Sam O'Neill had just finished nursing Jacob and had settled him down for a nap in the basinet in the corner of her lab. She didn't hear the alarms that blared through out the complex when the Stargate activated. One of the first things that Jack had done was disconnect them in the lab so that every time a team returned to the SGC it wouldn't wake up their son if he was sleeping – or disturb him otherwise. The first inkling Sam had that something was up was when there was a light knock on the door of her lab, and an Airman stuck her head in.

"SG-1's returning, ma'am."

Sam smiled.

"Thank you."

She left Jacob where he was sleeping – he wasn't going to wake up anytime soon and there wasn't anything on the base that could possibly hurt him, and a couple dozen well-armed soldiers who would make sure it stayed that way – and headed for the control room.

And found things were fairly tense there.

The iris was opened and the gate was engaged, and everyone was watching it, but there was something wrong, she knew.

"What's up, sir?" She asked Hammond, who was standing by the dialing computer.

"The gate dialed in about five minutes ago, and we received SG-1's code, but no one's come through, yet."

Sam frowned, feeling the first stabs of concern.

"That's odd."

"We can't go check on them, because we can't dial out with the gate engaged…" Something he didn't need to tell her since she knew more about the Stargate than pretty much anyone on the planet. "So we're stuck waiting…"

The door slid open to the room down below and Janet Fraiser emerged with a trauma team in tow.

"That's just a precaution," Hammond said, following Sam's gaze. "We're not sure what's-"

"I understand, sir."

But it didn't make her feel any less worried all of the sudden. She decided she'd rather go wait with Janet, and excused herself, heading for the door and the staircase beyond. The moment she came through the door, however, the first forms began to emerge from the Stargate, and Sam gave an involuntary gasp of concern when she saw them.

Jack (the dog) was the first through. The yellow lab was drenched, mute testimony that the team had run into inclement weather – and was literally dripping water from his blonde fur. He was also spattered in blood, and had his lips pulled back in a silent snarl until he realized where he was. Then his tail came up as he trotted down the ramp, looking over his shoulder expectantly. Everyone else in the room followed his gaze.

A moment later Daniel came staggering through the gate as well, Ian's limp form draped over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and Jaffer right behind him. Before anyone could even register what they were seeing, Teal'c emerged right after, with Jack cradled in his powerful arms like a child. All of them were soaked, but as they thundered down the ramp and Janet and her medics surged forward to meet them, it was Jack and Ian who drew the most attention, because Jack was covered in blood and Ian was just as still.

"What happened?" Janet asked, gesturing for Teal'c to put O'Neill on a gurney, and pushing Sam gently away when the Major tried to crowd over to see how bad the injury was. Not surprising anyone, Jaffer jumped up onto the gurney as well, and gave a silent warning snarl to the first medic that reached for his collar to pull him off.

"We ran into some trouble," Daniel said, easing Ian down onto yet another gurney. Immediately medics gathered around, already starting to rip off the remains of the cadet's Kevlar vest to see the extent of the damage to his chest.

"A Jaffa patrol – probably several – came upon us while we were finishing the exploration of the ruins. They were guarding the Stargate when we attempted to escape," Teal'c added, stepping to the side and pulling Jack (the dog) with him to keep him out from underfoot.

It was all Fraiser needed to know. She had already decided that the wound on O'Neill's chest was caused by a staff weapon. Teal'c's quick report just confirmed it.

"Let's get them to the infirmary," she said to her medical teams. Looking at Sam, her eyes softened just a tad. "I'll let you know as soon as I can, Sam."

Sam nodded, her arms wrapped around herself as she watched the gurneys being pushed out of the room, Jaffer still in position at Jack's feet and looking as if even nothing was going to move him.

"It'll be okay," Daniel said, moving over and standing beside her, putting his arm around her waist for support and comfort.

She simply nodded again, unable to speak around the terrified lump in her throat.

"Let's go, people," Hammond said, moving into the room as well and coming over to stand close by. "Teal'c, Doctor Jackson, I want the two of you to get checked out and then be ready to debrief. Major O'Neill…" he reached out and took her hand and gave it a quick squeeze before releasing her. "You stay with them."

That would put her close to the infirmary so she'd know what was going on, and would also keep her close to Daniel and Teal'c, who would be the most comfort to her.

Sam nodded and followed Daniel and Teal'c out of the room, with Jack (the dog) close on their heels, and Hammond watched them go, feeling as helpless as he knew Sam felt just then.

OOOOOOO

The infirmary was bustling with activity, but by the time Sam and the others made it into the main room, Fraiser had already whisked Jack into surgery, and the bed Ian had been transferred to was surrounded by a team of medics as well. No one had time to stop and talk just then, and Sam and them didn't dare interrupt to ask.

"Ian didn't look all that bad," Daniel said, softly, looking at the group clustered around that bed. "At least, he didn't seem to be bleeding…"

"And Jack?" Sam asked.

Daniel shook his head.

"It didn't look good… but I'm not a doctor – not that kind of doctor, anyways – so I could be wrong." He hoped he was, anyways.

Sam sank down on a waiting bench; grateful at least that no one was kicking her out of the infirmary. She wanted – needed – to be close by. Daniel and Teal'c sat down as well, one on either side of her, flanking her and ready to keep vigil with her. A moment later, there was a soft whine, and Jack (the dog) stuck his wet muzzle into Sam's hand, obviously aware of her worry and like all labs, desperate to alleviate it. Sam leaned forward, wrapping her arms around the soaked blond head and buried her face in his neck.