Carefully, Sam lifted Cassie into the truck, where Janet joined her and gently pulled her head onto her lap, murmuring soothing noises. Cassie had fallen unconscious again, for which Sam was grateful - she couldn't bear to see the anguish in her eyes.
Quickly, Sam hauled the bike onto the open back of the truck. "Ready?" she asked Janet.
"Blanket," Janet said. Despite the heat, Cassie was shaking with shock. Sam rooted around the back of the truck, and found a light blanket, which she tucked securely round her daughter, before climbing into the driver's seat.
"We'll find her Janet," she told her lover, determinedly. "Whatever it takes, we'll find her."
Janet nodded, and just prayed that it was true. Cassie had already been through so much in her short life, she deserved a break.
Sam drove them home, expertly avoiding as many of the potholes as she could. Even so, Cassie often jerked and moaned with the movement. "Shh," Janet told her. "We're nearly back. Everything's gonna be alright. We'll make sure of that."
Finally, they reached the compound. Sam very tenderly took her daughter from Janet's lap, and carried her upstairs. As she laid her on her bed, the bruising from the thugs was all too apparent on her face. She was horrified to see that it extended down her back and side. As she and Janet peeled off Cassie's filthy clothing, they could see the full extent of the trauma the young woman had been through. Very gingerly, they wiped her down and changed her into a loose nightshirt.
"She okay?" Sam asked Janet fearfully.
"Nothin' broken," Janet told her. "She's got a pretty severe concussion, though, that'll make her very nauseous - and that's without the dehydration and shock. She's gonna be very sore for a few weeks too. Those men must be animals," she choked back a sob. "They didn't have to do all this." She leaned forward, and tenderly brushed the hair out of Cassie's eyes. Cassie stirred. "Hey sweetie," Janet murmured. "Think you can manage some water?"
"I'll try," Cassie said in a weak voice. Gently Janet lifted her up slightly and persuaded her to take a few sips. "Feel sick," Cassie said, thickly.
"I know, sweetie, you will for a while. We'll look after you. And we'll find Rebecca. Just try and rest now." She helped her to lie down, and took her shaking hand between her own. "Sleep now Cass."
= = =
"You okay here with her Jan?" Sam asked once Cassie was settled and hooked up to an IV to rehydrate her. "I'm gonna try and get through to the SGC, see if they can patch me through to General O'Neill. We've got to work out how to get Rebecca back."
"You go," Janet told her. "We'll be okay here. Just do what you can Sam," she pleaded, looking up at her lover with tears in her eyes.
Sam kissed her, softly and deeply. "We'll find her," she repeated. "We will. Everything will be alright. I'm gonna make sure of it." She pretended a confidence she didn't feel; in truth, she didn't know where to start. She knew that discussing it with the general would help; and she knew he loved Cassie and would put all means at their disposal. That would surely help.
= = =
Two hours later, Sam let herself back into Cassie's room. She was greeted by the sight of her daughter wrapped in her lover's arms. Janet had climbed onto the bed with her, and was holding her tight, trying to reassure her with her presence.
"How's she doin'?" Sam whispered.
"Asleep, at last," Janet told her. "Any news?"
Sam nodded.
"Hang on," Janet said, and very gently laid Cassie down as she climbed off the bed. She took Sam by the hand, pulling her into the corridor. "Don't want to wake her," she told her in a quiet voice. "So did you get through to O'Neill?"
"Yeah," Sam told her, running her hand through her short locks and taking a deep breath. Janet saw that Sam, too, was exhausted; this situation was draining for all of them. "He wants to help. He says we can use the Odyssey if we need to. Once we find where she is. We've got a plan that might work. But we've got to work out where they're holding her. He's got a team working on that right now."
"How can they do that from there?" Janet was confused.
"Intelligence," Sam said. "They're gonna check out all the gangs operating on this continent. Apparently, they've already got one major suspect; a GŸnther Brehme has kidnapped several high-fliers in Africa. They're gonna check if he's formed a gang here."
"But Rebecca's not a high-flier," Janet protested. "She's an ordinary doctor!"
"Her Dad owns Hagan Pharmaceuticals," Sam reminded her. "That could make her a target. It's just a theory," she took Janet's hand softly between her own. "They're checking it out. The 'good' news, if there is such a thing," she laughed mirthlessly at the irony, "is that whoever it is, is going to have to get in contact sooner or later. So General O'Neill's got the Odyssey scanning this house. Any incoming cellphone calls and, with a bit of luck, they'll be able to triangulate the signal and pinpoint where it's coming from. Landlines are even easier, but they're not likely to use those. Unless they're stupid, and Brehme's not stupid, apparently. If it is him." Tears formed in Sam's eyes.
"What is it hon?" Janet was alarmed at the fear she saw in her lover.
"He's an animal, Jan," Sam said in a low voice. "The last two times he did this they killed the captives. Not before they tortured them."
"Oh God," Janet was shocked.
"It gets worse," Sam told her. "Last time their victim was a woman. She was raped, Jan. Repeatedly. Her family paid the ransom, but when the police got to the agreed handover point, they had put a bullet in her head. We've got to get to her before they get a chance to do that. We've got to make them believe we're getting the money together, and then get in before 'handover'."
A moan from the bedroom brought them both back to Cassie's side. Her face was pale in the moonlight. "Hurts," Cassie said in a small, weak voice.
Janet looked at her watch. "I think I can probably give you something for that now, Cass," she told her. She had not wanted to give her any drugs too soon after the attack because of her concussion, but she reckoned it would be okay now. So she injected a light painkiller and sedative into the IV.
"Sam?" Cassie whispered. "Have you found her?"
Sam perched on the edge of the bed, and softly laid her hand on her daughter's arm. "Not yet, honey," she told her. "But we've got a plan. Your Uncle Jack's gonna help us. We'll find out where she is, and then we'll use the Odyssey to get her out. We're doing everything possible, there's a whole team at the SGC checking intelligence right now. Try not to worry," she knew the pointlessness of that remark. "Your job is to get well now, so you can be there for Rebecca when she comes home. Can you try and do that Cass?"
Cassie nodded, trying to blink back the tears in her eyes. Sam leant down and enveloped her daughter in a tight hug. "Sleep now. As soon as we know anything, I'll let you know. I promise." Cassie's eyes were already closing.
Sam and Janet sat with her as she drifted off. Only when she was sound asleep did Janet turn to Sam. "So how you gonna do it?" she asked her. "How are you going to get her out?"
"That's the easy part," Sam told her. "I'll break in, somehow, and when I find Rebecca, I'll get us both beamed up to the Odyssey. The watch, remember?" and she pointed to her specially adapted wristwatch that Landry had insisted she take with her to Tanzania. She needed only to press the button and the Odyssey would locate her signal, and beam her aboard.
"Shit Sam," Janet said. "That sounds dangerous. Why can't the Odyssey just beam her out straight, once we find her?"
"It doesn't work that way," Sam explained. "They need the signal to pinpoint exactly. And no," she anticipated Janet's next question. "They can't beam me straight in either. It's safer if I try to break in. If I suddenly appear in room with the gang, they'll shoot me first, ask questions later. My plan is to sneak in to find Rebecca. But even if they capture me first," she took Janet's hand, reassuringly, "they won't kill me. Not straight off; they'll keep me until they find out if they can make some money out of me too. Anyway," she tried to smile, "if anything goes wrong, I just need to press this button, and I'm out of there. It's a no-risk plan."
"Hardly," Janet's voice was icy with fear. "It's a pretty high-risk plan if you ask me. Can't somebody else do it?"
"No, sweetie, they can't. General O'Neill offered, but I can't let him. First, Cassie's my daughter. Second, and this is important. The gang will probably have been watching the house. So they'll know who I am; they'll think I'm just an aunt who wants to save the girl. If Jack goes in, they'll figure something bigger's going on, and they'll probably shoot the pair of them and hightail it out of there. I couldn't let Cassie go through that. I know what it's like to lose the love of your life." Janet knew Sam was talking about the 'other' Janet. "I can't let her go through that. And, hell, I've been in much more dangerous situations. You know me," she attempted a grin. "I'm indestructible."
"Well you just see that you stay that way," Janet tried to stop her voice from breaking. "I need you. And in one piece."
"Scout's honor," Sam promised her, and leant in for a kiss. "I've got too much to lose. We all have."