--Heliopolis--

Even though Jon finally lay quietly, Sam continued to stroke his back as she fought down her worry. Hating to leave him, she had to nonetheless as Jack was out there, alone. So gently she eased off his bed, kissing him one last time before heading back to the console in the den to monitor Jack's progress. Before going downstairs she made a fast detour to the bedroom and hurriedly changed into faded BDU's and then made for the kitchen to make a strong cup of tea.

After Jack had indicated he was on 'the Thor' and en route; Sam, who'd been holding Jon and monitoring the radio, noticed his strange apathy and how he could barely keep his eyes open. This in itself was unusual behavior for him. He normally required very little sleep. Still, Sam knew that sleep couldn't hurt him and had taken him to his room and settled with him on his bed. She'd hated leaving him but Jack needed her too, so compromisingly, she'd set up his baby monitor, adjusting the volume to the maximum setting.

Now, Sam waited restlessly for Jack to report back in as she sipped her hastily prepared tea and checked the monitors repeatedly. Jack would be hard pressed in his rescue work; she didn't want to bother him unnecessarily by radio chatter. But still! Shouldn't he have reported in by now? His last transmission had indicated he was on his way to Teal'c's position.

Nervously, she ran through all the shield diagnostics and verified everything seemed to be in order, everything but the strange power fluctuations that had been occurring more and more frequently and were becoming worrisome. 'I'll get on that puzzle when Jack and company return' she promised herself and then unable to take the silence any longer, she activated her radio, "Jack. Report please."

At that moment hearing something, she turned. Jon had just entered the room, his dark eyes huge in his small, flushed face. Instantly Sam felt his fear, no, his terror. One part of her mind was wondering why she hadn't heard him stir over the monitor. Throwing down the receiver, she'd only taken two steps toward him when the room went completely dark, all power gone.

"Crap!" she exclaimed and stopped in place to adjust to the gloom. Attempting to sound comforting, she spoke out to Jon, "Don't be frightened baby. It's just the storm. The lights will come back on when the backup generator kicks …" In the middle of her explanation the room lit up again – somewhat dimmer than before. In a flash, Sam got to him and scooped him into her arms.

Soothing him automatically, she turned a complete 360, scoping the room, not even knowing what she was looking for. A surge of adrenaline flooded her body leaving her feeling nauseous. The storm hadn't brought the power down. No, she could feel the threat. Holding a shaking Jon, she approached the monitors and her fears were confirmed. The shields were all completely down, leaving their location wide-open and vulnerable to attack – be it nature or otherwise.

She took up the radio, "Jack … please report." and waited. A long minute passed and she keyed it again… "Jack We have a problem – our power went out and the shield is down. The secondary generator is up but only able to sustain minimal power. Please respond."

As she waited she began examining Jon. Laying him across her lap, she studied his face taking in his closed eyes and furrowed brow. His eyelids were full of movement as if he was in the middle of active dreaming. Concerned, she caressed his forehead, moving the sweaty blonde hair out of his eyes. As soon as she did, she felt differently. Suddenly her head was full of noise, full of pain. She gulped back the nausea that came up her throat and let go of Jon's face to clutch her head in an effort to relieve the pain.

That was when his eyes snapped open; his brown pupils totally dilated making his brown eyes black. His gaze was staring at her but definitely unseeing as if in a trance-like state. She was unnerved by his appearance and gripping him by the shoulders, she shook him gently, then harder as he appeared to be completely out of it.

"Jon, you're scaring me. Look at Mommy. Talk to me, Jon." She whispered and ignored the thundering pounding in her own head, 'what was happening?" She felt like her head was going to explode at any moment.

Jon's body was shuddering violently and Sam held on praying that the seizure wouldn't last long. "Jon, you're sick. Just relax baby. Just relax…you'll feel better soon." Sam gently drew him close feeling as she did, how clammy his skin felt.

Her head had never hurt as badly as it was hurting now but ignored it; she had to take care of Jon. Closing her eyes for a moment to steady herself she felt a soft pressure over each of her temples and re-opening her eyes, she saw that Jon had clamped his hands on either side of her head. His seizure seemed to be abiding; his shivering was less intent and even though dilated, his eyes were staring into hers, his little face etched with his worry. Gulping down the hot acid in her throat, Sam felt the wondrous feeling of relief as her head pain receded under her son's small hot hands.

"Poor Mommy, it's too much for you." Jon said softly his eyes closing, his small face scrunched in pain as he held on; his palms growing even hotter against her head.

For a moment she relished the absence of the throbbing ache in her head until she felt his small body once again shuddering convulsively. With sudden insight, Sam understood what he was doing – drawing the pain out of her and into his own small body. Horrified, she found his hands and pulled them away from her head to witness his small form become quiet and slump back.

"Oh God, Jon, baby, you can't do that. Are you okay?" She caressed his cheek and felt the pain in her head start up again. 'What was happening to her?'

Jon's vacant expression changed becoming more focused, more determined as his eyes found hers, "Mommy. I have to go now."

"What are you saying Jon? Where do you want to go…the bathroom?"

"No. I have to leave here." His small arm gestured around him as his dark eyes, full of his unusual intelligence and reflective of his old soul, looked sadly at her.

He struggled in her arms to be put down, but Sam determinedly held on to him. Hitting the radio button again, as she gripped Jon she yelled, "Jack, respond now."

"I don't want you to die, Mommy… Let me go! They're here. They told me if I leave with them then you will live. Daddy and Uncle Teal'c and even Uncle Daniel will all live."

"Who's here baby? Who was talking to you?" Sam worriedly felt his forehead wondering if he was hallucinating even as she couldn't help glancing around the room in a moment of paranoia. "No one's here Jon… your daddy will be here soon. Come on, you need some medicine to help you feel better."

"They're here… they're here… they're here…" Jon chanted woodenly and then struggled to be released.

Suddenly Sam was in a real fight to hold onto him, his strength was suddenly unnatural. Then, as if a switch had been pressed, her head was assaulted with waves of massive pain once again. As she felt her strength wane, she wondered if she was having a stroke. Desperately she retained her grip on him, doing her best to reason with him, calm him down and it was then she noticed the blood dripping, then flowing steadily, bloodying her shirt, staining Jon's white blonde hair and face. She was bleeding heavily from her nose and then felt the liquid warmness filling her ears and leaking from her eyes; drenching both her and Jon in crimson wetness at an alarmingly fast rate.

Jon screeched shrilly, reaching for her face again, "Mommy let me help you. Please!" he appealed as her blood streamed down his own face, soaking his clothes and body.

Sam held his arms at his side, not allowing him access to her face.

She then realized that truly someone was there. Jon was not hallucinating. Before she got any weaker, she shook him gently to get his attention, her eyes blazing as she stared into his, "PROMISE Me Jon that you will NOT go voluntarily. Go to your hiding place and do what your Dad and I taught you to do. Shut your thoughts down. Jon…. This is an order. A team order…you have to obey. Now go."

Through his tears, he first shook his head violently, not wanting to mind, and then he slowly nodded in acquiescence. His whole body shuddering with his anguish, he then begged brokenly, his eyes brimming and overflowing, "Mommy I can still save you … please let me leave with them."

Sam hung on, feeling her heart beginning to flutter strangely, "Jon… shut your thoughts down… don't talk to them…don't talk to anyone…go hide…that's … an order." Then the darkness came over her and she felt him slipping away from her, his jagged sobbing tore at her. 'Go now…my baby.' She murmured and then blacked out.

When awareness returned she found herself lying where she'd dropped, alone. Feeling the pooling blood she analytically wondered if a biological agent had been used and if so, she prayed that Jon wasn't affected.

Pulling at her shirt, she held it to her nose and mouth trying to staunch the flow. She felt nauseous, but ignored it. Raising her head, she strained to see the room and saw that Jon was indeed gone.

Just then the radio sounded, "Sam, our radio was out for awhile –we were attacked by some sort of beam but we're all okay – and coming in now. Go to full alert plus one, Sam. Come back." Jack's voice echoed hollowly through the room. Opening her eyes, Sam forced herself to concentrate.

Still bleeding, she wasn't sure how long she had, but her one thought was to warn them. She began pulling herself forward, leaving a dark bloody trail across the floor behind her. Finally she got there just as Jack's voice once again sounded, "Uhh…. Sam, we're enroute …please respond." She could hear his calmness, his assuredness. His voice made her stronger. 'Amazing how that works' she thought as she gritted her teeth and pulled herself up to the console.

Just as she was about to activate the radio, she sensed them. Slowly, she turned to face the doorway and everything suddenly became clearer. "You! How did you get in here?" She asked hoarsely, her throat raw and swelling. She should have known. She should have figured it out and her brain screamed in frustration at her ineptitude. Her thoughts filled with little remembered facts, and the monitoring that she had surreptitiously continued on her own, even as she never really understood why she had.

Everything fit. Their modus operandi was one of patient yet overwhelming selfish destruction of whoever stood in the way of their goal. 'I have to warn Jack' she thought as she felt herself grow weaker.

"How we got here is of no import Samantha Carter. We have come for your child. If you continue to hemorrhage you will surely die."

"I'm pretty certain if it's up to you, I'll surely die anyway. You will NOT take my son. " Her deadly calm manner was a surprise to them and for a moment they were taken aback. She was not as they had anticipated. Undefeated, defiant even as she barely stood, blood-soaked and alone.

Surreptitiously she found the zat gun that Jack kept hidden under the console and in one motion she brought it up, and expeditiously shot both intruders not once, but twice each; wanting them dead immediately. The result was not what she desired as their images shimmered and wavered before turning solid again. "You're …holograms." She whispered.

"They were… but we're not." Their voices were now behind her, and she felt rather than saw the arm come around her to jerk the gun out of her grip. Then she felt the weight of his body as he leaned around her to get to the console and switch the radio off.

She pushed backwards in an attempt to unbalance him but he was too swift and moved back adroitly so that she fell onto her back, her eyes stared up at the figure standing over her. "Tell us where your child is…."

Relief flooded over her that Jon had eluded them. Her defiance blazed out from her eyes as she found the strength to say, "Molum, if you go now and leave my son, unharmed I promise you that Jack and I won't hunt you down and kill you."

The Aschen merely stared, his patronizing manner more apparent than ever as he studied her bloodied form with repugnance, "YOU? I doubt you'll live to see the end of this day. Nor will your arrogant husband … unless he gives up the child."

"THAT will never happen." She vowed. The Aschen leader tried to conceal his chagrin but wasn't able to completely as he responded, "EVEN if it means that you will die? Who would he choose if he has to decide between you or the child? What if it is between you, Dr. Jackson and the leader of the Asgards for the child?"

Disbelief and even pity reflected in Sam's face. "You have no idea do you? We treasure our children – there's no choice to be made." Molum glanced at the silent Aschen by his side, before looking down at her again.

"Borren and I think that you are telling a lie Samantha Carter. It is said by all, that O'Neill treasures you beyond all things." Ignoring her then, Molum activated a device in his hand and spoke very softly for some length before then listening intently to the response.

Sam felt the weakness envelope her body and couldn't find the energy to answer. Her mind though, continued to work, she needed to somehow alert Jack as to the nature of their threat -- the Aschen. Lying on the floor, she felt the blood on her blouse, with as little movement as possible she used her bloodied finger to write, concealing it with her leg.

When, abruptly she was surrounded by a brilliance that suffused the room as she heard pieces of their conversation, "take her…be prepared…unable to locate the …must return now…"

End of Part 8 –