"Heard it before, sir."
Sgsgsgsg
Sam leaned back on the stool in her lab and arched her spine, pressing her right hand into the small of her back and groaning. At twenty nine weeks her pregnancy had seemed to swell overnight. She had had to give up on Air Force clothes and was wearing a pair of maternity khakis and a voluminous white cotton shirt and white tennis shoes, laced loosely as her feet had taken to swelling at the least provocation. She slipped down off the stool and did a few stretches before moving over to the computer in the corner. The monitor was dark and she startled as she caught sight of her reflection in the screen. For a moment she just stared then she decisively stabbed the power button and made her image disappear. She worked for a few minutes, then saved to a floppy, retrieved it, powered down and left the lab.
"Ma'am?" The strange man glanced at her over his shoulder. Then a slow smile slid over his face and he turned, "Well, hello."
He was taller than Sam and a good deal heavier, thick set and muscular with a hard face and unfathomable eyes. He was wearing anonymous green BDUs. Sam's chin came up and her eyes sparked.
"I haven't seen you around before." His smile was fixed as his gaze roved Sam's body, taking in her left hand and lingering on her belly and her breasts, "I would remember." His glacial eyes glittered.
"What's your name?" Sam demanded.
"Why?" He smiled lazily and took a step closer to her, "You know you may just be the cutest thing I've seen since I arrived at this godforsaken hole in the ground."
"I suggest you do a one eighty, airman," Sam said brusquely.
He reached one arm over her shoulder and rested his weight on the wall, leaning close to her cheek and inhaling, "You smell pretty good too, sugar." He trailed a finger up her arm, brushing against the curve of her breast.
Sam smiled a cool smile and grabbed his testicles in her left hand and squeezed hard.
"That would be Major Sugar to you," she suggested as his legs buckled and his eyes glazed, his face turning beetroot. "Tell me your name." He choked, tears streaming down his face as she maintained her grip.
The elevator came to a halt and the doors slid open to reveal Sergeant Siler.
"I see you've met Lieutenant Cambridge, ma'am," he said after a beat.
"Yes. He was just introducing himself." Sam released her hold on him and Cambridge slid down the steel wall, his hands clasped in his lap. He was panting and sobbing.
"Would you escort the lieutenant to the infirmary, sergeant? Ask Doctor Fraiser to take a look at him?" Sam hesitated on the threshold of the elevator and studied the moaning man on the floor for a second, "Then if you would escort him to the brig?"
"Yes, ma'am." Siler nodded and the elevator doors closed.
Sgsgsgsg
An hour later, Janet hurried into Sam's lab. "Are you okay?" She grabbed Sam's arm in both hands.
Sam looked up from the eyepiece of the microscope and nodded, "Yes."
"He said he didn't hurt you. Is that true?" Janet demanded. Her eyes were wide, the irises black as soot.
"It's true. He's just a Neanderthal who missed his sensitivity training, Janet. It's nothing to worry about." Sam shrugged.
"He's in the brig."
"Yeah, I called his CO. We agreed I wouldn't charge Cambridge with harassment if he cooled his jets in there overnight."
"Is that good enough?"
"No. He's on report too."
Janet considered Sam's unflustered demeanor for a moment then nodded, "Okay. But if he bothers you again I won't treat his bruised testes - I'll cut them off."
Sam lifted one eyebrow, "With a blunt scalpel?"
"I keep one especially blunted. It's in my desk drawer." Janet patted her arm and backed towards the door.
"Is he okay?"
"He'll live. And reproduce mores the pity."
"I had no idea you could be so vindictive, doctor. I find it a little disturbing."
Janet laughed evilly and disappeared into the corridor.
Sgsgsgsg
"Hey! Mini-me! You're on chow tonight."
"That's actually halfway original, sir. Well done."
"I'm really starting to dislike you, Hailey."
Sgsgsgsg
A three a.m. desire for a cold glass of milk drew Sam downstairs. She did not turn on any lights, relying on her knowledge of the layout of the house and furniture to guide her down the stairs and through to the kitchen.
"I was wondering when some one was going to show up."
Sam, her oversized nightshirt flapping around her knees, stopped dead at the foot of the stairs.
A bulky figure sat in the shadows masking the far end of the couch.
"Who the� how the hell did you get in here." Sam darted to the table under the window, wrenched open the small drawer and pulled out a Beretta. Half a second later the pistol was cocked and aimed.
The figure slowly reached out an arm and clicked on a lamp.
Aris Boch sat on Janet Fraiser's couch. He was minus the body armor Sam had last seen him wearing and she could see no visible weapons. He had changed his hair color to dark brown but his eyes were the same light green and he still had his chinstrap scar. He was smiling.
"What you call top of the line security I call child's play. Speaking of which - you're positively blooming, major."
"What are you doing here?"
"I was offered a job: Collect Samantha Carter's child. The price was exorbitantly high, only a fool would have refused."
"I won't go with you." Sam clenched her teeth and firmed up her aim on the space between his eyes.
"The offer wasn't for you, major," Boch said softly.
"No one's getting their hands on this baby." Murder reflected bleakly in her eyes, "I'll kill him myself before I let Apophis get a hold of him."
"Relax, Sam." Boch uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, "I didn't take the job. Well, Apophis thinks I did but�." He shrugged.
"Then� why are you here?"
"To warn you. I didn't take the job but there are a number of hunters who don't share my scruples. I know of at least two who took the contract. If I can get to you this easily�."
Sam circled and sat down in the chair, without taking her eyes or her aim off the bounty hunter.
"Hey, relax. There is some good news." Sam frowned at him. He produced a small electronic device out of his pocket, "These are the harmonic frequencies of the shields the two hunter's ships will be using. With these you can detect the ships even when they are cloaked. I'm sure even this backwards little planet could manage to find something to blow them out of the sky with."
"You're really going to help me?"
Boch nodded, "I know. I'm going soft." He spread his hands and leaned back in the cushions.
"Why?"
"Because you took the roshna and didn't make me any rash promises."
"We couldn't manufacture an antidote," Sam said quickly, "We gave half of the sample you gave me to the Tok'ra. They say they're working on it."
"But there are so few of them." Boch spread his hands, palms up, "The fate of my little corner of the galaxy doesn't mean that much to people fighting to save the whole thing."
Sam frowned. Then she shook her head, "I'm sorry, I'm not buying this."
"You're very astute."
"So, what's really going on?"
"Let's just say, someone made me an offer I can't refuse." A beatific smile unfurled across his scarred countenance.
"To do what?"
"Exactly what I've told you."
"Which part?"
"The helping you part."
"Who?"
"Can't tell you that. It's all very hush hush."
Sam shook her head vigorously, "This is too much."
"Look. Gauron and Speck are less than twelve hours behind me. If you're going to make use of this you need to move now." Boch placed the device on the coffee table, "And I need a favor."
Sam smiled like the other shoe had dropped, "Oh, yes?"
"I need to go through your Stargate."
"Why?" Sam frowned, "You didn't get here through the 'gate. Where's your ship?"
"It's in orbit. It's going to blow up at the same time as those guys." Boch nodded at the handheld computer on the table.
"Why?"
"So Apophis believes I was killed trying to get to you. I'm retiring, major."
"And you just had to help me before you quit?"
Boch sighed impatiently, "I told you, some one made it worth my while."
"Yeah but I'm having trouble coming up with some one with the resources to do that."
"I'm sorry about that. But I gave my word I wouldn't tell you." Boch rested his arm along the back of the couch and bore her scrutiny with a serene expression.
Sam considered Boch for a long moment then she sighed and reached over the back of the arm chair to retrieve the 'phone from the table under the window. As she dialed she asked,
"How did you get in here?"
"I walked in."
"There are cameras and motion detectors all around the house. Not to mention a couple of Security Forces officers in a van across the road."
"I know." Boch touched a device on his belt and his image shimmered and vanished. A second later he reappeared, "Pretty neat, huh?"
Sam nodded then spoke into the mouthpiece, "This is Major Sam Carter. I need a secure transport to the base. Also, could you page the rest of SG1 and the general to meet me there? No, there's no cause for alarm. I have a - friend - who has something to show them."
Sgsgsgsg
When Jack arrived in the control room Sergeant Davis and Lieutenant Simmons were conferring, seated in front of the workstation overlooking the 'gate room. Sam was standing behind them, hands on her hips and chewing her lip as she listened in, nodding. General Hammond was hovering near her elbow while Daniel, Teal'c and Janet Fraiser stood out of the way. Aris Boch was under the guard of two muscular SFs a little further back. Jack did not look at him.
"Hey. What's going on?"
"There!" Simmons exclaimed, stabbing his finger at the monitor. "It's working!"
"Like there was ever any doubt," Boch scoffed. No one looked at him.
"What's working?" Jack peered over Simmons' shoulder.
"We're looking at deep space radar telemetry, colonel," Davis tapped the screen. "These two slow moving objects are the ships of a pair of bounty hunters on their way here."
Jack straightened and pointed at the floor, "Here?"
Sam nodded, "They're after me." She said tightly, "Or rather they're after the Harsesis." She smoothed her palm over her belly.
"Damn. How do we know?"
Sam nodded over her shoulder, "He told me."
Jack glanced at Boch, "And we trust him?"
"Mister Boch supplied the shield frequencies which are allowing us to detect the bounty hunters' ships," Hammond said. "Without that information we wouldn't be able to see them coming."
Jack considered Boch's grinning visage for a moment, "And we trust him?"
"He says someone's paid him to help protect Sam." Janet favored Boch with a scornful glare.
"Who?" Jack demanded.
"He won't say." Daniel rocked on the balls of his feet, "This isn't entirely out of character, Jack. He did free Teal'c that time."
"For free," Boch interjected.
"Just because he did the right thing that one time doesn't mean we should automatically trust him now." Jack addressed his remarks to Daniel.
"You're right." Boch nodded, "But you don't need to trust me. If those ships belonged to any of your allies they would have contacted you by now or they'd come by 'gate. Logic dictates that they are enemies."
Hammond stared at Boch, "That's true."
Boch nodded and rubbed his palms together, "Well, I don't have any further business here, so if you'll dial the co-ordinates I gave you I'll just be moving along."
"Or you could wait here until we blow those ships out of the sky," Jack suggested.
"Why? I've done what I said I would do."
"Humor me."
"Whatever." Boch shrugged, "If I'm staying, maybe I could get something to eat? Maybe, a quarter pounder? With cheese? You won't believe how hard it is to get a decent burger anywhere else in the galaxy."
"Escort Mister Boch to secure quarters," Hammond ordered.
The two SFs nodded and took hold of the bounty hunter's elbows.
"What about my burger?"
"And get him something to eat."
Boch let himself be taken away.
"Keep you eyes on those ships, gentlemen." Hammond indicated the screen, "Let me know if they do anything strange. The rest of you, let's move this discussion some where more comfortable."
Hammond led the way to the briefing room. He waited until everyone had taken a seat and Teal'c had poured water for anyone who wanted it.
"Opinions?"
"Whoever they are, they're not friendlies," Jack said.
"Actually, that's not necessarily true," Daniel opined. "They could just be strangers. They may have no harmful intent at all."
"What? They're just dropping by to catch a movie? See the sights?"
"The Asgard have been doing just that for decades, Jack." Daniel persisted.
"They're not Asgard."
"No, they're not. But my point is that if we hadn't met the Asgard and didn't know that they're the good guys and we saw their ships coming, we'd be making a mistake blowing them out of the sky."
The people seated around the table considered this argument.
"Can we take the risk that Boch is lying?" Janet asked.
"And why would he?" Hammond added.
"He's a mercenary, sir. He'll do whatever it is his paymaster wants." Jack pressed his thumbs into the corners of his eyes.
"So, I guess, the real question is: what are the motives of the person who has sent him?" Hammond suggested. "If we knew who was paying him maybe we'd understand."
"He wouldn't tell me," Sam said tersely.
"I'll go talk to him."
Sgsgsgsg
Jack changed into BDUs before going to the cell where Boch was waiting. He considered the bounty hunter through the glass in the door for a few minutes. He was sitting at the table; leaning back with his ankles crossed and was perusing a copy of Whistle Blower magazine.
"Okay." Jack nodded to the guard who swiped his electronic key card and opened the door.
"Oh, hey, Jack." Boch beamed as he spotted the greasy brown paper bag in his hand, "Is that my burger?"
"Yeah," Jack dumped it on the table, "Knock your self out."
He pulled out the adjacent seat and swung it round to face him before straddling it. He folded his arms on the back of the chair and grimaced as Boch took a huge bite out of the massive burger he had brought.
"I promised I wouldn't say who's paying me, Jack. You wouldn't want me to break my word would you?" Boch caught the ketchup sliding down his chin with a napkin.
"What would happen if you did break your word?"
Boch's eyes glinted with interest, "What do you think?"
"I guess you wouldn't get paid."
"I've already been paid."
"Then I guess your client would demand a refund."
Boch shook his head, "Actually, she probably wouldn't. At worst she would be disappointed in me."
Jack narrowed his eyes, "Disappointed in you?"
"What? You were expecting that she'd have me killed? Or, at the very least, maimed?"
"Either option seems more likely of anybody who would hire you."
"She's not exactly what you would call typical." Boch took another bite then held the remaining half of the burger out to Jack, "This is a pretty good burger."
Jack shook his head, "What exactly did you get paid?"
Boch smiled slowly, a pleased expression softening his face, "Ah the seventy four thousand dollar question."
"Sixty four. So what? Money? That roshna stuff?"
"I don't need 'that roshna stuff' any more."
"So, a cure for your people's addiction?"
"No."
Jack snorted and threw up his hands, "Then what?"
"My son."
"You don't have a son."
"Actually, I do. And he was a prisoner in Sokar's naquadah mines - of course they're Apophis' mines now�."
"Osiris?"
"She's not a goa'uld or a Tok'ra, Jack. Give it up. I'm not going to tell you who paid me."
"But what harm could it do? If, like you say, she won't punish you for breaking your word?"
"But I'd disappoint her. And I really don't want to do that."
Sgsgsgsg
The screen over the window between Hammond's office and the briefing room was down and a graphic of Earth's near space was being displayed, a yellow curve represented the projected path of the alien intruders. Major Paul Davis, the SGC liaison at the Pentagon, was on the videophone, his image projected in a window alongside the graphic.
"As soon as the craft enter Colorado airspace the F16's will throw everything they've got at them." Davis explained. A scarlet curve appeared on the graphic to demonstrate the path of the protective missiles.
"That's letting them get a little close, isn't it?" Daniel frowned.
"We don't have anything that will knock them out before they enter the atmosphere, Doctor Jackson. Not yet," Hammond said.
"They don't know that we'll be able to see them so they shouldn't be alarmed by what looks like a routine training flight from Nellis," Davis added. "We have about five minutes before the targets come in range. Once the missiles are fired we'll only have sixty seconds to abort the mission before they are committed."
Jack came bounding up the stair case, "I think Buck is on the level, sir." He retook his seat.
"What makes you think so?"
"He's�" Jack shifted in his seat, "I think he's gone and got religion, sir."
"What?" Daniel blinked, swinging his head round to study Sam as she exclaimed and began nodding her head.
"That's what's different about him, sir. I knew there was something. He seems - at peace."
"You're sure, Jack?" Hammond asked.
Jack nodded, "Yes sir. Blast 'em."
"You heard the colonel, major. The mission is a go."
"Yes sir."
"Did he tell you who's paying him?" Janet asked.
"No. But he did tell me he's already been paid. 'She' has returned his son to him."
"She?" Daniel mouthed.
"Korra stated that Aris Boch did not have son, O'Neill."
"Turns out he was wrong about that."
"Here we go." Hammond nodded to the screen.
Tension mounted as the display zoomed in to show a representation of Colorado airspace. Two green dots represented the alien ships, a group of six blue triangles; the F16 squadron. Daniel inhaled as red streaked away from the blue.
"Last chance to abort," Davis said tensely, "Mission commit in ten, nine�"
Eight seconds later the green spots vanished.
"Waiting for visual confirmation," Davis said, holding a phone to his ear, "We got 'em, sir."
"Thank you, major. Good work. Please pass my congratulations to the pilots."
Davis grinned and nodded and the screen blanked.
"Well�." Jack gestured expansively, "Anyone for breakfast?"
"What about Boch?" Sam said.
"Let him go."
"Are you sure that is wise, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.
"Probably not but if we keep him here he'll eat us out of our budget."
Hammond smiled and shook his head, "We'll let him go because we have no reason to hold him."
"That too."
"Can I speak to him before he goes, sir? I'd like to thank him."
"I'll have him brought up. Then I suggest we all get some sleep."
Sgsgsgsg
Everyone but Janet had left Sam in the briefing room. At the major's nod the guards escorting the alien backed off although they kept their charge under their keen observation. Boch threw himself into the seat at the head of the table. He sat up with an expression of interest and swung the seat from side to side.
"Hey, can I get one of these?"
"What do you call your son?" Sam asked.
"Quezen. It was his mother's father's name."
"Why did Korra think he didn't exist?"
"What? You want my life story?" Boch said in exasperation. Sam nodded. "Okay. Okay. I'm a bounty hunter, right? Least I was. It didn't pay to let anyone know too much about me. Someone might figure out my weak point."
"Your Achilles heel." Janet nodded.
"What? Oh, that's an expression, right?" Janet nodded. "I like it. So, everywhere I went, everyone who asked me about myself, I told a different story. That way no one would ever know whether or not I actually really did have a son they could use against me."
"Cunning," Janet said.
"I like to think so."
"So, how come the person who paid you for this job knew about Quezen?"
Boch smiled slowly and sighed, "Because she can look at you and know everything there is to know. She looked at me and saw everything that I've done, everything I've been and she� she forgave me. No, she told me that it only mattered that I forgave myself."
"Wow," Sam said dryly, "What is she? Some kind of guru?"
Boch laughed and shook his head, wiping tears from his eyes, "You have no idea. But I will tell you this, that kid." He pointed at Sam, "He's got himself a powerful friend."
"I need to know," Sam said urgently.
"I'm sorry. I promised." He stood up, "Are you sure I can't get one of these?" He stroked the leather chair covetously.
"Maybe next time," Janet rose, "I'll show you to the 'gate."
"Will there be others?" Sam asked her voice strained.
Boch thought for a moment then shrugged, "I don't know. I� let's just say I wouldn't accept the job now. No point in accepting a job if you're going to be killed trying to get to the target. Bounty Hunters might be greedy but they're not stupid. Even the biggest prize is worthless if you're too dead to spend it."
He held Sam's gaze, his sapling green eyes serious and sincere.
"Thanks." Sam nodded.
"Good luck, major." Boch touched two fingers to his temple, "See you around the galaxy sometime."
Sgsgsgsg
After the excitement in the night, General Hammond had given the participants the following day off. Janet fully intended to do nothing all day but lie on the couch and read her new Cornwell novel. She was wearing chocolate sweat pants and a cream vest top and was barefoot, scarlet nail polish adorning her toes. Cassandra had been up early and, after breakfast, she and Sam had taken Dog to the park, an SF named Janice Kilbride, in tow.
The sounds of voices in the kitchen made Janet put down her paperback and lift her head, "Cass? Sam?"
"It's just me and Janice." Sam called, "Do you want a drink?"
"I'm okay." Janet settled down again.
A minute later Sam dropped onto the couch at her feet.
"There's a perfectly good armchair over there," Janet said, lifting her eyes to look pointedly at Sam over the top of the book.
"There's plenty of room here too, Shorty." Sam's lips quirked.
"Excuse me?" Janet slapped her book on her thigh, "Did you just call me Shorty?"
"Yes." Sam struggled to keep her face straight and avoided looking at Janet.
Janet blinked, "Why?"
"Because, you're not going to hit me in this condition," Sam grinned and turned, tucking one leg under her self.
Janet gaped and pulled herself up to rest on her elbow, "That's� that's." She narrowed her eyes, "Wait a minute. You've been talking to Colonel O'Neill, haven't you? Did he put you up to this?" Impish delight danced in Sam's eyes. "Just because I insisted he had that extra vitamin shot last week!"
"He said you used the biggest needle he had ever seen in his life."
Janet shrugged, "You would have thought that he would have learned, by now, that the longer he avoids keeping medical appointments the more painful they are."
"You don't?" It was Sam's turn to gape.
"Keep calling me Shorty and you'll find out."
Sam shut her mouth with a snap and studied Janet for a long moment then she smiled slowly, "I'm going to have to teach you to play chess, Janet. You'll wipe the floor with the colonel."
Janet shrugged and returned her attention to her novel, "Maybe not. We should leave him some dignity." She looked at her book for a moment then put it down again, "What happened to Cass?"
"We met Deana and Dominic at the park. She went off to the mall with them. Is that okay?" Sam rested her head against the back of the couch.
"Yeah, does she have her cell 'phone with her?"
"I gave her mine."
"Thanks." They exchanged a smile.
A yawn caught Sam off guard, its enormity making her jaw crack.
"Wow," Janet remarked. Sam nodded and rolled her eyes as a second yawn overcame her. "I think someone needs a nap."
Janet shifted over on the wide seat, making a space between her hip and the back of the couch which she patted invitingly, "You're right, there is plenty of room."
Sam toed off her sneakers, grabbed a cushion and scooted over, lying down on her side and folding her long legs up into the space she had been sitting in. She shoved the cushion under her head and pummeled at it, trying it out for comfort several times before sighing heavily and settling down. She lay still for a moment then huffed impatiently and started on the pillow again. Janet did not move during this assault on her soft furnishings but as Sam started to lever herself back to a sitting position she snatched the cushion away and tossed the offending item onto the floor.
"For God's sake, Sam, just lie down, will you?" Sam blinked then shrugged and obeyed, pillowing her head on Janet's stomach, hands curled under her chin. "Just remember I'm your pillow and don't punch me."
Sam nodded, buffing her cheek on the soft jersey of Janet's vest top. She sighed and closed her eyes. After a moment Janet's book free hand drifted down and began to slowly comb through Sam's hair.
"Are you okay, Sam? After last night I mean?"
Sam inhaled sharply. After a moment she nodded, "Yeah. I'm just hoping Aris was right. About the prize not being worth the risk, I mean."
"I'm still not sure about trusting him."
"I know. General Hammond said he'll ask the Tok'ra about him next time he talks to them. There's not much else we can do."
"I guess."
Sam sighed again and snuggled like a kitten and fell into a light doze.
When she awoke she had no idea how much time had passed. The light in the room was the same, she had not moved and Janet's fingers were still drifting through her hair. Sam laid still and quiet, breathing softly. She realized she could hear Janet's heart and listened to the slow, steady cadence for a while. Every so often there would be the sound of a page turning somewhere above her head.
"Jan?"
"Mm hm?"
"Can I ask you something?" Sam scratched lightly at the warm cotton under her cheek with one finger nail.
"Sure," Janet said quietly.
"Why can't you have any more babies?"
Janet stopped breathing for a moment and her pulse under Sam's cheek raced for a few beats.
"My uterus split in the fall. I had to have a hysterectomy," she said on a long exhalation.
"Oh." Sam studied the trail her fingernail had made, "I'm sorry."
Janet said nothing and a few moments later her hand returned to Sam's hair and she resumed her grooming. Sam closed her eyes for a few minutes then lifted her head and tilted it so that she could see Janet's face, or rather the paperback held in front of her face.
"Ask me something."
"What?" Janet frowned over the book.
"Ask me something. I asked you something so it's only fair you should ask me something."
"That's okay."
"No, Janet. Ask me something."
"Okay." Janet laid her book on her chest and thought for a moment as Sam returned her cheek to the spot it had warmed. "When did you first realize you were� that you�" Janet trailed off.
Sam looked around again, "That I didn't mind which side my bread was buttered on?"
Janet rolled her eyes, "Yeah. I mean�"
"I know what you mean." Sam laid down again and sighed. After a few minutes she bean to talk, "I lost my virginity when I was fifteen."
"Oh." Janet blinked.
"His name was Barry Nordstrom and he was a grease monkey at the auto repair shop my dad used. He was seventeen and knew about engines, it was love at first sight."
"I'll bet." Janet smiled.
Sam chuffed, "It happened on a Sunday afternoon in the back of Mrs. Benson's station wagon. She used the car for her dog grooming business. Afterwards Barry showed me how to clean a fuel pump."
"Who says romance is dead?"
Sam pinched her lightly, "Hey. I'm telling you a story here."
"Sorry."
"Okay. So two weeks and several other lessons in car maintenance later, Barry doesn't turn up for a date. He sends his cousin Justine instead."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes, really. She was nineteen and I didn't even realize she was seducing me until I was naked in her aunt's bed." Janet's heart rate had picked up a little. "Barry decided he had nothing more to teach me, about cars or otherwise, and ditched me for a cheer leader."
"Did he know? That you'd slept with his cousin?"
"God, no, Justine made sure I was terrified of him or any one else finding out. I had no clue what I was doing, Janet, all I knew about sex was how not to get pregnant and I damn sure couldn't talk to my dad." Sam's hand, resting on Janet's flank, was shaking. "She spent the rest of the summer tormenting me by getting us into situations where it was damn near inevitable we'd get caught then freaking out when it nearly happened." Sam took a deep breath, "I was fifteen. I'd had sex with Barry but Justine made love to me. I was as confused as hell and scared but she�" Sam shook her head.
"What?"
"She was just messing with my head like she messed with everyone's head. By the end of the summer she had me so confused I barely knew my own name. Then she took off for San Diego and I never heard from her again."
"Did she break your heart?"
"Yeah." Sam was quiet for a moment, "Three years later I looked up from a math text into the most amazing eyes I have ever seen. Alice had amber colored eyes and this mass of blonde curls�" Sam drifted for a moment. "But she screwed with my head too. She was active in school politics and was out. She wanted me to come out, threatened to out me, but I already knew I needed to get into the Academy and that if I came out that wouldn't be possible."
"I take it you managed to persuade her?"
Sam nodded, "But at least once a week we would have this massive argument over the issue." Sam grinned, "Make up sex was pretty spectacular."
"You don't have to tell me all of this if you don't want to, Sam."
"I don't mind. Actually, it's pretty nice to be able to talk about it."
Janet squeezed Sam's shoulder, "Well, okay then."
"After Alice came a succession of not very memorable men. Oh, except for Pete!"
"Pete?"
"Pete was a bar man. You remember that cheesy Tom Cruise movie?"
"He looked like Tom Cruise?"
"No, but he thought he was Tom Cruise's character. We had a lot of fun together."
"So, what happened to Pete?"
"I was posted to the Gulf. He went to Tahiti."
"Okay, I know about Jonas and Jack�"
"You're getting ahead of the story." Sam emphasized each word by poking her finger in Janet's stomach.
"Sorry."
"Okay, between Pete and Jonas was two years - actually it was more like twenty six months - with Susan Webster."
"Ooh, serious?"
"We lived together."
Janet went very still, "How?"
"We shared a house in DC. She worked for a big accountancy firm so our social circles never met." Sam paused, "It all went to hell when that became too big a problem. She left me for a lawyer named Jeremy."
"I'm sorry."
Sam shrugged, "It doesn't matter now. She still sends me a Christmas card every year, with a photo of the family inside. She seems happy."
"I'm glad."
There was a few moments silence.
"I'm done," Sam said, "That was the potted history of the love life of Sam Carter."
"Do you want me to tell you mine?"
"If you like."
Janet was quiet for a moment, letting strands of Sam's hair slip through her fingers repeatedly.
"I was sixteen, just about. His name was Tony, Anthony Michael Rinaldi, and he thought he was god's gift. After him came a whole load of other Tony's. A couple of them were hardly more than one night stands but some lasted a couple of months. Then I met Jim. Compared to the guys I had been going out with he was a go getter, with prospects. My dad said he had spunk. He also had the cutest butt�"
"How many Tonys?"
"Why do you need to know?"
"I don't. I'm just curious."
"Too many. You already know how Jim ended up. Since then there has been a distinct lack of�Tony."
"You're kidding?"
"Right, 'Miss two relationships in ten years'."
"Sorry."
"No, actually, you're right. I was exaggerating. There was a guy named Steven for a year but as soon as he started to get serious I had to tell him that I wouldn't be able to give him children. I'm not sure but I think the door hit him on the ass on the way out. There were a couple of others, nothing serious. Then, last but by no means least, there was an eight month thing with Brian Simpson. We split up when I was posted to the SGC and I haven't had time to shave my legs since, never mind go on a date."
"I think General Hammond has as soft spot for you." Sam teased.
Janet swatted her upper arm, "Behave."
"I could probably set you up with Sergeant Davis."
"Which one?"
"Does it matter?"
"You forget I've seen them naked."
Sam turned her head and her wide eyed gaze on Janet, "You have to tell me!"
"Absolutely not."
"Janet!" Sam pouted.
Janet just shook her head, "Are you hungry?"
"Not yet. Tell me."
"Go back to sleep."
Sam tried on her best puppy dog face but to no avail as Janet simply ignored her, returning to her novel. Sam sniffed then replaced her head on the firm yet soft pillow of Janet's abdomen and closed her eyes.
"I have another question" Janet said quietly.
"Tell me which twin," Sam mumbled.
"Forget them. I'm being serious."
"Sorry. What do you want to know?"
"Which do you prefer?"
"Well, Norman is a bit earnest for me but he knows more physics --"
"That's not what I'm talking about."
"I know." Sam fell silent for a moment, "It's not like that, Janet. It's not really about sex, y'know? It's about the person. I could fall in love tomorrow and only sleep with that person for the rest of my life. It's not like if I married a guy I'd spend the next thirty years yearning for some� for a woman instead. Or, it could be the other way around. I mean, it's the same for you, right? Only, just with guys."
"God, I hope so."
"Only I'm smart enough not to limit my options to forty nine percent of the population." Sam grinned.
"Why, that's just plain greedy, Miss Carter."
They laughed together then, still smiling, Sam rested her head where she could best hear Janet's heart and closed her eyes.
Sgsgsgsg
Later that week; a non -descript gray transit van followed a tan Toyota through the streets of Colorado Springs. The occupants of the car were arguing.
"You promised."
"I did not."
"You did too."
"Janet, I would hardly have made a promise if I had no intention of keeping it."
"You did! You agreed to come shopping with me."
"But I never promised."
"Well�" Janet swung her Toyota into the car park of the Mall, "We're here. You can sit in the car if you like. I'm going shopping."
"I'll take the car home�"
"You will not. It's my car."
"Then I'll get a Jimmy J to drive me." Sam nodded over her shoulder to van that had followed them into the car park.
"Aw, Sam, come on! It'll be fun. I promise I won't make you look at anything with a bow. I promise."
"Janet. I don't want to go shopping. I want to go to the base and help Siler with the new UAV."
"Samantha Carter� look, just come in for an hour. If you're not having fun by the end of the hour I'll drive you to the base."
"Promise?"
"Yes. Now will you get out of the damn car?"
"Jeez. You only had to ask�"
Sgsgsgsg
Samantha Carter had never been in a baby boutique in her life. When she had had to buy baby gifts in the past she had always ordered online, usually going with the web site's recommendation of the week. "Baby Too", therefore, came as something of a shock.
"I had no idea there was so much stuff�" Sam followed Janet around the store in a daze until a matronly figure stopped her with a hand on her arm.
"Oh now don't tell me! Twenty eight weeks, right?"
Why is Robin Williams doing Mrs. Doubtfire in this store? Is there some sort of movie promotion going on?
"Thirty, actually," Janet answered when it became plain that Sam was lost in some sort of pastel induced stupor.
"Oh, my, you are a skinny one. You should get your husband to feed you up!" Mrs. Doubtfire beamed at Sergeant Jimmy J Jones where he was lurking a few feet away. He looked like a rabbit caught in headlights.
"He's not my husband. I'm not married." Sam answered absently. She was fingering the sleeve of a tiny sky blue tee shirt hanging on the rack behind Janet.
"Well not to worry," Mrs. Doubtfire breezed, undaunted. "Do you have a layette yet?"
"A what?" Sam's natural curiosity got the better of her.
"Oh, my, sweetie, you are behind schedule!" Mrs. Doubtfire took hold of Sam's hand and led her over to a sofa, "Now you just make yourself comfortable and we'll soon have everything put together that you need. Have you decided on a stroller yet?"
"You should get one of those three wheelers, ma'am. They're really cool." Jimmy J grinned then headed over to play with the early learning toys near the only entrance and exit to the store.
"I don't know if I'll need a stroller� Janet." Something like panic edged into Sam's voice.
Janet sat down beside her, "its okay," she soothed. "You don't have to think about that today. But a layette won't hurt."
Sam's eyes demanded a promise. The touch of Janet's fingers on her hand gave that promise.
Sgsgsgsg
While Jimmy J stowed the shopping bags in the van the two ladies headed over to the strip of green that bordered the mall and the adjacent leisure arcade. They were drawn by the chime of an ice cream van. Although not a park, as such, the long narrow strip of land was bisected by a foot path that joined the local college to the dormitory community it served. A storm drain ran parallel to the footpath, running high with melt water from the mountains because of the recent spell of hot weather. The green-sward was busier than it ought to be as a throng of school kids, let out for lunch, were congregating by the van.
"I really liked the little suit with the space men." Sam was smiling, shading her eyes with her hands.
"Yeah, it was cute. You think we should tell the manufacturer that little green men are actually gray?"
"They look better green. You think if I went over there they'd take pity on the poor fat pregnant lady and let me jump the queue?"
"No. Hold the bench fat pregnant lady. You want raspberry sauce?"
"All the fixings!" Sam lowered herself onto the wooden bench and sighed with relief.
She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, enjoying the heat of the sun on her face. It felt good. Sam just let the warmth and the noise wash over her. The sounds of youthful voices, some music - Eminem, if Cass's education of her musical palette served her correctly - a dog barking excitedly, the rattle and roll of a pair of skateboards. Sam opened her eyes. Janet was waiting patiently in the queue behind five or six kids of varying ages. She was talking to a teenage boy, grinning at him and shaking her head. Sam wondered what he had said. The dog was barking closer now and Sam turned around to source the noise. A young Golden Retriever was dancing around the legs of his walker, a boy of about ten with a school back pack dangling from the hand that was not hanging onto the animal's leash. He was tormenting the dog with the remains of a sandwich, jumping back out of reach every time the dog took a playful lunge at the morsel.
Time slowed down. Sam was aware of Jimmy J approaching in the distance, the water rushing in the drain behind the kid with the dog, the skateboarder lost in music. The dog jumped, the skateboarder hit a gouge in the pavement and lost his footing. The kid fell, flying backwards - his back pack spiraling through the air. Some one screamed and the sound of the splash as the kid hit the water knocked the scene back into real time. Sam was on her feet in a heartbeat, dodging around the sprawling skateboarder and the wildly barking retriever, her long legs carried her in pursuit of a sighting of the boy's red tee shirt as he bobbed along in the water. He was face down. She dived in head long after him.
A moment later Jimmy J was in the water with her and between them they got the kid onto his back. Blood spilled from a scalp laceration, pouring down the boy's blue white face.
"He's not breathing!" Sam yelled above the roaring in her ears.
Jimmy J nodded and grabbed the back of her collar, "You take care of him, ma'am! I'll get us to the edge!"
Then there was a mass of confusion. A multitude of hands grabbing and pulling the three of them back onto land. Sam lay on her back, gasping, as Jimmy J rolled the kid off her and began CPR.
"Sam!" Janet, whey faced with terror, was kneeling over her.
"The kid. Not breathing." Sam waved her off feebly.
Janet nodded and moved to help Jimmy.
A blanket. Shivering despite the sun and the wool. A hot drink pressed into her hands. Sirens. Jimmy J counting compressions as he pumped the kid's heart. Janet using her CMO voice to turn the arriving paramedics into her staff. A mask over her nose and mouth, pouring out sweet, clean oxygen. Rolling onto her side and vomiting up the bellyful of melt water she had swallowed. Janet's hand, cool on her suddenly fevered brow and then blissful silence.
Sgsgsgsg
"I read about your girlfriend."
Jack O'Neill reflected that he really ought to be used to this kind of thing by now even as his heart rate dropped back to normal.
"One of these days, Harry, I'm going to be armed when you surprise me like that."
Jack had stepped out of his neighborhood store, arms laden with brown bags, to find Harry Maybourne leaning up against his truck.
"In that instance I'll be careful not to surprise you."
Maybourne still looked undernourished (Jack wondered briefly if he was ill then decided he really didn't care) but had dispensed with the scrappy beard he had been wearing at their last meeting. He had a copy of the local paper folded open in his hands. He held it up so Jack could see the grainy black and white image. Some opportunist had snapped a shot of Sam, out cold and with an oxygen mask over her face, being loaded into an ambulance. Jack remembered the accompanying headline - Expectant AF Hero Saves Drowning Boy. He still didn't know whether to be insanely proud of his 2IC for her courageous act or furious with her for putting herself at risk.
"Yeah? So?" Jack shrugged and opened the door of his truck, leaning in to deposit his groceries on the seat.
"Someone once said that all publicity is good publicity, Jack. They were wrong."
"Cut the Yoda crap, Maybourne, What is it you want?" Jack climbed into the driver's seat and shoved the key in the ignition.
"Samuels was supposed to get Carter to Washington. They had a nice reception waiting for her."
"They? Who they? Maybourne, you are so full of�"
"Jack," Maybourne said tersely, "Simmons disappeared three months ago. How badly do you suppose he'd like to get his hands on a Harsesis?"
Tension thrummed in the air like an electric current.
"Do you know how?"
"No. I only know that you need to get Carter someplace safe. And, Jack, the mountain isn't safe."
"For how long?"
"Until the Tok'ra take the kid off world."
Jack regarded Maybourne for a long moment, scrutinizing him like he was a bug under a microscope. Maybourne didn't flinch.
"You really do like her don't you."
"Let's just say I feel a little bit safer knowing that that exceptional brain of hers is on the side of � truth, justice and the American Way." Maybourne showed his teeth and waved the paper in salute. "I'll be in touch."
Sgsgsgsg
There were a number of running trails around the Air Force Academy. General Mike Kerrigan had run all of them so often he could do so in his sleep.
It was early - he liked to get his exercise before breakfast - and he had had the trail to himself, enjoying the smell of the loam and greenery he was jogging through. A few minutes ago he realized he had company. He was being shadowed. It may have been a while since he had been required to use his covert ops skills but he had not lost them. The trail dog legged and dipped under a wooden bridge.
"Lieutenant Hailey. This is an unexpected pleasure." Jogging on the spot, Kerrigan grinned at the diminutive figure, bundled in Academy sweats, as she came into the shadow.
"Shit - sir!" Hailey almost hit the bridge over head.
"Want to tell me why you're following me - badly I might add."
"Sir�" Hailey handed him a small piece of card, "We have a situation."
Kerrigan looked at his own business card, turning it over. On the back a hand he recognized had scrawled - 'BONES'.
"What can you tell me?" Kerrigan frowned.
"Not much, sir. I'm on a need to know basis and, apparently, I don't need to know."
"How much trouble is she in?"
"Colonel O'Neill is worried, sir."
Kerrigan drew in a sharp breath and nodded, "I'll leave an envelope in Major Donatello's cubby."
"Sir?"
"He's on vacation. Give me an hour."
"Yes sir. Thank you, sir."
Sgsgsgsg
Fossils had been General Kerrigan's father-in-law's passion and the walls of the kitchen cum family room of the cabin were covered in glass cases of them.
O'Neill had decided that he did not need to know how Carter knew about this place but was glad she did. Glad also that Kerrigan trusted her enough to respond with the keys on the basis of the one word she had hastily scribbled two days earlier.
Carter's doctors had been furious. O'Neill grinned at the recollection of Fraiser's incandescence when he had arrived in Carter's Air Force Hospital room with a wheel chair and an over night bag.
He had simply said, "We have to go" and Carter had been on her feet. Coughing fit to bust but on her feet and ready to leave.
Giggs' fury had been colder - like an ice storm - but O'Neill had blithely ignored her protests as he wheeled Carter, wrapped up like a mummy, out of the hospital.
Daniel had been waiting in an ancient VW van with Teal'c who had easily lifted Carter, blankets and all, into the cabin bunk in the back.
"You have five minutes, doctor; to grab anything Carter's gonna need for the next couple of days."
"What the hell is going on? Colonel? Major Carter needs to be back in that hospital bed!"
"Four minutes and thirty seconds."
Janet stared at O'Neill's implacable face then turned on her heel. "Do not leave with out me!" She called over her shoulder, dragging Giggs with her back into the hospital.
A few minutes later, as Daniel had swung the van out of the service road of the Air Force hospital, Janet had caught her breath. She had snagged an oxygen cylinder on her way back to the van and filled her pockets with all the drugs Giggs had been able to swipe for her at a moment's notice. The obstetrician had also pushed her hand held sonogram and a pinard stethoscope into Janet's bag.
"Now, colonel, will you tell me what the hell is going on?"
"I was informed that the major's safety has been compromised."
Janet took a second to study the set of O'Neill's jaw and nodded acquiescence. "Where are we going?"
"Tonight we're camping. Tomorrow, I meet Hailey - hopefully she'll have secured us someplace out of the way to stay."
"This is insane," Janet shook her head. "Sam�"
Sam was half lying, half sitting on the bunk. She was pale and too warm when Janet leaned over to lay the back of her hand against her forehead. She was also breathing in a careful, controlled, concentrated fashion. Janet hissed and un-looped the mask from the oxygen. A second later Sam relaxed and lay back, closing her eyes.
"Colonel," Janet spoke in a low voice, "Sam has pneumonia - this is not wise."
"I know, Doc." Jack threaded his way forward and joined Daniel in the front of the van, "But it's the only way to be sure."
They had pulled the van off the road - several hours had passed before Janet had realized that they were avoiding major roads - and parked amongst some trees. They were in the mountains. The men had slept curled in sleeping bags on the ground - taking turns to stand guard - while the women slept in the bunks in the van. Or tried to sleep. Sam was in and out all night. Sometimes whimpering as her fever returned, sometimes so still and quiet Janet had to sit measuring her pulse in her wrist and listening for her slight, oxygen assisted, inhalations. As dawn washed the night out of the sky Janet climbed out of the van and found Jack standing like a tree a few feet away.
"Sam's very sick, Jack. The O two will only last for another four or five hours."
Jack nodded, "We have an RV in two hours. There will be supplies, including oxygen."
Janet exhaled, "Good."
"We wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't necessary, Janet." Jack's eyes were never still, flickering from shadow to shadow automatically.
Janet nodded, "I know. But you have to realize how dangerous this is for Sam. And the baby."
"I know."
He did not ask for her trust. Whether she trusted him to take care of the situation or not made no difference to the fact that he would.
They had made the cabin late the next night. As promised, supplies, including antibiotics and a case of assorted medical provisions put together to suit Sam's unique physiological needs, had been waiting at the rendezvous. As had the news that Cass was okay and was staying in the house with Hailey. They were still under the protection of Castleman's people including Jimmy J whom Janet trusted more than the average SF since his selfless dive into the storm drain.
The cabin was a small, two bedroom hunting lodge far off the beaten track in the Dixie National Forest. It had its own generator and water supply, fed from an underground spring. There was no 'phone and no TV. The bedroom at the back had a double bed, wardrobe, chest of drawers and armchair. The other room had a set of bunk beds and had evidently most recently seen use as a kid's room. The bath room was accessed from the hall between the two rooms. Teal'c had carried Sam through to back room and sat her carefully in the arm chair whilst Daniel located sheets and bedding. Ten minutes later she was asleep under the covers with Janet in attendance. The guys had dumped their bags in the kid's room.
Having secured the house upon arrival, Jack and Teal'c disappeared into the trees bearing a duffle bag each, leaving Daniel standing watch. He was carrying a Beretta in a shoulder holster and the ease with which he wore and handled the weapon made Janet feel sad. She had taken the side arm Jack had pressed wordlessly into her hands with resignation. She might be a doctor, a life saver and healer of hurts but she was also a soldier. She had seen enough combat to know that sometimes you had no choice but the fact that Daniel; a pure soul with a crystal clear heart, knew the same, reflected something ugly about the world.
Five days passed. Sam's fever had broken and her lungs were almost totally clear but she was still weak. Daniel took turns sitting with her while Janet washed up or caught a nap in the lower bunk bed. Jack and Teal'c were like wraiths. One of them would materialize out of the forest at unpredictable intervals to check up on the occupants of the cabin but only for a minute or two at a time. Janet shivered when she thought about the look in Jack's eyes. They were black, like slivers of flint, cold. His personality had been subsumed by his training and experience as he let necessity drive him back to the dark places in his soul. Janet knew without a doubt that there was nothing he would not do, however terrible, to fulfill his own primary objective - to protect Sam Carter. Teal'c was like water, deep and still. There and not there. The history that had forged his will may have been cast in different metals from Jack's but there was no doubt he was as capable and as willing to do whatever it took to keep their charge safe. Curled up in the arm chair, considering Sam's sleeping form, Janet wondered about herself. The realization that she would kill anyone who tried to harm Sam came as no surprise. That she would feel no guilt for the act should have discomfited her but it did not. She sighed.
"Jan?" Sam cleared her throat and tried to sit up. Janet moved quickly, kneeling up on the mattress to help. "Are you okay?"
Janet smiled but it didn't really warm her face, "Sure."
"You're awful quiet." Sam had lost more weight as a result of being sick. She was all bones and her thirty two week pregnancy looked too heavy for her frame to bear, pressing her into the bed.
"Just thinking," Janet settled back into the threadbare chair, "You hungry?"
Sam shook her head, "In a while. Are you sure you're okay?" Sam's flame blue eyes, always bigger than they had any right to be, looked enormous over her prominent cheekbones.
Janet pursed her lips, "I'm just a little sad we had to do this."
"I'm sorry."
"No!" Janet moved to clasp Sam's hand, "None of this is your fault."
"You shouldn't have come. You shouldn't have to be here."
"Sam? Where else would I be?" Janet cupped Sam's cheek, "Do you think I could stand being back at the SGC? Not knowing where you were or how you are?"
Sam's eyes filled, "But you'd be safe," she whispered.
There it was.
Since agreeing that their kiss had been a temporary aberration it had been as if it had never happened. Janet had been surprised at how easy it had been to just to be Sam's best friend and doctor; although, she reflected, that should not have been a surprise. It was what she was after all - no matter what else she might be. She supposed that Sam had had a lifetime of denial and displacement skills to call upon that allowed her to behave like they had never shared an intimacy. A part of Janet had been relieved at how easy it was to ignore the possibility that they could be more to each other. Another part mourned.
"Sam." Janet knew, with a clarity born of the instinct of self- preservation that she could not stand to revisit that place and not be able to live there. So, she turned away. Moving to stand looking out of the window and wrapping her arms around herself.
She was cold.
Janet could hear Sam breathing. Could hear the forest creaking and sighing as a light wind stirred through the trees. Could hear the cabin settling into the earth as the warmth of the day gave way to the chill of the evening. Could hear Daniel moving about in the kitchen.
"I'll see what's for dinner." She bolted from the room.
Sgsgsgsg
"Scooby, this is Fred, come in." Jack's voice sounded on the short wave.
Daniel scooped the radio up off the dining table, "Go ahead."
"Heads up. Some one's on the trail."
"Roger that." Daniel yanked his Beretta free and chambered the first round as he strode down the short hallway. He poked his head around the door of the back bedroom.
"We've got company," he said tersely.
"Who is it?" Janet immediately set aside the portable sonogram; she had just performed her daily check up and confirmed that the baby was fine. She retrieved her weapon from the night stand.
"Don't know yet."
Daniel moved off swiftly, heading for the kitchen to pull the drapes closed. Both Sam and Janet joined him having done the same in all the other rooms. They stood looking at each other grimly.
"It's probably nothing," Daniel said calmly. He passed the radio to Sam.
"Yeah, Bible salesman� Jehovah's Witness�" Sam held her side arm pointed at the floor.
"One target, approaching the front door." Jack's voice, terse.
The three in the cabin exchanged a look then split up. Daniel took position at the side of the front door, Janet in the adjacent corner, using the muzzle of her gun to open the shade a fraction.
"Looks like a hobo," she murmured, glancing at Daniel then at the mouth of the hallway. Sam was there, pressed out of sight against the wall.
They held their breath as a heavy tread creaked on the porch. The three exchanged another look - whoever their visitor was his approach lacked any kind of stealth. They stiffened as the door handle turned and weight was applied. The lock held. Then metal scraped against metal and the door knob jiggled. A moment later the door swung open, Daniel in the space behind it. No-one moved. A tall, bulky figure shambled into the cabin, dumping a back pack on the wooden floor and turning to push the door closed. He had a large hunting knife in his right hand.
"Not moving would be a really good idea," Daniel suggested mildly, fixing an unwavering bead on the space between their uninvited guest's eyes.
"Jesus, Mary and Joseph!" The knife clattered to the floor and the visitor stumbled back.
"Freeze!" Janet stepped out of the corner, weapon up.
"Oh, mother of God!" He stumbled and fell to his knees, arms folded over his head, "Don't kill me."
"Shut up." Janet ordered irritably, "Keep your hands on your head." Noting that both Sam and Daniel had a firm aim on the kneeling figure, she stepped forward and snapped on her safety catch. Tucking the gun into the back of her waistband she quickly used plastic ties to bind the intruder's hands behind his back, "Take a seat." She prodded him onto a kitchen chair and a moment later his ankles were bound to the chair legs, "Are you armed?" Janet frisked him quickly, her face a mask. She straightened and stepped back, shaking her head then she bent quickly and retrieved the knife, laying it on the kitchen counter.
"All secure," Sam spoke into the radio.
"Are you alone?" Daniel had relocked the door and now stood with his arms loosely crossed at the wrists, weapon in one hand.
"What?" The prisoner swallowed and blinked stupidly.
They considered him. The filth matting his hair and bushy beard made it difficult to be sure of his race let alone his age. He appeared to be wearing several sets of clothing the topmost layer being a heavy wool great coat. He smelled of earth mold and dampness.
"Are you alone?" Janet repeated stonily.
"Uh�" He twisted his head to take in the three of them then nodded.
"What are you doing here?" Daniel asked.
"Passing through."
"Passing through?" Janet's eyebrow crept up to her hairline, "On the way to where?"
A dirty finger nail pointed north, "Fishing."
"Fishing," Daniel said dubiously. "Okay."
"What's your name?" Janet asked.
"Lot."
"Lot?"
"Lot."
"Do you have another name?"
"How many do I need?"
"Why'd you break in?" Sam asked from her position in the mouth of the hallway.
"The door was locked."
"I think what my friend means to ask is, why did you want to get in?" Daniel asked.
Lot looked at him like he was stupid. "Because there's food in here," he said slowly, like he was talking to a child. "There's always food in here. I spend a few days in here; getting warm, filling my belly, then move on. I always lock the door behind me." He frowned, "Never had a gun pointed in my face before." He glowered.
"Sit still and be quiet," Daniel instructed. With a tilt of his head he invited Janet to follow him over to where Sam waited. "What do you think?"
"He smells genuine." Janet wrinkled her nose, earning a sympathetic smile from Sam. "And, as far as I can tell through all those layers, he's not armed."
"But this is a long way from the nearest homeless shelter," Sam added.
"So, what are we going to do with him?" Daniel asked.
"Invite him to be our guest, I guess," Sam sighed. "We can't let him go, even if he is telling the truth."
"Um� I hate to have to be the one to point this out - but wouldn't holding him against his will be illegal?" Daniel pushed his glasses up his nose.
"Pretty much," Janet said matter of factly.
"Oh. Okay. Maybe he'd like to take a bath before dinner." Daniel slipped his weapon back into its holster.
"Scooby? Velma? Any one home?" Jack's voice on the radio.
"Yeah, Ja� Fred. The�Caretaker�" Daniel stumbled over code names, "Well, he appears to be harmless. We're inviting him to dinner."
There was a silence, "Roger that. Keep your eyes open."
"Roger that," Daniel said with feeling.
"This place doesn't belong to you folks." Lot had not moved during the conference but he had been looking around and listening, "I figure I have as much right to be in here as you do."
"Except we have the guns," Daniel pointed out, swinging a second kitchen chair around and straddling it. "You're welcome to stay."
"You mean I have no choice but to stay." Lot sucked on his lips, "Who are you people? CIA? NSA? FBI?"
Daniel shrugged, "If I tell you I'll have to shoot you."
Janet leaned against the counter, "It doesn't matter who we are. We'll feed you; you can use the bathroom and sleep in here. One of us will be watching you at all times. One step out of line and you'll spend the rest of your visit hog tied and stuffed in the closet. That's if we don't shoot you. Understand?"
"Sure." Lot's dark eyes glittered, "Hog tied. Closet. Got it."
"There's plenty of hot water. Do you have any clean clothes?" Daniel stood up.
"Sorta."
"Oh. One more thing," Janet examined her weapon, "The rear bedroom is off limits. No excuses."
Lot's eyes flickered over Sam's form, "Got it."
Sgsgsgsg
Daniel stood outside the bathroom door while Lot took a lengthy shower. He had agreed to drop his clothes on the floor in the hallway. The unspoken thought being that he would not try to get out the window naked. While the water ran, Janet dumped the contents of his back pack out of the living room floor and poked through the mess carefully. Sam leaned forward in the arm chair and watched closely.
Two sweatshirts, a pair of jogging pants, two pairs of sports socks, a pair of jockey shorts and a thread bare towel; all smelling damp but relatively clean. Three cans of cheap stew, a tin of sardines, a tub of freeze dried potato flakes, a couple of dozen packs of ketchup filched from a McDonalds, a half a box of cheap tea bags, a battered jerry can, a spoon, a packet of salt, a tinder box, a ground sheet with a hole in it and a Gideon Bible with a broken spine.
"Not a whole heck of a lot to show for himself, our Mr. Lot." Janet unzipped the side pocket of the back pack and shook it so the contents fell out; a pair of spectacles with a twisted frame and the left lens missing, a Polaroid photo with a crease down the middle and a set of dog tags.
Janet held the last item up, "Commander Clive Edward McIntosh, US Navy. Blood type O positive. Serial number�"
Sam held out her hand and Janet dropped the tags into her palm. Sam studied them,
"Wonder why he calls himself Lot?"
"They might not be his." Janet smoothed the bent Polaroid and held it up to the light. It was a close up of a clean shaven man with a military hair cut hugging a small girl. She was standing in his lap so they were cheek to cheek and both were beaming. The man wore a plaid shirt and the chain of a set of tags was plainly visible, "Can't tell if this is him."
Sam looked at the photo and shrugged.
"He's ready." Daniel appeared in the hallway for a moment.
"This stuff isn't really dry, Daniel."
"He looks about Jack's size," Sam offered.
Sgsgsgsg
Lot opened his eyes and froze. A piece of the night had come in out of the forest and now crouched beside the lower bunk. Moonlight from the uncovered window gleamed on the blade held under his clean shaven chin and glittered in the eyes that glared at him.
"Where's your fishing gear?" Death asked.
"H- h- hidden." Lot trembled but did not move.
"Where?"
"Dead tree. D- Down by the river. Where the deer cross."
"If you're lying I'll come back." Jack O'Neill rose and vanished into the shadows.
Sgsgsgsg
Go to part six