For what I am about to do, I deeply and humbly apologize... but I'm gonna do it anyway!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

jsjsjsjs

They were cuddled together in Sam's bed. Jack's arm was warm around her shoulders. He reached for her left hand and brought it to his lips, kissing the back of her fingers and the ring she was now wearing. Her other hand wandered across his chest, idly playing with the gold disc on his chain. They had been quiet for a while, content to be with each other and the promise of their future.

He was thinking of long winter evenings beside a fire, warm and cozy, as a blizzard raged outside the cabin, across the wide Minnesota landscape... Or perhaps a late summer day, with a fishing pole in one hand, a beer in the other, with her sitting on the dock at his feet, teasing him about no fish in the pond... Retirement; peace and quiet and uninterrupted days and nights with his wife...

He turned slightly to bury his face in the scent of her hair. What had she said about more to come...?

Sam was thinking about the baby. Their son! How wonderful it would be to have that little guy in their life! She couldn't wait to see Jack with him! She hoped he would look like Jack! What would they name him? Did she dare suggest Jonathan? She really liked the name...

Oh, it would be a lot of work—sure. Midnight feedings and diapers and babysitters... but later there would be little feet running around the house, and laughter and love—

And worry. Was he healthy, could she keep him safe? What if he got sick? It would be a huge amount of responsibility, for both her and Jack...

Suddenly she was even more nervous than when she'd bumbled through her proposal speech. She'd been looking forward to telling Jack about the baby—but now she was scared. She thought he'd be as happy as she was, but what if he wasn't? What if he didn't want a child at this point in his life—he was fifty-seven, after all... Not that she ever thought of him as old, he was just too loving and full of life! But he'd be in his mid-seventies before this child graduated from high school. And what if the thought of dealing with all the chaos of raising a kid was just too much!

Or even worse—what if her news brought up terrible memories of his first child, of Charlie and the way he had died! What if Jack's emotions were too fragile to handle something like this? Oh, God, she should have told him first! Before the promises! Before she asked him to marry her! How stupid of her... She should have given him at least that little chance to escape—to get out of the relationship if he was unable to deal with it...

She could feel the tension building in her body as her fear escalated.

"Sam?" Jack sounded concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Huh?" She blinked and turned to him. "What..."

"If you squeeze my hand much harder, it's gonna fall off."

"Oh!" She realized she was gripping his fingers with all of her strength and immediately let go. "I'm sorry! I didn't... I mean, I was just thinking about something."

"Well it must have been pretty serious. That was starting to hurt," he added with a half smile. "Wanna tell me about it?"

She locked her eyes on the warmth of his, and nodded slowly. "Yeah," she whispered. "Actually, I do. Jack..."

She was cut off by the wail of a siren. Her head came up.

"What?" Jack yelled over the noise.

"It's a perimeter alarm!" she shouted back, jumping to her feet. She crossed to the communicator on her desk, hit the switch. "This is Carter! What's happening?"

The penetrating noise was abruptly dialed down several notches.

"Colonel," Sheppard's voice came over the speaker. "A ship just appeared about 70 klicks above the city. Shields have been raised."

"Appeared? It wasn't detected approaching?"

"Evidently, it was cloaked, Colonel."

"I'll be right there!"

Sam scrambled for her BDUs. Jack had already pulled on his jeans and was tying his shoes. Two minutes later they were both dressed and on their way to the control room.

They exited the lift on the control level to a chorus of voices.

"There's no answer to our hails, sir!"

"Keep trying!"

"We don't have anything like it in our database!"

"The ship is descending, sir!"

"Track that! How fast?"

"One K per minute, Colonel."

"I'm not detecting any weapons, or power spikes!"

Sam hurried over to where Sheppard was standing in front of the large visual screen. The ship was visible, although the picture was indistinct.

"Can you resolve that?" Sam asked the tech.

"No, ma'am. The trouble is at the source. We think the cloak is still partially engaged."

"Stella Navis. Det Rotas Caris Galax."

Sam spun around at the voice. "Jack? What did you say?"

He was staring at the screen, and seemed not to hear her.

"General!"

He started and blinked. "What? Carter, what is it?"

"You said something. When you looked at the image. 'Stella Navis.' And then something like rota caris galax?"

He stared at her. After a moment he began to shake his head slowly. "No." He closed his eyes and put the heels of his hands to his forehead. "Not again..."

She reached to grasp his arm. "Jack—are you all right?"

"Headache... that's all..." He grimaced as the pain spiked behind his eyes. "Navis signam Ero est... Perditas!" The words came out with difficulty.

He staggered and Sam tried to steady him, but his knees gave way. Sheppard jumped to his other side and together they eased him down to the deck.

"Get Dr. Keller!" Sheppard ordered. "And somebody figure out what he's saying!"

Sam was kneeling beside Jack, holding onto his arms. "Sir. What are you trying to say?"

"Postulare adjutas..." Jack whispered.

"I've got a translation," Lt. Morrison said. "It's Ancient—sort of. There are differences, but I think this is it."

"Go ahead, Morrison," Sheppard said.

"First he said 'star ship'. Then something about a Wheel Galaxy—possibly the Cartwheel Galaxy. The ship is named Ero. Then he said 'Lost.' And just now, 'Need help.'"

"The ship has stopped it's descent," someone announced. "It's holding at 50 kilometers."

Jack was leaning heavily on Sam by this point. When he started to speak again, she leaned down to hear. "Prepara transsendare..."

Sam's gaze went to Morrison.

"Prepare... to transcend...?" the lieutenant said uncertainly. "What does that..."

There was a flash of white light and General Jack O'Neill vanished. Sam lost her balance and fell, barely catching herself with her hands.

There was a startled silence around the control room, and then an outburst of voices.

"What happened?"

"Where did he go...?"

"...tracking the beam..."

Dr. Keller was kneeling beside Sam. "Colonel, what happened? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. It's the General."

Keller looked around. "What? Where?"

"He disappeared..."

"...beam originated in the alien ship!" Rodney exclaimed. His eyes were round with shock. "They beamed General O'Neill up there!"

"What's happening here?!" Mr. Woolsey had arrived on the scene.

sjsjsjsj

Jack was lying on something hard and cold. Metal? What...? What happened? Had he passed out? Another pain stabbed his forehead, and he groaned, rolled onto his back and immediately regretted it. Bright light stabbed his eyes. He covered his face with one arm and waited for the pain to recede.

~You are in pain~

The voice was metallic, harsh. Way too loud! It was not speaking English, but he understood. Oh, crap. Ancient!

"Yeah, I'm in pain. Could ya speak a little softer..."

~I do not understand~

"Where am I?"

~You are aboard the Ero~

"The alien ship?"

~As you would call it~

"Can you dim the lights?"

The brightness was reduced instantly.

"Thanks." Jack lowered his arm and looked around. "Why am I here? And who are you? For that matter, where are you? I don't see anybody."

~I am here~

"Where? I don't see you."

~You see me. I am the ship~

"I'm talking to a ship? That's new and different." The pain in his head was fading quickly, and he sat up slowly and looked around. The room he was in was octagonal. On every side were consoles, smooth-surfaced, but with a myriad of colored lights flashing and blinking. "So why am I here?"

~Yours was the strongest life-sign~

Jack frowned. "I don't get it?"

~There are other beings below, but their signs were weaker~

"Okay." He decided to let that pass. "But why did you bring me up here?"

~We need your help~

"There's more than one of you?"

~There are many here like you~

"Like me? You mean there are people on board?"

~Yes~

"Where are they?"

~They sleep. You must waken them~

"Uh... what?"

~In return they will take you away from here, back to your own kind~

"Huh? What... My own kind? What does that mean?"

~They will take you with them when they return home~

"Uh... no. I am home! Those are my people down there. How about you just send me back!" He was on his feet. "Where are the controls for that beam?"

~I cannot send you back until you waken them~

"I'll see if I can wake 'em up. But only on the condition that I won't be going anywhere with you."

~They will insist that you return with them~

"Guess I won't be helping them then." Jack walked around the room, eyeing the various consoles. Some of the script looked familiar, but he could not read it. "Y'know, you kidnapped me. The people down in Atlantis might take it in their heads to shoot this ship down."

There was an odd sound from the machinery—almost as if the ship was troubled at that idea.

~You are important to them~

"Well, to some of them... yes. Others probably don't give a flying f... Never mind. I'm the highest ranking officer in the city, yes."

~Then they would not put your life in danger~

"I wouldn't count on that if I were you. There's at least one man down there who would be happy to see me gone. And with me missing, he has quite a lot of power."

There was a long silence. Jack continued to stroll around the space, examining everything. He stopped in front of one section of wall and stared at what he saw there. Not another one of those head-sucker things!

"Does this ship belong to the Ancients?" he asked.

~I do not know that term~

"The people who built Atlantis. They left this galaxy ten thousand years ago, after sinking the city to the bottom of the ocean. We're speaking their language—more or less." He'd noticed that there were differences, but the language base was the same.

~Yes. These people once lived in this galaxy~

"Then I really have no intention of going with you. None whatsoever. Nope. Never happen."

~But you are one of them. My scans detected your DNA~

"The Ancients lived on my home planet millennia ago. Some of us are descended from them, and still carry their DNA. That doesn't mean I'm one of them. And I won't go with them."

~You are being unduly recalcitrant~

"We don't respond well to kidnappings!"

~I shall retrieve the person with the next strongest life-sign~

"What! No! Wait just a..."

He was interrupted by the white flash of the transporter, and Carter was standing beside him, a shocked look on her face.

"Sam!"

"Jack, are you all right?"

Jack grabbed her and turned his head, seemingly to speak to the air. "What the hell! You blew it, bud—she doesn't have the gene!"

There was a moment's pause before the voice came again.

~It would seen that you are correct—however the child she carries does~

"What! What child?" He turned to Carter. "Sam! What's..."

"I was about to tell you when the alarms went off!" she cried. "I'm sorry! I should have said something sooner..."

"You're pregnant?"

"Yes." She was almost afraid to look at him. "With our son."

"Oh my God," he whispered, taking her face in his hands and staring into her eyes. "Are you...sure?"

She nodded, and a smile lighted up his face like a beacon. It vanished only a moment later, however, and he turned away to look up into the air again.

"Send her back! You have to send her back!"

~No~

"Jack..." she pleaded

"I'll help you wake the crew, if you send her back!" he shouted at the walls, wrapping his arms around her tightly. "Keep her here, and neither one of us will help you!"

There was a pause as if the ship was considering.

~Very well. Step away from her~

Jack kissed her quickly, and then lowered his arms and took a step back.

She tried to hold on to him. "Jack... No!"

He pushed her away. "Yes, Sam. For the baby. Take care of him."

Tears welled in her eyes as she started to call his name. "J..."

She vanished in the white light.

Jack stared for a moment at the place where she had stood, and then drew a breath and raised his head. "Now what?"

jsjsjsjs

"...aack!" Sam cried as she materialized in the control room on Atlantis. Off-balance, she staggered, and would have fallen if Sheppard had not caught her.

"Colonel! What happened?" The question came from Keller as well as Sheppard.

Sam's legs gave way, and she collapsed onto the deck, Keller and Sheppard easing her fall. "They've taken him... I don't know... something about helping them..."

People gathered around in concern.

"Who are they?" Sheppard asked.

"I don't know. I didn't see anybody. There... there was a voice coming from somewhere. It was speaking in Ancient I think—but I could understand it..."

"It must be the same technology that the Stargate has," Rodney spoke up, from somewhere behind her. "You know, the technology that lets us understand alien people when we gate to other planets. It's pretty amazing actually... Someday I'm going to..."

"Rodney!" Sheppard snapped, cutting him off. He turned back to Sam, softening his tone. "What did the voice say, Colonel?"

She spoke quietly. "It knew I'm pregnant. It wanted the baby's ancient gene for some reason. Jack demanded that I be sent back. He promised to help them if they sent me back."

"What kind of help?"

She closed her eyes, remembering Jack's words. "Jack said he'd help wake up the crew if they let me go, but if they kept me there neither one of us would help."

"Wake up the crew?" Sheppard repeated, frowning.

"Cryo-sleep!" Rodney exclaimed. "The crew must be in cryogenic chambers! And they need someone with the Ancient gene to open them..."

"Where is General O'Neill?" Richard Woolsey demanded, having finally pushed his way through the group. "What's this about cryogenics? Where have you been, Colonel Carter?"

Carter and Sheppard ignored him, and Rodney was still spouting off about cryogenics.

Sheppard turned to Morrison. "Is there any change in the ship's readings?"

"No, sir. It's still powered down and holding at 50 kilometers above the city."

"Any sign of weapons?"

"No, sir."

Sheppard got to his feet. "Lieutenant, I want to speak to that ship."

"Yes, sir." She pressed a button. "Go ahead, sir."

"What did you say the ship's name is?"

"Ero, sir."

"This is Atlantis, calling the Ero. This is Colonel John Sheppard. Please respond."

They waited several seconds.

"This is Colonel John Sheppard in Atlantis. Alien ship Ero! Respond!"

Another pause, then a familiar voice. "Hey, Sheppard. Did Carter make it back down there?"

"Yes, sir, General. She's here. She's fine. Are you okay, sir?"

"Yeh. I'm all in one piece."

"What's happening up there, sir? What do they want?"

"It seems they want my help to get back home. The catch is, the ship wants to take me with them..."

"The ship wants...? What, sir?"

"Yeah. It's a talking ship. The whole crew is sleeping."

"We are prepared to launch jumpers, sir."

"Hold off on that, Sheppard. I'll get back to you in a little bit."

The channel went dead. John stared at the communications panel for several beats, and then turned to face Sam. She was on her feet. For a moment they looked at one another.

"Shall I put the jumpers on alert, Colonel?" John asked.

She was prepared for the question. "Yes. Open the bay doors and move jumper 3, 5 and 6 out onto the launch pads. Wait for my order."

"Yes, ma'am." He moved to make the announcement.

"Do you think that's wise, Colonel?" Woolsey was right at her shoulder. "They could see it as an aggressive action."

She faced him. "Mr. Woolsey, an alien ship has kidnapped General O'Neill! If that's not an aggressive action, I don't know what is! We need to be ready for anything." She turned away. "Rodney, I want to know everything you can determine about that ship—and I want it five minutes ago!"

He blinked at her tone, then recovered. "We're on it, Sam. Radek, get over here..."

"Colonel..." Dr. Keller began.

"I'm fine, doctor. It was just a bit of a shock being transported like that."

"Still..." Jennifer persisted.

"I'll report to you in the infirmary as soon as this is over."

Jennifer raised an eyebrow. "You don't mind if I stay around, just to watch, do you?"

Sam gave a small smile. "Not at all, doctor."

Thirty minutes later nothing had changed. The alien ship still hovered above the city, and there had been no communication. Most of the unnecessary people had disappeared from the control room. Sam was seated at one of the tech stations, with a view of the ship on her screen. Scrolling across the bottom was every fact that could be determined or inferred about the ship; Rodney and Radek were still analyzing.

Keller was seated nearby with Teyla, both women watching Carter.

Sheppard was talking with Major Lorne and Ronon. The jumpers were still sitting on the launch pads, their crews aboard and waiting.

Woolsey, finding himself completely ignored, had retreated to a seat some distance away. No one missed him.

Suddenly Lt. Morrison stiffened in her seat. "Colonel! The Ero is powering up!"

Sam leapt to her feet and turned toward the large screen.

Sheppard reached Morrison's side in three strides. "Launch jumpers!"

"It's rising out of the atmosphere!" Rodney exclaimed. "Eighty K. Ninety K..."

Sheppard grabbed the communication mike. "This Sheppard! Jumpers, follow that ship!"

"One hundred twenty K..."

The jumpers streaked skyward.

"Ero! This is Sheppard! General, can you hear me? Respond!"

Sam stared at the screen—the image of the ship was receding fast.

"This is Jumper 3. We have the ship in visual range. Still rising."

"Two hundred K," Rodney yelled. "Rising faster!"

The image on the screen vanished, and Sam drew a sharp breath.

"It disappeared!" Morrison called.

"What happened..."

"It cloaked!" Rodney cried. "Still tracking... Two hundred fifty K! Three hundred!"

"Atlantis, this is Jumper 3, we've lost visual!"

"They're powering their hyperdrive..."

Sam covered her mouth, waiting for the next words.

"They've launched into hyperspace! The ship's gone..."

xxxxxxxxxx

I don't know Ancient, of course. I based it on what little Latin I remember from high school.