Chapter 15 – In Plain Sight
"Carter!" The loud bark of her commanding officer forced Sam's steps to falter as she turned back questioningly. "Just where the hell do you think you're going?"
Sam let her gaze shift from Jack to Grace, then back again. "With Grace," she said succinctly. At his raised eyebrows, she elaborated. "You did say we had to try something, sir. I think Grace has the answer. She hasn't steered us wrong yet, has she?" They both looked at the little girl, her eyes pleading with them to follow her.
Not waiting for a reply, Sam continued on her path toward the child. Jack glanced behind him at the ever increasing sounds of the approaching Jaffa, sighed heavily, and followed Sam over near the ravine's edge, where Grace waited. As he neared, he saw the child's face lighten in relief before she turned and maneuvered her way further along the edge of the ravine.
"Grace, be careful!" Sam cried softly, hurrying to catch up. Grace turned to her with a reassuring smile. "It's all right Mommy. Don't worry."
Suddenly and without warning, Grace dropped from view, causing Sam to lurch forward, making a frantic grab at the child. Jack heard her horrified cry of "Oh my God!" before he was at her side in seconds, pulling her back from the edge.
Sam struggled against his hold, trying to get back to the rim of the ravine and Grace. "Let me go! We need to get her," she cried out, her eyes filled with fear at the sudden disappearance of the little girl. With a sudden wrenching of her arm, she pulled away and rushed forward, dropping to her knees at the spot where Grace had vanished from sight.
"Carter!" Jack growled out, before joining her in an instant. Dropping next to Sam and peering down, his felt his own heart beating frantically at the prospect of losing both of them over the edge of the precipitous cliff.
When he saw the upturned face of the little girl smiling back at him, Jack felt an enormous sense of relief flood his body. He knew Sam felt much the same, as she unconsciously grabbed his hand, squeezed tightly and breathed out, "Thank God!"
Jack and Sam knelt on either side of a deep fissure that dropped five feet to a ledge below. He leaned forward, looking sternly at the child below; his short lived relief being over-taken by an anger caused from worry. Although she was safely standing on the ledge below, there was still a sheer drop beyond that and Jack's already tight nerves made him retort sharply, "For crying out loud, Grace! You scared us half to death…what the hell were you thinking?"
At the tone of remonstration, the smile fell from Grace's face and she looked duly chastised. "I'm sorry…sir." She looked to Sam, her eyes filling with tears. "I just wanted…to show you a safe place…to hide." She turned away, brushing absently at the tears that fell and trying to control the trembling of her lower lip. Sam shot a frown at Jack for making the child cry, got abruptly to her feet, and dropped into the fissure in one smooth movement, making Jack wonder absently if her ribs had been miraculously mended. Sam dropped to her knees on the ledge and gathered the child in her arms, whispering words of comfort and assurance that they weren't angry with her, they had just been worried.
Jack, muttering under his breath that whoever Grace's father was, he'd better have a strong heart, got to his feet, took a quick look behind him, and made the short leap down to the ledge below. While the sounds of the approaching Jaffa had dissipated for now, he wasn't going to take any chances.
Grace peered at him from under the safety of Sam's arms, her dark, watery eyes looking at him with a trace of alarm. Jack cursed himself; he'd never intended to make her afraid of him. Between the looks he was receiving from both females, he felt as if he'd just kicked a puppy or something equally as horrible. Softening his voice, he knelt in front of the little girl and said quietly, "I'm sorry, Grace. I didn't mean to yell at you. You just… well frankly, you scared me. Both of us actually," he looked over at Sam for confirmation. "We don't want anything to happen to you."
Grace stared at him quietly for a moment, before letting a small smile tug at her lips. "That's OK, sir. Mommy says you're a bear when you get worried." A soft giggle escaped her lips, before she resolutely covered her mouth with her hand and looked up at Sam in apology. Sam smiled down at her, before letting her eyes meet Jack's. In response to his questioning look, she shrugged non-committally, but couldn't quite keep the grin off her face.
Rolling his eyes, Jack got to his feet, followed quickly by Sam. "Ok, ladies, this place is not exactly the safest from which to hide from the Jaffa. One glance down and its 'Game over, thanks for playing'. I assume you know somewhere else to go, little Miss Know-it-all?" Jack directed this question to Grace with a quirk of his eyebrow, so she would know he wasn't getting angry again.
Grace smiled brilliantly at him, causing both Sam and Jack to pause momentarily in wonder. "I know somewhere. Follow me." She released herself from the safety of Sam's arms but kept a tight hold on her hand. Grace turned and began to edge her way along the ledge, looking back to make sure Jack was following them.
They hadn't gone more than 10 feet when Sam pulled her to a stop. The ledge had grown narrower and small rocks were tumbling down the steep ravine, loosened by the movements of the three people. "Grace, are you sure about this? I don't see anyplace to go and this is getting more dangerous." Sam wouldn't admit that the sight of the drop was causing her to feel dizzy as well. Her previous head wound was still affecting her sense of balance.
Jack pulled to a stop behind Sam. He didn't miss the way she looked down after questioning Grace or how her already pale face lost a bit more of its color. He edged closer and put a hand at her waist, pushing her closer to the wall of the rock. "Grace?" he asked, looking across Sam toward the little girl.
She looked up at both adults, her eyes going back and forth between them. Finally she said softly, "Do you trust me?" At her words, Sam's eyes widened in revelation. In that split second, the words she spoke and the expression on this little girl's face told her exactly who her father was. The shock this insight caused her rendered her speechless, but she tightened her grip on the little girl's hand and nodded her answer. She didn't dare look back at her commanding officer; she wasn't sure what his reaction was, never mind what her own might tell him.
For his part, when Jack heard the question posed from Grace, it just convinced him all the more that the child was Carter's. From the serious expression on her face to the intent look in her eyes, she was all Sam; just the coloring of her eyes and hair was off. Jack answered verbally when it appeared Sam would not. "Yes Grace, I trust you. We both do. You led me to Carter and helped us get her out. You also gave me quite a few clues to open the hidden compartment. But we need to find somewhere fast," Jack looked behind him, then at the back of Sam's head, before returning his gaze to Grace meaningfully.
The little girl nodded her head, curls bobbing on her shoulders, understanding his unspoken words. "It is not much farther, I promise." Then she turned and continued to inch her way along, Sam's hand held tightly in her grasp. Jack followed Sam, not letting his hand leave her waist as they inched along together.
Another 15 feet or so passed them by before the ledge widened and opened up to reveal a cave hidden in the wall of the cliff. Grace tugged on Sam's hand and led her into the darkness of the cave, Jack on their heels. He pulled out his flashlight and shined it around the interior of the small space. The cave was shallow, yet deep enough to hide them from view should anyone try and peer over the cliff edge in search of them. There was more than enough room for the three of them to sit comfortably; they could even lie down and spread out should they so desire.
"Not bad, kiddo. Not bad at all. How did you know about this place?" he turned to ask Grace. She just shrugged her shoulders in response and Jack accepted her non-answer. He knew there were many things that this child could not tell them and he would not press her.
Concerned with how quiet Sam had become, he walked over to her and peered closely at her. "Carter, you OK?"
Sam's mind was in turmoil; the revelation she had experienced on the cliff face was warring with what she knew had to be the impossibility of it all. How could Grace's father be the man who now stood in front of her? Maybe she was willing into existence what was a deep-seated longing on her part? Yet all the clues came together; had in fact been in plain sight the whole time. The smile that seemed familiar, the penchant for fun and games that the child displayed, and the multiple references to The Wizard of Oz were all clues that Sam should have picked up on earlier. She looked down at the child beside her, scrutinizing the small face for any other apparent clue that might prove or disprove her current thoughts. She was startled from her musings by Jack's hands on her shoulders, giving her a slight shake. In a slightly louder tone he said, "Carter!"
Her eyes flew to his, a flush of embarrassment crossing her face. "Uh, sorry sir. What did you say?" she blinked at him in confusion.
He frowned down at her. "I asked if you were OK, though your response kinda gives me an answer." His gaze roved her from head to toe, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
Sam looked away, unable and unwilling to hold his gaze for long. She looked down to her left to see Grace looking up at her in equal concern. "I'm just tired, that's all," she hastily reassured both of them.
Jack narrowed his eyes at her, not quite believing her. But rather than give her the third degree right now, he let his hands fall to his side. "Sit down and rest for a while. I want you and Grace as far back in this cave as possible." When she opened her mouth to protest, he interrupted her. "That's an order, Major. I'm going to try and contact Teal'c – see what's happening on his end."
Sam nodded before she moved to the back of the cave with Grace in tow. They settled down on the floor, Grace leaning heavily against her mother's side causing Sam to put an arm around her and draw her closer, marveling at how right this felt. Both of them looked toward the front of the cave, where Jack had placed himself against the inner wall just inside the opening of the cave.
He was just about to toggle his radio and contact Teal'c when he heard the definite sounds of the Jaffa from above. He cast a quick glance at Sam, signaling both her and Grace to remain quiet, while he shrank back a bit more into the shadows of the cave, clutching his P-90 tightly in his hands. A loud voice from above shouted orders; "Jaffa! Kree. Kel rac teknor!" Though he didn't know exactly what was being said, Jack had a good idea that they had found their trail, which meant that Teal'c and Daniel hadn't been able to them out. They had at least pulled them off the trail long enough to allow the three of them to find this cave…with Grace's help, he amended as he spared a glance in her direction. He just hoped to God that Teal'c and Daniel were safely on their way to the gate.
From the sounds coming from above, Jack figured there were only 3 or 4 Jaffa at most; an easy enough number for him and Carter to take out without trouble should the need arise. Sam rose to her feet at the voice of the Jaffa leader, thinking much the same thing, but Jack motioned her back down. As long as they stayed quiet and out of sight, he didn't think they would have to engage the enemy. And he really wanted to avoid that at all costs right now. Even though he was reasonable sure that Grace would disappear should danger come close, he didn't want to take any chances. In addition, he wasn't all that confident that Carter was up to par in terms of her ability to hold her own during a fire fight.
After what seemed like hours but was really only 30 minutes, the Jaffa patrol moved off, leaving peace and quiet in their wake. "Are they gone?" Grace whispered, still clinging tightly to Sam's arm as if afraid to let go.
Sam looked to Jack, who nodded his head, before bending her head down to the little girl's. "They're gone Grace. But we should still remain quiet for a while, OK?"
Grace looked solemnly up at Sam and shook her head in agreement before laying it back against her arm.
Jack took in the scene, a smile playing on his lips. They looked so right together, it was uncanny, but it caused an ache deep inside at what he felt he would be missing out on in the future. He caught Sam's eyes and the smile died on his lips. She was looking at him with such intensity that it caused his heart to skip a beat and forced him to look behind him, thinking perhaps one of the Jaffa was standing behind him. Seeing nothing, he looked back at her in question but found her features schooled once again. He let his gaze move to Grace, who was looking at him almost as intently as Sam had just moments ago. If he didn't know better, he thought she was desperately trying to tell him something…something of utmost importance.
Not quite the end yet! This chapter took a lot of reworking to get it how I wanted it...hope you enjoyed it! More to come soon!