Title: Matthew
Author: Sue Corkill and Wendy Parkinson
Email: mscorkill@earthlink.net wendyparkinson@hotmail.com
Category: drama
Spoilers: Seth
Season/Sequel info: set about three years after Seth
Rating: PG
Content Warnings: none
Summary: Sam is asked to protect a small boy.
Date: 12th June 2004

Author's Notes: This story originally appeared in the zine "Revelation"
published in May 2003.

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters belong to MGM, Gekko Corp and
Double Secret Productions. This fan fiction was created solely for
entertainment and no money was made from it.  Also, no copyright or
trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living
or dead, is coincidental.

All feedback and constructive criticism will be greatly appreciated.  No
flames please

copyright Sue Corkill and Wendy Parkinson June 2004
 

Matthew

“Please, sir,” Sam murmured quietly as she stood on O’Neill’s porch, shifting the sleeping form in her arms from her right hip to her left hip, rapping harder on the door. 

The porch light suddenly flared on, nearly blinding her. She could hear movement and muttering on the other side of the door. Finally the lock turned and the Colonel’s aggravated voice sounded as the door opened. “For crying…” he stopped abruptly, his eyes widening at the sight on his doorstep. “Carter?” he asked cautiously, peering around her as if expecting something or someone else.

“May I come in, sir?” she asked anxiously, once again shifting her bundle in her arms.

“Sure, yeah, come on in.” O’Neill stepped back into the house and she quickly followed him in. Once inside, she kept going on into the living room, where she gently lowered her sleeping burden onto the sofa.

“Whatcha’ got there, Carter?” O’Neill asked, peering over her shoulder, his voice full of curiosity. The small form shifted, flinging one arm free of the soft blue blanket. Sam reached down and turning back the rest of the blanket, revealed the sleeping child to O’Neill.

“A kid!” he choked out.

“Shh.” Sam pulled him away from the sofa. “He just feel asleep on the way over here.”

“He?” O’Neill asked, glancing once more to the sleeping child, his soft brown curls just visible above the blanket. 

Sam followed his gaze, “Yeah, he’s a he. At last that’s what Tom Levinson told me.”

She watched as O’Neill’s brow furrowed in thought. “Now why does that name sound familiar?” he muttered.

“Oh, try about three years ago, in Washington State, we rescued him and a bunch of his friends from Seth.”

“Oh, right—Tommy.” Jack gestured past Sam to the child, “That’s his kid?”

“No, sir.” The look she gave the Colonel was full of worry. “Tom claims that Seth is the boy’s father.”

Jack mouthed a soundless, “Oh,” his eyes suddenly reflecting the same worry Sam knew was in hers. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam watched as the Colonel leaned down and gently rearranged the blanket so the child was covered up. She smiled to herself. Yes, her instincts were right. This was the best place to bring him. As if aware of her gaze, he straightened up and turned towards her. "So, who's the mother?"

"Tom didn't give her name. She got pregnant when she was one of Seth's *followers* and, after they got rescued, her and Tom got together. They married a year or so back and he's been raising the child as his own. They became frightened for the child's safety and tried to find Dad. They knew he wasn't connected with conventional law enforcement and felt they could trust him. When they couldn't trace him, they found me and asked me to take care of the child."

"Seth's dead. What's to be afraid of?" O'Neill glanced back at the child, who stirred in his sleep, grunted and stuck his thumb in his mouth. A smile tugged at the Colonel's lips.

"They say they've been followed and they think their apartment is being watched."

The Colonel raised an eyebrow. His skepticism was obvious. "Paranoia?"

Sam nodded in agreement. "They thought so too, until yesterday afternoon."

"What happened?"

"They had taken Matthew..." she hesitated and pointed towards the child. O'Neill nodded in acknowledgement. "...to the park. He was running round with some other kids when a big guy in a dark suit and sunglasses walked over..."

"Men in black. What a cliché!"

Sam frowned at the interruption and carried on. "...walked over and tried to pick him up. Fortunately, little Matthew doesn't like strangers...."

"What'd he do?"

"Bit the guy, who dropped him, giving Tom time to run across and rescue Matthew. The guy with the sunglasses ran away. It was after that they decided to find Dad."

O'Neill lowered himself gently onto the sofa and carefully stroked the child's hair. "From the sounds of it, kiddo, you can look after yourself but if your Mom and Dad think you need a helping hand, we'll do our best." He looked up at Sam, "Where's Tom Levinson now?"

She shook her head. "He said he was going on the run. His wife is already hiding with friends out of state. Basically, he couldn't be sure he wasn't still being followed. He took my cell phone number and said he'll call in a day or two to check Matthew was okay."

O'Neill stood up quickly and went over to the window. Twitching the curtain back a couple of inches, he glanced up and down the street. "I don't see anything out of the ordinary but I guess we ought to take him to the base to be on the safe side. In any case, we need to report what's happened."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Doctor Janet Fraiser entered the briefing room, walking briskly around the table, she handed out folders to General Hammond and the three members of SG-1 seated there. “Sorry I’m late, sir.” 

Hammond nodded, his expression stern. “Where is Major Carter?”

Janet took the seat next to Daniel, who gave her a slight smile. She glanced quickly around the table, trying to gauge the mood of the room. O’Neill sat next to Hammond’s right, his expression only slightly less grim than Hammond’s. Teal’c was seated to O’Neill’s right, his expression as implacable as always.

“Doctor?”

“Sorry, sir,” she apologized again. Frowning, Fraiser smoothed her hands over the folder in front of her. “The child…”

“His name is Matthew,” O’Neill gruffly interrupted.

Janet looked sharply at him, filing away the Colonel’s response. So, she suddenly realized, it had started already. First Sam…and now O’Neill—it looked like the boy’s father had been wise in his choice of who to bring his son to for protection.

“Major Carter is with Matthew.” She looked at O’Neill, who smiled slightly at her words. “He’s formed a strong attachment to her and refused to be separated from her.” Janet shook her head, “And given the recent events in his life, I felt it best not to press the issue. If she can get him down for a nap, she’ll join us.”

“Very well, Doctor.”

O’Neill tapped lightly with his pen on the manila folder in front of him. “So, Doc, what’s the verdict?”

She knew they were all apprehensive about the implications of the boy’s parentage, so she told them all she knew. “Well, all I can say for certain now is that Matthew is human.” She shuffled several sheets of paper in her folder. “Preliminary lab results show no sign of any foreign substance…”

“Like naqada?” Daniel interrupted.

Janet flashed him quick smile. “Exactly, no traces of naqada, protein markers, or any other substance that would indicate he’s not human.”

“But is Seth his father?” Hammond questioned.

“Well, I’ll know for sure once I finish running the DNA testing.” She gave Hammond an apologetic look, “Which won’t be until late tomorrow.”

“Explain, Doctor.”

“I need to compare Matthew’s DNA with Seth’s. I’ve already requested some of Seth’s tissue samples that have been in storage at Area 51 to be delivered here by special courier.” She looked around the table, noting with some amusement O’Neill’s look of distaste at the mention of tissue samples. “Until I can compare their DNA, I won’t be able to say for certain whether Seth’s host is the boy’s biological father.

Fraiser looked at O’Neill; “Do you have any reason to doubt what this Tom Levinson has told you?”

“No,” Sam answered the question from the doorway. “Sorry I’m late, sir, “ she nodded to Hammond as she took a seat next to Fraiser.

“You got Matthew to sleep, Carter?” O’Neill asked softly across the table.

Janet watched the by-play between the two officers curiously, as Sam blushed slightly before replying. “Yes, sir.” Sam smiled shyly, and Janet knew it was meant for only one person at that table. “After all the excitement last night, it didn’t take long for him to fall asleep.”

“So, Major Carter,” Hammond interrupted, addressing Sam, “do you believe what that young man told you regarding Matthew’s parentage?”

Sam nodded. “He has no reason to lie to us, sir. And he was obviously frightened for Matthew’s safety, as well as his own.”

Hammond looked towards Teal’c. “In your experience, Teal’c, how likely is it that Seth is the boy’s father?”

“It is highly likely indeed, General Hammond.” 

Janet looked up from what she’d been studying in her folder, curious as to what Teal’c had to say.

“It is not unknown for a Goa’uld to allow a favored consort to bear his child. Such children have no Goa’uld influence or are Harcesis, they generally will hold a preferred position in court, but that is all.”

“Kind of like the illegitimate children of royalty,” Daniel muttered.

“So, while it is probable that Seth’s host is the father, “ Janet mused, “the boy is only human.” She looked around the table, “That still doesn’t explain, though, why anyone would want to hunt him down!”

“My money’s on the NID.” O’Neill looked to Hammond, “It would be just their perverted style to kidnap a kid and terrorize his parents. God knows, they’ve done worse.”

“If they think that Seth is the boy’s father,” Daniel speculated, a pained look crossing his face for the briefest of moments, “they must hope that he either has some Goa’uld DNA-or whatever-or maybe even some genetic memory that they can somehow access.”

“It’s the only thing that makes sense, General,” Sam added, her voice barely concealing the rage Janet could tell the other woman was trying hard to suppress. 

“You may be right, Colonel. I’ll place a few calls to my contacts, see what I can find out.” Hammond stood. “The rest of you, see if you can find out more about what happened that frightened Tom Levinson and the boy’s mother enough for them to leave Matthew with Major Carter and go into hiding.” As Janet stood, Hammond looked directly at her. “And Doctor, I expect to be notified as soon as you have determined whether or not Seth is the boy’s biological father.”

“Yes, sir.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

O'Neill carefully opened the door to the VIP quarters and smiled to himself as he took in the scene before him. His second in command was sitting on the floor, facing Matthew Levinson, who eyed her suspiciously. As if to emphasize how he felt, he frowned at the major and stuck his thumb firmly in his mouth. The floor was carpeted with discarded pieces of paper that appeared to be covered in childish scribbles. Then the Colonel noticed the blanket draped over a chair to make a tent like structure and he couldn't help noticing Carter's slightly disheveled appearance. So, she was running out of ways to entertain their small guest, was she? It was a good thing he'd thought to pay a visit to the mall.

Totally oblivious to the presence of her commanding officer, she suddenly said, "I know!" and began reciting, "Itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water spout..." Matthew squealed in recognition and began to mimic Carter's hand movements. O'Neill's heart lurched when he remembered playing this game with another child. It seemed so long ago now. The sound of Carter's voice brought him back to his senses as she carried on. "Down came the rain and
washed the spider out. Out came the sun and dried up all the rain. Itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again." The Colonel found himself grinning as the child's face crinkled up with happiness.

"Do 'gain," Matthew said firmly.

Smiling, Sam started again. "Itsy bitsy spider, climbed up the water spout, down came the rain and washed the spider out..."

"Out came the sun and dried up all the rain. Itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again," finished the Colonel. Carter swung round to look at O'Neill, much to Matthew's disappointment. "How you doing, Major?" he asked with a mischievous grin. "I see your intellectual abilities are being stretched to their limits."

Carter smiled back, then winced when a small hand hit her on the arm. "Do 'gain," insisted Matthew.

"Hey buddy, I've got something for you," said the Colonel, producing a large box from behind his back. Matthew watched him curiously, tipping his head on one side, as O’Neill set it down on the floor and opened it. The Colonel carefully lifted out a toy garage and several brightly colored cars. Matthew instantly grinned like a Cheshire cat, 'Itsy bitsy spider' now totally forgotten, and toddled forward to take a closer look, then picked up a car and started happily pushing it round the garage making 'vroom, vroom' noises as he played.

"Thank you, sir. I'm not sure how much longer I could have entertained him on my own with no toys. Did you find that on base?"

"No. I scooted out to the local ToysRUs. Charlie used to have one of those. It was one of his favorite toys when he was really small."

Sam was obviously surprised by his comment, since it was so rare for him to mention his son, the look of mild confusion and trepidation giving her away. Realizing her discomfort, and mentally chiding himself for causing it, Jack smiled quickly and changed the subject. "The Doc just finished the tests on the tissue sample from Area 51. She's confirmed that Seth is his father."

"Seth's host?"

O'Neill frowned. "Yeah, that's what I meant."

"But she's adamant he's human, so he's no use to the NID if they're after information on the Goa'uld. Perhaps we ought to tell them, and then they'd leave him alone. Perhaps Maybourne.."

"Hold your horses, Carter!" interrupted O'Neill. "You might want to hear what else I came to tell you. Hammond has called in a few markers. The NID say they weren't responsible for trying to snatch Matthew." Noticing Sam's raised eyebrow he nodded. "No, I'm not sure if I believe them either. The General's contact told him they did watch him for a while but when they got hold of some of his DNA and did their own tests."

"Got hold of his DNA?" Sam looked horrified. "How?"

"The General didn't go into details. He just said they came to the same conclusion that we have. The little guy is totally human and therefore no use to them so they left him alone."

"So who would want to snatch him?"

"You got me there, Carter."

"Perhaps if I go over the mission reports from when we met Seth something might come to light? Or you don't think it could be another Goa'uld, do you? Or do Tom and his wife have something worth being ransomed for?"

O'Neill smiled approvingly. "You just reminded me why you're my second in command."

"Why?"

"You have all the good ideas, Carter. Which makes *me* look good." Sam grinned and shook her head. Smiling back, O'Neill said, "Shall I look after Matthew while you do some digging and see what you can come up with?"

"Yes, sir." She crouched down next to the boy. "I'm going to go for a while, Matthew. I've got some work to do. Jack is going to stay with you. Is that okay?"

Totally absorbed in playing with the garage and cars, the boy muttered, "Bye," without turning round.

"We'll be fine, Major. See you later."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

O’Neill stood in the doorway of Carter’s lab, the top of her blonde head just visible above the computer monitor. Stepping into the room he said, “Carter?” When she didn’t respond, he repeated himself a little more forcefully, “Carter!”

“Sir!” she exclaimed, jumping a bit, “you startled me!”

Jack sauntered the rest of the way into the lab, peering sideways at the computer monitor. “Whatcha’ doin’?”

“Just searching some websites, trying to get a fix on Seth’s’ followers.” She turned back to the screen. It took her a minute, Jack noted, but a look of dawning comprehension started on her face, followed by a quick flash of guilt as she looked up at him again. “Oh sir, I’m so sorry…I completely forgot the time.”

“S’okay, Carter,” he drawled. “Figured you must have found something.”

She studied him a bit suspiciously, he thought, as she asked, “Where is Matthew anyway?” 

“Well, after you left us, Carter, we played cars.” He smiled softly, remembering Matthew’s endless energy and unending enthusiasm for their game. “And then it was dinner time, and now, seeing as it’s gone on 2100, well, he’s in bed.”

Sam blushed and had the grace to look ashamed. “I am so sorry, sir.” She looked at him a bit curiously. “And Matthew was fine? Didn’t give you any trouble?”

Jack put his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels. “Not anymore than any two year old gives you at bedtime.”

“And he ate okay?”

“Just fine, we had meat loaf, mashed potatoes, and peas.”

Sam chuckled, and reaching up, brushed at his left breast pocket. “I can see that. I think there’s a little left over potato there, Colonel,” she teased.

“Where?” O’Neill asked, looking down, tugging at his BDU shirt. “I thought I got everything cleaned off.”

“Don’t worry, sir. Whatever was there is gone now.”

Jack grinned and once more tried to look at her computer monitor. “So, what did you find?”

“Quite a bit, actually. I called your old friend, Special Agent Hamner.”

Jack winced a bit at the name of the ATF agent who had been in charge of the investigation into Seth and his followers; the man hadn’t been very fond of him. He was sure Sam actually smirked at him, but she covered it quickly by continuing in a serious voice. “Hamner really didn’t have too much information except that about six months ago it was reported that a group of about ten to fifteen of Seth’s former followers had gotten back together and are presently living on a farm just outside of Redmond, Washington.”

“Six months ago, huh?”

“I know,” she gestured. “The only problem is it doesn’t really fit into the time frame of when Tom first noticed any suspicious activity, though.”

“Well,” O’Neill thought carefully, “that still doesn’t rule them out.” Another thought occurred to him, “And meanwhile, the NID claim they haven’t been doing anything for at least a year….”

“So, you think some Seth’s followers are after Matthew?” Sam asked, an intent look on her face.

“I don’t think we can rule it out. But the big question is gonna’ be—why?” O’Neill mused.

“Well, hopefully, Daniel and Teal’c will be able to help with that.”

“Yeah, where are those two, anyway?” 

Sam stood, shutting off her computer. “They’re in Denver, we got a lead on Tom’s sister.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You are sure this is the correct address, Daniel Jackson?”

Daniel glanced out of the car window at the rundown neighborhood, comparing the address written on the piece of paper in his hand to the numbers on the house. “Yep, this is the right place.”

Daniel placed the car in park and shut off the ignition. The two men exited the car, Teal’c pulling his hat on. “This does not appear to be a desirable neighborhood.”

Daniel pulled his coat a little tighter against he chill of the evening air. “Be that as it may, Teal’c, its where we should find Tom Levinson’s sister.”

The two men strode up to the walk and to the door of the modest one-story house. The curtains were drawn in the front window, but a faint glimmer of light showed through. Daniel rang the doorbell; several minutes passed and he rang it again. Finally, the sound of footsteps could be heard and moments later the porch light flared on and the door opened as wide as the chain would allow. A tired and worried looking woman’s face appeared. “Yes?” she asked, her voice cautious.

“Julie Levinson-Chandler?”

“Yes,” she seemed to admit almost reluctantly.

“We’re friends of Tom’s.”

“How do I know that?” she asked suspiciously.

“Ah…” Daniel floundered for a moment until Teal’c answered.

“We are also friends of General Carter.”

The woman’s face relaxed somewhat at the mention of Jacob Carter, she closed the door and the two men heard the release of the chain. Opening the door again, Julie said, “Come in.” Following her into the house, Daniel gazed curiously around the small living room, noting the pictures on the desk against the far wall. He saw a family portrait of three individuals; he recognized Tom, Matthew and the third individual was a stunningly beautiful young woman. If the woman was Matthew’s mother, he could understand why Seth had chosen her.

“Please sit down,” Julie said, gesturing the men towards the sofa.

“Mom?” Daniel looked towards the voice, a boy who appeared to be about eight or nine stood in the other entryway to the room.

“It’s okay, Brandon,” she reassured the boy. “Finish your dinner. I’m just going to talk to these men for a few minutes.”

“Okay, Mom.” The boy turned with seeming reluctance and went back into the other room.

“Have you talked to Tom? Is Matthew all right?” Julie asked, her voice anxious as she sat down on a chair next to the sofa.

“We have not spoken with your brother, however your nephew is safe,” Teal’c answered.

A look of mixed concern and relief passed over her face.

“Actually,” Daniel spoke cautiously, “we were hoping you could tell us why your brother and his wife think someone is after Matthew.”

“He didn’t tell you?” Her voice had taken on a suspicious tone again.

“He did not.”

“Apparently he felt he only had enough time to leave Matthew with General Carter’s daughter,” Daniel explained.

Julie wrung her hands together. “I told Tom when this all started that he and Stephanie should go to the police.”

“Stephanie?” Daniel interrupted.

“Matthew’s mother,” Julie explained. “But he didn’t want to because of all the trouble with that cult business. He said he knew someone he trusted who could help them—your General Carter.”

“We want to help him, Mrs. Chandler,” Daniel spoke in a reassuring voice. “We just need a little more information.”

“I’ll tell you all I know,” Julie replied. She paused for a moment, as if gathering her thoughts. “I guess it was about six months ago. Tom, Stephanie and Matthew went back to Seattle to visit Stephanie’s folks.”

“They had been living here in Denver?” Teal’c asked.

“In Aurora, actually, for about a year now. Anyway, something happened while they were in Seattle that really spooked Stephanie. She told me she ran into some people she’d known while she and Tom were in that cult. That they seemed real interested in Matthew. They told her that a group of them had gotten back together and that she and Tom should bring Matthew and come live with them again, that things were different, with Seth gone.”

“What did she tell them?”

“That she and Tom weren’t interested in that kind of thing anymore.” Julie stood up then and started pacing. “Honestly, I don’t think they thought another thing about it, once they got back home, until about a month ago.”

“What transpired at that time?” Teal’c asked.

“Stephanie told me she thought she had seen one of the guys that use to be in the cult, in their neighborhood.” Julie stopped her pacing, standing in front of the sofa. “But she said she wasn’t sure, she just had a weird feeling.”

“When was the last time you saw your brother, Mrs. Chandler?”

“Five days ago, after that guy tried to grab Matthew in the park. That’s when I told Tom he should go to the police.”

Daniel stood. “You’ve been most helpful.” Taking out his wallet, he took out a business card, handing it to the woman. “If Tom or Stephanie contact you, will you call us?”

She took the card, “All right.” She brushed past the two men to go to the front door, opening it. As Daniel walked past her, she reached out and touched his arm. “Just…help them? If this does have something to that with that cult, well, Matthew shouldn’t have to suffer for the mistakes his parents made before he was born.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Carter, I was thinking..."

Sam looked up from her breakfast and smiled warmly at her commanding officer. "Yes, sir?"

"Yes, SIR!" echoed little Matthew from his high chair, happily waving a spoon in the air and spraying the surrounding area of the commissary with milk from his cereal bowl.

O'Neill laughed and wiped himself off. "Why don't we take this little guy to the park? If he burns off enough energy, he might take a nap this afternoon."

Carter looked doubtful. "Is it safe, sir? When Daniel rang he said it was highly likely that the remaining cult members are the ones after Matthew—and probably still looking for him." She shivered a bit as she remembered how terrified Tom had been when he’d left Matthew with her. 

"But they don't know where he is, or whom he's with. And in any case, Matthew is in the care of two highly trained, very alert, deadly..."

"Not to mention 'modest'," added Carter, trying to adopt O’Neill’s casual attitude and shake off her trepidation.

"I think you've been spending too much time around me, Major."

"Ya think?" They grinned at each other, then she added, "You were saying, sir?"

"Oh, yes. Two highly trained, alert and deadly US Air Force officers who will be armed. He'll be perfectly safe."

"SAFE!" came the enthusiastic echo again.

"Matthew, please put that spoon down. You're getting us all wet," said Sam, trying to sound stern. She suspected she'd missed by a mile. The small boy grinned at her, his face lighting up with happiness.

"Come on, Carter, don't be a spoilsport," O’Neill cajoled. 

The Major sighed, knowing when she’d been beaten. "I guess it would be okay. I'll go and tell General Hammond where we're going." As she stood up to leave, Matthew let out a wail of dismay.

"It's okay big fella; she'll be right back. How about trying this?" O'Neill handed the child a piece of toast and smiled at Carter as it had the desired effect and distracted the boy.

She smiled back. "See you later, sir."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Now this is more like it, Carter. Fresh air, exercise..."

"Nervousness, worry..." added the Major, as she looked anxiously round the park. She watched as Matthew ran round them, whooping with joy. The park was fairly quiet, as it was still early, with only a few joggers and dog walkers around. Sam peered suspiciously at everyone who came near them, her hand hovering near the pocket where she'd concealed her gun.

The Colonel smiled reassuringly. "Relax, it'll be fine. Let's take him to the swings before you shoot someone for wearing unfashionable running shoes." The Colonel grabbed the boy and swung him up onto his shoulders.

As Sam followed him, she still couldn't help feeling nervous and found herself continually glancing round, looking for 'bad guys'. But she didn't know what the 'bad guys' looked like. Logic told her that the cult members wouldn't advertise their presence by wearing long robes. They'd just look like everyone else. She wasn't sure why she felt so twitchy, perhaps it was maternal instinct, perhaps there really was someone watching them. But whatever it was, she just couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen.

She smiled, despite her worry, as the Colonel sat Matthew on the swing and began to push him gently to and fro. "Higher!" shouted the little boy between giggles, and soon Sam found herself beginning to relax. Perhaps the Colonel was right. She was probably just being paranoid. Sam did another quick scan of the area and noticed a woman with a small girl, in a stroller, approaching them. The nicely dressed woman stopped when she reached the swings; she smiled at Sam and then bent down, as if to take her child out of the stroller.

Sam's heart constricted in sudden horror, when almost as if it was in slow motion, the woman produced a zat gun from somewhere behind the child and pointed it at her. She heard herself shout, "NO!" as the searing pain sent her to oblivion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You are certain this is the correct address?”

Daniel glared mildly at Teal’c, make one wrong turn…. Sighing loudly, Daniel pulled the car to the side of the road. “Yes, I’m certain this is the right place.” He turned off the ignition. “Hammond said they were going to the park by Sam’s house, and this is the only park by Sam’s house.”

“Very well.” 

The two men exited the vehicle, Teal’c pulling his stocking cap lower over his forehead. The park appeared almost deserted as they started walking up a slight, grassy incline. “Do you see them?” Daniel asked, shading his eyes with his hands as he looked around, impatiently scanning the lightly wooded area for any sign of their teammates and Matthew.

“Over there, by that apparatus.” Teal’c pointed off towards Daniel’s left. Down at the far end of the park, Daniel could just make out Sam, Jack and Matthew at a small playground. Jack was pushing Matthew in one of the swings.

“They are not alone, Daniel Jackson.”

Teal’c was right, Daniel realized. A woman with a stroller had approached the trio. “It’s just a mother out with her…”

“She has a weapon!” Teal’c suddenly cried, breaking into a run. Daniel quickly followed, watching in horror as first Sam, and then Jack fell—both victims of what could only have been a zatnickatel. The woman quickly snatched Matthew off the swing, and three men appeared as if out of nowhere, one taking the now crying Matthew from the woman, the second grabbing the other stroller, while the third man scooped up Sam! The kidnappers fled in the opposite direction from them, towards the street that marked the perimeter of that side of the park.

Daniel and Teal’c ran on, towards the fleeing group, and even as heavily burdened as the kidnappers were, it seemed as if he and Teal’c had little hope of catching them as the kidnappers disappeared around a fence. Teal’c and Daniel had just reached O’Neill and the swing set when they heard an engine rev into life and then a dark-colored van sped down the street, away from them. Both men stood, panting and out of breath, watching impotently as the van carrying Matthew and Sam disappeared around a corner.

“We had better see to O’Neill,” Teal’c finally broke the silence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Is he asleep?” Nicholas asked, his deep voice filled with concern.

“Yes, finally.” The young woman whispered, urging him out into the hallway. 

“And the woman?” He glanced towards the closed door to his left; his voice now hard and filled with hatred.

Cherine’s expression grew fearful. “She is restrained securely.” Continuing, her voice uneasy, “The sedative is having little effect on her.”

Nicholas scowled, until he decided the best punishment for the woman, he wanted her quiet and under control. After his inquisition, he would up the dose of the drug. Clearing his thoughts, he looked back in the cheerfully decorated room where Matthew lay sleeping, allowing a feeling of intense satisfaction to course through him at the sight of the small boy sleeping peacefully in his crib. They had done it! They had finally recovered the boy! And had received an unexpected bonus, the traitorous bitch who had assassinated their beloved Seth. He smiled grimly as he followed Cherine down the stairs and into the dining room, which also served dual duty as their meeting area; he would finally be able to avenge his lord. Nicholas sat down at the head of the long table, somberly studying the others sitting there. Out of fifty there were only eighteen of them left, while their numbers may have been diminished, their faith—and their resolve—remained strong. Only eight of their group was with him here in Colorado, those who had been the most loyal and strong in service to their lord. The rest of the coterie had remained in Washington, but now that they had Matthew, they would all soon be reunited.

Nicholas cleared his throat and nodding to those seated around the table, closed his eyes and lifted his hands upward, in supplication. “Oh great and glorious Seth, though you have departed from this world, your spirit lives on in your followers. And now, we rejoice that at long last we have found your son and restored him to his rightful place as your heir and the leader of your people!” His voice hardened slightly as he continued, “We are also most blessed, my lord, in that we have been delivered the vile infidel that struck the mortal blow to your earthly vessel. We will have vengeance at last!”

Lowering his arms, he finally smiled, and everyone seated around the table started clapping, cheering and talking excitedly. It was a good day, Nicholas decided, as he watched his people celebrate. A day to remember and rejoice in the arrival of the boy and the unexpected bonus of the woman. His second leaned in close, speaking quietly. “What of the woman and those who will seek her and the boy?”

Nicholas’ expression turned grim. “If they dare to try and steal the boy from us, they will pay with their lives. As for the woman, she will know the wrath of Seth.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

O’Neill groaned, his head pounded and he felt distinctly queasy.

“He’s awake,” he heard Daniel’s voice echoing painfully in his brain as the other man called out.

“Colonel, how do you feel?” Jack opened his eyes at the sound of Doctor Fraiser’s voice, only to grimace as she shone her handy-dandy penlight right in his eyes. O’Neill tried, unsuccessfully, to bat her hand away.

“My head hurts,” he mumbled crossly.

Fraiser stepped back and frowned. “You were shot with a zat and when you fell you evidently hit your head on the swing set—hence the headache.”

His thoughts were fuzzy; what was the Doc carrying on about, hit his head on a swing set? Oh hell…a swing set! “What happened to Matthew?” he asked urgently, trying to sit up, but the room immediately began to spin, so he plopped back down against the pillow. 

“Easy, Colonel.” Janet instructed, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“They got Matthew, Jack.” 

O’Neill closed his eyes at Daniel’s words, feeling his gut tighten. They had Matthew, whoever ‘they’ were; they had taken that sweet little boy, the little boy he was supposed to protect. Momentarily lost in his grim thoughts, he was only vaguely aware of Daniel and Janet whispering; he eventually heard the tip-tap of the Doc’s heels as she walked away and then the scraping of a chair along the floor. Jack finally opened his eyes to find Daniel sitting by the bed, his expression troubled. “What about Carter?” he finally mumbled, guilt over Matthew haven driven thoughts of her welfare right out of his mind.

Daniel didn’t answer right away, and finally, from the far corner of the room, Teal’c spoke.

“They have taken Major Carter as well.”

“Son of a bitch!” Jack exclaimed, finally managing to sit up. He gazed in bewilderment at his teammates. “Why the hell would they take her, too?” His eyes narrowed, “And how do you two know what happened?”

Daniel answered, “Teal’c and I had just arrived at the park and we saw it all happen.”

“We were, however, too far away to prevent them from taking Matthew and Major Carter,” Teal’c replied solemnly.

“Them?” Jack questioned, his memories of their attack still somewhat fuzzy. He thought there had only been the one woman.

“Yes,” Teal’c replied, “there were three men in hiding by the shelter. Once you and Major Carter were neutralized, they quickly made their escape.”

“To where?” he asked, immensely troubled by this sudden turn of events. Matthew’s abduction he could understand...but, Sam’s?

“There was a van a short distance away, waiting for their return,” Teal’c answered.

“Did you get the license plate number?” 

“Well, it may be better than that, Jack.” Daniel answered, finally met his eyes. “We may know where they took them.”

But, how?” Ignoring his throbbing head, Jack made a concentrated effort to focus on Daniel’s words.

“Your good buddy, Special Agent Hamner.” 

“Well?” O’Neill demanded, anxious to hear what Daniel had to say.

Daniel pushed his glasses up on his nose. “It seems that Agent Hamner got curious after Sam called him yesterday and decided to investigate a little further. He discovered that, while the cult members don’t seem to be caching weapons, they have been buying property.”

“You’ve lost me, Daniel,” O’Neill interjected gruffly. Either Daniel was being deliberately obtuse or his headache was affecting him more than he realized. Where on earth was Daniel going with this story?

“The same non-profit organization that bought the land in Washington State that the cult members currently live on also bought one hundred acres of land in Park County, near a little town called,” he fumbled in his pocket for a piece of paper. “Como—six months ago.” Daniel smiled triumphantly at Jack.

“So you’re saying….”

“What Daniel Jackson is attempting to say, O’Neill, is that it is most likely that the kidnappers have taken Major Carter and the boy to this location.”

“Thank you, Teal’c. So we know where they are.” His eyes narrowed as he once more looked at his teammates. “That still doesn’t answer my question as to why they took Carter.”

“Well, Jack…” Daniel definitely looked uncomfortable.

“She killed their god, O’Neill.” Teal’c’s expression became even more somber as he continued, “It is likely they wish to avenge his death.”

Jack let his head fall back against the pillow; shit…he hadn’t even thought of that. There had been plenty of cult members in the tunnel when Sam had used the hand device and killed Seth; one of them must have recognized her. “So, when do we go get them?” Whatever Daniel or Teal’c might have been going to say next however, was interrupted by the arrival of General Hammond. 

“So, how are you feeling Colonel?”

“Well, other than a killer headache, I feel fine.” He gestured towards Daniel and Teal’c, “And as I was just asking these two…when do we go get Carter and Matthew, sir?”

“Since Matthew and Major Carter have been kidnapped, this case technically comes under the jurisdiction of the FBI.” O’Neill frowned as Hammond continued. “However, I have arranged for SG-1 and the local FBI to work together, given the special circumstances surrounding Matthew’s parentage and that one of our officers has also been kidnapped.”

“So, I’ll ask again, sir. When do we go get them?”

“Slow down, son. You won’t be going anywhere until Doctor Fraiser clears you to return to duty.”

“But, sir!” Jack protested, his thoughts momentarily running rampant with images of Matthew being scared, hungry, and with strangers who might try to harm him. And Sam, god knows what they had done to her, she could already be dead….

“We’ll get them back, Jack,” Hammond said firmly. “The FBI have already sent out a team and started preliminary surveillance on the property. As soon as we know exactly where Matthew and Major Carter are being held and what kind of resistance we’ll be meeting with, we’ll send a team in to get them.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam woke slowly and immediately knew something was terribly wrong. God, she felt terrible. Her mouth felt like it was full of cotton wool and her head was throbbing; plus—she tried moving her fingers—her hands were numb. She tugged experimentally on the rope binding her hands together, and only succeeded in exacerbating the pain her arms and shoulders, pinioned as she was on the bed, with her arms tied above her head to the bedstead. She shifted a bit, trying to ease the pressure on her arms and shoulders. Whoever had tied her bonds had done an excellent job; she couldn’t get any play out of the rope. Stopping her futile movements before she caused herself anymore unnecessary pain, Sam cautiously opened her eyes, wincing a bit even in the subdued sunlight filtering in through the curtains and carefully surveyed the room she was held in.

She was the only one present in what was obviously a bedroom, given that the furniture consisted of the bed she lay on, a simple four-drawer chest and a nightstand. There were no other furnishings, not even a lamp on the nightstand. She looked up; a light fixture in the ceiling, nothing that she could reach that could possibly help her. There were three doors in the room, one opposite the window which she assumed led to rest of the house, one probably a closet and the other more than likely a bathroom. A sudden noise outside of one of the doors and the sound of a key turning in a lock alerted to the fact that she was going to have company. The door abruptly swung open and a young blonde woman—not the same one who had drawn the weapon on her in the park—and a large, burly man entered the room. The man shut the door quickly behind him before she could get a good look out in the hall.

Sam watched impassively as the woman hesitantly approached the bed. “Nicholas wishes to see you.” The woman gestured to the man, who swiftly unfastened Sam’s hands from where they had been tied to the bedstead, but leaving her wrists still bound. Sam couldn’t help but moan softly as she tried to move her now trembling arms. The woman made a murmuring sound and reached out, helping Sam to bring her arms down in front of her.

“Cherine…” the large man growled.

“Hush, Asher, she is in hardly any condition to harm me with you here.” Cherine’s eyes met hers and Sam could almost swear that the woman’s expression held a note of sympathy. “I am to assist you with your…personal needs and then you will be taken to Nicholas.

Sam tried to sit up and Cherine placed a steadying hand on her shoulder as she swayed a bit. “Let me help you, Samantha.”

“How do you know my name?” she asked weakly.

“You had identification in your pocket.” Sam tried glaring at the younger woman, but only succeeded in groaning again as her muscles and joints protested the abrupt change in position, a fresh wave of dizziness combined with nausea surging through her. 

“Nicholas is waiting,” Asher muttered uneasily.

Cherine’s eyes held a sudden flash of fear. “Please, Samantha,” her voice was almost pleading. “You must do as I ask now.”

Sam nodded as the other woman’s obvious fear began to penetrate through her throbbing head, and stood unsteadily, Cherine placing an arm around her waist. Asher kept his zat trained continuously on both of them. Every joint in her body ached as she hobbled alongside Cherine. Asher’s arm suddenly appeared in front of them and he opened the door to, as Sam had suspected, a small bathroom. Cherine switched the light on and gently pushed Sam into the room, pulling the door shut behind them. 

“Quickly, use the toilet,” Cherine instructed, “and then I will give you some water.” Sam wordlessly held up her bound hands to the woman. Cherine shook her head. “I am sorry, I am not allowed to undo your bonds.” She reached for the waistband of Sam’s fatigues, her voice matter of fact as she said, “I will assist you.” 

Sam was too relieved at being allowed to use the facilities and the promise of water to be embarrassed at having Cherine help her. At least they’d sent a woman, she thought a bit hysterically. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore Cherine’s watchful presence as she emptied her bladder, she had to pull herself together. She needed to be on the lookout for an opportunity that would help her escape. Clumsily managing to tend to herself, Sam gratefully let Cherine pull up and fasten her pants. Leaning on the sink, Sam washed her hands as best she could, then sat back down on now covered toilet seat as Cherine filled a plastic tumbler with water from the sink. She accepted the water with a softly murmured, “Thanks,” and greedily drank. When she had emptied the glass, she held it back out to Cherine, who filled it up for her again. Sam drank about half, then paused and looked at the younger woman and, keeping her voice low, asked, “How’s Matthew?”

Sam was relieved when Cherine’s expression softened and the woman actually smiled. “He is fine,” she whispered. “He will not be harmed.” Sam’s expression turned skeptical, and Cherine hurried on. “No, you must believe me. We would never do anything to harm him.” 

Feeling somewhat reassured, Sam decided to see if Cherine would give her any other information. “You said I’m to be taken to Nicholas?” 

Cherine glanced nervously towards the closed door, then nodded.

“Who’s Nicholas?”

“He’s our leader. He found us and reunited us in the dark days after our lord’s mortal body was destroyed. Please, finish your water,” Cherine urged, her whole posture once more tense and nervous.

“Why does he want to see me?”

Cherine gave her a disbelieving look, “Are you not the one who sent our lord Seth on his final journey?”

Sam groaned softly, closing her eyes on a sudden wave of apprehension and helplessness as the meaning of Cherine’s words sunk in. Yes, she been responsible for sending Seth on his ‘final journey’. Rallying her meager reserves and the hope burning in her that—even now—the Colonel and the rest of her team were searching for her and Matthew, she handed Cherine the tumbler and responded with more confidence than she felt, “Take me to him.”

Sam followed Cherine slowly down the stairs and through the narrow hallway, conscious of the looming presence of Asher right behind her with the zat pressed firmly between her shoulder blades. They passed through what looked like a dining room, a large, airy kitchen, and then down a flight of stairs to a large open room. Sam stopped at the foot the stairs and quickly surveyed the room even as Asher urged her on with prodding from his zat. Cherine left her, and crossed to the opposite end of the room where a darkly handsome man sat in large, throne like chair on a small dais. Four men flanked his ‘throne’ and at his feet sat a woman, whom Sam recognized as the one from the park. Cherine knelt in front of the seated man, lowering her head and saying, “Nicholas, the woman is here, as you have commanded.”

Sam had to keep herself from snorting, as if he couldn’t see that for himself. Nicholas held his right hand out and Cherine kissed it, then sat next to the other woman, keeping her eyes lowered. 

“Bring her to me,” he commanded.

Asher pushed her none too gently, and Sam stumbled a bit as she crossed the room and stood as confidently as her weakened condition allowed in front of Nicholas. “Kneel,” he commanded. Sam smiled coldly at him and remained standing. Nicholas sighed, “This is so tedious. Asher?”

Even though she knew it was coming, Sam barely had time to prepare herself as Asher roughly shoved her to her knees. She somehow managed to keep her balance and keeping her back straight, knelt as defiantly as possible. Taking the offensive, she demanded, “What do you want?”

Nicholas laughed. “I have what I want, Major Carter.” He stood and walked the few steps it took to place him right in front of her. Grabbing her chin roughly with his right hand, he brought his face down so close to hers that she could feel his hot breath fanning across her face as he spoke. “You and the boy.” Sam glared at him and then spat in his face. 

“Bitch!” Nicholas snarled, tightening his grip on her chin before brutally pushing her away. With her hands still bound in front of her, Sam was unable to break her fall and landed awkwardly on her side, wrenching her already aching shoulder. She lay there for a brief moment, working to ignore the pain in her shoulder before she awkwardly managed to right herself, not willing to give Nicholas the satisfaction of having her prostrate at his feet. 

Mentally fortifying herself for whatever happened next, she still wasn’t prepared when Nicholas held out his hand and one of his men reached behind the ‘throne’ and pulled out what Sam had always thought of as a ‘pain stick’. This did not look good, she thought somewhat desperately. She had very vivid memories of Jolinar’s experiences when she had been tortured with one and it wasn’t something she had ever personally wanted to experience. Cherine actually gasped and turned pale as Nicholas smiled, running his hands caressingly up and down the Goa’uld device.

“Do not look so distraught, Major Carter.” Nicholas casually swung the stick as if it were a golf club. “This,” he indicated the pain stick with a flick of his head, “is only a prelude to what you will experience once your fate as been determined.” 

Sam took a deep breath and looked coolly at Nicholas, determined to keep her composure as long as possible. Nicholas slowly approached and then circled her, and she tried not to shudder as he let the pain stick caress her knees, thighs and back before he slowly trailed it up her spine. Sam stiffened her back and closed her eyes, turning her thoughts inward and focusing on Matthew’s innocent face, his sparkling blue eyes shining brightly at her as he smiled, enchanted by something as simple as the dog tags hanging around her neck. She dimly heard the click as Nicholas cocked the pain stick and Matthew’s image was suddenly replaced by that of O’Neill; oh god Colonel…please hurry…was her last coherent thought as the pain sliced through her skull. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ah…Jack?”

O’Neill looked up from the stack of papers in front of him to find Daniel and Teal’c standing at the head of the stairs that lead into the briefing room. “Come in, guys."

"How's the head?" Daniel asked, taking a seat opposite him, while Teal’c sat to his left.

Jack grimaced, the dark circles present under his eyes and tense set to his mouth revealing he was still in pain. "It's nothing,” he replied, his voice bleak. “The painkillers the Doc gave me seem to be doing the trick. But that's the least of our problems. I’ve been studying these reports,” he indicated the stack of papers in front of him. “According to the clean-up after the initial raid in Washington State, the ATF recovered all the weapons. Now, you tell me how that woman who ambushed us had a zat in her possession?”

“It is possible, O’Neill, that Seth had weapons and supplies at a secret location, in event he ever found it necessary to flee the compound under duress.”

O’Neill frowned. “Sounds plausible, but it means we’ll have to be ready for anything, who knows what else this group may have scavenged.“ Abruptly shoving the folder across the table in frustration, he asked, “Any news from Hamner?"

"Nothing substantial,” Teal’c commented soberly. “We depart in two hours to rendezvous with the FBI near Como. General Hammond as assigned Major Griff to accompany us.”

In Major Carter’s absence…O’Neill felt the unspoken words hang heavy in the air, Teal’c having unintentionally intensified the already overwhelming guilt he felt over her and Matthew’s abduction.

“Ah, Jack…how are you holding up?" Daniel asked quietly.

At his friend’s question, Jack sank even further into his chair, sighing deeply. "How do you think I feel Daniel? It was all my fault. I should have...."

"No!" Daniel's voice was almost a shout. Jack merely stared stonily at Daniel, causing him to repeated more gently, "No."

"How do you figure that, Daniel?” Jack tapped his pencil on the table. ”I was the one who talked Carter into taking Matthew to the park. Hell, once we’d figured out it was the cultists who were after the kid, I should have planned for just this type of scenario.” He suddenly snapped the pencil in two, earning himself even more concerned looks from his two teammates. Damn, but this had hit him hard; he needed to get a grip! No matter how desperately he tried to be logical about it, he couldn't help blaming herself for Matthew's and his major’s abduction. And he was the one always searching for the worse case scenario! Well, this was definitely the worst case he could have come up with. Sam in the hands of fanatics who blamed her for the death of their god and a small boy in the hands of same cultists; the twisting of his guts increased exponentially every time he thought about what could be happening to them. And if they didn’t get them back? He so did not want to go there; to have another child’s death on his hands would be bad enough, but even worse would be his life without Sam in it.

"O’Neill, we are all to blame for the current situation. We all share the fault of underestimating the kidnappers.” Teal’c bowed his head slightly, “I hold myself personally responsible and will not rest until the perpetrators are apprehended.”

“Jack, we all made errors in judgement, but we will get Sam and Matthew back,” Daniel added, his voice sincere.

"Thanks, guys. I know you’re trying to cheer me up, but meantime, Matthew's with folks he doesn't know and who might not be so nice to him and Carter…." Jack’s voice trailed off, as he found himself unable to put into words what could have happened to her.

Daniel took a deep breath. “I don’t think they’ll hurt Matthew, Jack.” 

But it was what Daniel left unsaid that weighed heavily on Jack’s mind. He tried not to think about it, but Matthew and Carter’s faces both danced in front of his eyes, their twinkling blue eyes mocking him for his inadequacies. "We'll get them back," he said with more confidence than he felt. Perhaps if he said it often enough and loud enough, he'd begin to believe it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Special Agent Hamner. Good to see you!" O'Neill held out his hand. SG1 had met up with the FBI at their temporary base in the woods about ten miles from the house owned by the cult members. The tent flapped slightly in the early morning breeze as Daniel glanced around. The set up seemed almost identical to the base the ATF had established when they were after Seth in Washington State; a few tables, communications equipment, agents in black jackets milling around. Pulling himself together, Daniel brought his attention back to Hamner, who was shaking the Colonel's hand.

"Likewise, I'm sure," the ATF man replied. His tone of voice, however, implied the exact opposite. "You know this operation is under FBI jurisdiction, don't you? I'm here on special assignment because of my previous experience. You're only here because...." Hamner hesitated, looking like he had a particularly unpleasant taste in his mouth.

"Of intervention from the powers that be," O'Neill finished for him. Apparently unconcerned by the agent's attitude, he added, "You got to love good old Air Force One, haven't you?" He smiled smugly, then asked, "Did you ever get me one of those cool jackets?"

Hamner glared at him, not pleased to be reminded of their previous meeting. He glanced from O'Neill to the rest of SG1. "The General not with you today?" he asked curiously.

"No, he sent his insubordinate subordinate."

Daniel cleared his throat; he knew part of Jack’s attitude was his way of coping with the seriousness of the situation, but he was wasting time sparring with Hamner; time that could be spent finding Matthew and Sam. Realizing he now had the attention of both men, Daniel asked, "Have you seen Matthew or Sam? Do you know for sure they’re in there?"

Hamner nodded, all businesslike. "We've seen a small boy playing outside the house that fits the description. If you could give us a positive ID, we'd be grateful." He turned and shouted over his shoulder, "Johnson, pass me that surveillance photo, would you?"

As the photo was handed over to Hamner, Daniel nodded his head briefly in acknowledgment to the semi-apologetic look O’Neill shot him. Well, at least he realized what he'd done and after what he'd said earlier, Daniel knew Jack was just as worried as he and Teal’c were. After glancing quickly at the photo, Hamner passed it to the Colonel who smiled, his expression one of relief as he looked at the picture. "That's him," O’Neill said, optimism filling his voice as he gave the photo to Daniel.

Daniel studied the photo intently. It was taken outside what looked like a large white painted house. Matthew was standing on some grass and holding a ball. He had his thumb in his mouth and was looking suspiciously at a large man in a dark suit. "I guess he doesn't look too unhappy," he said dubiously. Daniel peered more closely at the photo. "He's wearing new clothes."

Teal'c's deep voice interrupted. "That is irrelevant, Daniel Jackson. They have illegally abducted him and must be brought to justice. The child requires rescue." Teal’c turned to Hamner and calmly demanded, “What of Major Carter?”

The ATF agent looked grim. “We haven’t seen her…”

“What the hell do you mean, you haven’t seen her?” O’Neill interrupted, his voice harsh. “I thought you told Hammond you had proof she was here and alive!” 

“What I told your General Hammond is that we have surveillance audio tapes where we can hear several cultists talking about ‘the woman’.” Hamner’s expression was somber as he continued, “As of yesterday evening we knew she was still alive, however we have every reason to believe that something is planned for later on today.”

Daniel shared a worried look with his teammates; they needed do something—quickly.

Hamner’s news seemed to energize Jack. Daniel watched, as his friend suddenly became all business, the Colonel’s calm air of command and authority filling the tent. “Okay, kids, so now all we need is a plan...."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I don’t know Jack….” Daniel looked at O’Neill, who was helping Teal’c adjust the special shoulder holster designed for a zatnickatel.

“What?” Jack asked, as he fastened the last strap around the Jaffa’s massive chest and shoulders.

“I mean…come on, Teal’c as a mail carrier?” He tried, but he couldn’t keep the skepticism out of his voice—or off his face. Teal’c shrugged into the familiar blue jacket, Daniel found he couldn’t help but think it looked terribly out of place on the large man.

Agent Johnson stood up from the table where he had been working and handed Teal’c the special ear piece he would wear as a communication device. Teal’c fitted it into his ear, “Daniel Jackson, I believe Agent Hamner and O’Neill to be correct in their assessment of the situation.”

“Hold out your arms, Doctor Jackson.” Daniel did as Major Griff asked, their temporary team member helping him into his Kevlar vest. “It will be the quickest and safest way for us to get close to the house without arousing suspicion,” he explained, tugging hard on the Velcro fastenings.

“Griff’s right, Daniel,” Jack added, handing Teal’c a USPS-issue blue cap. “We know they get mail delivery at the house. A mailman with a package isn’t going to arouse any suspicion—at least until it’s too late, we hope.”

Griff nodded, in apparent agreement with the Colonel. “We need to get in as close as we can before they’re aware of us, and given the isolation of their location, this seems to be about the only way.”

“Unless you think they’ve had time to dig some underground tunnels, Daniel?” O’Neill asked. 

Daniel glared briefly at the other man as he tugged on the heavy vest, unable to decide if he was being serious or sarcastic, finally deciding to ignore him. “All right, just tell me what do,” he replied, taking the zat Griff handed to him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From his hiding place in the back of the mail van, Griff peered carefully round Teal’c’s huge bulk in the driver’s seat. "How much further?" he asked, fingering the zat gun in his shoulder holster.

"We are quite close now, Major Griff," replied the Jaffa. "I believe the house is concealed behind this next group of trees."

Sure enough, when they rounded a bend, the white house came into view, its walls almost glistening in the sunlight. "It seems very quiet, Teal’c," said the major, after noting the place appeared to be deserted. "Quiet makes me nervous."

"It is a large building. The FBI believe there are only about ten people inside. It is unlikely to look crowded."

Griff pursed his lips. He’d worked with the Jaffa before but still found his tendency to take everything so literally irritating. He got the sneaking suspicion that Teal’c did it on purpose, then laughed about it with SG-1 later. Or perhaps not. Perhaps he really was that naive. Griff shot Teal’c a sideways glance. It didn’t really matter. What did matter was that the Jaffa was on his side, and they were going to rescue Major Carter. Griff looked back at the building, scouring it for signs of ambush. There was nothing. Teal’c stopped the van and switched off the engine, shaking Griff from his reverie.

The Jaffa picked up a clipboard and a package lying on the passenger seat. "You know what to do, Major Griff?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah. I wait till you hand over the package, then press the remote. That will release the gas which doesn’t effect you because of Junior." Teal’c’s eyebrow rose at Griff’s use of O’Neill’s nickname for his symbiont. The major wondered if he’d overstepped the mark, but decided this wasn’t the time to debate semantics, and continued, "Then I get out the van and follow you into the house. If I see anyone outside I zat them." The Jaffa nodded solemnly and headed towards the house, apparently satisfied with his answer. "Of course, taking a deep breath before I go in might be a good idea too," mumbled Griff to himself.

The major watched as Teal’c approached the door and knocked. He waited, his hand twitching on the remote, as the Jaffa knocked again, a little more firmly this time. Finally, the door swung open and a young woman, whom Griff recognized from the surveillance photos as the same one who had been identified as helping to kidnap Matthew, stood in the doorway. She held her hand out, expecting Teal’c to hand over the parcel. Griff watched as Teal’c shook his head and handed the woman the clipboard. Griff couldn’t quite believe it. The plan was actually working; she was signing for the package. Apparently satisfied with the signature, Teal’c handed over the package and took a couple of steps back.

The major took his cue and pressed the button on the remote. He couldn’t see if it was working or not. Why wasn’t this gas an interesting color like it always was in the movies? Of course, logic told him that if it was the bad guys would see it before it had done its work. It made sense, but he couldn’t tell if it was having any effect. As if on cue, he watched as the woman swayed slightly like she was drunk, and Teal’c offered an arm in support. Griff smiled to himself as the big man helped her into the house. The major clicked a button on his radio. "Colonel, he’s in."

When he heard the answering, "Roger that, Griff," he gripped the zat tightly, stepped out of the van and followed Teal’c into the house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Can you see anything, Jack?" asked Daniel, slightly impatiently. He’d been lying on the damp ground on the edge of this wood overlooking the house with O’Neill and Hamner for over half an hour now and nothing appeared to be happening.

The colonel lowered his binoculars and turned to him. "No one ever tell you that patience is a virtue, Daniel?"

The archaeologist grunted noncommittally. How long did Teal’c and Griff need anyway? The bogus mail delivery was supposed to create a diversion so they could sneak in the back way and he could snatch Matthew, leaving Jack and Hamner to find Sam. It was so frustrating. They knew exactly where the boy was. They could see him through the French windows that opened onto the garden in front of them. He seemed happy enough, playing with a train set but Daniel’s heart constricted every time he thought about Sam. They hadn’t seen or heard her since they started watching the house.

Apparently reading his mind, O’Neill said quietly, "I can still see Matthew. He’s fine. There seems to be just the one man in the room with him. And don’t worry, Daniel, we’ll get Sam."

If she’s still alive, Daniel thought. Pushing the unmentionable idea aside, he asked, "So what do we do when we get the signal? Run across the grass, break open the window and snatch him?"

Hamner snorted; O’Neill turned to both men and grinned. "Works for me." Then his face became serious as he put his hand up to his ear. "That was Griff. Teal’c’s inside."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teal’c helped the young woman to a chair in the wide airy hallway, his eyes continuously flicking round, on the alert for danger. There was no one else in sight. He knew the boy was in a room at the back of the house, so the plan was to attract as many of the cult members to the front of the house as possible. He patted the woman on the shoulder. "I will summon assistance," he said, in what he hoped was a comforting tone. He turned away from her and shouted at the top of his voice, "This woman needs help! Come quickly!"

Several doors flew open and people rushed out. Teal’c felt a small smile tugging at his lips when he counted five people heading towards him. He slipped his hand under his jacket and gripped the zatnickatel firmly. He heard a footstep from outside. Griff was in position. Everything was ready.

He was going to enjoy this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

O’Neill slowly counted to ten under his breath, then motioned to Daniel and Hamner to follow him. Skirting along the perimeter of the wooded area and keeping low, the three men moved quickly towards the house. A movement in the room where Matthew sat playing caught his eye; O’Neill signaled to the others to stop and they all crouched down in the bushes. Jack watched as a woman spoke with the man who watched Matthew, gesturing anxiously. The man said something in response, then left the room, the woman remaining with Matthew. O’Neill signaled for them to start again, this time running rapidly in a diagonal line across the yard to the side of the house, just out of sight of the French doors.

Counting on Daniel and Hamner to be right behind him, O’Neill edged around the corner of the house, keeping close to the protection of the wall. When he reached the edge of the French doors, he stopped, motioning to Daniel, who stopped right behind him. Hamner brought up the rear, continuously scanning their surroundings for signs that they’d been seen. Knowing their time was limited; O’Neill quickly pulled out the small, flexible periscope and peered into the room. Matthew still sat on the floor, playing; while the woman stood off to one side, her attention seemingly focused on the other door to the room, which was closed. O’Neill stuffed the periscope back in his vest, and then taking his zat into his left hand he cautiously stretched his right arm out and grasped the handle to the French door. He really hoped it was unlocked. Slowly turning the handle, he felt it give. He jerked his head at Daniel and Hamner, then rapidly pulled the door open.

Things moved quickly when he ran into the room. He was dimly aware of Hamner and Daniel rushing by him and Matthew’s startled yelp as Daniel grabbed him. O’Neill had just aimed his zat at the woman in the room, when she opened her mouth and yelled, "Help!" at the top of her voice. O’Neill lunged forwards and grabbed her, clamping his hand firmly over her mouth. 

She struggled for a moment, then went limp, apparently realizing her efforts were futile. "Good girl," muttered Jack. "Now if I move my hand you won’t shout again, will you?" She shook her head, though her eyes were wide with alarm. He slowly removed his hand. "We’re not going to hurt you.” He tried to keep his voice calm, even though everything in him was screaming to hurry. “We’ve come to rescue Matthew here and a friend of ours. A woman; where is she?"

The woman stared at him dazedly, her eyes wide with fright. O’Neill could see she was shaking with fear and realized sickly that it wasn’t because she was afraid of him... 

"He hurt her,” she whispered. Jack had to strain to hear her, even though he still held her. “With the stick thing... there was a bright light... she screamed.” She looked at him then, her eyes shadowed with what he thought were pain and regret. “I’ll never forget that scream.” She shuddered, “Then she passed out... He wanted revenge for her killing the mortal shell of our lord. I thought..." Her voice trailed off softly.

"What did you think?" O’Neill’s voice was quiet and menacing. He felt sick with fear. He wanted the woman to hurry up but he knew she was almost hysterical. Acting against all his instincts, which wanted to rush through the door and find Carter, he waited for the woman to gather her thoughts. What she had to say could mean the difference between life and death for his second in command.

"I thought we should forgive, not take revenge. It is only our lord who has the right to take a life; we shouldn’t take it upon ourselves.” She looked at him with earnest eyes, and he loosened his grip slightly. “So I tried to help her. She deserves to be punished for what she did, but not by him. I gave her a drink, looked after her.” The woman’s demeanor changed again, once more filled with terror. “ You must go and help her before Nicholas gets there! I know he plans to execute her. If he realizes there are intruders in the house, he might...."

She didn’t need to finish the sentence. O’Neill spat out, "Where is she?" before she had the chance to say what he could barely stand to acknowledge.

"Upstairs. Second door on the left."

O’Neill released the woman, and Hamner immediately bound her hands behind her back with tie-bands. “Hamner, you stay here with..."

Hamner fixed him with a serious look. “Forget it, O’Neill. You’ll need back-up, I’m coming with you.” Jack glared at him, but then nodded in agreement.

Matthew—his eyes wide—he’d stopped crying and peered at him from the safety of Daniel’s arms. The small boy held his arms out to O’Neill. "Dack!" he said, then stuck his thumb in his mouth.

"Not now, buddy.” O’Neill smiled faintly, tousling the boy’s hair. “I’ve got to find Sam. You stay with Daniel, okay?"

"’Kay," said the small boy doubtfully, his lower lip trembling slightly and his eyes wide with alarm; though he seemed to relax slightly at O’Neill’s gentle touch and reassuring voice. 

“Daniel, you stay here with…” he glanced at the woman, who had sunk down and sat huddled on the floor.

"Cherine," the woman said faintly.

“Right. You stay here with Cherine until reinforcements arrive. I’m going to find Carter." O’Neill was out the door and into the hall in an instant, with Hamner right on his heels.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Something was going on…Sam tried to focus, ruthlessly forcing the pain she still felt to a distant corner of her brain as she listened, straining to make sense of what little she could hear. With her arms now bound behind her, she gritted her teeth and slowly rolled over onto her back, then to her right side, so that she faced the door; biting back a cry of pain as she had to roll over her fettered wrists. Taking deep breaths to overcome the surge of nausea that rolled through her, she stiffened as she heard heavy footsteps pounding up the stairs; the door to the room abruptly swinging open and slamming into the wall. Nicholas stood there; breathing heavily, his eyes wild—filled with an insane hatred that chilled her to her soul. So this was it, she realized grimly, as he brought his hand up and she saw the large bayonet knife he held.

“I had hoped to take my time with you,” he muttered hoarsely, “but it seems your friends have forced my hand.” 

“Nicholas, please…” she whispered, futilely trying to scoot further away from him as he approached the bed. Upon reaching the bed, he knelt with one knee on the mattress, his free hand roughly pushing her onto her back, and then he grabbed her by her hair, forcing her head back.

She glared at him, determined not to let him see how scared she really was. “They’ll kill you!” she whispered defiantly, still trying desperately to move away from him.

He delicately traced the tip of the knife along her jaw line. “It doesn’t matter what happens to me now that we have Matthew,” he growled. His hand tightened in her hair as he straddled her, pinning her to the bed and stilling her fruitless attempt to escape him. “What matters is that our lord will be avenged,”

Sam closed her eyes as she felt the cold steel of the knife pressing more firmly into the soft skin of her throat. Please let Matthew be safe, she thought helplessly, as she waited to feel the slice of the blade that would end her life. 

“Let her go, you son of a bitch!” 

Nicholas’ whole body jerked at the sudden intrusion, and Sam gasped as she felt the knife slip slightly in his grip. She opened her eyes to find Nicholas looking towards the door. She couldn’t turn her head without risking getting cut; but her heart started pounding with relief, instead of fear, at the sound of the Colonel’s voice. Nicholas’ hold on her hair loosened somewhat as he snarled at O’Neill, “You’re too late!” 

Nicholas rose up on his knees slightly, freeing her lower torso somewhat, and then Sam heard the telltale mechanism of the Colonel’s zat activating. She had to do something now! Mustering all her strength, she suddenly arched her hips and twisted to the side, trying to dislodge her attacker. Oh god…she gave an inarticulate cry as she momentarily felt the knife cutting into her skin, bucking all the more to free herself from Nicholas’ deadly grip and almost cried out with relief when she felt his weight shift off her as he tumbled partially off her. She quickly rolled across the bed, away from Nicholas, her whole body jerking and tingling painfully as she was caught in the discharged energy of the Colonel’s zat as he fired on Nicholas. 

She must have passed out, because when she next opened her eyes it was to see the Colonel’s worried face right over hers, his hand gently tapping her cheek. “Carter! Carter!”

Sam managed a weak smile, “Glad to see you, sir.” The Colonel’s grim look seemed to ease a bit as she tried to smile reassuringly at him. Hearing scuffling coming from the foot of the bed, Sam lifted her head and looking around the Colonel, she could see Teal’c restraining her now unconscious attacker. “Good to see you too, Teal’c.”

Teal’c looked up from his task, a slight smile lighting his face. “It is also good to see you again, Major Carter.” Teal’c’s face hardened as the man at his feet suddenly groaned. “I regret that we did not get here sooner.”

Still feeling lightheaded, Sam closed her eyes and laid her head back down. 

“Carter?” She felt O’Neill’s hand patting her cheek again, his voice urgent. 

“Sorry, sir.” Sam forced her eyes open, suddenly becoming slightly panicked as she started to remember. “Matthew?” she asked anxiously, reaching out and clutching the Colonel’s arm urgently.

“He’s okay,” O’Neill reassured her. “He’s with Daniel.”

Sam nodded, feeling some of the tension in her gut ease. “Can we go home now?” she asked weakly, wishing her nausea would ease as well.

O’Neill grinned at her. “Yeahsureyoubetcha’!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Janet carefully closed the door on the guest quarters and almost walked into Colonel O'Neill. Judging by where he stood, he'd been waiting for her. "How is he?" O’Neill asked.

She put her finger to her lips and walked a few steps along the corridor, beckoning the Colonel to follow her. The last thing she wanted was to disturb Matthew. She wasn't sure she could face reading Goodnight Moon again. "Exhausted and finally asleep, but miraculously unharmed. Did you manage to find Tom Levinson?"

O'Neill nodded. "Special Agent Hamner did. Tom and his wife are on their way now. They should be here in a couple of hours, then Matthew can go home." 

"When I think what could have happened to both of them if you guys hadn't gotten there in time…." Janet shuddered. 

“Well, Daniel was right on target when he said that the kidnappers wouldn’t have harmed Matthew. I was in on the interrogation of that Nicholas character." Janet looked at him questioningly. “Their leader. He apparently had all his ‘followers’ convinced that Matthew was Seth's heir. A god."

Fraiser winced. "But he doesn't have any Goa'uld DNA. No special powers. He's just a normal kid."

"They didn't know that.” O’Neill shook his head. “I guess they would have found out eventually though.”

Changing the subject back to her other patient, Janet asked O’Neill, “Have you been to see Sam yet?”

“I was just on my way there now, but thought maybe I could take Matthew with me. She still hasn’t seen him yet.”

Janet opened her mouth to ask O’Neill another question, when she heard the sound of a door opening. Swinging round, she and O’Neill were confronted with the sight of little Matthew standing in the doorway, his thumb firmly in his mouth. When Matthew smiled and held his free arm out to Jack, he quickly covered the couple of steps between them and scooped him into his arms.

O’Neill smirked at her. “Looks like someone is still awake.” Talking to Matthew next he asked, “Hey, buddy! Shall we go see Sam?”

Janet couldn’t help but smile as Matthew nodded his head vigorously and chimed in, “Wanna’ see Tham!”

“Then Sam you shall see,” O’Neill told the boy. At O’Neill’s inquiring glance in her direction, Janet could only nod in agreement. Maybe both Sam and Matthew would sleep better after seeing each other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Come on little buddy, let’s go see how Sam is, shall we?" O’Neill shifted Matthew to his other hip as they entered the infirmary.

"Tham!" agreed Matthew and then suddenly shouted, "Tham!" again as Carter came into view. She lay in bed, apparently asleep but her eyes opened and her lips curved in a small smile when she saw them.

"Hi, sir," she said. O’Neill noticed her voice sounded weak and she was still very pale. He shuddered again as he thought about what might have happened if he’d been a few minutes later…. 

“Someone wanted to see you,” O’Neill told Sam as Matthew leaned out towards her, reaching his small arms out to her.

Sam raised the head of the bed, and then held her arms out to the boy. O’Neill carefully placed Matthew in her lap. “Careful there, buddy,” he told the child. “Sam isn’t feeling so well.”

Matthew nodded his head in apparent understanding, sighing contentedly and curling up in her arms, his head resting on her shoulder. Sam softly stroked his hair, saying, “I’m so happy to see you.” O’Neill took a few steps back, giving them some privacy for their reunion. He watched solemnly as Carter turned her head so she could see Matthew’s face as she asked, “Are you okay, honey?”

The boy’s expression grew unexpectedly somber, but after a moment he grinned, saying, “Okay!” And then he his little face turned serious and he reached out and touched her cheek. “Why crying?” 

Sam wiped at her eyes and hugged Matthew. “I’m just so happy to see you, baby boy,” she whispered in his ear. He allowed her to hug him for a moment, but then wriggled impatiently until Sam let him sit loosely in her arms. He seemed content then to lean back against her shoulder, one chubby hand clutching at her top and the thumb of his other hand placed firmly in his mouth.

Jack handed her a tissue from the box by the bed. “Thanks, sir,” she told him, blushing slightly as she wiped at her eyes and nose.

“How are you feeling, Carter?” he asked, after giving her a few moments to regain her composure.

“Better, sir.” She shifted Matthew a bit, and O’Neill knew she was still in some pain. “I’m just glad that I’m not nauseated anymore.”

O’Neill smiled in sympathy. He knew only too well the lingering after effects from a close encounter with a Goa’uld pain stick. His expression hardened as he thought of Nicholas torturing his second with the device. Evidently Carter read his mind because she asked him, ”What’s going to happen to them?”

“Prison, more than likely.” He gestured towards Matthew; “Kidnapping is a federal offense.”

Sam nodded, looking thoughtful. “What about Cherine?”

“They’ll probably go easy on her, especially when you give them your statement, how she helped you and all.”

Sam nodded again. “I don’t think she had realized how far gone Nicholas was until he started…hurting me….” Her voice trailed off, and O’Neill watched cautiously as she closed her eyes momentarily and tightened her grip on Matthew, who had fallen asleep.

“Hey!” He said swiftly, interrupting what he figured were very unpleasant thoughts. “He’s okay, you’re okay…everyone’s okay.”

“I know,” she answered softly, opening her eyes and gazing at O’Neill, her expression somber, “but when I think of what might have happened because of my carelessness….”

“Carter,” O’Neill spoke firmly, pitching his voice low so as not to disturb the sleeping child, “I’ve already been through this guilt trip. Believe me when I say we all share responsibility for what happened.” He paused; studying his major’s still too-pale face. “Matthew isn’t the only one who was affected by our actions, you were too.”

“I know, sir, but…”

“Aaaahhhhh! No buts! You’re both okay! End of conversation!”

She finally smiled at him, O’Neill noted with relief; a genuine smile this time—which was interrupted by a huge yawn. Taking his cue, he reached for the sleeping child, “Here Carter, let me put him back in bed.”

“No, sir,” she said quickly, “it’s okay, let him stay a little while longer.”

O’Neill studied her wan face carefully, and nodded in understanding. “All right,” he finally agreed. “I’ll tell Fraiser to come and check on you in a bit.”

“Thank you, sir,” she told him softly, her eyes communicating to him what words could never express. 

“No problem,” he replied, his expression equally intense, it was enough for now, to have her back safely. Jack smiled tenderly and reached out, gently caressing Matthew’s soft brown curls, before turning and leaving the room.

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