For those of my reviewers and readers who have not read this yet (or are trying to reread it...) I wanted to add a little author's note to explain what happened. For some reason, on my computer, I didn't have the last little bit that I had on the internet. I remembered writing it, but thought that my computer had lost it before I could post it. I rewrote it, and this is what came out. What was previously the Chapter called "Confessions" is now both "Confessions" and "Getting Treated." The end is the new ending. So, I'm sorry for the confusion...I'll remember to put an author note up firstnext time!

"Grace!" Jack said, standing up in the middle of his embrace. He urgently stepped out of the room and into the bedroom where the seven-year-old lay unconscious on the ground.

"Jack!"

Jack was instantly on the ground. "Call the Doc. Tell her we're bringing Grace in."

Sam's heart stopped beating at the sight of the little girl on the ground. No! Her heart breathed.

"GO! That's an order!" He barked.

Instantly, she was on the phone. "Janet, we have a problem."

Ten minutes later, Jack and Sam arrived at the infirmary, carrying the now-shivering Grace in a large blanket. "Sam, what happened?"

"I don't know." She said in a panicked voice. "The Colonel and I were talking and all of a sudden, he said her name, and we found her like this."

"Colonel, I'll take it from here." She said, as Jack laid her on the bed. He nodded, numbly. Charlie, Grace…

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Sam standing in shock. "Carter."

She turned, only half-looking at him.

"C'mere."

She obliged and he put his arm around her. "It's going to be okay. Everything's going to be fine."

She nodded as a shiver ran down her spine. She started shaking, unable to stop. One of the nurses came by. "Major Carter's in shock." He said, indicating that she, too, needed attention.

They tried to lead her away from Jack, and she shook her head. "No."

"Carter, they need to treat you. You're in shock."

She swallowed. "You come with me."

He looked over to where Janet and her crew were working to save Grace and then at Sam. He nodded. "Okay."

She tuned back to the nurse and nodded.

--

Janet approached the area of the infirmary where Sam was being treated for shock. "Colonel." She greeted.

"Doc."

"How is she?" Sam asked, wrapped in warm blankets, and no-longer shivering.

"We've stabilized her for now."

"What happened?" Jack asked.

"Honestly, Colonel, I don't know. As far as I can tell she was in perfect health when this came on."

"But she was convulsing!" He said, as if no one else realized it.

"I know." Janet said, soothingly.

"Jack, was there anything that might have sent her into this distress? I mean, emotionally?" Sam asked, remembering the rather unique bond that he seemed to have with the little girl.

"Like?"

"You and Grace have some kind of empathic bond."

"Which means?"

"Jack, you could sense that Grace was in trouble without her uttering a single word. She talks to you in your mind, and you have no idea what happened?"

He concentrated, thinking about the feeling of fear and danger that had come over him when he had run into her room to find her on the floor. "I got nothin'."

Suddenly, one of the nurses who had been attending Grace alongside Dr. Frasier walked into the room. "Doctor Frasier, she's awake."

She turned. "Thank you." She returned to Sam and Jack. "If you will excuse me."

"We're coming with you." Sam said, rising to her feet. She faltered and Jack caught her.

"Sam, you're being treated for shock. You need to rest."

"I need to make sure that Grace is okay." Sam said, all the determination of a mother shining in her eyes.

Janet studied Sam, who was still leaning on Jack, and nodded. "All right. But you return when I tell you to. Understood?"

She nodded. Janet turned and walked away as Sam and Jack looked at one another. Hesitantly, Jack moved his arm from underneath her arm to her waist, providing her with a sense of support, while not being a awkward crutch. She looked at him, and gave him a grim smile, silently signaling her approval and at the same time, thanking him for taking the initiative.

Sam and Jack walked into the isolation room where Grace was being kept, more than a few steps behind Janet.

The little girl stared at Sam and Jack, her expression full of confusion. "Mommy? Daddy?"

Sam looked at Jack and quickly, she stepped out of his embrace. "No, Grace, it's…it's not your mommy and daddy. It's Sam and Jack. Remember? We were at Jack's house when you got sick."

Sadness returned to her eyes as she nodded.

"Grace, what happened?"

"I felt sad. Really sad."

Sam and Jack exchanged looks before returning their attention to Grace. "Were you sad that you parents died?"

She shook her head. "I felt your sadness. And I was scared."

"Whose sadness?" Janet asked, gently.

"Theirs." She said, pointing at Sam and Jack. "It was just like when my parents died."

"Your parents were sad when they died?" Sam asked, recovering from the shock that Grace had physically felt the emotional burden that she and Jack had shared.

"No. They were sad before they told me that we were leaving. But after that, I didn't know what they were feeling."

"How did that happen?" Janet asked, stroking her long brown hair.

"They were thinking just one thing. Save Grace. I didn't know whether they were scared or sad or anything besides that."

"You know what we're thinking?" Janet asked, surprised.

She shook her head. "Just my mom and dad…or Sam and Jack, I guess. They called it selective SPE."

"ESP?" Sam corrected.

She nodded. "They said I was really special."

"You are." Jack reiterated.

"Thank you."

"Well, if you're able to read both of our thoughts and feelings, how come I can't read yours while Colonel O'Neill can?"

Jack tried not to let it bother him that after an afternoon of her calling him Jack, she had returned to her old habit of calling him Colonel O'Neill or sir.

You love her.

Jack looked up, surprised. "Huh?"

"What, sir?" Sam asked, looking up at him.

"Nothing."

She returned to Grace. "Because of the gene."

"I see." Sam said, still confused.

She loves you too.

"I can sense Mom's…Sam's thoughts because of the naquadah and the gene combination. That's why I can sense her feelings, but she can't sense mine."

"Oh." Sam said, the explanation making a little bit of sense.

That's not possible. He thought when he realized that Grace was talking to him through their shared internal connection.

Yes, it is. She's just afraid about what she thinks you really think about what she told you.

How do you know about that?

I don't know what it is that she told you, but I know that it was very important to both of you, and that she's scared you don't really like her after you found out about her secret.

Well, you're right. It's very important to both of us. But that doesn't mean that I don't like her.

Tell her.

I tried!

Well, she's scared about the rules. Whatever those are.

Jack took a deep breath, in frustration.

"Sir?" Janet asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just…Carter, a word?"

She froze. "Yes, sir." She complied, submissively.

"We'll be right back." He said, mostly for Janet's benefit.

They walked out to the hallway where Jack turned to her. "Sam…I'm not happy about how things turned out with Jonah and Thera."

She gasped, trying not to burst into tears again.

"But…" He continued.

"But?" She asked, surprised.

"That's not your fault. I…we should have given it more of a chance. Then, maybe we wouldn't be so afraid to deal with this."

"I'm not afraid." She said, defensively.

"Yes, Sam, you are. You and I have both been afraid for too long. I'm going to do what I should have done four years ago. I'm going to resign."

"What? You can't do that?"

"Sam…please. I can't keep living like this, and…if Grace is going to be a permanent resident in our reality, we can't risk having another moment like we had at my house. We need to be completely honest with ourselves and with each other."

She nodded, tears falling despite her ironclad defenses.

"C'mere." He said, pulling her into an embrace. "Do you want to try to work this…thing out?" he asked. "If you don't want to…"

"I do." She whispered.

"Then, that's it…I'm talking to General Hammond first thing tomorrow morning."

She nodded, though she was still in the protection of his embrace.

He put his hand under her chin and forced her to look up at him. "I…I love you, Samantha. Don't you ever forget that."

She swallowed, trying to blink back tears as she nodded. "I love you too."

"Good. Now, let's go and be there for Grace. She needs us…you AND me right now."

She nodded, wiping the tears from her face. Then, he took his hand from around her waist, something that they both knew needed to be done, but that made them both ache inside. The thought of tomorrow hung in the air, and they were desperately clinging to that hope. Only another twenty-four hours…