Chapter 3
The days seemed to meld into each other, especially since Sam spent a great deal of time working on the problem of getting the engines back on line. She had pretty much exhausted every idea that came to mind after the first week, but she kept tinkering with the crystals anyway whenever she got a free moment, hoping that something else would come up.
But for the most part, she and O'Neill spent most of their time readying their shelter for the long haul. They had lost all power the day before yesterday, leaving them without lights, refrigeration, heat and the all important life support systems, which meant they needed to modify the ventilation systems in order to avoid suffocating during the coldest days if they were going to keep the door closed. Heating was going to be another problem, but even though the weather was definitely showing signs of winter, she and the Colonel both agreed that breathing while living in a well-built shelter was a top priority for them.
Sam took a break from her current task and walked out to the campfire that they kept going during the day. The rain had let up for the time being, but everything was still wet. She dumped out the contents of a cup that had been left sitting on a log and filled it with coffee from the pot sitting on a makeshift grill over the fire. The coffee warmed her as she listened to the sounds of the woods. Raindrops from the trees plopped on the forest floor while birds chirped and insects buzzed, but there was something else. Sam looked over toward the trees that were in a tangle due to the tel'tak pelting its way through. The wind rattled the leaves, but something else was lurking in there.
"Colonel," she said as she reached for the zat she had in a holster at her waist. The wind continued to rustle through the leaves, although Sam still had her doubts that it was the wind. "Colonel O'Neill," she called out, a little louder this time.
"What," he asked as he stuck his head out through the door of the ship.
Sam didn't respond. She didn't have to. Apparently her posture and the fact that she was holding her zat alerted him to the possible danger. He came to stand next to her then took a few cautious steps toward the trees.
Sam followed his lead, walking softly behind him. The closer she got to her destination, the more the noise she heard resembled whimpers. Sam turned to O'Neill who looked back at her with a wary expression. She nodded and he indicated with hand signals that she should stand back to cover him, but before they could move a woman lurched out from behind the trees and fell to her knees. Sam and the Colonel both had their weapons trained on the woman the moment she appeared, even though she seemed to be unarmed.
"Maltam," she said, her hands held up in what appeared to be a plea. Sam took in the blood on the woman's face and clothing and wondered if maybe she was asking for help. "Maltam," the woman said again. "Ahmogee."
O'Neill apparently didn't have a clue either. "What's she saying?"
"I don't know," Sam responded. "Where's Daniel when we need him?"
"Ahmogee," the woman whispered before falling face first onto the ground.
"Cover me," the Colonel said. Sam nodded as she kept the zat aimed at the woman. O'Neill took his time, his gun aimed at her head just in case. He jostled her with his foot then bent down to check her pulse. He turned back to Sam and shook his head, leaving her to wonder what had happened to the poor woman.
O'Neill stood there looking down at the body as Sam came up to stand next to him. Both of them raised their guns immediately when they heard what sounded like a whimper.
"What the hell," O'Neill said, echoing Sam's thoughts perfectly. She shifted her weight a little as O'Neill knelt down next to the body on the ground. He pulled back the woman's shawl to reveal the dark hair of a baby she had been carrying on her back.
"Oh my God," Sam murmured as O'Neill gently pulled the child out of the sling. He stood up with the baby in his arms and stared at Sam, who was still in a state of shock. How had the baby survived whatever it was that happened to the mother?
"I think we now know what that woman was trying to tell us," O'Neill said as he stood there with the baby on his hip. He looked down at the child and smiled before turning back to Sam. "She knew she was dying and that this kid wouldn't last a day out here by itself."
Sam nodded sadly. It made sense that a mother's last act would be to save her child. But she still had to wonder what had happened to bring this woman to their campsite in the first place.
"What do you think happened to her," she asked as she went over to see for herself the injuries inflicted on the poor woman. She carefully turned the body over to get a better look. Blood streaked down the woman's face and stained her shirt, indicating several wounds. "She must have faced her attacker to protect the baby," she mused as she made her assessments.
"The bigger question is where she came from and are there more of her people out there," O'Neill said. "Not to mention the fact that someone did this to her and could be out there right now looking for her to make sure he, or she, finished the job." Sam watched him as he stood there bouncing the baby while scanning the trees that surrounded them. He seemed to be so at ease with kids, she thought, as she too turned to make her own assessments.
"Let's get this little one out of the cold," O'Neill said. He walked swiftly toward the tel'tak as Sam nodded. The Colonel was right. The woman had obviously been murdered and the baby needed protection. Sam hurried after him, making plans to dig out her P-90 the minute she got back.
Their shelter was much warmer than the weather outside, but still cold. Sam went about the task of looking for something to wrap the baby in while O'Neill held it out at arm's length to get a good look. "It's a girl," he said as Sam brought him a blanket from the storage bin. "I'd say she's several months old, maybe even a year." He wrapped the blanket around the baby and set her down on one of the ledges. She sat there staring at them with large dark eyes, while Sam found herself agreeing with the Colonel's assessment. A year at the most.
"What are we going to do with her," Sam had to ask. She had no idea how to take care of a baby and wasn't sure she wanted to learn while stranded out here in the wilderness. The supplies they brought with them did not include diapers, bottles or anything else that related to taking care of a baby, which now that she thought about it, was for a very good reason. Babies had no business on a Goa'uld cargo ship.
"We take care of her until we find her people," O'Neill told her. "In the meantime, I guess we have another body to bury." He shook his head then said, "I don't mind telling you that I hope this is the last time."
Sam found herself agreeing with him on that issue. She sat down next to the child when O'Neill stood up to head out the door. "I'll take care of this one, Carter," he told her quietly. "See what you can find to keep her warm and fed. I'll be back in a little while to help."
"Yes sir," Sam said as she tried to hold off on panicking. It's just like being with Mark's kids, she told herself, remembering the times she spent with her brother's children. How hard could it be?
She sighed and stood to pick up the baby. The little girl didn't even whimper as Sam got her situated on her hip. "Don't even think of peeing on me," she warned with a mock glare on her face. "Let's go look for something to use as a diaper."
Jack pushed the shovel into the dirt as he dug yet another grave in the glade they had buried Bolton in. The gun strapped to his chest offered a measure of peace as he piled more dirt next to his friend's grave. There were no signs of people anywhere within the confines of their camp. Jack had made sure of it before attempting to spend any time out here by himself. Still, he kept his ears tuned to the sounds of the woods, his senses alive to any hint of a threat.
The ground was damp from the rain, making his job a little easier. Still, he had to use his foot to force the shovel in deeper. It was work that kept him busy as he tried to figure out what happened. They had been in this area for several weeks with no signs of danger, a fact that caused Jack to ease up a little in terms of being on constant guard duty. But a dead woman on his doorstep had him rethinking that strategy. Too bad she couldn't tell him what happened and what he and Carter were up against. He hated mysteries.
He continued to dig while working on the mystery of the woman and her baby, all the while keeping his guard up. He had already decided he and Carter were going to go scouting outside the perimeter of their camp to determine for sure whether they were in any danger. Going out on his own was no longer an option considering the circumstances. And Jack was not the type to hole up in a tel'tak to wait for the enemy to find him. It was much better to be one step ahead.
He went back to the ship once the hole was deep enough, intending to find another tarp to wrap the body in. He found Carter in the storage compartment with the baby sitting on the floor and Carter on one knee aiming her gun at him. She lowered the weapon when she saw it was him then smiled apologetically.
"Sorry sir," she said as she stood up to face him. He only had enough time to shrug before she held up a shirt and told him, "I suppose Colonel Bolton wouldn't mind if I used this to make something for the baby to wear." She looked at the shirt then back to Jack. "What do you think?"
"Boltonis not in the position to mind," he said as he glanced critically at the shirt. "How are you going to make that thing fit? Bolton is at least twenty sizes bigger than that kid."
"I have no idea," Carter told him with a slightly queasy look on her face. "I'll come up with something."
"You do that," Jack said with a grin. He had no doubt Carter would come through for that little girl.
His smile dimmed as he stared at the child, who stared back at him as he debated his options. It occurred to him that he had never taken a baby out with him on a reconnaissance mission and he wasn't really interested in doing so now. He turned to Carter and saw that she too was watching him with an indecipherable expression. Oh great, Jack thought.
"I need a tarp to bury the woman in," he said as a plan formed in his mind. "How many do we have left?"
"Three," Carter told him. She turned to a storage bin and reached in to grab one, while Jack laid down the rest of the plan.
"Let's get her buried. I want to get back out there to see if there are any more people lurking behind the trees somewhere." Carter nodded while Jack grabbed one of the radios. "You stay here with the rugrat," he continued as he turned to walk back toward the door with the tarp under one arm. "Keep the door shut and stay alert."
"Yes sir," she said. She grabbed her own radio and turned it on as she told him, "I'll be here if you need me."
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that."
Carter nodded solemnly. Apparently they both knew that she was hampered by a baby, one who had apparently decided to explore her surroundings. She got up on her knees and started to crawl toward a wrench Carter left on the ground.
"Oh no you don't," Carter said. She snatched up the wrench and put it on a shelf then picked up the baby when she crawled toward one of the benches that held several of Carter's crystals.
Jack smiled at the ladies in his midst then turned to get back to work. "Colonel O'Neill," Carter said just as Jack reached the door of the ship. He turned to look back at her with a questioning look then smiled slightly at the sight of the woman standing there with a squirming baby on her hip, a two-way radio in her other hand and a concerned expression on her face. Memories slammed home as he stared at her. Memories of his ex-wife and their son saying good-bye as Jack shipped off to another tour of duty.
But it was the warm feeling that flowed through him that brought on a wider smile. He allowed himself the luxury of thinking of Carter as something more than one of his team. It was almost as if he was leaving his family for a day at the office. He shook off the thought and asked, "Yeah?"
She stared at him as she hugged the child in her arms a little tighter to try to stop the squirming. "Be careful out there."
Jack nodded, then couldn't resist saying, "You be a good girl now, you hear? And mind Sam. I'll be back before you know it."
Carter chuckled at that as she shook her head at him. He grinned back and left the ship in a lighter mood.
Burying the woman took a bite out of the good mood, though. In fact, anger took over as Jack realized that he couldn't afford to think of Carter and that kid as family. He was her commanding officer, for crying out loud. He threw dirt back into the hole he had dug with more force than necessary, wondering what possessed him to think of her in that way.
Besides, he thought with a grim determination to put all that behind him, there must be people out there looking for the woman and her baby - hopefully someone friendlier than whoever killed her.
He rammed the shovel into the dirt between the graves when he was finished, debating on whether he should just leave it there. He pulled a bandanna out of his pocket and tied it to the handle, then left to scout out the territory as the bandanna waved quietly in the dampness of the woods.