Janet is very happy when she finally arrives at her house. She grabs the seat with Little Jack and runs into the house, while Jeff sees about the sleeping Cassandra. He carries her into the house and puts her on the couch. Lovingly he throws a blanket over her, then he follows his anxious girlfriend into the bedroom. Janet has laid the baby on the changing table and removed his clothes. The little man exhausts himself screaming on the table.
"Janet, what's going on?" The doctor asks his girlfriend.
"I suspect our Jack is in great pain," she replies, scrutinizing the crying baby thoroughly.
She takes his temperature, looks into his mouth and ears. After a short time, she shakes her head.
"Why didn't we notice this? Jeff, Jack has a middle-ear inflammation. And we did not notice it because we ... .. "
"Because today we've experienced terrible things and already had enough to fight with that, Jan. And if someone is to blame, then most likely I am. I've been with him all the time and have overlooked the symptoms, not you. You've noticed that something is wrong with him. I have shifted his restlessness to the events because he seemed so balanced and cheerful before. And I have to admit, I was just overstrained with the screaming child."
From the living room comes a tender call from Cassie to her mother. Jeff grabs Janet's arm and tells her that he will look after Cassandra and hastened to the living room. Cassie sits on the couch and rubs her tired eyes.
"Where is Mom?" She asks half whimpering.
"She is taking care of the baby. Jack is a bit sick." he tells the tired child.
Cassie's eyes are closing and Jeff puts the blanket back over the sleeping child.
In the bedroom, Janet gives the small Jack a suppository and dresses him again. Then she holds him tightly in her arms until the drug takes its effect and the child slowly calms down. When he finally fell asleep, she gently kisses him on the warm forehead and puts him in his bed.
"I'm sorry, little darling," she whispers as she covers him lovingly.
Janet leaves the bedroom and steps into the living room to see Cassie. When she sees that the child is asleep again, she presses her a light kiss on her forehead and creeps quietly to the kitchen. There she falls into one of the chairs and rests her head on the hard table top. Jeff, who has just taken fresh coffee, turns around.
"Coffee?" He asks, smiling.
She looks up. He notices how tired she looks and it worries him.
"Oh, please, a very strong one!" Janet answers with a tired smile.
He brings her a cup to the table and sits down on the chair next to her, puts his arm around her and pulls his girlfriend close to him. They sit quietly side by side for a while. After a while, Janet finally starts talking.
"What a day! I don't even want to think about having to stand and cook but I know Cassie is hungry as are you." She moans and looks sadly towards the living room.
"We could order something to be delivered. What do you think about it? Chinese perhaps? And then we'll have a very quiet, cozy evening." he suggests.
"That sounds heavenly. Let's enjoy the silence as long as the peace still lasts." Janet says softly.
She then looks at Jeff, grins and gives him a passionate long kiss. Jeff returns the kiss. For a good half hour, the two of them still sit arm-in-arm at the table, before Janet gets up to look in on the children again. Cassie snores quietly on the couch and Little Jack also sleeps firmly in his bed. She cautiously feels his forehead and pulls the blanket slightly higher. Then she goes back to the kitchen to Jeff, who has now ordered the food from the delivery service and is just about to set the table.
"How are our two little patients doing?" He asks.
"Both are sleeping quietly and peacefully."
When the bell rings at the front door, Cassie is awakened in alarm, rubbing her tired eyes. Janet immediately takes care of her daughter while Jeff opens the door to the delivery service.
"Hey Honey, how are you?" The worried doctor asks her daughter.
Cassandra wrists a smile and assures her mom that she is okay. Janet sees that it is not quite true, but says nothing else. She takes her brave daughter lovingly in her arms.
"Are you hungry? We ordered Chinese food." Janet askes her daughter.
Cassie looks up and sees Jeff coming to the living room, carrying cartons of Chinese food. Jeff sees that Cassie wants to eat but she doesn't want to let go of her mom either. The day's events has played havoc on the child's emotions.
"You can eat it with one arm Cassie. That's the advantage with Chinese food, it's all nicely cut. "He laughs and winks at her.
Cassie jumps up and rubs her growling stomach.
"Oh, I'm starving."
Jeff leads the way into the kitchen and Cassie looks back though just to back sure her mom is following. When they enter the kitchen, Cassie sees Jack's empty chair and becomes quite sad.
"Is Jack very sick Mom? Is that the reason why he did cry so much?" She asks worried.
"Do not worry. He has a painful earache and that´s why he cried so much. Now he is sleeping and hopefully the pain is gone." explains Janet.
The three sit comfortably together, eating their dinner, even if the mood tonight is a bit clouded. All of them are still drawn to the events of the day. After the meal, they decide to go to bed early. Cassandra lies softly cuddled in her bed and her mother reads a story to her. After she's done, Cassie wants to talk about the events in the park. She is thinking about Jack's obviously attempted abduction. What has happened to Jack and is happening to him is making Cassie very curious.
Janet tries to answer all the questions as best she can. Then her daughter says something that makes Janet's eyes tear up. She has trouble restraining her tears and tries to make her daughter aware that it is not her fault at all. Somehow, Cassie has the idea that it might be her fault that Jack was almost kidnapped.
"But if I did not want to ride, I would not have fallen and ..."
She does not come to say more because Janet interrupts her immediately.
"Cassie, that was not your fault. You must not think that at all. This was a case of unfortunate circumstances. Do you understand that? And if someone has to be blamed, then least of all you! Fortunately, everything went well and we got Jack back. I do not want you to worry about it and try to sleep now, honey. Do you promise me that? "
The child nods and says smiling "I love you mommy."
After giving Cassie a kiss and wishing her a good night, Janet stands a moment before Cassie's door and buries her face in her hands. She can't stop the tears now. Jeff sees his girlfriend as he is on his way to the bedroom and takes her into his arm. Then he leads her into the bedroom and sits down with her on the bed. Sobbing, Janet tells what Cassie told her and suddenly she is crushed by the whole burden of the day. She cries bitterly.
Jeff pulls her tightly into his arms and tries to comfort her by his closeness. After sitting there for a while, she finally calms herself and looked into the radiant blue eyes of her lover. She starts to kiss him tenderly and from the kisses it becomes quickly more. She whispers into his ear
"I need you now, I want to feel you."
It still takes a while until Teal'c reaches the cave entrance. With the help of a secured rope, he has lowered himself down the steep rock face. Completely soaked with sweat he sits for a moment on the cool ground in the cave. His remaining followers can hardly believe what the Jaffa is telling them about the prevailing conditions on the planet. They must hurry, that is clear to all and they know that if Teal'c had difficulty attempting the walk, it will not be an easy at all for the rest.
Some time passes until everyone has climbed the rope - too much time. The descent on the other side of the rock wall is a little faster and soon the team is finally on their way in the glowing heat to the stargate. After an hour or so, most of them are already physically worn out. Teal'c is noticing that everyone is becoming more and more fatigue so he calls a rest. Not seeing shade anywhere, they squat where they are to rest their legs and drink cool water. Soon they are pushed once more to start the long trek to the Star Gate.
Daniel Jackson and Samantha Carter have the most to fight to keep moving. In contrast to the rest of the squad, the two have no symbiote, which can help them. Jacob tries to support his daughter as best he can, but Sam does not want to admit to her father that she is physically worn and rejects his help. After what feels like eternity, they have finally arrived at the Stargate.
Daniel can't believe it and thinks he is hallucinating. With the last of his strength, he drags himself to the DHD and enters the symbols. When the Stargate is activated, Samantha Carter suddenly loses consciousness and crashes hard to the ground. Her father shouts her name in shock and runs to her. But Teal'c gets to Sam first, picks her up and carries the unconscious woman quickly through the shimmering gate.
"Nothing to do but get away from here." Daniel muttered as Jacob helped him through the gate.
On the other side of the Gate, a medical team is already on the way through the door of the gate room. When Jacob, Daniel and Freya come through the Gate, they lay exhausted on the ramp – too tired to even move. Teal'c lays the unconscious Sam on the ramp and sits down beside her. Paramedics are already with the young woman and provide first aid, while General Hammond looks horrified to the rest of the troop.
Jacob, finally getting on his feet starts over to his daughter wanting to be with Sam, but Freya holds him back. She talks to him and finally convinces him that he would only stand in the way of the medical personal. He sees the paramedics take his daughter away and wants to leave the gate room as soon as possible. The general, seeing the condition of everyone, orders them all to go to the infirmary for a checkup. After that, they are to report to the briefing room for a debriefing.
While Doctor Warner takes care of Major Carter in a separate room, the remaining travelers and team sit on the assigned beds in the room next door and are provided care by the nurses. Teal'c has already recovered from the hardships of the mission and he literally jumps from the bed as Doctor Warner enters the room.
Jacob immediately wants to know how his daughter is doing and makes his way straight to Doctor Warner. He asks everyone to go back to their beds and calm down.
"Major Carter has suffered from heat stroke, however after plenty of fluids and rest, she will be okay. Fortunately, she was close to the gate when she finally succumbed."
This eases both Teal'c and Jacob and they listed to the doctor when he recommends that all of them to take a lot of fluids and take some rest.
"This is especially important for you, Doctor Jackson. Since you nor Major Carter carried a symbiote, the conditions of the planet were harsher on both of you" He looks up from the Daniel's record, where the nurses had noted Daniel's vital signs earlier.
Finally, an hour later, all have their check- up and Jacob urges the doctor to allow him to see his daughter. The rest of the group goes to the conference room to report to the General. He sits in his chair at the front of the table and drums impatiently on the table. Watching him, Teal'c is suddenly reminded of his friend and it causes him to miss Jack even more.
After the remaining mission participants sit down, General Hammond takes the floor. He would like to know what they have found out. Daniel tells him about the machine and the inscription they have found. He also explains the meaning of the inscription and is not surprised by the questioning facial expressions of his superior. The general is just as confused as everyone else was.
"What does that mean? The machine can only be activated by an ancient, did I understand you correctly?" He asks again.
"That is what is written in the inscription, General Hammond." Confirms Anise.
"How is that possible? How could Colonel O'Neill activate this device at all? And have you found a way to undo the damage that has been done?"
"We have not finished the translation yet, General, but we will work on it as soon as possible. But even if we have the solution, what then? Under the conditions of the planet, we cannot return there. Sam would have almost lost her life. And the hardships to an infant would be madness."
"Dr. Fraiser would never allow it anyway. There has to be another way. Dr. Jackson, you and Anise work on that translation and let me know the minute you get something."
"Speaking of Colonel O'Neill, have you heard something from Dr. Frazier, General?" Asks Teal'c.
"Doctor Fraiser called me from the emergency room of the hospital."
Immediately, restlessness prevails and everyone looks worried and begins talking all at one time, no one being able to understand anything the General may be trying to say. Finally, his patience wears out.
"Silence!" Cries the general.
"The baby is doing well! It is Cassandra who has hurt herself. She broke an arm in the amusement park. However, while the attention was on Cassandra, someone attempted to kidnap the baby. The perpetrator used the excitement of Cassandra's accident and took the child. Fortunately, the perpetrator did not manage to flee very far with the child. Still, it was a shock for all and certainly not a good day for Dr. Frasier." The General reports, his tone very solemn.
"Is Cassandra doing well?" Asks the terrified archaeologist.
"Doctor Fraiser assured me that we do not have to worry about Cassandra or Jack."
"Do you think it was coincidence that someone wanted to abduct O'Neill, General?" Comes the question of the always seemingly emotionless Jaffa, although those closest to him knew he too was as worried as they were.
"I'm not sure Teal'c. Of course, I had the duty to pass on the whole story and that I did. So, I cannot be sure if the information has gotten into the wrong hands. I pray it did not for the child's sake. Now, we should assume that it was simply a foolish coincidence. "
Daniel gives a dissatisfied snort, which of course does not escape the General.
"I am quite worried, Dr. Jackson, but we should keep calm. I want you to use the rest of the weekend and get some rest. Major Carter is out of duty anyway. For our guests, I have had quarters prepared. See you on Monday morning after a long weekend of rest and relaxation."
Daniel starts to object, but the general stops him before he can get the words out.
"That is an order!"
Daniel and Anise do not even think about the General's command as they sit in his office, after a long boring weekend of rest - devoting more time to the translation. Sitting there going through rows of old books, which Freya / Anise have brought with them, they begin to feel it is hopeless. Suddenly Daniel rubs his tired eyes and slams his book shut loudly.
"We did not get any further," he snaps, frustrated. Anise looks at him in astonishment.
"Break?"
"Break!" Daniel groans and pours himself a fresh, hot coffee.
Meanwhile in the infirmary, Jacob Carter has been sitting on the bed of his daughter since the return to earth, holding her hand. Sam's face is sunburned and she looks very exhausted. She is sleeping deeply and firmly since her collapse. Jacob does not even notice that his friend George has approached and looked surprised as he feels a hand on his shoulder.
"How is she?" The general asks amiably.
"She is sleeping, Dr. Warner says she will quickly get back on her feet with enough rest. I'll probably have to tie her to bed to achieve that."
Jokes the worried father to his friend. George Hammond cannot help laughing.
"That's possible."
Jacob rises from his chair and pulls his friend to the side, away from listening ears.
"She is so worried about Jack. I think she would do anything to help him, even if it could cost her life." he whispers.
"Yes, I know Jacob. That would be done by all the members of this team. They're all very close together and that's what makes the team stand out."
"Maybe a little too close, if you ask me." It slips out of the Tok'ra.
"What do you mean?" Asks General Hammond, puzzled.
"Oh, nothing, forget it." Replied Jacob but the General could see that the comment was well thought out.
"We shouldn't give her the news I received from Dr. Frasier yet."
"What happened?" Jacob wants to know immediately.
George tells his friend about the events in the park and the possibility that it might not be a coincidence.
"But why would anyone be interested in kidnapping that child? What do they want with the baby?"
"Jacob, we're talking about Jack O'Neill. I know a lot of people who are interested in the disappearance of the man forever. And that would be a good opportunity to get rid of him. If he were no longer in our hands, then we could not help him either. You understand?"
"Oh God! How unscrupulous can people be? Any idea, who is behind it?"
"For now, it is only a thought, Jacob, but we should not forget it nor let anyone out of our own people know we feel this way. People do not like it when we make wild guesses. I did not express my assumption with Dr. Frasier, I did not want to disturb her, the day was already bad enough for her and for the children. However, for security reasons, I have ensured her that security officers are nearby, quite inconspicuous."
"Then you are correct, my friend. I'm not going to tell Sam anything about that. She needs rest."
The General assures his friend that he will immediately notify him if he has new knowledge. Under these circumstances, he wants to use his weekend as well to keep his eyes open.
Meanwhile, Daniel and Anise are still sitting in his office and pondering over the inscriptions they have found on the machine.
"The mind is stronger than the genes," Daniel suddenly says aloud.
Anise looks at him questioningly.
"That is the meaning of this line," he explains, pointing to one of the pictures she took from the inscriptions.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"I have no idea," groans Daniel.
Janet and Jeff lie arm in arm in bed, love shining from one to the other. Jeff kisses his entangled lover intimately and caresses her, stroking her hair. She squeezes him tightly and just enjoys his warmth. At that moment, Little Jack becomes restless in his bed and Janet raises her head to look for him. Jeff kisses her neck neatly. Janet giggles.
"Leave it, you'll never get up quick enough." He tells her.
Janet just wants to get up to see the little one as Jeff pulls her back and rolls onto her. Smiling, he leans over her and kisses her extensively before he swings out of bed. He picks the whimpering baby up into his arms.
"His fever has risen, Janet. Yes, you do not feel very good, I know. Come, we'll go to Janet."
He hands over the feverish child to his girlfriend and wants to go to the kitchen to get the baby a bottle of milk when Janet stops him.
"Jeff, stop! You should wear something." Janet grins
She throws his underwear to her lover, laughing and quickly takes her own underwear and puts them on. She does not want Cassie by chance to see her naked friend. You never know when a child may roam out of bed.
Jeff grins at her and sets off while Janet takes care of the little one. Jack looks at her with his fever-troubled brown eyes. They are already slipping closed again. Janet rocks him in her arms until Jeff is back. He has prepared a milk bottle for the child. He must be hungry; the last meal is long ago. When Janet gives him the bottle, Jack turns his head away and refuses the food even after several attempts. Jeff gives her the bottle with the warm tea.
"He must at least drink something."
After some back and forth, the baby takes at least a few sips of tea and is asleep in Janet's arms again. She pushes him to her body and gently strokes his hair.
Jeff sees her delightful look as Little Jack smiles in half sleep.
"You'd like another child?" He asks.
Janet looks at him blushing.
"I've often thought about it, is it so obvious? But that does not mean I want to have one now, do not worry."
Jeff kisses her on the forehead.
"I love children Janet, you know that. And maybe we are meant for each other and will have one together. Who knows! You're a great woman and a great mother!"
"You are a flatterer! I love you"
Both lie cuddled close together and watch the sleeping child for a while before putting him back into his own bed. Exhausted by the hardships of the day, both finally succumb to sleep.
In the SGC, General Hammond sits at his desk and has been telephoning some of his contacts for quite some time to find out what they may know about what happened in the amusement park. But so far unfortunately his calls are without success. After completing the last unsuccessful conversation, he decides to end today and go home
