15 - Surprise Guest

~*Pete*~

Everything has been officially set for the new wedding date. There are only a few, last minute, details. In a couple weeks, my bride will be my wife. We have both taken a month off work. However, Sam is still distant, and we've stopped having sex.

I hate the blonde and the brunette. I know it's petty to be jealous of two dead guys, but they haunt my nightmares.

I wake up after Sam, finding her drinking coffee, already dressed. She is on my computer.

That's weird.

"I uh…"

Sam glances to me. I can see she is reading e-mail from her brother, Mark.

"Good morning," I say as I quietly read the e-mail.

Sam doesn't reply.

I frown, worried that she found the video of Martouf. "Sam?"

"I didn't sleep well."

I sigh in relief.

She closes the browser.

The Martouf video is right there! I wished i had deleted it. The man had a violent death. I only watched it the one time. I don't even know why I kept it.

"Why don't we go out for breakfast?" I suggest to get her away from the computer.

"That sounds good."

"I'm hungry. I'll get dressed real quick, and-"

There is a knock on the door.

"It's a little early for company," she says.

"Yeah." I approach. "Who is it?!"

"We have a package for you. We need your signature."

I am thankful when she moves away from the computer to go to the door as well. I unlock it.

"Don't open that door!"

Too late. It swings open, hitting me hard. I see her head for a knife before a familiar blue electricity stream hits her.

Then me.

Ow! That-

~+~+~.

"Pete?"

"Sam?" I feel dazed. My entire body hurts. How did Martouf stay awake? How did he stay on his feet?

Dude had stamina.

"Shut up," I mutter.

"What?"

I frown. "I don't know." She helps me sit up. "Sorry. I think I was dreaming."

"We've been kidnapped by Zar."

"How, um, bad is that?"

"Remember how I said my two friends were tortured to death?"

"Fuck."

~+~+~.

Sam is taken. She returns unconscious. I try to check on her, but they grab me. I am dragged and dropped in front of a fancy looking man.

"What do you know of the Tok'ra?" He asked with a deep, reverberated, very inhuman voice that makes me jump.

"What?"

He points a stick at me. What does that do? More electricity?

PAAAIN! Seconds feel like eternities!

It finally ends. I collapse, gasping. My entire body feels like it was on fire.

"The Tok'ra!" He demands.

I can't talk. I don't know what he's talking about. Then he drops two papers in front of me. It takes me a few seconds to focus on them, realizing it's two of my copied pictures of Malek and Martouf.

Oh, shit.

"What is your relationship with them?"

"Nothing. Those men are dead."

PAAAIN!

~+~+~.

I wake up in the first room. Sam is gone.

While I'm waiting, trying not to think about the fact that she's being tortured, a guard with a tattoo on his head comes in, carrying a water tank. Swimming inside is a serpent with fins. It stops to look at me, opening a four prong jawed mouth before squealing. Shivers go down my spine as I edge away.

I've seen those before. The pictures. I wish I hadn't dismissed them now.

What is that?!

~+~+~.

Sam is brought back in.

"What is that?" I point to the tank.

"A Goa'uld."

"I thought the glowy eyed man was a Goa'uld."

"That's the host. The Goa'uld is inside him."

The guard picks up the Goa'uld and brings it over to us. It squeals, looking at us. Opening its jaws. It looks from me to her to me to her.

"It takes over your mind," she explains, clearly disgusted. "Controls your body."

It squeals again, and the guard steps away.

"You are unfortunate."

That scares me.

"Neither of you will be blessed with this Goa'uld." He puts the parasite back in the tank, then carries it out.

Sam lets out a breath, and I realize the thing terrifies her more than the torture.

~+~+~.

I'm so confused, and she doesn't have time to explain much of anything. When I'm not being questioned, I'm barely awake. It's harder and harder to focus on anything.

"Did gravity get heavier?" I ask as we are made to walk down a hall.

"They can do that."

We are taken outside where it is extremely hot. More guards meet us, and they are way too happy to see Sam.

"We'll keep you for a few hours first," as he caresses the side of her face.

I move to defend her, only to end up being backhanded to the ground.

"Pete, don't fight them."

"The man is weak. Lord Zar has ordered they be sent down together."

"They will be. I will not have her ruined by the prisoners before I have enjoyed myself."

~+~+~.

They force me into a small cage.

"Bastards!" I call out as they leave.

~+~+~.

I'm going insane as I wait.

Finally, finally! One comes in.

"Where is she?!"

"Resting." He laughs.

"I want to see her."

Surprisingly, he allows this. I kneel by her.

"Pete. I'm alright," she lies.

"No, you're not." I help her redress before she lays back down.

"Did they hurt you?" Her eyes are closed.

"No."

"Maybe next time, it will be you," the lead Jaffa laughs.

"What did you do to her?"

"Not as much as I had hope. Humans are quite frail."

I flinch as he touches the side of my face.

"Don't tempt me, has'tar. You have a pretty face."

~+~+~.

She struggles to walk, still injured. I'm not much better off, still hurting from the pain stick that is called a pain stick.

Really.

From the inside, there is no panel. The door had been the entire wall. There was nothing to try to pry open.

Sam takes lead, going downstairs.

"Has'tar?" I ask.

"Daniel would be able to answer for sure, but it probably means 'weak human.'"

I follow her.

"Wherever this leads, it sounds like we are going to have an immediate fight on our hands." She sighs. "I'm sorry, Pete. He came for me, and you were just an unlucky bystander."

"I'd rather be going through this with you than worrying. I can't fight those guards-"

"They train from childhood and have advanced strength."

"That actually helps to know."

She braces herself as we get towards the end.

Uh. "It's a dead end.

"We'll be transported by rings." She looks to me. "Are you ready?"

"We're heading into a losing fight, aren't we?"

"If you think that, we'll never win."

"Alright." I reply. "Let's fight."

I winced at the light as rings surround us. They really are rings. We entered a dark room with a horrible stench. Several people are in the room, and they looked to us with glee.

"A woman," a man says with a slimy voice as they descend on us.

We try to stand back to back to fight, but we there is just so many! My legs are kicked out from under me. I see her take a hit to the head before falling.

Suddenly, the group disperses. A blonde with graying hair is kneeling by her. Why does he look familiar? I get up and rush to her before being grabbed by a brunette stranger. He looks familiar too. Several of the attackers are now dead.

"Leave her alone!" I yell.

"Who are you?" Asks the brunette.

The voice makes me jump. A Goa'uld! I try to fight back, only to be slammed down.

"We need clean water," the blonde says as he examines her. Another Goa'uld.

I am released as the brunette leaves. I rush towards Sam only to have a knife pointed at at my face.

"If you interfere, you will die."

"You're not touching her."

"She needs medical treatment." He replies as he checks her. He then gently picks her up.

"Why are you helping us?" I ask with suspicion as I follow him. For all I know, they just saved her for themselves.

The brunette has started boiling water. "Is she cut?"

"No, but I'm worried about that head injury."

"Why are you helping us?"

The brunette adds rags to the pot. "Who are you? Where is the rest of your team?"

"I'm not answering anything until you answer me."

They ignored me then.

"You are Goa'uld."

They both glare with flashing eyes that make me jump.

"Her pulse is high," the blonde said. "Her pupils are dilated." He frowns. "She's been raped."

The brunette looks over sharply, then grabs me. "Out." He forces me out of the room.

"I'm not leaving-"

He throws me down.

"You will not gawk at her." He goes back in.

Why do they look so…

It's them! Filthy. Thinner. Both have graying hair now, especially the blonde.

~*Amb*~

We're worried about her. Whatever she has gone through, she is strong, and we can help her. Physically though, a body could only take so much. I, with symbiote aid, had taken days to recover.

Malek takes out the rags with a knife, but he burns my hands to squeeze out extra water. It's minor, and he retreats to heal me while I take over.

The other rags are hung up to dry by the fire as the pot is moved. We work without words. We have had to do this with each other many times now.

Lantash leaves the more sensitive cleaning to me since we have been together.

"The Jaffa we're not as rough with her as they are with us," I tell him.

"At least there is that," Lantash replies. He's looking at the wall so that Samantha has some amount of privacy.

When she's cleaned, bandaged, and covered, I go to retrieve the new guy. He rushes to her.

"What are you?"

"I am Amb, host to Malek," I explain.

"Mal is a parasite?"

Is he this rude or this stupid? Malek thinks.

"No, Malek. His name is Malek, and he is not a parasite," I reply before sighing. "Malek and Lantash are symbiotes. The Goa'uld are parasites."

"Martouf."

"Martouf is my host," Lantash replies. "My name is Lantash."

"How are you alive? You were shot multiple…" He stops.

Lantash's eyes flare as he glares furiously at him. We know he still has nightmares about that day. He finally looks back to Samantha, taking her hand.

"And you know Sam."

Lantash looks up sharply at him.

That was almost pure possession, Malek thinks.

"Does she know what you are?" He asks with disgust.

"Yes. Now. Who are you?"

"You are a host?" Pete asks me.

"We've established that.

"Malek and Amb. I'm sorry. I don't know much about any of this."

"Who are you?" Lantash asks.

"I'm her fiancé."

He is not good enough for her! Malek thinks.

"Is that a name? Her-fiancé?"

"It means they are to be mates," I answer, seeing Lantash gasp as his eyes flash in anger. Then Malek takes control. "You are possessive of her."

"Excuse me?"

"Your people marry for love," Lantash adds as he stands.

Pete instinctively takes a step back.

"You fought us while we were helping her. Yet now she lays unconscious with a head injury, after having been tortured, you act petty and jealous." Lantash walks over as he speaks, deliberately so that Pete backs himself into a wall. "That is not how you treat anyone, let alone someone you claim to love."

"Our relationship is not your business."

"If you hurt her, believe me, I will make it my business," he growls.

~*Sam*~

I feel two symbiotes nearby. I have to warn him. Hopefully, they are Tok'ra and not Goa'uld.

"Sam," Pete is holding my hand.

"There's…"

"Samantha."

I frown. "Malek?" That's not possible.

"Yes." He slowly comes into focus. "We've been here."

"You died." I take his hand. "I saw you both die."

"You watched?" He frowns.

"Yes." I fight tears. "I watched your deaths. I…I felt so horrible for both of you. I'm sorry if watching was wrong. I needed to know what was done to you."

"I did the same with Martouf. I would have done the same with you. How are you feeling? They hit your head. You might have a concussion." He touches my head lightly.

"Dizzy. Headache." I look to Pete. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," he replies shortly.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"I just don't like it here," he replies.

"There's someone else here," Malek says.

"Another Tok'ra? Someone I know." That worries me.

Malek moves out of the way. The other symbiote approaches.

"Hello Samantha."

I freeze. It couldn't be. I must be hearing things.

Martouf is there. Martouf is kneeling by me. Martouf is smiling. Martouf is alive!

I begin crying, gasping. "You… How? How?"

"I don't know why we survived."

I sit up, ignoring the pain, hugging him. "I…"

"It's wonderful to see you again. We have missed you."

"I'm so sorry." I touch the back of his neck, feeling Lantash wiggle under my fingers. I hold him tightly to assure myself that he's still there.

"You've done nothing wrong, Samantha."

"She prefers Sam," Pete says.

"They don't really do nicknames." I look to Martouf. "You died on me twice, but you are still alive."

He smiles.

"And Lantash?" Suddenly, I fear that he had to reblend or something.

His eyes flash, and that expression could only be Lantash.

I love you.

I freeze.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I lay back down, feeling dizzy. "We need a plan to escape, and Pete and I need to know how to survive in this prison."

"You need to rest."

"While being tended to?" I hate feeling helpless.

"In this place, we are all going to have those days," Malek admits. "We're just surviving. By defending you and Pete, we have made it clear that you are under our protection. So long as you don't do anything foolish-"

His glance to Pete makes me wonder what he's already done.

"And keep to the rules."

"What rules?" Pete asks.

"For now, you stay here until we say otherwise." He looks to Sam. "They fear us."

"Why do they fear you?" Pete asked.

"Be thankful that they do, or you would have been raped by multiple men before we could stop them," he replies flatly before turning back to me. "We are sorry to have disappeared on you."

Pete looks curious about that.

"Dad told me that you tried to go back to Earth after the alliance was broken."

"We were denied."

"Lantash?" I say. He was giving Pete a strange look. The symbiote, for the most part, wore his heart on his sleeve, and he clearly doesn't like Pete.

"I have much to tell you," Lantash replied as he looks towards me, "but not in front of your intended mate."

"He told you."

"He made sure we knew before he even gave us his name," he replies, clearly not approving.

I frown. "I'll take that talk, but I would like to talk to Pete first. Alone."

Lantash nods. "If he hurts you, he will die."

My heart feels cold. He's being completely serious.

"I'm not going to-"

"Pete, shut up," I say. This is Lantash. I have no doubt about that, but he is very different.

to be continued…