When she opened her eyes to find her father leaning over her holding her hand, Sam was surprised to realize she was alive. "Dad?" she asked.
"We're on Thor's ship, baby" he told her answering one of the many questions he was sure she had. "We brought you and Jack here so he could heal you, but we've run into a little problem so we had to pull you out early. Your injuries are healed, but you're going to be weak as Hell." Jacob paused to take a breath. Before he could explain to Sam just what the problem was, she lunged for the handgun holstered at her father's side.
She had it out and had emptied the entire clip at the Replicator emerging from a hole in the ceiling before anyone had time to react. "Heads UP!" she screamed as she pulled herself from the pod only to collapse beside it when her legs wouldn't support her. She scanned her surroundings not bothering to try again to stand. "Where's Jack?" she demanded.
"In that pod," Daniel said pointing to the pod next to the one she had just exited. "We need another three minutes before we can pull him out."
Sam nodded as she ejected the clip from her borrowed weapon and accepted the ones her father handed her. She shook her head when he bent to help her stand. "No," she said knowing she needed to conserve her strength for when it was time to move. "Leave me here for now. The babies?" she questioned.
"They're fine," Jacob assured her. "J.D. had some burns from the blast you took, but I was able to heal them. They're gorgeous, Sam," he told his daughter as he reached into his pocket and pulled several photos from within.
Sam nearly wept when he handed them to her. She studied them carefully for a moment before tucking them safely into the pocket of the shirt someone had dressed her in. 'Trust Janet,' Sam thought. 'To remember to put us in BDU's instead of sending us through in hospital gowns.' Sam knew now wasn't the time to be distracted with Replicators eating the ship from around them. She would see her children soon enough. "Where's Teal'c?" she asked Daniel.
"He's got a group holding the Stargate," her father told her. "And one of Jack's old black ops buddies has got a group holding the corridor in between."
Sam nodded her understanding then turned to the thin gray alien monitoring the pod in which O'Neill still rested. "Thank you, Thor" she told him.
"My people owe much to you and Colonel O'Neill," Thor told her. A moment later his slim fingers moved across the controls of the pod and the lid opened with a slight hiss.
Daniel leaned down into the pod and lightly touched Jack's shoulder. "Wakey, wakey, Jack" he commanded but got no response.
"Wakey, wakey?" Sam laughed knowing Daniel was trying to lighten the moment before barking, "Jack O'Neill, move your ass! We've gotta get out of here."
"Sam!" Jack gasped as he attempted to sit up. He groaned at the weakness he felt, but managed to pull himself from the pod with Daniel's help. "Daniel? What..." he questioned as he sagged against his teammate.
"Greetings, O'Neill" Thor said.
"Thor, my good buddy!" Jack shouted happily. "Doc! Jacob!" he greeted the other two men as he staggered over to where Sam sat and helped her to her feet.
"Yeah. Hi Jack," Jacob growled. "Now that you've said hello to everybody can we get the Hell out of here?" he demanded as he depressed the trigger on the P-90 he carried and let loose a flurry of bullets at the now much larger hole in the ceiling where more Replicators were emerging.
"Fuck!" Jack exclaimed and managed to straighten as the adrenaline began to pump into him. Daniel un-holstered his own handgun and handed it to Jack who grimaced but took it knowing that like Sam he just didn't have the strength to manage the heavier machine gun and keep himself upright at the same time. As it was he and Sam had one arm loosely wrapped around one another's waist helping each other stand.
"Move as fast as you can, kids" Jacob ordered, "and let the rest of us worry about the Replicators."
Sam and Jack both nodded. "Williams forget that crap," Jack ordered noticing the doctor working to repack his supplies.
"But we might need it! And this is expensive equipment," the young doctor argued pointing to the various monitors Sam and Jack had been attached to when they'd arrived.
"Take the kit," Sam said pointing to the unopened pack of medical supplies. "Leave the machines. They're not worth as much as our lives." She and Jack didn't wait to see if the young doctor had followed their instructions. They half-ran, half-staggered into the corridor with Jacob and Daniel on either side. Thor led the way, and Brooks covered the rear. Williams wasted no time following as the first Replicator dropped to the floor of the chamber a few feet away from him.
"A.J.?" Jack questioned as they came around a turn in the corridor to the point where the admiral had stationed himself.
"Jack!" Chegwidden shouted slapping the other man on the back as he and Sam followed Thor down the corridor towards the Stargate. "This is twice you owe me," he said.
"What the Hell are you doing here?" Jack gasped as he turned to fire at a Replicator that emerged from one of the side corridors.
Chegwidden turned and let loose a small barrage of bullets down the corridor keeping the Replicators at bay until everyone had made it past. Though no order was given the humans began retreating in relay down the corridor with a group of two laying down cover fire for the rest. As Chegwidden retreated back he said, "Your friend Maybourne got a message to me saying you could use some help."
"You? Why would Harry go to you?" Jack asked.
"Cause you're being court-martialed, son" A.J. informed the younger man. "For fraternization. He also said the NID were after your kids."
"JAG lawyer and ex-Navy SEAL," Jack told Sam. "Makes sense. Two birds with one stone."
She wasn't paying attention to that though. "What do you mean the NID are after our kids?!" she screamed.
"Harcesis, Sam" Daniel explained as he grabbed her elbow to help steady her when she faltered. "They must think J.D. and Gina are Harcesis."
"Later," Jack ordered as he ejected an empty clip and slammed a full one into his weapon in its place. "First we get back to Earth, then we worry about the rest."
Sam nodded as they continued down the corridor.
"Teal'c," Daniel said into the radio attached to his vest. "We're on our way. Start dialing out."
"Understood, DanielJackson" they heard Teal'c reply. In the background they could here the sound of machine gun fire. "What is the condition of MajorCarter and O'Neill?"
Jack leaned forward and keyed the radio, "We'll live Teal'c." As they approached the chamber that held the Stargate they encountered increasing resistance from the Replicators. They reached the chamber in time to see the event horizon blossom into existence inside the stone ring. "That's got to be the most beautiful thing I've seen in a long time!" Jack said. He let another empty clip clatter to the ground and slammed another into place as they watched Teal'c send the IDC signal. "Except for you," he added to Sam as he leaned in and stole a kiss. There was no point in hiding that they were now lovers, after all.
As soon as their signal was acknowledged they fell back through the Stargate. When they emerged on the other side they were surprised by the expressions on the faces of those who waited at the bottom of the ramp.
Sam and Jack both felt their insides clench as the SF's and others in the room refused to meet their eyes. General Hammond stepped forward, but before he could say anything Sam demanded, "Where are my children?"
Hammond minced no words. "There was an assault on the infirmary," he said. "We've got four dead and another five wounded. J.D. and Gina are missing."
To say that Jack caught Sam as she fell would be a misnomer. The truth was closer to being that Jack controlled their fall as together they sank to their knees on the ramp.
"We'll get them back," Daniel vowed as he knelt next to his friends. Jacob knelt too and pulled both of them into his embrace as Teal'c stood close like an ever present guardian.