A/N: Here is the next chapter, as promised! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Chapter 11 – Wish Upon a Star

Jack's heart began to pound as he frantically searched the bedroom for Sam's small form. Geez, he thought, she was so small she could be anywhere! He looked in the closet, under the bed, and behind the curtain, although why she'd be in any of those places he couldn't quite fathom. Maybe she had just gotten scared and gone into his room, he thought hopefully.

Jack rushed into his room and turned on the light. No sign of Sam was evident in the sparsely furnished room. He went back out into the hallway, checked the bathroom and the kitchen once again before he stopped in the living room. OK, he was going about this search all wrong. Instead of rushing frantically from one room to the next, he had to stop and think. His thoughts began to bounce around in his head like a rubber ball. Where might she go at...he looked at the clock...12:30 am? She had no transportation and couldn't drive anyway as her feet wouldn't reach the pedals. If she had called someone for a ride, he would have heard her on the phone. Why would she want to leave anyway? It's not like they were at odds anymore! Could she have been taken? Maybe the NID was up to their old tricks again!

Shit! Maybe I'd better call the police. No, that would be really hard to explain. Maybe I'd better call Hammond. Right, and say "Sorry to wake you Sir but I seem to have lost Major Carter!" Yeah, that would go over real well. Still, he had to do something. Jack reached for the phone, ready to call Daniel and Teal'c. He jumped back in surprise as it rang out shrilly in the quiet of the night. He picked it up somewhat hesitantly and said, "O'Neill," into the mouthpiece.

"Oh, hello Mr. Greene." What was his busybody neighbor doing calling him at midnight? "You saw what?" he fairly screeched. Jack looked toward the locked door that led out into the yard. "I see. No Mr. Greene, I don't have a daughter. That's my niece," he replied automatically. Jack listened for a while to what was a stern lecture coming from the other end. "No Sir, I am not in the habit of letting children run around my yard at midnight and climb ladders onto my roof. I assure you, I didn't know that she had left the house. No Mr. Greene, there is no need for you to call the authorities. I will make sure that Samantha is back safely in the house in a few minutes. Yes, thank you for your concern. Good-bye." Jack hung up the phone and rubbed his hand over his eyes. Dear God, what next!

Jack made his way over to the ladder and started to climb up. He thought of all the things he was going to say to her as he climbed up: no, yell at her. She had scared the crap out of him...again! Jack's head reached the roofline and he searched quickly for the small figure of the person who was causing him so many anxiety attacks. She sat with her feet tucked up under her on a chair, her right eye pressed firmly against the eyepiece of his telescope, her left eye closed tightly in concentration.

Jack stepped over the rail enclosing the roof and folded his arms across his chest. "Carter?" he said, using his best commander voice.

Sam had been so lost in thought that she never heard him as he ascended the ladder and came to stand in front of her. She jumped back when she heard him and looked at him with a startled expression, "Geez Jack, you scared the bejeezus out of me!"

"I scared you? What the hell do you think you did to me...disappearing like that? I swear to God Sam, you are going to give me a heart attack! You know, I have half a mind to take you over my knee!" he growled at her.

She looked at him with wide eyes for a moment, then let out a laugh that she quickly covered with her hand upon seeing his eyes narrow dangerously.

"You think this is funny? My neighbor is ready to call Children's Services because he saw a little girl climbing the ladder to my roof at midnight. I was about to call Daniel and Teal'c and get several SGC teams over here looking for you. Yes Carter, you are inches away from a good paddling!" He looked sternly down at her, noting that she was out here barefoot with only her T-Shirt and sweatpants on. Thank God she had at least put the pants on: it was starting to get really chilly! He didn't even want to think about her climbing that ladder in the dark!

Sam knew he was all bluster as far as the threat to paddle her, but she also knew that he truly had been worried about her. She looked guiltily at him as he came over to her carrying the blanket he kept on the roof. He draped it around her shoulders and sat next to her with a sigh. "Ok, now that I got that out of my system, do you want to tell me what you're doing up here at 1230 hours? And not properly dressed I might add? You did just have a fever earlier this evening Sam."

Sam tugged the blanket more tightly around her small body. She had been getting chilly but hadn't wanted to leave just yet. "I'm sorry I worried you Jack. I woke up about 30 minutes ago and couldn't get back to sleep. You were sleeping so I decided to come up here and look at the stars; maybe try and sort some things out in my mind."

"What's on your mind that's keeping you awake?" he asked, gentling his tone. He knew she wouldn't go out of her way to scare him like that. Something must really be bothering her.

Sam looked back out at the night sky, not answering him right away. When she did talk, it was in a quiet voice that he had to strain to hear. "My mom and I used to look at the stars at night when Dad was gone. We'd pick out the brightest one and make a wish on it. I think we always wished the same thing; that Dad would come home safe. Sometimes, we'd stay outside for hours, looking at the stars and snuggling under a blanket. If we happened to see a falling star, that was all the better. Then we knew for sure that Dad would be home soon. Of course back then, I didn't know that a falling star was really a meteorite, but that didn't matter." She stopped speaking and Jack remained quiet, waiting for her to continue.

She looked over at him with tears in her eyes. "God Jack, I miss her so much sometimes! She knew me better than anyone ever will. When I see myself in the mirror looking like this, I keep remembering my mom and all the wonderful things we shared together when I was little. In some ways, it seems like she just died; others it seems like it's been forever. I feel so lost and alone." Sam swiped at the tears with the corner of the blanket, then laid her head back against the chair and gazed at the sky.

"Sam," he said gently taking her hand, "You will never be alone. You have your SGC family and your Dad. We will always be here for you."

She gave him a slightly watery smile before she continued. "I know you will. It means the world to me, believe me. But what if I don't..." here she stopped to catch the sob that was trying to escape. "What if I don't get back to normal? What if I'm stuck like this forever, or if I have to grow up all over again? I don't think I can do that...I know I can't!" She lost her battle with her tears as they escaped and streamed down her face. She felt so hopeless right now that she was beyond caring that she was crying in front of her CO.

Jack also didn't care about protocol or regs or any of that at the moment. He only cared about taking away her pain and fear. He turned her chair towards him and picked her up, cradling her on his lap while his hand ran soothingly up and down her back. Sam tucked her head under his chin and buried her face in the blanket, letting all the worry and fear she had felt the last two days come out.

Jack talked soothingly to her for a long time, waiting for the tears to subside. When he felt her taking regular breaths again, he gathered her a little closer and talked quietly to her. "Sam, we are going to figure this out, I promise you. We will not stop pursuing ideas until we have found a way to get you back. I need you to believe that and not give up OK? Even though you are in a small body, you're the same strong, brilliant Major that we all rely on. You've never let us down and we won't let you down." He put a hand under her chin and raised her head, his heart constricting when he gazed into her big blue eyes and saw the sadness and fear still lurking in their depths. "You have to believe me Sam. We will get you back."

Sam nodded her head at him, then turned to look at the sky. He held her for a few more moments, then felt a shiver run through her body. He ran his hand down her leg to her foot, shocked at how cold her bare feet were. "Come on Sam, we need to get you inside. Your feet are freezing."

"Just one more minute please. I just want to sit here for one more minute," she pleaded quietly.

"One minute," he agreed, tugging the blanket down to cover her feet and feeling her relax against him once more. He joined her in looking up at the vibrant stars in the dark sky.

They both saw it at the same time; a brilliant flash of light streaking across the sky. Sam knew it was silly but she closed her eyes and made a wish. A wish that she would return to her former self. Unbeknownst to her, Jack had closed his eyes and was doing the exact same thing.