A/N: This is for liketoread, who tells me I should have to ask (beg) for reviews but that they should be given freely because I spend a lot of my free time writing this stuff for you guys.

Jacob looked down at the sleeping Belle curled up in his arms. There were two empty cots in the room and he put his granddaughter down on one before moving to use the payphone down the hall.

"Hello?" a female voice answered on the other end.

Jacob hesitated, not wanting to talk to them, but knowing he had no choice. "Dee? This is Jacob. Is Mark around?"

Dee Carter was more than a little shocked at the voice on the other end, "Hi, Jacob. No, Mark's still at work. What's wrong?"

"Dee, you both need to catch the next flight to Duluth. Sam's been shot."

"What? Oh my God, Jacob! When? What happened?" Dee kept on asking questions, and it was all Jacob could do not to interrupt his daughter-in-law.

"They haven't told me much, all I know is that there was a lot of internal bleeding and they're not sure how long Sam's going to survive. Get Mark over here fast, Dee."

"I'll do my best, Jacob. I'll do my best."

Two days passed before Mark Carter and his wife, Dee, arrived at Duluth International, only to be met by a very pissed off looking young man with his arm in a sling and an Air Force General.

"Where's my dad?" Mark asked the Major General.

The man looked down his nose at Mark, "He's at the hospital with your sister, Mr. Carter."

"Who are you?" To say that Mark was a little…upset that his father hadn't come to meet them was an understatement.

"I'm his boss," General O'Neill said icily. He already didn't like this man very much – and he could tell why there was bad blood between him and the rest of his family.

Mark turned his glare to Jack, "And who are you?"

Jack looked back at Mark with poorly contained anger, "That depends. I can be your worst nightmare or your best friend. I'm Sam's boyfriend and the person who saved her life. What should I be to you, Mark?"

Mark was about to lash out at Jack, but Dee stopped him with an elbow in the rib cage. "Can we go see Sam now, please?" she asked patiently. Her husband's anger and need for freedom had lost her a daughter, she wouldn't let it come between the rest of her family as well.

General O'Neill nodded, "She's in a coma, but if Jacob doesn't mind, you can see her."

Jacob and Belle were eating lunch with Sam, talking to her like the doctor said they should, when Mark and Dee arrived. Jack walked directly into the room while William and Mark exchanged glares, and whispered in Jacob's ear.

"Belle, stay with Auntie Sam," Jacob said, getting up to go meet his son and daughter-in-law. The little girl nodded, recognizing the tone her grandpa was using as the 'Don't mess with me or I'll ground you for a month' voice he used when he really needed her to do what he said.

"Okay, Grandpa, be back soon. Hi Mr. Jack! Are you going to stay with me and Auntie Sam until Grandpa gets back?" Jacob nodded that it was okay if he did.

"Sure, Belle. Of course I am."

To say that Jacob was surprised Mark was there would be calling a tornado just a little wind. True, he had been the one to call Dee and tell her about the shooting, but he hadn't actually expected Mark to hop on a plane and fly to Minnesota. When Dee had called back and told him the time of the flight, Jacob had been grateful beyond words.

"Mark, Dee," Jacob nodded once in greeting to the couple. "Will, thanks for meeting them at the airport for me."

William nodded, "My pleasure, Jacob. Anything for Sam."

"Jack's in with her now with Belle. I can drive him home later if you want to leave."

"Thanks, Jacob. It's been a hard few days."

As William left the hospital, Jacob turned to look curiously at his son and daughter-in-law. "Took you guys long enough."

Dee really wasn't in the mood for the fight that she knew was brewing between her husband and his father. To distract them from it she asked, "Belle's here?"

Jacob nodded, "Yes, she is."

"I want to see my daughter," Mark said. He moved to go through the door Jacob had come out of, but the older man wouldn't let him.

"She doesn't know you. How do you think it would feel for her to see you both so close to Sam being shot? That little girl in there is in pieces because her Auntie Sam is in a coma and she thinks that Sam's about to die. Don't through this on her, too."

Mark glared at his father, "She's my daughter. Let me see her."

"First you have to promise me you won't tell her who you are," Jacob growled.

"We won't tell her," Dee said, anxious just to see her baby girl and sister-in-law.

"Fine," Mark growled in response when he realized his father wouldn't let him into the room until he did.

Mark and Dee first noticed the little blond girl holding onto Sam's hand, with Jack's hand covering them both. It broke his heart to see all the tubes coming out of Sam's frail form, and he couldn't stay in the room for more than a few seconds.

"Oh, Sammie," Dee said as she walked closer, "What happened to you?"

Jack looked up at Dee suddenly, letting go of Sam's hand and making Belle do the same. There it was again. He'd definitely seen her twitch.

"Keep talking to her," Jack said, hoping that Dee could bring Sam out of this.

"Sammie, you did such a good job with her. There's still so much for you to do, though. It's not your time to leave us. Not yet."

"Dee?" Sam whispered, her head moving slightly as she tried to break free of the darkness that surrounded her. "Jack?"

Jack grinned wildly, grasping her hand again, "I'm here, Sam, I'm here."

"What happened?"

"Belle, go get Grandpa," Jack said before turning his attention back to his waking girlfriend, "You were shot, remember?"

Sam's eyes opened as it all came back to her. Her breathing quickened, as did her heart rate and soon Dr. Freeman came rushing in with a nurse on her heels. "Stand back! Sam, Sam, my name is Dr. Freeman, can you hear me?"

Sam nodded. "I need you to calm down, honey. It's okay. You're safe now." After a few minutes of the soothing talking, Sam's vitals went back to normal and the doctor went to go get Jacob and Mark to tell them she was awake.

A/N: Remember what liketoread said...and what I'm saying now - I spend a lot of time writing this stuff when I could be catching up on reading the enormous stack of books sitting in my room. Please choose to recognize that fact. This is voluntary and I'm so not getting paid - except in reviews. That's why I'm so...edgy abou them.