For You
For You
by NG
Summary: How far will Jack and Sam be willing to go to save each other?
Category: Angst, Romance
Season: any Season
Pairing: Jack/Sam
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: adult themes, minor language, sexual situations, 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: 08/16/03
Chapter 1 - Before the end
It was a dark and gloomy night. The night that everything changed.
A man's voice boomed through the room, "Incoming signal sir..." and as if to emphasize what was to come he paused for while, "It is SG 1".
A blue fountain of scientific improbability tore through the gate room and everyone around would later swore that it was much bigger and louder than all the previous times witnessed in the history of the Stargate Program.
Two shadows came stumbling through the gate. A man's voice could be heard rumbling through the speakers, "Medical emergency, medics required in the gate room, medical emergency, medics required in the gate room".
People could be seen rushing to the side of the two very quiet figures sitting, half laying on the floor. Officially they have been reported missing in action for the last seven months, unofficially they were considered dead. Nobody has ever escaped from that place; nobody was ever expected to survive, 'HELL'.
Chapter 2 - The Beginning
It all started as a regular typical SG1 mission.
A planet was identified as a possible research site for SGC. A team had to be send to investigate.
SG1, elite team of SGC, elite pain-in-the-back for some of the other teams, was on down-time after a nasty week of having contracted a designed virus which caused them to appear invisible to all personnel except each other.
It was eventually Sam Carter, major in the military, second in command to Colonel O'Neill that discovered the solution in the form of entering the stargate on the reverse side that caused a dimensional shift to their essence in the space-time continuum.
They had started to work on everyone's' nerve at the base and nobody needed much persuasion to give them the go-ahead for what should have been a boring, maybe much deserving recon mission.
Doctor Daniel Jackson arrived late in the gateroom as usual. Jack O'Neil made a sarcastic joking remark as considered normal. Teal'c lifted his eyebrow as if to say, "Indeed". Sam, well Sam just gave him one of her 'meant for your eyes' shyish smiles and for all he cared life was perfect at that moment.
From a speaker General Hammond's voice could be heard "You have a go SG1". There was none of the usual, "...and come back safely". None was considered needed. SG1 would be gone and back before the end of that day.
The stargate was entered and all hell broke loose.
Chapter 3 - The Sentence
They walked through the stargate right into the mist of a nightmare. She could immediately determine that their wormhole was redirected from the supposed location and informed the Colonel immediately.
Teal'c and Daniel were nowhere in sight. All around them they could see a greenish shimmering, an indication of an electric field. A ghostly voice came drifting to them from the heavens, "Major Samantha Carter, Colonel Jack O'Neill, due to crimes committed against humanity you are hereby sentenced to life of eternal damnation".
And then as a sort of laughable referral to a past justice the voice added, "Does the accused have any last words to add".
Two pairs of confused and scared eyes met each other. Before they could formulate a response another voice interrupted, "As was agreed at the Commonality, these criminals will have no rights, they deserve no rights, they will gain no rights. Due to their actions and the actions of their children they caused the deaths and imprisonment of uncounted innocents - May God have no mercy on their souls".
A long wailing noise overshadowed the shouts and screams from invincible assailants and darkness turned to light. When they could focus again they were staring into multitudes of faces.
One of these faces came walking up to them and in a type of prophetic insight into the future introduced himself, "Welcome to the end of your sanity".
Chapter 4 - Month 1
It was cold, so very cold. She couldn't help leaning into the Colonel as they were led down the passage to what would be their permanent home, or should it be said jail.
Lustful eyes assaulted her from the darkness and he must have felt her fear because as if on cue his hand enwrapped hers.
"Carter...Sam, stay close"
Jack turned his eyes to her and gave a small comforting smile. He wanted to say more. He wanted to tell her everything would be fine, that everything was just a nightmare, a misunderstanding. But how can you give these meaningless words if your whole body screams otherwise.
Their companion suddenly stopped at a small flimsy tent-like structure.
"This will be your space"
His scared face contorted in what could only be interpreted as a grin, "There is only one rule in this place..." and as if to ensure their total attention his eyes slowly browsed from Jack to Sam and back "...everything counts".
The SGC base was in turmoil. Teal'c and Daniel returned an hour ago, exactly two hours after departure. They had no memory of what occurred while they were gone. The only evidence of any kind was before that when the iris opened unexpectedly by itself and a holographic image of the Major and Colonel was projected inside the departure room.
The projection then split in two. One consisted of the Major and Colonel being given a sentence for still undone actions, the other showed a horrific picture of earth. An earth dark and burning, it was then overlapped with additional footage of people, humans being tortured and killed. Children could be seen being removed from their parents just to be impaled by an unseen attacker off-screen. Spaceships of an unknown kind were showed demolishing entire cities to the ground.
The images disappeared and got replaced by a feminine voice. The voice was heard in every corner, every room, there wasn't a place on the base where it couldn't be heard.
"You saw the footage and heard the sentence. You will never find them again. Don't be tempted to try and rescue them because their prison is not of this time and place. My people don't condone death or violence and have therefore not demanded the justified execution of your Major and Colonel but in our lifetime we have discovered that there are certain living, breathing beings that can only be summed up as pure evil. It was decided eons ago that a special place must be build to host these things. This place was constructed by survivors of holocausts all over the galaxy and beyond. Once you get send there you never get to leave again".
The voice slowly fainted away but not before another last few words could be detected.
". ..and once you are there death will be considered a blessing".
Episode 5 - End of Innocence - Part 1
"SGC must have been the single most important endeavor in the history of mankind"
A elderly gentleman could be seen walking up to a screen, a disgusted impression running across his face.
"Oh for crying out load. Ss-a-a-m please explain to me one more time why I need to record this message"
A distinguish woman, a decade or two younger than her husband, appeared from behind the camera. Although she was already a couple of years beyond her prime, her natural beauty enlarged by the sheer brilliance shining from her eyes was still very much evident.
"Jack, you promised the Commonality you will address them at next month's anniversary and besides the kids are looking so much forward to visiting the headquarters and Dad again"
Her arms encircled his neck and even after all these years he could still get lost in the mind-blowing love radiating from her eyes. Even after so many years of marriage he can't help but to wonder each day what he did to deserve her.
Smiling seductively she brought her lips to his ear and purred, "Besides I just overheard our daughter telling Daniel that there isn't a child in her school that doesn't yet know about her dad, the war hero, who will be addressing the nation and beyond". Bringing her voice a tone lower she continued "...and you know how a certain war hero Colonel used to turn me on. He made me forgot about military etiquette and..."
Before she could continue for the unseen audience the screen burst into flames from a fist that was slammed full-force into it. The fist, unnaturally unharmed, slowly got removed from the remaining shatters. A woman, very much alike to the couple that was on the screen before, bent down next to the remains and, as if to ensure the total attention of long- dead parents she pushed her face closer until she could no more. Her words drowned in madness were so faint, so angelic; nobody would have recognized it as belonging to a murderer with the blood of thousands on her hands.
She knew she was special, that was what her mother always used to say. Her abilities, her gifts, her genetic inheritance can turn the impossible to implausible miracles. A few minutes ago her mind shouted in sheer joy at the sentence of her parents from before her time. Her spoken words gave an indication of the hatred that was flowing through her veins.
"Damn you. Damn you for being my parents. Damn you for having given birth to a freak like me. You prevented me from fulfilling my destiny and now you are paying the price. Now no-one in the past or future will ever remember your so-called heroics. You will suffer; that promise I'll give you today. I will ensure that no-one remembers what you did for humanity. Your names will be feared and despised across the planets; you will regret the day that you laid eyes on each other and most of all you will learn to hate the building love in your hearts for each other"
Chapter 6 - End of Innocence - Part 2
It was their fourth week of imprisonment.
After having tried to find any sort of authority, in order to appeal against their sentence, the Colonel gave up hope after a couple of days of no response from his fellow inmates and rather declared that maybe Sam should assist him in looking for a means of escape.
Full of typical Jack O' Neill confidence and hope he had dragged her from one wall and passage to another. After two weeks of intensive exploring they came to the bitter conclusion that there was no way of leaving since only solid sandstone wall could be detected incorporating their prison. There was also no technology of any kind in sight that would have enabled Sam to perform one of her scientific miracles.
That night in their tent there was none of the usual hopeful talks and dreams of potential possibilities. Instead they just stared discouraged into the white heart of the fire, each one too scared to admit to the other that they have lost the hope in their hearts of ever reaching earth and their friends again. The fact that there was no sign or word from the rest of their team or SGC didn't help either.
"At least Teal'c and Daniel must be ok since they weren't with us during the sentence", Jack couldn't help but mused.
"Sir?"
Sam lifted her head in a questioning glance to her superior.
"Sorry Carter, was just thinking allowed"
Moving a bit closer to the fire to prevent the cold from within and without of taking possession of his soul and mind, Jack couldn't help but stare at his second in command at the same time. Although they are given food each day, through small square cubicles attached to the wall on the inside of their tent, it wasn't enough to stop the growing thinness he can now clearly detect on her. He had tried a couple of times to pass some of his food to her but discovered that she can be just as stubborn as him. At each feeding hour she would refuse to start eating until he had taken a couple of bites first.
Feeding hour was once a day and consisted of tasteless porridge type pellets and about a half-litre of water, and every day during this hour the same arguments started all over again. He tried threatening her with court martial for disobeying a direct command from a superior officer but she would then retaliate by giving a typical science orientated argument about how they are technical not part of any military installation anymore due to unforeseen circumstances and therefore 'technical' she doesn't have to obey his every wish and command and besides they both have to keep up their strength if they ever wanted to leave that place alive.
"Yes Sir"
She answered in the only way her tired body could and wanted to reply in. She wanted to say so much more. She needed him to talk to her, to discuss what occurred during the hearing. Why were they here? What crimes did they commit against humanity? But it was as if an unseen wall was erected between them and on the wall there was a list of unwritten rules. They are allowed to discuss the prison setup, the next meal, who was going to keep guard that night but none of the other. Not once was it brought up that the sentence not only included their crimes but also the crimes of their children. Children meant that somewhere along the way destiny will bring them together. Somewhere in the future there will be no rules preventing them from admitting to feelings buried by years of military practice.
Somewhere in time they will be allowed to be just 'Jack and Sam'.
As time went along and weeks turned to months they started to fall into a routine. Evenings will be spend eating and taking turns at pretending to sleep and mornings and afternoons will be utilized communicating with fellow inmates in order to collect as much useful information as possible.
They had met families with small children that became very close friends and some days were therefore also spend assisting them and visa versa in improving the quality of their various living areas.
One night, a couple of months into their sentence a neighbor held a special celebration and Jack and Sam were invited to attend. Throughout the night local music, laughter and delight could be heard swimming throughout the night. It was a much needed antidote to the bleakness of existence which was acknowledged and appreciated by all parties involved. What the festive participants didn't know and couldn't see were three pairs of eyes staring from a distance, burning with anger.
It was the same gothic eyes which took note of Sam that first day and had been following her ever since. Building up a psychotic need to have her, to possess her, to see her scream in fear in pain and know that it was punishment for all the suffering she has caused the master.
The master's instruction was to make life miserable in hell and now wherever they looked neighbors were lending a helping hand to each other. The master's instruction was to made her biological creators suffer for having stopped Armageddon, but most of all she gave permission for her minions to express her hatred in whatever way deemed preferable and necessary.
The three pairs of eyes turned towards each other and an unmentioned reflection of future promises could be seen dancing from one pair of eyes to another.
Chapter 7 - End of Innocence - Part 3
"Carter, come on, come join the fun", Colonel O'Neill's voice could be heard shouting loudly above the noise of hundreds of drum-beating hands and voices vibrating in all sorts of music styles and native tongues throughout the makeshift celebration arena.
The Colonel was sitting around a table with about twenty locals playing a game of Shen'shy or roughly translated as 'the one that can drink the most native bear and stay awake the longest wins'. Since this drink was mostly made from a little bit of everything that could be found laying around there was no real telling of what the side effects will be, but as he was promised nothing worse than wakening the next morning with a horrendous headache Jack decided he might as well participate for the sake of being neighborly.
"Sorry Sir, but I prefer to keep my entrails intact". Walking up to the Colonel Sam couldn't help but give a small lopsided smile at seeing the childish delight radiating from her commanding officer. They have been imprisoned for the last five months and despite having suffered severely from the extreme elements, malnutrition and ever other virus creeping up on them periodically they were in a way content.
A couple of weeks ago Sam had come down with a bad case of influenza that caused her to become very sick and delirious and for a while everybody concluded that she won't live to see another day. One night out of despair for his major's life and a deep-seated longing to do something; Jack allowed his heart to lead him into doing the only thing he could think of. Laying down, without regard to the potential health risk, he wrapped his arms tightly around her middle and in golden-blonde hair he whispered gentle soothing words filled with tears and hopes that she will stay with him one more day. Jack begged with her to fight for life and not to leave him alone in this world after having lightened his soul for so many years. One day led to another and although dead eventually decided to pass Sam once again destiny stepped in and attached itself to their hearts.
Sam awoke one morning to find herself looking up at two dark pools of emotion drowned eyes. The Colonel said nothing except to trace his fingers slowly through her hair and across her face before placing a slow hesitant kiss on her lips. Words weren't spoken nor required. The rest of the morning they stayed enwrapped in each other's arms, grateful to be allowed this one moment in time of forgetting the existence of a Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill.
Forcing her thoughts back to the present Carter placed her hand upon Jack's. "Colonel, I think you have punished your liver enough for one night, maybe we should be heading home". Nodding his head in agreement Jack straightened and stretched himself until every muscle screamed for mercy.
After having said farewell and goodnight to Jack's fellow drink mates and thanking the hosts for the night's celebration Jack and Sam found themselves walking the couple of miles back home, each one's fingers slightly touching the other's.
Ever since they spent that day just holding each other a new dimension to their relationship developed. They were still major and colonel in actions and words but a touch here and a glance there indicated the debt of their emotional development towards one another.
Walking in silent meditation and due to every molecule in his body being obsessively aware of his female companion Jack didn't register the long spear appearing from nowhere until it was too late. A cruel excruciating pain enveloped his senses and instinctively his hands went up to investigate only to touch upon a hard metallic arrow's point wet with blood and sticking through his shoulder blade.
The pain only lasted for a while because when he turned to Sam he couldn't help but see reflected in her face the truth and danger of what just occurred and as darkness overlapped his thoughts a shadow of something heavy hitting Sam at the back of her head burned itself into his memory for life.
Sam slowly came awake to an excruciating pain at the back of her head. Memories of past and present shouts, screams, wails, blood came rushing to her with no regard to making sense and no regard for her state of mind.
As she tried to gather her bearings of where she was and where all the images of the past few months fitted inside her memory she also started to pick up the presence of three beings standing close at hand. It was the same presence she always picked up when a Ga'ould was close at hand and that was when the voice aroused.
"Good day mother of mine master. We've been eagerly awaiting this moment for some time. Mine master was made sad, yes oh yes so very sad by the betrayal of her parents and now the parents will pay. The parents will cry, the parents will beg, the parents will wish they're dead".
Chapter 8 - End of Innocence - Part 4
With a certainty of imminent doom Jack awoke from a nightmarish unconsciousness drenched in pain and fear. At first his eyes didn't and couldn't focus on his surroundings but when they finally did he wished for a second that it was different. His arms and legs were spread and chained tightly to a bloodstained wall at impossible angles. Besides the dried darkened blood stains all around he could also made out the sights and smells of intestines and body parts of all proportions and sizes smudged and draped over medical equipment in the room.
Turning his face away disgustedly his attention shifted back to his own predicament and looking over his body to determine the damage he was grateful to note that his shoulder's injury had stopped bleeding. The fact that he still had feeling in it also indicated that no important bodily function was affected.
A memory came rushing to him of a conversation he had a while ago with an elderly woman that lived right next to him and Sam. At that time nobody paid much attention to the woman's crazed warnings and predictions. She told of a great evil that lived within the walls of the prison. About three monstrous creatures that preyed on the innocent and helpless that had the unfortunate luck of passing their way. She gave warning, to all that dared to lend her their ears, that these beings were created by a master so powerful and strong that although she was born human she had long since evolved beyond normality. This master's evolution was also her downfall. Her mind became twisted and cruel. Her sole purpose in life was to destroy and kill in order to be known and feared throughout the universe as the master of destruction.
A panel to Jack's side slid open to reveal a long darkened passageway. Walking from the passageway the Colonel could see four shadows approaching slowly. As the shadows got closer they started to develop individual characteristics, Major Carter was seen being dragged bounded until she stood directly in front of him. As her eyes met the Colonel's he could see shock and worry playing across her face. He must have portrait the same emotions because she slowly nodded her head at him to indicate that despite her own appearance she wasn't serious hurt or injured in any way. Returning the gesture Jack started to take note of their abductors and an involuntary shiver ran down his spine.
The creatures appeared to have walked straight from a 1920's horror classic. On first glance they appeared humanoid but on closer inspection the horror of their creation became apparent. Each one had sickly yellow eyes framed with a long black mane. Tall skeleton frames were wrapped too tightly in white wrinkled skin. Clothing had the earth middle ages monk-typed signature embedded in every fibre. Long metallic green sleeves ended in clawed-like hands with dirt colored nails attached. But what was the most terrifying was the smell of mummified undead that surrounded them.
"S-o-o. whom and what are you suppose to be. Tales from the living dead?", Jack instinctively resorted back to his usual sarcastic way of dealing with a dire situation. Too late he noticed the warning in Sam's eyes. With a swift impossible fast move and against all laws of nature one of the creatures plugged his talons inside the Colonel's shoulder wound. Not being able to prevent a moan from escaping his lips Jack's face also turned an ash white as nails slashed and twisted inside his body before being removed again.
"Another word hew-man?" a question was directed to him. Not willing to give in and trying to put up a typical O'Neill bravado Jack continued by adding "Yeah, who's your hairstylist. I really must get one of those". That was his last words before darkness and pain tried to pull him back to unconsciousness.
Sam Carter has seen many horrors in her life but nothing compared to the terror she experienced at seeing her commanding officer being beaten senselessly. She could hear her own voice screaming and begging for mercy and could feel her body pushing against the restraints, looking for a release. Three pairs of eyes shot her way and the leader of the trio, who has addressed the Colonel before, held up his hand which caused the vicious attack to halt temporarily.
"Major Sam, are you asking us to spare this hew-man's life? Why you want to take away our fun. Why you want to stop us from hurting till soul joins death". He walked up to her and slowly started to undress her with his eyes while his hand, still wet with the blood that was spilled from Jack O'Neill's body, started to caress her body.
"How'll you convince me from following heart's desire, how'll you convince me from stopping pain".
And as if to ensure Sam's understanding of what is required, needed, wanted, desired his hands started unbuttoning her blouse while he whispered in her ear, "How far you be willing to go to save you're Colonel's life".
Chapter 9 - The Truth
General George Hammond was sitting at his desk staring blankly at the two personnel files of what must have been the best two officers any commanding officer could ever hope to command. Although he would never admit it officially he had always felt like a father figure to both of them and therefore a special place in his heart was reserved for Colonel Jack O'Neill and Major Samantha Carter.
With a tired sigh his mind started replying the day's proceedings. The morning started with SG4 and 7 accompanied by Daniel Jackson and Teal'c returning after another fruitless search for the two missing officers. Teal'c and Daniel wanted to go back through the gate immediately to start following up on another lead that they received, but one look at the fatigue and weariness that radiated from their whole being convinced the General to order them straight to their quarters for at least a couple hours of sleep.
Immediately after that he was called to his office to accept a priority call from the President of the United States whom told him in no uncertain terms that he regretted the lost of two such excellent officers and he tried to extend the order for as long as possible but it was time to move on. General Hammond was given a direct order that no manpower was to be wasted anymore on the search and that the two officers were to be declared missing in action. The General had begged and even threatened to resign a couple of times in order to try and persuade the President in allowing them to continue but at the end all was for nothing. Even his reminders of earth's debt to Jack and Sam for having put their lives on the line for so many years felt on death ears.
The worse part of it all was when he had to tell Teal'c and Daniel that they were to stand down and was no longer allowed to continue the search for their friends. The same arguments and more were given to him and he hated the fact that his years of military upbringing caused him to come down hard and appear uncaring. It was therefore of no surprise when only a couple of hours later on he was called away from his granddaughters' school concert, Teal'c and Daniel hacked into the security system which allowed them to open the iris and disappear through the stargate. What wasn't common knowledge 'yet' was the fact that a certain document with security codes just happened to appear in a certain archaeologist's locker.
Smiling sadly General Hammond closed his eyes in a silent prayer and prayed to God that he will get to see SG1 being returned safely.
She was happy, no that was the wrong word, she was ecstatic. Staring at the screen in front of her Danelle O'Neill, or Dannie as she was known to her family, couldn't believe that after two years of dreaming and plotting she was finally going to have her day of vengeance.
Giving a loud happy shriek she started dancing and spinning in wild circles until her eyes landed on an old framed picture of her parents hanging from a wall, a reminder to keep her on the holy path of death and destruction. The photo was taken the day of their wedding. Her father was in his full- dress military uniform, newly received General insignia clearly visible. His arms were wrapped proudly around his new wife's middle and a small smile could be seen playing across his face. Her mother was in a plain but beautiful white bridal dress with flowers adorning her hair. Jack must have made a joke because Sam was seen laughing, bended slightly over, happiness shining from every fibre of her body.
Tracing her finger over the picture Dannie hated the way it made her confused every time she stared at it. It was two years since she last saw them. It was two years since her parents stopped her from completing her master plan and died in the process. Why couldn't they understand her destiny? Why couldn't they accept her for what she was?
A part of the darkness behind Danelle started to shimmer, the shimmer started to turn to light and the light slowly faded away until a handsome young man could be seen staring with sad eyes at Jack and Sam's only daughter.
Despite everything that has occurred she was still a part of him and therefore his responsibility.
Since both his sister and his ascension he had tried to follow the ways and teachings of the Ancients, to observe but not to interfere but this was something he couldn't just ignore. She was his blood, she was his sister. She had to be stopped, even if it meant giving his own life in the process.
She had to know the truth of her existence.
"How far you be willing to go to save you're Colonel's life". Through pain induced darkness Colonel O'Neill could make out his torturer addressing Sam. Forcing himself to lift his head he saw a scene right from his worst nightmare.
Shock registered through Jack's body when he saw Sam, without hesitation, nodding her head slightly at the leader and allowing herself to be lead back through the tunnel. "Sam, no..." he had to stop her but his lips were cut and swollen and no words wanted to reach the air except a small whisper. She must have heard or felt his despair because she turned her head and two pair of eyes met each other. Tears could be seen forming in her eyes and an emotion flickered past them begging Jack to understand that she couldn't let him die; she was willing to give up her life, her body and her soul if it will mean his survival.
"Sam, please don't..." his lips tried to form the words to get her to stop but with determination in her heart she turned her back on Jack and started walking away.
"Major, don't...I am giving you a direct ORDER!" with his last strength Jack screamed at her, his whole voice begging her to come back to him. He would rather die knowing she will survive, but what was written as destiny can't be changed and Jack had no choice but to bear witness to an end of innocence for both him and Sam's future.
Chapter 10 - Sam
"Shhhhhhh, don't move, you are ok now, you're save"
"What happened to him?"
"They took her, left him for dead"
"He shouldn't be alive"
"Fractured ribs...broken bones...might lose sight in left eye"
"Healer tried to help but injuries severe"
Jack could hear the words breaking through his unconsciousness but his sanity begged him to fell back into the peaceful darkness of before.
"He's coming around"
"Found by scavengers outside the tunnel"
"Wrists bloodied...broken ...must have used force to break loose"
"Refused help... fought his rescuers...demanded to be let go"
"Made no sense...cried about following the shadows before collapsing"
Reluctant eyes opened to numerous faces but none belonged to her. For a moment he couldn't understand why she wasn't there at his side as usual, but it only lasted a moment before memories came rushing back through his mind.
"Be quiet, he's trying to say something"
An oppressive silence followed and then one voice could be heard whispering, angst and pain clearly audible in the only word uttered -
"Sam!"
Sam was sitting hurdled against the wall, arms hugging knees, head leaning slightly back against the cold and wetness of the stone behind her. A small silent tear could be seen sliding down her cheek.
Her eyes were dead, her soul poisoned, her mind twisted full of hate and loafing. Clothes were torn and barely covered her punished body; nails were bloodied and broken, her face and arms were colored in bruises.
She lost tract of time, it might have been days or it might have been weeks, all she knew was that they came twice for her since that first time. She tried to escape; three times she used all she had against them and every time her hope was beaten down and destroyed.
A key rattled with a loud ominous sound in the lock of her cell door and then light slowly started to invade the darkness of her prison.
"No. Please. Not again"
As skeleton hands reached out and started to drag Sam through the door she couldn't help but attempt to try and beg for mercy although she knew from experience that there would be none.
As silence transfixed once again on the surroundings mere minutes past before a terrified female voice could be heard screaming one single word -
"J-a-a-a-c-k!!!!!"
He could feel their pain and suffering screaming through time and space. For a moment he closed his eyes and allowed himself to be at the side of his parents hoping that in some small way his presence, although unseen, would be able to ease their suffering a little bit.
"Danelle, this has to stop"
She must have been aware of her brother's presence the whole time because when she turned around to face him, he couldn't detect any surprise registering on her face.
"So, baby brother, you finally decided to come and join the party"
She gave him a small lopsided smile and walked towards him until they stood face to face. Her hands gentle reached out to touch his face and, in the same familiar manner as when they were small children, she tucked the blonde curls behind his ears. He tried to say something but she shook her head slowly and one finger touched his lips to prevent words from leaving his mouth.
"I know why you are here my dear brother. You don't need to worry; I don't intent to kill them, only to hurt them - a lot. They always told me how special I was to them, that I was meant for greatness but when I finally decided to embraced that destiny, to rule the Earth and finally the whole Commonality they had the audacity to interfere!"
Her last sentence was basically shouted out. Her ice-blue eyes met her brother's brown ones dead-one, daring him to try and stop her from having her revenge, but never in her life could she have foreseen what he had to say next:
"You don't understand, Danelle. Even if I wanted to I couldn't stop what has occurred already. What you have done, what is currently happening has already been written in the history of time. The reason why I am here is to finally tell you the truth of your existence which hopefully will convince you to end all of this madness yourself".
With tear-filled eyes he took a deep breath in order to gain confidence for what was to follow,
"Life is an everlasting circle where everything happens for a reason. The reason why our parents loved you so much, the reason why it sometimes appeared as if you were their favorite was because of the nobility of their hearts. Despite everything that our mother had to go through, is currently going through, she refused to have an abortion. Her believe in life was that children, no matter how they came to be, shouldn't be punished for the sins of their fathers".
Removing his sister's hands from his face he prepared himself for what he knew would be a terrible blow to her already fragile mentality,
"You see sis, Jack O'Neill isn't your biological father"
Chapter 11 - Jack
Daniel Jackson walked impatiently up and down in the room that he and Teal'c were renting. It had been weeks since they went AWOL from the SGC and until now they'd had no luck in determining the fate and location of their friends.
Teal'c had left earlier on to go and meet up with a local contact and Daniel couldn't help but feel excited and worried at the same time.
A few days ago they'd had the good fortune to stumble upon a local legend about a woman who was known to be roaming in that sector of space. Apparently she was just as beautiful as she was deadly and it was believed that she possessed great power. She was also quite mad and took immense pleasure in inflicting the most horrendous pain on any poor soul that had the misfortunate to cross her path. To ensure a place where she could continue her work uninterrupted she created a prison world on a barren planet and sent all of her victims there. There they would be tortured and killed by her minions as entertainment for her. Nobody was ever able to escape from that prison since she had ensured that her world existed in a vacuum outside of normal space and time.
Normally a tale like that wouldn't have sparked more than a passing curiosity from either Teal'c or Daniel but that was until they were shown a painted portrait of what was believed to be the image of this woman. Aside from the coal dark hair and brown eyes the similarities in appearance between her and Major Carter were astonishing. The artist claimed to have been the only person that was ever allowed to leave that hellish dimension.
Apparently the woman took a liking to the fact that he used to be a host for one of the more violent system lords in the region. A freak accident had caused the Goa'uld inside him to merge with the human host body which had resulted in the creation of a hybrid being with a combined mind and personality which acted as one. The woman decided to harvest his genes, which she then combined with her own to create a trio of extremely powerful minions, and in a twisted sort of gratitude she allowed him to leave her prison world unharmed.
The old man also stated that recently some of the local freighter pilots had been telling him about a ghost-planet that started to appear and disappear on some of their routes. It was his belief that this planet was the woman's prison world and for some reason she has begun to lose her ability to hide its existence from this dimension. By request from Teal'c the old man agreed to take him to one of the pilots who might be willing to take them to the last place the planet was reported as having been seen.
Daniel had instead returned to their room at Teal'c's request. The argument was that if something should happen to the Jaffa then at least one member of the team would be able to continue with the mission, but both of them knew that it was in actual fact a matter of the archaeologist's growing inability to control his temper. On two previous occasions Teal'c had had to physically drag him off of their contacts after he got impatient with having to try and beg for assistance and had decided to let his fists do all the talking for him. Although Teal'c could sympathise with the younger man's feelings he informed him in no uncertain terms that until he could learn to control himself it was preferable that he stayed out of any situation that may tempt him to lose his anger again.
"Daniel Jackson, it is I"
After a nerve-shattering three hour wait Daniel felt like fainting at hearing his friend's voice sounding from behind the locked door to the room. Upon opening he only needed to give his friend one look to realise that something important had been uncovered.
"Well, are you going to spit it out or not?" Out of desperation Daniel couldn't help but pull a Jack O'Neill on him.
Sitting down on the nearest bed Teal'c just raised his eyebrow at the younger man's irritation and as a sort of payback he waited a full minute before he started to describe the events of his meeting.
"I was indeed successful Daniel Jackson. The pilot agreed to grant us passage on his vessel and the use of one of his shuttles once we reached the general location of the planet".
Teal'c suddenly became very quiet and Daniel could swear his normally stoic expression had turned a shade worse.
"Teal'c, what's wrong?"
Turning his head slightly away Daniel had to strain to hear his friend's next few words -
"The old man remembered something else about the woman. Apparently one day he saw a picture of a couple hanging on the wall, and when he inquired as to whether they were people close to her she became furious. She started to scream at him telling him that they were her parents and that they would pay for what they had done to her, Danelle O'Neill. I was quite shocked at the name, and showed him a photo of the Colonel and Major, not really willing to believe that there could be a link".
Teal'c fell silent and a long pause followed, but before it could become unbearable he continued his report.
"He was in no doubt, Daniel Jackson. He was adamant that they were the couple he had seen that day"
"Ready? On my mark we will split up into teams as was discussed. Team one will attack the front gate and serve as a distraction. Team two will attack the side entrances and once successful they will split up in four teams to start searching the tunnels for Sam. Whoever finds her first will have the sole responsibility of protecting her and ensuring she gets taken to safety immediately."
Colonel Jack O'Neill looked over the men assembled before him and couldn't help but feel a well of gratitude that they had all volunteered to assist him in the search and rescue of Major Carter.
He was told by one of them that it was his miraculous recovery from his injuries and his refusal to give up on her that had inspired a lot of them into following him.
"Sam, just hold on a little while longer for me"
Although he wasn't religious Jack couldn't help but hope and pray that she would be safe until he was able to get to her. His mind kept on replaying the events of that fateful day and for a few seconds he would feel an all-powerful urge to hate her for having made such a decision on his behalf. Every night his nightmares would spin images of Sam in danger and he would wake up screaming drenched in his own fear and sweat.
After more than a month of intense searching they finally discovered the hiding place of her abductors. All of his men were standing in front of the building, ready to give up their lives to defeat the three monsters that had tortured and killed their friends and family for such a long time.
"C-c-h-a-r-ge!"
The battle was long and hard. Automatic Goa'uld weapons of various designs were used against them and a lot of good men died in the process, but in the long run they were able to overrun the defence systems and found themselves finally within the building in search for any signs of life.
As team two made their way through the tunnels, with Jack O'Neill in front, they stumbled upon cell after cell with humanoid survivors or remains in them. Jack kept on rushing past all the scenes of death and destruction looking for that one person whose name was written on his heart.
Then, as if fate finally decided to play along his eyes fell upon a body curled up in a corner of a cell. At first he mistook it for yet another victim and wanted to continue past, but that was until the body stirred slightly and he could see a tiny shaft of light shining on some blonde hair.
Chapter 12 - Why
Jack didn't call for the rest of his troops. Neither did he wait for the necessary equipment to arrive to break down the door. Deep inside he felt a deep dread for what might await him on the other side, and he suddenly knew that whatever happened to Sam she wouldn't want anybody but himself to be there at her side.
It took him only a minute to break through the cell's door with the hand- made weapon in his possession and only a second to cover the space between the entrance and where she was laying in the corner.
"No, please don't"
A soft pain-filled moan escaped Sam's lips as she registered Jack's hands slowly and gently working across her body to investigate the extent of her injuries.
"Shhhhhhhh. It's only me, Jack. You're safe now, but I have to find out whether I can take you out of here without doing you any more harm"
She didn't register the speaker or the words but the voice was familiar to her, and the emotional tenderness in it reached through her semi-conscious state to give her a certain degree of tranquillity.
As he saw her finally calming down Jack couldn't help but feeling nausea and bile pushing for a release inside his throat. Although he was no medical doctor he had no doubt about what had happened to the woman in front of him. In a moment of rage and hatred at the injustice of the world around him he allowed his fist to connect with severe force into the wall next to him.
"Dammit! Why her? WHY HER!"
It was only the sight of blood dripping from the wounds on his knuckles that finally brought him back to reality and the fact that he was needed in the present.
Firmly but carefully he lifted Sam in his arms and started walking with her to safety. With an ache in his heart he made a silent promise to himself that whatever the future might hold he wouldn't let her face it alone.
"I am so sorry, we looked all over but there's no sign of any of the creatures or of any exit out of here"
An elderly man, friend and second-in-command to Jack, stood silently to attention awaiting his next orders. He hated the fact that he was the bringer of bad news, but out of respect and sympathy for his leader and his current circumstances he had insisted on being the only one at all times to enter his friend's home.
Jack was seen sitting in one corner of the tent with his hand resting lightly upon a small figure that lay curled up next to him. He stood up and indicated to his friend that they needed to talk outside and a gentle "I'll be right back," was directed at the other occupant of the tent.
Once outside the Colonel couldn't help but collapse against a pillar, tiredness evident in every part of his body.
"How is she?" The elderly man moved over to Jack and placed one hand on his shoulder in emotional support.
It had now been almost three weeks since the rescue of Major Carter and nobody knew more than him about the turmoil in his leader's soul.
"I don't know Michael. On the surface everything appears fine. Her injuries have started to heal nicely, she has started eating again and..."
"But that is wonderful news O'Neill. It means that she is busy recovering," Michael interrupted.
"Is it? You don't understand. Sam has put this wall up around her and I don't know how to get through to her. Each night she wakes up screaming in fear only to pretend afterwards that it was nothing. She refuses to talk about what happened and no matter how hard I try I can't seem to convince her to stop trying to put on a brave face on my behalf." He paused. " There's something else."
Jack looked at his friend and for a second he wondered whether he should inform him of his suspicions, but on the other hand he knew that he desperately needed to talk to somebody. He was on the verge of an emotional breakdown, which he couldn't afford right now. He had to be strong, not just for Sam but also for the population in the prison that now depended on him for leadership and direction.
"Sam has been very sick ever since we found her and it has worsened these last few days, especially last night. When you entered our tent just a few minutes ago she was just about to fall asleep after a whole night of feeling nauseous and throwing up. But that's not all, and I think she suspects it too. During the night I left the tent for a little while and when I returned I caught her looking at her reflection in the mirror you made for us last week. Her top was slightly lifted and it looked like her other hand was busy moving slowly across her stomach. What shocked me was the fact that her stomach showed a slight bulge in it. I'm no doctor but I was a father before, and there is no mistaking it. Her body is showing the first signs of pregnancy."
Chapter 13 - Before the Beginning
When the Colonel and Michael left the tent Sam couldn't help but follow. Whilst they were talking she stood only a metre away from them, just inside the entrance to the tent. A worn blanket had been used as a doorway but it was thin enough for her to overhear every single word.
Her knuckles turned white and small blood droplets fell from her clenched fists where her nails bit into her bare skin. She was a fighter and a survivor, had been her whole life, but the problem was that she had no idea how to deal with what had happened to her. At every worried word, glance and touch she would turn her back on him and pretend as if everything was fine, although every cell in her body screamed otherwise. Her best emotional defence at that moment, her only way of staying sane, was to put up a wall between herself and the world around her, to act like she was indifferent to what happened. She just wished that Jack could understand that, could accept and leave her alone until such a time as she was willing and able to accept his support and his presence in her life again.
When the word pregnancy fell upon her ears her whole body flinched. She didn't realise that he had seen her. Up until a week ago she hadn't paid much attention to her physical condition. Instead she focussed all of her energy firstly on staying alive during her capture, and then afterwards to get through the days one by one. Maybe she just didn't want to acknowledge the changes she could feel and detect in her body, but eventually she had no choice but to confront the horrifying truth of what was happening to her.
Somewhere else in the prison, within sight of the tent belonging to Jack and Sam, the walls started to morph. Before they were a sickly brown but now a kaleidoscope of colors could be seen playing across them. Slowly the silhouette of two figures locked in warfare started to develop until they turned into two solid beings.
As the people around became aware of the change in their surroundings and the danger that this phenomenon might hold they couldn't help but crush against each other in their haste to try and escape the ever expanding radiation being emitted from it.
Where sweet silence had previously been heard a deafening noise had taken its place. It was then replaced by the sound of the two beings addressing each other.
"Danelle, I won't allow you to continue this insanity. Didn't you hear a word I said?"
"I heard you clearly my dear brother. Jack O'Neill isn't my father, my children are. If that is the case then I am a god. You hear me dear brother - I am a god! I will kill my supposed father now and maybe even that poor excuse of a mother. Since I am a god I won't need to worry about my existence. Being a god I will just order the universe to ensure my own continuation."
The two siblings stood opposite each other with hands outstretched and raw energy crackled from one pair of finger tips to the other. The energy then became one gigantic bubble for each of them. The only thing that the onlookers could see was the two bubbles pushing against one another for victory.
"Creatures like us with the power to destroy entire worlds shouldn't exist, the universe isn't yet ready to endure us. For the first time in my life I have absolute clarity of what is expected of me. I will make the universe a better place by ending our existence for good."
"Talk. Talk. Talk. That is all you were ever good at. Ever since we were small children you loved to talk but never had the guts to follow through. You think you can kill me brother? Don't make me laugh. Once I'm finished with you you'll wish you were dead."
On and on the battering went until eventually one of the energy bubbles grew in size so that it overlapped the other one. It morphed into one gigantic bubble which kept growing in size and intensity before collapsing in on itself.
As the last energy residue evaporated a lone figure stood in its place. To the horror of the onlookers it started approaching a man and woman who had left their home a while ago to witness the commotion. The man was seen standing in front of his companion trying to protect her from whatever was to follow.
As the figure reached them it fell to its knees and started talking,
"Mom. Dad. We are now the combined souls of your children and don't have long before death will come for us. We were lost for such a long time. Our hearts were caught in a place of extreme darkness but now we have found the light again. Mom, please forgive us for what was done to you and accept our gift of salvation for the innocent child you are carrying. We can't change the ugliness of our past crimes but we can ensure a better future."
The entity raised its finger to Sam's abdomen and started reciting a verse.
"Whoever you are, I am. Wherever you go, I am. Whatever you do, I am. I am you and you are me. Separate we can't exist but together we shall now unite to become one."
Before anybody could react a blinding flash radiated from the entity to Sam. When everybody was able to see again the entity had disappeared, along with any signs of the people known as Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter.
They spiralled down a dark tunnel with no idea of where they were heading. Around them images from the past few months played out in no particular chronological order.
Colors and sounds assaulted their eyes and ears but before it became unbearable the tunnel faded away to reveal them standing in a big luxurious room.
The walls were painted a soft, calming light blue. Mirrors and landscape paintings of different sizes framed in hand-crafted oak decorated the walls which made it impossible to calculate the exact size of the room. A gigantic chandelier was seen hanging from the ceiling. Plush sofas and chairs were placed all over the room with no regard for any order. Overall everything worked together to create a scene of utmost tranquillity, a place where one can sit down and relax with friends, family and colleagues in calmness and relaxation.
A door opened on the furthest side of the room and a young woman in her mid- thirties entered. She was dressed in a plain white one-piece jumpsuit, which emphasized the perfect build of her slender body and also served quite well to bring her natural beauty to the foreground. Long, curly raven-black hair framed a delicate small, oval face. Her skin was creamy and smooth as silk. But her most beguiling feature was her eyes - the doorway to her soul. They were dark blue in colour with powerful emotions raging through them; a combination of love, worry, care and much much more.
With arms outstretched she walked towards Sam and Jack and hugged each of them separately.
"Mom, Dad - Welcome! My name is Danelle O'Neill but you can call me Dannie"
Seconds passed into minutes. Minutes passed into an hour without any words being spoken.
Dannie sat in her chair quietly and tolerantly, allowing her parents the necessary time to come to terms with actually seeing her.
They were both sitting across from her on one of the sofas. Jack sat very close to Sam and had one of her hands held tightly between both of his. His eyes darted between the two women in the room and his face expressed the multitudes of emotions he was feeling at that moment. Sam's gaze was shifted downwards and now and again a small shiver ran through her body.
It was eventually Jack that broke the silence with a soft whisper. "I think it is time you explained yourself"
Dannie nodded and gave a small reassuring smile which was only barely able to hide the sadness and pain she felt at what she was about to admit to.
"I will start from the beginning. Some of what I am about to say you may know already"
Dannie paused for a while and tilted her head as if she was listening to voices only she could hear. In her mind the voices of her kin, two siblings from another time and space, were addressing her. They were calming and soothing her nerves and fears, telling her to only be herself, to be honest and sincere, and to portray to the two most important people in her life the depth of her love and commitment to them.
She stood up, walked to where her parents were and sat down cross-legged right in front of them. She took Sam's free hand into her own and took a deep breath before continuing.
"I am sorry. I am so sorry for what has happened. The woman and man that were fighting each other just a few minutes ago were your son and daughter from what could have been your future. The son was the younger of the two; he was the biological son of both of you. Mom, the daughter was an example of what your unborn child could have turned into, what I could have turned into. She was the reason that both of you were sent to that hellhole.
When your children reached their late teenage years they started to develop powers and abilities beyond the scope of what is considered normal human development, and after a couple of years those powers started to become dangerous to the people around them. Out of concern and fear for their sanity and safety, and whether humanity was willing to accept people like them, you approached the Ancients with a plea for help and assistance.
The Ancients agreed but on one condition; that they take over the total care of the children, which you agreed to. It went well for a couple of years and eventually the siblings were allowed to ascend to the ranks of the Ancients.
The problem was that your daughter became resentful with everything in her life. Her mind became twisted and corrupt. She became convinced of her own omnipresence and her superiority above all other human beings. She wanted to rule the universe and started off by causing an Armageddon on earth. With the help of the Ancients you were able to resist and overpower her but lost your lives in the process. The Ancients banished your daughter to a space beyond time but after two years she was able to break free and her main goal in life was to swear revenge against you. Her revenge came in the way of twisting time and evidence to ensure that you were blamed for what she did on earth, which resulted in you being sent to the prison world."
Dannie paused again to look first at her mother and then at the man she had always considered a father. Tears filled her eyes as she recalled the pain her alternative self had caused, not just to these people in front of her but also to so many other innocent beings.
"I won't go over what you had to endure in that place but would rather skip to what happened in the end. The brother knew that he could not defeat nor kill his sister, so instead he did the only thing possible to stop her madness - he merged with his sister to become a new being who had the best qualities of both of them. This new being realised that the only way to stop time from repeating itself was to plant its genetic information and memories into the unborn child that is currently being carried by you, Mom.
That child has and will eventually grow up to become me. I believe that imprinted genetic information and memories enabled me to become the person I am today. A person that has tried her whole life to make up for what was done in her name before. This leads us to the reason I brought you here. Due to the horrendous crimes which I committed I am throwing myself at your mercy. You must decide whether I am allowed to live or whether I must die.
Teal'c and Daniel Jackson are currently waiting in a shuttle on the outskirts of the prison ready to take you home, no matter what you decide on today"
Chapter 14 - Epilogue
"Mommy. Daddy. Look at me!"
A small family of three was seen picnicking near a beautiful lake. The mother was very protective of the beautiful little dark haired girl that was doing a little dance routine for her parents. Dannie was her only child since she and her husband had decided together to have no more children. Instead they were spending their time and energy on the wonderful little girl that would one day became an important leader for humanity, and who would ensure the creation of a commonality of planets living in peace and harmony with each other.
Pulling her thoughts back to reality Sam looked first at her husband and then at her daughter. She couldn't help but feel content and happy that they were in her life. Despite all the hardships that she had been forced to endure she knew that no matter what the future held, this time round everything would be different.
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