~#~ (Chapter 52)

Every member of SR-2 was aware that, with doors on both sides of them, the corridor would make an ideal place for an ambush. Jack cautiously led the way down the passage, closely followed by Summerville and Bell with Reynolds bringing up the rear.

As they travelled away from the crossroads the four men kicked open every door they passed and scanned the room behind it for signs of life. This meant that they effectively zig-zagged down the corridor as they discovered the doors on both sides were not aligned with one another. Each doorway faced a blank wall on the other side of the corridor, and was evenly spaced half way between the doors on the opposite wall. Every single door along the corridor was locked but they all opened with a hefty kick.

They found every room to be identical in every way, either the Jaffa didn't use these rooms much or were not permitted to personalise their living space in any way. The walls were all a uniform, drab grey and the floors were a darker, almost black colour. Every ceiling emitted a golden light and Jack found himself thinking that someone could really do with teaching the Goa'uld about energy efficiency, PIR sensors and 'those little switchy things that tell people when you've opened a door.'

Two bunks holding rough blankets which sat on either side of every room were the only furniture the rescue team saw and they discovered that the doors at the far end of each room led to ludicrously tiny bathrooms.

Everyone was relieved when they successfully reached the eighth door without encountering any hostile forces of any description.

They were all more than a little surprised at the seemingly total capitulation of the Jaffa warriors onboard the ship. Other than the three they had encountered at the crossroads, all the Jaffa they had come across had treated them with indifference and apart from Yu's young warrior, none had attempted to make contact with the 'invading Tau'ri force' in any way, shape or form.

~#~

Stopping outside 'door number eight', Jack took a deep breath and found himself meeting the concerned gaze of Colonel Reynolds. No-one was entirely sure what they were going to find inside the room but Jack had an awful feeling he wouldn't be finding Sam in such a wholesome and healthy state as when he'd left her last.

With a shudder he allowed the Colonel to come to the fore to protect him from whatever they might come across in the next couple of minutes and he straightened himself up in preparation for entering the room.

~#~

With an almighty great kick of his size eleven boots the door gave way. As it swung inwards Jack's eyes fell on the bunk nearest the door. His heart began to fall when he saw it was empty, until he looked across the room to the other bunk…

Lou Ferretti was sitting sideways across the head of the bed, looking at him with a dazed look on his face. His head had been leaning against the wall behind him and as the door flew open he'd leant forwards in an attempt to protect Sam from whatever was coming into their little room. The Major had been lying on the bed, covered with the blankets from both beds and Lou's jacket. Until Jack had burst in she'd had her head cushioned on Lou's legs but now that rescue had finally arrived she was attempting to sit herself up.

She struggled with the blankets but had managed to extricate herself sufficiently to move her arms before finding herself firmly wrapped in Jack O'Neill.

Although Jack knew he was being completely unprofessional he couldn't help himself. He saw Sam; his fiancé, soul-mate and the person he was going to grow old with, lying on the bunk looking pale and sick and he just couldn't help himself. He was across the room in a shot and had Sam bundled into his strong arms before anyone else could so much as blink.

Burying his face in Sam's neck he hugged her tight and inhaled deeply, sorting through the various smells until he found the scent he sought after more than any other. He grimaced at the metallic smell of blood, bypassed the slightly stale sweaty smell from Lou's jacket and eventually found what he was searching for - the unique scent that was Sam. They clung together for a long moment before Jack kissed the soft skin beneath Sam's left ear and raised himself from the bed.

Once he was kneeling upright on the floor in front of the bunk he tenderly stroked Sam's messy hair into some sort of order and gently grasped her chin between his forefinger and thumb. Slowly he raised her head and took a careful look at the bandaged area before following the messy trail of blood down her neck with the back of his finger. Gently he lowered her head back down again and cradled her securely against his body.

Sam had remained silent throughout Jack's examination of her and gladly snuggled against Jack's chest once he had finished. This most un-Samlike behaviour worried Jack more than anything else and he quickly looked over at Lou. The Colonel had remained in his place at the head of the bed while Jack had been checking Sam over and Jack only now realised that Lou's hand was still resting gently on the small of Sam's back.

It was obvious to the older Colonel that Lou had been more-than-worried about the situation he and Sam had found themselves in. The fact that they were locked up was bad enough but the fact that Sam had obviously been injured in some way and that Lou had had to patch her up using only the contents of his vest had made the situation even more unbearable.

Raising an eyebrow at his Italian counterpart Jack silently asked Lou for a sit rep.