A/N: Enjoy!

"So are you going to tell me what you have planned?"

Jack smirked at her, but remained stubbornly silent.

"Oh, come on, Jack, you have been teasing me all day!"

"All good things come to those who wait!" he chirped happily. She leaned into him, unable to keep the grin off her face.

Another couple passed them on the sidewalk, and the female of the pair waved. "Hi Samantha, good morning Jack…"

"Hi, Emily," Samantha greeted back. Tommy's parents. No doubt doing some last minute holiday shopping.

"Jack."

"Frank."

The men's greeting was a bit more stoic, but they'd gotten used to it. At least Jack had. Ever since that fateful ice cream sundae, the entire town had come to recognize Samantha as a regular fixture. She and Jack had both been nervous, but instead of cueing the loss of privacy, life had continued as normal for both of them. The only thing that had changed was the fact that now Samantha didn't like to linger at home.

Without the fear of going out in public, their daily walks had gotten longer, and gone farther, and was accompanied by several greetings from those they passed. The neighborhood had come to claim her as one of their own, it seemed, and were willing to let her maintain the normalcy she'd found there among them.

But even as their new friends continued on their way, Jack bit back a yelp when slender fingers pinched him playfully. "Tell me," she threatened, though the growl in her voice was neutralized by the giggle that followed.

"No giggling," he warned. She poked him. Jeez, the disrespect… "All right, all right." He pulled to a stop, swinging her around to face him. Their hips met, and their noses almost touched, her grin dazzling. "I just gotta do one more thing, and then I'll tell you."

Her brows lifted. "Then let's go," she murmured softly.

"Oh no," he countered, determined to remain strong against the glint in her eye. "You gotta stay here."

"What?" She feigned hurt. "You're gonna make me stand here in the cold all by myself?"

He shook his head, not buying it in the slightest. "It'll take two seconds, and it's part of the surprise." He glanced over her shoulder, taking in the several pairs of eyes scattered across the square, watching them with twinkling smiles. "Besides, I think you'll be all right without me for a few minutes."

He saw her glance over her shoulder, and she giggled again, pressing closer against him as her cheeks flushed. "Small towns, huh?"

"Oh yeah," he said, kissing her briefly. "Chicago's as small as they come."

"Oh, go on," she urged, shoving him lightly. Her smile didn't fade. "The sooner you get done, the sooner you can spill."

Priorities. He liked that in a woman. He departed with a wink, leaving her to occupy herself while he went about his business. When he took one last look back before he dipped into a store, she was gazing up into the grey-cloaked sky, squinting against the light seeping through the dense cloud cover.

She was beautiful even bundled up against the cold like she was, with her hands tucked in her coat pockets and her scarf bunched up under her chin. He really was luckiest man alive.

Samantha looked up into the sky, but she couldn't say for sure what she was searching for. Not snow—too mild for that. But the air was just cool enough to be crisp, and she loved the bite of the chill in her cheeks.

"Sam?"

She twisted sharply, turning to look towards the unexpected voice drifting over her shoulder. She was faced with two men she didn't know. Both were brown-haired—one lighter and one darker—and the one with glasses perched on his nose was looking at her warily. As if she were the one that couldn't be trusted.

It struck her as odd, and set her on edge. "Can I help you?"

"Uh, yeah, you can help us," the lighter-haired man declared. The one with glasses stared, studying her. "You can tell us what the heck is going on here!"

"Excuse me?"

Daniel was suddenly hesitant. He'd hoped she would be as relieved to see him as he was to see her. But when she'd turned to look at him, her eyes had failed to light up with excitement. In fact, there hadn't been anything beyond a startled blink. There hadn't been so much as a glimmer of recognition.

"Sam…" he said, his voice careful. "What're you doing here?"

Blue eyes darted between him and Cam, confusion melting into distrust and skepticism. "Look, if you're from the press, I'm not doing interviews today. I'm with my family—"

"We're not press, for god's sake!" Cam blurted, gesticulating loudly. But Daniel stepped forward, pulling her attention away from the agitated flyboy.

"Look, Sam, it's us here…" he said.

But still she took a step back, regaining the distance between them. "I can see that…"

Daniel looked at her, with her wary apprehension and growing fear. Fear of them. "Sam… what happened?"

"I don't know what you're talking about—"

"You don't recognize us, do you?"

Mitchell pulled back abruptly. "Jackson, what the heck are you going on about? Of course she recognizes us—"

"Am I supposed to?" Sam looked at them sharply. Her eyes were suddenly shadowed, almost pained. Her hand lifted to brush the bangs from her eyes. His gaze was drawn to the glimpse of scar lingering below her hairline, and Daniel finally understood.

"Oh my god…"

Cam looked between the two of them, his gaze bouncing back and forth. "What? What's—look, we don't have time for this. Sam, we gotta go—"

He reached out before Daniel could stop him, catching hold of Sam's arm to pull her away. But she reacted quicker than Daniel, and she wrenched her wrist from Cam's grip with cry that was part alarm, part pain.

But before Daniel could make another move, a tall figure planted itself between them and Sam, eclipsing her from view. Daniel knew without looking up who it was, bristling with anger and devoted protection.

"I should have known."

Jack couldn't help but grin at himself. His plan was perfect. All he had to do was pay and then get Samantha and get her to the place he had in mind. But just before he got up to the counter, the person behind him gave him a tap on the shoulder.

"Hey, Jack… you know those two guys?" Jack followed the pointing finger towards the center of the square. He recognized Samantha right away, but it a long moment before he placed the two figures accosting her.

Oh shit… Jack shoved his intended purchase in the Samaritan's hand, mumbling a "Thanks, Jim" before exiting the store at a dead sprint. He covered the distance in moments, ignoring his bad knees, until he was between Samantha and the two men.

Her hands fell to his hips, drawing her body closer as her arms tensed, readily accepting his guard while prepared to shove him out of harm's way if need be. It was a welcome reassurance, but it didn't back Jack down from the ledge he felt himself on. His entire world hung on the precipice, and his heart stuttered in his chest in dread.

The look that four-eyes was giving him told Jack that there was no way this was going to end well. What was his name—Jackson, maybe. Daniel Jackson.

"Is there a problem here?" he growled.

Jackson's eyes glinted behind his glasses, but it was the other one, Mitchell who answered him. "Yeah, there's a problem—"

Daniel cut him off, smacking the back of his hand against his friend's chest with almost absent-minded effort. But Jack recognized that it was not absent-mindedness, but intense focus. Focus that was centered on him alone.

"What did you do?" The accusation came low and heavy, abhorrence nearly tangible.

Jack narrowed his glare, eyeing the man with distaste. "You better be very careful about what you say next," he warned.

"What did you do?" came the demand again, this time with anger rolling off the man in waves. "What did you do to her?"

A deceptively strong hand slammed into Jack's chest, pushing him back against Samantha, who was a solid rock at his back. She shouted in his defense, but Jack threw out an arm to keep her safe behind him.

"Whoa, Jackson!" Mitchell exclaimed in surprise, moving to pull him back, but Jackson threw him off.

"No, Jack! What did you do?" Samantha's hands tightened on Jack's waist, even as Mitchell tried to make eye contact with her.

His crew-cut head jerked towards her, beckoning for her to join them. "C'mon Sam—"

"Don't call me that." Her voice was flat and hard, nonplussed. She moved out from behind Jack, drawing even with him. "Only my family calls me that."

Daniel's eyes widened, in shock and betrayal, before narrowing at Jack. "Did you brainwash her? Is that it?"

"Hey!" Jack shouted, cutting him off. "Watch it!"

But Daniel ignored him, focusing instead on Samantha herself. "Sam—"

"Stop it!" she growled. "I don't know you!"

"Don't you?" he countered swiftly. "Look at me! Sam, look at me—you do know us. You do!"

Blue eyes widened, frozen in deer-in-the-headlights shock. Jack felt his gut drop out from under him. He didn't dare move; he could barely breathe. And even though he was half-expecting it, the sight of blood still rocked him to the core.

"Sam?" Jackson's voice was suddenly wary, concerned. He took a step forward, only for Samantha to stagger back, her hand coming dazedly to her nose, swiping ineffectually at the nosebleed. "What's wrong?"

Jack moved to face her, supporting her by the arms as she listed slightly. He planted his back firmly in Jackson's line of sight, so that he couldn't see her. So neither of them could see her. "Samantha," he said, his voice low. "Where are your pills?"

She blinked sluggishly, her eyes slightly unfocused. "Ah… I don't—I don't know…"

Jack closed his eyes, flashing back to that morning, placing the bottle of pills on the counter and shouting for her to remember to put them in her pocket before leaving. And then he saw them still there, sitting uselessly in an empty house. He made a mental note to not leave the amnesiac in charge of remembering to pack stuff.

"C'mon. We're leaving," he said. She nodded, decidedly off kilter. Jack swallowed the lump of dread in his throat; the episodes were getting more and more abrupt, and now they were without the aid of the medication. He had to get her home, and now.

"Where are you taking her?" Daniel demanded, sliding himself into their path. But Jack shoved him aside, his patience beyond gone. But the man was dogged, and Jack was pulled back, the hand on his arm steely and unforgiving. "No. You're not taking her—"

"You need to step away, right now," Jack growled, stepping into Jackson's space with a menacing glare. But damn if the man only wavered slightly, before the determination returned with implacable resolve. Jack opted to keep moving, feeling Samantha sag more heavily against him.

"Jack…" The sound of her voice made Jackson pause, his eyes darting to her.

Jack gave him a pointed look, then kept moving. The other man hesitated briefly, but when he moved to follow once more, he found himself faced with a number of townspeople who had put themselves between him and their neighbors. Some were attempting to be subtle, but others glared defiantly at them. A few even had their cell phones out, theirs fingers poised to dial 9-1-1.

Either way, there was no way he could push through to catch up with his friend.

"This isn't over!" Daniel shouted. "Sam!" She didn't look back, but he could only pray she heard him anyway. "Sam, we'll find you! I promise!"