The Torment Series - Part V: Reunited
The Torment Series - Part V: Reunited
by MerryKate
Summary: Sam is captured by an unknown enemy
Category: Angst, Drama, Future Story, Hurt/Comfort
Season: future Season
Pairing: Jack/Sam
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: adult themes, violence
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author(s).
Archived on: 01/21/04
The Torment Series - by MerryKate
Part V: Reunited
Jack took the steps that led up to building two at a time while Telman hurried to keep in step with him. "Now....please," he repeated, fairly panting the words as he spoke. "Try to remember..... This is our only means of defense..... You know what the Goa'uld are capable of..... If you've encountered them in the past...."
Responding to the man's words wasn't on Jack's agenda. He only had one thing on his mind and that was finding Sam and taking her back home. "Where is she?" he demanded to know, once he had stepped through the double doors and found himself in a large room with corridors leading off of it in several directions.
"This way," Telman announced, leading the four men down a hallway to their left. Before he could reach the end of it, however, he saw Rowan moving in their direction, holding a small bowl in his hands.
"Just...retrieving some water," Rowan explained to Telman before his eyes took in the newcomers.
"Our...visitors from Earth," Telman commented, not sure if 'visitors' was the proper term to use. Perhaps 'future dictators' would've been more appropriate. He then indicated them with an upturned hand. "This is Jack.." He had intended to introduce each man in turn, but Rowan interrupted him.
"Jack?" Rowan echoed, turning away from Telman to take in the stranger. When the one known as Jack turned to face him, his face set with determination, he quickly explained. "She's been....calling for you," he explained, turning to point toward the door at the end of the corridor.
The thought of Sam calling out for him wrenched Jack's heart in his chest. Screw the diplomacy. "Sam!" he shouted, striding toward the room in question with rapid steps, no longer paying any attention to who followed him. "Sam!"
And then, he heard it. The word was so soft, he thought for sure that he was imagining it. Until it was repeated.
"Jack?"
That was all the incentive he needed. Jack ran down the corridor and threw the door open, only to come to an abrupt halt at the sight that greeted him on the bed. That could not be his Sam. She was much too thin and the color of her skin was all wrong. She didn't even appear to be looking in his direction.
When the other men crowded around behind him, attempting to see past him and into the room, Jack turned around to face them, although he found it hard to speak after just the brief glimpse of what he'd seen. "Daniel, you and Teal'c take these....men and see what you can find out." He reached a hand up to halt any arguments that Daniel might throw in his direction. "Just....do it."
"But I was helping her...," Rowan began, only to find a forefinger thrust in his face.
"You've done quite enough already!" Jack snapped. "*I* will take care of her now. Leave." His eyes then found Sam's father and he saw reflected in them the same concern that he knew shone brightly in his own. "Come on, Jacob." He waited for the other four men to turn around and move back down the corridor before he turned to face Sam's father. "Are you sure you're up to this? She looks...."
"She can't look any worse than what my mind is already imagining," Jacob replied. When Jack nodded and turned, allowing Jacob to enter the room, his steps faltered. It could be worse than he had imagined. He quickly moved to one side of the bed, while Jack headed for the other.
"Jack?"
When Sam called his name again, Jack knelt down beside her bed and reached for her hand, only to have her flinch at the contact and pull her hand up toward her chest. "I'm here, Sam," he reassured her. "It's me." When she opened her eyes, he smiled, despite his own internal fear and anxiety. "See?"
Jacob watched as Sam studied the Colonel's face before slowly turning her head away. "I'm here, too, Sam," he whispered. "We're real. It's us. We're really here."
Sam looked up at her father before daring to turn her head, hoping against hope that he wasn't a dream or a hallucination. "Jack?" There he was. He was still there. Tears of relief filled her eyes. "You're really here," she whispered.
"You bet," Jack reassured her. "We're here and you're going to be fine. We're going to take you home." His gaze moved down her form before his eyes met Jacob's. "Hope you brought a healing device...."
.........................
Daniel sat across from Telman and Rowan as they explained their actions, but he still found it hard to believe. Well, perhaps he could identify with it in some respects. He had long fantasized about torturing a Goa'uld to the breaking point, but, in this instance, it had been done to the wrong person. The regret for their mistake was visible on their features, as well as within the words they spoke. "We could possibly help you to....create an alternative to what you've been doing," he stated at last.
"Such as?" Telman prompted.
"Well, we have what we call an iris, covering our stargate, so that only those people who know the code can open it," Daniel replied. "That way, we don't have Goa'uld just arriving on our doorstep." He held out an arm to reveal the device strapped to it. "We call it a GDO. See the panel? There's a certain combination of numbers that we enter in sequence and then our people know it's us and it's all right for us to step through. I'm not sure of the level of your technology..." He stopped there and took in the ornate building he found himself in before nodding his head, as if to answer his own question. "I think we could help you to set up a similiar means of defense here."
"That would be most welcome," Telman assured him, nodding his head in agreement. "And we would want to give you a...code, so that we could open our gate to you, should you need or desire to return." He paused and averted his gaze to his hands. "We would like to become...friends."
Daniel fairly winced at the word. "Well...that's going to be a little difficult, at least for some." Jack in particular, he thought silently, although he didn't refer to him by name aloud. "And there are certain things you'd have to agree on, in principle, before we could form an alliance."
"Such as?" Rowan questioned. At this point, they would agree to just about anything.
"Well, for one, no more torturing prisoners," Daniel stated. "We have something on our world called the Geneva Convention and it outlines the treatment given to prisoners of war. Basically, it states that they're not to be tortured or treated inhumanely and that they're entitled to due process."
"What is this...due process?" Telman questioned, leaning forward in his seat and listening intently.
"Due process means that formal criminal charges must be brought against a detainee or they must be released," Daniel explained. "You can't just hold them indefinitely. And while they're in your custody, you must provide them with the basic necessities: food, water, medical care, personal care facilities, and things of that nature. It also means that anyone being interrogated or charged with a criminal offense must have access to legal counsel, by someone who is on their side or...becomes their advocate or voice, so to speak. And they're entitled to a fair trial." He looked at both men in turn before shaking his head. "You didn't offer Sam any of those things."
"We didn't know," Telman replied. "This was the only means we've had to defend ourselves and our people."
"I know that," Daniel assured him. "But we're here to help you learn a better way. One that will not only help your people, but will ensure that what happened to Sam never happens to anyone else."
"Even a Goa'uld?" Rowan questioned, raising a pair of surprised eyebrows.
"Even a Goa'uld," Daniel replied. "You see....a Goa'uld is merely a symbiote, infesting the body of its host. It's the host that feels the pain and is unable to stop it. Completely defenseless and utterly powerless. You were torturing someone who was already a victim."
Rowan and Telman met each other's gaze and shook their heads in unison.
"We'd never considered that," Rowan admitted at last. "We only saw them as the enemy. We never tried to understand them."
"I know," Daniel nodded. He could only wonder if Jack would understand.
......................
Jacob had accomplished what he could with the help of the healing device. He had mended all of his daughter's broken bones and various internal injuries, but the rest was up to time. Building up her strength would just be a matter of rest and proper nutrition. Repairing the psychological wounds would be a bigger battle. At least she was starting look better, as a little more color was returning to her cheeks and she no longer moaned softly in pain. "I've done all I can do, Jack," he stated quietly, placing the deactivated device back in its place.
"Thanks," Jack replied, returning to the side of the bed once more, now that Jacob was finished. He looked up as Rowan stepped into the room, carrying a basin of water and some cloths. He angrily averted his gaze from the man until he had left the items as well as the room. He had nothing to say to these monsters. "I can take over from here," he offered to Jacob, glancing up at him after the door had closed behind Rowan.
Jacob had started to protest, not wanting to leave his daughter, but he could tell, just from the way he was looking at Sam, that he wanted some time alone with her. Although neither Jack or Sam had ever told him of their mutual feelings for each other, he wasn't blind. He knew love when he saw it, no matter how well they might try to hide it. "I'll be right down the hall, if you need me," he offered, before taking his leave.
Jack moved around the bed to reach the bowl of water and dip a cloth into it. After wringing it free of the excess water, he returned to the side of Sam's bed and gently began to wash her face with it, smiling lightly when she opened her eyes at the contact. "Hi there. Feeling better?" When those large blue eyes looked up at him and she nodded her head, his smile widened. "You're going to be all right, Sam," he reassured her, bringing the cloth down to her cheeks and bathing them in a caressing motion. "I promise."
............................
End of Part V - Part VI is Coming Soon!!
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