Okay, everyone, I hate to do this, but I'm posting an incomplete and unbeta'd fic. Any mistakes are mine and mine alone! I know how this story is going to continue and even how it's going to end, but I just can't find the ambition to work on it and it's killing me! Perhaps I just need a few people cracking the whip and yelling at me. :o) Well, let me know what you think so far!
Disclaimer: If I did own them season six would be a LOT different!
ONE
Major Samantha Carter completed the task of filming the intricate carvings on the pillars that stood in front of the large, black, stone temple. With a final look around, she assured herself that she had thoroughly filmed everything - twice. After checking her watch, she carefully tucked the video equipment back into her pack and headed into the temple to attempt to carry out the most difficult of her daily duties.
She found her companion, Dr. Daniel Jackson, standing at the center alter with his back towards her, completely engrossed in his work. He was gathering his own array of rubbings, notes, and digital pictures of markings similar to those she had filmed outside.
Sam couldn't help but to agree with the Colonel's earlier statement that these markings looked like nothing more than squiggly lines. Daniel had reluctantly admitted that, in a way, Jack had been right. Usually, temples such as this were covered with pictographs; some of which even the Colonel had to admit made sense. The builders of this place, however, had used their own version of an alphabet to record their religious history. Each squiggly line, swirl, and zigzag stood for a different letter in that alphabet. So far, Daniel had identified over 30 different 'letters'. Translating the sequences of alien letters into a recognizable language would take years, even with the help of the planet's current inhabitants.
Sam stopped just inside the temple door, lowered her pack to the ground, and leaned her back against a nearby wall to silently observe her friend at work.
Daniel had set aside the tools of his trade and was using his hands to study a section of the text. His long fingers gently traced the pattern that had been carved into the rough stone. Time, neglect, and the fact that the temple roof had collapsed years ago, allowing the elements to invade its interior, had all conspired to erode the stone, making it nearly impossible to identify all of the strange markings.
Sam knew that Daniel would not give up on the extremely difficult task he had assigned himself. He was in his element. SG-1 was a first-contact team. It had always been their job to establish the basis for an alliance with new planets and then turn things over to the other diplomatic, scientific, or archaeological teams. Daniel very seldom had the opportunity to take the time to do more than a superficial exploration of a planet's culture and history. In fact, lately, Daniel's gun seemed to have seen more use than any one of his three PhDs.
Sam smiled to herself as she remembered Daniel's passionate argument to be allowed to further study the temple.
*~*~*~*
Three days earlier...
"But Jack," Daniel pleaded as the two men entered the commissary, made their lunch selection, and joined Sam at the table. "This temple is covered in writing that is totally alien. Nothing even remotely like it has been found on Earth or any planet we've visited. It's...it's...it's..." Daniel waved a hand in the air as if trying to physically catch the proper words.
"Cool?" Jack offered, his head tilting slightly to the side as his eyebrows rose in amusement at the irritation the word was sure to spark in the excited young man.
Daniel closed his eyes and sighed loudly as he visibly deflated. He had 23 languages at his disposal and Jack had just teasingly thrown out the one word Daniel had been desperately trying to avoid using. It was woefully inadequate to describe the extraordinary find, yet it was the only word that he, himself, had been able to think of.
Jack broke in before Daniel could begin his plea anew. "SG-1 is on stand-down until the negotiations with the Kolean people are complete. You're lucky, you have the opportunity to go and have some fun. At our new friends' insistence, I'm going to be suck in the briefing room, bored to death, for the next week while we negotiate an alliance and trade agreement."
"That's just it, Jack," Daniel was doing his best to prevent his voice from sounding like that of a whining child whose parents had just refused to buy him a new toy. "This IS fun for me and the Koleans ARE friendly. There's no reason I shouldn't be able to check out the temple."
Jack sighed, not out of frustration, but out of regret that he was unable to grant his friend's request. When he spoke again, the Colonel's voice had softened considerably and had lost all teasing tones. "Daniel, I'm sorry," he began, his voice relaying his sincerity and patience. "I wish I could let you go, I really do, but I don't feel right letting a member of my team go off-world alone. With Teal'c visiting his family and..."
Perhaps it was the look of disappointed acceptance that she had seen on Daniel's face far too often recently or the fact that she could tell that the Colonel had sincerely wanted to grant the request. Whatever the reason, Sam was speaking before she realized it. "I'll go, sir."
"...Carter is leaving in the morning to..." The Colonel's argument died on his lips and the two men simply stared across the table at each other for a moment. They slowly turned their heads until their eyes locked onto Sam.
"Excuse me?" they questioned in unison. Their brows creased identically in confusion as they wondered if they had heard correctly.
"I'll return to the planet with Daniel, sir," Sam clarified. She smiled and watched as realization dawned on her teammates. She had expected the bright smile that graced Daniel's features, but she was pleasantly surprised when a similar expression crossed the Colonel's face.
Daniel's smile slowly faded as he remembered the plans Sam had originally made to occupy her downtime. "No, no, Sam. I can't let you do this. You have plans to visit your brother, Mark..."
"Those plans fell through," Sam stated matter-of-factly, cutting him off and praying that he wouldn't see through the lie. "The girls have the flu." She sent a silent apology to her brother and made a mental note to call him and reschedule the visit.
It took all of Sam's willpower to prevent her from looking away as Daniel's intense blue eyes captured her own. He was obviously trying to determine the truth of her words and averting her eyes at that moment would be as good as admitting to the lie.
"Alright, permission granted," O'Neill interrupted the stare down and cast a knowing look to his 2IC. "I'll speak with General Hammond and Ambassador Crile. If they agree, you two can head out in the morning and spend five days on Kolea. Agreed?"
"Yes, sir," Sam quickly answered for both Daniel and herself. She reached over and took Daniel's hand in her own, giving it a slight squeeze. He seemed to think for a moment before finally smiling and returning the familiar touch.
*~*~*~*
As promised, the Colonel had spoken with the General and Ambassador Crile. Both men had agreed to allow the two members of SG-1 to explore the ruins.
Early the next morning, Colonel Jack O'Neill had waved from the control room as Major Samantha Carter and Dr. Daniel Jackson entered the event horizon of the wormhole that would take them to PR2141, AKA: Kolea.
Of course, as Sam had suspected, Daniel had known all along about her little white lie concerning the aborted trip to her brother's house. He had been quite sneaky in the way he had gotten her to admit it as well. He had caught her just as she was dozing off their first night on the planet and nonchalantly asked how Mark had taken the news that she would not be down to visit. Having been half asleep, Sam had very little control over what she said. She had told Daniel that Mark had understood when she had explained that Daniel needed someone to accompany him on 'a trip'. As soon as she had realized what she had said, Sam had bolted upright, suddenly wide-awake.
Daniel's lecture about how she shouldn't have cancelled plans with her family to come play in the dirt with him was cut short as Sam's expression turned from guilty to deadly serious. She had taken his hand in her own, locked eyes with him and stated in a tone that would clearly allow for no further argument that he and the rest of SG-1 were her family as well and she was a big girl, capable of deciding for herself how to spend her downtime.
Daniel had seemed to at least tolerate the explanation as nothing more was said on the subject.
*~*~*~*
Sam smiled and shook her head as she continued to watch Daniel work. He seemed to be oblivious to the fact that she had been watching him for close to 15 minutes now.
"Just five more minutes, Sam."
Okay, perhaps he wasn't quite so oblivious.
"That's what you said over an hour ago." Sam walked around to stand at the alter opposite her friend. He was still absorbed in his work. The fingers of his left hand traced a mark that was nearly invisible to the naked eye while he attempted to draw it on a notepad with his right hand.
"Um hum," Daniel mumbled distractedly.
Sam had once again lost him to the alien text. She loved to watch him work and spending the last three days alone together had given them the opportunity to reconnect and solidify their friendship.
For three years, Daniel's purpose on SG-1...in life...was simple; find and rescue Sha're. He had finally succeeded in finding her, but the end result of the long search had been her death at Teal'c's hands. Sha're had given the young man another purpose, though. She had asked him to find and protect her son; the son fathered by Apophis. Though skeptical, General Hammond had allowed the search. He had even ordered all teams to be on the lookout for Kheb, the planet to which Amonet had sent the child. SG-1 had found Kheb and Sha're's child after only a few months and Daniel had decided that the best way to fulfill his promise to his deceased wife was to leave the child in the care of 'Mother Nature'.
Since life happily ever after with Sha're was no longer possible and her son was well taken care of, there was nothing keeping the archaeologist on the team. As the missions steered further away from exploring new cultures and more towards finding ways to defeat the Goa'uld, Sam could see that he was beginning to question his role, his reason for remaining with them. He began to withdrawal into himself, pulling further and further away from the team. He had even begun to request assignments with other SG teams, anything to get away from the fighting and back to his roots.
This separation of both Daniel's physical and emotional self, however inadvertent, was putting a strain on everyone on SG-1, but it seemed to have affected the Colonel the worst. Unable to recognize why the young man had withdrawn from them, Jack had resorted to some of his old ways. He used sarcasm to hide fear, anger to hide pain, and a misguided attraction towards Sam to hide loneliness.
The men fought almost constantly. At times, it was no more than slight bickering, other times, the fighting would be so severe that Sam feared they would resort to physical blows. After each 'disagreement' the men would apologize and insist they were 'fine', but at the end of the mission the members of SG-1 would go their separate ways instead of having some sort of team gathering as they had once done.
Sam knew there was no animosity between Daniel and herself. There was just...less. She didn't know, exactly, what there was less of. They still collaborated on projects, still went on missions together, and, on occasion, still joined each other for meals. Somehow, though, the intellectual and emotional connection she had felt since first meeting Daniel on Abydos had weakened.
Sam had vowed that during their time on Kolea, she and Daniel would really talk. And they had. Her little slip up about changing her plans to visit her brother had opened the lines of communication between them. They had talked about Sha're, her son, Daniel's childhood, Sam's dad, her own childhood, the Tok'ra, the missions, the Colonel...they had stayed awake most of that first night, just talking.
Though there was much more Sam wanted to talk about and she felt Daniel needed to talk about, she could see that a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders just by vocalizing some of his feelings on these subjects.
"Daniel!" Sam's lenient smile did nothing to support her stern voice as she reached across the alter and placed her right hand over his left, effectively preventing any further tactile exploration of the strange mark. "It's going to be dark soon and we still have several things we need to do back at the camp. It's time to call it quits for the day."
Daniel peered at her over his glasses with a mischievous gleam in his eyes and a smirk on his face. "Okay," he said and promptly began to gather his paraphernalia.
"Now, Daniel, I know what you're going to say, but we have two more days here and it's simply not safe to...wh-what? What did you say?" Sam looked at him in surprise with her jaw hanging slightly open.
"I said 'okay', Sam. As in sure, alright, fine, yeah sure you betcha, let's go." Daniel patted Sam's hand where it still rest upon the alter and then turned to leave. "You coming?" He threw the question over his shoulder as he exited the temple.
Sam closed her mouth and shook herself out of her shock. "Yeah sure you betcha," she mumbled under her breath before she picked up her pack and quickly jogged to catch up to her companion.
*~*~*~*
Sam awoke slowly, feeling groggy and disoriented. She opened her eyes just long enough to note that the red stone ceiling above her was spinning, before an intense wave of nausea forced her to shut them once more. She tried to breathe through the sensation, but was finally forced to accept the inevitable. The stricken woman had just enough time to laboriously roll onto her side before her stomach seized violently.
Feeling slightly better and refusing to remain so near to the mess she had just made, Sam maneuvered herself into a sitting position with her back leaning on what she assumed was a wall. An involuntary groan escaped her lips.
"Sam, are you okay?"
She felt a cold, damp cloth brush against the side of her face and leaned into the welcome touch. She pried her eyes open once more and found herself looking into Daniel's worried face.
He looked exactly as she felt. His skin was pale, his hands were shaking slightly, and he had a light sheen of perspiration on his face as if he had recently lost a similar battle with nausea. Daniel's left cheekbone was darkly bruised and swollen, and judging by the tenderness of her own face, Sam was sporting a similar injury.
"Here, Sam, try to drink some water. It should help." Daniel had discarded the damp cloth and was pressing a small cup of water to his friend's lips. "I'm so sorry, Sam. They took me by surprise. I tried to fight, but there were just too many of them."
Sam pushed the cup away after only a few swallows, fearful that too much of the liquid would cause her stomach to revolt again. The water did help, though. The fog that her mind seemed to be trapped in was clearing and she began to take note of her surroundings.
She was sitting on the floor of a red stone room. The only things in the room, other than herself, were Daniel, a bucket of water, two cups, and the cloth. Sam's mind had finally cleared enough to recognize the fact that something was wrong. They were in a red stone room. When she had gone to sleep she was tucked into a sleeping bag. Due to the favorable weather conditions, she and Daniel hadn't even brought along their tents. Other than the temple, there were no buildings in their vicinity, and the temple was completely black. There was no red stone anywhere to be seen.
Finally, Sam's mind completely engaged and the memories surfaced.
Daniel had convinced her - once again - that he wasn't at all tired and would take first watch. He had been very good about waking her when it was her turn at watch on the previous two nights, so Sam had agreed and, after setting the alarm on her watch as a precautionary measure, crawled into her sleeping bag and promptly fell asleep. Sometime later, she had awakened at Daniel's shout. In one fluid movement, she had bolted upright and grabbed her weapon just in time to see Daniel get struck in the face by the butt end of a weapon held by one of the unknown men he had been struggling with. They young man had fallen hard and lay motionless on the ground. Sam had shouted his name, aimed her weapon at his assailant, and...
That's it. That was all Sam could remember. She was pulled from her reverie as she realized Daniel was once again calling her name, this time with a slight edge of desperation in his voice.
"Sam? Sam! Are you alright? What's wrong?"
"I'm okay, Daniel. Just trying to remember how we got here. What about you? I saw you get hit. Are you..."
"A little bruised and I feel like I have the worst hang over in history, but other than that I'm fine," Daniel cut in, dismissing her concern. "I woke up about half an hour ago. The door's locked, no windows, walls are solid, and there's no bottle with a genie ready to pop out and grant us three wishes. We're stuck here for the time. I haven't seen our fine host. Maybe he's too busy digging out the good china for our lunch," he added in an admirable imitation of O'Neill's sarcasm.
"Ya think?" Sam had spent nearly as much time around the Colonel as Daniel had. "Wait a minute. Lunch?"
"Well, I guess it could be an early dinner." Seeing the perplexed look on his friend's face, Daniel realized that Sam had yet to notice how much time had passed while they were unconscious. "Uh, yeah, Sam. It's officially tomorrow. Three o'clock, um, 1500 hours, to be exact, and we've been out for well over 14 hours. We were attacked just after midnight."
Before they could discuss the issue further, the door to their small room swung open and two solidly built men wielding some form of energy weapons entered. The two members of SG-1 obeyed the curt commands and rose to follow as one man exited the room. The second man fell in behind them.
Sam and Daniel were led down a short, nondescript hallway and into what appeared to be a large office. Daniel was tempted to allow his eyes to wander to the rows upon rows of books and small statues that rested on shelves lining every wall, but the years of experience gained while working with the SGC had taught him to keep his attention on the perceived enemy. At that point in time, the alleged enemy was the man sitting behind the desk directly in front of him.
He was an attractive man, probably in his late 40s or early 50s, with salt and pepper hair and a goatee. He was wearing something amazingly similar to what would be an outlandishly expensive suit on Earth.
"Nice suit," Daniel commented dryly and not quite under his breath. "Didn't realize Armani had branched out to this corner of the galaxy."
Sam tried to hide her reaction to Daniel's words. He was in THAT kind of mood. Oh no. She had seen the archaeologist so openly hostile on only a few occasions and on each of those occasions his hostility and defiance had caused him injury. Apparently, being knocked out, kidnapped, and probably drugged had caused him to be a bit cranky. Heaven help them.
After nearly ten minutes of silence and not even a slight acknowledgement from their 'host' Daniel's impatience got the better of him. "Oh, well, we can see that you're busy. We'll just come back another time."
Daniel had barely begun to shift his weight to take a step back when the guard stationed behind him viciously kicked the back of his legs, sending him crashing painfully to his knees. Though she hadn't seen her guard move, Sam felt a similar blow to her own legs. She, too, fell to the floor on her knees.
"Ouch!" Daniel sat back on his heels and rubbed his throbbing knees. "You know, your hospitality leaves a lot to be desired. I mean, isn't it proper procedure to at least introduce yourself before the beatings begin? I think you need to reread the handbook. You've fallen way outside the lines of acceptable captor/hostage behavior."
Sam winced and closed her eyes as Daniel's guard raised his weapon as if to strike him, but the sound of the blow never came.
She cautiously opened her eyes and saw that the guard had reclaimed his position behind Daniel and both were looking straight ahead. Sam looked towards the man at the desk and noted that he was still studying a document that lay on the desk before him, but one hand was raised. Apparently, that simple gesture had been enough to subdue the guard.
Another couple of minutes passed in silence. Just when Sam feared that Daniel was about to say something again, the man finally moved.
With slow, deliberate motions, he closed the folder of the document he had been reading, straightened up his desk, took a sip of water from a glass that rested on the corner of the desk, crossed his arms in front of him, cleared his throat, and, at last, spoke. "Dr. Jackson, Major Carter, how are you feeling?"
The question was so unexpected that neither had an answer readily available.
"I'm sure you both have substantial headaches and some nausea," the man continued. "Most of that is probably due to the anesthetic. Everyone reacts differently to it. I was somewhat concerned that my invention would not be compatible with your systems. After all, it was originally designed based on Kolean physiology. There were a few touchy moments in surgery..."
"What?!" Sam and Daniel questioned simultaneously. This was all just too much. One moment they were making camp for the night and in the next moment of awareness they learn that they had been kidnapped and now they find out that some sort of surgical procedure had been preformed on them. What else could possibly happen?
Considering Daniel's less than diplomatic mood at the moment, Sam decided to take over their side of the conversation. "I'm afraid you have us at a distinct disadvantage. Who are you and what are you taking about?"
"Ah, yes, Major Carter...do you mind if I call you Samantha?" He did not wait for a response. "Well, Samantha, my name is Ochsner. I am a scientist, much like yourself." Ochsner raised himself from behind the large desk and casually walked to a nearby fireplace where he stood gazing into the flames.
"You and Dr. Jackson have been brought here as a part of an...experiment, if you will." Ochsner picked up a metal poker and, after using it to stir the fire, wedged its sharp end between two of the burning logs. He released its handle and refocused his attention on the two teammates. "You have each been implanted with my latest invention. It is a device which links you to each other." The man paused, apparently for dramatic effect.
"What kind of link?" Sam questioned, suspicion heavy in her voice.
Ochsner pulled the poker out of the fire and frowned at the glowing red tip before returning it. "Actually, Samantha, I'm not entirely certain of that myself. If it works on your species the same as it was intended to work on Koleans, it will be a link of physical sensation. You will feel each other's pain. Tell me, Samantha, does your cheek hurt?"
"What?" Sam watched as Ochsner nodded and Daniel's guard clamped one large hand around her friend's neck and, with the other, prodded the bruise on his cheek. The moment the forceful hand touched the discolored flesh Sam felt a shooting pain along her own cheekbone and cried out, "AARGH!" Daniel was clenching his teeth, refusing to give voice to his pain.
"I see that it is functioning properly. Good."
Daniel jerked away from his guard and gingerly rubbed his face. "If all you wanted was test subjects for your new invention, why kidnap us? Why not just implant them in your two stooges here? What else are you after?"
"A very good question, Dr. Jackson. Very good indeed. You're right. There is something else I want. Samantha, you will be returned to Earth. In two day's time, you will bring me a supply of...I believe you call it Naquadah."
"Why do you want Naquadah?" Daniel inquired. This planet had tested negative for even slight traces of the mineral, so the only thing Ochsner could possibly know about it had come from his contact with the SCG.
"As I said, Dr. Jackson, I am a scientist. That is all you need to know."
Sam understood the dangers that even a minute amount of Naquadah could pose in the wrong hands, but her mind had focused on something else. "You said that I was to return to Earth. What about Daniel?"
"Ah, yes. What of Dr. Jackson? He will remain here, with me. He is my bargaining chip and my way of controlling you. You see, distance has no effect on the link. You cannot simply walk away from him and this planet. Of course, I would never expect you to do that anyway. While on Earth, you cannot remove your device either. The procedure would be relatively simple, but extremely painful. While you would have an anesthetic..." Ochsner trailed off and looked meaningfully at Daniel.
"I'm sure Dr. Jackson and I can find something to occupy our time. Perhaps we will experiment with the link." He flashed an evil smirk towards the young man and then returned his attention to the major. "I would advise that you not be late returning, Samantha, I tend to get impatient. I honestly don't know what would happen to one if the other were to perish while still connected by the devices."
Sam and Daniel were filled with impotent rage. This man had just affirmed a hostage situation, complete with demands and death threats, and there was nothing they could do about it.
The two members of SG-1 watched in silence as Ochsner once again pulled the poker out of the flames. This time the tip was glowing white and he smiled in satisfaction.
His eyes never left the poker as he once again addressed Sam, "I need you to understand the sincerity of my words, Samantha," he intoned. "Unfortunately, the only way I can assure myself of this is to provide a demonstration."
Following a nod from their boss, both guards restrained their prisoners.
Sam initially assumed that the violence would once again be focused on Daniel, but her guard hauled her to her feet and forced her to take a few steps forward. She tried to pull away as Ochsner approached with the white-hot poker. If the earlier demonstration was any indication, not only would this hurt her, but Daniel would suffer as well.
Beside her, Sam could see Daniel struggling with his guard and it encouraged her to redouble her efforts. It was all in vain, however, and after her guard extended her arm, Ochsner pressed the searing metal into the tender flesh of her forearm.
Sam squeezed her eyes shut and bit down on her lip. It was no use. Soon an agonized scream tore from her throat, followed shortly by Daniel's own scream. Before long, blessed darkness claimed them both.
*~*~*~*
The first thing that seeped into Sam's consciousness was the smell. It was not the fresh, clean smell she would expect to find if she were at their campsite, but it was also not the damp, musty smell of the small room she had woken up in the last time. This place smelled of antiseptic.
Next, she was aware of sounds. Machines chirped cheerfully somewhere near her head and people were talking in hushed voices. She couldn't quite understand what they were saying.
Sam could feel someone touching her arm, but there was no pain, simply a sensation of movement. She forced her eyes open and looked to the offending limb. She saw Dr. Janet Fraiser using tape to secure the expertly applied white dressing.
"Janet?" Sam croaked, surprised by the weakness in her own voice.
"Sam?" the petite doctor gently lowered Sam's arm and pulled out the dreaded penlight to check her pupil reaction. "Can you tell me your full name?"
"Major Samantha Carter. I'm a member of SG-1. Janet, there's nothing wrong with my head," frustration began to creep into her voice. "Where's Daniel?"
"Let me be the judge of what is or isn't wrong with you. Sam, x-rays show that some sort of metallic disc has been implanted in the back of your neck. It has wires leading into your spinal column. I need to run a few tests to find out exactly what its purpose is and then, hopefully, remove it."
"Yes, yes, I know all about that," frustration quickly changed to irritation. "You can't remove it right now. Where is Daniel?"
"Daniel isn't here, Carter." Colonel O'Neill swam into view. "You were found, alone and semi-conscious, near the gate by some Kolean people. They immediately contacted us and we got you home."
Dr. Fraiser once again took over the conversation. "You have a nasty burn on your arm..."
"The burn!" Sam cut her off. Sam raised her arm up in front of her and examined it closely. "It doesn't hurt. Why?" she questioned with obvious wonder in her voice.
"That would be because of the pain-killers." Janet indicated the IV line attached to the Major's uninjured arm. "The wound was pretty dirty and I had to debride it. You were beginning to come around by the time we got you here to the infirmary, so I gave you a sedative and some pain-killers..."
"De-de-debride? Did it hurt?" Sam broke in again. Her voice sounded almost child-like, lost.
To say that Janet was confused would have been a major understatement. "Well, uh, without the sedatives and pain meds, yes, it would have hurt a great deal, but..."
"NO!" Before anyone could stop her, Sam had removed her IV and vaulted from the bed. "No pain meds! I have to know how it feels. Oh my God! It must have hurt so much. You don't know what you've done. You can't cause pain! You..."
O'Neill reached the distraught woman first and firmly grabbed her upper arms to still her. "Carter, Sam, stay with me here. What's going on?" Seeing that the action failed to gain his 2ICs attention, he moved his hands to cup the sides of her face. He didn't speak, he simply held her head still in an attempt to force her to meet his eyes and hopefully snap out of whatever had gripped her.
Sam was aware of her surroundings and knew that the Colonel was trying to calm her, but the medications in her system and the knowledge that she was somehow responsible for causing Daniel severe pain had eaten away at her self-control and she was in a panic.
She could feel the Colonel's hands on either side of her face, stilling her movements and forcing her to look at him, but it wasn't until she felt a familiar touch on her hand that she began to calm herself.
Sam brought her left hand up before her eyes and simply stared at it. There was nothing making contact with her, yet she felt as if someone held her hand in a firm grasp. After a moment, the pressure on her hand increased and then disappeared entirely.
Sam let out the breath she had been unconsciously holding. A single tear escaped down her cheek and the Colonel wiped it away with his thumb before releasing his hold of her.
"It's okay, sir. He's okay." Sam drew a shuddering breath and began to regain her composure. "Colonel O'Neill, we need to speak with the General and make plans for a rescue operation to Kolea. Daniel's being held captive and..."
"Sam," it was Janet's turn to interrupt the Major, "the only thing you need to do right now is get back in that bed and let me put the IV back in. I need to learn more about that thing in your neck and that burn still requires some treatment."
"No, Janet, you don't understand. That's part of the problem." Sam was visibly frustrated again, but she seemed much more lucid than before. "You can't do anything about the disc or treat the burn. You can't do anything that may cause pain and you can't give me any pain meds. I have to know how it feels." Sam let out a loud sigh. "Look, just contact the General. I need to speak with him. I'll tell you all everything then. Okay?"
Reluctantly, the doctor gave her approval and Colonel O'Neill used the phone in her office to contact the General.
*~*~*~*
Disclaimer: If I did own them season six would be a LOT different!
ONE
Major Samantha Carter completed the task of filming the intricate carvings on the pillars that stood in front of the large, black, stone temple. With a final look around, she assured herself that she had thoroughly filmed everything - twice. After checking her watch, she carefully tucked the video equipment back into her pack and headed into the temple to attempt to carry out the most difficult of her daily duties.
She found her companion, Dr. Daniel Jackson, standing at the center alter with his back towards her, completely engrossed in his work. He was gathering his own array of rubbings, notes, and digital pictures of markings similar to those she had filmed outside.
Sam couldn't help but to agree with the Colonel's earlier statement that these markings looked like nothing more than squiggly lines. Daniel had reluctantly admitted that, in a way, Jack had been right. Usually, temples such as this were covered with pictographs; some of which even the Colonel had to admit made sense. The builders of this place, however, had used their own version of an alphabet to record their religious history. Each squiggly line, swirl, and zigzag stood for a different letter in that alphabet. So far, Daniel had identified over 30 different 'letters'. Translating the sequences of alien letters into a recognizable language would take years, even with the help of the planet's current inhabitants.
Sam stopped just inside the temple door, lowered her pack to the ground, and leaned her back against a nearby wall to silently observe her friend at work.
Daniel had set aside the tools of his trade and was using his hands to study a section of the text. His long fingers gently traced the pattern that had been carved into the rough stone. Time, neglect, and the fact that the temple roof had collapsed years ago, allowing the elements to invade its interior, had all conspired to erode the stone, making it nearly impossible to identify all of the strange markings.
Sam knew that Daniel would not give up on the extremely difficult task he had assigned himself. He was in his element. SG-1 was a first-contact team. It had always been their job to establish the basis for an alliance with new planets and then turn things over to the other diplomatic, scientific, or archaeological teams. Daniel very seldom had the opportunity to take the time to do more than a superficial exploration of a planet's culture and history. In fact, lately, Daniel's gun seemed to have seen more use than any one of his three PhDs.
Sam smiled to herself as she remembered Daniel's passionate argument to be allowed to further study the temple.
*~*~*~*
Three days earlier...
"But Jack," Daniel pleaded as the two men entered the commissary, made their lunch selection, and joined Sam at the table. "This temple is covered in writing that is totally alien. Nothing even remotely like it has been found on Earth or any planet we've visited. It's...it's...it's..." Daniel waved a hand in the air as if trying to physically catch the proper words.
"Cool?" Jack offered, his head tilting slightly to the side as his eyebrows rose in amusement at the irritation the word was sure to spark in the excited young man.
Daniel closed his eyes and sighed loudly as he visibly deflated. He had 23 languages at his disposal and Jack had just teasingly thrown out the one word Daniel had been desperately trying to avoid using. It was woefully inadequate to describe the extraordinary find, yet it was the only word that he, himself, had been able to think of.
Jack broke in before Daniel could begin his plea anew. "SG-1 is on stand-down until the negotiations with the Kolean people are complete. You're lucky, you have the opportunity to go and have some fun. At our new friends' insistence, I'm going to be suck in the briefing room, bored to death, for the next week while we negotiate an alliance and trade agreement."
"That's just it, Jack," Daniel was doing his best to prevent his voice from sounding like that of a whining child whose parents had just refused to buy him a new toy. "This IS fun for me and the Koleans ARE friendly. There's no reason I shouldn't be able to check out the temple."
Jack sighed, not out of frustration, but out of regret that he was unable to grant his friend's request. When he spoke again, the Colonel's voice had softened considerably and had lost all teasing tones. "Daniel, I'm sorry," he began, his voice relaying his sincerity and patience. "I wish I could let you go, I really do, but I don't feel right letting a member of my team go off-world alone. With Teal'c visiting his family and..."
Perhaps it was the look of disappointed acceptance that she had seen on Daniel's face far too often recently or the fact that she could tell that the Colonel had sincerely wanted to grant the request. Whatever the reason, Sam was speaking before she realized it. "I'll go, sir."
"...Carter is leaving in the morning to..." The Colonel's argument died on his lips and the two men simply stared across the table at each other for a moment. They slowly turned their heads until their eyes locked onto Sam.
"Excuse me?" they questioned in unison. Their brows creased identically in confusion as they wondered if they had heard correctly.
"I'll return to the planet with Daniel, sir," Sam clarified. She smiled and watched as realization dawned on her teammates. She had expected the bright smile that graced Daniel's features, but she was pleasantly surprised when a similar expression crossed the Colonel's face.
Daniel's smile slowly faded as he remembered the plans Sam had originally made to occupy her downtime. "No, no, Sam. I can't let you do this. You have plans to visit your brother, Mark..."
"Those plans fell through," Sam stated matter-of-factly, cutting him off and praying that he wouldn't see through the lie. "The girls have the flu." She sent a silent apology to her brother and made a mental note to call him and reschedule the visit.
It took all of Sam's willpower to prevent her from looking away as Daniel's intense blue eyes captured her own. He was obviously trying to determine the truth of her words and averting her eyes at that moment would be as good as admitting to the lie.
"Alright, permission granted," O'Neill interrupted the stare down and cast a knowing look to his 2IC. "I'll speak with General Hammond and Ambassador Crile. If they agree, you two can head out in the morning and spend five days on Kolea. Agreed?"
"Yes, sir," Sam quickly answered for both Daniel and herself. She reached over and took Daniel's hand in her own, giving it a slight squeeze. He seemed to think for a moment before finally smiling and returning the familiar touch.
*~*~*~*
As promised, the Colonel had spoken with the General and Ambassador Crile. Both men had agreed to allow the two members of SG-1 to explore the ruins.
Early the next morning, Colonel Jack O'Neill had waved from the control room as Major Samantha Carter and Dr. Daniel Jackson entered the event horizon of the wormhole that would take them to PR2141, AKA: Kolea.
Of course, as Sam had suspected, Daniel had known all along about her little white lie concerning the aborted trip to her brother's house. He had been quite sneaky in the way he had gotten her to admit it as well. He had caught her just as she was dozing off their first night on the planet and nonchalantly asked how Mark had taken the news that she would not be down to visit. Having been half asleep, Sam had very little control over what she said. She had told Daniel that Mark had understood when she had explained that Daniel needed someone to accompany him on 'a trip'. As soon as she had realized what she had said, Sam had bolted upright, suddenly wide-awake.
Daniel's lecture about how she shouldn't have cancelled plans with her family to come play in the dirt with him was cut short as Sam's expression turned from guilty to deadly serious. She had taken his hand in her own, locked eyes with him and stated in a tone that would clearly allow for no further argument that he and the rest of SG-1 were her family as well and she was a big girl, capable of deciding for herself how to spend her downtime.
Daniel had seemed to at least tolerate the explanation as nothing more was said on the subject.
*~*~*~*
Sam smiled and shook her head as she continued to watch Daniel work. He seemed to be oblivious to the fact that she had been watching him for close to 15 minutes now.
"Just five more minutes, Sam."
Okay, perhaps he wasn't quite so oblivious.
"That's what you said over an hour ago." Sam walked around to stand at the alter opposite her friend. He was still absorbed in his work. The fingers of his left hand traced a mark that was nearly invisible to the naked eye while he attempted to draw it on a notepad with his right hand.
"Um hum," Daniel mumbled distractedly.
Sam had once again lost him to the alien text. She loved to watch him work and spending the last three days alone together had given them the opportunity to reconnect and solidify their friendship.
For three years, Daniel's purpose on SG-1...in life...was simple; find and rescue Sha're. He had finally succeeded in finding her, but the end result of the long search had been her death at Teal'c's hands. Sha're had given the young man another purpose, though. She had asked him to find and protect her son; the son fathered by Apophis. Though skeptical, General Hammond had allowed the search. He had even ordered all teams to be on the lookout for Kheb, the planet to which Amonet had sent the child. SG-1 had found Kheb and Sha're's child after only a few months and Daniel had decided that the best way to fulfill his promise to his deceased wife was to leave the child in the care of 'Mother Nature'.
Since life happily ever after with Sha're was no longer possible and her son was well taken care of, there was nothing keeping the archaeologist on the team. As the missions steered further away from exploring new cultures and more towards finding ways to defeat the Goa'uld, Sam could see that he was beginning to question his role, his reason for remaining with them. He began to withdrawal into himself, pulling further and further away from the team. He had even begun to request assignments with other SG teams, anything to get away from the fighting and back to his roots.
This separation of both Daniel's physical and emotional self, however inadvertent, was putting a strain on everyone on SG-1, but it seemed to have affected the Colonel the worst. Unable to recognize why the young man had withdrawn from them, Jack had resorted to some of his old ways. He used sarcasm to hide fear, anger to hide pain, and a misguided attraction towards Sam to hide loneliness.
The men fought almost constantly. At times, it was no more than slight bickering, other times, the fighting would be so severe that Sam feared they would resort to physical blows. After each 'disagreement' the men would apologize and insist they were 'fine', but at the end of the mission the members of SG-1 would go their separate ways instead of having some sort of team gathering as they had once done.
Sam knew there was no animosity between Daniel and herself. There was just...less. She didn't know, exactly, what there was less of. They still collaborated on projects, still went on missions together, and, on occasion, still joined each other for meals. Somehow, though, the intellectual and emotional connection she had felt since first meeting Daniel on Abydos had weakened.
Sam had vowed that during their time on Kolea, she and Daniel would really talk. And they had. Her little slip up about changing her plans to visit her brother had opened the lines of communication between them. They had talked about Sha're, her son, Daniel's childhood, Sam's dad, her own childhood, the Tok'ra, the missions, the Colonel...they had stayed awake most of that first night, just talking.
Though there was much more Sam wanted to talk about and she felt Daniel needed to talk about, she could see that a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders just by vocalizing some of his feelings on these subjects.
"Daniel!" Sam's lenient smile did nothing to support her stern voice as she reached across the alter and placed her right hand over his left, effectively preventing any further tactile exploration of the strange mark. "It's going to be dark soon and we still have several things we need to do back at the camp. It's time to call it quits for the day."
Daniel peered at her over his glasses with a mischievous gleam in his eyes and a smirk on his face. "Okay," he said and promptly began to gather his paraphernalia.
"Now, Daniel, I know what you're going to say, but we have two more days here and it's simply not safe to...wh-what? What did you say?" Sam looked at him in surprise with her jaw hanging slightly open.
"I said 'okay', Sam. As in sure, alright, fine, yeah sure you betcha, let's go." Daniel patted Sam's hand where it still rest upon the alter and then turned to leave. "You coming?" He threw the question over his shoulder as he exited the temple.
Sam closed her mouth and shook herself out of her shock. "Yeah sure you betcha," she mumbled under her breath before she picked up her pack and quickly jogged to catch up to her companion.
*~*~*~*
Sam awoke slowly, feeling groggy and disoriented. She opened her eyes just long enough to note that the red stone ceiling above her was spinning, before an intense wave of nausea forced her to shut them once more. She tried to breathe through the sensation, but was finally forced to accept the inevitable. The stricken woman had just enough time to laboriously roll onto her side before her stomach seized violently.
Feeling slightly better and refusing to remain so near to the mess she had just made, Sam maneuvered herself into a sitting position with her back leaning on what she assumed was a wall. An involuntary groan escaped her lips.
"Sam, are you okay?"
She felt a cold, damp cloth brush against the side of her face and leaned into the welcome touch. She pried her eyes open once more and found herself looking into Daniel's worried face.
He looked exactly as she felt. His skin was pale, his hands were shaking slightly, and he had a light sheen of perspiration on his face as if he had recently lost a similar battle with nausea. Daniel's left cheekbone was darkly bruised and swollen, and judging by the tenderness of her own face, Sam was sporting a similar injury.
"Here, Sam, try to drink some water. It should help." Daniel had discarded the damp cloth and was pressing a small cup of water to his friend's lips. "I'm so sorry, Sam. They took me by surprise. I tried to fight, but there were just too many of them."
Sam pushed the cup away after only a few swallows, fearful that too much of the liquid would cause her stomach to revolt again. The water did help, though. The fog that her mind seemed to be trapped in was clearing and she began to take note of her surroundings.
She was sitting on the floor of a red stone room. The only things in the room, other than herself, were Daniel, a bucket of water, two cups, and the cloth. Sam's mind had finally cleared enough to recognize the fact that something was wrong. They were in a red stone room. When she had gone to sleep she was tucked into a sleeping bag. Due to the favorable weather conditions, she and Daniel hadn't even brought along their tents. Other than the temple, there were no buildings in their vicinity, and the temple was completely black. There was no red stone anywhere to be seen.
Finally, Sam's mind completely engaged and the memories surfaced.
Daniel had convinced her - once again - that he wasn't at all tired and would take first watch. He had been very good about waking her when it was her turn at watch on the previous two nights, so Sam had agreed and, after setting the alarm on her watch as a precautionary measure, crawled into her sleeping bag and promptly fell asleep. Sometime later, she had awakened at Daniel's shout. In one fluid movement, she had bolted upright and grabbed her weapon just in time to see Daniel get struck in the face by the butt end of a weapon held by one of the unknown men he had been struggling with. They young man had fallen hard and lay motionless on the ground. Sam had shouted his name, aimed her weapon at his assailant, and...
That's it. That was all Sam could remember. She was pulled from her reverie as she realized Daniel was once again calling her name, this time with a slight edge of desperation in his voice.
"Sam? Sam! Are you alright? What's wrong?"
"I'm okay, Daniel. Just trying to remember how we got here. What about you? I saw you get hit. Are you..."
"A little bruised and I feel like I have the worst hang over in history, but other than that I'm fine," Daniel cut in, dismissing her concern. "I woke up about half an hour ago. The door's locked, no windows, walls are solid, and there's no bottle with a genie ready to pop out and grant us three wishes. We're stuck here for the time. I haven't seen our fine host. Maybe he's too busy digging out the good china for our lunch," he added in an admirable imitation of O'Neill's sarcasm.
"Ya think?" Sam had spent nearly as much time around the Colonel as Daniel had. "Wait a minute. Lunch?"
"Well, I guess it could be an early dinner." Seeing the perplexed look on his friend's face, Daniel realized that Sam had yet to notice how much time had passed while they were unconscious. "Uh, yeah, Sam. It's officially tomorrow. Three o'clock, um, 1500 hours, to be exact, and we've been out for well over 14 hours. We were attacked just after midnight."
Before they could discuss the issue further, the door to their small room swung open and two solidly built men wielding some form of energy weapons entered. The two members of SG-1 obeyed the curt commands and rose to follow as one man exited the room. The second man fell in behind them.
Sam and Daniel were led down a short, nondescript hallway and into what appeared to be a large office. Daniel was tempted to allow his eyes to wander to the rows upon rows of books and small statues that rested on shelves lining every wall, but the years of experience gained while working with the SGC had taught him to keep his attention on the perceived enemy. At that point in time, the alleged enemy was the man sitting behind the desk directly in front of him.
He was an attractive man, probably in his late 40s or early 50s, with salt and pepper hair and a goatee. He was wearing something amazingly similar to what would be an outlandishly expensive suit on Earth.
"Nice suit," Daniel commented dryly and not quite under his breath. "Didn't realize Armani had branched out to this corner of the galaxy."
Sam tried to hide her reaction to Daniel's words. He was in THAT kind of mood. Oh no. She had seen the archaeologist so openly hostile on only a few occasions and on each of those occasions his hostility and defiance had caused him injury. Apparently, being knocked out, kidnapped, and probably drugged had caused him to be a bit cranky. Heaven help them.
After nearly ten minutes of silence and not even a slight acknowledgement from their 'host' Daniel's impatience got the better of him. "Oh, well, we can see that you're busy. We'll just come back another time."
Daniel had barely begun to shift his weight to take a step back when the guard stationed behind him viciously kicked the back of his legs, sending him crashing painfully to his knees. Though she hadn't seen her guard move, Sam felt a similar blow to her own legs. She, too, fell to the floor on her knees.
"Ouch!" Daniel sat back on his heels and rubbed his throbbing knees. "You know, your hospitality leaves a lot to be desired. I mean, isn't it proper procedure to at least introduce yourself before the beatings begin? I think you need to reread the handbook. You've fallen way outside the lines of acceptable captor/hostage behavior."
Sam winced and closed her eyes as Daniel's guard raised his weapon as if to strike him, but the sound of the blow never came.
She cautiously opened her eyes and saw that the guard had reclaimed his position behind Daniel and both were looking straight ahead. Sam looked towards the man at the desk and noted that he was still studying a document that lay on the desk before him, but one hand was raised. Apparently, that simple gesture had been enough to subdue the guard.
Another couple of minutes passed in silence. Just when Sam feared that Daniel was about to say something again, the man finally moved.
With slow, deliberate motions, he closed the folder of the document he had been reading, straightened up his desk, took a sip of water from a glass that rested on the corner of the desk, crossed his arms in front of him, cleared his throat, and, at last, spoke. "Dr. Jackson, Major Carter, how are you feeling?"
The question was so unexpected that neither had an answer readily available.
"I'm sure you both have substantial headaches and some nausea," the man continued. "Most of that is probably due to the anesthetic. Everyone reacts differently to it. I was somewhat concerned that my invention would not be compatible with your systems. After all, it was originally designed based on Kolean physiology. There were a few touchy moments in surgery..."
"What?!" Sam and Daniel questioned simultaneously. This was all just too much. One moment they were making camp for the night and in the next moment of awareness they learn that they had been kidnapped and now they find out that some sort of surgical procedure had been preformed on them. What else could possibly happen?
Considering Daniel's less than diplomatic mood at the moment, Sam decided to take over their side of the conversation. "I'm afraid you have us at a distinct disadvantage. Who are you and what are you taking about?"
"Ah, yes, Major Carter...do you mind if I call you Samantha?" He did not wait for a response. "Well, Samantha, my name is Ochsner. I am a scientist, much like yourself." Ochsner raised himself from behind the large desk and casually walked to a nearby fireplace where he stood gazing into the flames.
"You and Dr. Jackson have been brought here as a part of an...experiment, if you will." Ochsner picked up a metal poker and, after using it to stir the fire, wedged its sharp end between two of the burning logs. He released its handle and refocused his attention on the two teammates. "You have each been implanted with my latest invention. It is a device which links you to each other." The man paused, apparently for dramatic effect.
"What kind of link?" Sam questioned, suspicion heavy in her voice.
Ochsner pulled the poker out of the fire and frowned at the glowing red tip before returning it. "Actually, Samantha, I'm not entirely certain of that myself. If it works on your species the same as it was intended to work on Koleans, it will be a link of physical sensation. You will feel each other's pain. Tell me, Samantha, does your cheek hurt?"
"What?" Sam watched as Ochsner nodded and Daniel's guard clamped one large hand around her friend's neck and, with the other, prodded the bruise on his cheek. The moment the forceful hand touched the discolored flesh Sam felt a shooting pain along her own cheekbone and cried out, "AARGH!" Daniel was clenching his teeth, refusing to give voice to his pain.
"I see that it is functioning properly. Good."
Daniel jerked away from his guard and gingerly rubbed his face. "If all you wanted was test subjects for your new invention, why kidnap us? Why not just implant them in your two stooges here? What else are you after?"
"A very good question, Dr. Jackson. Very good indeed. You're right. There is something else I want. Samantha, you will be returned to Earth. In two day's time, you will bring me a supply of...I believe you call it Naquadah."
"Why do you want Naquadah?" Daniel inquired. This planet had tested negative for even slight traces of the mineral, so the only thing Ochsner could possibly know about it had come from his contact with the SCG.
"As I said, Dr. Jackson, I am a scientist. That is all you need to know."
Sam understood the dangers that even a minute amount of Naquadah could pose in the wrong hands, but her mind had focused on something else. "You said that I was to return to Earth. What about Daniel?"
"Ah, yes. What of Dr. Jackson? He will remain here, with me. He is my bargaining chip and my way of controlling you. You see, distance has no effect on the link. You cannot simply walk away from him and this planet. Of course, I would never expect you to do that anyway. While on Earth, you cannot remove your device either. The procedure would be relatively simple, but extremely painful. While you would have an anesthetic..." Ochsner trailed off and looked meaningfully at Daniel.
"I'm sure Dr. Jackson and I can find something to occupy our time. Perhaps we will experiment with the link." He flashed an evil smirk towards the young man and then returned his attention to the major. "I would advise that you not be late returning, Samantha, I tend to get impatient. I honestly don't know what would happen to one if the other were to perish while still connected by the devices."
Sam and Daniel were filled with impotent rage. This man had just affirmed a hostage situation, complete with demands and death threats, and there was nothing they could do about it.
The two members of SG-1 watched in silence as Ochsner once again pulled the poker out of the flames. This time the tip was glowing white and he smiled in satisfaction.
His eyes never left the poker as he once again addressed Sam, "I need you to understand the sincerity of my words, Samantha," he intoned. "Unfortunately, the only way I can assure myself of this is to provide a demonstration."
Following a nod from their boss, both guards restrained their prisoners.
Sam initially assumed that the violence would once again be focused on Daniel, but her guard hauled her to her feet and forced her to take a few steps forward. She tried to pull away as Ochsner approached with the white-hot poker. If the earlier demonstration was any indication, not only would this hurt her, but Daniel would suffer as well.
Beside her, Sam could see Daniel struggling with his guard and it encouraged her to redouble her efforts. It was all in vain, however, and after her guard extended her arm, Ochsner pressed the searing metal into the tender flesh of her forearm.
Sam squeezed her eyes shut and bit down on her lip. It was no use. Soon an agonized scream tore from her throat, followed shortly by Daniel's own scream. Before long, blessed darkness claimed them both.
*~*~*~*
The first thing that seeped into Sam's consciousness was the smell. It was not the fresh, clean smell she would expect to find if she were at their campsite, but it was also not the damp, musty smell of the small room she had woken up in the last time. This place smelled of antiseptic.
Next, she was aware of sounds. Machines chirped cheerfully somewhere near her head and people were talking in hushed voices. She couldn't quite understand what they were saying.
Sam could feel someone touching her arm, but there was no pain, simply a sensation of movement. She forced her eyes open and looked to the offending limb. She saw Dr. Janet Fraiser using tape to secure the expertly applied white dressing.
"Janet?" Sam croaked, surprised by the weakness in her own voice.
"Sam?" the petite doctor gently lowered Sam's arm and pulled out the dreaded penlight to check her pupil reaction. "Can you tell me your full name?"
"Major Samantha Carter. I'm a member of SG-1. Janet, there's nothing wrong with my head," frustration began to creep into her voice. "Where's Daniel?"
"Let me be the judge of what is or isn't wrong with you. Sam, x-rays show that some sort of metallic disc has been implanted in the back of your neck. It has wires leading into your spinal column. I need to run a few tests to find out exactly what its purpose is and then, hopefully, remove it."
"Yes, yes, I know all about that," frustration quickly changed to irritation. "You can't remove it right now. Where is Daniel?"
"Daniel isn't here, Carter." Colonel O'Neill swam into view. "You were found, alone and semi-conscious, near the gate by some Kolean people. They immediately contacted us and we got you home."
Dr. Fraiser once again took over the conversation. "You have a nasty burn on your arm..."
"The burn!" Sam cut her off. Sam raised her arm up in front of her and examined it closely. "It doesn't hurt. Why?" she questioned with obvious wonder in her voice.
"That would be because of the pain-killers." Janet indicated the IV line attached to the Major's uninjured arm. "The wound was pretty dirty and I had to debride it. You were beginning to come around by the time we got you here to the infirmary, so I gave you a sedative and some pain-killers..."
"De-de-debride? Did it hurt?" Sam broke in again. Her voice sounded almost child-like, lost.
To say that Janet was confused would have been a major understatement. "Well, uh, without the sedatives and pain meds, yes, it would have hurt a great deal, but..."
"NO!" Before anyone could stop her, Sam had removed her IV and vaulted from the bed. "No pain meds! I have to know how it feels. Oh my God! It must have hurt so much. You don't know what you've done. You can't cause pain! You..."
O'Neill reached the distraught woman first and firmly grabbed her upper arms to still her. "Carter, Sam, stay with me here. What's going on?" Seeing that the action failed to gain his 2ICs attention, he moved his hands to cup the sides of her face. He didn't speak, he simply held her head still in an attempt to force her to meet his eyes and hopefully snap out of whatever had gripped her.
Sam was aware of her surroundings and knew that the Colonel was trying to calm her, but the medications in her system and the knowledge that she was somehow responsible for causing Daniel severe pain had eaten away at her self-control and she was in a panic.
She could feel the Colonel's hands on either side of her face, stilling her movements and forcing her to look at him, but it wasn't until she felt a familiar touch on her hand that she began to calm herself.
Sam brought her left hand up before her eyes and simply stared at it. There was nothing making contact with her, yet she felt as if someone held her hand in a firm grasp. After a moment, the pressure on her hand increased and then disappeared entirely.
Sam let out the breath she had been unconsciously holding. A single tear escaped down her cheek and the Colonel wiped it away with his thumb before releasing his hold of her.
"It's okay, sir. He's okay." Sam drew a shuddering breath and began to regain her composure. "Colonel O'Neill, we need to speak with the General and make plans for a rescue operation to Kolea. Daniel's being held captive and..."
"Sam," it was Janet's turn to interrupt the Major, "the only thing you need to do right now is get back in that bed and let me put the IV back in. I need to learn more about that thing in your neck and that burn still requires some treatment."
"No, Janet, you don't understand. That's part of the problem." Sam was visibly frustrated again, but she seemed much more lucid than before. "You can't do anything about the disc or treat the burn. You can't do anything that may cause pain and you can't give me any pain meds. I have to know how it feels." Sam let out a loud sigh. "Look, just contact the General. I need to speak with him. I'll tell you all everything then. Okay?"
Reluctantly, the doctor gave her approval and Colonel O'Neill used the phone in her office to contact the General.
*~*~*~*