Walking through the SGC Sam could feel Grace trembling in her arms, and holding on for dear life. Rubbing her hand up and down the girls back reassuringly she mumbled over and over again to her that she was safe and was going to be okay. Before she knew it she was in the infirmary and went to the end of the room sitting down with Grace still in her arms, away from all the 'traffic'. But as soon as Doctor Carolyn Lam came over she tried turning Grace around, but she wouldn't budge.
"Grace…the doctor needs to take a look at you to make sure you're alright." Sam told her softly trying to pry her arms off from around her neck but the girl's grip didn't even falter a bit, it only tightened.
"It's alright, I'll clear some people out and come back to you alright?" Doctor Lam simply stated seeing they were both relatively alright, nothing life threatening that needed immediate attention anyways, also realizing how terrified Grace must be to begin with. Sam just nodded in agreement before she started rubbing Grace's back once more, whispering in her ear, trying to get her to relax. Getting comfortable herself she moved onto the bed so she was propped up by the pillows, reclined against them with Grace held tightly against her chest.
Eventually she realized she must have dozed when she felt a small hand on her shoulder, shaking her from her thoughts. Opening her eyes Sam found Doctor Lam back at her side and a relatively empty infirmary. Looking down she found Grace fast asleep against her, but a steel grip still intact. Sitting up, she swung her legs over the bed and found Grace's grasp slacken a bit so she was able to rotate the girl and cradle her in her arms instead so the doctor could get a better look at her. As soon as Carolyn got through examining Grace she moved on to Sam who tried placing Grace in the bed as she was still asleep. But as soon as she even lifted Grace off her lap the girl woke, startled, and wrapped her arms tightly around Sam's neck once more, burying her face in her chest.
"Grace its okay, you're safe." Sam told her softly stroking the back of her mud clumped hair. She could only imagine how dirty and disgusting she looked and couldn't wait to take a shower. Before she or Doctor Lam could say anything or do anything they were interrupted…
"So how's our guest doing?" General Jack O'Neill came striding through the doorway over to them seeing exhausted look on Sam's face and the way Grace was buried into her. "Not well I take it…" He mumbled more to himself but they heard him as he came to stand next to Carolyn.
"She has minor bruises and scrapes. It seems as though the collar around her neck is literally a collar, like you would use on a dog or a cat…it's just made out of steel. We have someone coming down to help get it off. She looks worse than she is, a nice shower will help with that. Other than that she is healthy as a four year old can be. As for you…this is going to be a little difficult." Carolyn stated seeing the blood, bruises, and scrapes covering Sam as well.
"I'm fine…" Sam retorted stroking Grace's back, wishing she could get out of her vest.
"Ah, let the doctor determine that Carter." Jack ordered, noticing the bruises around her neck.
"Not very possible at the moment sir." She replied nodding down at the trembling Grace. "Grace…Grace I need you to sit up sweetheart…" The small girl simply shook her head almost violently only tightening her grasp on Sam.
"Grace, the doctor needs to look me over and make sure I'm okay. The only way she can do that is if you sit right next to me and hold my hand…" Slowly Grace looked up at her before scooting her way off her lap. Instead of sitting beside her she sat practically behind her and clutched to her arm, hiding her face in her back while clutching to her hand as well which Sam held tightly for reassurance.
"Alright problem solved." Jack clapped his hands together as Carolyn moved in and started checking her out. While Carolyn was looking Sam over Jack moved to the foot of the bed so he could see Grace who peered up from her 'hiding spot' to look at him. Trying not to scare the small girl Jack smiled at her, and she simply stared at him.
"Colonel…how did you receive these bruises around your neck?" Doctor Lam suddenly questioned getting Jack's attention.
"I…I um, I was taking out some Jaffa when I started walking backwards to get better shots and more space. I ended up walking directly back into one. He grabbed me, turned me around, and started…started strangling me." She replied softly avoiding all eye contact tightening her grasp on Grace's hand who returned the gesture.
"How did you get away from him?" Carolyn questioned looking at the bruises more closely before prodding at them in different places.
"I don't remember…one minute he-" Suddenly she cut off sucking in a sharp breath of air as Carolyn hit a very sensitive spot, receiving a sorry Sam continued. "One minute he was strangling me, the next I was waking up to Teal'c kneeling over me." She finished her voice rather hoarse. It had been bugging her since she woke from Teal'c on the planet…but now it was really affecting her, voice and all, not just the soreness.
"Well you're rather lucky Colonel, your throat is going to be very sore and tender for awhile. I'm honestly not surprised it wasn't crushed just by looking at these bruises." Carolyn explained before she continued on. Looking back at Grace who still sat behind Carter, Jack realized she had fallen asleep. Finally after a few more minutes Doctor Lam was finished with her exam and freed them both to go as soon as they got the collar off Grace, surprisingly she didn't wake as they took it off.
"Alright Carter, go get cleaned up, debriefing is in two hours." O'Neill ordered her having some business of his own to handle with Doctor Lam. Nodding to his order Sam moved to get off the bed but as soon as she had one foot on the ground Grace instantly woke, scrambling back into her arms. Realizing this girl was not leaving Carter's side any time soon he gave her the okay to take her along and get her cleaned up as well along with getting the girl food and bringing her to VIP quarters.
-x-x-x-
It had taken a lot longer to shower and get cleaned up than Sam thought ever possible for the two of them. Finally she was cleaned up, changed into her BDU's, and comfortable even though her hair was still wet but not dripping. It had taken a bit of convincing but Grace was no longer attached to her side and was currently sitting on a bench shivering a little and clad in only a towel while her blatant light brown, curly hair dripped water onto the ground. They hadn't thought about that part…they had no clothes for the girl to change into. Grace was bound determined to stay in Sam's arms during the whole thing, but Sam was able to show her since nobody was in the room and wasn't going to come in unless they unlocked the door to let them in.
Knowing she was probably going to scare Grace she told her she had to tell General O'Neill they needed clothes for her to change into, before peeking her head out the door knowing there was a guard standing outside who was supposed to escort them around. The man quickly contacted O'Neill who started his search for some children's clothing. After about twenty minutes of sitting in the locker room, Sam had completely gotten ready, hair dry, there was a knock on the door. Without even second thinking it Sam went to the door and found General O'Neill on the other side with an armful of clothing so she let him in. But as soon as he stepped foot in the room Grace jumped off the bench and ran over to Sam's locker, jumping in the open cabinet she pulled the heavy clothing over herself and curled up.
"Grace…Grace it's okay. He isn't going to hurt you. This is my friend…Jack, he brought you some clothes so we can get you out of that towel and dressed." Jack simply watched as his friend approached the locker, kneeled down in front of it and pushed back some clothing hanging in the locker to see the girl huddled in the corner of it. She appeared to be a lot healthier looking now, especially without the heavy collar around her neck as well as the mud and dirt cleaned off of her.
"You know if, you come out and get dressed we can take you to the mess and get some food! I know they have cake today…" Once he said cake he realized the girl probably didn't even know what that was, but her eyes seemed to light up in interest…so that was a plus.
"Come on, it's okay…" Holding her hand out Grace cautiously placed her small one in hers grasping it tightly before crawling out, holding her towel in place. Once she was out of her hiding place Sam picked her up, fixing the towel before going over to the bench and sitting down with the girl in her lap as Jack placed the clothes next to her. He stood there watching Sam interact with the small girl while she got her dressed in a simple dark blue cotton dress he was able to get from one of the officers who had extra clothing in her car for her own children.
"So about that cake…" Jack suddenly spoke breaking the awkward silence after Sam brushed the girl's hair.
"What is…cake?" Grace asked softly looking up at Sam expectantly, but she stayed silent waiting for Jack to explain it to the girl instead hoping she would open up to another person on base.
"Cake? Cake is…fluffy, comes in different colors, different shapes, sizes, flavors, Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry, Coconut, and so much more. A spongy delicious…cake covered in oh so delicious frosting." Sam could see the sparkle in his eye as he talked about his favorite food he loved so much which made her smirk at the excitement.
"Sam? Can I have some cake?" The girl asked timidly as Sam got to her feet and put her things back in her locker before turning back to Grace.
"Of course you can!" Jack cut in responding for Sam and seeing a full blown smile on the small child's face, she was clearly excited to try this new delicacy. With that confirmation Grace jumped to her feet, which were still bare as they didn't have any shoes her size, grabbed Sam's hand and waited for them to lead the way.
-x-x-x-
Grace had tried every piece of cake in the mess hall, but stuck mostly with chocolate and vanilla. She was talking a little more to Jack, normally looking to Sam for approval and staring hesitantly at him every once and awhile to make sure she could trust him. But she definitely wasn't ready to leave Sam's side just yet as she was sitting on her lap eating away at the many plates of cake before her. Sam also noticed every time someone walked through the doorway Grace shrunk against her, leaning back into her more than usual. If the girl found someone staring at her long or giving her an odd look she would whisper up to Sam and turn away. Finally she was full and pushed all the plates away from herself and leaned back against Sam who was talking animatedly with her CO.
"Sir I don't believe…" She started but was cut off by a rather verbal yawn from below.
"Sam…I'm tired." Grace mumbled burying her face in the woman's chest who merely looked back up to her CO for orders.
"Well take her to the VIP quarters Carter, and head on down to the debriefing. There will be a guard there until you get back, she'll be fine." Sam just nodded before mumbling a 'yes, sir' and off she went with an extremely tired girl in her arms.
On the way to the VIP quarters Sam couldn't stop any of her thoughts from rampaging through her mind. 'I wonder what the General plans for her? Where she's going to live…or if we'll send her to another planet. Maybe dad, like we did with Charlie? What if she stayed…?'
Pausing just outside the door the guard escorting her opened it and let her inside, shutting the door behind her as she made her way over to the large, made bed where she pulled back the covers and placed a completely sleeping Grace in. Once the girl was situated in the bed Sam pulled the covers back up around her before pushing a few stray curls out of her face and tucking them behind her little ear. With a soft smile playing at her lips she got up and walked out telling the Guard to contact her as soon as Grace woke before she made her way to the debriefing.
-x-x-x-
AN: So she likes cake, well that's a plus. And someone is getting a tad attached, and vice versa. I can just feel the drama building up..not really. Hope not to disappoint..but crap happens so I apologize ahead of time.