-1a/n: This one's killer-short, but dang it if I'm not super-tired this morning. My brain just doesn't want to write the reunion of Jake and Sam today.

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Beep, beep, beep, was the first of anything that registered in her fuzzy, heavy-laden mind. The noise wasn't extraordinarily loud or screechy, but the constant, beep, beep, beep, was still rather annoying with its repetitiveness. Not to mention, her throbbing head seemed to pound that much harder every time another beep sounded.

She was still mostly unconscious, but somewhere in the back of her mind, she decided that she could drown out the noise if she just pushed herself completely back into the world of sleep, and so she tried to do just that. She felt herself letting go, sailing away back to the land of blissful inexistence, when all of a sudden…..

BEEP!

The sudden, unexpected noise caused her to flinch, and she jerked completely awake rather abruptly. Her eyes flew open and she moaned at the awfully bright light that blinded her instantly. Slamming her eyes shut, she tried to shield them more with her arm, but it was anchored to the bed and completely immovable.

"Carter?" a familiar, yet unexpected voice sounded in her ear, and she forced her eyes to squint open.

"Sir?" she croaked out, her voice raspy and weak.

She heard him let out a long sigh and felt him come closer to her. The next thing she felt was his warm, large hand grasping her own.

"Thank God," he breathed out, and she was acutely aware that his words were not directed at her that time. "How do you feel?" his soft, caring voice asked.

Sam just stared at him, her eyes now more adjusted to the bright light of the infirmary. Was he really here? After all this time? Why?

And then, as all her memories and emotions finally joined her back in the land of the living, she knew exactly why he was here, why he had finally returned.

"Jake!" she moaned, her eyes now wide in alarm.

"He's fine," Jack told her, squeezing her hand in his and then rubbing his thumb across her knuckles gently. "He's fine. He misses you, though."

Sam's eyes widened even more, if possible, and as she tried to speak, her lungs betrayed her and sent her into a coughing fit.

Jack jumped up and retrieved a Styrofoam cup from the bedside table and guided the straw to her mouth. Sam sucked in the water greedily, her throat thanking her as it was finally hydrated.

"Where is he?" she asked the second the straw left her lips.

Jack set the cup back on the table and looked down at the blonde colonel before him. "At home. Cassie's with him. He's good, Carter."

Sam nodded in relief, her eyes slowly closed and she laid the full weight of her head back on the pillow behind her. She felt herself once again dragged back down to that world of unconsciousness, and it felt wonderful. She was tired, so very tired. And now that she knew that she was safe, that Jake was safe, she could rest peacefully in slumber while her body healed.

She was almost completely there, on the other side of consciousness, she knew he was still in the room, even with her eyes closed and her mind seemingly someplace else, she could still feel his overwhelming presence hovering over her, watching her, protecting her, caring for her. He was her strength. The years he was gone were washed away in her mind, and it was like it had been before. He was her protector, her confidant, her love. She felt the last reigns of reality break and she drifted deeper into sleep. Her lips parted open, but she was too far gone to hear the words that left her mouth and echoed softly in the quiet room.

"You weren't there."

"What?" Jack croaked out in disbelief, but his words sounded on deaf ears. She was fully asleep. He wasn't there? What did she mean?

And then, Laira's words rang loudly in his mind. She had gone to Edora in search of him………..and he wasn't there.

Jack sank back in his chair, his hands finding their way into his already-disheveled hair.

He wasn't there.

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"Jake!" Jack yelled jubilantly as soon as he stepped into the house. It had been two days since Carter had awoke, and Janet had finally given him the green light to bring Jake to see her. He was ecstatic. Jake didn't even know that his mom was back yet.

It had been the hardest thing Jack had ever had to keep from anyone, but he couldn't stand to see his son in misery again. Carter had been bad, and more than once, they almost lost her, but she had finally pulled through. Frasier had taken out the IV antibiotic yesterday, and although still quite pale and weak, Carter was well on the way to a full recovery.

But still, Jack wanted to make sure Carter was out of the woods before telling Jake that she was back. As much as he wanted Jake to know, he knew that if Carter would have died, and Jake had known they had found her, it would have been twice as hard on the little guy, and Jack couldn't fathom the idea of putting his son through that much grief.

"What?" Jake asked half-heartedly, walking slowly down the steps with his toy helicopter in his hands.

Jack smiled widely, and in his excitement, he couldn't wait for his son to finish his trek down the stairs, so he hurriedly rushed to him and flung him up in his arms. "I've got great news!"

Jake wrinkled his nose up at his dad. This was the first time he had seen him so happy.

"Get your shoes on, we're going to see your mom," Jack blurted out, his eyes shining merrily and his smile still stretched across his tanned face.

Jake's eyes shot to his father's, and he held his breath. Was he serious? His mom? "Mom?" Jake softly asked, his voice almost trembling.

Jack had already reached the door with Jake still in his arms, and he happily spun them both around, hugging Jake to him even tighter. "YES!" he cried out exuberantly. "Your mom, she's back."

Jake didn't take his eyes off his father's happy face. He couldn't believe it, but as happy as his dad was, he knew it was true. His mom was back! She wasn't dead after all. She was finally home.

Jake wanted to hurry out the door and go to his mom, to see her, to touch her, to kiss her and tell her how much he loved her and missed her, but he couldn't do any of that. Still looking at his father, so gleefully happy, he did the only thing he could.

He cried.

His tears wet his small face instantly, and his sobs racked his tiny frame. Jack hugged him even tighter, not expecting this reaction, but at the same time, not surprised either. He held him and rubbed his back as his tough little boy let go of all the grief he had experienced since the loss of his mother.

And as Jake wiped his tears on his father's shirt, Jack prayed that his son would never have to know such grief again.

When the tears and sobs were gone for good, Jake pushed himself out of his father's embrace, and with one fleeting look at his dad, he grabbed his sneakers by the door, and without even putting them on, opened the front door and started for the car.

When he realized Jack hadn't followed, he turned around in annoyance and growled at his dad. "Well, what are you waiting for? I can't drive myself to mom!"

Jack let out a short laugh and waved for Cassie to come too. "Come on Cass, Mr. Impatient is ready to go now," he teased as he locked the door.

Cassie stepped out of the shadows and joined Jack on the front steps. "I don't blame him one bit," she quietly replied, a hint of pride in her voice.

"Me neither," Jack replied, and then after patting his hand on Cassie's back in comfort, the two joined Jake in the car and they all three headed to Cheyenne Mountain.

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