Chapter 19 – More Questions and New Quarters

Thirty minutes later, Jack and Sam entered the briefing room with JJ in tow. Due to an unforeseen emergency, Dr. Frasier had been unable to attend the briefing. Sam sported a fresh bandage on her head but otherwise looked none the worse for wear. As they took their seats at the end of the table, Jack handed over the bottle he had been carrying. Sam gave it to JJ, who took it eagerly and began loudly slurping, bringing smiles to those already in attendance.

"Major Carter, I trust you're both all right?" General Hammond inquired, indicating her and the baby.

"Yes, sir. Thank you," Sam offered back with a slight smile. She was rather distracted at the moment by the dribble of milk that trickled down JJ's chin as he drank his bottle. She swiped at it with a cloth and cuddled him closer.

Jack, noting her distraction, gave the General a bit more information. "Doc Frasier gave them both a clean bill of health, Sir. JJ was asleep the whole time under the cart, until the end there, so suffered no ill effects. Frasier thinks after some supper and a good night's sleep, he should get back on track. He's a pretty tough little guy," he added with a smile.

General Hammond nodded as he took in the picture of Sam holding the baby. They made an awfully endearing picture, he thought to himself. With an inward sigh, he turned to the others at the table. "Teal'c, Colonel Reynolds, do you have anything else to report regarding Sgt. Sunderson?"

"We do," Teal'c answered with a nod of his head. "While Sgt. Sunderson does not know the identity of this Mr. M, he does have a phone number he can be contacted at. He is expecting to hear from Sunderson at 2000 hours tonight."

"Good," Hammond stated. "We'll call the number and see if we can get a trace. Anything else?"

"From what Sgt. Sunderson said, I believe Colonel O'Neill was correct in his assessment earlier today, General," Major Davis spoke up. "This appears to be the work of the NID, Sir. Or a faction of it."

"Is there anyone we contact that might be able to give us more information?" Colonel Reynolds asked.

Daniel turned to look at Sam. "What about Barrett, Sam? He seemed to get along pretty well with you the last time we needed some inside help." Daniel missed Jack's frown at this information.

Sam nodded thoughtfully. "I'll call him Daniel. He gave me his private cell number and told me to call whenever I needed anything. Hopefully he can give us some insight into this Mr. M." She looked with concern at the General. "Do you think the threat to JJ is still out there Sir?"

"I'm afraid we can't rule it out just yet Major. I plan on completing the polygraph tests of the entire base, but that will take until at least tomorrow evening, if not longer. In the meantime Major Carter, the threat also applies to you. This group has too much information about your particular medical background than I am comfortable with."

Sam's eyes briefly met those of her CO. She read the concern there before she turned her attention back to the General, who was still speaking.

"Until we feel certain that this threat is passed Major, I am going to request that both you and JJ remain in the presence of at least one other member of SG-1 at all times."

"Sir?" Sam asked with confusion, and not a bit of disbelief. How were they going to do that, especially at night? She also hoped the Generalwas not questioning her ability to protect herself and JJ.

As if he read her mind, the General continued, "I have every confidence in your ability to protect yourself and the child Major, as you proved earlier when you apprehended Sunderson. But this group has also proven that they have the means to access restricted areas and highly classified information. And until such a time that we feel confident that our security will not be breached again, or we have returned JJ to his rightful parents, I want every means taken to ensure that nothing like this will happen again."

Sam nodded her understanding, her heart constricting at the mention of returning JJ. She didn't want to think about that just yet. And although a small part of her was still bothered with having to be with a member of her team at all times, for the most part, she had to agree with the General. She would not endanger JJ's safety for anything.

"SG-1, I want you to stay for a few moments. The rest of you are dismissed for the evening. We will reconvene tomorrow at 1100 hours, at which time we will have hopefully heard from Agent Barrett. Dismissed."

SG-3 and Major Davis left the room, leaving SG-1 waiting expectantly at the table. General Hammond surveyed them each in turn, his eyes lingering on JJ, who had just finished his bottle and was playing with a ratherbeat uplooking doll.

"What I am about to recommend is going to sound extremely out of place, but please bear with me. Major Carter, I think it would be wise if you, JJ, and Colonel O'Neill stay in the VIP suite this evening." When Jack opened his mouth to question him, Hammond held up a restraining hand. "I know Colonel, it is rather unusual. Let me explain. First of all, the suite has two separate bedrooms, along with a small living room. You would both be ensured of your privacy. Secondly, I meant what I said about Major Carter and JJ not being left alone. Finally, JJ seems to do the best when he is near both of you, especially at night. I think this is the ideal solution." He stopped speaking and waited for them to make any comments.

Jack and Sam looked at each other in surprise. Although they had certainly shared a tent before, they had never shared sleeping space here on the base. And while neither one of them was worried that something unprofessional would happen, they were both concerned with the base grapevine.

"Uh, Sir," Sam hesitated to ask. "Are you sure about this?"

"I've actually given it a lot of thought Major. Of course, if either one of you is uncomfortable with the idea, Dr. Jackson or Teal'c can just as easily stay in the other room."

Jack shrugged his shoulders, "It's fine with me." He would actually feel better being in close proximity to Carter and JJ tonight, though he wouldn't admit that to her. Today's close calls had shaken him more than he cared to admit.

"Major?" the General asked.

"It won't be a problem Sir."

During this entire exchange, Daniel and Teal'c had sat back and listened with some curiosity. At one point, Daniel raised a questioning eyebrow at Teal'c, who answered with a slight shrug of his own. It made sense to him. Major Carter would not be alone with the child and would have help caring for him. If need be, Teal'c would be willing to share the suite with Major Carter. It appeared as if that would be unnecessary.

"Good. Now that that's settled, Major Carter, I would like you to place the call to Agent Barrett. Dr. Jackson, you will make the call to this Mr. M at 2000 hours. Make the call from Colonel O'Neill's office but use Sunderson's cell phone, so that it can't be traced back here. See if you can get a trace on his call. Let me know what you find out. Dismissed."

The General stood up and turned to leave. He turned back and looked directly at Jack. "Oh yes, I don't think I need to remind you that there is a security camera in the living area of the suite. While it doesn't provide sound, it does provide a very clear picture Colonel." The General then turned and headed into his office, leaving one Colonel O'Neill gaping after him.

"Now why did he single me out?" Jack asked with feigned hurt.

"Probably because he trusts Sam more than he trusts you," Daniel quipped as he stood.

"Thanks a lot, space monkey!"

Sam decided she didn't want this particular conversation to go any further. She stood up and walked to the end of the table. Talking to JJ, she said, "Time for you to go with your Daddy, big guy. I have a phone call to make." She kissed JJ on the cheek as she handed him over to Jack and looked around to see all three men staring at her. "What?" she asked in confusion.

"You just called Jack JJ's Daddy," Daniel stated with surprise in his voice.

Sam flushed as she felt their eyes on her. "It's just easier for JJ to understand. That's how he knows us after all. It's not like I can explain the difference between us and his real parents, Daniel," her voice had taken on a tone of impatience.

"I know, I know," Daniel held up his hands to ward off any anger that might come his way. "It just sounded rather…odd, coming from you. That's all."

Sam frowned at him as she made her way to the door. "I'll meet you in the commissary in 30 minutes for dinner. Don't forget his bib, sir."

"Yes, mom," Jack said in a sing-song voice. Sam just rolled her eyes as she left the room. This was one of those times when she needed to get away from all of them, and fast!

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The team had a quick dinner, during which Sam informed her team that Agent Barrett would find out what he could and get back to her in the morning. Then Sam went back to her quarters with JJ to grab some of their things before moving to the VIP suite for the night. It was 1930 hours, so Jack and Daniel had gone to Jack's office to plan for their upcoming phone call to the infamous Mr. M. Teal'c had accompanied Sam and JJ.

Teal'c carried the portable crib under one arm and JJ's bag in the other down the corridors toward their new destination. In addition to JJ, Sam carried a small bag of her own belongings, those things she would need overnight and in the morning. For his part, JJ carried Bart and chortled at Teal'c, who made funny faces at the boy behind Sam's back. Sam kept turning around when JJ would chuckle, wondering what Teal'c was doing. But each time she turned around, the big Jaffa had the same, impassive expression he always had. Shrugging her shoulders, Sam continued down the corridor.

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Sam had changed into some comfortable clothes and gotten her and JJ's things settled when Jack and Daniel entered the room.

"Lucy, I'm home!" Jack called out. He was greeted with Sam rolling her eyes and an exuberant "Dada!" from JJ. "Well, it's nice to see that someone appreciates me!" he said as he scooped the little boy off of the floor and tossed him into the air.

Daniel walked past him and joined Teal'c on the sofa. "Nice digs you two have here. Very homey," he added with a grin.

"For heaven's sake," Sam muttered under her breath. It was as if they left off right where they had been in the briefing room. She settled herself into one of the two arm chairs in the room and asked, "What did you find out from the phone call, Daniel?"

Sobering, Daniel stated, "Not much. Mr. M. wanted to know what new information I had. I told him there wasn't any. He wasn't too pleased about that," Daniel explained. "He used some pretty colorful language, told me he was paying me a lot of money and if I didn't come through soon, I could kiss the money good-bye…along with my life if need be."

Jack set JJ back on the ground and took a seat across from Daniel. "We weren't able to get a trace either. No surprise there. His voice was altered by some device, but it sounded familiar to me somehow. Unfortunately, he hung up before I could be sure."

"Do you have it on tape?" Sam asked with curiosity. Maybe she could help figure out the voice.

"I'm afraid not, Sam. Since I called on the cell phone, we weren't able to hook a recording device up to it," Daniel explained. "Mr. M wants to hear from me tomorrow, same time. He said there are only a few days left to acquire the subject and if we messed up this opportunity, there'd be hell to pay."

They all sat quietly and watched the 'subject' play on the floor. No one in that room was willing to give anyone another chance at taking JJ. Sam looked up, a determined look in her eyes. "I think I can adapt a recording device to work on that cell phone Daniel. I'll get on it in the morning."

"Get someone to help you with it Carter. The sooner we have it ready, the better," Jack said.

"Hopefully between that and Barrett, we'll be able to figure out who's behind all of this and put an end to the threats on JJ," Daniel stated. Jack scowled at the name of Barrett but didn't say anything. For some reason, that man just rubbed him the wrong way.

JJ had abandoned his toy and come crawling over to the couch. He pulled himself to a standing position between Teal'c and Daniel, regarded each of them in turn, then patted Daniel insistently on the knee. "Da-ee!" he said loudly. Daniel raised his eyebrows in surprise as he looked across the room at Jack.

"Did he just say what I think he said?"

Jack grinned back. "Sounded like Danny to me. What do you think, Carter?"

"It was definitely Danny."

As if to reaffirm their statements, JJ once again called out, "Da-ee!" and patted the leg again. Daniel's face broke into a grin as he said, "Well, how about that? I thought I'd only ever hear you say Mama and Dada!" He bent over and picked JJ up, standing him in his lap.

"He says T too, you know," Jack informed him.

"Really?" Daniel asked in surprise as he looked around the baby standing in his lap. He turned his gaze toward Teal'c who gave him a small smile and responded, "Indeed."

Looking for affirmation,Daniel turned his gaze back to JJ. "Can you say T, little guy?"

"EEE!" came forcefully back at him. Daniel laughed, but had to sit back quickly as JJ lunged forward and made a grab for his glasses. Daniel wasn't quite fast enough. JJ's delight in his success was evident by the squeal he gave off.

"AH!" Daniel cried out. "Why do you always go for the glasses?" he asked as he tried to wrestle them out of the pudgy little fists. The ends of his glasses were quickly disappearing into JJ's mouth.

Sam laughed as she stood and came over to help. "I think it's the reflection Daniel. Like his Daddy, JJ appears to be attracted to shiny objects."

"Hey! I heard that Carter. I am right here you know!"

"I wasn't necessarily referring to you, Sir."

"Don't try to weasel out of it Carter. I know a dig when I hear one."

Sam just smiled at him as she finally untangled Daniel's glasses from JJ's hands. Daniel handed the baby over to her and stood up, grimacing as he wiped the wet ends on his shirt before replacing the glasses on his face. "Well Teal'c, I think it's time we let the family have some time alone. I'd hate to interfere with bedtime routines and all." Daniel ducked as Jack took a swipe at him. Grinning, he walked over to the door and opened it, waiting for Teal'c to join him.

Teal'c stood and walked over to the door with Daniel. "I wish you both a good-night's rest," he nodded to his friends.

"Night T."

"See you both in the morning," Sam added. All four of them smiled as they heard JJ's "Ba-bye!" accompanied by a wave of his hand.

Just as the door was closing, they heard Daniel say, "Oh, Jack?"

"Yeah, Daniel?"

"Don't forget about the camera!" He wasn't quite fast enough as a pillow came sailing out the door and hit him in the back of the head. Jack and Sam could still hear him laughing after they had closed the door.