Chapter 5 – In the Quiet of the Night

Jack gave up all pretense of trying to sleep as the storm outside continued to rage. Throwing aside his sleeping bag, he got to his feet and walked over to the corridor that he and Sam had investigated; the one that led off from the left of the main room. Looking at his illuminated watch, Jack noted that10 hours had gone by since Sam had disappeared beneath the floor. 10 hours in which he had accomplished nothing other than to set everyone's teeth on edge with his short-tempered impatience.

His mind kept replaying the same scene over and over; his yelling at Sam for touching the wall, her look of panic and fear as the floor disappeared beneath her, and her sinking from his sight. Jack closed his eyes and rubbed a hand across his tired eyes. "Where are you Sam?" he whispered to himself, a dark sense of desolation beginning to overtake him. He was beginning to feel as he did when they searched fruitlessly for her after the Prometheus went out of contact. Shaking himself from those thoughts, he muttered, "I'll find you, Sam. I'll find you."

"Jack?" he turned as Daniel's quiet voice called across the room to him. Teal'c didn't stir as Jack walked quietly over to his friend, though the absence of motion didn't mean the Jaffa was not awake.

"It's OK Daniel, go back to sleep," Jack assured the younger man quietly.

"What're doing?" came the mumbled question.

"Just couldn't sleep. Stormy night, you know," Jack replied cryptically.

"We'll find her, Jack," Daniel stated with conviction, not believing for a minute that the storm outside was keeping Jack awake. More likely the inner storm that was raging within him.

"Yes, we will," Jack whispered as he stood up. "Cause I'm not going home without her." Teal'c peered at Jack as he walked away, his eyes betraying the concern he felt for his friend. Teal'c locked eyes with Daniel; both of them offering the same silent promise to not return home without Sam.

Jack walked back to his bag and sank down, lowering his head to his hands as he thought about Sam's disappearance. It just seemed to get harder and harder for him to deal with his feelings as far as Sam was concerned. He hated seeing her in danger, in fact, went out of his way sometimes to ensure that she was in the least dangerous position possible on their missions. He was worried that before too long, he would be unable to command her; either because his actions would betray his feelings, or she would confront him. He wasn't stupid enough to think that Sam wasn't going to notice that he was becoming a bit selective in the assignments he doled out to her. Even though he knew that she was one of the best soldier's around, and would stand up to anyone who thought otherwise, he was becoming less and less able to separate that knowledge from his fear that she would one day be taken from him on a mission. He had in fact begun to worry that she was more important to him than the overall mission; and that was not a good thing for a CO to be thinking or feeling.

Lying down with a soft groan, Jack flung his arm over his head and tried to rest. He forced his mind to focus on the sound of the rain as it drummed steadily against the stone steps outside of the temple. He breathed deeply and relaxed as much as he possibly could in the circumstances. Though he didn't fall asleep, his body was able to gain some much needed rest for the day ahead.

It was almost an hour later when Jack heard a soft voice coming from down the other corridor. He sat up abruptly and turned toward the sound, listening as the voice got a little louder. He looked back to his companions to see if they had heard anything. Both had fallen back to sleep, their exhausted bodies refusing to let either man stay awake. Neither one stirred, indicating to Jack that they hadn't heard the sound.

Jack cocked his head as the voice got a fraction louder and his eyebrows went up as he heard the distinct words of a familiar song waft down the corridor to him.

Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high,
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby.

Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.

Swiftly rising to his feet, Jack grabbed his Zat gun and his flashlight and made his way warily to the corridor to the right of the room; the one that Sam had not had the opportunity to investigate before her disappearance. He left his P-90 behind; if there was a chance he might encounter someone, he didn't want them dead. There was always the chance that someone they found within the temple might be able to help him locate Sam. He also acknowledged the thought that he might just run into Carter…she had been known to get herself out of jams more than once after all! And he certainly didn't want to inadvertently shoot her with a P-90!

Jack edged his way cautiously to the corridor's opening and shined his light down the passageway. Seeing nothing, Jack proceeded at a snail's pace, listening for the soft voice that had abruptly stopped once he entered the area.

As he moved down the narrow passageway, Jack's flashlight jumped back and forth, searching the shadows for an explanation of the voice he heard. Catching a glimpse of white on the floor ahead of him, Jack made his way over and bent down to examine what had caught his eye. It was a white ribbon, long and made of soft satin. Jack frowned; this had definitely not been here earlier today when he, Daniel and Teal'c had explored this corridor.

Jack straightened up with a frown, wondering if he should just go back and get the guys, when he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. Jack's finger twitched on the trigger that would activate his weapon as he swung both his Zat and his light in the direction he saw the movement. His gasp was audible at the sight before him and he strangled out a "Who the hell are you?" even as he retained a grip on his gun.

For in front of Colonel Jack O'Neil, stood a small girl, no more than 8 years old, wearing a white dress, light brown hair falling in tumbles down her shoulders. Her eyes were large with fright as she held up her hands in a gesture of surrender. Jack's heart clutched at the sight and he lowered his gun accordingly. "Hey, take it easy, there. I'm not going to hurt you." He took a few steps closer, the said, "I just want to know who you are and where you came from."

The little girl studied him quietly, not responding yet to his questions. She slowly lowered her hands and took a tentative step forward. "Guns are very dangerous," she said quietly. "My daddy always says not to go near guns."

Jack gave her a soft smile. "Your daddy is a very smart man. Can you tell me where he is right now?" he asked gently as he let his Zat come to a rest against his side and lowered his light so that it wasn't shining directly into her eyes..

The little girl frowned at that question before giving him a firm, "No," in response.

"O-kay, then," Jack drawled out in confusion. Did she mean she didn't know where her father was, or she wouldn't tell him? He tried a different tactic. "What about your mother? Where is she?"

At this question, the child's eyes filled with disquiet and her lower lip started to tremble. "My mommy is hurt and stuck in a room under the floor. You need to come and get her out."

Jack studied this small child as her words registered in his mind. Her mother was under the temple somewhere….and so was Sam. What the hell was going on here? Perhaps he was sleeping? Jack pinched his arm and yelped at the contact, frowning as the child let loose with a soft giggle that was quickly covered with a hand over her mouth. Convinced that perhaps he was hallucinating, but determined to pursue this in any regard, Jack leaned his back against the wall and slid down so that he was seated, trying to make himself smaller and thus less threatening to the small child standing resolutely in front of him.

"I'm afraid I can't help you until I know a little more. You see, where I come from, people usually introduce themselves before they ask for help." He pretended to be tying his shoe while he asked the question, but still kept his gaze on her out of the corner of his eye.

The little girl stepped closer to him and gazed thoughtfully at him before cocking her head to the side. She seemed to be waiting for an answer from somewhere. Then she bit her lower lip, as if deep in though, before responding softly but firmly, "I'm Grace."

Jack looked at her then. "Pleased to meet you Grace. I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill, but you can call me Jack," he smiled in encouragement.

Grace smiled at that, accompanied by that same small giggle, which reminded him of someone else he knew quite well. "No, I can't call you that," she said with another giggle.

"Why not? All my friends do, and I hope you'll be my friend, Grace," Jack replied with all seriousness.

"I just can't, sir," she replied and once again Jack's heart clenched, this time at the familiar form of address coming from the mouth of this little girl. The light in her eyes diminished as she once again thought of her reason for being here. "Will you please help my mommy? She fell through the floor and is now stuck in a room. She's hurt." Her eyes pleaded with him and in the back of his mind he thought that little girl's must be born knowing how to give that certain look that could melt even the most hardened of hearts.

Even as this thought flitted through his mind, other thoughts were circling and coming to rest at the forefront; the most important being could the two of them be thinking about the same person? Grabbing the bull by the horns, Jack asked gently but firmly, "What is your mommy's name, Grace?"

Grace blinked at him, chewed on her bottom lip as if contemplating whether she should divulge this information, before giving him a quiet answer. "Samantha."

Heart pounding in his chest, Jack slowly raised himself from the floor and stood looking down at the small child. Thousands of questions ran through his mind but the only thing he could latch onto was what the hell was going on? Was this child Sam's? How could she be and where did she come from? Before he could formulate one of these thoughts into words, he felt his hand being taken into her smaller one. Looking down at her in puzzlement, he was surprised to see her smile once again. "I know how to get there. Will you come with me?"

Jack glanced back down the corridor to where Daniel and Teal'c still lay sleeping, then back down at the little girl. He had the feeling that if he went back for his teammates, this little sprite would disappear. So he did the only thing he could at the moment; he nodded at her and let himself be led further down the dark passageway.

Little bit longer chapter next time, but I felt one chapter devoted to Jack and Grace's first meeting was crucial. Jack is going to be doing a few things he probablywouldn't do in the series...like following a little girl down a passageway or being without his P-90, but it was necessary for the flow of my story. Thanks for continuing to read and review!