Chapter 7 – Missing in Action
Jack thundered down the halls of the SGC pushing past errant airmen in his wake, his mind focused on one thing and one thing only; his wife. He'd received word from Daniel not 30 minutes ago that something had gone terribly wrong on Sam's most recent mission – a mission that as far as Jack recalled, wasn't supposed to be dangerous. All it entailed was a visit to another planet to discuss technology. And now something had happened; all Daniel would say over the phone was that Jack had better get into the SGC as soon as possible.
He hadn't delayed: Jack had packed up some things for the children, hustled them into the back of the SUV, and raced across town. He'd held the phone to one ear as he steered the car with the other, trying to obtain any additional information he could before he arrived. Jack didn't notice the wide-eyed look of fright coming from his son as the little boy heard the words "missing" and "Sam" coming from his father's mouth. At five years of age, JJ was a bright, inquisitive child who didn't miss much. And right now, he picked up on not only the few ominous words he could hear from his father, but also the sense of anxiety and tension emanating from the front seat of the car.
As Jack dropped his children off at Daniel and Janet's, where Cassie was taking up residence for a few months and so was acting as a built in babysitter, he gave JJ and Grace a perfunctory kiss on the head before racing off. Once again, Jack missed the look of fear and trepidation that crossed the little boy's features. He backed his car out of the Jackson's driveway and hightailed it up to the mountain; his thoughts and his heart both racing at a hundred miles an hour as he imagined all sorts of dire scenarios that could have occurred to cause the worrying phone call from Daniel.
Charging up the metal steps that led to the briefing room, Jack faltered in his steps as he heard the clear, unmistakable voice of his wife coming from beyond the briefing room doors. And the voice was not the quiet, calming one he was used to; this one was raised in anger. He flinched slightly as he heard the words coming clearly from the room.
"Dammit, Daniel! I can't believe you did that!" Sam yelled clearly from the room. "There was no reason for you to call Jack…I had everything under control."
Jack ignored the placating words Daniel threw her way as he finished his assent up the stairs and burst into the room, slamming the door wide as his eyes frantically searched for his wife. For though he had just heard her voice, he still had to assure himself that she was there, in one piece.
Everyone in the room froze as the door slammed open, General Landry giving a slight grimace at the new dent that had just been made in the wall behind it. He'd really have to get someone to install a doorstop back there.
Jack met Sam's eyes from across the room and Sam's ire lessened as she took in the mix of relief and panic in his eyes. Wordlessly, Jack crossed the room in a few long strides and enfolded her in a crushing hug, ignoring the six other occupants in the room as he assured himself of his wife's safety. "Are you all right?" he whispered quietly even as he continued to hold her tightly.
Snaking her hands under his arms and grasping the back of his shoulders, Sam murmured into his ear, "Yes, Jack. I'm fine. Nothing happened."
Jack closed his eyes at her words, breathing in her scent as he tried to calm himself, then pulled back slightly to look her in the eyes. His eyes raked hers, checking to see if she was hiding anything from him. When he was satisfied that she was OK, he looked over at Daniel, who gave him a slightly embarrassed grin.
"So Danny, you want to tell what that phone call was about?" Jack asked, a quirk of his eyebrow signaling his puzzlement over this situation.
"Uh," Daniel looked from Jack to Sam, then back again. "There was a little trouble on P6X-943."
Jack stepped back from Sam but kept his arm around her shoulders, holding her loosely in place. "I gathered that from the phone call. Which, by the way, caused me to break God knows how many traffic laws," he added with a frown. He felt Sam tense under his arm and gave her a reassuring squeeze in response.
"Look," Daniel started to explain, "I know this looks bad, but things apparently got out of hand on that planet and I thought you should know, just in case."
"Daniel," Sam removed herself from Jack's hold and stepped closer to the archaeologist. "I was not in any danger." She crossed her arms as she stood in front of him, her voice rising marginally. "Besides, I told you, I had everything under control."
"Well that's not what Lieutenant Matteson said when he reported in, Sam," Daniel replied, his voice rising slightly as well. Daniel was feeling some guilt over the entire situation. He should have been along since they were meeting a fairly new culture. But he had been tied up and sent Captain Sommers in his place.
"All right people, let's just all calm down and straighten this out, shall we?" General Landry stated from the head of the table.
Sam ignored the General for a moment. "I don't want you calling Jack every time I'm five minutes late from a mission, Daniel. It won't do either one of us any good!"
"It was more than five minutes, Sam and you know it. Things could have gotten really out of hand. How was I to know…"
"Dr. Jackson, Colonel Carter, take your seats immediately!" The General slapped his hands on the desk forcefully; he didn't like to be ignored and was letting them know it. Mumbling their apologies, Sam and Daniel took their seats around the briefing room table, still eyeing each other warily. Jack gave Daniel a puzzled look before taking his seat next to Sam, eager to find out what had happened on P6X-943.
"That's more like it," the General responded. He directed his attention to the young lieutenant, who gulped nervously at the attention. "Now, Lieutenant Matteson, maybe you'd like to begin. What happened to cause you to call into the SGC and report that Colonel Carter had been taken against her will?"
Jack's eyes shot to Sam, his eyebrows raised in question, his heart beginning to pound anxiously once more. He'd heard nothing about her being taken against her will! Sam closed her eyes and sighed in resignation; there was going to be no avoiding this.
Clearing his throat, the young lieutenant began. "Well General, we had completed our talks with the Pavorians and had come to an agreement that we would take back some samples of their technology for further study here on Earth. We agreed to contact them once our studies were complete and set up a time for future meetings. Their Chief Minister then asked to speak with Colonel Carter alone." Here he stopped and looked to the Colonel, seeking permission to continue. When she gave him a slight nod of her head, he did so. "Colonel Carter left with the Chief Minister. When she didn't return in 30 minutes, Sommers and I inquired as to her whereabouts. We were informed that the Chief Minister had decided she would remain on the planet and become his…Cheiftess?" He looked at Sommers, who nodded his head in agreement.
All eyes now turned to Sam, who squirmed slightly in her seat in embarrassment. She refused to meet anyone's eyes, even Jack's, who sat looking at her in disbelief. Another alien seemed to have become besotted with his lovely wife.
"Again?" he asked incredulously. Sam shot him a look out of the corner of her eye but refused to comment.
"Colonel? Can you continue from there?" General Landry asked, though it was more an order than a request. He pointedly ignored Jack's previous interruption, feeling it would just cause the whole briefing to get off course.
Sighing, Sam straightened in her seat before continuing. "It was all a misunderstanding, General. The Chief Minister was…impressed…with my scientific knowledge. He thought I would be a wonderful asset to his council; that I could work as a liaison of sorts between his people and ours. I told him that I was needed here, but would be more than happy to work with the Pavorians once we had the opportunity to study their technology."
"With all due respect, ma'am, that's not exactly what we were told," interrupted the young lieutenant. Jack had to admire the man's guts; he winced but did not wither under the Colonel's renewed glare. Turning back to the General, he continued. "We were told that the Chief Minister, in addition to admiring the Colonel's intellect and want her to work with them as a scientist, he also admired her…beauty…and wished to make her his Chieftess, or… mate." He flushed at the words and looked guiltily over at the Colonel, who also sported a flush of her own.
From his place across the table, Daniel didn't think Jack's eyebrows could rise any higher than they did at that moment. "His mate?" came the strangled question from the man Daniel was observing. "I thought these people were advanced…they still refer to significant others as mates?"
"I do not believe the terminology to be important, O'Neill," stated Teal'c from his seat next to Daniel. It was the first thing Teal'c had said since Jack had arrived and it caused Jack to start a bit in surprise. "The Chief Minister wished to keep your wife as his own. I believe that is all that matters at the moment, do you not agree?"
Sam closed her eyes in embarrassment, wishing this briefing would end... the sooner the better. Jack blinked at Teal'c, then nodded slowly, duly chastised by his large, quiet friend. "Yeah, you're right T." Turning back to Sam he said, "You did tell him you were already taken, right?"
Sam's eyes flew open and she stared at him in shock and more than a bit of anger. "Taken? What the hell is that supposed to mean…that I'm taken? If you mean did I tell him I was already involved in a close, loving relationship with another man and had two children with that man, then yes, I guess I did inform the Chief Minister that I was taken!" she huffed and then turned away, crossing her arms and effectively shutting him off.
Jack gulped, then looked around the table. None of the other men would meet his eyes and Captain Lewis, the other female present, was giving him a glare to equal Sam's. Placing his hand gently on her shoulder, he said, "I didn't mean anything by that, Sam. I just wanted to know…" he stopped and took a deep breath, then squeezed her shoulder. "He didn't hurt you, did he?" he asked her quietly.
"No," Sam replied after a short pause, feeling guilty at her outburst, but angered just the same. Though he tended to get a bit possessive and overprotective at times, she knew Jack hadn't meant anything proprietary in his comment, but the embarrassment over this little situation had gotten the best of her. Sighing she continued, "Like I told everyone, I'm fine. It was just a simple misunderstanding. I briefly explained my…personal life, we had a discussion, the Chief Minister apologized, and he escorted us to the gate. End of story."
Jack shot a look at Daniel, who shrugged sympathetically. Both men knew they would each have some apologizing of their own to do, but hopefully they could get Sam to understand that their words and actions were only caused by their worry for her. Sam turned back to Jack, her embarrassment over the situation clearly written across her tired features. Jack gave her a soft smile of reassurance and squeezed her hand in his, glad when she didn't pull away from him.
"Do the rest of you have anything to add?" the General addressed the other members of the scientific team that had gated to P6X-943.
"No sir," Lewis replied for all of them. "It's as Colonel Carter stated; after Matteson returned to the gate, the Chief Minister escorted the rest of us, along with the Colonel, to the gate. The entire incident only delayed our return by 30 minutes, Sir."
"And I would assume that relations with the Pavorians are still open?" he inquired.
This time Sam replied. "Yes, Sir. We will contact them within two weeks and set up another meeting time."
"Very well," the General stood, causing everyone else to rise to their feet. "I'm relieved that everything has worked out to our satisfaction. I will expect your mission reports on my desk in the morning. Dismissed." As the members of the scientific team took their leave, Landry called Jack over. "Uh Jack, a word."
Jack glanced at Sam, then made his way over to the general. "Yeah, Hank?"
Landry clamped a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Next time a situation arises with your wife, Jack, let's try and get the whole story before we jump in feet first, shall we?" He gave him a smirk, then stated quietly so that only Jack could hear. "This tends to happen rather often doesn't it? Maybe someone should send a memo through to other planets…let them know our lead scientist isn't available?"
Jack grinned at his friend, "Yeah, we'll see how well that idea goes over, Hank."
General Landry slapped him on the back and said with a grin, "Take your wife home, Jack. And try not to break any traffic laws in the process." Then he turned and entered his office, chuckling to himself as he closed the door on the remaining four people in the room.
Jack grinned at Landry's retreating back before turning back to his wife and former team members. His grin died when he saw Sam and Daniel in earnest conversation once again, Sam's hands on her hips and Daniel's crossed warily in front of him. Teal'c looked on with a decidedly unsettled look on his face.
Walking over to them, he heard Sam say, "I know you meant well, Daniel, really I do. But I just think that you should have…"
She wasn't allowed to finish as Daniel held up his hands for her to stop. "Look Sam. I was worried about you, we all were. And all I could think about was that, if it had been Janet who was being held against her will, I would have wanted to be told right away. I'm sure Jack feels the same way."
Jack came up and placed his arm around Sam. "Danny's absolutely, right Sam. I wanted…no, I expect…to be told when something happens off-world. Even if I can't go out there and do something about it, I need to know. Heck, if something happens here on base I want to know about it as well." When she looked at him with a frown and an argument ready on her face, he continued, "It has absolutely nothing to do with my faith in you out there, Sam, and you know it. After all these years, I know that you are an extremely capable person. But you are also my wife and the mother of my children; I care deeply about your safety. And I know, if our situations were reversed, you would feel the same way. Am I right?" he asked, giving her a soft smile to soften this rather serious discussion.
Sam gazed up into his caring face and felt a surge of self-recrimination. He was absolutely right; if it had been him out there, she would have been on base in a flash. All three of the men surrounding her only had her safety in mind, even if they did tend to get a bit over-protective. Sighing, Sam replied, "Yes, you're right, Jack." She cocked her head and added with a playful smile, "I don't get to say that very often!" Ignoring his growl of annoyance, she turned to Daniel. "I'm sorry, Daniel. I guess I over-reacted a bit, there."
Daniel grinned, instantly relieved that their disagreement was over. "Well, maybe just a bit. I'm sorry too, if I overstepped my bounds in any way. You know it was just out of my concern for you, though." Sam stepped away from Jack and gave Daniel a hug; apology obviously accepted.
Grinning foolishly, Jack clapped his hands enthusiastically. "Well, now that all this unpleasantness is over with, except for your visit to the infirmary my dear, what say we go pick up the kids and grab some pizzas? I'm starving."
Sam turned to him with a frown, just now processing the fact that Jack had to have left the kids somewhere very quickly in order to get into the SGC so fast. "Where are our children, Jack?"
"Oh, didn't get a chance to mention that, did I? They're with Cassie and Katie Rose over at Danny's place."
Sam looked from Daniel to Jack and back again. "She's watching all three of them? Alone?" her voice rose a bit at the end. "Need I remind you what happened when you and Daniel watched the kids a few months ago…and that was two of you?"
"I believe you will find Cassandra Frasier to be a most reliable child care substitute, Samantha. Perhaps even more so than their own father's," Teal'c stated, his lips quirking ever so slightly as he recalled the story about the baby powder.
"Hey!" Jack and Daniel protested simultaneously. They were prevented from commenting further when Jack's cell phone rang. Giving Teal'c a narrow-eyed glare, Jack flipped it open and quickly said, "O'Neill."
He listened for a moment, his face losing all signs of the humor it had contained just moments ago. Holding up a hand, he said sternly, "Slow down for a minute, Cassie, I can't understand you. Now, tell me…exactly what happened."
At his words, Sam and Daniel shared looks of concern before inching closer to him, worry etched in the lines of their faces. Teal'c too lost his smile and he leaned closer, worrying about what might have befallen his young nephew and nieces.
"Crap! Are you sure Cassie? You don't have any idea where he is?" Jack felt his heart begin to pound for the second time in a mere hour, his tone hard with frustration. "What did Grace say again?" His frown deepened and pangs of guilt ran throughout his body. Holding the phone away from his ear, he locked eyes with Sam. "JJ's missing. Cassie can't find him anywhere." He had answered her silent question, then let his gaze drift to Teal'c, who nodded and left the room, preparing to gather a team to head out to the Jackson's home.
Sam gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide with fear. All thoughts and feelings about her own recent mishap being pushed to the background as she thought about her little boy, lost somewhere.
"What about the girls?" Daniel asked quietly, his eyes filled with alarm at the thought that the two little girls might be missing as well.
Jack took Sam's hand and squeezed, before answering Daniel. "The girls are fine. It's just JJ who's missing." Turning his attention back to the phone, he began quickly walking out the room, pulling Sam along with him, Daniel following in their wake. "Cassie, call the police, then see if Mrs. Quinn will watch the girls until we get there. Look around the neighborhood, he couldn't have gone far. We'll be there within 15 minutes."
Jack clicked the phone closed and began to hurry down the hallway, talking as he went. "This is all my fault," he said, his voice filled with anger and worry. "JJ must have heard me on the phone when I was going to drop them off with Cassie." He turned pained eyes to Sam as they came to a stop in front of the elevator. "Grace has been hysterical…the only thing Cassie could get out of here was that JJ went to find mommy." His eyes were filled with pain and guilt as he told her.
"Oh God, Jack." Sam gasped out as she clutched his arm. "He could be anywhere!"
Trying to maintain his own emotions, Daniel spoke up. "How long ago did JJ go missing?"
Jack's eyes met Daniel's. "About fifteen minutes."
They shared a look, both knowing that a lot could happen in fifteen minute's time.
Reverting from military to full mother mode, Sam's eyes pleaded with Jack. "What if he tried to cross the highway?" Her mind went to the busy road that was mere blocks from the Frasier-Jackson household. "He's not even supposed to cross the street by himself, but if he think's I'm lost…my poor baby," Sam couldn't continue and Jack drew her tightly into his arms, then into the elevator as the doors opened.
Speaking softly but firmly, Daniel said, "He couldn't have gotten that far in fifteen minutes, Sam. We're going to find him." Once again, he locked eyes with Jack, both men determined to get to his house and find the little boy before any harm came to him. Watching as the numbers for the floors lit up, Daniel said, "I'm going to get Janet, then we'll grab my car. We'll meet you at the house."
Jack nodded his agreement and watched as Daniel exited the elevator at the infirmary floor and took off at a dead run down the hall. The doors closed behind him, leaving pained silence in his wake as the two parents fought against the fear that clutched their hearts. As they came to the top, Jack took a deep breath, forcing himself to push away the panic that threatened to overtake him. In many ways, this was so much worse than when he had thought Sam was missing. At least Sam could take care of herself…JJ was just a little boy. Smart, yes, but still a little boy.
Pulling back from Sam, but still holding her tightly by the arms, he said. "We are going to find him, Sam, I promise you that. But I am going to need your help. We can't afford to fall apart, here."
Sam closed her eyes momentarily, took a deep breath, then opened them again and met Jack's gaze. He was reassured by the look of steely determination in her eyes. "I'm ready to find our son, Jack," she said. Jack gave her a small smile, then pulled her out of the elevator and to the exit, not at all surprised to find Teal'c already waiting, SG-3 right behind him.
Jack looked at the five men with quiet gratitude before nodding his head and saying, "Ok, people. Let's move out."
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I had absolutely no intention of leaving any cliffhangers in this story, but this chapter was getting so long and really seemed to want to end here! Plus I now want to show this episode, if you will, from JJ's viewpoint. Hoping to have it up mid-week but we'll have too see how much time I get! Thanks for hanging on! Don't shoot me please!
