Her watch told her it was midday. Her growling stomach told her it was lunchtime.
Sam muttered to herself as she stirred, frowning even before she opened her eyes when she realised she was very much alone. Maybe she'd dreamt that Jack had been with her, maybe they hadn't made up after all...
"So you're awake. Good."
She pushed herself up onto her elbow in time to see him shut the door behind him with his foot, juggling a tray of two plates piled high. "Hey."
"Hey." With an easy grin, he walked towards her, set the tray down on the bed beside her then leaned down to kiss her upturned face. "I figured you'd be hungry. And that you'd want to change." He pulled back and motioned to the clean clothes already out and neatly folded on the chair beside the dresser. "It's up to you whether you get cleaned up or eat first."
Sam glanced down at her clothes, winced at the sight of dried blood and pushed herself up. She scooped the folded clothes up from the chair, surprised but pleased she'd managed to sleep for a few hours with her boots on so she didn't have to worry about finding them and walked passed him towards the door. "It's okay if I go for a shower first?"
"Sure. It's just some sandwiches and fruit."
"And jello," she noted with a smile. "Blue and red."
Jack grinned. "Always."
She ducked out of the room, keeping his grin in mind as she walked quickly to the locker room, keeping her head lowered to avoid the gazes of the people she passed. She didn't know if anyone had witnessed her small breakdown earlier but knew that if anyone had, word would have spread like wildfire.
She didn't want to see it in their eyes if they had.
Didn't want to know if anyone thought any less of her.
She showered quickly, rubbing her skin with the soap so hard she was sure there would be bruises. Her old clothes were discarded. She didn't want them, not even if the bloodstains were dealt with. Dressed in clean clothes, she felt slightly better.
Slightly more human.
She paused before slamming her locker door shut, staring at her reflection in the small mirror on the inside of the door.
Met her own gaze and held it.
Remembered Jack's words, tried seeing the woman he saw.
She smiled sadly, unable to see her, but relieved that the feelings she usually felt on staring at her own reflection didn't surface. It was the first step, and the first step was always the hardest. Especially on an uphill climb but at least she wasn't alone.
At least she had someone behind her, beside her. Someone to share the journey with.
She kept that thought in mind as she returned to her quarters, almost jogging towards them. She kept it in mind as she sat down to a light lunch and sat through the official questions he had to ask about Landry, taking the hand he offered her and grasping it tightly.
She kept it in mind as she went alone to the conference room, to face her team and do her best to answer any questions they might have about their murdered teammate.
God knew she had questions of her own but there was no one there to answers hers. No one but the people responsible could do that.
"Hey, Sam." Caitlin greeted her with a soft smile, walking towards her with a steaming cup in hand. Tea, Sam guessed. Annie would've told them all not to let her drink any more coffee. "Annie said you got a bit upset earlier," Caitlin added in a low voice only the two women could hear. Her finger brushed Sam's as she handed her the cup. "You know if you need to talk, I'm here for you. We haven't really had a chance to catch up since I got here..." A small smile arranged her lips. "Can we talk after this is over? There's something I... Well, there's something I really want to talk to you about."
The answering smile that spread over her face both surprised her and didn't. She'd known Caitlin for over ten years and the two had been close during her time in Washington. "I'd like that. It's been a long time since we had a girl's only night and drank too much. Maybe we can get Annie to come, too."
"That'd be good. She's seeing someone, you know. She's all secretive about who it is but she keeps getting flowers and chocolates delivered to her office. Don't suppose she's said anything to you about it?"
The small laugh she gave was genuine. "Nothing I can talk about." Sam gave Caitlin's hand a quick squeeze and let her gaze wander over the room. She noticed David casting her concerned glances in between blushing at whatever Agent Johnson was saying. "Speaking of Annie, where is she? And Andrew and Agent Alexander?" She glanced at her watch and frowned. "I'm not late, am I?"
A flicker of worry passed over Caitlin's face. "No, you're not. Annie took Andrew and Belle out an hour ago. She said she had a hunch she wanted to follow up but needed to talk to someone at the Academy about it before she could share it with us. She should've been back by now."
"They're probably on their way. I know Annie's usually on time but you know Andrew, he's never been on time for anything in his life." Sam took note of the knowing smile on Caitlin's face and couldn't resist nudging her friend gently. "I'm guessing by the look he was late for your first date, too." She chuckled as the expression on her friends face changed but the chuckle died on her lips as her gaze strayed and came to rest on the board.
On the smiling faces on it, on the new addition.
"It's not your fault, Sam."
She barely heard Caitlin, barely noticed the door to the conference room open as Jack slipped in. She didn't see him stop to converse briefly with Agent Johnson and David, didn't hear him approach and make small talk with Caitlin.
Her mind processed the faces, processed the knowledge that she'd known each and every one of them and the colour drained from her face as she connected the dots.
Her breath caught in her throat and she reached out blindly, her hand grasping Caitlin's arm to the point of pain.
"Call Annie and Andrew. Now. Get them back here." She released her death grip as Caitlin moved away to follow orders, confused at the suddenly urgency but understanding whatever it was was important. She took a step closer to the board.
To the people who'd joined the MIU within a few months of herself and thought of Andrew.
The only one of two friends she had left who'd been by her side since her first day on the job.
"Carter?"
She tilted her head slightly in acknowledgement but kept staring at the board, kept imagining another face beside Katrina Robb's.
Kept seeing Andrew, kept seeing herself.
Kept seeing Elizabeth Masters.
"Andrew's the next target," she murmured, pushing the words passed the lump her throat, through the nausea rapidly rising inside. "They're targeting everyone who signed up with the MIU in 1989. The year I joined."
She heard David murmur something reassuring to Caitlin and offer to keep trying to call Andrew but couldn't bring herself to make the same assurances. Still fighting the nausea, the fear of losing someone else, she crossed over to her desk on unsteady legs, picking up the phone and dialling the number she knew by heart.
Two rings.
Four rings.
Six rings.
"Bartley."
"Annie!" The relief was dizzying, almost as bad as the fear. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye, knew Caitlin was moving closer, sensed Jack hovering behind her. "Stop whatever you're doing and get back to the mountain."
"Why? Has something happened? Oh, God, is someone else dead?"
"Not yet but they might be soon. Andrew's next, Annie. They're targeting the people who were inducted in 1989."
"You were inducted in 1989."
"I know. So were all of the people I've got looking at me from the white board." She took a deep breath, closed her eyes. "Just get back here, okay? They might not be going for Andrew but since they went after Katrina, the chances are that he's next. They want to get close to me, hurt me. Andrew's the only person who signed up when I did that I care about who's still alive. Get him back here, get yourself back here. Please."
"Don't worry, Sam, we're on our way back..."
There was a curse, a yell.
An explosion that could be heard from the other side of the conference room as Sam jerked the receiver away from her ear momentarily.
"Annie? Damn it, Annie!"
The line went dead.
Sam looked up at the people standing around her desk, her head spinning. It was hard to breathe, hard to speak.
She felt Jack's hand on her shoulder and inhaled deeply to calm herself.
"You said they were going to the Academy?"
Caitlin nodded dumbly, her face bloodless.
"Then that's where we're going. David, call it in. Tell them we'll need medical assistance and the cooperation of the local authority to seal off the area."
David nodded, swallowing hard even as he made his way to a phone to report. Agent Johnson went after him, her hand resting on his arm in a gesture of solidarity.
"Caitlin." Sam stood on legs that threatened to buckle and moved stiffly to stand besides her friend. She reached out for her, grasped her arms gently. "You have to keep it together. I know it's hard but you have to try. For Andrew and for Annie. And for me."
Again, Caitlin nodded but her eyes glazed over. "Sam. What if they're..."
"They're not."
"What if they are?"
"They're not. They can't be." Her grip on Caitlin's arms tightened ever so slightly. "If they were, I'd know."
Caitlin looked up at her, blinked furiously in a valiant attempt at keeping back tears. "I'm pregnant, Sam. He doesn't even know. I was going to tell him afterwards because he wouldn't have let me be part of the team." Her voice cracked and she reached out for Sam blindly as the first tears escaped. "I can't lose him. I can't."
Sam let go long enough to wrap her arms around her friend, closing her eyes as she drew Caitlin closer. She thought about promising not to let it happen but remembered the sound of the blast through the phone.
Heard it ringing in her ears and realised she couldn't say the words Caitlin wanted to hear without lying to her.
"Sam?" David's voice barely cut through the pounding in her head. "They've located the car and the med team is on its way."
She nodded once, squared her shoulders and reluctantly released Caitlin. "Let's go."
The explosion had taken place in the parking lot of the Air Force Academy so there were dozens of people milling around, standing in groups both big and small, talking about it with horrified fascination in their voices.
Instead of local police keeping the crowds back, various members of staff from the Academy were there doing the jobs for them, their faces grim and their stance tense.
The people involved were theirs and they'd be damned if they let anyone else stand for them.
There was no black body bag; that was the first thing Sam noticed with a heady sense of relief. She squeezed Caitlin's hand reassuringly then let go, forcing herself forward.
It was her job to go first, her job to find out what was going on and report to the others.
Her job to identify bodies and break the news to colleagues and next of kin.
She wondered briefly what the policy was when the next of kin was the person identifying the body in the first place. She had been, for years, written down as next of kin for both Annie and Andrew.
"Colonel." The officer who saluted her, a member of the medical team, was someone she'd conversed with just hours before.
In a motel room with the body of Katrina Robb between them.
"Doctor." She nodded curtly, crossed her arms over her chest. "What's their status?"
"Both Colonel Bartley and Colonel Mason were quite near the explosion. I'd like to get them moved as soon as possible so I can determine the full extent of their injuries. Witnesses said they started to move away from the car seconds before the device exploded. It seems they had some sort of warning. That warning saved their lives." The officer glanced over his shoulder, then back at Sam. "We were told to expect three casualties, Colonel. Witnesses say there were only two people walking towards the car."
An eyebrow rose. "Are you sure the people you're treating are Colonel Bartley and Colonel Mason?"
"Positive, ma'am. I've worked with Colonel Bartley before and one of other officers identified Colonel Mason. I'd like to move them now, Colonel. We've managed to get them stabilised but I don't know how long we can keep them that way."
"Get ready to move them. I want them taken to the Cheyenne Mountain complex. They might still be at risk and that's the safest place for them." It wasn't strictly true but her chances of being kept up-to-date with their condition improved if she could see them for herself. "Doctor?"
"Yes, Colonel?"
"What are their chances?"
The officer hesitated. "Colonel Mason should make a full recovery. I'm a little concerned about the way he landed, though. There seems to be some damage to his lower spine but I'm afraid we won't know more until we've ran more tests."
"And Colonel Bartley?"
Again, the officer hesitated. His eyes lowered. "Colonel Bartley's condition is slightly more serious. I'm afraid I can't say more than that at the moment."
She fought the urge to push passed him and kneel beside the prone form she could see just a few feet away and gave him another nod. "Get them moved. Report to Doctor Brightman when you get there and if anyone has any problems, tell them to call me."
"Yes, Ma'am." He saluted and scurried away, back to Annie.
Sam stood still for several seconds, her eyes glued to the people crouched on the ground beside her before her gaze shifted to Andrew and the people kneeling beside him. She wanted to be relieved that they were alive but found she couldn't be.
Not when there was still a chance that they could still die.
Taking a deep breath to control her nerves, she let her hands clench and unclench at her sides as she forced herself forward, passed them, towards the wreckage that had been Annie's rental car.
It reminded her of her Volvo, what little there was left.
After studying it for a few minutes, she sought out the officer in charge of the investigation into the cause of the explosion, ordered him to report to her as soon as possible and turned on her heel.
Andrew and Annie were both on stretchers and the team of medics were preparing to load them both into ambulances. She strode over to Andrew, noticed Caitlin standing beside him, her fingers wrapped around his limp hand.
"They're taking them to the SGC," she murmured, putting a hand on Caitlin's arm. "Go with them and call me if anything happens."
Caitlin started to nod, then turned to her with dazed eyes. "I should stay, help you here..."
"Go." Her voice was soft even as she issued the order. "There's not a lot any of us can do here. I'll be heading back to the SGC myself once I've found out where Agent Alexander went."
Again, Caitlin nodded but it was clear she wasn't able to focus. She let go – reluctantly – while they ushered Andrew into the ambulance and followed after one last look at Sam.
Sam watched both ambulances drive away, crossing her arms over her chest as she turned back to survey the scene. She sensed more than saw Jack approach, barely reacted when he placed a hand at the small of her back. "Agent Alexander's missing. Witnesses didn't see her anywhere near the car." She tilted her head slightly, glanced at him to see his reaction. "We're going to find that she received a phone call a few minutes before they left the Academy, that she said she had somewhere to be."
"You think she's their person on the inside?"
"No one outside of my team knew they'd be here. They only had the opportunity to plant that bomb in the car while they were inside talking to whoever Annie wanted to see. I've known Caitlin and David for years and I know they care too much about Annie and Andrew to do this to them. That leaves Agents Johnson and Alexander and Alexander's the one who's mysteriously disappeared. By all rights she should've been caught up in the explosion, too."
Jack gave her a small nod, working it through in his mind. "It makes sense." He looked at her, tried to read her expression. "Are they going to be okay?"
"Andrew should be fine. There's some concern about the way he landed. I think they're worried there's a chance he might have damaged his spine permanently but the officer I spoke to either didn't know much or wouldn't say."
"And Annie?"
Her gaze shifted, her eyes unable to focus on his. "Annie's condition is a little more serious. I've ordered them to be taken to the SGC. I know Doctor Brightman will do all she can for them there."
"Do you want to go back...?"
"I need to try and find out where Alexander went. The Board will want to know when I make my report." She looked at him when he moved his hand to tip up her face. "I can't think about it, Jack. Not now, not here." She gave him a small smile, her lips together in a tight white line. "I have to do my job. I have to get them before they get anyone else."
"I know." He moved his hand to her elbow, turned her away from the wreckage. "I'll help you. And if you'll let me, I'll help you get through everything else. Whatever happens."
Her smile was small, her eyes grateful. She made a promise to herself not to shut him out again, to do her best to let him help. "I'll hold you to that."
It didn't take long to confirm that Belle had left before Annie and Andrew. After talking to the officer Annie had gone to see, they were able to determine that she'd not only received a phone call she claimed was from Sam but that she'd left a full forty minutes before the others.
On a hunch, Sam asked to review the security footage covering the parking lot and watched through narrowed eyes as the woman took a small device she could only assume as the cause of the explosive out from her purse and attached it to the underside of the vehicle in the guise of checking the tire. She left with a copy of the tape, already composing her report in her mind for the Board.
After what felt like hours, Sam was finally able to get to the infirmary to check on the status of her fallen teammates.
Caitlin sat beside Andrew's bed, her hand wrapped tightly around his. She looked up when Sam entered and the dazzling smile on her face told Sam all she needed to know: he was going to be okay.
Feeling some of the tension knotted in her stomach ease, Sam returned the smile with one of her own before moving onto the private room she'd been told Annie had been moved to.
She didn't knock, didn't bother looking through the small glass window to see if there was anyone else present.
That was why she stopped mid-step when she noticed the President sitting uncomfortably in the plastic chair beside the bed.
"Sir! I'm sorry, I didn't realise..."
"Don't apologise, Colonel." The President didn't turn around. He didn't take his hand from Annie's either. "Come on in, pull up a seat. Doctor Brightman thinks it's going to be a long night."
She did as told, closing the door behind her to give them some degree of privacy. "Did Doctor Brightman say what her chances are?"
He swallowed as she studied him. "Slim. Her chances are slim. There's severe brain trauma. Doctor Brightman believes debris from the car caused a head injury they didn't notice until they moved her."
"I see." And because she did, Sam released her death-grip on the arms of her chair and took Annie's other hand in hers. She felt the President's eyes on her but didn't look up from the pale face. "She's strong. If anyone can get through this, it's Annie."
"I hope you're right, Colonel." The President sighed, his hand tightening around the limp fingers he held. "I lost her once. I don't want to have to do it again."
Sam opened her mouth to respond but closed it again. Part of her wanted to ask him about his past with Annie but she didn't think the timing was appropriate. Besides, he was the President of the United States and although she'd shouted at him just twenty four hours earlier, she didn't feel comfortable giving him the speech usually reserved for people involved with those she cared about.
"You can ask, Colonel." The smile on his face was small and wistful but after glancing up at it, Sam found she couldn't look away. "Annie... She considers you to be the daughter she never had. She warned me you'd want to talk to me to make sure my intentions were honourable when you found out about us."
Again, she opened her mouth to speak.
Again, she closed it.
The cell phone in her pocket rang.
