A/N: is this fast enough for y'all?? (grin)

Sam had just finished running her last experiment when the klaxons rang loud throughout the complex. She looked at her watch; her father was just about due back. She closed down her computer and headed towards the Gateroom, Rico following at his own pace.

Jacob met her halfway there, carrying a large case in his hand.

"Hey Sam."

"Hi, Dad." She gave him a soft smile and turned to follow him to the infirmary where he was going to drop his equipment off with the nurses for safe keeping until such time as they would return to base.

"C'mon, let's head out of here. I know for a fact it's just after 0630 and I, for one, am dieing for an omelet."

Sam shrugged as they walked out of the mountain to Jack's humungous truck. "Sorry, Dad, Jack's away at the moment."

"I'll make it, don't you worry. And that husband of yours has filled me in on his secret ingredient."

"Dad, beer is not an ingredient. Besides, I can't have that."

"A) Beer goes in everything. B) All the alcohol gets cooked off. It won't hurt you or the baby."

"You've been spending too much time with Jack," Sam laughed.

Rico jumped into the back seat of the truck, wagging his tail while he waited for his humans to get into the front.

The ride home was nice, but Sam's mind wasn't really on what they were doing. She was worried about Jack and the rest of SG-1, not to mention Jay and Steph. There were so many factors that could go wrong. McGrady was an unstable variable. Unfortunately, she knew this was a feeling she was going to have to get used to.

"You okay?" Jacob asked as they pulled into the driveway of the house.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, it's just taking some time getting used to the fact that I can't go through the Gate for a while."

Rico whined and licked her ear.

The three headed indoors, and Sam sat at the kitchen table while she watched Jacob prepare breakfast. They didn't really talk a lot, just about day to day activities, the weather, Rico. It was nice to just have a normal conversation with her father.

"Have you talked to Mark lately?" Jacob asked, dishing out their omelets.

Sam shook her head. "No. I left him a message, letting him know about the baby."

"Did he say anything?"

"I didn't actually talk to him. He won't pick up the phone when I call."

Jacob sat down next to his daughter. He was disappointed in Mark, that he wouldn't try to share in his sister's happiness. He dropped the subject when he noticed just how upset it was making Sam and dug into his omelet with earnest.

Sam had finished hers in record time, making Jacob wonder just how long it'd been since she'd eaten anything. She took her plate to the sink and rummaged through the refrigerator. She pulled out an orange and sat back down next to her father.

The telltale thunk under the table told Sam something had gotten Rico's attention. The poor dog still hadn't learned to gage how close he was to the bottoms of the tables. A second later the doorbell rang.

Rico obviously didn't recognize the knock because he immediately let out a low warning growl.

Sam got up from the table and answered the door, surprised to find Jack's father on the other side.

"Matt! Hi, uh, we weren't expecting you. Were we?" she asked waving the man inside.

"No," he smiled. "I came down to meet Alex, only to find that Sean's out of town. Trish just had to run to a doctor's appointment with Alex, so I thought I'd see how you and Jack are doing."

"Um, Jack's out of town with Sean. There was a problem with McGrady."

Jacob came into the room carrying three glasses of orange juice. He set them on the coffee table and sat down in the easy chair, while Sam and Matt each took seats on the couch.

"Have you talked to Jack lately?" Sam asked nervously. Those who knew her most could tell there was something different about her, but she'd only seen her father-in-law a few times.

"Not since the wedding. How have you guys been?"

"Pretty good. Work's been rather busy, and I know Jack meant to call you. Um, we found out about two weeks ago that we are expecting a sister for Sean and Jay."

Matt's eyes lit up. "Oh, wow. Congratulations. That's wonderful."

"Thank you. We're both very excited."

"I'm sure Jack is." Matt smiled. He pulled a pen and a receipt out of his pocket and quickly wrote down a number. "This is his mother's new telephone number. When Jack gets back he can give her a call."

"How are you doing?" Sam asked, leaning over and resting her hand on his knee.

"Better than I thought I would. It's a little easier now that the divorce is final."

Sam nodded. Jack hadn't mentioned a thing about his mother since they'd returned from the cabin and she was pretty sure he wouldn't be calling her to let her know about the baby. It seemed that would fall on her shoulders. It would give her a chance to talk to the woman she'd never even met before.

"So," Matt said, feeling a need to change the subject quickly. "How are Jack and Jay getting along?"

"That's where Jack is right now. Jay called him up yesterday frantic. Steph's been missing since the day Alex was born. She was supposedly visiting her father."

Matt's eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped in shock. "Oh, no. What happened?"

"They're looking for her now, but I haven't heard anything since they left. Hopefully it won't be too much longer before we hear something."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Jack watched silently, adrenaline pumping through his veins, as Jay fell to the ground, everything running in slow motion like a bad movie. He threw himself through the window and ran straight to Jay, picking him up in his arms and cradling him to his chest. He gave just the smallest twitch of a smile when Jay's eyes opened.

"DAMN! That HURT!" He growled, dropping his head back to the floor.

"Turn around slowly."

Jack, closed his eyes and sighed. He should have known it was McGrady. No wonder it'd been so easy to figure out where he was hiding. He had been lying in wait for them, no doubt in order to take them out easily and efficiently. This was exactly why Jack had pushed Hammond so hard to let SG-1 take this mission. Had anybody else shown up, he would have killed them instantly and without a second thought. Jack knew how this man thought. He liked to toy with them, and he would until he grew bored.

Jack stood and faced the man who'd hated him before he'd ever been born.

"McGrady."

"Hello, Jack," he snarled back. Darren McGrady was at least six inches taller than Jack and probably outweighed him by at least 75 pounds, all in muscle. To most men, he was intimidating, but not to Jack. He'd been pushed around and bullied by this man since they were little and he wasn't going to let him do it to him, or any of his family anymore.

"I don't know what you think you're doing, but kidnapping your own daughter is low, even for you Darren."

The man glared over at the still form and sneered. "She stopped being my daughter the day that brat of yours dragged her away from me!"

He started waving the gun around and his eyes flashed with insanity. "Now I'll finish you off. No more O'Neills to pollute the gene pool. The brats are next."

"You won't succeed."

McGrady grinned. "I almost did once and I would have if the Air Force hadn't pulled you back. The look on Charlie's face as I pulled the trigger was pure bliss. And who do you think planted that incompetent doctor at the hospital to release your grandson? The only thing I'll ever enjoy as much as watching you die, is returning to torture those two. You don't know how he cries out for you, begging Dear Old Daddy to come save him."

Jack had had enough. He could feel the power from the armband surging through his system. Every fiber of his being sped up as the armband started working with him. He watched as Darren moved in slow motion, pointing the gun at Steph, and fired.

The bullet moved, but Jack could watch its progress as it spiraled through the air, heading straight for the unconscious woman. He lunged forward, arm outstretched, and snagged the bullet from the air like swatting a fly.

Darren's eyes grew wide. He knew the SGC dabbled in some strange things, but this was beyond anything the NID had ever learned about its premier team. Jack's movements were a blur and he stopped just as suddenly, tossing the bullet in his hand nonchalantly.

"Oh, I don't think so," he remarked, throwing the harmless bullet to the ground.

Jay had been pulling himself along the floor towards his wife while the two men had their attention on each other, and reached her just in time to see his father snatch the bullet out of the air. This was the weirdest thing he'd ever seen.

"You're done, McGrady. No more screwing with people!"

In the blink of an eye Jack was on top of the man, fists flying faster than Darren could react. The first blow landed to his abdomen, resulting in severe internal bleeding, but Jack didn't stop there. He moved up as he went, crushing the man's ribcage and pummeling his face. Blood flowed from his smashed nose and cheekbones, flying off Jack's fists as he swung. The splatter spread throughout the room, covering Jay and Steph.

Jack was so intent on eradicating the greatest threat to his family he didn't notice Sean and Will enter the room from the opposite door and pull Jay to safety. He continued to beat McGrady mercilessly until he was sure the man was no longer breathing.

He panted, sitting back on his haunches, staring at the older man, the monster who'd inflicted so much pain to so many. He was the true mastermind behind the rogue NID, and now he was gone.

He turned back to the woman behind him, noticing for the first time exactly how awful she actually looked. She'd obviously been beaten repeatedly. Unhealed cuts and bruises shone out against her pale skin. She obviously hadn't eaten anything in the five days she'd been missing.

He quickly cut the ropes holding her in place and caught her as she collapsed into his arms. He didn't know if it was the armband or Stephanie, but she seemed impossibly light as he carried her down the stairs. The front of her shirt was sopping wet. Her father had apparently ignored the fact that she was a nursing mother and he knew she must be in pain.

An ambulance was waiting for them as he exited the building, Steph still cradled in his arms. Daniel immediately ran up, walking quickly beside Jack to the ambulance.

"We're heading straight to the airport, and from there, to Peterson, where we'll be airlifted to the SGC. Janet will meet us at Peterson to supervise the transfer. Rick is catching the next flight down with Lilly."

Jack didn't even acknowledge he'd heard Daniel, though his friend knew he did. He just ran to the ambulance, climbing into the back where the medics were already taking care of Jay's shoulder wound. Thankfully the bullet was a through and through, but it had taken fragments with it.

His medicated hazy gaze turned to Jack as he sat down next to him, with Steph resting in his lap. Jay reached up with his good arm and pulled the oxygen mask off his face.

"Dad," he whispered.

Jack gave him a soft smile. It was the first time he'd been fully accepted by Jay, even if it didn't last any longer than the course of the medication.

"How is she?"

"You're the one losing blood. Let's get you settled first."

"No," he coughed. "No. I need to know."

"She's unconscious. We'll know more once Doctor Fraiser has a chance to check her out. We'll be right here the whole trip."

Jay nodded, his head lolled to the side and he slipped into unconsciousness, finally succumbing to the weariness of blood loss.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Sam, Jacob, and Matt had spent the majority of the day talking amiably about anything and everything they could think of; from Rico's amusement with his tail to Jack's favorite hockey team, to how Sam was feeling this early in the pregnancy, to Cassie's birthday, which was only a few weeks away.

Just after lunch they decided it would be a good idea to take a walk, let Rico let off some energy, and the three headed out to the park. It was a nice day, for the end of August and the walk to the park was refreshing.

They watched the youngsters running and jumping on the playground equipment and Sam was reminded of the first time she'd taken Cassie on the swings. It was fun watching the then twelve year old swinging for the first time and she wondered what it would be like the first time they took their daughter on the swings.

She smiled softly and rubbed her mostly flat stomach. She was glad she wasn't showing yet, at least not to the casual observer. Right now, it was something private between Jack and her.

She looked up from her stomach to see Matt and her father playing Frisbee with Rico. She would be forever grateful Jack had given him to her before they were together. The dog had been a wonderful companion during her surprisingly short rehabilitation.

Her phone rang, startling her and she reached into her purse to pull it out.

"O'Neill." Oh yeah, she still totally loved answering the phone like that.

"Sam." It was Janet. "We just got a call from the guys. Jay's been shot; we don't know what kind of condition Stephanie is in, but it's serious. Daniel said everyone else is fine."

"Oh, thank God, Janet."

"They're flying into Peterson now. I'm going to meet them there and transfer our two patients to the infirmary."

"When will they be there?"

"They should be landing any minute now. What I want you to do is meet Rick and Lilly at the airport and bring them to the base."

"What time?"

"About an hour and a half."

"Okay."

The women hung up with each other and Sam turned to the two men walking towards her. They had an hour and a half to kill, but she may as well fill them in on what little she knew.

A/N: okay, please review. i got 2 for the last chap, thanks to Alimoo who reviews EVERY chapter!!! and katejones for being the only other reviewer!! thanks to everyone else for at least reading it!!!!

oh, and if y'all could, keep the Probst and Walker families from my hometown of Emmett, ID in thoughts and prayers, they lost a total of 5 children to a car accident on the 27th. the car went off the icy road and into a freezing pond.