Jack got back late that evening. He'd had to go to the new store to speak to one of their suppliers and it had taken longer than he'd hoped. He knew he was late for dinner, but hopefully Magrit saved something for him.

He cursed softly as he thought about the boys. He'd promised to take them to see Willem's new puppies and now it would be too late. He hated breaking promises, so he'd have to apologize and take them tomorrow.

He grinned as he thought about those puppies. They were the cutest darned things, and he knew that the boys would clamor for one. He'd already spoken about it to Ethan – and to Magrit – and they'd both agreed that a puppy would be good for the boys, although Magrit had rolled her eyes. She knew, very well, who would end up feeding them and watching out for them. He'd reached down and given her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll help," he told her. She'd swatted him but had grinned. Magrit viewed Jack as another one of "her boys" who she loved to death – and Jack thought of her as a favorite aunt, who spoiled him, but also made him mind.

He hadn't told the boys that they were going to bring one of the puppies home with them. They would have been bouncing off the walls if they knew what was to come so was keeping it as a surprise. He'd already bought the supplies which were hidden in his room.

He wouldn't have admitted it to a soul, but he was as excited as he knew the boys would be. He'd always wanted a dog, but with his work on Sg1, hadn't been able to look after one. He suspected that Sam knew exactly how he was feeling, but she had the grace not to say anything. He had caught her smirking at him a few times, though. He chuckled. He guessed he shouldn't be surprised that she knew him as well as she did.

When he arrived home, he'd barely opened the door when both Magrit and Ethan practically pounced on him.

"Sorry," he said, "my meeting with Albin took longer -"

"Jack," Ethan interrupted him, "The boys – and Sam – they're gone."

Jack frowned. "What? What do you mean, they're gone?"

"When you weren't home in time, the boys begged her to take them to Willem's to see the puppies. They never returned. I even went to Willem's, and he said they'd left almost two hours ago. We don't know where they are."

"Did you check with Magnus and Magda – maybe she took them to their place?" Jack could feel his heart rate increase and his hands started to sweat.

"They're not there," Magrit said, tears in her eyes. "We've looked everywhere. Sam wouldn't just take them somewhere and not tell us."

No, Jack knew that she was much too responsible for that. "Has someone contacted Hiram?" he asked, now very seriously worried.

"Yes," Ethan answered. "He was here but left to see if he could find out anything. He's got his men searching everywhere. Where could they be?"

"I don't know," Jack answered, although he had an idea of what might be going on. It had to be Leron. Damn – he should have dealt with that bastard weeks ago.

"Come on – let's go into the parlor. Magrit, can you make some tea and maybe a piece of cake or something for me. I haven't eaten. Ethan, I need my weapons. Can you get them? I'm going to go change and then I'm going to go see Hiram. Don't worry," he stopped and looked at the two people who had become family. "We'll find them."

He strode quickly to his room and opened the bottom drawer of his dresser. He'd packed away all the supplies he'd brought with him from Earth – except for his weapons. He'd had Ethan store them in a locker in one of his warehouses. There was no way Jack would have them around the boys.

He pulled out the spare BDU's he'd kept in his pack. He was still surprised that his kidnappers hadn't touched his things – but at the same time was grateful.

He quickly dressed in his uniform, his tac vest and boots (fortunately Meron's men hadn't destroyed them) and grabbed all the supplies that he thought would be useful, placing them in the pockets of his vest. Now all he needed were his weapons.

He strode downstairs – once again dressed and acting like Colonel Jack O'Neill. Sam would have instantly recognized him! His team was in trouble, and he was going to save them.

"What are you doing, Jack?" Ethan looked at him in surprise. "What are you wearing?"

"This is equipment that will help me," he told the older man. "I'm going to get Sam and the boys back. Did you get my weapons?"

"Yes, they're in my office. Why do you need them? What's happening? What do you know?"

"Nothing – at least nothing for certain. I expect this may be Leron, out for revenge against me."

"Leron? But – but he's gone."

"I think he wanted us to think that."

Jack went and retrieved his weapons. Part of him hated having to carry them once more, but he was also grateful that he had them. He was now prepared to face Leron – or whoever had Sam and the boys. He had become, once more, the black-ops soldier, the commander, the Colonel who had saved Earth and other planets countless times. Now he had to save his friend and two children – all who meant the world to him.

Just then they heard a knock on the door followed by the swift entrance of Hiram Greenbul.

"Jack!" Hiram strode over to him quickly. "It was Leron."

"That's what I figured," Jack nodded. "Do you know where he's taken them?"

"No, unfortunately not. I did have some of my men check the neighborhood, and it turns out that he's been staying at an Inn in the Kalmar district for the past few weeks. A couple of people said that he was asking about Ethan and about you and Sam. It was nothing that raised any flags with anyone, which is why we didn't hear anything until now."

"Did you go to the Inn where he was staying?" Jack asked.

"Yes – everything was cleared out, and the proprietor knew very little. I asked if he'd spoken about any place close by – or if he had any friends in the area, but the man said that Leron hadn't spoken about anything like that. According to him, the man had said very little."

"He has to have taken them somewhere we wouldn't suspect," Jack said, thinking carefully. It was difficult to keep his emotions out of it but he knew that right now he had to go into soldier mode and leave the personal feelings out of things.

"I have men continuing to see if they can find out anything more. Why don't you come with me to the station – that way if we hear anything you'll be right there."

Jack nodded and let Ethan know. "We'll send word as soon as we hear anything," he told the older man. "Trust us, Ethan. We'll get them back." The old man just nodded, looking as if he'd aged ten years.

The two men walked quickly to the security station. As they walked, Jack's mind was moving at a rapid pace. Leron had no more than a two, maybe three-hour advantage, so they couldn't have gone too far. He tried to think where the bastard could have taken his hostages. In his travels to find Sam, in the early days of his time in Hjem, he'd gotten to know the surrounding countryside. There had to be someplace close by – someplace without a lot of people, and where he could secure a woman and two children.

"Did anyone go to Willem's and ask around? Maybe someone saw them."

"I have a couple of men there now," Hiram told him. "Someone went by earlier as well, but Willem hadn't seen anything suspicious." After a pause Hiram looked at him curiously. "Uh Jack – what's with the clothing and the weapons?"

"Leron is dangerous," Jack told the other man. "I need to be prepared."

"Well, you certainly look prepared. You also look like this is something you're used to doing."

Jack glanced at his friend. He'd said very little about his past life, and the people here respected that. He knew many of them were curious but no one had pushed him for information. He knew it was time to be honest.

"It is," he nodded. "I haven't said much, but before I arrived here, I was – a security officer as well. We called it something different, but my job was to protect the – ur – our community. Samantha was a member of my team."

"Samantha? A woman?"

Jack grinned slightly at that. "Don't let her hear you say that. She was one of the best officers I've ever worked with. She could kick some serious – uh – bad guys."

"That makes me feel a bit better," Hiram confessed. "Leron is -"

"- a very bad man," Jack said softly. "Sam has dealt with people like him before, but now she's got the boys to worry about."

Hiram grabbed his shoulder and squeezed gently. "She will do well, Jack. Trust her."

"I do," he gave a crooked grin. "I just – if anything happens to her or the boys – "

"It won't – because we won't let it. Jack, I think you should take charge. I expect you have more experience than I do – most of the crimes we deal with are small while I have a feeling that you're used to dealing with some serious criminals."

"Sadly, that's true. Are you sure Hiram? People respect you and may listen better to you."

"Don't worry – we're a team, and they respect you as well. Anyway, one look at you and they'll know you mean business. Now, here we are. Let's go and find them."

When they arrived at the security station, Jack could see a number of Hiram's officers, but besides that there were dozens of others milling about. He heard a shout and Magnus rushed over to him.

"We're here to help," he said. "We'll find them, Jack."

Jack nodded and slapped his friend on the back. "We will. Now, I need your help in gathering everyone together. We need to get moving."

A few minutes later, the crowd stood silently as Hiram and Jack stood on the front steps of the station.

"Good people," Hiram spoke. "As you know, Samantha Carter and Ethan Koopman's grandsons, Simon and Jankin, have been taken. My friend here, Jack O'Neill, is going to be in charge of finding them. He has much experience at this sort of thing, so I am going to ask you to listen to him. I and my forces will help in whatever way we can."

Jack looked around, to see people nodding, and a few smiled at him or gave him the Hjem equivalent of a thumb's up. He stepped forward.

"Thank you all for coming and offering to help. We assume the kidnapper is a man by the name of Leron. We believe he's doing this as an act of revenge. He was seen staying at an Inn in Kalmar and has been asking questions about Ethan, Samantha and the boys, and me. We need to find out, as quickly as possible, where he could have taken them. If anyone has any information – or just some ideas, please let us know. In the meantime, we are going to put everyone in groups to start looking for them. Are there any questions?"

Jack answered a few questions, and heard some ideas. Just as they were about to start putting together search groups, a man approached and headed directly for Jack.

"Are you in charge?" the man asked.

"Yes, I am. What's up?"

"My name is Hugo Anders. I have a small shop in the Boras district. A man stopped by a week ago buying some supplies. I believe it may have been this Leron you seek."

"Why do you think it was him?" Jack asked.

"He fit the description, but also the types of supplies he purchased made me wonder." Before Jack had a chance to ask, the man continued. "He said he was going camping and would need supplies. What was interesting, is he purchased more things than one man alone would need. When I asked if he was going with someone else, he looked startled and told me that no, he was going alone. I didn't think too much of it at the time, although I will admit I did not like this man. There was something about him that worried me, but there was nothing specific – and certainly nothing to inform the security officers about."

"So, it sounds as if he was planning to go into the country?"

"Possibly – or an abandoned building or someplace he would need supplies."

"Damn! There are just too many possibilities. Okay Hugo – thanks!"

"You are welcome. I will stay and offer my services."

Jack nodded, but almost immediately forgot about the other man. He was thinking hard about where Leron could have taken his hostages. Willem's place was on the edge of town, so it was logical he would take them someplace in the countryside, rather than back into the city. He'd have to think about what was around there – where could he be?

Soon they had everyone divided into groups. Jack had asked Hiram for a map, which they hung on the side of the station. "Okay everyone – we're going to divide and conquer. I'm going to assign an area to each group. One of Hiram's men will go with each group – you are to follow their instructions. I don't want anyone putting themselves or others in danger. The plan is to find out where Leron and the hostages have been taken. Do not engage with them unless you have no other choice!"

Soon, Hiram had his men placed with the teams and they all headed out. Jack wanted to be with them, needed to be moving, but first he had to take a few moments to think! Where the hell could he have taken them.

"Are Simon and Jankin gonna be okay?"

Jack looked down to see Willem's little boy Matteo looking at him, tears in his eyes. He was best friends with Simon and must be very frightened about what had happened.

Jack squatted down beside the little boy. "We're looking for them now," he said gently. "We're not going to give up until we find them."

"I heard the man," Matteo said suddenly.

"Man?"

"Uh huh. The bad man who took them. I heard Auntie Sammie tell him to leave them alone. He laughed and said he was going to enjoy her. I don't know what that meant. Was he going to play with her?"

Jack felt his heart drop to his stomach and a white rage filled him. There was no way in hell that Leron was going to hurt her – not if he could help it. "Uh – yes, probably," he answered, not sure what else to say. "Did you hear him say anything else?"

"Simon told him he was a bad man, and then I think the man slapped him. Simon and Jankin were both crying, and the man told Auntie Sammie to have them "shut up". That's not nice."

"No – no it's not. What happened then?"

"Then they left. I was hiding, so he didn't see me. As they were going, the bad man said they'd be at the cabin in a couple of hours and then he would give them something to cry about." Matteo was crying in earnest now, and Jack put his arm around the little boy.

"He's just a mean man, but Auntie Sammie will make sure they're okay – and we're going to get them. Just one more thing – did you see which way they went?"

Matteo nodded and pointed. "They went that way," he said.

Just then, Willem rushed over. "Jack – did Matteo tell you what he heard? When Hiram's men first came out, I hadn't spoken to him yet and didn't realize he'd seen Leron take Samantha and the boys. As soon as he told me, I brought him here."

"Yes, he told me," Jack ruffled Matteo's hair. "He's a smart boy and did a very, very good thing. You should be proud. Now, can we go to your place, and I'll have Matteo show me the direction they went from where he was standing."

Matteo still looked scared but was also looking proud that he'd been able to help. His father put his arm around him. "I am proud of you, Matteo!"

"Hiram!" Jack called. "We have a lead. Matteo here saw Leron take Sam and the boys. He's going to show me which direction they went."

Hiram nodded. "Let me get Abel, and we'll come with you. I'll leave Jan in charge here."

Less than five minutes later the four men and one little boy headed toward Willem's place. It was a good twenty minutes away, so Willem picked up his son and they all started jogging, knowing that time was of the essence.

Once they'd arrived, Matteo immediately took them to where he'd been hiding. Jack searched around the area until he found evidence of a small cart and rouncey footprints.

"They went that way," Matteo pointed.

Jack smiled and thanked him again. "Okay – what's in that direction?" he asked the three other men. He couldn't remember ever seeing any cabins or structures, and the next town, in that direction, was over two days journey.

"The caves!" Abel suddenly said. "The White Caves – they're that way."

"White caves?" Jack asked. He remembered hearing something about caves but couldn't recall any details. "How far and can you tell me about them?"

"They're about five hours from here – at least by cart," Hiram told him. "They're an ancient site – some people say that's where human life on Varid started. There are myths that there is a "door to the universe" somewhere in the caves."

"They're quite extensive," Willem went on. "I went as a youth with some friends. We got lost and thought we were doomed, but fortunately we did find our way out. That was the last time I was there. It's a very creepy place."

"What do you think, Jack?" Hiram asked the silent man.

"I think that we need to go to these caves. They sound exactly the type of place he'd take them. You said about five hours? By now he has an almost four hour start on us, so we'd better get going."

"We'll need some rouncey's," Hiram said. "Abel – can you go round some up for us as quickly as possible. Also fill up some canteens with water and grab whatever food supplies you can. Leave a message with Jan to have other teams follow us if they return."

"And can you send a message to Ethan, to let him know what's going on," Jack asked. Abel nodded and ran to get everything done.

Within thirty minutes the four men and their rouncey's, were on the road. Matteo had begged to come along, but Jack had again squatted down and spoke to him. "You did a great job today, Matteo. Your father and all of us are very proud of you. But I'm afraid the rest is up to us adults. What you can do, however, is get things ready for when we bring back Simon and Jankin. I'm sure they'll want some snacks and maybe you can make them something to show you missed them. They'd like that."

Matteo nodded and assured Jack that he'd get to work. His father gave him a hug, and the men left to retrieve Sam and the boys.

They didn't say much for the first part of the trip. Jack was thinking about all that had happened in the last year and a half. He glanced around at the men with him, and all those who were out looking. He and Sam had been so lucky to land on a place like Varid. The people were caring, good people. He'd made some close friends and had found another family.

The situation with Sam was difficult – but he was grateful to have her close by, even though he felt horrible for that thought. She should be back on Earth, getting on with her life and career and not stuck with him on an alien planet.

"But just once, I'm gonna be selfish," he muttered to himself.

"You okay, Jack?" Hiram asked.

"Hmmm? Oh, fine. Just thinkin. Uh – I think it would be helpful to learn more about the caves. Have you been there?" he asked his friend.

"Yeah, but not for a long time. Willem – how much do you remember about the caves. The more information we have, the better.

For the next couple of hours Willem and Hiram told everything they knew about the White Caves. Abel had never been but added some stories he'd heard over the years.

Jack wondered briefly why neither he nor Sam had heard of them before now -especially considering all the research they'd done on likely historic spots on Varid. At least, he'd heard a bit, but nothing more than that they existed. More and more he was wondering if this place could truly be where life on Varid originated – or where it was first brought to the planet.

"Why are they called the White Caves," Jack asked. "I assume it's because they're – well, white?"

"No," Hiram surprisingly answered. "It was because there is a legend about their being a bright white light that would appear anytime new life was created."

"I heard that sometimes the light was blue," Abel told them. "Some even said it looked like water, and that people would step out of it. At least, that's what the myths say."

Jack couldn't believe what he was hearing. They had to be talking about the Stargate. "Why haven't I heard about this before," he said, almost angrily.

"Well, it's considered a myth – a children's story. There wouldn't be anything official about the caves – maybe just in children's literature," Hiram explained. "There's also a bit of – fear – I guess about the place. There were legends about men with glowing eyes, who would eat children. I think we all grew up on that and then – tried to forget about it as we grew up."

Jack just shook his head and wished that Carter was here to process this with him. He still couldn't believe that no one had said a word about the damned caves!

Suddenly, a though crept in that had him even more worried than he had been. Did Leron know about the Stargate? Was that where he was headed?

"Shit!" Jack exclaimed, causing the others to look at him in alarm. It wasn't a swear word on Varid, but his tone must have conveyed his worry.

"What is it, Jack?" Hiram asked.

"Do you have any idea where Meron and Leron came from?"

"No," Hiram shook his head. "We had all wondered when Meron's band started attacking people. It was unheard of on Varid to have such violent crime."

"I heard some say that they were from Helvete," Abel threw in. "I can believe it."

"Helvete?" Jack asked. "Where's that?"

"It is a place of myth," Hiram explained. "It is where evil ones are sent, to suffer in eternity."

"Oh, Hell!" Jack muttered.

"You are concerned?" Hiram asked.

"What? No – I mean yes, but – I just meant that in my – community – Helvete was called Hell."

So, no one knew where Leron and Meron – or their buddies – were from. Jack thought back to the strange weapons they'd carried, weapons he had not seen on Varid.

Maybe he was reaching, but he had a sinking feeling that maybe the men had come from another world. If that was true, he prayed that Leron didn't plan to take his hostages back to wherever he was from.

"We have to go faster," he said abruptly. "I'm worried we're not going to get there in time."

The others nodded, although they looked at one another, all wondering what he meant by "in time". His fear was contagious, however, and they all increased their speed.

He couldn't take them through the Stargate, thought Jack. He didn't know what he'd do if he lost Sam and the boys.

"Damn, damn, damn," Sam muttered to herself. She was tied up, in the back of Leron's wagon, with a blanket thrown over her. The two boys were curled up at her side, both sound asleep.

They'd been terrified, the poor little boys. She'd tried everything to soothe them, but eventually it was exhaustion that had calmed them, and they'd fallen asleep. Fortunately, Leron hadn't tied them up, knowing they wouldn't escape without her.

She was cursing herself for having fallen into Leron's trap. She'd taken the boys to see the puppies after they'd begged and begged. She'd felt a bit bad, knowing that Jack had wanted to do it, but she figured he could have the pleasure of going back with them to pick up one of the puppies. They'd started to beg for one while she was with them, but she hadn't given away the fact that they were going to be able to take one home with them.

She'd started back to Ethan's, knowing it was getting close to dinner time. They'd said goodbye to Willem and to Matteo and were walking down the shaded path towards the main road. A cart had pulled out of a copse of trees, directly in front of them, forcing Sam and the boys to stop.

At first she couldn't see who it was, but when she realized it was Leron, she'd told the boys to run! Unfortunately, they hadn't moved quickly enough, and Leron had grabbed them both, while holding some kind of weapon on her.

"I wouldn't suggest you try anything, Samantha. You don't want to know what this does. It will hurt you – but it would probably kill the brats – and I'll shoot one of them first."

Her jaw had clenched, and she wanted to kick him. "Why don't you just leave us alone," she'd told him. "We've done nothing to hurt you!"

Leron laughed. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy you, Samantha, and then, maybe the boys. O'Neill is going to be very, very sorry for what he did. Now, get the crying brats and get into the cart."

"You're a very bad man!" Simon yelled at him. "I hate you!"

Leron walked up to the boy, slowly, and just looked at him for a few seconds. Simon tried to step back, afraid of the man in front of him. Before he'd moved more than a couple of steps, Leron had reached out and slapped him across the face.

"Don't you ever talk to me that way again," he'd hissed. "Do you understand me?"

Simon nodded and then ran, crying, over to Sam and threw his arms around her.

"Shhh," she told him, "You're okay. That was a very, very brave thing you did, Simon, but the best thing now is to be as quiet as you can. Uncle Jack will come and find us."

He nodded into her leg and a moment later Jankin had thrown himself at her and was grabbing onto her other leg. She had to pry them loose to make their way to the cart.

Leron tossed both of the boys into the cart and then grabbed her hands and pulled them behind her. He tied her wrists tightly, and then lifted her and tossed her into the cart as well. At that point he grabbed her legs and tied her ankles together, hurting her bad leg in the process.

"If you try and escape," he told her, "I will shoot one of the kids."

With that, he got into the driver's seat, and they headed out. She prayed that Jack would be able to find them.