A/N: Sorry it took so long to up date. I had a hard time writing this chapter, trying to get the characters right.

Chapter 7

"DON'T SHOOT! DON'T SHOOT!" Harm yelled, he quickly put Sam down, a little harder than he meant to, holding his arms out in a stopping motion to O'Neill and the intruder.

"What the hell is going on Rabb, and who is this!" O'Neill yelled still keeping his gun aimed at the person at the door, who also had their gun still drawn.

"Just put the guns down, both of you." Rabb was using a calming voice to keep things from escalating. "Colonel O'Neill this is my partner Lt. Colonel Sara Mackenzie of the USMC, Mac this is Colonel Jack O'Neill of the USAF." The two looked at each other and hesitantly put their guns down.

"You called in the marines?" O'Neill said, still not knowing where this person came from.

"Mac is my partner back at JAG." Harm said relaxed, now the situation had been resolved.

"You sent for another lawyer? I said I needed a doctor, not a lawyer." Sam said through gritted teeth leaning heavily against the wall with one arm, while the other was occupied trying to keep the shorts from falling down. (Apparently, the drawstring had loosened over night, and Harm sweeping her up loosened the knot even more.)

"Oh sorry Sam, are you alright? I didn't hurt you did I?" Harm said moving over to Sam, wrapping a supportive arm around her waist.

Mac was taking in the scene; she had just come to the door when she heard what sounded like a scuffle, she quickly picked the lock and came through the door with her gun drawn. She was shocked to see Harm holding a blonde in his arms, (no doubt another one of his bimbos,) and it looked like they were headed to the bedroom. Then she noticed another man holding a gun and turned her aim on him. She thanked God; Harm was able to settle the situation and began to calm her frayed nerves. Now she saw Harm with his arm around the tall blonde bim… woman. "Harm, mind telling me what's going on?"

"Ah sure Mac, this is Major Samantha Carter also of the USAF, we're here because Sam needs our protection. Why don't we all sit down, so we can talk." Harm said nervously, not liking the angry tone in Mac's voice.

"Carter what the hell are you doing up?" O'Neill asked concerned and pissed.

"Sorry Sir, I was just trying to make a pit stop." Sam said nervously, feeling a little embarrassed at how the situation must look, while still trying to hold up her shorts.

"You walked on that knee! Why didn't you just ask for help?" O'Neill said walking over to Sam.

"Because Sir, it's something I prefer doing on my own." Her anger was starting to show now, all she wanted to do was get to the bathroom and be left alone.

"Here Sam, why don't I help you?" Harm said sympathetically.

"No, no I think I should help Carter." O'Neill said, not wanting this navy playboy anywhere near Carter, (after all most navy pilots had reputations as playboys.)

"Gentlemen please, I'll help the major, then we can sit down and fill each other in." Mac said annoyed, she couldn't believe these two men and their behaviour, acting like two teenage boys fighting over the same girl.

"Thank you Colonel Mackenzie, I'd appreciate that." Sam was still in a lot of pain, but was doing her best to play it down.

Mac made her way over to Carter, moved to swing Carter's arm over her shoulder and hold onto her waste, so she could walk the woman to the bathroom. However, she wasn't expecting Carter to yell out in pain when she grabbed her.

"Watch out for her right side!' Both men yelled out as they heard Carter's cry, and saw her face pale.

"What…what's wrong?" Mac said surprised.

Harm and Jack were by Sam's side in an instant. Jack moving Mac out of the way trying to support Sam gently. "Are you alright Carter?"

"Yea, fine Sir." Sam said trying to catch her breath, "just got a little surprised."

"Someone mind filling me in?" Mac said now very curious as to their reactions.

"Well Mac, last night Sam was attacked and unfortunately was injured." Harm said, looking at Mac, then he lifted the right side of Sam's t-shirt a little so Mac could see a bit of the injury.

Mac's eyes widened with shock, she couldn't believe the extent of the bruising she saw; now realizing why the two men had been acting the way they did. "I'm sorry Major Carter; I didn't realize…I hope I didn't hurt you…ah too much."

"No you didn't Mam, I'm fine." Carter said, now breathing a little easier, and feeling awkward being the centre of attention.

Mac decided it was time to take charge of the situation. "Harm would you go out to my car and retrieve the bags, I have some things in there the Major can change into. Shall we try this again Major?"

Sam simply nodded her head, and let Mac help her to the washroom. "I'll just be outside if you need anything." Mac said and left the room.

"So Rabb you want to explain how Lt. Colonel Mackenzie happened our way?" O'Neill said rather angrily.

"I called Mac last night, while you and Sam were asleep. I told her I needed her help and to bring a few things along." Harm said pointing to the luggage bags.

"You realize were dealing with top secret issues here, and you brought in someone with no clearance?" Jack said very annoyed.

"Don't worry Colonel, I didn't tell Mac anything of a classified nature, we needed some assistance and I trust Colonel Mackenzie with my life."

"You may trust her with your life, but I don't know if I trust her with Carter's life; after all that's why we're here in the first place. Or did you forget that little detail?"

"No Sir, I did not forget, but we needed backup and your base has been compromised."

"Maybe we should wait for Carter, before we continue this conversation." O'Neill said, looking at the closed door, wondering if Carter was alright.

"Why don't I go check on the Major?" Mac said seeing the look on O'Neill's face. She grabbed a change of clothing and headed for the door. Mack knocked on the door. "Major, its Mac, I have a change of clothes for you, can I come in?"

"Yea sure." Sam said, she had been trying to wash up, but was having trouble getting rid of the dried blood she felt in her hair and on her neck.

Mac stepped in, and saw the predicament Sam was in. She hadn't noticed the blood on the back of Carter's head before this and cringed when she saw it. 'Boy someone did a job on her.' Mac thought to herself. "I brought you some sweats; I think they may be the easiest to change into. Major, why don't you sit down and let me have a look at your head." Mac put the lid down and helped Sam sit down.

"That looks rather ah…"

"Painful." Sam added

"Yea, very painful." Mac said sympathetically, she reached out for the washcloth and started to clean the blood away from the wound, and from her hair. Noting Carter grimacing slightly. "Sorry."

"That's okay, can't be helped; thanks for the help by the way." Sam said awkwardly, she really hated having to rely on others for help.

"So Major, do you need some help changing out of your t-shirt?"

"Unfortunately, I think I do Colonel." Sam had tried to lift the shirt but was finding it too difficult.

Mac helped her ease the shirt off, and was appalled when she saw the full extent of the bruising. "Oh my God, what the hell happened to you?"

O'Neill noticed the door open and saw Mackenzie exiting with a look of shock on her face. "Is Cater okay?"

"Well Sir it looks really bad, I was wondering if her ribs should be bound?"

"I don't really have enough bandages to do the job." O'Neill said sadly.

"Actually I packed quite a few medical supplies, Commander Rabb made the request."

"Well then I think it's a good idea, do you have any experience binding ribs?"

"Not actually Sir, but how difficult can it be?"

O'Neill was nervous with that answer.

"I can do it for her." Rabb jumped in on the conversation.

"Ah, that's okay Rabb; I've got quite a lot of experience handling this type of injury." Jack was getting aggravated with this lawyer always trying to help Carter, not to mention he didn't want HIM seeing Carter like that, that was his job! "Just tell me when you're ready for me Mackenzie." Jack didn't want to go rushing in in case Carter wasn't ready.

A few minutes later Mac came out shutting the door behind her. "She finally agreed to it Sir, you can go in now."

Jack slowly got up and headed to bathroom carrying a supply of bandages. He knocked on the door before entering. "Okay Carter, I hear you're ready." When Jack entered the room, he saw Carter with her back towards him, wearing grey sweat pants and only a black bra. He saw the bruising on her right side had become worse, the boot mark was now blurred, and the bruising went from the waistband to above her bra strap. 'This is going to painful,' he thought.
"So let's get this over with, the quicker its done the sooner the pain will be over." Jack said moving up next to Sam. He gently put his hands on her shoulders to turn her around. "Sorry Carter, but you're going to have to turn around." Jack tried to sound as serious as possible, trying not to make his 2IC feel embarrassed. As she turned around, he saw that she was holding a t-shirt against her chest. He had to smile to himself at her attempt at modesty. This was going to be more difficult than he thought.

"Ah Carter, I won't be able to wrap your ribs with your arm like that. You're going to have to hold them away from your…ah body."

Sam took a gulp and a deep breath, then slowly moved her arm away from her chest, keeping one against the wall for support and her eyes on the ceiling.

'Oh yea this was going to be harder than he thought. No, more difficult, yea that's the word.' He thought as he got a look at her ample breast. 'No time for that O'Neill,' he moved to crouch down in front of her, and started to wrap the bandages around her, coming closer as he reached around her back. 'Keep your mind on the job O'Neill'
He finished securing the bandage and stood back up. "So, how does that feel, not too tight?"

"No Sir, its fine." Sam said wanting this moment to end, all she wanted to do was get her top on, and forget this situation.

O'Neill grabbed the top from Sam's hand, "Here let me help you with this."

Before she could say anything or react, he had put the top over her head and was holding it out so she could put her arm in the sleeve; she put her hand on his shoulder for balance so she could put her arm in the other sleeve.

"Okay, I think we're ready." Jack said as he helped Sam adjust her arm around his shoulder and helped her walk out of the bathroom.

Harm noticed the door open and saw O'Neill helping Sam walk out. He had to admit, she looked a little better now, the clothes fit her better and the she looked good in the matching grey sweat pants and t-shirt, it went so well with her blonde hair and blue eyes.

Mac couldn't believe how Harm was looking at Sam; the woman looked half-dead and was still able to turn his head.

O'Neill helped ease Carter to the couch and once again positioned pillows under her knee. "Okay, now let's get back to our discussion." O'Neill said as he took a seat in the chair next to the couch.

"As I was saying Sir, your base has been compromised, and if we go there for help, we may risk putting Major Carter back in the hands of those who tried to abduct her." Harm informed O'Neill.

"Look I know some of this is top secret, but is there anything you can tell me?" Mac hated being left out of the loop; but there had to be some things they could tell her.

Harm looked at O'Neill, and was given a nod to go ahead. "Well Mac, yesterday I had a meeting with a prisoner who worked at Cheyenne Mountain with O'Neill and Carter. He told me of a plot to kidnap the Major. Needless to say, I made my way to the base and had a meeting with the General. He called in Sam's team, but we learned that she had already left. The general put me in charge of getting the major back to the base, and allowed the Colonel to accompany me. Unfortunately, we were a bit too late when we got there; there were two men dragging the unconscious major out of her house. As you can tell we managed to get Sam back; we were being followed, so we had to shake them and ended up here.'

"So Major, what happened back at your house, if you don't mind my asking?"

"No it's okay, I don't really remember much; I came home, when I got into my house I tried to turn the light on in the kitchen but nothing happened. Then…" Sam took a few calming breaths before she continued. "I was grabbed from behind, I managed to fight him off; hell I think I broke his nose. I was getting the upper hand on him, when I was attacked by another guy, I tried fighting him off, but then everything went black." Sam was looking down at her hands, and her voice was low as she talked about the attack.

"So when did you receive most of your injuries?" Mac was a little puzzled by her account.

"I got punched in the face, and remember blocking a few blows, but that's all I remember." Sam was nervous, trying to figure out she ended up with the injuries.

Jack could tell Carter was thinking, and sensed her frustration. "Ah Carter, when we were checking your injuries….we saw what looked like a bruise shaped like a boot."

"What?" Sam was totally shocked by this.

"Are you saying they kicked her while she was unconscious?" Mac couldn't believe this; her marine values wouldn't want anyone to be attacked when they were down.

"Yeah, I'm afraid so, Carter has a way of pissing people off." Jack said trying to lighten the mood for Carter's sake.

"So do you know why they wanted Major Carter?" Mac asked.

"The major and I work at a very highly classified base." O'Neill offered.

"Yes Sir, but you're her CO, why would they go after the major specifically and not you?" Mac was really fascinated.

"Well you see, I'm just your run of the mill colonel. Major Carter on the other hand is also Dr. Carter a theoretical astrophysicist "

"Wow, I'm impressed Sir." Sam said with a smirk.

"What? Why?" O'Neill said confused.

"Well um…" Now Sam was a little nervous as how to put this.

"Come on Carter, spit it out."

"Well Sir, you usually don't do so well with…uh scientific terms." 'Whew, close one, I hope he buys it.' Sam thought to herself.

"Carter is that any way to talk about your CO? I think that's on the brink of insubordination." Jack knew how to get back at her for that one; it was fun to watch her squirm a little.

"Sorry sir, but I think I may have to consult with a lawyer on that one." Sam said giving Harm a slight smile.

"Sorry Sir, that's not even close enough to be insubordination." Harm said smirking at Sam.

Mac didn't like the little interaction going on between Harm and Sam, and tried to get the conversation back on topic. "So you're a scientist Major, do you think the kidnap attempt has anything to do with what you're working on at the moment?"

"It's possible, but if they're that well connected, I can't see why they couldn't steal copies of my reports."

"Ah could you two excuse us for a few minutes; we have some uh secret stuff to discuss." Jack said looking at the two lawyers.

"Yes Sir." Mac and Harm said getting up and heading for the kitchen.

"Sir?" Carter asked puzzled.

"Look Carter, do you think this could have anything to do with the fact that…ah, you're a little different from the rest of us now?"

"You mean Jolinar?"

"Yeah, I'm afraid so."

"I'd hate to think that was it Sir, I may never be safe here on earth again." the enormity of the situation was beginning to set in, Sam didn't know what she would do if she had to always be looking over her shoulder, afraid of some secret organization was after her.

Jack's heart was breaking, he'd never seen Carter so vulnerable and depressed; he could understand her despair, the one place in the universe they were supposed to be safe was at home here on earth. "Look Carter, we'll figure a way out of this, but right now I want you to rest some more, while we try to find some food. I don't know about you but I'm starving."

"Sounds like a plan Sir." Sam said as she tried to relax and closed her eyes, though she knew she probably wouldn't be able to sleep.

Jack made his way to the kitchen, taking a look a Carter as he left.

"Colonel?" Harm said as O'Neill entered the kitchen.

"Sorry about that, but we had a few things to discuss, and I'm afraid it could be worse than we first thought." O'Neill said quietly shaking his head.

"I don't know how, but we have to come up with a way to find the people behind this. Sooner than later."

"How is she doing?" Mac asked, grasping the seriousness of the situation.

"I told her to rest, but if I know Carter, her brain is working a mile a minute. So for now how about we figure out where to get some food; then we can work on the harder plans."

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A/N: I know a lot of you are wondering if this is a S/J, S/H or a M/H fic, all I can tell you for sure is it isn't a S/M fic. That would have to go on a NC-17 site.
Anyway I hope you enjoy the story and please review.