With thanks to Minxy, for reminding me of this marvelous fic...

Title: West
Author's LJ/DWJ: minnow1212
Categories: Sam, S8, stranded, character study
Warnings: none
Author's Webpage/Fic list: Fanfic Index on LJ
Link to story: West

Why this should be read: Minnow calls this lovely little character study a "snippet fic." It is, I suppose, only a bit of what might possibly be a larger story. But really, it's all I need.

Because Minnow gave us Sam, in Season Eight.

And took away her team…

And the ability to communicate with the confused locals…

And even the knowledge of where to look for the Stargate.

She pared her down to the essentials – and kept her beautifully, absolutely Sam.

And anyway, I can't resist the idea of Sam considering that the next time she has to draw a picture of Daniel for the natives, she should emphasize the eyebrows instead of the glasses. :)

(Oh, and don't forget the little additional snippet, hidden in the comments!)


In one village, when she touches the dog tags and asks if the villagers have seen men who wear similar things, they want to exchange her dog tags for a necklace made of green stones. She refuses in a way that makes them angry with her, apparently; they speak coldly and turn their backs, and she leaves that village with no map, no guide, no extra food.

If by chance one of her team is following her trail, or if the Air Force tracks her down, they cannot be fooled into believing her dead. They have to keep looking.

As she marches for the two days it takes to reach the next village, she clutches the tags. But then, when she comes in view of the village, she slips them beneath her t-shirt. They stay there from then on.

She knows then how easy it would be to lose her dog tags. If she finds theirs in the hands of some villager, she vows, she will not take it as proof of their deaths. She will keep looking, she will keep looking, she will keep looking.