Jack wasn't working in his borrowed office when Sam stopped by to pick him up on her way to the officer's mess that evening. He wasn't waiting for her there or in their quarters, either. Or in any of the first half-dozen other places she checked.

Finally, standing in the ship's crowded gymnasium, she stopped to think. To consider not the place but the man. If he wasn't still sitting at the console, arguing with diplomats and politicians, searching in hopeless desperation for a solution to a problem she knew in her heart-of-hearts to be unsolvable….

She found him in the darkened boardroom, standing in front of the large viewport. Staring out into the vastness of space beyond the glass. The hiss of the door at her entrance should have alerted him to her presence, but he didn't seemed to notice. So, hesitant to disturb his private musings without invitation, she stood just inside the door, watching him watch the stars.

"They seem so close." His voice was low when he finally spoke, as though speaking more to himself than to her. "Like we could reach out and touch them."

"They're beautiful." Even now, she couldn't deny that truth.

"Once upon a time, that wouldn't have been your first thought," he observed.

"People change."

"Hmmm… Maybe."

There was something in his tone, a deep underlying despair, which broke her heart. "They didn't agree."

"You knew they wouldn't." It was almost an accusation. Even though it was the truth.

"So did you."

He let out his breath on a long sigh. "Yeah…" He paused for a moment before continuing, still not turning to face her, his voice so quiet she had to strain to hear, "It's my fault, Sam."

"You're fault? How…?"

"I made him go."

"We discussed it. We both agreed…"

"No. I mean. I made him go. He didn't want to, and he ran. I found him and tricked him. He was so scared, and he fought… and I stuck a needle into him and put him to sleep and sent him away."

"It was for his own good. His protection. How could you have known…?"

"I lied to him, Sam. He was so desperate and scared. And I betrayed him. His last…" His voice broke, and he took a long slow breath before continuing, "I betrayed him. And now he's…."

There was nothing she could say. No words of comfort that could possibly help. "God.… Jack." She stepped forward, instinctively reaching toward him, but stopped mid-motion. He remained where he had stood, his back a barrier between them, and for one endless moment they stood motionless, a silent tableau suspended in time; her heart froze in her chest, her breath in her throat. Her entire future - their entire future - balanced on the razor edge of his next decision.

Then he was turning to her, reaching for her; she stepped forward into his embrace and he crushed her to his chest. Whatever happened - even if the very worst happened - at least they would be facing it together.

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

She wasn't sure how long they had been sitting together in the boardroom, her head on his shoulder, his arm holding her close, silently staring out the window into the nothingness beyond. The void in which, somewhere amongst those seemingly infinite stars, Matthew still lived and breathed and could be saved. If only they knew where; if only they had more time.

There was nothing else to do; nowhere else to be. They were on death watch and they both knew it, simply counting down the clock until the inevitable end.

And then, loud in the silence of the room, the speaker in Sam's ear came to life. "Bridge to Colonel Carter."

"Carter here."

"Ma'am, I think you're going to want to come up here."

Sam was already on to her feet and headed to the door, Jack right behind her. "What is it?"

"We've got a call from Major Henry, Ma'am, planetside. The Stargate has activated. And… Colonel… He's getting Master Teal'c's IDC."

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

They arrived on the bridge right after Teal'c, and Sam had her arms around him even before formally welcoming him aboard. As they separated, Jack stepped forward, clasping the other man's arm in the traditional Jaffa greeting before embracing him himself.

Before either Sam or Jack could ask why he had come, Teal'c said, without preamble, "We have found them, O'Neill."

The two desperate parents exchanged a quick glance before Jack asked, "You sure, T?"

"Indeed. We have had every available spy searching for the past two days, and that search has finally produced fruit." He patted the satchel slung across his shoulder. "I have brought maps and details of the location in which they are held. I believe we do not have much time…?"

"You didn't have to come yourself," Jack observed.

"Yes, I did." And then, smiling at his former comrades, Teal'c added, "It is a very old debt."