"Sam's POV "

After what I'd just read, I couldn't stop the tears from falling. The others were pale and angry. I tried to hand the book to Jack, but he shook his head.

"I…I can't." he said hoarsely. He cleared his throat trying to fight the tears that were slipping down my face. "I can't do this."

"Colonel…Jack." He looked up when I said his name. I gasped at the pain I saw in his brown eyes. I swallowed hard. "You need to read this. To understand…to help her."

He took a shuddering breath and took the worn notebook. Twenty minutes later, he walked over to the sink and threw up. I looked at General Hammond and he nodded his ok for what I needed to do. I walked over to Jack as he was rinsing out his mouth and put my hand on his shoulder. When he turned around, he didn't hesitate, taking me in his arms and holding me as we both allowed emotion to rule.

A few minutes later, he looked up at General Hammond. "If I find the bastard who did this, I'll kill him."

He entwined his fingers with mine and led to me back to the conference table. When we sat down, Jack still didn't release my hand. We were getting strange looks, but at the moment, neither of us really cared too much about the regulations. We needed the contact, the affirmation that we were still alive.

In a surprisingly neat handwriting for a ten year old, we had just read everything…everything that had happened to her for two years. We read about the rapes, beatings, and starvation. She was locked in a basement almost every day for the last two years.

I'm gonna kill the bastard that did this to her.

"Dr. Fraiser, will she recover?"

She looked up from where her head was buried in her hands. "Physically, I think so. She lost a lot of blood, but thanks to you two, that part of the problem was fixed. Mentally?" She only shrugged her shoulders. "I think we need to keep a close eye on her for a while?" said Janet.

"You stated she will recover," said Teal'c.

"Did you read the last page of that diary?" she asked.

"No, I did not. It made me ill to read that much."

"Did any of you read the last page?" she asked.

We all shook our heads negatively. I couldn't make it that far…not and keep my sanity.

She picked up the diary and began to read aloud. "This is dated three days ago. 'I can't take much more of this. It hurts so much. Why me? I'll kill myself or something. I swear to God I'll never let him touch me again. Before I let anyone hurt me like this again, I'll kill myself. I swear to God I will.'"

Jack gasped and jerked his head up at the mention of suicide and looked at me. "No," he said. "I'm not gonna let that happen." I knew he was thinking of Charlie.

I looked at Janet. "Neither will I," I said quietly.

At the same time, we both said, "I'll take her." We looked at each other, disbelief on our faces that we had the same exact thought at the same exact time. He squeezed my hand.I saw the look of love in his eyes, conveying everything that we felt for each other, before he turned back to the conversation.

Janet cleared her throat. "We'll get to that later. In the meantime, I'm keeping her under 24-hour surveillance. If, and when, she comes out of the coma, she'll need therapy to deal with what has happened to her." She paused. "There is something else I hesitate to mention." All heads turned to Janet.

"What?" asked Jack, lips set in a tight line. "What else could be wrong with her?"

"She has the same protein markers in her blood that Sam has in hers."

"What the hell!" exclaimed Jack. "How?"

"I don't know. But, she's not Goa'uld. She's never had a symbiote from what I can tell, so she's never been a host. I'm going to have to run a few more tests before I have a straight answer."

General Hammond nodded. "Do what you have to do."

(Jack? Sam? Where are you? I'm scared)

We jumped and looked at each other. I gave him a watery smile as he squeezed my hand.

Jack turned away from me towards the General. "She's calling for us, sir."

General Hammond looked slightly confused. "How? I haven't heard anything."

I grinned a little through my tears. "Jessie's telepathic sir."

Daniel looked surprised at this news. "Really?"

"Yeah. She's already spoken to me and the Colonel in our minds."

"Wow," he said. "And you're sure it's her."

Jack nodded. "Yeah. Don't ask me how, but I know it is." He looked at me before continuing. "I feel like I should know her somehow."

I felt my eyes go wide. I'd had the same feeling. I knew her from somewhere, but I didn't know from where. "Me, too. I keep thinking I should know her," I said.

"It's not like with Urgo. I don't know how, but I know it's her," said Jack.

"It's a gut feeling, sir," I said.

"Dr. Fraiser, what do you think?"

"I think it would be best if they did. I would be good for her to have someone she recognizes with her, if and when she comes out of the coma."

General Hammond nodded. "Alright. Dismissed."

"Wait a minute…there's one more thing," said Janet.

"Oh for cryin' out loud!" said Jack exasperated. We both just wanted to get to Jessie…to make sure she was alive.

Janet ignored him. "I ran a check through the hospital database and came up with a birth certificate," she said pulling out a copy from the folder.

She began to read the information:

Name: Jessica Caitlin

Date of Birth: November 20, 1988

Mother's name: Unknown

Father's name: Unknown

Place of birth: Colorado Springs, CO

Weight: 5lbs 6oz

Length: 18 in

"Included was a note about how she came to the hospital."

This is the strangest thing I've ever seen. We were standing outside and then dense fog appeared. When it cleared, there was a toddler standing in front of the main entrance to the ER. She's roughly sixteen months old. There was a typed note that said her name was Jessie Caitlin (no last name) and it gave her DOB as 11-20-88; her length and weight at birth. But, there was no information regarding parents or where she came from. She knows how to say 'mama' and 'daddy'. Barely cries. She has a strange substance in her blood, but she's perfectly healthy.

"That's where it ends."

I gasped loudly. "Oh my God!"

"What?" asked Janet.

"I always said if I had a daughter I would name her 'Jessica Caitlin'. That's just too strange."

Jack looked at me and smiled slightly through watery eyes. "It's a beautiful name. Too bad she's not yours." he said gently.

"Yeah, I would've protected her," my voice broke. He squeezed my hand gently.

"Well, we'll both protect her now," muttered Jack. He stood and pulled me up. "Come on Carter."

We left the briefing room and ran straight to the infirmary. We both gasped when we saw that small child laying there. She now had a brace on both legs (they couldn't put a cast on the left because of the wound caused by the compound fracture), a cast on her left arm, and her ribs were tightly taped. She was hooked up to so many machines keeping her small, broken body alive and asleep while she healed.

Looking at her, I couldn't keep the tears from falling. So fragile…so helpless…and somebody hurt her badly. I gently took her left hand in mine and kissed her on the forehead.

Why do I keep doing that? She's not mine…but, I know her. I know I do. I just wish I could remember.

Jack took her right hand in his. He leaned over her and kissed her on the forehead also. "I promise," he whispered. He pushed her hair out of her eyes. "I promise you…whoever did this, will pay."

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She slipped completely into the coma a few hours later. I don't think I've ever cried that hard. Neither Jack, nor myself, left her alone for a second. General Hammond gave us both extended leave time. We were both unable to leave her alone. However, there were times that we were forced to leave for a short period of time to do paperwork and report Jessie's progress to General Hammond. Jack and I played cards…chess…checkers…anything to pass the time. One, or the both of us, was with her at all times. For some reason that neither of us could figure out, we couldn't leave her alone. As long as we were there, she would be safe.

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(4 weeks later)

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"Jack's POV"

We had to keep those wounds clean. For some reason, they weren't healing properly. Nobody could figure out why. Maybe it was the protein marker in her blood…along with some other substance they'd found. Dr. Fraiser ordered a nurse to bathe Jessie once a day. Sam had brought in some baby shampoo and baby soap. Jessie seemed to be allergic to everything else.

One day, after reporting to General Hammond on her progress, we walked in on her roughly washing Jessie's chest…where all the bruises had been. I thought Sam was going to beat the shit out of her she was so pissed. I grabbed her arm and held her back.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing?" I yelled.

"I was told to bathe her, Colonel O'Neill," she said gruffly. That would've been fine. I could've let the tone of voice slide. But she muttered, "I've got better things to do than bathe a stupid kid."

"Ok, that's it. Get the hell out!" yelled Sam.

"Excuse me, Major?" she sneered.

"You heard her. Get the hell out. We'll do it," I said, stepping towards her, fists clenched. I've never hit a woman in anger. But, like they say…there's a first time for everything.

"I was told by Dr. Fraiser to do this. She's my superior so she'll have to relieve me," she said with no regard for my rank.

"Oh you're definitely relieved," said Dr. Fraiser coming up behind us with two guards. "Get out." She turned to the guards. "Take her to General Hammond."

"Fine. Didn't like this job anyway," said the nurse.

I took the sponge from her and had the two guards escort her to Hammond's office.

"I'm sorry about that, guys. I should've known better than let her near Jessie. She doesn't even like kids."

"It's ok, Doc. But, I meant what I said. We'll do it," I said.

"Just let me check her vitals and I'll let you two get to it."

She checked her blood pressure, drew some more blood, and took her temperature. She felt the wounds on her back. "She's running a slight fever, but with all of her injuries, that's to be expected."

Turning to Sam and me she said "She's all yours."

I washed her legs (careful of the wounds that were slowly healing), her arms and her abdomen. I turned away while Sam washed her back, buttocks, and other parts. I'd been a father…but to a boy…not to a little girl.

Sheesh. She's just a baby. Why? Why would someone do this to her…to this precious little girl?

Thinking about what had happened to her still made me nauseous.

"Sir, help me move her to the top of the bed."

"And why would you want to do that?"

"I need to wash her hair."

Oh. "Uh…ok." I took Jessie's legs and gently lifted them, while Sam pulled at her shoulders. We didn't get very far, both of us trying to be careful with this broken child.

"Hey Doc?"

"What?"

"We need your help to move her a little."

"Coming, sir."

I reached under her waist and lifted as the doc lifted her legs. Sam was still in position. With little trouble, we got her to the end of the bed.

"Hey Doc?"

"Yes, Colonel?" She was getting aggravated with me. I couldn't help it. I just loved bugging her and Sam.

"How much does she weigh? She feels so light."

"She only weighs 35 lbs Colonel. She's underweight and under height for her age. She's only 3'6" lying down."

"Damn," I said.

If I find the people who did this, they're gonna beg me to kill them. Not if…when I find those who did this to her…and I will.

"Yeah. Now, if you two don't mind, I've got some research to do."

"No luck on why we have the same protein markers?" asked Sam.

"I've got a theory, but I'm waiting on test results."

"Care to share?" asked Sam grinning.

"Nope."

"Thanks Doc," I said.

She raised her hand and walked back to her office. "Colonel hand me that pitcher of water."

"Too cold. I'll get some warm water."

I handed her the pitcher and watched as she gently washed Jessie's hair. The way she acted, you would think Jessie was her kid. Hell, the way I was acting you'd think she was mine. I could adopt her, but she would definitely need a mother.

Sam would make a good mother for her. Don't go there Jack.

She's going to make someone very happy.

Too bad it can't be me.

I know that the only way I'll ever be happy is standing in front of me. But, because of those damned Air Force regulations, nothing could ever happen between us. I sighed regretfully. Didn't think she heard me until…

"Sir? Everything ok?" she asked. I really hate that word when she says it. Sir. It reminds me of the position we're in…military and regulations.

"Yeah, just thinking."

"About?" She was rinsing Jessie's hair.

"How much of a natural you are at this." I grinned at her, trying to effectively covering my tracks.

"Yeah, well…" she blushed. Sam actually blushed. Woohoo! "It's easy when the patient is…" She stopped and swallowed hard.

"Carter?"

"Just thinking about how small and fragile she looks." Sam's eyes filled with tears as she finished rinsing and gently started drying Jessie's hair. I just wanted to hold her and tell her everything was going to be alright.

"I know, Carter."

I let her finish what she was doing. We got Jessie back onto the bed with no problems. I let Sam tuck the blanket around her and went over to the wall where the camera didn't reach…away from prying eyes.

"Carter?"

"Sir?"

"C'mere."

She slowly backed towards me, never taking her eyes from Jessie. "Sir?" she asked as she backed into me.

"Look at me Carter…Sam."

She turned quickly when I called her by her first name. The tears were still there, but she was trying to hold them back. I reached up and cupped her face, wiping the tears away with my thumb.

The tears spilled down her face as I pulled her into my arms. She'd done the same for me that first night. It was my turn to be the comforter…even though I couldn't be the way I wanted.

I held her tightly as she cried. Then I guess she realized what she'd done. She backed up quickly apologizing. "Sorry, sir."

"For what?"

"For acting like this. I don't know why I'm getting so emotional over her. I mean we barely know her. What if she's not…"

"You wouldn't be you if you didn't feel this way." I still had my hands on her hips.

God, if this is such a bad idea, why does it feels so right?

I pulled her back to me and ran my fingers through her hair. "Sam…" Then I did something I'd wanted to do for a very long time. I leaned forward and brushed my lips against hers. She tensed and I thought she was going to back off. But, she moaned and, when I ran my tongue along her bottom lip, opened her mouth. I took that as a good sign and deepened the kiss, letting my tongue slip in between her teeth.

God, she tastes so good.

She put her arms around my neck and moaned into my mouth. I pulled her closer to me. I ran my hands up her butt and started up the back of her shirt. She broke the kiss and backed up.

"Sir, we can't."

"Sam, you want this as much as I do…and you know it."

"We can't sir. Not right now."

Damn. Talk about being shot down. She was basically telling me that she didn't want this as much as I did. I sighed and let her go. "You're right. I'm sorry Major." I started to turn away from her.

I felt the air move as she stepped up to me. I closed my eyes and turned my face away from her. I didn't want her to see the pain and disappointment from her rejection in my eyes. She put her hands on the sides of my face and turned it to hers and lightly brushed her lips against mine. I opened my eyes and stared into her beautiful blue eyes. "Not now Jack. I want to make sure Jessie's ok before anything else. Right now, she's my top priority."

Oh wow. Ok. I can deal with that.

"Another time then." I smiled brushing her hair behind her ears. "Sam?" I whispered, leaning forward.

"Hmmm?"

"I love you," I whispered again kissing her again.

Breaking the kiss, she cupped my cheek and caressed it slowly. "I know Jack. I've always known. I love you too." I thought my heart would burst through my chest.

I kissed her lightly on the lips again and then we parted. Good timing too because the doc walked in.

"Doc when is she going to wake up?" I whined and tried to act like nothing had happened.

"I don't know, sir. Coma patients are in a different league. Some wake up within days."

"Yeah, but it's been almost a month." I looked at my watch. 2200 hours. About the time we found her.

"Some don't wake up for years, Colonel…if they wake at all."

"She's going to wake up. I know she is."

"Yes sir," she said exasperated. Then she turned to us with aggravation clearly on her face. "You've both been here every day. Don't you have a mission to go on or something? I swear," she said throwing her hands in the air. "You and Sam are going to drive me nuts!"

Jessie's head twitched. "Well, speak of the devil." I grinned.

Her left hand tightened in Sam's and her right in mine. "Come on sweetheart. It's time to wake up," I said, pushing her still-damp hair out of her eyes.

"Doc? She's twitching. She gonna wake up?" I asked anxiously.

"It might take some time, Colonel. Then again, it may just be an automatic reflex."

"Bullshit. She's gonna wake up. I know she is." I rubbed her head. "Come on baby. It's time to wake up."

In my heart, I know she's going to wake up. She has too…she just has too.