A/N: Thank you all again for the kind words. Some of you have asked about the Asgard or the Nox…well, you'll find some of the answers in this chapter.

Chapter 13

It was dark by the time Jack pulled up to his small cabin in Silver Lake, Minnesota. He and Sam had made the long drive without stopping for more than gas, restroom breaks, and some last minute essential groceries. Their objective was simple–put distance between themselves and whatever was happening at the SGC. Given their options, the secluded cabin had been the obvious choice.

"It's beautiful, sir," Sam breathed out in awe as she stared up at the night sky, taking in the millions of stars twinkling high above them.

Jack paused, watching Sam see his favorite place for the first time. It wasn't exactly how he'd imagined her first visit, but the look of wonder on her face was no less mesmerizing. Then he remembered why they'd come. With a tight smile he pulled their bags out of the back of the truck. "Come on, Carter," he looked around, feeling ill at ease in this place for the first time ever, "let's get inside."

Sam nodded, tearing her eyes away from the beautiful sight. "Lead the way, sir," she gestured for him to go first, following him inside once he'd unlocked the door.

It was a relatively small cabin, but Sam was struck by how cozy it felt. The living room was set up with a couch and two recliners, positioned around a fireplace. There was no television, which wasn't surprising given how Jack always described this place as his retreat from reality.

"Bedrooms are back this way," he motioned for her to follow. Opening the door to the right, Jack entered the guest bedroom and placed her duffel bag on the bed. "There's only one bathroom," he said apologetically, "but you can go ahead and use it first. Hot water's a little finicky."

"It'll be fine, sir," she replied, a sudden nervousness enveloping her. The idea of coming to Jack's cabin had always seemed to represent something unspoken between them. On the drive here, she'd been too preoccupied by everything that had happened to consider the symbolism behind where they were headed. But now it was staring her in the face.

"My room's right across the hall," Jack told her, turning to leave as silence stretched between them.

"Sir–" Sam started to say, waylaying him, but words failed her. She didn't even know what she wanted to say. He looked at her, quietly waiting for her to speak. "Thank you," she finally rushed out.

Jack nodded. "I'll grab the groceries from the truck and get some dinner started," he said, then left her alone.

Sam sighed inwardly and shook her head at her own foolishness. She was pregnant with Jack's child; she had no right to feel this nervous around him. It wasn't like anything had changed between them. Not really. He was still her CO. They were still bound by rules and regulations.

Grabbing her soap, shampoo and a towel, Sam made her way to the bathroom and started the shower. She had to fiddle with the hot water, but eventually steam began to rise as it heated up. Stripping, she stepped under the spray and closed her eyes.

The tears came unexpectedly as water poured over her head and ran down her body. By the time she shut off the shower and padded barefoot into the kitchen, she'd regained control of her emotions. "Something smells good," she said as her stomach growled loudly, reminding her she hadn't eaten since breakfast.

Jack looked up, still dressed in his BDUs, as Sam joined him in the kitchen. She had changed into a pair of black yoga pants and a gray tank top. Her face was scrubbed pink but there was a telltale red rim around her eyes. She'd been crying. He forced a tentative smile onto his face and motioned for her to grab a seat at the table.

"I fixed us some dinner," he said, setting the plate in front of her, knowing she needed to eat. He felt useless as they waited for word from Danny and T, but at least Jack could make sure she was fed. "I'm not much of a chef," he added, grabbing his own plate and joining her at the table.

"It's delicious," she said around a bite of food. "I didn't know you could cook, sir."

Jack shrugged. "Chicken and vegetables doesn't really count as cooking."

They ate in silence, neither one knowing what to say. As Jack chewed his last bite of food, he frowned, not liking the awkward tension around them. During the drive, they'd both been focused on forming contingency plans for various outcomes of Woolsey's naive negotiations. Neither of them expected Woolsey to be successful and, while Sam wouldn't typically agree to sit on the sidelines, even she had seen the wisdom of bugging out while they had the chance.

As her commanding officer, Jack had hastily approved a week's worth of leave and asked Walter to quietly process it without letting anyone discover she'd left town. While most of the SGC were aware Jack owned a cabin in Minnesota, he knew the men and women he commanded would never tell Woolsey about the hideaway. Due to a small town oversight, the cabin was still officially recorded in his maternal grandfather's name. Jack paid the taxes each year in cash, throwing in a little extra for the town Recorder, knowing a spot off-grid might one day come in handy. By the time the IOA figured out where Sam had gone, Jack hoped they'd have bought themselves enough time for the Asgard or Tok'ra to respond to his calls for help.

"Sir–" Sam started to say something as Jack's cell phone rang.

"It's Danny," he told her, looking at the caller ID. "You're on speaker," he told their friend after pressing the answer button.

" Did you make it?" Daniel asked stiffly, making Jack look at Sam. They could both tell something was wrong by his clipped tone.

"We did," Jack answered. "How bad did it go?"

" Bad ."

"How bad?" Jack grimaced, knowing one of Daniel's tells was trying to soften the blow of really bad news.

" Woolsey did a decent job at first. I thought for a while he might pull it off."

"Daniel," Jack ground out. He didn't need a play-by-play.

"Shen offered them the baby."

"What?!" Sam gasped, her eyes locking onto Jack's. This was their absolute worst case scenario. They'd both expected it to come to this but not on the very first day of negotiations.

"After it's born," Daniel's voice dripped with barely contained outrage. "In exchange, the Kisqua will hand over all of their technology. Half now, half after."

Jack surged to his feet, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"There's more, " Daniel said tightly. "Shen promised Cholti one of his doctors could examine Sam. Tomorrow."

"Over my dead body," Jack snarled. He looked at Sam to see her eyes clenched shut, her face had gone pale. He remembered the last time a Kisqua doctor had examined her. He also knew they wouldn't stop there. If they got near her…

"Walter made contact with Hammond," Daniel rushed out. "Crap, " he muttered quietly. The line went dead as Daniel suddenly ended the call.

"This can't be happening," Sam whispered, her head dropping into her hands. When she looked up, her eyes were filled with fear and hopelessness.

"Hey," Jack immediately dropped to his knees beside her, ignoring the sharp pain the move caused, "I'm not going to let this happen."

"You can't stop it," she said brokenly, a single tear streaking down her cheek.

"Maybe not, but we can," he told her. "We've pulled off the impossible before. We'll do it again."

"What if we can't?" Sam looked at him helplessly. It was a look he'd never seen on her face before. "What if–" she swallowed hard. "What if all we do is condemn our child to life as a lab rat?"

Jack stared at her, knowing what she was asking. The thought had crossed his mind more than once, but he wasn't willing to entertain it just yet. He watched her face read his, looking for the slightest bit of hesitation. "C'mere," he pulled her into his arms, not answering her question.

Sam collapsed against him, winding her arms around his neck and holding him close.

"I'm not letting them take our child, Sam," Jack vowed fiercely, "I promise."

He felt her nod against his shoulder. He'd die before letting anyone touch her or their child and she knew it.

"I need to go back to the SGC," he stated, easing away from her and standing up.

Sam felt panic rise within her. They'd briefly discussed Jack remaining in Colorado while Sam came to the cabin alone, but had quickly dismissed the idea. They were better together and they both knew it.

"If I go back, I can get another message out to Thor or your father, maybe get through the gate and track him down myself," Jack told her, rehashing contingency plans they'd already discarded.

Sam shook her head and stood up, moving quickly to her room and grabbing an object out of her duffel bag before coming back into the kitchen. "You don't need to go to the SGC," she told him, placing a small, white, triangular object on the table.

Jack's eyebrows rose as he looked at the Asgard communications device. "Does it work?" He knew the geeks in the labs had been trying to get the thing to work for months without much success. They'd given up, assuming it was only active when an Asgard ship was in orbit.

Sam nodded. "Before Fifth abducted me, Thor gave me access to a lot of Asgard schematics. I altered it to work for long-range communications."

"Damn, Carter," Jack huffed out a breath, "why didn't you tell me you had this sooner?"

"Plausible deniability, sir," Sam shrugged. "If things worked out, I was going to replace it as soon as we went back."

"And now?" He arched an eyebrow at her.

Sam looked him in the eyes. "Assuming we make it out of this in one piece, I expect you'll have to court martial me for stealing alien technology."

Jack rolled his eyes at her words and picked up the small device. Sam positioned his fingers at two and ten o'clock, then touched a spot on the very top of the smooth surface.

"All you should have to do is speak into it," Sam made a gesture for him to say something.

"This is Jack O'Neill calling for Thor—um, Supreme Commander Thor," Jack frowned, "of the Asgard fleet." He rushed to add at the end. Now what? He mouthed at Sam who shrugged back.

"Greetings, O'Neill," Thor's voice materialized at the same time his holographic form appeared a few feet in front of them. "Colonel Carter," the little alien nodded his head at her. "I see you have successfully adapted one of our communications devices," his tone held a note of pride.

"She did," Jack nodded, always eager to give her credit and praise, "but we're not calling to show off our accomplishments."

"I assumed not," Thor frowned. "We have received your distress call, O'Neill, but I fear there is nothing I can do."

"Why not?" Jack asked sharply.

"The Kisqua are known to the Asgard," Thor explained. "They are a remnant of a former powerful race that have developed technologies to rival our own. To engage in a conflict with them so soon after defeating the Replicators, would likely result in an intergalactic war we could not win," he looked pained by his words.

"We're not asking for you to wage a war here," Jack tried to keep the panic he felt out of his voice. "Just take Carter with you. Keep her away from them while I figure a way out of this mess."

"Sir," Sam warned.

"What is their interest in Colonel Carter?" Thor cocked his head. "I was under the impression it was your Ancient genetics you referred to in your message."

Jack shifted uncomfortably, looking at Sam. When he'd sent the message, he might have left out that key piece of information.

"I'm pregnant," Sam stated plainly.

Thor cocked his head in an Asgardian manner, his eyes narrowing a bit.

"I'm the father," Jack said, making Thor's eyes widen in surprise.

"I see," Thor finally nodded, "I can understand why the Kisqua would be interested in that particular combination of genetics. I was unaware you had decided to procreate."

"We, ah, didn't," Jack shifted nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "The Kisqua–" he gestured between himself and Sam.

"They didn't obtain our permission," Sam interjected diplomatically, her voice steely. "Colonel O'Neill and I were forced into this position."

Thor's head jerked back slightly at that news. "Are you saying the Kisqua created this child against your will?" He sounded appalled at the implication.

"Yup," Jack nodded. "Against both our wills."

Thor frowned. "This is a violation of our treaty with them," his voice rushed out.

"You have a treaty with them?" Jack asked, incredulously.

"Yes," Thor nodded. "We have a treaty with most of the advanced races in this region of space," he explained calmly.

"And you folks are aware these guys are a form of Ancients?"

"They are not Ancients," Thor sounded angry at the assertion.

"No," Sam quickly agreed, "but they do share a common ancestry with them–Alteran."

"You are correct," Thor frowned. "Long ago, before the Ancients came to this region of space, their species faced a philosophical split that divided them into two factions."

"The Kisqua and the Ancients," Jack guessed.

"No," Thor shook his head. "The Alterans who came to this region of space refused to speak the name of the other faction and to this day, the Asgard do not know who they were."

"Oy," Jack huffed out a breath.

"Among the Alterans who traveled here, were those who believed it was wrong to cast off away from their brethren because of philosophical beliefs and sought to bring the 'old ways' back," Thor explained. "Two divisions emerged. The Ancients, who were driven by scientific exploration, and the Kisqua, who allowed their minds to be swayed by illogical beliefs. The Ancients began to fear that what had happened in their home galaxy was happening again and decided to take action."

"They stripped the Kisqua of the ATA gene and their knowledge," Sam guessed based upon the similarities between Daniel's theory and what Thor was telling them.

"You are correct."

"I'm guessing it didn't go exactly as planned," Jack quipped.

"On the contrary," Thor replied, "it went exactly as planned. The Kisqua were reduced to a primitive society and were placed on an uninhabited planet where they could thrive. The Ancients asked the Asgard to keep watch over the Kisqua, not daring to interact with them, lest the secret of the betrayal was discovered."

"So what happened?"

"The Kisqua developed naturally over a hundred thousand years until they discovered a repository of knowledge left behind by the Ancients," Thor frowned.

"Figured out what happened?" Jack guessed.

"Yes." Thor shook his head sadly. "My ancestors, while they had not taken part in the act, had worked to conceal it. The Kisqua viewed this as an even bigger betrayal."

"I imagine they would," Sam nodded, she would probably feel the same way.

"I was very young when it happened," Thor explained, giving Sam and Jack some understanding of the amount of time that had passed. "The Kisqua lashed out, killing many of my kind, including my parents."

"Thor, I'm so sorry," Sam said sadly. She hadn't even considered Thor having parents, let alone losing them.

"It was long ago," he responded. "We were the more advanced race at the time; therefore, the conflict was swiftly ended and a treaty enacted."

"Let me guess, no making babies from two unwilling participants?" Jack grumbled.

"Among other things," Thor nodded. "The Asgard sought to ensure the Kisqua would never obtain access to the knowledge of the Ancients through artificial means."

"You thought they needed to grow up some more," Sam finally understood.

"Precisely."

"Alright," Jack clapped his hands together. "They are in violation of the treaty, let's go kick their butts back into submission."

Thor shook his head. "As I have said, the Kisqua's capabilities have advanced greatly since our last encounter. We would be unable to defend against them so soon after having defeated the Replicators."

"What about your other allies?" Jack asked hopefully. "Surely, the Kisqua are a threat to the entire galaxy if they get their hands on the repository."

"They are, but only the Nox are advanced enough to defend against an outright attack," Thor informed them sadly.

"They're pacifists," Jack grumbled, remembering how the Nox always refused to do more than defend themselves peacefully.

"No, wait," Sam tapped her fingers against her thigh, "Lya has helped us before. They saved us from Apophis and hid the ion cannon on Tolla. I'm guessing they won't like what the Kisqua have done and might help us again."

"The Nox will not fight," Thor shook his head.

"No, they won't," Sam agreed, "but we don't need them to."

A slow grin spread across Jack's face as he caught onto her plan. "I know you can't be drawn into a direct conflict with the Kisqua," Jack said, "but would you be willing to transmit a request to the Nox for us?"

"Of course, O'Neill," Thor nodded. "What is it you wish to request?"

"Sanctuary."