Sam glanced up at the clock on the wall – again – and Jack handed the last of his burger down to Jaffer and stood up.

"How about I go see what's taking him so long?" He said, wiping his hands on his slacks.

She couldn't help but feel relief – even though she knew she was just being silly. It'd been more than half an hour, and even though she knew it was easy to lose track of time when you were running – unless you hated running, of course – she couldn't shake the worry that was increasing with every passing minute.

"You don't mind?"

"Of course not, Sam."

He'd go run with the boy if it would make her feel better. Luckily, he didn't have to do that.

"If everything's okay, though, you can't tell-"

"Him that you were worried about him and sent me out to hurry him along?" Jack's smile was gentle, as were the fingertips that brushed against her cheek. He loved touching her. "Don't worry. I'll tell him we were just out walking."

He picked up his keys and headed for the door, Jaffer right beside him.

"In the truck?"

"Well… he probably won't notice."

She smiled and he left, locking the door behind him.

OOOOOOOOO

He heard the sirens almost immediately once he'd gone outside, but he didn't think much of them until he and Jaffer were in the truck and driving towards the school. The sirens had faded away fairly quickly – heading off who knew where – but when he turned the corner and pulled along the schoolyard, he saw a large contingent of police cruisers, lights flashing silently, casting a colorful strobe affect on the police officers and other people who were gathered around an area of the running track.

Now Jack was concerned, because this was where Sam had said Ian was going to go. He pulled up beside one of the cruisers and got out of the truck, and Jaffer bolted out the door right behind him before he could tell him to stay put. The black lab made a beeline for the group of cops, his nose to the ground, and Jack came jogging up behind him, anxious about what was happening.

It's fairly disconcerting to have a dark shape come out of the night and into your midst. Especially one as big and silent as Jaffer was. They all hesitated, and all conversation stopped when the lab came into their group, his nose still on the ground as he checked out the red stain in the snow. Before any of them could grab at his collar, Jack was there.

"Jaffer!"

All heads turned his way, including Jaffer's.

"You need to get your-"

"Colonel O'Neill?"

More than one of the officers recognized him now that he was a bit closer, but Jack recognized the one that said his name immediately. It was one of those that had brought Ian and Cassie's ID s to the house earlier that week.

"Officer Reyes," Jack said, looking at the ground Jaffer was sniffing. "What's going on."

"I was just going tocome find you, Sir," Reyes said, his expression serious. "There's apparently been an incident…"

"With Ian?"

He nodded, looking down at a small notebook in his hand, and then gesturing over at an elderly couple who Jack hadn't noticed before.

"About ten minutes ago, Mr. and Mrs. Phillips here, heard a couple of gunshots outside their window." He pointed at a house that was snuggled right up against the running track. "They saw a group of people running off-"

"What happened?" Jack asked, feeling his stomach clench. There was only one way this story could end, because as far as he could see, one of the main characters was missing. "Is Ian all right?"

Reyes shook his head.

"We're not sure exactly what happened, but he's been beat up pretty badly from the looks of it, and it looks like he was shot three times, even though the Phillips and a few other neighbors we talked to say they only heard two shots."

"They took him to Mercy, Colonel O'Neill," one of the other officers said, trying to nudge Jaffer away from the scene without putting his hand too close to the lab's head. He'd seen those teeth in action a couple years back, and wanted to make sure there wasn't any mistake. "He's lost a lot of blood and was in shock from what I heard, but we haven't heard anything else."

"Do you know who did it?"

"We have an idea…"

"The guys from the Dairy Queen," Reyes said, shrugging. "One of the neighbors thinks she might have seen a large Blazer or a Bronco leaving the scene…"

Jack reached over and grabbed a cell phone out of the breast pocket of the closest officer. Dialing the first person he could think of – besides Sam, since this wasn't something to call her about; he'd tell her in person – he dialed Janet Fraiser's number. She was his doctor, after all, and that was what he needed – a competent doctor.

"Can I borrow this?" He asked belatedly as he listened to the rings.

"Sure…"

OOOOOOOOO

For as long as she could ever remember, phone calls in the middle of the night had always heralded bad tidings. Good news seemed to always be able to wait for morning, but bad news never did. Janet Fraiser knew this, and the moment the first ring broke through her pleasant dreams, she felt a tightening of dread in her chest and belly, even as she woke up, lifting her head from the pillow. She reached blindly for the phone in the dark, waking up the sleeping form beside her when she spoke.

"Hello?"

Emmett rolled over to watch her in the dark, wondering sleepily who'd be calling so late, but he didn't have to wait long for the answer.

"Colonel?"

She was quiet for a moment, and he could see her face go from curious to concerned, to really worried in the space of the short one-sided conversation.

"Where did they take him?"

"I'll meet you there."

She hung up the phone and bolted from the bed.

"What's going on?" Emmett asked, getting out of bed as well and reaching for his clothes. Whatever it was, it was serious.

"Ian's been hurt."

"Ian? The one staying with the O'Neills?"

"Yes." Janet threw on the first clothes she could find, and then reached for a pair of shoes. "I need to get to the hospital, will you wake Cassie and bring her?"

"What do I tell her?"

"That you don't know what's going on – and that I had to go. I'm going to Mercy General." And God help them if they didn't have a better emergency staff on hand than they did the last time she was there.

"I'll bring her…"

She grabbed up her cell phone and headed for the living room for her purse without even saying goodbye, but Emmett understood. He pulled on his shirt and headed for Cassie's room even as he heard Janet's car start up.