Aftermath

Author: Rosemary Klein-Robbins
Summary: Jonas' blood and tissue samples have made it off world. Can Colonel O'Neill, Major Sam Carter, members of MI-5 and the CIA retrieve it before the mysterious ruler of that planet makes use of it?
Pairings: Sam/Jack, David/Vicky
Sequel: Sequel to Under Pressure
Rated: PG-13
Spoilers: Small one for Emancipation
Disclaimer: The show, characters and any other references to the tv show do not belong to this author-etc (I guess you already know what goes here).
Author's Notes: Once again my greatful thanks to my Ghost Editor, Sarae, without whom this story would have no form or substance.
The songs referenced in this story were used without permission:
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald-Gordon Lightfoot
Green Tambourine-Lemon Pipers
Landslide-Stevie Nicks
You Were on My Mind-The We Five
Beer for My Horses-Toby Keith and Willie Nelson
Midas Man, Ocean Gypsy and The Song of Scheherezade-The Renaissance

“The legend lives on from the chippewas on down
Of the big lake they called ‘Gitche Gumee’
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty.
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the ‘Gales of November’ came early."

The group “Make No Mistake” was performing the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Ordinarily the couple at the table in the corner would be smiling and singing along. Today, however, the man at the table was tapping his beer mug between his hands. Sliding the glass between his hands as he stared at the table. His female companion kept glancing at the door, almost as if she was willing whomever it was they were waiting to for, to show up.

“The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
With a crew and good captain well seasoned
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
And later than night when the ship’s bell rang
Could it be the north wind they
Could it be the north wind they’d been feelin’?”

The female member of the band noted the agitation of the two at the table. All three members of the band were aware that the couple appeared worried.

It wasn’t often that any member of the intelligence community would be so agitated. Luckily, it was only the agents that noted the stress and not the people in the bar surrounding them.

Suddenly a figure appeared at the entrance to the bar. Scanning the room, the man saw the two at the table and lurched over.

David Sullivan and his partner Victoria Kennedy sat up and noticed the man, who was either drunk or playing at it.
He lurched over to their table and sat down heavily.

Vicky had to fan her face as the man spoke. He was quite drunk. His lurching was not an act. He was drunk and he was scared.

“It’s all here. Just as I told you it would be.” The man had an accent that could not be easily placed. “Just make sure that no one knows that I gave it to you.”

Before either could say a word, the man abruptly got up, lurched away and out the door. Both agents looked at each other. They had dealt with interesting informants in their lives, but this was just…strange.

“Well,” David said, and took a sip of his beer. He made a face and put the glass down.

“Let’s go and wait for the group in the dressing room. In the meantime, we can read over this information.”
Vicky nodded and they left the bar area. Once in the group’s dressing room, David tore open the envelope. “Well, I guess we need to make the call then.”

“Do you think he’ll let her help?” Vicky asked. David didn’t have to ask who “her” was. He knew.

David shrugged. “Whether he lets or not, it isn’t a choice either of them can make.”

Vicky shook her head. “That will make things quite interesting. He was none too happy by the end of the last mission. Things got a bit touchy near the end.”

David laughed. It was a real laugh. “I’ll bet it was. The two of them have no idea, though, of how touchy it could have gotten.”

The last strains of the song were heard, followed by Colin McKenzie’s announcement to the crowd that they were taking a break and would be back soon. The three band members went into their dressing room and were not surprised to see the two MI5 agents there.

Rachel Davis, Colin McKenzie, and Stephen LightCloud were members of the group Make No Mistake. They were also CIA. Their cover was a touring band. They also knew by the presence of Victoria Kennedy and David Sullivan that they were also going to pick up an assignment.

He nodded. “But first we are going to have the two individuals we talked about fly out here to meet us. We want him to get to know you and your music. If he is going to be your manager, then he needs to know you.”

“Well, as his wife, it shouldn’t be too difficult to explain why she would be so involved.”

Vicky shrugged and answered. “Whether they go for it or not, doesn’t matter. We have a go on the mission and they are TAD’d to us. There isn’t any choice.”

“General Hammond.” George Hammond answered his phone. He had already received the specifics from the President. He was only waiting for the confirmation call. He had already dealt with the two MI5 agents. He also remembered how touchy Colonel O’Neill and Major Carter were after they returned from their last mission with these agents. They hadn’t acted so much like they’d had something to hide, but he had noticed a change in their manner. Shaking his head, he indicated to the caller that he would make the arrangements.

“Austin, Texas.” Hammond answered. “You will be getting your instructions from the two agents there.”

Hammond nodded. “They specifically asked for you two.” He raised his hand. “Don’t even bother, Jack. There is no choice here. The president had you both temporarily assigned to help them. You will be leaving in an hour.”
“Can’t you tell us anything?” Sam asked.

“Only that it is a follow up to the incident that sent you two to England. Other than that, I am not involved.”
Jack sat back in his chair and put both his hands behind his head. Looking at Sam, he almost ordered her to decline. Sam shook her head and turned away from him.

Hammond looked at his two officers and wondered just how much more they would be able to take. If they thought the last assignment had been difficult, how much more would this one be?

Jack didn’t speak for a few minutes. He knew that he had to be very careful with his words. Sam gave him the very devil the last time he tried the Alpha Male routine on her.

“I don’t know what role we have to play this time.” He began carefully, “But you and I have to be honest with each other. We have other roles to play and our primary role is that of officers of the United States Air Force.”
Sam nodded her understanding. The line got very fuzzy near the end of the last mission. It took them some time to be around each other without feeling off-kilter.

“I just don’t want any misunderstanding between us.” After a few minutes he pulled over to the side of the road. Sam looked at him. “Sam,” he said quietly. “I don’t know just exactly what part we have to play. I just want us to be okay when this over.”

“Sir…” She began and then understood. It was Sam and Jack he was referring to, not Colonel O’Neill and Major Carter. “Jack…” Saying his first name was difficult for her, not because she didn’t want to say it, but because it conveyed too many thoughts and feelings that couldn’t be acknowledged, much less acted on. “I don’t think it will be a problem. Remember, I trust you. I trust us. Whatever happens, we will be able to work through it.”

He smiled slightly, then started his truck and they continued their journey in silence.

Jack and Sam walked into “La Zona Rosa” and found Vicky and David easily. Hugs and handshakes were exchanged, and David ordered a beer for Jack and Sam.

“Austin favorite. Interesting beer. Shiner Bock,” David said, “Quite good really.”

Jack took a sip and nodded with a big smile. “Yeah, really good. Interesting town this Austin.”

David laughed and said, “You don’t know the half of it. Vicky said there is this guy that is an urban legend in this town. Goes by the name of “Leslie” and from what I hear he’s quite an interesting person. Tourists have their picture taken with him.”

Jack laughed and shook his head. Suddenly the band took the stage to thunderous applause.

Sam recognized the opening bars and smiled. Jack looked at her. “This is the opening bars to ‘Ocean Gypsy’,” she responded. “The group who wrote and sang it originally is ‘The Renaissance’.”

The female singer had a good vocal range. It wasn’t quite the range of the female singer from the original group, but she possessed a hauntingly beautiful tone as well.

“Tried to take it all away
Learn her freedom just inside a day
And find her soul
To find their fears allayed.”

“You ask us to come here for a home brewed beer and music David?” Jack began. “What’s this all about?”

“Do you remember being told that some blood and tissue samples were taken from Jonas Quinn before we rescued him?” David wasted no words.

“Yes, unfortunately,” Vicky answered her slowly. “Several copies were made. We are chasing leads, but this is the first that panned out.”

“No! Not exactly,” Vicky answered him. She and David saw the look that passed between the two Americans.

“Ocean gypsy of the moon
The sun has made a thousand nights
For you to hold
Ocean gypsy where are you
The shadows followed by the stars
Have turned to gold, turned to gold.”

“And that means what?” Jack asked. He was afraid to hear the answer. If it was in the states, their career, and her career was toast.

“It is possible. Remember Jack when we went in on that S and R for Jonas?” Jack nodded and motioned for David to continue. ”Well,” David looked at the label on his beer bottle for a minute and then a shadow passed behind his eyes. They appeared green one minute and almost black the next. “Jack, you have a mole at the SGC.”

“We know. We took care of it,” Jack stated. Clearly not wanting to hear what David wanted to say next.

“Jack, please don’t ask me to believe that you are 100% certain that there are no more.”

Jack sat back in his chair, his hands had been peeling the label off the bottle. Shaking his head he acknowledged that he was reasonably sure there were other spies in the Complex.

Nodding to Sam, he gave David and Vicky a pointed, “So, what is the deal here?”

“Finish your beer mate. Listen to the music,” David answered him. “We have a long story for you and your officer and a part to play. But not now.”

Jack stared hard at David and decided to sit back and wait. He had, from the beginning, instinctively liked and respected both agents. He looked at Sam and she shrugged. So, they listened to the music.

“Softy ocean gypsy calls
Silences holds the stars awhile
They smile sadly
For her where she falls”

Sam closed her eyes while listening to the music. Jack watched her smiling and swaying to the music.

“No-one noticed when she died
Ocean gypsy shackled to the tide
The ebbing waves were turning
Spreading wide
Something gone within her eyes
Her fingers lifeless stroke the sand
Her battered soul was lost
She was abandoned”

He was amazed. He was dimly aware that Sam had eclectic tastes in her music. She never enthused about one type or another, but he could see that this group touched something in her.

“Stands on high beneath the seas
Cries no more
Her tears have dried
Oceans weep for her the ocean sighs”

Once the chorus had been sung and the song finished. The group announced a break and went into the back. That signaled for the four of them to do the same.

“Meet ‘Make No Mistake’,” David introduced them. “You’re their manager.”

“Excuse me?” Jack was flabbergasted. “Their manager? I know nothing about music or bands or…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Vicky jumped into the conversation. “This group is CIA. They will be able to handle it, just act like you’re their boss. They can deal with any questions.”

“CIA,” Rachel responded. Her eyes showed an amused light. “We have been for twenty years.”

“Mind, we have also been performing together for twenty years as well. We’ve covered a lot of ground in those years,” Steven put in.

“According to your Tok’ra contacts, the planet they are on resembles Elizabethan England. We…” pointing to all of them, “are going to be traveling minstrel players. You and Sam are going to be husband and wife. Vicky and I are also going to be a married couple, and my wife will be sister to Sam. Rachel and Colin, will be posing, as husband and wife and Steven will be her cousin. We will have to change a few names to suit the biblical names in that town.”

“Give us a minute?” Sam put in. She pulled Jack to a quiet corner. “Sir, we were given no choices. Remember what General Hammond told us. If you have a problem with this, you pull out. You are not making decisions for me.”

Sam held up a hand. “You tried that in Manchester. You’re not going to try that here. You heard what the General said. We have no choices here. If you are going to protest to protect me…Don’t!”

Jack looked defeated. He knew that she would fight him tooth and nail if he tried to re-assign her or replace her. He also knew that she trusted him. That was the big issue. He wondered if the trust issue that really concerned him, was that he couldn’t or wouldn’t trust himself. His self-possessed Major always appeared so non-plussed, but he knew that she harbored some deep emotions.

“Ok Major. We’ll play it your way. For now!” They returned to the others. “So what’s the deal?” Jack asked.

David made short work of the information. They were traveling minstrels to a planet that was basically like 16th century England.

“We will be a traveling show. Your father, Major, will be one of contacts. He and some of his fellow Tok’ra will be food vendors and they will be getting the lay of the land, so to speak,” David continued. “We are hoping that after a few street performances, one of the Inn Keepers will hire us for his place and from there, the Lord of the Castle will be hire us. There we will be able to search out his castle and labs and decide how we are going to steal the samples he has and destroy anything else related to Jonas Quinn’s DNA. Jacob has indicated that there has been some preliminary scouting. We have someone on the inside of the castle already. We have to play this carefully. From what we’ve been told, this individual is pretty grisly with his revenge.”

“We don’t know,” Vicky answered. “They only refer to this person as ‘The Lord’. More than that…” She shrugged and let it go.

“You and Sam will be Joseph and Rebecca. I will be David; Vicky will be Elizabeth. Rachel will keep her name, as will Steven, and Colin will go by Michael. We are keeping fairly simple Biblical names. In that village, everyone has those types of names.”

“Once again, we are putting you two into a tight pickle,” David acknowledged. “If you thought that being an engaged couple was uncomfortable, being married is going to be more so. Please, try and remember that the regulations will not be enforced for you during this mission.”

Looking at their faces David added, “Listen, we know that you two work with great integrity and respect each other and your careers. We don’t expect you to throw caution to the wind. But in fairness, you may need to go further than you’d like and wanted you to know that you will be safe.”

“General Hammond, “ David continued, “Will clear the gateroom when we go. No one will know that you two are anywhere but with your team. Teal’c and Jonas will be on Chulak and the word will be out that you are attending a conference with the rebel Jaffa.” Pausing, “I can’t pretend to understand any of what you two do, but believe this, if the wrong people get a hold Jonas’ DNA, there will be bigger problems than you two posing as man and wife.”

“We are leaving in 48 hours. Rachel, Colin and Steven will fill you in on their lives, history and style. I’m afraid that we don’t have much more time. We will probably be on the planet for at least 2 months. I’m sorry for the length of time, but we have to work ourselves into their community and gain the trust of the people, especially the Inn Keepers. The Innkeepers will benefit greatly if our group is invited to the castle.”

“Monetarily, Jack…the Innkeepers get paid a bounty for each group that ‘the Lord’ brings to the castle.”

Some discussion centered on the instruments and other equipment to take. Rachel pointed out that a lot of the acoustic music instruments would be ok to take - guitars, flutes, violins and wind instruments. A number of the songs they would be singing could be handled without the additions of the electronic instruments. They opted for religious themed songs, hymns, ballads, love songs and songs about brave warriors.

The Tok’ra would be able to provide them with the clothes needed. Jack’s eyes almost crossed when he heard what the men wore at that time. All Sam could think of was the amount of clothes the women had to wear. The Tok’ra were also going to add extensions to her hair, as they did before, but not as dramatic. David explained that only women who had been ill had short hair. The locals would cut a woman’s hair to release the demons that were plaguing her.

Looking at everyone after the logistical information was reviewed, David asked. “Questions?”

As promised General Hammond cleared the gate room. He had said some words of encouragement to O’Neill and Carter and told them to try not to worry. His two officers could only shake their heads and salute.

Jack and Sam had a good laugh at each other, when they actually saw what they looked like in the clothes the Tok’ra had provided. According to research the man’s outfit consisted of boots, breeches (a form of pants), a shirt, a vest (also known as a jerkin) and a hat.

A woman’s outfit included shoes, an over and under skirt, a shirt, a bodice, a hat or a snood. Her hair, according to fashion at that time, was usually braided. So instead of being a redhead this time, Sam’s hair remained her own blonde color. She just wore it longer.

Jack laughed briefly remembering that “blue horror” and answered. “Oh come on, Major. It was really you.”
Sam just gave him a look and then the two headed to the gate room to join the others who were already there waiting for them. Dressed in the style of Elizabethan travelers, the 7 of them went through the gate.

Once on the other side Jacob and two other Tok’ra members met them. They were taken to a space where they could camp and perform. A tent had been set up for them, with as much privacy as they could muster. The band had taken what acoustic instruments that they could use without invoking questions from the locals. What Rachel would not part with was her dulcimer and her 12-string guitar. They just decided to go ahead and let those pass. They were, after all, strangers. It would be expected that some things they brought would not be familiar.

That night Jacob “the baker” came by with meat pies and ale for the newcomers. He also brought information.

“We just don’t know very much about the ‘Lord’,” Jacob began. “We don’t know if he is a very powerful feudal lord or a Goa’uld.”

“Hey, if Selmak had been close enough to sense a symbiote, we would tell you. But ‘the Lord’ never ventures out of his castle. No one, and I mean no one, gets close to him. Even his bodyguards stay a good distance from him. He has one body servant and that man never gets more than inches away from him.”

“So, it won’t be his body servant that will be coming to hear us or visit then?” Jack questioned.

“Probably not. His pattern is very simple. The band in question plays the street for a couple of weeks and then an Inn Keeper approaches. He’ll offer room, board and a small fee in exchange for the entertainment. If the business is good, then ‘The Lord’ sends his envoy and the bargain is struck.”

Jacob sighed heavily. “Sometimes it could take weeks or months until that happens.”

Jacob sighed heavily and answered, “I know that, but if this group is as good as the word about them is, maybe, we’ll be lucky.”

“Another thing.” Jacob cautioned. “Remember your names. Out here in the tent, maybe we can have a measure of safety. But not in public and certainly not in the Inn. And Jack…” Jack looked at him. “I forgive you in advance.”

Jack looked puzzled. Sam however, turned a bright shade of crimson. It was when she colored that the others caught the meaning and Vicky and Rachel each took one of Sam’s hands and squeezed. The other men didn’t dare look at Jack.

Jacob filled them in the various inns and said now that they were here, they would start checking out the castle and trying to find out where the lab was.

“Tonight, however, just stay in and give the people something to wonder about. Tomorrow, roam the roads and the market and sing while you walk. Just act like you’re looking around and let them look and listen. Your first performance is tomorrow night.”

Jacob bid them good night and left. The band went to their corner and got settled. Vicky and David helped Jack and Sam and the favor was returned. David patted Jack on the back and Vicky gave Sam a quick hug and left them alone.

“Well, so much for privacy,” Sam remarked. Jack just grunted. “How do you want to do this?” She asked him.

He shook his head, “Get under the covers and change into what ever you are sleeping in. When you’re settled, I’ll blow out the lamp and do the same.” He kept his back to her until she called him. Jack blew out the lamp and took of his shoes and the cloak, but kept the rest of his clothes on. When he got into the sleeping furs, he realized that Sam kept on her shift.

“I thought about it. But all that stuff I would have to wear would keep me awake. I told you once before, I trust you. Should what happened last time change my mind?”

“I think it’s you that doesn’t have any sense,” Sam answered and rolled over onto her left side.

Speaking low into her ear he told her that playing at being husband and wife was going to be different than being an engaged couple. He told her that the intimacies were going to be different too. He also told her that if she was sure that she had a grip on her senses, she had better hope that he did too. He pressed a kiss on the soft spot of her neck below her right ear, rolled over onto his right side and went to sleep. Sam was only capable of relaxing once she was sure he was asleep - very different than their first “night” together in Manchester. She did, however, fall asleep and in the morning, he woke up to find that they had rolled into each other’s arms during the night. Once again the trust of the familiar and the comfort it offered won out over the stress of the uncertain. Jack had gone over to Jacob’s tent and found that “the baker” was up and already selling his wares. Jack bought some breakfast things: meat pasties and ale. Some breakfast.

Jacob gave Jack an amused look and Jack just evenly returned the look. Jacob almost burst out laughing, but Selmak gave him a stern lecture when they saw Jack coming.

“Yes, and aren’t you lucky that it is. Leave him alone, or I will give you something to feel sorry about.”

Jacob took Selmak’s warning seriously and didn’t tease Jack. However, once Jack was out of range, he went into his tent and started to laugh. He thought he could hear Selmak giggling slightly as well. This was going to be fun.Jack walked in the tent to find everything put away and an area set up for the band to practice and for their meals to be taken.

Jack heard Rachel softly singing the words to the song he’d heard in Texas, “Ocean Gypsy”. When they returned to Cheyenne Mountain he’d asked to borrow one of Sam’s CD’s. Not too shabby, he thought as he set out breakfast.

When breakfast was finished Jack walked around visiting with his group. They sang without any self-conscious airs about them. They played their instruments and sang. They sang without their instruments. One wagon gave them food, because they stopped there to sing and brought in more customers than usual.

They sang folk songs, lullabies, songs that would be familiar to a medieval English crowd and songs that would be familiar those that hung around the Hait Asburry crowd of the late 60’s. There was no musical group or song style that Rachel, Colin and Steven did not know the song, the tune, and the words.

Each night their “impromptu” concert brought more and more people to listen. The bucket they left out for donations was full and spilling over. Jack insisted that they contribute to the charities in the village what they could spare. Sam and Jack would, in the mornings, walk to the Churches and give the money to the Priests.
They’re obvious talent and generosity earned them good word of mouth and did eventually reach ‘The Lord.’

“Not bad for a week.” Jacob told them. His Tok’ra spy in the castle said that ‘The Lord’ asked about them just this morning.

“Tell me about these new minstrels.” His voice was imperious and demanding. His body servant bowed with his head touching the floor.

“They have pleasant voices, my Lord.” The laugh was harsh and hard. It caused the heart of his servant to feel like it was going to beat it’s way out of his body. “My Lord,” the servant began, “the people say the voices are pleasant. They also say that the angels have come to the village. They are generous with their monies and their food.”

“They give food to anyone who asks and any monies that over-flow from their collection basket goes to the Church.”

His Master got up and walked to the window. It had a heavy curtain across it and he pulled it aside slightly. From where he was he heard the sound of music and looked outside to see. He noted that this time the singers carried no instruments. They just used their voices. He also noted the people, especially the children following.
He nodded and turned back to his servant.

That same night word came from Jacob about that conversation and that was why he was in the tent with Sam, Jack and the MI5 and CIA agents.

“You must go on as if you do not know,” Jacob said. “The element of surprise is on our side now. Everything that happens from now, you will be told about.”

The performance the next night was a melody of Simon and Garfunkle songs. Even Jack knew most of them. He watched Sam out of the corner of his eye. After their first night discussion, Sam made every effort to not sleep so close to him and to wear a little more to bed. But morning always found them holding each other. He wondered if their subconscious minds were sending a message.

“When I woke up this morning
You were on my mind
And you were on my mind
I got troubles, whoa-oh
I got worries, whoa-oh
I got wounds to bind…”

Sam noted that he was watching her. She was definitely trying to keep things even and safe between them. She did however wonder the same thing that Jack was.

“So I went to the corner
Just to ease my pains
Yeah, just to ease my pains
I got troubles, whoa-oh
I got worries, whoa-oh
I came home again…”

Their discussions at bedtime appeared to be strained. During the last mission, being in bed together was a refuge from the day. This time, it appeared to be more intimate and more dangerous.

“When I woke up this morning
you were on my mind and
You were on my mind
I got troubles, whoa-oh
I got worries, whoa-oh
I got wounds to bind…”

She could have sworn that the night before they were kissing in their sleep. She felt as if she could still feel his lips on hers and his arms caressing her body. She remembered the two situations, while in Manchester, that they’d basically ignored but wished they could talk about it. She wished she could forget them. The first, the kiss they shared out of anger and fear. Sam knew that when Jack came on the attempted kidnapping near the end of the mission, he was in a rage. Their highly charged emotional state left them no room for rational thinking and when the combined rage and fear joined the sexual tension of their living arrangements, well, they were lucky the phone rang when it did.

The second was at the end. They never really discussed whether it was let down or just giving in to the emotions. Sam knew for sure that if Jonas hadn’t “saved” them by walking in, their story might have had a different ending. Sam knew that she had a hard time forgetting his kisses and wondered if he was still thinking about hers. There had been something peaceful about ending the day in his arms in Manchester that was missing now.

“And I got a feeling’
Down in my shoes, said
Way down in my shoes
Yeah, I got to ramble, whoa-oh
I got to move on, whoa-oh
I got to walk away my blues…”

Jack wondered if she missed the closeness they’d had at the end of the day during their last mission and wondered how she would react if he broached the subject.

“When I woke up this morning
You were on my mind
You were on my mind
I got troubles, whoa-oh
I got worries, whoa-oh
I got wounds to bind.”

That night they simultaneously and spontaneously approached the subject. Neither of them knew how it happened, they just happened to turn and face each other at the same time. Brown eyes into blue. Blue eyes into brown. Questions and concerns and Sam broke first.

She reached out and stroked the side of his face with her left hand. Jack pressed a soft kiss into her palm and onto the finger with the wedding band.

“We can’t go on fighting each other and trying to do this mission Jack,” Sam told him.

Jack rolled on his back and pulled Sam on his chest at the same time. “I know,” he said quietly and sadly. “It felt so right last time to be able to hold each other at night and take comfort in the quiet and the safety.”

Sam agreed and finished his thought, “But things got less quiet and less safe toward the end.”

“I miss it Sam. But I don’t want to compromise you or us and do something that would drive a wedge between us.”

“Jack, I don’t believe that you would do anything I wouldn’t let you do.”

“You know,” Sam started, almost playful in her tone, “what makes you think that you wouldn’t be the one fighting me off?”

“Listen, we have to depend on each other here. The others are also depending on us. If we can’t trust and comfort each other, what will the others do?”

“Well, so am I!” Sam shot back. “But I would like to know that my trust in my comfort and my safety has not been misplaced these past six years. I would also like to know that your comfort and safety has also not been misplaced.”

“Sam I trust you. You’ve had my six covered, just as I have covered yours.”

He sat them both up and put his hands on either side of her face and looked into her eyes. He understood that she knew what he was asking of her and of himself. The same thing she asked of him. It would be so easy to lean in and kiss her right now. He knew without a doubt that she would kiss him back and everything would change.

“Yeah, Sam, we can do that.” With those words he pulled her into a hug that she went into willingly.

Jacob had assured him that by the next night, they would get their offer from an Inn. He was sure of it. (There had been so much positive response to the minstrels). The villagers were talking and spreading the word. Soon, Jacob had promised, soon. There would be a bed to share, instead of sleeping furs on the floor. A room of their own, no others to add to the safety of limited privacy. They would have privacy. For the first time, it was something to be feared.

“Lord?” The Inn Keeper was frightened. He had been pulled out of bed in the middle of the night.

The gravelly voiced man considered the cowering man in front of him. How easy it was to cow people with a look and a bit of authority.

”Tonight.” He then waved the man away. The Inn Keeper retreated from the Master, who then signaled to his body servant.

“I want you to get whatever information you can on these singers of songs. They are much too sure of their talent. I have seen and listened. No group of wandering singers can be so confident. See if you find out anything.”

He dismissed his servant and sat on his throne and considered what he did know. Which was, actually, not much. It was their confidence that drew him.

Master Soames walked carefully among the tents and the people that slept on the ground around them. He had been unable to sleep since his meeting with ‘the Lord’ in the early morning hours. He did not get a good look at ‘the Lord’s’ face, but his voice gave him enough of a reason to be glad he had not and that ‘the Lord’ was not angry with him.

The Innkeeper knew that his very life depended on the Minstrels willingness to come to his establishment. If he could not persuade them, well…what would happen to them as well was not a good thing to think about. He approached Jack’s tent and called out to him.

Jack woke immediately. His soldier’s instincts were already aware long before Mr. Soames came to him. Sam woke as well and signaled for her to be quiet and motioned for her to go back to sleep. He would handle this. At her look he only shook his head.

“Don’t do the sexist deal with me, Major. Right now, I need to be in charge.” Jack got up and quickly dressed and opened the flap. “Master Soames?” Jack asked.

“Yes Master Joseph. I have come to ask that you and minstrels come to my establishment and be the entertainment there.”

“Let us take a walk, Master Soames, so we may talk.” Jack held out his right hand and pointed. Master Soames nodded and the two men left the area.

“Was that Master Soames?” David asked. He recognized the innkeeper from various visits to his establishment.
“I am guessing so. Jack wouldn’t let me out to see.”

“Major,” David answered for his partner, “this is a male dominated society. If Jack showed you any freedom or equality, they would wonder about him and his ‘masculinity’.”Sam showed her unhappiness but decided, discretion being the better of valor, to keep quiet.

About an hour later Jack came back and announced that after they broke their fast, they would be striking camp and moving to Master Soame’s establishment. Sam and Jack exchanged a look. Apprehension was clearly evident in their eyes, but if they had been asked at that moment what they were most apprehensive about, they would be hard pressed to say what. (Well, maybe hard pressed.)

It didn’t take them much time to strike their tents and move into the Inn. Jack looked at the narrow bed that was to hold both of them and let out a breath. He closed his eyes and then mentally braced himself.

Jack looked at her and saw the slight twinkle in her eyes and knew that she absorbed his habit of cracking jokes in tense situations. Not long after they had settled in Jack called a meeting.

Looking at the people in the room, he knew they were entering the dangerous part of their mission. ‘The Lord’ obviously had as many questions about them, as they did about him. Now they needed to go and really find out whatever it was the populace knew about this unnamed, unseen individual.

Looking at the CIA group he told them to go and mingle with the pub regulars, find out what they know, what they hear and what they see. Find out, what they could, about Master Soames and his ties to the castle and the people in there.

Looking at Jacob, he told him that he and his Tok’ra agents needed to listen carefully in the streets. Listen to their customers and more importantly, any of the castle employees who purchased goods from them.

Looking at David, he told him that they would be wandering around the area outside of the castle. David nodded and stood up. Vicky and Sam exchanged a look and started to protest.

Jack put up his hand. “Don’t argue with me.” He had a stern almost stone-like quality to his words and his presence. “Women are not worth much in this type of society and to have you two wander about without guards is not smart.”

Not giving the women a chance to say anything more, they left. Jack had the presence of mind to take along two sets of jugglers' balls. At David’s raised eyebrows Jack told him that they had to have something to fall back on, in case people got suspicious.

Some hours later Jacob and the CIA agents returned. “Where’s Jack?” Jacob asked.

Sam could only shrug. She and Vicky were asking themselves the same question. “Maybe we should look for them,” Sam said.

“Hey, just two wives looking for their wayward husbands. If we look angry and scold them when we find them, it might just cause enough of a distraction to be considered normal.”

Jacob and the CIA group looked at the two women and then nodded. “Just be careful Sammie,” Jacob cautioned. “We don’t have much wiggle room if we’re wrong.”

Jack and David were in trouble. They were running out of duck and cover space and wondered how they were going to avoid the guards that were looking around. They had, quite, accidentally, gotten too close to a restricted area around the castle. Where ever that doorway led, well, they didn’t want anyone close enough to see. But Jack got close enough for a glimpse and knew that it was what they were looking for.

The two men waited in tense silence and were startled into attention when they heard women’s voices.

There was some laughter -mens’- and some tittering and shrieking -womens’- and then Sam and Vicky were in front of them. Before the men could react, the two women threw themselves at them and started kissing them. David got into the rhythm quickly, but Jack, startled, took a bit longer and started kissing Sam back before he realized whom he was kissing.

Pushing her back at bit, he saw that she was every bit as startled as he was. Predictably, she didn’t expect the return kiss and as predictably, didn’t expect to continue the kiss after the break.

It was lucky that they did, the guards hearing the noise in the alley came in and saw the couples kissing and started to laugh and make jokes about taking it to a room and give her a good one for me.

The couples broke apart and laughed with good-natured embarrassment. Well, David and Vicky laughed with good-natured embarrassment. Sam and Jack were just embarrassed.

Both women immediately started to scold their “husbands” and led them out of the alley, with the guards still laughing.

Getting them back to their room, both women proceeded to tell the men they were lucky it had played out as it had. David silently went out with Vicky, leaving a fairly unsettled Colonel and Major in their room.

“I’m sorry, Sir,” Sam started. Jack looked at her, a look of question on his face. “The kiss,” she informed him.

“Ah!” Jack said. He sighed and told her to just leave it. “We have other things to worry about.”

Sam could only look at him. She knew they were both affected by it, but it was beyond her how fast he could bury his reaction.

Jack could see the look of confusion on her face. “Wondering how I could stay so unaffected, are you Major?” he thought. Laughing to himself, he continued his thought adding, “If only you knew Sam. If only you knew.”

The briefing before their performance was short and to the point. Jack and David both explained about the area around the castle was heavily guarded and that they were going again, the next day, to check it out some more. This time they knew about the guards and would be better prepared.

Jacob noted the tension between Jack and Sam, and wisely, held his own counsel. Selmak had warned him that keeping his own counsel was going to be a must. She also sensed how very tense the two were and guessed that their enforced closeness, combined with emotions they didn’t dare act on, would eventually come to some conclusion. She and Jacob could only hope that they didn’t endanger their careers, as they would do that before destroying the others or their mission.

Jack laughed mirthlessly. The first song the singers performed was Landslide by Stevie Nicks.

"I took my love, I took it down
Climbed a mountain and I turned around
I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills
'Till the landslide brought me down."

He could see that she was just as affected by the song as he was. Since he’d first met her, he’d felt that he had been hit by a landslide.

"Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love
Can the child within my heart rise above
Can I sail thru the changing ocean tides
Can I handle the seasons of my life."

Oh, he had definitely had some seasons in his life. There were times when he wondered if he would ever have been able to rise above the tide of bitterness that engulfed him when Charlie died, and later when his marriage ended.

"Well, I've been afraid of changing
'Cause I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older
And I'm getting older too."

“Older,” he thought, “yeah, can relate to that sentiment. I wonder if Sam feels it as well?”

"Oh, take my love, take it down
Climb a mountain and turn around
If you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well the landslide will bring it down
If you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well the landslide will bring it down."

Jack could see that Sam was not entirely impressed by their choice. He wondered if it was on purpose or just a mood on their part. He was happy when they decided on something a little more fun for their next choice. Whatever devil had gotten into them, they chose Toby Keith’s Beer For My Horses.

How, he wondered, would the citizenry react to things like 6 o’clock news and car? But it appears as if the people got into the swing of things and caught onto the chorus.

"We’ll raise up our glasses against evil forces
Singing whiskey for my men, beer for my horses"

When everything was cleaned up for the night, they all went to their rooms and got ready for bed.
Jack noted Sam’s tension. “Still worrying about that kiss?” Jack thought. “Well, under other circumstances, she should.”

Sam gave him a grateful look. She sensed that he knew what she was feeling. How he always knew when she was disturbed, even under the slightest sign, must be attributed to his training.

It was his training all right. It was his training based on his awareness of her. She’d gotten his attention from the minute she’d walked in the door for that mission to Abydos. And he had never stopped learning about her.

When he came back several hours later he smiled as he looked at her on the bed. His Major was wrapped in a blanket and sleeping almost diagonally on the bed, hugging his pillow. His pillow, because there were only two and her head was already resting on hers.

He managed to disentangle her from the blanket, rescue his pillow and get into bed without disturbing her. Or so he thought. Her awareness of him, sharpened by their years together, was triggered when he came into the room and she automatically adjusted herself to move into his arms when he lay down. He wondered at how the strict adherence to the rules of “engagement”, as it were, managed to be discarded when one slept. But, as in Manchester, this was the one time where the two could actually relax and not think about their assignments. Jack shifted Sam one last time and went to sleep.

Several more times during the next two weeks, Jack and David, sometimes joined by either Colin or Steven would go towards the castle and attempt to get closer to the “forbidden zone”.

Sam, Vicky and sometimes Rachel ended up having to go on the “rescue the wayward husbands” trip. Sometimes the rescue tended to be more perilous than what men were into. The guards had, periodically grabbed at the women and put their hands in places that would have been broken, had they been in other situations.

One night, after a particularly harrowing altercation, Jack brought up, once again, that they had to try and get into that room. They needed to look around and to see exactly what was there and where it would be found.
Sam had reached her breaking point. After several attempts in their latter forays to point out that there had to be another way, and being ignored, by the men-meaning Jack-she broke in and pointed out the continued idiocy behind their missions.

Jack, who had already reached that point and what was more, frustrated because of it, ushered everyone out of the room. And his tone brooked no questions or protests. As they were all at that point and had a few things to say to each other, they just left. At least the men were at that point to leave. Rachel and Vicky had no desire to leave Sam to Jack’s tender mercies, but they were dragged out by their respective partners, leaving the two officers alone.

Sam took one look at Jack’s eyes and knew that there would be no talking to him and she didn’t think their yelling at each other would gain anything. She had started to suggest that perhaps she should take a walk, and when both of them were able to take a breath without sounding like they weren’t sure where the next one was coming from, then it would be the best time to talk. And she was heading for the door when she said it.

Jack moved so fast to grab her, that if pressed she wouldn’t be able to tell anyone whether he uncoiled like a snake or sprang like a cat. All she knew was that he had her back pressed against the door and that he was pressed, full length, against her.

He spoke very low and his voice was very smooth. She remembered, that he got like that when he was angry. He supported his arms against her shoulders and she put her hands around his biceps to balance and support herself.
“Major,” his voice sounded so quietly against her ear. She felt his breath on her neck and couldn’t hold back a shiver. How she hated being so aware of this man. And yet, there was no other man that she wanted to be aware of. “I am not going to tell you again. I am in charge if this mission and if I decide that we need to keep taking that chance, then we will.”

Sam closed her eyes and swallowed and tried to keep her voice even when she replied, “How often do you think the wayward husband routine is going to work. Sir?”

“The answer then, is quite simple,” he retorted. “Don’t look for us, where we are, try looking elsewhere.”

His eyes stared straight into hers. He had to calculate just exactly how much he needed to scare her. When he’d come on to those guards with their hands on the women, he’d felt a great rage in him. He’d known that all three of them could’ve easily taken on the guards, but because they were not able to show their strength, their helplessness had been even worse.

One guard had had his hand underneath Sam’s gown, stroking her thighs and he had seen the mixture of anger and fear in her eyes. The guard had as well and seemed to enjoy the fear he’d put there. Had the men not chosen that moment to come out, well, he didn’t want to think about the many different ways he could have killed that man, and what it would have done to the mission. The fact that the men had shown up had caused the guards to release the women and they had all returned to the Inn.

“I mean it Sam.” His voice was soft and silky, but had a hard and dangerous edge to it. Sam could almost smell the danger around him. She knew that he had to have that edge to him, that dark and dangerous part of him that made him invaluable to the Black Ops missions. She had never thought or hoped that she would see or feel that part of him. Part of her was repelled, but a part, a deep and dark and danger seeking part of her, was fascinated and drawn to it. “Don’t make me have to remind you again.”

Almost as if he was tempting the devil, he kissed her. She had responded, more out of surprise, than of deliberate behavior, but she had responded. Giving her cheek a gentle caress, he moved away and left the room.

Vicky was waiting for him to leave. She slipped in the room right after and found Sam sitting on the floor. Seeing the dazed and glazed look on her face, she put down the mug she was holding when she came in.

Vicky helped Sam to the bed and tucked her in. Handing her the mug she explained that it was ‘hot toddy’ and guaranteed to make her sleep quite well. Sam thanked her, drank it and did fall asleep. How much was due to the honey meade in the tea or her own body’s reaction to her interaction with Jack, she didn’t care.

The next couple of days were tense ones. The men kept trying to work around getting into the lab and getting out of it. Jacob and the other members of the Tok’ra set up shop near the area and Jack and David made sure they were more circumspect and less likely to be noticed.

Everyone, however, noticed the tension between Jack and Sam. Jacob made the mistake of trying to approach both and Selmak had to calm him down.

"Drop your silver in my tambourine.
Help a poor man fill his pretty dream.
Give me pennies, I'll take anything.
Now listen while I play my green tambourine.
Watch the jingle jangle start to shine,
Reflections of the music that is mine.
When you toss a coin, you'll hear it sing.
Now listen while I play my green tambourine.
Drop a dime before I walk away.
Any song you want, I'll gladly play.
Money feeds my music machine.
Now listen while I play my green tambourine."

Jack stared down at his mug when this song was played. The tension between Sam and himself was starting to wear on them both. He refused to sleep in the same bed next to her, he didn’t trust himself. The other members were skittish around him and Master Soames was starting to take notice.

Finally David said a very good Anglo-Saxon word and pulled Jacob, Steven and Colin towards Jack. The four of them sat down and David took Jack’s mug of ale away from him.

“Whatever it is that you need to straighten out with my daughter, do it,” Jacob began. He raised his right hand when Jack started to talk. “I don’t want to hear it. All I want to hear is that you fixed it.”

“Jack,” David added, “it is starting to affect us and those around us. Don’t you think people have noticed what is going on?”

“It’s drawing attention to us. The guards are going to start noting that your wife isn’t looking for you. I know that you two are having some …well, ‘issues’ about this, but you have to work it out. And fast.”

“Listen,” Vicky began, “Do you remember our little talk in Manchester? About why we picked you and Colonel O’Neill?”

“Nothing has changed our minds about your effectiveness or your integrity,” Rachel added.

“But whatever it is you two need to work through, do it fast,” Vicky added urgently. “We don’t have much time, you know.”

“We have to wrap this up, either within the castle or without. But if your fighting with Jack is going to keep us from doing it the easy way, well, that is the way it will be,” Rachel said, “but I would much rather do it the way we planned.”

"We have some problems coming," David started without any fanfare. Jack’s eyebrows went up. “The Lord’s guards are searching for someone,” David informed him. He wasn’t sure what or who they were looking for, but they were just entering the inns and the rooms of the guests, without so much as a how do you do.

"I know that you and the Missus just managed to get your bearings back, eh." David started. Jack was almost afraid to hear what was coming next. “Well, remember when I told you that things were liable to get a bit dicey, Mate?”

"Well, your intimacy level with Sam is going up a few notches." Jack’s pupils reacted and he nodded for David to continue. "Whatever it is you need to do, to convince the guards you are intimate with your wife, do it and quickly. They need to walk in on you and Sam…well, you know…"

"Listen I know that this will put some pressure on your relationship. But I did warn you that you may have to step things up a bit… and here is the bit."

David then whistled and Colin and Steven looked out their rooms. Vicky had heard David talking to Jack and went to warn Rachel. The two women were already undressing and getting into bed. David departed leaving Jack to break it to Sam.

The noise of the guards in the downstairs room penetrated his shocked brain and he moved into their room.
Sam looked at him, speculation clearly noted in her eyes.

"Then strip and do it quickly. Get under the covers and whatever you do, don’t react or respond to anything I do. Our lives depend on it."

What spurred Sam to action was the noise coming up the stairs and the fact that Jack was undressing hurriedly. Sam’s hands were shaking and Jack finally walked over and stripped off most of her clothes and pushed her into bed and position himself and the covers over Sam. That made it look like they were both naked and he was in the middle of making love to his wife.

And it appeared as if they had just made the scene happen when the door suddenly burst in and angry voices demanded that they check his room.

Jack, making a show of covering up his wife and making it look like he was hiding her naked body from the guards stood up and was every inch the angry and frustrated husband. Sam being torn between being shocked at seeing his very naked back and from fits of giggling, chose to remain hidden under the covers, making it appear as if she was shaking from fear and anger.

"What is that you think you are doing here?" Jack’s voice had the proper inflection of an outraged husband.

"And, "Jack answered in the same tone, "you expected to find him in this room, in my bed, with my wife?"

Standing in front of the guards, and embarrassed as hell, he put on the perfect front of an outraged and extremely frustrated husband, who put forth the impression that whatever headway he made with her this night would be completely gone.

Jack watched them close the door and then he went to sit on the bed, wrapping himself in what part of the covers he could. Sam could hear him taking deep breaths and muttering under his breath about their parentage and what he would like to do them. Sam came out from under the covers. She had managed to compose herself, but her eyes still held the glint of fear, but also hint of humor.

Sam put her other hand to his mouth. "I know," she said simply and quietly. "It’s alright."

Jack looked at her for a long moment and nodded, "I really would like to get some clothes on right now." He appeared embarrassed and almost hesitant in this statement, so unlike the confident individual that Sam knew. But she also knew that this situation could harbor some feelings and emotions that probably should be better left for another day. Sam pulled her hand from his and pulled the covers over her. When Jack indicated he was dressed, she poked out her head. She noted he was at the door. He didn’t need to tell her that he was going to the dining room for an ale. She suspected that David, Steven and Colin would be joining him. She also knew that Rachel and Vicky would be coming to her as well.

She got out of the bed and slowly straightened out what clothing she had on. And it wasn’t much at all. She marveled at how quickly he managed to undress her. Shaking her head she finished dressing and it wasn’t long before the women joined her. Vicky, ever the mother hen, had a cup of tea for Sam.

"Me mum told me, that everything can be made right with a cuppa," Vicky explained.

For Sam it was a fitful night. For Jack, there was no sleep at all. He worried about what he would do if he got into bed with her, and he was also worried that those guards might return to examine his "property" a little closer and he wouldn’t risk that.

The next morning, the lack of sleep that Jack had, showed. He was terse, tense and obviously very out of sorts.
None of the others had slept any better, but Jack and Sam at least kept their relationship as steady as it had been. Neither of them talked about that last night and wouldn’t tolerate any jokes from the others, as they had tried to use humor to lighten things.

The invitation to the castle came that same day. Jack was wondering if last night was not a test of whether they were whom they say there were. No one in the Inn talked about last night’s visit by the guards or provided any information or speculation about the so-called escapee.

Obviously, coming in and interrupting a husband and wife in the act of husbandly duties, must have convinced them that they were for real. Thankfully, they had made their peace several days before. It would have been a different story had they not.

Jack thanked Master Soame’s for his congratulatory words and assured him that they had never been treated better and truly appreciated his hospitality.

Jack was also quite puzzled that Master Soame’s didn’t even bring up the previous night. This made Jack even more sure it had been a set up.

David came over and Jack silently handed him the parchment with the seal of ‘the Lord’.

Jack nodded and wondered where he had seen one like it before. He could only shake his head though after a few minutes of ruminating with David.

“Well, no matter now,” David agreed. “In three days, we hit the big time.”

Jacob and the Tok’ra operative with him had decided they were going to move their stand closer to the castle. If they had to move quickly, they all needed to be together.

Sam and Vicky were told and asked to pass on the information to the others. Sam watched Jack move around their room. Outward appearances showed nothing of the tension in his movements. Always controlled and focused, they appeared to be more so now. Sam wondered if anyone else really saw just how focused he was, even when he played the fool. Too many people underestimated Jack O’Neill and paid the price for it. The Asgard knew what he was really like and that was why they trusted and depended on him so much.Jacob and his Tok’ra partner, Ser’ka joined David and Jack in a later night meeting. They sat around the small table in Jacob’s tent and went over the drawings they’d made of the castle and where the lab was.

“The trick,” Jacob told them, “is to avoid the changing of the guards. The Lord is quite paranoid and appears to change them randomly.”

“That means the concert has to begin almost immediately and end right before they change.”

“I figured,” Jacob continued, “on 2 hours and 30 minutes. Let them think the band has about a 15 minute break. When they don’t return in maybe about 20-25 minutes, then they would be looking and we should be gone.”

“It will have to be that way,” Ser’ka put in. “We can’t afford to give them anymore leeway than that.”

“It is going to be a fast run to the gate, guys,” Jack said. It was almost under his breath and he wondered if they could run that fast. Even at a dead run…

“We will have to do what we can,” Jacob said. “There may be a backup, but we can’t count on it.”

David briefed Rachel, Steven and Colin and then the three of them went through their music. They decided to keep the dramatic songs to the end. They were long and emotional and maybe just might keep the people tired enough to not mind the longer break they would be taking.

Rachel was very tense when she finally presented the songs to the others. Jack and David noted it and asked her what was up.

“I just don’t like cutting things so close,” she answered simply. “I’ve been doing this for a long time and as we always have had a plan B.”

Jack laughed. He knew how she felt. Plan B-whether it existed or not, was always something you had to have, or think you did anyway.

The night before the concert, they had all gathered in Jack and Sam’s room. Each of them going over the plan one more time.

That night Jack and Sam, and possibly the others, listened once again to Rachel’s soft voice singing the “Young Prince and Princess” from the Song of Scheherezade. The song seemed to soothe her and in turn, soothed the others.

Jack gathered Sam into his arms and she came without resistance. As strange as the encounter was a few days ago, it appeared as if they managed to put it where it belonged - as a reaction to a dangerous encounter and nothing personal. However, it was personal. It was quite obvious that their bodies’ reactions to each other was quite real and quite dangerous as well. It served more as an example to just exactly what they were thinking, if not feeling, and had it been any other situation, it could have been more than just a reaction.

In the morning they gathered up their instruments and a few other articles. They left quite a bit in their rooms. Jacob explained that it must appear as if they were returning. If they took everything, there would be some questions and some eventual inspections.

“We don’t need them to be nosing around the castle while we are there. Leave everything here. Especially,” he looked directly at Rachel, “if it is a favored instrument.”

“It comes with me,” she retorted, “even if a have to wear it instead of my clothes.”

Sam knew that the dulcimer was a family heirloom and was over 100 years old. Rachel told her that it had been in her family and they were originally from the Appalachian Mountain Area of West Virginia.

Jacob and the group had argued over the instruments. Rachel, however, had made a point of taking that dulcimer everywhere, so if she walked off with it, she pointed out, no one would be suspicious.

“You had better hope you are right Miss,” Jacob said quite sternly, “we don’t need any give-aways.”

Steven and Colin laughed. “Jacob, when you leave behind some of the instruments, that we will be leaving behind. Give-aways are not the problem.”

The two were right. Some of those instruments had the look and feel of very old instruments and some of them appeared to be right out of an Elizabethan museum.

Jack went over to Rachel and put a hand on her arm. “Just be careful. If it comes down to us or you or the instrument.”

Rachel indicated she knew where her duty lay. Jack nodded and walked back to the others.

Colin and Steven put their arms around Rachel. She did know where her duty lay. A number of antique instruments and other heirlooms were left because of a hasty retreat and they knew she would do what was needed.

Sam watched as Jack paced the room. She could only watch. He didn’t appear to want to talk to anyone or hear from anyone and so he paced.

He went over to the trunk and pulled out his P-90 and a Zat gun. David and the other two men had them as well. He handed the Zat to Sam.

When they arrived, they found that the group and David were busy setting up. They would be using all acoustic instruments, obviously, and some wind and drums.

Jacob had opened his stand and had fresh bread baking. Ser’ka had ale and meade set up as well. The guards checked through the stands and stole some bread and ale, but left the singers alone.

As soon as they started to sing, Jacob, Ser’ka, Jack and David headed off to the area where the lab was.
Sam and Vicky stood by watching and waiting.

The group had their songs planned out, almost to the minute. Sam was glad that they knew their music well enough to go ahead with it. Her heart was pounding. Vicky was also watchful. A few times the guards came over and made some obscene remarks to the two women that they endeavored to ignore. Sam saw from Vicky’s eyes that there were a few things she would like to do to them as well and smiled. Vicky caught her smile and smiled as well. The smiles were particularly evil enough to have the guards decide to bother someone else instead.
The group soon launched into the last part of their songs.

They opted to do Scheherezade, all three parts and then the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

The Renaissance songs were tough to do with just the acoustic and percussion instruments, but they had managed to work them out just right. Rachel’s voice did have a haunting quality to it and managed to mesmerize the audience.Jack, Jacob, David and Ser’ka had just made it to the lab. Ser’ka stood watch and they heard Rachel’s voice starting her solo.“Okay, we have got to find it quickly.” Jack told them.

They searched through the lab as quietly and as quickly as they could. David found a notebook and held it up for Jack.

“Do you think we could use this?” he asked.

Soon Jacob indicated that they had found the dishes and the test tubes. He gathered them up and put them in the backpack he had and then they left the lab.

"The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called “Gitche Gumee…”

The group had just begun the opening of Gordon Lightfoot’s song and they headed around the corner. Guards were appearing to be ready to go and trade places.

"…as the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
with a crew and good captain well seasoned,… "

They were 15 minutes too late. Jack swore softly under his breath and looked to the others.

"…Does anyone know, where the love of god goes
when the waves turn the minutes to hours?…"

They started to pull out their weapons when a voice came softly from another part of the hall.

"…Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
in the rooms of her ice-water mansion.
Old Michigan steams like a young man’s dreams;…"

“There is no need,” the voice said softly. “Selmak, it is I, Ba’rak.” A tall and spare-framed man appeared. Wearing the mark of the body servant of ‘the Lord’.

Ba’rak?” Jacob said with surprise. “They didn’t tell me you would be here.”

“It is because I do not yet have a symbiote that they sent me. We could not know whether or not this ruler was a Goa’uld. Had I symbiote and he was, it would have been finished.”

“Even a body servant has needs Jack. He will not miss me, unless I do not return when the singers do. I have told him that only I could make sure that his food and drink would be safe, and as I owe my life to him…”

“He believed you.” Ba’rak nodded. “And when you don’t show?” Jack persisted.

"…The church bell chimed, it rang twenty-nine times
for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald…"

“I have set it up that it would appear I was attacked and killed. Something has to cover your disappearance,” Ba’rak told them. “And, as you left your rooms with all your belongings, they will believe that someone attacked you as well. Hurry.”

They hurried to the stage area and found Sam and Vicky waiting. They got there just as the song ended and the group, with Rachel holding her beloved dulcimer, bowed and promised to return after they had a short break.
The shouting and the whistling managed to make enough noise for them to follow the others and they all followed Ba’rak.

They ended up in a storage area and Ba’rak went over to a cabinet and opened it. Pressing a few buttons a voice was heard.

With just enough time, they heard the guards shouting and feet were heading towards where they were.

They had all gathered where he had indicated and then were ringed up to a Tok’ra ship that had been cloaked.
They didn’t know that all hell had broken loose after that. What was supposedly left of Ba’rak’s body was found by the guards. Also, the planted remains of the singers were found.

When the guards went into the Inn, they had found that the rooms that they had been in had been ransacked. Clothes, instruments and personal items were strewn all over the room.

‘The Lord’ was in a high state of anger and no one dared approach. He had locked himself in his chamber and they heard the sounds of screaming and furniture being destroyed.

On the ship Jack led Sam over to her father and he sat in a corner, where he could see her, but she could not see him. He knew that if the two of them sat together on the trip to the first planet they found with a gate, the game would be over for both of them. He knew that she understood and Jacob could only nod and gather his daughter into his arms.

Ba’rak had told them that one of the Tok’ra on the ship had ringed down days ago and hid, long enough to destroy their belongings and they gated out. He could not tell them if ‘The Lord’ was a Goa’uld or not. He thought maybe that he was, but he could not be sure.When the seven returned to the gateroom General Hammond welcomed them home and accepted the pack from Jacob.

Seeing how very tired they all were, he told them to find their quarters and they would talk in the morning.
The briefing was quick and too the point.

“Well,” General Hammond looked at the CIA team, “where are you going next?”

“We are really a singing group,” Rachel told him. “And we will be playing in Colorado Springs in about 3 months. We will be letting you know of course.”

Hammond was surprised, but then, he thought, why would he be. He had, after all, a team that walked through a ring and visited other planets.

Later that night, Jonas and Teal’c were each reading through the information that was brought back. Something in the journal caused Jonas to grunt in surprise and then pull out a book on Indian lore.

“Yes, he was known as the destroyer. But how would he figure on a planet with Elizabethan antecedents?”

They could only shake their heads. There were too many Goa’ulds with godlike ambitions and some of them…they could only guess at what went on in their minds.

Two dim lights flashed at the window of ‘the Lord’s’ castle. People wandering past at that moment could only wonder at the flash. The “lights” had been too dim and had burned too briefly to have been candles. Shiva rarely caused ‘the Lord’s’ eyes to flash. He didn’t want to reveal anything about himself, didn’t want anyone looking for him. But at that moment he’d been angry…

"The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
If the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
Superior, they say, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early."

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