AN: Ever create awesome from cheap junk? Like when you were a kid and you got coloring books and all the other kids just filled in the lines but YOU had to add shading and depth and made your coloring books look like illustrations? Just me? Ah well. lol. Anyway I took a kid's painting kit from work, tossed the paint and cheap brush and turned it into an awesome piece of art. I'm going to use it as an icon once I have figured out how to get FFN to not cut off the side of the lettering.

Chapter 8

Jack was dozing again when he heard the first thump. His small furry buddy lifted her head and woofed softly. "Yah, I heard it too. You think it's the welcome wagon?" He supposed out loud to the dog who only woofed again. Jack ruffled her silky ears and gingerly got to his feet to work his way over to the only door in the cavernous concrete room. He'd considered trying to disassemble some of the large pipes running up some of the walls but he didn't have anything on him to do that with, not even a pocketknife and even if he had, he realized he was risking a bath of raw sewage or worse for his efforts.

The thumping sound came again.

Jack's jaw canted to the side, his expression settling into thoughtful listening. He shrugged though and continued easing his way to the door. His knee hurt like a bitch. He and the dog had matching limps. He really wished he had a weapon. Biting people seemed like a Carter thing. Jack grinned to himself at the memory. His wife was feisty.

There was another thump and the door to his rather large cell came flying open.

Sammy's "Sir, it's me!" might have been the only thing that prevented the fist that came around from landing on her nose.

"Dammit, Carter you scared the crap out of me!" He grumped at her as his fist dropped lamely to his side. Not even realizing he'd addressed the kid by his pet name for his wife.

"You're hurt." She said, concern in her blue eyes.

"Well, of course I'm hurt. I wasn't here for a party. Why the hell did they send you in, kid? Where's Frank's team?"

"I…. I don't know. Sean couldn't get anyone at the SGC to talk to him so he came to us." She admitted.

"Wait, you told Bub's kid who you are?" Jack all but yelped.

"Well, did you want us to just leave you to rot?" She huffed at him.

"Hey, I didn't say I wasn't grateful. Who else is here?" Jack laid a gentle hand on her shoulder and tried to hide his wince, which Sammy noticed right away.

"Sean, me, Jon." Sammy admitted, biting her lip to hide her reaction to Jack's injuries.

Jack gave her a perturbed look. Sammy winced and stared down at her shoes, biting her lip. Jack sighed and squeezed her shoulder gently as an apology.

"Hey, we can talk about this later." Jon said as he came in the room. "We don't have a lot of time. Those guards aren't going to stay out for long."

Jack gave the kid the kind of 'elaborate' look he'd often given Daniel.

Jon gave him a flat unfriendly look in return. "Sean made up some concoction with the medical supplies. Told me to spritz anyone that got excited about seeing us." Jon told his older self.

Jack looked thoughtful and nodded his plan. "Not bad. What was all the thumping?"

Jon shrugged. "Apparently he found some other stuff to cause a distraction while we came and got you. Come on, we don't have a lot of time."

"Right." Jack agreed. "Grab the dog." He told the younger versions of himself and his wife.

"Dog?"

Jack's companion barked once, sat down where she could be seen and her tongue lolled out in doggy amusement.

"Right. Grab the dog." Jon said, as if that was perfectly reasonable.

When Jack went to move though he winced and grabbed the wall.

"Come on." Jon said and grabbed his arm, hauling it over his shoulder so the weight on Jack's bad leg was limited.

Sammy patted her leg and Jack's companion limped over to her. "Oh, you're hurt." She said sadly in a soft voice.

"Yah…" Jack said with a wince. "That's how they got me." He admitted lamely.

Sammy and Jon exchanged a look that Jack didn't have to be involved in to understand. The look was dual versions of 'why am I not surprised?'.

Jack sighed. He wasn't going to live this one down for a while. Neither of the kids said anything else about it though as they led him past a pair of guards who were down for the count.

"Nice work." Jack told them of the sleeping guards.

"Yah, we can only take some of the credit for that—"

A sound from one of the corners of the room made them look up and Jack recognized SG Dev Group SEALs in full tactical kit.

"About time you guys got here." Jack quipped dryly. He looked at his younger self who blandly answered, "Bunker. Greenbrier."

Jack nodded. "I was afraid I'd have to walk all the way back." He said, thinking of the long tunnel he'd learned about years ago that led from the bunker to a bland and unassuming empty lot near a parking garage just in case Congress found they had to bug out as quickly as they could from the bunker that was supposed to keep them hidden and safe. Few knew of its location and fewer were cleared to know where it led. Directly under a high end hotel in West Virginia known as the Greenbrier resort. Playground for the ultra rich… and hidey hole for disenfranchised politicians and their staff.

"You okay, General?" Swampy asks.

"I've been worse but I've also been better." Jack admits. "Glad it's you guys. What's the plan?" he asks Frothy while Daddy zip ties their prisoners and nudges the suspected leader to see if he can get him awake again.

"Our orders are to get you out of here, Sir. We have a Pave Low waiting to exfil us. What do we do with the rest of these guys?"

"I think I can help with that." Sean says, coming in through the door silently.

Frothy and Swampy turn, Zats trained on the new person to join their little party.

"Stand down guys." Jack orders them with a wave of his hand, still leaning on Jon. "He's a friendly."

Frothy and Swamp slowly stow their Zats and go back to zip tying the captures.

Sean disappears down a hallway and returns with the unmistakable sound of a rolling cart on cement. "I figured Jack might be hurt and thought we could roll him out easier riding on this." He explained.

Daddy looks at Jack. "You look like shit, sir."

"I'm fine." Jack shrugs and when Sammy gives him an incredulous look shrugs again. "Well, not really but this will make it easier to get these guys out of here quietly and off to Guantanamo." He hobbles out on Jon's shoulder. Sean joins him on the other side. "Right. Okay guys. We need to move." He says, wincing with every movement of his badly injured knee.

The Seals stack the stunned men like cord wood on the cart and start rolling it to the exit.

Daddy started barking out orders. "Swamp, take them and the lead." He says waving at the cart full of stunned prisoners. "Frothy, you have General O'Neill. The rest of you follow Frothy." He said sternly to the three youngsters. "I'll cover our rear and get our ride here." He tells them.

Jack turns to Frothy and indicates he's fine with Jon and Sean for assistance. With a nod, he indicates that Frothy should cover their six, just in case.

Jack pauses though and looks back at Sammy. "Wait! Sammy. Did you grab the dog?"

Sammy turns and the small dirty mutt is cradled in her arms looking for all the world like she had a new best friend.

"Traitor." Jack says of his companion.

They head out as Daddy calls in the Pave Low and informs the flight crew of their extra cargo and Jack's physical condition.

While Daddy is talking to the chopper crew, Sammy, who is walking in front, turns her head back to Jack. "Sir, please explain to your idiot self that I am not an insurance policy." She tells him softly.

"Huh? Where did he get that idea?" Jack asks her in confusion.

"Why else would you have cloned her?" Jon stated flatly.

Jack shakes his head and sighs. "Look, kid, a lot happened after you happened. She's not a damned insurance policy. I can't live without Sam in my life and I figured if I can't, you were even worse off without her. I might have sold the brass on that being the case but the only reason Sam did what she did was because she loves us."

"It's still not the reason they let you…" Jon said to him as they hobbled along.

"Who gives a shit why we got a green light? You don't think she sold them on that idea herself? All Sam cared about was you not being alone. That's it. She did what she had to do to get them to go along with the whole thing but it was never about that for either of us." Jack scowled. "You of all people though know us better than that." And then Jack realized something. "Did that pompous ass Samuels contact you?"

Jon looked away without saying anything.

"I am so going to kick his ass when I get home." Jack muttered which made Sammy giggle helplessly. "Maybe I can send him somewhere cold and isolated."

Both versions of Jack absently grumbled, "No giggling, Carter." which just made her laugh harder.

Once Daddy finished his radio conversation, he motioned for everyone to get into the service elevator. "Let's roll, everyone." He said and the doors closed behind them.

The elevator was silent except a couple of random groans from the bound kidnappers. When the elevator reached the surface, Daddy punched in the code and the doors on the other side of the elevator door swing open. The whole op had taken just under an hour for the Seals. The kids slightly longer as they had to walk two miles underground to even get to the bunker.

They made their way out of the facility without being seen, just as the MH-53 sets down on the lawn, 100 yards in front of the hotel. Daddy having called it directly to the front door instead of having someone fireman carry the General for two miles in a dank tunnel. Three men jumped from the chopper as it sets down. Two are security personnel, the other a PJ. The first two grab the cart full of captives and roll them swiftly to the chopper's loading ramp. The PJ takes over helping Jack limp onto the aircraft. The security guys cover them in the predawn light from the inside of the huge helicopter.

Five minutes later, they are in the air and on their way to Andrews AFB. Once everyone is settled, Jack asks over the headset he was given for a secure channel. Once he's patched in, he contacts the Andrews base commander and sets up the prisoner transfer to Guantanamo Bay and some extra security to accompany them just in case they were trickier than any of them had guessed.

General Dean Winters, call sign Mayhem, assures Jack he'll let the prison camp know they have incoming guests.

Jack leaned back in his seat and rubbed his eyes as the PJ gives him a shot to ease the aches and pains. He sighs in disgust that he even needs it.

Daddy walks up and taps the PJ on his shoulder. "What's the prognosis, doc?"

"A few sprains, a wrenched knee, cracked ribs, and a hell of a lot of contusions but he'll survive. Maybe a slight concussion. He's going to hurt like hell for a few days and might need a brace for the knee but nothing life threatening."

"Good news. Thanks." Daddy told him and clapped the man on the shoulder companionably.

Everyone settles in for the short flight to Andrews. As the MH-53 banks away from the lawn, Jack stares out the window at the hotel that had been his prison for more days than he'd care to think about. The kids had done pretty well for themselves. So well that Dev Group hadn't been aware of them until they were on top of them.

They eventually land on a ramp next to an Air Force marked Gulfstream 5. The Seals, Jon, Sammy, Sean, Jack, and the dog all head for the plane, Jack being steadied by Sean and Jon.

As they climb in the Gulfstream, six more special forces personnel load into the Pave Low and the chopper takes off for Guantanamo. Once she's gone, the plane taxies to the runway and rises into the air, headed for Peterson and home.