A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed chapter 1! Reviews make me a very happy camper and motivate me to write more so please keep them coming! )

Now for chapter 2...

Previously…

She continued to struggle, kicking out with her legs and trying to wrench herself free from her unknown captor's grasp, but it was only seconds before her body succumbed to the drugs now flowing through her bloodstream and she was swallowed up by nothingness.

Chapter 2

Sam returned to consciousness slowly and unpleasantly. The first thing she became aware of was the nausea. The second was the thick and fuzzy throbbing sensation in her head. And the third was the aching pain in her back.

Bit by bit she came awake, and with her increasing awareness the memory of her terrifying midnight struggle returned. Her breath quickened with the fearful rush of memories and her eyes flew open. She was expecting to find her mysterious captor looming over her, but instead she found herself completely alone.

She was in a small room with concrete walls and a concrete floor. There was one door, shut tight. Set into a small alcove was the only item in the room -- a rather stained and lumpy mattress which Sam was currently lying on. A bank of spotlights was suspended from the ceiling, but they were currently turned off. The only source of light in the room at the moment was a shaft of greyish light sneaking through cracks in between the boards covering a small, paneless window located near the ceiling in one of the walls.

Sam was now acutely aware of her physical self. Beyond the strong sick feeling in her stomach and the pain in her head and back, she could now feel that her ankles were secured together and her arms bound behind her back with rope. Something, most likely duct tape, was plastered across her mouth.

Sam tried to move but was immediately hit with a strong wave of nausea. She fought hard to keep her stomach contents down, desperate to not vomit while her mouth was taped shut. She took deep, steadying breaths in and out through her nose and, after a few moments, the nausea subsided slightly.

Sam looked around the room as best she could without moving. Where the hell was she? And who had brought her here? And why?

Panic seized at her and Sam felt the threat of another wave of nausea. Taking several more deep breaths, she forced herself to try and calm down. She tried to concentrate only on assessing the situation, trying to make her military training override the fear and panic that were nearly overwhelming her.

After a few moments of inner struggle, she did manage to regain some control and calm herself down slightly. But even as she did so, she couldn't ignore the deep sense of horror radiating from her very core.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Jack was making his way through the corridors of the SGC, heading for the commissary for a mid-morning snack. Make that a mid-early-morning snack. Oh well. Nothing wrong with that. He'd already been up for a few hours and he deserved a snack. Didn't he?

He rounded a corner and almost ran smack into Daniel. Jack was quite glad that he didn't actually collide with him because the archeologist's arms were laden with papers and books. Heavy books. And Jack was quite sure that at least one of those books would have ended up on one or more of his toes.

"Daniel!" Jack greeted him exuberantly. "Great morning, isn't it?"

Daniel looked up from his papers, distracted. "Oh, hi, Jack."

"Had breakfast?" Jack inquired hopefully, thinking he might be able to get some company during his snack.

"Um, actually yes, I have," Daniel replied.

"Oh."

So much for company, Jack thought. Oh well. He still wanted his snack. He was about to make a getaway when Daniel stopped him.

"Ah, Jack, have you heard from Sam today?"

"No," Jack replied. "Should I have?"

"Well, it's just that she was supposed to meet me almost an hour ago to go over the translation of the symbols on the device we brought back from P2F 716, but she never showed up. When I couldn't find her anywhere on base I called security and apparently she never checked in this morning. I tried her home phone and her cell phone, but she didn't answer either of them."

"Maybe she had car trouble," Jack suggested.

"Maybe," Daniel said, but he didn't sound very convinced.

Just then, General Hammond came up behind Jack. "Good morning, Colonel. Dr. Jackson."

"Morning, sir," Jack replied.

"Is anything wrong?" General Hammond asked, noticing the rather concerned look on Daniel's face.

"I'm not entirely sure," Daniel admitted.

Jack jumped in to explain. "Carter hasn't arrived on base this morning and she's not answering either her cell phone or her home phone."

Now General Hammond was looking slightly concerned. "It's not like major Carter to be late, especially not without checking in."

"No, sir," Jack agreed. That was true. "I'm thinking maybe I should swing by her place, give her a wake-up call."

"I think that would be a good idea," General Hammond said with a nod. "Let me know when she's on base."

"Yes, sir. Will do," Jack assured him as the General nodded at them and walked away.

Jack exchanged a look with Daniel and then turned to the elevator. So help him, if Carter made him miss out on his snack because she was oversleeping, she was going to have to make it up to him.

With cake, maybe. Or ice cream.

Or both.

With that thought, he stepped onto the elevator.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Jack pulled his truck up to the curb in front of Sam's house and shut off the engine. The first thing he noticed was Sam's car parked in front of his own vehicle. The second thing he noticed was that the curtains were still drawn across her windows.

Oversleeping, he thought. No, it wasn't like Carter to oversleep, but all that overworking was bound to take its toll eventually.

He got out of his truck and made his way up the walk to the front porch. Reaching the front door, he knocked. Loudly.

He waited.

No response.

He knocked again.

"Carter!" he bellowed, loud enough to rouse half the neighbourhood. "Wake up!"

He tried to peer through the window into the front hall, but couldn't see anything. Another knock. "Carter!"

Puzzled, and slightly concerned now, Jack made his way around the side of the house to her backyard. He had only just rounded the back corner when he noticed something that immediately put him on full alert.

Carter's back door was ajar.

Advancing carefully now, Jack made his way up to the door and peered through the opening. There was no sign of anyone inside, Carter or otherwise. Cautiously, he pushed the door open further and stepped into the kitchen. He paused just inside, listening, but he still heard nothing. All was quiet and still.

"Carter? You in here?" Jack called.

He was met with silence.

Still cautious, Jack moved further into the house, sweeping each room quickly with his eyes, all senses on high alert. He had a bad feeling now. A very bad feeling.

As fear and tension began to build up inside of him, Jack entered the master bedroom. The sight that met him hit him like a hard blow to the stomach.

The room was a mess. The bedclothes were half on the floor, a small table was overturned, and books and the remnants of a shattered lamp scattered the floor.

And Sam was nowhere to be found.

Truly scared now, Jack quickly checked the ensuite bathroom, but still there was no Sam. With dread washing over him in a sickening wave, Jack pulled out his cell phone and made a call.

TBC…