Author's Note: Sally isn't as well developed because I haven't used her since the Campers first story... She'll grow! (If I decided to bring her in on the secret) You just never know

..............................

"So that's where he was?"

Jack nodded again.

"In the same place your friends were ambushed today?"

"Uh... no."

"Where were you?"

"I can't really tell you that."

"Classified?"

"Oh, yeah."

"And today?"

"Um... classified."

"Jack!"

"Sally, I'm sorry. I'm really going out on a limb telling you what I'm telling you."

"South America?" She guessed. "Daniel speaks Spanish."

"He speaks Russian and German, too, as I recall," Jack said. "But we weren't there, either."

"Jack..."

"I can't tell you, Sally."

"Is he really going to be okay?"

"Yes."

"Where is he?"

"In the infirmary. At Cheyenne Mountain."

"Can I go see him?"

O'Neill hesitated, and Sally scowled.

"I want to make sure he's okay, Jack."

"And if I tell you he's going to be fine...?"

"You're not a doctor."

"Maybe I am."

"You're not." She was certain about this.

"No, I'm not." Jack shrugged. "You'd have to sign a confidentiality form. Anything you see, you can't share with anyone." He'd already cleared it with General Hammond, but he wanted to make sure she knew what she was getting into, and he wanted her to know he was serious.

"I won't say a word to anyone. I'll sign whatever you give me."

"I don't know if the doctors will let you see him, but we can try..."

She nodded, and Jack thought that at least she wasn't looking mad anymore. Which was a plus.

"Let's go."

Jaffer turned from the kitten he'd been sniffing when he heard the word 'go' and the kitten was so surprised by the sudden move she fell off the couch. Or would have, if her claws hadn't caught the fabric of the couch before she could, leaving her dangling over the edge.

"Right now?" Sally asked, reaching over and picking her kitten off the side of the couch before her claws gave way and she fell. Obviously, Sally was used to her kitten getting itself into trouble and pulling her out of it before she could get hurt.

"You'd rather worry all night?"

Good point.

"No. I'll come with you."

She handed Jack the kitten. "Let me turn off the stove."

Jack looked at the tiny creature in his hand, and down at Jaffer, who had never been that little.

"We're not taking the cat, are we?" He called, since she'd disappeared down the hall. "Daniel's allergic to cats..."

"No, we're not taking her. Just hold her so she doesn't get into any trouble. I'll be right there."

Yeah, he was the one to keep her out of trouble. Jack wondered if Daniel had mentioned to her just how much trouble he had keeping Jaffer out of trouble. Jaffer was watching the kitten closely, but Jack shook his head.

"You can't keep her, so don't even ask."

The black lab snorted, making O'Neill smile. It was kind of cute; just as black as Jaffer, although she had a splash of white on her chest that would never be seen on Jack's baby.

"I'm ready."

Sally had reappeared, and took the kitten from Jack, setting her on the couch where she'd be out of the way, and then heading for the door, followed by Jack and Jaffer.

"Should I follow you?"

"No, just get in the truck." He opened the door for her, and she got in without argument. Jack let Jaffer in behind his seat, then got behind the wheel. "I'll bring you home – or someone will."

..................

Jack's truck was well known, and the black lab sitting behind him in the truck was just as well known, but the woman sitting beside him wasn't. Instead of just waving him through the gate with a salute, the Corporal waved for him to stop. It was okay, though. Jack had made sure that Sally's name was on the visitor's list at every checkpoint into the base. Just in case. She handed the Corporal her ID, and after carefully checking her picture to her name, then checking his list once more, the Marine nodded, and handed her back her driver's license.

"Thank you, Sir."

"No problem, Corporal."

Jack drove through the gate.

"I don't think I've ever been scrutinized so thoroughly," Sally said, looking back at the gate as they passed it.

"Oh, it gets a lot more thorough," Jack warned her as he pulled into his parking space, and stopped the truck.

Sure enough, the deeper they got into the mountain the more security they found, and Sally was amazed at just how carefully she was studied by the grim-faced Marines that manned every checkpoint. Whatever it was they were guarding, there was no doubt by now that Jack had been right to say it was classified. She wondered what in the world could be so important that it had to be so well guarded.

"What do you do, Jack?" Sally finally asked, unable to control her curiosity any further.

"I can't tell you, Sally... I'm sorry."

He looked sorry, too. She had to admit it. He probably did want to tell her, if only to keep her from asking him every ten minutes. She looked around her as they headed for yet another elevator, walking close to him, because she was feeling pretty uneasy in such a tightly secured area.

"But Daniel does it, too?"

Jack shrugged. "Sometimes. Really, he's more important here than I am." Which was true enough, since Jack didn't do translations and Daniel did.

"But you outrank him?"

"He's not in the military, Sally. But yes, I can usually tell him what to do, and most of the times, I can even bully him into doing it."

"How could you let him get hurt?"

She saw the bleak look in his eyes that her question produced, and was sorry immediately. Obviously, he hadn't wanted Daniel to be hurt. "I'm sorry, Jack. That wasn't how I meant for it to come out..."

The elevator opened, and Jack motioned for her to precede him into it, with Jaffer following her. He hit a button, and she saw that they were still going down. Wherever they were going to end up, it was deep underground. The desolate look was still in his normally cheerful brown eyes, and Sally tried again.

"Jack... really, I-"

"It's okay, Sally." It wasn't, but he knew she probably hadn't meant anything with the question. "He's on my team, and I did a shitty job of getting him home safe. Sam was hurt, too."

"She was?"

He nodded. "She'll be fine, though. It wasn't serious. They're just keeping her overnight to make sure."

They rode the rest of the way in silence, and Sally knew that the silence was her own fault. When the door opened, though, he gave her a forced smile, and motioned for her to follow Jaffer, who was already on his way out the door.

"This is our stop."