I'm going to be out of town for the next week-and-a-half, so there will be a little delay. Hopefully this isn't as bad of a cliffhanger! :) Oh, Jack's language is a teeny bit rough in this one.
Sam often found herself speeding on her way to the SGC, but she couldn't remember the last time she'd been going this fast, or felt this scared. If Elsie had come through the gate alone and was now in the infirmary, something was desperately wrong on Kelowna. She reached the SGC in record time and ran through the building, cursing the elevator out loud as it took her too slowly down to the infirmary level. When the doors finally opened, she ran down the hall and skidded into the infirmary, her eyes searching desperately for a little girl.
She found her. Elsie was in the far bed, Dr. Lam and two nurses hovering around her.
"Carolyn?" Sam asked, approaching the bed but afraid to find out what had happened to Elsie.
Dr. Lam looked up. "Colonel, I'm glad you're here. She's been asking for you."
Sam stepped up to the bed and was relieved to see that Elsie was conscious, though she was very pale and her face and hair were filthy. The little girl smiled slightly and held out her arms for a hug. Sam leaned down to hug her tightly, careful of the IV in one of her arms. "Hey, sweetheart. What happened? What are you doing here by yourself?" she asked, still holding the little girl.
Elsie didn't answer, and Sam pulled back to see tears streaming down the little girl's face. "It's okay, baby, you're safe now," Sam said. She knew Elsie probably needed rest, but they needed to find out what had happened. She sat on the bed so she could hold the little girl in her lap, rubbing her back and whispering words of comfort.
She looked up at Dr. Lam. "Is she okay?"
"Dehydration and exhaustion, as far as I can tell. No apparent injuries besides a few scratches."
Sam nodded and turned her attention back to Elsie. "Elsie, did something happen in the settlement? Where's your family, sweetheart?" Sam asked gently.
Elsie gripped Sam's sweater tightly, and took a deep, shuddering breath. "They got out," she whispered.
"Who got out, baby?"
"The bad guys. They got more bombs, and blew up everything."
Sam felt like someone had punched her in the gut. She took a deep, steadying breath and hugged Elsie tighter. "What about your dad and your brothers?"
Elsie choked back a sob. "We-we're hiding in the caves. Da-Daddy got hurt."
Sam squeezed her eyes shut. "Okay, sweetheart. We're going to go help them. How did you get to the Stargate?"
"It was dark and I just went fast."
"How did you know the address?"
"Daddy told me," the little girl said, breaking down into fresh tears.
"Shh, it's okay, baby. Everything's going to be fine. You are a very brave girl." As Sam was trying to comfort Elsie, General Landry entered the infirmary.
"What happened?" he asked, looking back and forth between his daughter and Sam.
"The terrorists escaped and bombed the settlement again, sir," Sam answered. "Elsie says her family is hiding in some caves, but I don't know who else might have survived." It was taking all her self-control to keep her voice steady.
"I'll call Colonel Mitchell and get some teams together. Dalton and Keane can get a MALP there in the meantime. I want to know what's going on over there," the general said, already turning to leave the infirmary.
"Thank you, sir," Sam said, grateful he was willing to launch an immediate rescue mission. She wasn't even sure if they would find Jonas alive, and she had no idea what condition the twins were in. She didn't think questioning Elsie any further would help, however. The little girl had had enough for one night.
"I'm going to give her a slight sedative," Dr. Lam said, reaching for the IV port. "Rest is the best thing for her right now."
Sam nodded, laying her cheek on top of Elsie's head.
"Don't leave, Sam," the little girl said, trembling in Sam's arms.
"I'm right here, sweetheart. I promise I'll stay," Sam said, her voice cracking. A few minutes later, she felt the little girl relax in her arms and knew the sedative was taking effect. She shifted Elsie off her lap and onto the bed, but kept a hold of her hand. Remembering her promise to call Jack, Sam reached into her pocket for her phone and hit the speed dial.
"Sam, what the hell is going on?"
"Elsie's here, Jack. She made it through the gate by herself to tell us that the terrorists escaped and bombed the settlement." Sam was sure he could detect the fear she felt in her voice, despite her attempts to keep it under control.
Jack swore violently, and Sam didn't blame him. Things were just starting to look up for the Kelownans. "Is Elsie okay?"
"Dr. Lam said she was just dehydrated and exhausted. She's resting now," Sam answered, squeezing the small hand in hers.
"Why the hell did they send a six-year-old girl? Where's Jonas?" Sam could hear the anger in his voice, and it was a question she herself had been asking.
"Elsie said Jonas was injured. Jack, Elsie and her family might be the only survivors. What if she was the only one that could come?"
Jack sighed heavily. "What're we going to do?"
"General Landry's getting a team together right now, and they're sending a MALP. I'm staying with Elsie," she said firmly, looking down at the little girl.
"So. I guess we just get to wait, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess so." She paused for a minute. "Jack, we shouldn't have let them go. It was too dangerous!"
"Sam, you can't blame yourself."
"Then you can't blame yourself, either."
"I don't!" he said, but she could tell he did.
"Yes you do, you always do, Jack."
He sighed again. "I told Jonas it wasn't safe. I told him . . ."
"It was his choice. We did what we could, right?"
"We could have physically stopped them from going."
She heard the slight smile in his voice and knew he was partially kidding. "Well, I'm not letting them leave a second time, I'll tell you that."
They were silent for another moment before Jack spoke again. "You want me to bring Nick and come sit with you?"
The offer was tempting, she wanted Jack's comforting presence right now, but it wouldn't be good on Nick. "Better let Nicky sleep. We're going to have enough to deal with today without a sleep-deprived little boy on our hands."
"Okay." She heard the disappointment in his voice. "Call me if you find anything else out."
"I will. I love you, Jack."
"I love you, too."
Sam closed her phone and the dark and quiet of the infirmary swept in on her. Dr. Lam and the nurses were still there, but she felt alone and helpless. She wanted to at least be able to get to the control room to see the MALP footage, but she wasn't going to leave Elsie, not now.
It was a long night. Sam dozed a little in her chair beside Elsie, but she was far too worried about Jonas and the twins to sleep much. Elsie stayed asleep, for which Sam was mostly grateful. She knew the little girl needed it, but she was also feeling distinctly lonely. Sometime around 5AM, though, Cam stopped by, and she welcomed the distraction.
"How's the kid?" he asked, coming over to lay a hand on Sam's shoulder.
She looked up at him and attempted a smile. "She'll be okay."
"And how 'bout you? You slept at all?" he asked, concern in his eyes.
"Hey, you haven't slept either," she replied, raising an eyebrow.
He shrugged. "True."
"Are you going over there tonight?" she said, noticing his BDUs and vest.
"Yup, just about to head out." His eyes clouded and he looked away.
"Cam, it's not your fault," she said softly, placing a hand on his arm.
He sighed. "I'm the one who told them it was safe. It is my fault."
She smiled despite herself. "You sound like Jack."
A corner of his mouth lifted. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"Seriously, Cam, this is not your fault. It wasn't like you weren't thorough, the terrorists escaped from the Kelownan prison. There's nothing you could have done to prevent that."
He looked at her again, the hint of a smile on his face. "I'll keep tellin' myself that. Thanks, Sam."
She squeezed his arm. "Anytime. Be careful out there, okay?"
"Yes'm," he said, smiling broader. Then he turned and left the infirmary, and Sam was alone again.
Two hours later, her cell phone ringing brought her out of a light doze and she fished it from her pocket, one hand still holding Elsie's. It was Jack calling.
"Hey," she said, her voice a little raspy.
"Nick just woke up. We're coming over."
"Jack, didn't you go back to bed?"
"Like you could sleep, either. Heard anything yet?"
"No, Cam left for Kelowna about . . ." She glanced at the infirmary clock behind her. "Two hours ago. I've been in the infirmary all night with Elsie."
"Okay, we'll see you soon."
Sam hung up and noticed Elsie was beginning to stir. She stroked the little girl's hair, and her eyes fluttered open.
"Sam?"
"Right here, Els. See? I told you I wouldn't leave." Sam plastered on a smile, and Elsie smiled back.
"Is my daddy and Kaden and Joseph here yet?"
Sam squeezed her hand. "Not yet. My friend took some people over there to make sure it was safe for us to go look for them."
Elsie sighed and tightened her hold on Sam's hand. "How come the bad guys are doing this, Sam?"
Sam thought for a minute, but her tired mind couldn't come up with anything. "I don't know, sweetheart."
Elsie nodded slowly. "Daddy doesn't know either."
"Elsie, how far away from the Stargate are the caves your family is hiding in?" she asked, suddenly curious about how far this little girl had actually come on her own.
She thought for a moment. "You have to go past the settlement into the forest, and follow the river, and then there's two big hills that you have to go between, and across the field with the blue flowers."
"Are they secret caves? Do the bad guys know about them?" Sam didn't want to scare the little girl, but she was their best source of intel at the moment.
"Only Daddy knows. 'Cause he used to take me and Kaden and Joseph there to play, but he told us it was secret and we couldn't ever, ever tell anyone. Except I think it's okay to tell you," she said. "He said we might have to go there by ourselves someday."
Jonas had had to find a spot his children would be safe if he was ever taken or killed, Sam thought, trying to imagine having to do something like that for Nick. "That's good, Elsie. That means the bad guys won't find them. Was anyone else with you?"
She shook her head.
"Elsie, has anyone ever told you how brave you are?" Sam asked smiling.
The little girl smiled back. "Uh-huh. A lot of people."
"Oh, really?" Sam said, tickling her a little.
Elsie giggled and Sam soaked in the comforting sound. "Sam? Can we stay on Earth now?" Elsie asked after a minute.
"I'm not letting you go back to Kelowna," she said seriously.
"Good. Daddies can be silly sometimes, huh."
Sam chuckled. "They sure can."
Right on cue, Jack and Nick entered the infirmary.
"Elsie!" Nick shouted, running over.
Sam lifted him up to the bed, and Elsie sat up to give him a hug. "Are you sick?" he asked her, noticing the IV.
She shook her head, glancing down at the needle in her arm. "I think it's just fluids."
Jack raised his eyebrow at Sam, clearly amused that the six-year-old would use a term like fluids correctly, and ruffled Elsie's hair. "Hey, kiddo."
"Hi, Jack," she said, smiling up at him.
"How ya feeling?"
"Better," she said. "Sam says we can stay on Earth when my Daddy and brothers get back."
Jack glanced at Sam. "Well, I for one am not letting you guys out of my sight."
She smiled at him, and then Nick started up a monologue of everything he'd done since the last time he'd seen his cousin. Jack drew Sam off to the side.
"You okay here with them? I want to go up to the control room and see what's going on."
She nodded. "As long as you come back and tell me what you find out."
He smiled and kissed her. "Deal."
Jack left the infirmary, and Sam returned to her seat next to the bed, listening as Nick and Elsie talked and giggled with each other. She tried to be patient, but she had been patient all night and she didn't know how much more she could take before someone told her what had been happening on Kelowna for the past two hours. Just as she was beginning to consider how much Dr. Lam would hurt her for taking Elsie's IV out so she could bring the kids up to the control room, Jack returned with Cam, to her surprise.
"Cam!" she said, springing to her feet.
"Hey, Sam," he said, looking tired but not unhappy.
"What happened?"
"It was still dark when we got there, and we took 'em by surprise. Eight are dead and the other three are hiding somewhere. I left six guys out there to look for 'em, but I don't think they'll be able to cause any trouble," Cam explained.
Sam glanced at the kids. "What about survivors?" she asked softly.
He shook his head. "We didn't see anyone except the terrorists. There were . . . bodies, however."
Sam bit her lip and looked at Jack. "Elsie's the only one who knows where the caves are, but I hate to take her back."
"Why can't we just ask her?" Jack said, looking at the little girl.
"I did, and we might be able to find it, but it would have to be hidden pretty well. I think Jonas was using it as a safe house for the kids if something had happened to him," Sam answered.
Jack nodded. "Well, let's try and find it from her directions first, and if we can't, she can lead us to it."
"Sounds good. Her name's Elsie, right?" Cam said.
Sam smiled. "Yep, that's it."
"Hey, Elsie," Cam said, striding over to the bed. "My name's Cam. I was wonderin' if you could tell me how to get to that cave of yours."
Elsie looked up and frowned, then looked at Sam.
"It's okay, Elsie, he's going to go try to find the rest of your family and bring them back. Try to tell him everything you remember," Sam reassured her.
She could tell the little girl didn't trust Cam, after all she'd never met him before since he'd been on Kelowna almost the entire time she'd been on Earth, but she repeated the same instructions on how to find the cave she'd told Sam earlier.
Cam listened carefully, then grinned at her. "Thanks, kiddo. Sounds good enough to me."
"Are you sure you're okay, Cam? We can get another team out there if you want to rest," Sam said.
He gave her a look. "Me? Tired? Gotta be kidding me. I'll be right back, and I'll bring the rest of Elsie's family back with me." He flashed them a grin and left the infirmary.
Sam could only hope he would.