Disclaimer Stargate Sg-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author.

Daniel looked over at Sam, not surprised to find her staring off at the far wall. He was used to seeing her like that lately, quiet and pensive.

He was sure Jack had noticed her change in the six weeks since he and Sara had adopted Cassie. Then again, maybe he hadn't.

Between taking time off to help the girl acclimate, their rescue of the Tollan, things had been a bit busy. Not to mention that whole mess with Harlan and his super duper human Xerox machine.

And Daniel also knew that Sam had been keeping her distance, refusing every one of Jack's invitations for get-togethers at his house. She'd been deliberately staying away and Daniel knew why. Not only did he feel that being with Cassie was painful for her, Daniel also knew that she was doing her best to stay out of the way. Sam had a close bond with the girl, a bond that would likely make forming a relationship with her new family even more difficult.

Daniel wondered if he should talk to Jack, mention Sam's mood to him. Then again, if Jack hadn't noticed it, it obviously wasn't much of a problem.

The gate started to spin just as Jack walked into the room, Teal'c at his heels. "You kids ready for an absolutely thrilling time on P4a771?" he asked, pulling his ball cap onto his head.

"Yes, sir," Sam replied dutifully.

Jack didn't seem to notice her mood and Daniel made a mental note to say something. Later. After they got back. He may still be a novice at all this military stuff, but he knew enough to know that there was a time and place for everything. And personal conversations definitely had no place on a mission.

"The planet looks interesting," he said to Sam, resolving to do whatever he could to help her mood.

She was doubtlessly depressed and he didn't blame her in the slightest.

He'd seen how attached she'd gotten to Cassie and could only imagine how hard it would be, not just to lose her, but to lose her to a teammate. A teammate that out ranked her and to whom, she didn't dare say anything.

Oh, Daniel didn't think that Jack would retaliate or anything. But Daniel had learned enough about Sam in the past few weeks to know that she'd rather say nothing than risk making things worse.

"What? Oh right," she said, smiling a bit.

"You know, I hate going to the movies alone. I can never eat the popcorn. Want to go with me when we get back?" he asked? As the fifth chevron locked.

"Umm…"

"Two friends going to the movies," he clarified. "Pete can even come if he wants to."

"That sounds good," she said. "The movie part. Pete can fend for himself." The wormhole splashed open. "Besides, he's working third shift right now. I haven't even seen him in days."

"That's got to be tough," Daniel said, moving to walk beside her up the ramp. Jack and Teal'c were in the front and Daniel ignored Jack's irritated look.

Sam shrugged. "His shifts rotate a lot. The price of being low man on the totem pole."

"Look alive, kids," Jack warned, calling an end to the chatter.

Sam colored and fell silent, shooting Daniel a look. "Oops," he mouthed, glad when the gesture made her grin.

They followed Jack and Teal'c through the gate, stepping out at the end of a long row of double stone columns. The sky was a dark purple with gray swirling clouds. "Pleasant place," Jack quipped, turning a slow circle as the stargate snapped shut. "Ok, where are we headed?"

"The MALP indicated-" Sam broke off as a brilliant beam of light flashed over her head, barely missing it. She ducked, her hand grabbing Daniel's arm to pull him down.

"O'Neill!"

"Cover fire!" Jack ordered, falling to his knees. "Daniel!"

"Got it," Daniel said, pulling free and crawling towards the DHD.

A near constant barrage of laser like blasts flew over his head, echoed by the cracks of Jack and Sam's rifles and the heavy whump of Teal'c's staff weapon. "Where are they coming from?" Sam yelled.

"They fire from all sides," Teal'c said.

"Close up. Daniel, open the damn gate!"

Daniel reached the DHD and stretched up, trying to get at the glyphs without getting his head blown off. He slammed his hand down on each panel, not even feeling when his palms bruised. He pressed in the center stone and looked up; staring in amazement as the stargate opened at the same time it was hit with several blasts from the alien weapons.
He dug for his wrist, shoving up his sleeve and punching in the iris code. "Come on, come on," he muttered as he stared at the GDO. "Yes!" he said as the confirmation flashed. "We're clear!" he yelled.

"Daniel, Teal'c, GO!" Jack yelled. He and Sam were on opposite sides, each behind a column. Teal'c was in the middle, crouching but exposed. Daniel wanted to argue, to say that they all should go at once, but he didn't.

Instead he scrambled to his feet, breaking into a dash as he struggled to run and keep down at the same time. More blasts zinged past him, some going through the gate and others hitting it.

Reaching the event horizon, he threw himself forward, knowing that he was due for one hell of a landing.

<><><><><>

Jack slowly opened his eyes, trying to remember the last time he'd been this uncomfortable. Where the hell was he? He tried to sit up, groaning out loud.

"Colonel..." Carter's voice echoed off the walls.

"Carter..." Jack looked around, trying to see her.

"Try to stay put sir, I think your leg's broken," she said, coming to his side. Whatever had happened, happened to both of them. She had a small scrape on her cheek.

"No, my leg's definitely broken. This is bad news, 'cause unless they've redecorated the 'gate room I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," he said, looking at their surroundings. They were in some sort of cave. It was dark and cold and the air was still and close.

"Daniel must have misdialed."

"Misdialed? You mean this place is a wrong number? Ah, for crying out loud. Where is he?" he asked, the absence of the other two teammates sinking in.

"He's not here, sir. Neither is Teal'c."

"No, he has to be," Jack muttered. It didn't make any sense that they weren't here. The gate had been dialed. Teal'c and Daniel went through first. It never shut down, so that meant that he and Carter had to be in the same place as the other two. She had to have missed them. Maybe she hit her head too hard. He reached for his radio.

"Yeah, I tried that," she interrupted. "You've been unconscious for nearly two hours." Ok, so maybe he'd hit his head harder than she had.

"They came through the 'gate before we did," he insisted, trying to make sense of the whole mess.

"I know that, I also know we're alone here, wherever here is," she agreed.

"Ice. Nice."

"Yeah, I think we're inside a deep crevasse of a glacier. If their Stargate's been overrun by ice, possibly on a planet in the middle of an ice age. Now, there is some light filtering through up there and there are some fissures in the ice, but all of them are too narrow to follow very far," she listed off. She sighed. "We're in trouble, sir."

"Oh, nonsense," Jack said, feeling the need to try and lighten her bleak mood. Maybe she was right and their situation was dire. But Jack knew from experience if she let it get to her, they may as well just take out their pistols and end it now. "We'll just dial home and straighten all this out," he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He looked around, belatedly wondering why, if the solution was so obvious, she hadn't thought of it. "Where's the DHD?"

"Can't find that either," she said.

"Oh, so, uh, we're in trouble."

"We're in trouble," she confirmed.

<><><><><>

Teal'c sat beside the bed, letting the routine noises of the infirmary wash over him. He was not accustomed to the emotions he was feeling. Frustration and unease.

He acknowledged that there was little he could do to assist O'Neill and Captain Carter until Sergeant Siler and his crew repaired the Stargate. And he acknowledged that, even once the Stargate was repaired, given the resistance they faced on their first mission, the odds of finding his two teammates alive and well lessened with each moment.

On the bed, Daniel Jackson stirred and Teal'c leaned closer.

"Teal'c?" he asked groggily.

"The Stargate has malfunctioned. We came through the 'gate at too great a velocity," he reported.

"Jack and Sam?"

"They did not follow," Teal'c said.

"Yes, they did. I know they did," he insisted. "They were right behind us. That doesn't make any sense."

"I concur. In a few hours, a probe will be sent back in an attempt to determine their fate."
Daniel Jackson nodded slowly, his hand coming up to cradle his injured head. "Pete and Sarah?"

"Daniel Jackson?"

"Has anyone told Pete and Sarah?"

"I am not aware," Teal'c said.

"They need to know." He blinked slowly, his voice scratchy.

"Our mission was not to end for two more days. And Sergeant Siler has reported that the stargate will be operational soon. Should we not wait until we have a definitive answer," he suggested.

"Maybe you're right," he agreed, sinking back onto the pillows.

<><><><><>

Sam hacked away at the ice, ignoring how the muscles in her arm were shaking. Trying to get to the DHD was serving a dual purpose. Not only could it lead to them finding a way out of this ice cave from hell, it also warmed her up.

Of course, she tried to ignore the fact that she'd been hacking away at the encasing ice for hours. She was cold, wet, tired and desperately wanted nothing more than to just curl up and sleep for a few hours.

But she couldn't do that. The colonel was injured. Far worse than he let on, she knew. And if they were going to get out of here, it was going to happen because of her.

She didn't understand her conflicted emotions. She should hate him, should be pissed as hell at him. She should consider this some kind or karmedic payback for him taking Cassie from her.

But she couldn't.

She HAD to get them out of this mess. Had to get the colonel back home to his family. Not because of Sarah. The woman was nice enough and Charlie was an adorable boy. But Cassie. She couldn't go through it again. She just lost her whole family, and she wasn't going to lose her new father.

"Soups on," the colonel called out.

"Just a little more, I'm almost through," she said, taking a couple more swipes at the ice.

"Come on now, you don't want to get cold," he insisted.

Giving into the tone of his voice, she set down her knife and slid off down the slope. Food did sound good. Lunch had been…way too long ago. "I didn't know you could cook," she said.

"I can't, but my melted ice is to die for."

"Thank you." She took a sip of the tepid soup, staring at him. He was paler than he'd been before. His brow was furrowed and his lips were pinched. "Sir, maybe I should have another look at you," she offered.

"No, I'm fine. Eat," he dismissed.

"I've been thinking about how the Stargate might have malfunctioned," she said, accepting his boundaries.

"Yeah?"

"Well, we don't totally understand how it works, but the theory we have so far is that the 'gate creates an artificial wormhole, that somehow transfers an energized matter stream in one direction along an extra-dimensional conduit. I think the matter stream between Stargates got redirected, kind of like a lightning bolt jumping from one point to another
in mid-strike. Now, I figure it had to have been the attack on P4A-771. The 'gate itself was probably struck by enough energy during the firefight to influence the direction of the matter stream before we reached the other side," she recited, voicing her thoughts from the past few hours. It seemed silly to be trying to figure out why and how…but it was better than thinking about the other options…the fact that they'd never live to see the outside of this place. "Colonel?" she asked, noticing that his gaze was fixed on the far wall of the cave.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't listening," he apologized.

"What I'm saying is we must have emerged through a Stargate relatively close to Earth in the 'gate network, somewhere between P4A-771 and Earth. Now, if the SG rescue teams reach the same conclusion, it could significantly reduce their search."

"That's good news," he muttered.

"Yeah," she agreed. She sipped more of the soup, sucking down the small noodles. She hated dehydrated chicken soup. For the first few months after her mother had died, it was one of the few things her father had been able to cook. Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, Lipton Soup and Swanson TV dinners had been a staple of her late childhood.

Pete used to say that she should find them 'comfort foods'. And maybe she would. If most of their mealtimes hadn't been battle zones between her father and her brother.

"Pete still working nights?" the colonel asked after a few minutes.

"Yeah," she said. "For another week or two I think."

"You know Hammond probably won't even contact them until we're over due," he reassured her.

She shrugged. "All he can tell him is that I'm delayed or MIA," she said.

He frowned, turning to look at her. "You mean he doesn't know?" he asked.

"Of course he doesn't know," she said, setting down her cup. "This project is classified."

"Wow. I thought-"

"I take my oath seriously, sir," she interrupted, hurt that he thought she'd take her job so lightly. If that was one thing her father had drilled into her head, Top Secret meant SECRET.

"No, not that," he said. "I just thought with Cassie and all…I thought you told him."

"No," she sighed. "I told him that she was a refugee, I just didn't say from where. I wanted to get the general's permission before…" She got to her feet. "I should get back to work on the DHD," she said.

"Carter-"

"If I get it working soon, we won't have to worry about notifications," she said, ignoring him.

"Carter-"

"Thanks for the soup, sir. I need to get back to work." She turned her back and made her way back to the DHD, ignoring him. Why couldn't she have gotten trapped with Teal'c?

<><><><><>

Daniel stood in front of the large glass map, using it to order his thoughts. His head pounded and he fought the urge to rub his forehead. He knew all it would do would make his stitches hurt worse. "Okay, so if they are not there, and they are not here..." he muttered, trying to think through the pain. Besides, the last thing he needed was to get Teal'c to feel the need to escort him back down to the infirmary. Daniel couldn't help his friends if he was stuck down there.

"It is possible that they might have perished within the wormhole," Teal'c said, his voice amazingly calm.

"Yeah, in which case they're gone. I know, I thought of that. But if they are alive, if there's the least remote possibility that this malfunction sent them to another Stargate..."

"Was it not Captain Carter who deduced the possible combinations of Stargate symbols numbered in the millions?" Teal'c asked.

Daniel sighed. "Well, we have to narrow it down," he insisted. He stared at the white dots on the glass panel. So many; incredibly many places Jack and Sam could be. How could they find them when there was so much of the universe to search?

"However, just because there are millions of combinations, it does not mean that each corresponds to a working stargate," Teal'c said.

Daniel turned to look at him, recognizing his friend's attempt to cheer him up. "Yeah," he said softly.

"Are there plans to inform Captain Carter and O'Neill's families?" Teal'c asked.

"Eventually," Daniel said. "I think General Hammond is going to wait, give them a chance to get back." Daniel stared at Teal'c, silently daring him to refute his words. Sam and Jack WERE coming back. He refused to accept any other outcome.

<><><><><>

Sam shivered and tried to snuggle closer to the colonel. Lord, she was cold. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been warm.

She slipped her hand down between them and felt for his wrist, sliding her fingers under the sleeve of his jacket, feeling for his pulse. It was slow, which she wasn't sure was good or bad. But at least it was there. That had to count for something.

She craned her neck, trying to see the DHD. She should get up there, dig through the rest of that ice and see if she could get it to work. But he was right, they'd been awake for….a while. She was tired, more tired than when she'd crammed for her finals.

And besides, it was a little warmer here.

"Captain, much as I might otherwise think this is nice." His voice was low, almost a harsh whisper.

"Sshhh, try to sleep," she said.

"Is that what we were doing?"

"You were exhausted, you passed out. I just thought we had to combine body heat or we wouldn't make it through the night," she said, feeling the need to explain. He'd scared her when he'd done that. Just keeled over and slumped on the ice. For a few horrible seconds, she'd thought that he was dead and that she was now all alone here.

"That's fine, it's just really hard to sleep with broken ribs when someone's lying on you," he gasped.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," she said, hurriedly shifting of him.

"That's better."

"Sleep for a few hours and I'll fix the DHD," she urged him.

"Okay. Night," he agreed, alarmingly agreeable. His hand relaxed and slid off his leg, landing squarely on her thigh.

"Night...Oh....Colonel…" she said as his fingers flexed, digging into her skin.

"It's my sidearm, I swear," he groaned, trying to make light of the situation. His hands had to be cramping, just like hers were, the cold taking its toll on their muscles.

Despite the direness of their situation, she giggled. Colonel O'Neill was one of the few people she knew that could make jokes at the darndest times. He reminded her of her dad in a way. At least the way she remembered him, years ago before her mom died.
She remembered occasionally looking around the lintel, hearing him talking to her mom, honing his gallows humor.

"No giggling, please," he requested.

"If we don't make it, I won't have any regrets, you?" she asked, feeling the need to say something. He may be confident that they'd get out of here, but she wasn't. Confidence didn't change odds. And, unless she could get an alien device that she barely understood to work in the immediate future, they were going to die here.

"I'll regret dying," he said softly. "I promised the kids I'd take them to Denver this weekend. You?"

She sighed. "No plans for the weekend," she said.

"Carter."

"I regret marrying Jonas," she confessed.

"Jonas?" he asked, clearly confused.

"I met him five years ago. Got married." She shook her head, not wanting to go into the whole sordid story. "It was a mistake. A very bad, very stupid mistake."

"How does Pete fit in?"

"I'm not married anymore," she said. "Pete's just a friend." She snuggled in closer, careful to keep her weight off him. "Go to sleep, sir."

<><><><><>

Daniel stuck a post-it note on the glass map, trying to organize his thoughts. He heard footsteps and turned, catching sight of General Hammond walking into the room.
"Dr. Jackson?"

"We just received probe telemetry from P5C-11 and 12, neither of them have a breathable atmosphere any more. If they ever did," he reported.

"I have formally reported Colonel O'Neill and Captain Carter as missing in action," the general said, revealing the true reason for his visit.

"Why?" Daniel asked, recognizing the significance of the man's words. Missing. They weren't lost, they were missing. How did people go missing? It wasn't like a ring of keys that vanished and were found under the couch cushions.

"Missing in action doesn't mean we stop looking, son," he said reassuringly.

"What about Sara and Pete?" Daniel asked.

"An officer will be sent-"

"General, you know what Sara will think when she sees someone in a uniform walking up to the house?" Daniel asked.

"Doctor Jackson, we have our traditions and our ways," he said. "Sara O'Neill and Peter Shanahan deserve to know."

Daniel sighed. "Can I tell them?" he asked, not sure why he was moved to interfere. No, he knew why. It could have been him. Jack was always the last through the gate, always insuring the safety of his team over his own. Maybe if he'd dialed out faster they could have made it back.

He needed to tell Sara and Pete. He owed them that much.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Hammond asked.

Daniel nodded. "I am."

The general sighed, looking away for a few seconds. "Ok," he finally said. "You can go. But, I must warn you, while Mrs. O'Neill is entitled to know some of the details, Mister Shanahan is not."

"General-"

"It's non-negotiable," he interrupted. "All Mister Shanahan can know is that Captain Carter was on a training mission and that she is missing in action." He looked Daniel in the eyes. "He cannot know more. Do you understand me, Doctor?"

Daniel nodded. "Ok."

"I'll send Colonel Rundell down here to get you when he's ready to go," he said.
Hammond turned and walked out of the room, leaving Daniel alone. Too edgy to just wait, he studied his post-its. He still couldn't lose the feeling that he was missing something.

<><><><><>

"If you two can't share, I'm going to unplug the game," Sara threatened as the pair of childish voices rose in volume.

What the hell was Jack thinking? One play station and two kids was a recipe for bickering. Of course, he probably had no idea how sought after the game was, seeing as how he was usually the one playing it when he was home.

"I'm trying to show Cassie how to find the magic key. But she won't let me," Charlie complained.

"Maybe she wants to figure it out for herself," Sara said, squatting beside him on the living room floor. Cassie sat on his other side, her gaze riveted to the TV screen as her fingers clutched the controller.

She was adapting quickly, this young girl from an alien planet. It hadn't taken her long to grasp the concept of electricity, running water and refrigeration.

Other things weren't coming quite so fast, such as learning to read.

But this was one place where Sara had gotten a surprise. Her first fear, upon adopting Cassie, had been that Charlie might be jealous or have issues.

Instead, Cassandra seemed to have just the opposite effect. Charlie had embraced the role of big brother with an enthusiasm Sara hadn't thought possible.

Charlie tutored Cassie, helped her catch up learning about her new home. And, Sara thought, Cassie was helping Charlie as well. It seemed that, since Charlie was concentrating more on Cassie, he was concentrating less on his own problems. Little things that he used to obsess about now seemed to slip his mind. Instead of defining himself by his limitations, he concentrated more on being a big brother and protector. "But mom-"

"Charlie. How do you feel when we do things for you?" she asked.

"Mom-"

"How do you feel?" She pressed.

"I can-"

"You don't like it, do you?" She knew that he got frustrated a lot, especially when they helped him with things like tying his shoes or zipping his coat.

"No," he admitted grudgingly.

"Then you're just going to have to be patient," she said, giving him a quick, one armed hug.

"Ok. Hey mom?"

"What?"

"Maybe Santa could bring Cassie her own play station?" he suggested.

"And how will we hook up two play stations to one TV if he does that?" she asked, smiling at him. Incorrigible was his middle name.

"Buy another TV?" he suggested, grinning at her.

"Careful mister, or you're going to end up mowing the yard," she threatened. She heard a car door slam and looked up, frowning at the sight of Doctor Jackson and another man walking up the front walk.

Her stomach flipping and her heart lurching, she got to her feet, suddenly desperate to keep them out of her house. Something was wrong. She just knew it. Jack should have been home a few hours ago.

She walked towards the front of the house, hoping that the kids wouldn't notice what was going on. She opened the door to find Doctor Jackson standing there, his hand outstretched. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Sara-"

"Is he alive?" she demanded, stepping outside and pulling the door shut behind her.

"Mrs. O'Neill-" the other man said. "I'm Lieutenant Colonel Tom Rundell-"

"Is Jack alive?" she asked again, looking Jackson in the eyes.

"Maybe we should go inside," he said.

"My children are inside," she said. "Now will you tell me what's going on or do I need to go call General Hammond?"

Doctor Jackson sighed. "We were on a mission. We came under fire. Teal'c and I made it home, Jack and Sam didn't." The world dimmed around the edges and Sara swayed, barely noticing as Doctor Jackson's hands shot out, steadying her and easing her down to sit on the porch steps. "We went back to the planet," he continued. "And we didn't find them. But we don't think they're there. We think that the wormhole hopped to another gate. We just need to find out which planet they were sent to," he said quickly.

She nodded, her eyes scanning the neighborhood. It was surreal. Mrs. Johnson was mowing her yard. Sandy Kellerman's dog was pulling on his chain, barking as Eddie and Randy rode their bikes past the Kellerman's yard.

She could hear the tinkling music of the ice cream truck a block over and smell the lighter fluid from Roger Walker's grill.

"Mrs. O'Neill, is there someone I can call?" Rundell offered.

"You didn't find their bodies?" she asked, grasping onto that one fact.

"No," Jackson said. "And we're not going to stop looking," he reassured her.

She nodded slowly, clasping her shaking hands in her lap. "Mom?" Charlie's voice came from behind her. "What's wrong?"

She turned and saw both kids standing in the doorway, Charlie in front and Cassie hovering behind him. Both of them looked scared to death.

She couldn't do this, not right now. She couldn't abandon them. Not when they needed her the most. She took a deep breath, steadying herself. She turned back to look Doctor Jackson in the eyes. "You will let me know when you find something," she told him, pushing herself to her feet.

"Sara?"

"My children need me," she said. "I appreciate you coming to tell me." She forced a small smile on her face. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

She turned her back on them and ushered the kids into the house, quietly closing the door. "Mom?" Charlie asked.

"It's going to be ok," she said. "Why don't you and Cassie play a few more rounds and then we're going to go out and get some pizza." Charlie frowned, obviously knowing that something was wrong. "Take care of your sister for me for a few minutes, ok?"

He nodded. "Come on. It's your turn," he said, dragging the girl back into the living room.

Hearing the game re-start, Sara slowly made her way down the hall and into her bedroom. She shut the door and slid down to the floor. "Jack, what the hell have you done now?" she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks.

<><><><><>

Sam slammed her hand down on the DHD panel, barely feeling the shock as it shuddered up her arm. "God, why won't you work!" she yelled, giving her frustration voice. This didn't make any sense. Why the hell wouldn't it work? It was just a DHD, not a Cray supercomputer. For it being a massively complex machine, it was also incredibly simple. There were no moving parts to break or get out of alignment, just a simple arrangement of crystals.

"Carter, Carter..." The colonel's voice crackled over the radio and Sam immediately abandoned the DHD, hurrying back to him.

"Colonel! Sir?"

"I'm usually the first one up," he said, his voice low and slightly confused.

"You're bleeding internally, I don't know how badly. Your broken leg may already be frostbitten, I can't tell. I've been trying to warm it up with the last of our cooking sterno but that's about had it," she said, knowing that he wouldn't appreciate her deceiving him.

He'd scared her this morning, or more accurately, when she'd woken up. She remembered opening her eyes, her body's ceaseless shivering pulling her from her restless slumber.

She'd tried to wake him, panicking a bit when he didn't respond, revealing that he wasn't asleep but unconscious. With him unable to protest, she confirmed her suspicions, pulling up his shirt to reveal livid bruises painting his ribs with garish color.

She should have known, especially given how he'd guarded his ribs earlier. And it was just like him to pretend that he wasn't hurt. The damn man, he'd have her head if she'd done that, hidden an injury.

"What's the bad news?" he asked, picking up on her mood. "Help me up."

"No, Sir, you need to heal. That's an order," she said, tossing protocol out the window.

"I give the orders around here."

"Doctor's orders," she corrected, taking the pan of water off their small sterno cooker. "I want you to drink as much of this as you can. Once that sterno dies, we won't be
able to thaw any more," she instructed, helping him drink. She was a bit thirsty, but he needed it more. The way he was losing blood, he was sure to be dehydrated. "I should have gotten you out of here by now, I'm sorry," she said, feeling the need to apologize. She never should have listened to him, never should have slept. They were fighting the clock and she'd wasted time that he didn't have.

"You will, you will," he reassured her.

"I have been working on the control panel for the last twelve hours, it just, I don't know why it won't work, it should work! I…I'm missing something.

"Captain," he interrupted her ramblings.

"Sir?"

"It's time to go to plan B."

"What would plan B be?" she asked.

"You take the rest of the supplies and climb out of here. Take your chances up on the planet, head towards daylight," he instructed.

"If I can't get that Stargate to work, we will BOTH go," she said, refusing to accept his idea. She wasn't going to leave him behind to die.

He sighed. "Ok. I'll race you," he muttered. "Carter?" he grabbed for her hand. "I'm sorry about Cassie. I didn't even stop to think-"

"It's ok," she interrupted. "She's happy, that's what counts."

He slowly shook his head. "You-"

"You and General Hammond did what you thought was best," she interrupted again. "I'm going to go see if I can get the DHD to work. You just stay here and aah…keep an eye on the fire."

"We don't have a fire."

"Then it'll be easy." She forced a smile on her face. "I'll be right over there."

She turned and crawled back towards the DHD, surprised to discover that her anger over Cassie's adoption had faded. Maybe things had worked out for the best. At least, if the worst happened, she'd still have one parent left.

Sam had no illusions how thing would play out if she'd gotten Cassie and something happened to her. She and Pete weren't married, and weren't likely to ever get married. Which, even though the general hadn't said as much, had to be one reason why she'd been denied? Not to mention Pete's job and lifestyle.

If Sam had been granted custody of Cassie and something happened to Sam in the line of duty, she knew that Cassie wouldn't be allowed to remain with Pete. She'd get uprooted again, given to someone else, passed around like a traveling trophy.

Giving Cassie to the O'Neill's had been the best decision. No matter how much Sam hated it, she had to admit that point.

She glanced over her shoulder, just catching sight of the blanket wrapped figure lying on the floor. She hadn't been able to do anything about Cassie's first family, but she sure as hell could do something about her second family.

<><><><><>

Daniel stood in the control room, studying the star map. Somewhere. They had to be out there somewhere. He refused to consider the idea that they could have perished within the wormhole.

That just didn't feel right. It didn't feel like they were gone, just that they were missing.
"Daniel Jackson." Teal'c joined him. "I presume you have informed Sara O'Neill and Peter Shanahan of O'Neill and Captain Carter's status," he said.

"Yeah," Daniel said. "Sara didn't take it well."

"That is to be expected," he said.

"Pete aah, well Pete was asking a lot of questions. Stuff I couldn't answer. He knows that something more is going on. I had to warn General Hammond that he might start digging on his own," Daniel said.

"There would be no need for such concerns were the Stargate's existence not kept from the people of Earth," Teal'c said.

Daniel sighed. "I know. But that's not my decision to make. Teal'c, as much as I hate the secrecy, I do see the need for it."

"How so?"

"We're a rather…greedy race," Daniel said. "If the other countries found out that we had the Stargate, they'd want to get it for themselves."

"Perhaps Earth would be better served if that were to happen. It is my understanding that the nations of your planet often fight amongst themselves. If they had a common enemy-"

"It wouldn't, Teal'c. I don't think they're capable of setting aside their differences long enough to agree to get along," Daniel said.

"The day may soon come when there is no choice," Teal'c warned.

Daniel started to respond, and then stopped as a low rumble shook the complex. He instinctively looked out the window, frowning as he saw the chevrons glow for a few seconds, then fade. "Teal'c. Did you see that?"

"I did," Teal'c confirmed. "I do not know its significance."

"I do," Daniel said; a smile crossing his face as a thought occurred to him. "I was thinking that I must be missing something, and now I just realized we ruled out a world we shouldn't have."

<><><><><>

Jack felt Carter join him and he forced his eyes open. "I guess it didn't work," he said, reading the look on her face. If she'd succeeded, she'd be smiling.

"I'm sorry," she apologized.

"Not your fault," he absolved. He could blame her for this. Then again he could blame Daniel for not dialing faster, Hammond for assigning the mission to them. Hell, he could blame Sara for letting him un-retire. The blame game accomplished nothing.

"I don't understand why it won't work!" she ranted.

"Captain, plan B, go," he said, forcing his voice to sound strong.

"No, Sir," she protested, shaking her head.

"Sam, I'm dying. Follow my order, please," he begged. He knew that he wasn't exaggerating. He could feel his body shutting down. His arms and legs were long since numb, and he knew it had little to do with the cold. His heart was slowing and it was getting hard to breathe and think.

He could feel the sticky gurgle of fluid in his lungs and knew that it was just a matter of time before he drowned in his own blood.

"Sir!" she protested.

"Please," he repeated, knowing the one word that would get through her defenses. He wasn't pleading to his second in command, or to a fellow officer, but to a friend. With him, she was doomed. Without him, she at least stood a fighting chance. "Someone needs to tell Sara what happened," he said, staring her in the eyes. "She deserves that much."

"I will," she promised. "There has to be something out there. I'll go find help and bring it back."

"You do that," he said, knowing that, even if she found something, it would be too late for him. They had yet to come across any planet with any decent level of technology. He knew the most she'd be able to hope for was to find some indigenous people and a way to survive with them. But at least it was better than staying in here and ending up like that Jaffa they'd found.

She got to her feet and started gathering what was left of their supplies. Idly, he watched her, noting the stiffness of her movements. He hoped that she made it. She deserved to.
It only took her a few minutes to stuff a few things in her pack and she returned to his side. "Colonel?"

"Have a nice climb," he said.

"I'll be back, sir. I promise you, I'll be back."

"None of this is your fault, Sam," he said. "Say hi to Cassie and Charlie when you get back."

"I will."

"Now get your ass out of here."

She nodded, pulling a canteen out of her pack and putting it by his hand. "There's not a lot, but it should last you until I get back."

He didn't correct her, letting her keep the fantasy that he'd last more than a few hours. She got to her feet and stood at the base of the wall. She craned her neck, studying the path of her ascent before turning back for one last look before she started to climb.

Jack watched her for a few minutes, then he closed his eyes, letting himself imagine the weekend in Denver. Memories that he knew would never exist anywhere but in his mind, but memories that he let lull him into a deep and final sleep.

<><><><><>

Sam broke through the thin layer of snow, squinting as bright light assaulted her eyes. Cold air struck her face and she knew that she'd made it out of the fissure.

Pushing the pack out in front of her, she climbed out of the hole and got to her feet, trying to ignore how much her knees were shaking. She'd made it. Finally, she'd made it.

Her thoughts flew back to the colonel, lying down in that cave. He was dying. He hadn't wanted her to realize it, but she knew. She'd seen it before, watched a man bleed to death inside his own body. She knew exactly what it looked like.

Say hi to Charlie and Cassie when you get back.

She'd do that. She'd do better. She'd make damn sure he got back too.

The reflected sunlight making it hard to focus, she studied her surroundings. Everywhere they'd ever been, people settled close to the Stargate. They had to be here. Had to be somewhere close. She just needed to find them. That's all she needed to do. Find help.
Snow… that was all she could see, snow and rocks and sky. Nothing. No sign of anyone.
No. That wasn't right. There had to be someone here. A glint of light caught her attention and she turned, staring hard into the distance. Was that movement? Movement meant that someone had to be there.

Choosing that direction, she started to walk, her legs sinking into the deep snow. She stared at the flickering light. She couldn't lose it. It was so easy to get lost in this featureless landscape. She couldn't afford to get lost. That would take time, and the colonel didn't have any extra time.

Fixated on her goal, she never noticed the thin crust of snow. Never realized that, what looked like a ledge was nothing more than a fragile sheet of ice, incapable of bearing any weight. And by the time she discovered her error, it was too late. The last thought through her brain as she tumbled down the side of the mountain was not that she would die alone, but that Pete was going to be really pissed with her. She never told him that she'd sent his favorite leather jacket off to the cleaner's.

<><><><><>

"It was right where your man said it'd be, General," the captain said, leading them into the base. "My men just flew to the coordinates and dropped right down into the fissure."
He pushed open a door and Daniel followed the general with Teal'c at his heels. "You would not believe what they found down there-"

"Actually, son, I would," General Hammond said. "What your men found is classified. They are to forget that they found anything and secure the perimeter until a team from Cheyenne Mountain gets here," he ordered. "We'll take care of the clean-up."

"Whatever you say, sir," Captain Jordan said. "Although, as you can imagine, we don't get many drop in visitors round here."

"Really? I never would have guessed," Daniel said, frustrated with the man's chatter. As fascinating as it could be, he didn't care how many people the Antarctic Air Base McMurdo got or didn't get. All he cared about was seeing his friends and finding out if they were ok or not.

It still seemed to be the ultimate irony, after searching a couple dozen planets scattered over hundreds of light years, the two missing members of SG-1 had been found right here on Earth.

Captain Jordan shot him a look, and then sighed. "I'll brief my people on the importance of not seeing anything, sir," he said.

"That would be appreciated, Captain," General Hammond said. "Now my people-"

"Our infirmary is this way, sir." He directed them down a narrow corridor. The McMurdo base was a lot smaller than the SGC and seemed to be little more than a small collection of sturdy buildings definitely designed with stability in mind, not finesse.

"They're lucky. Major Marshall, our doctor, did a stint in a trauma ward. He's one hell of a surgeon," he introduced, leading them into a small infirmary. It was even more compact than the one at the SGC, the ward consisting of four beds, two of which were occupied.
Daniel could see both Jack and Sam lying in the beds, both of them asleep or unconscious and hooked up to a scary number of machines.

Jordan waved the doctor forward. "Sir, this is General Hammond, Doctor Jackson and Teal'c. They're from Cheyenne Mountain."

"Sir."

"Major. What are their conditions?" Hammond asked.

"They're both stable," he said. "Colonel O'Neill has internal injuries and a broken tibia. I was able to stabilize his lungs with a chest tube, but he'll need another surgery to finish repairing the damage."

"And Captain Carter?" Teal'c asked.

"The captain's condition is a little bit more problematic," he said.

"Problematic?" Daniel asked.

"Doctor, technically, she was dead when we found her," he said. "Half frozen and no pulse. Fortunately, we have a saying down here; you're not dead until you're warm and dead. We warmed her up and managed to get her heart started again."

"And what does that mean?" Hammond asked.

"It means we don't know if there's been any neurological damage. And aren't likely to know until she wakes up," he said. "They're both also suffering from frostbite, in Captain Carter's case, it's serious." He led them towards Sam's bed. She was swathed in blankets and Daniel could see angry looking patches on her face, what he guessed to be signs of frostbite on her skin.

Her fingers and hands were wrapped in white gauze and various tubes snaked in and out from under the covers. "She broke her ankle; I'm guessing when she fell down the side of the mountain. The fracture compromised her blood flow. The frostbite on her left foot is rather severe."

"How severe?" Hammond asked.

The doctor shook his head. "You probably won't know for several days to weeks. It takes time to find out if the tissue will regenerate or if it will turn gangrenous."

"Gangrene?" Daniel asked, horrified by the word. "You mean she could lose her foot?"

"It's too early to say," Major Marshall reassured him.

"How long until they can go home?" General Hammond asked.

"At least a couple of days, sir," the doctor said. "I'll need to remove the chest tube and make sure that Colonel O'Neill can travel and withstand cabin pressurization first."

"Very well," the general said. "I'll put you in contact with the base physician so you can brief her." He turned to look at Captain Jordan. "Captain, I'd like to go out to the site. Teal'c, Doctor Jackson, you can come with or remain here," he offered.

Daniel looked to Teal'c. "I'd like to stay here, General," he said.

"Then I shall journey with you, General Hammond," Teal'c said.

The three of them made their way to the door. "I'm going to be in my office, doing some paperwork," Doctor Marshal said. "You can make yourself at home. The base is a little cramped, but if you want to stay here and accompany them back, I'll see if I can round you up some quarters," he offered.

"I'd appreciate that," Daniel said. Marshal nodded and retreated into his office. Left alone with his two unconscious teammates, Daniel sighed. He snagged a chair from the corner and dragged it between the two occupied beds. "So, he said, to fill the awkward silence. You guys are not going to believe what we've done the past few days."

<><><><><>

Sara sat beside the bed, her eyes restlessly traveling from the magazine in her lap to the still figure on the bed. He still looked bad, bruises coloring his pale skin. He was wearing one of the normal hospital gowns, which she knew he absolutely hated. Monitoring leads and tubes snaked in and out from under the gown and covers and his right leg was propped up on a pillow, encased in a protective fiberglass cast.

He looked horrible, but she knew that, all things considered, his condition could certainly be worse. His broken ribs were mending, as was the incision where the doctors had operated to repair the internal damage. His leg was set and would just take time to mend, just as she knew that the frostbite would heal.

He looked better than he did a couple of days before when he and Captain Carter had been flown home from the Antarctic, both of them flat on their backs and swaddled in blankets.

Both of them had been admitted to the Academy Hospital, which Sara was grateful for. While she had been granted the privilege of knowing what went on behind the closed doors of Cheyenne Mountain, she didn't have much faith in being allowed to visit her husband on a regular basis hundreds of feet underground and behind endless yards of razor wire.

He was banged up, but he was alive. And that was all that mattered. Sara heard him stir and she looked up, the magazine forgotten. "Jack?"

"Hey," he said his voice low and rough. "You haven't been here all day, have you?"

She shook her head. "No. I went home and made the kids' lunch. Mike's with them right now."

"Bet he loves that."

"It's not so bad. I think he's taking them bowling," she said.

"Great," he groaned good naturedly. "Why couldn't Mike like baseball?"

"Probably because you do," she shot back. "Did the doctors say when you could go home?" she asked.

"Probably a couple of days. Have you heard anything about Carter?" he asked. "Fraiser won't tell me anything."

"She's next door, Jack. She hasn't woken up yet," she said, knowing that he'd be concerned about his teammate. The woman was in a coma, what the doctors said was a common side effect of the hypothermia.

They were optimistic that she'd wake up, and it was an optimism that Sara hoped to relay to her husband. It was hard enough when he lost a friend, but she knew it'd be even harder after the two of them spent the better part of a week trapped alone together.

He closed his eyes and leaned back against the pillows. She reached out and grabbed his hand. "Jack, you can't help what happened. And don't you start on that whole responsibility thing. I know you, I know you did all that you could."

"It wasn't enough," he said softly.

Sara sighed, knowing that there wasn't much she could say to her husband. He would have to forgive himself and nothing she could say or do would help him. "Jack, I was wondering, is there anything we can do for Pete?" she asked, seeking to distract him.

"What about him?"

"He's been asking questions," she said slowly.

"What kind of questions?"

"Like how two people got frostbite when we're having such a mild winter. Like where the two of you were for a week," she said.

He shook his head. "It's classified."

"I know. And, thanks to us adopting Cassie, I know what really happened, but he doesn't have that luxury."

"There's nothing I can do-"

"Jack, imagine what it's going to be like for her when she wakes up and goes home. She can't even tell the person she lives with what really happened."

"I couldn't tell you about what I did until just recently," he shot back.

"Yes, and I resented the hell out of it," she retorted.

He sighed. "Hon, I don't know what I can do."

"If I can be told-"

"That was because of Cassandra."

"I think Pete deserves to know," she stated.

"Sara-"

"Maybe not everything, but I think he deserves to know," she insisted. "Jack, how many times did you tell me things you weren't supposed to?" she asked. "Jack, please."

"Ok," he gave in. "I'll talk to Hammond. But no promises," he warned.

<><><><><>

Sam flipped through the channels on the TV, fumbling a bit with the remote. She cursed the bandages on her hands, then, realizing the alternative, decided that they weren't all that bad.

Sore fingers were better than no fingers.

"You know, for as much as they charge, there's really no excuse for the sucky cable."

Startled, she dropped the remote as Colonel O'Neill limped into the room. "Sir."

"The least they could do is have HBO." He maneuvered on his crutches over towards her bed and claimed the chair there. "Although, Sara just loves this Doctor Phil dude."

"He's aah, interesting," she said, suddenly feeling ill at ease. It was the first time she'd seen him since the cave although she'd heard from Daniel that he was doing good and that he'd been released a couple of days ago.

She knew that she wasn't going to be quite as lucky. The frostbite on her hands and face was minor and would heal in time. Just like the other bruises and scrapes from her tumble down the side of the mountain. It was her leg that was concerning her. The doctors said they wouldn't know for weeks if the tissue would heal or not.

"That's one way to put it," he said. "Are you bored to tears yet?"

She chuckled. "What was your first clue?"

"The fact that Daniel got caught trying to smuggle your laptop out of the mountain."

"What?"

"Kidding," he said. "I just know that I was bored senseless after two days and even though you've slept through most of the last two weeks, I figured you felt the same way." He looked around the room, his eyes settling on a vase of flowers. "I see Daniel's been busy."

"He signed your name to it too, sir," she said.

"He did?" She nodded. "Sweet. So, how are you feeling?" he asked, his flippant demeanor turning serious.

"I'm ok," she said. He nodded. "Doctor Fraiser said I should be able to go home in a few days."

"Good, good. And Pete?"

"He's in Denver right now. Some case. He'll be home tomorrow I think," she said. "About Pete, sir I don't understand-" she started, asking the one question she'd been desperate to ask since she'd woken up several days earlier, surprised not only to discover that she was alive, but that also that she was safe and sound in the Academy hospital and that, sometime during her prolonged period of unconsciousness, Pete had gotten clearance to know about the SGC and what they did there.

"The SGC is 'need to know', and we figured that Pete needed to know," he dismissed.

"We?"

He sighed. "Sara brought it up, I talked to Hammond and he agreed," he said.

"Sara brought it up?"

"Who better to know how Pete feels than a person who's put up with top secret for the better part of fifteen years," he said. "Carter, don't worry about it. Sara was right. And anyway, if Cassie's gonna be visiting now and then, it'll be easier in the long run if he does know."

Sam shook her head. "Sir, I-"

"We're having a party next weekend," he said.

"A party?"

"Yep, it'll be Cassie's thirteenth birthday. You and Pete are invited."

"How did you figure out when her birthday was?" she asked.

"I didn't. Daniel did. Anyway, we're going to do the whole barbeque thing. Doc says you should be out of here by then, so we'd like you to join us. We can even have crutch races." He smiled and made a face, patting his aluminum crutches.

"I don't know, sir. I'm not even sure they'll let me go home by then," she said.

He nodded, levering himself to his feet. "Well, the invitation is open," he said. "And, if you come, we can figure out what we're going to come up with to keep Daniel and Teal'c busy for the next few weeks."

"We?" she asked, not quite understanding where the conversation was going.

"With half of the team laid up for the next six to eight weeks, those two are at loose ends," he explained. "I'm thinking about loaning them out to SG-3…but that might be more than the Marines can handle." The door opened and the nurse came in, carrying Sam's lunch tray. Sensing that she was interrupting, she simply set the tray down and left the room.

"Colonel?" Sam asked, watching as he limped to the bed and lifted the cover, making a face at the dry looking sandwich and limp pickle.

"You're part of SG-1 Carter," he said, replacing the cover. "We're not going back out until you can come with us," he said seriously. "And if this is all they're feeding you, the sooner we get you out of here the better." He looked at her. "You like pizza?"

"Yeah," she answered slowly, trying to follow the conversation. His behavior puzzled her, the sudden change from cautiously suspicious to overtly friendly catching her off guard.

"Pepperoni?" she nodded. "Ok. I can't promise the beer, but I can deliver pizza. Eighteen hundred," he said as he moved towards the door. "Any requests?"

"Diet coke?" she asked.

"Carter?"

"I am so sick of orange juice," she complained.

"Diet coke it is," he said. "I'll see you in a few hours, Captain."

<><><><><>

Pete hurried around the wheelchair, opening the car door and trying to get out of the way. "Oh, maybe I need to move the seat back," he said, leaning forward.

"Pete, it's ok," Sam said, holding out her hand to restrain him. She took her crutches from him and moved to stand up, barely waiting for the nurse to put the brakes on the wheelchair. As he watched, she maneuvered herself into the car seat, holding out the crutches.

He took them, sliding them into the back seat along with the small bag of her belongings. One of the candy stripers helped him load the flowers and he thanked her, quickly making his way over to the driver's seat. "Buckle up," he said, turning the key in the ignition. "I'd hate to have to cite you for not using your seatbelt."

"And I'd hate to have to whack you with my crutches," she retorted, leaning her head against the headrest of the seat.

He chuckled and put the car in gear, pulling away from the curb. He glanced over at her, noting that she was keeping her eyes closed; looking like the short trip from her room to the car had totally drained her.

In one way, he imagined that it had. He knew that Sam always did her best to put up a good front and, during the past two weeks, had caught her more than once, trying not to look as tired or as in pain as he knew she was.

Her foot was healing, slowly and he knew it'd be a few more weeks before they knew how much of an effect the frostbite would have. And add to that the complication of the fracture; she was going to be laid up for at least a few months. He was worried. She was worried. And he knew that her friends were worried as well.

"Colonel O'Neill called me this morning."

"Mmhm."

"He wanted to remind us about Cassie's party."

She opened her eyes. "Pete, I'm tired," she said, giving him the response he'd expected.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Ok," he said as she closed her eyes, settling back down to doze.

Pete continued to drive, hoping that she kept her eyes closed. It would be infinitely easier that way.

Finally arriving at their destination, he pulled to the curb. "Sam?"

"I can't wait to finally sleep in my own…Pete." She opened her eyes, turning to glare at him once she'd looked out the window and determined that they weren't home. "Where the hell are we?"

"He made me do it," Pete said, feeling the need to explain his actions. He pulled the keys from the ignition and opened the door.

"Pete. I said I wanted to go home," she said, her voice rising to a whine.

"We will," he reassured her. He got out and shut his door, looking up to see Doctor Jackson and Teal'c walking around the house. They waved and broke into a jog.

"We started to think you weren't coming," Doctor Jackson said.

"Paperwork and prescriptions," Pete said. "She's not happy," he warned.

"We're just gonna have to change that," Jackson said, pulling open the car door. "Sam, I'm glad you came."

"I didn't have a choice," she said, glaring at Pete.

"Do you not wish to spend time with us, Captain Carter?" Teal'c asked his voice deeply calm.

"Teal'c, it's not that-" she started.

"SAM!" Pete turned, grinning when he saw Cassie running out of the house, her long hair flying. She pushed past Jackson and Teal'c and nearly threw herself into the car. Much to his relief, Sam hugged the girl. "You came!"

"Yeah, I did," Sam said as Cassie stepped back. She looked up at them, this time smiling instead of glaring. "You knew," she accused.

Pete shrugged innocently. "Me?"

"Lunch is almost ready," Daniel said. "We're just waiting on you."

Pete pulled Sam's crutches from the back of the car and handed them to her. "Just long enough to eat," he said softly. "Are you mad?"

"Yes."

"Am I in trouble?"

"What do you think?" she teased.

"Well then, I'm not going to give you this," he said. Pulling a sack out of the back seat.

"What is it?" She frowned at him.

"Your gift to Cassie," he said, shrugging negligently.

"Ok, you're out of the dog house," she said, starting to make her way up the walk.
Doctor Jackson grabbed Cassie's hand and led the girl as Teal'c followed them, intently studying the crutches.

They made their way into the house and Pete let Daniel show Sam to a chair. "Carter, glad you made it," Colonel O'Neill said, limping out of the kitchen.

"Sir," she said, staring curiously as another man followed Sara in, carrying a large platter of burgers.

"Carter, Colonel Frank Cromwell," O'Neill introduced. "We served together years ago."

"Colonel." She tried to get up.

"Ah, sit down," Cromwell said. "Jack keeps forgetting that rank gets left at the door."

"Diet soda, right?" Sara asked, pressing a can into Sam's hand.

"Aah, yeah, thanks." Sam took it, looking more than a little lost.

"Sam." Cassie came running out of her bedroom, her arms burdened with something, Charlie hot at her heels. "Look at what Daniel got me for my birthday." She fumbled, holding out a large pad and a small tray of water color paints. "He said that I can be an artist."

"You sure can," Sam said, smiling.

"He said you can teach me how to use it."

"Oh, I don't know, Cassie. I'm not very good at it," Sam said.

"So, Carter, now that you're here, maybe you can answer a question for me," Cromwell said, handing her a plate loaded with a hamburger and all the fixings.

"I can try, sir," she answered.

"Deep space radar telemetry. That's what you do in the mountain."

"Yes, sir," Sam confirmed, sticking to the cover story.

"Ok, then can you tell me how this knuckle head, who got his first telescope so that he could check out the girls' dorm without getting caught, manages to stare at a computer screen all day and not go totally whacko?" he asked, grinning at O'Neill's glare.

"Frank," he growled.

"Actually Colonel, I think Colonel O'Neill just…pretends it's a game boy," Sam said, struggling to keep a straight face.

Sara choked and Doctor Jackson openly laughed while Teal'c merely raised an eyebrow.
"Game boy?" Cromwell asked. "And how did you come to that conclusion?"

"When we caught him using a grease pencil to write his name on the screen and claim high score," she said, shooting Pete a look as he returned from the kitchen, his hands burdened with a plate of food and a cold bottle of beer.

Cromwell laughed. "Yeah, Jack, it's official. You still have the oddest friends."

"Look in a mirror, Frankie. Look in a mirror," O'Neill said.

Pete sat down beside Sam, letting the conversation flow around him. It was good to see Sam settling in and becoming one of the crowd again. As she ate, he watched, studying the body language of the people in the room. There were a lot of secrets in this room, a lot of people playing roles and holding their cards close to their chests.

The people in this room were a puzzle.

And there was nothing Pete Shanahan liked more than a puzzle.

~Fin~

Feedback:sky_diver119@yahoo.com

HOME