A/N: Sorry for the lack of update. I know I've had a nearly daily update for almost a month now. Wow can you believe it? About 30 chapters and nearly 160 reviews, I never thought it would grow so much! Anyway, unfortunately I've been really busy lately, and add to that some more writer's block when writing this chapter (the Sam chapters have been easier to write for me, rather than when I deal with the guys' and their emotions. So don't be surprised if there starts being more Sam chaps... at this point I imagine with what is happening to Sam you all won't mind too much lol.) I'm working a lot of extra shifts over the next two weeks, so that I can take a couple of days to go and visit a friend in New York, so updates may come sporadically over the next few weeks. And just when I started kicking the excitement up a notch eh? Well be patient, and I'm hoping the next few chapters will be well worth the wait!

Sam tried to investigate the top of the box, which was only a few inches above her head when she was standing, but the sedative that had been injected was already kicking in. Unable to fight the powerful drug, Sam's legs gave away and she collapsed, succumbing to the effects of the sedative as darkness again overtook her mind.

Chapter 28

Daniel was mentally kicking himself, as he paced around the confines of the briefing room, awaiting the rest of his team for the meeting. He should have been more alert. He should have known that someone was out there watching them. But no, he was too busy working and enjoying the day to pay attention to anything else. He'd been the first to fall, shot in the back with a tranquilizer dart. Sam had been taken literally from under his nose while he'd slept, completely unaware, in the grass beside her.

Slamming his hands palms flat against the table in frustration, Daniel was startled to hear someone clearing their throat from the doorway. Surprised, Daniel whirled around, catching sight of the General, who had just come from his office after speaking with the President regarding Sam. Trying to deflect the General's attention from his obvious display of anger, Daniel hastily pushed his glasses up on his nose and crossed his arms over his chest before speaking. "General Hammond, sir. What did the president have to say?"

General Hammond wasn't fooled by Daniel's blatant attempt to take the attention off him. He knew the young man was anxious, and likely blaming himself over events. General Hammond took a deep breath; he'd have to tread carefully. "I'll fill in most of the details when the briefing is underway, but for now Dr. Jackson, lets just say the President denies any knowledge of any plan to abduct Major Carter."

The General watched various expressions pass quickly across the archeologist's face as the man's shoulders slumped in a pose of defeat. "Dr. Jackson, rest assured that I will do every thing within my power to ensure the safe return of Major Carter." He paused, catching the other man's eye. "There was nothing you could have done to prevent this Dr. Jackson. These people were obviously trained professionals, who had detailed inside information about this facility."

Daniel was silent a moment, before giving a small half smile and breaking eye contact. Daniel sighed as he tightened his arms around himself. He knew the General was right, but he still felt that at least part of the blame lay with him. If only...

The Colonel and Teal'c entered the briefing room at that moment, interrupting Daniel's self-recrimation. He could tell immediately by their faces that the two had come up with nothing. Daniel felt his dread and worry grow as his teammates explained the tire tracks and their theory that Sam had been taken away in a vehicle. The tire tracks had been lost when the unknown vehicle had turned onto the main road. Going by the time estimate Daniel had given them of the attack, the abductors had at least an hour lead on them by the time they'd discovered Daniel unconscious outside, and nearly two hours by the time they'd found the direction the getaway car had taken before turning off the little used access and maintenance trail and onto the paved roads.

Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c were going through similar emotions to Daniel's. Both men mentally berated themselves for not having come outside sooner. After completion of their duties, each man had attended to personal activities. Teal'c had gone to check on Thor, and O'Neill had stopped off at the commissary to see if he could wheedle some more cake for lunch and had ended up talking over the previous night's hockey game with Ferretti. They both felt that if they had just gone to the surface at completion of their duties than perhaps they might have been able to catch the kidnappers in the act, or been able to find out where they were going.

The General regarded the three men, who all sat slumped and dejected around the briefing table. Well some of them sat. Daniel was full of nervous energy and was now standing over by the window overlooking the gate room. He informed them all about his conversation with the president as well as several other people in different facets of government that he'd spoken with. None of them had been able to give any helpful information. Now it was time to turn attention to their own, it was obvious they had a leak. Someone had to have been on the inside in order to know so much about the movements and activities of Major Carter, to know when she would be the most accessible. He put Colonel O'Neill in charge of the investigation, the man's eyes had smoldered at the thought that one of their own would turn, and General Hammond had every confidence that the Colonel would leave no stone unturned.

After discussing several possibilities of where the leak had been on the base, and what motivation Carter's abductors had had for taking her, the four men began to plan what direction their search for information would take. Obviously, it would be difficult to look for her. The Colonel had wanted to go on national news and offer a large reward, but the General had had to put a stop to the notion. Given the circumstances, it would look very suspicious to the public if the military were searching for a missing cat. O'Neill didn't look happy, although he understood the rationale. He still didn't have to like it, and made sure everyone knew.

It was decided that Teal'c would assist the Colonel in debriefing all base personnel. Having the presence of a large scowling silent Jaffa often did wonders for extracting information from the already nervous. Daniel had an idea of how to modify a search engine that he and Sam had been working on, and intended to conduct searches online of major newspapers, checking the classified sections and society pages for any mention of a cat matching Sam's description. It was a long shot, but if it turned up anything it would be well worth it and would give them a starting point.

The General also approved the distribution of a low key classified listing describing Sam as a missing family pet, (she was family after all) and offering a small reward. The ad would be published in as many local papers in the area as they could get. As a civilian with an off base number, Daniel was nominated to be the contact and the one looking for his "beloved" cat, Sam. Daniel was glad he'd gotten voice mail installed at his house recently so he'd be able to check frequently for any messages.

General Hammond also intended to continue to call in favors for information and leads. While it was highly likely there was in inside man, it was also very likely that the insider had had an outside contact. Hammond intended to find out who that was, as well as tracking down any likely leads on just who had the missing Major now.

Plans made, the men quickly dispersed, to set the plans into motion. While it didn't seem like they were doing much, all three were relieved to at least have something productive to do towards locating Sam. At the very least, the various activities would give them something to do that would take their minds off their missing friend and teammate. They all knew Sam was capable, but in her current body, the worried about her ability to defend herself. None of them would rest easy until she was returned safely. They would find her. They had to.