She couldn't stand it. She couldn't stand the SGC, the memories, she couldn't stand that Jack had known exactly how she felt. Another time, any other time she would and had welcomed their silent conversation and understanding of one another but, not now; not when she so desperately wanted to hide from him. He was right after all, she was angry at herself; and, she was ashamed and guilty and so many other things. She had let this happen to herself. She had failed herself. And so, she had left.

Sam had simply walked off of the base and made her way to her car. She didn't have the keys to it but, she knew how to hotwire a car and she knew where the spare key to her house was hidden. She remembered everything, every damn detail before and after Ba'al …

A hand gently touched her elbow and turned her towards a big black truck. She knew that touch before she saw the man next to her. That gentle, quiet understanding that soaked through her. She didn't flinch, didn't fight, she just let him take her to his truck. She didn't ask questions, didn't say a word, and neither did he.

She didn't register him opening the door and leading her up the front walk, him pulling out his spare key and leading her into her own house. She stood there, close to the wall, frozen, until he closed the front door. As soon as the door clicked into place she crumpled. The tears fell and she sobbed as she wrapped her arms around herself and fell back against the wall. She sank to the floor, crying tears she didn't know she had anymore.

Jack sat down by her and placed a hand on her shoulder. It wasn't an order but an invitation and she took it. She leaned into him, buried her face in his chest while her hands balled the material of his shirt up and cried heart wrenching sobs. How could she possibly recover from this, from what he had done to her?

"You're safe Sam, right here, you're safe. I'll make sure of it. You just let me know what you need and I'll do it."

Sam didn't know how long they sat there, Jack holding her while she cried. She had screamed out her pain but, even that hadn't been enough. After some time her sobbing had turned to silent tears but, Jack never protested, never asked her anything, he just held her close. Now, she fought to keep her eyes open. She was just so tired; tired of the pain, of crying, of remembering …

She fell asleep. She was somewhere in between sleep and wakefulness but, she registered Jack's closeness, she knew she was being carried but before she could tell more sleep had claimed her.

"Tell me Samantha," Ba'al offered as he stood over her. "Would you like the pain to stop?"

Sam closed her eyes in pain and frustration. She couldn't fight him on this damned table. Not after having more of those trinkets implanted in her. The fresh round of convulsions they caused didn't allow her to do more than cry. Ba'al placed his hand against her neck and Sam kept her eyes closed. She wished his hand would wrap around her neck, wished he'd strangle her, anything was better than the gentle caresses he made along her neck, up to gently cup her check before threading his fingers through her hair and grabbing forcefully to pull her head back and cover her mouth with his.

She couldn't hold back the whimper of pain as she fought. The trinkets practically kept her limbs immobile but, she could and did bite his lip, drawing blood. It did the trick, it angered him. He pulled back and quickly stabbed her through the shoulder with that damned knife he always kept at his waist. She had learned early that his anger distracted him, made him rash, and most importantly, made him lash out his anger against her. Anything was better than letting him force himself on her and as long as he was blindly angry he couldn't go through with it.

She had chocked in air at the pain of the knife entering her shoulder but, hadn't screamed. She hadn't given him the satisfaction of it and knew if she did he wouldn't do more. She needed him to inflict more damage on her. The more damage he cause the sooner he would use the healing device; just enough to keep her away from death but, afterwards he would leave her in her cell. She would be left to suffer alone and could escape him for just a few days before he tried again.

He leaned impossible close before he spit his blood in her face. "You will pay." And suddenly she was screaming. He was twisting the knife in her shoulder, wrenching it back and forth to make her wail.

"STOP," Sam cried as she sat bolt right in bed, sweat and tears falling down her face. She gulped in air at the memories of the pain and tried to bring her hands to her face to find something, someone holding her hand. Jack had stayed. He had carried her to her bed and pulled a chair up close. She studied him carefully, trying not to cry at the relief she felt for not waking up alone but, she didn't succeed. She closed her eyes as more tears came. She felt him squeeze her hand, felt the bed shift as he sat down alongside her, and she felt his free arm ever so gently wrap around her shoulders. She willingly went into his arms, buried her face in his chest, and continued to cry in relief.

She was free.

She was home.

He had stayed.

Sam woke again to the smell of coffee. Jack wasn't by her anymore but, she knew he wasn't far. She wrapped a robe around her after getting out of bed and made her way to the kitchen. Sure enough Jack was there, scrambling eggs and nodded at the coffee. "I figured the Doc hasn't and won't let you have any of the good stuff when she drags you back. Drink up."

Sam quietly poured herself a cup before moving to the table. She studied her coffee closely before offering a gentle thank you. They both knew that thank you was for more than the coffee and they both knew his casual 'no problem' was for more than the coffee too.