Chapter Three -- Shopping!
"So how're you doing?" Daniel asked plopping down with his coffee in one hand and the coffee he brought for her in the other. He looked Sam over, she looked like she was stressing over something, and smiled at her.
"I'm fine" Sam said moving around the table so she could look at some part of the engine she was working on. "I think I almost got this thing working but..." She trailed off as she wiped grease from her cheek. "How are you?"
"Fine" Daniel said smiling at her.
"No visions?" She asked taking the coffee he offered as he shook his head. "Does Janet have any idea what's going on?"
"No" Daniel said shaking his head "The test came back but there doesn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary"
"Well..." Sam said trailing off as she took a sip of coffee. "Oh, you went off base to get this"
"Yeah, I picked it up on my way here" Daniel said smiling at her. "So I hear your going shopping with Jack"
"Yeah" Sam said nodding her head, at the mention of his name Sam felt a little sadness roll onto her face. She covered it quickly though and smiled at Daniel.
"Are you sure you're ok?" Daniel asked seeing that look on her face.
"So how are you and Janet? Teal'c told me he had a 'talk' with you?" Sam asked changing the subject oh so very subtly. 'Fine' Daniel thought smiling at her 'We don't have to talk now, but we will talk' He smiled at her and shrugged.
"It's good" Daniel said "I didn't think every one would catch on so fast" He said taking a drink of his coffee.
"Well we're pretty smart" Sam said smiling at him. "I have to meet O'Neill in an hour so I'll talk to you when we get back? I want to know everything." She smiled sweetly at him when he got up. "Oh and Daniel"
"Yeah Sam?" Daniel asked turning around.
"You may be like a big brother to me, but Janet is my best friend, if you hurt her I'll be forced to hunt you down and hurt you" Sam said still smiling sweetly at him. Daniel nodded his head never losing his smile.
"Of course Sam" He walked to the door turned around and met her eyes. "She's safe with me"
"I know" Sam said nodding her head as he walked out the door.
-o-o-o-o-o-
"I think you should have a talk with Sam" Daniel said as he looked over Janet's shoulder. She was going over SG-6 charts. Kiara was in the other room being entertained by one of SG-6.
"You do, do you?" Janet asked looking over her shoulder at him.
"Yeah" Daniel said nodding his head and missing the sarcasm in her voice completely. "Something's bothering her; I think it has something to do with a certain someone's arrival and..." He trailed off at the look on her face. "And you know all this already, don't you?"
"Well I am her best friend" Janet said smiling at him. "Its sweet that you noticed though" She said patting his cheek.
"I think you should make it clear that it's you talking, not Dr. Frasier" Daniel said smiling at her. "Because, well..." He trailed off knowing she knew what he meant. "Ok well I'll just leave you to it then" He said straitening. "We still on for dinner tonight?"
"Yeah" She said nodding her head. "And Cassie is staying at a friend's house"
"I'll bring the wine" Daniel said smiling at her. "See you at 7:30?"
"Okay" She said nodding her head. She turned back to her computer and Daniel walked out with a big smile on his face.
"Danny!" A little voice called as he walked to the door. He turned around as Kiara came running towards him. "He pulled his thumb off!" She said looking accusingly back at Major Stansin.
"I didn't really" He said walking over to her. "See?" He said holding out both hands. She looked over both hands then back up at Daniel.
"I saw him do it" She said sounding less sure now.
"It's a trick" Daniel said stooping down so he was in front of her. "See?" He did the same thing more slowly so she could watch. She smiled and nodded her head.
"I could do that" She said looking back at Major Stansin. "That's neat"
-o-o-o-o-o-
"No, this is not an excuse" Sam said into the phone. "Something happened here on base and I can't come" She shook her head and sighed in frustration. "Mark I'm sorry, I'm sure he's really nice but there are things going on here that I just can't get out of." She listened for a second and nodded. "Yes we can reschedule. I'll call you when I know when I'll have some free time" She smiled a little and nodded. "Give the kids my love and I'll see you soon" She hung up the phone and sighed.
"Dodged a bullet there huh?" Jack asked walking into her office smiling.
"Boy don't I know it" Sam said smiling at him. "I thought we were meeting by the elevators? And where's Kiara?"
"Well Kiara is being cheeked over by Doc and I thought I'd come say hi" He said smiling at her. "So not going to dinner?"
"No" Sam said shaking her head. "There's to much going on here, with Daniel and Kiara, I just don't have time to go have dinner with a set up" 'But you'll make time to go shopping with your CO?' the little voice in the back of her head said. "I just have to finish this up; I'll meet you at the sickbay"
"Right" Jack said smiling at her. "See you in a few" Jack turned and walked out of her office. She had had that look on her face again and he just couldn't figure out what was wrong. 'Maybe I should talk to Daniel?' He thought to him self as he walked down the hall. 'Maybe I should just get her really drunk then ask her what's wrong?' He thought as he heard giggling. He walked into the sickbay to find Daniel, his daughter and major...'oh what was his name?' sitting in a circle on the floor.
"Having fun?" He asked smirking down at them. Major what's his name jumped up as soon as he heard Jack while Daniel stayed on the floor with Kiara.
"Sir" he said saluting Jack. 'Oh Stansin, that's his name' He thought after reading his name patch.
"So?" He asked looking impatient. "Are you?"
"Sir?" Stansin asked looking a little nervous.
"Having fun?" He asked again having a lot of fun himself.
"Uh, yes Sir" He said nodding his head.
"Well good" Jack said nodding his head and smiling. "She's a fun kid huh?"
"Yes Sir" Stansin said nodding his head. "She is Sir" Jack nodded his head and looked over Stansin's shoulder to where Kiara was seated talking with Daniel.
"Are you done with your cheek-ups?" Jack asked Stansin.
"Yes Sir" He said nodding his head. "I have a briefing in..." He looked down at his watch and paled. "Ten minutes"
"Well you better get going" Jack said moving out of the door way.
"Yes Sir" he said nodding his head. "Thank you Sir" He said walking out the door and a fast pace.
"You're so mean" Daniel said standing with Kiara on his shoulders. "The poor kid" Daniel said smirking a little.
"Yeah what can I say?" Jack asked looking up at Kiara. "Are you ready to go shopping?" She smiled and nodded her head. Jack had explained that they were going with Carter to get her some clothes and toys and things.
"Are you coming with us Danny?" She asked looking down at him.
"No" He said smiling as he lifted her down. "I have some stuff to do here at work. But I heard Sam was going with you"
"Yeah" She said nodding her head excitedly.
"Yeah, I thought it best to have a girl along" Jack said smiling down at her.
"Wise decision" Janet said coming out of her office. "Daniel I thought you left?"
"I got caught up" He said looking down at Kiara. "Bye" He smiled at Janet and Kiara. "See you later Jack"
"See you Danny boy" He said smiling down at Kiara. "Carter is late" He said looking down at his watch.
"No she's not" Kiara said pointing behind him. "Daddy what does this mean?" She asked putting her finger to her mouth.
"It means she's trying to sneak up on me and you should be quiet." He said smiling at her.
"Oh" She said frowning a little. "Opps"
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"Ok" Jack said looking around the huge department store. They were in the little girl section and Jack was totally lost. "I have no idea what to get" He said looking over to Sam who was looking at little pink dresses with Kiara.
"It's ok Sir that's what you brought me for" Sam said smiling down at Kiara who was trying to show her something. "Maybe you should go look at the toys, I'm sure you won't have any trouble with that"
"Thank you Carter" Jack said smirking at her. "I'll just go look at the toys, I'll met you two for lunch at 1300 hours"
"Ok" Sam said nodding her head. "Kiara stay right there" She said looking away from Jack. She smiled at him and walked over to his daughter who was looking at pink shoes.
"I think we should try other colors too" Sam said smiling at her. "O'Neill might lose it if we show up with all pink"
"I like this color" Kiara said picking up a green shirt with little dogs playing on it.
"Yeah that's pretty" Sam said nodding her head. "Maybe we should get you a dog" Sam said smiling.
"What's a dog?" Kiara asked looking at her funny.
"These are" Sam said pointing to the playing animals. "They're a pet that kids have" Sam said looking around to see if any one was around. It was a Wednesday so the store was pretty empty. It would probably sound a little weird to hear her explaining what a dog what to a four year old.
"Oh" Kiara said nodding her head. "I want one" She said smiling at Sam.
"We'll have to tell your dad" Sam said smirking "Now back to the clothes"
-o-o-o-o-
"Ok" Jack said handing over the money to the clerk. She smiled at him and took the money, gave him his change and handed him the very large bag of toys he had just purchased. He was turning to walk out of the store when the intercom in the mall blared out "Jack O'Neill please met Sam Carter at costumer service immediately." Jack turned to the clerk.
"Where is costumer service?" he asked as she looked up at him. "Its by the food court Sir" She said pointing out of the store. "It's on the far right."
"Thanks" he said as he practically ran from the store nearly running over a teenage girl. He ran all the way there, the food court was on the other side of the mall. When he finally got there he saw Sam standing there looking like the world was about to end. When she saw him her eyes watered and she ran over.
"Oh I'm so sorry" She said shaking her head. "I just looked away for a second, I was getting a dress down" She looked up at him. "Oh Jack I'm so sorry" She said watching as it dawned on him what had happened.
"Are they--?
"They're looking for her now" She said drying her eyes and shaking her head. "I'm so sorry"
"It's ok" Jack said putting his free hand on her shoulder. "I lost Charlie once in a mall in D.C when we were meeting some friend of Sara's'. She'll turn up" He smiled at her a little even though he was just as worried on the inside as she was on the outside.
They sat there waiting for almost half an hour. Sam had wanted to help look but one of the security guards had told her she would just be in the way. To which Sam had told him she was a major in the US Air Force and if any one was in the way it was him. Jack smiled at the young man and led her over to the chairs.
"Carter calm down" He said shaking his head and smiling a little at her. The worry was starting to show in his eyes and Sam felt horrible.
"Daddy!" Kiara said running up to the two of them smile. "I saw a dog and a cat and a bird and--
"Kiara" Jack said pulling her into a hug. Sam leaned over and hugged the little girl too. "Oh I'm so happy you're ok" he said holding her out at arms length. "Where did you go? You worried poor Sam to death" Kiara looked up at Sam and her smile fell.
"Oh" She said hanging her head. "There was a dog with a woman and she was taking him to the animal store and I wanted to see" She looked up at her father. "I'm sorry" She said as her eyes filled up with tears.
"It's ok" Jack said pulling her up onto her lap. "Just don't do it again ok?"
"Ok" She said nodding her head at him and sniffing. A man about 32 walked up with a knowing smile on his face.
"She was watching the fish when I found her" He said looking down at Jack. Jack stood and smiled at the man. "I asked her where her parent were and she looked around and almost started crying when she couldn't find you"
"Thanks" Jack said holding out his hand. "I'm Jack O'Neill"
"Hey no problem" He said taking the offered hand. "I'm Pete Shanahan" He said smiling.
"Pete Shanahan?" Sam asked looking at him. 'It couldn't be' she thought as she looked him over. "Do you know Mark Carter?"
"Yeah, he's a buddy of mine" he said nodding his head. "Oh, you're not Sam are you?"
"I am" She said nodding her head. Jack looked between the two of them, he didn't like the way this was going. This was the blind date guy, and Sam looked like she might be a little more interested in dinner now.
"Hey thanks again for finding Kiara" Jack said picking up his bags and looking at Sam. "I think we should head back" Sam looked from Jack to Pete and nodded her head.
"Of course" Sam said smiling at Kiara. "You must be tired huh?"
"No way" She said shaking her head as a yawn broke free. She smiled and laid her head on Jack's shoulder.
"It was nice to meet you Pete" Sam said smiling at him.
"You too Sam" he said smiling at her. "Maybe I'll see you again some time?"
"Maybe" Sam said walking out after Jack. Jack looked down at the bags Sam had and smiled.
"So get anything good?" He asked trying to look in the bag with out waking Kiara.
"Just kids clothes" She said smiling at him holding kiara while they walked to the car. "I am really sorry" Sam said hanging her head a little. "I can't believe I lost her"
"It's ok Carter" Jack said smiling at her. "It happens to the best of us" He handed her the keys as he put Kiara in her car seat. "Besides, she's fine, and now she has a new story to tell"
"Yeah" Sam said smiling at him. She got into the car after putting the bags in the trunk. She looked back at the sleeping Kiara and smiled, so much of her was Jack. She watched as the girl shifted and Sam sighed, she also looked a lot like her mother.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"Ok so what did we learn to day?" Jack asked as he tucked Kiara into her new bed at his house. Some airmen had delivered it while Sam and he had been shopping.
"That dogs are kids' pets" She said smiling up at him with a most innocent look on her face.
"No, the other thing" He said raising an eyebrow at her making her giggle.
"Not to leave without telling someone" She said like a well learned line.
"That's right" Jack said smiling at her. "You have your walkie-talkie incase you have a bad dream?"
"Yep" She said nodding her head and pulling it out from under her pillow. She smiled at him and tucked in back under there making Jack wonder how she could sleep comfortably with it there.
"Ok" he said walking to the door. "Night Kiara"
"Nigh Daddy" She said smiling at him. She sat up and looked at him through the darkened room. "I should tell Sam I'm sorry" She said looking a little worried herself. "I don't want her to be mad at me"
"I think that's a good idea, we have to go see Janet tomorrow you can tell her then." Jack said nodding his head. "She's not mad at you though"
"Are you sure?" She asked laying back down.
"Yeah, I'm sure" Jack said nodding his head. "Good night"
"Goodnight" She said as he closed the door, leaving it open just a little. He walked down the hall to his room and sat down on the bed. He pulled the picture of Charlie off the nightstand and looked down at his smiling son. He ran his thumb down one of his cheeks. He smiled when he heard the door open and felt the bed shift as she climbed up. She leaned over his shoulder and looked down at the picture too.
"Who's that?" She asked putting her arms around his neck.
"Charlie, he's your brother" Jack said. He put the picture on the bed and then flipped her over his shoulder making her laugh. She landed in his lap and he picked the picture back up.
"Like Garren?' She asked studying the picture.
"Yeah" Jack said nodding his head.
"Where is he?" She asked looking up at him and smiling.
"Oh" Jack said looking sad. "He died a while ago" He said looking down at her. "He's up in heaven now"
"Like Mother?" She asked looking up at him from the picture.
"Yes" Jack said nodding his head "Like your mother"
"What is Heaven?" She asked looking down at the picture. Jack looked down at her and wondered 'how do you explain heaven to a four year old?'
"Well heaven is a place you go when you die. Its beautiful and full of other people you love who have died."
"Do you think mother is in heaven?" She asked as he eyes teared up a little.
"Oh yeah, she is" he said nodding his head and smiling at her. "And you know what?"
"What?" She asked looking up at him.
"In heaven you can watch all the ones you love" He said smiling a little "So your mom, she watches over you from heaven."
"Do you think she's with Charlie?" She asked looking back up at him.
"Yeah" Jack said nodding his head. "I bet she is"
"Can I have a picture of him?" She asked looking down at the one Jack was holding. She looked up at him and he noticed how much she and Charlie looked alike. They had the same eyes and hair and when they smiled they both looked like him.
"Yes" He said nodding his head. "I'll get you one in the morning" he said smiling at her.
"Will you tell me about him?" She asked leaning back on his chest. "What was he like?"
"Well he looked a little like you and he loved to be outside..." Jack went on for almost an hour before he realized she had fallen asleep. It had been years since he had talked about Charlie like that to anyone. He shifted her a little so she was asleep on the other side of the bed. He put the picture down and walked into the bathroom to get changed. When he came back Kiara was all curled up in the middle of the bed. He smiled scooted her over and climbed in. He fell asleep in seconds and didn't move till the alarm went off the next morning.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"Morning Sir" Sam said when she saw Jack walking down the hall towards her. He look...really happy. It had been a long time since Jack had looked that genuinely happy. 'That little girl is working wonders' she thought when Jack smiled at her.
"Morning Carter" he said as he walked passed her. "Kiara's with the Doc and I'm off to bug Daniel. See you at the briefing?" He asked as he walked backwards smiling the whole time.
"Yes Sir" Sam said nodding her head and smiling despite her self. He nodded and turned around headed down the hall. Sam shook her head and headed towards her office. SG-14 had brought something back that she was dying to get her hands on.
-o-o-o-o-
Sam looked up from her computer and twisted her neck. She looked over at the clock and sighed. She only had an hour before the briefing. They were all going back to Edora. Jack wanted to set up some kind of visiting system so Kiara could see her brother as much as possible. At first Jack wasn't sure if Hammond was going to let them go but after one little 'please' from Kiara he just couldn't say no. She got to her feet and walked over to the coffee pot only to find it was empty. She rubbed her eyes and sighed. Man Jack had been in such a good mood this morning when she saw him, why was she so grouchy? She walked back over to her computer empty coffee cup in hand and sat down.
She knew why she was grouchy and she just couldn't explain it. It was almost like she was jealous of Kiara, which was ridicules. Who could she be jealous of a four year old? But maybe it wasn't that she was jealous of Kiara just...what she represented.
"Am I interrupting some serious thinking?" Janet asked walking in with two cups of coffee. Sam looked up at her and smiled, man she was getting a lot of coffee stops lately.
"I though you where looking over Kiara?" She asked taking a cup and taking a big whiff of it.
"Sam that was four hours ago" Janet said laughing. "Looking over that thing SG-14 brought back?"
"No" Sam said shaking her head. "I finished with that about twenty minutes after I started. It was a toy, a kid's toy, I mean gees, can't they tell an advanced weapon from a kid's toy?" She shook her head and smiled at the look on Janets face.
"Well they did go without their 'Sam' so what can I tell you?" Janet said smiling at Sam. "You know everyone on base should have one"
"Never leave home without it" Sam said shaking her head. "I was just working on some backed up paper work."
"So I'm not interrupting any heavy thinking then?" Janet asked sitting down across from Sam.
"Hey, you know some of us put some actual thought into our reports" Sam said thinking about the colonel. "Unlike some people I know"
"Right" Janet said nodding her head and smiling. "So Cassie is at rehearsal on Wednesday and Daniel is deciphering some long lost language, again, so you should come over and we'll rent sad movies and eat loads of ice-cream"
"Sounds good" Sam said nodding her head and looking at the clock. "I gotta go, briefing. Thanks for the coffee" She said smiling at Janet. "You have no idea how much I needed it. I'll see you when we get back"
"Ok" Janet said nodding her head. "Have fun" She stood up and walked out the door nearly missing Sam's muttered "yeah right."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"Hello Kiara" Hammond said looking down at her. When Jack told her about the briefing she had insisted on coming with, which Jack had thought was incredibly cute.
"Hello Sir" She said saluting him like Jack had shown her earlier. Hammond looked up at a smiling Jack and shook his head rolled his eyes and smiled.
"Go sit down by you father" he said pointing at Jack. She nodded her head and walked back over and sat down next to Jack. Hammond walked to the front of the room and smiled at every one. They went over the mission, which was just basically don't get into any trouble, and come home by tomorrow.
"I'll see you all in the gate room in 30 minutes" He said looking around at all of them. They all stood to leave when Kiara walked up to the front. She wiggled her finger and the general bent down so they were eye level.
"Thank you Sir" She said kissing him on the cheek. Daniel laughed and Teal'c looked very amused. Sam giggled and Jack walked over to her.
"Ok, come on sport we gotta go get ready" He looked up at Hammond, who had stood back up. "Sir"
"30 minutes" he said smiling down at Kiara.
"Right Sir" Jack said nodding his head. He led Kiara out of the room and into the hall.
"Jack" Daniel said coming up next to him with a bag in his hands.
"Hey Daniel" Jack said smiling at him. "Whatcha got there?"
"Oh" Daniel smiled and looked down at Kiara. "Actually we had these made for your first jump through the stargate with SG-1" Daniel said kneeling in front of Kiara. "They're just like ours" He said pulling out a little mini BDU's. He handed them to her and stood. Jack just smiled and Kiara looked up at Daniel with a huge grin on her face.
"Wow" She said looking at them. They even had writing on them. "Daddy?" She asked looking up at Jack. "What does that say?" She asked pointing to it.
"It says Kiara O'Neill" Jack said looking up at Daniel and smiling.
"O'Neill?" She asked looking a little confused. "What is that?"
"It's your last name" He said smiling at her. Hammond had just gotten the paper work in that morning. She was officially his daughter.
"Like you?" She asked smiling at him as she looked from the BDU's to him.
"That's right" He said nodding his head and smiling at her. "Let's go get you ready to go"
"Ok" She said turning to Daniel. "Thank you Danny" She said hugging him around the legs.
"Your welcome" Daniel said smiling down at her. He ruffled her hair a little and looked up at Jack. "It was Sam's idea"
"It's really cool Daniel, thanks" Jack said taking Kiara's hand. "See you in a few"
"Right" Daniel said heading to his office to grab something.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Jack stepped down the steps with Kiara holding tightly to his hand. She looked around and smiled when she saw someone coming up over the hill. Jack watched for a second, when he saw that it was Garren he let go of her hand and smiled. Daniel, Teal'c and Sam came though just as Kiara was running towards her brother. He bent down and scooped her up and walked towards Jack.
"Greetings" he said smiling at all of them as he bounced Kiara on his hip. "One of the scouts saw the gate activate. I hoped it would be you" he smiled at all of them. "My wife just gave birth to my first son" He said looking very much the proud father.
"Congratulations!" Daniel said smiling as they walked towards the village. "What are you going to call him?"
"Garren, for my father and me" He said smiling at them. He turned to Kiara and smiled. "Would you like to meet him?"
"Yes I would" She said nodding her head. "How is Vitani?" She asked as the village came into view. Jack looked around as memories came flooding through his mind. It was odd to look back over it now. It was a life time ago. He looked over at Sam and for the first time really understood all that she had gone through to bring him home. And thinking back he didn't even say thank you. He shook his head and decided he would have to amend thatsoon.
"Daddy" A little girl cried as she came running down the little gravel road that led to Garren's house. She stopped when she was about ten feet away.
"Kiara?" She asked looking up at her.
Hi" Kiara said wiggling a little so that Garren would put her down. "Missed you" She said smiling at the girl; she couldn't be more then two years younger then Kiara.
"Me too" She said smiling at her. Kiara looked back at Jack and smiled.
"That's my daddy" She said pointing at him. The little girl looked up at Jack and nodded her head as if in approval.
"Want to come see my new brother?" She asked taking her hand.
"Ok" She said waving to Jack and running off towards the house.
"Will they be ok?" Jack asked as he watched them run off.
"Yes" He said nodding his head. "The midwife is still here, she should keep her eye on them." Jack noticed that Garren's' house was a bit bigger then Laira's house.
"How long will you be staying?" Garren asked as they reached the house. He looked back at Sam, Daniel and Teal'c and nodded his head. "We have room here if you wish to stay"
"Well we don't have to be back until tomorrow" Jack said smiling at him. "So if you don't mind"
"Not at all" He said ushering them into the house. After a second a babies cry could be heard and a women's laughter.
"Garren" Naitha called from a back room. He turned and looked at the four of them.
"Excuse me" he said walking from the room in a hurry.
"Nice place" Sam said looking around. Jack noticed that that look was back in her eyes, and now he was starting to figure out why.
"Yeah" Daniel said nodding his head. They all looked over as Garren came walking back in with a little bundle.
"This is Garren" he said smiling at them.
"Oh he's so small" Sam said walking over to him. "What did Kiara look like as a baby?" Sam asked looking up at him.
"She was a very big baby" he said smiling as the two girls came running into the room laughing. Vitani had on Kiara's little BDU hat and Kiara was wearing the flowers that had been in Vitani's hair.
"Hey there" Jack said grabbing Kiara up by the waist as she ran by. She laughed as he tickled her stomach. He set her back down as she was off again with Vitani.
"I was just about to get dinner ready" Garren said looking around at them. "Feel free to look around. I'll call when it's ready" He said smiling at them.
"You don't need any help?" Sam asked setting her pack down next to the others.
"No" he said smiling at them. "I do it all the time, I quite enjoy cooking"
"Ok" Sam said nodding her head. She walked over to the front door and looked back at Jack. "Ok if I have a look around? I didn't really get a chance the first time"
"Yeah, just think of this as a mini vacation" Jack said smiling at her. She nodded her head and walked out the door. Daniel pulled out a book from his pack.
"You're going to read?" Jack asked looking at him funny.
"Well I'm going to do it outside" Daniel said smiling at him. "Don't often get the chance"
"Have fun" Jack said looking over at Teal'c.
"I am also going to have a look around" he said nodding at Jack.
"Alright" Jack said shrugging his shoulders. He looked back over at Garren who had already put little Garren down and was starting dinner. "Is Kiara going to be aright running around?"
"Yes" he said nodding his head. "I'm sure that she knows her way around"
"Right" Jack said nodding his head and walking to the door. He opened it and looked around and suddenly he was back to the moment when he gave up all hope.
-Memory Lane-
"Oh, hang on, some of that's pretty good. The jacket…it's…" Jack trailed off as he looked at the stuff in that basket. The stuff that represented a home he missed and was never going to see again. He looked down a moment then back up as Laira spook.
"Does it remind you of home?" She asked looking him in the eyes. He just looked at her for a long moment and nodded.
"Toss it." He said looking at her and smiling.
"Are you sure?" She asked knowing what this meant to him. She did not want to lose him but she did not want to see him broken hearted ether.
"Yeah" Jack said nodding his head again. He smiled at her then looked away as she turned and walked down the little gravel road.
-o-
He should have known Carter would never give up. He should have had more faith in her, but he just gave up. And now she was hurting because of what he had done. Boy he sure knew how to screw things up royally. He shook his head and walked down the path and towards the water. He had always liked it on the waters edge. It had reminded him of home, at his cabin. He was not surprised when he got there and found Sam sitting on the bank looking out at the calm water.
"Sir" She said when she looked over her shoulder. "Whatcha doing?" She asked looking back at the water as he sat down next to her.
"Nothin" he said looking aver the water too. They sat like that for a little while in silence. Finally Jack sighed and looked over at Sam.
"I'm sorry" he said not really knowing how to say what it was he wanted to say. She looked up at him a confused smile on her face.
"For what?" She asked thinking it over. He better not have broken one of her 'doohickeys' again, she'd have his head.
"For not believing in you" He said wiping the smile off her face. What the hell was he talking about? "I should have known you wouldn't have stopped till you got me back" 'Aw' Sam thought looking out over the water again.
"Well it wasn't just me" She said not sure what he was getting at.
"I know" Jack said nodding his head kinda glad that she wouldn't look at him. "I just mean, I gave up on you so fast, and I never said thank you"
"Just doing my job" Sam said wishing now that she had found a different spot to stop and smell the roses.
"Sam" he said causing her to turn her head so she was looking at him now. He looked at her and smiled "I just want to say thank you" She nodded her head and smiled back at him.
"You're welcome" She said picking a piece of grass and played with it in her hands. "It was really hard, not knowing if you had died or not. Janet had to order me to sleep twice, and Daniel kept a constant watch to make sure I ate" Sam laughed a little then looked up at him. "But we got you home, that's all that matters." Jack nodded his head and opened his mouth to say something when he heard a little girl scream.
He stood and with Sam right behind him rushed towards the house. When they got there it looked as though the house had been rampaged. He could hear a baby crying and went in search of every one. He came across Garren and Naitha first. She lay on her back with the crying baby on her chest. Garren had a bloody nose and looked to be unconscious.
"What happened?" He asked looking at her. "Where is Kiara?!" Sam came running in a second later with Daniel right behind her.
"They took her" Naitha cried holding the baby close. "They took her and...and my little Vitani" She was bleeding from the lip, probably from a punch.
"Who's they?!" Jack asked looking around the room for evidence.
"The one's like..." She hiccupped and a fresh wave of sobs broke lose. "The ones who look like him" She said pointing at Teal'c who was now standing behind him.
"Damn it!" Jack said. He turned ran out of the room and headed to their packs. When they got outside he stopped and looked down at the foot steps going away from the gate into the woods. "They must have come by ship" Jack said looking around. "We have to get to them before they get to their ship" He said turned and looked at the rest of them then to Teal'c. "You think?"
"Indeed, we must hurry" Teal'c said nodding. Jack nodded and wasted no more time talking. He turned and headed into the forest knowing his team was right behind him.
A/N- I am an evil, evil person. Hehehehe. Anyway what do you think? Bet you'll never guess who snatched her up... Hope you're all enjoying this as much as I am. Let me know what you think.