Moments of Clarity
by Nic (stardestiny@bigfoot.com)
14 August 2000



"Tell me, please, the last thing you remember...."

It was a gentle voice which Sam first heard, comforting her,
caressing her through the endless sleep that was everything.  "What
I remember?" she said, or at least, she tried to speak, she wasn't
yet aware if her mind was fully connected to her vocal cords.

"The last thing you remember, yes," soothed the voice.  It wasn't
threatening in the least, it made Sam feel safe and she wanted to
tell him everything.  This voice, it was her only anchor to reality
from the darkness through which she floated.  She wondered who she
was.  She knew her name at least, it was Samantha, and she had been
someone...important...doing something...important.

What did she remember?  The question had her thoroughly confused. 
She'd been in the dark abyss for so long that this state seemed
natural, it was her life and anything else was unthinkable. 
Everything was fine in this world, she was sheltered, and it was so
much safer to be asleep than to wake up.  To open her eyes was
unthinkable, not with what she knew...

"Tell me," he said and for the first time, she felt something, a
physical touch.  A hand on her arm when she'd almost forgotten that
she had an arm.  An arm that was intact, not like the rest of her,
she remembered that much at least.

All too soon, the fragment of memory was gone, leaving Sam with the
unshakeable sensation that it was partially a miracle that she was
even alive after what she'd been through.  "I want to help you,
really, I do," continued the voice, "but I can't if you don't help
me.  If you don't tell me the truth then they will kill you.  Kill
you!"  There was a sense of urgency in his words.  "You tell me." 
Again, the insistence and Sam clung to the voice, suddenly
understanding it was the only thing tying her to reality.

She opened her mouth - that much control she had - but her eyes
refused to open and when she did begin to speak, her voice was so
foreign to her ears that she did not recognise it.  "I - we - the
-" and she had been about to say "Stargatte" before she remembered
that she wasn't supposed to talk to anyone about that particular
thing.  "I know Daniel," she croaked, knowing it was a safe name
and as she said it.  His image suddenly popped into her mind and
Sam realised that yes, she did remember this person.  He was
someone dear to her and they were bound together in a way that no
one could ever understand.  It was something to do with the
Stargate, and something to do with blood and pain....

"Daniel, yes, yes, where is Daniel?" asked the voice.  
"He's gone," Sam replied, simply, knowing it was the truth. 
Another flash of memory assaulted her and with it came excruciating
pain.  She moaned and then everything very simply faded to black
again.

*

Sam was six when she fell off the go-cart and broke her wrist.  The
colours of that afternoon were so vivid in her mind - the green of
the grass, the bright red shirt of her friend Jim who had insisted
it was perfectly safe to careen down the hill, the blue of the sky
that she stared at as she lay in a broken pile at the bottom, too
stunned to even cry.  The wind had been knocked from Sam's body and
she couldn't breathe, she just lay there, unable to believe that
the cart had tipped, unable to accept that her body was
indestructible.  

There was nothing she could do, she couldn't get up, not even when
she heard Jim yelling at her to say something.   Only when her
father arrived did the world begin to move again.  He carefully
checked her over and then lifted her into his arms and despite the
pain in her wrist and the tears now flowing down her cheeks, Sam
knew that she was safe because *he* was there.  Her father would
always protect her.  He took her to the hospital and held her other
hand while her wrist was cast, then dried her tears and took her
home.

With the certainty of a six year old, Sam understood that he might
be away sometimes, but had always come when she needed him.  Sam
would be safe as long as her father was there.  

Where was he now?

* 

"No, no, no, she is too weak to wake yet!"  It was the same voice
as last time; Sam recognised it instantly and clung to the
knowledge that she knew something about herself.  So much was gone,
she knew there were holes in her mind, fragments of memory, things
she dared not yet put together.  

"She has been here six weeks already.  Far too long if she is
useless to us."

"Not useless," and Sam could hear someone shuffling some papers. 
"See here, yes, she was important, she knew about the Stargate!" 
The voice was filled with awe and respect.  "Help you, she can, but
she must recover first."  

There were more strange noises, perhaps heavy footsteps and Sam lay
as silently as she could, desperately trying to control her
breathing and give the illusion of sleep, or unconsciousness,
whichever state she had been in.  Six weeks!  It wasn't possible. 
 Had she truly been lying here since - since entering the Stargate
for P3X 169 with her friends?  No, there was more than that, she
should know why she couldn't move and why her entire body felt
numb, as if it was either encased in plaster or drugged beyond
feeling.  

There was a dull thud of flesh hitting flesh, and a whimper from
the owner of the only kind voice Sam knew.  "You will ensure she is
ready to speak the next time my Lord comes, or you will both suffer
the consequences of your ineptitude as a healer.  I need not remind
you of the precariousness of your position."

A subdued, "Yes, master," was the only response she heard before
the frightening footsteps strode away.

"You are awake, yes?" said the voice.

Sam tensed, but sensed that he wouldn't speak unless he knew they
were alone and it was safe.  "Yes," she finally managed, her throat
as sore as ever, but she was determined to get some answers this
time.  More memories were returning, of the Stargate program, of
Colonel O'Neill, Teal'c and of course Daniel and she wondered why
she remembered him first.  Was he part of the missing memory?  Her
eyes itched and Sam tried to lift a hand to scratch them but there
was no response.

"Where am I?" she finally asked, as she continued her struggle to
open her eyes.

"Safe for now," came the quick response.  "Yes, safe, I am your
guardian.  Okay?"

"Who are you?"  Sam's strength was returning and she managed that
sentence with barely a quaver.

"Your friend, your guardian, your protector.  Say it!"

"You are my -"  Sam wanted to say 'guardian', but didn't think she
could manage it.  "Friend," she granted.  "Please, where am I?"  A
cough.  "How did I get here?"

"I brought you here," he said proudly.  "Little Dr. Martin, they
all thought he would get trampled by the Goa'uld invaders, but no,
no, look at me now!  I help them and they will reward me!"

"Doctor?"  Of what?, she wondered sarcastically, severely
unimpressed with his manner.  He seemed kind enough, sympathetic,
but Sam recognised imbalance when she heard it and as a result, she
could not trust him.  

"Yes, yes, doctor.  I am the one who fixed you."  He paused. 
"Poor, poor lady, coming in so beaten like that.  You are lucky I
found you and told them that you were important, otherwise..." 
Martin gave a little sigh.  "Out with the trash, just like all the
rest.  Plop!"   Sam could tell he was walking around her bed, and
jumped at the distinct vibration from him tapping on the lower part
of her body somewhere.  "You felt that, yes?"

She wanted to nod but had to answer verbally instead.  "Yes."

"Good, good, you are getting better.  If the infection does not
come then maybe you will walk again."

Maybe walk?  A thread of fear shot through Sam - it was all very
well to be lying here in a drugged out state without being fully
aware of her injuries, but to know she would have to fight to be
well - if she was crippled, how could she ever continue in the
Stargate program?  She was fairly sure General Hammond wouldn't let
her gate in a wheelchair.  Another memory, she realised.  General
Hammond.  Fragments were  beginning to come back to her.  

"You must tell me what you remember," whispered Martin and she
could feel his hot breath on her cheek.  "Then I tell you what to
say, the Goa'uld are happy, I am happy, and you are safe.  Okay?"

"No," Sam countered.  She wasn't going to admit that she didn't
remember, and she needed to know where she was before she gave
anything away.  "Dr. Martin, you said you are my friend.  If you
mean that then tell me where I am, tell me how you brought me here. 
Please..."  By now Sam knew she was begging and part of her felt
revolted at having to play the part of a simpering, helpless woman
but there was nothing else she could do.

"Found you by the flat mountain, I did," Martin revealed.  "It was
the next day after they came, and you were in the hurt people tent,
I was a doctor, you know, and I could help the humans who didn't
have worms to help them."  He shuddered, Sam could tell because he
was still touching her face, and then resumed his pacing.  "You
were going to die but I said, Look!  This lady here is important,
we should take her to a hospital!  So we did.  

"You were my good luck charm because I got to help you come here. 
You nearly died, two times, I think, or was it three?"  He paused
and Sam could hear him counting on his fingers.  "Three it was,
because I had to drive and look after you at the same time and my
lord watched me the whole trip and it was two times on the first
day and one on the next and after that you were okay...

"I'm very glad you're okay," he continued.  "Such a pretty lady,
but, oh, such bruises!"

"Can I - can I see them?" Sam asked, fighting to keep her voice
steady.  "My bruises?"  She needed to confront the truth as soon as
possible and maybe physical evidence would return the memory.

"No, no, no, not today.  Maybe tomorrow you will open your eyes. 
Be healed, they should, but we leave them one more day to be sure,
okay?"

Sam didn't answer because the sweet song of unconscious sleep was
pulling her back down again.  

*

"What the hell?" was all Colonel Jack O'Neill managed to get out
before a blast ripped over his shoulder and he shoved Sam to the
ground while aiming his own weapon and returning fire.  It was
chaos, it was the unthinkable disaster.  The Gateroom was filled
with Jaffa with murder in their eyes.  

By this time Sam had managed to get her own weapon out and firing
from her lower position, she felt marginally safer than the colonel
who had inexplicably turned his back on the invaders.  The reason
became obvious only moments later, because as Daniel stepped
through the event horizon Jack flung himself across the
archaeologist, knocking them both to the floor as he yelled, "Get
down!"  Teal'c was right behind Daniel and heard the warning.  It
wasn't long before he was also returning fire.

But there was no way they could hope to win.  Four against - Sam
couldn't even count how many there were, she just kept aiming and
firing and hoping to take someone out.  Then before she knew what
was happening, she felt Daniel being thrown up against her as Jack
hissed, "Go!"

She turned her head slightly, meeting his eyes, about to protest
but there was something in his gaze that stopped her.  A look that
said, "This could be it and maybe I'm going to die but I'll be
damned if I let you stay here and die too."   And so Sam nodded, to
show she understood and to show that she could follow orders, and
Daniel, despite his experience, *was* a civilian and didn't deserve
to die unmourned in a military institution so she would save him
first.

Under the covering fire of O'Neill and Teal'c, they made it out of
the Gateroom.  "Warn them!" was the last thing Sam heard Colonel
O'Neill say.

~ Warn them....~

Running through the mountain, that much she remembered.  Hiding. 
Huddled close to Daniel as they heard the continuing screams and
explosions.

"We have to get out of here!" Sam hissed for the thousandth time. 
"The colonel told us to warn people, we have to warn the world!"

"No," Daniel whispered back with equal ferocity.  "Sometimes we
have to fight but sometimes we have to hide so we can survive
later.  Sam, if we go out there now, they will shoot us on sight. 
No questions asked.  And we're not going to be much good if we're
dead."

"But the colonel and Teal'c need our help...."  There was a catch
in her voice and to her horror, Sam realised that she was fighting
tears.  Daniel reached through the dark and took her hand, and the
touch brought some comfort.  

"I know," said Daniel.  "I know."  And then he fell silent and
there was another scream right outside the closet and they both
shuddered, drawing even closer together.  

More time passed, the sounds of fighting gradually dwindling, and
Sam knew, with dreadful certainty, who was winning.  There had been
no friendly announcements over the loudspeakers, not even a
redirection of troops which spoke clear messages as to who was in
charge.  

"When I get out of here I'm going after the colonel and Teal'c,"
San finally declared when it had been silent for a good ten
minutes.  "We'll go to the surface, warn who we can, and then I'm
coming back."

"Sam."  Daniel's voice was gentle and she felt his hands reaching
out to cup her face, pulling her close in a tender and comforting
gesture.  "They might not-"  He abruptly broke off, as if he'd just
changed his mind about what he was going to say.  "I'm coming back
with you, okay?  We won't leave them here.  We'll find them."

"Thank you," she said, meaning every word.  "Thank you, Daniel." 
Sam tilted her head to the side, listening intently.  "It's been
quiet for a while.  Think it's safe to try and get out?"

She could hear Daniel shrugging.  "I suppose."

Pushing the door open a crack, Sam flinched under the sudden
assault of light.  It wasn't much, the dimness evidence of a
failing back-up generator in use, but it was a definite change over
the oppressive darkness of the closet she and Daniel had just spent
the past few hours in.  The corridor was eerily empty and she
reached back for Daniel, giving his hand one last squeeze.  "Let's
go."

They ran as silently as they could but the inevitable happened and
they were seen.  Fired at.  Sam remembered running, wheezing,
feeling as if she couldn't possibly go on any further but she had
to because to give up now would be to surrender and die.  So with
Daniel beside her (she had to save him, she remembered) she
returned fire when she could and stumbled onwards until her legs
stopped working.

She fell.  Sam swore as she went down, cursing her legs for giving
out on her and stupidly, she tried to get up because she hadn't yet
realised that the reason they made her fall over was because a bolt
of energy had just ripped across them.  She smelt burning flesh and
only then did the truth sink in and Sam realised it was her own
body which was scorched.

Someone screamed her name, probably Daniel, and another agonising
jolt passed through her body.  She looked down.  She was bleeding,
but that was *wrong*, she shouldn't be bleeding because, well, it
wasn't natural!  "Sam, come on!" Daniel screamed again and he was
tugging at her arm.  She turned her head to look at him, noticing
how everything seemed really slow, even the Jaffa coming closer
moved like they were walking through jello or something because it
was just...surreal.  

"I am not leaving you here!"  There were tears streaming down
Daniel's cheeks and Sam wanted to brush them away but her hands
were still wrapped around her gun and she lifted it and fired at
the Jaffa who had been aiming at Daniel.  She had to save him.  

"Go," she whispered.  He didn't hear her and she took a deep
breath, summoning her strength.  "Go, Daniel!  Leave me!"

"Nonono..."

"GO!"

And it seemed that he finally got the message because his eyes grew
wide and realisation dawned on his face.  He whirled around, seeing
the approaching warriors and Sam lifted her weapon and fired again
and again so that she could make a path for Daniel and then
ultimately he ran.  She shot the man who was pursuing Daniel right
in the head and then she smiled.  

The last thing she remembered was a Jaffa, and another, and another
standing around her and something struck her in the back, and
someone stood on her leg and she screamed, but the attacks just
kept coming and there was no relief until a booted foot smashed her
face and then she knew darkness.  
 
*

"Are you ready?"  Martin sounded extremely excited as he undid the
bandages wrapped around Sam's head.  

"Yes, just do it already!"  She was feeling a lot better today and
Dr. Martin had actually managed to manoeuvre her into a sitting
position.  After the initial dizziness Sam had to admit it felt
good to be upright even though it wasn't under her own power, it
was a combination of raising the bed and careful pillow placement. 

The bandages slipped even further and then, finally, her face was
free.  Sam lifted her good arm to touch the skin gently.  It wasn't
as smooth as she remembered, in fact, it was almost flaking off and
she could feel ridges of - what was it?  Scarring?  Her eyelashes
seemed stuck to her face.

"Here, here," muttered Martin and something cool and wet passed
over her eyelids, gently wiping aside at least a little of the
dirt.  Sam experimentally fluttered her eyelids and was gratified
to feel the movement.  "Okay, you can open your eyes now, okay?"

She did.  The first sensation was overwhelming brightness coupled
with pain and she closed them instantly again while moving her hand
to massage her temple.  "Ouch."

"Try again, your eyes need to adjust."

After some serious blinking she finally managed to keep her eyes
open for more than half a second and looked around the room.  It
was blurry but that was to be expected, and after even more time
she managed to focus on the face of the little man hovering in
front of her.  Obviously, this was Dr. Martin and Sam felt a little
pleased to notice he was much as she had imagined him - diminutive,
with slicked back hair to cover a receding hairline and glasses.

Sam smiled and an answering smile appeared on the doctor's face. 
"You can see me?"

"Yes!" Sam enthused, feeling better than she had in a long time.  
It was good to have one of her senses returned and as a result she
felt a little more whole.  Certainly not well, not by a long shot,
but having her sight back was almost like confirming that she was
alive, she had left the grey/black world behind and was ready to
move on.

Her heart beating wildly, she dared to look down to the crumpled
body she knew would be there.  Thankfully, a mixture of bandages
and casts covered most of it, with an IV needle attached to her
immobile arm.  It still didn't hurt as much as it should and Sam
supposed she had Dr. Martin and his drugs to thank for that.  On
the other hand, Sam mused that she would almost rather pain to this
deadened feeling because it would be proof that her body was alive.

Was it still alive?  As she stared at her hidden legs, Sam
reflected that they seemed smaller than she remembered, which was
certainly likely given that they'd had weeks of disuse to waste
away.  And who knew just how much damage had been done during the
beating?  She shuddered, not wanting to remember but now that the
memories had returned they refused to leave her.

Her face.  What about her face?  "Is there-" she began tentatively,
her eyes darting around the room, "is there a mirror?"

Martin's face grew wary.  "Too soon for a mirror.  Enjoy your
eyesight while you can, Sarah," he said, using the name she had
given him.  His reluctance only increased her determination.

"I need to see.  Please."

It didn't take much for Martin to relent and soon Sam was holding
a tiny mirror in her trembling hand.  She lifted it and the first
glimpse caused her to recoil in horror.  That - that *creature*
with sunken eyes, livid scars and a twisted nose - that couldn't be
her, could it?  She raised the mirror again and saw the reflected
figure gasp in time with her own gasp.  A choked sob escaped her
lips and Martin patted her on the arm.

"There, there, there, Sarah, it will be okay.  Your face will heal,
yes?"

Sam squeezed her eyes shut against the monstrosity as another
memory, a moment from her past, flashed into her mind.  It was
shortly after one of their first missions, to P4X 873, yet another
mission which had ended in disaster when an earthquake had sent SG1
skidding down a mountain.  Face first.  Pieces of skin had been
torn away from Sam's face and there had been evidence of scrapes
for weeks that make-up only just managed to hide.  

It had healed and healed well, but she would never forget the first
time she looked in the mirror after Janet removed the dressings. 
Not quite as bad as it was now, but enough to make Sam cry out in
dismay and stumble backwards into the solid mass of Teal'c.

He'd taken her arm.  "Why are you crying, Captain Carter?"

She had shrugged and angrily wiped away at the tears, embarrassed
at being caught.  "Vanity, I guess.  Women on Earth tend to take a
lot of pride in their appearances and..."  Sam broke off, unable to
give Teal'c a good reason why it was so.  She shrugged.  

"It will heal," he'd reassured her, "and you will be returned to
your former attractive state.  I am sure no one will think any less
of you while you are in this state.  Do not worry, Captain Carter."

His words had made her smile.  "Thank you, Teal'c." He'd merely
nodded and then examined his own injuries in the mirror, ending
with a small sigh of regret.

"It will heal," Dr. Martin's voice, echoing Sam's friend's words,
broke through her reverie.  "If you are a good girl, yes, you tell
our lords what they need to know, maybe they will even let me fix
your nose up!"

Sam shrugged, looking into the mirror again.  Her eyes were the
same, at least.  Still blue.  Still staring back at her.  Still
with a spark of life.  She would get through this. 
 
*

The interrogation had been going on for hours, or that was how it
seemed to Sam.  Her eyes burned with tears of frustration, she had
not been physically hurt this time but she knew her interrogator
was growing increasingly infuriated with her responses.  For a
moment, Sam wondered just which part of her was left to hurt
because everything was either numb or on fire from the prolonged
agony of sitting up.

"My name is Sarah Linton."  She silently thanked the SG program's
recent initiative ensuring their offworld teams had no
identification that could link them to the rather notorious actions
of humans on a variety of worlds.  The names of SG1 were
particularly well known.  "I was a cleaner.  I was sweeping the
halls when the explosions started so I hid in a storage closet."

The excuse had been repeated so many times that Sam no longer had
to think about it.  "My friend found me and we were frightened so
we decided to run away."  She directed her gaze to meet her
interrogator's eyes, trying to play the part of a fearful innocent. 
"We should not have run, my lord.  We were just scared because of
all the guns and blasts and we didn't realise what was happening. 
Then I got shot."

"And we rescued you from the rubble," concluded one of the aides in
a rush.  "Yes, yes, we've heard this fabrication before."  

"It's not a fabrication, don't you understand that?" Sam said
through gritted teeth.  "For the hundredth time I am telling you
the truth!  I don't know anything about the attacks on Goa'uld
worlds - do you think they let just anyone near their plans?  The
only time I saw the inside of the briefing room was when I had to
clean it!"

"Tell me about Daniel."  The change of topic was so abrupt that Sam
could only stare at her interrogator and blink.  

"What?"

"Your friend, Daniel."  

Sam kept her mouth firmly closed.  The last thing she was going to
do was betray one of her friends.

"He's here too, you know.  He keeps asking for you."

"He does?"  There was too much hope in Sam's voice even as she
tried to suppress it. 

"Yes.  Well, in actual fact, he calls several names, but yours the
most often."  There was almost a warm smile on the interrogator's
face as he leaned closer to Sam.  "That's why I know you're lying
because he told us all about you."

"Daniel would never do that!"

"Just like you would never betray him?"  The open question was bait
and Sam refused to take it.  "You murmured quite a lot about Daniel
during your, how shall I put this, ah...more hysterical nights."

The nightmares.  Surely she hadn't screamed aloud - surely she
hadn't spoken things she shouldn't have?  But they already knew
about Daniel and Sam was sure she hadn't told anyone, but her
memories of the first few times she'd woken up were hazy....  She
shook her head.  What if they were telling the truth and Daniel had
spoken of her?  What if Daniel really was here and alive?  

She had to see him.  Sam had been alone for so long now - months,
it seemed, seeing nothing but the inside of a prison hospital. 
Even the time spent unconscious (in a coma, she'd later learned)
seemed to have stretched for eternity.  "Take me to Daniel," she
said, knowing she was giving in a little but it was worth it.  She
had to know if he was okay, she loved Daniel, and he was the one
she had to save. 

"First, you will describe the Stargate program to us."

"I can't!  I already told you what I know!  They send teams through
to different worlds and then they come back.  That's all I ever
knew!"

"I do not believe you."  He looked to the left to his aide and gave
a slight nod.  "Perhaps there are alternative measures we can use
to convince you to tell the truth."

And then Sam knew true terror.  

*

Sam opened her eyes and screamed.  Wave after wave of agony was
pouring through her body and it refused to stop, even the feeling
of the hospital bed beneath her was pure torture on her abused
limbs.  "Dr. Martin!" she managed to gasp.

There was no response.  She gasped again, fighting the pain that
seemed unending, some small part of her mind noting that the pain
medication had finally worn off.  Or had it?  Maybe the Goa'uld
weapon was designed to go beyond what was typically tolerable, it
could have suppressed the drugs, or awoken old nerves just so they
could burn.  

But she had held out.  She hadn't caved, she had kept the knowledge
of the Stargate program, of Colonel O'Neill, Teal'c and even Daniel
from them.  They had not broken her.   It was all she had to hold
on to, that and the knowledge that they would come looking for her
as soon as they were able.  Her father had to be out there too -
the Tok'Ra would have heard of their plight by now, wouldn't they? 
"Dad," she groaned, it was the only safe name to say.  "Help
me...."

She screamed again as the pain intensified, begging for
unconsciousness, and blissfully, her mind shut down and she sank
back into oblivion.  
 
*
In life, there were often moments of confusion, of uncertainty, and
sometimes you spiralled down to questioning your right to exist in
the greater scheme of things.  And then there were moments of
clarity when every single thing you ever did seemed to boil down to
this one time, this one breath, this one realisation that perhaps
things weren't as bad as you thought they were and everything
suddenly made sense.

Sam remembered Jack.

She remembered the first time they'd met, a cool appraisal of the
other along with a smothered spark of attraction.  It was a spark
Sam had always known would never be permitted to grow into
something greater, and so she had accepted that and gone on with
the job.  Kept it strictly business, and always referred to him
using deferential terms such as Sir or Colonel.  

It didn't stop the spark from developing into a true friendship and
affection between herself and the colonel.  And the attraction
always lingered and had even gotton them into trouble a couple of
times.

If she ever got out of this, Sam vowed, she would do something
about it.  There was no doubt that the old world order was gone. 
Between Martin's delusional mumblings and the things she'd
overheard from other staff and overseers, Sam knew enough to mourn
her old life.  The Stargate program would be gone for good and she
could be fairly certain that even if her friends were alive, never
again would they be together the way they had been.

The thought pained her but Sam pushed it aside, because she was
remembering Jack.  Remembering the smile that would quirk across
his face as he made yet another sarcastic comment.  Remembering the
warm brown eyes that could catch her unawares with the intensity of
the gaze.  Remembering the strong presence, the knowledge that she
was safe under his command.  And remembering that maybe he loved
her too.

Love?  Sam didn't know.  She loved him like a friend at the very
least and there could have been more there.  There could be more. 
She just had to survive long enough to find him again and find out.

Moments of clarity leading to moments of decision.  This was one
decision Sam was determined to hold on to.

*

"Major Samantha Carter from SG1."  The booming voice dripped with
evil and Sam awoke gasping, not sure if she'd dreamed the voice or
not.  "Responsible for the deaths of seven of my *personal guard*. 
I am very glad to see you are still alive."

And then there was a pulse of agony, a knife driving directly into
her brain and all she managed was a single short scream before she
collapsed back into unconsciousness.

*

"Dr. Martin?"  Her voice was groggy, even to her own ears.

"Samantha, Samantha, what am I to do with you?"  He sounded even
more scared than usual and there was something in his voice that
made her scared too.   "You made them all very angry, you did, with
your lying and your stories and you lied to me, your dear old
friend!"

"I'm sorry," she managed to whisper and she was sorry because he at
least had been kind.  "I wanted to tell you but..."  Sam finally
opened her eyes, and it was even dimmer than the grey light of the
quasi-hospital ward she'd become accustomed to.  "Where am I?"  She
ached all over but agony was almost becoming a way of life.  

"They moved you, they did.  Said you were getting better." 
Martin's voice dropped to a lower octave and he tutted, "Did they
ask your doctor?  No, they did not!"

He moved to stand beside her and gently patted her arm.  "Samantha,
they want to talk to you again soon."  

"Oh."

*

It was getting harder to open her eyes.  

"Colonel?" she whispered.  "Daniel?"  No answer.  "Daddy?

"Is anyone going to help me? 

"Please somebody...?"

And the little girl was back and two big blue eyes stared up at the
grey roof.   Samantha Carter was wishing upon a star she couldn't
see for a salvation that might never come as a single tear trickled
down her cheek.

---
End.