Disclaimer: 'Stargate SG1' and all the characters associated with the show belong to someone who isn't me. As I doubt that the owners would be willing to trade their rights for some magic beans that aren't in any way magical, this is not going to change at any point in the foreseeable future.

Author's Note: A big thank you to everybody who has reviewed so far.

Chapter Five

Two hours later

Little Sam had climbed onto Teal'c's lap as soon as Darth Vader had first appeared onscreen but other than her initial fright, she had quickly become engrossed in the movie.

The 'Star Wars' trilogy had been three among the many DVDs that Teal'c's teammates had bought him when he had first taken up residence on base and they were far and away the most watched of his collection.

The little girl had cried out as Obi-Wan Kenobi was struck down and Teal'c felt his own expression harden. To kill one's opponent when they had ceased fighting was not worthy of a true warrior.

"Can the Air Force make flying spaceships like that?" Sam asked, pointing at the X-wing fighters.

The Jaffa shook his head, deciding against telling her about the Goa'uld motherships and death gliders.

"What about lightsabers? Can they make those?"

Teal'c shook his head again, remembering his own disappointment when he had learned that the only lightsabers available were battery-operated. "Alas, I know of nobody who possesses such a weapon."

Three quarters of an hour spent studying the wall of Hammond's office hadn't exactly put Jack in a cheerful mood, nor had Colonel Makepeace's mock-serious enquiry about whether timeouts would now be the general's disciplinary method of choice for wayward members of SG-1.

"Remind me to kill Carter."

"Come on, Jack." Daniel said in a pacifying tone. "She's just a little kid. You can't get mad at her."

"Are you going to be saying that when she trashes your office?"

"What do you mean 'when'?" Daniel looked slightly alarmed.

"Nothing." Jack's response was far too smooth for Daniel's peace of mind.

"Did you tell Sam to mess up my lab?"

"Daniel!" His tone was one of injured innocence. "Would I do something like that?"

"Yes."

"I'm hurt that you would think that of me." Jack said reproachfully. "For your information, I did not tell Carter to trash your office." Fortunately, the archaeologist missed his slight smirk. 'Yet.'

"…And you have to keep your eyes closed all the time, no peeking." Sam sternly admonished Teal'c.

"It would be dishonorable for me to peek." Teal'c said seriously. "You may rest assured that I will not."

"Good." The little girl beamed her approval. "And you have to count slowly and no skipping numbers like Mark does."

"How long must I count for?"

She gave the question serious thought. It was a big base, after all, and the last thing she wanted was for him to come looking before she had found a suitable hiding place. "Count to a hundred… no, two hundred. The you have to call out 'ready or not'."

"I understand." Teal'c inclined his head slightly.

Satisfied that her companion fully understood the rules of Hide and Seek, Sam ran out of the room.

Teal'c closed his eyes and began to count. "One… Two… Three…"

Fifteen minutes later

"Whatcha doing, buddy?" Jack managed to suppress a grin at the sight of a very solemn looking Teal'c opening a small supply closet and examining it closely.

"I am trying to find Samantha Carter."

"You lost her?" Jack asked, alarmed.

"What happened?" Daniel was equally concerned.

"We are playing Hide and Seek." The Jaffa's tone was dignified. "Samantha is hiding and I am attempting to locate her."

"How long have you been looking?"

"A quarter of an hour."

"Would you like some help?" Jack offered generously, remembering from his own childhood and Charlie's how resourceful small children could be when it came to finding hiding places.

"I do not wish to cheat." Despite his words, Teal'c was sorely tempted by the offer. He had not thought that one little girl would have been able to elude him so successfully.

"Did Carter actually say that you couldn't call in backup?" Jack asked.

"She did not."

"Then it's not cheating."

"Where have you checked already?" Daniel asked practically.

"I have searched all accessible rooms on this level and on Level 19."

Jack's eyes widened. "Exactly how big was the hiding zone?"

"Hiding zone?" Teal'c raised a puzzled eyebrow.

"You know, the area that you agree to for hiding places so that there's a limit to how far you can go and the kid doesn't wind up a mile away… you did have a hiding zone, right?" He asked, dreading the answer.

"I did not."

"D'oh!"

Twenty minutes later

"Any luck?" Daniel asked as soon as the other two men arrived at Jack's office, which had been designated the rendezvous point.

"She's not in the commissary, or any of the locker rooms or in her own quarters." Jack reported.

"I was also unsuccessful, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c said regretfully.

"Okay," Daniel pushed his glasses further up his nose. "The SGC is a big place and Sam is pretty small right now, so even if we don't need to check any restricted areas, there are still a lot of places that she could be. Maybe it's time we accepted that the three of us mightn't be able to find her."

"We are not using the intercom to beg Carter to come out of hiding." Jack said immediately.

The men of SG-1 were already providing the rest of the base with seemingly endless amusement with their babysitting duties. Jack had no wish to add to their humiliation with what would amount to a public admission that one small child could get the better of them so easily.

"Okay, maybe the intercom wouldn't be a good idea, but maybe we can recruit more people to help us search."

"There must be some people on the base that we can trust not to betray us." Teal'c said seriously.

Jack mentally reviewed the SGC personnel before selecting candidates that he could be reasonably sure would not taunt him about this for the next few years.

"Call Siler. And Simmons." He added as an afterthought, knowing that the younger man would never dare say a word.

They had decided to divide their search party, with Teal'c and Simmons searching the lower levels while Daniel and Siler tackled the lower, leaving the middle levels to Jack.

Sergeant Siler had passed out radios to enable them to keep in touch.

'Let's see,' Jack mused, having checked the gym thoroughly and even slipping into the infirmary as soon as Janet stepped out just in case Sam had taken refuge there. He had felt his chest tighten uncomfortably as he had passed the armoury, dreading what could have happened if she had found her way in there, but thankfully the door had been securely locked. 'If I were Carter, where would I be?'

Once realization dawned, he felt like kicking himself for not thinking of it sooner.

Science Lab

"What are you up to, young lady?" Despite his best efforts at maintaining a stern façade, Jack couldn't keep from smiling at the sight of little Sam standing on one of the stools in the lab, earnestly consulting one of the scientists.

"Hi, Colonel." She smiled up at him.

"Do you know that people have been looking for you for a long time? You were playing Hide and Seek with Teal'c." He reminded her patiently, seeing that she had plainly forgotten about the game. He clicked on his radio. "Teal'c, Daniel, I've found our missing person." He glanced at Sam's companion, who was studiously avoiding meeting his eyes. "What have you two been doing?"

"Uh…" The poor scientist seemed to find the linoleum floor fascinating. "We… uh… Captain Carter…"

"Well?" Jack frowned pointedly, wishing that he could remember the man's name. "I'm waiting."

"I wanted to see if he could build a lightsaber." Sam piped up excitedly. "And we were trying to find out what we'd need to make one."

"Really?"

"Yes, sir." The man spoke meekly, expecting to be reprimanded for wasting time and resources on a child's whim.

He was pleasantly surprised when a slow grin spread across Jack's face.

"Cool!"

TBC.

Author's Note: That's all for now. I'll update as soon as I can, but in the meantime, please review and if anybody has any requests, let me know.