TITLE: ACCIDENTS WILL HAPPEN. EPISODE 3 1/2

AUTHOR: BARB SEARS

EMAIL: barbssg1@yahoo.com

RATING: NC17 -- WARNING –EXPLICIT SEXUAL CONTENT!!! IF YOU'RE NOT LEGALLY OF AN AGE TO DO IT, PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T READ IT! I'M A MOM MYSELF AND I DON'T WANT ANY GUILT-RIDDEN SLEEPLESS NIGHTS!

SUMMARY: SAFE MISSIONS AREN'T ALWAYS SAFE; ACCIDENTS AREN'T ALWAYS UNPLEASANT

SPOILERS: NOTHING SERIOUS

ARCHIVE: SAM AND JACK,SJNC17, OTHERS PLEASE ASK.

DISCLAIMER: EVERYTHING THAT MAKES MONEY BELONGS TO MGM, GEKKO AND LOTS OF OTHER FOLK MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THAN ME. ONLY THE LOVE IS MINE, AND THAT IS FREE.

FILE SIZE: 96KB

SEASON: FIVE-ISH, DURING DANIEL'S TIME.

NOTES: NOTES AS EPISODE 1 –YOU MUST READ THAT AND EPISODE 2 FIRST FOR THIS TO MAKE ANY SENSE! INCIDENTS THAT TAKE PLACE OUT OF SAM'S PRESENCE ARE INDICATED BY *** ***

Ten days in Maui passed faster than a coffee break at the SGC. My husband and I (how good that sounded!) ate a little, drank a little, swam a lot and laughed a lot more. The hotel provided a wonderful carer for Melissa whenever we wanted, and all three of us blossomed in the glorious sunshine. Jack's body, all but restored to its former power and glory, tanned to deep mahogany, almost matching his eyes. With my fair skin I had to take more care, taking a parasol and sarong everywhere with me, but I still managed a nearly all over warm honey shade, which Jack appreciated on an almost nightly basis. Our lovemaking was still frustratingly one-sided; I longed to touch him, to feel him inside me, but he was ardent and imaginative, and for the moment it seemed that would have to be enough.

All too soon Jack was unlocking our front door, and after wheeling the stroller into the hallway, he turned back and, picking me up and cradling me against his chest, carried me over the threshold, spoiling the romance a little by dumping me on my miktah on the couch! The first thing I noticed was the answer phone, flashing away like a demented lighthouse in its efforts to attract our attention.

"Hi, Sam, it's Daniel. We've found something really interesting on our last trip, and we REALLY need you to see it. Call in ASAP. Sorry to break the spell!"

"Good afternoon, Major Carter. As you know, I was hoping that you would feel able to return to duty after your honeymoon. Dr.Jackson and SG2 have discovered something on P3R-124 that looks like it comes into your area of expertise. Please call me on your return. Give my best to Jack. Hammond out."

"Sam, it's Janet. Give me a break and find out what's bugging Daniel. He's like a kid at Christmas, and I can't take much more excitement. Give that gorgeous daughter a kiss from me – see you soonest. Oh, Cassie sends love to you and Jack. She's developed a taste for wedding cake, keeps nagging us to tie the knot – who knows, it may happen! Got to go, Siler's fallen off his ladder again." I smiled ruefully at Jack "Wow, you'd think they'd give us time to shake the sand out of our shoes first."

He grinned back as he lifted Melissa from the stroller. "Ya think? This is the SGC we're talking about here, where everything needs to happen yesterday. Call it in – I'll see to Honeybun."

As I called up General Hammond's number, I could hear Jack explaining to Melissa what important work Momma did, and how she'd saved the world, and I could imagine her big caramel eyes staring back at her daddy, and taking in every word.

"General, sir, it's Carter…..sorry, I mean O'Neill. You needed to speak to me?"

After a few minutes talking to Hammond, my curiosity was well and truly aroused. Whatever it was that Daniel and his team had found, I wanted to see it for myself, and soon. The only problem was going to be convincing a doubtful Jack that it was time I resumed my off-world duties.

He was still in the nursery, having an obviously fascinating, if a little one-sided, discussion with our daughter. He chatted away as he changed her, and she interspersed his remarks with interested murmurs and chuckles, which seemed to be coming in the right places and providing the responses he needed.

"Setting the world to rights?" I asked, leaning gently against Jack's shoulder.

"Nah, we covered that weeks ago. Now we're sorting out care rosters for when Momma starts gating round the galaxy again. We've agreed that as long as Dad stays with his feet on the ground, we should be OK! Lissa thinks Alexa Rhoades runs a great crèche, and that she also has a really cute ass, so she's happy to go. She feels she'll benefit intellectually from the company of her peers, and that the social interaction will serve to widen her horizons."

"Oh!" I said, impressed. "She told you all that, did she?"

"Yep." Said Jack, holding a now-dry daughter high in the air and causing a fresh outbreak of chuckles, "You'd be amazed what she tells me."

"I'm amazed already. How come she only ever talks to me about choice of formula and perfume of baby talc?"

"I suppose it's a girlie thing – she knows that wouldn't interest me! We're moving on to stripping and cleaning small arms next."

"So Lissa's OK with me going off-world – what about Daddy?"

"I can't pretend to be thrilled about it, Sam, but hey, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. Just make sure that Teal'c has got your six, and don't let Daniel poke anything without your express say- so. You know what he's like!" He went quiet for a moment, holding Lissa close and rubbing his cheek against hers gently. "I just wish I could come with."

"So do I, Jack, but we know that's not going to happen. I'll be fine, I've got even more reason to come home safe now."

The rest of the day passed mundanely enough, unpacking, sorting laundry and opening wedding presents. I didn't know where to start! Writing thank yous and organizing childcare seemed a hell of a lot more complicated than theoretical astrophysics. Eventually I gave up and did something I really wanted to do. With General Hammond's permission I had brought my field uniforms home with me, and spent a happy half hour swapping the Carter badges for O'Neill! It would take a little getting used to, but after all that time of waiting and longing, I was so proud to bear Jack's name, and I wanted everyone to see.

We traveled in to the Mountain together the next morning, Lissa thrilled to bits to be sharing a new adventure. I felt a huge pang of guilt as I handed her over to Alexa Rhoades, and looked to Jack for reassurance that we were doing the right thing. He squeezed my hand, but couldn't meet my eyes as he kissed Lissa gently and promised to pick her up that afternoon. I squared my shoulders and blinked back unAirforce- like tears as I abandoned my precious daughter to follow my chosen career. I never could have imagined that maternal love would be so strong, but every nerve ending I possessed was willing me to snatch her back and take her home to play.

As the tannoy rasped out "Major O'Neill to the briefing room stat," we both turned for the door. "That's for me, Jack. It's been a while since you've been a Major!"

Despite my misgivings, I knew that my training and experience would see me through, and I made my way down to the briefing room, barely hearing Jack's murmured "Take care – come home to us safe."

Daniel and Teal'c were already in the briefing room, along with a fourth, a Lieutenant I barely recognized. We exchanged gossip until General Hammond made his entrance, and then settled down to the serious business of the day.

"Major Carter….sorry, O'Neill …I guess that'll happen a lot for a while….this is Lieutenant Garvin, he'll be your fourth on SG1 for this mission. His area of expertise comes somewhere between yours and Doctor Jackson's and I hope he'll be able to make a contribution.

Garvin smiled nervously; he looked neither convinced nor convincing.

"Dr.Jackson, perhaps you would like to begin?"

"Oh! Yes, sure, of course." Daniel settled his glasses and opened his folder.

"We went to P3R-124 with SG2 to explore these structures." He clicked the remote for the video, and the screen was filled with an image of four weird silver objects that looked for all the world like giant thimbles. They appeared to be metallic, smooth sided with a shiny reflective surface like aluminum foil, and had no visible means of access. Each was about twenty feet wide, and about twice as high, and I had never seen anything like them before! I had questions by the dozen, but waited for Daniel to continue.

"The initial MALP telemetry showed energy signals, but couldn't identify them. We've seen no signs of life, but whatever these things are, they are the source of the energy, and they hum!"

"Hum?" I smiled, hearing Jack's voice in my head saying `Perhaps they haven't learnt the words.'

"Well, I suppose resonate might be a better way of describing it. It's almost a tactile thing, rather than an audible one."

"I hope you didn't touch one!"

Daniel blushed and settled his glasses again. "You're beginning to sound like that other O'Neill ---- of course I touched one."

"And?"

"And nothing! No vibration, no warmth, no reaction, no………nothing! They just sit there like metal sand-castles and hum to themselves."

Noting that the planet's surface seemed to be sand, I turned to Teal'c. "Any tracks, signs of movement?"

"None, Major O'Neill. The planet's surface is singularly undisturbed. However, were I to venture an opinion, I would say that there is life present on this world. I felt ….observed."

I had never known Teal'c to be fanciful; if he felt that someone, or something had been watching him, then they had, and whatever they were, they didn't want us to be aware of their presence.

"What about access? Is there a way in that isn't obvious from the pictures? What about tunnels, or some sort of transportation portal? Anything in the surrounding area that might give us a clue?"

Daniel's only answer to my eager questions was a shake of his head. "Absolutely zip! We scouted out a 5-mile radius and found sand, sand and more sand. Jack'd love it! There's no water, no vegetation, no animal life, no nothing…….just upturned humming buckets!"

Lieutenant Garvin finally plucked up the courage to venture an opinion. "It's even a mystery how they stay there like that, Major It would appear from their mass and construction that they must weigh a considerable amount; how do they remain supported on such an unstable surface? There's no evidence of concrete or wooden piling, so what stops them from sinking into the sand?"

The guy talked like an instruction manual, but he did have a point.

"You're presuming they were built on, or landed on the planet from above, Lieutenant. What if they grew up from below?"

Garvin looked subdued, and Teal'c came to his rescue. "I think that is unlikely, MajorO'Neill, since the structures do not appear organic in nature, and have not altered in any way in the two weeks that we have been observing them."

I still needed more Intel. "What about markings? Glyphs? Runes? This way up signs? Anything you can interpret as indicating intelligence?"

Daniel shook his head again. "Nothing! What you see is what you get. As I see it, the only way to find out what these things are is to find the way inside. That's where it's all happening."

"So what have you tried so far?"

"Just about everything except Open Sesame, and I'm almost ready to give that a try! The outer casing seems impervious to every substance we've tried so far ---- thermic lances, staff weapon, C4, laser, acid, you name it! I've even tried knocking politely."

"And?"

"Nothing! not even a break in the humming. It's almost as though they're choosing to ignore us in the hope we'll get bored and go away."

"So, no retaliation?"

"No, nothing."

Thinking wasn't going to get me anywhere with this one. I needed to see these things for myself, and told Hammond so.

"I'd anticipated that, Major. You'll ship out at 13.00. You will take command of SG1 for this investigation, while SG2 will provide security and back up. You have just over two hours to gather together whatever you think you might need. Thank you, gentlemen, I think that's all."

I walked slowly through the corridors back to my lab, breathing the always slightly musty air, and re-familiarizing myself with my surroundings. It seemed like I'd been away forever, and going into my office was like meeting a much-loved but long-absent friend. My staff greeted me cheerfully, eager to catch up on all my news, but a time span of two hours before the mission left little time for social chit- chat, and I booted up my laptop to call up all the available Intel on Daniel's silver buckets. I typed and studied, but my eyes and hands kept straying to the phone as I desperately resisted the urge to call the crèche 18 floors above me. I KNEW that Melissa would be fine, the NORAD crèche had an excellent reputation, but she was my baby, and I needed to know she was OK.

After an hour, I could resist no longer, and had just punched in the number when a long, very tanned finger pressed down the rest, cutting off the call.

"She's fine; I already did that."

Jack looked a little abashed, and stared down into the mug he carried.

"How long did you hold out?"

"An hour! I did better against Ba'al!"

I smiled. "Thanks anyway. Is that for me?"

He glanced down at the coffee, as though it had appearred by magic in his hand.

"This? Oh, yeah! I thought that if things were back to normal, you wouldn't have lifted your head from that thing since you got down here. How's it going?" He slid onto the side of my desk, obviously intending to stay, and picked up my stapler to play with as he sat.

"It's not going at all, and I'm rather short on time. I still can't see a way in, and I don't want to gate out there without some sort of plan, so I'll have to ask you to excuse me, Colonel, while I continue my research."

He looked at me as though I'd grown an extra head, and then said "Yow!" as he managed to staple his finger. Sucking off the blood, he said "Well, OK, I guess I'll , erm, go and do..erm.. something. I'll see you later?" The worry and doubt in his voice made it a question.

"If the mission is immediately successful, yes, sir. Otherwise, it may be necessary to stay. You know how these things can go. I believe General Hammond is giving us 48 hours initially."

He looked so lost and miserable that I ached to reach out to him, but it was only by maintaining our strict military discipline within the base that this was going to work.

"So if you'll excuse me, sir, I really do need to press on. I hope your finger is OK."

He slid off the desk, still sucking his finger, and once again I was struck by the likeness between him and Lissa. Obviously O'Neill genes were very dominant – why did that not surprise me?

He sketched a salute with his free hand, and strolled out, tossing a carefully neutral "Take care, Carter" over his shoulder.

I worked as long as I dared over the silver bucket puzzle, and only just managed to gear up and get to the embarkation room on schedule.

"OK, SG 1 and 2, you have a go. I shall expect radio sitreps every four hours, and your return in no more than forty-eight hours"

I acknowledged Hammond's words with a salute, and looked past him to where Jack stood in the shadow at the back of the control room, hands in pockets and a half-smile on his face. I smiled back, and without a second glance, went up the ramp and through the glassy wall of the event horizon.

I guess I'd forgotten how exhilarating and how scary that trip could be. At least you weren't able to worry about the possible failure of molecular re-integration while you were traveling, and if it did happen, you wouldn't be able to worry about it at all. I'd also forgotten that it was Garvin's first trip, but as I rolled over the rim of the Gate into the shifting sand of P3R-124 I was immediately reminded by the sound of him losing his lunch alongside me. I glanced round to make sure everyone else had arrived safely, and then hauled the young Lieutenant to his feet. "Don't worry about it, I did that too! It passes!"

I took a look at our immediate surroundings, like Daniel had said, sand, sand and more sand, and about fifty metres away, the four strange objects we had come to explore. I understood then what Daniel had meant about the hum. It was a weird blend of sound and sensation, and it was difficult to pin down which sense you experienced it with. It seemed to resonate in your ear like a plucked harp string, but at the same time rippled on your skin like being stroked with a feather. It was eerie, but not altogether unpleasant, and certainly not threatening, but I'd been endangered by seemingly non-threatening things before, and I wasn't about to make any rash moves.

Lou Ferretti quickly deployed SG-2 to give us a safe perimeter – Jack had been relieved to know that he would have my six – while the recovering Garvin and I set up monitoring devices of various sorts at what I judged to be a safe distance from the structures. Once set, we settled down to wait, and wait, and brew coffee, and wait.. By the time our first radio check was due we had nothing to report except a slight flux in the electro-static field around the buckets, which could easily be explained by our presence disturbing the planet's EM field. I didn't relish the idea of having nothing at all to report, so I walked up to the nearest of the structures for a closer look. As I peered at the silver wall, the pitch of the hum suddenly altered, and without warning, in a brilliant flash like a magnesium flare, I was drawn through the shining surface and into the cool dark interior of the bucket!

*** Seeing the flash, both Teal'c and Daniel looked round and yelled to Garvin "Where did she go?"

"I don't know, one second she was there, the next she was gone. She just….went!"

"Oh, great!" Teal'c and Daniel ran awkwardly through the sand to where Sam had last been seen. They circled the dome warily, looking for any clue as to what had happened.

"Her footprints stop at the wall of the structure, DanielJackson. It would appear that she must be inside, since she obviously has not walked away."

"And even if she had, she wouldn't be out of sight, would she? It's not as though there's anywhere to play Hide and Seek." Daniel's voice rose in agitation. "She MUST be inside."

"That would seem to be the only explanation, but how did she gain entrance? There is still no sign of any portal."

"That flash, it looked like an Asgard transport beam."

"Then we have nothing to fear, but these structures are unlike any on the Asgard worlds."

In desperation, Daniel threw himself at the wall, only to rebound with the force of his own momentum.

"I do not believe you will achieve anything by that means, and General Hammond will now be awaiting our radio transmission."

"Thanks, Teal'c! Do you want to be the one to tell Jack we've lost Sam?"

The Jaffa's face was even more melancholy than usual. "I do not! I do not believe that his reaction will be favorable." ***

As my eyes adjusted to the dim light inside the tower, I could see several figures, and readied my weapon. In form the figures were Asgard-like, but not quite, almost like a picture taken out of focus, and their prism-shaped faces were severe. Around the inside of the circular wall was a continuous lining of hexagonal cells, like a honeycomb, and in each of them was an embryonic creature; it was their rhythmic respiration that produced that weird hum. I addressed the alien figures. "Who are you, and why have you brought me in here?"

When the one I assumed to be their leader spoke, their similarity, and the same time their difference, to the Asgard became even more marked. His language and phrasing was very like that of Thor, but the pitch and inflexion of his voice was like a badly recorded answer phone message, or a disc played at the wrong speed.

"I am Toksvik, leader of the Arlgard, and you are O'Neill!"

"Are you connected with the Asgard, with Thor?"

"We are a branch from the same root, but we have little to do with them now, and their ways are not always ours. You are O'Neill?"

"That's what it says on the uniform! You haven't answered my first question, why am I here?"

"Was it not your intention to gain entrance? We need something from you. Our continued existence is threatened, and we believe from monitoring the communications of our distant kindred that you can help us."

"Then why not just ask? Why this elaborate set-up? If you know that much about the Asgard, you'll know that we are allies, and allies help each other without the need for abduction."

Now that the shock of being sucked into this odd hive had worn off, I was beginning to be irritated by these vaguely –defined people and their equally vague speeches.

"We were unsure as to your reaction. The information we have gleaned indicated a tendency to impatience and irritability, qualities we do not often encounter."

"You carry on abducting people, you're going to encounter it a hell of a lot more!"

The blurry faces turned towards one another in silent communication, and it was a minute or two before Mr. Fuzzy spoke again. "It seems unlikely that you will cede to us willingly. This is unfortunate, because our needs must be met. We understood your relationship with our kindred to be unique and mutually beneficial; it would seem that this is not so. That is also unfortunate, since we will now have to resolve this difficulty by more direct means."

A glimmer of comprehension almost as nebulous as the alien's outline crept into my head. "Oh, wait a moment, I think I know where the confu………", then I thought no more as Toksvik raised his fuzzy hand towards me and I dropped to the floor.

*** "…and she just vanished! We're presuming she's inside the structure, since her tracks stop at the wall, but we've no way of being absolutely sure." Daniel Jackson's voice was threaded through with anxiety, and his hand shook just a little as it rested on the MALP's video camera.

"So what's the situation now?"

"Exactly the same as it was before, except that now Sam is missing. Ferretti is maintaining the perimeter, the structures are still humming and there's still no way in. Is Jack there with you?"

"No, he already left for the day. He had to collect Melissa from the crèche. He'll be home by now. Do you think I should get him back here?"

Daniel pounded his fist against the video cam in frustration. "How the hell should I know? We can't see anything, we can't hear anything except that damned humming, we've no idea what's happening, and it's getting dark!"

"I do not believe that damaging the equipment will serve any useful purpose, DanielJackson." Teal'c said, still irritatingly calm.

"I know, but it makes me feel better." snapped Daniel, turning his back on Hammond for a second.

"How does drawing blood from your knuckles make you feel better?" asked the Jaffa, as if trying to understand.

"Dr.Jackson, I don't think anything can be gained by recalling Jack now. He'll have the little one to worry about. I'll wait until she's in the crèche tomorrow; maybe there'll be better news then. Meanwhile monitor the situation as closely as you can, and let me know if anything changes."

At the O'Neill home, Jack was walking the floor with Melissa against his shoulder. She was not tearful, but was clearly unhappy about something, and Jack was rapidly running out of options. She was clean and dry, she had eaten and wasn't thirsty, she was neither too hot nor too cold, didn't seem colicky and wasn't teething, but her sweetheart face, so like her mother's, was crumpled with worry, and she kept stretching out one little hand to stroke her Daddy's cheek

"Your Momma does that when she's telling me that everything will be OK. Is that what you're doing, honeybun?"

Caramel eyes met molasses, and Melissa frowned, desperate to communicate her thoughts. She babbled to herself for a moment, as if trying to sort out what she needed to say, and then reached to touch Jack's face again. "Momma" She said firmly.

"Hey, baby, you're talking!" Jack exclaimed in amazement. Although Lissa chattered all the time, nothing had made much sense up to now. "Is that why you're fretting, because Momma's not here? She's fine, baby, remember we talked about her going off-world with SG-1? They'll take good care of her, and she'll be back with us tomorrow, She loves you, honeybun, but she has to do her job."

Jack stroked his daughter's tawny curls and kissed her gently. "Are you going to sleep now, and let Daddy get some rest too? We don't either of us want to be tired and grumpy when Momma gets home, do we?"

The wise little eyes met his again. "Momma sad."

Jack shook his head and smiled. "No, Momma's fine, Lissa, she's just working. I guess she'll be missing you, but she's not sad. She enjoys her work."

Melissa copied his gesture, shaking her head firmly. "Momma sad ….sleep!"

"Yeah, honey, sleep, that's what we're gonna do right now." Thrilled as Jack was to be having a real conversation with Melissa, the thought of a peaceful night thrilled him more.

Lissa's curls shook again, and her grimace reminded Jack all too clearly of the frustration of not being able to communicate. "Momma … bad…sleep!"

Her persistence finally got through to her doubtful Daddy. "So, if I check with Grandpa George and make sure Momma's OK, we get to sleep?"

Lissa smiled and once again touched Jack's cheek. "Ess… Dad."

Jack grinned at her in delight, and called up the SGC. "I'm sorry to be a worry-wort, General, but have SG-1 made their radio checks OK?"

"What makes you ask, Colonel?"

Jack picked up immediately that Hammond had sidestepped his question, and his anxiety notched up a gear. He sat Melissa on the floor and turned all his attention to the phone. "What's happened, sir? Where's Carter? What's gone wrong? Where the hell is she?"

Hammond's silence said everything Jack needed to know, and Hammond could see no point in trying to deceive him. Jack heard him out with increasing anger, and barely gave him time to finish before snarling, "I'm coming in."

Cutting the connection to Hammond, he speed-dialed Janet's number. "Jan, I need you to have Lissa now. Sam's in trouble and I have to get to the base right away. I'll drop her off on my way in."

The tone of his voice brooked no argument and Janet wasted no time. "Wait there, Jack, Cassie and I will come to you. If Lissa's upset, she'll better off in her own surroundings."

"OK, thanks, but hurry, will ya?"

Janet was better than her word, and arrived faster than Jack would have thought possible. "Did General Hammond call to let you know SG-1 was in trouble?" Janet asked as she cuddled Lissa close.

"Erm…. No! You're not going to believe this, but Lissa sensed it somehow, and she told me."

"You're right, I don't believe it! She's too young to talk like that, even if there was any way of her knowing."

Jack shrugged. "Yeah …you know it, I know it…. nobody told Lissa!" He kissed his daughter's troubled face and added "Don't worry, sweetie, I'll bring Momma home."

"Daddy….bring Momma safe."

Leaving Janet and Cassie open-mouthed with amazement, Jack shrugged again. "Told ya! I gotta go!" ***

Awareness returned slowly, and I found myself lying on a central plinth, horrifyingly naked! I was not restrained in any way, and felt no pain, but I couldn't move a muscle, and my range of vision was very limited. Toksvik and the rest of the Fuzzy family stood at my side, some looking at me and some working at their screens and terminals. It was pretty clear that things were not going according to Arlgard Plan A.

"You are not as we expected." Toksvik said, his frustration clear despite his 45rpm voice. I tried to reply, but found I couldn't speak.

"Oh, yes." Said Mr. Fuzzy, and a slight gesture from his spatulate fingers gave me my voice back.

"I was trying to tell you that! I think you have the wrong O'Neill!"

"There is only one O'Neill within your facility, the leader of SG-1 and friend of Thor. You came here as the leader of that team, and your clothing bears the name of O'Neill. You are the one we seek, but your structure…." He gestured delicately… "is altered."

"I am, or was, Major Samantha Carter. Jack O'Neill and I were married two weeks ago. In our civilization most women take their husband's name on marriage, so now the SGC has two O'Neills."

The Fuzzy family exchanged bewildered looks, and it was clear that my words made about as much sense to them as if I'd been speaking Klingon. More of them went to the workstations, and more systems beeped and whirred.

"Then, you are a woman?" Toksvik tried the word out on his tongue like Lissa tasting a new flavor yoghurt.

"That's right, and a pretty cold one right now. Could I have my clothes please?"

The Arlgard gathered round one monitor to consider the data it was providing, and as they shook their collective fuzzy heads, my clothes were dumped on my lap and I found I could move again. Dressing quickly, I climbed from the plinth and joined them at the monitor. After all, they'd done me no actual harm!

"It is the other O'Neill who will give what we need?"

"I don't think you'll find him in a particularly giving frame of mind. He holds pretty strong views about alien abduction and the like."

"The impatience and irritability!" Toksvik's voice was a tad mournful.

"All his, and it's not pretty. Besides, you haven't told me yet what it is you want – maybe we can get it from somewhere else."

The Arlgard leader's outline grew even fuzzier as he shook his head. "No, the seed must be that of O'Neill." Seeing my perplexed expression, he must have thought he at least owed me some sort of explanation, even if an apology was too much to expect.

"Our method of …..ahem…..reproduction ……differs from the Asgard in one major respect. Every member of each new birthing," he gestured at the at the incubator cells around the wall, "must receive one human seed, and in this way we seek to preserve our links to our human forbears. We harvest the seed from the ablest and strongest of each human race we encounter, in order that our birthlings may become the ablest and strongest. Sadly, our physical degeneration cannot yet be reversed, and this form is all we have left to us, but our harvesting and seeding ensures that our spirit and intellect remains strong, and one day we will discover a way to reconstitute our bodies. The Asgard have already identified O'Neill as the one we seek."

"But they eventually rejected Jack; he couldn't provide what they needed. You must have learnt that?"

"Our needs differ from theirs; we are confident that his seed will suit our purpose well."

"And how exactly is this seed obtained?"

If Toksvik could have blushed, his face would have looked like a fire engine!

"By the method generally employed in your world, a…..ahem……manual extraction by the donor."

I considered this for a moment before the penny dropped. "Oh, I see…… well, you might have a problem there, because even if Jack is willing to help, he might not be able to. He's experiencing something of a systems failure at present."

I didn't dare stop to think how weird it was discussing my husband's potency problems with a group of aliens. I'm sure I must have done stranger things, but right now none came to mind!

The fuzzy heads clustered together once more.

"This situation is…..difficult. We cannot return you to your world without fear of retribution, and we are reluctant to leave without that which we came for."

""Well, how about if you let me out of here, I'll go and speak to Jack and see what can be arranged."

Mr. Fuzzy obviously wanted to produce a cynical smile, but lacked Jack's expertise. "Ours is not one of the galaxy's most trusting species, nor yours one of the most trustworthy. Your solution is unacceptable."

"You keep me here much longer and the decision will not be yours to make. My team are already working on a way in here, and believe me, their intentions will not be peaceable."

"Our hives are impregnable to all Tau'ri technology; of this we are certain."

Toksvik seemed very confident, and absolutely implacable. I began to feel just a twinge of unease, but stood my ground.

"We do not depend solely on Earth technology. We have learned from the Ancients, and have allies throughout the galaxy far more advanced than ourselves."

The prism face narrowed a little in contemplation of my brave little speech, and his reply was more considered. "Conflict will serve no purpose. Once we have what we seek, we will leave this place and trouble your generation no longer."

"Then let me go and fetch Jack and see if we can't settle this peaceably."

The skeptical look tried to return. "Your words are tedious." Toksvik said lifting his hand, and once again I felt myself falling into deep, still darkness.

***"You left her behind? You damn well left her behind!" Jack's fury was dreadful to see, and even Teal'c quailed a little.

"Colonel, it was my decision that SG-1 be recalled. There was nothing else they could do there, and we needed to pool our findings. SG-2 are monitoring the situation on the planet until we can come up with something."

Hammond's conciliatory tone achieved precisely nothing.

"Oh great, you pooled your findings! So now we have a great big pool of absolutely squat, and my wife is still out there. Let's just stop with the pooling and get the hell out there and do something!"

"Jack, there's nothing…"

Daniel's tentative reply was immediately cut short by O'Neill's furious growl. "I don't want to hear `nothing', Daniel. I want to hear why you, our big Jaffa buddy there and that.." a contemptuous gesture at the nervous Garvin "whatever it is, chose to abandon Sam to God knows what!" Jack scrubbed his hand through his hair in frustration and stared down into the silent Gate room.

"Stand down, Colonel O'Neill! I've told you that the decision was mine. I understand your concern…."

Once again the sentence hung in the air as Jack spun round to face Hammond, clutching at the back of the nearest chair as his left knee failed him. "My concern?" His frantic voice rose a few more decibels. "My concern? General, that's my wife out there, the mother of my daughter, my entire fucking life for God's sake! My concern?"

His adrenaline finally running out on him, Jack dropped into the chair, head sunk into his hands. A minute or two passed in silence before he looked up at the four men staring down at him, his face very pale but much more composed. "I'm sorry, sir, that was out of line. Put it down to my recent injury. Permission to lead a recovery mission to P3R-124 and fetch Major O'Neill home."

"Permission denied, Colonel. I'm sorry, but you are no longer classified for combat service off world, and you know that as well as I do. SG-1 will return with SG-11 with the intention of establishing some sort of negotiation. You will remain here."

Jack stood again, the red flare of madness back in his eyes, but this time Hammond beat him to the interruption. "No, Jack, no more argument! Any more and I will have you restrained. Trust your colleagues now as we have all trusted you in the past. SG-1, you have a go. SG-11 are already geared up and ready to leave."

Without waiting for dismissal, Jack left the briefing room and disappeared, moving as fast as his knee would let him. Daniel, Teal'c and Garvin, shocked and chastened, moved off to collect their gear and return to the mysterious silver structures.

"Chevron Seven locked."Davis'familiar voice echoed through the Gateroom, and the immeasurable power of the wormhole kawooshed down the ramp. As the waiting teams started to ascend, a ninth figure in BDUs attached itself to the back of the group, snaking a powerful left arm around Garvin's neck in a choke hold, the free right hand holding a wicked looking blade to the young man's throat.

"Colonel O'Neill, what in the name of Sam Hill do you think you are doing?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but either I go through that gate or this guy dies!" As the rest of the teams tried to outflank him, Jack slid along the guardrail up the ramp, and as they closed, Garvin squealed as the blade pricked his neck.

"Stand back, gentlemen, let him go." Hammond was now resigned to O'Neill's actions – they would all have to face the consequences when, or perhaps if, he returned

Jack stood with his back almost touching the event horizon, Garvin still held in front of him, faint with terror. "One more thing, Daniel, if anything happens to me, you and Janet take care of Lissa." With that Jack shoved Garvin forwards to fall to his knees on the ramp, and turned through the shimmering screen of the event horizon.

As the wormhole collapsed on itself Hammond yelled, "Sergeant, redial those co-ordinates, these men still have a job to do." ***

I awoke for the second time, this time mercifully still clothed, but back on the plinth. Toksvik and his blurry buddies were clustered at what I supposed was the front of the hive, their collective attention seemingly captured by the shining silver wall. I slid quietly to the floor and joined them, looking over their pointy prism heads to see what they saw.

It took me a moment or two to catch the image, rather like looking at a funfair mirror or a Magic Eye picture. Whatever the hives were made of obviously had a powerful effect on light wavelengths, and the scientist part of me, the part that wasn't pissed at being abducted, itched to learn more about it. As my eyes adjusted to the altered frequencies, I saw Jack, unarmed except for a bayonet, making his way cautiously around the structures, carefully testing each step he took with his left leg. On the sandy ground a fall was inevitable sooner or later; even I had found the shifting surface treacherous, and as he went down I couldn't stop myself gasping his name.

All the fuzzy faces turned towards me, and Toksvik said, "This is he? Your mate, the other O'Neill?"

"I think he'd probably tell you that he's the original, but yes, it is. He's come to find me, to take me home, but he means you no harm. Please, let me talk to him before you do anything. We may still be able to salvage something from this snafu."

Almost before I could finish, there came that brilliant magnesium light, and Jack stood in front of me, dazzled and confused. He stared around at the Arlgard in bewilderment before his eyes fell on me and his puzzled expression turned to one of pure relief.

"Sa…….Carter, you OK?"

"Yes, thank you, sir. This is Toksvik, of the Arlgard. There's been some confusion, but I'm OK. How's Lissa?"

"She's fine. Talkative, and fine. It's a long story……she'll probably tell you herself! Cassie and Janet are watching her. You coming home now?"

"Erm, I think so, but…"

Toksvik stepped forward. "You must meet our requirements. Then you may both leave, but not until then. In return, you will be restored, your infirmity repaired. Do you agree that this is equitable?"

"Without knowing what your requirements are, Toothpick, I'm agreeing to nothing. You abducted a USAF officer."

"It's Toksvik, sir." I hissed.

"Whatever! So, what's the trade?"

"Let me explain, Toksvik, it'll be easier coming from me."

It was difficult to take Jack to one side in a round building, but I took him as far away from the Fuzzy family as I could, and explained what they needed, and what they intended to do with it. His reaction was as I'd expected --- not enthusiastic!

"I won't! Hell. I can't! You'll have to explain to them, Sam. Jeez, this is embarrassing! Why can't we meet up with guys who just want to do normal, ordinary things like tear us limb from limb, for cryin' out loud? This, it's, well, it's embarrassing. I can't!"

"I know, Jack, but I think it's the only way we're going to get out of here alive. What about if they can harvest the seed by, er, some other means?"

"What, like a vacuum extractor or a stirrup pump? I think not! Can't we offer them something else, like weapons, or gold, or Alaska, anything but this?"

"I don't think so! Let me talk to Toksvik again."

With a huge sigh he reluctantly agreed, and we moved round to the front of the hive again. Looking through what passed for a window, we could see two SG teams plus Daniel, Teal'c and a very pale Garvin deploying around the perimeter, all looking pretty purposeful apart from Garvin, who looked shit-scared.

"What's with him?" I asked.

Jack looked shame-faced. "I did a little hostage-taking of my own in the Gateroom. He's OK --- I'll buy him a beer once we're home."

"We will defend our hives if attacked," said Toksvik calmly, "Many will die."

"That won't be necessary," Jack answered, now in full command mode. "Let me talk to them and I'll stand them down until we've sorted this mess out."

"You may speak; they will hear."

Jack raised his voice a little, and no one could mistake the note of authority it held. "Daniel, Teal'c, all SG personnel! This is O'Neill, lower your weapons and stand easy to await further orders. I repeat, stand down and await my further orders. No harm will come to any of us if you do as I say." The response was immediate. The weapons went down and the men stood at ease, holding their positions but no longer looking aggressive.

"OK, Toothpick, what now?"

"Will you give us what we need?"

Jack heaved another huge sigh, but nodded "It's not just a question of giving, though! Carter explained about the..er..malfunction?"

"She did, though we did not fully understand."

"So, is there a way you can….erm….gather what you need from me painlessly and with as little embarrassment as possible?"

The peaky prism faces lit up. "There is! It is a relatively simple procedure, but for your comfort and safety we must render you unconscious."

Without waiting for any further discussion, Toksvik lifted his hand, and Jack was no longer standing beside me, but was lying out cold on the plinth. I didn't see or hear anything happen, but the fuzzy group around one of the workstations suddenly became very excited, and Toksvik said, "It is done!"

Again, no time for questions or discussion, just the brightness of the magnesium flare and Jack and I were alone. No Arlgard, no structures, no humming, just me, Jack out cold lying in the sand and the rest of our colleagues crowding around us in their anxiety. Only Garvin hung back, staring around him. "They just vanished!"

"What happened, Sam? What's wrong with Jack?"

Questions came from all directions, but my only focus was Jack. He was death-still, and frost-pale, and his breath rasped heavily in his chest. Had Toksvik lied? Once again my thoughts flew away in time and space to Camp Horizon and that dreadful first accident. Had Jack struggled back this far only to lose the fight this time? I couldn't bear the thought, and I wasn't about to let it happen!

"Come on you guys, pick him up! Let's get out of here!"

I handed the still-unconscious Jack over to Janet with as detailed an explanation as I could, and was then shooed away to find comfort with Cassie and Melissa until there was some news. Lissa was playing with some bricks, but crawled to me straight away with a beautiful smile. "Momma!"

I nearly collapsed! "Cassie, she's talking!"

"Oh yeah!" said Cassandra, sounding too much like Jack for comfort.

"Hiya, baby, you miss me?"

She snuggled into my arms and touched my cheek gently. "Daddy sleep?" Her question held wisdom way beyond her age, and brought tears to my eyes.

"Yes, honeybun, Daddy's asleep for now. He's with Auntie Janet – she's doing her very best for him."

Her little hand came to my face again. "OK, Momma play now," and she wriggled to be put down. We stacked bricks for a while, and then Cassie read to Lissa while I dozed. Without warning, Lissa sat bolt upright on Cassie's lap, slid onto the floor and crawled across to pull herself up on my leg, beaming happily.

"Daddy wake." She held her arms high to be picked up. "See Daddy."

As I swung her onto my hip, the tannoy squawked, "Major O'Neill to the infirmary, please." I looked at Melissa, still smiley and glowing, and made best speed to Jack's bedside. As I rounded the infirmary door, trying to hold onto a wriggly nearly-one year old, I heard "….but I don't need to stay, there's nothing wrong with me, I'm fine, I wanna go home with my girls."

Lissa turned her face to mine and whispered confidently "Daddy wake!"

I kissed her cheek "I think you're right – let's go see."

Jack was doing his best to struggle off the cot while Janet and two of her nurses tried to keep him down. He looked so reassuringly normal that I began to cry with relief, and Lissa, not yet able to distinguish tears of joy from tears of sadness, joined in with a vengeance. The sight of both his girls in tears was too much for Jack, and shaking himself free, he vaulted over the side of the cot, reaching us in one huge stride and gathering us both into his arms. Cries of "Watch your knee!" came from all directions as Jack held us and hushed us. He flexed the leg experimentally and said "Absolutely fine! I guess that's that guy Toothpick's side of the bargain."

Janet weighed up keeping Jack in against letting him go home, and decided that sending him home would lessen the stress both for Jack and for her staff. "I think that Jack passing out like that was simply a reaction to Toksvik's sedation. After all, Toksvik didn't know about his head injury. His vitals are good, and I know you'll watch him. Bring him in tomorrow for a check-up!"

I checked with General Hammond that our debriefing could hold over until the morning, and told him the good news about Jack's knee, and we made our escape before anyone could change their mind.

I drove home and Jack sat in the back with a very sleepy little girl nodding against his shoulder. More than once I caught Jack's eyes in the mirror, gazing at me with a peculiar intensity, and I began to wonder if I'd done the right thing bringing him home.

"You OK, Jack?"

He seemed to come back to reality with a snap. "Mmm? Yeah, I'm fine, really. How you doin'?" "I'm OK, tired, I guess. I don't think Melissa will need too many lullabies either."

"P'raps we can just put her straight down … I gave her a bath earlier this evening, seems like months ago."

I slid from the cab and took Melissa, carrying her carefully up to her room. I could hear Jack locking up downstairs, and as I gently closed the nursery door, he came up the stairs behind me.

His arms locked firmly around my waist, and he breathed hard down the back of my neck. "I thought I'd lost you!"

His voice was taut and low, and I could hear a note in it that I had almost forgotten. I tried to turn into his arms, but his grip was too strong.

"You didn't! I'm here, I'll always be here for you."

I leant back into those muscular arms, and without another word he scooped me up and carried me into our room.

"Jack..?" I said tentatively.

"Ssssh." He said softly, sliding his warm hands around my throat and caressing my cheeks with his fingertips. His beautiful eyes looked into my soul, and poured all his love into me, filling me completely.

"Jack, we're both tired, and covered in dust….."

Once again he hushed me, and his hands moved down the front of my shirt, unbuttoning, and gently pushing the fabric back off my shoulders. I bit my lip as he reached behind me to unclasp my bra and pull it down my arms, dropping it on the floor before pushing me back to sit on the bed.

As he knelt in front of me to unlace my shoes, I tried to remind him to guard his knee, but he just smiled and drew off my socks, rubbing his long, strong fingers sensuously over my feet and ankles before making his way up to my waist to unfasten my pants. I eased up the bed a little and lifted my hips to shimmy out of my pants and briefs, and then waited to see what he would do next. I knew that this time was different, but Jack was so engrossed I hardly dared break the spell. Switching off the light, I sensed rather than saw him shuck off his t-shirt and pants, and then felt his weight on the bed alongside me.

His left hand slid behind my neck and pulled my mouth to his, while the agile fingers of his right hand busied themselves at my breasts. He really was an artist at this, stroking, pulling, scratching and circling my nipples, each touch going straight through my body, stimulating all my sexual responses beyond belief.

I ran my hands over his chest muscles, reveling in the shivery reaction I drew from him, before pulling his head, and more importantly his mouth to where his fingers had been. His tongue softly lapping my already sensitized nipples took me even higher, and I ran my fingernails hard down his spine.

Driven by the strength of my arousal, he stroked down my belly, and slid his fingers inside me. This was the way our lovemaking had gone since Jack had come back to me, and I waited for his mouth to follow his fingers again, squirming and writhing beneath his erotic touch.

Eyes closed, I mewed in protest as instead his mouth came back to mine, his tongue sweeping around mine while his fingers still worked their magic. I was about to protest again as he took his hand away; I had been so close to climax and then he had stopped! I opened my eyes to a shy smile, and he took my hand across and down his body, to where his penis stood erect and proud against his flat lower belly.

"Jack!" I breathed, running my fingertips down that moist silky skin and feeling it twitch and swell still more under my loving touch.

"God, Jack!" I pulled him over me and spread myself wide to receive him, more than ready.

Supporting his weight easily on his bent arms, he encouraged me to reach down and hold him, to caress that powerful erection, and at last to slip it inside my vagina. He held motionless for a moment as if remembering this feeling, and though I marveled at his control I longed to feel him driving within me. I ran my nails down his spine once more, and was rewarded with the thrust I so desperately craved. All fatigue, all anxiety, all pain swept away on the rising tide of orgasm, we clung to each other, matching thrust for thrust and release for release, both of us incoherent with desire and savage with passion.

Our climax was frightening in its ferocity and joyful in its fulfillment. Together, still kissing, caressing, whispering affection, we slid down the long slope from orgasm to sleep, reveling in the power of our love, and in what we had regained.

In the last moments before we slept, I tugged at Jack's ear and said, "We're going to have to trade places."

Ever obliging, he began to roll over to bring me on top of him, and I laughed. "No, dopey! Now your knee is fixed, you get SG-1 back and I'll stay earth-side and work in the lab. Just go easy on Garvin!"

"Sure --- I still owe him a beer! You sure you'll be happy staying here?"

"Yeah sure you betcha!" I laughed. "Besides, if tonight is anything to go by, I don't imagine Lissa will be an only child for very long!"

His voice was very sleepy, but very content, and dripping with love. "Sweet! Lots of Lissas."

Hearing her name, a small but very determined voice came from the nursery. "Momma, Daddy, sleep now!"

Laughing together, we heeded our precocious child, and drifted off into sweet dreams, where accidents never happened!

The End …….I think!