"Jack's POV"
General Hammond picked up the phone. "Hammond. I need a medical team to my office stat."
I gathered Jessie into my arms, rocking her slowly. She'd passed out and she was barely breathing…the blood kept spreading…I couldn't stop it. "Hang on baby. Help is coming." I looked at Sam, grief in my eyes. "I promised her that I'd keep her safe," I said, tears streaming down my face.
"I know, Jack." she whispered tearfully, running her fingers through my hair.
The medical team rushed in and had to pry Jessie from my arms. They put her on the gurney and fled with her to the infirmary. Sam and I were close behind.
-
"Janet's POV"
I came out and Jack and Sam both stood. "Doc, how is she?"
How do you tell your best friend that her only child is going to die?
"Doc?"
I shook my head, unable to speak at first. "I've done all I can. We removed the bullet, but it was tipped with some sort of poison." I looked down. "I'm sorry, Sam…Jack. There's nothing else I can do."
"So what you're telling me is my daughter is going to die," Jack said, unsteadily.
"I'm so sorry, Jack."
"NO!" screamed Jack as he punched the wall and ran down the hall. Sam stood there crying silently. General Hammond looked at me.
"What type of poison, Doctor?"
"I don't know, sir. It's nothing I've ever seen before. I don't think it's from earth."
"Sam, go after Jack. I'm worried about what he will do." General Hammond said.
He waited until Sam was out of earshot before he reached for the phone on the wall. "Contact the Tok'ra. Tell them we have an emergency situation and we need Jacob Carter. Tell them we have a small child that has been poisoned with an off-world substance."
I blinked rapidly. "General?"
"The Tok'ra may be able to heal her. Besides," he took a shuddering breath. "I think it's time that Jacob met his granddaughter."
-
"Sam's POV"
-
I could hear Jack throwing things. I opened the door. "Jack?"
He was facing the wall, tears of pain running down his face. He turned to face me when I spoke. "I can't hear her in my head anymore, Sam. I keep calling out to her, but she's not answering. I can't go through this again Sam…I can't." he sobbed falling to his knees.
I wrapped my arms around him and held him while we both cried. You really couldn't tell who was holding who. We held each other for a long while.
Jack raised his eyes to mine. I could see the pain in his eyes and knew that I had the same look.
"I promised her, Sam. I promised I would keep her safe." He looked at me with anguish in his eyes. "I failed her."
"No, Jack. You got her back here. You kept her out of Simmons's hands."
And me out of Pete's.
We held each other and cried for our daughter and for ourselves. Nothing was ever going to be the same again. I would probably lose him because he'd lost another child. We fell into the sleep of the grieving.
Hours later, we awoke to the sound of someone knocking on the door. Jack answered the door. "What?"
"Colonel, you and Major Carter are to report to the infirmary immediately."
He grabbed my hand and we fled like Sokar himself was on our tails. When we got there, Janet was waiting for us. They all noticed we were holding hands.
Jack took a deep breath. "Is she…" he couldn't say the rest, as his voice broke.
"No, sir. Right now she's awake and she's calling for you."
We tore through the infirmary to get to her. "Jessie!"
-
"My POV"
"Mama." I said, weakly.
"I'm here, baby."
"Daddy?"
"I'm here, too sunshine."
He took my hand in his. "I'm so sorry, baby. I failed you. I promised to keep you safe and I failed."
I shook my head slightly. "No, dad. You didn't. You kept me safe for the last six months. I wanted to thank you before I…." I couldn't say the word.
They were both crying. "Hey, parents aren't supposed to cry." I tried to joke.
"Says who?" asked dad nearly overcome with emotion.
I tried to sit up. Dad pulled me up and mom got in bed behind me. Dad crawled in on the other side and wrapped his arms around me.
Janet stood there looking helplessly at us when…
Off-world Activation
"Dad."
"Yeah, baby girl?"
"Please take me home. I don't wanna die here."
"You're not going to die." he sobbed.
I took a deep breath, trying to fight the lethargy spreading through me. "Dad, I'm not stupid. I know what this poison is doing to me. I can feel it. I just don't want to die here. I wanna go home. Please take me home"
"Sammy?" asked a new voice.
She looked up. "Dad?" She turned to my dad. "Jack, let me up." He moved me to let her up. She kissed me on the forehead and said, "I'll be right back baby." I watched her climb out of the bed and walk over to the stranger.
"Dad," she sobbed giving him a hug.
"Hey cookie. What's the matter?"
"Dad, you have to save her."
"Save 'who'?" he asked.
She took his and hand led him to my bedside. "Jessie, baby." I opened my eyes. "This is my dad – Jacob Carter. Dad, this is Jessie – my daughter."
"Your what?" The look on his face was funny to me, but I couldn't laugh…couldn't waste the breath.
My breathing was getting more and more shallow. I knew the end was close. "Mama?" I breathed.
She took my hand and pressed it to her face, which was wet with tears. "I'm here angel."
I was fighting to stay awake. I had to tell them something before it was too late. "I love you mama." Mom broke down and laid her head on my shoulder.
The end was closer now. I wasn't so afraid anymore. I just didn't want to die without telling them.
I turned my head to dad. "Daddy."
He buried his head in my other shoulder and shook with emotion. "Don't say it. Don't you dare say goodbye. Don't you leave me."
I weakly lifted my hand and it fell against the back of his head. He reached up and grabbed my hand in his, turned his face to me, eyes closed, and kissed my hand.
"Dad, look at me," I wheezed. Much closer.
He opened his eyes, full of anguish. "Baby, please," he sobbed, pleading with me not to say goodbye.
"It's ok dad. It'll be ok." It was getting harder and harder to breathe. Harder and harder to stay awake.
"Daddy, take care of mama. She's gonna need you," He squeezed my hand but didn't say anything. "Please dad. Promise me. Please."
He reached out and took mom's hand in his. He pulled her to us, her other hand on my head. "I promise," he said brokenly.
I took a shallow breath and closed my eyes. "I"…love…you." I said, taking shallow breaths between each word. Once I had it out, I smiled. I took another breath; let it out, and the heart monitor flatlined.
-
"Jack's POV"
"NO!" I screamed. I lay my head down on my daughter's chest and willed it to rise with breath again. It didn't work. I cried like I'd never cried before. Sam held the both of us, crying softly, trying to hold in her pain.
"Jack," said Jacob.
"Go away," I screamed, wanting to die with my child.
"Jack we can heal her."
"She's dead, Jacob. My baby is dead. Just leave us alone."
"The Nox can heal her, Jack."
Nothing was penetrating my grief-stricken mind. All I knew was my final reason for living was gone. I only wanted to be alone with my pain…to be left to die.
"Colonel O'Neill. Major Carter," said a new voice, a familiar voice.
I felt Sam move. She ran her fingers through my hair. "Jack, it's the Nox." Her running her fingers through my hair penetrated my brain. Public displays of affection were not common to us…not until Jessie.
Oh God! My baby is dead! Why her? Jessie! Charlie! Oh God! Why?
I finally looked up and through my tears, saw a female Nox standing there beside Jacob. It still didn't make any sense to me why she was there. I looked at Jacob. What had he said? We can heal her.
"No sarcophagus. No snake. I won't let her become a Tok'ra," I said.
Jacob put his hand on my shoulder. "I promise," said Selmac.
It finally registered. The Nox had brought all of us back from death once before. I looked at the Nox…Lya.
"Can you save my kid?
"Yes."
I stood and picked up my daughter's lifeless body. "Let's go," I said brusquely.
Jacob stood in my way. "Jack who's going to explain to me what the hell is going on?"
"I'm not letting her go without me. Where she goes, I go," I said firmly.
"Ok," said Jacob, throwing his hands in the air. "Sam, can you explain it to me?"
"I'm going with Jack, Dad," she said, putting her hand on my shoulder. Had the situation been less serious, I would've laughed at the look on Jacob's face when Sam called me 'Jack'.
"Jacob Carter, we need both biological parents with her for this to succeed," said Lya.
"Wait a minute. Did you say biological?" he asked shocked.
"I did. They are her biological parents. Did you not know this?"
"Biological? I thought she was adopted," he looked at Sam. She stepped closer to me and put her hand on Jessie's head.
"Will somebody please explain to me where the regulations suddenly disappeared to?" he shouted.
General Hammond put his hand on Jacob's shoulder. "I'll explain everything." Turning to me he said, "Go Jack."
We went through the gate to the Nox home world. I couldn't see anything. I guess the fact that it was night would explain that. When we got to the village, they forced me to give her up. I wanted to fight.
Only Sam kept me from fighting them. I was sinking into despair quickly. I knew the symptoms. I'd felt this way after Charlie died. I didn't care anymore. I'd promised Jessie I'd take care of Sam, but I couldn't. At the moment, Sam was, in fact, taking care of me.
