Love, Honour and Obey
Love, Honour and Obey
by Demon Faith
TITLE: Love, Honour and Obey
AUTHOR: Demon Faith
EMAIL: rosabeth@hotmail.com
CATEGORY: Sam/Daniel est., Challenge responses, Action/Adventure, Drama, Angst
SPOILERS: Minor for Watergate
SEASON/SEQUEL: After Season 4. Possible sequel.
RATING: PG
CONTENT WARNINGS: Graphic injury, language and implications
SUMMARY: Love, Honour and Obey: perhaps, the strongest emotions of them all
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Stargate, Stargate owns me.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Hmm...this is what you get for trying to make a dent in the ever-growing list of challenges at Helio. This is a dedication to Tk: if I call her an angel, she'll blush; so, I'll save her the embarrassment.
Love
n.a)Deep affection and warm feeling for anotherb)A beloved person.
v.To feel love (for).
[From Old English]
Honour
n.High respect; esteem
v.a)To esteemb)To show respect for
[From Latin]
Obey
v.a)To carry out the command ofb)To comply with (a command)
[From Latin]
Another day, another mission, another opportunity to save the world. Sometimes, Daniel wondered what it was all about.
He sighed to himself and pulled his far-too-heavy pack onto his shoulder and made his way to the Gate room. A routine mission: what was routine about having your body torn into mere molecules, and thrown across the galaxy by a giant super-conductor? Nothing at all. SG-1: two letters and a number that wouldn't mean much to anyone else. But to him, they meant to world. They meant a family.
"Daniel! Wait up!"
Daniel stopped and turned, to see Sam waving at him. He smiled. Yes, definitely a family.
She caught up with him, and they resumed their walk, but, this time, together.
"So, how you doing? I see Janet let you out."
"Yeah, out on good behavior. However, 'no jumping off cliffs, falling into chasms or being buried under tons of rock.' I think those were her words."
Sam laughed and took his arm, not caring who saw her. Four months ago, she had made a decision. She would tell him everything, and hope that he would listen.
And he had. They had been together these four months, and had somehow kept it from the world. He responded to her touch, smiling at her.
"A little conspicuous?"
"I really don't care."
They reached the Gate room, and Sam released his arm with a sigh. Life was unfair. Oh well, perhaps Jack would send them off together. She could only hope.
"Chevron 7 locked!"
The wormhole gushed out, as they walked through the door.
"Glad you could make it," Jack said, sarcastically. Teal'c gave a rare smile. He knew what most didn't: Jaffa were very observant.
"SG-1, you have a go!"
They moved towards the shimmering circle. Jack motioned for Sam to step through first, and then followed her. Teal'c glanced back at Daniel, before going through himself. Daniel paused again to wonder at the Stargate, before stepping through.
There was minimal sensation in the Gate, but Daniel definitely felt something. Then, a sharp pain hit him and he felt himself being flung backwards and he fell through the Gate, rolling in such a way as to fall through the gap in the railings.
"Find out who that was! Get a medic..."
The General didn't have time to finish his sentence, as a wave of energy blasted through the Gate, knocking everyone to the floor and straight into unconsciousness. Daniel was spared by the metal ramp, fighting to stay conscious through the enormous sensation of pain coursing through his body.
He felt the ramp shudder with footsteps, and he was momentarily confused.Wait, matter can only travel one way...Then, he realized that he had been thrown back out. If matter only traveled one way...then, someone had reversed the wormhole. The implications hit him like a shot. If a culture could reverse a wormhole in the blink of an eye, they could be facing far worse enemies than they had first thought.
Suddenly, the pain simply became too much, and Daniel fell into unconsciousness.
~
Fate has got it in for me,Daniel thought glumly, as he awoke to the terrible pain. Slowly, and carefully, he pulled himself up and looked cautiously around. The Embarkation Room was empty. He got to his feet, and looked around again. The blast doors were closed and it looked as if the doors were locked. Daniel felt around in his pocket. He knew he had his door key somewhere he was too paranoid to leave it on base or at home.Come on, come on it has to be somewhere!
Just as he checked the last pocket, and triumphantly removed the key, the door began to slide open. Daniel ran to the back of the Stargate and pressed himself to the base. He didn't dare to breathe, as someone passed through the room.
#It is no use, Ares. We cannot conquer these people easily. Our brethren have turned our servants against us!#
#I told Ra that Egypt was a mistake. Greece was far more bountiful: but Cronus has turned against us as well. And now the slaves are rebelling! We shall never find the Chosen now: Hathor did well to hide him here#
Two voices: one male and one female, though undeniably Goa'uld. And the male was Ares, Greek god of war. So, who was the woman?
#Calm yourself, Ares! We will prevail, even if we have to destroy this planet to do it. Hathor has hidden him here; now, all we must do is find him#
#You are right, Aphrodite. You are right#
They seemed to pause, and Daniel was getting worried. Hathor's Chosen that could only mean one thing. They were after him.
#And when we have extracted our information...#
#Then, you may play, my love. Then, you may play#
The words chilled Daniel's soul. They were after him, and if they didn't find him...well, it was curtains for them all.
The opposite door grated open and then closed. Daniel dared a glance up and discovered the room empty once more. As empty as his soul. He couldn't believe this was happening. Two False Gods, straight out of Greek mythology, were after him because Hathor had...no, Daniel was not going there. Or, because of something else? Daniel really had no idea. He panicked: they wanted information, they wanted him, and Aphrodite wanted something far worse...I thought I wasn't going there,he thought to himself.
Daniel pulled himself up, thinking about where he could escape. He needed somewhere safe, somewhere to clear his thoughts, somewhere no one would ever think to look...Sam's lab. It was only two levels up and the security camera had burned out last week and hadn't been replaced yet. It was the only place to go. Daniel moved towards the door, and then promptly fell over as pain shot up his leg. Cursing, he looked down and groaned.Why on earth did Jack make me carry that stupid knife?he thought angrily, as he saw the handle sticking out of his injured leg.
Quickly, he looked around the Gate room.There's got to be something here...yes!Daniel pulled himself across the floor until he reached the wall. He pulled the long wooden pole towards him and used it to stand. He admired the ornate design of the carving, remembering how thrilled Sam was when the priestess of the aptly named Sunshine Planet had given it to her as a gift for fixing their 'magic energy', a primitive naquadah reactor. When they had come back, she was immediately drawn into a computer problem and hadn't even had time to take the stick back to her quarters. Daniel savoured the memory, and then a horrible thought struck him.What had happened to SG-1?He had been thrown back, but had they walked straight into a Goa'uld trap? The thoughts made his blood run cold. He had to find out, had to make sure...but he had no way of reaching the Control Room, delivering a message and what about the SGC? Daniel swallowed his guilt, and slowly, made his way towards Sam's lab.
~
About an hour later, he stumbled into Sam's lab and shut the door. He had discovered about fifty Jaffa, concentrated around the Control Room and the infirmary. He had heard them talking about the 'prisoners' in the Storage Rooms, he had been that close, but no one had seen him. Now, in the relative safety of Sam's lab, he had no idea what to do. He had made it this far, but what next? Goa'uld had taken the SGC, SG1 were lost, SG3 and 4 were off world and he had no access to the outside world, to warn them of the danger they were in. What to do, what to do?
Daniel moved towards Sam's cupboard, slowly and painfully hobbling with the aid of the stick. He opened it carefully and took in its contents. The usual lab stuff, chemicals, test tubes, naquadah; Sam's emergency coffee supply, her favourite mug and jar of coffee; and her 'armoury'. Sam was almost as paranoid as he was, constantly worried about safety and implications. Her little stash contained one M16, a small handgun and a couple of grenades. Ever since the foothold situation, Jack had ordered every remote office and lab to have at least one method of defense. Sam was paranoid enough to have three. So was Daniel.
He took the items out of the cupboard and using the weapons belt, attached them to his person. He checked that the guns were loaded and looked to be in reasonable working order. He would never curse Jack's military training again.
Daniel soon realized that to do anything, he would first have to sort himself out. The lab, like all labs, had a first aid kit but Daniel wasn't sure he should even be trying this. He had only seen Janet perform this once, and that was surrounded by nurses and all the equipment of the infirmary.
The knife had slid across his leg, embedding itself quite deeply. Daniel had practically no knowledge of medicine, but had been told by Janet often enough that removing knives was a very bad idea. But he had no choice. If he was going to help his friends, he needed to move around. And he kinda needed his legs to do that.
He knew he was trying to convince himself of this. Okay, so he really had no idea what he was doing: Sam was the team medic. What he would give to have her here...or not. Was she safer where she was, or was there a far worse evil haunting her? Daniel blinked back tears: tears of grief, helplessness and despair. What could he, one man, do? How could he help his friends, his family?
Pull yourself together! You have work to do!
Daniel looked down at the knife, and grimaced. He daren't take any painkillers, he needed a clear head for this, so he just gritted his teeth and pulled.
"Holy shit!"
Daniel clutched his leg, rolled onto his side and breathed deeply in and out.Oh, that wassucha bad idea!He knew the first aid kit had nothing stronger than an aspirin and he wasn't about to try and gain access to the heavily fortified infirmary. He cursed under his breath for several minutes, before realizing that blood was still filtering through his fingers. He struggled into a sit and reached for the roll of bandages. He took a wad and applied heavy pressure to the wound. He just hoped he hadn't sliced an artery, and bleed to death in Sam's office. After a while, the bleeding seemed to slow. Daniel applied a new pressure pad and then bound the pad tightly to his leg. He cursed leaving his pack in the Gate room, as he hobbled around looking for a small bag. He found Sam's Naquadah sample case and removed the specialised foam casing. It was quite roomy and he put his other handgun inside, and cleaned the knife off and placed that inside as well. He decided to stash the case somewhere, in case he lost these items. He put it behind Sam's new reactor, picked up a roll of bandages to put in his belt and headed for the door, gun pulled towards him. He had to scout around, gather some information, before he could go any further.Know thy enemy, and all,he thought, grimly,Why me? This is Jack's job, or Teal'c's, not me. I'm the scientist, the archaeologist; I don't do saving the world!
Unfortunately, no deity felt like relieving his duty.
~
Daniel moved carefully through the silent corridors, suddenly very afraid. He was one man, alone amongst at least fifty Jaffa and two Goa'uld: they weren't pretty odds. His 'family' were billions of miles away, probably suffering another Goa'uld's wrath. And here was poor little Daniel, having to grow up and play with the big kids. Oh, for a child's innocence once more!But that's all gone now.An echo of a song: Evita. The story of a woman, who could challenge her country, but lost a battle with herself. Sam had cried at that film. Daniel had laughed at her, but his eyes were tear-filled too. There was something very cruel about fate. All the good died young, John F Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Eva Peron: perhaps, he would join them.
Smiling sadly to himself, haunting melodies filling his mind, Daniel crept through the corridors. For some reason, the lights were out.Perhaps the Goa'uld didn't fancy our electricity bill...sorry, been hanging around Jack O'Neill too much.Another good woman: dear Svetlana. She lost her 'family', to a sea of intelligent water.It seems fate also has a twisted sense of humour.
Daniel was approaching his office, which had been appropriated by Ares and Aphrodite as their base of operations. Smart Goa'uld were adopting his tactic: know thy enemy. Luckily for him, and completely intentionally, there were no clues of his connection to Sam in the office. It was hard enough to have a secret relationship around gossips like Janet and nosy Colonels like Jack: you couldn't leave clues littered around your office. Daniel could swear Janet went through his office with a fine toothcomb every time he was off world. Another matter that hadn't helped them much was several nurses' rather obvious attraction to him. Daniel just couldn't handle flirtatious nurses, Sam had observed. 'You just can't resist a girl in uniform,' she had teased. Daniel smiled at that thought, then realised his concentration was drifting. He had to stay focused: focused on the task, and not his pain, physical and mental. He could hear voices now, and strained his ears to listen.
#How is the search progressing?#
Aphrodite's voice lilted musically down the corridor, and Daniel grimaced.Goa'uld women are sluts with attitude,he thought, sarcastically.
"We have found no sign of him, Most High Goddess. It appears he is not here."
#A pity. He must have travelled off through the Stargate with another of their little teams. He was not with the one we intercepted, and they refuse to speak of his whereabouts. Ares is returning to try more...persuasive methods#
Daniel shut his eyes in despair. What was he doing? Why was he so important to them? What did they want? He had to know, he just had to. And luck was with him...
"Mistress Aphrodite, why this one? Why is he so important to you?"
#Hathor chose him for a reason, a reason not even he knows. With her dying breath, Hathor told me of it. For this reason, he will become Aphrodite's Chosen. Ares is a fool, he believes this Daniel holds Hathor's secrets, but he does not. More wine, Jaffa#
A drunk Goa'uld? If the situation weren't so dire, Daniel would laugh. The Jaffa was probably spying for Ares and would relay this to him. Hopefully, Ares would clear off. Unless Hathor's 'reason' was justification enough. Daniel was absolutely terrified now: for his friends, the SGC, Earth, and for himself. What was this 'reason'? What could it possibly be? He was just an ordinary man, or so he thought. What on earth was going on? Or, perhaps, that was just it. Nothing particular was happening 'on earth', but perhaps another planet? The planet SG1 had Gated to, perhaps? There was only one way to find out. He just needed the right opportunity...
<>
Perhaps my luck is changing,thought Daniel. He pressed himself to the wall, as Jaffa filed past, followed by Ares and Aphrodite. Once he was satisfied everyone had gone, Daniel headed for the Gate Room. He ran into the Control Room and dialled the last planet SG1 had visited. Almost without thinking, he ran towards the Gate, hoping he still had his GDO. Then, he stopped, reached through the railings, and picked up his pack. He strode through, wondering what would await him on the other side.
~
Daniel stood out of the wormhole, to be greeted by raised staff weapons.Oh, shit! I forgot this bit...
"Um...hello?"
"This is the one! The Chosen our Master seeks!"
Think quickly, Daniel. An explanation, an explanation...
"No, no! I am the duplicate, the one sent to...confuse the captured... Tau'ri."
Daniel looked at the confused faces, then decided to really play this. He drew himself up importantly, trying to act more like Jack.Jack? What brought that up?He wanted to be someone respected, someone to be obeyed. To him, that was Jack.
"Were you not informed? Did not the Master tell you?"
His voice was mocking now, and the Jaffa looked uncomfortable.
"You may proceed. This man will escort you to the prisoners."
Daniel nodded haughtily. A young Jaffa led him to a large tent, and held the flap open for him. Daniel dropped the assuming manner and turned to the boy.
"So, do I look like a Tau'ri?"
The Jaffa nodded, totally falling for the deception. Daniel nodded happily, with a ghost of authority.
"Now, you must push me in, as if I have been captured. You can do this?"
The boy nodded, he was no older than fifteen, and hesitantly pushed towards the tent.
#Stop, boy! Who is this?#
Oh hell, that's that then!Daniel was done for.
"Master Ares, this is the duplicate you sent to confuse the Tau'ri."
#I sent no duplicate! This is the real Chosen!#
Time to run, I think.Daniel sprinted away, ignoring the horrific pain in his leg. There were yells from behind him, but he kept running, fear and adrenaline powering him forward. He headed for what looked like a mountain range springing out of the desert. He ran for it, aware that there were Jaffa close behind him. Suddenly, staff blasts appeared around him. He ran steadily for the mountains, recalling Sam's speech about there being hidden caves. 'You would never know they were there' she had said. Daniel was relying on her wisdom. He ran quickly around the corner of the cliff, just as a staff blast caught him. He yelped, skidded round the corner and rolled into the scrub. He heard their voices babble in confusion, but the pain in his shoulder carried him into unconsciousness.
~
It was dark when Daniel awoke. He dragged his abused body upwards, leaning against the cliff. He knew he was in the scrub near the caves, and could hear voices nearby. They were searching for him. He looked around his position, noting the rather spacious environment. It was a perfect hideout: from the outside, it looked like dense bush, but inside was a mini-cavern. Then, pain hit him: from his leg and now his shoulder. Daniel pulled out the roll of bandages from his belt, then realised his pack was also there. He must've held onto it as he ran. One-handed, he attempted to bandage the wound. At least, staff weapon burns didn't bleed he knew that from experience. He wrapped a loose roll of bandage around the wound, and then used his spare jacket as a sling. Sam always made him take a spare jacket, ever since he had lost one to a raging river. Getting soaked by water was bad enough with a jacket, let alone without. He nearly always got blood on them anyway, from paper cuts to flint knives to full-scale wounds: Daniel could never avoid trouble.
It was then Daniel realised what a stupid situation he had got himself into. The SGC was still invaded, SG1 were still prisoners and he was still hiding from the Goa'uld.It's a crazy universe,he thought to himself.
He could do nothing for them now, he knew that. He would sleep until morning, when the Jaffa had stopped searching. He didn't even consider it: he just fell asleep.
~
"Why the hell are we here?"
#Silence, human!#
Daniel awoke to voices outside his cavern. One belonged to Ares, the other...
"Just tell me why we're here!"
#Your friend, Daniel, is hiding here. He will come when he sees you#
"Don't bank on it, snaky!"
Jack! Daniel was immediately excited but he had heard the words. They wanted him to come out, it was a trap. However, he had to see them. Daniel slithered on his belly towards the opening in the bush, ignoring the protests of his leg and shoulder. He saw Ares walk off, muttering to himself and he just caught his words.
# This will not work. Aphrodite is flawed. There is no point watching them at all. He is long gone by now#
The Goa'uld sighed and walked off, signalling to the 'hiding' Jaffa to follow him.
"But, Master..."
#Do not question me! They can die from the heat!#
The Jaffa followed him, and Daniel watched SG1 carefully.
"Daniel's here!"
"It seems that way."
"We should warn him away, O'Neill."
They were tied in a circle, back-to-back against a central pole. Daniel began to work out a quick way to free them and thought he had it. He hoped his shooting practice would pay off...
"Hey Daniel! If you can hear me, don't come after us! It's a trap!"
However, Daniel wasn't listening. He took the M16 from his belt and aimed it carefully at the bonds between Sam and Jack. It was about two metres away, not long at all, but he wasn't all that accurate...concentrate, Daniel! You can do this,he told himself.
He fired the shot.
"What the hell..."
He fired at the bonds between Teal'c and Sam.
"That was a bullet!"
The three wasted no time moving away, but kept low. Perfect. Daniel clutched at his radio absently, thinking of a way to contact them. His hands closed on it and he rolled his eyes.How stupid am I...
"Lie flat on the ground and roll towards the bushes."
They all looked down at their radios and then glanced across at the bushes. Sam looked across at Jack, lay down on the floor and rolled into the bush. Daniel caught her gently, and moved her to one side.
"Daniel," she breathed, excitedly.
Jack stared at the bush for a moment, before lying down and rolling into it. Daniel caught him too and helped him sit up carefully. Then, Teal'c rolled in. It was quite a comical sight. Daniel caught him too, before motioning them back towards the cliff wall. When they had met the security of the wall, Daniel sighed.
"Well, how are you?"
Sam knelt up and hugged him tightly. He winced and she let go.
"What is it?"
"It's nothing."
"Where'd you go, Space monkey? We came through the Gate, got captured by the snake-heads and you weren't there!"
"It's long story."
"Well, I think we have time."
"Um...well, it seems two Goa'uld called Ares and Aphrodite have got quite advanced. They came through, somehow reversed the wormhole, and invaded the SGC. I managed to stay away and then came after you guys..."
"Daniel, you're injured!"
Sam pushed Daniel gently back, looking at his damaged shoulder and leg.
"Danny-boy, are you okay?"
Jack was all concern now and Teal'c looked worried too. Daniel was sweating profusely, as Sam removed the bandages on his leg.
"My goodness, Daniel, this is a stab wound!"
"My own fault. I kinda fell on my knife."
Jack grimaced at the thought. The wound looked infected. Sam spotted Daniel's pack and took out some antiseptic. She applied the cream, apologising when he winced.
"I'm sorry, Daniel. Just bear with me."
She re-dressed the wound with bandages, before looking at his shoulder.
"Don't tell me you shot yourself too!"
"Nah, that privilege was left to the Jaffa. They were chasing me through here..."
Sam frowned, and just re-dressed the wound.
"There's nothing I can do about that, Daniel."
"I know, Sam, I know."
There was silence for a few moments, before Jack took command.
"Well, I think we should all get some rest. I think we have a base to re-take."
Daniel nodded slowly; glad he had kept the truth from them. They would only worry about him, and he didn't want that. If they knew the Goa'uld were after him, they'd panic. Slowly, Sam and Jack fell asleep and Teal'c fell into Kel'no'reem. Sam was resting on Daniel's good shoulder, sleeping peacefully. Jack was laid out on the ground and Teal'c meditated peacefully.Looks like I'm on watch then,Daniel thought to himself.
It had made no sense for him to come here. Yet, he knew why he had. SG1 got through things as a team, and Daniel needed them. Sam, his beautiful girlfriend; Teal'c, who had earned Daniel's respect forever; and Jack, at whose command Daniel would go through hell.
Love, Honour and Obey: perhaps, the strongest emotions of all.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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