A/N: You didn't think I'd end the story there did you? I am a bad dragon, but not that bad. Or am I? Why am I writing this note? None of you will even read it I bet, not after the last two cliffhangers! I could just leave ya'll hanging a bit longer you know, I am on vacation! And you all are calling me mean, so now I have a reputation to uphold. {adjusts halo}

Lying before them was the remains of what once had been a cat. There wasn't much left to identify the unfortunate creature, but through the bloodstains they could clearly see that the cat had stripes, and seemed to be the right color. Jack closed his eyes. They couldn't have been too late. It wasn't fair; she didn't deserve it, not like this.

Chapter 38

By unspoken agreement the three men had met up in Daniel's office to await the results of the autopsy that Doctor Fraiser and Captain Brunsfeld were performing on the remains they'd brought back.

After discovering the small body, it had taken several minutes for the battle-hardened men to react. Seeing one of your best friends after she'd apparently been ripped to shreds was difficult for anyone. Teal'c had been the first to take action, going off in search of a box. He'd soon returned and the three had gone about the gruesome task of scraping the remains into the box using a shovel Daniel had found in a nearby outbuilding.

There had been nothing on the body to identify it had been Carter, and there was too little left to positively identify them, so they'd have to take it back to the SGC. Besides, if it was Carter, and Jack really didn't want to believe that it was, despite the evidence to the contrary, she deserved a decent burial. She'd always expressed the wish that she be laid alongside her mother someday, when the time came. The cemetery didn't need to know what exactly was in the coffin after all.

Jack halted his line of thinking. Until someone could tell him for sure that the bits and pieces in the box were Carter's, he refused to give up hope that she was still out there somewhere. They had, after all, only that one guy's word that he'd seen a cat that looked like Carter. It might have just been some other cat that had run across the keys and gotten lucky. At least that's what Jack kept telling himself.

The men had spent the rest of the night assisting the authorities go through the mansion, looking for evidence and anything of a top-secret nature. They hit the jackpot when Daniel found a hidden drawer in what was presumably Arden's office. In it, they found a file folder containing copies of the confidential documents that Jameson had secured and sent. They also found a bright blue flea collar, with Sam's dog tags dangling. Jack had looked at the tags before stuffing them and the collar in his pocket. Sam had been here, but that still didn't prove that the body was hers.

There was also a small stack of videotapes in the drawer. Colonel O'Neill decided it would be best to confiscate the whole lot. He'd been in contact with General Hammond, and after they had found the hidden drawer, the General had ordered all of them back to base, despite the Colonel's protests that he wanted to look around more. General Hammond made it clear he'd take no arguments. He arranged to have Major Paul Davis from the Pentagon come to look over the air force's interests in the investigation.

It had been a somber group that returned to the SGC, bearing the small box. The General had not needed to ask what was inside the box.

While waiting for the autopsy, they'd watched the tapes and had been horrified at what they'd seen. She'd been kept locked up in a cage pretty much the entire time, and when they witnessed Arden dumping her repeatedly into the tub of water and later threatening her with the huge dogs, Teal'c and Daniel had had to physically restrain the Colonel from charging off to find out where the man was being held so he could pound the man flat.

They had silently cheered when Sam had bitten Arden, and Jack had gone as far as muttering, "Atta girl Carter." before he'd quickly sobered as the man on the screen knocked her sideways and she'd been pinned down and had a muzzle strapped to her head. The tape had ended after she'd been taken from the room, and they could find no other references to her. Apparently the camera in the kennel had cut out and there was no footage of the escape.

And now the three men sat, arranged about Daniel's office, awaiting news. It was a reflection on how low Daniel must have been feeling, as he didn't even seem to notice that Jack was busy fiddling with a small round object covered with Egyptian hieroglyphs. In fact, Daniel had noticed. The object was actually a paperweight a friend had given him and it said, "If you can read this, you must be an archeologist!" Daniel wasn't about to tell Jack though; he'd much rather that Jack amused himself with the paperweight than anything else.

Jack seemed to notice what he was doing, and set the object down with a thump, making Daniel jump and Teal'c raise an eyebrow. Jack mumbled an apology, and picked up a pencil from Daniel's desk and started twirling it through his fingers. General Hammond fortunately appeared in the doorway before Jack could drive the rest of them to distraction.

The three jumped to attention, and the General shook his head. "As you were people. I thought I might find all of you in here." He held up his hand before Jack could speak. "Before you ask, no I haven't heard anything yet. I thought perhaps we could wait for news together."

Teal'c raised his eyebrow again, and Daniel blinked. But Jack just nodded and went back to his pencil. Daniel tried to concentrate on the text he's been working on, but he'd been reading the same line over and over for the past hour. Jack's fiddling and his own anxiety didn't help much. Teal'c continued to stand with his hands clasped behind his back by the door, and the General wandered over to Daniel's overfilled bookshelves and started to peruse them.

Jack was doodling on one of the many scraps of paper laying about the desk when Janet appeared in the doorway over half an hour later, her discreet cough startling everyone.

"We've finished the autopsy." Janet said once all eyes were on her. She stood uncomfortably, hands in the pockets of her lab coat.

Daniel closed his eyes. Jack spoke. "And?" was all he said.

Janet let out a breath, before speaking. "And it's not Sam."

Silence fell, followed by everyone letting out the collective breath they had been holding. Daniel still had his eyes closed.

"Its not?" The Colonel asked, wanting to hear it again.

Janet shook her head. "No. Whatever it was you brought back, it's not Sam. Not only are the blood types different, but also we could find no traces of either naquadah, or the protein marker, both of which were present in Sam when she returned from P3X-929."

Daniel recovered first, and spoke the question that was running through all their minds. "If that's not Sam," he said, pushing up his glasses, "Then where is she?"