Jack felt someone grab his arm, and he looked up. He could see the bright uniform of the fireman, and stood up, as he helped Vikki and Scott get up. Jack pushed Vikki to the front of him, and walked directly behind her, figuring that he could shield her from anything flying from the never ending explosions. He had a bulletproof vest on, but still ran to the safety of behind the fire trucks. The fireman did the same with Scott, as another two helped the SGC teams to safety. Once behind the truck, Jack checked on the men.

"Any damage?"

"Bosco's out cold Sir, but other than a few bumps and scrapes, we'll be fine."

"What happened to him?"

"Don't know. I was knocked down, and I saw him fall next to me. Don't know if something hit him or if he hit his head on the ground."

Jack wandered over to the firemen, who had laid Bosco down, and checking him for injuries. Another was tending to Vikki.

"He's lucky. Something hit him and there's a small cut, but it didn't penetrate his skull. He should come round soon. There's a couple of ambulances on the way, and they'll take care of him."

"Ok. How long till I can go in?"

"Why? That man you're lookin for is probably dead by now, especially if he was anywhere near the initial explosion."

"There's another person inside. A scientist. She was trying to stop him."

"No one's going in there until there's no more explosions."

Jack watched the building as several balls of fire erupted out of one of the higher floors. The fireman ran over to the crowd of employees and started shouting questions, like what chemicals were in there, and on what floors. Jack knew the fireman was right. The building on the far side, where the first largest explosion had occurred, looked like it was going to collapse. As he thought that, he heard a rumbling sound, as the floors of the building pancaked down on top of each other.

Smoke billowed from the remainder of the building, and the two fire trucks pulled in closer. The fireman started dousing the flames, which were curling up from the windows. Jack ran towards the building.

"Where do you think you're going?" The fireman who had talked to him earlier yelled at him.

"No more explosions. I've got to see if I can find her."

"Wait." The fireman grabbed an extra helmet and ran towards Jack. "You're going to need this."

"You got any extras?" Jack pointed to several of the uninjured members of his team, who were following him to the doors.

"A few, but we don't want more than a few entering. I don't want to have to rescue all of you, or explain why so many of you died."

"Fine." Jack yelled out 3 names, the three commanders of the units, and the others stopped coming towards them. Another fireman grabbed some more helmets and handed them to the three men.

"No guns. Leave them here."

"What! He could still be alive..." The fireman cut him off.

"Fine, but make sure you don't start shooting at anyone you see. We don't know if everyone got out."

Jack opened the door, as the three men ran through. The fireman followed, axe in hand.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm coming with you. In case you didn't notice, there's a fire in here, and I'm a trained fireman."

Jack shrugged his shoulders and followed him inside. Once past the desk at the entrance, he walked towards the elevators. He saw two emergency exit signs, illuminated in the thin haze of smoke. He signalled the three Colonel's to take the west exit, while he and the fireman took the east. At the doorway, they ran into a pile of rubble, and no door. Jack started climbing over the chunks of concrete trying to get to the stairwell. He remembered Vikki stating that Sam should've been coming down this stairwell at the time of the explosion.

Crawling through the doorway, he looked up. Between the clouds of black smoke, he could see sky. A chunk of the roof was missing, and he assumed that was what he was standing on. He ran up the stairs, climbing over the debris littering them, calling Sam's name, the fireman right behind him. He ran up to floor five before the structural damage prevented him from going any further. The outside wall was missing, and there were large cracks in the concrete stairs. He ran back down the stairs to the bottom.

"What are the odds that there's an alcove under the bottom flight?"

"Usually buildings like these have them. Why, you think she's there?"

"I bet she hid under there. We've got to move this rubble."

Jack started pulling chunks of concrete out of the way and tossing them to the side. The fireman helped him and the two quickly made an opening towards where an alcove would be.

"You got a flashlight?"

"Yes. Here." The fireman handed him a small yet powerful light. Jack shone it into the alcove and saw a blond head curled up.

"She's here. We've got to get some more of this crap out of the way... Sam. Sam. Wake up. Sam."

Jack poked his hand inside the opening and tried to reach her. She was just out of his grasp. He started pulling debris out of his way to get to her. Once he could reach her, he checked for a pulse. It was weak, but steady. The fireman pushed him out of the way, as more joined them. He sat back in relief, knowing he had found her alive, and the firemen would get her out. As another fireman crawled through the entrance with a backboard, Jack went to grab the rest of his team, probably still searching for Sam.

He opened the door and could hear their boots on the concrete, as they came back down the stairs.

"General. No sign of her here."

"We found her in the other stairwell."

"Is she ok?"

"Unconscious, but she's alive."

"Can we help?"

"I think they've got it covered, and there's not much room in there. Go check on your teams."

"Yes Sir."

They ran towards the exit, Jack following slowly. He pulled out his phone and called the SGC.

"Landry."

"Jack. You find her?"

"Yes."

"Daniel, they found her." Landry yelled away from the phone. "She ok?"

"She's alive. They're going to want to take her to the hospital."

"I'll have Prometheus bring you here."

"Can't. There's too many people around and she's unconscious. Wait until we get her to the hospital. There's a few injuried men too, but nothing serious. I'll arrange for a military transport to meet us at the hospital, and Prometheus can pick us up from there. I need Dr. Lam to contact them and arrange for the transfer."

"Ok. What hospital?"

"I'll let you know. The ambulance is here, I've gotta go."

Jack put the phone back in his vest and watched as the paramedics ran inside. Another ambulance pulled up and attended to Bosco, who was just starting to regain consciousness. Jack called the uninjured men to him.

"Get to where the drop off point was. I'll have Prometheus pick you up in 2 minutes."

"What about the others, Sir?"

"We're going to let them go to the hospital first. We'll be back as soon as we can arrange it."

"Yes Sir."

Out of the 12 men who had come with him, 8 returned behind the building. He called the SGC and explained what was going on. He hung up as soon as he had confirmation that they were on the ship. He then called for a military transport to meet them at the hospital as soon as possible.

By this time, the paramedics were bringing Sam out of the building on a stretcher.

"How is she?"

"Who are you?" A skeptical paramedic looked at him, first his gun, then his face.

"He's the one who told us she was there." The fireman had rejoined the group.

"I'm someone she knows. How is she?"

"She's unconscious and has a broken leg. We're taking her to the hospital."

"I'm coming with you. Is that where you're taking the others?"

"Yes."

"Ok."

They loaded her into the back of the ambulance, and the paramedic and Jack climbed in. As the doors closed, Jack could see the other injured people, including Vikki and Scott, being loaded into the other two ambulances. As the paramedic checked Sam's vitals, he repeated his question.

"Who are you?"

"I work with her."

"Yeah. And what job is that?" Once again, the mans eyes flickered to Jacks gun. Jack held up his M9 and showed the paramedic that the safety was on.

"I'm General O'Neill, US Air Force."

"And this is your wife?"

"No. An old friend. She used to work here."

The paramedic sensed that the man didn't want to talk, and checked Sam's vitals again.

At the hospital, Jack informed the nurse that Sam's regular doctor would be contacting them to transfer her. The nurse merely stated that she had a patient to care for, and when the transport came to transfer Dr. Carter, she would deal with that then. She disappeared down the maze of corridors and Jack sat in the waiting room. He saw the other ambulances pull up shortly after, and waved as the men came inside. They were led off to rooms to be treated, and Jack left the waiting room. He dialed the SGC again to find out if the Prometheus would be ready, and if the transfer paperwork had been sent yet.

He paced around the waiting room for over an hour. Finally the nurse came to get him, papers in her hand.

"We've got the transfer papers, and as soon as the transport gets here, she'll be discharged."

"How is she?"

"Still unconscious. We've given her something for the pain in case she wakes up."

"Injuries?"

"Broken leg, some stitches required for her head wound, and several scrapes and bumps."

"Can I go see her?"

"Yes. Follow me."

Jack followed the nurse to a room with several occupied beds. Sam was in the far one, hooked up to several machines, all making noises to prove she was still alive. He thanked the nurse, and took a seat next to her bed. His hands twitched to hold hers, touch her, feel for himself that she was still here. Instead he sat there stoically until the nurse informed him that his transportation had arrived.

Once the vehicle was in a deserted parking lot, Jack called the base to let them know they were in position. Sam, Bosco, the other three men, and Jack were transported up to the Prometheus, then back down to the SGC. They arrived in the gateroom, where medics where waiting. They put Sam and Bosco on gurneys and whisked them away to the infirmary. Jack followed Landry up to the briefing room and took a seat next to Teal'c who was waiting for them.

"Teal'c."

"O'Neill. It is good to see you uninjured."

"You find the goa'uld?" Landry jumped in.

"No. There's a team waiting for the fire to be put out, and the remainder of the building stabilized. They'll check for a body, or anything we don't want found."

"Good. Any idea who he was?"

"No. Daniel figured it out. You probably know more than I do."

At that moment, Daniel burst through the doorway.

"Where is she?"

"She's in the infirmary."

"She ok?"

"She's got a broken leg, and still isn't conscious."

"Dr. Lam will call us if she wakes Jack. Dr. Jackson, take a seat. I want to know how this happened."

"I wish to travel back to Dakara and I will discuss these events with the council. Perhaps they will have heard of a goa'uld bearing the name Tanit."

"Good idea Teal'c. When we're done here you can leave."

The four of them discussed the days events trying to figure out when the goa'uld infiltrated the labs. After an hour or so, Walter entered the room and informed them that Dr. Carter was rousing. Daniel dashed out of the room while Landry asked Jack if he would be staying on the base for the night. Jack took him up on the offer, and made a few calls to let those who needed to know, where he was, and when he might return. That taken care of he went to the infirmary.

"I thought she was awake?"

"She roused a little, but the drugs they gave her at the hospital are reacting to the naquadah in her blood, according to Dr. Lam. They're making her really out of it and not coherent. She opened her eyes and mumbled something at me, then went back to sleep."

"How long till she can talk?"

"Dr. Lam doesn't think it will be too long. The drugs should have worn off in an hour."

"Good."

"Teal'c leave already?"

"Yes. He left as I was on the phone. He said he'd come back as soon as he found anything out."

"Are you staying the night?"

"Yeah, Landry offered a guest room on the base, and I took him up on it."

"I want to go talk to Vala. Can you stay here?"

"Vala? What could she do?"

"She was a goa'uld host once. Maybe she knows something about Tanit, or other goa'ulds who associated with Ba'al."

"You want me to come with you?"

"I think someone should stay with Sam. Like old times. No one woke alone."

Jack agreed, remembering the many times he had woken in the infirmary, always with one of his team members close by. He took Daniel's chair when he left, and sat back, waiting for her to wake.

It was like waking from a deep sleep. She knew she was awake, but refused to open her eyes. The last thing she could remember was running down the stairs. Not sure where she was, or who was there with her, she didn't want to alert anyone that she was awake. She smelt the smell of hospitals. No matter where in the world, how big or small, in her mind, all hospitals had the same odor. Was she in the local hospital? She couldn't hear the beeping of machines, but knew there was some attached to her. She could feel the sticky pads on her chest, and something clamped onto her index finger.

She felt the remains of whatever drugs they had given her, swimming through her head. As she became more alert, the sensation of pain crawled up the bones in her one leg, and with every breath, her ribcage became more painful. Trying to hear any thing that would give her an indication of where she was, she heard faint voices drifting towards her. She couldn't hear what was saying, or recognize the voices, but a cough close by she did remember. It sounded like Jack. She opened her eyes slowly, blinking as the light blinded her.

He knew when she started waking up again. He could see her body tense with every breath. He watched for subtle movements in her closed eyes, and watched the hand with the blood oxygen clamp attached to one finger, twitch every so slightly. Waiting for her to open her eyes, he coughed to let her know someone was there. He watched as her eyes opened, and blinked several times.

"Sam."

"Jack?" She rasped out his name.

"You're at the SGC."

"What happened?"

"The staircase you were in collapsed."

"Oh."

"Are you in pain?" He noticed that breathing seemed to be causing her some pain, and she winced as she tried to move.

"A little."

"Let me just go get Dr. Lam. She'll fix you up just fine."

Jack got up and returned with Dr. Lam. He waited outside as Sam was checked over, and returned when instructed to do so.

"I gave her some painkillers to help her out. She may get a little loopy but it's just a side effect and she'll probably fall asleep soon. She's got a few bruised ribs that are causing some discomfort right now. Let me know if you need more, ok, Sam?"

"Ok." Sam had a dreamy look on her face as she turned her head to Jack, then back to Dr. Lam.

"I think she's already feeling the drugs Doc."

Dr. Lam smiled at the General as he returned to his seat, and left the two alone. She had heard the rumours of their previous relationship when Sam had returned to the base, and had ignored them. After seeing him sit and wait for her to wake up, she knew where the basis for those rumours had come from. Even though, she couldn't believe that anything had ever happened between the two of them, as they were both loyal to their country, and would not flaunt the regulations.

Sam rolled her head to face him, and smiled a dopey smile.

"Drugs kickin in yet?" He grinned at her expression.

"Yeah, I think I'm feelin them."

"That's good. So Carter, don't think I've ever seen you with a cast on. Can I sign it?"

"Yeah, sure, why not."

Jack tried not to laugh as she tried to sit up.

"Stay where you are. If you fall out of bed, Dr. Lam will find a reason to keep me here all night."

"Sure Sir."

"Sir?"

"Yah, Sir. That's what you are right?"

Yup, Carter was high on whatever the good ol' doc had given her. He considered grabbing Dr. Lam and asking if she was supposed to get this loopy, but decided that she knew what she was doing, and this could be potential blackmail material here. Forgetting their previous awkward conversations, and the coldness between them, he continued to talk to her.

"Sir. Well Carter, since you're no longer under my command, I think you can call me Jack."

"Righty then, Sir. Jack."

"Close enough."

"Where's Daniel?"

"He's with Vala."

"Vala?"

"He trying to see if she knows anything about your little friend."

"My friend?"

"The goa'uld that blew up your old work today."

"He's not my friend."

"I know Carter. I was being sarcastic."

"Why do you call me that?"

"What?"

"Carter."

"That's your name isn't it?"

"My surname. In Washington, you called me Carter. How did you know?"

"Know what?"

"That my name had changed."

"I didn't. It was just old habit."

"Oh."

"When did you change your name back?"

"A while ago. As soon as I could. Didn't want to have anything of his. Nothing."

The silly smile vanished from her face, to be replaced by a look of fury and sadness mixed into one. What had Pete done to her to cause this reaction, even when she was drugged up to the nines?

"Sorry Sam. Didn't mean to upset you."

"It's ok. I just don't like to remember."

Sam yawned and closed her eyes. Opening them she refocused on Jack.

"You gettin tired?"

"A little."

"Sleep Carter. Daniel or myself will be here when you wake."

Sam could barely keep her eyes open anymore. She fell back into oblivion.

Daniel entered the dimly lit infirmary and spotted Jack slumped awkwardly in a chair, while Sam slept lying on her back, one leg propped up. He shook Jack lightly and he immediately woke up.

"How is she?"

"Once the Doc gave her some really good drugs, she was fine. Fell asleep quickly after. How did it go with Vala?"

"She doesn't know Tanit."

"You were gone for a while and that's all you got?"

"Well she tried bribing me first."

"With what?" Jack stood up and steered Daniel away from Sam's bed, so as not to wake her.

"She wants out of the room. She told me, if we let her out, she'd tell us what she knew."

"And?"

"I convinced her that telling us of her own free will would go a lot further than bribery."

"Good thing too, considering she didn't know anything."

"I didn't say that. When she was host to Qetesh, she knew Ba'al. She got to know him quite well."

Jack cringed. He didn't want to know how well.

"Anything useful?"

"Not yet, but when Teal'c returns we'll run it by him. See what he thinks."

"Ok. Any word from him yet?"

"No. Jack, you look beat. Why don't I take over here, and you go get some sleep."

"Alright. I'll see you in a few hours."

Jack walked down the familiar halls to an unfamiliar room. He found several items on the bed, including some BDU's. He changed, and crawled into the bed, tossing and turning, trying to find a comfortable spot. He grinned as Sam's face complete with goofy smile flashed into his mind. He had missed moments like those, and was glad that he had experienced one more. Not that he was too happy with the reason why. The other men had been checked and cleared for active duty right away. Bosco had been sent home with a team mate for a few days, to get some rest. Vikki and Scott had been left at the hospital. Jack had an airman let them know that Sam was safe, and had arranged for them to fly to Colorado Springs the next day.

Daniel sat in the chair, alternately reading, and dozing. Several nurses stopped by and checked on Sam, who slept peacefully for the rest of the night. He was awakened by a soft voice calling his name.

"Daniel."

"Uh, yeah." He blinked and sat up, the forgotten book falling off his lap and landing on the floor. He grabbed for it and hit his head on the bed.

"You ok?"

"I should be asking you that. You need anything?" He rubbed his head, the book still on the floor.

"Water?"

"Here." Daniel passed her a cup and helped her sit up.

"Thanks."

"Any pain?"

"A little, but not too bad."

"Dr. Lam gave you something a few hours ago. That's probably worn off by now. I'll just go get her."

"No. That's ok. Makes my head fuzzy. Where's Jack?"

"He's sleeping. I'm sure he'll be here soon."

"I dreamt he was here last night."

"He was."

"Oh. I don't really remember much, just that he was here."

"You were pretty out of it."

The memories of the previous day flooded back to her.

"Vikki? Scott? Are they ok? Where are they?"

"They're probably on their way here by now. Jack got them a flight early this morning."

"Guess they'll want some explanations." Sam tried to move and winced. She looked down at the source of the pain and pulled back the sheets. "What did I do?"

"You broke your leg."

"I can see that! I can't remember having a cast before. How long am I stuck here?"

"You can go later today, Sam." Dr. Lam had entered to check on her patient. "You'll be using a wheelchair for a while, but you can leave."

Daniel left the room so Dr. Lam could examine Sam. He ran to the commissary to get some coffee for them both, and on the way back, ran into Jack.

"Is she up?"

"Yeah. Just grabbing her some coffee."

"She say anything yet?"

"Not asked. Dr. Lam's just checking on her right now, so I was going to wait outside. When do Vikki and Scott arrive?"

"They're being picked up at 1300."

"So we've got a few hours."

They had reached the infirmary and Daniel took a hesitant look around. Not seeing Sam in her bed he asked a nurse where she had gone. The nurse told him that she'd gone to change, but needed help, and would be back shortly. Daniel and Jack sat down to wait.

"So what do we do now?"

"I'm waiting from the report from the labs. The investigators gained access early this morning, and my guys are checking for signs that the goa'uld died." Jack ran his hands over his face.

"Then what?"

"Talk to Sam."

"We've got to talk to Vikki and Scott. Find out what they saw too. I mean, if they ran into the goa'uld, they could have information from him."

"And a lot of questions."

"Yeah. Why didn't anyone talk to them yesterday?"

"I stopped by and chatted to them briefly. I reminded them of the confidentiallity agreement, and would arrange for them to come here."

"Why didn't you bring them back on the Prometheus?"

"I wasn't sure what they knew, and if they didn't see anything, beaming them from Philadelphia to a ship in orbit around Earth, then to Colorado Springs, would need an explanation."

The two men sat in silence until the nurse indicated that Sam was ready for visitors. They entered the room, and sat down. Jack wondered if Carter remembered their conversation the night before. She had been out of it, and while they hadn't said much about what was between them, it had cleared the air. One look at her wary face told him she didn't remember.

"Sir."

"Carter. How are you feelin?"

"Better. Gonna be out of here in no time."

"Good. We need to ask you what you remember from yesterday."

"Sure."

Sam recounted everything from Daniel's second phone call, to running down the stairs, trying to get out of the building. When she was done, she sat back, watching them think.

"Now can you tell me what happened after I blacked out?"

"There's not that much to tell really. Jack got to the lab just as Vikki and Scott came outside."

"We saw the explosion, and after it had stopped, we went in to find you. The paramedics took you to the hospital, took some x-rays, and put a cast on your leg. Then we got you out of there, and brought you here."

"What did you break?" Daniel was curious, while Jack sat back, listening to them talk.

"I broke the fibula and tibia, halfway down between my knee and ankle. It's going to be while before I'm out and running again."

"You staying here on the base? You can't go home."

"Thanks for reminding me, Daniel. For now, I'm staying here. I'll be wheelchair bound for a while, and the elevators will make life easier for me."

The topic changed to a discussion of Ba'al, where he could be, and what was being done to find him. Jack stayed quiet, only answering the questions directed at him. He got up, muttering something about a phone call, and left the room. Daniel looked questioningly at Sam who glared right back.

"What? You think I caused him to leave?"

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to. I was being civil to him, just like I said I would."

"Yes, you were." Daniel sighed. At least the two of them had been in the same room together for a while. Knowing he wouldn't be getting anywhere with the currrent line of discussion, he changed the subject.

"Can I sign your cast?"

"Uh, sure. Just nothing that will make me blush."

"You really think I'd do that?"

"Yes."

Daniel took his time, and wrote something in ancient on her cast. Sam tried to look at it, but he covered it up with his hand.

"What does it say?"

"I can't tell you."

"C'mon Daniel. You wrote it on my leg! At least tell me what it means."

"Nope. You're going to have to figure it out."

"I bet I'll have it figured out by the time this cast is off."

"I'll take you up on that."

"What time is it?" Sam turned around several times, trying to see a clock.

"It's 11am."

"I'm hungry."

"When can you leave?"

"As long as she stays in the chair, and with you Dr. Jackson, she can leave now. But I want you back here tonight."

Dr. Lam wheeled the chair over to Sam's bed, and Daniel helped her into it. She waved mockingly at Carolyn, who grinned back, and sat back to enjoy her temporary freedom.

AN: If any of you have every broken your leg, and been stuck in a wheelchair, I would love to hear from you. How long were you in the wheelchair? How long on crutches? I'm guessing there's a chance of some sort of rehab too? How long do broken legs take to heal? Never having broken a leg, I don't have a clue on how long it will take to recover.

Leaving this on a light note for Christmas, but there may be an update tomorrow or on Boxing day. To each and every one of you, thank you for reading so far, and Merry Christmas.