fire bounced off the golden column of a Goa'uld personal shield. She winced.
"I knew you would do that," she said, mouth twisting, smile disappearing.
"How did—Teal'c? Good father?" Daniel didn't know what he was trying to say.
"She is still possessed by a Goa'uld," said Teal'c, his zat still raised as he stood just behind Daniel's right shoulder.
"Do not be so hasty, my son!" said Kasuf, following them in and putting a hand on Daniel's left arm.
"Good father, she is no longer a friend to be trusted," said Daniel, and he could see that the words hurt Sam as much as he to say. "She is demon-possessed."
"Nay, but she can still be trusted," said Kasuf, though glancing quickly to Sam. "You will see, if you put your weapon away." He waved a hand to Teal'c, who did not respond.
"Good father, let me deal with this," said Daniel. The shock at seeing Sam here had not quite worn off, but he could think. "So, Jolinar, you can convince my good father," he said, crossing his arms.
"Jolinar isn't speaking right now," said Sam, stepping forward, her hands spread out. "And neither did she convince Kasuf. She has been much more cooperative than you would think."
"So you're trying to say that you're really Sam," said Daniel, meeting her gaze. "Why should I believe you?"
Sam gave a painful smile, more to herself than to Daniel. "That's the rub, isn't it. See, I was going to have proof for you, as close to proof as I could get, but my luck hasn't been so good."
"Just out of curiosity, what proof?" asked Daniel. He glanced to one side, and saw that Teal'c had barely moved a muscle. The tent was large, with plenty of room to separate them sufficiently for caution's sake, and so Teal'c did not move.
"Sha're," said Sam simply.
Daniel had a little jolt, and he shook it off briefly. "What?"
"Sha're, your wife," said Sam, looking straight at him with eyes that were not soft. "I was going to bring her to you, so that you would know that the Tok'ra do not mean us harm."
"That's an ambitious tale," said Daniel shortly.
"I know—hardly proof anymore," said Sam.
"You—if it's Sam or Jolinar, which I'm not sure—are still so sure about the Tok'ra," said Daniel, glancing to Teal'c and to Kasuf before looking back to her. "But Jolinar promised to release Sam as soon as she could escape, and it's been two months..."
"As I said, bad luck," said Sam, slightly shifting. "Daniel, you have to believe me, this wasn't how it was supposed to be."
"No, I'm sure of that," said Daniel. "But what are you doing here now? What do you think is going to happen?"
There was a pause, and a breeze flapped the tent. "I'm just hoping you'll be willing to negotiate with a supposed enemy," Sam said. "I don't have any other options right now." She stood still, not shifting her weight or her steady gaze on Daniel.
Daniel watched her, looking in her eyes and wondering if he could learn anything from them. They looked softer than when Jolinar had been control at the SGC, but harder and sharper than Sam's had been—and there might just be a hint of desperation there. But what did that tell him? Nothing useful.
"You came through the gate?" he asked.
"Yes," said Sam.
"So I could call in reinforcements from the SGC and capture you here and now," continued Daniel.
"You could call them in, yes," said Sam. "But I didn't come to offer myself up. I want to talk to you, not Hammond—or Jack," she added.
"Why?" asked Daniel.
"Listen, Daniel, I have been gone for nearly two months, and almost every minute has been trying to get back home," said Sam. "Jolinar and I have been searching for a willing host to take my place, and we still trust for success, but that means nothing if I can't get to Earth."
"We're not letting you back free," said Daniel.
"I know," said Sam. "That's another matter. But when the time comes, I need to know that I can contact you."
"You want a GDO?" asked Daniel incredulously, his weight rolling back to the heels of his feet.
"No," said Sam. "I'm not stupid, Daniel. I want a device with a unique radiation signature, and I want a scheduled planet where we can meet again. I choose the date, I send the message—that's all, though."
"So you have nothing else to say?" asked Daniel, thinking about what she had offered.
"Not under these circumstances," said Sam grimly. "Just a promise that you won't leave this situation to chance meetings."
Kasuf had already quietly slipped out, apparently having heard all this before.
"We should contact the SGC immediately, DanielJackson," said Teal'c.
"What about Sha're?" said Daniel.
"Kasuf can vouch, she was here," said Sam. "The Tok'ra and I worked together to find her, and she was going to come, both as proof of my trustability and to see you again."
"So you say you've removed Amonet?" asked Daniel, his face revealing nothing about what he thought.
"Not at the time, no, but it is so now," said Sam, slowly and painfully.
"What does that mean, and why is she not here?" demanded Daniel.
"Okay, Daniel, you want to know?" Sam snapped suddenly, taking a step forward despite Teal'c's answering tenseness of his zat. "We had a beautiful plan, so Sha're could see you again and help me convince you that I wasn't the enemy. But Amonet didn't go along. She and Apophis had planned to have a child using Sha're, and Amonet had to be dormant for the pregnancy, so Sha're was free to come with me. But just as we were ready to come here, Amonet decided to kill Sha're and the child, and right now they're still in critical condition on the Tok'ra home-world. Sorry." She finished with a tart apology.
Daniel stood stricken, not wanting to believe, but not seeing why such a lie would be useful.
Sam seemed to melt back into something softer. "I'm sorry, Daniel," she said, hesitating between stepping back and stepping closer. "I shouldn't have said all that."
"Is it true?" he asked, the hint of breaking in his voice as he still ran over the possibilities.
"Yes," said Sam.
"She's alive, though?" asked Daniel.
"Yes," said Sam. "And her child. Amonet is dead as well."
"Okay, I really need to contact the SGC now," said Daniel, letting the arms that he had crossed as a sort of protection for himself fall to his side. "Teal'c?"
Teal'c nodded, taking one more step forward as Daniel left the tent.
"My son?" asked Kasuf as Daniel passed him. "Are you not convinced?"
"Not yet," said Daniel, not looking back as he went to the gate room.
ooooooo
The ceremony was done, the real entertainment of eating, drinking, and mingling had begun. Jack was off somewhere brooding, and Hammond was making a much better face among the military types. It wasn't as difficult for him, after living so many years with the idea that men were always lost, and so not forming personal attachments as much as he could. Jack—well, Jack got caught up on things a better military officer wouldn't, but a better man might.
"Hey there, George," came a voice familiar to Hammond, and he looked to see an old friend approaching out of the crowd.
"Jacob," said Hammond, nodding. This could go terribly wrong...
"I haven't seen you up here often," said Jacob, smiling wide, a glass of champagne in his hand. "How are things in Colorado?"
"Classified," said Hammond with an answering smile.
"But of course," said Jacob. "And I am glad to have escaped from that all. How's my daughter doing?"
Hammond said nothing, swallowing.
"What, has she said she doesn't want speak to me?" asked Jacob.
"No," said Hammond, frowning as he recognized the brewing trouble.
"She's still working there, right?" continued Jacob. "Deep space radar telemetry? She told me once a while back."
"Jacob, we need to talk privately," said Hammond in a low tone, nodding his head towards the edge of the room.
"Oh," said Jacob, face darkening. "All right, then."
ooooooo
"So Teal'c," said Sam after Daniel was gone. The space between them was the same, just long enough that she couldn't jump him but not so far that he couldn't have perfect aim. "Do you believe me?"
"I am without sufficient evidence to make a decision," said Teal'c, his head tilting to one side.
Sam shifted her weight finally, crossing her arms in front of her. "I see."
"You do not speak as I would imagine Jolinar of Malkshur would, if she was trying to imitate CaptainCarter," continued Teal'c. "Nor are your demands entirely full of risk for Earth."
"Glad you noticed," said Sam with a forced smile.
"I do not believe DanielJackson or your superiors at Stargate Command will have even as much surety," said Teal'c.
"Maybe not," said Sam. "But some kind of compromise would be better for them, no matter if I am truthful or not."
"Indeed," said Teal'c. "But it is possible that your military may not be entirely logical."
"It is," Sam acknowledged coolly.
ooooooo
"What do you mean, she's missing?" demanded Jacob, pressing into the space between him and Hammond where they now stood in a darker and otherwise vacant room. "How could she disappear—and why wasn't her family informed?"
"She didn't go of her own accord," said Hammond steadily. "And she had no instructions concerning situations such as these."
"Are you saying she was kidnapped?" asked Jacob, catching Hammond's eye. "My god, my little Sam? George, why isn't this a high priority case? Why don't I know about it?"
"It's highly classified," said Hammond. "It was thought best that you didn't know, so you wouldn't ask questions that I couldn't answer."
"Bull," said Jacob bluntly. "Where was she taken, and by whom? Are you combing the area for her?"
"We don't know where she was taken," said Hammond, a little carefully.
"But you know who took her?" said Jacob, following. "And you can't follow them?"
"We don't know their base location," said Hammond.
"Damn, you people are supposed to be the best," said Jacob, flinging his hand out in frustration, just the way Sam did. "I don't believe this—there's something more that you aren't telling me."
"Yes, and no," said Hammond. "What I told you was not a cover-up."
"But the context is missing," Jacob finished the unspoken thought. He sighed, rubbing the top of his head absently. "Any way you could get me clearance?" he asked, almost desperately.
"I'm sorry, Jacob, but that's unlikely," said Hammond, as sympathetically as he could.
Jacob's face went dark, and looked older than ever, long deep lines catching the shadows where they stood. "She's the only kid who will still speak to me," he said. "And I had news for her."
"What was it?" asked Hammond, trying to be supportive of his friend.
"I was going to get her into NASA," said Jacob, a sad half-smile on his face.
Hammond said nothing, speechless for the moment.
"But George, it wasn't just good news," Jacob continued. He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "I have cancer."
"No," protested Hammond.
"It's lymphoma, and it doesn't look good," said Jacob, a pained expression on his face. "I wasn't going to tell her like this, but they're pretty sure it's terminal, and it's growing fast."
"Jacob, I'm so sorry," said Hammond with a sympathetic shake of his head.
"You find my little girl," said Jacob sharply. "I'm not going to die without seeing her again, George."
Hammond opened his mouth to speak, but his phone rang then. Looking at the number, he sent an apologetic look to Jacob and took it, stepping to the side. "Hammond speaking."
Jacob just watched, swallowing every so often as he seemed to digest what Hammond told him.
"I'll be right there," Hammond finished, closing the phone.
"Urgent matters in NORAD?" asked Jacob, just a hint of sarcasm.
"I'm sorry, I can't say," said Hammond. "Just—it could be good news for you, Jacob."
"Sam?" asked Jacob.
"I can't say," said Hammond, nodding back as he walked off to find Jack. "Good luck, Jacob."
"You too," said Jacob.
ooooooo
"It's good to finally hear you, sir," said Daniel, listening to the radio that was conveying Hammond's phone conversation.
"What is the situation, Dr. Jackson," came Hammond's voice, faint and static-y.
"Well, that's a good question," said Daniel. He frowned. "Sam—or Jolinar—wants a way to contact us."
"Who do you think is negotiating?" asked Hammond.
"I'm not sure, but I might say it really is Sam," said Daniel carefully. "She lost her temper for a moment, but it was pure Sam, not the way Jolinar acted."
"So you think she's been compromised by Jolinar?" asked Hammond.
"It's likely," said Daniel, brow creased.
"Why should we not capture her, Dr. Jackson?"
"And do what, sir?" asked Daniel. "If we keep our options open, we might learn and accomplish something."
"Or make a terrible mistake."
"Her plan is not any more dangerous than any of our usual alliances," said Daniel. "There's always a possibility of disaster."
There was a minute of silence, but Daniel had nothing further to say. He tapped the side of the radio with his finger, frowning and hoping that Jolinar was not enacting some evil scheme. However confident he had sounded, there was that pessimistic side that wondered if he only thought Sam was there because he hoped so. He had always been suspicious about the assumption that Jolinar was a Goa'uld—he just didn't know what she was.
Finally, there was a buzz of static.
"Whoever is speaking, they are certainly aware of what plan would be most agreeable." said Hammond.
"So we're considering it?" asked Daniel, just a little surprised.
"It is the best current option," said Hammond. "And there is another reason to keep in contact—I was just speaking to Captain Carter's father, and he has cancer."
"Oh," said Daniel, caught off guard. "That's—that's terrible." He felt a sudden resurgence of all the sympathy he had felt for Sam when this all started.
"Yes, it is," said Hammond. "Perhaps that knowledge will remind Captain Carter of who she is, if she has been compromised. Do not tell her yet, though, just say that we will agree with her plan."
"Shouldn't she know?" asked Daniel, concerned.
"Let us see what she does when she is unaware, first," said Hammond.
Daniel sighed as Hammond hung up. The simplicity was gone. Sam had been lost, and all they had to do was find her, subdue her, and remove Jolinar—at least, that was the plan. But they couldn't do that anymore, not without risking something, because things had gotten too strange and complicated. It was now a delicate balancing of power and secrecy, with the hint of a double or triple cross.
ooooooo
*Well?* asked Jolinar.
~It could be a lot worse,~ said Sam. ~I don't think they're going to try to trick me.~
*If they do, I have your permission to stun them all?* asked Jolinar darkly.
~Yes,~ said Sam. ~I can't let them get us, not just because they wouldn't let us free until you were dead, but because they'd never believe that Sha're was out there.~
*Understood,* said Jolinar. *If, by chance, they agree to your terms, what is your plan?*
~Nothing,~ said Sam. ~This is just to stall.~
*That is what I suspected,* said Jolinar.
~Actually, even now I'm not sure if this would have been different with Sha're,~ Sam sighed. ~Maybe we could have negotiated her return, and an alliance with the Tok'ra, but my situation would still have had to be on hold.~
Their conversation stopped as Daniel reentered the tent. Teal'c, who had taken a seat at Kasuf and Sam's urging, though never lowering his weapon, stood up to meet him.
"Anything happen?" asked Daniel.
"Nothing," said Teal'c.
"Teal'c mentioned what happened to SG-1," said Sam. She looked Daniel straight in the eye.
"Did he?" said Daniel, after a moment of fumbling for words. We didn't forget you, he wanted to say, or, Life has to go on—but one was too soft, and the other too hard.
"Did you speak to the General?" Sam continued.
"Yes, I did," said Daniel.
"I assume the Colonel had feelings on the matter, too," said Sam with a sigh.
"He wasn't consulted, actually," said Daniel.
Sam raised her eyebrows. "Possibly for the best," she muttered. "Well?"
Daniel took a small sphere from his pocket. "Mckay's been working on these." He tossed it to Sam.
She looked surprised and maybe a little hurt that he didn't step closer to her to hand it, but then looked at the sphere. "This was one of my projects, one of the ones I didn't have time to finish."
"Mckay has...different...priorities," said Daniel. "General Hammond agrees to your terms, that we stay in contact only. You can send us the signal as soon as you think you can convince us that you are free of your symbiote, or in three weeks, whichever comes first. At three weeks, we will meet on M4D-495—the address is attached to the sphere. If we need to contact you for any reason, we will leave a signal on the moon near the gate."
"A proper set-up, then," said Sam.
"It's not that we don't suspect a trick still," warned Daniel.
"Right," said Sam. She pocketed the device, then stood there. "We're finished then."
Daniel eyed her, not moving from his spot either. "Are you really Sam?" he asked.
"Does it matter, Daniel?" sighed Sam. "I can't prove it."
"No, that's not what I'm asking," said Daniel. He stepped forward, barely. "If you're Jolinar, you've had two months to force yourself through Sam's mind and see her memories. Sam wouldn't be so cold and businesslike about this, you'd know that. And we saw your intelligence back on the base. You wouldn't mess up now. So maybe you're really Sam talking, making the mistakes." He stopped, looked down and then back up. "Except it's not a mistake, you aren't really Sam anymore."
"What?" asked Sam with a shaky laugh. "Daniel, I told you, this isn't the way I planned for this to go."
"No, but you're improvising," said Daniel. "You're good at that."
"Daniel, stop it," said Sam, a pain in her throat as if a lump was forming.
"I'm just asking the question, Sam," said Daniel, and even his calling of her name didn't give Sam hope. "You're not the same."
"Daniel," said Sam, her voice just a tad shaky and harsh, "you try acting the exact same way after you're dragged to another world, immersed in another culture and had to behave like one of them, and then have to negotiate for your own survival with your friends after another one was on deathbed only a few hours ago!"
"I know, you would have to adapt," said Daniel. He lowered his eyes again for a moment, then looked back straight into Sam's. "It's just—can you adapt back? I'm not the only one who will want to know."
"I'm fine, Daniel, and I will be fine," said Sam firmly.
"Well, that's Sam at the least," said Daniel, ending on an attempt to be light. He sighed. "And, you say Sha're is free?"
"I promise you, Daniel, she's going to be fine," said Sam.
"We'll see," said Daniel, tight-mouthed. He nodded shortly, then turned and walked out of the tent.
To Sam's relief, Teal'c lowered his eyes and gave a farewell bow, and then turned his back on her to follow Daniel. He didn't have to say anything.
Sam felt that it was about time to sleep again. After all the stress, all the worry, all the waiting, and all the ups and downs of today's short encounter, she was truly ready to break down. ~I don't think I can take anymore today,~ she told Jolinar, as if the symbiote needed to actually have it spoken.
*We may stay the night here, and return home tomorrow,* agreed Jolinar. *We were successful, at the least.*
~Yeah,~ said Sam, her emotions all spent. ~Great.~