The tent flap had barely closed behind them before she was in his arms and for several long, silent moments, they simply clung to each other, neither needing nor having words to speak. It was enough - it was everything - to simply know they were no longer alone with their fear and grief.

Finally though, Sam asked, separating just far enough to look up into his face, "How on earth did you talk them into letting you come?" She didn't even bother asking the why. She'd realized his presence had been inevitable the moment she'd seen him step through the 'gate. Jack never broke a promise, and she knew - possibly better even than he did himself - exactly where his priorities lay.

"We're not the only ones who had a child here, Sam."

"Oh… God." Because, no matter how hard it was to be there, not being there must have been infinitely worse.

Jack's arms tightened around her. "Yeah. So you can see why it was easy…"

She nodded. "Yes.. But--"

They were interrupted by shouting and commotion outside just as Major Henry's voice came over Sam's earpiece. "General O'Neill, Colonel Carter… I think you're going to want to see this."

Stepping outside, they found a group of soldiers, the source of the noise and confusion, gathered in the clearing near the 'gate. Major Henry beckoned them over. As they drew closer, Sam could see Sergeant Mullie, the medic, kneeling next to a child lying in the midst of the group, and for one terrifying moment she was afraid it might be Matthew before realizing the child's hair was brown, not blond. And as she watched, the small figure turned his head towards the medic. So at least he wasn't--

Still, he was someone's child, and Sam couldn't suppress a surge of concern at the paleness of his features beneath the dirt and grime. "Sergeant?" she asked the medic, who was just placing her stethoscope back into her case.

Mullie looked up over her shoulder at Sam. "He checks out okay, Ma'am."

Jack was already kneeling down in the dirt next to the child and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "You okay, son?" he asked. Sam realized she wasn't the only one affected by the child's similarity to Matthew.

The boy nodded, "Yeah.. I'm not hurt. I'm okay."

"What's your name?"

"Jason. Jason O'Keefe."

"Well, Jason. How about we get you up off this ground and somewhere you can get some warm food and clean clothes?"

"Yes… please." Sam couldn't help smiling a little at his last minute addition of the word.

Jack turned to look up at Sam. "Carter?"

She turned to Major Henry. "Take over down here, Major. Keep looking for anything that might tell us what happened. General O'Neill and I will take Jason back up to the Hammond." As she'd given the order, Jack had scooped the child into his arms and stepped back to Sam's side. Touching the button on her communicator, she switched to long-range comms. "Hammond, this is Colonel Carter."

"Yes, Ma'am?"

"Three to bring up, on my signal."

"Yes, Ma'am."

And, a few seconds later, the world dissolved around her in a flash of white, and was gone.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Jack had stayed in the infirmary with Jason while Sam had returned to her bridge, and it wasn't until the child had had something to eat and drink, and been medicated into a fitful slumber, that he joined Sam. She looked up as he approached her chair.

At her expectant look, he began, knowing what she was asking without her needing to ask. "They're all okay, Carter. They left him behind so he could tell us."

"Us?"

"Well, whichever ship from Earth came to investigate the loss of contact with the base."

"Tell us what?"

"They've taken them, Sam. Somehow, the Lucian Alliance found out about the Alpha Site… and who we send there.. And figured out it was the best way to get leverage."

"What do they want?" she asked.

"We're to stay in orbit here. They'll be contacting us when they're ready to talk."

He paused for a moment to let the information sink in, and tried to ignore the desperate hope in the look Sam gave him when it finally did. The Lucian Alliance had been a thorn in their side for years, and he knew them well enough to be sure her hope was unfounded. Those people couldn't be trusted. Not with anything. And certainly not with the life of his son.

And if anyone thought he was going to sit around on his ass and wait for them while Matthew's life hung in the balance… Jack O'Neill might have gotten older and softer stuck behind that desk, but he wasn't dead. Not yet.